#susan estrich

[ogume-the-lion]

Pokemon trading cards craze problem

I ever researched on Wikipedia about Pokemon Franchise, theres any problems like its the Pokemon Trading cards craze so kids are obsessed to it, look like a big phenomenon that aimed by children that those reactions constitute as a moral panic, the Pokemania phenomenon… but we speak about the pokemon trading cards is a sort of gamblings for kids that those kids buy repeatedly some boosters to get more rare cards,

began taking their Pokémon cards to school for trading and playing. Soon, the cards were alleged to be "disrupting learning, poisoning playground friendships and causing such distraction that some children forget their homework, tune out in class and even miss school buses as they scramble to acquire one more card". The cards can turn the playground as a black market with card swaps sometimes inciting conflicts. Certain children engaged in "aggressive trading", tricking other (often younger) kids into unfair deals, forcing teachers to arbitrate. Some parents expressed their concerns about the craze, but feared that their children would be ostracized if they were to deny them Pokémon products.

In the US, the Pokémon cards ended up "almost universally banned" from school grounds. Similar bans occurred in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and European countries. In September 1999, US-based law firm Milberg filed a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo of America, Wizards of the Coast, and 4Kids. The suit claimed that the booster packs constitute a form of lottery and promote gambling in kids. Susan Estrich noted that similar lawsuits had been filed against trading-card makers in the US, without success. The Pokémon card suit is not known to have gone to court, and is believed to have been settled.

As Pokémania built, Western media started reporting on several crimes associated with Pokémon. These included violence (including two reported stabbings), burglaries, robberies (some at knifepoint), and shoplifting. Almost all these incidents were connected to the Pokémon cards, and the individuals involved were almost always underage. In the US, the incidents peaked in November 1999. In England, Pokémon-related delinquency reached a head in April 2000. High prices on the grey market were a motive behind some of the crimes, "posing a great temptation for older kids and bullies to take advantage of weaker children". At specialty shops and online auctions, rare Pokémon cards could be bought and sold for prices of $50 or more (c. $91 in 2023).

Sure Pokemon cause any problems with the trading cards craze. In an extreme case, in 1999 at Long Island… a 11 years old stabbed one of his classmate who tried to steal his cards!

Dear Kids… BUY YOUR OWN POKEMON CARDS INSTEAD TO TAKE FROM OTHER STEALING IS BAD!

Pokemon is always popular for its game, its products, yeah its a franchise!

[m-ultraarticles]

Jim Dey | President's age presents an issue Dems can't control - News-Gazette

One of Editor & Publisher’s ‘10 That Do It Right 2021’Sunny. High 81F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.. A few passing clouds. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Updated: May 18, 2023 @ 7:25 amOpinions EditorJim Dey is a staff writer for The News-Gazette. His email is jdey@news-gazette.com.Political columnist Susan Estrich has spent a lifetime in politics, most notably as campaign manager for 1988…

[greenhatsinthesky]

lockdown film no. 42 - Bombshell (2019) dir. Jay Roach

02/06/2020

- i just watched a youtube video about Charlize Theron’s makeup and it was so good that they had to put a statement at the beginning saying that all the portrayals in this film are by actors

- I really hated the title card on the lift. come on. give me more

- CASEYBABY

- “Trump has a problem with women” “can you back that up?” “yes” *whacks down The Folder*

- my god this cast is outrageous. I can't recognise Charlize Theron at all; Noah vosen is Nicole Kidman’s lawyer; one of the sisters from a cinderella story works in makeup and bloody Malcolm mcdowell is Rupert Murdoch ?? 

- wow the scene with Rudi bakhtiar when he said he wanted to see the inside of her hotel room and internally she was going “apologise. Make it your fault.” Ow 

- the moment where Kayla was in that guys office and he shuts the blinds and we’re excluded for a millisecond was fucking creepy

- it’s really cool to see Kate McKinnon in a non comedy role. We see her on snl and all these fantastic comedies (some less fantastic but she’s still great) but I hadn’t seen her in a really intense drama before, especially

- oh my god I remember when I first watched this I absolutely lost my mind when Kate mckinnon and Margot Robbie started having a gay time 

- “yes well you have to bring a vibrator from home to the convention. The question is what does a man do with a vibrator?” Their chemistry in this scene I’m literally dead. 

- holland Taylor taking Kayla to see Roger felt an awful lot like Daniel going to the lion’s den. And then Kayla walks in and holland Taylor closes the door and were on the outside again

- first time I watched the scene with Kayla in rogers office when he tells her to pull up her skirt I legitimately thought I was gonna throw up

- it makes me really genuinely upset the amount of women in this film (and absolutely the amount of women in real life) who are apologists for rapists and all round despicable men because they’ve been brainwashed to believe that everything that happens to them in trealtion to men is their fault. Or even if they know its not their fault (see Rudi bakhtiar) they know they have to make the man as comfortable as possible to try and preserve their own safety because there’s no knowing what they would do if you made this person more angry, even though its not their responsibility to monitor someone who’s feelings are their own problem 

- maybe I was just watching it wrong but I felt like the scene where there were different cards with the women talking about what had happened to them could have been much stronger

- i think one fundamental problem with this film is that there are literally no people of colour here at all. We all know fox is racist and so it would likely hire white people at a greater rate than people of colour but I cannot believe it was only white women being harassed in this workplace. As well as this, Kayla is a fictional character. Jess isn’t based on a real person, but someone like her probably existed, and both of their storylines are really interesting. Racist white people have space for people of colour if they aren’t “loud” about their identity and if they can imitate the racism of the white people around them. In the same way that the men in this film have time and space for misogynistic women. I’m just a bit mad that the writers decided to add fictional characters but the only fictional characters are white, in a sea of characters based on real white people. Also, the only talk about race is the bit about father christmas, really ?

- the scene with the news women saying how great Roger is and how they’ve never been told what to wear and how they need trousers because it’s kicking off about a leg cam but they’ve never been fitted for trousers and they’re putting these crazy high heels on their feet with plasters all over the gaff was pretty wild. I liked it. It was very sad

- even on second watch the scene where calls jess and they talk on the phone. Fuck. Robbie’s acting here is outstanding and mckinnon takes it perfectly from having jokes about having a heart attack about bill o’reilly calling her when actually its Kayla to being so supportive about talking to lawyers about what Roger did and why she wasn’t able to help her before all the stuff came out and how her position at her job is so precarious because she’s gay. And then she can tell Kayla’s not ok and she can’t really do anything but she’s there for her as much as she can be. I also appreciate the fact that there isn’t actually a scene in this film where anyone is physically harassed — the scene where Roger tells Kayla to pull her skirt up and the flashback where he goes for megyn is all we get

- it might not have been deliberate but in the scene where Rupert Murdoch says “i hate that its come to this” and Roger says “me too” made me a bit yiKES

- overall I think this is fine, but for a topic so rich its kind of a shame the film isn’t better. I’m not sure what its lacking but I think of other things I’ve seen like the show Mrs. America and how the ending of that absolutely shattered me, and that’s what I wanted from this. The jess/kayla storyline I found to be one of the more engaging things about the film, which like I say is strange in a film with this topic. I don’t know. The acting is good, the makeup and prosthetics are frankly out of this world - it was just a shame to me that other aspects were a bit lacking

[eretzyisrael]

We, the undersigned faculty of USC, have followed the case of Rose Ritch and her resignation from student government with great dismay. As described in the supportive statement by President Folt, and fully detailed in the statement by the Alliance for Academic Freedom of August 24th, Rose Ritch was subjected to vicious online harassment, and her qualification to hold elected office was questioned on the basis of her professed Zionism.

We find it unacceptable that such blatant discrimination on the basis of a student’s belief, identity, or national origin could take place on our campus.

We reject in the strongest possible terms any and all attempts to associate Zionism with such inflammatory accusations as racism, colonialism, and white supremacy, which are diametrically antithetical to Zionist ideas and aims. We are appalled that such characterizations of Zionism were the basis for calls for Rose Ritch’s resignation, and continue to be voiced by certain organizations on this campus.

As supporters of the Zionist idea — the right of the Jewish people to a homeland and self-determination — we stand by the rights of all people, including Israelis and Palestinians, to freedom, dignity and peaceful coexistence, and to advocate for their causes with fairness and respect on our campus and in the world.

Contentious issues concerning the Middle East conflict must be engaged by encouraging students to study the history of the conflict and to participate in discussions regarding its possible resolution. Only in that way can USC foster a campus culture that is truly inclusive and respectful of diversity.

As dedicated members of the USC faculty, we are concerned about the long-term impact of Rose Ritch’s resignation on the morale and well-being of supporters, or presumed supporters, of the State of Israel. This includes Jewish students, faculty, and staff at USC, dedicated contributors to this campus’s excellence and visibility, whose fitness to continue their service may come under attack. We call on our university’s leadership to uphold the values of open and civilized debate, so that USC can continue its mission of fostering excellence in education and advancing knowledge in a civil and respectful manner.

Respectfully,

ROBERT ADLER, MD, MS.Ed., Chief Medical Officer, CHLA Health System, Senior Advisor to the Chair of Pediatrics

LISA AZIZ-ZADEH, Associate Professor of Psychology and Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

YEHUDA BEN-ZION, Professor of Earth Sciences, Director of Southern California Earthquake Center

JACK M. BERGER, MS, MD, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Anesthesiology

LISA M. BITEL, Dean’s Professor of Religion and Professor of History

DION DICKMAN, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

URI ELKAYAM, MD, Professor of Medicine

SUSAN R. ESTRICH, Robert Kingsley Professor of Law and Political Science

DONALD FEINSTEIN, MD, MACP, Professor of Medicine Emeritus

HENRYK FLASHNER, Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

MYRON F. GOODMAN, Professor Biological Sciences and Chemistry

MIKE GRUNTMAN, Professor of Astronautics

JEFFREY B. HIRSCH, Adjunct Professor, Annenberg School for Communications & Journalism

STUART J. HOFFMAN, D.M.D., MS, Adjunct Clinical Professor, Division of Orthodontics, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry

ELLIS HOROWITZ, Professor of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering

GABRIEL KAHN, Professor of Professional Practice

ANNA I. KRYLOV, Professor of Chemistry, Member, International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science

PAT LEVITT, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President and Director, The Saban Research Institute, Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. WM Keck Provost Professor of Neurogenetic, Keck School of Medicine

RICHARD LUBMAN, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine

DINA MAZYLIN, Professor of Marketing

GERARD MEDIONI, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science

JERRY MENDEL, Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering

DAPHNA OYSERMAN, Dean’s Professor of Psychology

RICHARD S. PANUSH, MD, Master, American College of Physicians, Master, American College of Rheumatology, Professor of Medicine

HANNA REISLER, Lloyd Armstrong Jr. Professor in Science and Engineering

MICHAEL RENOV, The Haskell Wexler Endowed Chair in Documentary, Professor of Cinema & Media Studies, Vice Dean, Academic Affairs, School of Cinematic Arts

STEVEN RICHEIMER, MD, Chief, Division of Pain Medicine, Professor of Anesthesiology & Psychiatry

REMO ROHS, Professor and Section Head, Quantitative and Computational Biology

ILAN ROTSTEIN, Professor and Chair, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry

LUCILLE ROTSTEIN, Clinical Associate Professor, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry

DAN SCHNUR, Adjunct Professor, USC Annenberg School of Communications

HAROLD SLAVKIN, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry

DOUGLAS C. SOLOW, DDS, MBA, G. Donald Montgomery Professor of Dentistry, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, Director, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry Faculty Practice

WILLIAM STOHL, MD, PhD, Master, American College of Rheumatology, Professor of Medicine

ANDREW VITERBI, Presidential Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering, Member, National Academy of Engineering

CHERYL WAKSLAK, Associate Professor of Management and Organization & McAlister Associate Professor in Business Administration

ARIEH WARSHEL, Nobel Laureate, Dana and David Dornsife Chair in Chemistry, Member, National Academy of Sciences

MARK WEINSTEIN, Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics Emeritus

RUTH WEISBERG, Professor, Roski School of Art and Design

GARY WEXLER, Adjunct Lecturer Annenberg

ALAN WILLNER, Steven and Kathryn Sample Chair in Engineering, Member, National Academy of Engineering

CURT WITTIG, Paul A. Miller Professor of Letters, Arts and Sciences

VLADIMIR ZELMAN, MD, PhD, Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, Foreign Member, Russian Academy of Science

[nappynewz]

After 130 Years, Harvard Law Review Elects a Black Woman President

After 130 Years, Harvard Law Review Elects a Black Woman President

ImeIme Umana, the newly elected president of the Harvard Law Review, at the journal’s offices.Credit Tony Luong for The New York Times

  CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — It has been 27 years since the first black man, an older student by the name of Barack Obama, was elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. It has been even longer — 41 years — since the first woman, Susan Estrich, was…

[popculturebrain]

Allison Janney To Play Attorney Susan Estrich In Annapurna’s Movie About The Roger Ailes Fox News Harassment Scandal

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winner Allison Janney will play trailblazing feminist lawyer Susan Estrich in Annapurna’s untitled Charles Randolph project about the women who took on Fox News kingpin Roger Ailes and the toxic male culture at the network.

[humongoussuitpost-blog]

Every time I hear someone making ignorant comments about the supposed 'evils' of homosexuality, I think about the true evil of the high suicide rates among gay and lesbian teens.

Susan Estrich

as a homosexual teen who currnetly cutting his wrist, i find comfort in this

[classyfoxdestiny]

Boies Schiller loses lawyers over controversies involving Theranos, Harvey Weinstein

Boies Schiller loses lawyers over controversies involving Theranos, Harvey Weinstein

Attorney David Boies, representing several alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, exits federal court following a bail hearing for Jeffrey Epstein, July 15, 2019 in New York City.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images

One of America’s most prominent law firms is struggling to hold on to talent.

Legal powerhouse Boies Schiller Flexner has experienced a rapid exodus of several top attorneys, many of whom were bothered by purported decisions by the firm’s founders.

This article is based on interviews with more than a half-dozen people with direct knowledge of various issues at the firm, from alleged nepotism to the unsavory reputation of some high-profile clients. These people declined to be named in order to avoid possible retribution from the firm.

The firm’s founders are David Boies and Jonathan Schiller, who have been key players in major political and corporate cases for decades.

Boies is known for representing the U.S. government in its landmark 2001 antitrust case against Microsoft and for helping win a decision that overturned California’s ban on gay marriage. Schiller has represented Goldman Sachs and the New York Yankees, among other major corporations and entities.

But attorneys who left have described their dissatisfaction with Boies for working with Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul who has been convicted of rape, and accused fraudster Elizabeth Holmes and her discredited blood-testing firm Theranos.

They have also alleged that Schiller’s own family members received preferential treatment, both inside the firm and out. Employees, for instance, took issue with the way the founders dealt with one of Jonathan Schiller’s sons, a lawyer at the firm, after he purportedly used racist and homophobic terms at a party thrown by another of the firm’s lawyers.

Many people argued that Boies and Schiller sometimes overruled the firm’s management committee, which had been trying to formulate a succession plan for when the founders eventually leave their roles. Former leaders at the firm would privately claim that they were not always presented specific details about the firm’s finances, people familiar with the matter said.

“They keep naming new people as managing partners, but the reason people are leaving is it [the firm] is just a name,” a former Boies Schiller partner told CNBC. “There’s no transition going on, and David and Jon are deciding everything.”

After reaching out to the firm’s public relations team, CNBC spoke with Matt Schwartz, who is one of the new co-managing partners at the firm along with Sigrid McCawley and Alan Vickery. Schwartz is not related to this reporter.

During the nearly hourlong conversation, Schwartz denied that Boies and Schiller are making all the decisions. He said the leaders of the firm are always given specifics about the firm’s financial deals, including with outside vendors. He also insisted that he and other co-managing partners oversee day-to-day operations.

“David and Jonathan are on the executive committee. Of course they are part of those discussions,” Schwartz told CNBC on Friday. “They hold the titles of managing partners and are an important resource for us. But truly and honestly in every way the four new managing partners of Natasha [Harrison], Sigrid, Alan and myself run the day-to-day operations at this firm and we do so under the guidance and oversight of the executive committee. Whoever is telling you that the founding partners are running everything is wrong.”

“The short answer is if I want to know how much money we are paying for any particular vendor or item, yes, that is something that is knowable,” Schwartz added.

Scores of departures

At the end of 2020, Boies Schiller Flexner employed around 200 lawyers. Previously it employed just over 300. It boasts a high-powered client list including Facebook, American Express, Chevron, Delta, Barclays, Oracle and Sony. The firm, founded in 1997, has offices in New York, Miami, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles and London.

But the firm has experienced a brain drain in recent months: Nearly 60 partners left last year, according to Bloomberg. Some of the organization’s top clients followed their attorneys who left. Two of the recent departures reportedly represented Apple, Facebook, Oracle and Elon Musk’s Solar City Corp.

Additional corporate clients of the firm include Delta, UnitedHealthcare, John Hancock, Lincoln National, Carnival, NextEra and Burger King.

Boies himself said in a previous interview with lawyer and legal commentator David Lat that “some of the partners who have left the firm in the past did so because they were disappointed with leadership choices or because they had a different vision for the future of the firm.” He didn’t give further details.

Nick Gravante, a managing partner, left the firm last year. Gravante and other top attorneys, such as Karen Dunn and Damien Marshall, were part of the management committee that, according to Law360.com, was meant to “assume day to day responsibilities of operations as part of a long term plan to transfer leadership of the litigation firm from its founder to the next generation.”

Dunn and William Isaacson, who was a vice chair at Boies Schiller, left last year to join the firm Paul, Weiss.

A leader steps back

Another leader might soon be out the door: Harrison, who recently stepped down as deputy chair. Boies once said Harrison, who is based in London and is also a managing partner, was in line to be his successor. People familiar with the situation said Harrison could now end up leaving Boies Schiller.

Harrison told CNBC in a statement that she has not been in touch with other firms but notably did not say in her comment whether she had any future plans to leave Boies Schiller.

“I am not in discussions with any other law firms, nor do I plan to enter into discussions with any other law firms, and any suggestion to the contrary is false,” Harrison said. “It is an honour to be working with the other managing partners to lead one of the world’s leading litigation firms through its transition to the second generation and in this regard, we have made significant and important progress over the last twenty months.”

Harrison’s decision to step down from the deputy chair role was due to personal reasons and not a suggestion that there are any problems at the firm, according to a Sept. 1 internal memo reviewed by CNBC. The memo was signed by the firm’s managing partners, including Harrison, Boies and Schiller.

“Most notably as it relates to the pandemic, international travel restrictions have prevented Natasha from spending the kind of time in the U.S., actively engaging with the leadership team, the Firm and our U.S.-based clients, that she feels is necessary to fulfill the obligations of the Deputy Chair position,” the memo said.

Schwartz confirmed that, since Harrison is no longer deputy chair, she will not be in line to succeed Boies as chair of the firm.

“Now that is not going to happen. That’s the significance of Natasha stepping down as deputy chair. It’s really a signifier that she’s not going to take over as chair,” Schwartz said. He said Harrison stepped down from the post “because she couldn’t make a commitment to become chair down the road.”

Schwartz gave no indication that there are future plans to transition beyond the current management structure, including having Boies and Schiller continue to hold some sort of leadership positions within the firm.

“The succession planning means: How is the firm going to be run after? The firm is now run by a group of people that is much broader than the founding partners,” Schwartz said. “The day to day is run exclusively by the four new managing partners, with guidance from, but not control by, the founding partners. That is the succession plan in action.”

Schwartz didn’t seem to think there were any plans for Boies and Schiller to step away from the firm, including possibly retiring. “No, I mean you’d have to ask them. That’s a personal decision to them, not anything that we’re going to try to force upon them, certainly,” he said.

Taking issue with a Schiller son

Harrison was one of many Boies Schiller leaders and firm employees who were disturbed by the original domestic abuse allegations levied against Josh Schiller, a partner at the firm and the son of Jonathan Schiller, according to people familiar with the matter.

Josh Schiller was arrested in January on a domestic violence allegation. His lawyer, at the time, said “there was no instance of domestic violence.” Schiller is married to Melissa Siebel Schiller, who is a sister-in-law of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The firm put Josh Schiller on a leave of absence after he was arrested. He returned to work earlier this year after outside investigators employed by the firm cleared him, and prosecutors dropped the charge. He was cleared because “there was no physical harm or instance of domestic violence in this case,” his attorney told reporters.

A person within the firm, who declined to be named in order to speak freely about private matters, said Jonathan Schiller recused himself from any matter involving the investigation into his son.

Yet, for leaders at the firm, many took issue with the fact that this was only the latest incident involving Josh Schiller, these people explained.

For instance, Josh Schiller was heard using the N-word at a party hosted by Susan Estrich, who joined the firm and became a partner in 2018, according to people familiar with the matter.

A person with direct knowledge explained that Schiller tried to reenact a Dave Chappelle joke comparing the use of the N-word to a homophobic slur.

Afterward, Estrich sent a note to the firm’s leadership calling the remark inappropriate, the people added. A member of the management committee privately insisted to other leaders at the firm on an investigation but none of the party guests were contacted, this person explained.

“Everyone who heard it was horrified,” this person who was at the party explained to CNBC.

Josh Schiller later told associates that he used these words as part of a joke, one of the people said. Schiller did not respond to an email seeking comment on the incident.

Estrich left the firm last year and is now a partner at Estrich Goldin. Among other career moves, Estrich is known as the attorney who defended the late Fox News executive Roger Ailes from accusations of sexual harassment.

She did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Business with another Schiller son

Another Schiller son, Aaron Schiller, runs an architecture company, Schiller Projects, which has done business with the law firm. Schiller Projects designed three offices for Boies Schiller, including its new office in New York’s Hudson Yards complex and offices in San Francisco and Washington.

Several leaders at the firm were frustrated over not being consulted before the agreement with Aaron Schiller’s firm, people familiar with the matter said. Leaders and associates at the firm are also unhappy with the Hudson Yards office design, the people added.

Schwartz told CNBC that Jonathan Schiller didn’t decide to have the firm hire his son’s company.

“The selection of that design firm was not made by Jonathan. It was made by other members of the firm management and was the process of competitive bidding,” Schwartz said.

Employees at the Hudson Yards office moved there in 2019 from their former space on Lexington Avenue.

Schiller Projects says on its website that the Hudson Yards space has “no private corner offices, but rather a flowing space — a unique approach to open office design.” The website describes the space as “an inversion of the traditional law office model, flipping perimeter closed offices to perimeter open workspaces” and says it “is promoting measurable increases in collaboration and employee workplace satisfaction.”

But lawyers often use private spaces to conduct the reading of often confidential briefs and to call clients. Boies Schiller associates have complained about being crammed into what they described as fishbowl-type offices, forcing them to call clients from booths instead of their desks, several people said.

After this report was published Friday, a spokesman for Schiller Projects told CNBC on Sunday:

“We are an award-winning architectural design firm with extensive experience in reimagining commercial environments and corporate workplaces. The Hudson Yards project went through a rigorous, competitive bidding process. The resulting work won multiple awards, including Interior Design magazine’s ‘Best of Year Corporate Office Design 2019 for North America’.”

Boies, Weinstein and Holmes

Boies, meanwhile, can’t seem to escape the fact that he extensively helped both Weinstein and Theranos.

The New Yorker reported in 2017 that Boies personally signed a contract for an investigative firm known as Black Cube to uncover information that could stop the publication of a New York Times article about Weinstein’s abuses.

Boies’ firm was representing the Times in a libel lawsuit at the time. Boies confirmed to The New Yorker that his firm contracted and paid two investigative agencies on Weinstein’s behalf.

Potential clients have since opted not to work with the firm in part because Boies helped Weinstein, people familiar with the matter said.

“It’s not like Weinstein and Theranos are helpful to the firm,” a former partner explained to CNBC. “You’ve got a lot of women who resent the whole firm. They don’t want to hear the name Boies Schiller Flexner.”

Around 2017, members of the firm confronted Boies at a private retreat over his role helping Weinstein. In the buildup to Boies fielding questions from members, Dunn was approached by a group of the firm’s employees with concerns about Boies helping Weinstein, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations.

Dunn did not respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

In remarks similar to what he said at the retreat, Boies told The New York Times in 2018 that, while he concedes he made mistakes, he was just defending his client. In that same interview, Boies used the same reasoning for why he defended Theranos.

“You don’t know all the facts when you take on a client,” he said at the time, “but once you do, you have a duty of loyalty. You can’t represent them halfway. If, as a lawyer, you start to value how you are going to look to the media, as opposed to how your client will look, then you should find a new profession.”

The firm’s public relations team sent a comment to CNBC from Joanna Wright, a partner and new member of the executive committee, about the decision to retain Black Cube.

“Retaining Black Cube for Weinstein was a serious mistake as David has, himself, said. We have since implemented procedures ensuring that never happens again,” Wright said in the statement. “Having said that, I don’t believe there is another firm where you can consistently do well while doing good at the scale and level we have historically done that and continue to today.”

Holmes and Theranos, according to The Mercury News, hired Boies and a team of lawyers from his firm in a dispute with The Wall Street Journal as the paper was aiming to publish a story on Holmes’ company. In 2015, Boies was a member of the Theranos board. The Times reported that he worked to quash reporting done by then-Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou.

Carreyrou went on to write an acclaimed nonfiction book about Theranos’ rise and fall called “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.”

Holmes is on trial for fraud. She recently lost a bid to keep more than a dozen emails between her and Boies Schiller lawyers out of the legal proceedings.

. Source link

[orbemnews]

Fox News Intensifies Its Pro-Trump Politics as Dissenters Depart Fox News once devoted its 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. time slots to relatively straightforward newscasts. Now those hours are filled by opinion shows led by hosts who denounce Democrats and defend the worldview of former President Donald J. Trump. For seven years, Juan Williams was the lone liberal voice on “The Five,” the network’s popular afternoon chat show. On Wednesday, he announced that he was leaving the program, after months of harsh on-air blowback from his conservative co-hosts. Many Fox News viewers cheered his exit on social media. Donna Brazile, the former Democratic Party chairwoman, was hired by Fox News with great fanfare in 2019 as a dissenting voice for its political coverage. She criticized Mr. Trump and spoke passionately about the Black Lives Matter movement, which other hosts on the network often demonized. Ms. Brazile has now left Fox News; last week, she quietly started a new job at ABC. Onscreen and off, in ways subtle and overt, Fox News has adapted to the post-Trump era by moving in a single direction: Trumpward. The network has rewarded pro-Trump pundits like Greg Gutfeld and Dan Bongino with prize time slots. Some opinion hosts who ventured on-air criticism of the former president have been replaced. And within the Fox News reporting ranks, journalists have privately expressed concern that the network is less committed to straight-ahead news coverage than it was in the past. The shifts at Fox News, which is controlled by the father-and-son moguls Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, have come in the wake of what amounted to an existential moment for a cable channel that is home to Trump cheerleaders like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham: the 2020 election. Fox News’s ratings fell sharply after the network made an early call on election night that Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, would carry Arizona and later declared him the winner, even as Mr. Trump advanced lies about fraud. With viewers in revolt, the network moved out dissenting voices and put a new emphasis on hard-line right-wing commentary. In January, the network fired its veteran politics editor, Chris Stirewalt, who had been an onscreen face of the early call in Arizona for Mr. Biden. This month, it brought on a new editor in the Washington bureau: Kerri Kupec, a former spokeswoman for Mr. Trump’s attorney general William P. Barr. She had no journalistic experience. Financially, the Murdochs’ formula has produced results: After a rare loss to archrivals CNN and MSNBC in January, Fox News’s ratings strength has recovered; the channel is again the Nielsen leader in cable news. In May, Fox News is on track to more than double CNN’s prime-time viewership. Its new opinion shows at 7 and 11 — with segments that lament “cancel culture” and attack Mr. Biden — are attracting bigger audiences than the newscasts they replaced. And the niche right-wing network Newsmax has failed to sustain its postelection audience gains. In some ways, the Murdochs are making a rational business decision by following the conservatives who have made up the heart of the Fox News audience; recent surveys show that more than three-quarters of Republicans want Mr. Trump to run in 2024. But under Roger Ailes, the network’s founder, who shaped its look and feel, Fox News elevated liberal foils like Alan Colmes, a Democrat who shared equal billing in prime time with Mr. Hannity until the end of 2008, and moderates like Mr. Williams. Roger Ailes, the founder of Fox News, wanted some unpredictability among commentators.Credit…Andrew Toth/FilmMagic “Roger’s view was you had to have some unpredictability and you had to challenge the audience; you couldn’t just be reading Republican talking points every night,” said Susan R. Estrich, a Democratic lawyer and former commentator on Fox News who negotiated Mr. Ailes’s exit from the network amid his sexual misconduct scandal. Today in Business Updated  May 28, 2021, 12:54 p.m. ET Ms. Estrich recalled that Mr. Ailes had defended Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News host, when Mr. Trump, then a presidential candidate, attacked her in misogynist terms. Now, she said, “instead of trying to broaden their audience, Fox News is narrowing it and digging in.” Partisanship plays well on cable news, an insight not lost on programmers at other networks who are chasing fatigued viewers. Liberal-leaning MSNBC expanded the show hosted by the anti-Trump commentator Nicolle Wallace; it also replaced the moderate Chris Matthews at 7 p.m. with the partisan commentator Joy Reid. Last week, CNN dropped one of its chief conservative commentators, Rick Santorum, after he was criticized for remarks about Native Americans. Ms. Brazile said she had left Fox News of her own accord. “Fox never censored my views in any way,” she wrote in an email. “Everyone treated me courteously as a colleague.” Ms. Brazile added: “I believe it’s important for all media to expose their audiences to both progressive and conservative viewpoints. With the election and President Biden’s first 100 days behind us, I’ve accomplished what I wanted at Fox News.” Mr. Williams will remain at Fox News as a senior political analyst; the network said in a statement that he had requested to be closer to his family in Washington rather than commute to New York, where “The Five” is taped. Fox News said another liberal host would replace him. Among those in contention is a newly hired contributor to the Fox stable, the former Democratic congressman Harold Ford Jr. Mr. Williams departed after a harder edge had crept into his exchanges with colleagues like Mr. Gutfeld and Jesse Watters. “The Five” had long been a venue for heated, if friendly debate, but Mr. Williams was repeatedly mocked and shouted down when he accused Mr. Trump of lying about the election and fueling the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Mr. Williams also noted, on-air, a Fox News report about Mr. Biden that falsely claimed he wanted to restrict Americans’ consumption of hamburgers. (Fox News later issued a correction.) Greg Gutfeld, an on-air antagonist to Mr. Williams on “The Five,” now has his own nightly show, “Gutfeld!”Credit…Fox News His prime antagonist, Mr. Gutfeld, started an 11 p.m. show last month that is meant to compete with late-night fare like “The Daily Show.” “Gutfeld!” has attracted a bigger viewership than the previous 11 p.m. offering, a newscast anchored by Shannon Bream that was shifted to midnight. Fox News is still determining a permanent host for its new 7 p.m. opinion hour, which is now a reliable venue for pro-Trump commentary. It was where Tucker Carlson, the network’s 8 p.m. host, made his remarks about white replacement theory that prompted an outcry from the Anti-Defamation League. A pro-Trump drift at Fox News is not new: George Will, a traditional conservative who opposed Mr. Trump’s candidacy, lost his contributor contract in 2017. Shepard Smith, a news anchor who was tough on Mr. Trump, left in 2019. Some Fox News journalists, though, say privately that they are increasingly concerned with the network’s direction. Kristin Fisher, one of the network’s rising stars in Washington and a White House correspondent, left Fox News last month despite the network’s effort to keep her. She had faced criticism from viewers in November after a segment in which she aggressively debunked lies about election fraud advanced by Mr. Trump’s lawyers. The longtime Washington bureau chief, Bill Sammon, resigned in January after internal criticism over his handling of election coverage, around the time that Mr. Stirewalt was fired. (Mr. Stirewalt was let go along with roughly 20 digital journalists at Fox News, which the network attributed to a realignment of “business and reporting structure to meet the demands of this new era.”) Mr. Sammon has effectively been replaced by Doug Rohrbeck, a producer with extensive news experience on Bret Baier’s newscast and Chris Wallace’s Sunday show. Still, some Fox journalists were surprised when the network hired Ms. Kupec, the former Barr spokeswoman, to work under Mr. Rohrbeck. (In 2019, CNN hired Sarah Isgur, the spokeswoman for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as a political editor. After protests from staff, she was shifted to an on-air role and later left the network.) Fox News says its news coverage remains robust. Mr. Baier, its chief political anchor, announced in May that he had extended his contract through 2025. He regularly lands newsy interviews; a recent conversation with Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming grew testy when she faulted Fox News for perpetuating Mr. Trump’s lies about the election and Mr. Baier responded that he had made clear to viewers that Mr. Biden was the legitimate victor. Fox News has a smaller international footprint than rivals like CNN, but it maintains several foreign bureaus and has had reporters in Israel covering the recent violence there. On Wednesday, the network announced an expansion of Fox News International, a streaming service available in 37 countries in Asia and Europe. Despite continuing criticism from liberals, Fox News remains a financial juggernaut for the Murdoch empire; it is expected to earn record advertising revenues this year, the network said. Even as its programming decisions seem aimed at attracting Trump supporters, Fox News does face one roadblock: Mr. Trump. The former president has maintained his stinging criticism of Fox News, which, he has claimed, betrayed him by calling the election for Mr. Biden. On Friday, after criticism from Paul Ryan, the former House speaker, Mr. Trump wrote that “Fox totally lost its way and became a much different place” after the Murdochs appointed Mr. Ryan to the Fox Corporation board. “Fox will never be the same!” Mr. Trump wrote. Source link Orbem News #Depart #Dissenters #Fox #Intensifies #news #Politics #proTrump

[fastworldnews1]

First Muslim President in 134-year history of Harvard Law Review

The Harvard Law Review has named a Los Angeles-born Egyptian-American as what it believes is its first Muslim president in its 134-year history, elevating him to the top of one of the most prestigious US law journals.

Harvard Law School student Hassaan Shahawy said he hoped his election represented “legal academia’s growing recognition of the importance of diversity, and perhaps its growing respect for other legal traditions.”

Among the legal and political luminaries who have worked at the Harvard Law Review was former U.S. President Barack Obama, named the journal’s first Black president in 1990. Three serving members of the U.S. Supreme Court were editors of the Harvard Law Review, as were the late Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia.

“Coming from a community routinely demonized in American public discourse, I hope this represents some progress, even if small and symbolic,” Shahawy, 26, told Reuters in an email.

Law reviews are staffed by the top students at US law schools, who are often recruited for judicial clerkships and other prestigious jobs in the profession.

The review’s first female president, Susan Estrich, was elected in 1977. Other presidents have been Latino and openly gay. The first Black woman was elected president in 2017.

Shahawy graduated Harvard as an undergraduate in 2016 with a degree in History and Near Eastern Studies. He then attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar to pursue a doctorate in Oriental Studies and studied Islamic law.

Shahawy said he has been active working with refugee populations and on criminal justice reform. His future plans are unclear, though he cited the possibility of becoming a public interest lawyer or working in academia.

https://ift.tt/3tyxfO4

[keywestlou]

AN ANNIVERSARY.....I REMEMBER IT WELL

Today is the 40th anniversary of Syracuse’s first basketball game at the Carrier Dome.

I was there. For that game and many others.

The Carrier Dome was new. It had opened for the football season in September. I was there for that first game also.

I was a die hard Syracuse fan. When the Carrier Dome was under construction, I contracted for  a box. The lease was for 10 years. One of the best things I ever did.

The box was the center of my life those 10 years.

Missed very few football or basketball games.

The box was impressive. Sixteen seats. Bar in the rear. Between the bar and the last row of seats, a standing area that held another 10-12 persons. Needless to say, the box was standing room only for the big games.

There was a catering service. Drinks and food each game.

Friends and clients alike enjoyed the box those 10 years. My popularity grew. Everyone wanted to see a Syracuse game from a box.

It was also a family thing. My children grew up with the box. My grandchildren when tiny crawling around the standing space.

I have mentioned the following in the past. Joe Biden was a guest whenever he was in Syracuse. He needed no invitation.

Biden was a Syracuse law graduate. He was a frequent visitor to the campus.

One thing especially impressed me about Biden. He never came to a game with the local Democratic big wigs. Instead, always with his friends from law school. Said a lot about the man.

By the way, Syracuse beat Columbia that first basketball game.

The box came with seats on the floor also. For basketball, eight immediately behind the Syracuse bench. Can you imagine how exciting it was to hear Boeheim work the team in huddle. Yelled at them most of the time.

Forty years later today and Syracuse opens the season with its first game at the Carrier Dome. Playing Bryant. A warm up game. Syracuse should win decisively.

Boeheim will not be at the game. He tested positive for coronavirus last week.

Coronavirus. How can it be described these days. Definitely out of control. Deaths rising dramatically. Scary.

Lets hope the vaccine works.

The U.S. death toll is 63,000. It has been reported 60,000 more deaths can be anticipated in the next 3-4 weeks.

How many additional cases will the Thanksgiving weekend bring? Whatever, not good. Many did not listen and traveled.

Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Monroe County recorded 47 new cases. Twenty eight in Key West.

Monroe County’s total number of cases as of wednesday 3,204. Of that number, 1,835 were in Key West. The closest Keys city number wise was Key Largo with 406.

Key West is getting the hell knocked out of it. Yet state and local authorities continue to permit tourists. Mask wearing and social distancing have not readily been enforced. Bars and restaurants doing a big business. Making money and spreading the virus at the same time.

I have mentioned often in the past and yesterday as well that Governor DeSantis is incompetent. His brain in the seat of his pants. A true blue allie of Trump.  So much so that Trump refers to DeSantis as the “best governor in America.”

DeSantis came out with a new executive order wednesday. One which provides coronavirus with a free ticket to go and do its thing anywhere in Florida.

Two edicts. The first that local authorities cannot close bars and restaurants that fail to comply with local virus restrictions. The second that local authorities cannot fine residents who refuse to wear face masks.

Chris King was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor in 2018. He said re the new DeSantis rules: DeSantis “continues the killing spree.”

I believe the U.S. Supreme Court has also with its wednesday night decision that a state cannot limit religious seating as it violates freedom of religion.

I rarely am impressed with Key West Citizen editorials. Today’s, I am. A winner.

The editorial is titled: “Brace For Covid-19 Impact On Florida.”

The editorial notes state leaders have done little to stop the spread. DeSantis and his 2 rulings yesterday perfect examples.

Dr. Alonso is Palm Beach County’s Health Director. She recently expressed some fitting words. She said, “Infections in the County are spiking for the third time…..This spike is different…..It has expotential growth…..goes straight up. There is no curve to it.”

She believes crowded bars and restaurants fuel the infection rate. Especially the young frequenting these establishments.

Dr. Alonso claims State officials are not helping. “They have handcuffed local leaders.”

She views DeSantis and Trump as birds of a feather. DeSantis follows Trump’s words to the letter echoing: “We are not shutting down.”

An excellent column by Susan Estrich on the Citizen’s editorial page. The title says it all: “Drain The Swamp With Trump In It”

I close with “local news” of endearing quality. May Johnson’s life in 1896 Key West.

On this day, it is clear Everest is visiting. Everest her claimed lover. They spent time off and on this day together. Then May spent evening hours with Everest at her home: “Ev. stayed till 11:15, ah!”

Enjoy your day!

  AN ANNIVERSARY…..I REMEMBER IT WELL was originally published on Key West Lou

[cinema-tv-etc]

  ∧ Top 10 Things Bombshell Got Factually Righ WRITTEN BY: Nick Spake As disturbing as it sounds, there are a lot of things Bombshell got factually right.  Transcript

What exactly goes on behind the scenes of this controversial news corporation? Welcome to MsMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Things Bombshell Got Factually Right. For this list, we’re taking a look at accurate plot points and details from this drama about the Fox News misconduct scandal. In case you haven’t seen the film yet, this list contains spoilers, not to mention bombshells.   #10: More Than 20 Women Accused Roger Ailes In 2016, Megyn Kelly reportedly informed investigators that she had been sexually harassed by Fox News CEO Roger Ailes. When Kelly goes on the record in “Bombshell,” the investigators label her with the letter “W,” meaning that she’s the 23rd woman who has accused Ailes. According to Gretchen Carlson’s lawyers, more than 20 women accused Ailes of inappropriate behavior, both publicly and privately. Many of the women who spoke out against Ailes were former Fox News employees, including Rudi Bakhtiar, Laurie Luhn, and Andrea Tantaros. The film does take a few creative liberties with Ailes’ accusers. Most notably, Kayla Pospisil, a Fox News journalist played by Margot Robbie, is a composite character. Just because Kayla is fictitious, though, doesn’t mean her story is without truth. #9: Megyn Kelly’s White Santa Debate During a brief news segment in the film, Kelly scoffs at the possibility that Santa is any color other than white. This is based on an actual Fox News story in which Kelly slammed a Slate article entitled “Santa Claus Should Not Be a White Man Anymore.” Addressing all the “kids watching at home,” Kelly firmly insisted that “Santa just is white.” She’d go on to say that “Jesus was a white man too.” Kelly revisited the “White Christmas” debate in a later segment, claiming that an “offhand jest” she made snowballed out of control and Fox News was being unfairly targeted. Aisha Harris, the Slate piece’s writer, interpreted Kelly’s comment as more than just a joke and accused Fox of playing the victim. #8: Elizabeth Ailes Stood by Her Husband Connie Britton portrayals Elizabeth Tilson Ailes, Roger’s third wife. Working as a programming executive, Tilson met Ailes at CNBC and they were married in 1998. Just as there’s a significant age difference between Britton and John Lithgow, Tilson was 37 while Ailes was 58 when they wedded. “Bombshell” depicts Tilson as a “good wife” archetype who supports her husband, even as he faces a harassment lawsuit with accusations piling up. In response to the allegations, Tilson reportedly stated, “This is not about money. This is about his legacy.” Despite defending her husband, there were reports that Tilson took the accusations “especially hard” and considered divorcing Ailes. Nevertheless, the couple remained together until Ailes passed in 2017, less than a year after the scandal hit. #7: Gretchen Carlson’s Real Stories Although she was given her own afternoon show after leaving “Fox & Friends,” Gretchen Carlson didn’t always fit the network’s mold. Leading up to her termination, Carlson took a few stances that challenged the Fox News brand. As seen in “Bombshell,” Carlson did an exposé on how makeup is used to sexualize girls in culture. Carlson emphasized her point by not wearing any makeup for the segment, claiming this was a first for cable news. Carlson also advocated an assault weapons ban in a 2016 segment. 89% of viewers disagreed with Carlson, to which she replied on the air, “That’s fine. That’s what makes America great.” Only a few days after Carlson showed support for stricter gun laws, her contract with Fox News officially expired. #6: Roger Ailes Threw Doughnuts Actual reports indicate that Ailes was every bit as paranoid as “Bombshell” suggests. Ailes reportedly had around-the-clock security at his home and was even accused of spying on reporters. One of the most bizarre details that the film gets down is how Ailes used donuts. In multiple scenes, we see Ailes stocking up on these fried desserts. It’s said that Ailes orders donuts just so he can throw them at people during his emotional moments. This behavior is backed up in the biographical book, “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” which reads, “Aisles could turn donuts into projectiles.” Although Ailes didn’t always eat the donuts, both the book and this film point out his poor diet, claiming he’d order entire pages off room service menus. #5: Gretchen Carlson Recorded Conversations Instead of going after Fox News, Carlson filed a lawsuit directly against Ailes, who continually denied the allegations aimed at him. In the film, Ailes is finally backed into a corner when his lawyer, Susan Estrich, tells him that Carlson recorded their conversations. In 2014, about two years before the scandal broke out, Carlson started using her iPhone to secretly tape her meetings with Ailes. Carlson dedicated an entire year to recording the inappropriate comments of Ailes and other Fox News employees. Ailes reportedly asked Carlson to “turn around so he could view her posterior,” which we see him do on multiple occasions in “Bombshell.” The tapes also caught Ailes telling Carlson, “you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago.” #4: Megyn Kelly Faced Backlash from Trump Supporters Fox News’ audience is known for being conservative, but that didn’t stop Kelly from calling out Donald Trump’s treatment towards women during the first Republican presidential debate. This ignited an ongoing feud between the two with Trump posting numerous tweets that painted Kelly as “crazy.” Kelly thus became the story, as well as a target. As the film shows us, Kelly was heavily criticized and even threatened by Trump supporters. In an interview, Kelly stated, “The vast majority of Donald Trump supporters are not at all this way,” but added, “The worst part is the security threats that I’ve had to face and, as much as I try to avoid some of that online vitriol, I get lots of it and I really hate it.” #3: Roger Ailes’ Meeting with Rupert Murdoch The final act of “Bombshell” is mostly faithful to Ailes’ downfall as he’s barred from the news empire he helped build. On July 21, 2016, Ailes and Susan Estrich reported to the apartment of Rupert Murdoch, played here by Malcolm McDowell. In the film, Murdoch’s two sons, Lachlan and James, are also present at the meeting. This is slightly off, as James was not present, although Lachlan did attend. Peter Johnson and Gerson Zweifach are also notably absent from this scene. Nevertheless, Rupert did inform Ailes that he’d temporarily be taking over Fox News. He also denied Ailes’ request to walk into the Fox News headquarters with him and announce his departure. Ailes ultimately agreed to go quietly, receiving a severance package of $40 million. #2: The Black Room Speaking to a former Fox News journalist played by Jennifer Morrison, Megyn Kelly learns about the infamous “Black Room,” as various insiders called it. Established in 2011 on the 14th floor of the News Corporation building, the Black Room is where Ailes supposedly managed public relations and surveillance campaigns against his foes in secrecy. Among the people Ailes targeted was reporter Gabriel Sherman, who’d go on to write “The Loudest Voice in the Room.” According to Sherman, the “Black Room” consisted of “consultants, political operatives, and private detectives who reported only to [Ailes].” The Fox News CEO reportedly used company money to fund these sketchy operations, although Susan Estrich claimed on Ailes’ behalf, “These allegations are totally false.” #1: Fox News Dresses Throughout “Bombshell,” Ailes is seen ordering the network’s female talent to wear dresses, sit at see-through desks, and show off their legs. According to “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” Ailes once called during a segment taping, saying, “Move that damn laptop, I can’t see her legs!” While Fox News denied accusations that there was a “miniskirt dress code,” Ailes didn’t make it easy for female employees to cover up their legs. Under Ailes’ management, Jedediah Bila claims that the wardrobe department was full of dresses, but no pants were available. Bila was also reportedly told that she couldn’t wear orange because Ailes wasn’t a fan of the color. After Ailes’ departure, women were permitted to start wearing pants and jumpsuits on the air.                                                                                                                                                                  

https://watchmojo.com/video/id/30955

[savingusboth]

Susan Estrich: Dealing with smoke in your eyes - Opelika Auburn News

Susan Estrich: Dealing with smoke in your eyes  Opelika Auburn News from "smoking pipe" - Google News https://ift.tt/303cXip via https://ift.tt/2Styk6f

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/michael-dukakis-warns-biden-to-ignore-the-polls-no-guarantee-of-success-fox-news/

Michael Dukakis warns Biden to ignore the polls: 'No guarantee of success' - Fox News

Michael Dukakis, the former Democratic Massachusetts governor who lost his 1988 White House bid to then-Vice President George H. W. Bush, is warning Joe Biden not to take polls showing him with a double-digit lead over President Trump too seriously.

A recent Fox News poll has Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, leading Trump 50-38 nationally as concerns grow over the coronavirus pandemic, racism and unemployment. He also leads Trump by 8.8 percentage points in an average of the latest national polls compiled by Real Clear Politics.

By comparison, in late July 1988, a Newsweek/Gallup poll showed Dukakis with a 55-38 lead over Bush, according to The Boston Globe.

THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL RACE: THE LATEST POLLS FROM FOX NEWS

“Particularly this year, [polls] should be studied cautiously,” Dukakis told the Globe. “Biden can and should win, but being at 50, no matter how weak your opponent is, is no guarantee of success.”

Dukakis’ numbers took a nosedive following a series of public relations gaffes, as well as what was regarded as a dispassionate performance in the second debate between himself and Bush. At one point, CNN anchor Bernard Shaw asked Dukakis if he would support the death penalty if his wife were raped and murdered.

Dukakis said “no,” citing his belief that capital punishment isn’t a deterrent to crime. Many saw his answer as cold.

Presidential candidate Vice President George H.W. Bush and Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis shake hands before the start of their debate at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

“It was a question about Dukakis’s values and emotions,” his campaign director, Susan Estrich, later recalled, according to Politico. “When he answered by talking policy, I knew we lost the election.”

Dukakis’ numbers further declined following a Bush campaign attack ad that featured Willie Horton, a black man who raped and killed a white woman and stabbed her fiance in a 1987 home invasion in Maryland. Horton had escaped from a weekend furlough at a Massachusetts prison when the killing occurred.

The furlough program had been in place while Dukakis was governor.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER TOUTS PRESIDENT TOPPING BIDEN WHERE IT COUNTS

The ad portrayed him as soft on crime and was widely condemned as stoking racial divisions.

Ronald Reagan, the incumbent president at the time, also referred to Dukakis as an “invalid,” prompting questions over the governor’s mental state. Reagan later claimed he was joking.

“I think I dropped eight points in the week Reagan called me ‘the invalid,’” Dukakis told the Globe in an email. “I never took those early polls seriously.”

In a similar manner, Trump and his supporters have frequently questioned Biden’s mental acuity. He did the same with Hillary Clinton in 2016, calling her “unhinged” and suggesting she was not up for the job of being president.

“I think Biden now is weaker than Dukakis in 1988,” Globe columnist Alex Beam wrote. “Biden is battling an incumbent president who can wield the levers of power to his own benefit almost any time he wants. And Biden, you can argue, is no Dukakis.”

Beam noted that Dukakis had turned 55 days before Election Day in 1988, while Biden is 77 and prone to “cringe-worthy gaffes.” Dukakis also presided as governor of Massachusetts over a sustained period of economic growth, he said.

“What can Biden take credit for?” Beam said. “A serviceable stint as a small-state senator, eight years of unremarkable vice-presidential yeomanry, and — lest we forget — an unblemished losing record in presidential campaigns.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove, who informally advises the Trump campaign, told Fox News Friday the Trump needs to hit the reset button ahead of the Republican National Convention.

He also cited Bush’s win over Dukakis after trailing in the polls months before his election.

“When you are in the barrel, when you’re getting a lot of bad press and the polls are going against you, you need to do something that says, ‘We’re moving in a different direction.’ That’s what I mean by a reset,” he said on “America’s Newsroom.”

[capscreens]

233 unsorted screencaps (1920x800) of Allison Janney as Susan Estrich in the 2019 film ‘Bombshell’.

download link: mediafire