Letters to the Editor: After Tom Girardi scandal, it's clear the State Bar of California needs reform
To the editor: I read about Tom Girardi with astonishment ('Tom Girardi — disgraced legal titan, former 'Real Housewives' husband — sentenced to 7 years in prison,' June 3). There were over 200 complaints to the State Bar of California. Yet the bar was MIA, with 'wine-soaked lunches' while money was stolen from clients right under their noses. In contrast, lawyers in the U.K. must have full outside audits of their books. Client money is audited to the last penny. And the auditors themselves are audited, by examiners from the bar's equivalent. Hence, corruption is rare.
The bar here has roused itself to make some minor reforms. Good luck. Attorneys are not saints, free from temptation. More policing is needed. I suggest outside audits of attorneys' books by certified public accountants retained by the bar, to obviate conflicts of interest. As for the bar's dereliction of duty, heads must roll.
Raymond Freeman, Thousand Oaks
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
America is gonna run out of popcorn: Savage internet memes troll Musk and Trump during online meltdown
The internet was savage watching the explosive public split between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk - and used the opprotunity to blast memes across social media. 'Elon finally found a way to make Twitter fun again,' former senior Obama adviser and podcast host Dan Pfeiffer summarized in a post on X. The whole world got a front-row seat to the spectacle between the former 'first buddy' and the president Thursday, when they traded blows on their respective social media platforms, Truth Social and X. It began with Musk's critique of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' and spiraled into a mudslinging match between the two billionaires. 'BREAKING: Vladimir Putin has offered to negotiate a peace deal between President Trump and Elon Musk,' X user Amuse wrote. Social media users, including Democrats, have been sharing hilarious memes of the breakup, drawing inspiration from Real Housewives to Mean Girls. One user shared a meme from Mean Girls of Musk writing about Trump in the 'Burn Book.' Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico shared a meme about the blow-up: 'Real Housewives of Pennsylvania Ave,' the congresswoman posted. Another prominent X account that Musk often interacts with shared a photo of the president with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 'Your name is Elon now,' it said. Others poked fun at Vice President JD Vance. 'Who gets JD Vance in the divorce?' said another. Someone else shared a photo of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas on January 1. 'It was foretold,' the post said. Elon rn — 🌽🌽 Erica, The White Trash Socialist 🌽🌽™️ (@herosnvrdie69) June 5, 2025 Seems like a great time to pull out this meme again 🤣 #muskvstrump — Deb🐝 🇸🇬 (@intjgamergirl) June 5, 2025 Afrikaners right now as Trump and Elon drag each other to filth 😂😂 — Norma Kay (@realnorma_kay) June 5, 2025 SLOW THE FUCK DOWN, ELON MUSK AND DONALD TRUMP. AMERICA'S GOING TO RUN OUT OF POPCORN — Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) June 5, 2025 The fallout between the two men, who at one point were almost inseparable, took a personal turn Thursday. The spat culminated in a bombshell claim from Musk that the president was 'in the Epstein files.' 'That is the real reason they have not been made public,' Musk wrote, signing off: 'Have a good day, DJT!' Ten minutes later, he added: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' Watching Trump and Elon fight: — Read Starting Somewhere (@JPHilllllll) June 5, 2025 It was foretold. — Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) June 5, 2025 We've got the 👏 receipts 👏 proof 👏 timelines 👏 screenshots 👏 on this messy internet lives forever! — Rep. Melanie Stansbury (@Rep_Stansbury) June 5, 2025 Days after leaving his role as Special Advisor to the Trump administration, as a figurehead of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk lashed out at the president's 'big beautiful bill,' calling it 'pork-filled' and an 'abomination.' Trump had previously taken the high road on the issue. Earlier, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the president told reporters he was 'very disappointed,' with his former 'first buddy.' Trump was asked about his former adviser's recent comments against the spending bill working its way through Congress. 'Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than anyone... and he only developed a problem when he found out I would cut the EV (electric vehicle) mandate... And it really is unfair,' he replied. Who gets JD Vance in the divorce — PointlessHub (@HubPointless) June 5, 2025 "Your name is Elon now." — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) June 5, 2025 — Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) June 5, 2025 Trump also claimed that during the presidential election he could have won the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania without Musk's help. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk shot back on X minutes later. 'Such ingratitude,' he added in a separate post. The White House took a more diplomatic tone. 'This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 'The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.' Trump appears to have thrown cold water on the notion that he and Musk could speak Friday. In a call with ABC News, the president dismissed Musk as 'the man who has lost his mind' and said he was 'not particularly' interested in reconciliation.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
America is gonna run out of popcorn: Savage internet memes troll Musk and Trump during online meltdown
The internet was savage watching the explosive public split between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk - and used the opprotunity to blast memes across social media. 'Elon finally found a way to make Twitter fun again,' former senior Obama adviser and podcast host Dan Pfeiffer summarized in a post on X. The whole world got a front-row seat to the spectacle between the former 'first buddy' and the president Thursday, when they traded blows on their respective social media platforms, Truth Social and X. It began with Musk's critique of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' and spiraled into a mudslinging match between the two billionaires. 'BREAKING: Vladimir Putin has offered to negotiate a peace deal between President Trump and Elon Musk,' X user Amuse wrote. Social media users, including Democrats, have been sharing hilarious memes of the breakup, drawing inspiration from Real Housewives to Mean Girls. One user shared a meme from Mean Girls of Musk writing about Trump in the 'Burn Book.' Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico shared a meme about the blow-up: 'Real Housewives of Pennsylvania Ave,' the congresswoman posted. Another prominent X account that Musk often interacts with shared a photo of the president with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 'Your name is Elon now,' it said. Others poked fun at Vice President JD Vance. 'Who gets JD Vance in the divorce?' said another. Someone else shared a photo of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas on January 1. 'It was foretold,' the post said. Elon rn — 🌽🌽 Erica, The White Trash Socialist 🌽🌽™️ (@herosnvrdie69) June 5, 2025 Seems like a great time to pull out this meme again 🤣 #muskvstrump — Deb🐝 🇸🇬 (@intjgamergirl) June 5, 2025 Afrikaners right now as Trump and Elon drag each other to filth 😂😂 — Norma Kay (@realnorma_kay) June 5, 2025 SLOW THE FUCK DOWN, ELON MUSK AND DONALD TRUMP. AMERICA'S GOING TO RUN OUT OF POPCORN — Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) June 5, 2025 The fallout between the two men, who at one point were almost inseparable, took a personal turn Thursday. The spat culminated in a bombshell claim from Musk that the president was 'in the Epstein files.' 'That is the real reason they have not been made public,' Musk wrote, signing off: 'Have a good day, DJT!' Ten minutes later, he added: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' Watching Trump and Elon fight: — Read Starting Somewhere (@JPHilllllll) June 5, 2025 It was foretold. — Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) June 5, 2025 We've got the 👏 receipts 👏 proof 👏 timelines 👏 screenshots 👏 on this messy internet lives forever! — Rep. Melanie Stansbury (@Rep_Stansbury) June 5, 2025 Days after leaving his role as Special Advisor to the Trump administration, as a figurehead of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk lashed out at the president's 'big beautiful bill,' calling it 'pork-filled' and an 'abomination.' Trump had previously taken the high road on the issue. Earlier, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the president told reporters he was 'very disappointed,' with his former 'first buddy.' Trump was asked about his former adviser's recent comments against the spending bill working its way through Congress. 'Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than anyone... and he only developed a problem when he found out I would cut the EV (electric vehicle) mandate... And it really is unfair,' he replied. Who gets JD Vance in the divorce — PointlessHub (@HubPointless) June 5, 2025 "Your name is Elon now." — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) June 5, 2025 — Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) June 5, 2025 Trump also claimed that during the presidential election he could have won the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania without Musk's help. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk shot back on X minutes later. 'Such ingratitude,' he added in a separate post. The White House took a more diplomatic tone. 'This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 'The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.' Trump appears to have thrown cold water on the notion that he and Musk could speak Friday. In a call with ABC News, the president dismissed Musk as 'the man who has lost his mind' and said he was 'not particularly' interested in reconciliation.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Letters to the Editor: After Tom Girardi scandal, it's clear the State Bar of California needs reform
To the editor: I read about Tom Girardi with astonishment ('Tom Girardi — disgraced legal titan, former 'Real Housewives' husband — sentenced to 7 years in prison,' June 3). There were over 200 complaints to the State Bar of California. Yet the bar was MIA, with 'wine-soaked lunches' while money was stolen from clients right under their noses. In contrast, lawyers in the U.K. must have full outside audits of their books. Client money is audited to the last penny. And the auditors themselves are audited, by examiners from the bar's equivalent. Hence, corruption is rare. The bar here has roused itself to make some minor reforms. Good luck. Attorneys are not saints, free from temptation. More policing is needed. I suggest outside audits of attorneys' books by certified public accountants retained by the bar, to obviate conflicts of interest. As for the bar's dereliction of duty, heads must roll. Raymond Freeman, Thousand Oaks This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
