The George W. Bush Library & Secrecy

The George W. Bush Library & Secrecy

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I’ve complained about the obscene plan to raise half a billion dollars for a George Bush presidential library before. See "A Five Hundred Million Dollar George W. Bush Library" But, now Congress appears to be doing something about it. Rep. Harry A. Waxman (D CA) and others have introduced HR 1254 the "Presidential Donation Reform Act of 2007" which would require disclosure of donors to presidential libraries. It is a bipartisan measure which should improve its chances of passing as…

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Machiavell’s The Prince & Plaintiff Trial Lawyers

Machiavell’s The Prince & Plaintiff Trial Lawyers

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Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was born in Florence in 1469 and became a figure of the Italian Renaissance. His writings included political theory. He wrote a pamphlet The Prince, which he hoped would help him gain influence with the ruling Medici family of Florence. The well known writing has a chapter he entitles: "Cruelty and Compassion: And Whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse." Here is a sampling of his answer. He advises that…

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Fred Korematsu, Japanese American Hero & the Internment of WW II

Fred Korematsu, Japanese American Hero & the Internment of WW II

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Have you ever heard of Fred Korematsu? I confess that while I should have, I had never heard of him until I recently came across an account of this Japanese American hero. He was born in Oakland, California in 1919 to a Japanese American family who operated a nursery in California. On December 7, 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. Two months later President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which authorized the Army…

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The Bush Administration Tries to Hide the Global Warming Ball Again With A Gag Order

The Bush Administration Tries to Hide the Global Warming Ball Again With A Gag Order

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All of the news media have been reporting about global warming and the effect on polar bears since the issue of whether to put them on the endangered list first came up. A recent study now predicts polar bears could be extinct, due to eroding ice, by the end of this century if global warming continues unabated. An article in the Washington Post reports that Robert Corell, a senior fellow at the American Meteorological Society who chaired the study has…

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Givovanni Falcone & Paolo Borsellino vs The Mafia

Givovanni Falcone & Paolo Borsellino vs The Mafia

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In her book Elements of Italy Lisa St Aubin De Teran devotes a short chapter to two Italian’s, Givovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino and their contribution to ending Mafia control in Sicily. The facts are worth repeating. The history of the Mafia probably dates to Giuseppe Garibaldi’s efforts to unite Italy when his red shirts arrived in Palermo in 1860. Young peasant supporters hid in caves called "maha" in Arabic which is believed to be the source of the name…

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Truth & The Poem The Blind Men & The Elephant

Truth & The Poem The Blind Men & The Elephant

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I’m giving a talk at a Seattle University seminar dealing with the topic of legal ethics. My talk deals with truth during jury selection. In preparing for the seminar I’ve come across some ideas that are worth pondering. Take the John Godfrey Saxe poem The Blind Man and the Elephant. It’s really a story, poem and metaphor about the how we can conclude, from limited information, that we have the whole truth whereas we really only have a part of…

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General George S. Patton Jr – Complex Military Genius

General George S. Patton Jr – Complex Military Genius

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I’ve just started reading Alan Axelrod’s biography Patton in which he points out General George S. Patton, Jr was known among his men, in the 3rd Army, as "Old blood and guts" but, they were quick to add: "his guts- our blood." He was also known as the "master of the sword" who said to his men "we fight where we are told and we win where we fight." This complex man was an outspoken racist who also was a…

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The Libby Jury Convicted The Wrong Man

The Libby Jury Convicted The Wrong Man

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The jury may have convicted Scooter Libby, but they convicted the wrong man. Hiding behind his skirts were three of the real culprits. The undisputed evidence demonstrates that Dick Cheney was the real perpetrator, with the assistance of Karl Rove and the cooperation of George Bush as his accomplices. In spite of their conspiracy of action you knew they were never be held accountable given their political protection. In fact, the prosecutor never even called the key witness in the…

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William Barclay on Praising Now & Persistence

William Barclay on Praising Now & Persistence

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I’ve quoted William Barclay (1907 – 1978) the Scottish bible scholar and one of my favorite spiritual writers, in past posts. See 2/1/07 & 2/11/06. Another Barclay observation worth repeating is from his mediation book, Day by Day, where he says: "If a word of praise or thanks has to be spoken, it had better be spoken now -for life is an uncertain business, and you may never get the chance to speak it again…There is an old Latin proverb…

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Take The Mask Off Senator Lieberman

Take The Mask Off Senator Lieberman

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It’s time for Senator Joe Lieberman to take off the mask and come out of the closet. He is not a Democrat nor an Independent. He is, and always has been, a Republican. The evidence overwhelming even though he caucuses with the Senate Democratic majority. President Bush has no stronger or more vocal supporter for his failed Iraq war policies then the good Senator. Of course, during the short time he was running for re-election and losing in the Democratic…

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