Randy Kinnard is an outstanding plaintiff’s trial lawyer in Nashville Tennessee and a Vietnam veteran. He’s also a friend of mine. He recently sent as a gift a small device which makes a loud clicking noise when you press on it. In fact, it’s called “a clicker.” In a note accompanying the gift, he explains that paratroopers had been dropped behind Germany lines in World War II, and to identify themselves to each other they used a clicker which was…
Abortion, gun control, climate change and terrorism are all red flag issues which are certain to cause controversy and dispute in conversations. The most recent issue that has been covered in the media is that of immigration. President Trump has famously said: "I going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities." As to the "caravan, he has gone so far as to…
Old friends are gold.” That was the theme of the reunion luncheon for our law firm paralegals held at the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle on November 22nd. Lita arranged the entire affair. We were fortunate in having a number of people able to attend. These included Bonnie Mullen; Cathy Galfano; Darlene Walters; Deborah Scott; Diane Donohue; Fran Fee; Heather Thweatt; Jeanne Skeels; Jill Hatcher; Julie Olson Harris; Karen Forsman Eichler; Linda FitzGerald; Margaret Nidermayer; Marilyn Khalife; Mavis Estrada; Patti…
My tolerance and ability to think rationally about our Washington DC political situation is being tested daily by the continuous news about Donald. Consequently, I'm writing about something else or more accurately any thing else. I've decided some very light subjects are in order. So let's begin with another president. Andrew Johnson was the vice president under Abraham Lincoln who was notorious for two particularly noteworthy events. The first was when he took the oath of office for vice president on March…
I was so disturbed by the unjudicial demeanor and conduct of judge Brett Kavanaugh at the senate hearing that I used the wrong name several times in my last blog. The outcome was preordained by the senate Republicans, but it is still disturbing. I've decided to change the subject since I can't do anything about it now. Be Who you Are In today's world there is a need for genuine people. People who are not hiding behind a mask or…
Like someone who drank more than they should have and paid the price the next day, I watched too much of the confirmation hearing involving judge Kavanaugh yesterday. It was disturbing enough that it kept me awake that night. Aside from the controversy over whether Brett Kavanaugh did sexually assault Dr. Ford or not, he clearly and undisputedly demonstrated by his conduct that he is not qualified to be on the United States Supreme Court. He is thoroughly lacking the…
In 1980 the late Roger Dangerfield starred in a movie Caddyshack as the character Al Czervik. Dangerfield portrays everyone's worst nightmare for his lack of social skills, total insensitivity and bad manners. In the movie he is a wealthy person who has "crashed" an exclusive golf country club where he goes about insulting everyone around him. Here are some examples from the movie: Al Czervik: Hey Doll, can you scare up another round for our table over here? And tell the cook…
Motivation In the 1929 Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day Georgia Tech fumbled the ball and California’s Roy Riegel picked it up and ran it back 65 yards, but in the wrong direction. After running 65 yards his own players eventually tackled him. When California ended up having to punt, Georgia Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety. During halftime Riegel expected coach Price to be really angry about his stupid mistake. But, Price didn’t say anything about in…
American Catholics are increasingly skeptical of how the Pope is handling sex abuse in the church, according to the Pew Research Center. Less than half say he is doing a "excellent" or even "good" job on the issue, according to a survey taken in January, before the most recent scandals. We know the present news about the problem: Catholic bishops have launched investigations into sexual misconduct in seminaries in Boston, Nebraska and Philadelphia. The former archbishop of Washington resigned from the…
Harry Follman died on Saturday August 18th at age 93.Services will be at 11 am Salem Lutheran church in Mount Vernon on September 8th. Harry was admitted to the bar in 1951, eight years before me. We first knew each other as deputy prosecuting attorneys in Skagit County under prosecutor Walter J. Deierlein Jr. Harry was a mentor to me as a new lawyer and taught me much. George McIntosh and Harry were friends who looked out for me. Walter…
