HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS. Lita and I are leaving for San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where we will spend Christmas. Here are a few photos from past Christmas days at my family home in Anacortes, Washington. Left to right: me, mother and my sister Phyllis about 1943 My Italian grandfather Nicola Luvera with me. I got a tool set for Christmas that year and he is showing me how to use some of the tools. Circa 1941 The ultimate…
Congressional Oath & the Bible
Keith Ellison was elected from Minnesota to Congress as the first Muslim to serve in the House. When he announced he would take his oath of office on the Quaran, not the Bible, there was an nationwide outcry, especially conservative Christians. The American Family Association urged it’s 3.4 million members to write their congressman to pass a law requiring a Bible to be used for all oaths of office. But Religion News Service reports that he wouldn’t be the first…
Opera Singers & Trial Lawyers
Newspapers in Milan, Italy, reported this last week, that tenor Roberto Alagna was singing an aria in Zeffirelli’s "Aida" at the world famous opera house, La Scala. There were many prominent people in the full house. However, he abruptly stopped singing, glared at the audience and left the stage when boos and whistles from the top gallery area began as he sang. His second had to rush on stage, wearing jeans, to finish the performance in his place. Afterwords Alagna…
Trial Tactics at the Microsoft Trial
The Seattle PI reports that plaintiff’s attorney Roxanne Conlin started presenting the class action case against Microsoft by showing the jury a 1998 deposition video of CEO Bill Gates taken by a Department of Justice lawyer in an earlier lawsuit against Microsoft. The article reports she plans to show all ten hours of the video to the jury because Gates made a poor impression during his deposition. Usually, showing video testimony to a jury for any length of time bores…
Greedy CEO
Michael Brush has recently published "4 ways you can fight greedy CEO’s" in MSN Company Focus. His report about the amounts paid CEO’s is shocking. Here are five of his examples: 1. IAC/InterActiveCorp’s CEO Barry Diller was paid $295 million 2. Capital One Financial CEO Richard Fairbank received $249 million through stock options 3. Nabors Industries CEO Eugene Isenberg was paid $203 million in pay, bonus, options and stock 4. Yahoo CEO Terry Semel collected $183 million 5. KB Homes…
Religion and Rwanda Genocide
The German and Belgian colonists to Rwanda brought with them the Catholic religion. It is Africa’s most Catholic country. Both ethnic groups – Hutu and Tutsi were converted and it became the dominant religion in the country with a membership of some sixty five percent of the population. Throughout the decades the church buildings were considered places of safe refuge during times of political and social unrest. However, in 1994 during the genocide against the Tutis, these churches became places…
Framing and the Iowa Microsoft Trial
Roxanne Conlin is an outstanding trial lawyer in Des Moines, Iowa who has had multiple million dollar verdicts. She entered Drake University at 16 years of age and graduated from law school with honors five years later. She had the distinction of being the first woman President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now known as the America Association for Justice). She was invited to membership in the Inner Circle of Advocates consisting of the finest plaintiff’s trial…
Catholics and Political Freedom of Conscience
Roman Catholic Archbishop Brunett is the bishop of the diocese which includes my local parish church that my wife and I attend. Just before the last election he wrote in our diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Northwest Progress, his views about Catholic voting. He says Bishops and clergy have the right to advocate moral and social teachings in the political process. He claims it is the duty of every Catholic "to form their conscience in accord with Church teaching." That would…
Facts About the Rest of the World
Penguin Putnam Inc has published M.L. Rossi’s excellent book "What Every American Should Know About the Rest of the World" which is gives an overview of world facts and is filled with information I wasn’t aware about. It is a very helpful resource book on world affairs everyone would benefit from reading. Here are few examples of information I thought of interest. I was aware of the Rwandan massacre and had seen the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, but I didn’t…
Exxon Mobil & The Bush Administration
As reported earlier in this blog (12/6/06) President Bush has appointed Lee F. Raymond as chairperson of an group to advise the Administration on America’s energy future, including the use of alternative fuels. Mr. Raymond was given the power to hand pick the study’s leadership. His group will provide policy recommendations to the Energy Department about future energy matters including alternative energy as well as issues which deal with this country’s dependence upon fossil fuels. But, by October of this…