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Month: March 2007

Inez Milholland – Women’s Suffrage Hero

Inez Milholland – Women’s Suffrage Hero

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Inez Milholland was an attorney, a charismatic public speaker and a beautiful woman whose role in the fight for the right of women to vote has been largely forgotten. I’ve posted before about the women’s right to vote movement and a history of Inez Milholland Boissevain can be found at "Suffragette Remembered." She was born in 1886 in Brooklyn to a rather wealthy family. Her father was a reporter and editorial writer at the New York Tribune, but his invention…

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Archbishop Brunett & the Proposed Bill SSB5336

Archbishop Brunett & the Proposed Bill SSB5336

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Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett in the last issue of the official Catholic diocese newspaper, The Northwest Progress, argued against passage of a pending bill in Olympia that would grant same sex couples the right to make medical and other decisions as other relationships. When Kate Fleming drowned in her Seattle basement from a sudden flood, her partner of ten years had no legal right to be with her or make decisions about her and was legally treated as a stranger…

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Colorful Women of the Twenties

Colorful Women of the Twenties

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Marian Meade has written a book Bobbed Hair and Bath Tub Gin about Zelda Fitzgerald, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dorothy Parker and Edna Ferber and their activities during the "roaring twenties." These women were unique. Their life stories are entertaining and unlike any I’m familiar with. I was particularly amused by one of Dorothy Parker’s comments about her relationship with Charles MacArthur. She said to her friends that her poor treatment at his hands was her own fault for "putting…

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Trial Lawyers & Apparances

Trial Lawyers & Apparances

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I’ve often told lawyers at legal seminars how important it is they eliminate pretense and present the real person at all times. Appearances are not determinative of great lawyers. Genuine sincere and honest conduct results in credibility. I was reminded of this in William Barclay commentaries about scripture. He was discussing a passage suggesting the Corinthians had actually taunted Paul about his personal appearance causing Paul to respond. Barclay cites a very early book dating back to about A.D. 200…

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Joe Lieberman Confirms His Republican Loyalty

Joe Lieberman Confirms His Republican Loyalty

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I don’t mean to sound like I have a vendetta against Senator Lieberman, but his latest demonstration of loyalty to his buddy George Bush and the Republican party while of turning on a former friend and colleague, John Kerry, is offensive. President Bush rewarded an unqualified Sam Fox with the political favor of nominating him for an ambassadorship to Belgium. This was a repayment for the St Louis businessman contributing $50,000 to the underhanded attack against John Kerry with the…

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Whistle Blowers & Limitations Imposed by the U.S. Supreme Court

Whistle Blowers & Limitations Imposed by the U.S. Supreme Court

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Two recent decisions have limited the rights of whistle blowers. Various laws have been passed in Congress and states to encourage reporting fraud and illegal conduct  as beneficial to the tax payers. Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court has written opinions which limit the effectiveness of the federal laws. The United States Supreme Court, in a six to two vote, has restricted the ability of whistle blowers to share in recoveries under the U.S. False Claims Act. Under the False Claims…

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Dishonesty of the Bush Administration as Political Policy

Dishonesty of the Bush Administration as Political Policy

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My mother, Mary Babarovich, had an uncle John Babarovich who died in 1916 and is buried in the Anacortes, Washington cemetery with the rest of the family. His tomb stone stands out from the rest because of what is written on it. It says: "Known among men as Honest John." Truth and honesty is an important part of the American culture especially in the West. Standing up and being accountable, speaking out when things aren’t right, and taking the blame…

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The Sinking of the Lusitania & The Message in a Bottle

The Sinking of the Lusitania & The Message in a Bottle

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The RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner was owned by the Cunard Steamship Line Shipping Company. It was a competitor of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, commonly known as the White Star Line. White Star was famous for it’s luxury flagship, the RMS Titanic. The Cunard ships were not as fast as the White Star ships which could make a transatlantic trip fast enough to provide weekly service between Liverpool & New York. As a result, Cunard had three ships…

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Bush Administration’s Protection of Big Tobacco

Bush Administration’s Protection of Big Tobacco

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The former head of the Justice Department legal team responsible for the government’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry has disclosed gross political interference by the Bush Administration to protect the tobacco defendants in the case. Sharon Eubanks led the Justice Department team suing the tobacco industry and had been with the Justice Department for twenty two years before retiring in December. She recently went public with the disclosure of political meddling involved in the Tobacco lawsuit and says she did…

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More Big Corporation Insanity – The Undeserved & Excessive Compensation of Washington Mutuals CEO

More Big Corporation Insanity – The Undeserved & Excessive Compensation of Washington Mutuals CEO

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The Associated Press reports another scandalous salary and bonus paid to a CEO at the expense of employees and shareholders. Washington Mutual’s CEO Kerry Killinger was paid more then $18 Million last year in salary, stock. options and compensation. He also had use of the bank’s corporate jet for his personal use as well as a bonus of $4.1 million. Of course, during the same period, the Seattle based company cut 10,000 jobs and the company struggled with loss of…

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