These are the words of Dale Cox, a prosecutor and Caddo Parish Louisiana. As to the death penalty he insists "we need it more now than ever." He has personally been the prosecutor in half of the death sentences in Louisiana since 2010. In a case where he convicted a father of wrongfully killing his child he told the jury that when it comes to a person who harms a child, "Jesus demands his disciples kill the abuser by placing…
On an early Friday morning, July 7th2000, my mother Mary Thelma Babarovich, died in her sleep at the San Juan Care Center. Her death was not unexpected. After all, she was born on December 28, 1905 and was ninety four years old when she died. She had been in failing health for some time. Her passing was, in fact, a personal blessing to her as she had been ready to meet her maker for some time. I've published an account…
I've written about my friend Dan Sullivan who died at age 86 on July 1st 2012: https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2012/07/daniel-f-sullivan-july-1-2012.html I've said about him: "Dan was my mentor and my friend. It was Dan I turned to for professional help. We associated on many cases and worked together many times. We enjoyed each others company and laughed a lot. Dan had that great Irish sense of humor. He was a great trial lawyer with an enormous heart and a high sense of ethics. It was impossible not…
I've written about my grandfather, Nicola Luvera before: https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2014/07/nicola.html He died on Independence Day, July 4, 1956 well into his nineties. This Italian immigrant never learned English and had almost no education, but was hard working. His courage in immigrating to Canada and earning enough to bring his family too, illustrates what a unusual person he was. He worked hard all his life. First, as a railroad hand installing track, then in the coal mines and the saw mills until he joined my dad…
Since our retirement from law a year ago we've spent a lot more time at our home in Gig Harbor on Colvos Passage looking out at Vashon Island and Mount Rainier. Things I've not paid attention to are now enjoyable to see and experience. This morning while Lita and I were having coffee on the upper balcony four deer came along the beach at the outer edge. The tide was out and they walked in single file with their hoofs…
Every day we read in the newspaper or see on television new atrocities committed around the world against human beings by those professing to do so as complying with the will of God. Beheadings, suicide bombing and killing children are all pleasing to God in their eyes. For many thousands of people around the world, religion is a matter of strict rule compliance in all things both petty and large. Compliance, for them, means not just following very strict rules, but…
As a school student I, along with everyone else in my generation, was introduced to Lincoln's famous speech during the civil war now known as the Gettysburg Address. I've often thought of this address as an illustration of Lincoln's following his own analysis of who he was and what he thought best. Here he was, the president of the United States, and his invitation to speak was only an after thought to the event. His invitation was a last minute one and then asked only to make…
We’ve been home ten days from our trip to France and are over the worst of jet lag, but still waking up at anywhere from three to five a.m. We flew British Air to London and London to Lyon, France. We had first class tickets, so the first leg was very comfortable with flat beds. Heathrow is a difficult airport because of all the walking that is involved and the need to ride buses to change terminals, but we survived…
This Thursday, May 14, we leave at 7 o'clock at night from Seattle to London. Fortunately, however, thanks to upgrades, we have the privilege of flying first class on British. It makes the nine hour flight a lot more comfortable. After a layover at Heathrow Airport in London, we fly British at 4 o'clock in the afternoon to Lyon France arriving at about 6:30 PM. We are driven from the airport to the Villa Florentine in Lyon. The hotel is…
My father was a great believer in motivational ideas. He read motivational books, had motivational slogans and was a believer in goal setting. He was also a very positive minded person which stood in stark contrast to my mother who tended to worry. I'm afraid I took more after my mother's viewpoint in spite of every effort of my father to influence me with a positive outlook. As a young man I worked on developing a goal oriented and positive outlook through reading and…
