Paul Luvera Journal

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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American poet Emma Lazarus wrote "The New Colossus" and the words appear on the Statue of Liberty. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." However, the reality is often something quite different in our nation’s immigration courts. Issues dealing with asylum requests, deportation and immigration are largely processed by some two hundred…

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Stephanie Mencimer has written Blocking the Courthouse Door, a book which carefully documents the Republican’s discovery that tort reform is an issue that elects Republicans and closes the court house door to injured people saving business money. Tort reform not only raises millions of dollars from industry seeking to stop lawsuits against them, but at the same time it elects Republicans to office. Republicans discovered that by focusing on tort reform the Democrats were in a conflicted position. If they…

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One of the loudest cries of big business, in their tort reform campaign, is that of limiting the fees of contingent fee tort lawyers. Big business talks about the "greedy trial lawyers" and "outrageous fees" they want to limit to an amount which would effectively close the court house doors to injured citizens. So what about their own salaries? We have seen as common place, big corporations giving a wink and a nod to golden parachutes for departing CEO’s even…

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I reported Senator Trent Lott’s (R-Miss) declaration of war on State Farm Fire & Casualty Company when it refused to cover his house damage after Katrina. (It depends upon whose ox is being gored 12/4/06) He went from the best friend the insurance industry ever had to Attila the Hun attacking the entire insurance industry and threatening to take away their sacred cow immunity from anti trust laws. Now it looks like the insurance company decided it wasn’t in their…

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Last night I was fascinated to watch, on television, bidding on a car which set a thirty six year record for the most money ever paid for an auctioned car at the Scottsdale, Arizona Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction. The bidding for the 1966 Cobra began high and rapidly climbed to $1 million. As other bidders dropped out only two bidders competed against each other. One was seated close behind the other and as the numbers grew in size, the…

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Justice Scalia, I’d like you to meet James Waller. Why am I introducing you? Well, in light of your opinion in Kansas v Marsh (548 U.S. 2006 5-4 opinion) and your claims about the rarity of innocent people convicted of crime I thought you would like to meet Mr. Waller – an innocent man convicted of a crime he did not commit. In Marsh, once again, you use sarcasm to sustain your views.You label those concerned about innocent people convicted…

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Underhanded dirty tricks to punish or intimidate one’s political enemies is nothing new in politics. Richard Nixon had his "dirty tricks" squad including people like Charles Colson & Gordon Liddy. Lyndon Johnson had his Bobby Baker and political administrations over time have had their "junk yard dogs’ – aides who leaked damaging information to press about an opponent or who made public attacks on a political opponent, leaving the politician free to disavow any connection. The Bush administration has used…

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A 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court on Friday reduced the verdict against ExxonMobil for its 1989 Prince Williams Sound oil spill which dumped eleven million gallons of crude oil along 1500 miles of shoreline. The original $5 Billion dollar award was reduced by the court to $2.5 Billion dollars in a 2 – 1 opinion. In 1994 an Alaska jury awarded the original verdict on behalf of some 34,000 fisherman who had been damaged by the spill. An appeal to…

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Saddam Hussein was hanged today. I know the vast majority of people cheered the hanging, but I don’t agree with the state killing people for their crimes, even when it is a brutal dictator like Saddam. I know that is an unpopular view with most people and that the majority of Americans agree with capital punishment, but I believe it should be abolished and punishment of life in prison without possibility of parole substituted in its place. It is true…

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