MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010
TWO CONTROVERSAL CATHOLIC THEOLOGINS & A PERSONAL RANT
The National Catholic Reporter this issue has an interview with Hans Kung. Father Kung is a Swiss Catholic priest and theologian as well as prolific writer. He has been a thorn in the Vatican’s side for some time over his writings about theology and the Vatican has rescinded his authority to teach Catholic theology. He teaches at a Swiss University as an emeritus professor. His priestly faculties have not been revoked in spite of his outspoken views critical of Vatican…
CHINESE LABOR STRUGGLES REMIND US OF OUR OWN LABOR HISTORY
Johann Hari wrote a compelling post on work conditions in China earlier this month. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/and-the-most-inspiring-go_b_672993.html. His report includes such facts as the estimate that as many as 600,000 people are killed as a result of their work or work conditions in China each year. He describes the typical working situation as giant factory-cities from which the people rarely leave. Work hours average from 7:45 am to 11:00 pm. They are required to buy from the company canteen. At the same…
HOMILIES SOULD BE UNDER EIGHT MINUTES LONG
That's the title of an article that was recently published by the Catholic News Service. Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops has written that the Sunday sermon or homily should not be longer then eight minutes which is about the average listener's attention span, he says. The bishop also urges preachers to spend the appropriate amount of time to "craft a well-prepared and relevant sermon for Mass." Among the general guidelines, he also suggests that a…
CHARLIE CHAN & THE SATURDAY MANTINEE IN ANACORTES
When I was a child growing up in Anacortes, Washington, there were two movie theaters in town. One, the Empire Theater, at 7th & Commerical Avenue, was directly across from our family’s grocery store. The building is there, but the theater hasn't operated in many years. Today, Burton Jewelers occupies the area which was the lobby and ticket office. Since I was too young to work at the store they would take me with the family to our family grocery store, but, I…
FINAL TRAVEL REPORT
We left our hotel in Positano and drove for an hour and a half to the Naples Airport on Friday. The weather was clear and cool. The Naples airport is small and easy to get around. Security was quick and we ended up at our gate with much time to spare. The intercom continuously is broadcasting flights and flight departures with gate changes in Italian and English. The door alarm would go off for no reason. Frantic calls to someone…
THE BLACK SWAN
In logic there is a "black swan" concept. In its simplest terms it refers to the fact a proposition is scientific only if it can be proved false. That idea was made popular by Karl Popper. For example if we see a white swan we know there is at least one white swan, but it is conjecture to conclude all swans are white. The fact is that finding one black swan would falsify the conclusion all swans are white means it is capable…
U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE JOHN PAUL STEVENS & THE “SMALL TOWN LAWYER MADE GOOD” AWARD
My friend Jeff Tolman is a lawyer in Paulsbo, Washington. We are talking about a town with about 7500 people and a strong Norwegian heritage about 1.5 hours from Seattle if you take the Bremerton ferry to get to this charming town on Puget Sound. Jeff has been a friend for many years. He is very creative. Many years ago he decided that the Paulsbo Bar Association, consisting of hand full of lawyers at the time, should hold an annual legal seminar…
THE REFINERY EXPLOSION AND FINDING TRUTH WITH ACCOUNTABILITY
On Good Friday, April 2, 2010 there was an enormous explosion and fire at the Tesoro Refinery at March Point, near Anacortes. Five people died and two survived with serious burns. Several families involved have hired my law firm along with a Texas law firm to represent them. When the media reported the families had contacted lawyers there were those who were critical of the families for doing so. Let me respond to that criticism by saying the refineries are very familiar to…
BILLY BURKE & THE 1934 MASTER’S
In 1934 the first Master tournament was held. It was so new it wasn’t even called the Masters. Two co-founders, Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones, disagreed on the name and it ended up being called the "Augusta National Invitation Tournament." It was played under that name through 1938 and the next year became known as "The Masters." In 1934 Horton Smith won the tournament. He was nicknamed "the Missouri Rover" and he beat Craig Wood by only one stroke at…