Archive for the ‘Viewpoint’ Category
Time Changes Things . . .
. . . we’re told —
— not
if you don’t
change them yourself.
If The Invisible Man . . .
. . . has a medical problem,
can he find a doctor
who’ll see him.
= = = = =
An Attorney’s
View
of Lawyers
Submitted by a Resident
As an attorney, I hesitated to forward this as it can be considered to be an indictment against my profession. But I believe there is much truth to the article below. Very thought provoking. Lawyers are adversarial and are trained to try to win at all costs. It may work in litigation but does not work well when governing our nation. Trying to win at any costs creates the polarization and hatred that now fills our country and leaves no room for common sense or legitimate debate.
Every Democrat presidential nominee since 1984 went to law school, although Gore did not graduate. Joe Biden (no surprise) was at the bottom of his class. Every Democrat vice presidential nominee since 1976, except for Lloyd Bentsen, went to law school. Barack Obama was a lawyer. Michelle Obama was a lawyer. Hillary Clinton was a lawyer. Bill Clinton was a lawyer. John Edwards is a lawyer. Elizabeth Edwards was a lawyer. Look at leaders of the Democrat Party in Congress: Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is a lawyer. Former Senator Harry Reid was a lawyer.
The Republican Party is different. President Trump was a businessman. Presidents Bush 1 and 2 were businessmen. Vice President Cheney was a businessman. President Eisenhower was a 5 star General. The leaders of the Republican Revolution: Newt Gingrich was a history professor. Tom Delay was an exterminator. Dick Armey was an economist. Ex-House Minority Leader John Boehner was a plastics manufacturer. The former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is a heart surgeon. Who was the last Republican president who was a lawyer? Gerald Ford, who left office 31 years ago and who barely won the Republican nomination as a sitting president, running against actor Ronald Reagan in 1976. The Republican Party is made up of real people doing real work, who are often the targets of lawyers. This is very interesting. I had never thought about it this way before.
The Democrat Party is made up of lawyers. Democrats mock and scorn men who create wealth, like Trump, Bush, and Cheney, or who heal the sick like Frist, or who immerse themselves in history like Gingrich. The Lawyers Party sees these sorts of people, who provide goods and services that people want, as the enemies of America. And so, in the eyes of the Lawyers Party, we have seen the procession of official enemies grow. Against whom do Hillary and Obama rail? Pharmaceutical companies, oil companies, hospitals, manufacturers, fast food restaurant chains, large retail businesses, bankers, and anyone producing anything of value in our nation.
This is the natural consequence of viewing everything through the eyes of lawyers. Lawyers solve problems by successfully representing their clients, which, in this case should be the American people. Lawyers seek to have new laws passed, they seek to win lawsuits, they press appellate courts to overturn precedent, and lawyers always parse language to favor their side. Confined to the narrow practice of law, that is fine. But it is an awful way to govern a great nation.
When politicians, as lawyers, begin to view some Americans as clients and other Americans as opposing parties, then the role of the legal system in our life becomes all-consuming. Some Americans become adverse parties of our very government. We are not all litigants in some vast social class-action suit. We are citizens of a republic that promises us a great deal of freedom from laws, from courts, and from lawyers.
Today, we are drowning in laws. We are contorted by judicial decisions. We are driven to distraction by omnipresent lawyers in all parts of our once private lives. America has a place for laws and lawyers, but that place is modest and reasonable, not vast and unchecked. When the most important decision for our next president is whom he will appoint to the Supreme Court, the role of lawyers and the law in America is too big. When House Democrats sue America in order to hamstring our efforts to learn what our enemies are planning to do to us, then the role of litigation in America has become crushing.
Perhaps Americans will understand that change cannot be brought to our nation by those lawyers who already largely dictate American society and business. Perhaps Americans will see that hope does not come from the mouths of lawyers but from personal dreams nourished by hard work. Perhaps Americans will embrace the truth that more lawyers with more power will only make our problems worse.
The United States has 5% of the world’s population and 66% of the world’s lawyers! Tort or legal reform legislation has been introduced in congress several times in the last several years to limit punitive damages in ridiculous lawsuits such as spilling hot coffee on yourself and suing the establishment that sold it to you and also to limit punitive damages in huge medical malpractice lawsuits. This legislation has been blocked from even being voted on by the Democrat Party. When you see that 97% of the political contributions from the American Trial Lawyers Association go to the Democrat Party, then you realize who is responsible for our medical and product costs being so high.
If Your Only Tool . . .
. . . is a chain-saw,
all your problems
begin to look like trees.
Aging is More than a Numbers Game
Claiming age is just a number doesn’t add up. What number is it? Do you pick a favorite number and use it forever? Or is it the number of days you’ve been alive and alert? A sizeable number of folks wonder what age they’re going to be in heaven. A wrong number could be hell.
No matter how we regard our age, we have come to understand that aging increases the risk factor for many diseases, including cancers and degenerative disorders such as dementia, and the likelihood of suffering several chronic illnesses.
Genes have long played a role in how we age. If your parents lived relatively healthy lives and edged close to the century mark before dying, your chances of living a lengthy and relatively healthy life are pretty good. If you take care of yourself.
While the global search for the Fountain of Youth is still in full force, diet and lifestyle are a couple of traditional tools you can use to stretch out your time here on Earth.
Something to Always Remember . . .
. . .about statistics
is that
you can drown easily in a river
that’s an average of three feet deep.
Don’t Drink and Dive
Ten people drown on an average day. Alcohol combined with water recreation is a factor in about one third of the adult drownings. That’s why it’s important to understand the dangers alcohol consumption can pose, especially near the water.
When people drink alcohol, their judgment and inhibitions are impaired. That is a dangerous situation, especially near water.
Medical experts suggest teaching children early about the dangers of water and alcohol by setting an example by never drinking alcohol before or while swimming or boating, and never drinking while supervising children near the water.
Those Who Claim . . .
. . .to have a clear conscience
probably just have a bad memory.
Why Collect in the First Place?
So you’re well on your way to completing the set of 50-state quarters that you began on a whim, decided to put them together for your grandkids, and then decided to do one for yourself.
What’s going to happen to the collection, whether it’s one or several sets, when you’re done? And will it (or they) sell for the profit you had in your head when you began? If you spend each set, you can buy $12.50 worth of something.
A recently-deceased relative left behind cartons of comic books and baseball cards. The recipient heirs haven’t found it worth their while to catalog the collection and have it appraised and offered in e-bay. It’s still just sitting there.
Collectibles are not only in the eye of the beholder, they’re also in the heart of the collector. They usually offer more thrill in the hunt and satisfaction in the acquisition than profit in the purse.
They give the collector a circle of like-minded colleagues to discuss likes and dislikes, as well as to brag about the latest addition to one’s collection. But you can conduct the same spirited exchanges over your favorite sports teams without having to spend the time and money tracking down another cloisonne piece for your collectible closet.
The Folks Around Me . . .
. . . are constant reminders that
going to church
doesn’t make you a Christian
anymore than standing in the kitchen
makes you a chef.
Crooks Steal From the Dead
Dead men may tell no tales but their obituaries can reveal volumes. Especially to thieves who study death notices to glean information they can use to pluck you clean.
It feels comforting to inform the world of the passing of a loved one and to include details of their life, including birthdate, address, hobbies, achievements, work and career highlights along with a list of surviving family members.
Scam artists gorge on this information. The more detail there is, the more steps you provide them to get closer to stealing your identity, the identity of the deceased, or both.
Listing the dead person’s age is okay, but don’t include their birthday. A death notice including the address of the deceased along the name of their surviving spouse along with other personal details provides a roadmap for scam artist to follow.
It’s been estimated that the identity of as many as 1 million dead people a year is co-opted by crooks who clean out existing accounts or obtain credit cards and apply for loans in the name of the deceased. Some scammers even file tax returns in the name of the dead to collect refunds.
Crooks also call survivors claiming the deceased must pay a debt they have. First of all, there is no legal obligation to pay any such a debt, unless you co-signed for it. So hang up. There’s also the fraudulent insurance scam: the caller claims the deceased took out a life insurance policy but before the benefits payment can be made there’s a final premium payment required for handling fees, taxes and whatever. Hang up.
Giving for Christmas Means More Than Toys
The Star of Bethlehem has been eclipsed by Santa’s sled burgeoning with expensive toys for all ages. The Three Wise Men have been shunted aside by Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
The Christmas spirit of giving has given way to “gimme.”
This is not a rail about how things were better “back then.” But it is an opportunity to discuss blending sound financial decisions with the true spirit of giving.
Grandparents do their grandchildren no favors by tumbling mountains of gifts and gadgets on them year after year. To truly give a gift that’s worthwhile, divert the amount of money spent on all that loot into long-term bonds that mature as the youngsters head for college, or in government savings bonds that can be cashed as needed, or into trust funds to help them get over the financial humps that coincide with raising a young family of their own.
Think about it. You just spent hundreds of dollars on the latest hi-tech gadget or on a set of wheels – skateboard, inline skates, bicycle or auto – or on several humongous wooly monsters. Much of all that won’t be around in a couple or three years. And the kid probably won’t even remember what you contributed to the pile of goodies he comes to expect annually.
However, if you funnel that money into a bank account or investment that is the child’s, you not only help secure his or her future, you build a separate memory all for yourself.
It also gives you an opportunity to help teach the youngster about the importance of investing as both of you watch the money grow over the years. And it fits into the traditional spirit of Christmas that calls for loving the present (not presents), looking forward to the future, and preserving the past.
If Everyone’s An Editor . . .
. . . why didn’t they
get the lead out of
the three messages I saw yesterday morning
about people being led somewhere?
Mature Life Features 