The right of Americans to choose their representatives through free elections is guaranteed. It has been secured by pen, it has been secured by sword. It has been earned through torrents of blood spilled on the battlefield by American patriots for centuries. But despite the supposed sanctity of that right, it is coming under increasing attack by the current generation of political leadership - whether it be a local elections department or the trifecta of the three branches of the US government.

Every now and then, patriotic Americans who are fed up with incompetent, lazy or heavy-handed public servants speak out or engage in acts of civil disobedience in order to expose flaws in the laws that govern us or the manner in which they are enforced. When these brave citizen soldiers do indeed expose waste, fraud or ineptitude, they ought to be celebrated, not punished. Which calls to mind the case of one such patriot, Jane Balogh from Federal Way, WA.

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Technorati Tags: Duncan, Jane Balogh

They say justice is blind. I submit to you that it is blind, deaf, dumb, lame, mute and stupid. It is also quite tyrannical when brought to bear as a weapon against an individual or the fruits of their labor. One of the biggest problems in America is the plague of frivolous litigation that is clogging up the nation’s court systems. From a spilled cup of hot coffee while driving, to a severed finger planted in a bowl of fast food chili, the claims of irreversible harm and emotional distress encouraged by multi-million dollar jury verdicts continue to border on the absurd.

Recent estimates indicate that the average American coughs up an additional $3,500.00 per year for everyday goods and services [1] as a result of frivolous litigation brought by individuals with an axe to grind. As an orderly society, we cannot function without certain individuals to teach us, guide us, heal us or protect us. That is why we hold professions such as priests, judges, teachers and police officers more accountable than others. It is also why the citizens of Washington DC must hold DC Administrative Law Judge Roy L. Pearson accountable.

The Honorable Judge Pearson is the plaintiff in a frivolous $65 million dollar lawsuit against Ji Nam Chung, Soo Chung and Ki Chung, owners of Custom Cleaners in suburban Washington DC. The suit was brought by Pearson over a pair of his pants that apparently went missing when he sent them for cleaning. Pearson began his assault by asking the Chungs for $1,000.00 - the full price of the suit. The Chungs contended a week later that the pants had been found. They refused to pay, at which point Pearson brought forth his lawsuit.

The Chung’s attorney, Chris Manning said that they made three settlement offers to Pearson - first $3,000.00, then $4,600.00, and finally $12,000.00, all of which were rejected.

Pearson contends that two signs in the Chung’s business, “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and “Same Day Service” amount to fraud because of his dissatisfaction over his pants. As a consequence of this alleged “fraud”, Pearson calculates that -according to DC consumer protection laws- at $1,500.00 per violation per day, the Chungs had 12 separate violations over 1,200 days times three people for 64.8 million dollars. Additionally, Pearson decided that since he no longer wanted to patronize his neighborhood dry cleaners, it was worth another $15,000.00, which he contends would be the cost to rent a car every weekend for 10 years to take his suits to another dry cleaners. And in a final sign of this jerk’s contempt for our legal system, he appointed himself to represent all DC area customers “affected” by signs promising satisfaction, such as were found in the Chung’s establishment.

Sherman Joyce, President of the American Tort Association stepped forward and offered an olive branch to Pearson by offering to buy him the suit of his choice. It is unknown whether Pearson accepted the offer. Thankfully, people in a position to stop this madness are beginning to speak out. Former NLRB chief administrative law judge Melvin Welles wrote the Washington Post, urging that Pearson be immediately disbarred. Pearson may very well be on his way there. On Wednesday, Judge Pearson’s biography page was active, but as of Saturday May 5th, 2007, his biography has been removed from the Office of Administrative Hearings website.

It appears that in this case, the system may in fact work the way it was intended. But even Pearson’s possible disbarment and dismissal from the bench don’t quite go far enough. Rather than being offered a new suit, Judge Pearson should have his pants sued off for malicious prosecution and then be forced to trade in that black robe for something more suitable such as a bright orange or black-and-white-striped jumpsuit with matching wrist and ankle bracelets.

It has long been held that there are two systems of justice in this country. One for the haves, another for the have-not’s. If your pants have deep pockets; If you can afford a flashy attorney schooled in theatrics and skilled oratory, you stand a much better chance of winning. Likewise, one who earns a living practicing the legal profession has a substantial edge over the average citizen when facing off in court. They ought to face substantial sanctions for the “piling on” of frivolous costs and accusations. If there is ever going to be meaningful tort reform, these types of lawsuits must never see the inside of a courtroom.

1. Source Towers, Perrin, Tillinghast 2006 Update on US Tort Cost Trends

Help Support The Chung’s against this tyrannical judge

Technorati Tags: Judicial Tyranny, Roy L. Pearson, tort reform

Hokie - “a word that people used to express feeling, approval, excitement, surprise” - Johann Norstedt - Retired VA Tech English Professor

Once again, a suicidal maniac hell-bent on exacting as much revenge as possible has struck one of the nation’s schools, this time a world-class university. But as information about the shootings, suspect and victims arrived at news desks in drips and drabs, the over-the-top coverage of the incident by the mainstream media wasn’t very helpful. In fact, the sensationalism with which NBC, Fox News and others covered this nightmare did nothing except feed disinformation and rampant speculation.

On the April 16th morning broadcast of Fox News Live, within hours of the conclusion of the massacre, Fox contributor and former D.C. Homicide Detective Rod Wheeler was asked about the possibility that an M-16 may have been this shooter’s weapon of choice. It is unclear -and may never be known- whether a witness reported an M-16, whether a witness assumed that an M-16 was involved due to the volume of fire or exactly where Fox obtained this information.

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Technorati Tags: mass murder, Seung Hui Cho, VT Tech massacre

moderate - mod? er ? ate (’mä d(&) r&t - 1). [adj.] Avoiding extremes in behavior or expression. Observing reasonable limits. 2). [v.] Tending toward the mean or average amount or dimension. Having average or less than average quality. Mediocre. 3). [n.] Professing or characterized by political or social beliefs that are not extreme. © 2007 Merriam Webster Inc.

When examined in gross detail, the English language is one of rich expression. But it can also be used in many negative ways. One can use it to misinform and therefore to manipulate people. One can also use it stroke one’s own ego into erroneously thinking that their belief systems represent the values of the vast majority of Americans. Take the word “moderate” for example. John McCain (R.I.N.O. - AZ) is a self-professed “moderate”. But in whose opinion? There is nothing moderate about a sitting United States Senator conspiring with other Senators to circumvent the will of the overwhelming majority of Americans by rewarding millions of foreign criminals with coveted US citizenship.

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Technorati Tags: 2008, amnesty, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Illegal Immigration, John McCain

“The tears sliding down my face are not a sign of weakness - they affirm a father’s love for his Marine son” - Darryl Sharratt on his son, USMC Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt

* Photo of Justin in Fallujah, Iraq - courtesy of the Sharratt family

 Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt is a decorated United States Marine. He fought in the battle for Fallujah, modern urban combat at it’s worst, involving house-to-house and hand-to-hand fighting that killed some of Justin’s fellow Marines. But for Justin, Fallujah was only the beginning.

Justin’s father Darryl wants the world to know that although Justin is home from Iraq, he’s still fighting for his life. Justin is charged with three counts of unpremeditated murder during an ambush followed by a ferocious firefight in Haditha, Iraq in November, 2005. When we spoke last Saturday, Darryl sounded upbeat. He had just gotten off the phone with one of his attorneys, while his wife Theresa was one the line with another. He explained that the attorneys seemed satisfied with the progress of defense discovery.

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Technorati Tags: Darryl Sharratt, Haditha, Iraq, John Murtha, Justin Sharratt, UCMJ

Must everything be sexualized these days?

A recent study has concluded that exposure to sexual imagery can cause psychological as well as physical harm to children who are exposed to it on a regular basis, especially girls. This is bad for children. It isn’t rocket science. It is self-evident that the current generation of Baby Boomers, while currently occupying the positions of power in the government and media, are –to a large extent– responsible for the messages being sent through the various media formats, whether they be Internet, print or audio/visual.

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