Posted on 07/07/2004 4:27:12 PM PDT by perfect stranger
Posted: July 7, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2004 Universal Press Syndicate
I guess with John Kerry's choice of John Edwards as his running mate, he really does want to stand up for all Americans, from those worth only $60 million to those worth in excess of $800 million.
In one of the many stratagems Democrats have developed to avoid telling people what they believe, all Edwards wants to talk about is his cracker-barrel humble origins story. We're supposed to swoon over his "life story," as the flacks say, which apparently consists of the amazing fact that ... his father was a millworker!
That's right up there with "Clinton's stepdad was a drunk" and "Ted Kennedy's dad was a womanizing bootlegger" on my inspirational life-stories meter. In fact, I'm immediately renouncing my university degrees and going to work for the Post Office just to give my future children a shot at having a "life story," should they decide to run for president someday.
What is so amazing about Edwards' father being a millworker? That's at least an honorable occupation – as opposed to being a trial lawyer. True, Edwards made more money than his father did. I assume strippers make more money than their alcoholic fathers who abandoned them did, too. This isn't a story of progress; it's a story of devolution.
Despite the overwrought claims of Edwards' dazzling legal skills, winning jury verdicts in personal injury cases has nothing to do with legal talent and everything to do with getting the right cases – unless "talent" is taken to mean "having absolutely no shame." Edwards specialized in babies with cerebral palsy whom he claimed would have been spared the affliction if only the doctors had immediately performed Caesarean sections.
As a result of such lawsuits, there are now more than four times as many Caesarean sections as there were in 1970. But curiously, there has been no change in the rate of babies born with cerebral palsy. As the New York Times reported: "Studies indicate that in most cases, the disorder is caused by fetal brain injury long before labor begins." All those Caesareans have, however, increased the mother's risk of death, hemorrhage, infection, pulmonary embolism and Mendelson's syndrome.
In addition, the "little guys" Edwards claims to represent are having a lot more trouble finding doctors to deliver their babies these days as obstetricians leave the practice rather than pay malpractice insurance in excess of $100,000 a year.
In one of Edwards' silver-tongued arguments to the jury on behalf of a girl born with cerebral palsy, he claimed he was channeling the unborn baby girl, Jennifer Campbell, who was speaking to the jurors through him:
"She said at 3, 'I'm fine.' She said at 4, 'I'm having a little trouble, but I'm doing OK.' Five, she said, 'I'm having problems.' At 5:30, she said, 'I need out.'"
She's saying, "My lawyer needs a new Jaguar ... "
"She speaks to you through me and I have to tell you right now – I didn't plan to talk about this – right now I feel her. I feel her presence. She's inside me, and she's talking to you."
Well, tell her to pipe down, would you? I'm trying to hear the evidence in a malpractice lawsuit.
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde on the death of Little Nell, one must have a heart of stone to read this without laughing. What is this guy, a tent-show preacher? An off-the-strip Las Vegas lounge psychic couldn't get away with this routine.
Is Edwards able to channel any children right before an abortionist's fork is plunged into their tiny skulls? Why can't he hear those babies saying, "Let me live! Stop spraying this saline solution all over me!" Edwards must experience interference in channeling the voices of babies about to be aborted. Their liberal mothers' hands seem to muffle those voices.
And may we ask what the pre-born Jennifer Campbell thinks about war with Iraq? North Korea? Marginal tax rates? If Miss Cleo here is going to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, I think the voters are entitled to know that.
While making himself fabulously rich by taking a one-third cut of his multimillion-dollar verdicts coaxed out of juries with junk science and maudlin performances, Edwards has the audacity to claim, "I was more than just their lawyer; I cared about them. Their cause was my cause."
If he cared so deeply, how about keeping just 10 percent of the multimillion-dollar jury awards, rather than a third? In fact, as long as these Democrats are so eager to raise the taxes of "the rich," how about a 90 percent tax on contingency fees?
For someone who didn't care about the money, it's interesting that Edwards avoided cases in which the baby died during delivery. Evidently, jury awards average only about $500,000 when the babies die, and there is no disabled child to parade before the jury.
Edwards was one of the leading opponents of a bill in the North Carolina Legislature that would have established a fund for all babies born with cerebral palsy. So instead of all disabled babies in North Carolina being compensated equitably, only a few will win the jury lottery – one-third of which will go to trial lawyers like Edwards, who insists he doesn't care about the money.
Despite the now-disproved junk science theory about C-sections preventing cerebral palsy that Edwards peddled in the channeling case, the jury awarded Edwards' client a record-breaking $6.5 million. This is the essence of the modern Democratic Party, polished to perfection by Bill Clinton: They are willing to insult the intelligence of 49 percent of the people if they think they can fool 51 percent of the people.
So while Michael Moore, Al Franken, George Soros, Crazy Al Gore and the rest of the characters from the climactic devil-worshipping scene in "Rosemary's Baby" provide the muscle for the Kerry campaign, Kerry picks a pretty-boy milquetoast as his running mate, narrowly edging out a puppy for the spot. Just don't ask the Democrats what they believe. Edwards' father was a millworker, and that's all you need to know.
i assume that ann's handsome friend saw this article : )
I've seen different reports on the amount of Edwards' profit from the death of his son who died in a car accident in a Ford. One has it about $25 million from the Ford company.
I hadn't seen it yet.
I think Kerry is taking advice from a certain freeper....
Yes I did, and Erika is not impressed.
He sued Ford???
I missed that .. do you have a link??
Classic.
I would stay in the law because I have potential clients begging me to take their cases, and I don't have a realistic expectation of earning scores of thousands of dollars on any case. I would stay in the law because it is a learned profession, worthy of my efforts, and worthy of the best hopes and expectations of all the Western tradition. I would stay in the law because it is all that we have in place against tyranny. I would die for the law.
I have but one contingency case going right now, with a single client. I have a couple more in the works, also single client cases. I advised my client that this kind of fee agreement was in his best interest, and to get a second opinion for his benefit. He could not afford to pay my fee. Now I think that he can't prove his claim, and we are waiting for new developments.
I am on the side of the guy who was ripped off, the woman who wants to prove she was married, and the other guy who is being shaken down by his social-climbing wife for child support that he don't have and she don't need. I have a couple of handguns at the ready at all times in my office. Can't bring 'em to court.
LMAO! all of ann's handsome friends are going to chime in here i see. Where are ya, CD?
But I have it in writing.
I saw it a while back in his biography -- it on one of the news websites before he was chosen. I'm trying to find out if this is really true. It reminded me of a New Jersey dentist who sued Ford when his wife died in a car accident. Ford fought back and ended up proving that the dentist had killed his wife. Of course, I am in no way implying that Edwards did anything improper other than legal extortion -- if this is true.
If not damage caps then how about mediation and arbitration; an elevated standard for exemplary damages; qualified immunity proportionate to state funding of the entity (though that's socialist in principle and therefore abhorrent to our law).
I think that juries can be manipulated, and that perhaps a different jury should decide the damage award.
We are paying some price, I agree, though I'll note that the price is undetermined.
I understand ... and I'll have to research it later
Thanks for the heads up
I'll wager it's in the high billions
Recently I had a brand new Springfield M1 Garand blow up in my hands. The damage was not life threatening as I was wearing appropriate safety gear but did require chest surgery to remove a fragment. I am an experienced shooter and had just received a refresher from a former Marine, (TexasCowboy) that owned the weapon. It was a manufacturing defect.
I didn't even bother contacting a lawyer because I know how it works from past experience. On a contingency case I would have to be much more pliable than if I paid by the hour (which I couldn't afford) and knew what would happen next.
I would have had to include the bullet manufacturer, the range and TexasCowboy, in the suit. The range provided a nice safe place to shoot and was not involved. The bullet manufacturer provided bullets that met or exceeded specs so they were not involved. TexasCowboy would have to be included too even though he bought an identical M1 for his son.
I could never sue a buddy like TC, the range did nothing and the bullet manufacturer supplied a safe product. By virtue of that I bit (almost literally) the bullet and ate the expenses.
If you don't mind me asking, had I contacted you about the case above how would you have advised me?
Edwards' father was a millworker, and that's all you need to know.
Sorry Ann, but you’re wrong.
His son died. And he entered politics as a tribute to his son.
We need to know that too.
If you think you’ve heard enough about John Kerry’s service in Vietnam, get ready for all-dead-son-all-the-time.
BTW, did you know that John Edwards son died, and John Edwards (the dead lad's father) would never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever exploit the death of his dead son for political gain even though he died and he was John Edwards son who died before John Edwards decided to enter politics as a tribute to his dead son who died before he ever got to see his father run for Vice President as a tribute to his dead son who died in a car accident that inspired his father to enter politics as a tribute to his dead son who died in a terrible car accident and is now dead?
The operative word here is TRIAL lawyer. Ann is indeed a lawyer, and as such, actually does read the law, as opposed to TRIAL lawyers, who are consummate actors. And charlatans in the practice of law.
Ninety-nine percent of the lawyers give the rest a bad name.
What kind of new-age wacko crap is this?
In one of Edwards' silver-tongued arguments to the jury on behalf of a girl born with cerebral palsy, he claimed he was channeling the unborn baby girl, Jennifer Campbell, who was speaking to the jurors through him:
"She said at 3, 'I'm fine.' She said at 4, 'I'm having a little trouble, but I'm doing OK.' Five, she said, 'I'm having problems.' At 5:30, she said, 'I need out.'"
...
"She speaks to you through me and I have to tell you right now – I didn't plan to talk about this – right now I feel her. I feel her presence. She's inside me, and she's talking to you."
This should be spread far and wide!
I don't think you understand, it's worse then you think.
It's not that liberals don't care that their candidates have no character, its much uglier then that.
The real truth is that they hate people with character. It's not that they don't care, they do, it's just that they hate good people.
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