Show Recap - June 25

Good show tonight I thought.

Judge Steven Teske from the Juvenile Court in Clayton County was our guest. We were also joined by Michael Warshauer for about an hour or so.

It was my intention to see where the listeners were at by touching on a couple of subjects. I welcomed the people who were participating in the Pride Festival to Atlanta. One caller took exception with this. This caller made the point that after the festival there was a tremendous amount of debris left behind, including used prophalactics. While I cannot speak to this directly, I will say that I wasn't condoning or encouraging behavior that was objectionable. Simply because you belong to a group of one kind or another does not give you license to treat any community worse. If I wasn't clear on that with the caller or with my remarks I apologize.

The Judge was terrific. Really too much stuff to cover it all here. If you ever have a child that is going to be a part of the juvenile justice system, consider moving to Clayton County because they really get it done out there.

Michael Warshauer was also great. The civil justice system in Georgia is under attack, even with the wins that the pro-reform crowd experienced last year. There are a whole mess of people who should be banding together to resist these changes. I hope that folks like Michael can help people pool resources to increase efficacy.

Finally, we didn't get to a lot of things. I had hoped to speak more about the Flag issue, and some of the remarks of that White House official that were so offensive to some. With so many of our men and woman in uniform still in harm's way on this eve of fourth of July, it is particularly difficult to accept that a tragedy like 9/11 would be used for strictly political purposes. I am shocked to see the recent polls that make it seem like the bottom is falling out of the support of the President. Whether you are a supporter of the President or not, our military is still out there every day trying to get it done for all of us. Let us not forget that.

Is This A Privacy Issue?

Offered without comment:

Student Database.

Putting Children At Risk?

I watched an interesting program the other night on P.O.V. called "The Education of Shelby Knox", which was really interesting. It dealt mainly with one girls attempts to have her school district teach something other than abstinence only, but it also addressed some interesting family issues. This was a girl who herself took a "True Love Waits" pledge, but felt that it was her Christian responsibility to consider others who might engage in behavior that she herself did not. Apparently Lubbock, TX has a really high rate of teen pregnancy and STDs among teens which might suggest that the abstinence only approach wasn't working.

Thus, when I saw this piece about a proposed bill which would require parental notification when a minor seeks birth control (including boys seeking condoms), I wondered whether our elected officials are helping children or putting them at greater risk.

What happens when we put the legislature in the place of parenting? Do we always get the result that is intended?

I don't know.

On Flag Burning....

I don't want to speculate about why we are seeing a push to have an amendment on flag burning now, though there are some reasons which come to mind.

However, do those who support the amendment read the US Flag Code?

" * (k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning."

Read further where it says that you are disrepecting the flag when you buy those fourth of July flag napkins and paper plates.

I hope everybody takes a step back and thinks this through.

Freedom isn't easy.

Human Pesticide Testing.....No, I'm not kidding.

Just when you think it's safe to douse yourself with pesticides, you read something like THIS

"Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), chairman of the subcommittee overseeing EPA spending, will likely oppose a provision in the House version of the agency's appropriations bill that bans the agency's use of data from pesticide testing on humans, after EPA and industry lobbied against the House language, a congressional source says.

"We've heard numerous expressions of concern about the House language from the science community, the agency and industry, and we're not likely to follow along," the source says [...]

"CropLife America, the pesticide industry trade group, issued a statement after the House vote, calling on the Senate to `overturn' the provision." Since 2000, Burns has accepted $10,000 from political action committees set up by some of the pesticide industries top producers. In total, Burns has accepted $5,000 from DuPont, $3,000 from the American Crop Protection Association, $1,000 from Bayer Crop Science and $1,000 from Monsanto."

Thimerosal Investigation

Our firm, Bendall & Mednick, was involved in some of the Thimerosal litigation, and I recently performed at a benefit for SafeMinds which is an advocacy group involved in the fight over mercury.

This article written by Robert Kennedy is pretty damning in my view of some of the backstory on this issue. It is a Salon article, so click through the ads to get a free pass to read the piece.

The article reads in part:

"In June 2000, a group of top government scientists and health officials gathered for a meeting at the isolated Simpsonwood conference center in Norcross, Ga. Convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the meeting was held at this Methodist retreat center, nestled in wooded farmland next to the Chattahoochee River, to ensure complete secrecy. The agency had issued no public announcement of the session -- only private invitations to fifty-two attendees. There were high-level officials from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, the top vaccine specialist from the World Health Organization in Geneva and representatives of every major vaccine manufacturer, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Wyeth and Aventis Pasteur. All of the scientific data under discussion, CDC officials repeatedly reminded the participants, was strictly "embargoed." There would be no making photocopies of documents, no taking papers with them when they left."

Does Nancy Grace Impact on What We Do?

This arcticle in the Columbia Journalism Review raises some questions that George, Noah, and I are often asked. Namely, what is the deal with Nancy Grace?

Nancy's show has been very successful and the attention, some of it negative, which has resulted can have the potential to impact on those of us who are also lawyers in the media.

On our show we are constantly revisiting the balance that we strive to provide. On the one hand we want to educate. We also want to entertain. Finally, we are not afraid of asking challenging questions or approaching topics from a different perspective.

My question is what are you interested in? What type of show do you want from us? I am not suggesting that George, Noah, and I are interested in becoming trained seals, but we do want your feedback.

Michael Jackson Verdict....

I have been asked repeatedly for my comments and thoughts on the Michael Jackson Verdict. Here is my response, made up entirely of the titles to Michael's songs.

"I Can't Help It." After "Working Day and Night" trying to "Remember the Time" and realizing they needed "One More Chance", but knowing that there would be "Trouble" and perhaps even feeling "Threatened," decided that they "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." And so they began thinking about "Human Nature" and the media "Carousel", how "Off the Wall" the charges were. Was it a case of "Just Good Friends?" or something more "Dangerous?"

Medical Mary-Jane....

I had meant to address the decision which was handed down this week by the Supreme Court on medical marijuana.

Many do believe that allowing the usage of an illegal drug under these circumstances is a proper use of the governments police powers. Others believe that when there are end of life considerations, the medical community and the individuals of a certain community can best decide for themselves how to address this issue. In some respects I suppose this is why much of the discussion has focused on states' rights vs. federalism.

I will readily acknowledge that there are those better equipped to explain the decision which was handed down this week.

I'd start here and here.