Re: How Does the New Health Care Reform Bill Affect Your Business ???

["Robert L Bass" <Sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"G. Morgan" wrote:
>
> That's the problem.  It should be an honor to serve your fellow
> citizens, not seen as "jury duty" (best analogy I can think of).

I've never been sick of politics.  To me it's better than watching SNL.

As for jury duty, I think it gets a bad rap (pun intended).
I've been called twice it wasn't "fun" but it was interesting -- something I
don't regret doing.  I was called twice and, given my errm, background
experience, thought I'd automatically be excused.  Not so.  During the first
voire dire I hid nothing.

At the time I wasn't really interested in spending six weeks away from work.
However, it turned out to be an interesting case and the evidence was
(unfortunately for the perps) overwhelming.  We found them guilty on all counts.
I suspect the defense was amazed that I didn't give them a hung jury at least.
Oh, well.

The second time I was called, a number of years later, the evidence was so
shabby I and most of the jurors later told the judge we were unlikely to have
found the guy guilty of anything.  Sadly, t defendant (who spoke little English)
"copped a deal" and never knew he was going to go home that day if he had only
waited.

One thing about the trial was pretty scary.  There was an interpreter.  All of
the wirnesses were Puerto Rican and most spoke little or no English.  I
understood enough Spanish to realize the interpreter was altering the testimony
of several prosecution witnesses to make them agree with each other.  After one
witness (the purported victim) claimed the defendant (her ex) was "chasing" her
the other, her sister, said he happened to pass them in the *opposite*
direction.  The interpreter translated the sister's testimony to say he saw them
coming, turned and gave chase.  But the testimony said no such thing.

I sent a note to the judge stating what had happened.  The judge "ripped the
interpreter a new one", tossed him out and got a new interpreter.  This all
happened right in front of the jury.  Given what amounted to judicial misconduct
(not the judge's but the interpreter's) I was amazed they didn't throw the whole
thing out.

Two other jurors who spoke a little Spanish later said they thought something
really wrong was happening.  The judge came into the jury room after lunch to
tell us that we would shortly be dismissed because of a plea deal.  I asked if
he was interested in what we thought of the evidence, hoping he might give that
consideration in sentencing.  He said yes.  Virtually all of the jurors
agreed -- innocent.  We were dismissed and I never found out what happened to
the guy.  When he gets out I hope he's smart enough to move a few thousand miles
away from his ex.

> Or the other extreme, celebrity status, power, and plastic surgery to maintain
> a whole political career.

Carrie Prefean for President?  Heh, heh, heh...  :^)

> Where all they care about is their "party", and power struggles...
> rather than getting down to fixing this shit.  That kind of ineptitude
> would never be accepted in a boardroom.

Oh, yes it would.  The ex-CEO of Haliburton was the "King of Ineptitude."  The
best thing he ever did for the company was resign so he could take "another" job
and give them billions in no-bid contracts.

> It would be a mark of distinction for a high caliber CEO,
> a doctor, some astronauts, and an alarm installer to run
> things for a couple of years...

Jim (of NYC) for President in 2012!!!  Tom Fowler for VP.  They'll be a shoo-in.

> You may of may not get a pay raise (in the alarm installer's
> situation), but you get a chance to shape history.

Would that be similar to Cheney who is busy trying to rewrite it?

> It's not rocket science

Careful.  Those are fighting words around here.

Robert