Something to ponder!

[Boats]

BillD,

Not quite! You've hit the nail on the head. But the resolve is still out for discussion. I too a VN Vet 67-75 and I enlisted. I like thousands of other's have never taken drugs.

I agree with your weekend warrior coments and we too had that type of siutation in 65 when the draft was really sucking them in.
Some of my best fights came with drafties who were in it for schooling money and a few bucks but not for any war. Weren't they surprised!!

Love yoru parasitic comment. I've been really against lobbiest for a long time. Issues and money talk - politicians listen and pocket the money they have for years. Power is what they want. I'm sure they don't have to put in 20 years to get a nice pension out of the system.

I've never regretted joining up and wish I'd completed my 20. I know things are much better for the troops then when I got $36 every two weeks as a boot! Now that was lean pickens back then. Cheap wine and six pack and that's all you needed to loose time. I repeat no regrets on my enlistment.

I enjoyed your comments they hit the mark real good.

[reeb]

Every day Yada/Yada,

What ever happened to all the monies collected by the Red Cross????

It sure as hell didnt go where it was suppose to at first, but now I understand it did.

I asked not to long ago "if it is possible to get a $250,000.00 life insurance through the service. I guess you can now a days.

Now take that amount and double it for " double inemity " clause for an accident. Making any sense?? When a serviceman/woman loses their life ( it is an accident ) right??

Nope!!!!!

It is a hazard of their occupation. One they chose. No more draft., where to me that would be considered a accident. Not unless the fool stands right up and says "kill me MF", then that wouldnt be an accident.

As pitiful as it sounds, I dont think the victoms of 9-11 deserve any more than due by the current law then.

9 out of 10 had one hell of an insurance policy, the others had workmans comp. Sure cant collect that.

I am not being sarcastic, but face it, "if" each and every Nam serviceman/woman that was kileed and at $250,000.00 each life insurance, wouldnt that break the bank ( so to speak ).

INSURANCE AND CLAIMS ( ACCIDENTAL OR NOT ) ARE GETTING WAY OUT OF HAND.

enough.........................

[janecallanan]

As unpopular as this maybe, I would like to enter a word on BEHALF of some lawyers. A law firm is like any other business, and the folks who are partners in the firm make the bucks. Just like a corporation, when you don't see a raise for three years, the associate attorneys are in the same position. The larger law firms earn more, just like corporations, andcan afford more advertising. But the pay scale for the associates is about comp. no matter which firm they work for. I knew one attorney who started on his own. After 10 years, he is still in an office with the plaster falling of the ceiling, and buckets to catch the water. He can't even afford a secretary.

[Seascamp]

My eldest daughter and her Ma are both Attorneys both are very talented and both linger on the edge of insolvency at any given moment. So yes, I?d agree that for every Attorney that hits the jackpot there are hundreds that don?t. My daughter makes a better income from her artwork than she does from legal reasearch writing and she does her legal work for the State Appellate Court and is a successful published Author in the area of family law. So, I expect she?ll hang up the legal work and tend to her ever-growing artwork backlog. She works in charcoal and I have to say she does really good stuff. So maybe part of life?s journey is to discover you?re on the wrong journey. I don?t know, as my role is sounding board, back stop, go with the flow dad and sometimes the overdue bill payer. Oh well, we?ll just see what happens next.

Scamp

[reconeil]

Don't know much about lawyers, much less ones that: "Can't even afford a secretary". Still, I must believe that if such a lawyer were to seek clients at Foreign Embassies and ambulance-chase victims of terrorism,..."He" would do rather well.

After all, the hundred$ of million$ and billion$ generously supplied yearly by The U.S. Taxpayer to foreigners and victims of terrorism, is most certainly one-helluva-boodle to get a piece of.
Hell, if "He" only got one needy foreign country and one terrorist victim's family as clients,...even at only one third of such settlements (ALSO coming from The U.S. Taxpayer), such isn't exactly chump-change.

In fact Jane, if having such clients like lobbyist (also lawyers living well off of The People' Money) do, I've no doubt whatsoever that "He" could then afford at least 3 secretaries,...and a mistress to-boot. Wouldn't you think?

Neil

[thebrad]

I got a couple of buddies that I met while in college that do strictly pro-bono work protecting the asses of some philanthropies and charities. They are both great people! One of them is also helping me with legal advice as to how to NOT get fired by my employers between acceptance to OCS (why isn't my phone ringing?!) and shipping to Basic. He also bartends on weekends to make ends meet. Maybe he should quit helping out guys like me that can only pay him with beer and end up drinking half of it!

But then again, many lawyers from nearby firms frequented the bar I tended to pay for college - and these were the only two of any notable quality. They also didn't wear suits often because they couldn't afford them, but outclassed the rest any way by leaving great tips (but their drinks were usually free... don't tell my old boss)!

One of my roommates right now is in law school for environmental law. Seems to be a good kid. Looses a lot of credit in my book as he IS a war/military protester. He is willing to have REAL conversations about it though, and also admitted that my goals in joining the military are very similar to his for protesting it... just different means to the same end. He gets a bit pissed when I tell him that I'm looking for solutions, and he's only looking for problems. I've only known this guy for three weeks, still unsure completely what to think of him.

BUT, I'm not sticking up for the profession! Most lawyers should be ran over by the ambulances they chase!

[JeffL]

Neil, I believe there are still people (even some lawyers) who simply refuse to lower themselves to the scumbag, ambulance-chasing lawyer level. I think that for those folks it's just a very simple, basic matter of personal pride and integrity.

I know, and I've hired and fired, a lot of lawyers. The lawyers in whom I place my trust are the first ones to send me the latest lawyer jokes that are making the rounds. They are also the first to trash the plaintiffs' lawyers who shop for cases and chase ambulances. I've seen and heard them trash the integrity-deprived lawyers in front of judges and at depositions.

They also believe that a busload of lawyers going over a cliff is just a start, and that sharks don't eat lawyers because of professional courtesy.


Jeff

[Keith_Hixson]

It amazes me how these threads take twists and turns. We began by thinking about the gap in amounts that the victims of 9 11 received and military personnel KIA. And ended up discussing the merits of lawyers. Interesting very interesting.

Keith

[daniel topliffe]

hey reeb...don't forget to add to your list
...jurys and jurors...

$28 billion award?,???,???,???

reduced to $28million ?,???,???

something is really wrong in denmark!!!

enough........but noboby listens

[reconeil]

Got your: "It amazes me" point. Still, I don't think that discussing lawyers while complaining about WHOM gets what in This Country and WHOM doesn't,...is much of a twist and turn.

After all, if most Officials in Power (elected or appointed) are lawyers, isn't it a fair assessment that nothing (even warfare) in America happens without lawyers being greatly involved?

Hell, even if as Jeff alluded to, in that a few buses of lawyers ran off of a cliff (jokingly),...there still would be thousands of lawyers left to run America (as usual). "They" all are no doubt of different political bents. But, so what? Slice-it-anyway-you-want, but the truth of the matter is that without laws, lawyers and/or law makers,...there wouldn't even be an America.

Thusly, and the only problem I have with lawyers is mainly with those doing Public Service and/or those generously paid for by: "We The (Schnooks)" and/or The American Taxpayer.
So many of such lawyers apparently forget who are paying them (and quite well at that), or and like lords,...just-don't-give-a-shit.

Besides, I would personally prefer A Statesman to A Lawyer for America,...any day of the week.

Neil