My 500 Words

Politics, prejudice and power sowed the seeds for one of the world's great sporting events. The Tour de France is a tangential outgrowth from the controversy that surrounded the Dreyfus affair.   Five score and eleven years ago the announcement was made for the first Tour de France.  111 years later the event continues to deal with cheating, lies, graft and now doping that has dogged the event since its inception. J'Accuse made public the Evidence of Dreyfus' innocence The Dreyfus affair resulted from the wrongful conviction of a French military officer, accused of selling secrets to the Germans.  The affair is so renowned because he was not only wrongfully convicted once, but twice. Initially, in 1894, Dreyfus was convicted based on lies and false documents.  In 1896 when suggestions of his innocence were made known  the French public became divided into the pro and anti Dreyfus camps.  Both camps held protests and demonstrations to promote their ...

I am reading a biography of former Chief Justice Earl Warren.  Many circumstances from his life move me.  He lived through and shaped both dark times in our nations history as well as created a framework for civil rights and social progress. World War II marks one of the worst time in world history.  While not alive during the war, I know of tremendous atrocities that occurred during the war.  I have met those who survived or escaped the Nazi holocaust.  I have also witnessed heroes who have been honored for their actions in campaigns like Normandy. But we caused horrors here on the soil of mainland America.  The Warren biography has reminded me of the Japanese internment camps.  There are a few facts about these interments about which I am still trying to stretch my brain. Internment orders applied to Japanese Americans regardless of immigration or citizenship status. Possessions and property were lost and usurped as a result of the intern...

Do you know anyone who doesn't like pie?  They must exist.  But I can't think of a single soul who doesn't like pie.  Now I am not talking about every pie.  You can have a particular flavor that you don't like.   But I don't know anyone who doesn't like pie. When you have a slice of pie you have to decide just how much you want to eat.  Believe it or not I have had a slice of pie that was so rich and decadent that I stepped beyond a threshold you might not know exists: too much pie. As I am reaching for that glass of water to dilute the flavor intensity  I realize that a little sometimes goes a long way. So whenever I take a slice of pie or when I am asked to cut the pie, I have to decide how big of a slice I want to take. Now I have a deal for you. In this deal you cannot lose. I own two companies. These companies are like pies.  Everyone likes them.  They are both profitable and your involvement with either of them will reap you a re...

Yesterday I shared with two clients the three types of questions principle.  This idea supposes that there are only three types of questions and that answers to those queries are all easy.  This is a useful tool when preparing anyone, but especially young people, for the courtroom setting. It provides them with a fundamental framework that allows them to find comfort in an uncomfortable environment. The three types of questions are these: You know the answer. You don't know the answer. You don't understand the question. As I shared this concept I recognized the need to apply these principles to myself.  You see, a friend of mine died earlier this week.  She had lived out of state and I only learned of her severe illness on Sunday and that she had arrived to spend her last days at her parent's home.  On Monday, my dear wife was able to go and see her. On Tuesday morning she passed away. So again I find myself asking, What is death? Let me apply t...

In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back we see a particular scene where Yoda gives Luke a very difficult, seemingly impossible, task to achieve.  Poor young Skywalker has sadly landing his spacecraft in a swampy bog.  Little by little the spacecraft has sunk into the swamp and any hope of leaving the outlying planet wanes day by day. Fortunately the impressive powers of The Force include one that we might call telekinesis.   The difference between The Force and telekinesis is that the Force works when the actor becomes one with the universal energy and modulates the midiclorians so that one is able to move objects without physical contact.  In telekinesis the actor has an extra-human power within his or her mind that allows this manipulation of objects without direct contact. So there stand Yoda and Luke watching the ship sink deeper into the water when Yoda directs him to raise it out of the water.  Luke has already demonstrated the ability to move, an...

While listening to the radio, the sound engineer made an error and started to play another story over the top of the one that was already playing.  Only four or five words escaped before the mistake was resolved.  But four words stuck with me long enough to do a curious comparison. President Obama The words were, "Democrats, as a rule. . ." I never did learn what Democrats do as a rule.  So I can't give an opinion as to whether I agree, disagree or both with the content of the story.  But the question that sparked in my mind was whether I would find more instances of "Democrats, as a rule" or "Republicans, as a rule".  So once I returned home I executed both searches using the omnipresent, if not omniscient, Google. One of the searches yielded about 58,300,000 hits. The other search located 43,500,000 hits. President Bush Before I reveal the result I want you to consider which group you believe had the higher return. I was quite s...

This morning as I felt the cool and brisk air a thrill of energy flooded my being. I felt alive.  I experienced a momentary complete connection with everything around me. In  that instant I perceived a mutual purpose for good and an inspiration to strive for the day to work with that purpose rather than toil for some immediate wish. Yet I find that the demands of daily living throw up obstacles to that idyllic state. I feel like the dogs in "Up" and somebody just yelled "Squirrel!" So today I considered the reasons for my living and I hope to share these three.   I live for liberty. I live for learning. I live for love. An ultimate sacrifice History is made when people die for the things they hold most dear.  Those soldiers, heroes and martyrs inspire those who remain to cherish and enjoy the ideals and the hopes for which they died.  How blessed I am to live in a place where a voluntary military chooses to place their very lives in harms way so th...