Hillary’s accomplishments stand on their own
To the editor:
Normally, I find the political cartoons on your opinion and commentary pages quite amusing. However, the Michael Ramirez cartoon you published Tuesday was quite offensive.
The cartoon shows Hillary Clinton as a surgeon saying, “Don’t worry, I have experience. I’m not a surgeon, but I was married to one for eight years.” It seems to be sending the message that a woman should not be running for president.
First of all, nobody has experience being the president of the United States until they get elected. At least Sen. Clinton has first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the White House. And please, let’s not forget that this is one extremely well-educated and intelligent woman. She is not a high school dropout who got it into her head to run for president. Or a former actor. She was twice voted America’s most influential lawyer.
And so what if she is pointing to the fact that she’s married to a former president as part of her background and qualifications? It’s the truth. I would be willing to bet that she understands better than any other candidate what sacrifices being president entails, having seen it up close and personal.
I haven’t decided yet how I will cast my vote for president. I am still researching the candidates and their stands on the issues. However, ridiculing Sen. Clinton for being married to former President Clinton and aspiring to the office herself negates everything women have done the past 60 years. It says the women are wives first and nothing else counts.
Sen. Clinton is an accomplished woman in her own right, and her achievements and qualifications have nothing to do with her marriage.
Siobhan Williams
LAS VEGAS
Legal issues
To the editor:
On Dec. 25, two officials with the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association took issue with the American Tort Reform Association’s list of its “judicial hellholes” for 2007. From the tone and content of the letter, one may wonder if their real complaint is that someone had the audacity to criticize attorneys.
The fact that many “of the judges in the cited articles mentioned have been cleared of any alleged wrongdoing” is hardly comforting to the average citizen and businessperson. Judges are given wide latitude and power over the lives, life savings and livelihoods of those who enter their courtrooms. Even a single judge who may be compromised can have an extremely damaging impact on far more than merely the innocent people who appear before him. If people begin to believe that the deck is stacked in favor of insiders and the well-connected, society in general will begin to lose faith in the system to deliver justice.
The implication in the letter that attorneys — unlike businesspeople — are interested in justice rather than money is itself propaganda. A law firm is a business and its decisions and actions are no less driven by a desire to generate profits than other businesses. There are myriad examples of excesses by what has become known as the “entrepreneurial tort bar.”
Witness the proliferation of “coupon settlements” in class-action lawsuits. In these arrangements, attorneys can pocket many millions of dollars in fees, sometimes amounting to tens of thousands of dollars per hour spent on the case. The alleged victims, meanwhile, may receive only a few measly bucks and are forced to continue to patronize the offending company to collect even that.
Asbestos litigation has driven dozens of companies into bankruptcy, some of which never manufactured or used products containing asbestos. Thousands of workers have been thrown out of work. While many people who have horrible illnesses for which asbestos exposure is the only known cause will never collect a dime, thousands who are not sick and likely will never become sick have collected large sums — and attorneys have raked in billions. In the 1990s, attorneys pocketed more than half of all the money paid out in asbestos settlements. A judge in Texas has confirmed what many have believed for some time: Much asbestos litigation was fraudulent.
Across the country, several tort kingpins have recently been indicted on suspicion of corruption. One of the best-known and most successful, William Lerach, was sent to prison for paying kickbacks. His former firm is under indictment, as are several of its current and past members.
Just as humans need water to survive, attorneys are necessary to the proper functioning of a free society. But just as water unrestrained can cause tremendous damage, out-of-control attorneys can wreak terrible havoc.
Organizations such as the American Tort Reform Association provide the necessary function of highlighting excesses and abuses that attorneys are loath to restrain on their own.
Michael Chamberlain
LAS VEGAS
Land buy
To the editor:
Regarding the Review-Journal’s Wednesday article “New owners safeguarding Moapa dace”:
From this excellent, informative article it is very apparent that the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are expending tremendous resources and efforts to safeguard the Moapa dace.
It is unfortunate, however, that such a high price for the land was necessary. According to Clark County assessor records, the value/price paid for the Warm Springs Ranch land parcels just six years prior was less than $11 million — less than one sixth the $69.4 million paid by the water authority.
Pat Russell
LAS VEGAS
