Die, die, die!

JULY 20, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

July 20 is … Ugly Truck Contest Day

There has to be more than one winner in this contest. Drive by any bar on Fridays after 4:00 p. m. or any high school parking lot when school is in session, several contestants will be visible.

According to a HuffPost story, a convicted murderer is suing the state because, while in prison, a prison employee saved his life after he told them not to save his life. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. A convicted murderer is suing the state of Colorado for saving his life after his heart stopped beating.

Daniel Self says he suffers from sleep apnea and he ordered prison guards not to resuscitate him if he stopped breathing. The 54-year-old says in a lawsuit filed in federal court that prison officials were deliberately indifferent to his right to refuse medical treatment when he stopped breathing in 2009.

Self tells the Denver Post death would be a welcome relief after he was convicted in 2003 of killing 24-year-old Leah Gee, who was pregnant. Self says Gee shot herself. A Colorado prisons spokeswoman says the state has not been served with Self's lawsuit and she could not comment about the case because it is in litigation.

Self is serving a life sentence in Sterling Correction Facility in Sterling, Colo. for the murder of Gee. But Self claims innocence and has filed nine appeals of his conviction, one with the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the Denver Post.

TIME Magazine describes the Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order as a legal document that patients, or their loved ones, sign that states “extraordinary means” should not be taken to save their life. Typically this means CPR and other life support techniques, drugs and technology will not be used to save a person’s life with a DNR order, according to the Colorado Bar Association.

Apparently mom and dad did not want to have a party. A 17-year-old boy is accused of bludgeoning his parents with a hammer, then hosting dozens of friends for a party while their bodies lay in the bedroom, police said Monday.

Tyler Hadley of Port St. Lucie is charged with twin counts of first-degree murder in the deaths, which authorities say happened Saturday. He is being held without bond at a juvenile detention center in Fort Pierce and it's not immediately known whether he has an attorney.

The parents – Blake and Mary-Jo Hadley – were believed to have been struck with the hammer in their heads and torsos sometime after their son posted on Facebook around 1:15 p.m. Saturday alerting friends to an evening party at his house, about 50 miles north of West Palm Beach.

Investigators believe the parents were attacked outside their master bedroom and the bodies were moved into the bedroom and the door locked.

As many as 60 people attended the party that night, according to Port St. Lucie Police spokesman Tom Nichols. They were loud enough to prompt a noise complaint and a visit by police officers. When they arrived at 1:30 a.m. Sunday to warn about the noise, the party was already breaking up, Nichols said.

Then, police said, they received a tip that murder may have taken place. They returned to the home at 4:20 a.m., finding the bodies covered with towels, files, books and other household items, and the hammer between them.

This evil son of Satan was probably not hugged enough as a child or his dad or mom drank or people made fun of him or some other asinine defense he will bring forth in Court. I think he is just a piece of garbage that can only improve the world by being dead.

This will not help reduce the budget and the pro-lifers will not be happy. I do not want to promote promiscuity but it might be cheaper to prevent a bastard than to provide it with welfare for life. This is a tough one. A highly influential panel of medical experts recommended to the U.S. Department of Health on Tuesday that all health insurance plans be legally required to offer free birth control to patients.

The Obama Administration commissioned the non-partisan Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel to recommend which preventative health services all insurance plans should fully cover under the Affordable Care Act. In addition to covering birth control, the IOM suggested in its report that health insurers pay for HPV testing, contraceptive and lactation counseling, HIV screening and breast-feeding equipment.

This is the government once again telling private industry how to operate. The government does so well managing the tax-free tax revenue it receives.

Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaw.com

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

www.brucebrennanattorney.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

www.ebookmall.com (Do search by my name or book Title)

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

http://www.smashwords.com/ Do a Title or author search.

www.kobo.com

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard

Book Titles:

Holmes the Ripper

A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction

"History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are." - David C. McCullough

Let 'em eat bacon!

JULY 19, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

July 19 is … Flitch Day

Casey Anthony was released from jail around 12:30 a. m. Sunday July 17. 2011. She reportedly had just over $500.00 on her, the balance in her jail commissary account, most of it coming from donations made by people she does not know.

It was reported she took a private jet to her aunt’s home in Texas. A later report had her in Ohio but neither have been confirmed at the time this is being written. Perhaps her lawyer was not thinking this through too thoroughly. Texas has a tendency of making criminals pay for their crimes. I am sure some State’s Attorney, looking to make a name for himself, is reviewing ways to charge Ms. Anthony in Texas for something. If she tries to cash in on her infamy, I predict she will be arrested if still in Texas.

Where did the private jet come from? Her lawyer has less than six years of legal practice under his belt. He lost his license in Florida once; he has filed bankruptcy and there are domestic abuse issues in his past. He got some money from his client out of the $200,000.00 ABC News paid her but how much has never been disclosed. The State of Florida paid his fees to defend the accused. If Florida is like Illinois, they do not pay the going rate for attorneys. An accused is guaranteed the right to counsel, not counsel of his choice and not the best counsel. I do not think the attorney sprung for the jet.

Check out the video at this address. It is pretty neat. Did I just say neat?

                   http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/johnwilliams/wgnam-john-williams-dog-bites-shark,0,3025453.htmlstory

What is a Flitch?

A flitch is measurement of bacon, equaling half a pig. (Flitch = side)

In the United States: A side of unsliced bacon was once known as a flitch- it is now known as a slab. An individual slice of bacon is a slice or strip.

What is this Holiday for?

An old English custom from long ago eventually turned into the holiday called Flitch Day, which is celebrated on July 19th. Every year on this day, since about 1104, any married couple who could prove they had been faithful and loving to one another for one year was awarded half a pig, known as a flitch of bacon. However, very few couples would actually "bring home the bacon!" There are still flitch trials today, but they are only held once every four years.

There are historical references to this day as far back as 1104, and it was a regular civic event in Dunmow by the late 1800's. Eventually, those who settled in America, brought the tradition with them.

Origin of this Holiday?

My research did not find the creator, but we know that it does exist because of actual events and customs in history. This holiday is referred to as a "National" day.  However, I did not find any congressional records or presidential proclamations for this day.

Even though we didn't, this is still a holiday that is publicized to celebrate. So have fun with it and celebrate it!

Flitch Trials

Great Dunmow is a town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. Originally the site of a Roman settlement on Stane Street, the town thrived during the Middle Ages. Many buildings survive from this period, including a sixteenth century town hall.

Four-yearly ritual of the Flitch Trials

The town is famous for its four-yearly ritual of the Flitch Trials, in which couples must convince a jury of six local bachelors and six local maidens that they have never wished themselves un-wed for a year and a day. If successful the couple is paraded through the High Street and receive a flitch of bacon. The last flitch trials were held in the town in the summer of 2008, with the next scheduled for 2012. The custom is ancient, and is mentioned in the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

Custom of Giving a Flitch of Bacon

A custom of giving a flitch of bacon to any married couple who would swear that neither of them, in a year and a day, either sleeping or waking, repented of their marriage.

The actual words of the ancient rite performed before a ‘judge’ in a mock court and a ‘jury’ of maidens and bachelors, require that in “twelvemonth and a day” both spouses have “not wish’t themselves unmarried again”.

The full pledge went:

   You shall swear by custom of confession,

   If ever you made nuptial trangresssion,

   Be you either married man or wife,

   If you have brawls or contentious strife

   Or otherwise, at bed or at board,

   Offended each other in deed or word:

   Or, since the parish-clerk said Amen,

   You wish’t yourselves unmarried agen,

   Or in a twelvemonth and a day,

   Repented not in thought any way,

   But continued true in thought and desire

   As when you join'd hands in the quire.

   If to these conditions, without all feare,

   Of your own accord you will freely swear,

   A whole gammon of bacon you shall receive,

   And bear it hence with love and good leave;

   For this is our custom at Dunmow well knowne,

   Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon’s your own.

The parties were to make their oath before the Prior and Convent and the whole town, humbly kneeling in the churchyard upon two hard, pointed stones. The ancient oath is still sworn today:

   We do swear by custom of confession

   That we ne’er made nuptial transgression,

   Not since we were married man and wife,

   By household brawles or contentious strife,

   Or otherwise in bed or a boarde,

   Offended each other in deed or in word,

   Or in a twelve months and a day

   Repented not in thought in any way.

   Or since the church clerke said Amen

   Wish’t yourselves unmarried agen,

   But continue true and in desire,

   As when you joyn'd hands in Holy Quire.

When this oath was taken by each couple, it was the duty of the officer who administered it to reply:

"Since to these conditions, without any fear,

Of your own accord you do freely swear,

A whole flitch of bacon you shall receive,

And bear it hence with love and good leave;

For this is our custom at Dunmow well known

Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon's your own."

This is the origin of "bringing home the bacon".

A holiday for bacon; not big on the Jewish calendar but it seems like a fine tradition to me. The pig can always use a little more respect.

 Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaw.com

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

www.brucebrennanattorney.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

www.ebookmall.com (Do search by my name or book Title)

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

http://www.smashwords.com/ Do a Title or author search.

www.kobo.com

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard

Book Titles:

Holmes the Ripper

A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction

"Choose the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable." - Francis Bacon

Economics of baseball

JULY 18, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

July 18 is … National Ice Cream Day and National Caviar Day nice combination

Want to know the value and perks in a baseball player’s contract. Just go to;

                             http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com

You can find out things like Fukidome of the Cubs getting 8 first-class round trip airline tickets from Japan for his family. He also gets a car during spring training and the season as well as an interpreter. Each Major League Baseball team is reported on as well as the management.

According to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, some of the more interesting contract clauses for the 2011 season are: Always check out the small print. If your mom and dad never told you that, once upon a time, then hopefully your lawyer did.

Why? Because there's some fascinating stuff going on down there at the bottom of the page, after your eyes have started doing somersaults. And you'd sure hate to miss it. Luckily for you, we've been combing through the small print of as many baseball contracts from this winter as we could get our hands on. So here they come, the Most Creative Contract Clauses of the Offseason (so far):

Don't Lose That Number

Jayson Werth isn't the first player in history with a powerful attachment to his uniform number. Jayson Werth has a special affection for No. 28. Rickey Henderson once paid Turner Ward $25,000 to get No. 24. Doug Glanville once bought Jimmy Rollins a laptop in exchange for No. 6. And many a Rolex -- not to mention a beverage or 20 -- has changed hands over the years after players switched teams and found their favorite numbers on somebody else's back.

But Werth, baseball's newest $126 million man, might have taken uniform-bartering to a whole new level when he signed with the Nationals this winter: He went to the trouble of getting his uniform number -- which would be 28, in case you don't have this sort of thing memorized -- written into the contract.

So what's up with that? Ever since he switched to No. 28 (in 2004) from the No. 13 he once wore with Toronto, his teams have gone to the postseason five times, Werth told us. So why would he take any chances on losing his hold on a number with that much winning in it?

For the record, No. 28 was worn last year in Washington by utility man Mike Morse. But he'll now be switching to No. 38. Which might come as news to him …

Unless he's read the small print.

Silver Lining

If Albert Pujols has a Silver Slugger incentive clause, we get it. If Josh Hamilton has a Silver Slugger incentive clause, no big deal. Heck, even if Corky Miller has a Silver Slugger clause, there's some semblance of logic in there someplace. But Chien-Ming Wang? The sweet-swinging ex-Yankees pitcher has all kinds of incentive clauses included in the contract he signed with Washington last month. And in the case of most of them, that makes sense, considering he hasn't been healthy in 2½ years.

But a Silver Slugger clause? Well, he has one, all right. It'll pay him $50,000 if he out-swats every pitcher in the National League this year. But let's just say the Nationals probably don't need to put that money in an escrow account so they have it handy in case he wins. How many hits has Wang gotten in his career? That would be zero -- in 15 journeys to home plate. He's 0-for-14 -- with eight strikeouts, one GIDP and one sac bunt. So he actually owns more career outs (16) than plate appearances (15) -- which isn't easy. But that isn't all. Wang's whole career took a major U-turn south thanks to his offensive misadventures. On June 15, 2008, during interleague play, he failed to get a decent bunt down, bunted into a forceout and wound up spraining a ligament in his foot trying to run the bases. His career has never been the same since.

So maybe that Silver Slugger clause is about revenge. Or incentive. Or a private joke. At any rate, once again, it paid to read THAT small print.

Captaincy

Derek Jeter's new contract might be the most inventive deal of the whole winter. He doesn't just have incentive clauses. His whole deal is like one of those falling-dominoes tricks, in which everything that happens in the first three seasons helps determine his salary for the 2014 season -- assuming he's still playing in the 2014 season.

But the clause that caught our attention wasn't any of the numerous trigger clauses splattered all over the contract.

Instead, it's this:

The language in the contract Derek Jeter signed last month is rather interesting. In 2014, Jeter holds a player-only option clause worth $8 million (or possibly a lot more than that, depending on those other clauses), unless …

He chooses not to pick up his own option. In which case … He still gets a $3 million buyout clause. Good deal, huh?

OK, so technically, this isn't that unique. Teams sometimes structure contracts like this in order to backload some of the money. But this isn't just anybody's contract. This is Derek Jeter's contract. So every time we think of Derek Jeter cashing in the buyout of HIS OWN OPTION, we think: Is there anything that sums up what a crazy contract he wound up negotiating for himself better than that?

Thinking Big

You don't have to rummage through Bing Crosby's basement to know it has been more than half a century since Bill Mazeroski's most famous home run trot. And you don't have to be Andy Van Slyke to know this year will be the 19th season since the last time the Pirates played a postseason game -- or even had a winning season, for that matter. But that doesn't mean it's no longer legal to think big thoughts or dream big dreams inside the Pittsburgh city limits. Heck, no. In fact, it's encouraged.

And not just about the Steelers, the Penguins and the Pitt Panthers, either. No sir. That positivity goes for the Pirates, too. And all the proof you need can be found in the contracts the Buccos have handed out this winter. They've signed five established players as free agents this offseason -- Matt Diaz, Lyle Overbay, Garrett Atkins, Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen. And all five of them (plus holdover shortstop Ronny Cedeno) had World Series MVP clauses included in their new contracts.

So here's the irony:

You know how many World Series MVP incentive clauses the Yankees have given out to their current roster? That would be nada. (And no, clauses they inherited from other teams don't count -- and neither does the base-salary trigger in Jeter's new deal.) But the Pirates have doled out six WS MVP clauses in one offseason. There's a subplot in there someplace.

For Starters

All teams have what their accountants like to refer to, catchily, as "the standard awards package," so they can throw that package into contracts for veteran players when the haggling over deals mounts at crunch time. But every once in a while, those "standard" awards packages aren't as standard as the accountants might have thought when they drew them up. For instance: We ran across three free-agent pitchers who signed deals this winter that will pay them between $10,000 and $25,000 if they're chosen to start the All-Star Game. Now, that sounds pretty standard, right?

Except the three pitchers in question are Will Ohman (White Sox), Jesse Crain (White Sox) and Takashi Saito (Brewers). And what do those three have in common?

(A) They're all RELIEF pitchers. And (B) none of them has ever started a single game in the big leagues -- not ONE. See for yourself:

Ohman: 392 appearances -- 0 starts.

Crain: 376 appearances -- 0 starts.

Saito: 292 appearances -- 0 starts.

So if one of those three guys starts the All-Star Game in July, why do we have a feeling the biggest story of the day will NOT be his incentive clause?

Five Other Classic Clauses

 Dunn

• Adam Dunn got a $25,000 Gold Glove incentive from the White Sox. Like his chances to be the best-fielding DH in the American League?

• The Orioles tossed a $25,000 Silver Slugger clause into Cesar Izturis' contract. In case they didn't know (and we're guessing they did), he owns the second-lowest career OPS (.619) of any player with 2,000 or more plate appearances who is currently on a 40-man roster.

• You can't say the Dodgers aren't doing everything possible to help Hiroki Kuroda's family adjust to the life and culture on this side of the Pacific. They're giving his family more interpreters (two) than they're supplying him (one).

 Romero

• Phillies reliever J.C. Romero got a $50,000 Silver Slugger incentive in his new deal. OK, so he may not be in Wang's offensive class. But Romero's most recent at-bat was in 2007, he's gotten one at-bat since 2003, and June 15 will mark the 10th anniversary of his last (and only) hit -- a double off Julian Tavarez.

• Finally, we know exactly what kind of vehicle Takashi Saito will be driving in his first spring training with the Brewers. It'll be an SUV. And how do we know? It's right there in the small print of his contract -- of course.

This stuff is fun to read and learn about until you realize this is why a ticket costs $50.00, parking costs $30.00, a beer is $7.50 and a hot dog is $6.00.

Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaw.com

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

www.brucebrennanattorney.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

www.ebookmall.com (Do search by my name or book Title)

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

http://www.smashwords.com/ Do a Title or author search.

www.kobo.com

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard

Book Titles:

Holmes the Ripper

A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction

  "Myth must be kept alive. The people who can keep it alive are the artists of one kind or another. The function of the artist is the mythologization of the environment and the world." - Joseph Campbell