While reflecting on this country's most important Presidential Election perhaps ever, as an Oklahoma Catholic Lawyer my thoughts keep turning back to David Green and the Hobby Lobby's fight against the Federal Government's attempted enforcement of laws that contravene the Green family's religious freedom and, in turn, violate their fundamental right to exercise their religious beliefs. And although I'm certainly by no means a "politico" or even one who fancies himself a "religious liberty" expert (I was a lot more interested in my alma mater Notre Dame's football game against my College of Law's (OU) than any of the recent Presidential debates, although I did find them interesting if not decisive) I have found the Green family’s legal battle against the government to illuminate the choice in tomorrow's election like no other present day issue.
You will recall the dilemma faced by the Greens and their ultra-successful Hobby Lobby (arts and crafts) and Mardel (Christian books) businesses. Obamacare places a federal mandate on these businesses that requires them to provide their employees with insurance coverage for certain contraceptive drugs and devices, which the Greens, based upon their sincere, deeply-held religious beliefs, oppose. Failure to follow these Obamacare contraception requirements could subject the Green family businesses to fines up to $1.3M per day.
Mr. Green, from all accounts a patriotic American as well as a devout Christian, recently characterized his family's dilemma as "being forced to choose between following the laws of the country that we love or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful and have supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families." In other words, by adhering to the strict requirements of President Obama's Affordable Care Act, the Greens are forced to contravene their deeply-rooted religious beliefs that the First Amendment of our land's Constitution mandates each American has a fundamental right to preserve.
As Americans, each of us is entitled to our views, beliefs, and opinions on the economy, foreign policy, militarization, health care, life and death issues (abortion, the death penalty, etc.), and all other issues on which our Presidential candidates seek our votes. As well, we all, of course, are entitled to our views, beliefs, and opinions about those Presidential candidates and their ability to stir the country's economy, to implement appropriate foreign policy, to properly deploy and bring home our troops and maintain an effective military, to work with Congress to assure our nation implements the right laws to enable Americans to have ample opportunity to pursue their own life, liberty and happiness, and to appoint justices who will uphold and protect our country's Constitution and, thus, the fundamental principles upon which she was founded.
And while it's most likely few would argue with the above thoughts, I likewise am convinced the very fact that David Green and his family have been forced to do legal battle with their own government in order to protect the very religious liberty our Constitution otherwise guarantees probably speaks volumes about who our next President should be -- AND, MOREOVER, WHO IT SHOULD NOT BE.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Unwritten Rules
Friends:
As I venture into the world of social media (it's kinda like a dinosaur sticking his big toe into the pool before diving in, or something like that,) I find myself thinking, "This must be what being one of my kids feels like ...... 'Go ahead there's nothing to be afraid of'; 'Don't play scared!'; 'You can do anything!'"...... And yet, it's the unknown that's terrifying. The inability to master that causes one to freeze. The fear of looking silly that petrifies.
With that said, and a great big jump, here goes my entry into that world formerly reserved for the circles in which the older of my nine (9) kids run and only the coolest of my friends engage -- social media. Today, I'm "blogging" -- or "face-paging" or "text booking" or any of the other silly names I give to that which heretofore I haven't known or understood, much less participated in... And so, my first question in entering this unknown: "What are the rules?"
Well, as far as I can tell, there aren't any "written" ones.... At least not that any of my new "friends" face pages identify. Which begs the question, "Are there 'unwritten' rules?" According to the linked article, they exist all over the place in sports... And, while we're on the subject, don't ever adhere to an unwritten rule whose logical extent could determine the outcome of the game. (Though I respect the Giants' Tom Coughlin and barely know who the Bucs' rookie coach Greg Schiano is, Coach Coughlin is so far out of line it's not even worth discussing, let alone all the air waves and cyber space the topic has consumed.)
In my own professional world -- the time honored practice of law -- there are all kinds of "unwritten" rules, or, probably more precisely, common sense protocol or etiquette. Don't talk over opposing counsel, much less the judge. Stand when His/Her Honor enter the courtroom. Always take the judge's call. Wear your best dark suit to the first day of trial. Don't predict victory -- and certainly never guarantee it.
Often I wish there were more "unwritten rules" in the legal profession -- like there are in baseball, the sport in which the "unwritten" seems to fly in the face of competition or run counter to the very sportsmanship the unspoken rule was to maintain. For instance, it would be so much easier if lawyers knew exactly when to stop cross-examining the "bloodied" witness -- like in baseball, where there is no stealing bases beyond the 7th inning in a lopsided game (or is it the 6th inning, and how many runs was that anyway that the other team won't score so the lead is safe?) Or, if lawyers had a clear picture of when they were forbidden to file an appeal of a case in which they had effectively been "no-hit" -- maybe a unanimous jury verdict or a summary judgement in the opposition's favor -- like the "no bunting to break up the late inning no hitter" rule in baseball. On second thought, practicing law is in many ways difficult enough, and so maybe we should just be glad we're not baseball players.
These "unwritten rules." I guess they're supposed to provide a modicum of etiquette to sports where the rule-makers, in someone's mind, didn't think it all that important. I'm not sure they're always necessary - or right. But, there seems to be a lot of consequence, or at least scrutiny, for the violators. I sure hope they don't extend to the world of social media. If they do, then I'll really have something to fear -- other than not knowing how to "text-book" or "face-page" this blog.
By the way, if you or someone you know needs someone to help you better understand the "rules" in connection with your legal rights, please feel free to contact me by phone at 405-235-2393 or visit my website.
Until later,
Denis
As I venture into the world of social media (it's kinda like a dinosaur sticking his big toe into the pool before diving in, or something like that,) I find myself thinking, "This must be what being one of my kids feels like ...... 'Go ahead there's nothing to be afraid of'; 'Don't play scared!'; 'You can do anything!'"...... And yet, it's the unknown that's terrifying. The inability to master that causes one to freeze. The fear of looking silly that petrifies.
With that said, and a great big jump, here goes my entry into that world formerly reserved for the circles in which the older of my nine (9) kids run and only the coolest of my friends engage -- social media. Today, I'm "blogging" -- or "face-paging" or "text booking" or any of the other silly names I give to that which heretofore I haven't known or understood, much less participated in... And so, my first question in entering this unknown: "What are the rules?"
Well, as far as I can tell, there aren't any "written" ones.... At least not that any of my new "friends" face pages identify. Which begs the question, "Are there 'unwritten' rules?" According to the linked article, they exist all over the place in sports... And, while we're on the subject, don't ever adhere to an unwritten rule whose logical extent could determine the outcome of the game. (Though I respect the Giants' Tom Coughlin and barely know who the Bucs' rookie coach Greg Schiano is, Coach Coughlin is so far out of line it's not even worth discussing, let alone all the air waves and cyber space the topic has consumed.)
In my own professional world -- the time honored practice of law -- there are all kinds of "unwritten" rules, or, probably more precisely, common sense protocol or etiquette. Don't talk over opposing counsel, much less the judge. Stand when His/Her Honor enter the courtroom. Always take the judge's call. Wear your best dark suit to the first day of trial. Don't predict victory -- and certainly never guarantee it.
Often I wish there were more "unwritten rules" in the legal profession -- like there are in baseball, the sport in which the "unwritten" seems to fly in the face of competition or run counter to the very sportsmanship the unspoken rule was to maintain. For instance, it would be so much easier if lawyers knew exactly when to stop cross-examining the "bloodied" witness -- like in baseball, where there is no stealing bases beyond the 7th inning in a lopsided game (or is it the 6th inning, and how many runs was that anyway that the other team won't score so the lead is safe?) Or, if lawyers had a clear picture of when they were forbidden to file an appeal of a case in which they had effectively been "no-hit" -- maybe a unanimous jury verdict or a summary judgement in the opposition's favor -- like the "no bunting to break up the late inning no hitter" rule in baseball. On second thought, practicing law is in many ways difficult enough, and so maybe we should just be glad we're not baseball players.
These "unwritten rules." I guess they're supposed to provide a modicum of etiquette to sports where the rule-makers, in someone's mind, didn't think it all that important. I'm not sure they're always necessary - or right. But, there seems to be a lot of consequence, or at least scrutiny, for the violators. I sure hope they don't extend to the world of social media. If they do, then I'll really have something to fear -- other than not knowing how to "text-book" or "face-page" this blog.
By the way, if you or someone you know needs someone to help you better understand the "rules" in connection with your legal rights, please feel free to contact me by phone at 405-235-2393 or visit my website.
Until later,
Denis
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