Claims And Issues

SEXUAL PREDATORS, YOU'RE SAFE UNDER THIS FLORIDA BILL.

Florida's House Bill 1557 begins with the title "an act relating to parental rights in education," but it is better known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.  It has passed the Florida Legislature and the Florida Governor just signed it so it is now the law.

          The three most significant things about this law are, first, that it will make school districts notify students' parents of any change "in the student's services or monitoring" related to her health or well-being and the school's ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment.  There are lots of things this law does not define and obviously leaves to judges to define, such as "services or monitoring" in the first place, as well as "well-being," "safe," and "supportive," but that's not the first significant thing about it. 

          This law allows school districts to adopt procedures permitting school personnel not to notify the parents "if a reasonably prudent person" would believe that telling the parents would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as those terms are defined in current Florida law.  The first significant thing about this law is that it puts the burden on the "school personnel" to prove that notifying the parents would result in abuse, from the standpoint of a reasonably prudent person.

          What if the "change in the student's services or monitoring" (also not defined) was because the student told the school personnel of the parents' abuse, let's say?  Would that be something a reasonably prudent person would believe would result in more abuse, abandonment, or neglect?  And would the "school personnel" have to tell the parents -- the potential child abusers -- what the student said in order to prove it?

          Long ago, I was a case worker dealing with abused and neglected children.   Far and away the most common child abuser was the child's own parent or, sometimes, both parents. 

          Second, this law will enshrine a parent's option to "withhold consent or decline any specific service" offered by the school district to her child, and it makes the school district tell all the parents at the beginning of every school year that they have this option.  That appears to include the services of the school nurse, if there is one.  Without a school nurse, whether because the district cannot afford one or because a given parent does not want her child to be seen by a school nurse, there will certainly be less opportunity to observe any bruises and even small fractures.

          Requiring school districts to notify parents of their option to bow out of "each healthcare service" offered by the district to their children, will of course include notice to abusive parents that their children will no longer be seen by "each healthcare service" at school once the abusive parents simply opt their child out of the school's healthcare service.

          Third, if a parent has undefined "concerns," and if those concerns are not "resolved by the school district," then every parent has two options.  They can either request the Florida Commissioner of Education in Tallahassee to appoint a "special magistrate" presumably from anywhere (this law does not say), but the "special magistrate" is required by this law at the local school district's expense.  (This bill was sponsored by a 34-year-old landscaper from Williston, Florida.  Do you think he will vote now to provide the funding for these special magistrates that his bill requires?  It is not very likely.)

          Or the parents who have "concerns" that the school district did not resolve, can sue the school district for "declaratory judgment" and "injunctive relief."  Somehow while seeking declaratory relief and an injunction, the parents who sue school districts can also recover "damages;" for what and how much is not stated.  This is rare in my experience as a Florida lawyer.

          But it is not unheard of.  In Florida, we have what you might call a part-time Legislature.  Members of the Florida Legislature, like the sponsor of this bill for example, are not full-time lawmakers.  On the contrary, they are only part-time lawmakers and full-time something else.  Long experience with Florida statutes reveals this clearly, because every once in a while, shall we say, a given Florida statute just does not make sense.

          When a Florida statute does not make sense, it is up to lawyers and judges to figure it out.  Or, if a statute cannot be figured out for whatever reason, it will be treated in the courts as it deserves, whatever that may be in a given case.  In this case, the case of the "act relating to parental rights," the statute itself tells what viewpoint is behind every provision of the act.

          This law does not use these words, but these words tell the viewpoint behind this bill:  'Children as chattel.'  Chattel means property.  This act views children as the property of the parent.  It says that it is written to support "the fundamental right" of parents to "control" their children.  Parents do not "control" their children; they love and support them as best they can, they provide food and a home and clothes and all the other things that a child needs, as best as the parents are able to do so.  But none of that is how any parent "controls" her or his child.

          Children as chattel?  Children as property?  No.

          Children as the people who will inherit the earth, hopefully without laws like this one.  Children as the future.  Yes.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

AT LEAST SPARE UKRAINE THAT MUCH.

Civilian deaths are a tragedy. But they are not a mistake.

Is it not possible, perhaps even likely, that things like the savage annihilation of the city of Mariupol including attacks on Maternity Hospitals and on civilians sheltering in a theater, are planned?  And that they are intentional?

It increasingly begins to appear that these heinous acts may be designed to elicit a response from the Ukrainians. Then, after the Ukrainians act in their justified outrage, Mr. Putin may declare an after-the-fact justification for his death-dealing invasion based on the reaction of the Ukrainians nearly a month after the Russian Army crossed the border into Ukraine.

That would be an even greater tragedy than the death of innocents, which is a great tragedy in itself. The world should bear the burden of responding to what we see Putin and his soldiers doing to Ukraine, so that Ukraine does not have to--such as pursuing a lawsuit in the International Criminal Court in the Hague for war crimes under international law.

Now let the world act to condemn this brutality, this cruelty, so that Ukraine does not have to take action into its own hands, which would not be good for Ukraine, Russia, or the world.

With everything else Ukraine is being forced to contend with, spare them that much.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

GODSPEED, BOB HUNTER

After half a century of distinguished public service including positions as Director of Insurance at the Consumer Federation of America, and as a member of and contributor to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and as the Texas Insurance Commissioner, Mr. J. Robert "Bob" Hunter is retiring.

          I was not aware of all of his many accomplishments until now, when he is retiring.  Here's a brief look at the highlights of Bob's public service record:

1971:  United States Federal Insurance Administrator.  Bob would lead the Federal Insurance Administration first under President Carter, then under President Ford.

1980:  Bob founds the National Insurance Consumer Organization (NICO) and becomes its head in 1982.

1995:  Bob transitions into a post in which he would serve for the next 27 years:  Director of Insurance, Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

1980 through now:  Bob never asked for compensation over his more than 40 years of work with NICO and CFA.

Along the way, Bob served as Texas Insurance Commissioner.

          That is enough.  That is probably already more than Bob would want to have said about him, being a humble person.  This tribute will be short because he would want it that way.

          His professional career showed his enduring belief in the wisdom of insurer good faith.

          Godspeed, Bob Hunter.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

THE C.D.C.: JOE BIDEN'S POLITICAL CANARY IN THE COAL MINE?

Even as the United States approaches 1,000,000 deaths from COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued its latest directive.  This time, the CDC says that it is fine for most people in America not to wear masks.

          Many medical experts are aghast.  They say it is way too soon to take the masks off and expose vulnerable people to the spreading virus.  Medical advice to one side, it is pretty clear from the CDC's latest about-face in a string of recent about-faces, that the CDC is following political advice instead of medical advice.

          President Biden's poll numbers are notoriously low in this early stage of his presidency.  Pundits fill the air with their predictions that Joe Biden will not be re-elected.  The Biden people do not believe that, of course.  But they must be concerned.  It's natural.  Any politician would be concerned over poll numbers as low as the President's are right now.

          Although the Biden people almost certainly do not believe that President Biden will not be re-elected in 2024, as things stand it will not be good to be in office when One Million People die in the U.S. from the pandemic. 

          So, perhaps this explains why the CDC suddenly is changing its mind and minimizing the COVID threat of death and terrible sickness.   COVID has so clearly brought death and sickness to this country and  COVID so clearly will continue to bring death and sickness to this country.  The Biden people's solution seems to be to have the CDC minimize the pandemic, much as the former guy's people ignored the pandemic because COVID was not positive for their poll numbers either -- and the former guy's people were correct.  Death and sickness from the coronavirus pandemic were not only negatives for their poll numbers, they were negatives for their numbers at the polls.

          Ironically, the Biden Administration came into office not to manipulate the CDC, but to save it.  The CDC was notoriously politicized by the previous regime.  Now the Biden people appear to be doing the same thing, and for the same reason:  Sick and dying people are not good for their poll numbers.

          I hope that's not what's happening.  It sure looks like it, though.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT THE U.S. SUPREME COURT?

That the 6 Justices in the current majority on the Court, the so-called "Gang of Six," are all Catholics?

          Puts their rulings favoring religion and religious practices in a different light, doesn't it? 

          Not to mention their rulings on abortion.

That none of the Gang of Six was ever a trial judge?

          Their experience was all in appellate courts where they saw other lawyers, who made arguments for them to always decide who was right.  So, the Gang of Six are used to making the decision in every case and whatever decision they make, must be the right one, of course.

          Trial judges certainly see other lawyers also, but in trials they generally see witnesses who testify for juries to decide who was right.  Sometimes juries get it wrong, but not often; even when juries do get it wrong, the trial judge is there to administer justice, not impose her or his own decision in place of what the jury decided.

          That's a big difference in their backgrounds.

          In fact, apparently only one Justice was a trial judge before being nominated to the Supreme Court:  Justice Sonia Sotomayor. 

          Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would make the second Justice on the Court with experience as a trial judge.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

REBECCA SOLNIT WRITES TRUTH AGAIN.

This time in The Guardian, here:  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/02/time-to-confront-trump-putin-network (registration may be required by The Guardian to access).

Please read the disclaimer.  This blog ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

WATCH FOR IT AT TONIGHT'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS.

The Republican members of Congress will be seated on the President's left, which will be to our right on the television screen.

The Democratic members of Congress will be seated on the President's right, which will be to our left on the television screen.

Look to the right side of your television screen where the Republican members of Congress will be arranged.  Watch them.  See how they behave.  Remember how they behave.

Look to see if they are sitting on their hands and not applauding when American values are mentioned.  Look to see if they are folding their arms and not making any movement when the needs of the United States are listed in the address.

Most important of all, perhaps, look to see what if any reaction Republican members of Congress have to any mention of the 1/6 Committee.

Above all, if anyone shouts out tonight the President this time should land on him or her like a ton of bricks.  Ignoring and appeasing bullies only makes louder bullies.

Or, as we see in Ukraine right now, bullies behaving badly in many other ways besides talk.

Watch them.  Remember what they do, and what they do not do.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

WHAT WERE THEY TALKING ABOUT?

Remember when Putin and The Former Guy talked to each other without a translator or at least without another American present?  What was that about?  I haven't seen anything about it since, and I certainly have not seen any reporting on what they said to each other.  It had to be something that they did not want the world to hear because they shut the world out of their conversations.

We know since that they both had or have their plans for Ukraine.

Did Putin and TFG talk about Ukraine?

Is that what they did not want the world to hear, their plans for Ukraine, and their plans for other things?  Hmm.  One tried to stop anti-tank missiles going to Ukraine, the other sent tanks to Ukraine.

You gotta wonder.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.