I am not a pilot. Generally, I fly big commercial airlines rather than small planes. And like most of us, I rely on a leap of faith that the plane won’t crash. Otherwise, I would be wringing my seatmate’s hand and calling for Mommy on every flight.

So it’s always a surprise to me to read that an airplane of any kind - commercial airliner, private jet, or cargo plane - crashes because of poor maintenance. Of all the things that could go wrong, this is the no-brainer, the one over which we have the most control. Yet, it is one of the most frequent causes of airline disasters.

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Two elements of the American Dream - home ownership and the right to seek justice - have been on a collision course as home buyers fighting construction defects learn the hard way that arbitration clauses stack the deck against them.

Responding, in part, to consumer outrage, both houses of Congress have proposed amending The Federal Arbitration Act to restore homebuyers’ rights to take developers to court instead of submitting to mandatory arbitration (H.R. 3010 and S. 1782, filed July 12, 2007).

Consumer organizations such as HomeOwners for Better Building (http://www.hobb.org/) and People Over Profits (http://www.peopleoverprofits.org/) have argued for years that as major construction defects become more prevalent, binding arbitration rules become, in effect, legislated protection of huge development corporations that cut corners - literally and figuratively - and make home warranties worthless.

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Let me first tell you that I am new to this blogging thing. I am one of the senior partners here at this firm; some would say emphasis on “senior”. I have spent the better part of my life fighting for injured victims and I now realize that my country has become one of those injured victims. My feelings for my country are as fervent and passionate as my feelings for the clients I represent. The gentleman who runs our blog has advised me against this publish, because he felt it was too political; I, of course, am ignoring him.

As someone who used to be a die-hard Republican, I must confess that I am angry and appalled at what my government is doing to its people. Yes, my government; because you see, even when we would rail against what our government has become, in the end, it is still our responsibility.

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Castleberry’s Food Company has just issued a voluntary recall, on the heels of FDA warnings that their Hot Dog Chili Sauce could have ingredients in it that were not planned. The FDA is warning that four people have been hospitalized with botulism poisoning. Although the contamination of botulism in canned foods is extremely rare, it can be deadly.

Botulism attacks proteins in the nerve endings of humans and destroys them. The damage to the nerves is permanent and irreversible. The nerves that are most attacked are those that stimulate muscle cells and can cause, among other problems, paralysis of muscles. Symptoms include: double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness.

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Americans are always searching for the silver bullet, whether for weight loss, stopping smoking, or, in this case, curing cancer.

After what is described as “the most rigorous study ever,” a prominent vitamin D researcher at the University of California-San Diego has announced that vitamin D cuts the risk of several kinds of cancer by as much as 60% among older women.

Cedric Garland, the researcher, did not mince words. “No other method to prevent cancer has been identified that has such a powerful impact,” he said confidently.

But then the confusion began.

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China has certainly suffered its share of setbacks in the export of products to the rest of the world. They have allowed tainted toothpaste to leave their country and deadly dog & cat food to be exported. Most recently, it was discovered that Chinese tires were manufactured without including the material that binds the belts together.

China’s response to this event has been essentially two-fold. They blame foreign media for over blowing the whole thing. They especially point to the West’s media for concentrating on what they claim are isolated incidents:

“Some foreign media, especially those based in the U.S., have wantonly reported on so called unsafe Chinese products. They are turning white to black,” said Li Changjiang, minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

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Congress is currently working on legislation which would grant the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate to the production of “safer” cigarettes. The bill would grant the FDA the power to oversee the production of cigarettes and require manufacturers to report the specific components of cigarettes and to seek permission from the FDA for changes to the current formula.

Congress is currently working on legislation which would grant the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate to the production of cigarettes. The bill would grant the FDA the power to oversee the production of cigarettes and require manufacturers to report the specific components of cigarettes and to seek permission from the FDA for changes to the current formula.

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As Florida authorities struggle with keeping drivers with dementia off the roads, one courageous drug research project is exploring helping Alzheimer’s patients maintain their driving privileges for a longer period of time.

The rationale makes sense: senior citizens who must give up driving give up their independence, and for many, it’s the first step toward a nursing home.

On the other hand, the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles calls unsafe elderly drivers one of the most critical situations facing the state. A 2004 report estimates that there are more than 2.2 million drivers between 65 and 74 on the road, and another quarter of a million 85 or older - 20 percent of whom suffer from dementia.

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A trial that began June 11 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC pits 4800 families of children with autism, the plaintiffs, against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This first of nine test cases promises to become a landmark debate about the causes of autism generally, and, more specifically, about any causative role played by vaccines for childhood diseases such as measles and mumps.

Petitioners say the culprit is either the mercury-containing vaccine preservative called thimerosal or the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) - which does not contain thimerosal - or a combination of the two. Advocates of this position claim that autism rates have skyrocketed since these vaccinations became mandatory, citing recent CDC findings that one in 150 eight-year-olds now has an “autistic spectrum” disorder. Parents of children with autism offer heart-rending anecdotal information about bright, active two- or three-year-olds who, after being vaccinated, have impaired social and communications skills and can no longer even feed themselves.

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It has been done in Mississippi, Florida, and in New Brunswick, Canada. Governmental bodies have finally realized that if they have a cause of action, involving complex litigation, why pay exorbitant hourly fees? Instead, why not hire plaintiff oriented firms who are skilled in working under contingent fee arrangements? Why not let the law firms undertake the risk of the loss of fees and, in some cases, the costs as well?

As Attorney David Lowe points out in a recent blog posting, the only people apparently squawking about this favorable approach to complex litigation for governments is the defense bar. Oh, and President Bush apparently thinks it is a bad idea; since he issued an executive order in May that bans governmental agencies from hiring private lawyers on a contingency fee basis.

Let’s be fair and try to analyze motivations in an objective light.

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