FRIDAY'S INTEMPERATE THOUGHTS 

I watched Paul Begala on Crossfire yesterday ... he was talking about Bush's proposed spending cuts.  Now, bear in mind, Bush is proposing a cut of less than one percent.  Eight-tenths of one percent, to be exact.  That would be the equivalent of eight cents out of ten dollars.  So, how does hyper-partisan Paul Begala handle this?  He says that the Bush budget would SLASH money from the budget in communities around the nation.  SLASH I tell you.  Is this responsible commentary or just plain fear-mongering?

Bling.  I'm so tired of that word ...already.  Are we going to let that creep into our culture?  Kill it now while there's still a chance.

CNN was playing a call to 911 this morning.  Someone was calling because a dog had attacked their toddler.  The 911 dispatcher asked what kind of dog it was.  The hysterical woman on the line said it was a pit bull.  The dispatcher said "stupid people" under her breath.  Now the dispatcher is facing suspension.  Suspension for what?  Telling the truth?  They are stupid people.  Anyone with a pit bull in a house with children should be charged with child endangerment.

Reality show?  I have a reality show for you.  Put cameras in the prison that will house Michael Jackson after his conviction.  Now there's a reality show I might tune in once in a while.

The latest from the wonderful world of unions?  Menstrual leave.  That's right ... time off for your period.  The Manufacturing Workers Union is asking for menstrual leave -- 12 extra days off a year with pay -- for menstrual pain.  The union says that women shouldn't be disadvantaged against men that don't have periods.  OK ... so this is happening in Australia.  How long before this nifty idea gets here?  Oh .. and don't forget.  Once women get their menstrual leave in the U.S. it will still be illegal to discriminate against them in hiring.  You'll just have to hire them knowing that you'll have to pay them for 12 extra days a year that they're not working.

I love this caption that appeared on Fark.com today:  "4.2 magnitude earthquake rattles Arkansas. Millions of NASCAR collectible plates shattered"  I need that guy to write for the Boortz show.

CAPS ON PAIN AND SUFFERING

The House has now passed a bill that would put a cap on pain-and-suffering awards of $350,000.  Many are heralding this as a great accomplishment in tort reform that will lower the cost of medical care.  Sorry .. but I don't think so.

I used to be a trial lawyer.  I filed medical malpractice cases.  I won.  I by no means was any better than average, but I might have a perspective here that is worth considering.

The problem here is juries.  Let me tell you what goes on in the jury room as deliberations start in a medical malpractice case.  Let's say that the plaintiff's case is weak.  There is no compelling evidence that there was any malpractice.   What does the jury do?  Does the jury just find for the Defendant and send everyone home?  All too often the answer is no.  Regardless of what the evidence shows, someone in that jury room is going to say "Well, we ought to pay her something.  After all, she was hurt.  Anyway, insurance is going to pay for it."  And there you go.  Pretty soon you have all of the members of the jury feeling sorry for the plaintiff, even though there is no compelling proof that the plaintiff's injuries were caused by the negligence of the defendant.  The jury hands out some money, the defendant is scarred by a successful malpractice lawsuit, and premiums go up.

What we really need here are laws that make it easier for judges to overturn jury verdicts.  We need better instructions to juries.  We need a loser-pays system where if you file a lawsuit, and you don't win, you pay the defendant's costs of defending the lawsuit.

A quick story.  Many years ago in Atlanta there was a horrible case of clear medical malpractice.  A doctor used the wrong equipment to circumcise two male (obviously) infants.  The circumcision was performed using an electrocautery machine.  The sparks flew and the penises were burned off of both of these infants.  Now that's not my idea of a good start in life.  I followed this case very carefully as I was practicing law at the time.  A decision was made to perform a sex-change operation on one of the infants.  I've forgotten what they did for the other child.  Now, let's imagine that there was a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering in Georgia at that time.  That's what Georgia legislators are trying to institute now.  This child has a life expectancy of about 76 years.  Do the math.  A $250,000 award for pain and suffering would amount to about $275 a month.  That's what you get for never being able to have a child.  That's what you get for being born a male, having your penis burned off by an irresponsible doctor, getting a sex change and then living the rest of your life as a woman.  $275 a month.  Does that seem right to you?

Let's work on reforming the process, not limiting the awards.

BUT THIS IS GOOD TORT REFORM

The United States Senate finally passed a useful piece of legislation yesterday. It's called The Class Action Fairness Act, and it passed 72-26. The Democrats had filibustered it in the last Congress. Not so now, with most of the obstructionists put out to pasture in the last election.

So what's this about? Mainly it has to do with class action lawsuits. You know, the ones where you get a letter in the mail from an attorney telling you that you're part of a lawsuit over a can opener you bought 15 years ago. The lawsuit is filed in some small, lawsuit-friendly county in Illinois somewhere, and in the end the lawyers make tens of millions of dollars and you get a coupon good for $10 off a new Benz. What a deal, huh?  You make lawyers rich and get ten bucks for your trouble.

This new law would require  large class-action lawsuits to be bumped up to federal court, eliminating the jurisdiction shopping that goes on and it also reduces the amount of money the ambulance chasers can skim off the top. Naturally, the trial lawyers and their Democratic whores were none too happy with this one. Bill Clinton always opposed it. Now it has passed. 

Harry Reid opposed it, but it didn't matter. Hopefully this is a trend. 

They're raising a black flag outside of the law offices of James Sokolov.

THE FAKE REPORTER

There is a lot of controversy about this White House reporter that asked a question during President Bush's recent press conference. Since the question was not hostile to the president, immediately the leftists that run liberal blogs and websites immediately tried to find out who he was, where he came from and why he wasn't a Bush-hating Democrat like so much of the rest of the White House press corps.

Well, they got their man. His name is James Guckert, and he works for the Talon News Service. He uses a stage name, Jeff Gannon. Once he was outed, he announced he was quitting "in consideration of the welfare of me and my family." Hmm...was he threatened? It sure sounds like it.

So who is Talon News Service? It turns out it is a small news service run by a GOP activist named Bobby Eberle, who also runs the GOPUSA organization. But does it mean anything? Hardly. Sure...he comes from a partisan political organization, but at least they admit their leanings.

What about the Associated Press, CBS News, The New York Times and on and on? They are most certainly partisan Democrats. As for him not using his real name, that's nothing new either. You don't really think people on TV and in print always use their real names, do you?

Lawrence Harvey Zeiger Live just doesn't have much of a ring to it.

EASON JORDAN STILL ON THE HOOK

CNN honcho Eason Jordan continues to sink deeper and deeper into the proverbial puddin' pot over his statements a couple weeks ago in Switzerland. Now he has a couple Democrats nipping at his heels, and they're calling for what everyone wants to see: the videotape of his comments.

Jordan made the statement that he knew of at least 12 cases where coalition troops had intentionally killed journalists in Iraq. The implication here was that U.S. soldiers were targeting some journalists.  Obviously, he was lying, because he can't provide any evidence to support his statement. Both Eason Jordan and CNN have been backpedaling ever since. Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, who was there, wants to see the tape.

Appearing on MSNBC yesterday morning, Dodd posed the question: "It seems to me that he ought to be the first one to say, 'Let's get the tape out,' so we can put an end to these rumors if, in fact, his interpretation of what he was trying to say is accurate." In addition, Congressman Barney Frank, for his part, has repeatedly contacted Jordan asking for evidence of crimes against journalists by American forces. So far, he has had no response.

This could be the end of the line for Eason Jordan....another mainstream media figure brought down by the bloggers.

HOT AIR STORIES

In this week's Boortz Blast, we shared a bit where Neal tells an embarrassing story about a time he released a little abdominal pressure at an inopportune time. Have you got an embarrassing "hot air" story? Email it to us with the subject "hot air story" and we'll post our favorites here.

WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE POINTY HAND THINGS?
These are links to each individual story on the Nuze, p-links for the geeks out there. Plus, they work today and they'll work tomorrow. Now you can easily discuss/debate/rip apart the Nuze without worrying about the links going bad. Enjoy!

BOORTZ BLAST NEWSLETTER
Everyone is talking about the Boortz Blast newsletter. Do you want yours? Sign up here and we'll deliver it directly to your inbox every 2 weeks. If you signed up but aren't receiving it, either your company or your spam filter could be keeping it from you. Try using a personal email address and check your spam filter's junk folder for wayward newsletters.

NEAL'S FANS GET TOGETHER
If you like Neal and are looking for like minded people to hang out with online or off, check out these places:

• Talkmaster Yahoo Group
• Meet Boortz fans in your area
• alt.fan.neal.boortz newsgroup (note, you're going to have to figure out newsgroups all on your own)

NEALZ LINKS FOR NUZE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution World Net Daily NewsMax Wall Street Journal opinions Washington Times Washington Post Real Clear Politics Media Research Center Naples Daily News The Drudge Report The Associated Press SF Gate townhall.com

NEALZ AUDIO ARCHIVES Interview with Peter Jennings 1/26 Howard Dean Alarm System Neal talks with Ludacris Boo Got Shot CARTOON INDEX Check here for a list of cartoons that have appeared on Nealz Nuze.

Belinda Skelton, Ken Rogers, Laura Nunemaker and Brian Ganey assist in the daily preparation of Nealz Nuze!