text:
If you have not done so already, please baby please, purchase a professional liability insurance policy with a license defense benefit today.
I am transitioning back into hands on nursing practice soon here in Cincinnati. I will be working part-time as a RN in home health or hospice, part-time as a solo practitioner in private law practice, and part-time at the new Freddy's Frozen Custard on Winton Road. https://freddysusa.com/store/cincinnati-winton-rd/
My goal has always been to practice law and practice nursing and I miss hands on nursing care. I have interviewed with several home health companies here in Cincinnati and I will be starting a position next month. I plan to start per diem and work a few days a week in addition to practicing law.
I have been in private practice for 15 years and I turned 45 years old this month. I am not having another mid-life crisis but just trying to transition back into the traditional workplace a few days out of the week. I am looking at doing a combination of things for the next couple of years: defending nurses, providing patient care, project legal work, etc. just to mix things up.
I said that to say that I need to purchase my own professional liability insurance policy with a license defense benefit. Call me bias because of TAANA but I will purchase a policy with Nursing Service Organization (NSO). http://www.nso.com/
I am not getting paid to NSO, NSO, NSO but I like the benefits offered with its policies. I am not telling you to purchase NSO insurance but you should have a policy with an insurer familiar with nursing malpractice as well as Nursing Board defense claims.
Baby please baby, please purchase YOUR OWN liability insurance policy with a nurse license defense benefit.
What is Pat-a-Cake? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat-a-cake,_pat-a-cake,_baker%27s_man
Do you know how to patty cake? If not, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yULp0Vnzblc
You receive an email from "Agent Smith" with State XY Board of Nursing who wants to speak with you immediately.
You are nervous, getting anxious and don't know how to proceed. Do you call Agent Smith now? Do you respond to Agent Smith's email? It is only 5pm, so do you meet with Agent Smith at 7am tomorrow morning at your local library as requested? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Smith
If you are called, emailed, or receive written correspondence from a State Nursing Board Compliance Agent, Certified Nurse Investigator, or Investigator, you need to consider the following before you respond:
Really put some thought into how you want to proceed instead of acting on impulse and instinct in these situations. Don't have money to retain a lawyer? Try paying for a telephone consultation with the attorney.
A State Nursing Board Compliance Agent or Certified Investigator conversation is not the same as speaking with a cashier from the self-check out at Walmart. You are the subject of a licensing board complaint. The conversation is more formal and the process is adversarial, although you may or may not realize it! Agent Smith is not calling you to patty cake!!
My son is attending graduate school this fall at the University of Georgia in Athens (UGA). He is pursuing a joint MPH and MSW degree and will be there for maybe 2-3 years.
I applied for the law license in the State of Georgia this week and I plan to reside part-time in Atlanta, which is 75 minutes (if you drive like I drive) from Athens. No, I am not moving "just" to find a man; my Aunt Julie already asked this question so don't email me about this specifically.
The Nursing Law Bandit will be practicing law in Georgia, defending nurses before the State Nursing Board in Georgia, and counseling and advise nurses in Georgia once I am licensed. Luke Skywalker and I will be living in Atlanta, GA. I am sooooooooooooooo excited about this new chapter in my personal and professional life. Thank you Lord that Your mercy endures forever. Psalm 118:1 (KJV).
I am looking at condos within walking distance of Piedmont Park and want to live urban there as I live suburban here. I have always lived in the burbs. I opted out of renting when I saw the prices for apartment rentals in Midtown Atlanta. Trulia is my new friend and I am searching for condos based on walk-ability and bike-ability.
I may actually need a day law practice, night RN gig, AND an evening job at Ulta (I love Ulta!) just to pay rent in Midtown Atlanta Georgia. No, seriously, the rent is expensive. Also apartments want a non-refundable deposit fees and monthly surcharges for dogs, have weight restrictions for pets, and "reserve the right to weigh" any pet. Luke Skywalker is a way north of 75 lbs.
I plan to continue my law practice law in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana defending nurses. A lot of my time is also spent assisting nurses via telephone legal consultations and counseling and advising on unemployment, employment, criminal, professional practice, contractual, and advanced practice matters. I have a good friend and colleague who is licensed to practice law in Ohio and Kentucky and may come on board with the Law Office of LaTonia Denise Wright, LPA.
I am reactivating my Ohio RN license as I did not renew it last year however I have not decided whether or not I will seek a RN license via endorsement in Georgia at this time. I need to look more closely at the endorsement conditions as I have not practiced as a staff nurse since 2007.
I am ready like Freddy as my son and I started planning this transition almost two years ago. CJ graduated with his BS degree (Sociology) from Mt. St. Joseph University in December 2015. I sold my larger home (with the swim spa and swimming pool I didn't use anymore) in October 2015 and moved to my first home that I was using as my law office in the Village of Lincoln Heights.
My CPA told me this week that I need to spend the majority of my time in Ohio as an Ohio resident (state tax benes) therefore I will be here in Ohio at least 15-16 days out of each month and in Atlanta, the remainder. I plan to keep my home in Cincinnati, Ohio of course.
If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be living part-time in a major metropolitan area in another state seven hours from Cincinnati, Ohio and applying for a fourth law license, I would have laughed hysterically. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV).
Nurses if you are going to start your own business offering skilled nursing services, medical services, or anytime type of health care service, please consult with an attorney at some point in the process about regulatory compliance. This includes Independent Providers, RNs and LPNs, in the State of Ohio.
If you read this blog then you know that I like coffee and I like Pepsi. I usually drink 3-4 cups of coffee per day. I am now drinking and also selling Javita Coffee. Yes, the Nursing Law Bandit sells legal products and services as well as coffee baby.
My Aunt/Cousin Julie Wright from Lincoln Heights visited her son in Hawaii and brought this coffee back this month and now I am hooked. I think I have an addictive personality. Am I safe to practice nursing and law with an addictive personality? Actually I am going to post more next more on mental, medical, and emotional health issues and the ability to practice nursing safely.
I drink the "burn + control" Javita Coffee now although I may try the other coffee soon. I like the taste and even better it is gourmet instant coffee. I can make a cup of coffee at a time instead of wasting coffee making it at home and then again when I arrive at work.
This is my second week drinking the coffee and I have even more energy. I danced for 30 minutes last night I have lost 5 more pounds but I am not sure if it is from the coffee or from me walking again in the mornings around my neighborhood.
I usually walk for an hour every morning so if you want to reach me during my walk from 0630 to 0730 (If I drank a Daily the night before, I walk from 0730 to 0830; oh, I am sure I am not the only nurse who drinks a Daily Margarita during the week!!). http://dailyscocktails.com.
Got problems with the Ohio, Kentucky, and/or Indiana State Nursing Board, you can call me as I am always in a good mood and so happy when I am walking. Call me at 513-655-6586.
No, you can really call me but you have to follow-up and send me an email with your information because I do not take a pen and paper with me when I walk. I usually listen to Christian audio devotionals (Joyce Meyer, Greg Laurie, Ravi Zacharias, Joel Osteen, or Chuck Swindoll) as I walk and thank the Lord for His mercy, His grace, and His kindness. I thank the Lord for calling me to Him & saving me from myself, worldly pursuits, and the pain and emotional baggage of past failures. I also praise and thank the Lord daily for staying evil (things would be worse if He did not) in this country, this state, this city, my neighborhood, and my life.
I am already a busy bunny so the extra kick from the coffee is nice. I am moving forward with other business ventures and I certainly like the additional push. Did I also mention it reportedly helps curb your appetite and is being dubbed as assisting with weight loss?
See my website at www.BuyJavitaCoffee.com/NursingLaw.
Please remove your mind from the sewer!
How do you know who is the "right" attorney to represent you before the State Nursing Board? Do you just flip a coin and hope for the best? Are you looking for a warm and fuzzy feeling from the attorney?
My suggestion would be to research the attorney and the law firm and make an educated decision on how to proceed. You may also want to speak with the attorney at length or in-person to further discuss your case.
If you call my office and you "slam" your previous or current "license defense attorney" chances are (9/10), I am not going to represent you. Why? Because you are probably going to slam me in the future also. Also there is 3 sides to every story (the truth being usually somewhere in the middle of two extremes) and you are providing me with just your story.
Please do not call my office and say your previous or current attorney "f*cked up your case" because I do not or will not have a response. Okay, I will have a response; I may chuckle at your candor or may say "okaaaaaaaaay" or "wow" because I am abstaining from profanity professionally and personally.
When I work with an attorney and I have several who counsel and advise me in personal as well as professional matters, I always tell my lawyers to "give it to me hard" and to provide me with the worst case scenario and the best case scenario. If I want my hand-held, I can call one of my best girl friends; I do not want my lawyers to hold my hand. Most lawyers have cold hands anyway; no pulse. Just kidding!
I am a counselor at law (baby) not a professional counselor or licensed mental health, marital, or chemical dependency counselor or counselor assistant; although I certainly feel, express, show, and have empathy, sympathy, and compassion for my clients, prospective clients, or any tespondent in a State Nursing Board case.
I don't sugar coat my representation, counseling, and advising of RNs, LPNs, APRNs, nursing students, and NCLEX-Applicants and I don't want an attorney assisting me sugar-coating my situation, case, or circumstances. If I want to be placated, I can call my maternal or paternal grandmothers. They will certainly tell me "it is going to be okay" and you are still grandma's good girl.
Defending nurses requires sometimes that you tell folks, "this is ugly" and this is what we are looking at with the State Nursing Board. Sometimes I have to tell nursing students, nursing is not for you, IMO, based on your criminal convictions because what employer is really going to hire you even if you manage to get through the background check for admission to nursing school and for entry to clinical sites.
Sometimes, I have to tell nurses who are renewing their license to "buckle their seat-belt because the road is going to be bumpy for a while." This is my job and my role as a nurse license defense attorney.
If you want to hear you are wonderful, you followed all the policies and procedures as well as all of the nursing practice standards with your actions or inactions, you have the "perfect" nursing practice, you are the "best" nurse you can and ever will be right now, and there is "nothing" you could have done differently under the circumstances in the incident leading to your State Nursing Board complaint, then you probably should not retain me.
You do not want an attorney to cuddle you, do you? You don't want a lawyer to slap your face with your case file but you do not want the other extreme either, do you? I am sorry (no, I am not but I like to say I am sorry now because it makes me feel good) but I don't tell you what you want hear; we are not married.
As a licensed attorney, I have ethical and legal obligations in the attorney-client relationship and most importantly I have to be true to my calling in Christ. Being true means giving my objective, gut, honest, and researched assessment and review of case and sometimes, a lot of times, it may be difficult for a client to accept depending on the facts of the case.
For example:
1. You are looking a suspension of your license in this state;
2. You are more than likely looking at probation and monitoring with employment restrictions;
3. You are looking at Board monitoring in an alternative program or in a disciplinary program;
4. You committed a crime and probably will be charged and subsequently indicted for one or more felonies;
5. You are looking at permanent practice restrictions in Ohio more than likely because; or
6. You are looking at a permanent revocation of your nursing license in Ohio.
There is always a but, however, maybe, or moreover and THIS is why you need to retain an attorney to counsel and advise you on realistically what are your options with respect to nursing career.
If you are being represented by another attorney in a State Nursing Board Matter then you need to say this FIRST to any license defense attorney you contact. To not do so is rude, and shows a lack of common courtesy.
If you have retained an attorney to represent, counsel, and advise you before the State Nursing Board why then do you need to contact and ask another attorney questions about your case, situation, facts, and circumstances anyway? Call the attorney you retained and schedule an appointment with him/her to review your questions.
If you need a second opinion about your case, then "say so" to the second attorney upfront and compensate the second attorney for his or her time. I charge $19.95 for second opinions. Don't try to play with me on the phone because I have been doing this for a while and I can smell tire kickers.
I have been in private law practice since 2001 and there is a first time for everything. I actually had someone contact me and proceed to ask me questions about his/her case before the State Nursing Board because this nurse's legal counsel was not available to take his/her telephone call. Guess, whose number I blocked out from calling my office? Yes, I do block calls personally and professionally Sugar Cakes.
You get paid by the hour like most attorneys. Most of my cases are flat fee however is this really an effective use of Hot Mama's time taking your call because the attorney you retained is not available to speak with you right now?
Do you not have any self-control or the patience to leave a voice mail for your attorney and then f/u with him/her about your case? Are you Baby Chris? Baby Chris is my cute green-eyed two-year old nephew who needs everything here and right now and will fall out and scream for any and everything.
Most attorneys or staff return calls immediately, within hours, or a day anyway. Also why do you feel the need to speak with another attorney if you are already represented by counsel? If you have an emergency and your attorney you called is not available to speak with you that day or within a few hours, this is not my emergency.
In my office, if you have a legal emergency (IMO this is ANY Nursing Board case and the nurse is unrepresented) or if you are a client, then Tina will get you in to speak with me or meet with me. Remember I am a recovering work-a-holic who relapses daily and I go hard here at LDW Law so I have meetings as early as 6am or as late as 8pm because the nurses who I serve (this is my calling, Apple Dumpling) work 24 hours a day.
So, Pumpkin Pie, you cannot reach your attorney or his/her staff? I am sorry and I apologize. I learned this in Divorce Rebuilding that you should apologize for any and everything even if it is not your issue, concern, matter, or planet. This is moreover, an issue for you, your attorney, and his/her staff not mine. You need to address this with the attorney you retained not me.
If you have retained an attorney to represent you, then call that particular attorney. This is common sense; do not call around and try to get your questions answered by another license defense attorney. If you are doing this, you are wasting the time of attorneys you are contacting for a freebie.
At least 2x week, I hear "I retained Attorney B to represent me this morning but Attorney B is not a nurse or Attorney B does not have any experience with my type of case and I want to know what you think about...."
Really? Honestly what am I supposed to do with this information? Honestly? We are willing to work with and help anyone here at LDW Law (I DO NOT take State Nursing Board cases with intentional, extreme, and double nasty-super freak sexual allegations because Sweet Mama has to be able to sleep at night) but really?
My standard response is now "Thank you for contacting me however you need to speak with the attorney you retained and paid to represent you, not me."
This offer expires August 31, 2013, which is the deadline for renewing your RN license in the State of Ohio. The cost of representation is $2,499.99. For additional information, please email me at firstname.lastname@example.com.
How do you know if you need a lawyer? Well, if you are renewing your license and you have to make affirmative disclosures to the Ohio Nursing Board related to alcohol dependency, substance use/abuse treatment, dual diagnosis, cross addiction, mental health, criminal conviction(s), guilty pleas, and/or a disciplined license in another state, then you need to retain an attorney. This is not a buffet therefore this list is not all-inclusive however, at a minimum, if you are checking "yes", talk to an attorney even if for 10-15 minutes.
I understand you don't want to hire me because I like to play the Buffalo slot machine at the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati while I eat a turkey "Crunch" burger from Bobby's Burger Palace. Buf-faaa-loooooooooo.
That's fine but retain someone to represent, counsel, and advise you before the Ohio Nursing Board so that you can make informed decisions on how to proceed. Call the Ohio State Bar Association for a referral to an administrative law attorney.
Please, please, please DO NOT retain your family law, personal injury, criminal defense, or divorce lawyer to represent you before the Ohio Board of Nursing. If you are going to retain a lawyer, there are several lawyers in Ohio who "do nothing but the Board" so retain one of these folks to help you in your case.
Are you interested in working with me? I would like to help you. Please do the following:
1. Call or email Tina
Tina is my virtual office assistant and schedules ALL of my appointments. Virtual means Tina and I are not physically in the same office however she works at my direction.
Please provide Tina with all of your contact information including your mailing and email address. Give her a summary of the reason why you are scheduling the legal consultation with me. Lastly tell her you want the $101.01 Veggie Delight Special.
2. Appointment and Payment
Tina will schedule the appointment, take your credit card information, and confirm the amount to be charged. I will process your credit card payment as I am the only person in my firm authorized to process credit card payments.
You can also pay the fee on-line via my website at www.nursing-jurisprudence.com or SNAIL MAIL a check or money order to my attention.
3. Documents, Correspondence, and Forms: Oh My!
Scan/email, fax (855-859-5079), or SNAIL MAIL your documents to me. Send me EVERYTHING. I would rather have too much information than not enough information to review prior to our appointment.
The 2013 Ohio Nursing Board Renewal is here! Yes, it is that time of the year again. If you are responding "yes" to a renewal question, as a risk management strategy for your own nursing practice, you should consult with an attorney.
Don't you want to know what you are facing? There is always a tendency to underestimate the seriousness of your own actions, inaction, or conduct in any particular circumstances. Your mother, your husband or wife, your best friend, and your "boo" may tell you "it is no big deal" but don't believe the hype. Obtain an objective consultation and advice for a nurse license defense attorney on the completion of your 2013 Ohio Nursing Board Renewal Application.
Do you need a nurse license defense attorney in Ohio to review your Ohio Board of Nursing Renewal Application?
Are you disclosing a felony or misdemeanor criminal conviction?
Did you have a criminal conviction or plea expunged and you are questioning whether or not you are required to disclose the information to the Ohio Nursing Board?
Are you disclosing substance use or substance abuse treatment?
Are you disclosing action against your RN license in another state?
Are you disclosing action against another professional license or designation in the State of Ohio or another state?
Offer Expires: August 31, 2013
Are you interested in working with me? I would like to help you. Please do the following:
1. Call or email Tina
Tina is my virtual office assistant and schedules ALL of my appointments. Virtual means Tina and I are not physically in the same office however she works at my direction.
Please provide Tina with all of your contact information including your mailing and email address. Give her a summary of the reason why you are scheduling the legal consultation with me. Lastly tell her you want the $101.01 Veggie Delight Special.
2. Appointment and Payment
Tina will schedule the appointment, take your credit card information, and confirm the amount to be charged. I will process your credit card payment as I am the only person in my firm authorized to process credit card payments.
You can also pay the fee on-line via my website at www.nursing-jurisprudence.com or SNAIL MAIL a check or money order to my attention.
3. Documents, Correspondence, and Forms: Oh My!
Scan/email, fax (855-859-5079), or SNAIL MAIL your documents to me. Send me EVERYTHING. I would rather have too much information than not enough information to review prior to our appointment.
This special runs until September 1, 2013.
The Summer is here and the Nursing Law Bandit is peaceful, happy, and extremely content because I am swimming daily and enjoying myself. I didn't know being single was this fun!
I am offering a number of discounts for nursing students and the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Nursing Board renewals starting now and running until October 31, 2013. This one is for nursing students who need representation, counseling, and advising before the Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana State Nursing Board.
Are you a nursing student, nurse school graduate, or NCLEX-Applicant and you have to appear before the Indiana Nursing Board because you responded "yes" to a question on the IN BON Application for Licensure by Examination?
Did you apply for a license with the Ohio Nursing Board and you received a Consent Agreement or Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing by mail from an Adjudication Coordinator and Board Attorney?
Did you apply for a license with the Kentucky Nursing Board and you have been contacted for an "investigative meeting" to meet in-person with Board staff in Louisville, Kentucky to review your application for licensure?
Are you interested in working with me? I would like to help you. Please do the following:
1. Call or email Tina.
Tina is my virtual office assistant and schedules ALL of my appointments and maintains my calendar. Virtual means Tina and I are not physically in the same office however she works at my direction.
Please provide Tina with all of your contact information including your mailing and email address. Give her a summary of your case from A to Z. Lastly tell her you want the $1,999.99 Tuna Melt Deluxe for New Nurses.
2. Tina will schedule an appointment with me either in-person or by telephone and take your credit card information, and confirm the amount to be charged. I will process your credit card payment as I am the only person in my firm authorized to process your credit card payments.
You can also pay the fee on-line via my website at www.nursing-jurisprudence.com or SNAIL MAIL a check or money order to my attention.
3. Scan/email, fax (855-859-5079), or SNAIL MAIL your documents to me. Send me EVERYTHING. I would rather have too much information than not enough information to review prior to our appointment and to start preparing your defense and case strategy.
It never fails; I speak with a nursing student, new nurse, or NCLEX-Applicant who has regrets related to the Initial Application for Licensure by Examination submitted to the Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana State Nursing Board.
It is that time of the year again. I am offering a Tuna Melt Special for nursing students. The cost of a legal consultation to review your Application for Licensure, records to be submitted to the State Nursing Board, and speak with you by telephone is $99.99.
Are you required to check YES and answer in the affirmative on your Application for Licensure by Examination with the State Nursing Board in Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana?
This special runs until September 1, 2013.
Are you interested in working with me? I would like to help you. Please do the following:
1. Call or email Tina.
Tina is my virtual office assistant and schedules ALL of my appointments. Virtual means Tina and I are not physically in the same office however she works at my direction.
Please provide Tina with all of your contact information including your mailing and email address. Give her a summary of the reason why you are scheduling the legal consultation with me. Lastly tell her you want the $99.99 Tuna Melt Special.
Also you are calling a law firm; We are legally and ethically obligated to safeguard the confidences of clients and prospective clients; You are not calling the State Nursing Board office. We need your name and contact information for risk management, conflict checking, and common sense reasons. Please don't call and say you can't provide your first and last name for confidentiality concerns; it gives me something to laugh about for at least 2-3 minutes.
2. Tina will schedule the appointment, take your credit card information, and confirm the amount to be charged. I will process your credit card payment as I am the only person in my firm authorized to process credit card payments.
You can also pay the fee on-line via my website at www.nursing-jurisprudence.com or SNAIL MAIL a check or money order to my attention.
3. Scan/email, fax (855-859-5079), or SNAIL MAIL your documents to me. Send me EVERYTHING. I would rather have too much information than not enough information to review prior to our appointment.
I am a DIYer. I work in my yard daily. I cut my grass, clean and sanitize my swimming pool, hot tub, and swim spa (I love water; I am a Cancer) and maintain my yard at my primary residence. I don't like to do the trim or use the blower but I grin and bear it. I use the self-propelled push mower on my front yard and the slopes in my back yard. I have a riding lawn mover for the remainder. It takes me about 2-3 hours to cut my front and back yard weekly but the workout is to die for and I take pride in the appearance of my yard.
I am staining the lattice on my deck slowly but surely over the next two weeks although I had someone stain the rails, balusters, and flooring for me as well as paint the concrete around my swimming pool. I repaired my dog fence after the underground wire was cut by my fence installer last week. I pay someone $25.00 a week to cut the grass at my office. I do not open or close my swimming pool; it would take me about 6-8 hours by myself.
However there are just somethings that I do not do because it is not efficient for me to do so (like cleaning my home and office; although I like to wash walls and scrub woodwork) or it is beyond my level of skill or common sense. I pay my cleaning lady before I pay my mortgages; it would take me at least 8-10 hours a week to clean my home and office. Just mopping and waxing the hardwood floors on two levels of the house takes about 4 to 5 hours.
For example, I don't do my own taxes or accounting although theoretically, I could learn. I have an accountant and bookkeeper. I don't do my own legal work; I have a civil attorney and an attorney I consult with for ethical, practice, and contractually matters. I have a financial planner and I am working on finding a local business coach. I don't have a criminal defense attorney yet, but if I need one, I know who to call to represent me. No plumbing, no sewing, no electrical work, and no premarital sex. Okay you just woke up didn't you?
I am wearing my hair natural and therefore I wash and two strand twist my own hair because I swim almost daily; I see my stylist once a month to trim my ends and to deep condition my hair. I do as much for myself as I can as allowed by my schedule, endurance, and pocketbook. Yes, I am old school; I have several pocketbooks.
I do not wash or wax my vehicles but I do wash and wax my bike and dogs (sometimes; Luke is huge and sometimes it is easier on my back to take Luke and Leia to the groomer and also checked by their vet, Dr. Lisa. My dogs have allergies, a blood disorder, and are prone to ear infections. Most of the meds in my home belong to Luke and Leia.
Why am I telling you this today? There is a thin line between love and hate and DIY and paying for a service. DIY is for yard work and personal chores and should not take the place of receiving professional and objective advice, counseling, coaching, and representation.
A lot of nurses, nursing students, and NCLEX-Applicants DIY with the State Nursing Board. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Do you want to take a chance and gamble with your license, livelihood, and nursing career? DIY means you are representing, counseling, and advising yourself before the State Nursing Board, i.e. you are proceeding PRO SE.
It always surprises me that nurses as educated and licensed professionals will spend tens of thousands of dollars to attend entry level and graduate nursing programs and then balk at spending a few hundred or thousand dollars on legal advice, counseling, and representation in a State Nursing Board disciplinary investigation. I always here "if I would have known I needed an attorney or IF someone would have told me I needed an attorney...."
If "if" was a Fifth (of the Wild Irish Rose) we would all be drunk.....is an slang idiom I heard someone say just the other day as I rode my bike to the post office. I love my bike.
If I had hired a nurse license defense attorney in the beginning......
If I had consulted with a license defense attorney before I signed the Ohio Nursing Board Consent Agreement....
If I had talked to a nurse license defense attorney before I submitted my Renewal Application to the Ohio Nursing Board....
If I had retained an attorney to work with me while on probation and monitoring with the State Nursing Board.....
If I had consulted with an attorney before I submitted my Application for Licensure by Examination to the Ohio Nursing Board....
Don't DIY before the State Nursing Board; Consult with and retain an attorney with experience defending nurses before the State Nursing Board to assist you ASAP. Use your common sense; you know when you need assistance, guidance, and counseling don't you?
See this article in the Lawyerist which discusses the hazards of being unlawyered. http://lawyerist.com/defend-deposition-just-show-up/
I see the hazards of being unrepresented and unlawyered daily in my law practice.
1. Ohio Independent Providers
You are running a business and practicing in your business which means you should have an accountant, bookkeeper, and a Nursing Law attorney to assist you with regulatory compliance.
If you don't have these as an IP, then work FOR a home health company as an employee as opposed to being a home health company.
2. Self-Employed Nurses in Private Practice
You are running a business and practicing in your business which means you should have an accountant, book keeper, and a Nursing Law Attorney to assist you with regulatory compliance.
You don't just start a business providing health care services and run with it without having legal advice, counseling, and coaching on your compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
This is especially true with APRNs in private practice. I actually had one APRN tell me that national and state nursing professional association dues should cover "legal advice" and "business counseling." Nursing professional associations are struggling and strapped for cash because of declining membership and dwindling interest.
4. Representing Yourself Before the State Nursing Board during the Initial Complaint
I have seen it all in my 12 years of solo practice defending nurses before the State Nursing Boards. Being unlawyered and underlawyered (having an attorney who knows nothing about practicing before the Board) is becoming more and more of a common practice.
There is always a tendency to minimize the complaint against one's license and rationalize the decision to "do it your way."
4. Representing Yourself during a State Nursing Board Probation and Monitoring Period
I don't like being told what to do which is certainly why I hire professionals to do my taxes, book keeping, and legal work. I hire professionals to provide and render professional services.
Chances are you didn't have a lawyer during the Board investigation and case which led to discipline of your license; then do yourself a favor and retain an attorney to counsel and advise you while you are on probation for 15 years with the State Nursing Board.
5. Counseling and Advising Yourself When Things "Go South" with your Employer
If your nurse manager says "this is reportable to the State Nursing Board", you need to talk to a nurse license defense attorney. I know you have never had anything happen in your life outside of two speeding tickets, but when you hear "this is reportable to the State Nursing Board", the defecation is near the ventilation and it is time to start thinking about your nursing license, your employability, your career, and your next month's mortgage payment not you will no longer be able to chair the Facility Shared Governance Cultured & Collaborative Cupcakes & Coffee Committee.
6. The Criminal Stuff
You know or you should know if what you are doing is illegal. If you don't know, ask a lawyer. For example are you
stealing narcotics from work? Criminal
stealing supplies from work? Criminal
consistently driving while intoxicated (prescription drugs, alcohol, etc.)? Criminal
doctor shopping to maximize your ability to obtain prescription medication? Criminal
billing for healthcare services you did not provide? Criminal
putting your hands on folks (kids, spouse, parents, neighbors etc.)? Criminal
Your personal life and your professional life collide when matters turn criminal and also in domestic situations. Sh*t happens and frequently I might add; so unless you are dead; the end is not yet. Praise God!
You can use "The Force" and swim, crawl, waddle, walk, slide, run, dance, and skip from the Dark Side, Young Skywalker. Please note there is a cost and fees associated with accessing "The Force" because it is a professional service(s). Yoda isn't available.
First remember this is not the end of the world although it may feel like it. I am a recovering drama queen so I understand the need for actions, emotions, behaviors, thoughts, and everything over the top and heavy heavy. Allow your time to process your feelings and emotions if you are a licensed nurse and you are involved in a criminal matter. However you have to come off the rollercoaster at some point.
Practically you just need help sorting and shifting the wheat from the tares in a legal and nursing practice context of course, not spirtual. This is what a nursing law attorney does for a nurse confronted with criminal issues when addressing the nursing aspects of the criminal matter.
My nephews used to ask me to smell their feet. They were only 3 and 4 at the time and we would play a game where I would smell their feet, which were funky of course, and then tell them it was time for a bath. We even called one of my nephews lovingly Phat Man "my feet" because of my nephew's focus on his feet.
IMO making staff nurses be responsible for, be graded for, and be accountable for "excellent customer service" is like one adult asking another adult to smell their feet. It turns your stomach right? You feel indignant right? You get a little angry and wonder did this person have "any" home training or was this person reared by barbarians.
I understand healthcare and providing nursing care is a business as well as an occupation.
I understand patient and resident rights in the context of healthcare and providing nursing care as a business as well as an occupation.
I understand healthcare facilities (hospitals, nursing homes, etc.) want to distinguish their organization from the other organizations providing the same services in a geographical area.
I understand marketing, advertising, and I also understand customer service.
But what I don't understand is the emphasis on customer service and customer service training for bedside and staff nurses.
But I don't get the "customer-service" frenzy of healthcare management which forces staff nurses to "wait on" patients and their families in addition to providing nursing care: administering medication, following up with physicians, collaborating with other healthcare professionals, performing skilled nursing tasks, etc.
Nurses now feel pressure to be "liked and scored well" by patients and family members who expect to treated like royalty and have water brought to them, food warmed, pillows fluffed, and feet smelled and massaged all in the context of providing excellent customer service. You have got to be kidding me! There isn't enough time in a shift to perform all of the nursing interventions required for a patient care assignment but now you add to that this customer service aspect. Really?
It is accreditation agencies, doctors, the C-Suite, and facility administrators setting these unreasonable standards because they are not the ones providing the services. If a facility wants excellent customer service, hire "customer service" technicians to assist the nursing staff but don't require nurses to graded like preschoolers on such arbitrary nonsense. What does how fast I brought you a glass of water with lemon have to do with providing safe nursing care in the context of nursing law, rules, and standards?
Customer service isn't patient safety and certainly isn't required by the State Nurse Practice Act and Board of Nursing regulations or the professional standards of nursing practice. Customer service is required for waitresses/waiters (I have to be PC) at the Waffle House.
Are you working the first, second, or third shift at Waffle House this week? Has the provision of nursing care with your employer with the emphasis on customer services denigrated the environment, atmosphere, and morale of the nursing staff to the point that you feel you are working in fast food?
If I walked into your facility at 3am; would I feel like I am at the Waffle House? I would like to order a sweet tea, scrambled eggs with cheese, raisin toast, grits with cheese, and a large order of hashbrowns with cheese and mushrooms?
Nothing wrong with working fast food. I worked at Dunkin Donuts on the night shift during high school. Yes, hot mama sold donuts and coffee! Nursing care isn't fast food and if you bring the customer service aspects of fast food to nursing care, do you also bring along the ethics
I don't know what if anything will cause "the sleeper to awaken" (this is from the movie and book Dune) and for nursing as whole to revolt and "fight the power" but maybe just maybe it might be the emphasis on "customer service." The "customer service" movement in healthcare may actually do the impossible and steer the nurse today and tomorrow to organized labor and unions.
Take a look at this article and the comments.
I posted my picture on my blog and started mentioning I was black about 8 years ago after I met with a prospective client who allegedly made inappropriate remarks about Blacks, Jews, and Lesbians at a hospital. I met with the Prospective Client and it was pretty obvious he/she did not know I was black.
So in full disclosure to my clients and prospective clients who may or may not want to retain my services based on my views. Actually all of this info is available on this blog anyway but I will summarize:
* I am a black female but I am not mad, anymore (hint: Diary of a Mad Black Woman is a movie); http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422093/
* I vote as a Democrat because I am more concerned about the welfare and well-being of others more than myself as a small business owner and professional because honestly I am entrepreneur at heart and I can invent ways to make money in my sleep if need be;
* I am left-handed and I hold extremist views in this area: Left-Handed Folks should and one day will be running the world;
* I attended the same public school district (Princeton) from preschool to 12th grade;
* I am a liberal but I am not loose;
* I am a Baptist (yes, I am @ church at least 3 hours on Sunday; call me after 2pm);
* I don't eat beef or pork but I love fish, chicken, and turkey;
* I like fruity and sweet alcoholic beverages; I am sipping a Lemonade flavored Dailys "Ready to Drink" frozen beverage as I type this blog post;
* I have an unhealthy (at times) emotional attachment to caffeine: hot tea, sweat tea, Pepsi, the Dews, and coffee;
* I like to dance and as a Gen Xer, I grew up with Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, etc.;
* I like aged rap music (like Scarface, the Ghetto Boys, Black Rob, the Wu Tang Clan, McLyte, etc.) and old school R&B. I remember listening to rap music and being lost in the melodies as a teenager. Please don't tell my grandmothers but I wanted to be a rapper AND an astronomer (I still have my first telescope) when I was 15 y/o; and
* I am in recovery (we are all recovering from something) from the use of expletives & profanity.
Now you know and can make an informed decision on whether or not any of the above will impact my ability to represent, counsel, and advise you before the State Nursing Board:)
I am offering two updated law firm brochures for nurses and these are available to individual nurses and nursing students who need legal assistance. The first brochure discusses the difference between a legal consultation vs. legal coaching vs. traditional legal representation. The second brochure reviews State Nursing Board complaints.
If you would like a brochure, send me an email at firstname.lastname@example.com. Include in the email your full name, mailing address, and State of Licensure(s) and I will email the brochure(s) to you.
These brochures are for nurses who need assistance before the State Nursing Board; my brochures are not for attorneys who are trying to break into the nurse license defense market by poaching articles, website information, and other documents from more established attorneys and their law firms.
The lyrics in one of Top 10 favorite rap songs says "there is evil in the streets and everybody is starving..." Some attorneys are starving for clients similar to "The Walking Dead" zombies and will do anything to obtain clients. Please don't call me on Sunday from 7pm to 10pm because I am watching The Walking Dead!
What is anything?
IMO, anything is representing a nurse before the State Nursing knowing full well the attorney is not familiar with the process and procedure and cannot adequately counsel and advise or defend the nurse. Anything is taking a case because it is "just a State Nursing Board case" and how difficult can it be anyway as you took an "admin law" course in law school and one of your uncle's babies moms is a physical therapist and in nursing school. Anything is saying you have represented nurses before (implying you have represented nurses before the State Nursing Board) when what you really mean is you have done wills, trust, personal injury, and/or divorce cases for a RN, LPN, APRN, or nursing student.
I had planned to post my two updated law firm brochures online but I decided not to because there is an attorney who has copied and pasted information from my law firm website, www.nursing-jurisprudence.com to his/her website which IMO shows a lack of ethics, civility and professionalism. Also it is just plain tacky.
Just ask me can you copy and paste the info and I would 9 times of out 10 say "yes" because it is just not that serious and I like to help other attorneys if I can; I am a helper and often I help until it hurts. Oh, snap, of course I help until it hurts, I am a nurse.
Nurse license defense is very small Bar and niche area of practice in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. I can count 4-8 lawyers in Ohio, 2 in Kentucky, and 1 in Indiana who I know practice from day to day in nurse license defense or health care professional license defense work and who I would have defend me before the State Nursing Board if I accidentally and without specific intent slapped someone in the face for stealing my material.
Bit of Advice: Once you get a "rep" as being a bottom feeder, borrowing material and holding it out as your own, and/or engaging in other questionable behavior in nurse license defense; it follows you for the remainder of your admin law practice.
I don't stick my feet in criminal defense, wills and trust, personal injury, workers compensation, or other areas because my cup of Lipton tea, bread and butter, and WC coffee heavy heavy is nurse license defense. If you are an attorney and you are taking on your first State Nursing Board case; then say so to a nurse contacting you for assistance and co-counsel with another attorney or at least allow your client to make an informed decision on whether or not retain your services.
Nurse License Defense is a mixture of admin law, civil law, family law and criminal law and the implications for dropping the ball are vast. You can screw up and extinguish the ability to earn a living, pursue higher education (BSN, MSN, etc.), become an advanced practice nurse, and smother their aspirations, dreams and hopes by having a nurse sign Board of Nursing, Consent Agreements, Consent Decrees, and Agreed Orders if you cannot adequately inform the nurse or nursing school graduate of their options and the implications of signing on the dotted line.
These are not CANDY LAND cases, Sugar Drop! Candy Land is described as a simple game.
Nurse License Defense is anything & everything but simple!
There are three essential components to traditional and full-scale legal representation:
a. representation and advocacy in a formal legal matter;
b. counseling a Client on the legal process and procedures involved in a legal matter; and
c. advising a Client of his/her options so the Client can make informed decisions on how to proceed in his/her case, matter, or situation.
There is nothing wrong with making an informed decision to REPRESENT yourself before the State Nursing Board. It saves you money (you don't have to retain or pay an attorney) and you can have it your way, like at Burger King.
What is representing yourself before the State Nursing Board? This means you do not have an attorney who has entered a Letter of Representation or Notice of Appearance of Counsel which is the formal way of letting the State Nursing Board know you are represented by counsel. This means that State Nursing Board staff including investigators, attorneys, and others may contact you directly about the State Nursing Board complaint to interview you, schedule a meeting with you, ask you additional questions about a statement or information you submitted to the Board, etc.
You are also COUNSELING & ADVISING yourself with respect to the decisions, actions, and tasks to be undertaken in your case and implications those decisions, actions, and tasks have for your nursing practice, the Board of Nursing case against you, and your current and future employment in nursing.
How do you "counsel and advise" yourself? You ask your peers, neighbors, colleagues, nursing professor, church pastor, and others for advise on what you should or should not do in your situation. You join a nursing chatroom and you look for answers to your questions or you do your own research. Again there is nothing wrong with counseling and advising yourself before the State Nursing Board.
I would dare to say it is very American and Billy Bad A// to take on the establishment and prove a point after all you are "not guilty" of anything, you didn't do anything wrong, and once the Board hears your version of events, the Board will send you a letter of apology for wasting your time. You tried it!!!
I received a lot of "counsel and advice" from friends, family, colleagues, peers, and others during my divorce in the summer of 2011. I received the WORST advice and counsel from the MAJORITY of people with respect to dealing with the trauma associated with the failure of my marriage. Failure was something I was not accustomed to dealing with in my personal life (or professional life) and the failure of my marriage brought me to my knees.
At the time when I needed it most, I received what I know now (and I knew then) was super duper and just plain bad advice. Thank God, I did not follow the majority of the advice given to me by the majority. But these folks of course meant well.
I received some good advice but it was from professionals who were objective and a few others lay folks. I joined a Divorce Support Group at a local church, I started attending a small group for "the divorced", and I began the long tedious process of healing from the inside out; actually being transformed is more appropriate.
I am Type A, B, C, D, and E. I am the person who gave myself 6-8 weeks in my schedule in the Summer of 2011 for divorce healing, recovery, and rebuilding. What type of nut job calendars emotional healing? I can laugh about it now because my divorce was the best thing (right after attending nursing and law school, Walmart selling 1.5 liters of Pepsi, and my purchase of a three-wheel bike last summer) that has happened to me. I had in 2011:
a. my divorce in May;
b. my "I am 40?" mid-life crisis in July;
c. my retrospective childhood "I didn't get the dog I asked for in the 1st grade" tirade and temper tantrum over a few months witnessed by both sets of my grandparents. I love my grandparents; they observed in disbelief and prayed without ceasing for me as I festered in a funky furnace of fire only after bathing in my own milky mess of self-centeredness and applied lastly lotion lavishly; and
d. my life changed by the effectual call from Christ in December. Busy year.
W hy am I telling you this?
1. Because your White Swan and your Black Swan can meet and really be FB friends; and
2. The advice and counsel of professionals is INVALUABLE when faced with a life event. A State Nursing Board complaint is a life event and if someone tells you it isn't smack his/her face and then call, text, fax, and email me (from jail); I can defend you before the State Nursing Board. Anytime you are involved in legal matter which impacts your education, employment, license, credentialing, AND identity it is a life event. Professionals help you navigate life events and you have a retain and pay professionals, sometimes out of the pocket.
If you are involved in a State Nursing Board case, take the time and consult with an attorney. It may cost you a few hundred dollars but at least have a nurse license defense attorney take a look at your matter for a "fresh set of eyes" of your case. I routinely send my cases for review by a nurse expert prior to a hearing so I can get a different perspective on the case. You should consider doing the same with your case.
My law firm is pleased to offer legal coaching services to nurses starting today. This a brand new service I am offering to respond to the demand for legal services. I receive a number of calls, emails, texts, and faxes from nurses who desperately need legal services but cannot afford or do not want to pay for the full scale legal services associated with the traditional attorney-client relationship. My law firm utilizes flat fees and I have done so for years. I am very comfortable quoting flat fees for representation. My flat fees for traditional legal representation before the State Nursing Board start at $2,500.00 and the fee charged varies depending on the issues involved in the case.
My firm has offered legal consultations for a number of years which allows a nurse to pay for a one-time appointment with me. In the context of the consultation, I review documents usually Board Adjudication Orders, Consent Agreement, Alternative Program Agreements, criminal case records, etc. and then counsel and advise the nurse on his or her options. A legal consultation is a one-time appointment with me either by telephone or in-person and it is of course confidential. See this pdf file for additional information on legal consultations with my office. Download Legalconsultations2012.
The majority of RNs, LPNs, APRNs, nursing students, and NCLEX-Applicants involved in State Nursing Board disciplinary investigation represent themselves and I am sure this is because of the cost of legal services. I also believe it is because most of us fail to appreciate just how adversarial the disciplinary investigation and suitability for licensure can be. It is a formal legal process, not what you see on TV and it has vast implications on the careers of those who are involved.
This is why I am offering legal coaching services for nurses in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana because it allows a LPN, RN, APRN, nursing student, or NCLEX-Applicant to pay for a certain number of hours of legal services which include reviewing correspondence and documents, revising documents, legal and nursing research, legal opinions, reviewing Nursing Board documents, agreements, and contracts, reviewing criminal case documents and then I counsel, advise, and coach my client on his/her options.
This allows the Client to continue to represent themselves before the State Nursing Board, with an employer if negotiating an employment agreement or involved in a workplace investigation, etc. and still receive legal coaching, advice, and counseling from a nurse license defense and nursing law attorney.
In the legal world, this type of arrangement is called limited scope representation and unbundled legal services. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbundled_legal_services
For example, let's say a nurse is involved in a criminal case and wants my involvement on a limited basis to review the nursing practice, Board of Nursing issues, and other nursing related facets of the criminal case. The nurse can pay for 3 0r 4 hours of legal coaching which is less expensive for nurse and allows the nurse to receive the specific advice, counseling, and support needed with respect to nursing licensure, credentialing, and employability.
Another example would be a nursing student who has to disclose criminal convictions to the State Nursing Board and needs legal coaching, advising, and counseling on the submission of the Initial Application for Licensure by Examination to the Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana State Nursing Board. The nursing student could pay for 3 or 4 hours of legal coaching which would be less expensive than retaining me for traditional representation. Also the nursing student would need more time than the 30 minutes or 1 hour offered with a legal consultation.
Yes, this is Nursing Law & Order but in real life with real issues before the State Nursing Board and in nursing law and professional practice matters involving real nurses, I can't always resolve issues and wind up a case in 60 minutes like Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler on Law & Order SVU. This is why I offer legal coaching services and full scale representation with a flat fee retainer.
Another example, would be a nurse who has been reported to the State Nursing Board and wants my assistance reviewing the complaint, researching the issues, and assisting the nurse with a response to the Board of Nursing Complaint. This could be accomplished with legal coaching. However I would not file an appearance with the State Nursing Board or contact the State Nursing Board on behalf of the nurse because I am not "representing" the nurse before the State Nursing Board. I file an appearance indicating I am the attorney of the nurse if a nurse retains me for a flat fee which is involved in a traditional and full scale legal representation.
If you are involved in a formal legal matter before the State Nursing Board and you do not have an attorney advocating for you before the Board as your attorney then you are "pro se." A nurse is proceeding "pro se" and involved in self-representation. What is Self-Representation? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_se_legal_representation_in_the_United_States
My legal coaching service is a hybrid service and I see it another avenue to fulfill my calling (and make money; I am a lawyer now:) and as a go-between one-time legal consultations and traditional and full scale legal representation, counseling, and advising.
Some nurses do not want to or need to work with an attorney over an extended period of time and this is a option for nurses who want to tryout legal services on a limited basis to start a nurse-owned business, review unemployment, workers comp., nursing malpractice, or other matters.
Do you want more information about the difference between the legal coaching, legal consultations, and traditional representation, counseling, and advising services offered by my law firm? You can email me at firstname.lastname@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com. You can call my office at 513-655-6586 or text me your email and we will send you additional information.
What are the costs of legal coaching with my law firm? See http://www.bookfresh.com/service/cincinnati/law-office-of-latonia-denise-wright-lpa/157503739.
I will also post a flyer in the next few days which discusses the difference between legal consultations, traditional attorney representation, counseling, and advising, and legal coaching services I offer for nurses.
I actually see this as being a very popular service for nurses who want to get me involved in their case, matter, issues, or professional practice legal and ethical quagmires but do not want or need to (this is a personal decision) proceed with full scale legal services at this time. You are the boss with limited scope representation and unbundled legal services and you are proceeding as an informed consumer who is essentially representing him or herself.
If you are going to retain an attorney to represent you in a State Nursing Board investigation, hearing, or matter, you should retain an attorney who has experience practicing before the State Nursing Board defending nurses.
This may seem like a no-brainer but I receive a lot of calls, emails, faxes, and texts from nurses across the country who have retained an attorney only to find out later that the attorney really does not have any experience practicing before the State Nursing Board and therefore the advice, counsel, and/or representation provided by said attorney bucks and sucks.
How can you determine if an attorney has experience practicing before the State Nursing Board?
1. Ask the attorney about his or her experience before the State Nursing Board with questions like:
a. How many cases do you currently have before the State Nursing Board?
b. How many cases have you had in the last year before the State Nursing Board?
c. How long have you practiced before the State Nursing Board?
d. Is defending nurses before the State Nursing Board the majority of your law practice? What percentage of your law practice involves nursing law and defending nurses?
DO NOT just rely on what the attorney tells you. Research the attorney and his or her law practice online. Take a look at the firm website and/or blog to determine if nurse license defense is listed as an area of practice.
It is your nursing license and your case. You have a responsibility to yourself to do your own research and homework and locate a reputable attorney to defend you.
How do you find an attorney with experience defending nurses?
1. Online research;
2. Contact your State Nurses Association for a referral to a nurse license defense attorney;
3. Contact The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA); and/or
4. Seek referrals from colleagues.
Also do not believe the hype and also fight the power while you are at it; it is more important to retain an attorney with significant experience in nurse license defense than to retain an attorney who lives 2 miles from you in your city. Geography really is not an issue in these types of cases because most State Nursing Boards are located in a state capitol or another geographically central city in a state. It is more important that you retain an attorney with significant experience than to retain an attorney who lives in your city.
Do your research and retain the right attorney initially because if you have worked with multiple attorneys in your State Nursing Board case it is a red flag. When a nurse tells me she was represented by XYZ law firm initially and then fired that firm and retained ABC law firm because of DEF but then later fired the attorney because of HIJ and is now calling me because of MNOP I see fire engine colored red flags and I always double or triple my flat fee. This usually signals problem client and I need more money to work with problem clients because:
a. the extra Pepsi, coffee, hot tea, and sweet tea I am drinking will eventually lead to a UTI;
b. doctor visits for Ibuprofen 800mg for stress headaches;
c. weaker ankles from having to ride my three-wheeled bike to the post office and walk more to de-stress; I will have to wear my ankles braces which do not coordinate well with my Vera Bradley pocketbooks;
d. weaker wrists from typing harder on my keyboard responding to emails even with an ergonomic keyboard; I will have to wear my wrist braces which do not match my earrings, necklaces, and/or bracelets;
e. in addition to increased costs for Ms. Jessie's, Design Essentials, and other natural hair products because I will have to swim and relax more in my swim spa more frequently. Did I tell you I purchased a swim spa? I love it. My backyard is like a waterpark now with a swimming pool, hot tub built in the deck, and now a swim spa. I am a water sign, Cancer (not CA) and I love the water. I can not wait until the summer although I am swimming in the swim spa now. I increased my legal flat fee agreements charges this year by $9.97 to help defray the financing and electrical costs associated with my swim spa.
f. Working in time for an additional 60-90 minute Christ-centered small group or bible study plus 1-2 hours of weekly prep time because meekly, humbly, patiently, gently, lovingly & nicely saying "four letter profanities" in a brown paper bag isn't emotionally or spiritually healthy.
Okay back to the point, I was making. Do your research on attorneys. It is not about the cheapest attorney, closest attorney, or cutest attorney. You want someone to do their job, be painfully objective, and be fair and honest with you about your case and your options.


text:
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Terrell Owens won't be celebrating anything this Sunday.
Owens, San Francisco's top receiver, was fined a week's salary and suspended for a game by coach Steve Mariucci on Monday for his touchdown celebrations during the 49ers' victory at Dallas.
After both of his touchdowns in the 41-24 victory at Texas Stadium, Owens sprinted to midfield and celebrated on the Cowboys' star logo. Some of his teammates said the displays fired them up, but others said Owens embarrassed them.
''This decision is based on how we intend to conduct ourselves,'' Mariucci said. ''It disturbs me when the integrity of the game is compromised in any way, shape or form.''
Owens will lose $24,294 and won't be allowed to practice or meet with his teammates this week. San Francisco (1-3) plays Arizona at home Sunday.
Mariucci said he spoke to the league office about his decision to discipline Owens, and he didn't know whether the NFL planned to level its own fine or suspension as well.
Owens, a five-year veteran best known for his game-winning TD catch with three seconds left in a 1999 playoff game against Green Bay, is San Francisco's leading receiver this season with 23 catches for 328 yards and four touchdowns.
On Sunday, Emmitt Smith responded to Owens' first outburst with his own midfield celebration after a 1-yard TD just before halftime.
When Owens caught a 1-yard TD pass with 4:05 left to make it 41-17, he again took off toward midfield. Dallas safety George Teague followed Owens and leveled him as he kneeled on the logo, touching off a heated confrontation between the teams.
Teague was ejected, while Owens received a penalty for taunting but was not ejected.
© 2016. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Reference: http://tech-guru.cu.cc
iam using twenty eleven theme and created a child theme for showing sidebar in single post as it was refered here.
the problem is the author's bio looks squeezed. its width seems around odd 150-180 pixel only.
how to rectify this??
or I am also using wp-about author plugin,but it shows double about author's bio,ie one that plugin shows and another that theme shows.
rectifying any of the above problem will solve my issue...thanks fromk before


text:
O2 starts selling the Nokia Lumia 620 for £150
Undercuts its rivals' pricing
BUBBLY NETWORK O2 has started selling the Nokia Lumia 620 smartphone, undercutting other online retailers with its £149.99 pay as you go price tag.
The INQUIRER met with Nokia today, which boasted that O2's £149.99 price-tag makes the Lumia 620 handset its "most affordable Windows Phone yet". The cheap Windows Phone 8 handset is also available on pay monthly tariffs with O2, with prices starting from £18.50 per month, including 50 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of monthly data.
Nokia also told us that O2 will be selling the black Lumia 620 model, although it will be offering buyers a free coloured case for brightening up the pint-sized handset.
Three and Virgin Mobile won't be offering buyers such luxuries when they start selling the handset next week, however. Instead, those who sign up to a monthly tariff with either network will have to fork out "around £20" for its colourful interchangable covers.
If you're not too keen on any of these networks, Nokia has said the Lumia 620 smartphone will be available from more retailers in the coming weeks. Vodafone will also start selling the handset from 6 February, although there's no word on pricing yet. µ
INQ Latest
Google Updates: Family of apps, Remix remixed, and spamming the Nexus
Plus the cost of ambition as moonshots eat into the coffers
Mysterious firm pays £135m for .web domain
Spoiler alert: it's probably VeriSign
Virgin Media cuts off customer before it's even laid the cable
Did we say cuts off? We meant traps them inside their own home
Yahoo is building an online abuse detection tool
The idiots!


text:
The city of Volgograd was renamed Stalingrad for a day Saturday as Russia marked the 70th anniversary of a brutal battle in which the Red Army defeated Nazi forces and changed the course of World War II.
Commuter buses emblazoned with pictures of the feared Soviet dictator ran across the southern city as patriotic Russians remembered what many view as the Soviet people's greatest achievement.
"I remember the sadness of the war and the victory of the Soviet soldiers," said World War II veteran Alexander Kudlyayev as he joined 10,000 others at a wreath-laying ceremony at Volgograd's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
"I came to honour my friends who died here," added 89-year-old Stalingrad survivor Pyotr Chabarov.
The half-year battle in 1943 in the city on the Volga River -- much of it fought in hand-to-hand combat across the ruined streets -- claimed the lives of two million people on both sides and eventually led to the German troops' surrender.
The battle marked Hitler's first big defeat and led to a Nazi retreat from Soviet territory after a lightning June 1941 invasion that had caught Stalin completely unaware.
The pulverised city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 after Soviet leaders admitted the extent of Stalin's tyranny during his decades in power.
But the old city name has remained synonymous with the battle and Volgograd lawmakers have decided to revive it for the anniversary and five other days of the year.
"We will defend our country by commemorating the great Battle of Stalingrad -- our great victory," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told veterans who gathered to watch a commemorative march in which a few hundred young soldiers paraded in replica 1943 uniforms.
"Any enemy and potential aggressor should see this, understand this and feel this," the close ally of President Vladimir Putin said.
Putin -- due to attend a fireworks display and concert in Volgograd later Saturday -- has never denied Stalin's murderous purges of innocent citizens and deadly forced collectivisation.
But he and other modern leaders have preferred to overlook the disastrous errors in military strategy Stalin made during the war.
And Putin in particular has preached a patriotic message since returning to a third term in the Kremlin last year.
Analysts believe this has helped him maintain support among many of the older middle class voters in the face of the first street protests of his rule among the young.
State media focused their attention on Volgograd throughout the week as they detailed the lavish preparations and Kremlin's attention to veterans.
The Volgograd commemorations were broadcast live on the national news channels while state television broadcast a new dramatised documentary about the "battle that changed world history".
Afternoon broadcasts also relayed a special message from the Russian crew members of the International Space Station -- a tradition usually reserved only for the highest national holidays.
"We extend our wholehearted congratulations," said ISS member Roman Romanenko.
"We will always be grateful for your feat. Its memory will live on for centuries."
But not everyone was pleased that this memory now appeared to be once again firmly associated with Stalin's name.
"This was a mistake," said a woman who agreed to only give her first name Larisa.
"We are overestimating Stalin's role in the war," she said. "He was bloodthirsty."


text:
I'd really like to be able to separate private posts from public posts. I thought I'd leave index.php to display public posts, and make a page which only shows private posts.
Except that query_posts("status=private") does nothing about it.
Sure, I can emulate the behaviour with a completely custom query, but I lose out on a lot of goodies it seems, such as automatic splitting on pages according to how many posts/page I've set up.
Can I use query_posts() with post status? If not, it would make for a nice addition.


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We visited Gray Ghost Vineyards today and walked through the vineyards while we were there. We noticed the grapes were growing really fast! Does that mean and early harvest? Only time will tell!
We visited Gray Ghost Vineyards today and walked through the vineyards while we were there. We noticed the grapes were growing really fast! Does that mean and early harvest? Only time will tell!
From Wikipedia: Véraison is a viticulture (grape-growing) term meaning "the onset of ripening". It is originally French, but has been adopted into English use. The official definition of veraison is "change of color of the grape berries." Veraison represents the transition from berry growth to berry ripening, and many changes in berry development occur at veraison.
We were at Breaux Vineyards yesterday picking up my Cellar Club selections. While there we checked out the grapes and this is what we saw. Is this early for veraison?
We've been out and about on the wine trail recently. Here are a few stops we made and photos from each stop.
One stop was at Naked Mountain. We always enjoy going to Naked Mountain and finding out about their new releases. Here are some pictures from that visit. I'll note here that my gold star went to the 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay. Warren's gold star goes to the 2006 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. This is typical for us. I prefer stainless and Warren prefers barrel fermented.
Village Winery is another winery we visited recently. Kent Marrs, the winemaker and owner, always treats us so well when we visit. We visited with our wine blogging friend Dezel from myvinespot. Our gold star here went to the combination of Elderberry Sparkling drink and the Apple wine. This was perfect the day we were there because it was quite warm and the drink was quite cool. Here are a few photos from the visit.
We were at Linden Vineyards this weekend and got a chance to look closely at the bud break that must have happened sometime last week we're guessing. It's the beginning of another vintage!
We are now on YouTube and Flickr. You can see all the videos we've posted at our YouTube Channel. Click on the link below or in the sidebar to see our videos. Feel free to subscribe to the YouTube Channel. We are also now on Flickr. We have uploaded many of the photos that we've taken at the wineries we've visited. You can see them all in one place at Flickr. Click on the link below or in the sidebar to see all the photos.
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NEW YORK - Investors set aside their concerns about Iraq on Monday, sending stocks solidly higher on expectations of companies' robust first-quarter earnings reports.
All three major indexes regained the ground they lost last week.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 73.53, or 0.7 percent, to 10,515.56. The Dow lost 0.3 percent last week.
Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 5.88, or 0.5 percent, at 1,145.20, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 12.60, or 0.6 percent, to 2,065.48.
Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down 0.2 percent last week.
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Skip to comments.Ethanol Hoax Spreads Economic Havoc
Posted on 03/19/2008 10:16:36 PM PDT by neverdem
One of the many mandates of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 calls for oil companies to increase the amount of ethanol mixed with gasoline. During his 2006 State of the Union Address, President Bush said, America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. Lets look at some of the wonders of ethanol as a replacement for gasoline.
Ethanol contains water that distillation cannot remove. As such, it can cause major damage to automobile engines not specifically designed to burn ethanol. The water content of ethanol also risks pipeline corrosion and thus must be shipped by truck, rail car or barge. These shipping methods are far more expensive than pipelines.
Ethanol is 20-30% less efficient than gasoline, making it more expensive per highway mile. It takes 450 pounds of corn to produce the ethanol to fill one SUV tank. Thats enough corn to feed one person for a year. Plus, it takes more than one gallon of fossil fueloil and natural gasto produce one gallon of ethanol. After all, corn must be grown, fertilized, harvested and trucked to ethanol producersall of which are fuel-using activities. And, it takes 1,700 gallons of water to produce one gallon of ethanol. On top of all this, if our total annual corn output were put to ethanol production, it would reduce gasoline consumption by 10-12%.
Ethanol is so costly that it wouldnt make it in a free market. Thats why Congress has enacted major ethanol subsidies, about $1.05 to $1.38 a gallon, which is no less than a tax on consumers. In fact, theres a double taxone in the form of ethanol subsidies and another in the form of handouts to corn farmers to the tune of $9.5 billion in 2005.
Theres something else wrong with this picture. If Congress and President Bush say we need less reliance on oil and greater use of renewable fuels, then why would Congress impose a stiff tariff, 54 cents a gallon, on ethanol from Brazil? Brazilian ethanol, by the way, is produced from sugar cane and is far more energy efficient, cleaner and cheaper to produce.
Ethanol production has driven up the prices of corn-fed livestock, chicken and dairy products, and products made from corn. As a result of higher demand for corn, other grain prices, such as soybean and wheat, have risen dramatically. The fact that the U.S. is the worlds largest grain producer and exporter means that the ethanol-induced higher grain prices will have a worldwide impact on food prices.
Its easy to understand how the public, looking for cheaper gasoline, can be taken in by the call for increased ethanol usage. But politicians, corn farmers and ethanol producers know they are running a cruel hoax on the American consumer. They are in it for the money. Ethanol producers and the farm lobby have pressured farm-state congressmen into believing that it would be political suicide if they didnt support subsidized ethanol production. Thats the stick. Campaign contributions are the carrot.
The ethanol hoax is a good example of a problem economists refer to as narrow, well-defined benefits versus widely dispersed costs. It pays the ethanol lobby to organize and collect money to grease the palms of politicians willing to do their bidding because theres a large benefit for them. The millions of gasoline consumers, who fund the benefits through higher fuel and food prices, as well as taxes, are relatively uninformed and have little clout. After all, who do you think a politician will invite into his office to have a heart-to-heartyou or an ethanol executive?
We're doomed. What insanity!
Yup. You expect this kind of ignorance and incompetence from Democrats, but the bozos 'leading' the Republican party are just as guilty, if not more so.
Yup. You expect this kind of ignorance and incompetence from Democrats, but the bozos 'leading' the Republican party are just as guilty, if not more so.
Every time they screw with the market, we get screwed.
FR also has it's share of Ethonuts, as well as Gorebal warming kooks.
Happy to say that I don't buy either one.
When man starts burning food and wasting land for fuel, he has gone over the deep end.
Yup. Get the government out of the way. Leave the private sector alone. Haven't even the common folks learned from the Carter Years?
Economics courses should be required in high school and college.
Nah, that couldn't be...
Who eats 450# of feed-corn per year? The sky is falling! Ethanol will kill us all!
Brazil is magic, we can't do what they have done. The highly profitable ethanol plants only run on government dollars. Why invest in alternative fuels now when we can keep giving Oil barons our money and trust them to wean us off of their product. The status quo cannot be improved in my lifetime, I'll fight progress away from petroleum till I die. Make my kids drink MTBE, anything but natural safe renewable bio-fuel.
Crazy, but plausible theory:
1. This consumes our exportable corn, other grains don't get planted. Other exporting countries do the same.
2. Food becomes more expensive by design. Americans can stand to pay more/eat less (this may actually do some good in the big scheme of things-go to a discount store and you will instantly feel 20 pounds lighter and five years younger).
3. Food prices go up worldwide and surpluses disappear.
4. Almost no middle eastern country can feed itself and we and other exporting countries hold the power on controlling food prices, or even its availability.
Google "grain shortages" and you will see some interesting evidence for this, particularly the fifth one. Water is pretty scarce there, too...
Elementary School. Teach it while they're still smart enough to understand it.
And Hillary and Barack want to put our healthcare in those hands...
Very interesting - thanks for your post.
Ethanol is hydroscopic and, even if one could temporarily remove all water, it absorbs water from the surrounding atmosphere.
Subsidized, corn derived ethanol doesn't make much sense, IMHO. I want energy independence. I have no problem with fuel from biomass, waste, switchgrass, etc.
The word you want is hygroscopic, from Greek meaning it absorbs moisture.
Right. Hygroscopic, new glasses and more coffee. Thanks.
Williams appears to be off by a factor of several hundred on this figure alone:
"In general, the production of ethanol consumes roughly four gallons of water for every one gallon of ethanol produced, although the figure ranges from 3.5 to 6 in Minnesota ethanol plants. This figure varies from plant to plant depending on the processes that each plant uses to produce the fuel. In general, newer plants have been growing more efficient with their water use." - link
I don't know the source, but it has been quoted enough. Subsidized, corn derived ethanol doesn't appear to make much sense, IMHO.
self-ping and bttt
I believe he was refering to the amount of water that it takes to grow the plant also. That would have to be taken into accouint as well.
Apparently you didn't read the article.
He was making an analogy. Of course nobody eats only corn.
IF we were drilling our own oil and refining it the prices of oil and gas would be far lower and your so called oil barrons would not be making the billions they are now.
If your agenda was not in the way you would see that ethanol is not the replacement for oil.
The ethanol plants don't use that much water. The statistic apparently comes from counting the water used to grow the corn.
Subsidized, corn derived ethanol doesn't appear to make much sense, IMHO.
I agree.
See #26. I hadn't read your post yet.
It's a sin to burn food. This is where I start at.
We need to be digging up our clean Western coal reserves. Make it into electricity and run more electric cars
yep :)
As long as they teach the right kind of economics....
I live in WA state where half the vehicles on the road are trucks or SUV's...every had an accident with something like that while driving that "truck"?
Right, or you can use Tropsch-Fischer and convert that coal to diesel. You can power a car with a 3 minute, two dollar, charge of compressed air and travel around 125 miles.
Ethanol is the bastard child of the Anthropogenic Global Warming Hoax, good intentions and abject stupidity. Take the government out of the equation and it would quickly become evident just how viable an alternative fuel it is. There are many viable options, Nuclear power being another, yet we are still paying exorbitant fuel prices and kissing the a$$e$ of OPEC and related countries for the privilege. It's one big hoax and the sheeple seem more than content to go along for the ride; even if the ride costs three, creeping towards four dollars/gal. Not to mention making our enemies wealthy who would gladly see us (Western Civilization) destroyed.
I just can't get any more disappointed in Bush.
Why he has gravitated to the dark side on the Globull Warming issue is beyong me--other than there was some back room deal with members of Congress and large Ethanol producers.
As far as I'm concerned he has talked the talk about exploring and developing our own known oil reserves, but has not walked the walked under any circumstances.
If I could adjust my foil hat a little, I might go so far as to suggest that he does NOT want to really drill for oil because that would upset his good "Buds" the Saudis and other oil producing countries in the Middle East--either as a favor or as a result of threats from the Moozie-led countries to withdraw their support for the WOT, as if they ever really have.
Look for LARGE contributions from Arab States (ala Clintoon) to his Library.
Those F'n, scumbag, goat-fornicating, Saudi camel jockeys, has way too much influence as lobbyist in Washington.
"Elementary School. Teach it while they're still smart enough to understand it."
Kudzu is the answer, it is immortal and unstoppable, it provides protein for animals and incredible biomass. It will grow anywhere it is not wanted.
Proof that ethanol is viable.
"Cellulosic ethanol is chemically identical to ethanol from other sources, such as corn starch or sugar"
The cattle, poultry, & hogs that become the meat on your table, assuming you are not a vegan.
Thanks for that. I learn something new every day at FR!
I believe you can also make jelly & wine from the flowers of the Kudzu. Yum!
In the State of Florida all high school seniors are required to take a semester of American Government and a semester of Economics. I know, I teach both courses at the AP, Honors and standard level for high school students. Problem is that I teach seniors and it's difficult to overcome 11 years of propaganda fed to them by whining liberals. It helps loads that I show them all sides of the subjects we cover in order to create a valid issue; versus the liberals who have only shown them one side (the liberal side) which obviously creates an agenda. Once the kids see the blatant manipulation to which they've been subjected, my task gets a little bit easier.
Article is bullcrap, and I'm a flaming redneck rightwing
gunnut, just google hubel458 to see my rightwing
credentials.First there is no subsidy pmts to farmers
as price is above support level.There is no shortage
of foodcorn, or graincorn or corn products, it just
the price has been driven up by speculators. Who have
gotten their money out of real estate, etc and are playing
the commodities market. Many times more money
is being played in farm product markets than years ago,
driving up prices. We were being sued by other nations
for dumping corn and cotton, hurting their farmers.
Most of last years corn acreage increase came from
cotton acres, and there still is a surplus of cotton,
and enough corn. Even though gov mandated etnanol
the 6 biggest companies won't use it, but uses stuff
that is cancer causing and pollutes yhe water where forced
to by states. Any vehicle can burn 10% ethanol blend
and all our older engines run better on it, as it is an
oxygen carrier and aids in cleanerburning adding a
little millage and less emissions. My diary farmer friends
get no more for milk than years ago.But yet middlemen
expenses/greed has raised prices. It ain't the corn.
Whaet at 4 dollars a bushel has 6 cents worth in bread
at 8 dollars 12 cents, and middleman adds 10 times that
6cent increase and has you beating on farms and corn,
It ain't the corn. Granted middlemen have increased
expenses due to high oil, but a lot of high oil is also
due to speculators, IT AIN'T THE CORN....Ed Hubel
You ain't kidding. There is enough Kudzu in Alabama right now to fuel the US for a decade.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Article
- Publications
- External Links
- Year in Review
- Article Contributors
Britannica Web sites
Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
For most of the 20th century Bosnia and Herzegovina was a part of the country of Yugoslavia. A civil war in the 1990s ended with Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence. The capital is Sarajevo.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
The country of Bosnia and Herzegovina is located on the western side of the Balkan Peninsula, an area of land that extends southward from Central Europe toward the Mediterranean Sea. Bosnia and Herzegovina is bounded on the north, west, and south by Croatia, on the southwest by the Adriatic Sea, on the northeast by Serbia, and on the southeast by Montenegro. The largest city and national capital is Sarajevo. Area 19,772 square miles (51,209 square kilometers). Population (2015 est.) 3,731,000.


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thx nice job whitelisted, there were no further questions. I probably compared it too much with bt3.
Type: Posts; User: roockie; Keyword(s):
thx nice job whitelisted, there were no further questions. I probably compared it too much with bt3.
Hi again,
at first, there is no problem at MD5-checksum and i have made a new disk but the pass problem is persisting furtermore.
xX_Spiidey_Xx wrote:
I was running bt4 as livecd.
yes it makes sense! I bought a bundle of 25 low cost DVD-R's and this probably tell everything :cool:. OK i will first check the ISO and after that i burn it again.
Internet on BT4 works when the Service is startet. You can do it over "k menu" ("start" menu known from Win) or type this command in shell:
sh -c "start-network"
and after this you can start...
There is no problem at boot and no prob with startx. And Ok you are logged in already as root automatically. Everything seems well but you can not relog in (after logout) as root with "toor"? (in...
I boot bt4 from DVD properly and do startx and everything works well but on Pass request, after a login with a "desktop user" profile account and a floppy mount attempt (with konqueror -> storages->...


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Congratulations on taking your life into your own capable hands. Don't worry if all this info seems so totally overwhelming. Much of it will become more familiar over time. My wife has Rheumatoid Arthritis and has trouble working a semi auto, but she's dead-on with her .38 revolver.
Find the next, nearest gun show (google texas and gun show) and take an educational field trip. Bring a notepad and handle everygun you see. This venue is not always the best to ask a lot of questions due to noise, crowds, etc, but find the 4 or 5 guns that feel best to you and fit your budget. Also look at all the carry options (holsters, bags, etc). Then take you list to a good gun store and ask all the questions you need to. Handle the guns again and ask about rentals to test them out. Some ranges also rent. Just as a reccomendation, I agree with the Kahrs. I have a cw9 and even though I'm a pretty big guy, I like the concealability. Good price too.
Then you can make an educated decision and don't worry about changing your mind later...most of us have unused holsters laying in a drawer Nothing is written in stone, you can buy and sell as you grow in knowledge and can better define your needs. Go get 'em


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In Friday night's home game against Lanesville, the Trinity Lutheran girls basketball team was without two senior starters.
The Cougars, however, still managed to begin the game on an 11-0 run.
They later used a 10-2 run in the third quarter to increase their lead back to double figures, and they never looked back as they won their seventh straight game, 52-39.
This story appears in the print edition of The Tribune. Subscribers can read the entire story online by signing in here or in our e-Edition by clicking here.
All content copyright ©2016 The Tribune, a publication of AIM Media Indiana unless otherwise noted.
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BRUSSELS Google's (GOOG.O) latest privacy policy could land it with a fine of upto $1 billion under a new law allowing Europe-wide challenges to U.S.-based Internet giants, Europe's top justice official said on Tuesday.
Viviane Reding, the European Union's commissioner for justice, said rules being finalised by the European parliament and EU countries would allow a single EU data regulator to fine companies on behalf of all national watchdogs.
"The one-stop-shop regulator could threaten a company which does not obey the rules with a fine of up to two percent of global turnover," Reding told journalists.
Asked what kind of offence would receive the full two percent fine Reding pointed to Google. "The test case (Google) is a clear one."
The overhaul of the existing EU data protection regime could come into effect next year and would allow for bigger single fines.
It would also require all countries to have fines. Some states do not now levy penalties.
Google's total revenue in 2012 amounted to $50 billion which would make a two percent fine $1 billion.
Under current European rules, only individual countries can levy fines against companies that violate data privacy laws. Fines range from 300,000 euros to 600,000 euros.
Reding said that the ongoing dispute between EU data protection regulators and search engine Google showed the weaknesses of the current system, which relies on each country identifying and punishing privacy breaches.
She added that Google's decision to ignore a warning by regulators in October to change its privacy policy was a clear-cut case for a fine.
Google said it had not ignored warnings and had since amended its privacy policy.
European data watchdogs have said they plan to take "repressive" action against Google by this summer for its privacy policy, which took effect last March and allows the search engine to pool user data from across all its services ranging from YouTube to Gmail.
While regulators say Google's policy infringes users' privacy, the company said it is not breaking any laws.
The new law now would place greater responsibility on companies such as Facebook (FB.O) to protect users' information and threaten those who breach the code with fines.
U.S. companies have been lobbying heavily against the regulation which forces them to seek water-tight permission from users for collecting their data and also gives users more rights to obtain and delete their own data from services like Facebook.
The European Parliament is currently reviewing the rules drafted by the European Commission. They will then need the consent of EU member nations before becoming law, a process that could take up to a year. (Editing by David Cowell)
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After an initial story arc that was divorced not just in plot, but tone from the âFirst Waveâ mini-series, the series and lineâs architect, Brian Azzarello, comes aboard âDoc Savageâ to co-plot the second arc with Ivan Brandon. The change is obvious from the very first panel: two young, conjoined twins that look like theyâve been mutilated and disfigured are presented in a sickening pale green, the speech balloons suggesting a recording. One says, âWe are the two who are one. We bring word from the ash of war. But we do not bring war.â The other adds, âWe bring a message of peace.â The narrative caption concludes the panel by reading âTheyâre not the strangest things in the room.â Itâs an interesting and intriguing way of starting the issue and only gets better from there.
The entire opening scene of âDoc Savageâ #6 is engaging and written like a piece of pulp fiction. The narrative captions add descriptions in fragments, characters speak obtusely, all leading up to the reveal of the good doctor himself, a man not presented as a hero. This Savage is dangerous and dark, not the bright and shiny hero that many think, more in line with his portrayal in âFirst Wave.â He makes the armed guards around him nervous, purposefully so. Itâs one of the most compelling introductions to a character that Iâve come across in a long time.
Itâs not just Brandonâs scripting that produces that effect, Nic Kleinâs art is full of shadows and twisted looks. Savage doesnât look heroic. His eyes are glaring with a yellowish glow, his smile creepy, and his figure imposing. A shot of him preparing to act, accompanied by the caption âThey donât much like it when he smilesâ shows a man who comes off as unhinged and a little crazy. Heâs been ordered to assist the military in cleaning up a leftover mess from a war ended years ago and those orders are accompanied by threats, putting Savage into a position where he has to act. Heâs more a loose cannon than the straight-laced hero and it works quite well.
Taken alone, the opening scene would be pushing it, but the follow through with Savage and his associates heading for the Middle East to stop the conjoined terrorist twins from using weapons of mass destruction demonstrates that he does care and does want to be a hero, just not on someone elseâs terms. Brandon, Azzarello, and Klein present a clear, strong image of their interpretation of the character, but itâs never overbearing or spelled out in explicit terms. They simply show us Savage in action and trust that weâll figure it all out.
Add to that the first part of a new âJustice, Inc.â story that focuses on, I assume, Smitty (heâs never identified explicitly) with Jason Starr presenting an updated version of his background and a case that he feels passionate about. Thereâs a wonderful tension in Smitty as he wants to hurt and kill, and has found an opportunity to do so for the right reasons, but may be in a position where heâll go too far. More than that, he wants to go too far. Scott Hamptonâs pencils are expressive and help bring Starrâs narration to life. This back-up strip is the thing was the best reason to buy âDoc Savageâ before, now itâs a very pleasant bonus with Brandon, Azzarello, and Klein on board.
The news that Brian Azzarello and Ivan Brandon would be writing the second arc of âDoc Savageâ was enough to warrant giving the book another chance, but with artist Nic Klein, theyâve produced a comic that grabs you from panel one and doesnât let go. Itâs quick, disarming, creepy, and utterly compelling. Definitely a comic worth checking out and adding to your pull list for the foreseeable future.