java drinker

Let's see: lawyers might wait advertize their services and wait for clients come to them, or they might actively seek out clients. In many contexts, the latter would be the more moral thing to do. There are many sales techniques. Some are rational and some are not. Other sales techniques thrive on the irrationality of the customer. (This is not just true of lawyers, but of any sales person.) If by "ambulance chasing" one means actively seeking out clients, then it is perfectly fine. If it means convincing a client who has suffered an ill to sue just because he can, even though in justice he should not, then it is not moral.

Background: Internet "Search sites" like Yahoo and Google bring up "sponsored links" when a search is done. These are links that would not have made it to the top based on the search algorithms, but are shown on the first page because someone pays Yahoo and Google to show it. Usually, the bulk of the payment is made to the search site when a user actually clicks on the link. Current Event: Lawyers are paying Yahoo and Google to list their web sites when people search for terms like "VIOXX". These search terms are in such demand that the price charged has gone (from a typical few cents) to a few dollars per click. According to the Forbes article that mentioned this, the winner is "mesothelioma". If a user searchs for this term and then clicks on the link to go to the lawyer's site, the lawyer pays Yahoo over $100 (yes, one hundred dollars). Modern day ambulance chasing?

This may be your definition of "God", but it is not the commonly accepted definition for the word. As for "in our capacity...etc.", frankly I'd be not too unhappy if "In God we Trust" were to be replaced witha more neutral "In possibility, we trust".

A sales tax makes sense only if the income tax is abolished. If income tax is simply reduced or simplified, it is only a qeustion of time before it will go up again. I think there is little chance that the income tax will be abolished, so I think supporting a new tax is extremely unwise.

I assume that if a person has previously made a "living will" giving another person permission to make a life and death decision then you would classify that as "voluntary". Morally, there may a borderline case where a person's wishes were clear but were not documented in a legal way. But, that's a borderline case. What I understand you object to is a situation where a person's past wishes are unknown and cannot be ascertained. I agree with you that in such a case the moral thing would be to use the person's personal estate to keep them alive. I say "personal" because the spouse may have other wishes, and is entitled to keep her share of the money. Other than the personal estate, some chartities will probably be willing to foot the rest of the bill to keep the person alive. However, if the personal estate is exhausted and no charitable funds are available, who should support this person's life?

I recently heard that some hospitals in the Netherlands will euthanize babies who are born with birth defects severe enough to make them incapable of an existence that can be termed human in any true sense.

As for being a person who has not posted anything else to the forum, that is because I have been reading the forum for a while and studying things before I felt confident enough to post. I do not expect anyone to trust meIt . I asked for the email address in "good faith", because I myself post my email on various newsgroups and the only consequence of misuse is that I get unneccessary advertisements emailed to me. is not as if I asked Praxus for his phone number, or postal address, or credit card number or SSN. Surely this is less egregious than other posts on this forum that suggest people buy gold from strangers! If Praxus does not want to be spammed, then he can take two possible precautions. Either, he could post his email in a way that makes it difficult for automatic "email harvesters" that scan forums. So he could give his address something like this: PraxusAT_REMOVE_SPAM_DETERRENT_hot_REMOVE_mail_DOT_com Or, if he wants to be extra careful, he can easily set up a new email account at Hotmail or Yahoo or at some other free service, and post that. That way, he uses the email address one time to receive my invite, and then forgets about it. The other humor in this is the an "ex Banana Eater" is challenging a "Java Drinker". (I'm an ex banana eater myself. ) My offer of invites remains for anyone who is not afraid to post an email address to the forum.

Could you post your current email address here. I will try to mail you an invite. If others want invites, post your email here.