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To: Win Smith who wrote (22)	11/13/2002 6:40:32 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 603

28 years seems plenty long enough to me.

To: Win Smith who wrote (22)	11/14/2002 3:20:45 AM
From: ~digs	Respond to of 603

The coming Supreme Court battle ; Paul Rosenzweig www2.ocregister.com ------- When the current term ends next summer, the nine justices of the Supreme Court will have been working together, without any changes in personnel, for nine years. The last time a group of justices worked together so long was in the early 1800s. By any measure of history we are due - indeed, overdue - for a change at the court. For the past several years, as each term of the court closes, speculation grows that a retirement announcement is at hand. And for just as long, the speculation has withered. The court has simply moved on to the next term. With the Republican victory, however, a court vacancy becomes far more likely. At least two of the justices, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 78, and Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, 72, reportedly have been considering retirement for several years. Many have speculated that one or both of these conservative justices have been waiting for a favorable political environment before announcing their departure. Rehnquist and O'Connor have been on the court 31 and 21 years, respectively. ---------- ...some Democrats (for example, Sen. Ted Kennedy) have served notice that their party's defeat in this year's elections won't end their effort to block nominees they perceive as "extreme." Conceivably, they could even take the rare (and nearly unprecedented) step of filibustering a Supreme Court nominee, requiring 60 votes to end debate. ---------

To: Win Smith who wrote (22)	11/14/2002 11:23:25 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 603

Working the system to death, Tenet Hospitals' practice of overcharging patients for procedures has led to higher healthcare costs for all, California hardest hit. sfgate.com Tenet's price increases in California also outpace the competition. Tracheostomy charges increased 38 percent from 1999 to 2000 at Tenet hospitals, ( Tracheostomies, at $569,672, were 69 percent higher at Tenet than in the rest of the state, where they average $336, 579. )versus 13 percent at other California hospitals. Respiratory treatment with ventilator support increased 47 percent at Tenet facilities, compared with 22 percent at non-Tenet hospitals. "Tenet is driving up the cost of health care in California for everyone," said Don DeMoro, executive director of the Institute for Health and Socio- Economic Policy, a nonprofit research group in Oakland. "Many of the charges for various cases and DRGs (diagnostic-related groups) are double for what everyone else is charging. That's an enormous red flag."

To: Win Smith who wrote (22)	1/16/2003 11:50:53 AM
From: Win Smith	Respond to of 603

Amy Harmon, A Corporate Victory, but One That Raises Public Consciousness nytimes.com [ The verdict is in, and Mickey Mouse is safe for another 20 years. I'm sure the Rehnquist court, chock full of "original intent" types that it is, has a good explanation of how 95 years now constitutes a reasonable definition of "a limited time". 20 years from now, the lobbyists will be back for more no doubt ] "The court is saying that the framers of the Constitution didn't solve this for us," said Lawrence Lessig, the Stanford professor who argued the case on behalf of a coalition including Eric Eldred, an Internet publisher. "Instead, we're going to need to use smart legislation and sensible contracts to protect the public domain." [ Yes, "smart legislation" is just what our government for sale to the highest bidder specializes in. Snort. ]