Celebrities – Perpetual Adoration

September 29, 2018

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The Intentional Destruction of a Stellar Reputation

The copy of the article shown above appeared in the Peoria Journal Star on July 2, 1987. The article explains how I was able to get a criminal case against a pro-life activist dismissed, because of the failure of the prosecution to disclose a witness. My client, Gerald (Jerry) Smith, was a well-known local pro-life activist who was frequently arrested for trespassing on the property where the local abortion clinic was located. In the case that was referenced in the article, Jerry was charged with Criminal Trespass to Property, a Class A misdemeanor that was punishable by up to a year in jail, and up to a $1,000 fine.

September 22, 2018

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Is the Judge Guilty or Not Guilty?

It happened on September 5, 1985. That was the day that a jury in one of my criminal cases deliberated for only 20 minutes, before finding my client not guilty. I’ve been a lawyer for more than 35 years. The 20-minute jury verdict is still an all-time record for me.

September 1, 2018

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The Beatles, Cadillacs, and Aretha Franklin

In the marketing world, the phrase “passion brand” refers to a product that has a passionate following among its customers. In addition to being loyal to the product, the customers also personally identify with it. If necessary, they will expend the time and energy to defend the product when someone criticizes it. The ownership of the product becomes a statement in and of itself — a statement that the customer has achieved a special status because of their affiliation with the product.

February 3, 2018

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A Dream & The Greatest Showman

I recently joined my wife and some of our children at a local theater to see the movie, The Greatest Showman. The movie is a musical about the life of P.T. Barnum. It begins when Barnum is a boy. He is the son of a poor tailor who does work for a wealthy man. The man looks down on Barnum and his father, because of their lower-class status.

December 16, 2017

Hollywood Predators and Our Consent-Based Culture

I recently counted the sexual predators who have been exposed over the past three months who are associated with the mainstream media and the movie and television industries. All of them are men. The number of men who have been outed over the past three months exceeds three dozen.

November 25, 2017

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Mob Action on Knoxville Avenue

I have a client — I’ll call him John — who was recently injured when his pickup truck crashed into a car that pulled out in front of him on Knoxville Avenue in Peoria. The collision occurred on a weekday at about 4:45 p.m., near the intersection of Knoxville and McClure. John is a construction worker and was on his way home from work at the time of the collision.

November 11, 2017

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Thoughts, Prayers, and Gun Control

Last week, after a mentally deranged gunman killed 26 people in a church in Texas, Paul Ryan, the Catholic Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, sent out a tweet that said, “Reports out of Texas are devastating. The people of Sutherland Springs need our prayers right now.” Several other individuals sent tweets that also said that their thoughts and prayers were with the families of the victims.

November 4, 2017

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Killers, Terrorists, and Criminally Abusive Men

If you pay any attention to the national news, you know about the mass murder of 59 people last month by a lone gunman in Las Vegas. You also know about the terrorist in New York who killed eight people by driving a rented truck into a crowded bike path. In addition to the killings, within the past month, there has been a wave of news stories about several well-known Hollywood male executives and celebrities who have been accused of routinely abusing women and getting away with it.

October 14, 2017

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Wild Fires, Calamities, and Climate Change

If you pay attention to the news, you know about the wildfires in California. I’m writing this article on Friday, October 13, 2017. There are currently several fires that are burning out of control in California. Firefighters have not been able to contain any of the fires. So far, more than 5,700 buildings have been destroyed and 34 people have died as a result of the fires.