Self Importance

September 15, 2018
September 15, 2018
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A Formula for Conquering Loneliness

I’ve written before about how I grew up in a family neighborhood that included seven families. My grandparents, Tom and Effie Williams, lived next door to my parents. The other families in the neighborhood were made up of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

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August 22, 2015
August 22, 2015
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From Whiner to Winner

WinnersLast week, I wrote about how I was able to convince a prosecuting attorney to agree to reduce a felony charge to a misdemeanor for a client who had been accused of committing a serious crime. The attorney accused me of being a whiner when I refused to stop pushing him to work with me. In the end, I got what I wanted; he agreed to reduce the charge.

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May 23, 2015
May 23, 2015
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I was a god for a day

I Am GodAfter I graduated from Saint Louis University law school in 1982, my wife and I moved back to Peoria. At that time, my wife was pregnant with our second child. Shortly after returning to Peoria, I began teaching CCD classes on Sunday mornings at St. Sharbel Catholic Church to seventh- and eighth-grade students.

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May 2, 2015
May 2, 2015
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The Art of Listening

Listening CartoonLast week, I returned a client file to one of my employees, with instructions on what she needed to do to correct some mistakes she made on a legal document. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call her “Jane.”

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April 18, 2015
April 18, 2015
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Guidelines For A Disgraced Congressman

Ben Franklin - 13 Virtues to Moral PerfectionIf you pay attention to the news, you know about the recent resignation of our local U.S. Congressman, Aaron Schock. Schock is currently under investigation for violating federal law while he was in office. Some of the violations include using campaign funds for his own personal benefit, overcharging the government for mileage expenses, and flying around in private jets that were owned by individuals or companies who donated money to his campaign.

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January 3, 2015
January 3, 2015
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Insulting The Dead

Cemetery

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May 22, 2011
May 22, 2011
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Cafeteria Catholics

Have you ever heard of a “Cafeteria Catholic”?  The term was popularized a few years ago when Maria Shriver declared that she is a “Cafeteria Catholic.”  Shriver is the wife of former bodybuilder, actor, and governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Last week she was publicly humiliated when her husband admitted that he fathered an illegitimate child over 13 years ago.  The mother of the child is their former housekeeper.  The housekeeper only recently gave up her job of cleaning the Schwarzenegger home, after carrying on her illicit relationship with Schwarzenegger over a period of several years.

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November 13, 2010
November 13, 2010
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The Critic & The EXTREME Parent

On a Friday night about eight years ago, I got myself into an argument with one of my college age children (“the college student”).  The argument centered around a certain movie that I thought was morally objectionable.  At one point, the college student blurted out: “Dad, most Catholics would not agree with you about this movie.  You’re too extreme when comes to things like this.  I can only think of two other people who would agree with you: grandmother (my mom) and Aunt Patty.”

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July 10, 2010
July 10, 2010
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A Very Important Person

VIPI’ve been paying some attention to what’s been going on in the Rod Blagojevich trial in Chicago.  There really haven’t been any big surprises, except for the testimony from a government analyst who provided detailed evidence of the clothing purchases of Blagojevich and his wife during the time he was the governor of Illinois.

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