ustxtxb_obs_2009_11_13_50_00003-00000_000.pdf

Page 20

by

THE TEXAS OBSERVER VOLUME 101, NO. 21 A Journal of Free Voices Since 1954 FOUNDING EDITOR Ronnie Dugger CEO/PUBLISHER Carlton Carl EDITOR Bob Moser MANAGING EDITOR Chris Tomlinson ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Mann BOOKS & CULTURE EDITOR Michael May INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Melissa del Bosque STAFF WRITER Forrest Wilder ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Julia Austin CIRCULATION/OFFICE MANAGER Candace Carpenter ART DIRECTOR Daniel Lievens WEBMASTER Shane Pearson POETRY EDITOR Naomi Shihab Nye COPY EDITOR Rusty Todd INTERNS Ryland Barton, Laura Burke CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Nate Blakeslee, Robert Bryce, Emily DePrang, Michael Erard, James K. Galbraith, Patricia Kilday Hart, Steven G. Kellman, Robert Leleux, James E. McWilliams, Char Miller, Ruth Pennebaker, Kevin Sieff, Brad Tyer, Andrew Wheat CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Jana Birchum, Alan Pogue, Steve Satterwhite CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Maggy Brophy, Michael Krone, Dusan Kwiatkowski, Alex Eben Meyer, Ben Sargent TEXAS DEMOCRACY FOUNDATION BOARD Lisa Blue, Melissa Jones, Susan Longley, Jim Marston, Mary Nell Mathis, Gilberto Ocafias, Jesse Oliver, Bernard Rapoport, Geoffrey Rips, Geronimo Rodriguez, Sharron Rush, Kelly White, IN MEMORIAM Molly Ivins, 1944-2007, Bob Eckhardt, 1913-2001, Cliff Olofson, 1931-1995, Frankie Carter Randolph, 1894-1972 entire contents copyrighted 2009, is published biweekly except during April, June, October and December, when there is a 4-week break between Email [email protected] , texasobserver.org . Periodicals Postage paid in Austin, TX, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Texas Observer, 307 W. 7th St., Austin TX 78701. Subscriptions: 1 yr $32, 2 yr $59, 3 yr $84. Students $20. Foreign, add $13 to domestic price. Back issues $5. Airmail, foreign, group, and bulk rates on request. Microfilm available from University Microfilms Intl., 300 N Zeeb Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48106. INDEXES The Texas Observer is indexed in Access: The Supplementary Index to Periodicals; Texas Index; and, for the years 1954 through 1981, The Texas Observer Index. Investigative reporting is supported in part by a grant from the Open Society Institute. Books & the Culture is funded in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. KO OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE dr. E .Dias Foundat,.: Nesvmvk Ter. fn f. on the Arts 01, Cullum] Aeu Dirigion DIALOGUE JUDGING JUSTICE I was a federal law enforcement officer, domiciled in Tyler from 1959 to 1965 during Judge William Wayne Justice’s service \(“Justice for the Dispossessed,” beginning of his service as a U.S. district judge. He was the best U.S. attorney I ever worked with. In presenting a case to him for consideration for presentation to a grand jury, he would ask if the charges could be proved, and if so he would prosecute the case. I always considered him to be a friend as well as a U.S. attorney and federal judge. We need more people like him in the nation’s Justice Department. Bill Hanson Posted at texasobserver.org I was captivated by the article about Judge William Wayne Justice. The author described him as a “soft-spoken and sincere man.” This description is completely consistent with my personal experience concerning Judge Justice some two decades ago. Having been called as an “expert” witness to testify in his court, I was able to experience his judicial and interpersonal skills personally. During my testimony, the morning break was called, and while waiting on a bench in the hallway, Judge Justice sat down next to me, and we took a few minutes to talk about our common name as well as the common name of another district judge in East Texas. He made me feel welcome in his courtroom, and I will never forget his courtesy and professionalism. Thank you Judge Justice for helping us all “follow the law.” Wayne Lawrence Posted at texasobserver.org I was a law clerk for Judge Justice in 1985-86. Like all of his clerks, I called him “Judge.” A story he told about his mother gave me insight into his family. During the Great Depression, his mother regularly gave food and water to those who hitched unpaid passage on freight trains across East Texas. Helping those in need was a Justice family tradition. Judge’s father, Mr. Will Justice, was his tutor in matters of legal strategy and warfare. Judge’s stories of Mr. Will, as recounted to his law clerks, were sometimes designed to teach us how to prepare witnesses, conduct cross-examination or prepare a case for trial. Mr. Will’s success as a trial lawyer was furthered by an insider’s knowledge about what to ask, or whom to strike as jurors. As Judge put it, “You can never know too much about all of the facts that may have to do with a case.” Jackee Cox Posted at texasobserver.org YOU’RE SICK, WHO PAYS? I do not like the idea of a forced private insurance plan \(“Public Options,” ing me into a 401K. Now who does that really benefit? Why not keep pushing for a universal, single-payer system? Sounds like capitulation, not an opportunity to settle for less. I wonder, if I can’t prove I have insurance when I turn up incoherent at the emergency room, am I turned away? Am I penalized and then made to pay back insurance? Unless some heavy-duty campaign finance reform rises like a blinding phoenix, regulations will be skirted and squashed. Let’s go for the whole enchilada this time. Could we even eat enchiladas under a forced plan? T. Keefe Posted at texasobserver.org The Panola Watchman newspaper in Carthage recently published a full-page ad of “Tea Partiers”about 315 people who signed a petition against national health care. Curiously, the chairman of the group had heart surgery in July paid for by Medicare. Gloria Meador Gray Posted at texasobserver.org CORRECTION In the Oct. 31 Story “Boots on the Ground,” the Observer incorrectly identified Congressman Ted Poe as being from Temple. Poe resides in Humble and represents Texas’ 2nd Congressional District. NOVEMBER 13, 2009 TEXASOBSERVER.ORG 3