July 2, 2009 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya July 1, 2009 Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts June 30, 2009 Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent? Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief June 29, 2009 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor' Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas June 26, 2009 Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law June 25, 2009 Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative June 24, 2009 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun June 23, 2009 Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect June 22, 2009 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews? June 19, 2009 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity June 18, 2009 Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative June 17, 2009 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and … June 16, 2009 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity … June 15, 2009 Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine' Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed June 12, 2009 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner June 11, 2009 Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos June 10, 2009 Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste June 9, 2009 Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president? June 8, 2009 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper? Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic? June 5, 2009 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth June 4, 2009 Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette June 3, 2009 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed? Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action June 2, 2009 Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review May 26, 2006 / 28 Iyar, 5766 Junk Science in the Courtroom — ‘Expert Witnesses’ will say anything for money By Drs. Michael A. Glueck & Robert J. Cihak http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The war rages on daily with staggering losses. That is, the war between good and honest workers and businesses trying to keep their hard earned money — and the trial lawyers who are always looking for new ways to pilfer it. In some cases there is covert collusion between the lawyers, their brethren in the state and national legislatures, and those judges who play catch with these lawyers since they know someday their plundering positions could be reversed. In their ongoing pursuit of new avenues to attack some trial lawyers have now turned to using junk science in alliance with their ravenous and insatiable appetite for frivolous lawsuits. The Executive Director of Orange County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (OC-CALA), Maryann Maloney, has announced a "Take Out the Trash" campaign encouraging judges, legislators and the public to dump junk science from our courtrooms. Some "expert witnesses" will say anything for the right price for personal injury lawyers bringing questionable claims, or plaintiffs (recruited by attorneys) filing lawsuits without experiencing any injury. More and more personal injury lawyers are using "expert witness" doctors who have never met the plaintiffs they diagnose. Painful to this writer, some unethical physicians have joined the litigation research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sales squads. Junk lawsuits based on junk science undermine the integrity of our courts, drive up the price of medicine and doctors' fees for healthcare consumers, and divert funds and attention away from researching and developing medical cures. Asbestos and silicosis litigation are just the latest examples of how dubious facts are being used to exploit our legal system. In their first annual Bad Science Investigation ("BSI") Awards the organization "Sick of Lawsuits" (www.sick of lawsuits.org) detected some of the worst uses of bad science in our courts and are disclosing examples of how far some bad actors will go in the interest of trying to profit from lawsuits. Maybe we should call the above organization the BS Investigation team and place them under the sheath of CSI:Las Vegas where they could report to Gil and Kathryn. Some of the worst: In California, Dr. Gary Ordog, dubbed "Dr. Mold" by Forbes, has appeared as an expert witness in hundreds of cases claiming that mold can cause a terrifying array of diseases, from lung cancer to cirrhosis of the liver. This is despite the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, the Federal Institute of Medicine and the American College of Medical Toxicology all saying there's no evidence for such claims. In recent fen-phen litigation, an independent review of 120 echocardiograms diagnosed with heart damage by two cardiologists hired by plaintiffs' attorneys found that only 6% actually showed heart problems. One of the doctors received an extra $1,500 for every positive reading. A 269-page opinion by Texas federal judge Janis Graham Jack pointed the grand jury toward the corruption involved in almost every one of the 10,000 silicosis claims before her court. "These diagnoses were manufactured for money," she wrote. Judge Jack, a former nurse, couldn't understand how a disease that caused fewer than 200 deaths annually in the entire United States could have resulted in 20,000 claims in Mississippi and surrounding states. The diagnosis of silicosis was made in 99% of more than 9,000 plaintiffs by the same nine doctors. One admitted that he didn't even know the criteria for diagnosing the disease, but had simply included a paragraph supplied by the screening company in each of his reports. One doctor had his secretary fill out patient diagnoses on blank forms, while another analyzed 1,239 patients in 72 hours. The judge also found that more than 65% of the silica plaintiffs had also been plaintiffs in a previous asbestos suit, with the diagnoses made by the same doctors. She stated that statistics alone should have shown the lawyers that their case defied "all medical knowledge and logic," and that by bringing the suit they had shown a "reckless disregard of the duty owed the court." According to the Wall Street Journal, Judge Jack has "stalled the entire silicosis scam," and also opened the door to probing millions of earlier asbestos suits ("The Silicosis Sheriff," Wall St. J. 7/14/05). Just as judges in Texas and Florida have begun throwing out testimony from questionable "experts," judges everywhere must take an active role in throwing the junk science out of the legal system. Likewise jurors have an immense responsibility to deny liars for hire. We previously commented on this in JewishWorldReview.com, Jan. 2005, "Jury can fire liars for hire." When you, as a juror, are told to believe lying professionals and distrust honest citizens you not only have a right but an obligation to tell these liars to take a trek. The American jury is our last line of defense against corrupt lawyers, legislators, judges and liars for hire. We need to put an end to this trumped up sickening litigation epidemic that threatens our healthcare system. EDITOR'S NOTE: Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., wrote this week's commentary. He is on the board of Orange County Citizen's Against Law Suit Abuse (OC-CALA) Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., is a multiple award winning writer who comments on medical-legal issues. Robert J. Cihak, M.D., is a Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and a past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Both JWR contributors are Harvard trained diagnostic radiologists. Comment by clicking here. Archives © 2006,

Mitch Albom  Michael Barone   Dave Barry  Tony Blankley  Andy Borowitz  David Broder  Stratfor Briefing  Mona Charen  Linda Chavez  Ann Coulter  Greg Crosby  Rod Dreher  Larry Elder  Suzanne Fields  John Fund  Frank J. Gaffney  Lloyd Garver  Jonah Goldberg  Julia Gorin  Jonathan Gurwitz  Paul Greenberg  Lewis Grossberger  Victor Davis Hanson  Betsy Hart  Nat Hentoff  David Horowitz  Laura Ingraham  Paul Johnson  Jack Kelly  Ed Koch  Ch. Krauthammer  Jonathan Last  Michael Ledeen  John Leo  David Limbaugh  Kathryn Lopez  Rich Lowry  Michelle Malkin  Jackie Mason  Dick Morris  Bill O'Reilly  Jim Mullen  Clarence Page  Kathleen Parker  Dennis Prager  Wesley Pruden  Tom Purcell  Jonathan Rauch  Celia Rivenbark  Robert Robb  Cokie & Steve Roberts  Pat Sajak  Debra J. Saunders  Culture Shlock  Roger Simon  Michael Smerconish  Thomas Sowell  Mark Steyn  John Stossel  Cal Thomas  Bob Tyrrell  Diana West  Dave Weinbaum  George Will  Walter Williams  Byron York  Mort Zuckerman  Robert Arial  Chuck Asay  Baloo  Chip Bok  Dry Bones   Lisa Benson  John Branch  Gary Brookins  John Cole  J. D. Crowe  John Deering  Brian Duffy  Everything's Relative  Mallard Fillmore  Jake Fuller  Bob Gorrel  Joe Heller  David Hitch  Jerry Holber  Steve Kelley  Jeff Koterba  Dick Locher  Chan Lowe  Ranan R. Lurie  Jimmy Margulies  Rick McKee  Michael Ramirez  Kevin Siers  Jeff Stahler  Ed Stein  Danna Summers  John Trever  Gary Varvel  Kirk Walters  How 2  Lori Borgman  The Savvy Consumer  Elder matters  Fixit  Dr. Peter Gott  Marybeth Hicks  GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko  Richard Lederer  Tech Maven  Every Monday Matters  Nutrition Myths  Bookmark These  Bruce Williams  How Stuff Works