Author: Ring of Fire Staff

Washington State Rep. Ed Orcutt has taken back his “over the top” words against cyclists in the state. In an apology written to Seattle Bike Blog earlier this week, Orcutt admits that his claim that a person riding a bicycle emits more carbon dioxide than someone driving a car was “over the top” and should not be part of the conversation regarding whether cyclists should help pay state transportation costs.  The legislation that sparked the comments proposes a $25 tax on the purchase of any bicycle $500 or more. Yet, Orcutt fought against plans to raise Washington’s 37.5-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax. For...

The California jury sent a clear message today that Johnson & Johnson and DePuy put profit over safety by awarding Loren Kransky, the plaintiff in the California case of Kransky v. DePuy Orthopedics, $ 8.3 million for damages caused by Mr. Kransky’s implantation and revision of the recalled DePuy ASR XL hip implant.  Even though Dr. Trotsky, Mr. Kransky’s surgeon, felt that Mr. Kransky might not live through the revision surgery, Dr. Trotsky felt that removal and replacement of the DePuy ASR XL implant was absolutely necessary due to Mr. Kransky’s highly elevated levels of cobalt and chromium ions...

Pursuant to the Constitution of the United States, as well as the individual state constitutions, ordinary citizens are granted the right to trial by jury, equal protection under the law, and due process of law.  Moreover, the Constitution mandates the separation of powers between the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government.  When state representatives and senators enact legislation that places a cap or limitation on the amount of damages recoverable in medical malpractice lawsuits, each one of the above referenced provisions is violated. In every lawsuit, the jury alone has the duty and the right to render a...

Arkansas has now passed the most restrictive abortion law in the nation. With a 56-33 vote Wednesday, the Arkansas House of Representatives quashed a veto by Governor Mike Beebe (D) of a ban on abortions after 12 weeks. While several states have passed a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, Arkansas is the first state to restrict the ban even further. Gov. Beebe vetoed the bill on Monday, after having vetoed another last week that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Beebe said he vetoed both bills because they violate the precedent set by the Supreme...

Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, estimates that $8 billion dollars of taxpayer money has been lost in a failed attempt to rebuild in Iraq. Of the $60 billion the U.S. put into the reconstruction, 13 percent was wasted on substandard efforts to rebuild the country. The money was lost to fraudulent and botched operations, many that were not fully carried out. In one case, $40 million dollars was spent on a prison that was never completed. The Iraqi reconstruction project was the second largest development in U.S. history, only the Afghanistan rebuild was larger.   According...