| Romney Calls For Caps On Noneconomic, Punitive Damages In Medical ...
Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Tuesday in Iowa called for caps on noneconomic and punitive damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. During a speech at Des Moines University, Romney said, "I believe we have to enact federal caps on noneconomic and punitive damages related to malpractice," adding, "These lottery-sized awards and frivolous lawsuits may enrich the trial lawyers, but they put a heavy burden on doctors, hospitals and, of course through defensive medicine, they put a burden on the entire health care system." Romney said that as president he would encourage states to establish health courts overseen by judges who have experience in malpractice lawsuits and to sanction attorneys who repeatedly file frivolous claims (Pitt, AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/20).
Giuliani's GOP hopes sliding away
ORLANDO, Fla. – Comparing himself to New York's come-from-behind pro football team, Rudy Giuliani is predicting an upset surprise over his Republican opponents in Florida. "We have them all lulled into a very false sense of security now," he joked at the final debate before Tuesday's presidential primary, which he has indicated is a must-win for him. Unlike the Super Bowl-bound New York Giants, though, the former New York mayor has yet to win this season. In fact, he's barely put points on the scoreboard. Ever since voting began, the national Republican front-runner for most of last year has been slipping badly. He's won just one or two delegates, depending on who is doing the counting, despite spending more than $50 million.
Justice Denied for East Timor
Justice Denied for East Timor Indonesia's Sham Prosecutions, the Need to Strengthen the Trial Process in East Timor, and the Imperative of U.N. Action The world watched in horror in September 1999 when the Indonesian National Army (TNI) and Timorese militias went on a campaign of murder, arson, and forced expulsion after the people of East Timor voted for independence in a United Nations administered referendum. After almost twenty-five years of brutal occupation, an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 East Timorese civilians lost their lives in the months before, and days immediately after, the voting. Approximately 500,000 people were forced from their homes or fled to seek refuge.1 The violence was part of a systematically planned policy by elements of the Indonesian government and TNI to prevent the people of East Timor from freely participating in the referendum, and to punish them for voting for independence.2 The crimes included mass murder, torture, assault, forced disappearance, mass forcible deportations, the destruction of property, and rape and other sexual violence against women and children.
McCain: Romney Favored Iraq Withdrawal
Petersburg event, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge offered to give an Associated Press reporter a ride to Romney's next appearance.
"I understand where Mitt's coming from, but it's a non sequitur in the history of Republican politics," said Ridge, a fellow Vietnam veteran who entered the U.S. House in 1983 with McCain. He recalled that Ronald Reagan, while he'd been governor of California, did not have CEO experience when he was elected president in 1980.
"For me, the most important element is not if you're a CEO or a governor; it is is there a philosophy consistent with the Reagan philosophy that you cut taxes and keep spending under control," Ridge said.
At a later stop in Lakeland, another McCain surrogate, former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift, boarded the Romney press bus to repeat similar criticisms to reporters.
Sally Corp. president retires
Keystone company providing parts for Coast Guard boats [Jacksonville] American Electric to make over Williams gas facility [Houston] Tuesday earnings round-up [Houston] Going Bonkers opens first Texas store [Dallas] Chuck E. Cheese's to open in Kapolei [Honolulu] .
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