Then I caught the news about the tragedy at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas where so far 12 people have been killed and over 30 injured. One of the gunmen is dead and two taken into custody have been released while families all over the country undoubtedly are anxious about news of their loved ones. Remember the Fort Dix Six that got stopped before it even started? I guess we’ll find out soon enough if this is similar and the work of extremists.

Then I saw some good news. And the above phrase for some reason came into my head. Last time I heard that phrase I was a little girl and some Bugs Bunny cartoon character with a Jimmy Durante voice was singing the song that goes with it.

The positive today is that missing  7 month old Chipley, Florida baby, Shannon Dedrick was found alive. Her mother reported her missing but apparently had given the child to the babysitter who hid her under a bed in a drawer while authorities and volunteers searched for the baby for five days. The police had been questioning the babysitter for 12 hours. The baby was under the bed for that 12 hours but police said she seemed to have been taken care of.  Except for that 12 hours. But she is found and she is safe. The policeman who was holding her and other officers were driven to tears. Its nice to know these men and women who have seen so many horrible things can still be moved in this way.

~***~

Also in Florida. Here is some more good news. A 24 year old inmate jumped a 64 year old corrections officer and had him in a choke hold that would have broke his neck if not for being rescued. Who rescued him? Other inmates. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause. :-)

JOHN M. O’QUINN, dedicated and extremely successful trial lawyer, generous benefactor, and devoted friend to those who loved him, has ended his earthly journey far too soon. John’s journey was always exciting because he demanded so much of himself. Born on the 4th of September 1941, he passed away Thursday, the 29th of October 2009.

John spent his professional life as a powerful advocate for the powerless – he was the courtroom champion of the ordinary person. He seemed bigger than life with his dynamic personality and folksy presence, which cleverly masked a giant intellect. He believed that the courtroom was the great common denominator: this was where each person was truly equal.

John was the “difference maker” in so many major cases. He considered the courtroom much like the athlete considers the playing field. John took each and every case seriously and personally. As the “people’s champion,” even those who opposed him in court soon realized his unflinching commitment to his clients, and that even they were enhanced by his presence. Each client was unique; each case special.

John was very much the home-town boy – he loved the city of Houston which helped create his legendary skills: both were robust, confident, extremely successful, with an unyielding attitude. Recognized publicly as a legal icon, he was named one of the 100 Legal Legends of the Law by the Texas Lawyer and recognized by the National Law Journal and Harvard Law Review as one of the Best Lawyers in America, receiving four of the largest verdicts in Texas legal history.

An honors graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, he served as a Regent for the University of Houston, as well as a trustee of the UH Law School Foundation. He truly loved the UH Law School and all UH athletic activities. John used his fame and fortune to assist not only the University of Houston with the John O’Quinn Law Library and the John O’Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium, but also the Children’s Assessment Center, the Women’s Center, Baylor College of Medicine, the End Hunger Network, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, the South Texas College of Law Advocacy Center, and so many more endeavors of equal importance.

He was a man who was determined to give back to the city, which had been so very good to him. He once said, “The only things you get to take with you are those things you give away.”

But despite the public persona, John O’Quinn was also a very complicated private person. He seemed as if he were a walking contradiction. Few people knew the John O’Quinn who helped so many when no one else would. Not many knew of the wonderful friendship he shared with the few people who saw this private manifestation of his generous nature. The private John O’Quinn was the first to answer the call when a friend was in need, and he was loved by his classmates at the UH Law Center. From this class developed a strong bond between John and his contemporaries – Alvin Zimmerman, Jack Raines, Al Levin, and especially this writer, Gerald Treece. He was a friend to all of us and he is already being missed more than any of us can truly express.

The private John O’Quinn faced many demons. He fought them with the same zeal he approached the courtroom. John was a proud member of the 12-Step Fellowship, a group known as the “Motley Crew.” Only one woman was invited into this group, Darla Lexington, and together with these men, the group helped one another to fight the monster called alcoholism. John’s friends made him stronger and he them. His sobriety was nearing eleven years. He truly loved these guys.

Standing by his side was Darla Lexington, the love of his life. They shared a passion for philanthropy, the arts, and classic cars. Their dream was to build an automotive history museum in Houston and Darla intends to build that legacy in John’s name. They escaped to their beautiful ranch in Wimberley, Texas whenever they could and planned to retire there. John also deeply cared for Darla’s daughter, Michelle Coopwood, and referred to her as his daughter. John also leaves behind his beloved aunt, Ruth O’Quinn, and cousin, Carol O’Quinn, his extended famil, as well as many dear friends.

Darla, along with the guidance of Dr. Ed Young and others at Second Baptist, helped John on his journey to find his spiritual self. We can all rejoice that John found peace, and that he knows the full love of God, which is forever.

A writer to the Houston Chronicle, responding to the news of John’s death, wrote, “JMO was a brilliant attorney. He was a generous soul. The last samurai warrior. A real gunslinger. JMO championed the causes of the nameless and faceless individuals who did not have the means to challenge the mammoth defendants. UH has lost its son. Houston has lost its friend. The world has lost a generous soul….He loved hard work. He was a dedicated man.

“Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from four o’clock in the afternoon until eight o’clock in the evening on Tuesday, the 3rd of November, at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

So as to provide for more seating accommodations during the funeral service, kindly note the below change of venue at Second Baptist Church, from the Sanctuary to the Worship Center, accessible from Voss Road.

All are invited to the funeral service to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, the 4th of November, in the Worship Center of Second Baptist Church, 6400 Woodway Drive in Houston, where Dr. H. Edwin Young, Pastor, is to officiate.

A reception is to immediately follow the service in the adjacent Deacons’ Parlor.

The entombment services are to be privately conducted on the O’Quinn River Ranch in Wimberley, Texas.

For those desiring, contributions in memory of John M. O’Quinn may be directed to the University of Houston John O’Quinn Memorial Fund, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-5016 (please indicate whether you prefer to support the UH Law Center or UH Athletics); The Texas Heart Institute, 6770 Bertner St. (MC3-116), Houston, TX, 77030 (please indicate whether your contribution is designated for Dr. Willerson’s Research or Dr. O.H. Frazier’s Surgical Research); The Children’s Assessment Center, 2500 Bolsover St., Houston, TX, 77005; The Women’s Center, 1010 Waugh Dr., Houston, TX, 77019; or to the John M. O’Quinn Foundation, 3518 Travis St., Suite 200, Houston, TX, 77002.

This lovely obituary was written by ~Gerald Treece~

Mrs. Arthur, looking lovely and slender but sad and battle worn, believes the three are guilty. She said the doctors made it possible but Howard K. Stern was the one who kept giving the drugs to her daughter.

Mrs. Arthur, retired after a 28 year career as a police officer said, “you don’t help a drug addict kill themself. If you love them, you help them get off the drugs. Anna was wanting help. No one gave her any.”

Craig Rivera asked her if Anna had a history of seizures. Mrs. Arthur said she spoke to the doctors and she was told that all the meds that Anna Nicole took would cause the seizures.

The conversation turned to granddaughter Dannielynn, the baby who Mrs. Arthur says is her only link to her deceased daughter and grandson.

Rivera asked her opinion of Dannielynn’s father, Larry Birkhead. Mrs Arthur said that same thing many of us have been thinking and saying and that is that Birkhead needs to get a job and someone needs to be appointed to look after Dannielynns interests.

Amen to that!

The infamous clown video? Mrs. Arthur; “even the little girl knew my daughter needed help”.

Craig mentioned the sudden and unexpected death of attorney John O’Quinn who has been Mrs. Arthur’s “knight in shining armor”, since he came to her assistance at the Florida burial trial after Anna Nicole died in February of 2007. He also verified as we did here that in his wisdom, Mr O’Quinn made provisions so that Mrs. Arthur can continue her fight for justice with the full force of the O’Quinn Law Firm and her attorney Neil McCabe behind her.

“What I do is represent the powerless against the powerful.”

And that he did. He took on giant corporations like Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Dow Chemical and the tobacco industry and fought for justice for every day people who otherwise would have been victimized by greed and power.

I came to know of Mr O’Quinn years ago when I was researching for an attorney for my late mother. But I never knew of his generosity until the death of Anna Nicole Smith when Mr. O’Quinn flew to Hollywood Florida and represented her mother Virgie Arthur, as she attempted to claim her unmarried daughters body. Associated litigation is ongoing to this day sponsored by Mr. O’Quinn.

The good news from a source close to Mr. O’Quinn is that his legacy will live on. The O’Quinn Law Firm will continue to grow and prosper. All cases currently in litigation will be vigorously pursued to a successful outcome and that especially includes all the cases associated with the life and death of Anna Nicole Smith.

What a comfort that must be to the colleagues, clients and friends of  the legendary John O’Quinn, that they will be taken care of after his death as he did for them in life. I would not want to be an adversary at this point, as those who loved the larger than life super lawyer, proudly carry on the work that he cared about.

The lead attorney for Mrs. Arthur on the Anna Nicole Smith cases, Neil McCabe today told the Houston Chronicle, “Everyone is devastated,  John not only was the head of the law firm but a person who took care of all of us and we are going to miss him very much.”

Deepest condolences go out to the friends and family of Mr O’Quinn and Mr. Johnny Cutliff  who also perished in the crash, and was an associate of the O’Quinn Law Firm for over 20 years. May they both rest in peace.

“What I do is represent the powerless against the powerful. I’ve been blessed with talent, and I’ve got commitment and passion,” O’Quinn told Texas Monthly in June 2000.

Philanthropist and prominent attorney John O’Quinn passed away this morning after a car accident in his home town of Houston, Texas. He was 68 years old.

On the O’Quinn Law Firm website, a company John founded, it states he graduated from Rice University and the University of Houston College of Law.

Mr. O’Quinn was the first student ever to obtain all three of the top University of Houston law student achievements – he graduated valedictorian of his class (J.D., magna cum laude), served as Editor-in-Chief of the Houston Law Review, and was state champion of moot court. Since graduating, O’Quinn was selected as the 1993 Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Houston, the 1996 Distingued Alumnus of the Year (UH College of Law) and served as a Member of the UH Board of Regents.

Mr. O’Quinn has been recognized as one of  the 100 “Most Influential Lawyers in the United States”, one of the “Top Five Lawyers in the State of Texas”, among both present and past lawyers of the 20th century. He has been named one of the “100 Legal Legends of Texas” by Texas Lawyer, and was recognized in Harvard Law’s Best Lawyers in America. Mr. O’Quinn has also served as Director for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. O’Quinn shared his success through philanthropy and donates to many charitable causes, such as the Children’s Museum, Feed the Hungry, and Women’s Center, Child Abuse Prevention and the University of Houston. He also established The John M. O’Quinn Foundation in 1986, which focuses on helping children, public education and the environment.

He donated to the Houston Council on Alcohol and Drugs and various Texas Medical Center institutions including St. Luke’s Hospital, which has a tower bearing his name..

The football field at the University of Houston’s Robertson Stadium also is named for O’Quinn.

Mr O’Quinn has most recently demonstrated his generosity by representing Virgie Arthur, the mother of Anna Nicole Smith in her quest for justice in the deaths of her daughter and grandson Daniel Wayne Smith.

Mr O’Quinn will be fondly remembered and his death mourned by many who admired him for his wisdom and good works.

Representatives for  Mr. O’Quinn will hold an afternoon press conference at his law firm. I am told 3:00 PM Central time.

Clark was still in California where he got kicked out of the courtroom as an observer due to the subpoena, but Vice and Pirtle appeared in Harris County court and were ordered to travel to Los Angeles to testify as hostile witnesses for Howard Stern’s defense. Clark and Vice engaged Neil McCabe to represent each of them so all three were present in Los Angeles this morning and ready to testify.

McCabe stood up identified himself and recounted why he and his two clients were present. He also related that he contacted attorney Smith to iron out details and make sure they had to be there on this day. Smith said he responded to the inquiry but McCabe told Judge Perry, Smith did not respond and his clients had no choice but to do as ordered by Harris County since it was stipulated that if they did not appear, they could be taken into custody.  Obviously Smith did not respond because Vice and Clark were there. The judge asked Smith if he even knew for sure that he would call Clark and Vice. Smith admitted not only did he not know when he would want the two on the stand but he could not state that he would call them at all period.

McCabe requested that the two potential witnesses be allowed to go back to Texas. Judge Perry agreed with the stipulation that the two could possibly be called later but really did not think so.

Stern is responsible for all costs of transporting and lodging for any witnesses and I hope time lost from work and their attorney fees. Stern had graciously made reservations for them at the Roach Motel, I mean the Metro Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles. It goes without saying that the potential witnesses and their attorney made other lodging arrangements. Stern didn’t like that and made a pouty face.

*****

Filthy stained mattress at the Metro Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles where competitive day rates are offered to local “WORKING GIRLS”

Pets allowed? One of the locals must have forgotten and left hers at the hotel.

*****

Courtroom observers said Judge Perry was not at all pleased with Larry Birkhead’s two million dollar take since he won the Anna Nicole baby lottery. After all, the news is the baby and not Birkhead. If Birkhead earned two million, how much did the baby earn? With most child celebs, the parent is paid a manager fee and the rest is put away for the child. I also noticed that Howard K. Stern did not arrive in a limo last week for court. He was driving a brand new Mercedes. He must be doing very well for himself these days. But Anna Nicole Smiths estate just got lien-ed on for over $125,000 to the IRS and almost $50,000 to California.

Stern and his new ride behind him? The Mercedes can also be seen in this video as he loads his junk into the trunk.

It was offered for sale by Splash. Who took the picture? None other than baby daddy Larry Birkhead. I guess he and Howard K. Stern do have a lot in common. They both did not care and even profited from Anna Nicole Smith being humiliated in public. MSNBC carried the story that goes with the picture. Birkhead was wearing a T-Shirt that said, “I love my girlfriend”.

The picture was taken and distributed in July of 2005.

Here are the comments that went with the fo-toe…

actress; competition; jeans; nightclub; tshirt; water; wet;
Anna Nicole Smith gets Wet and Wild at a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina nightclub. The blonde bombshell in town for some rest and relaxation was asked at the last minute to judge a wet t-shirt contest. Smith decided to partake in the fun by dousing the girls with picthers of ice cold water. After all the contestants made it to the stage, Anna decided to douse herself with with water and do a dirty dance leaving the area vacationers howling for more.
Pic-Larry Birkhead
<P>
<B>Ref: LBH 140705 A </B>
<P>
<B>Splash News and Pictures</B><br>
Los Angeles:    310-821-2666<br>
New York:    212-619-2666<br>
London:    207-107-2666<br>
photodesk@splashnews.com

Yesterday in Los Angeles Maurice Brighthaupt (”Big Moe”) spent his second day on the stand in the preliminary hearing to decide if Howard K. Stern, and doctors Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich will go to trial for  illegally supplying drugs to Anna Nicole Smith. The same drugs killed her on February 8th, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood Florida.

The Los Angeles Times quoted Sadow as saying that Brighthaupts allegations of Howard K. Stern injecting Anna Nicole Smith with drugs are false and a new allegation. Not so!

Sources say Big Moe spoke to the California DOJ two days after Lin Wood and Howard K. Stern accused Brighthaupt of trying to sell pictures of Anna Nicole. The accusation first came via Stern’s mouthpiece Entertainment Tonight on October 3rd of 2007. They again attacked Brighthaupt on Larry King Live on October 10th, 2007.

Big Moe was interviewed by Access Hollywood on October 17th 2007. That was when he revealed for the first time that he saw Howard cooking drugs on a spoon and injecting them into Anna Nicole.

So here is the time line

October 3rd, 2007 – Lin Wood issues a statement to Entertainment Tonight accusing Brighthaupt (Big Moe) of selling pics and says they have been accusing him since shortly after Wood was retained. Moe denies selling anything through his rep. Paul Porter.

October 10th, 2007 – Howard K. Stern and Lin Wood appear on Larry King Live with same accusations.

October 12th, 2007 – According to Sadow, Moe talked to the CA DOJ

October 17th, 2007 – Moe appears on Access Hollywood and says he saw Stern cooking drugs and injecting them into Anna Nicole.

So Sadow’s own words disprove his point. If Moe talked to the CA DOJ two days after the Larry King Live interview, that would have been October 12th. Moe did not appear in any live interviews until October 17th. The point is, Moe told the DOJ what he is testifying to before he got paid by or appeared for any media outlets.

Also, where is Lin Wood? It was announced by Reuters and others that he is part of Stern’s defense team. Could it be that Wood is trying to extricate himself from Howard K. Stern? The King siblings case which Wood was working on has been settled but still no appearance by Lin Wood in California.

Steven Sadow, Stern’s attorney told press outside the court house that any injections given would have been a B-12 shot and not drugs. Hmm why? Because Howard K. Stern said so?

Today as prosecutors tried to bring up a photograph depicting Anna Nicole and Dr. Eroshevich having sexual relations as a motive for supplying Smith with huge quantities of drugs, LA Superior Court Judge Robert Perry shot it down.”This is a preliminary hearing,” Perry said. “It’s not a trial. It’s to determine if there’s probable cause for a trial. I’m just not going to turn this into some circus sideshow.”  That’s ok Judge. One of the defendants already did before she died.

Larry Birkhead has been riding the talk show circuit in anticipation of being scheduled to testify in todays hearing. He appeared on the “Today Show” this morning and “Access Hollywood”. Larry said, “Howard has been kinder to me than some of Anna’s family members” and,  “I’d be totally shocked’ if Howard K. Stern was guilty of hurting Anna Nicole Smith”.  Its hard for Birkhead to get through an interview without a jab at Anna’s family.

What a far cry from Birkhead’s tearful testimony during the Florida Burial Hearing.

Birkhead: “You don’t know how many times I had to help her and to carry her back and forth to make sure she was OK. Sometimes I didn’t even know if she was going to live. And they kept bringing more and more drugs into the house.”

Now before any of Birkhead’s testimony hits the news wires, I have decided that he deserves an award for his performance. I do hereby bestow “The Flopping Fish Award” to Larry Birkhead. Enjoy Larry, you deserve the honor more than anyone in this story.

None the less, I believe this case will go to trial. With this much sensationalism in just the prelim, the trial should be very interesting.

TMZ is reporting that Larry Birkhead is going to be the “star witness”. I wonder who gave Larry that designation? Also interesting is Larry’s very timely recent photo op taking daughter Dannielynn to a pumpkin patch where they obviously had face painting for kids.

Dannielynn is very cute painted as a puppy. At first look however unfortunately, it appeared to some like Larry may have been mocking the infamous “Clown video”, where Anna Nicole is eight months pregnant, painted up like a clown and clearly blasted out of her head thinking a toy baby doll is her real baby. Its the same video where Stern says, “this footage is worth money”.

Little Dannielynn looked like she was happy and having fun but one has to wonder when she is old enough to understand the significance of the clown video, if she will ever feel the same about face painting.

Agent Danny Santiago, a special agent with the California Department of Justice was the first person called the testify by prosecutor Renee Rose. He told about the eleven prescription bottles found in the room where Anna Nicole Smith died from an overdose. He testified that some of the scripts were prescribed by Eroshevich and were in Howard K. Sterns name but with variations of his name as well.

E! Online covering the hearings today called  Stern, Smith’s “lawyer-lover-puppetmaster”.

More updates later…

Well, I have been reading the news around the net and saw that the American Music Awards tape of Anna Nicole was played for the court. Of course, that was back in 2004. They should have played this tape which is much more compelling since it was recorded just weeks before Anna Nicole died and not years like the AMA awards.

The autopsy done on Smith said she died of “acute combined drug intoxication,”. Toxicology testing found chloral hydrate combined with Benadryl, clonazepam, diazepam and lorazepam. Clonazepam and Soma, both muscle relaxants, and the sedative diazepam were found in her hotel room.

I think the saddest part of the hearing today revealed that a doctor was called for Smith when she practically had to be carried into the hotel. The reason was because Eroshevich who was part of Smiths entourage said she was not licensed to write prescriptions in Florida. Stern however canceled the doctor visit saying they did not want the press to be alerted to Smiths condition.

Also mentioned was that upon the discovery of Anna Nicole not breathing without a pulse, the heavy hotel comforter was pulled back to reveal that Smith was laying in her own waste.

Stern told the investigators after Smith died he had been giving Smith the children’s electrolyte formula Pedialyte in a baby bottle. It was also mentioned that Anna Nicole was weaning herself off of methadone and none was found in her system. That was wrong. Methadone was found in the bile of her liver according to her autopsy.

There was a surprise in California today waiting for Don Clark, Anna Nicole’s mother, Virgie Arthur’s attorney firm  investigative strategist. He was served with a subpoena indicating he would be called as a hostile witness in this case. Houston attorney Tom Pirtle and Wilma Vice also received subpoenas today for the same case and must appear October 14th, tomorrow in Houston.

Judge Perry told prosecutor Renee Rose today that this case is not a murder investigation. I fail to see why Clark and company who were not around when Anna Nicole was alive would be called as witnesses. They did not procure any drugs nor did they feed them to the deceased. It sounds to me like Stern is trying to get some leverage for his civil suits in New York and South Carolina.

The preliminary hearing is expected to last at least two weeks.