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Miners used to carry a caged canary into new coal mines. As long as the canary kept singing, miners knew their air supply was safe. A dead canary signaled the need for an immediate evacuation.

The last canary disappeared from English coal mines in the late 1980s. Since then, miners have relied on inspections, instrumentation, regulation, administrative processes, complaint investigations, and their gut instincts to safeguard their lives.

Unlike human whistleblowers who often are ignored, called troublemakers, demoted, ostracized or fired, canaries send a clear and unmistakable signal of danger. With the recent tragedies at the Massey coal mine in West Virginia and the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, it may be time to bring back the canaries or listen to employees or others whose voices deliver the same message, as I suggest in this brief  video.

Gilbert Arenas is a great basketball player. Not only does he have super skills and talent, but let’s not underestimate his smarts as he’s mastered a game with rules as complex as the Uniform Commercial Code.

“We need your help – a doctor abused our patients. He’s gone, but this can’t happen again, ever.”

I was a discouraged defense trial attorney. During case after case, I was brought in to resolve a situation at a point where the facts had been established for as much as three years or more.