Bop Bop Boddy odl lo do dah Dooo! Skibbidab Boodle Okie de Do! Braaaaaaaaapppapap BloFF! OOddle de do! thats playing drums!

tsssssssssssssss tik ta tisssshhhhhhhhhhhhh tik ta tisssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh tik (thats the high hat).

You get to be a "Senior Policy Analyst" by memorizing the rules in a crooked game and absolving yourself of any responsibility for consequences affecting society.

I agree with Thom, NO ONE does enough work to warrant billions of dollars - NO ONE - even if they could bring dead people back to life - using that ability to make billions is just a form of exploitation - pure and simple. These people are exploiting all of us and using the poorly regulated finacial system as a tool to do so. TAX THE RICH - over a mill should pay the bill

RE: Railing against rich people

A good friend of mine who is a minister told me of a conversation with one of his congregation; In 1st Timothy it is said that the love of money is the root of all evil. The man agreed. My friend then said, Capitalism is based on the love of money; what does that have to say about capitalism? The man stammered, it's not the same.

Goodnight Sweet liberal.

As I wake up from my sleep, brew a pot of coffee, slowly trudge to my computer, turn it on, go to http://www.thomhartmann.com, log in, click the chat link, I read the welcome sign TIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY! And I respond in kind STUMPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. I hope it didn't irritate SueN ;) Stumpy BKA Gerry Richardson would cheerfully welcome me and everyone who entered into the liberal domain of Thom Hartmann and make us feel comfortable. His upbeat welcome would energize me and many others that no artificial stimulant, coffee included could not. Stumpy would pretend to be the SueN of the chatroom when SueN was busy working and Gerry would take the wheel and yes, made sure that the rules were followed. When fights broke out Stump would quell them, and his demeanor via the words he wrote were quite soothing.

When I met Gerry on Facebook, he wrote: TIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY! I responded, who the Hell is this? LOL Stumpy! So we responded back and forth. He told me he was ill but was recovering. I said for him to get better, we need you back in the room! We kept in touch via Facebook and this past Sunday, we got word that Gerry passed on Friday night. My heart dropped. No more TIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY. No more seeing his happy writings or his deep wisdom to balance out his penmanship. But I know one thng, Gerry AKA Stumpy will never be forgotten.

Rest in Peace brother Rest in Peace Stumpy

TimFromLA

your Japanese American brother

20 Year Drop Out in Participation?

The reason this happened was that the COST OF LIVING ESCALATED to such a pitch that people no longer had the strength left to participate after working overtime or 2 jobs to keep their homes.

People USED to participate in politics because their spouses earned the living and they had the TIME.

Time was stolen from us 20 years ago... and once again under the latest Bush regime. Did anyone realize that the 8 hour work day is GONE? It USED to be you worked 3 hours, had lunch for an hour, paid, and worked 4 hours and went home. Now you work 4 hours, get UNPAID lunch, work 4 hours more and go home after a 9 hour day. One hour unpaid but manditary comandeered from you.

In the local news, I read a thread of comments on "flag etiquette" in reply to a letter to the editor. It's interesting that folks are so interested in the flag and simultaneously so disinterested in the Constitution.

I suggested that those super patriots consider the question, "what is the difference between a flag and a gang sign?" (Short quiz next period.)

$250,000 TORT-REFORM CAP WRONG:

I am a podcaster, and just listened to today's 1st hour. I want to correct a misapprehension you have about tort "reform":

You made the statement to the effect that, due to tort reform in Texas, the maximum recovery for a personal-injury medical-malpractice action is $250,000.

This is wrong: The $250,000 cap applies to exemplary ("punitive") damages, NOT to actual damages. (There's a $500,000 cap per event, in case there are more than 1 victim.) So that, in the example of the girl who's rendered disabled all her life, a recovery of her actual medical costs (usually given as a lump sum, according to the jury's discretion) is definitely possible; if the jury believes that it will take, say, $3 million to take care of her for the rest of her life, they can surely award it. What they cannot do is to say: "Well, you know what? We're going to assess a $20 million award just to show Pfizer they should be more careful when they put poisonous drugs on the market", which would serve to "punish the perpetrator for his actions, and warn others similarly situated against such behavior" (the legal justification for exemplary damages).

While not as bad as your example, this restriction does have real consequences, for several reasons:

1.) Large corporations (as in your Chevy-truck sidesaddle tank and Ford Pinto examples) can easily swallow actual damages, because those can be quantified and planned for, but punitive damages are a wildcard, and really serve to dampen tortious behavior; and

2.) In a state like Texas, where contingent-fee arrangements between attorney and client are permissible, the lawyer typically gets 40% of the recovery. This may seem like a lot, but considering the horrific costs to bring one of these suits (our office typically spends about $50,000+ per case), this arrangement is usually the only way an injured claimant can get representation; attorney fees and costs, if paid out-of-pocket, can easily run over a hundred thousand bucks (more on the reason for that--also due to tort "reform"--in a moment), and very few injured persons can afford that. The reason the punitive-damages limitation is important here is that, in a case where, say, the claimant "only" loses a finger or two (usually worth maybe a hundred thousand dollars or so), there simply isn't enough in the way of actual damages available to justify a lawyer fighting one of these huge corporations; the costs are simply too great. In the "old days" this wasn't so; not only was a case easier to get heard, but the chances were good that the jury would return a punitive-damages award which would make the case worth bringing. (This power is why the awards against such tortfeasors as Big Tobacco and Big Asbestos were so effective in correcting their predatory behavior; the juries not only awarded damages, but they justifiably "punished" the corporate criminals as well.)

And that brings us to the other part of tort "reform" (or "tort deform", as trial lawyers here call it): The "Robinson/Daubert" line of cases, and the recent recodification of medical-malpractice law, puts a huge series of very expensive hurdles in the way of bringing suit. Before you can even get a case to a jury, for example, an "expert report" has to be filed which requires the filling in of the "analytical gaps" between the tortious act and the injury. This requires at least one medical expert, and usually two or three; and each expert (licensed physicians required) usually costs around $10,000 for their assistance with this "report" (and at least that much more, if their testimony is later required at trial, i.e. if the case doesn't settle before that point). And what's worse is that the medical validity of this "report" is determined by a judge--not a doctor--who, in the age of Republican dominance of the bench, is often hostile to plaintiffs and the trial bar, and often will "kill" what would previously have been a jury-determinable case, before the jury can even have a chance to hear the claim. "Borderline" cases, or cases where the liability isn't crystal clear, are often destroyed at this point, even if there is plenty of good (though contestable) evidence that the tortious behavior actually occurred.

So: Tort "reform" is a bad thing, and has basically put out of business claimants who have less than a half-million dollars in actual damages. But if you do have such a case, then you can still get recovery, though usually, after deduction of attorney fees, less than you actually were harmed, since the difference can't be made up through "exemplaries".

Incidentally: I was licensed in Texas to practice law in the late '70's, and did so for 20 years before I lost my license due to a medical-marijuana arrest and imprisonment (5 years Federal prison). Since that time I've been working as a rather well-qualified "legal assistant", specializing in tort law, including medical-malpractice work, so I know whereof I speak ;-) ... ~ alamac

Misery for the poor, working poor, and middle class Americans will be with us forever. Rich Americans enjoy seeing Americans miserable and American corporations say screw Americans. Profits are their goal.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/25/income_inequality_statistics_tax_code__n_773392.html