Friday Morning Open Thread

"Ring Ring" - Sleigh Bells

It's Friday kids -- which international conglomerate should we apologize to today?  AIG?

I didn't write about the extraordinary Joe Barton apology yesterday because it was hammered home so quickly by so many.  A truly jaw dropping moment, although as low-tech cyclist pointed out in comments actually of a piece with statements made by the House Republican Study Group, Michelle Bachmann, Limbaugh, and others.

If the folks at the DNC can't devise a powerful campaign message out of this, they are hopeless.  Perhaps they might want to hit on things like Limbaugh's solution to hungry children in America -- dumpster diving.  And the solution to the financial crisis -- leave banks alone.  And so forth.

This should not be a difficult campaign in which to drive home the fundamental difference of vision between the parties.  Give the people a choice and let the chips fall where they may.  I'm looking at you Mary Landrieu. 

So what's on everyone else's minds?   

Comments

[litbrit]

Via Rachel: Joe Barton Would Like to Apologize.

God, I love the Intertubes.

[Joe]

Sir C, did any decisions resulting from cases you argued get nullified by the Supreme Court yesterday ?

[big bad wolf]

recent events are making me reconsider this whole democratic administration thing. if two laker nba wins and a yankee world series championship are the cost of a domcractic president, it may be worth heightening the contradictions.

[kathy a.]

litbrit, that's hilarious! SC, it truly was a thing of beauty, seeing the swift and widespread reaction to barton's idiocy yesterday.

mr. gardner was executed last night, by firing squad. i hope everybody involved enjoys their commemorative coins.

[Sir Charles]

Joe,

I only had one case pending before the Board and the employer did not contest the findings of the ALJ, so I believe the decision of Board, which I just got on June 2nd, will stand. The bigger problem -- and one of the reasons why I avoid the Board like the plague -- is that the employer got away with its more egregious course of conduct in the case and prevailed in an election. It was the one I wrote about last year. The "win" was on peripheral matters and the victory more or less meaningless.

Interesting split on the decision by the way. Stevens with the bad guys and Kennedy with the good guys.

[oddjob]

(Brief, background info. for any who might want it):

U.S. court: 2-member labor board can't decide cases

[kathy a.]

thanks, oddjob.

[kathy a.]

Nurses. Rock. Queen Meg wanted the nursing union to turn over a contact list of members so she could talk to them personally. The union responded with an invitation for a live forum in front of reporters, with Jerry also there so nurses could see both sides. And Meg's team said no thanks, describing the nurses as too political, or something.

[kathy a.]

Did that link work? http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=66101&tsp=1

[kathy a.]

I'm just a HTML (that stands for hatemail, right?) learner. So once again.

[Eric Wilde]

Hooray! I've gone from senior management to individual contributor today! I am so FUCKING relieved.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

From Nancy Pelosi this morning, h/t Susie Madrak at C&L

Washington, D.C.--Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement in response to Senate Republicans' refusal to pass jobs legislation along with the inadequate six months physician payment extension bill:

"The inadequate legislation on physicians' fees that Senate Republicans allowed to pass today is a great disappointment. The House has approved long-term reform that ensures that Medicare patients will have access to quality physicians' services.

"The bill Senate Republicans allowed to pass is not only inadequate with respect to physician fees, but it ignores urgent sections of the House bill to provide jobs. The House has repeatedly sent jobs-creating bills to the Senate since December -- Build America Bonds, small business hiring incentives, and importantly, summer jobs -- and yet Republicans continue to block approval of jobs legislation.

“What is it that Republicans in the Senate and House don't understand about the need for jobs in America?

"I see no reason to pass this inadequate bill until we see jobs legislation coming out of the Senate. House Democrats are saying to Republicans in the Senate: Show us the jobs!"

Go, Nancy!!!

[oddjob]

Eric, care to explain?

[Joe]

Sir C, such is the way of labor board remedies that charges (and most complaints) of unfair labor practice are more like "yellow cards" in soccer matches than a real quasi-criminal complaint from a true regulatory agency. There's a reasons 99% of ULPs' are settled for a small concession at the end of collective bargaining.

[kathy a.]

hey, did you see that the administration and dems on the hill are trying to reinstate the

yes, i realize that some companies no longer exist; but the oil and chemical industries as a whole have benefitted from lax oversight in the past -- even the recent past. retail businesses pay taxes to support services that benefit the communities where they do business, even if they may not end up needing all those services. lawyers pay bar dues to permit their professional organization to protect the public from unqualified practicioners. and so on. the concept of shared burdens to alleviate harms is not unfair. the concept of abandoning the burden of hazardous waste created by these industries IS unfair.

[kathy a.]

yikes, i messed that one up... they are trying to reinstate the superfund tax, and already getting complaints about the unfairness to bidness.