A CASE FOR TORT REFORM

This is from Wednesday’s morning edition of the Washington Times.

Metro officials are bracing for tens of millions of dollars in lawsuits likely to be filed against the cash-strapped transit system by those injured in Monday's crash and the families of the deceased.

Nobody yet knows who - if anyone - is at fault in the train wreck. But injury lawyers and Metro officials say the lawsuits against the agency are a sure thing.

The Metro train wreck on Washington DC’s Red Line occurred Monday afternoon. The NTSB accident investigators are barely on-scene, there is no firm indication of a cause, and lawsuits are already being prepared. What really offends, however is this:

The litigation likely will come not only from the more than 70 injured and the families of the nine dead in the train pileup, but also from many of the other passengers on the subway cars who were frightened or otherwise traumatized."

Lawsuits from passengers who “were frightned or ... traumatized.” Trying to make a quick buck at my expense is more like the truth.

Andrew Bederman, a prominent local plaintiff's lawyer with offices in Silver Spring, said he anticipates many of his colleagues are out trying to round up clients among the crash victims .... He said he had already taken on two clients with less-severe injuries from the crash (emphasis added).

It is illegal in the District for lawyers to solicit clients by such means as tracking down accident victims or trolling emergency rooms. However, Mr. Bederman said lawyers can pay to have their firms prominently displayed on Google when keywords like "train" or "crash" are searched.

Two words: tort reform.

Oh, hell. Add one more word: disgusting.

UNION LOAFER

Via email, an Abbott and Costello skit reminiscent of their classic Who's on First? skit that leaves me rolling on the floor laughing to this day.



"You can't be a loafer unless you join the union." That strikes me as a perfect metaphor for the Obama administration.

FATHER'S DAY

Carmen's right. Thanks to Scott Stantis at Prickly City.

[Update] Here's the proof - the very best (Grand)Father's Day card ever. Well, until next year, when I'll get two.

A VIEW FROM THE WINDOW

June 17, 2009 in Houston, Texas.

A VIEW FROM THE WINDOW

Austin, Texas, June 15, 2009 at 9 am.


Breakfast time.

A BIT OF HIATUS

A family emergency has me away for a while. Back soon, I hope.

RESPONSIBILITY

Random thoughts from Thomas Sowell:

We seem to be moving steadily in the direction of a society where no one is responsible for what he himself did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did, either in the present or in the past.

I've been complaining of this ever since my son was in middle school - nearly 30 years ago. It's gotten steadily worse.

BIG-ASSED FAN

The only problem I can see with such a big (6-24 foot diameter) fan is the need for a really big room to fit around it.

Via Instapundit.

WHY TRUST THE MEDIA?

Edmund Andrews has a nice sob story in the New York Times about his "personal credit crisis" - buying a home he couldn't afford.

I know a lot about the curveballs that the economy can throw at us. But in 2004, I joined millions of otherwise-sane Americans in what we now know was a catastrophic binge on overpriced real estate and reckless mortgages.

Edmund Andrews is a Times financial reporter promoting a new book claiming to detail his personal journey through the dark underside of easy mortgages. The Times gave him space in the NY Times magazine to talk up his story and his book.

"But missing from the story is any mention of the fact that his wife has filed for personal bankruptcy not once, but twice."

So is this a story of greedy mortgage brokers or nearly fraudulent mortgage applications? The former may be newsworthy; I'm pretty sure the latter is not.

REMEMBERING ME ON MEMORIAL DAY

This video has received something over 27 million views on You Tube. Make it a few more.

With thanks to Gateway Pundit.

MEMORIAL DAY AT HOME

Buckhall Cemetary, Manassas, VA, 25 May 2009.



Our flag, 25 May 2009.

MEMORIAL DAY

The reminder is courtesy of Blackfive.

THOUGHTS ON SAFETY

Take a look at this photo.



The city safety nannies must have decided the construction fence was “unsafe” and required that a stair rail be installed for the concrete stairs (which have been there for years without a rail).

But take a careful look – in fact, two careful looks.

The rail is only in place where there are three or more steps in succession. Two or less steps don’t require a rail.

And on the other side of the fence, the construction workers’ “stairs” are simply dug out of the dirt. “Stairs” dug out of loose dirt are safe enough for them. I guess that’s because they have safety helmets and steel-toed shoes.

Another reason for limited government.

TAXES, TAXES, AND MORE TAXES

“No new taxes; not one thin dime.” So spoke presidential candidate Barack Obama in September 2008: “Barack Obama and Joe Biden will cut [federal] taxes for 95% of working families, and provide at least three times as much tax relief for middle class families as John McCain and Sarah Palin.”


Instead he left it to the states to increase taxes: “Facing mounting budget deficits and seeing few areas left to cut spending, states increasingly are turning to the only option they have left: raising taxes.”

And guess who the states are passing it to?

THE EMPEROR HAS CLOTHES

He just isn’t wearing them.

TOO BIG TO FAIL

Too big to exist.

Exit California, stage Left ....

HE’S BAACK ...

Mike Baker, that is, with a review of Nancy Pelosi and her recent fabulous performance as the wronged woman in the CIA’s surprise hit musical “The Speaker’s Missing Briefs.”

Thank God for small favors ....

THE WINGNUT EXPLAINS

"Our undercover conservative answers a tough question: If socialized medicine is so awful, how come no country that's adopted nationalized healthcare has ever gotten rid of it?"

"It's a bit perverse," the American think tank director added, "but if the system treated everyone worse but didn't kill anyone, there would be a lot more pressure from voters seeking reform."

"The fact is that the system [nationalized healthcare] kills quite a lot of people -- but that's still only a tiny percentage of the overall population -- so it reduces the pool of people who are dissatisfied," she said.

Right. Dead people can’t vote no.

DOESN’T CONGRESS HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO?

Good news! Responsible credit card users to subsidize deadbeats.

"Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit."

"Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks."

So now I’m going to get to pay the deadbeats’ credit card bills ....

For God’s sake, Congress, please stop helping. Take a vacation. Go on a junket. Watch Oprah. Just don’t vote.

OVERTAXED AND UNDERWORKED

The average state government worker makes $50,350. The average private sector worker makes $43,889.

And we wonder why taxes are too high?