Wow! What a day for news! Any of the big stories would
ordinarily cause me to comment because I have my own unique opinions on
virtually any topic. But today has been overwhelming.
Former Governor & Maureen McDonnell: As a resident of the great Commonwealth of
Virginia I am saddened by the convictions of our former governor and his wife;
however, I am more appalled by the shear dimwitted behavior of a supposedly
savvy politician and the virulent pursuit to convict by the federal
government. This is my conundrum:
McDonnell was stupid; his wife has been painted as a psychiatric mess; the
testimony was replete with soap opera worthy story lines. And I work in the
corporate world in a department that prohibits employees from accepting even a
ham sandwich from somebody with which we do business – even those on the
approved vendor list.
But
from the other side of the equation, I do not believe the McDonnells acted any
differently than the typical politician. If the McDonnells deserve
imprisonment, so do virtually 90% of our elected leaders at the state and
federal level. How is accepting a “loan” from one courting a politician’s
support really differ from a lobbyist paying (I mean donating to the campaign
of) any member of Congress’ political war chest. No matter how the dice is
rolled, it is a quid pro quo! And with the indictment of Rick Perry, a
politician I do not like, it feels like political gamesmanship by the
Democratic Party. I hope I am wrong. But….if it walks like a duck….
Joan Rivers: I remember the
irrepressible Joan Rivers of my youth, before she became the poster child for
unfortunate plastic surgery. In fact, when I heard her death was related to an
adverse reaction to an outpatient procedure at a clinic, I immediately presumed ( apparently wrongly)
that it was another cosmetic procedure. I admired Joan Rivers because she
always felt real. And she paved the way for every female stand-up comedienne
that followed – she didn’t have to rely on gimmicks or costumes. She didn’t
compromise who she was. I didn’t always find her funny. At times she was
annoying or even offensive. But without Joan, there would have been no Gilda
Radnor, Margaret Cho, Jane Curtain, Melissa McCarthy, Rosanne Barr, or Tina
Fey. Rest in peace.
BP Grossly Negligent: A New Orleans judge found BP, FKA British
Petroleum, and other players had acted with gross negligence in connection with
the explosion and massive oil spill of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in
2010. The threshold for gross negligence is high. There must be substantial
evidence of reckless indifference to safety to support this conclusion by the
Court. I cannot say I’m surprised. While
I am a Capitalist through and through, I do not believe that profits are more
sacred than safety – whether it involves our natural resources, human life, animal
and aquatic life, the livelihoods of Gulf coast people, or the availability of
fresh seafood on my table. Corporations, LLCs, individuals, governments, or
regulators that place profits and a favorable return on investment to
stockholders over safety, deserve to be punished. But I do not believe in the
system of fining the offender when the money is not distributed to the victims. Hopefully the 18 Billion will be distributed
to the Gulf Coast states, the environmental groups that are attempting to
rehabilitate the shores, the families of those adversely affected, this fishing
industry, and towards a fund to support those who may suffer from future
catastrophes – and not some unidentified federal coffer that wastes the
billions on aid to foreign despots.
So,
this was a day!
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