Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (35620)	7/15/2004 2:00:25 PM
From: Emile Vidrine	Respond to of 81568

Tom Delay's illegal fundraising with Enron executives: (Delay is Republican House leader and chief Ziochristian in Congress. Delay advocates, in violation of International Law and the Geneva Convention, Israeli ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.) Investigation Into Delay Fundraising Continues July 11, 2004 Investigation Into Delay Fundraising Continues Further evidence suggesting that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex) tapped his corporate donors to elect Republicans to the Texas legislature in 2001 and 2002 has surfaced in the ongoing investigation of this matter, according to the Washington Post. Texas law prohibits corporations from contributing to state legislature campaigns. According to an email obtained by the Washington Post: "In May 2001, Enron's top lobbyists in Washington advised the company chairman that then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was pressing for a $100,000 contribution to his political action committee, in addition to the $250,000 the company had already pledged to the Republican Party that year. DeLay requested that the new donation come from "a combination of corporate and personal money from Enron's executives," with the understanding that it would be partly spent on "the redistricting effort in Texas," said the e-mail to Kenneth L. Lay from lobbyists Rick Shapiro and Linda Robertson." The implications to this 20-month (and counting) long investigation are many. DeLay's efforts resulted in Republicans taking control of the Texas legislature for the first time in 130 years. Once in power, the GOP manuvered to redraw the congressional districts so that as many Democratic incumbents as possible would be vulnerable. Most political experts agree that the Texas delegation will send at least five new Republicans to the House of Represenatives after the November elections, hence keeping DeLay in his powerful post.

To: longnshort who wrote (35620)	7/15/2004 2:14:06 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

When health care is run as a business by the hospitals, when the pharma industry through their PACs are looking out for their own interests with total disregard tot he interests of the patients, when lobbyists have out Washingtonians in their pockets, we the consumers need tort lawyers to seek for ourselves our own justice. Let me see you go and buy a new car and be given a lemon with no legal recourse for you to recover your money back. Then I will be willing to listen to you. Until then it is all noise and hot air by you folks. We will go and vote in Kerry to get the justice for the US workers who currently are subjected to loss of jobs to countries overseas so that a few capitalists can multiply their wealth. That is why the "two Americas" is very apt for Edwards to talk about. He has been in the trenches and experienced for himself the "two Americas."

To: longnshort who wrote (35620)	7/15/2004 2:16:28 PM
From: microhoogle!	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81568

Who checks the pharma companies who come up with drugs without adequate testing and those drugs cause birth defects ? BTW: it appears your grip is not against lawyers but at founding fathers for instituting the judicial system.

To: longnshort who wrote (35620)	7/15/2004 3:25:04 PM
From: cirrus	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Sometimes there's no other way. Let me give you a personal example related to the auto industry. My garage found that my Dodge Dakota needed new ball joints at 37,000 miles. Ball joints are generally engineered to last 100,000 miles and, at the least, should last longer than tires, wouldn't you think? A Dodge dealer confirmed that the joints were bad and replaced them at a cost of over $600. It turns out that the ball joints on Dakota and Durangos are a chronic problem. Hundreds of complaints have been filed with the NHTSA over the issue and CBS News did several stories on Durangos and Dakotas that have crashed when the front wheel falls off due to a defective ball joint. It seems Chrysler went with a cheaper part, a non greasable ball joint, to save money. However, without grease any dirt wears away the fittings and, eventually, bang! The joint blows and the wheel falls off - doing thousands of dollars in damage to the vehicle even if it doesn't crash. So far, thank heavens, no one has been killed or seriously injured. But has Chrysler order a recall? No. Has NHTSA ordered a recall? No. At some point people will be seriously injured or die when a wheel falls off. Then some lawyer will sue Chrysler, win $100 million for his client and big business will cry about excessive, unfair damage awards. (But Chrysler won't REALLY care because the $100 million is still less than the cost of replacing ball joints on hundreds of thousands of vehicles.) Yes, there is an epidemic of lawsuit abuse in America, but it would be far less of an issue if corporations, when things do go wrong, did right by their customers. As it stands now, corporations of every stripe, doctors, insurance companies et al do exactly the opposite - they clam shut and deny any responsibility until they get hauled into court. And juries are delighted to award these outrageous damages, because they, like me, have been victimized in some small way by institutions that screw their customers. The lawyer says "Send a Message!" and the jury says "Yeaaah!!!" When hospitals are paying 100s of millions to tort lawyer, of course the price of everything will go up. Or do you want all hospitals to go out of Business and close their doors. Like Tort lawyers have done to our small plane industry and many others