US Politics Mega-thread - Page 807

W.Va. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin addressed ongoing concerns in parts of his state on Monday, telling residents "it's your decision" to use the water or not.

"If you do not feel comfortable drinking or cooking in this water, then use bottled water," Tomblin said at a news conference in Charleston. "I'm not going to say absolutely, 100 percent that everything is safe. But what I can say is if you do not feel comfortable, don't use it."

West Virginia American Water Co. customers and residents living near the Elk River remained wary of the water over the weekend as the licorice-like smell of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol lingered.

7,500 gallons of the chemical, used to process coal, spilled into the Elk River on Jan. 9, prompting a prohibition on using tap water that affected around 300,000 West Virginians. Restrictions on using tap water were lifted for most of the affected residents by Friday.

On January 22 2014 09:16 xDaunt wrote:
I'd love to be plaintiff's lawyer in that case. That company is gonna get fucked.

On January 22 2014 09:30 zlefin wrote:
Or some form of criminal negligence/reckless endangerment.
On what basis would it be a federal rather than state crime? It does seem like there's some potential there, but i'm wondering what you were thinking of specifically (if anything)

On January 22 2014 09:52 SnipedSoul wrote:


I thought they already declared bankruptcy.

I have no idea how it works, though.

On January 22 2014 10:29 xDaunt wrote:

Looks like they already filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. The subject company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a larger enterprise. I doubt that the bankruptcy court will allow that to continue as part of the restructuring. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if some enterprising lawyer tries to pierce the corporate veil and sticking the larger company company with the bill for the spill.

On January 22 2014 10:32 Sub40APM wrote:

Good luck with piercing that veil. I think some enterprising politician could ride his way into the state house though considering the weak kneed response by the governor.

On January 22 2014 10:49 Sub40APM wrote:
I would be genuinely shocked that a corp this large would have such incompetent counsel that it gets pieced. Like, it would literally be a thing that would then be put into law school text books alongside those old asbestos cases they have in there now.

On January 22 2014 10:52 xDaunt wrote:

This may or may not shock you, but the actions and advice of corporate counsel often facilitate and lead to the very circumstances that result in piercing. Lawyers advise their clients to do stupid and fraudulent things all of the time.

Edit: As just an example, in one of the cases where I was able to pierce the corporate veil, one of the most damning facts that I got during a deposition of one of the executives was the admission that his attorney facilitated frauds against creditors. Whoops. And this wasn't some schlub attorney. This was a big name attorney from a prominent national firm.

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) on Tuesday called on Michigan Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema to resign following controversy surrounding anti-gay and anti-Muslim comments Agema made online and in speeches, according to ABC 13.

Agema in April compared being gay to alcoholism on his Facebook page and claimed in a December speech that gay people desire medical insurance because they have AIDS.

In January, Agema posted a comment to his Facebook page asking, "Have you ever seen a Muslim do anything that contributes positively to the American way of life?"

Amash condemned Agema's "approach," calling it a "distraction" for a party yearning to broaden its appeal to minority voters.

"Defending civil liberties is at the heart of the Republican Party and our Constitution. As I've demonstrated with my words and record, I am trying to grow a new generation of Republicans that includes more gays and lesbians, racial-ethnic minorities, women, and young people," Amash said in a statement.

"Dave's approach has become a distraction for those of us who are standing up to the political establishment, whose push for bigger government, more corporate welfare, and less individual liberty have hurt our party. I hope Dave will do the right thing for the next generation of conservatives and step down. And I hope that the politicians who are criticizing Dave will stand with me in protecting civil liberties with their votes and actions, not just their rhetoric."

On January 22 2014 10:29 xDaunt wrote:

Looks like they already filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. The subject company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a larger enterprise. I doubt that the bankruptcy court will allow that to continue as part of the restructuring. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if some enterprising lawyer tries to pierce the corporate veil and sticking the larger company company with the bill for the spill.

On January 22 2014 16:52 WhiteDog wrote:

It is exactly because unskilled labor is more or less a big labor pool that it is close to a monopsony. A monopole is when there is a huge demand facing a lone offer, by contrast a monopsony is a huge offer facing a unique demand. In the situation of the labor market, the demand of labor refers to the firms asking for people to work for them - Wal Mart or Mc Donald. In this situation, they are so big that they are almost alone, facing a big pool of unskilled labor.
My claim does not comes out of thin air, it has been discussed since some years now, mainly since David Card & Alan Krueger's paper on the effect of minimum wage on the fast food industry (where an increase in minimum wage in a state had a positive result on employment, paper here).

Your point of view, on capital in general, is absolutly true, but that's just another perspective on the matter (a more intelligent perspective at that, because that's marxist).

Danglars, I don't understand why you are so eager to defend Wal-Mart. I thought real free marketists saw both the state and big firms as the enemy of the market, both trying hard to destroy competition.