Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Big Projects
One of George W. Bush's big projects as president—before September 11, anyhow—was to do for tort reform in the whole country what he did for it in Texas: making it harder for people to sue corporations for damages and also limiting the amount of damages a person could collect. On a national level, this strategy involves requiring many such suits to be tried in federal courts, which are considered less sympathetic to plaintiffs than state courts. There's no need, however, to do it on the sort of broad and sweeping basis that gets the public up in arms. It can be done surreptitiously, as in the proposed rule that would exempt companies that manufacture anti-terrorist technology from being sued if their products cause harm or don't work, even during a terrorist attack.
Elsewhere:For over two years, we have heard that the war on terrorism is not a war on Islam or a war on Arabs. But with one of America's top generals saying that God put Bush in charge to smash the idol worshippers, maybe it's time we stopped believing this. From the Guardian via Information Clearing House, Neil Clark writes about the long history of Arabophobia in the West.
I wrote yesterday about the Washington insiders and their distaste for anything that doesn't serve the court of the king. Here's more, said better.
One of George W. Bush's big projects as president—before September 11, anyhow—was to do for tort reform in the whole country what he did for it in Texas: making it harder for people to sue corporations for damages and also limiting the amount of damages a person could collect. On a national level, this strategy involves requiring many such suits to be tried in federal courts, which are considered less sympathetic to plaintiffs than state courts. There's no need, however, to do it on the sort of broad and sweeping basis that gets the public up in arms. It can be done surreptitiously, as in the proposed rule that would exempt companies that manufacture anti-terrorist technology from being sued if their products cause harm or don't work, even during a terrorist attack.
Elsewhere:For over two years, we have heard that the war on terrorism is not a war on Islam or a war on Arabs. But with one of America's top generals saying that God put Bush in charge to smash the idol worshippers, maybe it's time we stopped believing this. From the Guardian via Information Clearing House, Neil Clark writes about the long history of Arabophobia in the West.
I wrote yesterday about the Washington insiders and their distaste for anything that doesn't serve the court of the king. Here's more, said better.
