The Democrat Thread

[bmags]

Either i'm not conveying my point clearly enough or you guys have some really weird, warped view of the average American consumer of news/media. Are you honestly telling me, in a country that votes more for an American Idol contestant than the President of the United States, that it's surprising that a dick pic controversy would "sell" better than stories about prison abuse half way around the world**?

 

 

**Which btw, was covered 100000000 times more than the most recent scandal involving US troops taking pictures of dead civilians/terrorists under Obama's watch.

 

but I think you are confusing interest with whether something affects someone more. ANd you said that a d*** picture affects the average american more than torture policies in the middle east.

[Jenksismyhero]

but I think you are confusing interest with whether something affects someone more. ANd you said that a d*** picture affects the average american more than torture policies in the middle east.

 

How did torture policies affect you personally? If we're talking about an American soldier, or a potential American soldier, maybe. But an average American? I know nothing in my life has changed from either event. How did "torture policies" affect you?

[bmags]

How did torture policies affect you personally? If we're talking about an American soldier, or a potential American soldier, maybe. But an average American? I know nothing in my life has changed from either event. How did "torture policies" affect you?

 

In an # of ways, some existential, some practical, but all real and do matter. Even abstract things like "my country doing something I don't believe in" affect me. But at the very least it made many detainees at guantanimo impossible to try on real courts because their testimony would get thrown out and helped lead to the quagmire of Gitmo today, which contributes to hostility abroad toward that policy and tax dollars.

[StrangeSox]

Either i'm not conveying my point clearly enough or you guys have some really weird, warped view of the average American consumer of news/media. Are you honestly telling me, in a country that votes more for an American Idol contestant than the President of the United States, that it's surprising that a dick pic controversy would "sell" better than stories about prison abuse half way around the world**?

 

 

**Which btw, was covered 100000000 times more than the most recent scandal involving US troops taking pictures of dead civilians/terrorists under Obama's watch.

 

you're getting it backwards. Our media is part of the problem.

[StrangeSox]

In an # of ways, some existential, some practical, but all real and do matter. Even abstract things like "my country doing something I don't believe in" affect me. But at the very least it made many detainees at guantanimo impossible to try on real courts because their testimony would get thrown out and helped lead to the quagmire of Gitmo today, which contributes to hostility abroad toward that policy and tax dollars.

 

yeah but weiner's dick. think of the impact on you, the emotional damage knowing the heat some guys are packing. much more important than foreign policy!

[lostfan]

David Tyree, piece of garbage and former NFL WR: "anarchy" if gay marriage is legalized

I like that David Tyree's opinion on gay marriage in NY matters because of one big catch. Then again I guess he's an expert at squeezing balls near his head.

[Balta1701]

The NYTimes has a long piece about how Clarence Thomas has apparently a millionaire "Benefactor" who pays for projects that the Justice is involved in. Seemingly, the relationship would be multiple ethics violations for lower court Justices, the same rules do not apply to the Supreme Court, so it is currently acceptable.

[Balta1701]

[Steve9347]

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011...ter-double-fake

 

Wow. Just wow.

[mr_genius]

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011...ter-double-fake

 

Wow. Just wow.

 

wait, there was a 0-97 budget vote? or is it all fake?

 

edit: huh i guess there was. i didn't know about that

 

Edited June 21, 2011 by mr_genius

[Balta1701]

wait, there was a 0-97 budget vote? or is it all fake?

I think they brought the unedited Obama budget up and it failed like that. (that'd be a normal vote for any budget that congress hasn't debated, so it's just a vote to make a political point, the deems whipped against it I believe)

[StrangeSox]

I like that David Tyree's opinion on gay marriage in NY matters because of one big catch. Then again I guess he's an expert at squeezing balls near his head.

 

David Tyree, human piece of feces, willing to give up Super Bowl ring to prevent gay marriage.

[StrangeSox]

The SCOTUS rejected the giant class action Walmart sex discrimination case yesterday:

http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/06/opinion-...s-two-messages/

[Balta1701]

The SCOTUS rejected the giant class action Walmart sex discrimination case yesterday:

http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/06/opinion-...s-two-messages/

It's worth noting more why they rejected it...they rejected it by creating a new, nebulous standard which they did not define which is required for suits to qualify for class action status.

 

Now, for example, as long as a company keeps the decision making pushed low enough where there is no official policy, i.e. it's not official policy to discriminate against women but the company sets up a situation where it is guaranteed to happen for various reasons, class action status is impossible, and 1.5 million people have to either hire lawyers on their own or just suck it up.

[BigSqwert]

AMERICA! f*** YEAH!

[StrangeSox]

I think the analysis linked explained the how and why and the split better than I could summarize.

 

Class action suits have been hit pretty hard recently by this court.

 

eta: I'm not really sure if this is a bad decision, though. The case would be very, very hard to prove with such a large class with a wide range of claims. I mean, ethically, yeah, I'd like to see terrible companies like Walmart pay through the nose for their terrible business practices, but I don't know that this lawsuit and the way it was structured was really legit.

 

eta2: but they also upheld the class cert. in the California prison case over Scalia's ranting and fire-and-brimstone predictions.

Edited June 21, 2011 by StrangeSox

[bmags]

I think the analysis linked explained the how and why and the split better than I could summarize.

 

Class action suits have been hit pretty hard recently by this court.

 

eta: I'm not really sure if this is a bad decision, though. The case would be very, very hard to prove with such a large class with a wide range of claims. I mean, ethically, yeah, I'd like to see terrible companies like Walmart pay through the nose for their terrible business practices, but I don't know that this lawsuit and the way it was structured was really legit.

 

eta2: but they also upheld the class cert. in the California prison case over Scalia's ranting and fire-and-brimstone predictions.

 

I agree. I don't think this is an outrageous decision, this was not a homogenous 1.5 million claims.

[Jenksismyhero]

It's worth noting more why they rejected it...they rejected it by creating a new, nebulous standard which they did not define which is required for suits to qualify for class action status.

Now, for example, as long as a company keeps the decision making pushed low enough where there is no official policy, i.e. it's not official policy to discriminate against women but the company sets up a situation where it is guaranteed to happen for various reasons, class action status is impossible, and 1.5 million people have to either hire lawyers on their own or just suck it up.

 

Huh? There's always been specific standards for class certification.

[BigSqwert]

Sen. John McCain says he's "puzzled" that there's a controversy surrounding remarks he made suggesting illegal immigrants were responsible for some of the massive wildfire in eastern Arizona.

 

McCain said during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday morning that all he was doing was repeating information he'd been given by federal officials at a briefing that occurred before he appeared at a news conference last weekend.

 

McCain said, "We all know that people who come across our border illegally ... that these fires are sometimes, some of them, caused by this." He added "I'm puzzled .. that there should be any controversy."

 

via

[Steve9347]

via

I hate that elderly, out of touch folks are mostly in charge of the country.

[Balta1701]

Huh? There's always been specific standards for class certification.

And this decision created a new one based on Scalia's gut. The official standard right now, in clear, unambiguous legal terms, from the mind of Justice Scalia, is that class action qualification requires "some glue holding the alleged reasons for all those decisions together.”

 

I'll await your official legal definition of "some glue".

[Jenksismyhero]

And this decision created a new one based on Scalia's gut. The official standard right now, in clear, unambiguous legal terms, from the mind of Justice Scalia, is that class action qualification requires "some glue holding the alleged reasons for all those decisions together.”

 

I'll await your official legal definition of "some glue".

 

No, the standard is commonality. His usage of a phrase "some glue" has the same meaning. It's not "new."

[bmags]

And this decision created a new one based on Scalia's gut. The official standard right now, in clear, unambiguous legal terms, from the mind of Justice Scalia, is that class action qualification requires "some glue holding the alleged reasons for all those decisions together.”

 

I'll await your official legal definition of "some glue".

 

this was a unanimous decision.

[StrangeSox]

this was a unanimous decision.

 

Yeah, they weren't split on that issue.

[Balta1701]

In this case, you're both completely incorrect. There were 2 parts of the decision, one part decided unanimously, and another part decided 5-4. The 9-0 agreement part of that decision was regarding whether back pay was an appropriate response under a certain part of the law usually used for injunctive relief.

 

The question of whether or not these plaintiffs had enough in common to qualify for class-action status was decided on the usual 5-4 lines.

Don't be distracted by the fact that the court decided part of the case unanimously. The nine justices were in agreement regarding only the important, but technical question of whether the request for back pay was improper under a provision that normally provides only injunctive relief. The red meat of the Wal-Mart decision lies in the fight between Scalia and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg over a much more fundamental question: Was there a single question of law or fact common to all the women in the suit? The federal district court and 9th Circuit believed that there was. The five justices in the majority disagreed.