Thugs

I'm not even sure what to say about the fountain of hate that the right-wing has unleashed on the healthcare reform townhalls.

It's obviously disgusting that they are not just attempting to have their opinions heard but to actually shut down any discussion or debate. It's also obviously disturbing that they are physically intimidating supporters of reform and members of Congress.

Following the news over at Talking Points Memo I think that it's also clear that someone is going to be hurt at one of these things in the not too distant future. The protests are turning towards violence and it's just a matter of time before someone ends up seriously hurt.

If you haven't already read it Harold Meyerson had a good piece in the WaPo earlier this week on what he has now dubbed "Fillibuster Nation" and Ezra has a good follow-up over on his WaPo blog. We've reached a point in this country where the basic functions of democracy are seriously in question.

Headline of the week...

From today's New York Times,

Sotomayor Faces Heavy Workload of Complex Cases

Who knew that being on the Supreme Court required lots of work on complex issues!? Maybe she'll want to re-think the whole thing?

So fucking stupid.

GDP shenanigans from the Chinese?

The Financial Times calls bullshit on China's GDP numbers.

The facts about tort law

My torts professor in law school, Tom Russell, spent many weeks dispelling the myths surrounding tort law in this country. You know the myths - that civil trials are increasing, judgments are through the roof and that anyone who gets hurt sues and they always win. None of this is true of course but the amount of people who "know" these facts to be true are innumerable. Some of this lays at the feet of our media who sensationalize stories and rarely provide any sort of follow-up as a case progresses past trial. See the infamous McDonald's coffee case for a prime example of that.

Today Andrew Oh-Willeke has a post up with some actual data concerning torts that's well worth perusing. Tort reform is not a front burner issue for the public right now but it's always good to be armed with actual knowledge and facts.

Whew...

Sorry for the light blogging I was on a bit of a vacation starting in the middle of last week. It was phenomenal run of shows by Phish at Red Rocks this weekend. Certainly the best shows they've put together since the reunion in March. I'd venture to guess these are the best and most consistent shows they've played since 2000 or earlier. I'm still a bit over-whelmed by the whole experience, 8 sets over 4 days is a lot to take in.