Be kind,
for everyone you meet
is fighting a hard battle.
Plato
Faces of Lawsuit Abuse Poll: August 2012
My Vote for Most Ridiculous Lawsuit
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| Wall Street exec 42-year-old Tara Obenauer Suing Naussau County $10M for Not Stopping Affair with former married lover Mike Tedesco Now Retired 43-year-old Nassau County Officer Photo via Newsday |
Ms. Obenauer, the 42-year-old gorgeous blond single mom with children and a vice president with a global finance company, said that Officer Tedesco, the father of two, had told her that he was in the process of divorcing his wife. "He would be at my house for hours during his shift, hanging out in his uniform on the couch, watching TV with my kids, taking a nap." [Officer Tedesco had a 7PM-5AM shift and reportedly spent roughly 4 hours a visit over a 6 month period.] She said that she had questioned him about his long work breaks: "I've been doing this for 22 years," Tedesco bragged, according to Obenauer, a vice president of a global financial firm. "Let the f*ck*ng newbies chase these kids from their parties and go to house alarm calls." Ms. Obenauer claims that she cooperated with IA and Officer Tedesco responded by threatening her over messing with his job and his family. In response, she has obtained restraining orders against him.
Ms. Obenauer intends to sue Nassau County for $10M "as a result of the County and Tedesco’s negligent and intentional acts, Claimant has suffered and sustained severe and substantial emotional damages." The County should have known what was going on...
She is right about the taxpayer getting screwed. (Are you kidding me? $175K annual salary? That's more than a US Army General makes...) I just did a casual search on what police officers make--and that's triple. Even if you adjust for working the graveyard shift, that's extreme..
I do agree that any reasonable employee tracking system should have picked up on a pattern long before a neighbor called it in (e.g., going to the same address, gaps in contact, call/task distributions, etc.) But as for a cheating married man being upset with his mistress when his world turns upside down? There must be a million made-for-TV chick flicks just like that...
The Worst Politician in Spain:
Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo
According to the Financial Times:
Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, the mayor of Marinaleda, a southern town with a population of 2,600, has been catapulted to cult hero status in Spain after setting out this week on an anti-austerity march across Andalucia – occupying banks and stealing food, and enraging the government of Mariano Rajoy.
“We are fighting a war for the poor ... going to jail is not important for me, it would be an honour,” Mr Sánchez Gordillo told the Financial Times.
“We are going to occupy all of the banks and supermarkets we are able to in Andalucia. The robbers who have caused this crisis must pay the consequences for what they have done.”I will give Sánchez Gordillo credit for being the rare politician whom admits to being a thief; might I suggest extending to him a suitably high honor: say, 3 to 5 years?
I have zero patience for demagogues. It's easy to scapegoat banks and supermarkets, but it is divisive, it unfairly targets people whom had little, if anything to do with the current economic malaise, and it fails to point the rightful finger at public policies that have impeded the free market and contributed to Spain's declining competitiveness. Sánchez Gordillo, instead of pandering to the poor and unemployed by pretending to be one of them (while still drawing his income from the public teat), should be constructive, providing a more business-friendly environment and repealing anti-competitive policies: how does it help if his counterproductive actions result in fewer banks or supermarkets serving the people?
Ticketmaster's Attempt to Eliminate
a Secondary Ticket Market By Design
Mark J. Perry of Carpe Diem has a Michigan op-ed, referring to a tweaked business model designed to eliminate resale of tickets at a profit through an e-ticket admission tied to the purchaser's verified identification. (There are ways to transfer tickets but they require an additional fee.) I understand that Ticketmaster and/or artists may not like the idea of scalpers, but the only reason scalpers exist from the get-go is because Ticketmaster/the artists are leaving money on the table.
A number of us free marketers would like to see more of a dynamic bidding model for a scarce resource, and, of course, if the artist, for whatever reasons, wanted his tickets to be more affordable at fixed prices, he could increase the supply of tickets through multiple performances: it's a matter of supply and demand. This new e-ticket system makes it very difficult if a customer faces last-minute developments, e.g., a death in the family, illness, a late work requirement, etc. Surely the artist doesn't prefer empty seats at a performance.
Political Humor
Mitt Romney wants to cut funding for PBS. That explains why today “Sesame Street” was brought to you by the letters "O" and “Bama.” - Jimmy Fallon
[What bothers Romney is President Obama's "investments" in "K Street".]
In a new interview with Fortune magazine, Mitt Romney says he wants to cut funding for PBS. When he heard that, Oscar the Grouch was like, "Seriously? I already live in a garbage can — how much worse can my life get?" - Jimmy Fallon
[The EPA just converted his garbage can into a compost bin.]
Paul Ryan likes to catch a catfish bare-handed. He'll wade into a river and pull it out with his bare hands. Meanwhile, Chris Christie likes to reach into the tank at Red Lobster. - David Letterman
[I don't think that the SBA will be granting any loans for that new fishing pole...]
President Obama met with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in the Oval Office. They agreed on a new economic plan after losing last night's big Powerball lottery. - Jay Leno
[Obama's backup plan is to make a $15T bet with Romney during the Presidential debates...]
After his latest gaffe, Joe Biden has a new slogan — "Chains you can believe in." - Jay Leno
[And his bumper sticker reads 'Wilson-Biden '12 '....]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Roger Hodgson/Supertramp, "The Logical Song". My last series (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) concluded with yesterday's post.
Given my philosophy degree, I loved the song the very first time I heard it. (Of course, there is more to philosophy than Hodgson's lyrics.) I found a Youtube video (first below) with a nice orchestra behind Hodgson, whom had left Supertramp.
