Friday Open Thread: Fire!
So the City is canning the Fire Chief, which, for purposes of winning the lawsuit with Dog Food Guy, is a good start. I have no idea whether the Chief truly deserves to be fired. For all I know, he's done fine, and is being made the scape-goat. Rather, I'm just saying it can help the City win the case, by letting the City show, if the issue arises, that it is taking action to improve conditions.Next, the City needs to "fire" the attorneys handling the case now and hire a private law firm to try the case. As I explained in the comments to a prior posting here last night (i.e., "Where's Rocky?"), the City Attorney's office has destroyed whatever credibility it might have otherwise had with the public. We need new attorneys -- actual trial lawyers, not just paper tigers -- who will fight to prevent Dog Food Guy from getting a dime for his idiotic lawsuit.
If those new lawyers are not able to keep out the totally irrelevant and prejudicial evidence of alleged discrimination involving others, then the new lawyers will be able to point out that: i) taxpayers will have to pay for any judgment, NOT the individuals accused of discrimination in the other cases; ii) if jurors think the City is mismanaged, they can fix that at the ballot box, not the jury room.
So how about it, City Council? How about appointing a law firm with a track record of getting defense verdicts in employment discrimination cases, rather than 9-to-5 bureaucrats who have not shown any ability to win?
And another thing: to evaluate this case, you don't just look at cases where employees WON, and take an average of the amounts they've won. Rather, you need to look at: i) cases employees lost, as well; and ii) how similar or dissimilar the facts are. The main thing, though, is not to forget common sense. This is not a case of racial discrimination. This is a case of a man hoping to use the color of his skin, and a lawyer's sales pitch, to transform a prank into an outrage.
Now go blog. I've got a car show to visit, and a cartoon to concoct.
For last night's comments: http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8826939&postID=116493301202264372
Posted by Walter Moore @ 12/01/2006 07:44:00 AM
32 Comments:
Walter,
Do you read anything beside your own posts?
The firing confirms the fact that the LAFD is a complete mess. Are you really suggesting that those 2 nasty little audits - dating back 12 years - aren't a pretty good place to start when trying to argue the case that the LAFD is basically a safe-haven for sexists and racism. Seriously, have you been watching the news? Listening to anything other than KFI? The tide is turning. Granted, not with any of the readers on this bog. But this case will definitely be settled. And not for a small amount. Believe it.
just did some looking...
why aren't you reporting the fact that the case actually hinges on 3 points:
1) racial discrimination
2) retaliation by the LAFD
3) emotional distress
not just racism in the claim, much as it kills the masses to accept. bottom line: even if you think this FF deserved to get messed with, YOU SIMPLY CAN'T DO IT ON THE JOB, THE EMPLOYER IS RESPONSIBLE.
right, walter? like if i fall down at work. and do you not think the rants on KFI - making the FFs life even more hellish - don't work in his favor in the event that this things comes before a jury? all the ugliness on this blog? i'm sure pierce's lawyer is loving it.
MEXICO CITY -- A brawl has erupted in Mexico's congressional chamber, where the new president is to take the oath of office.
As Mexicans nationwide watched on live television, opposition lawmakers threw punches and chairs and blocked doors. Ruling party lawmakers, chanting "Mexico wants peace," seized the speaker's platform where President Felipe Calderon is to be sworn in.
Given the Chief's handling of all the big fires in this city and no casualities, saving hundreds of homes he's being made the political scapegoat. WE have a bunch of idiots in council and they fucked up this whole lawsuit with their stupidity. Antonio is only doing this to show the blacks he wants their vote. If anyone should be fired it should be Rocky. Council made a mockery out of the system and why didn't they question other settlements? Word is they've given away millions and never asked one damn question. They are the lame asses that should go. THanks council for showing the entire nation what a group of morons you truly are.
so there's no LAFD accountability here?
Pierce's attorney blogging again. Get a life! How many times were you turned down. Hangups!
"even if you think this FF deserved to get messed with, YOU SIMPLY CAN'T DO IT ON THE JOB, THE EMPLOYER IS RESPONSIBLE."
IF WE FOLLOW YOUR MANTRA THEN OTHER FIREFIGHTERS WILL SUE PIERCE COLLECTIVELY WAY OVER THE 2.7 MILLION FIGURE. PIERCE SIMPLY CAN'T DO IT (HAZING) ON THE JOB. HE IS RESPONSIBLE.
8:34 WHEN WE FIND OUT YOU ARE THE SAME LAWYER FOR PIERCE OR EMPLOYEE BLOGGING HERE. WE WILL LOVE IT.
PIERCE LIED OF HIS PAST HAZING ACTIONS TO OTHER MEMBERS OF LAFD. WHY DID HE LIE AND WHO RECOMMENDED HIS CURRENT LAWYER.
Forget about Dog Man, Dog Food, Dog Food Supplier, Dog fanatics.
Radioactive poison said found in 2nd man
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061201/ap_on_re_eu/britain_poisoned_spy_123
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/russian_spy_death
Chavez: Plot against rival foiled
Venezuelan intelligence agents have prevented an assassination attempt on the opposition's leading presidential candidate in the run-up to Sunday's election, according to Hugo Chavez, the country's president.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9EC3AE9A-3274-4EE2-9FAF-980DB99A0D4C.htm
Chavez praises military deal with Russia hours before key vote
As the Venezuelan presidential campaign concludes amid crossed accusations of fraud and instigation to violence, President Hugo Chavez, who seeks his reelection on Sunday, made a strong defense of the military agreements signed with Russia and vowed to increase the cooperation between Caracas and Moscow in this field. Opposition leaders, the United States and some Latin American administrations had expressed their concerns over the acquisition by Venezuela of Russian made assault rifles, helicopters and battle aircrafts.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE PIERCE PICTURES?
Tennie Pierce Prankster Pictures
http://www.johnandkenshow.com/tennie-pierce-purported-prankster/
“Each country has the right to buy the weapons it considers necessary to modernize its armed forces”, said Chavez on Thursday during a three-hour news conference with the foreign in media in Caracas , Pravda.Ru among them. “We bought Russian helicopters because they are much more efficient than the US ones. We want to further advance in the cooperation with Moscow because they also provide with technology to produce weaponry in our country”, he added. As part of the agreement, Chavez commented that he is planning to settle a factory to produce AK-47 rifles in Venezuela to sell them abroad at the cheapest price.
“Bush should quit”
Att FBI
Vigil for Venezuela Hugo Chavez
Today 5pm
Los Angeles Federal Building
300 North Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles california 90012
IF this hazing has been going on such a long time, and council has paid out other settlements in that time isn't there accountability on them because they sat and did NOTHING? Now idiot Hahn wants an inspector general in place. Kinda late don't you think? John & Ken will have a field day with this latest screw up. Ummmmm Bamattre is white, Pierce is black...can you connect the dots? Antonio is looking really bad on this one.
This is racist. Firing a white lafd member bcuz black lafd members accusations?
Matt Dowd looks like Mortia with his hair dyed black and keeping the white hair like a skunk in front. He should be embarrassed. I'm watching council on my computer and even Bitter Bernie is using Grecian Formula to cover all his white hair. Just a couple of weeks ago he had wayyyyyyy more gray. I doubt if anyone close to these idiots will tell them how dumb they look.
Not even new lawyers would be allowed to tell the jury that taxpayers would ultimately pay a judgment (and not all the jury members will be residents of LA, after all). Not allowed. For example, in med mal or fender bender, lawyers not allowed to tell jury that defendant has insurance, though most jurors can guess that fact.
What is city's defense? That a white firefighter in like circumstances would have been treated the same way? What a sorry starting point!
A way out? City Attorney must persuade Pierce that only possibility for settlement is if recommendation is made by a mediator whom the City Council and Mayor respect. Ideal mediator would be well versed in employment law and in what juries in LA have done with similar facts.
Call OJ Simpson.
Comes with Mucho Experienco
Terrible Swift Sword
Your name is terribly fascist
No matter what happens, the biggest losers are Rocky, who went to Mexico to learn Spanish, and Jack Weiss, who should have gone to Mexico instead of making a fool of himself on talk radio.
Touche!!! Rocky has really become the clown of the city taking 2nd is Antonio and 3rd would be Weiss Ass. He should save the city money and just quit now. I don't ever remember a city attorney being as bad as he is. Then you have Laura Chick-N-Shit weighing in now about her stupid audit. Yes, this is the same dyke that signed off on $4 million checks for Fleishman Hillard then said she didn't know what she was signing. Why hasn't she audited DWP??????
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
8:44 you are exactly right. And you anticipated the cartoon du jour.
As for those of you pointing to the audits, three questions: i) how long ago was the first one conducted? ii) how long ago was the second one conducted? iii) how do you explain that the fire chief did not have to "retire" until now?
He's being made a scapegoat because the City Clowncil got caught rubber-stamping a bogus shake-down settlement, and they and the mayor want to try to avoid offending anyone, and avoid accepting any blame, by putting it all off on the Fire Chief. Well, excuse me, but where in Blue Blazes -- get it? "Blazes?" -- have the Mayor and City Council been all these years if discrimination is so bad?
To 8:21 and 8:34:
Let me explain something, lovingly, because it's apparent you're either not a lawyer, or attended the People's College of Law, like our beloved Mayor.
The term "cause of action" refers to the legal theory that entitles a person to recover money. To establish a cause of action, the plaintiff must plead and prove facts sufficient to establish that cause of action, including damages.
A cause of action is no stronger than the facts on which it rests. Here, the facts, it appears, are that a man who himself was involved in many pranks wound up eating two bites of dog food. Whether you try to dress up those facts as racial discrimination, or intentional infliction of emotional distress, or deprivation of civil rights, or battery, or intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, or whatever, it all boils down to this: he ate two bites of dog food.
So when you hear that he has "two more causes of action," bear in mind how little that means. It does not mean that, besides eating dog food, someone chopped off his legs and burned down his house. Rather, all it means is that the lawyer realized a judge or jury might throw out the (groundless) cause of action based on discrimination, so she wanted a "back up" claim to assert.
Get it?
And, just a suggestion: Instead of starting by accusing me of being an idiot, why not ask first, and THEN call me an idiot? It would boost your credibility, I think.
1994 was the other audit then again this year. It took 12 years after paying our MILLIONS FOR THE CLOWNCIL MORONS TO GET IT and stop rubber stamping lawsuits.
They should all be recalled for shear stupidity.
Exactly. Let's just hope this wakes up the voters of L.A., and gets them to start paying attention to City Hall.
So...where is Fire Commissioner Delila Sotelo in all of this? I thought she was one of MAV's "change agents", if you will.
Walter, why doesn't your cartoon thread come up when I click? You have such a sweet little doogie.
Well, I'm shocked at this quote from Earl Hutchinson, "The problems of harassment and hazing have been well known to the mayor and the City Council and the Fire Commission for a long time," Hutchinson said. "It seems hypocritical and disingenuous to make one person the fall guy for the failure of a lot of people in City Hall."
I thought Jimmy Blackman was Antonio's chief of staff but the papers are saying, "his chief of staff, Robin Kramer. What happened to lame ass Jimmy?
To 10:43 AM yesterday:
Who the hell is Mortia?
Do you mean Morticia?
Robin Kramer is Antonio's chief of staff. Jimmy Blackman is the Deputy Chief of Staff. He and Robin are almost (but not quite) equals. She is a half a step above him.
Riordan wanted her there, but Antonio Villaraigosa insists on being surrounded by people he trusts. I hear he values trust over anything else. As he should. That's why it's a joke to hear people calling for the heads of Jimmy Blackman, Lisa Sarno or Jim Bickhart. Whether any of you like it or not, all three of those staffers are extremely smart and extremely loyal.
Ain't gonna happen. You're dreaming. Those staffers would not do anything to harm Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He will not and should not ever get rid of them.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home