I’m somewhat of an expert on how the Republican and Republican companies apologize (or not) for things. Their first thought is sometimes human, “Those poor people!” followed by, “Poor me!” then they call in the communications people and the lawyers. The communications people say, “Be human, express sorry.” The lawyers say, “What are you nuts! That sorry will KILL us in court!” The business owners just want to figure out how they can get out of the event with the least amount of damage financially. Some times they care about their reputation if they have to sell to the public. If they are business to business it’s a different story.

Modern day corporate disasters communications is all about keeping the costs down. Damage is hidden or lowballed. Experts are bought up. Front line people are paid off and given contracts to sign to keep them quiet.

Part of the trick is to wait out the “news”. We have a very short attention span. The people don’t have a communications team that they can scramble to keep pushing real data and experts at the media, so they end up losing any follow up stories.

Imagine if you will a group of people whose job it is to keep this corporate disasters in the media. Something like that should be the job of maybe the state/city that were hurt. That would be a very powerful force helping in the recovery because it would keep the truth out there.
But the politicians are told to not go that route, to just be quite or the corporations will take their recovery money elsewhere.

The secret is to not only cause the disaster, but refuse to take responsibility and not apologize after.

The real secret is to buy up the political process first. Then you can destroy the Blue Danube and everyone will be happy (except the fish).

The executives at MAL Rt. and the vile Mr. Blankenship should do the honorable thing and kill themselves.

No, I didn’t get the idea from Sen. Grassley. I’ve been saying that for years. Every since my husband lost his life in an unneccessary, avoidable work place accident.

His boss was fined $1000., and told me that had my husband followed directions, he wouldn’t have been killed. Assholes, every last one of them.

The rich try to tell the tale that over population and over consumption of the masses are to blame for our environmental troubles….

I think it’s pretty clear that globalized “free market” capitalism is far worse for the environment than all other threats combined.

Mobility of jobs and businesses ends up meaning that factories and jobs will go to the nation with the lowest environmental standards and work conditions. It’s flat earther Tom Friedman’s race to the bottom.

Good morning, pups. It’s The Pasty Little Putz and Prof. Krugman today. The Pasty Little Putz, in “Grading School Choice,” says education reformers could use a dose of realism about what can be accomplished, and what real choice would involve. Of course, the “expert” he relies on he defines as a “scholar” at the American Enterprise Institute, the home of other such renowned “scholars” as Lynn Cheney, John Bolton and Newt Gingrich… Prof. Krugman, in “Hey, Small Spender,” says if government spending hasn’t created jobs, it’s not because it doesn’t work; it’s because it wasn’t tried.

Here they are.

The coffee and tea are ready, and the biscuits are out of the oven. Our house guest leaves today, which is a good thing. He’s a lovely person, but four days is about the longest “guest tenure” I can take. Have a great day.

Upon reading this I couldn’t help but think of the commenters on Bob Herbert’s NYT piece about Gov. Christie putting a halt to the railroad tunnel into Manhattan.

Like good conservative, republican parrots all who wrote in to deride Herbert spouted the conventional wisdom that the project cost so much because of liberal regulations, union workers, and environmental protections.

I wonder how these Limbaugh/Hannity/O’Reilly et al. parrots would feel if a toxic sludge pond let loose in their neighborhood? I doubt they’d be mouthing the praises of unregulated capitalism at its finest.

Why can’t people like this connect simple ideas? America is heading down a sad and dangerous path.

What a faculty you got there; the squad of mean. Maybe Newt and Bolt teach a marriage course. ;) Ooooo, G’ Morning….

America is heading down a sad and dangerous path.

Dangerous, yes. And sad for our grandkids, because there’ll be nothing left to loot, and the looters will either have died of old age or be living in countries that don’t have extradition treaties with us.

But sad for us? We’ll get the government we choose. We’ll get the government we deserve. We usually do.

Restore the First Amendment.

wasn’t it the prescient mr. menken who said:

“Democracy is the political system in which every man is free to get what he deserves, good and hard.”

From the twitters: “Hungary’s prime minister says alumina plant director arrested over flood of toxic sludge – AP”

I can’t even imagine something like that happening here!

Blankenship is in complete agreement with the actions of Obama and the Democrats. How is it reasonable to single out Republicans’ reaction to the BP disaster? Compare and contrast Hungary’s actions in response to the sludge in the Danube to the Obama administration’s complete abdication of responsibility to the corporation who caused the oil spill – and the total lack of holding anyone to account for it in the US. News to FDL – the Democrats were in charge during the BP oil spill.

(((oldhippiejan)))

It gets even better – despite the apology, the head of the company has been arrested!