Wednesday legalities

Let’s open on a positive note.

We should remember the recent Zachary Young trial – CNN lost five million buckadingdongs for slandering Mr. Young with a story about Afghan refugees – Young was portrayed as money-grubbing etc. jerk and CNN got busted for painting a false image of him.  Well, maybe his lawyers should have held out:

The jury responded, awarding $5 million to compensate Young — who was described as being part of a “black market” for refugees fleeing Afghanistan — for damage to his reputation. The jurors would have gone even further, but a settlement was reached before they could grant award punitive damages.

In an email over the weekend, Katy Svitenko, the foreperson, told Variety that she would have awarded up to $100 million, and confirmed the jury was indeed trying to send a message.

“The message the jury wanted to send was to not only CNN but to all media that the general public is fed up with fake news and partial truths,” she said in response to written questions. “Reporting must be unbiased, true, and complete.” Variety

Pity it didn’t get to that. And I don’t think I would hire Young’s lawyers if they misread the jury that badly. Had a buddy of mine who went into a coma – he said two of his docs wanted him to keep getting treated, one wanted to pull the plug. Me, I think I would have fired that last doc.

And then there’s the green lawsuit in New Jersey.

In 2022, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed a lawsuit against the country’s largest oil companies, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Shell, as well as the American Petroleum Institute, claiming that the fossil fuel industry was worsening the effects of climate change, and therefore, causing damage to the state.

Those damn nasty oil companies! Thank God for Platkin keeping everyone safe, spending the state’s money on lawsuits… yeah, that’s sarcasm. And the judge agrees.

However, the case was tossed out on Wednesday by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Douglas Hurd, who ruled that lawful oil companies could not be held liable for worldwide emissions. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be reopened.

“Plaintiffs seek to regulate the nationwide—and even worldwide—marketing and distribution of lawful products on which billions of people outside of New Jersey rely to heat their homes, power their hospitals and schools, produce and transport their food, and manufacture countless items essential to the safety, wellbeing, and advancement of modern society,” said Hurd, who issued the ruling.

“Because Plaintiffs seek damages for alleged harms caused by interstate and international emissions and global warming, their claims cannot be governed by state law. Under our federal constitutional system, states cannot use their laws to resolve claims seeking redress for injuries allegedly caused by out-of-state and worldwide emissions,” Hurd said in the decision.  Fox News

Yeah, when the judge dismisses it with prejudice you should know you are legally on thin ice. I’m sure the greenies thought this would be a slam dunk – oops.

BTW, I am so proud of our admins – when I went to find a New Jersey image, almost every one was of the battleship sending the heat.

I am still unclear whether some of the government agencies’ oopsies in claiming to comply with Trump directives is malicious or just incompetent?

The Central Intelligence Agency on Tuesday became the first major national security agency to offer so-called buyouts to its entire workforce, a CIA spokesperson and two other sources familiar with the offer said, part of President Donald Trump’s broad effort to shrink the federal government and shape it to his agenda.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe personally decided he also wanted the CIA to be involved, one of the sources said.

The spokesperson said that the move is part of Ratcliffe’s efforts to “ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities,” adding that is “part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy.”

EVERY EMPLOYEE? Trying to imagine Russia firing the whole KGusedtaB, or the UK telling MI5 and 6 to take a hike.  James Bond on the dole?

Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", CIA, Government Incompetence, Media