FITSNews Exclusive - Ambulance Chasers Make Their Move December 28, 2007
Posted by fitsnews in : SC Politics , 10 comments
FEDERAL JUDGE ISSUES INJUNCTION AGAINST GOVERNOR’S WORKERS’ COMP ORDERS
FITSNews - December 28, 2007 - One week after the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of providing workers’ comp benefits to illegal aliens, a federal judge in Greenville, S.C., has issued an injunction that prohibits South Carolina workers’ compensation commissioners from applying the objective standards ordered earlier this year by S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford.
In response to a complaint made by Greenville-based personal injury lawyer Kathryn Williams, U.S. District Court Judge G. Ross Anderson issued the injunction yesterday, setting off the latest round in what has become a full-scale nuclear war between the business community and the personal injury lawyers in the state legislature, among others.
Williams is well-known in Palmetto political circles for her close proximity to Rep. Harry Cato - an arch-defender of the current workers’ compensation system that personal injury lawyers are obviously so hell-bent on preserving. (more…)
Random S.C. Political Update
Posted by fitsnews in : SC Politics , 4 comments
REP. HINSON ENDORSES EX-HUSBAND IN RACE TO REPLACE HER
FITSNews - December 28, 2007 - Nothing surprises us much anymore, but the fact that S.C. Rep. Shirley Hinson has decided to endorse her ex-husband’s bid to take her place in the S.C. General Assembly did cause us to do a double-take. Didn’t these two make national headlines seven years ago when they ran against each other in a bitter race marred by allegations of infidelity and death threats?
Oh well, let bygones be bygones we always say …
SAD NEWS - We at FITSNews have made no secret of our contempt for the presidential bid of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the organization that represents him here in South Carolina. We’ve also directed our fair share of shots at Romney’s S.C. campaign manager, Terry Sullivan. Having said all that, we’d like to extend Sullivan and his family our sincerest condolences on the passing of his father on Christmas Day. The Sullivans will be in our thoughts and prayers over the next few days, and hopefully in yours as well.
IMMIGRATION STIRRINGS - Based on everything we’ve been hearing today, it’s a safe bet that jettisoning an illegal immigrant’s right to workers’ compensation claims will be the subject of at least one piece of corrective legislation when S.C. lawmakers reconvene next month. Whether it will fall under the category of immigration reform, workers’ comp reform or judicial reform remains to be seen, as does the question of whether it will be offered as stand-alone legislation or as part of a broader package of proposals.
Our bet is you’ll see immigration reactionaries like S.C. Senators Jim Ritchie and Catherine Ceips tripping over themselves to get on the front lines on this issue, but what’s the difference between genuine reform and election-year posturing? We’ll have a story early next week we hope will shed some light on the subject, so stay tuned …
Oh, Henry
Posted by fitsnews in : US Politics , 4 comments
SOUTH CAROLINA CONGRESSMAN IS CAMPAIGNING ON YOUR DIME
FITSNews - December 28, 2007 - We’ve always thought that U.S. Rep. Henry Brown would be a lot more interesting if he changed his name … and grew a personality. For example, maybe he could start referring to himself as Rep. Shama Lama Dingdong … or take up breakdancing.
As it is, however, Rep. Brown is slightly less exciting than staring at an unpainted wall, or waiting for water to boil.
Brown’s “personality deficit disorder” is no doubt why he felt compelled to send his Congressional District so much taxpayer-funded mail last year - 1.2 million pieces, to be precise, which ranks him atop all U.S. House members according to an AP analysis.
Brown’s mass mailings cost taxpayers $171,286, and the overall cost of his “franked” mail was $177,705. “Franking,” as much as it may sound like something a pedderass would do, actually refers to the Congressional privilege of sending mail without postage. Unless of course Rep. Barney Frank does it, in which case you never know. (more…)
Jesus Isn’t Gonna Like This December 27, 2007
Posted by fitsnews in : Uncategorized , 3 comments
NEITHER IS NAT KING COLE, FOR THAT MATTER
FITSNews - December 27, 2007 - While we were listening to the soothing strains of Nat King Cole’s timeless rendition of “O Holy Night,” apparently a bunch of Armenian and Greek Orthodox priests were beating the sh*t out of each other at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. And why wouldn’t they? After all, nothing says “Christmas” quite like a bloody brawl between ordained ministers at the birthplace of our Savior. From the CNN report:
On Thursday, dozens of priests and cleaners were scrubbing the church ahead of the Armenian and Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January. Thousands of tourists visited the church this week for Christmas celebrations. But the clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church’s section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians. Palestinian police, armed with batons and shields, quickly formed a human cordon to separate the two sides so the cleaning could continue … four people, some with blood running from their faces, were slightly wounded.
We don’t have an authoritative list of “Signs The End Is Nigh” or anything, but our guess is that something like this probably ranks right up there. Well, this and the whole Milli Vanilli thing. Anyway, if you hear a loud trumpet blast later tonight, be sure to thank these assholes.
Merry Christmas From The Hiltons
Posted by fitsnews in : Pop Culture , 6 comments
HEIRESS NOT GOING TO INHERIT MUCH FROM HOTEL MAGNATE
FITSNews - December 27, 2007 - While you were pretending to be excited about elastic waistband pants and cursing the intricacies of toy assembly, the Hiltons were spending Christmas in Hawaii. You know, because why wouldn’t they?
Yet while Paris and her sister Nicky were busy soaking up rays and wearing purses that look like footballs on the beach, the billionaire hotel magnate behind the family’s fortune says he’s going to donate 97% of his $2.3 billion fortune to charity.
In the event that money’s going to combat the spread of teen STD’s, let’s just say it’s probably going to be a wash. Seriously, Barron Hilton or whatever his name is could donate eleventy kabillion dollars toward fighting teen STD’s and he’d still have these two to answer for.
S.C. Supreme Court: Illegals Have Workers’ Comp Rights
Posted by fitsnews in : SC Politics , 23 comments
JUSTICES SAY ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE EQUAL RIGHT TO WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PAYMENTS
FITSNews - December 27, 2007 - In a decision that is sure to unleash political firestorms at both the state and national level, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled last week that illegal immigrants have the same right as any other worker to receive payments from the state’s workers’ compensation system.
In the matter of Curiel v. Environmental Management Services, the Court ruled unanimously that “disallowing benefits would mean unscrupulous employers could hire undocumented workers without the burden of insuring them, a consequence that would encourage rather than discourage the hiring of illegal workers.”
The case centers around Mexican native Mario B. Curiel, who according to Court filings readily admits that he used fraudulent documents to misrepresent his legal status in order to obtain employment with Waste Management Services.
Before state lawmakers get all knee-jerky about this case, however, it’s important to note that S.C. workers’ compensation law (section 42-1-130, to be precise) currently states that compensation for claims is available to “every person engaged in an employment . . . including aliens and also including minors, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed.” Not to mention the legislature elected all five of the Supreme Court justices who endorsed this opinion, including new Justice Donald Beatty. (more…)
La Socialista Can’t Spell December 26, 2007
Posted by fitsnews in : SC Politics , 11 comments
UNLESS OF COURSE THEY’VE CREATED A STATE “SCHOL” BOARD AND NOBODY TOLD US …
FITSNews - December 26, 2007 - Here’s some free advice for the editors over at La Socialista (a.k.a. The State noisepaper): If you’re going to keep devoting countless barrels of ink to perpetuate the myth that South Carolina’s public schools are deserving of our ever-escalating investment, at least learn how to spell the word “school” correctly in your headlines.
Seriously, what is ya, ig-nrant?
We’re all truly ecstatic to learn that incoming state “schol” board chairman Al Simpson loves him some public education (editor’s note: Simpson, eh?), but it’s probably not a good omen when our state’s biggest newspaper can’t even spell “schools” right.
Look, it’s nice to know that reporter Bill Robinson found time over the holidays to write yet another gushing puff piece on Superintendent Jim Rex’s utterly choice-less public “schol” choice plan (while continuing to ignore a major Department of Education scandal), but if The State is going to keep performing journalistic fellatio on the education establishment, “school” is spelled with two “O’s,” dumbasses.
UPDATE - A day later, these idiots still haven’t corrected it yet.
