Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Kucinich - Not in the Spell-Check Yet
I've always had a lot of respect for Dennis Kucinich - even when I didn't always agree with him. I especially marveled at/admired his principled opposition to the Iraq War. But, I gotta tell you here, what I learned about Mr. Kucinich this evening, I'm definitely going to have to put into the category of "disappointing, at best". According to CNN's Anderson Cooper, Mr. Kucinich has decided to sue the Congressional cafeteria. Yeah, that's right, the Congressional cafeteria. It appears, folks that (get this) THREE YEARS AGO Congressman Kucinich bit into a sandwich there that supposedly had an olive pit in it.......Bad luck, you're probably thinking, right? Not to Congressman Kucinich. He wants $150,000 for it.......................................................................................................P.S. I think that it's important to point out here that dental implants and crowns, while, clearly, they ARE expensive, rarely run over $3-4,000. And, as Mr. Cooper succinctly pointed out tonight, the Congressman, hello, HAS DENTAL INSURANCE!!....In terms of any pain and suffering that the Congressman may have sustained because of this event, it certainly didn't seem to have hindered all him much (Cooper showed copious footage of Kucinich in the days and weeks following this supposedly traumatic event - seemingly his usual feisty self). I mean, it's not like he bit into razor blade or anything.
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8 comments:
Come on Will,cut Dennis a little slack.He's a dwarf and that olive pit could have seemed like a friggin coconut to him.
Dennis needs attention, I've read his district will be eliminated because of the 2010 cenus results. Now the little dude does have a hot wife.
You're right, Russ, the size of something and the damage that it can render is relative......Yes, Double b, I forgot about the wife! Maybe it's her who's going through all that money.
Kucinich is being trivial. And now, by commenting on this, so are you.
Just one comment, Vig. I'm not going to do the Olbermann/Matthews cocker-spaniel/perseverate thing.
According to Politics Daily the Congressman "underwent three dental surgeries, none of which was covered by his insurance". The story states that the suit was settled out of court "for an amount all parties believe reflects the actual out-of-pocket expenses related to this incident".
Mr. Kucinich did not "want" $150K. This is the way lawsuits work. You ask for more and negotiate down.
I did not see the AC story to which you refer, but it sounds to me like AC's agenda was to make DK look bad. Read the story I linked to -- it sounds to me like DK was hurt pretty badly. And well within his rights to seek reimbursement for his expenses not covered by his insurance.
I fail to see why any of these facts should "disappoint" you. Myself, going only on how you've described the story... if I had to pick someone to be disappointed in; I think it would be Anderson Cooper.
Congressmen are eligible for dental insurance. But it seems like the maximum yearly benefit is only $1,200-3,000. So, yes, it's quite probable that Mr. Kucinich was forced to pay some of his expenses out of pocket. Mr. Cooper clearly should have researched this one better.
Just for the record, though, I seem to remember seeing something similar to this on one of those TV judge shows. Only on this one, the person bringing the law suit lost. The judge said that when you purchase something with olives in it, you pretty much take the risk that there may in fact be an errant pit in one of them. It kinda comes with the territory (a la bones in fish), in other words. And, really, does Mr. Kucinich think that the cafeteria should have taken the time to inspect every single olive? Come on.......I'm also a little troubled by the fact that Kucinich settled so quickly after being detected (ABC News/Good Morning America also did a piece that was somewhat less than flattering). It was almost as if he was embarrassed and wanted to end that embarrassment ASAP.......And, really, $150,000? I mean, Kucinich himself admitted that this was in excess of the actual damages (loss of enjoyment, etc.).
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