News Roundup for 9/29/10

Not the world's greatest boss, no matter what her coffee mug says

-Headline of the Day-
"Atty: Whitman knew housekeeper was in US illegally."

Well this is fun. The woman trying to buy the California Governor's Mansion, Meg Whitman, said in a debate yesterday, "We do have to hold employers accountable for hiring only documented workers. And we do have to enforce that law." Today, it turns out that a long-time employee of her's, Nicky Diaz, was undocumented. And Whitman knew it.

Once it became clear that Diaz's employment would hurt Whitman's chances, she fired her -- at the same time, gypping her out of a lot of money Diaz had coming to her. So Nicky got a hold of bigtime lawyer lady Gloria Allred and it was about this time that the shit began to hit the fan. The two held a press conference where Diaz told reporters that Meg knew she was undocumented and, to top off everything, that Meg was an awful bitch and a "nightmare" to work for. Rich, Republican, and a jerk -- this is starting to become something of a trend.

Of course, Whitman denies everything. Still, according to the report, "Allred claims Whitman received a letter from the Social Security Administration on April 22, 2003, saying the Social Security number provided by the housekeeper did not match the name on file. Allred did not provide a copy of the letter. The housekeeper said she saw the letter and that Whitman and her husband never asked about her immigration status after receiving it." This ought to be pretty easy to prove.

So, should employers be held accountable for hiring undocumented workers? If you agree with Meg Whitman, I guess that means you have to vote against her. Sucks to be you, Meg. (AP)


-Who not to call in an emergency-
I think it's probably an established fact that Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn is a dick. But every once in a while, he goes out of his way to demonstrate just how much of a dick he is. This is the case with a bill that would send a promised $1.2 billion to Haiti for disaster relief.

See, the bill would move ahead pretty quickly, except Tom put a hold on it. Why? "He is holding the bill because it includes an unnecessary senior Haiti coordinator when we already have one," a Coburn spokesperson says.

Except we don't. Coburn argues that a coordinator for the relief effort is redundant because we have an ambassador to Haiti. That disaster recovery and diplomacy are two different things hasn't occurred to him, apparently. And would the new coordinator be super-expensive? No. According to the report, "The position would cost $1 million a year for five years, including salaries and expenses for a staff of up to seven people."

The report goes on to tell us that "just 2 percent of [Haiti's earthquake] rubble has been cleared and 13,000 temporary shelters have been built -- less than 10 percent of the number planned." So now is probably the best time to get started here. But we can't, because Tom Coburn has decided to be a prick over a trivial disagreement.

Dick. (Think Progress)


-Bonus HotD-
"Ambush Filmmaker O'Keefe Tried To 'Punk,' 'Seduce' CNN Reporter."

"Punk" isn't the term I'd use, "frame the reporter and blackmail CNN" seems more fitting. Ethics? Who needs them? (Talking Points Memo)