Today, I bring you two seemingly unrelated, yet noteworthy news items—one involving former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, and the other, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that focuses on wiping out the legal rights of consumers injured by corporate misconduct.
The Chamber story is short and obscenely familiar. In a nutshell: the Chamber spent $9 million lobbying the federal government in the third quarter alone, attempting to convince every federal agency it could to wipe out corporate liability. According to the AP, “Besides Congress, the institute also lobbied the departments of Justice, Commerce and Treasury, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
Meanwhile, Travis Barker has unwittingly become a spokesperson for those the Chamber, with all of its money, would seek to prevent from having their day in court.
Last week, Barker filed a lawsuit against Bombardier Inc., Clay Lacy Aviation, Global Exec Aviation and Inter Travel Services, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber, over the South Carolina plane crash that occurred last September, leaving Barker and DJ AM with second- and third-degree burns, and killing four others. The suit alleges that “many parts of the plane ‘were not airworthy’ and that the pilots’ negligence ‘was a substantial factor in causing the crash.'” (Listen to Air Traffic Control Tapes here.)
“If something goes wrong that’s not supposed to go wrong or you fall victim of it, I think you should be compensated,” Barker explained.
“You know, I wouldn’t have third-degree burns all over my body or be prohibited to do certain things. I can’t go swimming; I can’t do some of the things that normal people can do. I didn’t ask for that to happen.”
Katy's Exposure 