Bucking the trend

MOJO: Love Boat Lobby Fights BP Victims

Well, turns out the Love Boat lobby has indeed stepped up to do BP's dirty work in fighting the SPILL Act. Late Tuesday, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) sent a letter to members of the Florida congressional delegation "strongly" opposing the bill because it would allow cruise ship victims to sue the companies for noneconomic damages. That would open the industry up to real liability for all the crime and other bad stuff that happens to hapless passengers. CLIA says the bill would expose it to lawsuits that could prove to be extremely unpredictable, the same line Exxon took in its many appeals of the Valdez lawsuit. CLIA is joined in its campaign by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which naturally is opposed to any law that might make it easier for the little people to sue big corporations that kill them.

Didn't I just read some exultant article somewhere about how the expanding cruise ship business was a good sign for the local economy? How soon before Bobby Jindal starts crying that the Spill Act will amount to a moratorium on luxury vacationing and thereby puts people out of work?