Gladrags

You don't pay damages in a criminal judgement; that's only for civil judgements.

This episode was pretty lame for a (also lame, nevermind a contradiction in terms) mid season finale. Other than Richard finding out about Bailey's betrayal, and Bailey realizing she's not cut out for her job, nothing much seemed to happen. The docs rallying for Richard was fantastic. And finally Alex seemed to be taking some responsibility for beating the crap out of DeLuca. But Meredith gets more and more shrewish with each episode. That stick up her rear end must be getting all splintery, because she's in obvious discomfort. Jo's belated confession was well acted but too little too late. Not much to make me eager for January.

Too much screaming and shouting and interrupting for me. You ever notice how shrill every character on this show is when they're stressed and/or angry?

Agreed. Especially the graffiti was more lame than a high school prank. That wouldn't make me quit my job; it would make me dissolve into endless paroxysms of laughter. I liked him much better as the ethics check guy, the stabilizing influence in Bess' chaotic micro-world, the guy who preferred to stay against the wall. Henry as superhero isn't working for me.

Episodes past 295 that you're seeing in black and white are kinescopes of episode tapes that were lost, usually made by filming right off the television monitor. There were quite a few of them, although it's remarkable that almost all the original videotapes survived a period in broadcast history when most soap operas weren't archived.

Mrs. Landingham. <3 *chuckle*

Let me try this again. The Harper Avery Foundation owns a majority stake in the hospital; Catherine, as the chair of the board of that foundation appointed Jackson as its representative. That gives Catherine NO authority in day-to-day operational decisions (like disciplining wayward surgeons). She also has no authority to set policy -- which is one of the functions of a board of directors -- other than to badger Jackson in seeing things her way. As chair of the Harper Avery Foundation, her only authority is to appoint a representative to the Grey Sloan board. A board of directors sets personnel policy -- for instance, setting procedures and penalties for infractions by personnel -- but would in no way be involved with executing that policy. That falls to the employees of the hospital who supervise other employees. Say a doctor commits a crime: The board would be involved in deciding what steps would be taken in the event that any doctor commits a crime, but would not be involved in carrying out those steps. The board would set the tone, direction and policies for the educational component of the hospital, but wouldn't be involved in its day-to-day operation -- unless the director of the program asked the board to change the policies in order to correct a problem (like surgeons being given too many second chances). But Catherine -- again, not a member of the board, nor a supervisory member of the staff -- took it upon herself to investigate individual surgeons' personnel files. That would never happen in a million years in the real world, without HR, Bailey, and a kazillion lawyers squawking loudly. The writers are playing fast and loose with the function of a board of directors, just like they play fast and loose with just about everything else. Alas. If I were the Grey Sloan board, I'd have a big ass fundraiser in order to pay off the Harper Avery Foundation and get Catherine out of my life.

First off, Catherine is not on the board. Nor is she on the staff, from what I understand. She has privileges to practice at the hospital, but nothing more. Jackson is the Avery Foundation's representative on the board. Board members guide policy, strategies, and direction for an organization; they also have fiscal responsibility for the organization. Board members also recruit, hire, and oversee an organization's chief executive, who in turn is responsible for hiring the rest of the staff. This is pretty basic operating procedure. Catherine, who is NOT a board member, would have no authority to gather personnel files (she could, however, bully some poor HR admin assistant into getting them for her, which is another story altogether). The staff members who are on the board generally would not have that access, either; that would be available only to supervisors and HR staff. Bailey, being a supervisor, would have access to those files. But of course the Grey's Anatomy world is not the real world. There are no HIPAA regulations, no employment laws, etc. And nevermind that Bailey is on the board and runs one of the hospital departments in a colossal conflict of interest, although it's not unheard of in the non-profit world.

My BIG question about this storyline starter is: Why in the hell is Catherine looking at personnel files? She apparently has privileges to practice at Grey Sloan, but she's not a member of the board and she is not a member of the staff. Even if she were a member of the board, she would not be privy to personnel files. She may be the chairman of the foundation that has a stake in Grey Sloan, but that doesn't give her access to personnel files, or nor does it give her the authority to even discuss how the hospital should be managing its personnel. Catherine throwing her self-righteous weight around sets my teeth on edge. That, too! Being pissy is pretty much Stephanie's MO. When the show pared down the resident staff a few seasons ago, it should have killed off her self-righteous self and kept Heather/"Mousy", a character I think had a lot more potential and didn't rely on being pissy to learn her job. Ugh. Not me. I wouldn't be unhappy if the entire season had no romantic relationships at all! Could anyone like that last a minute at Grey Sloan? LOL

I didn't read any spoilers so I was surprised to see Leah Murphy back at the hospital. I never minded the character, so I'm interested to see where she goes. Meredith's thick file ... LMAO. So which doctors at Grey Sloan haven't screwed up at some point over the years? Hmmm ... I don't recall Arizona doing anything stupid, but I may be wrong. I'm no fan of Alex Karev, but in today's episode I didn't mind him at all. The scene with Amelia was fantastic, and I liked the way he fought to stay on the pregnant woman's case. Good to see Brigid Brannagh, too.

Jackson may be the chairman of the board, but he and the Avery Foundation still only get one vote. I'm guessing no one took Derek's or Callie's spots on the board?

From what I've read - albeit on Facebook, which is not the most reliable of sources - they'll start this time with episode 251, when Maggie was kidnapped by Barnabas. I'd like to see the 1795 episodes on Decades sometime. I think giving new viewers a look at Barnabas' background would attract even more viewers and more interest in the show.

I'm also betting that the trial in general will be the mid-season cliffhanger. Specifically, it may be the verdict or -- to get really soapy -- Jo's abusive hubby sees her picture in the paper after she testifies, and bursts into the courtroom. The latter is how things would roll if this were One Life to Live. LOL Well, since so far there has been absolutely no passion between Meredith and Nathan -- their hasty coupling last year was painful, and since then their interactions have been duller than watching paint dry -- I'll be amused to see what the show considers "more" passion. Catherine's not on the hospital board, so I don't see how she can demand anything. She can try to convince Jackson to vote to fire Alex, but given the mother-son relationship, he'd probably tell her to go blow smoke, and there are other people on the board she'd have to convince to get a majority. But then again, this is Grey's Anatomy, and what is or isn't legal, logical, or likely doesn't matter.

The scenes with Owen not knowing what to do with baby Harriet (who is the cutest little button!) were silly, because we've seen him keeping baby Zola happy and occupied, and we've seen him bonding with that soon-to-be orphaned kid. He clearly knows what to do with a tiny human. ( heh ) Meh, in a way it mirrors real life. Alex' trial is going to take forever to start. No matter how swiftly the Constitution guarantees a fair trial, the wheels of justice turn painfully slow.

Amelia looked pretty relieved that the stick said she wasn't pregnant, and seemed awfully apprehensive beforehand.

Meredith needs an empathy transplant, as well as surgery to remove that prickly stick up her butt. In other news, I don't mind seeing DeLuca and Jo take some solace in each other's company. At least she's not whining, the way she always was with Alex.

I want to go on Property Brothers so I can say: No, I don't want you to tear down that wall. No, I don't want to see the kitchen from the front door. No, I don't want you to rip out that pink tile in the bathroom. No, I don't want an island or a peninsula in the kitchen. No, I don't want you to rip out that solid knotty pine paneling.

The first Laura died when Brooke was married to Adam, right about the time she and Adam were trying to conceive, Brooke found out she wasn't all that fertile. Adam had just hired Dixie as Laura's nanny. Extramarital hijinks ensue, Adam got Dixie pregnant, Brooke and Adam split up. Brooke's ectopic pregnancy came as she and Tad were splitting up, while Tad and Dixie were having an affair after their reunion in Napa. Tad was putting Brooke off, she demanded that he make love to her, and when he reminded her that they wanted to wait to have more children, she went into the bathroom, toyed around with her diaphragm for a few minutes, and went back into the bedroom without it. Bingo! Instant pregnancy. When the pregnancy turned life-threatening, she didn't want to lose the baby because she didn't want Tad to leave her. The teenage Laura Kirk was a runaway first informally looked after by Pierce and Janet when they lived in Pierce's recluse cabin in the woods (there were so many cabins in the woods around Pine Valley! LOL). Janet had lost her memory and became ill after getting hit by lightning, which happened after she was planning to blow Trevor's wedding to Laurel. Laura and Pierce found her and nursed her back to health, and the three of them made a little family, but a whole boatload of misfortunes plagued Janet, who was always her own worst enemy, and Brooke had met Laura and Pierce, Pierce became involved with Brooke, and Brooke eventually adopted Laura. Jamie was a preschooler around this time. Here's a more detailed history of Brooke's character: http://pinevalleybulletin.com/Quick Guide/BiographiesWeb/EnglishBrooke.html

And when the excrement hits the oscillating device, the show will try to make Maggie seem like the fool for her unrequited crush, instead of Meredith being a self-involved, bad sister for not telling Maggie right away what was going on. Get Maggie back together with DeLuca - they were cute, light and fresh. No angst, no lurking drama, no ghosts of previous relationships. It was so un-Grey's -- and I liked it!

When was the last time a sitting president ran for re-nomination, but lost in the primaries? The idea of a sitting president running outside his/her own party as an independent is intriguing -- maybe not how it affects the secretary of state and a dramatic series centering on her, but in theory.

And shut up, Stephanie, too, but not for the same reasons. Seriously. Nice to see Jen Lilly in a meaty role outside soap operas. She's really come a long way as an actress.

And where do those close-up parking spaces come from? Grey-Sloan Memorial must be out in the exurbs to get that kind of parking.

The country has become so much more polarized in those 15 short years, sad to say.

The Tenure of Office Act was repealed in 1887. In 1926, the Supreme Court decision in Myers v. United States upheld the president's ability to remove executive office officials without approval. And although cabinet members and some other executive branch officials require the approval of the Senate, they still serve at the pleasure of the president.

And was impeached for his trouble (but acquitted). I'm not up on late 19th Century Supreme Court decisions, but I vaguely remember a ruling that backed a president's power to fire a person in a Congressionally appointed position.