Michael Hiltzik

Big companies love to force their legal adversaries into arbitration, especially when those adversaries are employees, customers or others without money or power, and therefore are at a disadvantage. Judges usually love arbitration too because it relieves them of the chore of overseeing routine docket-clogging lawsuits.

A whole generation of space scientists are mourning what may be the lost opportunity of a lifetime: Earlier this month, when NASA compiled its roster of planetary probes to be launched over the next six years, Venus was left off the list — again.

News on the Obamacare-replacement front was dominated this past weekend by Donald Trump and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who both touted their Obamacare replacement plans.

To be absolutely precise, they touted the claim that they had Obamacare replacement plans. They didn’t go into any great detail about what would be in those plans.

We know that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wisc.) is desperate to repeal the Affordable Care Act. What he never has been able to explain adequately is why.

Oh, sure, Ryan has offered some rhetorical explanations. He says Obamacare is “collapsing.” That it’s in a “death spiral.” That it’s a “struggle” for Americans. He says a “much, much better system” could be put in its place.

In the realm of adding insult to injury, one could hardly do better than San Diego Gas & Electric Co. The big utility’s downed power lines caused three major Southern California brush fires in 2007 that burned more than 198,000 acres, destroyed more than 1,500 homes, injured 40 firefighters and caused two deaths.

There isn’t much more to say about the San Diego Chargers’ move to Los Angeles other than: “We told you so.”

For years, we’ve been documenting how cavalier the National Football League and its franchises can be when its member billionaires’ quest for public money trumps such family values as loyalty and tradition.