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Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain

Why the early bird gets the worm

Life isn't always fair

Maybe it was my fault

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies:

Don't spend more than you can earn

And reliable strategies:

Adults, not children, are in charge

His health began to deteriorate when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when it became punishable for you to defend yourself from a burglar in your own home but the burglar could sue you for assault.

He began to lose ground rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 -year- old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his Daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing...



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Comments

  • pickersplock said on Oct 21, 2008....
    Bravo!
  • Expendable said on Oct 21, 2008....
    Wow. BTW, that coffee was so hot (180°-190°F) that the McDonalds' own quality assurance manager told the court that it wasn't safe to drink. When it spilled in Stella Liebeck's lap, in just 2 to 7 seconds it gave her full-thickness (third degree) burns requiring surgery to remove the dead boiled skin and skin grafts over 6 percent of her body.
     
    The jury when they made the award found her partially responsible for the accident by perching it between her knees when she tried to add sugar and creamer in a parked car so reduced the compensationary damages from $200,000 to  $160,000 - but as McDonalds had faced 700 cases in 10 years where others had received the same third-degree so were actually well aware of the hazards their coffee was fined them $2.7 million in punitive damages - or 2 days of McDonalds coffee sales. A later judge reduced damages to $480,000 - but it doesn't matter as McDonalds made a secret deal with Stella Liebeck - it's possible they only paid her the $20,000 for medical costs she was asking for originally plus lawyer fees - but then we'll never know.
     
    Read about it here. Maybe before pronouncing Common Sense dead, you should look into the facts of those other cases, just to make sure it's actually dead and not on vacation.
  • Expendable said on Oct 21, 2008....
    Hmmm. Apparently the kid suspended for using mouthwash was drinking it. Wow. Hardcore alcoholic.
     
    Kurt Prochaska who sued Dr. Michael Raniero for shotting him while trying to rob the doctor's house - the lawsuit was dismissed and the defendant was awarded statuatory costs (which means the robber had to pay them) according to Rock County Case Number 2007CV000423 which can be found at the WIsconsin Circuit Court Access.
  • D6fer said on Oct 21, 2008....
    I work in the specialty coffee industry.....I fix espresso machines.....I teach people to use them.....it is very common to serve an "americano" (espresso and hot water) at well over the above aforementioned temperature........when you grab the cup it is beyond apparent that the contents are not something you want in your lap......she put it between her knees....not McDonalds......this would be like a wrongful death lawsuit against a gunshop for someone blowing their own head off  by cleaning a loaded weapon.

    I am not sure that this peice is talking about the other two cases you pointed out or not.......I can only assume that in the case of the guy shooting the robber, that there was more than one case.

    I didn't write this.....someone sent it to me in an email......but I still think it's dead on.
  • Expendable said on Oct 22, 2008....

    Serving temperature is suppose to be 130-140°F. At 185°F, it just takes a few seconds to get third-degree burns. And you're serving over this temperature? You do know that water boils at 212°F, right?

    Yes, everyone knows that by holding the cup between her knees, Stella Liebeck is partially responsible for what happened. The jury knocked down her compensatory damages for it. But she wouldn't have needed surgery and skin grafts if the coffee had been 135°F - there wouldn't have even been a lawsuit.  McDonalds knew others had also been badly burnt - 700 cases in the ten years before this - they just didn't care.

    It wasn't wasn't the jury or the judge or even Stella in this case who'd had no 'common sense'. Yes, coffee is hot. But you're suppose to be able to drink it too. And McDonald's own quality assurance manager told the judge and jury in open court that their coffee at the temperature it was being served at (185°F) wasn't safe to drink.

    Yes, you're just reposting an email you received. And it's tone of moral outrage is great. But you didn't fact-check it. And if the facts in one is wrong, what does that say for the rest? Or doesn't that make sense?

  • D6fer said on Oct 22, 2008....
    if you owned a coffee shop and served all of your drinks at 135 degrees you wouldn't be in business very long......an normal temp for preparing a latte is 160 degrees.......coffee (usually served as americanos) would be much hotter......there are thousands of independent coffee shops all over the nation serving millions of such cups everyday....sometimes spills happen.....but you don't hear of lawsuits such as this.......Stella Liebeck saw a cash cow in McDonalds and some snake attorney took full advantage.......juries are bought and sold in this country like a commodity......you take any random group of people without the help of  attorney selection and or elimination  and the outcome would have been much different......it would have been tossed out. She was completely responsible.

    Facts aren't official judgements and vice versa.
  • Expendable said on Oct 22, 2008....
    Here's the case number. Look it up. D-202-CV-9302419
     
  • D6fer said on Oct 22, 2008....
    Why? You laid it out well....I simply disagree with the ruling......the entire jury selection process......and the Robin Hood attitude that too many people in this country cling to.

    The piece was right on the money.....are you a lawyer?

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