Obituary Of The Late Mr. Common Sense

[JFR]

I found this on another board I frequent

 

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; and 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 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 lost ground 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 Calpol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

 

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 you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

 

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

[brickNblock]

JFR,

Read that before Bud...

Actually I think once on here way back when..

Just the same....A Great Read!!!!

Love your signature statement on the bottom of your post BTW.

I'm thinking moreNmore are supporting our troops these days...they ought to!

[verno]

Wow is that ever true.

[Big Cliff]

Good post and so true. I don't mean to hijack this thread but Verno hit it right on the head.

 

I had a good talk with the son of a friend that just returned from Afganistan. He didn't mind the heat, the dirt, the lack of supplies. He wasn't crazy about being shot at and worring about the roadside bombs and suiside attacks but the thing that bothered him most was the lack of support and understanding from the people here at home.

 

Rick told me that the Afgan are a wonderful people, kind and generous and that they appreciate what we are trying to do over there, it's the terrorists that are trying to take over. We fight there to keep that sort of lifestyle from coming to Canada.

 

I'm very proud of Rick, I'm proud of all of the fine people that make up the Canadian Armed Forces, I'll stand sholder to sholder with any of them any day!

[Guest mistyriver1]

Great posts guys. I have total admiration and respect for all folks in the military. I believe TJ had a good quote in a post on the old board "supporting the government and supporting the troops are two different things".

 

I believe most saw this post I did on the old board, but it was my tribute to my Dad.

 

http://ontfish.proboards89.com/index.cgi?b...read=1163124254

[jughead]

Ahhh the coffee case ..... here are the facts. I agree common sense seems waning some days but in this case I don't think so.

 

 

This case has become iconic of frivolous and outrageous lawsuits for many people, and is often used as an example of the need for tort reform in the United States legal system by those who support such reform. Opponents of tort reform argue, however, that Liebeck's recovery was just, and that the common summary omits significant, relevant information.

 

 

The accident itself

The person driving the vehicle was Liebeck's grandson Chris (not Stella Liebeck herself, as some sources would indicate), who had parked the car so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her coffee.

She placed the coffee cup between her knees and pulled the far side of the lid toward her to remove it. In the process, she spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap.

Liebeck was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin as she sat in the puddle of hot liquid for over 90 seconds.

 

 

Injuries suffered

Liebeck was taken to the hospital, where it was determined that she had suffered third-degree burns on six percent of her skin (some sources say sixteen percent). She remained in the hospital for eight days while she underwent skin grafting. Two years of treatment followed.

 

 

Attempt to settle and litigation

Liebeck sought to settle with McDonald's for US$20,000 to cover her medical costs, but the company offered only US$800. When McDonald's refused to raise its offer, Liebeck filed suit, accusing McDonald's of "gross negligence" for selling coffee that was "unreasonably dangerous" and "defectively manufactured."

McDonald's refused to settle perhaps because, though there had been numerous lawsuits alleging that hot coffee was "defectively manufactured," courts had consistently dismissed the cases before trial on the grounds that coffee burns were an open and obvious danger.

During the case, it was discovered that McDonald's required franchises to serve coffee at 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit (82-88 degrees Celsius). At that temperature, the coffee would cause a third-degree burn in two to seven seconds. Stella Liebeck's attorney argued that coffee should never be served hotter than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius), and that a number of other establishments served coffee at a substantially lower temperature than McDonald's. Despite this claim, home and commercial coffee makers often reach comparable temperatures. For example, Bunn [1] mentions "the ideal brewing temperature of approximately 200°", and [2] mentions "water at 200° Fahrenheit (the ideal temperature)". Cuisinart mentions for at least one of their coffeemakers [3] that "After brewing, the heater plate will keep the coffee at about 180°-185°F". The National Coffee Association instructs that coffee be brewed "between 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal extraction" and consumed "immediately". If not consumed immediately, the coffee is to be "maintained at 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit." [4]

Liebeck's attorney claims that McDonald's quality control manager testified that foods hotter than 140 degrees constituted a burn hazard, and that McDonald's coffee would burn the mouth and throat.

Testimony by witnesses for McDonald's revealed that McDonald's did not intend to reduce the temperature of its coffee.

Documents obtained from McDonald's also showed that from 1982 to 1992 the company had received more than 700 reports of people burnt by McDonald's coffee to varying degrees of severity, and had settled claims arising from scalding injuries for more than $500,000 [5]. This represents about one complaint per 24 million cups of coffee sold by McDonald's.

Some of these incidents resulted in legal claims, some of which McDonald's settled.

 

 

Settlement

Applying the principles of comparative negligence, the jury found that McDonald's was 80% responsible for the incident and Liebeck was 20% at fault. Though there was a warning on the coffee cup, the jury decided that the warning was neither large enough nor sufficient. They awarded Liebeck US$200,000 in compensatory damages, which was then reduced by 20% to US$160,000. In addition, they awarded her US$2.7 million in punitive damages.

However, the judge reduced punitive damages to US$480,000; thus Liebeck was awarded US$640,000 in total. Both McDonald's and Liebeck appealed, and in December 1994, the two came to a confidential settlement, the amount of which is secret, but is believed to be approximately equal to the amount of the final judgment.

[JFR]

Good post and so true. I don't mean to hijack this thread but Verno hit it right on the head.

 

I had a good talk with the son of a friend that just returned from Afganistan. He didn't mind the heat, the dirt, the lack of supplies. He wasn't crazy about being shot at and worring about the roadside bombs and suiside attacks but the thing that bothered him most was the lack of support and understanding from the people here at home.

 

Rick told me that the Afgan are a wonderful people, kind and generous and that they appreciate what we are trying to do over there, it's the terrorists that are trying to take over. We fight there to keep that sort of lifestyle from coming to Canada.

 

I'm very proud of Rick, I'm proud of all of the fine people that make up the Canadian Armed Forces, I'll stand sholder to sholder with any of them any day!

 

Cliff,

The thread was not hijacked thank you for sharing the soldiers experiences.

 

John