2003-06-28 - 3:08 p.m.
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From Britain to Britain
I don't know where I am anymore.
This country is looking to topple like a deck of cards stacked high like a tower, swaying in the breeze as forces on all sides push it back and forth, each shove another inching step toward downfall. I read Tape's site today after a 2 day holiday up to Lake George, to visit Shpunt and to wish him a happy birthday, and I see a bunch of links he left out in the open on his page that link to terrifying news, like leaving an obituary from a newspaper on a table and circling the name of this country.
We're in some serious shit.
IF even half of what I spent today reading is true or even on to something, I'm afriad to be an American. I'm afraid to even be on the planet, because if America goes up, this place is going to be massacred. This entire planet is going to be one big rat race to pick up where America died or to battle for its independence from the "Patriotic" insane dictatorial Democracy. We're slowly moving towards decay and rot, the corruption speak you hear everyday about the governemnt is more than words. I get so incensed with anger every time someone says "Oh, that's the way things are. Politics is so corrupt and this is corrupt and buisness is corrupt..." as if the rules are only there for show. We may have been a nation created by overthrowing our Imperial rule by Britain, tossing their money making rules out the window and trying to forge ahead as a country of its own, with respectible rule and fair laws. But now, we're our own kings. We, and by this I mean Americans, are eating Americans. I talked to my mom the other day on the beach about how I didn't think taxes are handled properly and she told me "Well, what do you propose? Tax people more because they're richer? What about the people who don't work at all and live off of those taxes? Is it fair to give them money? And what about people who work their asses off to become rich, who become rich from their own power and have done well because they are smart? Is it fair to them, just because some people are filthy rich from inheritance and other things besides busting their ass?"
And I couldn't say anything to it, not because I thought it fair or unfair and didn't want my opinion to be voiced, but because there is no fucking real answer either of us could give. What information would we be working on? Media spoon-fed data that could have come from the mouths of the rich? WE certainly aren't rich for any reason whatsoever, so I couldn't tell you personally how I'd feel if the rich were taxed more.
But in reality, what's the use of all that money if you're just going to piss it away on expensive things? To make business chug on better? That makes no fucking sense. Sure, it makes some sense. One consumer is in actuallity a worker towards another consumer, so that when you buy things, you pay other people's wages, who in turn have bought things that have paid your wages and it goes back and forth. But there should be more of an incentive. It is also true that philanthropic companies, who give out millions upon millions each year to benefit all, are still rich after all that giving and should they still be taxed because they're rich?
One of my friends gets her school more or less paid off by her father's company because they give away a scholarship that, as of yet, no one really signs up for. She is one of maybe 3 people in this pool, so while the money being put into this pool goes up, it's only her and a few others, children of this buisness, who get this money to pay for school. In these terms, it's like the people heading this company taking money out of one pocket to pay the scholarship of the other pocket. It's companies being philanderers to themselves. How is THAT being helpful to all?
The ideal of being rich has become the main ideal, whereas being rich was just one of the goals of life back in the day. This isn't saying that no one wanted to be rich until just recently; that is hardly the case. But I can guarantee, from every adult I've spoked to, from all ages, somewhere down the line, we became a culture of more and forgot what got us there: Competition. We were driven to do better because we had to compete, against the world, against our fellow countrymen, against ourselves. Products were done bigger and better, flashier and more durable because someone else out did you. But that was because we were driven to do so as a worker. Now, you get cheap, inexpensive (cost downscaled) half worked and overpriced goods. You get safety regulated goods, goods that must pass the "MUST DO ABSOLUTELY NO HARM TO ANYONE" test. Remember dodgeball? I say remember because it's illegal to play that game in schoolyards due to injuries. Same thing with tetherball. That's only schoolyard games. If something that insignificant can be taken away from you, don't think that higher things up won't be.
We're dumbing down the full force that got us here. Between the neutering of the American life leading to absolute boredom to the push by lobbyists and fanatics in their oneside crusades, there is no hope here. You can sue for anything. Take these examples of lawsuits:
It's time once again to consider the candidates for the annual Stella Awards. The Stella's are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonalds.
That case inspired the Stella awards for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the United States.
The following are this year's candidates:
1. Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son.
Honestly, if you're clumsy in a store, it's not the store's fault. No amount of money will help you pay attention. When I broke my arm playing football at lunch in middle school, I did nothing but get a cast. By American standards, I could have sued the kid who tackled me, the school, the nurse for lying to me about my borken arm and, if I could prove it wasn't put back into place properly, the doctor who took my arm over his knee and, using his hands, bent my borken arm back to as close to normal shape as he could get it. I did, however, settle out of court by making both the kid AND the nurse sign my cast
2. A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr.Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hub caps.
There are no words to describe this. YOU'RE STEALING SOMEONE'S HUBCAPS AND YOU SUE THEM BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T NOTICE YOU STEALING THEM AND THEY DECIDED TO USE THEIR CAR! If I was the loser in this trial, I wouldn't be the only loser at the trail. Again, there's no court ruling that will hand over to you common sense in the end.
3. Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and Mr.Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000.
Wow. Just...wow. He not only robbed these people of whatever he got his hands on, but he took $500,000 away from them. My parents will make $500,000...ten years from now if they save every penny they make and spend money on nothing. Or they can rob someone and eat all their dog food and claim they were so stupid they became mentally anguished. WAIT! You can SUE for mental anguish....
BELMO:"Your honor, in the following weeks...AND MONTHS, I plan on showing how each of these 15 women have either cheated on me, broke up with me or turned me down when I asked them out. Using these charts, which indicate using smiley faces and a continually breaking heart showing my current condition for each of those days, I will show how, despite my ability to boyfriend, they have caused me grievous harm. I am requesting $500,000 a pop as well as a no-backsies ruling, which makes it impossible for them to sue me for being a piece of shit boyfriend/boyfriend potential."
JUDGE:"What you're asking is absolutely insane."
BELMO:"What about that guy who got $500,000 dollars when he ate dog food and drank Pepsi from a house he was robbing and got trapped in and sued for mental anguish? Do you SEE these girls? There's like 3 Amanda's here! AND THIS ONE LIVED IN ANOTHER STATE! Tell me that isn't enough to drive a man insane."
JUDGE:"Well, ok. Makes sense to me. There is no need for trial I find in favor of the Belmo. And I sentence all of you women to lifetime community service sentences of picking up trash on a highway for at least 3 hours a day. I was dumped by an Amanda once. I understand this boy's plight."
*Much beer drinking takes place immediately*
I see absolutely no difference between that case and my imaginary case as far as sense is concerned.
4. Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, was awarded $14,500 and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.
Soooooooo, you can earn a quick buck by hopping a fence, shooting a dog with a BB Gun and getting bit by said dog. Holy fuckass, that makes no sense whatsoever. The fact that the jury found that the fact he was attacking the dog just means he gets less money makes my heart whimper and weep. That means people thoguht about that fact and attached some form of morals to their decision. Morals that allow $15,000 to people who assault animals while tresspassing.
5. A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her coccyx (tailbone).
The beverage was on the floor because Ms.Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
OHHHHHHHHH I wish I wish I wish I could do stupid things and get paid for it. Oh lordy lordy, make me climb a tree and fall onto a Staples or CVS and sue because they got in the way of me falling to the ground to my death. Oh please let me stab myself in the eye in a lobster restaurant and claim that there is nowhere on that fork that tells me not to do that. Please. I need legislation to keep me safe from myself. I need to replace my common sense with common cents. PLEASE GIVE ME THE URGE TO PURGE MY SANITY! Amen.
6. Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.
You know, that's a hell of a bargain. No, no really, that's one hell of a deal. Some people try to sneak friends in and pay a 2 for 1 kind of thing, some people get to know bouncers so that they get let in for free sometimes. Some people work for places solely to see shows and stuff for free. But we're all on the wrong track. We all should have been slamming our faces into porcelin so that whatever damages done can be paid for as well as a little parting gift to the tune of $12,000. AND she still saved that initial $3.50 I bet.
7. This year's favorite could easily be Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski! purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the R.V. left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this.
The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles.
Good fucking god. This is the one lawsuit that my girlfriend told me about over the trip we just had that made me want to look and see if there actually is any truth to it and I found all this but still. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY HORRID! Like, if I told you all those other lawsuits were a piece of shit the size of my hand being thrown into a fan and hitting the American public directly after, we'd need an industrial sized fan like on rooftops of buildings to cool entire skyscrapers to contain even a quarter of the amount of excrement that would be heaved using a catapult 4X the size of my house to represent the size of absolute idiocy involved in this lawsuit. Comparatively. This doesn't even sound real but you want to know something, I can't deny its existence. I think it's a crime to pay to someone a number of dollars they can't possibly even count to when they pull something of this magnitude. This goes beyond the whole "hot coffee being added to McDonald's cups", the reason this entire list of nominees was made. This is in a class by itself, engulfing all trivial lawsuits that win and shitting them out and then eating them again. I'm ashamed to call myself American if the courts of this country will allow things like this to win. And if there was a jury on this case, SOMEONE help us all because there is no such thing as God at that point and if there was he would have hung himself at the shock that he could have created something so fucking useless and idiotic. That's like 7 figures to someone who believes that stopping in the next rest stop or EVEN PULLING OVER AND MAKING YOURSELF A CUP OF COFFEE is a stupid idea and instead opts for letting this ENORMOUS vehicle drive itself at 70 miles an hour. As far as I can tell, that's speeding in no matter what state you're in, except maybe Montana, where I think there are 90 MPH stretches. But still, to have to be told in a fucking manual, something I don't think anyone even reads when they buy a car unles something wrong keeps happening to the car, not to let it drive itself into oblivion is like telling people "Hey, here's a brochure all about not walking off this cliff. Read all about it." And that alone makes my trust in ALL OF YOU MOTHERFUCKERS that much less. I now will drive with 5 inch thick armor and fully functioning warheads attached to my car when I leave the house so that you can't hurt me. It's called a Tank.
I got all this information from http://lists.samurai.com/pipermail/bryans-list/2002-December.txt, so I don't know how reputible each of these are. But consider this: if even one, ONE, of these is true, both of those lawyers, win or lose, got paid and a JURY found in favor of each of these people. A JURY! THAT'S A BUNCH OF US CITIZENS! That is everyday you and me being told by someone that an idiot who will get out of their seat going 70 in a Winnebago to make themselves coffee is not at fault for his actions but rather, the company who allowed his stupidity to harm him is. WE NEED HELP FROM OURSELVES!
So if people can't even make everyday decisions for themselves properly without the government stepping in, what hope do any of us have of true freedom in the coming years? If you look into all the legislation being hastily shot past our eyes, a shifty trick being disguised to us as "laws to help homeland security" or other shit, you'll notice that the America we're so proud of and want to export to Afghanistan or Iraq or any other country we choose (I'm thinking of Iran and Korea off the top of my head; I'm sure there are spots we don't even know are being held hostage by America because the news isn't allowed to say such things) is slowly eating itself alive. We're becoming fanatical, greedy, money grubbing, one-sided, one-partied radicals, who push their beliefs on any country we wish, while our own country is falling into shambles and our rich keep all and the poor, which is almost everyone, are kept at bay by the rules set forth by the rich in the name of the poor for the good of the country.
Sounds almost exactly like the country we left to start this one up.
Looks like round 2 of Imperialism hasalready begun without our noticing.
BMC
What did you just say? - What's he gonna say next?
