The passing of common sense

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[Soul-Jah]

Greetings

a friend emailed this to me today thought id share it with all of you


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 earn) and reliable parenting 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 six-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
they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a Band Aid to a student - but
could not inform the 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 can 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 three 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.

blessed love

[SmG]

Blessed.

Good words, InI will pass this on.

Jah Bless
Ras Marcus

[EmpressCarla]

Blessings

Very good post, Soul-Jah. As the saying goes, "Common sense ain't common!"  

Be blessed.

[Kama_Sutra]

Greetings







1. Common Sense lost the will to live criminals received better
treatment than their victims.

2. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.





blessed love

1.  Send that to Louis Farrakhan!

2.  That actually happened recently not far from where I am!  

[Love_Sponge]

Greetings all

My mother printed this out for me to read and i truly think that everyone should pass it on it really is just amazing,

Blessings for posting it here

[Rasta Nick]

Indeed !

[InI_Scott]

Sorry to be negative, but I have one: Common Sense states that you must uncover all the facts before being able to criticize or demean the truth of a situation.

For example, even though most want to discuss the crazy "award against McDonalds for a lady spilling coffee in her lap" as some statement about how the system has gone completely nuts . . . these same "I told you so" people have probably never looked at all the facts of that case nor have they read about how the jury came to the correct verdict and award in that case.  By blindly making fun of situations like this, we become a part of the machine (the insurance industry and big corporations) that are always at work to erode more of our civil liberties.

I actually found this cute little "common sense" statement to be yet another "blind leading the blind" -- "I like this because it is simple and feels good, who cares if it might miss many of the facts it pokes fun at".

Sorry again, but I've had it with Propaganda -- no matter how cute the package that delivers the same.  

One Love,

Scott

[Soul-Jah]

Greetings

INI SCOTT

no need to apologise everyone has a right to their own opinion, thats why I use the forum it gives us a place to express them, I Agree with what you are saying some parts of the article are suspect and not all I agree with, however I think its the over all sentiment of the article thats important, if we take the message its getting across and apply it to our everyday life it can only be a positive thing

my first sticky topic i feel honored thanks Nick  

[Snake_Eater]

I panicd when I read this

Common is still alive. whew.

[InI_Scott]

my first sticky topic i feel honored thanks Nick  

This made me laugh!  Because i also always wonder if one of my comments may cause the wrath of another to come out--i just don't like to get into such things with others online -- can't see their face and how they take it.  

Thanks for the chuckle, but I don't think I'd consider this a "sticky topic" just yet . . . we haven't said anything about "white rastas" or "gays" to get to those hights -- or lows.   But maybe this post will get you over the top  

Keep the topics coming Soul-Jah!

Scott

[Wahine]

I'm so glad i read those words today!
Especially at the moment where i am in two minds about how to handle a situation that i am in....
I will look to common sense for the answer and hope it all goes ok.
Thanks for sharing

[tigerinatrance]

I hear the McDonald's case all the time - here are the facts.

McDonalds coffee was not only hot, it was scalding -- capable of almost instantaneous destruction of skin, flesh and muscle.  Here's the whole story.

Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was in the passenger seat of
her grandson's car when she was severely burned by McDonalds' coffee in
February 1992.  Liebeck, 79 at the time, ordered coffee that was served in a styrofoam cup at the drivethrough window of a local McDonalds.

After receiving the order, the grandson pulled his car forward and
stopped momentarily so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her
coffee. (Critics of civil justice, who have pounced on this case, often
charge that Liebeck was driving the car or that the vehicle was in
motion when she spilled the coffee; neither is true.)  Liebeck placed
the cup between her knees and attempted to remove the plastic lid from
the cup. As she removed the lid, the entire contents of the cup spilled
into her lap.

The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and held it next
to her skin.  A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full
thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body,
including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin
areas.  She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she
underwent skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement
treatments, sought to settle her claim for $20,000, but McDonalds
refused.

During discovery, McDonalds produced documents showing more than 700 claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982 and 1992. Some claims involved third-degree burns substantially similar to Liebecks. This
history documented McDonalds' knowledge about the extent and nature of
this hazard.

McDonalds also said during discovery that, based on a consultants
advice, it held its coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees fahrenheit to
maintain optimum taste.  He admitted that he had not evaluated the
safety ramifications at this temperature.  Other establishments sell
coffee at substantially lower temperatures, and coffee served at home is
generally 135 to 140 degrees.

Further, McDonalds' quality assurance manager testified that the company
actively enforces a requirement that coffee be held in the pot at 185
degrees, plus or minus five degrees.  He also testified that a burn
hazard exists with any food substance served at 140 degrees or above,
and that McDonalds coffee, at the temperature at which it was poured
into styrofoam cups, was not fit for consumption because it would burn
the mouth and throat.  The quality assurance manager admitted that burns would occur, but testified that McDonalds had no intention of reducing
the "holding temperature" of its coffee.

Plaintiffs' expert, a scholar in thermodynamics applied to human skin burns, testified that liquids, at 180 degrees, will cause a full thickness burn to human skin in two to seven seconds.  Other testimony showed that as the temperature decreases toward 155 degrees, the extent of the burn relative to that temperature decreases exponentially.  

Thus, if Liebeck's spill had involved coffee at 155 degrees, the liquid would
have cooled and given her time to avoid a serious burn.

McDonalds asserted that customers buy coffee on their way to work or
home, intending to consume it there. However, the company's own research
showed that customers intend to consume the coffee immediately while
driving.

McDonalds also argued that consumers know coffee is hot and that its
customers want it that way.  The company admitted its customers were
unaware that they could suffer thirddegree burns from the coffee and
that a statement on the side of the cup was not a "warning" but a
"reminder" since the location of the writing would not warn customers of
the hazard.

The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages.  

This amount was reduced to $160,000 because the jury found Liebeck 20 percent at fault in the spill.

The jury also awarded Liebeck $2.7 million in punitive damages, which equals about two days of McDonalds' coffee sales.

Post-verdict investigation found that the temperature of coffee at the
local Albuquerque McDonalds had dropped to 158 degrees fahrenheit.

The trial court subsequently reduced the punitive award to $480,000 -- or three times compensatory damages -- even though the judge called
McDonalds' conduct reckless, callous and willful.

No one will ever know the final ending to this case.

The parties eventually entered into a confidential settlement which has never been revealed to the public, despite the fact that this was a public
case, litigated in public and subjected to extensive media reporting.  Confidentiality was required by McDonald's.
-----

[rasfreeform]

Greetings all,
                   Very amusing thread about common sense. But fret not, for common sense is alive and well in other parts of the world, even if it's dissapearing rapidly in Britain and USA. Taliking of dissapearing rapidly, Rainforest is doing that as well...one of the main reasons...to graze cattle...which brings us back to Mcdonanld's. So, on that note, I'm very plesased to hear that someone managed to sue McDonald's and win. Even if was, (possibly) a triumph of legal minds over Common Sense.

[Gabo]

 I think the article was meant to make us think about our actions, not to discuss about some lady that sued a Burger company.  Those are great words, we should try to seek the meaning behind those words.  We have to see the whole picture, not only the parts we like.  We must find our true selves, but we will only achieve it by acting consciously. 

[JonnyHongKong]

Sorry to be negative, but I have one: Common Sense states that you must uncover all the facts before being able to criticize or demean the truth of a situation.

There's really a Common Sense book of rules or something?
Or is Common Sense a person. . . . I can't tell by your making a noun of it.
No man, I'm just playing with u 

I believe this email should be looked at and understood for the point it wants to put across as a whole.
Yes, it's quite possible this McDonald's thing was not explained in enough detail and there is more to it,
but someone who spills hot coffee normally wouldn't sue for millions.
If I scolded myself with coffee, I'd be pissed as f***, but I really wouldn't go as far as to initiate a lawsuit with a lawyer against the company.
I just wouldn't buy their coffee again.

That's what this email means when it refers to the McDonald's situation: It's over the top.
Don't worry Scott, I doubt this email is trying to put you under corporations and such. . . . it's just trying to make a point.

JHK