Tuesday, February 22, 2005While I'm On The Subject...
While I am on the subject of personal responsibility, I thought I would post the following. I wrote it about three years ago and it's been sitting on my personal website (www.douglasavenue.com) collecting dust. Thought I would give those of you who didn't read it a chance to see it!
Another rant about personal responsibility.
For those of you who have been in a box for the past 100 years let me give you a real quick tip. SMOKING WILL KILL YOU! It would seem that no one seems to realize that. You smoke, get sick and die all I have to say is 'SUCKS TO BE YOU!' Seriously. Any idiot knows that smoking is bad for you. Yet SOMEHOW the tobacco companies have been found responsible for these peoples medical expenses. That would be like me taking my Contour out and driving 130 MPH, crashing, being seriously injured and then suing Ford saying that they didn't tell me going 130 into a wall would hurt me.
Oh wait. Cigarette packages have warnings on them.
Simply this is a case of people not wanting to take responsibility for themselves. Then all of a sudden the states and their lawyers want to make some money off of this. So, at the lead of Minnesota, they sue the tobacco companies to recover the money they had to spend treating sick smokers. Sorry, I don't buy it. No one held a gun to these peoples head and made them buy cigarettes. Even if someone did if they didn't work on behalf of Phillip Morris then the tobacco companies still aren't at fault. So how did Minnesota et all win this case? Because the tobacco companies knew that they had enough skeletons in their closets that their PR was in the crapper. The states said that big tobacco misled consumers. That they marketed to kids. Okay, what if they did? How is that relevant to the recovery of medical expenses. Sounds like court action the FTC should have taken up. The states too had the right to sue for false advertisement, but they have no right to all the cash they stole. Yes, I said stole.
The states did have the right to recover the medical expenses. But they needed to recover it from the people at fault. The smokers. But Minnesota can't sue seriously ill and dead people. So they go after what we call a scapegoat.
So, what does Minnesota do with the money? Do they help get people to quit smoking? Of course not. They get way too much tax revenue from the sale of cigarettes. (Yes sir! The state is making money off of you killing yourself!) They instead start an organization called Target Market. Target Market is a bunch of kids with what seems like an endless supply of money who's only goal is to defame the tobacco companies with misleading statistics. Too bad no jury in this country would convict them because big tobacco could get their money back in libel and slander suits. So, what has Target Market done for the state of Minnesota? What have they done that has put to use the billions of dollars the state got? They have made it their mission to let us know that cigarette smoking is bad for you.
No shit!
Now there is some chick in CA who is sick from smoking so she sues the tobacco companies and wins! 20+ billion dollars! I nearly hard a heart attack when I heard that. Thank God it will come down on appeal if the case isn't thrown out (like it should have been to begin with.) If it stands everyone sick from smoking will sue. Then one of two things will happen. ONE: The tobacco companies will file bankruptcy and go out of business, leaving the people who sued with no money for their legal expenses even. Good you say? Phillip Morris, the biggest tobacco company, does not just make cigarettes. Say goodbye to Kraft. Say good by to Miller. Say goodbye to a lot of things that I bet you didn't even know were owned by these huge corporations. States will lose millions of dollars in tax revenue each year. The charities that Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds (plus others) contribute to will lose millions. TWO: The tobacco companies will pay. They need to get the money from somewhere. Your 100$ grocery bill will quickly become a 300$ bill. Either way, we all lose.
It's not stopping with cigarettes though! Now, some fat guy who ate McDonald's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for years suddenly realized that he was fat and was developing diabetes. Not his fault he ate all those fattening foods. No sir. It's McDonald's. They never mentioned that food cooked in grease and animal fats, smothered with cheese and mayo and to drink a beverage whose main ingredient (next to carbonated water) is more or less sugar, was bad for you. Mister fat guy I have one thing to say to you. You, sir, are a dumbass. I hope you not only lose your case, but I hope you go bankrupt paying your legal fees. Then I hope you get your fat ass out of the house, walk around the block once or twice a day, eat a salad and disappear into obscurity.
Imagine that. Fast food is fattening. Did you also know that coffee is hot? Oh, and I can't forget that the person shooting someone isn't at fault. Smith and Wesson are.
It needs to end. Maybe it will take every single business in America closing down, but it needs to end.
Another rant about personal responsibility.
For those of you who have been in a box for the past 100 years let me give you a real quick tip. SMOKING WILL KILL YOU! It would seem that no one seems to realize that. You smoke, get sick and die all I have to say is 'SUCKS TO BE YOU!' Seriously. Any idiot knows that smoking is bad for you. Yet SOMEHOW the tobacco companies have been found responsible for these peoples medical expenses. That would be like me taking my Contour out and driving 130 MPH, crashing, being seriously injured and then suing Ford saying that they didn't tell me going 130 into a wall would hurt me.
Oh wait. Cigarette packages have warnings on them.
Simply this is a case of people not wanting to take responsibility for themselves. Then all of a sudden the states and their lawyers want to make some money off of this. So, at the lead of Minnesota, they sue the tobacco companies to recover the money they had to spend treating sick smokers. Sorry, I don't buy it. No one held a gun to these peoples head and made them buy cigarettes. Even if someone did if they didn't work on behalf of Phillip Morris then the tobacco companies still aren't at fault. So how did Minnesota et all win this case? Because the tobacco companies knew that they had enough skeletons in their closets that their PR was in the crapper. The states said that big tobacco misled consumers. That they marketed to kids. Okay, what if they did? How is that relevant to the recovery of medical expenses. Sounds like court action the FTC should have taken up. The states too had the right to sue for false advertisement, but they have no right to all the cash they stole. Yes, I said stole.
The states did have the right to recover the medical expenses. But they needed to recover it from the people at fault. The smokers. But Minnesota can't sue seriously ill and dead people. So they go after what we call a scapegoat.
So, what does Minnesota do with the money? Do they help get people to quit smoking? Of course not. They get way too much tax revenue from the sale of cigarettes. (Yes sir! The state is making money off of you killing yourself!) They instead start an organization called Target Market. Target Market is a bunch of kids with what seems like an endless supply of money who's only goal is to defame the tobacco companies with misleading statistics. Too bad no jury in this country would convict them because big tobacco could get their money back in libel and slander suits. So, what has Target Market done for the state of Minnesota? What have they done that has put to use the billions of dollars the state got? They have made it their mission to let us know that cigarette smoking is bad for you.
No shit!
Now there is some chick in CA who is sick from smoking so she sues the tobacco companies and wins! 20+ billion dollars! I nearly hard a heart attack when I heard that. Thank God it will come down on appeal if the case isn't thrown out (like it should have been to begin with.) If it stands everyone sick from smoking will sue. Then one of two things will happen. ONE: The tobacco companies will file bankruptcy and go out of business, leaving the people who sued with no money for their legal expenses even. Good you say? Phillip Morris, the biggest tobacco company, does not just make cigarettes. Say goodbye to Kraft. Say good by to Miller. Say goodbye to a lot of things that I bet you didn't even know were owned by these huge corporations. States will lose millions of dollars in tax revenue each year. The charities that Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds (plus others) contribute to will lose millions. TWO: The tobacco companies will pay. They need to get the money from somewhere. Your 100$ grocery bill will quickly become a 300$ bill. Either way, we all lose.
It's not stopping with cigarettes though! Now, some fat guy who ate McDonald's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for years suddenly realized that he was fat and was developing diabetes. Not his fault he ate all those fattening foods. No sir. It's McDonald's. They never mentioned that food cooked in grease and animal fats, smothered with cheese and mayo and to drink a beverage whose main ingredient (next to carbonated water) is more or less sugar, was bad for you. Mister fat guy I have one thing to say to you. You, sir, are a dumbass. I hope you not only lose your case, but I hope you go bankrupt paying your legal fees. Then I hope you get your fat ass out of the house, walk around the block once or twice a day, eat a salad and disappear into obscurity.
Imagine that. Fast food is fattening. Did you also know that coffee is hot? Oh, and I can't forget that the person shooting someone isn't at fault. Smith and Wesson are.
It needs to end. Maybe it will take every single business in America closing down, but it needs to end.
posted by ewink at 2:54 PM
ewink's FUNKDAFIED Ranma 1/2 Site
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