Obituary

[cerfvoliste]

London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense

'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 sun lotion or an Elastoplast 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 & 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 & Trust; his

wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; & his son, Reason. He

is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now,

Someone Else Is To Blame & I'm A Victim.

[rawveeda]

It always happens to the good ones.

The world needs a re-birth

[windofchange]

Time to drop a little bleach in the gene pool.

[Hedgewarden]

Common sense would usually conclude that heating coffee to 170 degrees (20 degrees higher than hot water tanks can achieve, 35 degrees hotter than recommended for same) is a pointless and stupid policy. I have burned my mouth on the same coffee after waiting 30 minutes for it to cool. Just so they can advertise the "hottest coffee in town." This is probably about 50 degrees hotter than freshly brewed coffee in a Mr. Coffee maker.

Common sense would usually conclude that hot coffee in the lap creates a first degree burn (painful reddening), not third degree burns (deep tissue death requiring skin grafts.) Causing third degree burns indicates a lack of common sense on the part of the restaurant, not the customer.

Common sense dictates that free enterprise can work only if businesses are held liable for the damage they cause through negligence or intention.

On the other had, the settlement was proof that juries think $million is just a little more than $thousand. That was later corrected on appeal.

As for the Ten Commandments - please review them. You will see the first two are not at all appropriate for any place but a religious venue.

Most the rest of the issues, although taken often out of context, should be reviewed to see if we are getting too literal and bound to laws not well thought through. I, for one, would not want teachers pounding rulers on my childrens' knuckles. On the other hand, unruly children need to be controlled. And a lot of teachers need directions to avoid being overly permissive or overly disciplinarian.

My 2 bits

-Howard

[cerfvoliste]

Thanks for helping prove my point

My main point is that no wants to take respnsibilty for their own actions

waaa.... the dog ate my homework.

Rx

[John Barresi]

'Nuff said.