Another Idiot Out to Make a Quick Buck

And now for this week’s frivolous lawsuit. A Hyatt guest, Dayanara Fernanez, is suing the Hyatt Corporation for “invasion of privacy, negligent hiring, supervision and/or training and negligent infliction of emotional distress.” It seems that when she returned to her room she found a male employee wearing some of her clothes, including her panties. The man was arrested and plead guilty to disorderly conduct.

The Hyatt released a written statement saying, “We deeply regret that this troubling, unacceptable incident occurred. Hyatt has taken action to ensure this individual cannot return to that property or any other Hyatt. Because this now is the subject of litigation, we cannot comment further.”

In all honesty, the only thing that hotel guest deserves is an apology and a comped room. That’s it. For her to sue the hotel over this is just plain pathetic. She’s just another idiot looking to make a quick buck.

Your Dad Would Be Proud

Blake McGinness, a nine-year-old boy from Kingston, Ontario, is a son any father would be proud to call their own. His own father, Rick Lees, died last year of a stomach aneurysm. The family couldn’t afford a gravestone, so for now some of Blake’s toys mark his dad’s grave.

Blake wanted to give his father a proper gravestone, so he decided to sell hold a yard sale in order to raise money for the gravestone. Word quickly spread and people came from all over to support this boy’s cause. One man drove from Montreal to donate an autographed Montreal Canadiens hockey stick. A company in Texas offered to provide a gravestone at no cost to the family.

Blake’s yard sale garnered thousands of dollars, and thousands more were donated to a trust fund. Since the cost of the gravestone has been covered, Blake plans to donate the proceeds from the yard sale to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

And to think he’s only nine-years-old. The world could use more people like him. Way to go, Blake! Your dad would be proud.

More Tax, Less Service

I have a major gripe with our local police department. Yesterday the wife and I were involved in a fender bender; some asshole rear-ended us. He apparently doesn’t know that you’re supposed to pay attention to the car in front of you. I get out of the car, and the first thing the asshole does is tell me to move the car. Now, I wasn’t driving so it wasn’t my job to move the car, but if the careless mofo thought we were moving into the adjacent parking lot he had another thing coming. I’ve been around long enough to know that when there’s an accident you don’t move the cars until the police come. Idiot moved his car; we didn’t. I call 911 to report the accident and the lazy, moronic dispatcher asks two things: 1) is anybody hurt, and 2) is the damage over $1000. I reply that nobody is hurt, and I tell her that I have no idea how much the damage will amount to as I’m not a mechanic. Well, she then tells me that they’re busy and the idiot driver and us will just have to exchange info. I was flabbergasted! Since when do the police not show up for an accident. That’s their job.

Well, the idiot who hit us said the damage to his car was well over $1000 so I got back on the phone and had another lovely conversation with the useless dispatcher. After informing her of the damage amount and demanding a cop be sent out she grudgingly said she’ll send someone out as soon as she can. Thanks, lady. Don’t do me any favors.

Five minutes later officer pork arrives. A minute later a second one shows up. Amazing. First one hands us off to second one who takes license and registration from both drivers. Twenty minutes later he hands us a paper with both parties’ info and tells us we have to fill out two copies of the accident report and mail one to the RMV and one to the police department. That’s it. He doesn’t ask what happened, he doesn’t fill out an accident report, nothing. What the fuck was he doing for those twenty minutes? And since when is it not the job of the police to respond to accidents and write up accident reports? Unbelievable! It appears all the police in this town can do is direct traffic, and they can’t even do that well.

Taxes keep going up, and the services we get keep going down. Makes me so happy to live here. I’m thinking of sending the police department a bill for having to do their job – filling out the accident report (and not just one copy, but two).

Seriously, what’s next? The convenience store gets robbed and they’ll only come if the amount stolen was more than $1000? Or some poor schmuck gets jumped but they’ll only come if there’s more than $1000 worth of injuries? I think they should just learn to do their fucking job!

No Screaming Kids Allowed

Finally! A place where patrons can dine in peace, or at least without screaming kids. The Olde Salty restaurant in Carolina Beach, North Carolina has put up signs declaring “Screaming Children Will NOT Be Tolerated!” And apparently it’s been a boon to the establishment; business has picked up since the signs have been in place. Imagine that. Business has increased with the lack of screaming of kids. Who would have thunk it? I’m honestly surprised that more restaurants haven’t done this. Let’s be real, there’s not much worse than trying to enjoy your dinner (or lunch or breakfast) with kids constantly screaming. I’ve had a few unpleasant experiences with this, as I’m sure most of you have, too. If a restaurant in my area had the balls to put signs up like these I’d be more than willing to give them my business.

Of course, even though the majority of people are in favor this (as the poll clearly shows – 93% in favor at the time of this writing), some people still think we’d like to dine along with their screaming kids. One idiot in particular went so far as to say she believes the sign is illegal. Come again? Illegal? Whatever. She has an autistic child and claims that the restaurant is now discriminating against special-needs kids. She said, “I think she (the owner) needs to meet some of these kids, and I think she needs to see that they are awesome. Please don’t shut them out because they don’t fit in the perfect box everyone wants them in.” Ummm, they might be “awesome” but if they’re screaming they have no business being in the restaurant. It’s quite simple. And people don’t expect these kids to fit in a perfect box, but if they’re screaming, once again they don’t belong in a restaurant. I don’t care if the kid is a special-needs kid or not. Screaming children have no place in restaurants. Most of us would just like to enjoy our meal in peace.

Oh, and to clarify for idiots like the one mentioned above – the restaurant does not kick screaming kids out to the curb. They do, however, ask the parents to take the children outside until they’ve quieted down. That’s what responsible parents would do anyway, so this really shouldn’t be a big deal (unless you’re a deadbeat).

What Will They Ban Next?

So this crappy state known as Taxachusetts has decided once again that the fine people living here obviously need the government to protect them from themselves.  Seriously folks, it’s getting ridiculous.  The latest item to be banned in this state is….drumroll please……..novelty lighters.  Um, excuse me, some idiotic politician actually sat down and thought this was a good idea? How did that go I wonder? “Geez, this fine state is going to hell in a handbasket. We need something to get us back on our feet again. Hmmmmm……ummmmmm…….hmmmmmm. I know, let’s ban novelty lighters! Yes! What a fantastic idea! Surely that will help the state and the fine people living here. I’m a genius!”

I mean, honestly, anybody with a brain knows that novelty lighters are so much more dangerous than your plain old average lighters, right? Um, no you say? They’re not? Hmm, perhaps someone should tell that to the politicians. Do they really having no issues more pressing than this? I find that really hard to believe. And the bullshit spewing from their mouths about how this ban is really because of the children – because the children want to play with these lighters – is such a crock. It’s not the government’s responsibility to protect us from ourselves – it’s our responsibility. In this instance, it’s the parents that are responsible for their children. I’m sick and tired of the majority of people having things taken away and/or suffering because of the actions of others. Seriously, enough is enough!

Speaking of Frivolous Lawsuits…

As you can tell from my last post I detest frivolous lawsuits (as do any sane people). It’s bad enough when idiots waste everybody’s time filing them, but at that point it’s the judge’s responsibility to throw the cases out (which all too often does not happen). I have seen plenty of frivolous lawsuits, but I think this one might take the cake.

Craig Smallwood, a 51-year-old moron from Hawaii, is suing NCSoft Corp., the developer of the video game “Lineage II.” He apparently has no life, and therefore he needs to blame it on someone else (and try to make easy money in the process). He’s claiming, among other things, that the game caused “extreme and serious emotional distress and depression.” Yeah, whatever. If you suck at a game so much that it starts to bother you then perhaps it’s time to stop playing, idiot! He also claims that he’s been “unable to function independently in usually daily activities such as getting up, getting dressed, bathing or communicating with family and friends.” Um, does anybody believe this bullshit? Seriously, what the fuck? He’s obviously able to function enough to file a lawsuit. Loser.

Now, the judge, U.S. District Judge Alan Kay, should have looked at this case and laughed it right out of his courtroom. Should have, being the operative words. In his infinite wisdom, he has dismissed four of the counts and let the other four proceed. The four counts that were dismissed were: unfair and deceptive trade practices, intentional infliction of emotional distress, misrepresentation/deceit, and punitive damages. The counts that have been allowed to proceed are: negligence, gross negligence, defamation, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Seriously, those counts are the biggest fucking joke! Obviously this guy has a mental problem. However, that’s his problem and the not the problem of the developer of the game. Why in the hell should they have to pay for his mental instability. When the hell will people take responsibility for themselves? Or I should say, when the hell will people be forced to take responsibility for themselves? Because that’s probably the only way it’s gonna happen.  Unfortunately we live in a “me first” society.  That’s a society I want no part of.

Enough Already With the Frivolous Lawsuits!

Seriously, enough is enough!  I’ve had it up to here with all of these idiots looking to make a quick buck at someone else’s  expense.  And from what I can gather, I’m not alone. It’s absolutely disgusting how people think they have the right to sue everybody and their brother for whatever inane reason they can come up with. Spill coffee on yourself: sue the restaurant. Trip over your own kid in the store and hurt yourself: sue the store. Break into someone’s garage and end up locked in for a week while they’re on their vacation: sue the homeowners. And yes, these were all actual lawsuits. When is enough enough? When will our completely inept government finally step in and say no to all of these morons who file these ridiculous lawsuits?

The latest frivolous lawsuit to come to my attention is a doozy (although I have to admit it’s not as good as the idiot who sued a fast food chain because a pickle fell out of his burger and landed on his chin, supposedly burning him – I kid you not!). Todd and Suzanne Connell, from New Hampshire, are suing Sea World because they were there at the Florida park with their 10-year-old son when the killer whale killed the trainer, Dawn Brancheau, back in February. They’re seeking unspecified damages. According to their complaint, their son “saw the look of horror and desperation on Dawn’s face as she was swimming for her life. He then saw Tilikum violently yank her down again to the depths of the pool.” Um, as tragic as that is, whose fault is it that their son saw that? What in the hell were they doing as this attack was occurring? As soon as the attack began they should have covered their son’s eyes and gotten him out of there. Under no circumstances should they have allowed him to witness that. He’s 10-years-old for christ’s sake! What in the fuck is wrong with them? Believe me, Sea World is no angel in my book. I don’t agree with holding animals captive and making them perform for the benefit of humans. And to expect a killer whale to perform tricks for an audience is just asinine. But seriously, as a parent, once you see something like this attack happening you get your children the hell out of there. That’s what a responsible parent would do. You don’t let your child witness something as horrific as this and then sue to make a quick buck. Perhaps the parents should be sued for negligence. That’s a hell of a lot more logical than them suing Sea World. I really hope their case gets laughed right out of court. But this is America, home to the frivolous lawsuits, so I really don’t see that happening. God help us all.

Thief Plays Deaf Card

Alejandro Rea apparently decided that he just didn’t feel like paying for the merchandise he had picked up. So he did what any good thief would do – he just up and walked out of the store with it. What he wasn’t expecting was to get caught by store security. As he was making his way out the door the store alarm sounded and the security guard called to him. He failed to stop. After he made his way out of the store with the stolen goods he was tackled by a store security guard and then placed in a choke-hold. He was arrested and charged with felony second-degree robbery (the misdemeanor shoplifting charge got bumped up to the felony second-degree robbery charge because of the thief’s violent resistance to the security guard and because he had been convicted twice before for misdemeanor petty theft). So that should be the end to the story. Thief is in jail awaiting his court date.

But no, the deaf just can’t let this go. They’re all over the security guard and the store because this thief was tackled. In fact, in true American fashion, they’re threatening to sue the store for this incident. Seriously? He should get special treatment because he’s deaf? I don’t fucking think so! And according to the CNN article, “an advocacy group for the deaf wants the clothing store chain to train workers to be more sensitive to hearing-impaired customers.” Suck it, assholes! The moron stole merchandise. And you want store workers to be sensitive to that? Get a life! Here’s a novel idea (and it applies to both the deaf and the hearing populations) – don’t fucking steal! Period! End of story! If you want to be an asshole and steal then you can suffer the consequences.

Way To Go, Dad!

A dad in Texas has decided to teach his 16-year-old daughter a lesson. And what a creative man he is! His daughter broke her curfew, and as a result her father posted an ad in their local newspaper advertising her free babysitting services. The advertisement says, “Want a FREE BABYSITTER for a night out?” It explains that the daughter missed her curfew, and therefore she’s going to give 30 free hours of babysitting. That is seriously one of the best “punishments” I’ve heard of. Not only does the daughter learn her lesson, but it helps other people (i.e. free babysitting) in the process. Rock on!

Bees Hold Deputy Hostage

Now here’s something you don’t see every day. On Tuesday, Deputy Brandon Jenkins of the Wake County Sheriff’s Office was responding to a call about a person being attacked by bees. Now, why someone would call the police because they’re being attacked by bees is beyond me. But I digress. When Jenkins arrived at the scene he found a broken down truck that was hauling a trailer loaded with 60 boxes of bees. And somehow the bees had escaped. When the truck and trailer were towed away the bees did not follow the truck (as Jenkins was told they would do). Instead they swarmed Jenkins’ cruiser. He tried driving a bit to see if the bees would blow off the car, but that didn’t work. So for the next three hours Jenkins was trapped inside his cruiser as two beekeepers worked to collect the 50,000 honeybees. That’s right – 50,000 honeybees. Amazingly enough the two beekeepers were only stung three or four times total between the two of them.

There’s a short video that accompanies the story that I linked to so you can check out this poor deputy’s plight.