7-Eleven’s primary motivation for the switch is that it wants to sell its own brand of gasoline, but Hugo Chavez’ anti-American diatribes played a part: DALLAS — 7-Eleven Inc. is dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier after more than 20 years…continue reading
Originally posted by Kim Priestap from Wizbang
I almost threw up when I read this:
Parents can sue a doctor if a genetic screening misses a severe or fatal condition that would have caused them to seek an abortion, a divided state Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The 4-3 decision limited such lawsuits to costs associated with a pregnancy and the birth of the child, saying such parents could not sue for pain-and-suffering damages or repayment of the costs of raising a disabled child.
The decision was a partial victory for a Kentucky couple who sued a Cincinnati obstetrics practice and hospital that provided genetic counseling and told them their fetus did not have a genetic disorder that the mother carried. The 8-year-old boy born in 1997 has the disorder and can’t speak or crawl.
The finding overruled a lower-court decision that Richard and Helen Schirmer could sue for the costs of raising their disabled son.
Justice Maureen O’Connor, writing for the majority, noted that the Schirmers had indicated they would have aborted the child if they had received the correct diagnosis. As a result, she said they could not sue for costs above those of raising a child without a disability, since that was never a possibility.
they have no shame in publicly stating that they wish they had killed their son before he was born because he’s inconvenient, imperfect, and expensive, but this mother also has the same disorder.
Someday, they too, just like the rest of us, will become inconvenient, imperfect, and expensive. How would they feel if their lives were treated as cavalierly?
Originally posted by Kim Priestap from Wizbang
Ever want to know how much the Supreme Court Justices make? Look here – Sparky
Sprint to grieving parents: Give us 25 bucks and we’ll tell you where your kidnapped child is
Originally from Dvorak Uncensored
Cory Doctorow:
Carrie sez, “Partly inspired by the site UnhappyBirthday.com, I thought it’d be fun to encourage people to write ASCAP and ask for permission in advance any time they expect to sing ‘Happy Birthday.’ The post is focused on my own letter – written on behalf of my father, who turned 75 this month.”
The copyright status of “Happy Birthday To You” and the law related to public performances of copyrighted works have recently been brought to my attention. I would therefore like to request permission in advance to sing “Happy Birthday” to my father at Frenchy’s Original Cafe in Clearwater, Florida, on October 8, at approximately 1 pm.
My father will be turning 75 on this day and will probably be ordering the Seafood Gumbo and Fried Grouper. The rest of the party will include Charles Star, my brothers Peter and Paul, their spouses Karla and Cindee, and my mother Lynn. Five of us will be singing while my brothers merely mouth the words and smile. We expect there to be approximately 50 disinterested witnesses.
I realize this is short notice but we only recently settled the details. If there is a charge for the privilege of singing in this instance, please let me know. And, if there is, please specify whether or not the cost can be reduced by moving to another location.
Carrie!)
Originally posted by Cory Doctorow from Boing Boing
Xeni Jardin:
A Montana Supreme Court justice says it’s within the law for police to sift through your garbage for incriminating stuff, even without a warrant or court approval.
The Supreme Court of Montana ruled last month that police could conduct a warrantless “trash dive” into the trash cans in the alley behind the home of a man named Darrell Pelvit. The cops discovered pseudoephedrine boxes — a solvent with uses including the manufacture of methamphetamine — and Pelvit eventually ended up in prison.
Pelvit’s attorney argued that his client had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his trash, but the court rejected the argument and said the trash was, well, meant to be thrown away.
What’s remarkable is the concurring opinion of Montana Supreme Court Justice James C. Nelson, who reluctantly went along with his colleagues but warned that George Orwell’s 1984 had arrived. We reproduce his concurring opinion in full…
Originally posted by Xeni Jardin from Boing Boing
For the last umpteen weeks, we have had rainy, sleazy weather every weekend.
Yesterday, when someone commented on the weather, I replied that it was just a typical early March day.
This morning, we’re being wracked with a good ol’ Noreaster, the kind that just a couple a months ago would’ve left us digging out a good half a foot of snow.
Last November, John Kerry won every single New England state.
Coincidence? I think not…
Update: Blute and Scotto remind me that it’s also been a year since three judges in Massachusetts decided that gay marriage was, indeed, legal. There’s another piece of evidence…
Originally posted by Jay Tea from Wizbang
Here is a teacher is seen screaming at students and then yanks the chair out from one student who refuses to stand up for the national anthem – all caught by another student on camera phone. This should be a good one to comment on.
Originally from digg / tommytrc / dug
The Michigan Treasury Department has sent bills to state residents who purchased cigarettes online to avoid Michigan’s high taxes. One pack-a-day smoker received a bill for $2,500 in back taxes. Read More.
Originally from digg / tommytrc / dug
Sigh…
Colorado Teens Fined for Giving Cookies to Neighbor
DURANGO, Colo. (Reuters) – A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 for the distress a neighbor said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.
The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbor Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.
Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitte, 18, paid the judgment on Thursday after a small claims court ruling by La Plata County Court Judge Doug Walker, a court clerk said on Friday.
The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbors on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: “Have a great night.”
The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking.
OK, so I don’t know of any suggested Tort Reform actually being debated today that would have prevented this, but still shows that while it is one of the greatest systems in the world, much of it is broken.
UPDATE – A local radio station has helped raise money for the girls to pay the fine. This is just so sad.
Here are a few commontaries on the subject to make you smile.
-Joe User.com
- Aces
- Infinatemonkies
- Listen to an interview of one of the girls on the radio.
Originally posted by Paul from Wizbang
