Sue Happy

Have you ever considered that one of the biggest players in the prices of inflation is due to lawyers? Have you ever considered that the reason you need a utility knife in order to open the packaging of a new utility knife is directly due to the insanity that goes on in the courts these days? There was a time when real lawyers went to bat for clients with real problems to fight legitimate injustices. Lawyers, in a civilized society are necessary because (with the exception of a few good cops and judges) they are only people walking around that know the laws of the land. The problem is however that most of them don't just want those laws enforced, they just want to figure out a way around them. Enter now the term "Ambulance Chaser." These days though it seems as though every Tom, Dick, and Chico wants to use loophole laws as a get rich quick scheme. "Pain and suffering" are phrases used by those who are greedy enough just to see much blood they can squeeze out of a turnip.

This type of greed may or may not have started in the early 90's with a 78-year-old woman (Stella Liebeck) who bought coffee at drive thru Mc Doanld's Lane and proceeded to spill it in her lap. Did you hear how I worded that last sentence? SHE spilled it in her OWN lap; a Mc Donalds employee DID NOT dump it through the window on to her thighs as her lawyers would lead you to believe. And this was long before the introduction of cold coffee into fast food chains. This may just be when the spirit of self-reliance died, or at the very least fell into a long-lasting coma. YES, coffee is often hot, and NO you probably shouldn't try to keep it between your thighs while you are trying to steer with your knees why also putting on mascara and carry on a phone conversation. It shocks me how many people think it's okay to multi-task behind the wheel. I also find it irritating when I realize that the jerk-off who put my life in jeopardy in the morning commute only did so because he refused to get out of bed on time for work. Must it really become MY problem that YOU cannot plan ahead or crank your lazy ass out of bed on time?

One of the things we have lost sight of in this country is if we want more stuff, we have to be willing to work for it. Never expect a payday when you have performed no work. And let's be honest, it's all just stuff, or in some instances it might even be what qualifies as crap. In the words of the late George Carlin, "your stuff is always stuff, but other people's stuff is shit." "Hey, could you move some of your shit to make more room for my stuff?" Like it or not, most of our stuff (weather we pilfer the money to get it or not) comes from China, which is an abject waste of money. I usually refer to the Dollar Store as the "one use only" stop. This is to say that whatever you purchase is good for only one use until it breaks. People often baulk at the price of Snap-On tools, but if they never break aren't they worth the added cost. What would you rather do, shell out a LOT of cash or spend the rest of your life replacing that tool? Within the first five steps inside the front door of my house you could trip over something from China. My wife loves this crap, and I despise it.