I receive requests to sign petitions and to help lobby for various causes every single week, and some of them may surprise you. Many revolve around the economy, and concern everything form pledging to buy American to rallying against frivolous lawsuits. I know there are people are hurting in various ways, but what disturbs me is the number of people banking on a frivolous lawsuit as their means of support. In fact, I was in a relationship with someone in the past whose court case wasn’t frivolous, but had a “windfall” mindset, that the other party needed to be taken for all they had.
There is a story that I just found out about that about broke my heart. There was a facility called BasketBall Town that provided a safe environment where kids and families could have birthdays, and play volleyball and soccer. There was another small business that also shared the facility, a pizza place. One day, a guest at a birthday party was an individual who used a wheelchair. When they discovered this, the facility offered to move the party to another room, where it would be wheelchair accessible. They refused and sued Basketball Town instead.
Because of the mounting legal fees, two small businesses closed, and additional people lost their jobs as well. Many families found themselves starting over because of just one person. One family lost everything, despite having kids to put through college. The children and families in the area lost a place to come to as well. You can watch the video that the Friends of the US Chamber of Commerce has about it here. In fact, the group has a lot of great resources on their website. People from all walks of life are coming together for the same cause.
These types of scenarios are crippling our economy and way of life. Few have stood up against frivolous lawsuits in a meaningful way. They are seen as not looking out for the little guy. The other general example I can think of is in the stork department. Fewer and fewer gynecologists are delivering babies, or if so, doing them by C-section because they can’t afford a lawsuit. I remember about 15 years or so ago when there were problems with sidesaddle gas tanks in trucks, people who had experienced no loss or injury were jumping on the sue happy bandwagon, rather than accepting the manufacturer’s willingness to replace the parts in question. Luckily, there is a Good Samaritan law, where if an ordinary person rushes to your aid in an effort to save your life, you cannot sue them for not knowing what they are doing. Of course, that is not the legal verbage.
Sometimes it worries me that people are more and more afraid to reach out to each other for fear of being sued. From an economic standpoint, it cripples small business. Lawsuits also make health care and certain products more expensive, as the service provider in question must charge much more to cover the lawsuit insurance, or just the rising cost of liability insurance in general.
Before you ask me to sign another petition, ask yourself the following: Am I hiring my neighbor first, am I buying American when it is feasible, am I taking responsibility for my own actions? If you are, as change starts at home, THEN I will take a look at what you want me to sign.
Warren, Michigan is contemplating a Pit Bull ban, or more technically known as Breed Specific Legislation. The reasoning is that if there were no Pit Bulls, there would be no attacks involving Pit Bulls. Actually, when you look at statistics, dog attacks involve a large sampling of breeds. The most common Pit Bull attack involves a male, unneutered dog, and typically an irresponsible owner. The answer is not to remove the right of every person to own a pit bull, but to crack down on animal welfare, to prosecute the rotten apples that are ruining it for the responsible dog owners, and to also encourage people to consider what breed best matches their family.
California Assembly Bill 233 would provide a tax deduction to California residents of qualifed costs paid or incuured for pet adoption. You must adopt from a qualified shelter or rescue (I do believe by “qualified rescue,” they mean licensed rescue), and it must occur during the taxable year, rather than prior. There have been differing reports on the internet, varying from the deduction from $100-300, but most reports cite $100. The proposed deduction will be available between January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2015, if passed. The bill is sponsored by Assemblyman Cameron Smyth (R), and is cosponsored by the ASPCA.
houndsgood Posted in 
With a very heavy heart, readers, I have to tell you that Grace’s Law did not pass the subcommittee. The Committee Chairman is pro-gassing, so it doesn’t help matters. There was a heartwrenching account by a staff member from Liberty County AC, where Grace’s story unfolded. Unfortunately, there were people at the table that were not interested in hearing her and her voice might have been too soft to make an impact. Mostly, it had to do with people that would not let supporters of the bill speak in their alloted time without being dismissed throughout.
I recently reported on 
Like most large hounds in the state of Georgia who find themselves in her position, she found herself at a county pound. Her number was up. Large hounds just don’t get adopted, nor does anyone else. Her card was turned over just as she was settling in. As most large hounds do, she probably even wagged her tail hopefully as she leaned in to accept the slip lead that would lead her on her very last walk. Was this a strange looking dog crate they were putting her in? But there were other dogs in there. She could hardly moved, even though many of them were sedated or just frozen with fear. The switch was pulled and the air got thick.