Chemically Castrating America.

[ShaiGar]

I have this excellent idea (got from Bash.org) that could help lessen the stupidity gene in the USA.

Step 1. Take warning labels off absolutely everything.
Step 2. Make litigation for commonsense lawsuits punishable under the death penalty.
Step 3. Watch millions of Americans die.

Maybe then we wouldnt have to put up with "Warning: This coffee may be hot" labels on coffees that damn well BETTER be hot.




Defining title: I meant that as a whole the country would have its ability to procreate greatly lessened by the vast numbers of deaths occurring due to chemicals.

[thegnat]

Oooh warning labels off everything....that'd be good. *evil laugh*

What about warning labels like "Warning: This product is made up of 99% empty space."?

Everyone should have to watch chemical safety videos. Or have the idiots be the models.

[ShaiGar]

People should just be taught common sense by parents. If they are not, or their parents dont know it... I see no reason that genetic line needs to be carried on.

[thegnat]

I agree completely.

The parents should be punished, too.

[Chainsaw Dundee]

Indeed. Natural selection is inevitable. If you try to suppress it, it will come back with a vengeance.

[anara]

People should just be taught common sense by parents. If they are not, or their parents dont know it... I see no reason that genetic line needs to be carried on.

common sense doesn't need to be taught. common knowledge does, but not common sense.

[thegnat]

People should just be taught common sense by parents. If they are not, or their parents dont know it... I see no reason that genetic line needs to be carried on.

common sense doesn't need to be taught. common knowledge does, but not common sense.

To some people it seems as if common sense *does* need to be taught :-?

[phoenix]

Warning! This product contains dihydrogen monoxide. Inhalation can cause choking and/or death.

;D


Edit: Bah! Just saw thegnat's topic on this. Serves me right for not browsing the whole forum before posting.

[yondyr]

I'd say you can't inject common sense, it's learned by observation...cause and effect, and if not, they don't hang around too long....survival of the (mentally)fittest.

[banzai]

Why leave it at that? I say introduce dangerous wildlife into major cities and let the smartest and strongest survive.

[rwyatt365]

I have this excellent idea (got from Bash.org) that could help lessen the stupidity gene in the USA.

Step 1. Take warning labels off absolutely everything.
Step 2. Make litigation for commonsense lawsuits punishable under the death penalty.
Step 3. Watch millions of Americans die.

Maybe then we wouldnt have to put up with "Warning: This coffee may be hot" labels on coffees that damn well BETTER be hot.

Defining title: I meant that as a whole the country would have its ability to procreate greatly lessened by the vast numbers of deaths occurring due to chemicals.
If only it were that easy! Might I interject Step 2.5; Any case brought before jury where the majority of the jurists say, "WTF", laugh, or have puzzled looks on their faces will be immediately thrown out and the plaintiff immediately shot.

[brewmaster]

Why leave it at that? I say introduce dangerous wildlife into major cities and let the smartest and strongest survive.


Put that on TV, please

[rwyatt365]

Why leave it at that? I say introduce dangerous wildlife into major cities and let the smartest and strongest survive.
…or pin $1,000 worth of $20 bills to people and turn them loose in "economically depressed" areas of major metropolitan cities to see how long they last (if at all).

Only the smart survive. :thumbsup:

[Lucid]

…or pin $1,000 worth of $20 bills to people and turn them loose in "economically depressed" areas of major metropolitan cities to see how long they last (if at all).

Only the smart survive. :thumbsup:

Or those able to operate the pins. :)

[radioactivez0r]

Driving to a football game yesterday, my friend told me about an e-mail she had gotten about the Stella Awards, a list of incredibly ridiculous lawsuits. I was so confused how someone could successfully sue Winnebago for not including a line about leaving the driver's seat while operating in cruise control in the manual. Then I read this morning that they were all untrue.

[rocksteady]

Natural Selection In Turbo mode, nice.

[Question Everything]

Why leave it at that? I say introduce dangerous wildlife into major cities and let the smartest and strongest survive.

I don't know. Can we justify inflicting the stupidity of humanity on the poor wildlife?

[SMKN LS1]

Not that I'm a consipiratist or anything, but why do you think the infertility rate has rised so dramatically in the U.S.?

(hint, hint: chemicals)

[Booko]

Not that I'm a consipiratist or anything, but why do you think the infertility rate has rised so dramatically in the U.S.?

(hint, hint: chemicals)

Quite right, SMKN LS1.

Environmental estrogens have some very serious health consequences, from infertility in males especially to elevated rates of ovarian and breast cancer in women and the increase in endometriosis.

The effects of environmental estrogens on fish populations is especially interesting. Fish populations are being severely reduced in some waters due to contamination. The male fish either don't breed well (or at all), in some cases actually change sexes, and female fish have been found (in the most extreme cases) with their ovaries literally exploded due to EE contaimination.

There's no conspiracy here. It's just the aftereffects of thoughtlessly tossing chemicals around our environment for years and the stupidity of assuming new chemicals created for industrial use are "safe" until someone proves them otherwise (yeah, like there's a monetary incentive to do that, right?).

I really had to laugh many years ago when OSHA required the removal of benzene as a solvent in our lab because it was carcinogenic. Toluene was the replacement.

Well holy crap -- toluene is more reactive than benzene -- it's just that no one had gotten around to doing the amount of study required to "prove" that it was carcinogenic too.

How retarded.

Oh, if you do a Google search on "environmental estrogens" you'll get more information that you bargained for. Here's one of the more readable articles from just the first few links:

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Have fun checking out the rest.

I also recommend Stopping Cancer at the Source, M. Sara Rosenthal, Ph.D. pub 2001 for an easy read on the subject off the effects of various chemicals in our environment (and where they come from). The copious notes and sources in the bibliography give the next stop for anyone who wants to learn even more on the subject (from reliable sources as opposed to industry-funded ones, that is).

[True Brit]

I believe that western civilization will probably get to a point that when you get to a traffic light, Clippy is going to pop up and ask "Do you know what this light means, and if not can I help you find out?" Seriously, some people just do not know what to do in common situations anymore. Like a girl at school said some time ago, "I'm afraid of this spider in front of me!" My response: Kill it. Eventually, I had to step on the spider. Though that one did look kind of dangerous, to give her the benefit of the doubt.

[MichaelH]

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[helices]

I really dont't think this idea holds up to even the gentlest scrutiny...

Consider:
"Step 2. Make litigation for commonsense lawsuits punishable under the death penalty."


Might I enquire who would define common sense within this context?

Would it be defined by you, ShaiGar? Where is the point between genuine negligence on the part of say, an organisation and stupidity on the part of a member of the public? It hardly seems fair that you (or, indeed any one person) would define this standard of common sense, which depends so strongly, in my opinion, on one's upbringing and cultural experiences, and also on the particulars of an individual case.

Perhaps we could set up some sort of fair system (let's call it a court) to let other members of the public, under supervision of trusted experts decide whether this lawsuit was "commonsense" or not, within the particular context of each individual case?

Can you really think of a fairer way of dealing with lawsuits than that?
Is it fair that I should be discouraged from bringing a valid lawsuit for fear of being put to death if the verdict does not go my way? Of course not. Perhaps a fine for wasting court time if my lawsuit was deemed frivolous (which I think already exists in most civilised countries).

I do agree that the developing culture of blame has its problems. But using hyperbole to show this whilst providing no sensible alternatives is not entirely useful.
I would be interested to hear if you had any sensible, thought-through ideas of your own , rather than those from some website.


helices

[rwyatt365]

Since ShaiGar made the suggestion then he should be the sole arbiter and judge of all infractions. As a matter of fact, he should sit and hear each and every case in order to judge it's "common sense" factor (as only his opinion would be accurate).

All jesting aside. ;D :clown:

The US system of justice (and other modeled after it) is fair, it's just that it has been corrupted to absurdity by people that have turned litigation into a profit-center. If we investigate the root cause of this litigious environment then we can attack that and resolve the issue.

I would contend that the root cause is twofold; a) people are greedy and b) people are lazy. What this boils down to is that there are people that will seek the least difficult ways to obtain the most income that is possible. Folks want to get "paid" for doing nothing (or as close to nothing as they can come) so they seek opportunities to get "paid". Lawyers want big paychecks too, so they seek people that have found "opportunities" that allow them to obtain money from others through litigation. Individuals and companies don’t want to loose money to those people and their lawyers, so the settle when they can and fight when they must.

The solution? Reduce the possible "payday" and/or make the acquisition of income from this method extremely difficult.

One approach; cap the amount that lawyers can make from their lawsuits. Don't make it a percentage of the award amount, make it a sliding scale with an absolute cap. Settle a $10 million lawsuit…the lawyer's payday is $1,000, period. Settle a $500 lawsuit…the lawyer's payday is $50, period. That reduces the lawyer's incentive to find and litigate big lawsuits (or most, if not all lawsuits).

Another (complimentary) approach; make the lawsuit process incredibly painful. Make it so that there are all kinds of offices and forms and procedures to have to wade through in order to get to court.

Probably neither of these would be implemented because there is so much money to be made through litigation that efforts to stem the tide would be quickly defeated. But it's nice to imagine!

[karen]

back to the part about lowering fertility.... population increases on their own will increase the incidences of male infertility. The stresses and noises of a major city causes so much unnoticed stress onto your system that many mens' pserm counts are significantly lower than less urban areas. This is part of the reason why in many 'developed' countries the birth rate is so much lower than in 'developing' countries.....the other major reason being birth control practices.

[Danisty]

I'd be all for removing the warnings on things like hot coffee. What I would really like to see on packages is a full list of ingredients. It's pretty scary to think a secret ingredient could kill you, but people with severe allergies can run into this problem.

[elsdfr]

Why stop with "America"?

[prometheus]

Put that on TV, please

We have extra wolves in this part of Montana. Post an address to ship them to, that you'd release them at.

[Snowdragon]

If we took warning labels off everything, there would be MORE lawsuits. Jackpot freeloaders know that a wet floor or a hot cup of coffee will be their next windfall.