Re: Covering all the bases (Re: SERIOUS: Formal vs. informal orga

["Steven J. Owens" <puff -at- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

Janet Valade writes:
>
> > The first reason is that by and large, the legal system is
> > reasonable.  The news media, however, does not report on the
> > millions of sensible decisions that get made in the legal system
> > each year.  They report on fiascos like the O.J. trial and the
> > coffee suit.
> >
>         And inaccurately. The common beliefs regarding the "coffee
> suit" are an example of the media in action.

     Many thanks for saving me the trouble of digging up the details
of this story yet again.  I must have come across this misinformation
a dozen times in the last year.  This should serve as an object lesson
to us - we're writers, maybe we *shouldn't* be so quick to take
anything we see in print at face value? (particularly things so often
repeated without full details - when was the last time you saw a
columnist or editorial mention this incident including the date and
location, let alone the full facts?).

     I'd add that (according to what I've read) the old lady who sued
McDonalds only sued for her medical costs, and only after she
attempted several times through non-litigious channels to get them to
pay the hospital bills.  The *jury* decided that McDonald's needed a
good thump upside the head with a two-by-four to teach them a lesson.

     Check out www.mcspotlight.org sometime.

Steven J. Owens
puff -at- netcom -dot- com


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