What Happened To Personal Responsiblity?

[ImWithStupid]

Addicted gambler files $20 million casino suit

Casinos: Player's loss of law practice, houses is her problem, not theirs

 

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - She was an ambitious lawyer and TV commentator who starting going to Atlantic City casinos to relax and soon was getting high-roller treatment that included limousines whisking her to the resort.

 

Arelia Margarita Taveras said she was even allowed to bring her dog, Sasha, to the blackjack tables, sitting in her purse.

 

But her gambling spun out of control: She said she would go days at a time at the tables, not eating or sleeping, brushing her teeth with disposable wipes so she didn't have to leave.

 

She said her losses totaled nearly $1 million.

 

Now she's chasing the longest of long shots: a $20 million racketeering lawsuit in federal court against six Atlantic City casinos and one in Las Vegas, claiming they had a duty to notice her compulsive gambling problem and cut her off.

 

Problem gambler sues casinos for $20M - Crime & courts - MSNBC.com

 

Am I the only one who has a problem with the growing issue of people not being able to take responsibility for their actions.

 

I'm sure she would have had no problem had she won a butt load of money.

 

I'm also sure that if she was on a roll, and they cut her off, because she was gambling for days on end, she would sue them for that too.

 

Unbelievable.

[wez]

Problem gambler sues casinos for $20M - Crime & courts - MSNBC.com

 

Am I the only one who has a problem with the growing issue of people not being able to take responsibility for their actions.

 

I'm sure she would have had no problem had she won a butt load of money.

 

I'm also sure that if she was on a roll, and they cut her off, because she was gambling for days on end, she would sue them for that too.

 

Unbelievable.

 

 

I heard this on the radio on the way to school today.. ridiculous.. She wont get a dime. Has to be one of the most absurd things I've ever heard. Imagine the door this would open? Unbelievable is right. I predict not only will she receive nothing, but will be prosecuted for embezzlement from an employer as well..

[timesjoke]

But this is the new society we are creating.

 

This goes to a lack of morals, everything goes back to a lack of morals. Morals are the tempering factor that makes society possible and these new flexible morals the non-religious cling to are making this kind of behavoir not only possible but make it a reality.

 

Back when I was a kid nobody locked their doors and women were "ladies". Most people went to church and had prayer when they sat down for a meal with their family (that included a father at the table). Each day of school was started with prayer, everywhere you looked there was an example of good moral standing supported by a belief in God as the foundation of those morals. That does not mean everyone was good, just that the standard of behavoir was well defined if someone was to be accepted in society.

 

 

Now we have a society where being religious has the non-religious attacking us and even calling us liers when we speak of how we feel but at the same time, we have out of control lack of taking responsibility for anything we do.

 

 

It seems like the two are directly connected, I am sure the non-religious will try to deflect attention away from this connection but there is a clear and well defined cause and effect relationship with removing God from society and the moral decline that follows.

[Old Salt]

And the Governor of the State of New York spent $80,000 on hookers. Go figure. This is a guy who epitomizes the definition of "double standard".

[ImWithStupid]

And the Governor of the State of New York spent $80,000 on hookers. Go figure. This is a guy who epitomizes the definition of "double standard".

 

Especially since, while he was NY Attorney General, one of the cases he tenaciously persued, was that of prostitution rings.

 

Some people see this behavior, by politicians, as a personal issue. The truth is that when they do this, just as President Clinton did on numerous occasions, they open themselves up to being blackmailed, and that puts the safety and welfare of the state or people at risk.

[wez]

And the Governor of the State of New York spent $80,000 on hookers. Go figure. This is a guy who epitomizes the definition of "double standard".

 

That was the deal, huh? All I caught on the tube was "Elliot Spitzer infidelity scandel".. Good use of tax payer dollars. Isn't prostitution illegal? Guy couldn't get it for free?

[ImWithStupid]

Just one more example of someone not wanting to take responsibility for their actions...

 

Mr. Spitzer cut himself off from all but the most senior members of his staff. His lawyer, Michele Hirschman, was reaching out to federal prosecutors to try to strike a deal in hopes of avoiding charges.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/nyregion/12spitzer.html

 

Not only isn't he stepping down as Governor of New York, he has his attorney trying to strike a deal to avoid prosecution.

 

This is the same guy that prosecuted Martha Stewart, and gave a deal to her broker, who was more at fault then she, to make an example of her.

 

I think karma should make an example of him.

 

Another thing that the liberal media is showing bias, and possible double standard, is that if this had been a Republican, every time they said "Governor of New York", they would have added, "Republican, Govorner of New York".

[wez]

Just one more example of someone not wanting to take responsibility for their actions...

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/nyregion/12spitzer.html

 

Not only isn't he stepping down as Governor of New York, he has his attorney trying to strike a deal to avoid prosecution.

 

This is the same guy that prosecuted Martha Stewart, and gave a deal to her broker, who was more at fault then she, to make an example of her.

 

I think karma should make an example of him.

 

Another thing that the liberal media is showing bias, and possible double standard, is that if this had been a Republican, every time they said "Governor of New York", they would have added, "Republican, Govorner of New York".

 

 

No doubt.. Karma.. It is a bitch. So is Martha, apparently..

[ImWithStupid]

Whether you love him or hate him, he's got a pretty good point in this article he wrote for CNN. IMO

 

Glenn Beck: Too bad, Michigan and Florida

 

By Glenn Beck

CNN

 

NEW YORK (CNN) -- What do these stories all have in common?

 

A woman who says she lost more $1 million gambling in Atlantic City sues some casinos for $20 million, claiming they should've stopped her compulsive gambling.

 

People who bought houses they couldn't afford with loans they didn't understand want their lenders to change the terms.

 

Congress authorizes a war and then tries everything it can think of to get out of it.

 

Our country gets addicted to oil and then blames OPEC when it doesn't like the price.

 

These stories prove how personal responsibility has all but vanished in America, and our government is leading the way.

 

Remember the kid from that interminable 1980s commercial whose father caught him using drugs? The father incredulously asked, "Who taught you how to do this stuff?" and the kid responded, "You, alright? I learned it by watching you."

 

Well, we are that kid and our government is that drug-using father who doesn't think that anyone notices his bad habits.

 

Our government is leading us by example, and I don't mean that in a good way. For years, it has spent us into oblivion, mortgaging our future for programs we can't afford, and Americans have happily followed suit, running up credit card bills and home equity loans for things they never should've bought.

 

Unfortunately, we're also learning something else from our government: how to avoid taking responsibility for our actions.

 

From Eliot Spitzer's alleged hooker craze to the revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger commutes to work in a large private jet even as he preaches the dangers of carbon dioxide emissions, there's never been a shortage of "do what I say, not what I do" hypocrites in politics.

 

But that same attitude has seemingly spread from individual politicians to an entire party.

 

Democrats aren't happy that delegates from Florida and Michigan won't be seated at the national convention because those states broke clear party rules. Well you know what? Too bad. We don't say that enough anymore. Too bad. You agreed to the rules; you broke them. Now you've got to deal with the consequences.

 

"But Glenn. ... Neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama will have enough delegates to win the nomination. We don't want this to be decided in some backroom by superdelegates."

 

Too bad.

 

"But Glenn. ... You don't understand. If we don't seat delegates from those states now, then we might lose their votes in the general election."

 

Too bad.

 

"But Glenn. .... The voters in these states are going to be disenfranchised if we don't let their voices be heard."

 

Too bad.

 

If you want to talk about disenfranchised voters, then let's talk about why just 17 percent of Americans have a positive view of Congress. Let's talk about why we still have wide open borders despite most Americans wanting them sealed. Let's talk about why we keep selling out our sovereignty and our security by borrowing billions of dollars from-less-than friendly countries, such as China.

 

Americans aren't disenfranchised because our leaders won't count votes in a couple of states. They're disenfranchised because our leaders aren't doing their jobs. They're disenfranchised because after working hard to support their families and to raise kids who understand the difference between right and wrong, their leaders do exactly the opposite.

 

In the cases of Florida and Michigan, I've patiently listened to all the moving arguments about why there should be a "do-over," but quite honestly, they're not arguments at all. They're excuses. If this race wasn't so close, or if these states offered a combined 36 delegates instead of 366, do you really think anyone would care? Of course not.

 

But no matter what you think should happen, you have to admit that Clinton's idea that we should simply count her "wins" in Florida and Michigan is completely ridiculous.

 

In fact, if you played a rimshot and a laugh track behind her every time she recited that line, people might actually agree to a two-drink minimum to see her speak. How could you possibly count the results from an election when your main opponent wasn't even on the ballot (at least in Michigan)? You can't -- unless you think the rules are simply there for your own amusement.

 

Last year, when the punishment against Florida was first approved, Donna Brazile, a member of the Democratic National Committee rules panel, said she hoped that the harsh consequences would "send a message to everybody in Florida that we are going to follow the rules." And Brazile knows a little something about that ... she ran Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000.

 

Voters in Florida and Michigan should ask themselves one important question before they blindly follow their party: Why did no one seem to care about "alienating" them last year when the rules were intentionally broken? It's only now, when their vote really matters, that everyone is suddenly so concerned about "enfranchising" them.

 

Florida and Michigan have a golden opportunity to stand up and say enough is enough, to send a message that it's time to not only take responsibility for their actions but for those of our leaders as well.

 

After all, what would it say about personal responsibility in this country if we allow the two states that broke all the rules to end up having the biggest say of all?

 

Glenn Beck: Too bad, Michigan and Florida - CNN.com

[timesjoke]

I agree with Glenn Beck, "too bad" needs to be used a lot more.

[Ahhlee]

GREAT Glenn Beck article, IWS.

 

And if any judge decides to award that gambling woman a penny just to receive his/her 15 minutes of fame for making a controversial ruling in the judicial circuit, I will lose all faith in humanity.

[timesjoke]

GREAT Glenn Beck article, IWS.

 

And if any judge decides to award that gambling woman a penny just to receive his/her 15 minutes of fame for making a controversial ruling in the judicial circuit, I will lose all faith in humanity.

 

If they can get it in front of a jury there is a very good chance she will get many millions of dollars awarded to her because of the "Robin Hood" mentality so many people have these days.

[ImWithStupid]

If they can get it in front of a jury there is a very good chance she will get many millions of dollars awarded to her because of the "Robin Hood" mentality so many people have these days.

 

Unfortunately that's true and not only jury mentality, it's some judges too.

 

We had a case here in Nebraska, relating to an accident that was allegedly caused by a failed traffic signal at an intersection of two highways in a small town, about 9 years ago, where a 16 year old and his three friends were southbound, in a Buick Sentry and was hit by a westbound semi.

 

He suffered a head injury, he was taken to a hospital in Omaha by LifeFlight helicopter. He was semiconscious several months, then spent many more months in a rehabilitation hospital. Eventually, he was moved to another rehabilitation facility in Sheldon, Iowa, where he stayed for six years, his care paid for by Medicaid, so all medical has been paid by the government so far. The boy was sent home last August. He still has trouble with speech, balance, feeding himself. He has only some use of his left arm and no use of the right.

 

The claim was that the lights periodically malfunction giving all four directions green lights. There had been complaints of this periodically for years. Every time a complaint was made the state came out and tested the lights and every time they showed they were working fine. Traffic lights by design, if there is a problem go into a failsafe mode that makes them flash red all directions or flashing red for one highway/street and flashing yellow for the other. Besides the tests performed through complaints the lights are tested annually. The signals have been completely changed out a few years ago, yet people still claim that the lights are still malfunctioning.

 

Despite maintinance records and the failsafes in place to prevent this from happening, the original judge awarded the family $4 million.

 

Last year, after appeal, because the boys mother said that the 4 million dollar judgement wasn't enough to cover the continued medical expense, the state Supreme Court ordered the state to pay Wagner $9.9 million, nearly triple what had originally been ordered by a Colfax County District Court.

 

The mother claimed that care facility expenses would come to $200,000 a year.

 

I don't know where these people get their calculators and maybe I'm crazy but even if you subtracted $250,000 from the original $4 million, to cover the first years bills, and was left with $3.75 million. If that was invested, the return at a conservative 9% per year, if invested right, using a professional, that leaves an annual return of $337,500 (9% is easily obtained in even poor markets like now). Hell at 7%, that you can get in a fixed money market account it leave you with an annual return of $262,500. The $9.9 million, that the Nebraska Department of Roads judgement, is on top of undisclosed settlements with the trucking company and with the city. These were out of court settlements and there are confidentiality agreements in those settlements.

 

I'm not cold hearted or anyting and I feel for the family, but even if the lights were malfunctioning but the state had proof that the annual maintinance was done and complaints were checked up with tests that indicated nothing was malfunctioning according to the tests, I think that the original $4 million against the Nebraska Department of Roads, was a fair judgement, especially considering there are two other settlements.

 

I think the Nebraska Supreme Court Judges acted out of emotion, and not logic or reason. IMO

[ImWithStupid]

The never ending "socialist" Hillary Clinton wants the US government to take on even more of the debt created by the poor choices of people and financial institutions. Nothing like all of us paying for the mistakes of the few.

 

Clinton proposes steps to ease US housing crisis

Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:02pm EDT

 

By Jeff Mason

 

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton proposed steps on Monday to boost the ailing U.S. economy and ease the housing crisis in a pitch for support from blue-collar workers ahead of next month's presidential showdown with Barack Obama in Pennsylvania.

 

Clinton called for President George W. Bush to appoint a high-level group of economic experts led by former Federal Reserve Chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to determine if the government should buy up homes to stem the country's housing crisis.

 

The New York senator and former first lady said the Federal Housing Administration should stand ready to buy, restructure and resell failed mortgages to strengthen the ailing economy.

 

Clinton proposes steps to ease US housing crisis | Reuters

 

Wonder where the $30 billion for Hillary's plan will come from? Oh yea, the average everyday taxpayer.

 

... and she wants it done now, or nobody else cares about the people.

[hugo]

It makes no sense to artificially maintain high housing prices. What is funny is politicians are also claiming a need for affordable housing.