[BC] KDND Verdict

[Jeff Carter]

There's been no indication that anyone was forced or restrained in any
way from simply walking away from this stupid radio contest.  The
warning of a nurse is irrelevant on its face.  Even if there had been
some way to verify credentials over the phone (nobody ever called into
a radio station and pretended to be something they were not, of
course), a waiver is a waiver.  Or at least, it used to be prior to
these very harmful legal precedents.

It boils down to this:  If you can't agree to liability, either in
accepting it yourself or shifting it onto the acceptance of others,
then you are not in control of yourself anymore.   Every single person
becomes a ward of the State or of the insurance companies, who will
then tell you what you can or cannot do.  If you fail to receive this
permission, you will be punished with insane legal awards.  Everybody
seems to agree that the contestant's life was not worth  the $300
price of the game, but apparently it *is* worth over sixteen million
dollars.  There's no indication that this person would have ever made
sixteen million dollars and no basis to suggest that this indicates
any reality of any sort.

While I agree this isn't the best case to make this argument upon,
the underlying point still stands.  Either you are legally empowered
to speak for yourself and accept the consequences of your actions, or
you are not.  If you are not, then someone else must, because you
cannot avoid consequences.  You are at the mercy of that entity who
can make the choices for you.  This is turning into a nightmare in the
UK and the EU based on what I've read.  I had hoped we'd be spared a
lot of this in the US on the basis of common sense, but I suppose that
was something else I was wrong about.

Farewell, Personal Responsibility.  We barely knew thee.

Jeff/KD4RBG

On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 9:01 PM, Broadcast List USER
<Broadcast at fetrow.org> wrote:
> I am a huge flag waver for personal responsibility.  Without one KEY
> piece of information, I would agree that those drinking the water are
> responsible for themselves.
>
> HOWEVER, a nurse called the shock-jocks and told them they were
> risking the lives of those in the contest.  They just dismissed her
> warning.  Her warning became the truth.