I have a few. One of my biggest pet peeves is refusal to take responsibility for your actions.
Nobody likes to accept blame but there comes a time in your life when you have to be an adult and say - I fucked up. Or it's my fault. People that have a chronic inability to say those words will spend days, weeks and yes, even years blaming everyone or everything ELSE but themselves for their woes.
We have no fault insurance but rarely have I ever seen a no fault car wreck. Yes, they call them accidents but someone is responsible for the wreck. Trees don't uproot and jump in front of cars unless a tornado is afoot. If you have a head on collision...someone clearly fucked up.
Sometimes things happen but more often than not someone or many someones made them happen... It's high time people "man up" and accept the blame for their mistakes. And yes, this includes Presidents, Senators and Congresscritters. Everyone.
Stop passing the buck, stop playing helpless victim, just stop already! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, accept responsibility for yourself and move forward.
Another pet peeve of mine... "Change" left in the toilet. How hard is it to wait 10 seconds to make sure that a 2nd or even 3rd flush isn't needed? If I want to know whether or not you ate corn for dinner, I'll ask. I don't need visual aids.
R.I.P. Steven Malcolm Anderson
Minion
of the Week
;-)
Interestingly enough, the conservative way would be Michigan's no-fault insurance law. THAT's tort reform and get's rid of huge amounts of litigation.
Here in Ohio, we not only decide who was at fault, but what percentage. I can't tell you how many times I see verdict where Plaintiffs win but are awarded One Dollar. We have to get juries to decide if someone is 50% to blame or just 25%. It's ludicrous, but lucrative for the one in 10 cases where the awards are "real money."
The truly stupid game is where the parties get dragged into court to be a witness and talk about their injuries long after they accepted a payout -- but the insurance companies are suing each other. What a waste. Michigan completely eliminates Insurance subrogation litigation, and that's a good thing.
Here's the thing: All of us, to a degree, are susceptible to this problem. If we are invested in something, whether a stock, a person or an understanding of reality, it becomes difficult or painful to give it up some or all of that when it's clear it's harming us or others.
All of us need some time (and maybe gentle counsel) to adjust to reality and to finally accept what may be screamingly obvious to others. The most mature people are those who have developed a rigorous personal honesty and clarity of vision that allow them to see their blind spots (especially when pointed out by others), and a humility of spirit that they can quickly accept the truth and adjust themselves accordingly.
But most of us ain't like that yet :) And so it goes ...
I know what you are saying. I'm raising two boys and it's hard to just teach the right thing, you have to lead by example. If they only see people that always look to pass the buck then they will grow up doing the same. That's kinda how it goes. Kinda like the parenting satire MR. W wrote. If everyone grows up believing they are perfect and blameless the cycle will continue...
If you sprinkle when you tinkle,
Please be a sweetie,
and wipe the seatie.
I added the "work" part to differentiate myself from a certain person who doesn't actually read the site but some how is informed of the content. hmm.
My Pet Peeve is politicians who use Natural Disasters to further their whacked out agenda's.
I can't wait to the day I read a story about how a major ice storm, that kills 50,000 people, is a result of Global Warming. It's going to happen.
Let me just add one to the number of people who don't understand the concept of global warming.
What you are postulating, Jerry, is local weather. Global warming is global, and aggregate. If you examine the regional temperature anomalies since January this year, you will see that it has been unseasonably cold in in North America, and above average everywhere else on the planet, especially in Russia.
Do you like echo chambers, Bill?
(with apologies to Nigel Powers)
Fuck you!! I quit again!!! ;-)
Welcome back, bro. Was about to quit out of grief myself.
How many years of colder weather will it take before global warming theorists will admit that they're wrong?
I'd guess that if Obama is elected, global warming panic will end on 01.19.09. If McCain is elected, four more years.
Me, I just can't get enough of teh stupid:
"How many years of colder weather will it take before global warming theorists will admit that they're wrong?"
How many tens of thousands of atmospheric scientists need to say that the atmosphere is in danger before the warming denialists, the conspiracy theorists, the Flat-Earthers, and the Creationists realize that they might actually know what they're talking about?
Answer: An infinite amount, therefore it is not possible. And let's not forget that right-wing bloggers know far more about the atmosphere than a bunch of egghead scientists who have made it their life's work.
The internet, where having an opinion makes you an expert.
Oh man, is this ever being bookmarked. Expect a monthly I-told-you-so after that.
Oh, come on. Then I have to remind you of every instance when you were wrong. I don't have that kind of time...
Please do. Actually, a single instance would be fine.
Nope. I just don't think you can find the two notable occasions in public that I know of where I've been very very wrong.
Rose, noticed how you went on a bit about car accidents while making a very rational argument that ppl need to take responsibility for their actions.
I could not agree with you more about the responsibility issue. These days, it's always someone's fault, there's always a lawsuit, and it's always the PIP lawyers who make out.
Having been in a couple of car crashes (never with another vehicle, and never after a single drink), I disagree with you slightly on that vein. People are HUMAN. We are not computers, we are fallible and make mistakes. Like misjudging how long it will take you to stop on what you think is snow but is really ice. We make mistakes, and some ppl are just better drivers than others. In 25 years, I've never had a single moving violation.
OK, there was that one time where I was racing around a parking garage and the acceleration on my Mustang was waaay better than my suspension, but noone but my car and the concrete wall got hurt :) Still, no ticket!
Back on topic, I agree with your basic assumption of responsibility, just not the particular focus on automobile accidents.
I still find it hard to believe that my soon to be ex mother-in-law walked straight into a glass door at Lowe's, broke her nose, and sued, winning 25k. WTF was she thinking? She's not a bird flying into a clean patio door. She was a stupid human that failed to see the hand-rail. Tort reform is needed in all states!
Former Repub
Well, one of my pet peeves is people who are not my teacher assigning me homework. I already said that I'm short on time.
However, just a quick scan of your blog's front page and mine shows somewhat conflicting views of the Saudis. You say on your blog:
And today, speaking at an Arab summit conference, King Abdullah describes Iraq to be under "illegitimate foreign occupation."..What's happened? Has Saudi Arabia finally decided that continued association with US foreign policy has more minuses than pluses?
Yet you respond to Ralph Peters' statement, "These past several years, the furious Saudis have been perfectly willing to help the new Iraq fail, hoping a disaster would lead back to rule by a Sunni Arab strongman." by saying
Oh, come ON. The Saudis have practically ordered the US not to leave Iraq.
Not a mistake, but maybe inconsistent portrayal for the sake of argument?
Anyway, until Obama or McCain is elected, and Gore stops/doesn't stop generating his hot winds of hysteria, that's all the homework I've got...
That's quite lame, Mary. Are you disagreeing with one of the statements? Which one? Are you saying that they're inconsistent? Why?
So what's the problem? That the Saudis play politics, and that they're inconsistent?
Well, one of my pet peeves is people who are not my teacher assigning me homework. I already said that I'm short on time.
Then stop complaining and don't do it.
Well, you would say that...
So what's the problem? That the Saudis play politics, and that they're inconsistent?
The "problem" is that you appear to believe whatever words come out of their mouths at whatever moment. I'm not sure why anyone would do that, except for the sake of argument.
I'm not sure why you think that. The terms "inconsistent" and "play politics" that I used indicate otherwise, don't they?
Or do you take those terms to mean consistency and honesty?
Maybe you're just looking for an argument?
Sometimes, but not right now. I meant 'sake of argument' as a debating thing...