SO ... WHO SHOULD PAY, REALLY??

 So, if youa know me, you know I s6art my days with a cup of tea and Good Morning America (ABC) .... well today, I caught a story on a woman who had a horrible run-in with an Uber driver ....

Well, her and her friend had the run in, but she ac5ually DIED because of it ...

And Uber KNEW this particular driver had several complaints against him before.

I'm not going to get ahead of myself .... I'm going to bury the story, but at leas5t I will tell you the outcome in the end.

So, here's what happened ...

This gal and her firend had goune out for the eventing, and "over endulged" shall we say - so they called an Uber to get them in Los Angeles - this is kind of important - and the FRIEND got sick in the back of the car.

Okay - that would be enough to tick off any driver, but you have to remembe that driver's have the right to DENY SERVICE before picking up the passenger ... this guy did not.

During the ride he begins to shout and cuss them out ...

He then proceeds to PULL OVER on the FREEWAY - we are talking 55-65 mph traffic here ... demands they PAY and then proceeds o KICK THEM OUT OF THE CAR!!!

So, while they are arguing/pleading with him not to leave them there .... This lady gets HIT by ANOTHER CAR .... yup, she ends up dead - they did not mention anything about an ambulance, so I do not know where she was pronounced deceased - but you'd think the driver of the other car would have called to report it .... they did not say.

So - the family of this poor woman .... these poor people ... have been going round and round with Uber trying to settle this thing.

Well, it wound up in COURT 

and it turned out the driver had at least 6 other complaints from passengers ... from demanding extra money during the drive to nearly hittung pedestrians to erratic behavior ... and a note from Uber saying he would get some sort of coaching on the policies ....

There was NOTTHING WRITTEN in his record to PROVE he had gotten such an intervention ... 

Holy Crap!!! So the family, who had already lost their daughter, has been getting told by Uber that they are not responsible for 2 years (by the sounds of it), and then to find this out?!?~!

Wait - it gets better ...

Uber actually had the GULL to step up before the Judge and say they weren't liable because, technically, driver's are INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS .... which if you know anything about the way the courts in Minneapolis looked at them already, they are NOT strictly Independent. (I think I wrote about this one before a few years back, if so I will link it).

Well the judge call BS on that, and orde4ed a JOINT judgement ... both the driver and Uber are being held liable.

Now - I do not know if this is just Uber's portion, or if it can be split between them ... usually it's up to the winner to chose how it gets split ... and they had so many HOLES in the story that I have no idea the fate of the Uber driver, nor the driver who hit her, BUT 

ABC said - they said this - that Uber was told to pay $40 MILLION ...

Uber, for their part, tried to get a GAG ORDER attached to the settlement - really, guys?? - but the Judge said NO.

So they put out a statement (rather a long one, three placards worth, I will put // at the end of each placard)

"No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family.// While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uberr legally responsible for the tragic eventts of that night.// We have continued to strengthen our approach to safety over the yeasrs ... including additional guidance to drivers about avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations."

Did you get that?  They felt that they were released from responsibility because they told a group of people "don't do that" ... um .... NO - he didn't listen ... and you knew this at least 6 times already!!!!!

So - where did he drop them off?  I guess I forgot to tell you that part ... it was at Gore Point ... on State Route 73, where the highway and the off ramp meet - it's supposed to be a small triangular bit ... but the thing is ... it is ILLEGAL to STOP THERE, much less let anyone off there ....

I think they better look into this guys driving history as well ... I wonder how he even got a liscense to begin with!!!

?

I HAVE BEEN AVOIDING THIS AS MUCH AS I COULD, BUT ...

 Let's talk Lindsey (sp?) CClancy .... oh wow.

Okay - so as you may have heard by now, she has had herjury released - the judge having declared a MISTRIAL.

Her lawyer, doing what all lawyers do, argued that the jude should have det th ONE JUROR aside and choden a NEW ONE from the alternates, thn redo the deliberations all over again.

Um, NO - that's not the purpose that they hav alternates, dude!!

Altrnates aren't there because you didn't get the result you wanted ... they aren't there to replace jurors who you don't like ... they aren't there to fill in for somone who feels a certain way.  OMG - can you imagine the vcan of worms this would present to the court system??

Well, the judge said no, that he was going to declare a mistrial, and then called to jury into court ...

This is where her lowyeer lost his f'ng mind IMO .... he rocks in his chair a few times - then stands up and says he wants to appeal the judges decision NOT to replace the joror ....

WHAT??

So get thus straight - you are on a jury, you have gotten word that the you are wanted back in court, so you are gettingting into line - they all come in the same oor, so they have to line up - and suddenly you ar told to wait??

Oh Jesus!

So, herr lawyer wants to wait unil SATURDAY Tto get a verdict from the Appeals court, the judge didn't think they would do that - the lawyer daid they would .... I think the judge knows better, sir ... but - just to be "fair" the judge gives him ONE HOUR to get a stay, IF he can actually find anyone at the Appeals court.

You have to realize - that this is all happening at 11:330am their time ... well close to it ... so chances are - unless he has a clerk sitting at the office with a draft of the appeal right there, it's likely it won't get heard.

Well, It sounded like it was heard and DENIED ... I'm guessing they told him the same thing I said, that's not what the Alternates are for.

Duh.

But, either way - they will be re-trying the case in about a month or so, fepending on how the courts are booked - I know one of the Prosevuton lawyers said she was going to be out of town for about a week in Oct.

So w will see ...

But, not to be deterred - her lawyer, ass that he is, goes out to the microphone and wlays it all on the shoulders of the person who refused to be a lemming and just go with the crowd.

Holy Crap!!

Dude - first off.  At this point NO ONE KNOWS how they would have voted ... all we know is that the juror wouldn't follow the ruling regarding "reasonable doubt" ... and that's it.

Maybe it was 11 jurors thought she was guilty ... and he just didn't feel it.
Maybe it was 11 jurors thought she was not guilty, and he didn't feel that either.

We.  Don't. Know.

Yet.

I'm guessing, there's gonna be some books ... memoirs ... coming out, soon.

Holy Crud.  

I have an opinion - because of the testimony - but I will not share that right now.

NAME ONE, I DARE YOU ....

 So, per usual - I am a littl bit behind on my news shows ... but just todays stuff.

So I'm watching Good Morning America IABC) when they are doing a story on their favorite subect .... Trump ... and they are talking about some Arrabian sheik who, apparently, has some stake holding in "a Trump Family business" .... what do I cae at this point - it's obviously not one of his businesses, its a FAMILY business, according to them (so its likely one of his kids) ... but EVERYTHING  Trump is assumed to be his.

Anyhow, the reporter goes on to say:
... never before has someone like him (him being the sheik) been a part of a sitting President's family business ..."

Well - that got me thinking ....

Which othr President has even HAD a "family business"??

I cannot think of one .... can you???

Carter was a farmer, which is a business but I'm not sue how strong it was at the time...

Truman was a failed habardasher (hat man)

I don't think we've ever had an active businessman before.

Huh?

It's kind of a stupid question if you ask me ....

MN FISH TANK

 What oh state does this???

Every fish zavaiilable in our lakes!

WOW!  

OBITUARY: TIM CURRY, AGE 80

 If you need a bigger clue as to how big Dolly's death was - she completely push Tim Curry off the news cycle .... he also passed on 2026Aug25

Wow - if you don't know who he was, you are either really young or totally out of touch ....

In 1975, he starred in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. he played Dr. Frankfurter, the Transvestite ... and while he wasn't the first man to dress as a woman, he is likely one of the most famous.  I was (am) as straight lace as they come, and even I knew who hee was in high school.

If you are younger than that, you might remember him from Home Alone 2, where he played the Consierge who tries to catch the kid in the room alone. (yeah, I know I spelled that wrong)

He lent his voice to a LOT of cartoons/animated movies as well .... including Star Wars stuff 

And he even appeared in Cranford on Masterpiece Theater/PBS

In 2012 he had a major stroke which put him in a wheelchair - but it did not effect his speech so he was still able to work.

We will miss you Tim ... I remember you mostly from The Molly Dodd show, where you played her ex-husband who moves in the hotel she runs.

He never married, never had children - but no explanation as to why ... I always thought he was gay/homosexual, but I have no real idea.Nor should it matter.

UPDATED OBITUARY: DOLLY PARTON, AGE 80 ....

So, I've learned a bit more .... Dolly Parton died from CANCER .... but there hasn't been any type of cancer given - yet.  We do know she suffered from stomach/bladder issue these last few years .... likely it was one of those issues.

She never had children - I thought I had heard at one time it was because she had a bad abortion, but checking out her IMDb.com page, I find it is listed as being from an allergic reaction to early birth control pills .... interesting.

OBITUARY: DOLLY PARTON, DEAD AGE 80

OMG 0 so I was listening to the Garage Logic to day when they - the guys of GL - popped on with the news that Dolly Parton had died.

Now they had said she died earlier this year, so I was kind of skeptical ... so I hit FB ... well, I have old, and I mean old technology, so it took a bit to find it = posted from out local station, bu just the one news station ....

kind of surprising since she is so well known.

But - I just saw it on The Five on FNC ... so sad.

They began talking about little girls named JOLENE after her song .... and I thought - wow, how many kids have been called Joleene (first, middle, nicknamed) ?

Y'all -- Jolene was a hooker!!!

Plain and simple - she even said so

So all you out there calld Jolene - you better think of changing your name.

But I got me thinking - what's the FIRST SONG you think of when you thought of when you heard Dolly had passed away?

I'm going to guess most people thought of JOLENE or 9 TO 5 .... or even HE'S ALIVE for some ....

I thought of this: 

Goodbye Dolly 0 you will live on for a few more decades then you will be like Hank Williams, Pats Cline, and Loretta Lynn .... just music in the wind.

We will miss you though - you had a great talent, and an even better sense of humor.

SOLAR ECLIPSE: AUGUST 123, 2026

 So, I missed when the eclipse happened this morning/afternoon .... I'm in Western WI so I'm not really sure .... but we are so far on the prenumbra (we would only see like a sliver here) that I was going to have to watch it onYouTub any how.

So I found this video from  CNN - they seem to have some pretty good carmera work, evren if most of their broadcasters are .... less than functional.

but you seel me .... what do you see at 1:25:00??  

 This drove me nuts ....

It doesn't make SENSE to me ...

Why are there flashes .... ON THE MOON??

AND ... for that matter .... on the DARK SIDE of the moon????

I'm telling you ....

There's something strange going on.

STUPIDEST THING i'VE HEARD (so far) TODAY ....

 Oh, and look it's only 10:30am .... on a Sunday, too.

So I'm watching Fox News Sunday (FOX-9, local station) and they had on a gal from the DSA - Deemocratic Socialists Association (not sure about the A part) and she is going through all the talking points of the "party" .... abolishing police, no border control, to ICE, etc.

Theen they got to the Senate .... here's the stupid part - and I have to wonder about today's school system, honestly - she said they want to get rid of the senate because it traces it's roots back to the House of Lords in England .... um .... NO it does not.

We were trying to distance ourselves from England, idiot - why the heck would be pull in something we had issues with in the first place?!

The Senate, with 2 people from each state, gave EQUAL POWER to each state .... big or small, rich or poor, farmers or industrialists ... didn't matter

A vote from the senator from Rhode Island held just as much weight as a vote from the North Carolinian senator!!

The issue with "power" actually leys in the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ... there the number of members each state has is based on population of the state .... so while Minnesota has 8 representatives, California has over 30 representatives ....

That is less fair ... but for some reason this is acceptable to the DSA ... And here's where we begin to see the issues with Socialism, really.

They only want "equality" for as long as they are more equal than you.

She went on to try to explain who should be in jail - and to her jail is not about punishment, it's about SAFETY .... 

Raise you hand if the hairs just stood up on the back of your neck!!

PLEASE PEOPLE - think this through .... don't vote DSA