I made the mistake of watching national news the other day and was reminded why I am much better off not paying attention to all that.
Did you hear about Cynthia Robinson, the Florida woman who sued R.J. Reynolds because her husband died from smoking-related illness? The jury gave her $23.6 billion in punitive damages. That’s billions, folks, and an additional $16.8 million in compensatory damages. Robinson had been part of a previous class-action suit against R.J. Reynolds that was settled in 2006, but that $145 billion verdict had been overturned on appeal. In a television interview, Robinson said, “We have finally gotten justice.”
Justice? I’ll let you decide for yourselves, but I think it is beyond absurd. More at the Huffington Post
On a much nicer note, my two weeks of drama camp ended with our performances over the weekend. We had sell-out audiences for both shows, and what great energy that creates for the players. They did an amazing job, and I am always so thrilled to work with the kids and the camp leaders.
Here are just a few more pictures from the show and the camp.
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| This wonderful poster was designed by one of our board members, Jim Willis. |
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| These lovely pictures of the lions were taken by Bob Williams Photography and used with permission. |
I think the court system is getting more and more crazy. I feel bad for people who die from tobacco, but don’t we all know by now that it is bad for us and can cause cancer? Crazy – billions! (Crazy enough I even used the dreaded !)
The group looked like fun, much better for everyone than all the other crazy news.
Thanks for coming by, Neil. I agree about the choices we make and our responsibility for the results. My husband died from smoking -related illness, and it was gut-wrenching to watch him die, but we cannot keep suing when someone dies. In the long run, that just passes on higher prices of goods to consumers.