An Important Message from Chromosome · 12:17am May 26th, 2012
I'd like you all to be reading this right now. I know just a journal ago (and sorry I'm putting up so many of those), I said that there was too much fun in these journals! Well never more than now to I mean this. Because fillies and gentlecolts...it's time to put on your game faces.
Just recently, I was contacted by someone I'd spoken to in the past, a fellow by the name of Josh Meihaus, who is a good friend of mine. He's come to me with a serious problem.
I'd explain it myself, but it's better if Josh himself explains, straight from his blog:
I'm on the verge of carpel-tunnel on account of all the typing I've been doing for the last few hours, but in a nutshell, my family is now the victim of a frivolous lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A man named Chris Langer has filed over 200 lawsuits in San Diego in the last ten years, seemingly for personal gain. He's now targeting my family for a $6,000 lawsuit, and there's nothing stopping him from doing this to more businesses once he's through with us.
Now you folks know (or, well, now you DO know) that I'm not one to be shanghaied easily. I've done my research, and this is 100% valid. The ADA is a real act, created to protect people with disabilities. However, there is a problem that stems from abuse of the system in states like California that allow monetary compensation of disabled plaintiffs. These so called "professional plaintiffs" make their living upon the misery of others. But don't take my word for it, the power is in your hands to learn for yourself!
In order to counteract this Josh has created a petition to the lawmakers in California to keep this Chris Langer from performing this lawsuit, as well as to stop him and his kind from continuing to do so. And here's what I want you to do.
I want you to click this link and sign the petition.
I want you to take that same link, and I want you to spread this. Spread this far and wide. We bronies are an amazing group that has done amazing things in the past, and I'm putting my faith in you guys that we can do so again. Please, don't let me down, guys. Because I really believe in you. Please do this for me, and do it for Josh.
Also, because I don't want this journal to be a complete downer, Aquaman52 and I went on a date recently.
It could've gone better.
There's a guy making a white box movie?
You be famous.
But I could see the fic becoming a movie with either humans or ponies.
I will look into the petition.
Shared on Facebook.
Oh yeah, AA posted one of these.
Signed. Also, what's your OC's cutie mark? I can't really make it out.
Will you look at that. I am a citizen of the United States and am registered to vote. Signed.
Also -- I'm guessing Cloudsdale got the drop on you and Aqua, huh
135427
Four boxes, two with 'x' and two with 'y'.
They represent the chromosomes in our DNA! :D
Also, I'd sign, but I'm kinda not registered to vote yet, 'cause I haven't done it, and I need to wait to get back to NM to do it, so... yeah.
But I would. Despite being disabled, that man shouldn't have any right to sue those who've done him no harm...
Seriously sucks I'm Canadian.
I'd love to help you.
Anyway, what the buck are wrong with these people? Sucking money out of others.. despicable. But... I need a creative way to make my rant about money itself... I may only be 12, but I use that to my advantage. With the imagination of a child and the political knowhow of an autistic law student, as well as the writing talent of.... er.. me, I WILL DEBUNK AMERICAN POLITICAL SCAMS... IN EQUESTRIA! First off..... THE PURPOSE OF MONEY!
*runs away valiantly, holding a pen like a jousting sword*
135528
I completely agree. Right now, being Canadian stinks.
135501>>135528>>135712
But you guys can still help spread it! Every bit helps.
135732
i'll sign the petition, also i'll give him a real disability if i ever meet him.
135427
It's two keyboard keys. One is "X", the other is "Y".
I have actually been considering submitting all of your fics to FreddieW, as they would make amazing movies. But anything works. Awesome.
Oooh! Idea! I'm sorry if I'm not taking the lawsuit seriously enough. I'm twelve. They haven't taught us much about real-world problems yet.
Theme-song-idea-thingy!
Everything at Once (Lenka)
Just a flat out awesome song, that I can't help but sing whenever I read white box.
I've already signed the petition on account of having seen Josh's blog about this already, but I will see what I can do to get other's to sign this.
Signed. I wish you and yours the best.
On an unrelated note, I need to make myself a ponysona...
I'm opposing this petition. It goes after the wrong law (the Federal ADA when the California UCRA) and doesn't take into account Mr. Langer's right to have a small business of his own. Lawsuits are adversarial, and it's only natural to dislike another business that's giving your own a hard time. I don't think any less of Mr. Meihaus morally, but his petition isn't well-researched.
Yes, I will probably take a lot of flack for this. But I need to keep perspective: I admire Josh's work, but my country deserves the absolute best statecraft I can do, not what benefits myself or my friends. I explain my rationale further on my blog.
(x-post to Josh and Chromosome's blogs.)
136460
You most certainly will not get flack for this. And if anyone gives you some, I will personally shove the largest boot in my closet up their arse, my foot included. I respect you for standing up and claiming something different than the mass, even if I don't agree with you. So good on you for that much. Society will judge this case, especially with the potential media coverage this will obtain, so we can only wait and see.
As someone living in England with no education in law whatsoever, save for what I've picked up over my almost 18 year lifetime, what I get from five minutes of research is this: Chris Langer is using ADA to force businesses into court, where they are forced to compensate him because the businesses themselves are somehow discriminating against disabled people, in that their facilities are not properly equipped to serve a person with disabilities satisfactorily(?).
Are any of this man's cases actually valid? According to you and Josh, Chris Langer has filed over 200 lawsuits, and I assume that Josh has evidence to suggest that Langer's doing all this for personal gain.
That just baffles me. Are not there laws that prevent this sort of abuse of the Acts for personal gain?