June 1, 2005

I'm all torn...

This story, posted by the AP and reposted by Yahoo! News pretty much says it all. Well, not really. It doesn't say how I feel, and I'm important, right? No? Well, screw you then. I matter, dammit, and I'm gonna prove it!

Alright, here's the dilly-yo! These people are told by the local geologists in their area BEFORE they purchased the land they planned to build on that the land is NOT STABLE! So a little bit of "They told you so!" is in order. Then you have to think about the arrogance of someone who will take an ill-advised leap off a cliff and then blame someone else for their misfortune at the bottom.

Well, this story doesn't really cover that, but there were reports during the rainy season (which IS mentioned) of geological failure damaging homes and killing people back in December and January. The people who were affected by these events brought suit against the cities they lived in citing poor notification of the dangers they were buying into by purchasing land or homes in these types of areas. These suits were quickly dismissed, however when every single home owner was brought face to face with copies of disclaimers and liability waivers they all signed stating the cities they lived in and the state of California would not be held liable should their property fall off their over-priced mountain side perch. Yup, seems they were told about this, as I've said above, by the geologists and the city officials when they bought their homes. Of course, why would that stop someone from trying to sue, right? I mean, that's how people get rich nowadays, isn't it?

Now don't get me wrong... I do feel a little sorry for the people injured, and of course for the people who lost their lives over the winter. These lives didn't need to be lost, however, and although it is a travesty, it could have been prevented.

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