in article , Dudley
Henriques at wrote on 7/17/04 12:46 PM:


I hardly think that recognizing a problem exists without forcing the
general public into a scientifically provable analysis that they can't
hope to produce is being vague. I don't need the world to fall on me to
know that lawyers are a problem in the United States. I only need my two
eyes, two ears, and my natural intelligence as that applies to deductive
reasoning. :-)

That's all very well, Dudley, and like you, I am well aware that we live in
a highly litigious society where people are all too often rewarded for
spurious claims and lawsuits. Trust me, it drives me nuts. But this
realization brings us no closer to solving the problem.

It's a flawed premise I think to demand that a problem doesn't exist
just because individuals without access can't produce these "facts".

I have never stated that a problem doesn't exist.

It's also flawed to demand that people know how to fix the problem they
know exists.

I have made no such demand. I have simply asked for definitions of the
problem.

But recognizing that a problem exists is the first step in fixing it.

Correct. And the second step, as I've repeatedly stated, is to arrive at a
useful and working definition of that problem. Otherwise, how will anything
ever get done?

Okay, I'll get us started:

1. "Frivolous" shall be defined as any claim that causes a majority of those
hearing about it for the first time to slap the palms of their hands against
their foreheads and exclaim, "You've got to be kidding!".