Butthurt grad student sues university over mediocre grade.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

To clarify - "outrage" about frivolous lawuit leads to tort reform that theoretically is used to make it harder to file frivolous lawsuits but as an added bonus will also make it more difficult to file legitimate lawsuits against corporations and the like? 

That's the whole point.  That's why all the crazy shit gets so much attention.

I know from work one of the current preferred methods is "We can afford better and more attorneys than you, who will bury you in mostly frivolous, but mostly legal, paperwork until you (hopefully) just give up.

But why pay all that expense when you can just eliminate recourse to law (especially while you're eliminating product standards and worker's rights)?

Oh I do agree with you, was just making sure I was processing it right. I admit, I've been guilty of it in the past, including the McDonald's issue. And while I suspected there had to be something to it for the woman to win the suit, I didn't realize it was as bad as LMNO described. Hard as I try, I get taken in by the bullshit too sometimes.

We don't do a lot of personal injury cases involving corporations, but things are already difficult as it is for legitimate claims and can only get worse with further reform. Then there are the ones "What do you mean I can't sue for the papercut I got at the bookstore/that's all I'm getting?! That lady just spilled coffee on herself and she got a million dollars!" That (and others, but especially THAT) case I have heard referenced so many times with regard to "Why can't I sue/Why don't you just sue xxxx" that I really just want to strangle someone anytime I hear that phrase. People assume that it is/was a frivolous case, which gives them an excuse for their frivolous/relatively minor claims, which leads to more frivolous suits, which leads to more outrage, more reform, ad infinitum.

Bingo.

The people driving this sort of thing COUNT on nobody reading the facts.  And they don't even have to drive it, because the po'buckers will do it FOR them.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Nowadays it's dead easy. I use what I call the "Distillation of Bullshit" formula

Just assume it's bullshit (it pretty much all is) apply Occam's razor to the question - "why would anyone want me to believe this bullshit?"

look for evidence to back this up.

Now take that evidence and assume it's bullshit... wash ... rinse ... repeat

Eventually (with internets this doesn't take as long as it used to) you arrive at a picture that you can't readily find evidence of bullshit in.

Assume this too is bullshit but neither you, nor anyone else can prove it.

Like it or lump it, that's as close to the truth as you will ever come - a less obviously bullshit version of events.

Since I'm not one of those type of people who is inclined to "believe" things anyway, this approach is good enough for me to get by on.

[Juana]

Something similar in the UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21426396

The High Court has not accepted a bid from school leaders, teachers' unions and councils to change grade boundaries in last summer's GCSE English exams.

Head teachers said they were "bitterly disappointed" the court did not back their claim that pupils had been downgraded in a "statistical fix".

This has been rumbling for a while over here, the point rarely mentioned is funds are allocated to schools in part on performance of pupils. So while the bluster is about "The childrens future" the real push in the first instance was "Our financial future".

I do strongly suspect that exam marking boards are pretty useless. Quite a few of my exam results were identical to others, in one case whole class had the exact same marks and comments on their papers. The school flatly refused to push the matter on our behalf as a number of those grades would have been dropped, leaving a net negative effect for the schools coffers.

This was a number of years ago but I doubt that much has changed.

Basing school budgets on test results is a really fucking bad idea, but I gotta say, as someone who watches education first hand (and lost a job because of budget shortfalls), the financial part is important. Current textbooks, good equipment, and serviceable facilities ain't cheap, and education is one of the first things to get slashed in hard times.

[Elder Iptuous]

P3nt,
your Distillation of Bullshit methodology if beautiful, and resonates well.

[Junkenstein]

Something similar in the UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21426396

The High Court has not accepted a bid from school leaders, teachers' unions and councils to change grade boundaries in last summer's GCSE English exams.

Head teachers said they were "bitterly disappointed" the court did not back their claim that pupils had been downgraded in a "statistical fix".

This has been rumbling for a while over here, the point rarely mentioned is funds are allocated to schools in part on performance of pupils. So while the bluster is about "The childrens future" the real push in the first instance was "Our financial future".

I do strongly suspect that exam marking boards are pretty useless. Quite a few of my exam results were identical to others, in one case whole class had the exact same marks and comments on their papers. The school flatly refused to push the matter on our behalf as a number of those grades would have been dropped, leaving a net negative effect for the schools coffers.

This was a number of years ago but I doubt that much has changed.

Basing school budgets on test results is a really fucking bad idea, but I gotta say, as someone who watches education first hand (and lost a job because of budget shortfalls), the financial part is important. Current textbooks, good equipment, and serviceable facilities ain't cheap, and education is one of the first things to get slashed in hard times.

Again, personal experience only here, reality may differ etc.. But I have also noticed a decline in community participation in school events at large. Several primary schools in this area for instance, did not host any kind of X-mas fundraiser. While expecting the community to provide for educational shortfall is unfortunate, it does appear to be a lot more important than thought. Unforeseen/unthought consequences of recession and all that. Never an issue while the cash was flowing.

P3nt, that's pretty much how I approach things, but with the first qualifier of "Do I give a shit?" If not, assume bullshit, ignore and carry about my merry business.