Complaints about back and shoulder pain are increasingly common. Parents have every right to be concerned about how heavy their child's backpack is. In fact, overweight backpacks have been getting so much attention that April was declared National Backpack Safety Month by the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations.  More >>

If Robert Frost is right and good fences make good neighbors, are they good for families as well? The boundaries in the mother/daughter relationship are complicated because our daughters expect to be taken care of and also need to individuate. More >>

When was the last time that you really thought about the true meaning of what you were saying? If you have ever taken a foreign language, you may have heard from your instructor that English is one of the most difficult languages to learn because of all of the rules and exceptions, in addition to the many situations when there are no rules. More >>

In terms of emotional oversimplification, children rarely learn to look below the surface of the most salient emotions to understand how emotions such as anger, sarcasm, or arrogance may be triggered by other emotions. More simply, they are not taught to do this. More >>

Know your role.  With political correctness, the line between adult and child has blurred: everyone is "equal," and no one should be offended. But political correctness doesn't work in the parent-child relationship. More >>

How often is that we see people in our extended families and our community that believe that their family gets along just fine and doesn't have any problems, only to find that screaming, yelling, name calling, and physical aggressiveness is almost the norm? More >>

You've made your bed, now go bounce on it. Peter Scott More >>

I wanted to let you in on a little trick I do when I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with family stuff and day to day chores. More >>

The Lemon Law is NotJust for Cars
By Norman Taylor
www.NormanTaylor.com

Although the Lemons Law is mostoften associated with defective vehicles, it applies to all consumerproducts purchased for personal use. What exactly is a "consumerproduct for personal use"? That would be virtually anything anindividual buys for their own or household use, except clothingand consumables. It could be an electric toothbrush or a kitchenappliance. There have been several calls for creating a computer lemonlaw, but the law already covers computers bought for personaluse. It also covers musical instruments and even medical devicessuch as wheel chairs and hearing aids. The only requirement is that theproduct is bought primarily for personal or family use.

Consumers don't expect manufacturers to produce defective products, butthis consumer protection law takes the opposite view-the more expensiveand complicated a product is, the more possibility there is thatsomething can go wrong. Both consumer and manufacturer have rights andduties under this law: the consumer has the duty to present the productto the manufacturer or its representative dealer so that they candiagnose the defect and repair it. Along with the duty, the consumerhas a right to expect that the product will be repaired honestly andexpeditiously.

Manufacturers have the right to expect that the consumer will presenttheir defective vehicle at an authorized dealer for repair in a timelymanner, nothing more. They cannot expect that the consumer perfectlydescribe the defect or any other limiting requirement. The Lemon Lawmakes allowances for the manufacturer to repair the product, or if thatfails, to refund the money or give the purchaser a replacement.

Lemon Law Tips

• Your best defense against anuncooperative manufacturer is a thorough, specific and accurateservice-record paper trail. Document everything. Obtain copies of allwarranty repair orders from the dealer and keep notes of your reportedproblems and all conversations you have with service people, includingthe date, time and participants in these conversations.
  
  
• Determine whether yourprevious efforts to repair the problem satisfy the requirements of yourstate's lemon law. Most state laws allow the manufacturer three or fourchances to repair the defect or defects.
  
  
• Put your complaint inwriting. Send a letter to the manufacturer and ask for either a refundor replacement.
  
  
• If you still don't getsatisfaction consider hiring an experienced and effective lemon lawattorney

Author Bio:
Norman Taylor has worked as aconsumer advocate specializing in California Lemon Law for more thantwenty years. Over this time his firm has handled over 8,000cases that resulted in refunds in excess of $100,000,000.00 paid toconsumers for defective vehicles. http://www.normantaylor.com. Permission granted for use onDrLaura.com.

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In Praise Of B.S. -It's Not All Bad For 'Ya
By Cliff Ennico
www.creators.com


As a longtime fan of comedianGeorge Carlin, I was recently delighted to find in my local video storea DVD of an HBO special performance Carlin gave in Los Angeles only afew months before his death in June 2008.
The special, entitled "It's Bad for 'Ya", was the usual blend ofCarlin's spot-on social and political satire.

My only problem with his routine came in the title skit - a long rantagainst certain ritual and other symbolic behaviors we perform ineveryday life (for example, placing your hand on a Bible or othersacred text when swearing an oath). After describing each ritualand showing how meaningless it is, Carlin added the tag line "it'sB.S., and it's bad for 'ya." At one memorable point in hismonologue, Carlin wonders out loud "how many millions of dead soldiersin military cemeteries around the Globe marched off to war because theyfelt they were fighting for something that was nothing more than B.S.?"

A veteran of the social and political upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s,Carlin believed, as did many of his generation (listen closely to thelyrics of John Lennon's song "Imagine"), that a world without B.S. is aworld of perfect beauty, peace and freedom, in which there is nothingto kill or die for, and we can finally achieve "a brotherhood of man".

With all respect for an artist who can no longer defend himself, and(full disclosure) as a member of that generation myself, I would saythat I agree with Carlin . . . but only halfway.

It's hard to argue that most ritual behavior is B.S., in the sense thatit has no extrinsic meaning. Quite a few social rituals that usedto have real meaning no longer do - in the 1500s, shaking someone'shand in greeting was a way of saying you had no intention to draw yoursword on that person.

But that is just the point: ritual behavior is not meant to havereal meaning. It is symbolic, a shorthand way of communicatingsomething that cannot be put in words or is too complex for the humanmind to grasp in full. Putting your hand on a sacred text whenswearing an oath is a way for society to signal that "what you areabout to say is extremely important, just as important as the words inthis text you're holding, and we as a society intend to hold youaccountable for every word."

Ritual behavior lies at the heart of every human organization, be it afamily, a company (we commonly speak of "corporate culture"), a tribe,a religion, a political party, or a nation. Participating inritual is a way for people to say "yes, we are all different as humanbeings, but we are willing to sacrifice some of our individuality, ourpersonality, our disagreements and our uniqueness to be members of acertain community that identifies itself by these rituals."

The rituals themselves are B.S., and easily ridiculed. But - andhere is where I part company with Carlin - not all B.S. is bad for'ya.

Would you really want to live in a world without B.S.? A world inwhich each individual is truly unique, different and perfect inhimself, without any shorthand or symbols to show his fellow humanitywith others? Frankly, I think it would be boring as Hell - inmuch the same way that guys with shaved heads and goatees (er, excuseme, "soul patches") look exactly the same.

Whenever you make any sort of general statement about something, it isB.S. because it is too simplistic. Whenever you tell a story toillustrate a moral, it is B.S. because it is fiction. Wheneveryou create a theory or model to explain to someone how something in theworld works, it is B.S. because every rule has exceptions, and theworld is too complicated for any theory to explain perfectly. Whenever you accept something as an article of faith, you use B.S. todeal with questions that cannot be answered by rational or scientificanalysis (for example, what happens to us after we die, why bad thingshappen to good people). According to some 20th century Europeanphilosophers, even language itself is B.S. because words are meresymbols that cannot communicate the "thing in itself" - we love poetrybecause by listening closely to the words we hear, and sometimes feel,an image of what is being spoken about.

In many ways, B.S. is the lubricant that makes learning, communication,understanding and all other aspects of human society possible. B.S. is what gets us emotionally and psychologically through life,gives us our sense of personal identity, and what gives us hope thatmaybe there is something in the Universe that is bigger than we are andof which we are a part.

Cynicism can be a good thing, if taken in moderation. But someonewho spends too much time removing B.S. from his life, and pointing outto others why B.S. isn't real, sooner or later ends up not believing inanything. George Carlin had a successful career, achieving wealthand fame making millions laugh at the B.S. in their lives, but Isometimes wonder if he died happy. He didn't look happy in thatHBO special. Of course, he probably knew he had only a few monthsto live.

People should be free to choose which B.S. they believe in, of course -B.S. should never be forced on anyone. People should also beeducated enough not to confuse B.S. with reality. But give upB.S. altogether? If anything, the more we learn about the cold,hostile, unforgiving world around us, the more B.S. we need to keepfrom going crazy. And yes, some B.S. is worth fighting and dyingfor.

As you engage in your holiday rituals, customs and traditions, whateverthey may be, try not to think too hard about them. Studysomething too closely, and you kill the beauty, the magic and themystery.

Cliff Ennico (crennico@gmail.com)is a syndicated columnist, author and former host of the PBS televisionseries "Money Hunt." This column is no substitute for legal, tax orfinancial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualifiedprofessional licensed in your state. To find out more about CliffEnnico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit ourWeb page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT2009 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM. Permissiongranted foruse onDrLaura.com

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