Even though unemployed, I wouldn't want to be the one verifying DNA in this case
Dave Matthews, environmentalist and alleged dumper of 800 pounds(!) of human waste on boat full of siteseers on the Chicago River, has released this statement where he offers DNA evidence that it's not his 800 pounds of poop that ended up on the heads of dozens of unsuspecting tourists. Worst job ever.
Rather than getting attorneys involved, like usual, he could just pay a small fine and continue on his way. Instead, he's going to waste thousands more dollars of city resources, beyond what has already been spent investigating and cleaning up after the incident. If he is really the environmentalist he says he is, he should agree to pay the expenses without admitting fault and make a charitable donation to clean up the Chicago River. There are ways to reach settlement without liability to the bus driver. But he'd rather send in the lawyers because it's likely not the bus driver who would have to pay under principles of vicarious liability, but the deep-pocketed quasi-corporation known as the Dave Matthews Band. What a model citizen!
As as resident of Chicago, I say to Dave Matthews, "Move On!"
"8.29.04To the people of Chicago and our fans:
Given comments being made in some of the emails we have received from fans and the comments we have seen in some of the media, we believe it is important to clarify where we stand regarding the bus dumping incident in Chicago.Hopefully this will resolve any misunderstandings because we want everyone to know that we care deeply about what happened to the people on the boat that day, which was terrible, and the damage that occurred to Chicago's environment. We are not attempting to avoid any responsibility we may have for the incident. We love Chicago, we love the city and we love the people. It is one of our favorite cities to play. We would never do anything to offend the people of Chicago or any of our fans. If we were responsible for what happened, we will work quickly to make amends, with the people on the boat and with Chicago.We have fully and voluntarily cooperated with the Chicago authorities since the moment we heard about the incident. We provided access to our drivers and our tour manager immediately, the band was using five different busses in Chicago at that time and we provided the license plate numbers of all of them, we provided photographs of any of the busses they requested and we offered to supply DNA evidence to determine if one of our busses was the bus involved. In short, we have worked with the Chicago authorities in every way we can to determine whether one of our busses was the bus involved in the incident.Our driver was the only person on the bus during the period relevant to this matter, and he has told us that he had nothing to do with this incident. We have not yet seen any of the other evidence in this case, and we have a few narrow but critical questions related to what we have seen of the evidence in the media. We are working with the Chicago authorities to resolve these open issues as quickly as possible so this matter can be closed.What happened that Sunday is extremely important to us. It touches on many of the core principles we have supported and tried to live up to, not simply environmental principles and principles of accountability, but more importantly simple principles of humanity. What happened to the people on the boat is awful and our hearts go out to them.But please understand another principle we are committed to is loyalty and respect for the people who we work with. We are proud that many of our crew have worked with us since the band's earliest years. It has become a family and that family is very important to us. This driver has been working with us for over 5 years. In that time he has earned our respect and trust and on a personal level he has become part of the family. In light of that, we take his statements seriously and ask for everyone's patience until we resolve our concerns. We are working to resolve these as quickly as possible. And to repeat, if it was our bus that did it, we will take responsibility immediately."
Rather than getting attorneys involved, like usual, he could just pay a small fine and continue on his way. Instead, he's going to waste thousands more dollars of city resources, beyond what has already been spent investigating and cleaning up after the incident. If he is really the environmentalist he says he is, he should agree to pay the expenses without admitting fault and make a charitable donation to clean up the Chicago River. There are ways to reach settlement without liability to the bus driver. But he'd rather send in the lawyers because it's likely not the bus driver who would have to pay under principles of vicarious liability, but the deep-pocketed quasi-corporation known as the Dave Matthews Band. What a model citizen!
As as resident of Chicago, I say to Dave Matthews, "Move On!"
"8.29.04To the people of Chicago and our fans:
Given comments being made in some of the emails we have received from fans and the comments we have seen in some of the media, we believe it is important to clarify where we stand regarding the bus dumping incident in Chicago.Hopefully this will resolve any misunderstandings because we want everyone to know that we care deeply about what happened to the people on the boat that day, which was terrible, and the damage that occurred to Chicago's environment. We are not attempting to avoid any responsibility we may have for the incident. We love Chicago, we love the city and we love the people. It is one of our favorite cities to play. We would never do anything to offend the people of Chicago or any of our fans. If we were responsible for what happened, we will work quickly to make amends, with the people on the boat and with Chicago.We have fully and voluntarily cooperated with the Chicago authorities since the moment we heard about the incident. We provided access to our drivers and our tour manager immediately, the band was using five different busses in Chicago at that time and we provided the license plate numbers of all of them, we provided photographs of any of the busses they requested and we offered to supply DNA evidence to determine if one of our busses was the bus involved. In short, we have worked with the Chicago authorities in every way we can to determine whether one of our busses was the bus involved in the incident.Our driver was the only person on the bus during the period relevant to this matter, and he has told us that he had nothing to do with this incident. We have not yet seen any of the other evidence in this case, and we have a few narrow but critical questions related to what we have seen of the evidence in the media. We are working with the Chicago authorities to resolve these open issues as quickly as possible so this matter can be closed.What happened that Sunday is extremely important to us. It touches on many of the core principles we have supported and tried to live up to, not simply environmental principles and principles of accountability, but more importantly simple principles of humanity. What happened to the people on the boat is awful and our hearts go out to them.But please understand another principle we are committed to is loyalty and respect for the people who we work with. We are proud that many of our crew have worked with us since the band's earliest years. It has become a family and that family is very important to us. This driver has been working with us for over 5 years. In that time he has earned our respect and trust and on a personal level he has become part of the family. In light of that, we take his statements seriously and ask for everyone's patience until we resolve our concerns. We are working to resolve these as quickly as possible. And to repeat, if it was our bus that did it, we will take responsibility immediately."
posted by Mike C | 8:34 AM
1 Comments:
Brings new meaning to songs such as "Don't drink the water," "The last plop," "Crap into pee," or "#2"
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