May it Please the Court:
What, you might ask, is my bias?
It is a good question — most “tort reform” web sites are fronts for special interest groups, but the True Stella Awards® is not. I am not affiliated with any special interest group, non-profit organization (educational or otherwise), court of law, attorney’s group, “reform” or other group — or anyone else. This is, quite simply, one of the products of a one-man publishing company in business since 1983 (and publishing online since 1994). I am dedicated to making a profit by providing top-quality entertainment with an interesting twist: I like to provoke thought and change in situations or institutions that are unjust. Like what? Like “zero tolerance” in schools and true religious freedom in the USA for a couple of examples from Stella’s sister publication, This is True. (These offsite pages open up in a new window.)
The free email subscriptions are made possible by clearly marked advertising in the text (note: I never send ads-only email). I hope you will support these sponsors because they make your subscription possible. Of course they may have an agenda (beyond wanting to sell you a product or service); I do, however, assume my readers are intelligent enough to investigate offers before you buy — “caveat emptor” is how people practicing personal responsibility should approach offers!
On the subject of bias, advertisers were never allowed to influence content.
The cases presented in the Stella Awards were selected and written up based on the source(s) listed with each. Any opinions expressed should be considered commentary on the cases as presented by, and summarized from, the listed public source(s).
Stella and Darwin
Is the True Stella Awards associated with the “Darwin Awards” that go around by email?
The short answer: No.
The longer answer: No. The “central authority” (if you will) of “real” Darwin stories (tales of people erasing themselves from the gene pool — or nearly so — by doing something incredibly stupid) is at DarwinAwards.com, though in recent years it has slowed way down also.
There are three categories of “Darwin” stories: 1) Those that are true (such as those on the Darwin Awards web site); 2) Those that are completely made up (and what’s the fun in that?); and 3) Those that started out as true, but have been greatly embellished with made-up details over time.
It is similar in that way to the Stella Awards: what most people send around are the completely bogus “lawsuit cases” that were completely made up many years ago.
There is one tangential association, however: we both used the same New York book agent.
About the Author
Randy Cassingham is not an attorney. He is a pioneer online publisher (since 1994) with his weird-but-true weekly feature, This is True. He is also the author of the Internet Spam Primer, and proprietor of a thought-provoking meme site. For full contact info, see his Contact page.
Submitted by:
StellaAwards.com, In Pro Per
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My Flagship Email Publication This is True continues to come out with new stories every week. It’s “Thought-Provoking Entertainment” like Stella, but uses weird-but-true news items as its vehicle for social commentary. It is the oldest entertainment newsletter online — weekly since 1994. Click here for a This is True subscribe form.