Why aren't there laws against stupidity?

Normally, I'm all about the beer or the cocktails. At the blog, at least - I don't want you to think that there's nothing else going on around here. If nothing else, there is not enough aspirin in the world to cure the hangover if I did nothing but drink 24/7, even with the noble purpose of reviewing the stuff and giving you great recipes.

But every now and then, even The BeerLady runs into something that makes her think, "Whah???? And why am I referring to myself in the third person?" And this was one of them.

Actually, I'd run into this one before, but I'm still amazed. You may have heard of the Burning Man Festival. It's a funky, multi-day art festival held every year in the desert, and it ends every year with a massive bonfire. Very cool. Anyway, back in 2005, a certain young man who will remain nameless (but whose initials are Anthony Beninati) had attended the festival, taking along a picture of a dead friend to put in the bonfire. (Note: I'm really not sure what the meaning of burning your friend's picture would be, but I'm pretty sure that I would not be flattered to know that my friends had chosen to dispose of my pictures after I'm gone.)

Tony is apparently an over-achiever in the picture-burning-in-a-bonfire category, and chose to walk several feet into the fire before he dropped his buddy's picture. That's dedication. Then, good ol' Tony chose to walk further before he tripped and dropped himself into the fire. Folks, that's stupidity.

And course, being a good, sensible red-blooded American, Tony did exactly what you would expect when confronted with evidence of his own incredible stupidity (or perhaps evidence that Tony was indulging in the aforementioned 24/7 drinking). He sued the festival. And when a (very sensible) judge tossed out the lawsuit, Tony appealed.

Now, Tony has lost yet again, proving that apparently there is hope for truth, justice, and the American Way. But really, didn't anyone ever break it down for the guy? Fire hot. Fire burn. Burn hurt. Fire bad! Geez, most of us had that bit of wisdom beat into us at an early age, when our moms caught us setting scrap paper on fire in the ashtray...

OK, rant over, soapbox being placed neatly to the side for future use. You may now return to your regularly scheduled beer.