The fact that a citizen can take another person or organization to court has been one of the bedrocks of American tradition. Unfortunately, as with any system, there will be some people who take advantage of it and risk ruining things for everyone else.

Someone’s coffee was hot. They sued. Now people joke that they could also sue if the coffee was not hot enough, but I bet someone has actually tried that. Cropped from a photo by David Thompson.

The first time I remember hearing about a court case that I found to be ridiculous was the infamous woman who sued McDonald’s due to scalding hot coffee. I have a little more sympathy for her after finding out some of the myths, but she still did spill it herself. In the 20 years since then, we have been increasingly met with legalese wherever we turn from lawyers who attempt to protect their clients from liability. Most disclaimers are common sense labels, e.g. keep plastic bags away from babies, and probably do some good.

Disclaimers really begin to change perceptions when they are spoken, however. Turbulence is a good example of this. Airplanes have had fasten seat belt indicators for decades so they don’t get sued if someone bumps their head.

You are typically forced to sit down and fasten your seat belt, regardless of other possible consequences. Cropped from a photo by Daniel Williams.

A similar sign like this elsewhere would merely provide advice, but announcements remind passengers that they must obey posted placards on-board (the only time I ever still hear the word, placard). However, flight attendants are stuck with a kind of semi-authority so they vary in their enforcement. I have seen some stand near passengers and shame them into sitting back down. Some delight in their new-found power and threaten people in coach until they submit. Yet as one flight attendant said on my recent United flight to Denver, “We are not police.” Then the other crew members proceeded to remind every other passenger who stood up that they were required to say people should remain seated, though they did not intend to actually stop any passengers from getting up. Flight attendants did the right thing and covered their ass while letting common sense prevail in the air for once.

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Yesterday I met Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard economist and author of Libertarianism: A to Z. Some people may not agree with his views on health care, but I think it is important to recognize at least one group of people who are fighting to expand legal immigration.

I mention this because I recently joined the board of a non-profit that provides job placement assistance for immigrants who have entered legally with a college degree and at least two years of experience back home. In other words, smart people who have worked hard to get here and can make an immediate impact in our society with their inspiration and perspiration. Also of importance to me is that the service helps them provide for themselves and their families — rather than giving economic assistance. They never ask for a handout; all they want is a chance.

Why would I get involved in such a cause when my family has been here for over 200 years?

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I am usually more interested in Internet architecture than civil infrastructure, but living in New York for six years has helped me appreciate the importance of the nation’s most extensive mass transit network. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that this city owes much of its character, popularity, and economy to the massive 24/7 subway system.

The MTA has been getting a lot of flack lately for its recent budget cuts. There are rarely easy decisions in this matter, and you can count me among those affected. I regularly take the W local train from my home in Astoria to Manhattan. That line is being disbanded in favor of adapting the weekday N from express to local service. Yet even as these and other reductions take effect, portions of the Second Avenue Subway may actually be completed in our lifetimes.

What you may not know is that there were trains running along Second Avenue for 60 years, viewable in this system map from 1939. Of course, within three years of the city taking it over, passengers were soon met with this notice:

The Second Avenue Line was above ground, noisy, and dirty. Yet it is still a shame that people have all but forgotten it because elevated tracks are still in use today. It would probably be a lot cheaper to extend the N train for much-needed service to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) than tunnel underground for the proposed T line.

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