Balta1701

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 23, 2012 -> 08:02 PM) So in perfect conjunction with this thread, what should happen in IL with the bribe taking D who was endorsed by the party, including the governor after his tape asking for cash in an envelope came out? In Illinois? He should run for Governor.

How about I'll be the one who is truly nuts here and suggest that this wouldn't have happened had it been slightly more difficult or less legal for a random vigilante-wannabe to own and tote around a gun?

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 23, 2012 -> 03:04 PM) So when do the Floyd to Yankees rumors start again? They actually have plenty of pitching depth now with Pettitte.

Christ, Bobby.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 09:19 PM) Why send him down? Because he can no longer hit big league pitching.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 08:38 PM) All i'm saying is the guy should have been charged. Arrested at the minimum for a full investigation. Whether or not he can ultimately be found guilty given this defense is up to a jury. And its his burden to show it. I don't know why you're so hung up on him being hurt. People get in fights all the time and hurt each other. That doesn't always equate to fear of severe injury or death. The standard isn't shoot if you feel threatened. It's whether you have a reasonable belief that deadly force is necessary. Plenty of people could choose not to believe that deadly force was warranted here because his "fear" wasn't reasonable given the testimony that he was potentially harassing/following the victim. But the law itself says you can't arrest unless you're absolutely certain you can prove your case. The law is pretty clear that arrest is only appropriate in extreme circumstances.

Ah last night of a conference drunk. You're not "Tuesday night, 2 a.m., Karaoke "don't stop believin'" drunk...but you're pretty good.

QUOTE (forrestg @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 06:08 PM) I'm not sure can Beckham be sent down. I am assuming his quick rise to mlb left him with a few. I just don't know the rules on options Beckham should definitely have minor league options remaining for this year. Next year the rules change if he has to sign an arbitration contract.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 01:53 PM) I think Bush v Gore is a total outlier for most things. They were flying by the seat of their pants and were tired of the endless challenges. I'm a fan of the fact that the Bush v. Gore case literally says that the case cannot be used as precedents in other cases (and the Supreme Court has thus far followed that standard). Which may be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard about the Court doing.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 01:42 PM) And by the way, the justifiable force statute is premised on the fact that YOU (the shooter) are not doing something illegal. I'd say starting a fight is an illegal activity (battery) making this entire statute inapplicable. Since there's some pretty strong evidence out there that the dead guy was being followed and harassed, it's entirely proper (and reasonable) for a jury to conclude that Zimmerman started the brawl, engaged in criminal activity (battery) and was therefore not afforded the protection of the statute. That's why my point 2 comments ago about punching people in the face to justify killing doesn't work. I don't know how you could conclude that Zimmerman started the brawl illegally beyond a reasonable doubt, not when he wqs also injured. He certainly created the circumstances, but can you tell me who made the first physical contact? Threw the first punch? Moved in a way that escalated things? If th standard is that you can shoot it you feel threatened, then all that matters is if you can prove the deceased took no aggressive acts, which you can't.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 05:12 PM) Except that would have been less money than getting tagged twice, so he gets screwed both ways. It's pretty s***ty of the Bears to not offer him a 20-25 million dollar 3 year deal with like 15-18 guaranteed. That would have been market rate for a guy as important as he is. I understand why the Bears didn't, but it doesn't make it less s***ty for Forte. I could have swore there are reports he was offered $15.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 04:37 PM) I get both sides really, it isn't that complicated. Football is different because of the non-guaranteed nature of their contacts. I understand a player holding out because their contract means nothing. I also understand the Bears not paying up, because RBs historically fall off of cliffs very quickly, and oh yeah, Forte is coming off of a pretty serious knee injury. If Forte was seriously worried about the non-guaranteed nature of those contracts, then he could have signed an extension 2 years ago, probably gotten $12-$15 million, and been well on his way to renegotiating already.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 01:57 PM) Come on. If you and I get into a fight, i'm injured, we separate and later on I come after you it's reasonable that i'm in fear of serious injury or death? That's not "reasonable" fear or what a "reasonable" person would think. Depends a whole lot on what the actual circumstances. At the very least...it would be really hard to try you if you and I got into a fight on a street and you shot and killed me. Even if you start the confrontation, you don't have a duty to retreat, and you have every reason to believe that by killing me you can prevent a response that would cause you bodily harm. For this case to actually go to trial under that Florida statute, I can't see how it would be possible to convict if he were injured. He's already suffered bodily harm. The only thing you could really try him for is some version of assault if you think he both initiated the confrontation and struck the dead kid first...but now you're trying to figure out exactly who did what in a case where the only other eyewitness is dead.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 03:44 PM) So, saying Romney is an Etch-a-Sketch that can be reset for the General Election is probably not something Romney's top adviser should say. The stock price of the company that makes the Etch-a-sketch has tripled this morning.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 01:40 PM) Welcome to every other area of the law where the standard is what a "reasonable person" would do/think. This guy should have been charged. Few jurors (i.e., the racist ones) are going to say that it was "reasonable" to fear someone if you have to go after them. At the very least a prosecutor should have taken this to a grand jury. It's abundantly clear to me that if the shooter himself was injured then he's easily surpassed that standard. Who initiated the conflict really doesn't matter.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 01:19 PM) You guys need to step back a little bit from the ridiculousness. The statue is NOT that broadly written. It's still a factual question that would ultimately be up to a jury. If you're going to blame someone here, blame the state prosecutors for not bringing charges. Its written that the shooter needs to "reasonably feel" that he is threatened. That is extremely broad.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 12:05 PM) Bush is a nice player, but the Bears spend a lot of money on back up running backs. I'd assume Barber gets cut for cap savings soon?

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 01:09 PM) Has there been an org reason for putting the last two SPs in minor league games? I can see positives to it, just wondering if they've given a reason. Tribune article today, they don't want to have their first opponents see what those starters are throwing.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 10:02 AM) Larry Wayne Jones Jr. to retire at the end of the season Took me a minute.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 12:57 PM) How does a man with a gun standing over to a teenager dead from a gunshot wound not get arrested? The city says "Zimmerman provided a statement claiming he acted in self defense, which at the time was supported by physical evidence and testimony" I'm curious to know what physical evidence and testimony that was. The shooter's testimony? The physical evidence that the victim was totally unarmed and in a location he had every right to be in? The fact that the shooter was actually harmed in the exchange pretty clearly means that the shooter can say he felt taking the shot was in self defense. The fact that the shooter clearly initiated the conflict won't matter based on the reading of that Florida law...it's so vague that even if he wasn't injured he could have claimed it was self-defense, and the fact that he was injured in the process ought to make it even clearer. That said, I didn't realize that I ought to have killed someone while I was in Florida last year. Usually most states have that being illegal.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 09:22 AM) Also, you are talking about each vehicle with sophisticated batteries having a small amount of said metal(s), and done only once. Not really comparable to gas and oil that are used in large quantites throughout the life of the car. And in the long run, those metals are recoverable and recyclable, probably at a profit, if there is a large enough supply of them where someone could run a business by recycling them. Again though, the same problem...cleanup costs. It's expensive to do so, and that cost has to be paid, while the huge costs of cleanup of burning fossil fuels don't.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 09:20 AM) You are looking at "non-farm payrolls (public and private)". One of his stated goals is to reduce state government. In order to evaluate the "success" of his policies - whether you are agree with them or not - is to look at all non-public payroll numbers (including farm, by the way). If that has increased, or done better than other states, then he is "succeeding". By the way, I am not saying his ideas are good. In my view, the better picture is ALL payroll, public and private, farm and non-farm, to see the whole picture. Just saying, this is not a fair way to see how his policies are doing in terms of effectiveness. Ok, you've raised the issue and I've never stopped to think about it. Why does the BLS only put out "Nonfarm payrolls"? Even though, there's obviously no reason to think that WI has somehow done better in generating farming jobs than other states.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 08:10 AM) The problem is oil is a finite material, thus a world consumption commodity, but so are the rare metals they make batteries out of...you know, the same batteries they put in hybrids? Really, this is only a very limited "problem". There are substantial supplies of just about everything we'd plausibly want to use accessible at the Earth's surface. The problem is actually, again, one of money...it costs money to extract them, it costs land quality and it costs money to avoid polluting the planet at the same time.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 09:03 PM) Does that count the insurance reimbursment claim for Jake Peavy? Well, let the latest financial "spinning" begin anew. That "profit" if it is real is probably 2/3 Peavy reimbursement.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 09:43 PM) Also jesus christ is Florida's "stand your ground" law terrible. Too bad nobody pointed this out repeatedly before it was passed. In any of the what, 16 states that have passed that law?