SivaGanesha

You are correct--we don't know--and that is the whole problem. State Farm has made (as far as I can tell) a unilateral determination that one side is liable based solely on evidence provided by the other side. The dog owner may well be responsible but the mechanism to determine this should not be an ex parte decision by State Farm. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Even if the driver was drunk? My problem here is that usually in the case of an accident, if both sides have insurance, then both sides get a chance to present their story, and some kind of resolution is reached. In this case State Farm has made a unilateral determination based on only one side of the story. The other party has to be given the right to tell their side of the story. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I'm not sure. I'd want to know a lot more information, such as: 1. Was it day or night? Obviously it would be a lot harder to see a dog at night making the driver less responsible. 2. Did the driver live in the neighborhood? If so, the driver should know this dog and would be more responsible. 3. How fast was the driver driving and had the driver been drinking? 4. The dog was getting a bit old. Is it possible that this dog, good at keeping clear of cars in its prime, wandered into the road due to failing hearing/eyesight? If so it would make the driver less responsible. My inclination if there isn't strong evidence either way then as a default the car owner pays. But if there is reliable testimony from witnesses that this dog was a problem in the neighborhood, it might sway my opinion. I don't think the bylaw should enter into liability questions. There may be a law against jaywalking but that doesn't mean you can just run over jaywalkers whenever you feel like it. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Spelling 101? or Room 101? "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

But there clearly ARE ways in which they could make that distinction. Maybe they audited someone with whom you do business without your knowledge. A canceled check deposited to your account might have surfaced in the audit and resulted in this account being flagged as a business account. And now they won't direct deposit a personal refund to that account. The IRS may very well be stalling in your case--they often do stall--but it would be because of something specific to your case (and they'll never tell you the exact reason)--not because they are in any danger of running out of money. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I'm sure that's the problem. Personal tax refunds should go to your personal bank account. They may have taken awhile to figure out that you were using the wrong bank account--perhaps their software couldn't detect this error in the past--but they got wise to it this year. I think big institutions like the banks and government are getting way too anal about this kind of thing but that seems to be the nature of the times and I'm sure that's what happened. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I have two concerns about this. I'm not sure where you come up with these numbers. The national debt is currently $13T and the labor force has 150M people. It would take a little over 7 years--not 50 years--to pay it off at $1k/month for each person. Second, even if it WERE 50 years, people shouldn't throw up their hands and throw in the towel. People should be thinking in terms of what kind of America they want to leave their children and grandchildren. If it takes 50 years to pay it off it still should be done to leave a better America for future generations. People should be thinking in terms of what needs to be done in the current situation, not rolling over and playing dead a-la KAQ or TS. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Mexico could be encouraging its people to get an education so they qualify for the TN. While I don't claim that everyone in Mexico could go this route, I do claim that India--with a lower per capita income--has established a strong reputation for sending highly skilled immigrants to the USA and I really think the question needs to be asked why we aren't seeing at least some of that with Mexico. There needs to be more focus with Mexico on highly skilled people who might be able to return to Mexico and start strong businesses in their own country, thereby eventually ending the need for illegal immigration. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I notice a lot of doublespeak when it comes to the economy. For example, I heard someone on CNBC (forget who) saying that the "economic recovery is strong" but for now people just need to "tread water". Most people, I suspect, wouldn't notice the contradiction but it is obvious to me. You only get a recovery when people are willing to take risks. If everyone is just "treading water"--ie waiting for others to take the first risk--then there won't be an economic recovery. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Basically we should be insisting that Mexico follow the immigration paths that India or China did. Many from China/India come here legally; some stay and get their green cards/citizenship and others return home and use their USA contacts to start businesses in their home countries. Nobody (or very few people) called us 'racist' when we insisted that Indian/Chinese citizens play by the rules and we shouldn't listen to that argument from Mexico. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

If the Mexican government didn't want the more skilled folks spending some time in the USA legally, why did they negotiate a deal (NAFTA) permitting their more skilled workers to do exactly that? Why negotiate a privilege you aren't going to use and then whine when you don't have other privileges you didn't negotiate? "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I mean that we don't seem to hear much about the positions of, first, the government of Mexico and to a lesser extent the governments of other nations further south in this regard. Perhaps that is a failing of the English speaking press in this country--I'm not sure--maybe there is a high level debate going on but we don't hear much about it. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

This is my core point. There seems to be a sense that--although immigrants from Mexico and other countries with high illegal immigration rates may play a big role in this country and people's lives--the governments of the countries involved seem to be almost invisible in this debate. I'm not sure why that is but it makes the whole debate a little strange when you think about it, especially when we do have the NAFTA agreement so we seem to be able to sit down with Mexico and negotiate sometimes. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I agree and a sense of deja vu is part of why I have a tough attitude towards illegal immigration even though I'm a liberal Democrat in most other respects. We've already tried amnesty once (in 1986) but it was supposed to be a one shot deal. If we do it again, we will send a strong message internationally that all you need to do is game the system for awhile and every generation or so everyone gets legalized. That's a terrible message to be sending if we want to be taken seriously internationally. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

We have a co-dependent relationship with Mexico that needs to end. We need to sit down with Mexico and solve this problem. We need to make it clear that, although we may be able to help in certain ways (eg making it easier for certain Mexicans to stay legally), any such assistance will be dependent on certain behavior in Mexico stopping. Mexico has to stop encouraging illegal immigration and they need to stop the drug trade on the border. With every privilege comes responsibility. Mexico and Mexicans seem to be insisting on greater privileges in the USA. We need to have a tough talk with Mexico about the responsibilities that will be expected if such privileges are granted. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

The real question is not why the Mexican government encourages immigration, but why the Mexican government encourages illegal immigration given that NAFTA opens avenues for legal immigration for Mexican citizens that did not previously exist and still don't exist for most countries. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Yes the TN visa is a good avenue for coming to the USA legally that a lot of Canadians have taken advantage. If I may just add one additional point: Mexican citizens also qualify for TN visas, Mexico being a NAFTA nation. This door to legal immigration is open to Mexico as well. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

No one who is hiring wants to think of the vacancy they need to fill as just "a job, any job". Although in general I'd vote against mentioning money too early in the game, if you are continually being rejected as "overqualified" maybe you need to get a clear number out on the table earlier rather than later. Then you need to show them why you are passionate about their job--they job they are offering. You need to convince them that their job, even at low pay, is the most exciting thing you've ever done in your career. You need to stand out as the person who passionately wants this job as compared to the 500 other candidates who just want "a job, any job". "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

It's interesting that in the hypothetical scenario you describe, "they" don't expect to be able to pay any more money even in a stronger economy. One would have to be pretty desperate indeed to want to work for a company that is pessimistic about its own prospects even in a rising tide that is lifting most boats. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Yes I know :) "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Thanks to all for their replies. I want to stick around the USA at least until I naturalize as a US citizen which will be soon. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I had a female friend who ran and posed nude on a softcore website back in 1998-1999--sadly the site only lasted for a year or so. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Legally, a Canadian who stays more than 6 months is considered to be "out of status" but not "unlawfully present". The term "unlawfully present"--used frequently in the Arizona law--has a very precise definition under federal immigration law--and its definition, as with all things in immigration law, is not obvious and requires that people do their homework. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014