livendive

Personally, I would consider wounds evidence of an altercation at best. It's highly unlikely that the wounds are evidence of who provoked whom. Blues, Dave You think Z broke his own nose and slammed the back of his head against the sidewalk? I suppose it's possible that's what I meant by "altercation", but it seems pretty unlikely, don'cha think? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Personally, I would consider wounds evidence of an altercation at best. It's highly unlikely that the wounds are evidence of who provoked whom. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

The dark and smoke were different and background noise make it substantially different, but that's not to say a CCW holder can't stop any well armed person sporting 3 gallons of crazy in a 2 gallon bucket. Remember the New Life Church shooting? Come to think of it, that was also in Colorado, as was Columbine...maybe the water that Coor's like to brag about has a dark side. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Limiting the window of consideration to 2007-2009 (i.e. the biggest hit of the recession) smacks of cherry-picking. What happened in the years preceding 2007 and subsequent to 2009 probably don't support the conclusions or else they too would have been used. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Absolutely. And he also loudly proclaimed his innocence. Do you think he was actually innocent? Or was he kind of, umm, fibbing just a tad when he said he didn't do it? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

That had doubled back on him, and was beating the shit out of him while telling him he was going to die. Let's not leave that very important part out. How do you know this, because the defendent said so? OJ denied killing his wife too. The prisons are full of people who are completely innocent of any wrongdoing. Many of them weren't even present at the scene of the crimes for which they were convicted. Just ask them. Personally, the only things Zimmerman said that I found credible were while he was talking to 911. After TM had been shot, GZ had every reason to claim self-defense. It might have been, it might not have been, but it either way it's logical for him to claim as much, so I don't put much stock in that. Do I think GZ is racist? Maybe a little, maybe not at all, either way I doubt TM's race mattered. Do I think GZ feared death or substantially bodily harm when he pulled the trigger? Probably. The question I most want to see answered by a jury is whether GZ instigated, initiated, or otherwise provoked the confrontation. If so, I think the claim of self-defense should fail. If not, we'll know the question was honestly evaluated. That said, I think the prosecution is going to have their work cut out for them, given the status of the other party. But the alternative is to walk away and ignore the question. Personally, my gut feeling is that he probably did provoke the response from TM, at least to some extent, but he will likely be acquitted anyhow. I hope the case makes it to trial and I hope the jury gets it right, either way. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I agree that it's unlikely that I'll ever stop a crime like this, but not because my .40 cal isn't up to the task, it's just highly unlikely that I'll ever find myself close to such a situation. That said, with 12 people dead and 50 wounded at a non-drinking establishment in a decent neighborhood, well let's just say this makes me want to carry a bit more often than my fiance would like. I can't carry to/from work, and we don't go out much except for quick trips to the grocery store, but on the occasions that we're out in public for extended periods of time, I'd like to be in a better position to protect her, myself, and those around us if need be. I got the permit for a reason and should probably put it to use more often. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

nope, I stay home with my kid and see the movie later I'll play devil's advocate here. A - there are reports of gun shot injuries in the next theater over, B - three month olds are totally incapable of comprehending violence or scariness in movies (although I wouldn't think the volume and flashes of light/sudden sounds would be well advised) and C - three month olds are rarely on much of a circadian rythm, so 3 AM or 3 PM are not all that different from their perspective. Do I think it wise to take a 3 month old to a late night showing of what's sure to be a dark action movie? No. But it's not going to destroy that child's life either (unless some nut walks in and starts shooting). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

This. I'm fortunate in being (reasonably) healthy, happily in love, new experiences on the horizon, enjoying watching my daughter mature, etc. Basically I've got it great. Of course I wouldn't say no to some extra moolah and the opportunities it would bring, but that's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Probably a few too numerous to mention here. You know those guys who say they have no regrets? I think they're in deep denial. I think everybody who has lived long enough has something they'd like to go back and fix -- even if they won't admit it to themselves for reasons of pride. Think about it. If you say you wouldn't change anything or regret anything then you've lead a perfect life. Nobody does that. We've all fucked up at some point or another. Hurt somebody. Didn't do the absolute best job we could have. So, yeah, I have a number of things I'd like to fix. I'm not stupid enough to list them here though. Of course I would not make some of my previous mistakes, but the question was what we would change about our current situation. I currently have no problems that couldn't be fixed with a bigger bank account, or at least none that i want to fix. I have friends and family with unmet needs more complicated than money, but it's all the grease I'd need to find a more rewarding job, a more desirable neighborhood, some additional leisure opportunities, etc. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Congrats on your retirement Andy, or your break, or your change of scenery...whatever it turns out to be.

What? Can you rephrase that, because I'm not following how they'd take the deduction without putting it back into the business. Our government taxes income. If the company makes money, they can either reinvest it, and deduct that from their income, or they can keep it as profits and pay taxes on it as income. If you disagree with this approach, what alternative would you suggest? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

That's fine. So they keep the profits and pay taxes on it as income. The alternative is they take tax deductions for costs they chose not to incur. I mean, I'd really like to put on my income tax return a $20k deduction for just thinking about spending that $20k and deciding against it, but I suspect the IRS would find a flaw in my argument. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

"Re-investing" and "building the business" entail spending those dollars on deductible expenses, thereby reducing the taxable profits. Sure, some capital purchases will have to be scheduled out, but a significant chunk of such expenses can be Section 179'd out of a young company's ledger. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

He said that if he had to do it over again, he wouldn't do anything differently. I consider that a pretty harsh admission. He now knows that the deceased was living in the neighborhood, and wasn't up to any harm, yet he'd still get out of the car and follow the same chain of events, knowing it will result in a death? Blues, Dave I don't think he said that. Towards the end of this video. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

He said that if he had to do it over again, he wouldn't do anything differently. I consider that a pretty harsh admission. He now knows that the deceased was living in the neighborhood, and wasn't up to any harm, yet he'd still get out of the car and follow the same chain of events, knowing it will result in a death? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Did you make the same demand of Bush, Jr.? Speaking of Bush, I think Jeb Bush would be an excellent choice for VP. I thought we were done with the whole monarchy thing. In a country this populous, the odds are statistically infinitesimal that the best candidate for the office is a relative of two previous occupants. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

the "Smart" car and the Mini Cooper are way ahead of the Prius in suitability for parking in NYC or San Francisco. There are huge swaths here that used to only be usable for motorcycle - 2/3rds the length of a car in between garages. Those two cars do great with em, provided the owners didn't get the curb painted red to discourage cars from blocking the driveways. Of course they're both shorter, and the mini cooper even has some functional cargo space, but I'll still maintain that the total number of people who will find parking with a smart car, that wouldn't with a prius, is a pretty small market. I live in a city of 200,000 with a huge spread (called the "Tri-Cities", it actually has four small downtown areas and not a single parking garage anywhere) and see people driving smart cars here. I assume their motivations are similar to mine in buying a convertible Camaro...fun but utterly impractical. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Front door so you can park them adjacent to each other? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Ouch. I guess the deceased should have been quicker on the trigger. Answering the door armed at 1:30 in the morning is a reasonable precaution. And the "attempted murder" is because the guy they were looking for held a cinderblock over someone's head, but never tried to strike their victim with it? Doesn't sound all that "attempted" to me. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Insane Hillary Clinton might do bad things because the dead father of one of her staffers used to run an organization that had the support of a guy who'd previously been in an organization sometimes associated with the Muslim Brotherhood? lol! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I agree with this. I understand logically why prosecutors try to convict at all costs, it's because they're facing an opponent trying to get an acquittal at all costs. However I'd be a lot more comfortable with the system if the prosecutors and defenders were more interested in truth than winning. The state especially should have a vested interest in pursuing right over wrong instead of conviction over acquittal. Don't prosecute only what you think you can win, evaluate the evidence and then prosecute what you think really happened. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

this If they break the law, then that's for the IRS to pursue, not the hacks of either party looking to construct strawmen for soundbites What if they're completely compliant with the law, but their tax bill goes down 30% from one year to the next because of a little exception they snuck into a 10,000 page law specifically for their own gain? Or their income goes up substantially due to legal but unethical income. That'd be my interest in seeing tax returns of law makers...to ensure they're not abusing their authority for personal gain. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Sure, I'd be fine with tax returns of all members of congress being open to the public. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Incongruity? I'm not surprised that anyone poor enough with analysis to buy a Smart would think that there was anything to impeach Obama over. This. "Smart cars" are a laughable contradiction in terms except for the very few who benefit in terms of parking availibility. Blues, Dave That may be true in rural WA state, but not in NYC (for example). Try to park your SUV at 96th and Broadway. We don't have an SUV, but I'll admit the Camaro would be a poor choice for NYC. Instead, I'd take our Prius, which is safer and more practical than a "smart car", and would get better fuel economy, while fitting into almost as many parking spots. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)