austingirl

I'm asking because in both cases, the girls were drunk beyond the point of being able to evaluate their surroundings and make decisions that would improve their safety. They both got that drunk, I'm guessing, because they thought they would be safe where they were and could do so without worrying about being taken advantage of. Obviously they both were wrong. In the BT case, I heard a lot of "She shouldn't have gotten so drunk she passed out at a party." Well, sure. Samantha Josephson should have checked the license plate of the car before getting in it, but she was likely too incapacitated to think about it. I don't think that makes her any more responsible for what happened to her than the woman Brock Turner raped. They both got shitfaced and made poor choices which, 99% of the time, would not have resulted in them being assaulted. They just sadly happened to be around people who took advantage of them.

Do you think the girl that Brock Turner raped was responsible for what happened to her?

Just to address the question of responsibility in this situation - Uber wasn't responsible. The girl wasn't responsible. The sole responsibility is with guy who decided to let her think she was in an Uber then raped and killed her. 100%. I want to be clear because these conversations often go the way of "well, if she hadn't been drinking so much this wouldn't have happened" and so on. And I'm not saying that her alcohol consumption or some other distraction did not contribute to her not paying attention. But she could've gotten into 99.9% of the cars that drove past her that night and she wouldn't have been harmed. I'm sure Uber/Lyft can implement some additional safety features like the ones already mentioned in this thread, and maybe they'll even save some lives. But at the end of the day, this was senseless and random, and even with additional precautions it could've (likely would've, if the killer was sufficiently motivated) ended the same way. On the point about carrying some kind of weapon, I'm a fan of pepper spray. I carry it everywhere for reasons I've explained on other threads. While a CHL is an option, I guess, my thought process was "what can I get that will cause the least harm and be the most effective against an attacker?" Pepper spray works and you don't have to worry about killing anyone.

The Statesman at one point did a full-page color ad showing her face before and after the accident, side by side. I've never seen anything like it. I like to think that by sharing her story, she saved lives. Hopefully that made her last 20 years more bearable.

Apparently she died of cancer in Guatemala. For those who don't know, she was in a horrific car accident in Austin in 1999, caused by a drunk driver, which resulted in permanent disabilities and disfigurement. The car caught fire before they could get her out. She was my age and her accident happened my first semester at UT. I've seen her post-accident face countless times and it still jars me. In the 20 years since the accident, she did a hell of a job raising awareness of the consequences of drunk driving. RIP.

Is the big lady here?

Never not funny.

A looooong time ago, we had some major weather event happening and News 8 was live-monitoring it, and in the middle of Burton talking, the station cut away for something non-weather-related. When they came back, he was livid - started addressing the camera and said something like "I canNOT believe this station cut away from this extreme weather event coverage to show [whatever]..." Burton is [was? is he still there?] always so chipper but he totally lost his shit. It was great.

More drunk forecasts/weather analysis, please. For Surly. I still crack up thinking about the one you did during Harvey.

That's Dan Fogelberg.

My two have been fight over this stick since Friday. Rocket usually gets the upper hand. He's managed to scare Edgar off several times, even though Edgar has a good 20 lbs on him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good point. I was thinking that she'd use it to kill more than just White Walkers.

It looks like a detachable dragonglass spearhead, that screws on to the spear. I'm wondering if it's hollowed out somewhat so she can put poison in it, a la Oberyn Martell.

The real lesson of the show will be revealed: the most important thing is, indeed, not breakfast, but family.

Lots of booming and heavy rain in Milwood but nothing too crazy. Knock on wood.

Bullet dodged.

Older son had a soccer game at 8 am at Town and Country. If you've ever played there, it was on the field that is the farthest away from any parking lot - maybe a 7-10 minute walk. I thought the fields would close before the game, but no such luck, so the kids and I went over and got there around 7:45. We haul all our shit out there, get set up in the drizzle, play 7 minutes, then it thundered. That means a 30-minute delay and we have to go wait in our cars. We go back to the cars, thinking they were going to call it the next time it thundered. Alas, they apparently did not hear the next boom because we were sent back out after the 30 minutes was up. So we schlepped everything back again, they blow the whistle, and that's when it really started raining. No thunder though, so the kids played the entire thing in steady, mostly hard rain. By the time it ended even us spectators were soaked. On the way home, we grabbed some kolaches to go (because everyone deserved a treat), came home, dried off, and are now watching a movie and I'm not stepping a foot outside for a long time. Tldr: It was a shitty morning for a soccer game.

She can't be in a wheelchair, no cane, no gray hair. So...you like me because I'm not elderly? Yes. And as I aforementioned, you have a killer dumpster.

Are all your shoes and socks accounted for? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was supposed to take the kids on a Cub Scout trip this weekend but backed out bc of the weather. I have no interest in finding out how the tent holds up to its wind rating when it's just me, a 7-yo and a 10-yo. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Terry: I hate that we lose to those pasty-assed mole people every year. Holt: Oh, there's no point in mincing your words. They're knaves!

What exactly will you be cutting and how much and can I watch you do it while eating pork crackins?

Leon! I need a statement! Spokane. Standard "thoughts and prayers"? Bullseye.

I'm loving his husband on Twitter.