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TwiceHorn

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Everything posted by TwiceHorn

  1. Seems a valid point that may be it is or will be co-opted by ICE to find people. But, for now, it seems legit. https://www.slashgear.com/1900631/ice-block-app-explained-what-is-how-works/ And one reason it isn't on Android is that it couldn't be as anonymous on Android.
  2. I was in Austin from 84-91 and continued to inhabit regularly for a few years thereafter, returning for football games etc. ZTejas never was a big fave, having showed up at the end of my "era" there. I considered it kind of "nouveau" and frou-frou. I find it funny that it's mentioned in the same breath as Katz's, Hut's, or Threadgills. With ya on Threadgills, but quite enjoyed Hut's.
  3. Not advocating for her, but I imagine she's no great Trump fan. Most federal line prosecutors do it because they love the work. Due to the historical nature of civil service, I think most of them think they will remain insulated from the politics of DOJ and will probably behave accordingly. They may be wrong to a greater or lesser extent, but until it actually happens to them, a lot of them are likely staying put.
  4. This is very definitely happening, but doesn't seem to be happening at US Attorneys offices with as great a regularity as at Main Justice, which is going to be mostly civil division people. One of the prosecutors was Comey's daughter and there seems to have been little turnover in the team since the indictment. Also, even if some or most of these line prosecutors want to GTFO, they'd probably wait until finishing this case to do so.
  5. To me, a very strange prosecution. Yes, he did some whacked shit, but seems mostly of a private nature, redressed mostly by civil lawsuits from the aggrieved. I think one of the key things was "hUmAN TraFFiCkinG!!1!," which has been some kind of political bullshit criminal priority for some years now. I think the impetus for it is we are trying to exert pressure on other countries to prosecute/regulate/prevent it, so we're trying to "do our part" or "set an example" or some shit. I dunno. That they could manufacture a human/sex trafficking case against a prominent individual must have been seen as some kind of coup. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying human/sex trafficking doesn't happen or condoning it. It just seems that it is harder to investigate and prosecute, especially in some spectacular way. And it seems US authorities are really stretching to try and make something stick.
  6. Should review your civics books on federalism.
  7. Christing fuck, that's awful.
  8. Yeah the prosecution doesn't work for the families. Period. Do they get some consideration? Sure, but not that much. They serve the interest of people, which includes not spending a shit ton of public money to satisfy a handful of aggrieved people.
  9. Many states have laws against profiting from such things. But for non-profit (to the defendant) interviews, the right is really more that of the press and the public, or that's the way it is going to be analyzed.
  10. Yeah, that's hideous. We throw around the term "ghoul" a lot, and that's ghoulish.
  11. And, I think it's a tall order to resist the desire for vengeance, but I really think that trying to find some kind of solace or resolution to the death of a loved one though the "fate" or "disposition" of their murderer is probably a pretty futile endeavor. It might serve as a distraction for a few years, but when it's over and done, you're still left with it.
  12. Discount Tire will sell and install a TPMS sensor for ~$62 plus tax. https://www.discounttire.com/accessories/tpms/tpms-sensors-catalog
  13. I think kind of the crux of it is since money has come into politics full force, all politicians are consumed with getting reelected, and therefore with fundraising and therefore with the things that funds pay for that ostensibly insure re-election, that is, ads, consultants, polls, and so on. Serving a constituency is no longer thought to be sufficient to insure reelection. And, a greater part of the "constituency" has become corporate interests that can provide that sweet, sweet cash. In this sense, Ds are no better than Rs. In fact, one of the main reasons Rs are kicking Ds asses is that they have found something other than, or in addition to, money, to pursue: the bigoted moron.
  14. Every plea bargain saves money. No mistake about that. And frees up resources for other things. And yeah, among its other problems, death penalty cases are massively expensive and resource-intensive.
  15. Egg zachary! Although, probably worth pointing out, you don't need a trademark or trademark registration (or patent or copyright) to release a product. You may get your ass sued off for patent, trademark, or copyright infringement, but a patent or TM registration wouldn't have stopped that. IP is mostly offensive in nature: it gives you the right to sue others, but not much else. It has few defensive characteristics: it won't protect you from suit except in some very indirect ways.
  16. Pretrial investigation is mostly sunk cost, meaning you're already paying detectives, cops, CSIs, etc., but there's probably considerable overtime involved. Once a trial starts, it starts going past that into expert fees, payment of officers for trial time, probably a good number of third parties get on the payroll for various things.
  17. Yeah, expensive, especially for death penalty, risky (both as to actual conviction and sentence), just a gigantic hassle best avoided if a lifey sentence can be obtained otherwise.
  18. Probably true, but I was meaning in the "moral" or "prudential" sense. The criminal justice system doesn't exist to redress the injuries or grievances of the victims. Is consideration of their interests and desires worthwhile? Yes, but I think the notion of "victim's rights" has gone a bit overboard recently.
  19. Guess it depends on the jurisdiction, but federal pleas, for example, require a factual "resume" or statement in support of the plea. They can get fairly detailed and can be the subject of considerable negotiation, at least in part because certain fact findings can affect sentencing, etc. I don't know that any of them supply sufficient detail to satisfy crime nuts or victim's families. And, if the plea is LWOP, or even life, versus death, I think the families start to lose standing to object. Those are not objectively lenient sentences and I don't think victims/survivors should exert that level of influence over the sentence, nor should they be able to force the state to a trial.
  20. Worth pointing out that Japanese think American rice is trash, such that they might stop buying rice at all rather than buy American. https://apnews.com/article/japan-rice-explainer-shortages-rising-prices-agriculture-6e21bc9017c8f6d8c0a1f179e50e975f
  21. True enough. One thing that has ground my gears about Congress for the last couple of decades is a seeming refusal to revisit, repeal, and revise legislation. Except trying to repeal Obamacare of course.
  22. The concept here is that agents cannot commit a trespass when executing an administrative/immigration warrant. You can commit a trespass once a property owner tells you to leave and you do not. So, at least theoretically you can put ICE agents in a trespass situation by telling them to GTFO. And I think the "no masks" rule works the same way: you may be asked to leave or remove your mask, if you do not, you become a trespasser. But it may be too late, and the scenario is clearer if they aren't allowed in in the first place.
  23. Yeah, he delayed us embarking on our coaching sojourn for a couple of years. Which might have led to someone other than Strong, someone better or worse, Herman too, maybe. But that's all speculation; the only thing he really did was prolong the Mack Brown agony for a couple or three unnecessary years. Hell, if you're going to play the speculation game, without that delay, Sarkisian wouldn't have been available/ready. Blaming him for our long malaise is a causation fallacy, as you note. I remain kinda mad at him though, because he turned out to be such a turd after convincing me he really was one of the good guys.
  24. I said at some point that Abrego Garcia's indictment looked like it was entirely based on co-conspirator evidence. Read that "jailhouse snitch" handsomely compensated by the government.
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