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Brisketexan

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Posts posted by Brisketexan

  1. 5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

    Well,  you were in the business, right?  Who bears ultimate responsiblity from a liability perspective?

    "From a liability perspective" is an unknown.  For example, if the Contractor finds out that one of his subs F'd up the hookup, the most negligent party would be that sub.  If a shitheel neighbor snuck in and turned the propane on because he's pissed at the new homeowner, the primary legal responsibility would fall on the shitheel neighbor.

    But PRACTICALLY speaking, if the risk had not yet shifted, it's going to be on the Contractor and his insurance.  If they can figure out somewhere else to point the finger so maybe the cost load is shared, then they will.

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  2. 8 minutes ago, Goofyboy said:


    Not to mention every single time black people started to succeed, whites slammed the door on them - see Tulsa for a great example.

    Dude....it's that black president that fucking broke this country.  So, yeah, you're spot-on.  Seriously, white America can't stop saying "what are you bitching about, you even got a black president!"....when electing that black president is what COMPLETELY broke their fucking brains.  Sure, the "it all started" moment for this modern christo-fascist racist movement was well before then, but 2008 was the moment of irrevocable acceleration.  Electing a black man was a bridge too far, and they were and are willing to destroy this fucking country just to make sure that nothing like that EVER happens again.  It's literally what they are doing as we speak.

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  3. 1 minute ago, SimonBolivar said:

    The lesson moving forward is to only take cold hard cash, in advance, for services from  don't do business with the United States.

    FIF accuracy.

    If you were to poll the planet on who is the "most untrustworthy potential partner," we'd be approaching the top of that list.

    One of the greatest components of the value of any enterprise is "goodwill," which is made up of trust, respect, reliability, and the like.  In almost every possible way, in almost every possible venue, in almost every possible aspect of our dealings with other people, we have nuked every one of those things.  The damage can never be repaired, and our nation will be significantly poorer for it for generations.

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  4. 23 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

    Wow, I didn't realize that Kilmar Abrego Garcia murdered Rachel Morin ...this changes everything.  

    What's that?  That was someone completely different?  But they're both brown, so ...

    Demonizing all the browns is the play for these fucking evil fucksticks.  And has been.  For a long fucking time.  Find a crime committed by a brown.  Impute that crime to all browns, call all browns "invaders" and "vermin" who are "poisoning the blood of our country."

    Which is exactly how you get this:

    _108182975_b421fee6-fb76-4b14-b7d6-e7b72

    D907BE78FEF74D0496DD85AC7A977073.jpg?w=1

    And this:

    hqdefault.jpg

    Quote

    Following the attack, a classmate at Ikner’s former school, Tallahassee State College, claimed to a local news outlet how the suspect was told to leave a “political round table” club over far-right views he shared.

    Reid Seybold said Ikner “espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric, and far-right rhetoric as well, to the point where we had to exercise that rule.”

    This is absolutely all going according to plan: terrorize the brown population (cuz they ain't real 'muricans, none of 'em), force them to self-deport, flee, segregate from the rest of society (read: hide, so they don't get fucking nabbed, beaten, or shot -- by the cops or by functionally deputized supporters of the regime who are doing their patriotic duty by getting the mud people out of our country one way or the other).  

    That play is, of course, the exact play that society ran on black people in the Jim Crow era.  Terrorizing and demonizing a group is a time-honored play, with known, predictable, inhuman and bloody outcomes.  And....this part is important: America has proven, over and over again, that as a whole, we are a-ok with it.

    You either resist it and fight against it, or you're fucking okay with it.  Yeah, it's that fucking binary.

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  5. 15 minutes ago, scottsins said:


    Did you ever explain the “child trafficking” allegation you just threw out there initially? I haven’t even seen that asserted by the WH or right wing propagandists.

    It was completely made up, and the first time it was even uttered was by Nazi Barbie press secretary cuntcrust.  It is a complete fabrication, with no support in any record, finding....anything. 

    It is -- as most things in Trumpland are -- just a fucking lie.  And yeah, see the cite above....just shit that was never found or adjudicated.  At all.  By anyone.

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  6. 7 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Sweet Jesus. https://x.com/jakelangj6

    ETA:  it appears that this is not an "organically" Frisco event, but something put together by a Florida rabble  rouser.

    A pardoned Jan 6th Congressional candidate rabble rouser.  The details are important to provide clarity as to how truly fucky a timeline we're in.

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  7. 6 hours ago, HenryJames said:

    IMG_8586.jpeg

    [this is America gif]

    Remember, this is the system working EXACTLY as designed and intended.

    The children screaming tells you the freedom is working, but goshdarnit...

    sddefault.jpg

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  8. 33 minutes ago, Jive Turkey said:

    This is happening in Frisco tomorrow.

    IMG_3090.thumb.png.a0d6089751b75e369a2aef1717e99a6f.png

    You are a fucking LIAR.  That is NOT happening in Frisco.

    It is happening in FRISO.  GET IT RIGHT, LIBTARD!

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  9. 9 minutes ago, Skipper said:

    I served on a criminal jury in a domestic violence case last year.   The victim testified in the trial (matter of fact testimony) and it was such open and shut case we reached a guilty verdict in less than 5 minutes.   In the sentencing phase, the victim did not testify/give an impact statement or stick around.  We deliberated about a day and a half on jail time vs. probation and landed on max probation.  I was initially jail time and it was split down the middle on day 1.  It was a fascinating deliberation experience for a bunch of reasons I won't get into for purposes of this thread and we ended up compromising at max probation.  But what I personally struggled with was not knowing what the victim wanted.  She was unemotional in trial testimony.  If she would have testified at sentencing phase she wanted him in jail I would have 100% deferred to her wishes and not budged (and I think others would have felt the same).  So in my experience the victim could have likely dictated a harsher outcome should they have wished.  FWIW - I ended up reading it correctly in my gut as I spoke at length with prosecutor at end of trial that said victim had just moved on and was somewhat indifferent to punishment as long as he was found guilty (and prosecutor was very happy with max probation). 

    I think after going through that I would almost certainly put very high value on what the victim (or their family) desired (should they articulate it) in punishment phase of a higher stakes criminal trial as well.   

    A domestic violence case is a perfect case for that sort of scenario.  While, yes, society as a whole is at some risk from a domestic abuser, that crime is such an intimate and personal one that the victim has particularly high stakes, interest, and perspective to offer.  So, yes, as a juror I too would have been very interested and likely deferential to what the victim said and wanted.

    And yes, ALL crime is personal - particularly to the victim - but you know what I mean in making that distinction.  

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  10. 5 minutes ago, JBJ said:

    I thought his deportation was held due to a rival gang fucking MS-13 in El Salvador harassing his family? 

    So....do you MAYBE see the error in your thinking?  He was allowed to stay because he is at risk FROM MS-13, because he wouldn't join them.

    It's like taking someone who fled the nazi regime, said "they were coming for my family if I didn't help them, so I fled," and saying "SEE!  HE'S A FUCKING NAZI!"  

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  11. 1 minute ago, chainsaw said:

    This is valid, but voters seem not to care. Another case of bad boss, good politician.

    I don't think you're right.  I know a shitload of folks in Dem circles in town, and they uniformly think that Garza is crap.  The last race was a textbook example of ruination of a candidate by association.  The Dem primary voters here are ready to vote for someone other than Garza.  But they'll never vote in sufficient numbers that Elon and Ted Cruz try to shove down our throat, even if that person is otherwise qualified.  That was a big fucking miscalculation last race.  I hope it is not repeated.

  12. 2 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

    image.png.a142c8fde3e49f5411518bf3100f934f.png

    Again, not to excuse Garza's performance, but compare those rates of increase to most every other jurisdiction in the US over similar periods.  For example, the homicide rate nearly doubled....nationwide:

    Figure1-1-1536x1116-2-1024x744.png

    Looking at one jurisdiction in a vacuum when considering whether local enforcement had an effect on violent crime is a completely inaccurate picture.

    Again, not offered as ANY excuse for Garza's many failings.  But national data shows we coulda had the greatest DA in the country and likely seen similar trend numbers.

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  13. 6 minutes ago, South Austin said:

    Are you saying Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball effectively run a DA’s office?

    I dunno.  I see a lot of holes in his plan.

     

     

    WHAT, a guy can't make a solid Good Friday joke?  Jesus woulda laughed at it.

    4 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

    I've long suspected that high-level positions are mostly useless (Pete Hegseth running DOD for example) in that you can take a competent person and swap them out with an incompetent person and as long as the behind the scenes folks actually running things are still there to actually run things the organization will basically remain the same. I know there are situations where the difference at that level is going to matter but as far as crime and urban blight in Austin are concerned I haven't seen the case be made that from 2021 to today Austin would have been noticeably better if someone other than Garza had been in office.

    Wrong.  As just one example, see this story about the Travis County DA's office blowing deadlines that other urban DA's offices do NOT miss: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/investigations/defenders/jose-garza-missed-indictment-deadlines-update/269-51412436-b9a6-491a-94b0-974779e7106c#:~:text=After controversy hit his administration,office%2C it is unacceptable.”

    Quote

    The KVUE Defenders talked to public defender offices in Harris County, Dallas County, Bexar County in San Antonio and El Paso County who say those counties have systems in place to make sure both prosecutors and defense attorneys know when a 90-day deadline is approaching to indict felony defendants.

    In Bexar County, for instance, both parties receive notifications at 30, 60, 75 and 90 days.

    Travis County has largely relied upon the DA’s office to act on cases within 90 days. But when Garza took office in 2021, he all but disbanded that unit and assigned the duty to trial court attorneys who are already busy with settings and trials.

    The DA's position is NOT just some figurehead, with competent folks behind him running it.  It is a real job, with real responsibilities (nevermind that he also ran off many of the more competent senior staffers -- they couldn't handle working with such a shitshow).  Garza is failing at those responsibilities.  I have friends who worked and still occasionally work with the DA's office.  They've run out of words to describe what a shitshow it is.

  14. 1 minute ago, BurntEyes said:

    Likely this falls into a semantics discussion but I ask, what is a criminal justice system without morally right consequence and justice for the victims? Who are will killing in the name of? 

    It does fall into semantics, but they are interesting semantics.  Maybe a helpful way to think about it is as a "tiebreaker."

    In case X, the victims want to treat the accused a certain way.  Pick either extreme: the accused committed a violent assault (and it's evident that he's at risk of committing future assaults), so the family will not believe justice has been done until the accused is flayed alive (if you hurt one of my family members, I may well fall into this camp).  OR...same circumstance, but the family is super-peacenik, believe they have "looked into the accused's heart, and he's truly sorry," and they want all charges dropped.  NEITHER of those outcomes -- even though it is what the victims belief is necessary for "justice" -- is an acceptable outcome for society as a whole.  

    Thus, if the desires of the victims and what is good and acceptable for society/the state are not in alignment....the interests of society/the state should prevail.  They are primary.

    And yes, the devil is in the details.  Prosecutors, courts, etc. generally work to get to a point where those interests largely align.  But if they don't....the interests of society should prevail.

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  15. 31 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

    I've tuned out most of the anti-Garza smears as being linked to dark money or butthurt political enemies with an axe to grind. There are probably valid criticisms of him but I can't tell what's a fair critique from the bullshit "we're being invaded"-type hysteria. The reality is the homeless problem has no economically feasible solutions that are also humane. We're not going to support unchecked police power, so if that happens it will be due to the state overtaking power from the city's elected officials. For every "why was this scary guy given bond" story you see on social media to drive outrage and clicks there are dozens of unpublicized stories of ordinary people who got some kind of leniency that prevented their lives and family finances from spiraling into something worse.

    You shouldn't tune it out.  He's objectively bad, because when it comes down to it, the main job the DA has is as an administrator....and he's a TERRIBLE one.  Shit is going south (people released, no bonds, etc.) not because of some deliberate policy choice, but simply because the DA's office doesn't have its shit together.  

    It's not an easy job, it involves a lot of mundane but challenging administration and management.  He is clearly not up for it - and that has nothing to do with his overall philosophy on criminal justice (which, in the abstract, I don't have a huge problem with....but his execution of it is shit).

    But you are correct to note that the problems being raised to not land on his desk alone.  The fact that APD has functionally "quiet quit" doing their jobs because they are pouting because maybe they won't get to do whatever they want to civilians whenever they want with no repercussions is a very real issue.  Our city council utterly botching its approach to the homeless is a very real issue.  But also...having an incompetent DA is a very real issue.

    But again to Chicken Sandwich, fuck that shit.  I don't care if Elon throws his support behind Jesus Christ the Actual Son of God, I am not voting for anyone who has ANY sort of alignment with Elon - Jesus wouldn't get my vote.  Elon is fucking poison.  Don't take that poison, candidates.

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  16. 19 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

    What, exactly, would you say is the purpose of the US criminal justice systems if not to serve the interest of the deceased and their family in a homicide? In my world view the entire purpose of a homicide investigation is to hold the party accountable for the crime and help bring what little closure is possible for the family in the name/memory of the victim.

    I would further argue that many homicide detectives take this obligation to the victims and their family seriously and personally. Its on record and well documented that many such investigators have continued said obligations long after the case has grown cold and post the end of those careers. Not just to punish the murderer but in the memory of the victim and the victims family. 

    All of that should be true as part of the overall package, but the purpose of the criminal justice system is to serve the state -- that is, society as a whole.  That's why each prosecution is "The State of Texas v. BurntEyes," not "The victims of BurntEye's bizarre sex crime v. BurntEyes."  Society has the interest in protecting society as a whole from criminals, including imprisoning them so they don't commit further harm, rehabilitating them so that they don't harm any other members of society once they are free, etc.  And yes, we can have a long discussion about how our system isn't doing so great at those things, but that's a question of execution, not purpose.

    The victim/family are the most affected members of society, and they stand as a good proxy for what a prosecution should accomplish.  And, the system is made of human beings; it is right and good that the victim/family are treated seriously, and that cops and prosecutors take the duty to them personally.  But in the end, they are all serving the state (society as a whole), not just the victim/family.

    Not to go off on a tangent, but rather to show that this is a consistent approach, that's also the purpose of public schools.  The purpose is not to educate your kid, or my kid, but rather to educate all of the children of the state so that the state has an educated population.  These purposes are GOOD things, because they reflect our common interest and purpose.  ALL of us should want, and benefit from, controlled crime.  ALL of us should want, and benefit from, an educated population.  Even if nobody in my family was murdered, I'm better off if that murderer is off the streets.  Even if I don't have kids, I'm better off if the kids in this state are educated (and thus have a viable social and economic future, instead of being worthless and likely criminals).  The common good.  We should pay attention to that.

  17. 58 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

    Had been an Travis County DA a decade before Elon stepped foot in Austin. 
     

    I moved to Austin in 2006 to join the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. During my 15-plus years in that office, I handled thousands of cases and took serious and complicated felony charges to trial. I spent over seven years handing a child abuse and domestic violence caseload. Over my final five years with the office, I served as team lead for the 147th and 427th District Courts, where I supervised court teams and took on the most grave and complicated cases. I have tried dozens of aggravated felonies, including capital murder, murder, aggravated sexual assault, and injury to a child.

    I am a husband, father, native Texan, and member of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.

     

    Cool.  Nifty.  Mindy has an even better resume (as do numerous other veterans of the DA's office), and she's not backed by a psychopath billionaire and Ted Cruz.  Sorry, you bring that fucking baggage to the show, you should expect to be left outside.

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  18. 1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

     

    43 minutes ago, gofuckyourself said:

    Wow.

    I'd never read that. Sincere thanks.

    That was extremely well-written, and a great message.

    Yeah, I remember when he wrote that right afterwards, and it really made an impression on me.  It is a pretty profound take, and it contrasts with the take of the current billionaire crowd that pisses me off:  "OUR FUTURE IS IN THE STARS! WE GOTTA SACRIFICE EVERYTHING AND GET TO MARS!"  No, you fucking fucks, our future is here, on earth - the planet that made us, that is and always will be our only home.  Chasing ass that's 120 million miles away instead of sticking with the family that is and always will be your family is shallow, stupid, short-sighted, and doomed to fail.  What matters is right here.  It always will be.  Imagine if these fucksticks spent 1/10th the effort and focus they spend on space on improving life here on earth, on investing in long-term improvements for actual humans on actual earth (not to dominate them, or own them, but to actually make things BETTER, starting with simple shit like health, food, the environment).

    We're burning through what we have -- this planet, and each other -- in a quest for something that is never, ever going to be the solution.

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  19. 39 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

    Garza sucks so bad, everyone should be on the other side  

     

    This guy should have won the primary but was accused of receiving West Lake funding  

    https://www.coferconnelly.com/about-us/jeremy-sylestine/

     

    He wasn't "accused" of shit -- he was absolutely backed by Elon, Ted Cruz groups, etc.:

    Quote

    Sylestine garnered the support of top-dollar Republican donors during his campaign, and, the WSJ reports, one of his loudest backers was a political action committee supported by the Tesla CEO.

    The PAC, then known as Saving Austin, flooded Austin with attack ads claiming Garza was responsible for Austin's streets being filled with "pedophiles and killers." The PAC was not registered with the state's ethics commission, so its backers weren't immediately identifiable at the time. The Journal combed through Federal Election Commission records and found Saving Austin, now known as Saving Texas, is connected to Musk's pro-Trump PAC. The reporters also found three staffers for the group previously worked for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

    When your solution to the "Soros-backed" DA is "Elon's boy"....don't be shocked when your alternative goes down in flames too.

    I wanted Mindy Montford to run against Garza....maybe she will next time.  There are alternatives to Garza out there, and the Travis County Dem party (as well as the statewide party) need to get the fuck on board with one of them, because Garza is a fucking liability.

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