Well, Texas is it's own country. You could shoot someone out in the street and as long as you drag the body across your doorframe before the cops get there, no jury will convict you. Not saying that's right, it's just Texas.

Oh bull! If I choose to go to a nice restaurant...one that serves good food and (of course) wine, I expect the prep to take longer, the service to take longer and if the place is packed (because of their good reputation that drew me there in the first place), the whole thing to be a "dining experience" rather than just "a meal".

So what do you do with the restaurants that have lines streaming out the door and hand out those buzzy/vibraty thingys? Shut them down, cuz they're too busy?

If she was so thirsty and in such a freaking hurry, she should have just told her old man to go through the drive-thru at Burger Whop.

Unfortunately, I've had and dined with, friends who will go to nice places and find any excuse they can to get something comp'd, for free, discounted, etc. Pieces of shyt they were, and glad to say, no longer my friends.

All of that said, though...if the 18% gratuity for a party of 'x' is "mandatory" rather than "expected" was written...IMO, they get what they deserve. If they were that dissatisfied, they should of got up, paid for their drinks and left

We can drive around the poor neighborhoods with joy, joking that "those people" (in FL_CO's words) just need to find a job. How ironic, considering that "those people" pay FL-CO's paycheck in their taxes every year. A man's character is not judged by whether he bought his first house at 19, or has 3 Hummers in the driveway. It's what he does for the people who can't do for themselves. Stuff is meaningless - only life is important. Just my 2 cents. And a line from the Fifth Element

BTW... We now have a wooden wheelchair ramp out our front door because of Mother. The local cops told me that actually is an ADVERTISEMENT for burglars. So I got us a BIG dog. Any stranger enters my house, uninvited, in the middle of the night... my dog has my permission to maul them to death. If they do survive... that should make them think TWICE about doing that ever again!!! And I do have a Beware of Dog sign.

10 yrs ago, I did have 2 situations. 1 was a stalking/drunk ex-boyfriend. The other was troubled teens. Both times, they did not have weapons. If I had a dog back then... chances are it would of ended in my behalf, instead of the way it did. Granted if they have a weapon, chances are my dog will be dead, but then so will I.

Those laws are a complete farce and are already being abused. In Florida, Louisianna and several more you can legally shoot someone "if you are afraid".... That's right afraid there need not be any real threat at all and the person you are afraid of can even be fleeing. this castle doctorine was supposedly meant to address CIVIL suits by criminals injured in things like carjackings, home invasions etc.
There is no reason to not investigate use of force by a civilian, and have civil law modified to clearly state that one cannot sue for damages arising from any act while in commission of a crime. Then legitimate use of force incedents will have no repercussions on a law abiding citizen but will get the crazy dirty harry off the street just like any other criminal.

Those who actually think there will be less than 50 states 20 years from now are fooling themselves

You are lucky that your company is like that.

Not many workers have jobs (because there aren't many out there) that have a lot of sick/vacation time anymore. And of course - if you are hurt at 22, you haven't had time to work your way up or out into another job. Or rack up months of sick time, for that matter.

I think you are getting the brunt of the responses on this thread because you are, for the most part, showing such a lack of empathy. "I did this, I have that"...that's great. But not everyone is in your position.

You go back and forth from "take any job, some money is better than nothing" - to "if someone takes a job with no or bad benefits it's not my problem". But you don't allow that sometimes - THINGS happen. Sometimes - they happen one after another, no chance to recover from #1 , before #2, #3 and on and on.

Back to the OP's subject though...I think it's awful how desperate people become. I think that we are all so busy looking out for ourselves that the milk of human kindness, that empathy and compassion, are dying out. Oh, I know - it's not true of everyone (and I pray it won't ever be true of me!), but I think it's a lot more prevalent these days.

Post #39
If I got hurt on the job I'd get workers comp, and have a few months worth of sick/vacation time saved so I wouldnt be struggling.

Think so? My son got hurt on the job - Jan. 2, 2008 - and hasn't gotten ANYTHING yet. Except a laywer...and a lot of grief. Almost 2 years now! As for having "months" of sick/vacation time saved up - really? How are you going to do that with a job that gives you NO sick time, and 5 vacations days a year?

^^^If you got injured at work or were in a debilitating accident and had to go on disability, would you still be able to afford your payments on your $115k mortgage? Depending on what you do for a living, can you keep your home if you lose your ability to make what you do now?

No , actually you're missing the point.
You think that it's simply a question of money management. You think that the reason all these people are in such desperate financial waters is because they're irresponsible and are too stupid to handle their own money or plan in any way. You're completely forgetting about why they can't make their payments. They HAVE NO JOBS ANYMORE ! How are they supposed to pay any of their bills without jobs ? Move to a smaller place ? Well , gee , don't you think that that has occured to people ?
You give people absolutely no credit for common sense. OF COURSE they're going to cut all their costs. Worse , you're assuming they're living in the lap of luxury to begin with. You really don't realize how arrogant you come across as. So YOU made certain choices ... good for you. Some people never had those choices to make in the first place. What I'm willing to bet that your response to them is that they should simply put their enjoyment of life on hold until they're ready to retire.

Not everybody has had any of the opportunities you have. You bought a house when you were nineteen ? Good for you. It's great that YOU had a cosigner to help you do that. Did you work 40 hours a week and go to school at the same time ? Did you try to support a family at the same time ? Did you lose your job and have nowhere to apply to for a job afterwards ?(like millions of people in America today) Could you just go and buy a simpler , cheaper home right now ? How easy would it be to sell your home ? The list of questions is endless. That you assume I'm missing the point when you don't even realize what you yourself are saying is so incredibly precocious , it smacks of elitism and snobbery. You just assume that everybody has led the same life as you and that if they'd just not be so stupid or lazy , they'd be just fine.

Well , go tell them. I wonder what they'll tell you. I suggest you wear padding.

And what if the Bank accelerates their loan because they pay a single payment one day late?

Now the entire amount of the mortgage is due immediately , as well as interest, and (just to rub it in) the Bank's attorney's fees.

If the Bank wants your property, the Bank is going to get your property.
Legally, Banks always win.

A few months ? I'm sorry but how much disposable income do you think the average home owner has ?
Believe it or not , some people have families to pay for. Then they get crazy luxuries like cars and food. Pretty soon they want electricity and water in their homes. It's just decadence if you ask me but for some folks these things are actually necessary. I don't know what it costs for all of this but I'd imagine that to afford a few months of unpredictable costs associated with possession of these things would drain the vast majority of bank accounts pretty quickly. Of course , it's been more than a few months since the recession set in....maybe they did have the necessary funds (as per your standards) when their employer gave them the pink slip. Now , if they'd just learn to live without luxuries like heat and clothing they'd be in a fine position to whether the economic storm.
What's wrong with some people eh ?

What a stupid statement that only a 25 year old - who's unlkely to have many responsibilities in life - could make!

Go and read message 12 (excellent post from 1happywoman) and maybe you'll think before you post such nonsense

There is not one state in the country which can handle even a little hurricane, or tornadoe, or flood, damage without help from the Feds. Even with all it's: precious metals, high tech industries, tourism, crops, etc, for income California is broke. Less wealthy states are worse off. The days of any state, or small number of states, being able to sustain themselves are long gone. Their own resources, taxes, etc, can't handle the demands from their own populations...let alone the illegal aliens they must deal with. Secession is the wet dream of inbred idiots. It won't happen...not until cow pies become currency.

Losing ones home/property should never be a reason for losing ones mind, to the point of making the ultimate irrationality of suicide. Maybe it's possible some of these folks have never lived under impoverished conditions, (i.e. homelessness/ghetto upbringing) so the thought of living without, coupled with a lack of coping skills on how to physically deal with loss, leaves them emotionally destitute.

Maybe their loss of hope is motivated by a perception of how/what they 'think' others will think of them. Humility is a hard pill to swallow for some. Either they have no TRUE friends to help them, or some other contributing mental/emotional condition leads them to a fatal decision. So sad. May their relatives and friends find peace in their time of grieving

You will never see another civil war in this country as long as there is big govt. Hell who in their right mind would want to take on the US military without having any of the same toys they have? What are you gonna do use a sling shot against a tank? Gone are the days of true tea parties and revolutions and successions

How much were you out of pocket to fix your finger?

Just about all of the kids today have cell phones, we never had that, if they existed, my father would never pay a cell phone bill for me.

Yes, they are smarter but less creative than we were. My brothers built forts and go karts

vast majority? great. "hey yeah we kill some innocent people but what the hell. can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. as long was we kill somebody I'll feel better about the whole thing."

how do you think you'd feel if you were one of the innocent ones executed. how do you thing THOSE families would feel"

The question about how many have met a child rapist, and particularly the answer the poster gives, reflects the real problem.

We've all met child rapists. Just because they're not wearing big red signs or haven't been caught, doesn't mean they're not among us. This is not some group of aliens that can't pass for human - they're everywhere. I don't think all men are potential rapists, as was a popular slogan at one extreme. But the mindset reflected in that post represents the other extreme.

Wow. That's quite a list.

There has only been one incident of a school shooting in Australia... ever.

This happened at Monash University in Melbourne in 2002, when a mentally-disturbed overseas student arrived with several handguns and began shooting up a lecture. 2 students were killed. When he stopped to change weapons he was restrained by the injured lecurer and tackled to the ground by the lecturer and two students. All three received bravery awards.

When it was discovered the shooter had obtained the guns legally, what did the Victorian and Australian governments do? Changed the law and instituted a 'buyback' scheme to make it ever tougher to get handguns.

I fully understand the culture is different in the US, you're guarenteed your right to guns, but I would rather live where I live, where my kids can go to school and only have to worry about their grades.

In all of those instances in that big list, those guns had to come from somewhere, and, at least in the case of the Columbine killers, the guns belonged to their parents.