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Ok, the following situation is in Washington State, and I'm curious if the situation is in fact not kosher, and if not, what type of lawyer I should be looking for. And look, this is about my mother, so if we could refrain from comments about "why did she put up with this" or "no real business person would stand for it, she's dumb", I'd really appreciate it. So my dear ol' mom is living her dream of running an online quilting store. She's run into an odd problem with several of her fabric suppliers. The way it works is that every so often she's visited by a sales rep who shows her the upcoming fabric collections and lets her know how many yards are on each bolt of fabric - say 8, 10, 12, etc. Fabric is generally an non-returnable item because it's cut from a large roll, much like if you were to go to a craft store and buy fabric. Then the fabric is shipped out and she pays for it soon after it arrives. So the issue is that when she receives her order, there will often times be extra fabric on each bolt, or worse yet extra bolts, for which she is charged. Or some of the bolts will be short, but she'll be charged the same as for a full bolt. I asked her why she's put up with this for now and she said that this is common, and it happens to many of the other quilt shop owners that she knows. I asked her about shipping back the extra materials, and she said that they simply won't accept it and thus has never tried. My thoughts are that these folks get away with it because no one has called them on it yet. I then asked her about signing any contracts or ordering paperwork that would allow for this, and the only paperwork was for an initial line of credit (since they ship out before getting paid), and a simple order form with no special legal language. I've told her to make careful records comparing order form and invoice and price differential. And to ask her friends in the industry to do the same. Am I wrong in thinking that this is sketchy as all get out? I can't think of another business where they can just ship you extra product that you didn't order and then expect you to pay for it without agreeing to the change beforehand. But I'm not a lawyer. So if this indeed an issue where she should get a lawyer, what kind of lawyer am I looking for? Are there any other issues as a non-legal professional that I'm missing here? Thanks in advance!
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Nov 2, 2012 23:09
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I'm in California. My next door neighbor, L, lives in a house that was owned by his father until his death. Unfortunately, before he died, L's father made L's sister M, the executor of his estate. There was some back and forth over the last year, but it sounded like M was going to let L and his disabled daughter stay in the house. Today L got a letter from M's lawyer asking him to vacate in 30 days so that they can sell the house. L doesn't have anywhere to go and will have to award the state custody of his daughter as she is unable to care for herself and is completely reliant on L. Is there anything L can do? Can I help him in any way? If more details are needed I can get them. Thank you very much in advance.
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Nov 4, 2012 03:39
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We'd need more details, like how the will distributes things for starters. Also does L have any assets if the house was to be split to buy his sister out (I'm assuming not, but these are step 1 questions)
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Nov 4, 2012 04:25
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Grenade Gazelle posted:I'm in California. My next door neighbor, L, lives in a house that was owned by his father until his death. Unfortunately, before he died, L's father made L's sister M, the executor of his estate. There was some back and forth over the last year, but it sounded like M was going to let L and his disabled daughter stay in the house. Today L got a letter from M's lawyer asking him to vacate in 30 days so that they can sell the house. L doesn't have anywhere to go and will have to award the state custody of his daughter as she is unable to care for herself and is completely reliant on L. Is there anything L can do? Can I help him in any way? If more details are needed I can get them. Thank you very much in advance. Executor of the estate doesn't mean that M gets the final say in what happens to their father's assets, it just means she is handling the execution of the probate process. Distribution of the estate is performed according to state law (and the judgement of a probate court, if it ends up going before one). If their father's estate had debts, they may be legally required to sell assets, including the house, to satisfy those debts. Even if there were no debts, large assets may still have to be sold in order to distribute the estate's value among multiple heirs. It's possible that L could come to some agreement with the other heirs to buy out their shares of the house, but if losing the house means he would be homeless and unable to care for his daughter, I assume he probably doesn't have much in the way of money right now. I'd guess the lawyer involved is probably just handling execution of the estate, in which case he would not be representing M personally, and he or M (as the executor) should be communicating with all of the potential heirs and other interested parties (i.e. creditors). Even if the house has to be sold, it's possible that L may be entitled to money from the estate, either just due to being an heir, or possibly as an allowance if L himself was dependent on his father for support. L should talk with M and the lawyer and find out exactly what the status of the estate is, what's going on, and what can be done. (This is assuming that the estate is simply going through probate normally, of course; if there is actually some sort of dispute and M really did hire a personal lawyer to challenge the will or the outcome of the probate process, then L really needs to seek his own legal counsel.) On a more general note, there may be local, state, or federal assistance programs available that would help L with housing and basic needs. Does he have any friends or family who could take him in for a time? Turning his daughter over to state custody should really be a last resort, unless she has some sort of special medical needs that simply couldn't be met while staying in temporary housing or sleeping on a buddy's couch.
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Nov 4, 2012 04:46
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Dogen posted:We'd need more details, like how the will distributes things for starters. Also does L have any assets if the house was to be split to buy his sister out (I'm assuming not, but these are step 1 questions) I'll have to ask him. He might be up right now. dennyk posted:Executor of the estate doesn't mean that M gets the final say in what happens to their father's assets, it just means she is handling the execution of the probate process. Distribution of the estate is performed according to state law (and the judgement of a probate court, if it ends up going before one). If their father's estate had debts, they may be legally required to sell assets, including the house, to satisfy those debts. Even if there were no debts, large assets may still have to be sold in order to distribute the estate's value among multiple heirs. It's possible that L could come to some agreement with the other heirs to buy out their shares of the house, but if losing the house means he would be homeless and unable to care for his daughter, I assume he probably doesn't have much in the way of money right now. She is pretty severely disabled, both mentally and physically. We would let them stay here, had we the space and the ability. I don't think he can really stay with anyone. I will help him find out about housing and ask him if the lawyer represents his sister, or otherwise. Thank you. You've given us a good starting off point. I'll ask him about all of the points you brought up and get back to you asap. ninja edit: FYI appealing to the sister's decency isn't going to happen. She's pretty horrible. She doesn't care what happens to him or his daughter and said about her (and I quote) "she's always been a burden on this family anyways!" when asked about the fate of L's daughter. She's just generally an awful person and a bully. Edit: Okay, this is what I've found out from him so far. The distribution of the will was supposed to be that the estate is shared by L, M and their younger sister evenly. His father had no debts. Originally, though, from what L told me is that before his parents died, the intention was that after his father died, the house was supposed to go to their mother and after she died it was supposed to go to L and that there is legal paperwork in regards to it somewhere. Since the father died first, does this negate this? Can they legally just kick him out like this? I asked L about the paperwork and he doesn't have most of it available. I told him he needs to go to the courthouse to get all the paperwork this week and that he will probably have to hire a lawyer. I'm going to try to find one for him this weekend. I have a friend who comes from a family of lawyers and judges so she might know someone. I'm going to look into local probate laws tonight and tomorrow. I'm sorry if this makes little sense or is incomplete information. Neither of us really knows much at all about the law. It's been sort of my impression that his sister is doing this because she thinks he's just going to fold without looking for recourse. Oh, and yes, the lawyer was retained by her and is not working on behalf of their father's estate. I read the letter and it states that pretty clearly. Sorry if this is lengthy. I'm pretty upset right now.  Anyways, thanks again. It's pretty late and it's nice to get some quick answers to help relieve some of the anxiety.
Grenade Gazelle fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Nov 4, 2012 |
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Nov 4, 2012 05:54
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Grenade Gazelle posted:I'll have to ask him. He might be up right now. Just in case - make sure he considers assets due to him under the will as well. Are there any assets other than the house? If there are enough he could try and swing a deal to take the house as his share in exchange for giving up his share of cash assets (ie bank accounts). Disclaimer: I'm in Canada, so I'm not giving any solid advice, just an idea. And on a side note estates and wills are my favorite type of law to work on, paperwork-side, because they can vary so much person to person, and are an interesting glimpse into someone else's life through what they leave and who they mention. Peoplework-side, they are my absolute least-favorite. It is no longer surprising, but is still very depressing, just how fast even the nicest (seeming) person can turn into a complete dick the moment there's a death in the family. Even worse is when it's the entire family. Even worse worse is when it's the entire family vs. one person.
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Nov 4, 2012 09:13
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I don't got a solution on the estates issue... but some tidbits that might help The executor is just in charge of making the distribution. So the three siblings have to get an exact share, but the executor determines how logistically to do that. Maybe one gets the antique furniture and the other two get cash. Maybe they sell everything and buy six figures of candy and each sibling gets a different flavor. As long as the dollar values come out even, and the executor follows the will, then it's kosher. It's possible the sister might have to sell the home in order to split it up. It's also possible she's bullying around, but L's share of the house proceeds will be the same as the evil sister. Also, He doesn't have to move out on the date in the letter. He probably should, but it's not like the police show up to throw him out. If he remains in the home after the 30 days, then she'll start eviction proceedings against him. I dunno Washington state, but that can often take another month or more. The entire cost of that proceeding will probably come out of his share of the estate, because it's the estate that will be evicting him. So it may not be advisable for him to push it that far, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. He may want to contact that attorney and try to haggle for a better date, because the attorney knows the score if he squats.
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Nov 4, 2012 13:59
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I have friends in Centre County of Pennsylvania that have a Landlord/Tenant issue. My friends have a family in Section 8 housing, and they rent an apartment from a standard issue rental property. When they initially signed the lease, there was no mention of pets on the lease whatsoever, and there has been no changes to the lease since its signing. Several months ago, they wanted to adopt a cat. When they did so, the local SPCA called the landlord's office (they refuse to adopt without approval from a landlord), and the office confirmed that they were allowed to have a pet and everything was fine. This was done again a few months ago, when they obtained a husky puppy. About 2-3 weeks ago, the complex has been remodeling and repairing the apartments, which required access to theirs. My friend chatted with the workers, who asked about the pets, and overall everything seemed fine. Now on this past Friday, my friends received a letter in the mail, stating that the pets had to be removed by this coming Monday morning or they would face eviction. Apparently, one of the housing managers came back from sabattical, and he/she seems to have a vendetta against pets in Section 8 housing, since many of their friends in the complex that are not under Section 8 and have pets have not gotten letters, even though they had workers notice their pets also. For the time being, they put their husky in a shelter that will hold him there for a week, and they're still searching for a home for the cat. They're considering having the husky considered as an emotional support animal (since it did help him a great deal in dealing with stress issues). How should they go about handling this? I told them to contact a lawyer/legal help in the area, but are they in the right here? Long story short: Pennsylvania - Pets not mentioned on lease with Section 8, pets previously approved by landlord's office, now landlord wants them out by tomorrow or they're facing eviction. T-Shaped fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Nov 4, 2012 |
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Nov 4, 2012 18:57
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Hey, got a question on behalf of my mom who's dealing with a customer. She's got a small dry cleaners in Virginia. She called me up today and told me about a customer who came to her shop, claiming that the color from his recently dry cleaned dark jacket bled into the light-colored leather of his car's seat. He wants her to pay for the damages and is threatening to take her to court otherwise. I don't know much about the circumstances of when or how or even if the jacket's color got transferred to the seat, for all I know it could have been some other garment that she didn't clean. Assuming it is the jacket, I'd say she's not responsible for the clothes once they leave her shop (like, if a customer takes a pair of pants out of the store and walks it to his parked car but drops it into a puddle on the way, that's not her responsibility), but I'm obviously biased in this case. I'd like to hear what someone with a more objective perspective has to say. Mr. Pumroy fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Nov 4, 2012 |
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Nov 4, 2012 19:17
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I live in an apartment in Illinois. My complex doesn't have a hard and fast guest rule, but my SO stays over maybe twice or three times a week and parks in our parking lot. There's no designated guest parking area, and there's no shortage of spaces, some are just slightly closer than others (It's not a huge complex). Today one of my rear end in a top hat neighbors left my SO a note that they "pay rent for that spot" and that if he parked there "one more time" they'd have him towed. Obviously I'm going to be going to the landlord with it tomorrow to make sure I'm okay. In the meantime, can a person have someone's car towed from a property that they do not own? It sounds to me like some dick decided his/her precious legs couldn't stand walking an additional thirty feet to get inside in the colder weather, saw that my SO happened to get a decent spot this time (he doesn't always park the same place, just wherever's open) and decided to be a passive-aggressive shitheel about it. I just want to make sure my SO won't get his poo poo towed on the off chance this moron actually decides to try following through on the threat.
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Nov 4, 2012 20:41
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Mr. Pumroy posted:Hey, got a question on behalf of my mom who's dealing with a customer. I'd argue that if her actions ruined the clothes and seats, she's liable. That is if she caused it, which is the hard part.
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Nov 4, 2012 21:06
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T-Shaped posted:I have friends in Centre County of Pennsylvania that have a Landlord/Tenant issue. IANAL and really I know nothing about section 8 housing, but why did they immediately cave and start getting rid of their pets? As far as I can tell the landlord has no leg to stand on. I bet he knows this and is just hoping for your friends to freak out and do exactly what they're doing. I'd keep the pets and send a certified letter back asking where in the lease it disallows pets, why pets were approved by his office multiple times, and why other tenants with pets haven't received the same letter. Eviction proceedings generally take a while (I don't know specifically about Pennsylvania or section 8 housing so ask a lawyer) so it's not like they'll find themselves suddenly kicked out on Monday morning. That said, many places have free legal help/resources for tenants (particularly if you live in an area with lots of college students); if you google your area you might find such a place where they can get proper aid and advice. Edit: Maybe this office could point you in the right direction at least: http://www.co.centre.pa.us/815.asp Choadmaster fucked around with this message at 22:41 on Nov 4, 2012 |
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Nov 4, 2012 22:37
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I'm curious as to whether this issue is worth pursuing as an EEOC claim... A few weeks ago, I was confronted about absenteeism as well as some work performance issues. I was not comfortable discussing the reasons (disability) with my supervisor, so I spoke to someone in HR directly. I disclosed my disability to her, as well as the previous coverage I had received for it under FMLA and disability insurance. I also let her know that I was still seeing the same doctor for it I had been seeing for 10 years and that I would be happy to submit documentation. I asked for her assistance and reasonable accommodations as ADA entitles me to. I was never asked to produce any documentation and she assured me that she would help me with my situation. Two days later, I was written up (for attendance and work performance) and had a rather ugly conversation regarding said write-up with my supervisor. I mentioned to him that there were issues he didn't know about and that I had talked to a certain person in HR about them and he snottily responded that he knew and that she had approved the write up. It certainly seems to me that I have a case for discriminatory behavior. I do not know if the HR person violated my confidentiality and told my supervisor about the nature of my disability, but I suspect that she did. The contrast between this experience and the one I had at my last job of 3 years is especially what gave me pause; at my old job when I started having trouble I applied for and received FMLA and was not subject to any sort of disciplinary action. I later applied for and received three months of short-term disability leave from Sedgwick. It helped me to get things back on track with my health. Right now I feel like I've been punished for disclosing my disability in confidence. I've actually already filled out the paperwork; I'm just curious if it is worth pursuing.
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Nov 5, 2012 19:18
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Could anybody, please, tell me - what's the legal status of polyandry (and polygamy) on the territory of the European Union? Is it legal or illegal? If legal - in what cases? I would greatly appreciate, if you can give some link to information on this matter.
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Nov 5, 2012 21:44
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agrielaios posted:Could anybody, please, tell me - what's the legal status of polyandry (and polygamy) on the territory of the European Union? Is it legal or illegal? If legal - in what cases? I would greatly appreciate, if you can give some link to information on this matter. I will tell you but in exchange you must tell me the story behind the asking of this question.
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Nov 5, 2012 21:49
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Powdered Toast Man posted:I'm curious as to whether this issue is worth pursuing as an EEOC claim... One thing you should absolutely start doing is storing all relevant paper and digital documents in a place where you can easily access them if you are suddenly fired. To me it seems a bit early to start legal action, but you should get your documentation in order and start searching for a good attorney, so you are ready if it does come to that.
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Nov 5, 2012 21:51
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Powdered Toast Man posted:I'm curious as to whether this issue is worth pursuing as an EEOC claim... I think a lot of people don't realize what going to the EEOC entails, thus they put it off for no good reason. You shouldn't be one of them. This is what happens when you go in: you talk to an investigator, who takes down your information, gives you some general information about your legal rights and remedies, and hands your statement to the actual attorneys. The office will decide whether there's anything potentially actionable. And even if there is, they'll do some investigation at your workplace and probably try mediation first to fix things for you and get a better anti-discrimination policy in your workplace. In other words, by filing an EEOC complaint, you're not taking the nuclear option and precipitating an instant lawsuit. You are exercising your rights in a reasonable way with reasonable people who want to correct the problem, not rack up attorney fees or hype their reputations.
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Nov 5, 2012 22:11
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Here's my ignorant non-advice legal one-off rundown, not because I have a monopoly on good answers, but I'm bored:T-Shaped posted:I have friends in Centre County of Pennsylvania that have a Landlord/Tenant issue. Mr. Pumroy posted:Hey, got a question on behalf of my mom who's dealing with a customer. Huntersoninski posted:I just want to make sure my SO won't get his poo poo towed on the off chance this moron actually decides to try following through on the threat. agrielaios posted:Could anybody, please, tell me - what's the legal status of polyandry (and polygamy) on the territory of the European Union? Is it legal or illegal? If legal - in what cases? I would greatly appreciate, if you can give some link to information on this matter.
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Nov 5, 2012 22:50
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woozle wuzzle posted:It's up to the member nation to set the legal requirements for marriage and criminalizing polygamy. So we need to know your nation and setup (like MFFF or FFMMMM, etc). Depending on that info, you might be left with having to gently caress yourself, you combo-breaker. Pardon for some lack of initial info. Not asking in relation to myself. Got very puzzled when learned about a distant friend of mine. As much as I know, that could jeopardize the permits/residence visa, it sounds as something not quite practical. Country is Czech Republic, and setup would be a FM and more M, so it's FMM agrielaios fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Nov 5, 2012 |
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Nov 5, 2012 22:56
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Powdered Toast Man posted:I'm curious as to whether this issue is worth pursuing as an EEOC claim... What specifically were the write-ups about? You said work performance, but the ADA does not require an employer to alter production standards as a reasonable accommodation. What reasonable accommodations did you ask for? What absences did you have between the time you went to HR and when you received your write-up? The ADA does not require the employer to excuse past absences -- requests for accommodation are always prospective. How were your absences related to your disability?
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Nov 5, 2012 23:04
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ibntumart posted:I think a lot of people don't realize what going to the EEOC entails, thus they put it off for no good reason. You shouldn't be one of them. Just as an addition to this even IF you want to go nuclear you still have to go through the EEOC/state equivalent. And it takes months and months for them to do anything. I also do not think EEOC investigators are attorneys. Some may be. The decision of where/when/what to file are all pretty important with long range consequences so it is always best to hire an attorney. If you have a good case some will take your case on contingency.
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Nov 5, 2012 23:07
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woozle wuzzle posted:It's up to the member nation to set the legal requirements for marriage and criminalizing polygamy. So we need to know your nation and setup (like MFFF or FFMMMM, etc). Depending on that info, you might be left with having to gently caress yourself, you combo-breaker. In the UK, it's bigamy and its illegal, if the multiple marrying is actually done in the jurisdiction. Polygamous marriages celebrated in countries where they are legal aren't criminalised, but they don't have legal status for most purposes (one exception is in claiming welfare benefits). It's fair to say that you don't hear a lot about the existence of multiple marriages in the UK even among minorities with traditional links to countries where they are legally recognised (e.g. many Muslims). I'm not sure about other EU countries, but I doubt there are any that actually allow for the celebration of polygamous marriages on their territory. You never know though...
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Nov 5, 2012 23:15
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Alchenar posted:I will tell you but in exchange you must tell me the story behind the asking of this question. My post/reply to woozle wuzzle is pretty much the story, I'm not prone to bother others about all the details of their lives. And the situation does not involve Muslim culture of any form. agrielaios fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Nov 5, 2012 |
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Nov 5, 2012 23:21
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euphronius posted:Just as an addition to this even IF you want to go nuclear you still have to go through the EEOC/state equivalent. And it takes months and months for them to do anything. Yes, good point. You need to get a Right To Sue letter from either the EEOC or your state equivalent before you're even allowed to file on your own. euphronius posted:I also do not think EEOC investigators are attorneys. Some may be. They're not. euphronius posted:The decision of where/when/what to file are all pretty important with long range consequences so it is always best to hire an attorney. If you have a good case some will take your case on contingency. That I'm not so sure about. Granted, the EEOC doesn't pursue every case, but I still think it's a good idea to talk with both the local EEOC office and state equivalent agency before deciding to retain counsel. It wouldn't hurt to get free consultations, of course, and/or visit a legal aid clinic if there's one nearby.
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Nov 5, 2012 23:44
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I've actually quit already. However, if I can possibly make some sort of difficulty for these loving assholes, I would love to.
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Nov 6, 2012 02:19
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Hello thread! I had a quick question regarding helping out a friend: My friend's SO (19 years old) is looking to move out of her house, and as luck would have it, her cousins have room for a roommate. However, she won't be able to move in there until a few months down the line. Meanwhile, in the interim, my roommate and I (both 22 years old) said she can crash on our couch for a month or two. The problem here is, her father is not going to be happy about her moving out (a rather unpleasant, but by no means stupid person who enjoys keeping his family under his thumb), and my roommate is worried that he can start some sort of legal shenanigans to get us into trouble with johnny law. A specific thing he cited was that her dad "could report us to the police for providing alcohol to an underage individual", and if she was tested and had alcohol in her system anywhere up to a week or so ago, we'd be liable, regardless of whether or not we had actually 'provided' it. I definitely want to help her out, but I really don't want to risk any sort of legal trouble, especially one that would go on any sort of record. Since you all know a great deal more about the nuances of law than I do, what do you recommend? Location wise, I live in Annapolis, MD, USA. Thanks!
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Nov 6, 2012 19:29
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Why not just not give her alcohol? If she turns up drunk, how are the police going to prove that you gave it to her? Especially if you don't.
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Nov 6, 2012 20:49
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I have no experience in this area, but given that she's 19 I don't think there are any issues here. bigpolar's advice is probably best, however.
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Nov 6, 2012 23:14
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Who the gently caress is gonna pay for a blood test to bust a 19 years old for underage drinking? Is that really something that happens in the states?
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Nov 6, 2012 23:18
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New question here regarding free speech/harassment issues. The short version is that yesterday I took part in some political fiction writing courtesy of the #romneydeathrally hash tag on twitter. It was done as satire and I think it falls well within my first amendment rights. Mostly it was, the election as seen by HP Lovecraft. This afternoon, what looks to be some sort of hack journalist posted this: http://www.hashtags.org/platforms/twitter/twitter-users-threaten-mitt-on-romneydeathrally/. In this she (the journalist) implies that #romneydeathrally is a felony and links an image of several sample tweets, one of which is mine ("A cold light from a distant alien sun lights the arena at #romneydeathrally. There can be no global warming where there is no air.") Now if she had simply said "look at these tasteless liberals," I wouldn't be concerned at all and would probably just giggle, but the writer makes it clear throughout the article that the tweets are "death threats" and that they are felonies punishable by imprisonment and fines. So my question for the legal thread is: Should I consider this an act of defamation/libel and/or harassment. If so, what should I do about it, and if not is this something I can safely ignore and simply bask in my 15 seconds of e-fame? Weltlich fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Nov 6, 2012 |
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Nov 6, 2012 23:29
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Totally protected First Amendment speech. Ignore. Bask. The DoJ Prosecutor's Manual posted:A prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 879 would not only require proof that the statement could reasonably be perceived as a threat but would also require some evidence that the maker intended the statement to be a threat. Objective circumstances would bear upon the proof of both subjective intent and objective perceptions.
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Nov 7, 2012 00:49
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College Park, MD A radiator in our basement sprung a leak two nights ago. Our landlord has a history of not fixing things promptly. After a day without heat and a surprise no call visit from the landlord's husband (this happens a lot), they actually decided to both fix the radiator and replace the boiler for the whole house today! Good news, right? The problem: They didn't finish the work. The contractors will be back tomorrow afternoon to finish. In the meantime, our house has no heat or hot water since the gas is shut off and the new piping is not routed to the water heater yet. We're in for a miserable night. It's going to be in the 30s again tonight, I consider this uninhabitable. So does our city, but I can only find information on what I should do if the heat isn't getting fixed, not what I can do in the interim. If I get a motel room for the night, does the landlord have to reimburse me for it? I don't have anyone I can stay with, do I have any other options?
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Nov 7, 2012 00:52
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joat mon posted:Totally protected First Amendment speech. Ignore. Bask. That's not the question
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Nov 7, 2012 00:56
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UltraPenguinX posted:Hello thread! I had a quick question regarding helping out a friend: Outside of legal advice I would say unless it's helping in the way of saving someone from abuse or something like that you may be importing a ton of drama into your life even if you're just a bystander. Especially when you invite someone to live with you in a roommate situation.
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Nov 7, 2012 04:19
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Baruch Obamawitz posted:That's not the question If Weltlich's question is, "Is the other person's congruent exercise of her free speech rights defamation, libel or harassment?" ... Weltlich, please punch yourself in the face. Several times. Weltlich, pleasepleaseplease tell me that the above was not your question.
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Nov 7, 2012 04:26
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joat mon posted:If Weltlich's question is, "Is the other person's congruent exercise of her free speech rights defamation, libel or harassment?" ... No, that was not my question, rest assured. It is well within her right to disagree, or find the whole of #romneydeathrally offensive and in bad taste. There's been plenty of cheers and jeers for the whole thing. In fact it looks like she has already revised the article, so at this point, much of what was worrying me has been made a moot issue. It's a lovely, lazy revision without any sort of retraction statement, but at least she had the decency to label my tweet along with the others as satire, as opposed to felonies. She's apparently found some "death threats" against Romney that don't even bear the #romneydeathrally hashtag. Unfortunately I didn't save the original text of the article, but it in effect said "people are using this #romneydeathrally to post death threats against Mitt and Ann Romney! This is a felony and you should report them to the Secret Service." and then she pasted the following picture (still visible in the new article) as "proof." As you can see, there isn't anything even remotely like a death threat contained within.  So, my concern was that she was implying that serious felonies were being committed, then posting tweets from people who were well within the limits of protected satire as her "proof." To me it seemed kind-of like having an article saying "Assassins Plot at Local Bistro," and then having a photo of five normal bistro patrons enjoying dinner, captioned with their names. But the article has been retconned, so I'm just going to lean back.
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Nov 7, 2012 04:56
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Weltlich posted:But the article has been retconned, so I'm just going to lean back. I saw it before it was retconned. I boggled a little at the opening of the article (having read some of the recent comments and seen nothing even remotely serious in them) - and then I scrolled down to the 'examples' (the originals, not those new ones she shoved in that don't even have the hashtag associated with them) - I mean *those* were the examples she *cherrypicked* as serious death threats - and I waited while my brain repaired itself. In the middle of a US election, when everything is drama and mudslinging, it was THAT loving overblown and stupid. Of course I'm in Canada so I can afford to laugh (sort of), but I gotta ask - what the hell *is* "hashtags.org" anyway? That article seems to be trying to pass itself off as some sort of serious news story but it reads like satire based on satire. ... eh, hell with it. I went ahead and found a cached version of the page before she messed with it: 
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Nov 7, 2012 06:24
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Also, someone being dumb and claiming you are committing felonies is 1) stupid, and 2) something you should ignore.
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Nov 7, 2012 07:56
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Is it sexual discrimination to only require one sex to take a certain training? The training in question is a self defense class and we are told if we do not take it we will be fired. Females are allowed to take it but it isn't mandatory for them.
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Nov 7, 2012 10:15
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Old Man Pants posted:Is it sexual discrimination to only require one sex to take a certain training? The training in question is a self defense class and we are told if we do not take it we will be fired. Females are allowed to take it but it isn't mandatory for them. What type of job are you in that you need self defense training? I worked as a bouncer and event security while I was in college and I was never required to take self defense courses. I think a better question to ask yourself is this: if my boss thinks my work environment is so dangerous that self defense training is warranted, why isn't he taking other steps to protect his employees? And am I getting paid enough that I am willing to put my health and well being at risk? I'm still a big guy, but I don't get paid enough to put my body on the line; and I can tell you that if my company decided that the neighborhood is so dangerous we need self defense training but not dangerous enough to hire a security guard, I would be looking for a new job in a hurry.
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Nov 7, 2012 16:18
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