From what little my lawyer sister has told me, the reason why it's so easy to sue is because all you really have to do is allege that (1) someone owed you a duty (either positive or negative and it can be explicitly stated in a contract or simply be what a "reasonable person" would be expected to do/not do) and (2) someone violated that duty.
Lol. Yes, mommy has hypermesis and has been home for the past month with no end in sight. Other than the constant vomiting everyone is healthy.
- Mary Carmen
from iPhone
I just saw your pregnancy whine post and I think all of downtown Sac heard me say, "Wait, she's pregnant?" (scroll back scroll back scroll back, find announcement) Wow! Congrats to you and Scott.
- Corinne L
I had a feeling this was gonna happen. Congrats! :D
- Colette
Stay tuned; we'll still be doing a public ceremony/celebration, but it probably wont be until next fall. We were impatient and in lurv ;)
- ωαřмaiden ❤Marrit Woman❤
We did regionals earlier this week; states is next week, but Thing 1 isn't going (she was supposed to be an alternate, but didn't want to miss her last 3 days of high school traveling halfway across the state). Good luck to yours.
- DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE
Thanks. Good on Thing 1. As I said, Waif was supposed to be an alternate
- MoTO #TeamMonique
from Android
No official time yet but I think she PR'd by like 2 seconds. 4th overall
- MoTO #TeamMonique
from Android
We're opening a new office in Washington D.C. I was there to help get things off the ground. There's a possibility I may have to go back next week. We'll be opening 20 additional offices by the end of next year so I'm sure this is only the first of many trips.
- DB, Just DB #TeamMonique
Well, that and notice the WoC vs. the white dude. Even as individuals committing the same crime, she's way more likely to go to jail and do more time, even if you account for her fame.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Excuse my ignorance but did the guy from GE not pay taxes owed or didn't he owe any taxes due to legal tax reduction techniques
- Johnny
from iPhone
Did the guy on the right commit any crime? (I'm not sure who he is, so I'm not sure what he may or may not have done.)
- Brian Johns
That's Jeff Immelt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...). He has been the CEO of G.E. since September of 2001. As far as I'm aware, he's not accused of any crime, and I have not heard anyone claim that he has avoided paying his personal taxes. The issue is that G.E. has paid zero for corporate taxes in 2010 and possibly other years, despite large profits. However, I believe...
more...
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
Sorry, I probably muddled the issue. The general point is supposed to be that if a person fails to pay their taxes they generally go to jail, but if a corporation dodges them, they continue to do so unimpeded. (I was more pointing out that even in the world of only individual tax fraud, the law is often applied unevenly.)
- Jennifer Dittrich
I agree with the cynic in Johnny... Lauryn Hill surely could have paid someone to shelter her earnings in legal ways. But then, maybe she didn't trust anyone enough, or didn't know what to do, and thought she could get away. I'm not familiar with the details of her story, just speculating.
- .LAG liked that
Jennifer, yeah, it seems pretty arbitrary which celebrities get jail time and which don't. This article argues she got a light sentence: http://www.forbes.com/sites... -- but it's Forbes, so I dunno. And your point that people go to jail for things that corporations don't is true, but that's the whole point of corporations, to shield individuals from liability. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
When I saw this earlier today, I could name a handful of black celebrities who were jailed for not paying taxes, but zero white celebrities. White celebrities were fined, but jailed--even at home, no. http://www.sheknows.com/enterta... and http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-h... show the inequalities.
- Anika
True, Stephen - though in theory, it should be a shield not immunity. Some of what we're willing to let pass just galls me sometimes. Well, and that's part of the point as well - he led GE, and legally evaded taxes during that time, but that's respectable.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Anika, the only white celebrity I could think of was Martha Stewart, and that wasn't tax related - she pissed off the money men with questionable trading.
- Jennifer Dittrich
.LAG, she apparently failed to file for three years: "Ms. Hill pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to file tax returns on more than $1.8 million between 2005 and 2007." (from the article I linked above)
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
Anika, yeah. Joe Francis and Richard Hatch served time, but they're not real celebrities, whereas Wesley Snipes and Lauryn Hill both are. Seems unfair.
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
I wonder how much of it has to do with the ability to pay it back. I know Willie Nelson and Nick Cage both got done but they were able to 'trade their way' showing the ability to earn money to pay it back.
- Johnny
from iPhone
One thing I should clarify: Victor had an interesting post later about the ethics and morality involved. Please don't construe my first comment here as approval of G.E. being able to pay zero in taxes: It's clearly wrong (ethically wrong, morally wrong, and wrong from a fairness perspective) that our system lets them get away with it. It's proof to me that our tax system needs serious reformation.
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
(And I think Jennifer was making that same point as well, when she pointed out the double standard in Immelt being treated with respect for being able to avoid so many taxes.)
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
"Too big to jail" has become a new category in the U.S. Tax Code, (as well as the Attorney Gerneral's white collar prosecution rubric.)
- Jkram|ɯɐɹʞſ
I'm trying to set something up like this so that I can surreptitiously burn some (all?) of the branches, etc. from my downed trees. I have a 36" fire ring, but I need to prep the ground around it with stones or cement tiles, etc. Whoa! Just clicked to view the additional pics... I love the benches. You're way beyond what I was planning. Very nice.
- Jkram|ɯɐɹʞſ
I admittedly went a little overboard. My tendency is to get in over my head when it comes to projects.
- Kevin (aka ThreadKilla)
I think that is the real cover. It is a real picture of Israel who unfortunately died at 38 due to health problems caused by his weight. Great artist and great song.
- Eric
Unexpected compliments from old friends. It is really amazing to see yourself through someone else's eyes, especially when they're focusing on something you don't think you're very good at.