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There was an awesome quote in last month's GRM about one of these that was competing in a LeMons race. Paraphrased, it was about how the spec sheet looks amazing and it's the kind of car that internet fanbois drool over but nobody actually buys, which is why you can apparently get them for $500 and enter them into beater races.

This quote is win.

I see that they finally filed a lawsuit against DHS this week. I hope I'm proven wrong.

Sometimes unpopular positions are correct. What can I say. With all the knee-jerk reactionaries in the world, someone needs to bring some logic and reason into public discourse. And come on, nowhere am I defending full body scans -- in fact, I've made multiple claims that they're retarded, and publicly stated that I will opt-out next time. Saying it's a constitutional issue is incorrect, though, and I've long held the belief that if you're going to stand for something, you should stand for it on grounds that are politically and legally defensible. In other words, saying that full body scanners are bullshit is a noble position, saying that they're unconstitutional is both incorrect and unproductive.

Charter a private plane if you must. Major airlines are so intertwined with the government (flying through public airspace with the assistance of the FAA, plus declaring bankruptcy every 5 minutes) that most airports can hardly be considered private affairs. This is really no different from any hoops you have to jump through to drive on public roads. If the security measures implemented by the TSA were worth a shit, I'd have no problem with the legality of it. But you're right, it is all a bunch of SUCK, but only because the security measures are moronic and totally not worth the cost.

It's a voluntary search though... you consent every time you go through security.

What's the constitutional issue? Right to fly? Not familiar with that article. eta: The TSA's massive stupidity and use of security theater transcends politics, and is really a symptom of the fact that people suck at risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis.

It doesn't sound like they have much of a case... based on the article the law only applies to private conversations, and I don't think a public arrest on a highway qualifies. If this makes it to a jury I hope to god they'll see through the bullshit and let this guy off.

You can actually refuse to show ID too, it just opens you up to extra scrutiny. I flew out of CMH last week and had to put my arms over my head in some machine. It was 5 AM and I wasn't thinking straight, otherwise I would have refused too just on principle.

Will be in DC for work

I think 1320Video signed up a few months back. Nebraska invasion!

I don't think you can get the Vibe with AWD and the 2ZZ. I think it's 1ZZ only. I could be wrong. In any case, don't get the Vibe if you're over 5'6", the seating position will make you want to drive the car off a cliff. Can you get an AWD fusion with a manual? What about a Saabaru?

Oh, and if our intel is correct, he'll be coming out to Mid-Ohio next year for the ITR Expo 11.

He took all the pictures I put in the first two posts of this thread: http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82541 His coupe is the last picture in the first post (white EK, temporary B16 swap). Here he is doing what he does: http://www.1320video.com/img/album264/MG_4095.sized.jpg Howdy Drew! People get uppity about intro posts here.

Start your own track.

Why would anyone hate on a lowered M3 with sexy wheels?

There's usually 1 or 2 RSXes that show up: http://images30.fotki.com/v41/photos/9/98309/8859360/IMG_0843-vi.jpg A lot of Ks, though... if anyone had bothered to get any underhood shots, I could show you. I'd say there were at least a dozen K swaps present. It's surprisingly common in ITRs since a lot of the ones that get turned into dedicated track cars were theft recoveries.

Yeah, it's messed up. We have all these draconian laws and "prison" is the answer to everything, then our prisons get overcrowded to the point where we can't control them. And you're absolutely right about the conflicting interests -- we require prisons to let inmates socialize, then slap them with 4 million dollar settlements when things get out of hand. I certainly would never volunteer to be a warden. I'm sure it's not unlike soldiers who are trained to kill and then ordered not to. I'm not saying that all inmates need to be locked up 24 hours a day, but if you're going to let them out, you've got to have some way of preventing these sorts of beatings. And if you can't, don't let them out. The articles I linked to talked about sequestering "high risk" inmates, such as child molesters. I think that's a reasonable course of action, and one that the Orange County prison system wasn't taking. Perhaps they'll start.

Personally I'd rather he get sentenced here. If he was tried in a Mexican court, and if the only evidence against him was the testimony of a 6 year old, then we'd have to send the 6 year old to Mexico to testify. And he'd be tried by Mexican jurors. Bottom line is that he'd probably get off scott free in Mexico. I'm glad they tried him in CA and sentenced him there, because it's way better than the alternative. The prison shouldn't ever let 7 inmates surround another inmate and give him a beating. What kind of operation are they running that gives prison inmates that kind of leeway to be out and about unsupervised? It's ridiculous. Lock them up goddammit, that's what the cells are there for. The guy probably only had an 18 month sentence anyway, so by the time they let him out of the hospital he would have been free. That's just a WAG on my part, but I doubt a first-time battery offense carries a whole lot of jail time. It does raise a lot of questions though -- that one picture showed him with his mom? Or some kind of family member. I'm guessing his family will get the money, just as they would if he had died. Still, I'd rather be poor and not brain damaged than a retarded millionaire.

We can agree on that. Also helps with rehabilitation. I don't understand this "You were bad, no go sit and watch TV all day" sensibility. Prison should either be productive or boring. Just not full of senseless corporal punishment.

Totally agreed. Hopefully the prison system fixes their shit so this doesn't happen again, which is the entire point of settlements like this.

I'd prefer that, yes. But I don't think that's going to win me any friends in this argument. If a human being who happens to be a US citizen is wronged due to someone's negligence, and our legal system determines that they are rightfully owed money, I don't think that finding should change if that human being happens not to be a US citizen and/or is here legally or illegally. They're still a human being and we should treat them as such. Of course, this is a special scenario because he was in US custody, specifically he was property of the California DoC. How can you say they're not legally on the hook for his well being? He'd get the same legal status as any other inmate there. They can't very well drop a truck on him and then throw their hands in the air and say "well, he was here illegally."

Write to your state representatives then, because they disagree with you.

I'm sure the california DA had the option of deporting him and letting the Mexican justice system deal with him, but you can imagine how well that would go over with the "string him up" crowd. They chose to try him in the states because they wanted control over his punishment, and then you're absolutely right, he became the responsibility of the state of california. His legal status or country of citizenship is immaterial at that point. If I'm visiting Cancun over spring break and a mexican postal truck rolls onto the beach and stops on my testicles, the mexican government sure as shit better pay out. Even if they later find out that my passport was expired and I shouldn't have made it through customs. That's irrelevant to my crushed balls. Renob - I don't have a dog in this fight really, except that vigilante justice leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We have this weird acceptance of prison abuse/rape that's not only crude, childish, and uncivilized, but it defies the logic of our sentencing guidelines. Our elected officials will decided that 3 years is an adequate punishment for something, but then we tacitly understand that it's "3 years plus a bunch of ass-raping." That's not right.

Apparently you have very unconventional ideas about sentencing. You do realize your opinions are nowhere close to mainstream, yes? And entirely unsupported by legal precedent?