RVTPilot

An assumption, not fact. It is just as likely that the reason the grand jury was cancelled is that the prosecutor feels they have enough evidence for a conviction without it. Not a smart move by the prosecution unless you have homerun evidence, but then again the prosecutors have been known to bet on the legal equivalent of pocket rockets, only to end up with a pair of ones at the river. Right now, the only thing in excess is speculation, which is unfortunate for everyone involved.

So your rather unlikely scenario above is justification for you following someone around your neighborhood armed and at the ready? I get that a) folks know their neighborhoods and see when someone out of the ordinary comes through, and b) being someplace you don't belong. In Martin's case, he had been around enough for Zimmerman to call 911 30 times on him, and his father's fiance lived there. So at what point did he not belong? And him having his hood up entitles some overzealous neighborhood watch captain to stalk him through the neighborhood? Aside from your overly dramatic setting above, what defines someone not belonging somewhere? Does a guy you don't know crossing through your back yard not belong jumping your fences and hedges? Absofuckinglutely. Does your neighbor's guest walking back to a car parked around the block have a right to walk to his car without being stalked by friend's gun-toting neighbor? Same answer. Listen, I completely get being vigilant in your neighborhood. It doesn't entitle you to act as the cop, judge, jury, and executioner when someone you don't know is strolling down the sidewalk. You wanna peek through your blinds at everyone that passes trying to decide if you need to go find out their purpose, have at it. But step off your property and follow them and tell me you're not the one instigating the issue now? Who's the aggressor? Who now has initiated the threat?

I just had to explain to my Mrs why I was laughing like a kid in a thread about the Martin/Zimmerman deal. +1 for you DevilDog!

SOMEONE went to the P.I. Jarhead slut.

jbot knows he's gonna get his. He knows dudes with big black cocks love little Asians. Black Todd is gunna git yellow fever with jbot.

Brian, you and I have treaded upon a lot of the same NEO ground. Certainly, some neighborhoods are more rife with the riff raff than others. Keeping an eye out is something I always do. Getting up from the confines of your property, packing heat and following someone isn't self defense. It's inviting the opportunity to incite a violent act. If some dude is cutting through my yard back between houses? Hell yes I am arming myself and protecting my family and home. But I sure as hell won't leave them and go all Wyatt Earp down a city sidewalk. I call the cops, explain what I saw, then take necessary action should things escalate in my confines. Protecting my castle is my responsibility above all others. Protecting the neighborhood is the responsibility of the North Ridgeville PD. Want the law to protect you? Don't take it into your own hands unnecessarily. That's all I'm saying.

OK wait...say that again? If someone is walking down your street at 10:30 at night in a hoodie with it pulled up over their head you are going to grab your gun and follow them? As if you would be sitting in your living room and saw them through the window and they were walking by on the sidewalk? Or are you on your front porch minding your own business while they walked by minding their own business when you decided to grab your shootin' iron and follow them out on public property just to see what they are up to? Are you hoping they just keep walking? Are you waiting on them to turn and walk back towards the person stalking them who now has no more right to be out there on the street than they do and confront them about why you're following him? At what point do you decide to send rounds down the sidewalk? Just curious, see. Cuz that's doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

QFT. I am not ashamed to say that I am often compliemnted on how polite my kids are in public. But they also exercise the same level of manners at home with the wife and I. Please and thank you are common place, and it's because we exercise it with them as well as instruct them to act as such. While we don't ask our kids to do what is expected of them ("Please clean you room for me?" - Uh, no. I am the parent, this is my house.) we do exercise the same courtesy with them that we expect them to use with others. The whole golden rule thing really works if you apply it regularly. And being a youth football coach for the last 6 years, having seen dozens of families from all walks of life, it's not hard to tell why kids act a certain way.

To this I agree as well. Given the immediate nature of social media compounding a long existent polarizing news media it's extremely difficult to investigat eand build an untainted case on either side.

I agree. No one ends up shot to death when a crime is not committed. Maybe the crime that started all this was assault by Martin. I agree, Ben, the legal system should do its job, and not allow the media to try this case before it would ever see a courtroom. That happened in L.A. for O.J. The fact that FBI is even involved at this point gives credence to the argument that the Sanford PD had not done due dilligence in investigating this case with regard to either side. But when an ordinary citizen takes the law into his own hands, he should be held responsible to answer to the elected and empowered law of the community to justify his actions beyond all doubt, just as in order to be proven guilty, it must be proven he's guilty above all doubt.

Not an invalid POV and I agree with a bit of what you say Ben, but let me play devil's advocate here. We're so worried about giving due process to the alleged perp, what about providing the truth as to why someone is dead? Is he guilty of making the poor decision to bring his fists to an unexpected gunfight? What is more important here; making sure a man is proven innocent/not guilty, or providing justice to the family of the one shot? I agree the legal system should be left to do its job. It just seems as if to this point, it has not.

Solid. And I think you touch on the point at the cruz of all this. To date, it doesn't appear that the justice system has acted accordingly in either collecting facts nor accurately protecting either side from the court of public opinion. Add to that media specualtion and distortion and you have numerous hot button issues percualting with one another. This will not end well regardless of whether the conclusion reached it the correct one by constitutional standards or not.

Is Zimmerman known to be innocent? The undisputable facts to date are that he shot and killed an unarmed 17 year old for reasons that have yet to be determined. Was it truly self defense? Was it overreacting on his part? There are laws that define the justified use of deadly force by an armed civilian, and given the current list of facts - regardless how many there are or aren't - he should still have to answer in a court of law as to why he chose to shoot Martin. If the courts decide based upon indisputable evidence presented in his defense that Zimmerman was within his constitutional right to defend himself by the most lethal means possible against Martin, so be it. Zimmerman is entitled to his constitutional right of being considered innocent until proven guilty. But common sense should allow one to see that with what as already been offered, innocent is a term that will be difficult to define Zimmerman by. Innocent people do not put themselves in postions to have to defend themselves to the degree that Zimmerman has allowed himself to be in.

I have been a Browns season ticket holder since they came back in '99, and the first two years I still lived in FL! So I know exactly where you are coming from with the Jackets. I love hockey, and am a NJ Devils fan, and just haven't been able to embrace the Jackets, primarly because of the losing. But I will bleed brown and orange until the day I die, as well as scarlet and grey. And soccer is for fuckers that can't catch.

I will take having the Cavs over not having an NBA team, but would trade you the Cavs for the Blue Jackets. C-bus seems to be doing to the NHL what the Cavs are currently to the NBA. (Just slinging back some of the crap you've tossed at Bad. We Clevelanders stick together!) Oh, I forgot. C-bus has a soccer team. In Cleveland we have a women's semi-pro softball league, which is equivalent.

Welcome aboard!

Maybe if you build a little sacrificial altar and strap a little virgin bunny to it on occasion the wise old owl will leave resident pup alone?

Happy goddamn birthday, mang!

Yeah, but there's still the issue with the uncontrolled drooling and dragging his ass across the driveway.

Oh, and I forgot to thank my other occasional helper. She kept me company quite a few nights tinkering out in the garage.

Shit...no worries! If you want yours back for a system that you still have, it's all good. Otherwise I will just pay it forward to the next guy whom it might help.

Fixed that this morning. I wrangled and mangled the aluminum one from Gregg and the exhaust now hangs properly. Brian's is steel, and I was not strong enough to mod it, nor would i want to. Next on the exhaust side is to shorten up the aluminum TRS can like we did the CF.

Thanks, Brian! Some of what you mentioned falls in to the things left to do list (brake lines, clip on tube ends) as well as having to relocate my front brake res, swap coolant... On the upper mirror mounts, right now I am using a stock fairing stay, and the little collars that stick up through the skin are all that's connected there. I did have zip ties through there, but b/c the collar is taller than the skin is thick, it rattled. So I am probably going to grind down those collars and zip tie it until I get an AM stay. On the sliders, I bought those the day yours showed up in the mail, LOL. There was $40 I could have saved. Anyway, I appreciate the suggestion there on them. I was in fact curious about any slider snapping off a bolt in the frame if/when I lose my battle with gravity in a given corner. Methinks getting the bolt shank out of the motor would be a bitch of epic proportions. I hope to get lines and pads done on the thing before the weekend at Nelsons, but can go with what I have if necessary. Given all the newness and things to sort out, It just may not all get done in one weekend. Still, considering what the bike came from when I bought it, I'm pretty proud of what I have been able to do, and no small thanks to you, Kevin, and the OR peeps that have chimed in and given me some great ideas!

I hope you get one as well, Max. I am lucky to have two: my gixxer and r1thumbstabber.

lol...that's my poser rattle can paint job. after this year, i plan to have the whole thing shot one solid color and if we get to racing, I'll stick yellow plates on it. hell, if I don't get a whole lot faster this year they might make me put pink plates on it.