In other news from Hell

Right? Left? Centre?
Political news and debate.
Put your views and articles up for debate and destruction!
Burning Petard
Posts: 4050
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:35 pm
Location: Near Bear, Delaware

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Burning Petard »

BSG's posting at 1:18 Tuesday has me really amazed. Just what does this family DO with all those firearms? How do they have any time to do anything else with their lives beyond clean, inspect, maintain, oil them all, lest they turn into a pile of rust? I note the little girl has not learned to ride her bike without those clumsy training wheels or raise he bike seat to a decent height.

snailgate

User avatar
Econoline
Posts: 9555
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:25 pm
Location: DeKalb, Illinois...out amidst the corn, soybeans, and Republicans

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Econoline »

Oh, shit.

This one really hits hard. :cry: :-x
Uvalde dog..jpg
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
God @The Tweet of God

Jarlaxle
Posts: 5370
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 4:21 am
Location: New England

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Jarlaxle »

Scooter wrote:
Sat May 28, 2022 10:11 am
The NRA convention at which speakers have been railing against gun-free zones ...

... is itself a gun-free zone.

You couldn't make this shit up.
That's because, of course, the Secret Service requires it...because, you know, there is a former president there! No different from anywhere a president goes. I'm fine with "gun free zones" when they're secured by the Secret Service.

Note that you absolutely can walk into the NRA headquarters carrying a concealed gun. (Last I checked, I recall they don't allow open carry due to Virginia state laws.)

User avatar
Crackpot
Posts: 11266
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:59 am
Location: Michigan

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Crackpot »

But what about all the “good guys with guns”
Okay... There's all kinds of things wrong with what you just said.

User avatar
Scooter
Posts: 16540
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 6:04 pm
Location: Toronto, ON

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Scooter »

Jarlaxle wrote:
Mon Jun 06, 2022 3:53 am
That's because, of course, the Secret Service requires it
So the weapons that NRA claims are necessary to defend themselves against a tyrannical government were willingly laid down the moment an agent of that government ordered them to be laid down.

Again, you couldn't make this shit up.
I'm fine with "gun free zones" when they're secured by the Secret Service.
So agents of the government can be trusted to protect your safety, hence there is no need for civilians to arm themselves for their own protection.

Thanks for providing that clarification.
"If you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu."

-- Author unknown

Burning Petard
Posts: 4050
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:35 pm
Location: Near Bear, Delaware

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Burning Petard »

Scooter, you are running up against the reality that this matter of personal possession of firearms in the USofA is 99% emotion and less than one percent based on facts.

The Second Amendment is clear, the right of the people to possess/carry firearms shall not be infringed. That is the only right that carries that restriction. And nobody believes it, or even advocates it. For almost a hundred years that amendment has been cut to fringe by limiting who can own a fully automatic machine gun. No American can build that device so popular in many parts of the world called 'a technical' which is a pickup truck with a mortar or anti-aircraft gun or similar big gun mounted in the back. Nobody, not even Wayne Lapeer, is advocating for court-certified crazies (even if they are allowed to vote) or children be allowed to buy guns. If one has made a few mistakes in judgment that result in a Dishonorable Discharge from the military, they cannot legally buy a gun. No private citizen is permitted to own a functioning Sabre jet fighter plane (not even the Confederate Airforce) or use instructions from the internet to build their own chain gun.

That Second Amendment has been shredded with fringe for a long time. It belongs with the Third Amendment, the one about civilians forced to provide housing for troops. Some have called that place the garbage heap of history. But it will never happen. The Second Amendment is wrapped in irrational beliefs similar to 'respect for the flag' which gets cheers at NFL games when the flag is brought onto the playing field in a manner forbidden by federal regulations on display of that flag.

snailgate

User avatar
BoSoxGal
Posts: 18299
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:36 pm
Location: The Heart of Red Sox Nation

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by BoSoxGal »

Matthew McConaughey: It’s time to act on gun responsibility

I am a father, the son of a kindergarten teacher, and an American. I was also born in Uvalde, Texas.

That’s why I’m writing this.

I believe that responsible, law-abiding Americans have a Second Amendment right, enshrined by our founders, to bear arms. I also believe we have a cultural obligation to take steps toward slowing down the senseless killing of our children. The debate about gun control has delivered nothing but status quo. It’s time we talk about gun responsibility.

There is a difference between control and responsibility. The first is a mandate that can infringe on our right; the second is a duty that will preserve it. There is no constitutional barrier to gun responsibility. Keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people is not only the responsible thing to do, it is the best way to protect the Second Amendment. We can do both.

Depraved acts of violence, with guns as the weapon of choice, are ripping apart families, tearing at people’s faith, and shredding the fabric of our society. We have an epidemic of indiscriminate mass shootings, of parents burying their children, of inaction, and buck-passing. Saving the unnecessary loss of lives is not a partisan issue.

The need for mental health care, school safety, the prevalence of sensationalized media coverage, and the decaying state of American values are all long-term societal factors that must be addressed, but right now, we don’t have the luxury of time. We need to focus on corrections and countermeasures that can also and immediately reduce the gun violence tragedies that have become too common in our country.

We need to make the lost lives matter. Our leaders must make bipartisan compromises on a few reasonable measures to restore responsible gun ownership in our country.

I believe:

1) All gun purchases should require a background check. Eighty-eight percent of Americans support this, including a lot of responsible gun owning Texans. … I’ve met them. Roof, who killed nine people in a black church in South Carolina in 2015, got his pistol without a completed background check due to a legal technicality. The system failed. Gun control activists call this a loophole. I call it incompetence.

2) Unless you are in the military, you should be 21 years old to purchase an assault rifle. I’m not talking about 12-gauge shotguns or lever-action hunting rifles. I’m talking about the weapon of choice for mass murderers, AR-15s. The killer in my hometown of Uvalde purchased two AR-15s for his eighteenth birthday, just days before he killed 19 students and two teachers. He obeyed the law. Had the law been different, perhaps I wouldn’t be writing this today.

3) Red Flag Laws should be the law of the land. These measures, which are already in effect in 19 states and Washington, D.C., empower loved ones or law enforcement to petition courts to temporarily prevent individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or accessing firearms. These laws must respect due process, judicial review, and hold account individuals who may abuse such laws.

4) We need to institute a national waiting period for assault rifles. Individuals often purchase weapons in a fit of rage, harming themselves or others. Studies show that mandatory waiting periods reduced homicides by 17 percent. Gun suicides account for the majority of U.S. gun deaths. A waiting period to purchase an assault rifle is an acceptable sacrifice for responsible gun owners when it can prevent a mass shooting crime of passion or suicide.

Integrating gun safety training, safe storage proposals, and bolstering school safety are also beneficial, but are not government-only solutions. Companies, private organizations, and responsible gun owners have a big role to play.

I want to be clear. I am not under the illusion that these policies will solve all of our problems, but if responsible solutions can stop some of these tragedies from striking another community without destroying the Second Amendment, they're worth it.

This is not a choice between guns or no guns. It’s the responsible choice. It’s the reasonable choice. It’s a quintessentially American choice: Where I have the right to be me, you have the freedom to be you, and we have the responsibility to be US.

To find common ground on this issue, both sides are going to have to answer the call and reach for the higher ground of our collective responsibility.

Business as usual isn’t working. “That’s just how it is” cannot be an excuse. The heinous bloodshed of innocent people cannot become bearable. If we continue to just stand by, we’re living a lie. With every right there comes a duty.

For ourselves, our children, and our fellow Americans—we have a duty to be responsible gun owners. Please do yours and protect the Second Amendment through gun responsibility. It’s time for real leaders to step up and do what’s right, so we can each and all just keep livin’.

The author is a native of Uvalde, an Austin resident, founder of the just keep livin Foundation, and a father of three.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

Burning Petard
Posts: 4050
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:35 pm
Location: Near Bear, Delaware

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Burning Petard »

I agree fully with #1 above. Never ascribe to malice what can be explained by simple human sloppiness or absence of pride in always doing their job right. Delaware now has such a law and not just purchase, but any transfer, such as giving one of my guns to an adult grandchild, must have the federal background check done by a local dealer.

2. I do not understand a military exception. Does any US military require a member under 21(or any age for that matter.) to purchase their weapon?

3. I like Red Flag laws, but they should have some kind of time limit. Do an investigation and then either remove the ability to legally own/posses, or give them back. Local authorities should be required to store and handle the firearm in a manner that does not reduce the value of the firearm--such as storing a custom firearm worth thousands of dollars (go shopping for a nice over-under shotgun for trap with nice wood to see just what they can cost) rather than put them in a cardboard evidence box and put it in a dank basement storage area.

4. I see nothing wrong with a waiting period. Delaware used to have a waiting period for purchase of a pistol--three days. The first mass school killing in the USA I believe happened in Michigan and involved explosives, not firearm(s). Anybody know how much of a hassle it is for a farmer to buy some explosives to remove a few tree stumps from a field? Used to be common rural practice, even in Delaware.

snailgate

Big RR
Posts: 14050
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:47 pm

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Big RR »

anybody know how much of a hassle it is for a farmer to buy some explosives to remove a few tree stumps from a field?
Don't they make their own? Mix fertilizer (especially high ammonium nitrate fertilizer) and fuel oil or kerosene (the proportions can vary, but the internet has a lot of information) and you get ANFO, also known as farmers' dynamite. It likely hard to get a blasting cap and primer (or detacord), but there are other things that can be used to set it off. Farms usually have a lot of fertilizer and fuel oil, so it's pretty easy to make it from thing son hand.

Jarlaxle
Posts: 5370
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 4:21 am
Location: New England

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Jarlaxle »

Burning Petard wrote:
Mon Jun 06, 2022 7:01 pm
I agree fully with #1 above. Never ascribe to malice what can be explained by simple human sloppiness or absence of pride in always doing their job right. Delaware now has such a law and not just purchase, but any transfer, such as giving one of my guns to an adult grandchild, must have the federal background check done by a local dealer.

2. I do not understand a military exception. Does any US military require a member under 21(or any age for that matter.) to purchase their weapon?

3. I like Red Flag laws, but they should have some kind of time limit. Do an investigation and then either remove the ability to legally own/posses, or give them back. Local authorities should be required to store and handle the firearm in a manner that does not reduce the value of the firearm--such as storing a custom firearm worth thousands of dollars (go shopping for a nice over-under shotgun for trap with nice wood to see just what they can cost) rather than put them in a cardboard evidence box and put it in a dank basement storage area.
Red flag laws have one purpose: to legalize SWATing gun owners.

ex-khobar Andy
Posts: 5419
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 4:16 am
Location: Louisville KY as of July 2018

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

And now six dead in Chicago from a shooting at a July 4th parade. We are once again hearing politicians saying, 'Enough is enough." We passed 'Enough' long, long ago.

ETA - Highland Park is Chicago-area but is not part of Chicago.

User avatar
Econoline
Posts: 9555
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:25 pm
Location: DeKalb, Illinois...out amidst the corn, soybeans, and Republicans

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Econoline »

Highland Park is a very well-to-do suburb (population ~30,000) in Lake County, Illinois on the Lake Michigan lakefront, about 30 miles north of Chicago. My wife grew up there.

I think about a third of the population there is Jewish, so that might be a factor in the motive. :arg :evil:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/7/4/2 ... de-gunfire
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
God @The Tweet of God

User avatar
BoSoxGal
Posts: 18299
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:36 pm
Location: The Heart of Red Sox Nation

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by BoSoxGal »

MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!

I’m done.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

User avatar
Econoline
Posts: 9555
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:25 pm
Location: DeKalb, Illinois...out amidst the corn, soybeans, and Republicans

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Econoline »

People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
God @The Tweet of God

User avatar
Sue U
Posts: 8545
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:59 pm
Location: Eastern Megalopolis, North America (Midtown)

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Sue U »

One of my brothers and his wife live in Highland Park. Fortunately, they were here with me in NJ for our family's annual Fourth festivities, but their phones were buzzing all day with friends checking in to see if they had been at the parade and asking if the were okay. Again the conversation here turned to whether we could still feel safe in this country; my older daughter said she has already made her decision to leave the U.S. when she's finished with university (but hasn't yet figured out where she'll go).
GAH!

Burning Petard
Posts: 4050
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:35 pm
Location: Near Bear, Delaware

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Burning Petard »

I just purchased a small poster with the words: The Truth Shall Make You Free. But first it will Really Piss You Off.

snailgate

User avatar
BoSoxGal
Posts: 18299
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:36 pm
Location: The Heart of Red Sox Nation

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by BoSoxGal »

Two year old boy pulled out from under his dead father’s body covered in daddy’s blood and mommy’s dead too and he is cared for by total strangers until his grandparents are found and reunited with him and now they will raise him the poor orphan whose parents apparently don’t have the right to life liberty and pursuit of happiness if it gets in the way of a teenager having an assault rifle.

God isn’t blessing us anymore. God is sick of America.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

User avatar
Econoline
Posts: 9555
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:25 pm
Location: DeKalb, Illinois...out amidst the corn, soybeans, and Republicans

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Econoline »

This took me a minute....


Betty white.jpg
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
God @The Tweet of God

Big RR
Posts: 14050
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:47 pm

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Big RR »

Ouch!

User avatar
Econoline
Posts: 9555
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:25 pm
Location: DeKalb, Illinois...out amidst the corn, soybeans, and Republicans

Re: In other news from Hell

Post by Econoline »

I know, right? :evil:
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
God @The Tweet of God

Post Reply