My open letter to the NRA:

The vast majority of gun violence takes place in known locations by known demographics. Fix that.

Wordslinger wrote:Who woulda' thunk it?  In just over a month the mighty NRA has become a badge of shame.  A terrorist symbol.  I think I'll get a T-shirt made featuring a drawing of the Grim Reaper with "I am the NRA!" just below the picture.    


The Parkland kids who are leading the current movement will (most of them) be able to vote in less than four or five years.  

Like Mr. Hogg spoke at the Washington demonstration:  Hey NRA officials:  "Get your resumes ready."

   

We might be seeing the beginning of change of cultural norms. Remember what happened with smoking? Used to be you could smoke anywhere, anytime, even on airplanes. Then the next thing you know, you're getting the stinkeye if you even pull out a pack of cigarettes much less light one up. It took ten or fifteen years but eventually smoking wasn't cool anymore--it wasn't even tolerated.

The same thing happened with overt racism. You're socially persona-non-grata if you openly profess hatred of a racial or religious groups. Smokers and racists have been shamed and shunned in polite society. The same with homophobia.

This thing today might be the beginning of something similar. All the pathetic GI Joe wannabees who get their kicks blasting away at the gun range but have never faced hostile fire or imminent danger will have to actually join the military if they wanna play with guns. Most of them won't qualify, of course, because deep down inside most of them are girlymen.

I know a LOT of 'Nam vets and NOT ONE of the guys who faced hostile fire wants to have anything to do with guns anymore. It's only the wannabees that are so hot for AR-15s with 30-round magazines, not real combat veterans.

I still think a simple phone app on getting a permit to transport a gun with mandatory sentences for non permitted transport would solve gun problems across the board. Gun ID, Foid ID, transport location, and purpose of transport could be entered into a smart phone with pull down menus which a gun owner can simply check which of his weapons he is transporting. Law abiding citizens are not going to have a problem with transporting a weapon and getting a permit. A criminal will not. Drive by shootings are the largest component of gun deaths next to suicides. Let people keep what they want at their homes, but only certain weapons can be transported with a permit. This phone app should take about ten seconds and when you are stopped you simply show your permit to LEO. Conceal and carry permit holders do not have to get transport permits as they are in the system and can go anywhere with their permit.

Gun violence is much like highway deaths in the forties and fifties. They can be lowered by sound safety measures. The goal is not perfection, but simply reduction of gun deaths in America.

Gun crime is already on a significant decline... except in certain locations.

Guns and the criminal distribution of illicit drugs are a marriage born from a conservative political blueprint from the Nixon years. Neutralizing and destroying communities of color has been accomplished by the NRA and the police state, but the idea of common sense gun safety regulations and decriminalizing drug use where it is regulated and taxed like pot makes Jeff Sessions cringe. The success of Washington, Colorado, and Oregon in decriminalizing and taxing pot has destroyed all the conservative tenets that pot is a gateway drug which leads to higher levels of crime. All states which have legalized have had drops in crime. Jeff Sessions and his formula for new slave militias going over state lines to enforce his vision of keeping uppity people of color politically impotent is the same Jim crow slavery incubator which needs to be removed from America. Legalize drugs and regulate guns.

Federal gun laws/regulations will not be changed in any significant way .. and the school shooting issue will not be much of a factor in the mid-terms or in 2020.     It's not the Republican party is going to lose the votes of anybody already predisposed to be an anti-gunner.

And Trump will lose in 2020, hopefully in the primary ... though it's not too clear just yet what Republican politicos will be up to that challenge.   I certainly hope he doesn't leave before 2020 ... 'cause I really, really, don't want to see Mike Pence as President.

EmeraldGhost wrote:Federal gun laws/regulations will not be changed in any significant way .. and the school shooting issue will not be much of a factor in the mid-terms or in 2020.    

And Trump will lose in 2020, hopefully in the primary ... though it's not too clear just yet what Republican politicos will be up to that challenge.   I certainly hope he doesn't leave before 2020 ... 'cause I really, really, don't want to see Mike Pence as President.

Amen to that!

EmeraldGhost wrote:Federal gun laws/regulations will not be changed in any significant way .. and the school shooting issue will not be much of a factor in the mid-terms or in 2020.     It's not the Republican party is going to lose the votes of anybody already predisposed to be an anti-gunner.

And Trump will lose in 2020, hopefully in the primary ... though it's not too clear just yet what Republican politicos will be up to that challenge.   I certainly hope he doesn't leave before 2020 ... 'cause I really, really, don't want to see Mike Pence as President.

Pence is a total shitheel but he probably knows what Aleppo is.

Wordslinger wrote:Who woulda' thunk it?  In just over a month the mighty NRA has become a badge of shame.  ....  

"badge of shame" huh? Get real, 'wordie'

Maybe among those you hang around ... I know plenty of proud NRA members. Very proud. More so even since Trump got elected. They're practically swimming in their pride that Hillary was defeated ... and gleefully awaiting national concealed carry reciprocity.

EmeraldGhost wrote:

Wordslinger wrote:Who woulda' thunk it?  In just over a month the mighty NRA has become a badge of shame.  ....  

"badge of shame" huh?   Get real, 'wordie'

Maybe among those you hang around ... I know plenty of proud NRA members. Very proud.   More so even since Trump got elected.    They're practically swimming in their pride that Hillary was defeated ... and gleefully awaiting national concealed carry reciprocity.

Yes...badge of shame is correct. Sorry about the people you hang around with.

Floridatexan wrote:
Yes...badge of shame is correct.  Sorry about the people you hang around with.

You don't get to choose your relatives.   (Okay, in-laws maybe.  I guess one kind of chooses them in a way)


You know ... between my wife and I we have siblings who are an anesthesiologist, a retired Federal prison warden with two masters degrees, and a math professor (phd tenured) at UCSD and areall avid Trump supporters.    On the other hand we have a Psychiatrist and a Nuclear Engineer siblings Hillary supporters and some lesser educated family members who went Trump or Hilllary.   Point being ... I'm not so certain the common trope that Trump voters are a bunch of uneducated deplorable hicks is really all that true (although I also know a few Trumpkins who might fit that description as well).   What I think the Trump phenomena has more to do with is some people's leanings (conscious or subconscious) towards authoritarian ideas and leaders.    

Link:  It’s time to bust the myth: Most Trump voters were not working class.

EmeraldGhost wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:
Yes...badge of shame is correct.  Sorry about the people you hang around with.

You don't get to choose your relatives.   (Okay, in-laws maybe.  I guess one kind of chooses them in a way)


You know ... between my wife and I we have siblings who are an anesthesiologist, a retired Federal prison warden with two masters degrees, and a math professor (phd tenured) at UCSD and areall avid Trump supporters.    On the other hand we have a Psychiatrist and a Nuclear Engineer siblings Hillary supporters and some lesser educated family members who went Trump or Hilllary.   Point being ... I'm not so certain the common trope that Trump voters are a bunch of uneducated deplorable hicks is really all that true (although I also know a few Trumpkins who might fit that description as well).   What I think the Trump phenomena has more to do with is some people's leanings (conscious or subconscious) towards authoritarian ideas and leaders.    

Link:  It’s time to bust the myth: Most Trump voters were not working class.

All the people you just mentioned are working class. If they weren't, they wouldn't be working. What you meant to say is that Trump voters only care about themselves.

Floridatexan wrote:  ....
All the people you just mentioned are working class.  If they weren't, they wouldn't be working.  

Okay, if you want to call people with professional/graduate degrees making between 150k and 500k a year "working class"     I don't think that's the way most people see it ... but you are free to see things however suits you I s'pose.

Floridatexan wrote:
What you meant to say

Don't tell me what i "meant to say",  thanks ... I think I express my thoughts clearly enough all by myself.

Floridatexan wrote:
is that Trump voters only care about themselves.

Well, I don't think that's necessarily true across the board ... or even as a general rule.   I know some Trump supporters who are quite giving, charitable, caring people .... they just don't see a role for the Federal government in much of what you allude to ... and they have a sense there is a lot of waste and fraud going on in Federal "safety net" programs.    

Personally, as a student of politics and history, I find the whole "Trump" thing quite fascinating.   And I really think I'm onto something with my ideas about people and their authoritarian leaning personalities. That's the one common denominator I've noticed among many avid Trump supporters.   (and that particular authoritarian-leaning demographic exists on both the right & left ... it's just not quite so obvious with the authoritarian left because they mask their authoritarianism with a veneer of "caring for others" ... when that's not really the case.  They care about "certain" "others" and anyone who disagrees with their political philosophies, means, or methods  can go to hell in a handbasket.  I imagine the far left would put me personally in a reeducation camp, if such things existed, about as quickly as the hard right.)

EmeraldGhost wrote:Well, I don't think that's necessarily true across the board ... or even as a general rule.   I know some Trump supporters who are quite giving, charitable, caring people .... they just don't see a role for the Federal government in much of what you allude to ... and they have a sense there is a lot of waste and fraud going on in Federal "safety net" programs.    

They may SAY that's why they oppose "safety net" programs but I don't believe it. They drag out "waste, fraud and abuse" just like Reagan babbled on about "welfare queens", but the real reason probably has more to do with racism and resentment than waste or fraud. They all support a more powerful military establishment and look at the waste in that sector.

They claim they oppose "waste, fraud and abuse" because they can't come right out and say "I got mine! Up yers!" in polite society.

Deus X wrote:

They may SAY that's why they oppose "safety net" programs but I don't believe it. ....

Then you are missing an important point ... they DO believe it.   So their statements are consistent with their beliefs.    

The Trumpkins I know believe what they say just as much as my SIL, a devout old school Catholic (and a personal paragon of caring/charity) believes the Pope's word is tantamount to the word of God.

EmeraldGhost wrote:
The Trumpkins I know believe what they say just as much as my SIL, a devout old school Catholic... believes the Pope's word is tantamount to the word of God.

Wait, you're actually using your loopy Sister-in-Law to buttress an argument? She's not exactly a statistically significant sample, but if you think that'll fly, go for it... but first look up inductive generalization.

Deus X wrote:

EmeraldGhost wrote:
The Trumpkins I know believe what they say just as much as my SIL, a devout old school Catholic...    believes the Pope's word is tantamount to the word of God.

Wait, you're actually using your loopy Sister-in-Law to buttress an argument?  She's not exactly a statistically significant sample, but if you think that'll fly, go for it...   but first look up inductive generalization.

Calm down, there 'deusie' We're just talking here. It was anecdotal. I'm not making a formal argument nor do I have any interest in doing so.

As to my "loopy" SIL .... huge Hillary supporter. Huge.

EmeraldGhost wrote:
As to my "loopy" SIL .... huge Hillary supporter.  Huge.

So I was right, then.

EmeraldGhost wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:  ....
All the people you just mentioned are working class.  If they weren't, they wouldn't be working.  

Okay, if you want to call people with professional/graduate degrees making between 150k and 500k a year "working class"     I don't think that's the way most people see it ... but you are free to see things however suits you I s'pose.

Floridatexan wrote:
What you meant to say

Don't tell me what i "meant to say",  thanks ... I think I express my thoughts clearly enough all by myself.

Floridatexan wrote:
is that Trump voters only care about themselves.

Well, I don't think that's necessarily true across the board ... or even as a general rule.   I know some Trump supporters who are quite giving, charitable, caring people .... they just don't see a role for the Federal government in much of what you allude to ... and they have a sense there is a lot of waste and fraud going on in Federal "safety net" programs.    

Personally, as a student of politics and history, I find the whole "Trump" thing quite fascinating.   And I really think I'm onto something with my ideas about people and their authoritarian leaning personalities.   That's the one common denominator I've noticed among many avid Trump supporters.   (and that particular authoritarian-leaning demographic exists on both the right & left ... it's just not quite so obvious with the authoritarian left because they mask their authoritarianism with a veneer of "caring for others" ... when that's not really the case.  They care about "certain" "others" and anyone who disagrees with their political philosophies, means, or methods  can go to hell in a handbasket.  I imagine the far left would put me personally in a reeducation camp, if such things existed, about as quickly as the hard right.)

See my post in the book section. Authoritarian followers tend to be Republican.

Floridatexan wrote:

See my post in the book section.  Authoritarian followers tend to be Republican.

Do you ever have any original thoughts of your own or do you just depend on others to tell you what to think?

Ordering someone to go read something smacks of authoritarianism itself. From your posts, you seem to be as close-minded and inflexible as anyone on the right.

“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."
Edmund Burke


"The complexity of things, the multiplicity of minds and wills and the uncertainty of outcomes leave one's opinions ever subject to revision."
Jacques Barzun

Deus X wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:

See my post in the book section.  Authoritarian followers tend to be Republican.

Do you ever have any original thoughts of your own or do you just depend on others to tell you what to think?

Ordering someone to go read something smacks of authoritarianism itself. From your posts, you seem to be as close-minded and inflexible as anyone on the right.

“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."
Edmund Burke


"The complexity of things, the multiplicity of minds and wills and the uncertainty of outcomes leave one's opinions ever subject to revision."
Jacques Barzun

I didn't order anyone to do anything. In the study, people were asked to administer shocks to other people. I'm a seeker, not a judge. But at some point all that input has to be analyzed and applied.

Floridatexan wrote:  Authoritarian followers tend to be Republican.

Then how do you explain all attacks made by lefties on free speech on college campuses last year? Assholes like Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter have just as much right to express their odious views as Martin Luther King did. That's what the First Amendment was written for.

INOFFENSIVE SPEECH DOESN'T NEED PROTECTION. DUH!

The left can be, and often is, just as strident and doctrinaire as the extreme right.

Also, regarding the link you posted in the Books section, it's dead!

Floridatexan wrote:

See my post in the book section.  Authoritarian followers tend to be Republican.

I disagree.   IMO, there are as many authoritarian elements/ideas on the far left as there are on the far right.

EmeraldGhost wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:

See my post in the book section.  Authoritarian followers tend to be Republican.

I disagree.   IMO, there are as many authoritarian elements/ideas on the far left as there are on the far right.

That's why I call them both progressives: A basic desire the use govt solutions and force to inflict/advance their subjective desires.