rhaig

I think the allegation is that George assaulted and threatened her father. OH!! well that changes EVERYTHING!!! no... it doesn't. hey look people!! idiots!!! -- Rob

If you read this thread more closely rather than taking the gratuitous dig at the "dems" and "libs," you'll see there are many who opposed the war in Iraq and consistently oppose the attack on Syria. I am turned off by his haste to go blow shit up as his predecessor did. Good for you. We're on the same page. (both now, and 10 years ago) as for the rest of it....

Well... if we don't actually have to attack to solve the problem, then everyone wins. If we bluffed all along not intending to attack, that was poor strategy. Getting called on your bluff and not following through is much worse in international politics than in a friendly game of poker. If we weren't bluffing, then threatening to attack got everyone's hackles up over what would likely have been a multinational conflict if we'd actually attacked. It may yet result in a diplomatic resolution, but that doesn't appear to have been the goal on the outset. But at least we all here have seen that when the Republican in chief is pushing us to the brink of war, opposition isn't the same as when the Democrat in chief is doing the exact same thing. -- Rob

"From 2005-2009, there were an average of 3,533 fatal unintentional drownings (non-boating related) annually in the United States — about ten deaths per day. An additional 347 people died each year from drowning in boating-related incidents." 120 < 3,533 Every year more than 500 kids die in bike accidents. http://ymiclassroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/GetInGear.pdf 120 < 500 . Didn't realize we had a contest in the USA to see which method killed the most kids. You're such a political animal. You've been hanging out with the Hollywood types too much lately. You support further restrictions on gun ownership, yet you haven't made any public outcry for the further restrictions on minors riding bicycles, or swimming pool safety regulation. I won't call you a hypocrite. I don't think that is your intention. But you appear to be more concerned with a highly politicized topic rather than actually concerned about the safety of children. -- Rob

So, you believe a headline reading, "Man Bites Dog" would be politicizing . . . what? If you don't believe a story about a man defending himself with a gun and tragically killing a prankster can be politicized, then you are out of touch with pro/anti-gun arguments being made, or being intentionally obtuse. -- Rob

neither guns nor bikes should be banned. The only reason this one made the news was someone thought they could politicize it more. "evil man trying to defend himself kills innocent prankster" -- Rob

So you'd be OK with having CIA and PMC's providing weapons and training to the Syrian rebels. I didn't say that. I think you presume too much when it comes to the CIA and Nursa. I'm fairly certain the CIA knows who they're dealing with. so benefit of the doubt... CIA isn't aiding Nursa. But they're helping a different rebel group. We are positive none of the members of this other group have any affiliations with Nursa. And the help this other group is provided will not help Nursa's efforts whatsoever to oust Assad and rise to power in the area. That seems a little like a reach to me. -- Rob

So you'd be OK with having CIA and PMC's providing weapons and training to the Syrian rebels. Including al-Qaeda linked groups like the Nursa Front. ("One of the most effective Syrian rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad is the Nusra Front, effectively a branch of al Qaeda." -- http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/09/us-usa-security-threat-idUSBRE98803S20130909) -- Rob

why? what are you hiding? -- Rob

oh my god!!! we're so fucking worried about the source and how old it is not to be able to laugh at it??? Fucking seriously? wow... lighten up Francis!! -- Rob

this is true. However, that you felt the need to clarify shows how similar the situations are. This is not that. But they are vary similar. However "this" is OK with many people (even with the "evidence" not having been shared with all the heads of state involved) while "that" was most certainly not OK with the same people. -- Rob

so what do you think of the CDC gun violence study? The top 10 from the Daily Kos article: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/26/1219171/-President-Obama-orders-CDC-to-assess-research-on-gun-violence yes, I picked a summary from a progressive blogger who would lean away from the typical libertarian position on gun control. -- Rob

hey! Santa Clause was a good movie!! -- Rob

what a tragic boating accident... all my guns are at the bottom of a deep deep lake. -- Rob

so both presidents fucked up. Why are you such an Obamapologist? Yeah, Bush signed it. It was found unconstitutional on Obama's watch. He should have had it dismantled. Instead, he CHOSE to continue an unconstitutional program. -- Rob

true. It's not a massive problem right now, but awareness is always a good thing. Also another reason (for me at least) to stick with my rooted android phone with the custom ROM. I control the software and the operating system. (and yes, I was being intentionally absurd in my other post) -- Rob

Now Bill... don't go getting confused. The firearms safety instructor shot one of his students. It was the ATF agent who shot himself. -- Rob

oh, well in that case, it doesn't need to be discussed at all. -- Rob

looks like workplace violence to me

Who said it was a handgun? fair enough. Since they were all under 18 (they are 15,16,17) it doesn't matter. They were in possession of the gun illegally. If it was in one of their homes and unsecured, then whoever didn't secure it should also be facing charges. -- Rob

let's make it illegal for teenagers to buy handguns. oh wait... -- Rob

I asked because I didn't recall. I have no reason to doubt. You're right... A 5-4 decision sucks. And clearly nobody has to agree with anything they say. But just as the guy who graduates medical school last in his class is called doctor, a 5-4 decision is still a decision. -- Rob

If it was 5-4 the other way, would you be as doubtful of the clarity of the court? -- Rob

twice as far. -- Rob

Didn't we cover this already? Yes, I actually noted that in the post you quoted. Yes, you already agreed to that. I was just noting the new numbers based off of the defensive gun uses cited by the CDC in the study we heard nothing about in the media because it doesn't support the ideas being pushed by the administration. Considering the initial numbers listed were from the lowest estimates. They were off from the CDC numbers by more than an order of magnitude. So I just thought I'd put the new numbers out there for you to agree to. To put a slightly different perspective on it, with no non-criminals owning firearms for self defense, you'd rather they live in fear of the greatly increased violent crime (up by a factor of 10). This, knowing that of the 8583 firearms murders, somewhere between 60-80% of them were committed by criminals with prior felony arrest records (based on FBI crime stats) and therefore couldn't have purchased their guns legally. So you're balancing somewhere between 1717 and 3433 murders vs the above numbers (unless you found your magic gun eraser button), in which case, why are we still discussing this? and you say yes dammit, I already said twice I'm OK with more violent crime as long as it doesn't end life!! (it's the "think of the children" line isn't it) Of course you're OK with that. So when violent crime goes up by a factor of 10, the government will take care of us right? Sure... hire more police. Equip them like military, enforce curfews, raise taxes, property crime will go up too, business start shutting down, tax revenues fall... where does the cycle end?? Yes, the guns are making it easier for criminals to murder. But living in constant fear of becoming a victim is not freedom. nobody is stopping you from moving to the south side of Chicago if that's the world you want to live in. Guns are effectively (yes, effectively) unavailable legally to most of the populace and practice with them is next to impossible legally. So move there, and let us know how it feels to be so safe from firearms murders. -- Rob