Kennedy

You have a VERY wide definition of "very real possibility." I was at an outdoors show/convention. Many booths were gun dealers and knife dealers. A few people were carrying open. I'm sure many, many more were carrying concealed. As I was browsing for boots, the tire on a handcart burst and took out a wooden table leg. I'd have never thought anything could sound so much like a gun shot. I crouched and turned, as did many others. I think maybe two men drew pistols, and a few put hands on their pistols. My first thought was an accident, not an attack. Guess what: no one shot anyone, and no one was gunned down in turn. Honestly that scenario sounds completely ludicrous and beyond the realm of possibility. So no, I don't agree. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Except for that pesky first amendment, you're right. But, the fact of the matter is, our FF were not universally Christian, and recognized the fact that a just government should not promote Christianity or Islam, or Judaism, or Hindhuism, etc. The first amendment recognizes the right to freedom of religion. Where does it say that all mention of religion must be struck from the public discourse? It doesn't say "freedom from," now does it? Because they're Christians? Is there a (major) religion out there that doesn't promote the idea that it is the one true way? ps - I didn't see a response to legislating from the bench. Do you think that judges should be allowed to make law in the absence of legislation? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

What, are you three years old? I don't give a shit who started it. Act like an adult and take responsibility for your own behavior. And since I don't have to look at you in the mirror every day, I don't particularly care how your conscience is doing. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

The one who represents where I want my personality to be is John Wayne. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

So then you're against the law that prohibits all CCW holders from carrying in all bars? Afterall, that takes the choice away from the private business owner, doesn't it? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Armed Citizen reports come out monthly. You can see them online at http://www.nrapublications.org/armed%20citizen/index.asp or http://www.nraila.org/ArmedCitizen/ or there are archived listings (that site is only this months top stories) Self defense is also commonly documented here: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/default.asp (along with cop injustices and gun legislation) There are countless instances of people defending themselves. There are also stories of CCW holders restraining themselves. Even here on dz.com I've seen instances where one guy said he confronted an asshole, and CCW holding posters told him that was the wrong thing to do (especially if he was carrying). Just because you don't read about it in the Times doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I read Brady and VPC releases. Do you read NRA and GOA releases to temper your own position and gather information from both sides? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Basically I would say the most common frivolous lawsuits are based around third party misuse following a normal transaction. Examples: -It's somehow a pastry maker's fault when some asshat sets his kitchen on fire for using a toaster incorrectly? -It's somehow a gun maker's fault that a criminal stole a gun from a cop and used it in a crime? The second most common ridiculous suit (but much harder to distinguish) are defamation/slander/libel suits. Some have merit, but so many of them are complete BS. Examples: -Caterpillar Disney -Matel MCA -a businessman sued a cop for arresting him at work (bad image costing him a contract) yes, he was guilty and it was on warrant I have the biggest problem with lawsuits intended to bankrupt a company/industry through court costs or settlement fees. Death by a thousand cuts, constant defense fees for baseless suits, that even the accusers know are BS. (more rare but obviously they exist) witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Don't ruin a perfectly good America hating rant just to toss in some common sense! What kind of world citizen are you? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

The "you can impact" comment wasn't even made by RoadRash. It was just one more mean-spirited post by another poster. Follow it back and you'll see. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

The reason out of court settlements work is because layers are so damned expensive (the good ones anyway). Seeing as that is a universal truth, it can often be less costly to negotiate a payoff before a trial than to go to trial (even when you know you'll win). That treats the symptom not the cause. I also have a problem with removing the "average" citizen from the process. If you can't trust twleve people to do the right thing, then the whole system is fucked anyway. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Come on, where else can "sausage fest" be a good thing other than around polka? And oh, the BEEEEEEEEEEEEER......... witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

***Bush hits 'frivolous lawsuits' By James G. Lakely President Bush said yesterday he is "passionate" about protecting the business community from "frivolous lawsuits" and will work hard to get legal reform through Congress, including making the issue a topic of his State of the Union address next month. Mr. Bush was the star attraction of a two-day economic summit filled with speakers who praised the president's first-term economic record and touted his new, aggressive agenda of tort reform, restructuring Social Security and making permanent the tax cuts he pushed through Congress in the last four years. Mr. Bush chose to sit in on the panel discussing liability reform, a favorite topic of his stretching from his days as governor of Texas in the 1990s through his re-election campaign this year. "I told you then and I'm going to tell you again: This is a priority issue for not only me, but for a lot of people in the Senate," Mr. Bush said, predicting an easy road in the House for restrictions on class-action suits against businesses and doctors, but a struggle in the Senate. "It is being blocked by a few in the United States Senate, and the trial bar has made this the number one issue for them," he said. "We cannot have the legal system to be a legal lottery. "We want the legal system to be fair and balanced so people can get good health care, so small businesses can afford to stay in business, so we don't hear these horrible stories about someone drug through this class-action meat grinder that has caused [many] to go out of business," the president said to applause from his hand-picked panel. Democrats in Congress called the summit all but pointless because Mr. Bush was not likely to hear any opinions that didn't match his own. "Unfortunately, day one of the administration's 'economic summit' seems little more than a collection of like-minded individuals who are intent on pushing a preordained partisan agenda rather than conducting an open, honest dialogue on issues that require broad bipartisan support," said House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat. South Carolina Rep. John M. Spratt Jr., ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said he wished the summit was like the "real conference" President Clinton convened with Republicans and Democrats alike in 1997. "That was a genuine bipartisan effort," Mr. Spratt said. "There has been no effort by this administration to reach out to involve us in the process. We haven't even had an invitation to a conference like this, much less to a real working conference where there is a true exchange of ideas and give and take and bargaining. It's simply missing, and there's no indication that there's going to be anything like that this year." After hearing legal horror stories from a small-business owner, law professors, the CEO of Home Depot, a doctor and a pregnant woman who struggled to find anyone who would take the legal risk of delivering her baby, Mr. Bush promised to push hard for tort reform. "I am passionate on the subject because I want America to be the best place in the world for people to find work or to raise their family or to get good health care," he said. "And I can assure you all that I intend to make this a priority issue, as I stand before Congress, when I give the State of the Union, and as I talk to leaders of the Congress about what I think ought to be done in the upcoming legislative session." The first day of the economic conference — held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center three blocks from the White House — was opened with a brief speech by Vice President Dick Cheney, who credited Mr. Bush's four tax cuts in four years for righting an economy that slid into recession in 2001 and was damaged further by the September 11 attacks. "We've created an environment in which firms and entrepreneurs are more willing to take risk, innovate, invest and hire more workers," Mr. Cheney said. "If we stay on that path, the years ahead will bring even greater progress and prosperity for the people that we all serve." Mr. Cheney's comments were followed by a string of sunny economic assessments and praise for Mr. Bush delivered by some of the president's most prominent political supporters. "I'm pleased to say the economy is now in very good shape," said Harvard economics professor Martin Feldstein, a Republican who is eyeing a presidential appointment to succeed Alan Greenspan as the head of the Federal Reserve Board. Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli, a Bush supporter who raised $3.2 million for the Republican National Committee this year, told the president, "There is no better person than you" to lead the economy and the fight for tort reform. "We're tickled to death that your exodus from Washington has been postponed for four years," Mr. Nardelli said. A priority for the administration will be cajoling Congress to make permanent Mr. Bush's tax cuts that are all set to expire in 2010. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow told CNN after convening one of the day's panels that he is confident Mr. Bush will include a measure to make his tax cuts permanent in the first budget he submits in February. He said the president will also submit a plan to simplify and reform the federal tax code before the end of the year. "I don't have a particular timetable," Mr. Snow said, but indicated the plan will be out "as soon as possible" so it can wind through Congress in 2005. Mr. Bush indicated yesterday that he will largely bypass Democrats in Congress — which is easier in the House with the Republicans' 30-seat majority, but harder in the Senate, where the Republicans only will have a 55-44 margin with one Democrat-leaning independent. Another major domestic- agenda item in the second term will be Social Security reform, which will be the main topic of conversation as the summit closes today. The White House hasn't outlined details of Mr. Bush's plan, but a linchpin will be allowing younger workers to opt out of Social Security, which will begin to run a deficit in 2018 and will be insolvent by 2042. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

My friend that would make far too much sense to happen in the Corner. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Long article, but it puts out a number of facts I hadn't heard before. [Mr. Rodgers voice] Can you say "Life without the possibility of parole?" I knew you could. [/voice] http://www.libertyforall.net/2005/jan2/Hunting.html witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

OK, so the city says granting rights to some and not others does not create a class seperation. (water fountains anyone?) How is granting some people the right to keep a gun, but not others, different from licensing? And they cite Michael Moore's movie as not only justification but as the reason they must proceed. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/12/17/MNGARADH4O1.DTL witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Does anyone know the subject for more than half of the listed titles? I only recognized three, but I voted for Thin Blue Line. Not sure if it's the film I'm thinking of, but if it is it knocked me for a loop. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

http://www.crystalinks.com/taoism.html http://www.taopage.org/ "Certain Chinese philosophers writing in, perhaps, the -5th and -4th centuries, explained ideas and a way of life that have come to be known as Taoism - the way of man's cooperation with the course or trend of the natural world, whose principles we discover in the flow patterns of water, gas, an fire, which are subsequently memorialized or sculptured in those of stone and wood, and, later, in many forms of human art." --Alan Watts on Taoism witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

IF we're kinda coasting and things seem like we might not end up as rubble strew out over a few hundred yards, maybe I'd just STFD & STFU. In a balls out, holy shit, we're-gonna-die dive, -IF- I could gear up and open the door, you're damn right I would. edit because I type like a fucktard when I'm rushing witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

OK, um, not a chance in hell. He'll get my vote when kallend votes for Trent Lott or another Bush. Also not possible without an amendment to the constitution. Not so soon, afterall, eh? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

WHERE DO YOU STAND ON SOCIAL ISSUES? It's a fairly simple question. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

No, no, and no. Promoting anything abroad is foreign policy. Economic policy can affect everything, that does not mean it is the same thing. "Gun, God, Gays" and the like are social issues. Civil liberties. ID Checkpoints. Freedom (or lack thereof) of expression. Information sharing capabilities. Those things are social issues. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

I'll spell it out for you. Ess Oh See Eye Ay Ell - - Eye Ess Ess You Ee Ess SOCIAL issues. They are distinctly different from economic policy issues, national defense/security issues, foreign policy issues, et al. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Someday I'd like to meet Mr. Murphy and shake his hand... and then hang him from the rafters by his own inards. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

edits to original question in bold What do you think now? Using your lideas, a person could make the argument that "we need laws that provide protection. Not allowing a CCW outside a house is one of those provisions." Do you concur? If not, why not? I'm curious to know where you draw the line, and why. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

He asked you if you tend towards liberal or conservative. That is not the same as asking if you are Democrat or Republican. Any "independent thinking progressive" should know that. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*