peacefuljeffrey

Intentional deaths (as opposed to accidental) have no bearing on how dangerous a person or group of people is? Blues, Dave Okay, ALL annual gun deaths in the U.S. total about 30,000. Put that over either number: the 250,000,000 guns privately owned, or the 80,000,000 gun owners, and you still get a terrifically small percentage of guns/gun owners involved in death. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I do. Why wouldn't I? I drive 10 miles across several towns to get to the doctor's office. I drive home. I may be out at the doctor's office during the course of an entire day spent around town in various situations. What is the problem? Is a doctor's office sacrosanct? Not to be sullied by evil guns? Is there some special thing about a day spent going to the doctor, that means nothing can happen to me where a gun might save my life? -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Wow. I wonder how the human species was able to kill each other before guns were invented. Anti-gunners pretend as though murder is not possible without a firearm. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I agree, a boy's young and fertile imagination WILL see what it wants to see in an object. I remember doing exactly what they say here, making everyday objects into swords and guns, and loving it. I was not prohibited by my parents or anyone else from playing with actual toy guns, or even BB guns, though. And I've grown into a non-violent person who has never been in trouble with the law, who has respect for the lives of those around me. Go figure. Hear hear. Exactly. This (learning to deal with right and wrong and the relationship between the two) cannot and should not be socially engineered out of our children. Some of these zero-tolerance schmucks have actually expelled kids from school for doing this... but it's the "gun culture" people who are fucked up?? First mistake: asking someone who has been irrevocably emotionally traumatized by this issue to comment on this very issue. Like you're going to get a reasoned response?! WTF?!?!! What the hell has been newly invented that makes toy guns look any more like real guns than they have for decades? Really. Is that so? Because the recent mass killings that come to my mind are the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing; the 9/11 World Trade Center crashes; the terrorist takeover of a school in Russia; the train station bombing in Spain; and numerous suicide bombings in Iraq and Israel. These mass killings had nothing to do with guns (with the possible exception of the Russia thing, but most of the killing was done with bombs). So who is this ignorant gun control asshole who is telling us that "guns cause countless deaths"? For one thing, it's people causing the deaths. For another, HE CANNOT DEMONSTRATE FOR ONE MICROSECOND THAT GUNS HAVE BEEN USED MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN BOMBS AND JET PLANES TO KILL PEOPLE. You want to do a mass killing, and you want the highest body count possible, you do NOT use a gun, you use fire or bombs or impact. Some dude faces 10 manslaughter counts because he drove through an open-air market in California. No gun involved: ten people dead. These anti-gun types are intellectually bankrupt. You'd think they could manage to make their absurd claims even partly credible... -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

That is absolutely false. Your approach ("Don't Prepare") has not "worked." What you illustrate is that it simply has never been put to the test. This is rather like saying, "My approach to water safety -- 'Not Wearing a type III PFD' -- has worked so far," when you have never been knocked unconscious and into open water! You're saying, "I'll take no steps to learn how to, or equip myself to, deal with a violent criminal attack, and see how it goes from there." And then you cite never having been attacked as proof that your means and preparedness for dealing with an attack are satisfactory. Specious. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Funny, I thought he was talking about how people choose NOT to defend themselves. How they choose to ABROGATE their right and ability to maintain defensive potential. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Are they? Or are the ones who recognize the threat, and spend a lot of time and heartache on it, the ones who are victimized, a little at a time. I don't choose to spend my life in fear, looking for the next person who's going to offend me. I choose to think the best of people, while taking small steps for safety (I do lock my house, but not even my car most of the time). To me, spending time and money on constant contingency planning is being victimized just as much as the person who is mugged and doesn't have their gun handy. Wendy W. Why is LIFE the only place you won't spend time or money planning for contingencies? You do it when you skydive (CYPRES, Reserve); you do it when you boat (PFD); you do it when you go online (firewall, antivirus); you do it in all kinds of venues. You are off the mark if you think that learning to protect ourselves and keeping the equipment for doing so on hand means we are "victimized" by the specter of violence by criminal attackers. I have a kitchen fire extinguisher but I do NOT "FEAR" a kitchen fire, and it does not occupy my thoughts. Nor does having a gun on me when I go out in public weigh on me, nor do thoughts of what I would do if I had to use it for defense. There is no victimization going on here except in some strange abstract sense that you are trying to contrive into us. I find it odd that you defend the practice of not locking your car, as though you are proving how tough and unperturbed you are by the possibility of personal and property crimes that people out there ARE hoping to commit against you or people like you. Is locking your car a concession to fear?! I understand "choosing to think the best of people," but that makes sense when you're talking about your friends, family and acquaintances. That is not a rational thing to do of the public as a whole. It is a mindset that pretends that there are no truly threatening, evil, harmful people out there waiting to cross paths with potential victims. If you truly "choose to think the best of people," does that mean it's a concession to fear if you use a condom during sex with a new boyfriend, because that's not "giving him the benefit of the doubt" (which is part of what I take "thinking the best of people" to mean)? I think your policy sounds more like, "If you're born to hang, you ain't gonna drown," (one of my dad's favorites), which, boiled down, means, "If it's destined to happen to me, it'll happen," and which presupposes that you cannot affect which direction your life jaunts off in. It sounds terribly wishy-washy to leave to chance things like how easy your car is to break into, or carjack. You leave the doors unlocked to prove that you are not living in fear of the crimes. Then if the crimes happen to you BECAUSE you left the doors unlocked, you'll probably end up with a new sense of fear that will haunt you worse than the idea of maybe having to protect yourself some day every did. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Now it's my turn to not buy it. In fact, I return it as defective merchandise. On what basis do you make the claim that the number of times a gun prevents violence is nowhere near [the number of CYPRES saves]?! The very thing you doubt happens many thousands of times each year. Also, it is unreasonable of you to draw the line of a gun's usefulness at the idea that "it has to be not-fired to have been useful." That's baloney. If the degree of the threat rises to the justification of a defender drawing a gun, from that point, whether or not it is fired becomes dependent almost fully on whether the attacker flees at the sight of it. And as far as I am concerned, no great ill has been done if a defender does actually have to shoot an attacker who was so dumb as to press an illegal attack on a person to the point of getting shot. I say good riddance, not "Aww, what a pity someone had to get shot." The "someone" was a criminal who attacked someone without justification! Where is the loss? Where is the tragedy? I was about to ask you if you had written this reply prior to reading Dave's explanation about his acquaintances, but I see you already had, by virtue of your having quoted him! Why are you still blaming these people for having had to use a gun for defense when it's been outlined that they were not putting themselves at inordinate risk?? Are you going to present to us any evidence that anyone represented here on this forum possesses that kind of ignorant attitude? I don't. I'm sure Dave doesn't. It's impossible for me to imagine John Rich or Winsor do. Where are all these people you claim are living recklessly at the edge of danger just because they have a gun?? I think you are manufacturing this boogeyman. You claim you "see such attitudes," and you "have met such people"... And then the only example you give is about a drunk who was glad to have had a knife on him when he got himself into trouble. Do you see why I think your heuristic is flawed here? You don't seem keen on letting your not knowing them hold you back from impugning them as no different from your knife-wielding friend. Once again, I hope you will re-read Dave's post and see that he already clarified that his friends were not asking for trouble, nor flirting with it for the simple sake that they had guns to bail them out. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Ohhh, I think that is off the mark. Yes, we do not want police officers arriving to every call with guns drawn and pointed at civilians. But to say that just because a cop has to fire at someone means he has failed in his job is ludicrous. A cop can't be arriving at a call where a guy is, say, wielding a shotgun and taking pot-shots around an apartment building? A cop can't arrive at a call where the actor is simply NOT going to do anything but physically attack anyone who comes near? It is the perpetrators who dictate whether the cop needs to use a gun, or whether he can take someone into custody peaceably. He has already said that they do not go about looking for trouble, do not associate with trouble-people, and were in places where trouble is not ordinarily or commonly found. Why on earth would they need to modify their behavior? I mean, short of deciding to always lock their car doors (in case any of the situations were carjackings), I don't know why you think that victims of criminal attacks who had to then defend themselves are in need of modifying their own lifestyles. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

My basics include: I will NOT suck the cock of any guy that won't kiss me afterwards I got no problem with it, babe. Kiss away! -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I wish I had a copy of the article I read at a shooting range about what to do LEGALLY after you shoot in self defense. Most of what I remember was, IF YOU SPEAK IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SHOOTING TO THE POLICE, YOU WILL HANG YOURSELF. The article said to politely tell the police that you will cooperate fully with them, but you need to consult with a lawyer and feel it's best if you say nothing at this time. They will ask you how many times you fired, and you may misremember due to the trauma of the situation, and then later that will undermine your credibility in a court setting, etc. They will press you for "what happened?" and if, due to the stress, you state for a report things that end up inconsistent with the evidence that is collected, you could end up looking like you were in the wrong even when you were in the right. So CLAM UP if you shoot someone, and tell them your story once you've had a lawyer hired. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

One reason I feel that this danger is being overstated is the fact that many perps will flee at the presentation of a gun. Some won't, but many will. I wonder what statistics would show, if there were any, about the number of people who present a gun in defense, don't fire it, and end up hurt or killed with it by their attacker. My guess would be "not that many, and certainly fewer than many people think." -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

There are motion-sensitive "screamer" alarms that you can hang on a doorknob to alert you to someone attempting entry. I suggest you get one NOW. You need to be able to be alerted to someone entering your place if you should happen to be asleep. There are also stand-alone motion detectors you can get. I would put one of these right outside your bedroom door so that if someone breaks in through a window (or anywhere other than the front door) you will be alerted as they approach your room. I know I don't need to tell you to take this very seriously. I am VERY glad you are one who owns a gun for her protection and doesn't take the mamsy-pamsy "I could never use a gun against somebody" approach. You don't owe a damned thing to anybody who would break into the sanctity of your home. Please make sure that you are adequately able to use the gun, and that it is not just symbolic. When you are home, keep IT and a CELLULAR PHONE with you at all times. Find a clever place to conceal the gun where it will be easily accessible to you but not a common-sense hiding place for someone searching for valuables. Speak with some personal defense instructors/experts. Voice your concerns. Get knowledge. Be safe. I wish you well. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I wasn't watching carefully for plot holes. Let's hear 'em. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

OMG I thought I might have been the only person alive who caught that! (I guess I was just flattering myself, though.) That was great! I loved the movie. It was just plain excellent. I can't wait to see what Jack Jack... oops, don't want to spoil it. But if anyone knows anything about the son of Reed and Susan Richards, or the son of Scott Summers and Jean Grey... I'm thinking along those lines. I did definitely find The Incredibles to be a bit too violent for the very kids I think will be taken to see it. For pete's sake, the main character kids themselves actually cause the DEATHS of bad guys! I think that's a little much for a young audience. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

You just described the exact kind of girl I would want to stay as far away from as possible. I like the "single, 30s, very cute, perfect figure" part, but the rest is a big red flag. Just the fact that she is trying to finagle this kind of deal tells me she is one to watch from a safe distance. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

It is far worse to have bad weather, a perfect plane and no jumping, because at least if you have great weather, no plane and no jumping you can still enjoy the nice day.

My problem with them is not that they deserve AIDS, it's that culturally, some people in the world are actually resisting education and factual information that would prevent the spread of the disease. When I read that there are people in Africa who actually believe the ridiculous superstition that having sex with a virgin will cure you of a disease, I got angry. When the path to staying free of the disease is so clear, I don't feel there is an excuse for spreading it. But you can't point to where I have said innocent people deserve the disease. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Is your belief in the right to vote really so fragile? Look, I see one major mistake you've made here, and that's inferring that I think people DESERVE HIV. I did not ever say that, so all you're doing is beating on a strawman. Also, it's not very mature of you to suggest that I come to harm even if I indeed said the offensive things that you falsely attribute to me. First you say that I would be an awful person to suggest that Africans (even though I did not mention Africa by name) are causing their own AIDS pandemic (um, who is causing it there if not Africans themselves, though?); then you say that no one deserves AIDS; then you say that my saying so (which I didn't even do) would be enough to make me deserve death. Do you see the inconsistency? -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I like a kiss to be slow, luxuriant, deep, fluid, and smooth. It should feel like it packs into it all the love and passion that is felt, and it should also feel so unrushed that it's as though we have hours to complete it; we're in no hurry. There should be a playfulness to it, like sucking on a lip or the tongue, but mostly the important aspect for me is the softness of it all. There can be pressure, sure, but the overall feeling of the kiss should not be a mashing of the mouths, but a dance of them, with each anticipating and moving with the moves of the other. A good kiss can convey love. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Conway, I am so sorry for your, well, your expected loss. I offer my sympathy. When my mom died of cancer in 2001 she/we had the good fortune of being able to have our whole family be with her to the very end. She did suffer but she is no longer suffering, and I take peace from knowing that she has peace, herself. I hope you can find that sort of rest and comfort after this is all done. Peace to your mom, too. Blue skies, -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I am far from the only one who as pointed out some of the intellectual curiosities about the british/scottish way of thinking, yet I am the one you are all focusing on. Why is that? Others have called the british laws and stuff that we've discussed recently stupid or inane or idiotic etc. Why are you so fascinated with me? Is it because I'm so spirited and spunky in the classic American sense? I suspect that you're actually harboring secret crushes on me and my maverick charm. -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

That's exactly what we keep telling you PJ. You are a source of humour to us all. I know from numerous private conversations that I don't only speak for myself in this – a lot of posters feel this way. No one takes anything you say remotely seriously - you are simply seen as a whack job. People laugh at what you post and more tellingly at you yourself. Your over-the-top manner of posting completely undermines anything of worth that you may have to say. I'm sorry if this is seen by you as an insult - it is intended as far from it. I am merely trying to relate to you the way in which you are viewed by many of the posters on this forum. I guess they all consult with you about how to receive me, eh? Boy, talk about a self-important self image! I don't see it as an insult, because all you're doing is stating (alleged) facts; you're not saying, "You dumb ass," or words to that effect. Depends directly on what I'm posting about and how I say what I have to say. Funny, I've received NUMEROUS private messages saying things like, "I like how passionate you are about what you believe,"; "Thanks for saying what I couldn't articulate myself,"; "You seem awesome!"; "I couldn't agree more: well said!" etc. etc. I guess you don't know everyone on these forums after all. Why do I suspect that the people who've PMd with you about me are the other brits to whom I've given offense? -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Michele, you can judge me anytime! RrrrOWrrrr! -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

BINGO! -Jeffrey -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"