TomAiello

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Everything posted by TomAiello

  1. TomAiello
    Quite honestly, I think the whole issue is partisan exaggeration. And I don't think the blame lies solely on either the Republicans or the Democrats. Let's stop worrying about stupid little things. We've got Trillions of dollars of _real_ problems that ought to take precedence over this. For both those looking to criticize the president, and those white house staffers who are wasting their time (which we pay for) crafting elaborate (and ridiculous) explanations. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  2. TomAiello
    Sure. And I'd still feel some responsibility if that happened. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  3. TomAiello
    I don't want to show you such a law. I hope such a law never exists. Law and responsibility are not the same thing. I'm against most laws. We have loads of pointless, silly rules on our books. The way to avoid silly rules is for people to show a bit of personal responsibility without being forced to by some bureaucrat from Washington. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  4. TomAiello
    I seem to recall the actual leaders of most of the major Islamic organizations in the US (and elsewhere) coming out very publicly against terrorism. Thinking all muslims are terrorists is as lame as thinking all caucasians are racists, or all christians are evangelists. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  5. TomAiello
    The FBI instant check system is fast enough that it could be used for rentals, but I'm not sure how the FBI would feel about adding the extra load to their system. I don't think we need any new laws here, but if I owned a range, I'd make a requirement that you had to do one of the following to rent a gun: Present a valid carry permit (I'd take a FOID or similar, although I'm generally against the state requirements for them) Submit to an FBI instant check Be known to the staff as a regular who had previously passed a check (many ranges essentially do this by requiring membership) I'd just want to do that for my own peace of mind. Again, I don't think we need a law to require anything like that. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  6. TomAiello
    I rent (and sell) parachutes quite frequently. If I rent gear to someone, I have a responsibility to evaluate their ability to use it. If I rent (or sell) gear to someone with no jumping experience and they go hook themselves in then I screwed up. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  7. TomAiello
    I don't think so. This woman wasn't a "licensed skydiver." I've got a local range that only rents guns to CCW holders. If this happened there I'd agree with your analogy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  8. TomAiello
    I don't think the range gets a free pass here--they definitely bear some responsibility. I'm very pro-2nd Amendment. I own (quite a few) firearms. I believe that if you hand someone a firearm, whether they are paying you to rent it or just borrowing it, you have a duty to evaluate them and decide if you think they ought to have a gun in their hand. In this case, whoever gave her the weapon (i.e. the range, or their employee) did a poor job of this. Am I saying that the range ought to be sued over it? No. Am I saying that someone ought to face charges? No. But I am saying that someone screwed up, and that person (or persons) is going to have to live with the knowledge that they bear some responsibility here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  9. TomAiello
    It was a rental gun. Lots of ranges rent guns without background checks, because they are in the supposedly controlled conditions of the range. In this case, it looks to me like the range operators are at fault. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  10. TomAiello
    What kind of benefits? Many large corporations have official policies that civil unions and domestic partners get the same benefits recognition that traditional spouses do. It applies to same-sex as well as heterosexual couples (of which there are actually some who choose not to "marry" in the governments log books). I don't have any actual numbers with me at the moment, but if memory serves, most of the silicon valley corporations have such policies (Google, Apple, etc). Not sure about more traditional businesses (anyone know if John Deere does?). It's a good example of the private sector just going ahead and solving a problem while politicians are still bickering over it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  11. TomAiello
    I think we'd all be better off if it was _only_ a religious (or personal, if you prefer) issue. Why in the heck do we need the government to give us it's permission to marry? Why is this not simply a private affair between private individuals? Getting the government out of the marriage business would solve this whole issue. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  12. TomAiello
    It's not just the Pakistanis who are muslims. There are plenty of muslim soldiers in the US and UK militaries, as well. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  13. TomAiello
    Oh, yeah? Well we have better beer! LOL... Sex in a canoe you mean. At least we can eat our food without having to boil every bit of flavor out of it! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  14. TomAiello
    Oh, yeah? Well we have better beer! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  15. TomAiello
    It should be easy enough to create a system that will give them due process, which is necessary to determine that they really are schizophrenic. I'd be concerned about any system that attempted to suspend rights without due process. I realize that was meant as an extreme counter example, but I'd defend their right to start such a religion, and to practice any portions of it that don't hurt others. I would not support their right to actually practice human sacrifice. As a rough example, the LDS (Mormon) faith includes dogma which clearly endorses polygamy. Despite the illegal nature of that act, I still believe the LDS religion (which has largely abandoned that practice) has a right to exist. Perhaps I'm a bit biased on that, though, as I don't really see anything wrong with plural (or other non-standard) marriages, provided that all participants are consenting adults. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  16. TomAiello
    You're comparing a group of Americans peaceably assembling to protest government policy with a criminal firing a rifle at police officers--and I'm the one who is creating a straw man? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  17. TomAiello
    Ah, yes, now I see the light. Clearly anyone who is concerned about taxes, or who is insane enough to question the wisdom of the administration, must be a hysterical right wing maniac. In fact, it's clear now that questioning government policy ought to be enough to disqualify one from firearms ownership. Because if you can't be trusted to obey your masters, how can you be trusted with weapons? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  18. TomAiello
    ok. If you change magazines, it's a mass shooting. California mags, or real mags? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  19. TomAiello
    Realistically? We can't pay for it. Not without confiscatory taxes (that was the mechanism referenced in the above article about Germany in the 30's). In my mind, the best outcome we can hope for is that the government defaults on the debt and we move into a post-borrowing economy where no one extends credit to the government again. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  20. TomAiello
    Yes, it would. But it's not politically tenable to tell people they have to deal with hardship. It's much easier to sell them on "it'll all be ok--we just need to borrow some more money..." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  21. TomAiello
    And while we're at it, here's the rebuttal: -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  22. TomAiello
    -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  23. TomAiello
    I have another question. If a gay marriage is legal in some states, but not others, how do those rights translate between states? I believe that's an issue that has yet to be litigated. There are a number of state licenses/permits/etc that need to have their status cleared up under the Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution. Marriage certificates issued to gay couples are only a small part of them. Personally, I'm looking forward to the NRA joining forces with BGLAD on this one. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  24. TomAiello
    It's not ok--in either case. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
  25. TomAiello
    I'm in. Plus, ours is right next to the children's museum, so I can take my kids there, too. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com