normiss 330 #2276 February 10 4 hours ago, BIGUN said: For now, Brent. For now. That was city. The federal government is about to land on his chest with both feet. Please stay tuned to the Guardian as this story is updated. Shit. Ghost guns on Trafficked I found this one to be of her most interesting shows. Well done. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brenthutch 352 #2277 February 10 28 minutes ago, billvon said: Agreed, but I do love the logic, and you can apply it so very many places. That drug dealer wasn't making and selling meth to addicts, he was just using his private factory to convert chemicals into cash! Nothing wrong with that. American ingenuity at work. Solomon Pena wasn't hiring hitmen to kill democrats, he was just using his own hard earned money to employ local workers and enrich them and their families! Only a communist would be against capitalism and families. I like how you equate the government to meth addicts. Brilliant analogy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 891 #2278 February 10 1 hour ago, brenthutch said: BTW he made exactly ZERO weapons automatic. it. does. Not. MATTER. "Popping Popcorn" So, you accomplished your mission, Ranger. You are awarded the Distinguished Medal of Troll. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeWeber 1,665 #2279 February 10 2 hours ago, brenthutch said: Joe you are overthinking this. It’s really very simple. An enterprising person identified a loophole in a government boondoggle (is that redundant?) and took advantage of it, full stop. No need to don your tinfoil hat and invoke QAnon. No, as per SOP, you are underthinking this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 124 #2280 February 11 Not 2nd amendment as it was in Brasil, and turned out to be a rather surprising Darwin Award… a Brazilian lawyer, advocating for gun carrying, went to assist his mother for an MRI. After receiving instructions to remove all metal objects, he failed to remove his gun. When the MRI machine was turned on, the magnetic field somewhat actioned the gun and shot him. Despite being quickly treated, he died a couple of days later. https://healthimaging.com/topics/medical-imaging/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri/lawyer-who-was-shot-his-own-gun-mri-suite Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brenthutch 352 #2281 February 11 The natives are restless tonight. It is noteworthy that so many folks on this forum are so triggered by a simple “government plan backfires” story. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brenthutch 352 #2282 February 11 1 hour ago, BIGUN said: it. does. Not. MATTER. "Popping Popcorn" So, you accomplished your mission, Ranger. I look to the Constitution to ascertain “commander’s intent” and execute accordingly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeWeber 1,665 #2283 February 11 38 minutes ago, brenthutch said: I look to the Constitution to ascertain “commander’s intent” and execute accordingly. We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 891 #2284 February 11 9 hours ago, JoeWeber said: We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeWeber 1,665 #2285 February 11 2 hours ago, BIGUN said: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Good catch. I've previously posted here that armed speech can deter unarmed speech in the public square. That is to observe that in the presence of an armed individual or mob some folks might consider their privilege to speak freely abridged. Is such an effect not damaging to the specific intent of founders in the First Amendment? You could make it even simpler, is it right that someone should cross and walk on the other side of the road when faced with an armed group walking at them? That is to ask, just who gets the right to say someone should, or should not, be fearful of something that is publicly known to cause death or permanent harm to vast numbers of Americans annually. Is that not an abridgement of the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States? Seems to me that making one Constitutional Amendment ineffective in the extreme so as to make another overly extreme runs contrary to original intent and to congresses obligation to make laws that equally protect every citizen. I see this as no different than denying the right to speed in school zones or throw rocks at windows as being no deprivation of privileges and immunities but rather a simple protection of the rights of others. We should do the same with gun rights. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 891 #2286 February 11 5 hours ago, JoeWeber said: I see this as no different than denying the right to speed in school zones or throw rocks at windows as being no deprivation of privileges and immunities but rather a simple protection of the rights of others. We should do the same with gun rights. I may have missed the mark with, "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." My intent was to remind that phrase is mentioned more than once in the Constitution and the Commander's "intent" was to have congress develop laws that supported the constitution AND the welfare of the people. If we think gun responsibility laws can't be done, then all we need to do is look at the NFA and understand that is the reason not everyone has a machine gun on their hip or suppressor on their guns. I don't understand these judges overturning laws for gun responsibility, yet allow the NFA to exist. And, of course, as soon as I say that - that too might get tossed out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,252 #2287 February 17 More than 2% of the population of a Mississippi town killed in a mass shooting today, and people reckon Chicago is bad. https://wreg.com/news/local/6-dead-in-arkabutla-ms-shooting-suspect-in-custody/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,252 #2288 February 23 DeSantis came to Chicago last week to lecture us about crime and policing, Maybe he should put his own house in order: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/us/shooting-florida-orange-county/index.html (and, of course, there's Parkland.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfriverjoe 980 #2289 February 23 15 minutes ago, kallend said: DeSantis came to Chicago last week to lecture us about crime and policing, Maybe he should put his own house in order: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/us/shooting-florida-orange-county/index.html (and, of course, there's Parkland.) Oh piffle. You're using FACTS again, Professor. His base are the people who believe (among other things) that Antifa burned Portland to the ground, Trump won the election, Covid is a Chinese engineered bio-weapon AND a hoax (at the same time), the vaccines have tracking chips in them and have killed millions. Of course they believe that Chicago is a violent, dystopian hell-hole (instead of Florida being one ). 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
winsor 129 #2290 February 23 3 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said: Oh piffle. You're using FACTS again, Professor. His base are the people who believe (among other things) that Antifa burned Portland to the ground, Trump won the election, Covid is a Chinese engineered bio-weapon AND a hoax (at the same time), the vaccines have tracking chips in them and have killed millions. Of course they believe that Chicago is a violent, dystopian hell-hole (instead of Florida being one ). I don't believe much of anything, and I'm certainly not a supporter of any of the usual suspects. Having said that, Antifa burnt more things to the ground than I'd prefer. If Portland survived their attentions good for them. SARS-COV-2 is rather a definitive bioengineered pathogen, its release most certainly the result of blunder rather than intent. The response to the pandemic was also an exercise in incompetence (any time something actually turns out to be due to conspiracy I'm quite impressed). I've lived in both Chicago and Florida, and both have areas that are either genteel to the point of idyllic or violent, dystopian hell holes, depending on who's doing the finger pointing. The only difference between one side of the aisle and the other the population to whom they pander. Both groups are equally FUBAR. BSBD, Winsor 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeorgiaDon 257 #2291 February 23 It must be quite the burden for you, being wise beyond the comprehension of everybody else, and yet so deeply cynical. At least you are eloquent! BTW there is no compelling evidence to support the idea that Covid-19 is a bioengineered weapon. On the other hand there is very strong evidence that it is a naturally occurring virus, spilled over from a zoonotic reservoir (probably bats), likely through a secondary zoonotic host, and into humans. There are many related coronaviruses that cause occasional spillover infections in people, and it is only a matter of time before it occurs again in circumstances that support higher transmission to people, selection for adaptive mutations, and yet another pandemic. A spillover infection in a small farming community almost always burns itself out, but the same virus brought to a "wet market" in a densely populated city presents a vastly greater risk. A problem with the "bioengineered" mythology is that it discounts the role of spillover of natural viruses, encourages politicians to dismiss that threat, and discourages efforts to find and track these spillover events and prepare for future pandemics. Of course, it is politically expedient, in that it allows politicians of a certain inclination to blame China (or any other entity it is convenient to direct the base's hate towards) while slashing funding for efforts to deal with present and future pandemics. 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 614 #2292 February 23 31 minutes ago, GeorgiaDon said: It must be quite the burden for you, being wise beyond the comprehension of everybody else, and yet so deeply cynical. At least you are eloquent! ... Of course, it is politically expedient, in that it allows politicians of a certain inclination to blame China (or any other entity it is convenient to direct the base's hate towards) while slashing funding for efforts to deal with present and future pandemics. and spend more money on big defense projects to combat Chinese aggression. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 823 #2293 February 23 56 minutes ago, GeorgiaDon said: It must be quite the burden for you, being wise beyond the comprehension of everybody else, and yet so deeply cynical. At least you are eloquent! BTW there is no compelling evidence to support the idea that Covid-19 is a bioengineered weapon. On the other hand there is very strong evidence that it is a naturally occurring virus, spilled over from a zoonotic reservoir (probably bats), likely through a secondary zoonotic host, and into humans. There are many related coronaviruses that cause occasional spillover infections in people, and it is only a matter of time before it occurs again in circumstances that support higher transmission to people, selection for adaptive mutations, and yet another pandemic. A spillover infection in a small farming community almost always burns itself out, but the same virus brought to a "wet market" in a densely populated city presents a vastly greater risk. A problem with the "bioengineered" mythology is that it discounts the role of spillover of natural viruses, encourages politicians to dismiss that threat, and discourages efforts to find and track these spillover events and prepare for future pandemics. Of course, it is politically expedient, in that it allows politicians of a certain inclination to blame China (or any other entity it is convenient to direct the base's hate towards) while slashing funding for efforts to deal with present and future pandemics. The disconcerting trend is that intervals between coronovirus outbreaks has been decreasing. SARS to MERS was 10 years. MERS to COVID was 6 years. If that trend continues we are about ready for a new coronavirus outbreak. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeWeber 1,665 #2294 February 24 6 hours ago, SkyDekker said: The disconcerting trend is that intervals between coronovirus outbreaks has been decreasing. SARS to MERS was 10 years. MERS to COVID was 6 years. If that trend continues we are about ready for a new coronavirus outbreak. Winsor is brilliant, especially compared to junkyard dogs like me, for example, and highly educated too. I think it's a bit unfair to condemn his transient points without contextualizing those with his dominant point which is that in the long term we are fucked. For sure that's a hard point to argue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 823 #2295 February 24 24 minutes ago, JoeWeber said: Winsor is brilliant, especially compared to junkyard dogs like me, for example, and highly educated too. I think it's a bit unfair to condemn his transient points without contextualizing those with his dominant point which is that in the long term we are fucked. For sure that's a hard point to argue. Yes in the end we all die. Brilliant observation. Who knew. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeWeber 1,665 #2296 February 24 1 minute ago, SkyDekker said: Yes in the end we all die. Brilliant observation. Who knew. That's trivial and not at all what Winsor is saying if I get at all what he is saying. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,252 #2297 February 24 4 minutes ago, SkyDekker said: Yes in the end we all die. Brilliant observation. Who knew. John Maynard Keynes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeWeber 1,665 #2298 February 24 1 minute ago, kallend said: John Maynard Keynes. Forgive them for they know not what they do, or say. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 823 #2299 February 24 20 minutes ago, JoeWeber said: That's trivial and not at all what Winsor is saying if I get at all what he is saying. He is saying both sides are the same and nothing can be saved. I don't find fatalism all that insightful. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeWeber 1,665 #2300 February 24 Just now, SkyDekker said: He is saying both sides are the same and nothing can be saved. I don't find fatalism all that insightful. Winsor is not fatalistic. It's easy to not capture his thinking. To be sure, I think his ideas on human nature are inexact but his focus is not on what we think and, yes, he disregards the societal impact on certain individuals and groups. But he is spot on about the future which should be our focus. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites