BIGUN

*a situation in which a person is in a position to derive personal benefit from actions or decisions made in their official capacity.

Brother, I must be getting old.

Four or five dumbasses don't speak for the entire Republican party. Putin's war in the Ukraine has done more to unite Republicans and Democrats against him and Russia than tear them apart. The $48 Billion Ukrainian assistance bill passed both houses. Those Republicans and Democrats that voted against it weren't voting FOR Russia, they were voting against money being spent to help Ukraine when there is a symphony of problems here in the US.

They do make it hard at times. I have referred to myself as a "Colin Powell" Conservative. No argument.

So, pretty much you and Sky will stop attacking me for being Republican if I don't attack you for being Canadian and we stick to the issues, eh?

Why do Canadians allow the genocide and sexual assault of Indigenous peoples? Now, if you want to have a conversation about that incident, then let's do it with some form of decorum.

Oh Look!!! He's on to something - let's throw some shit over here and see if he smells it.

1. The little one tested it with High School algebra. It failed. 2. It could not write a 500 word essay on six sigma without blowing itself up. 3. It has no information on a prominent skydiving professor in physics.

No. No, nope, NO. It was about how ~13 fucking agencies couldn't come up with a better plan that DID NOT result in 25 children and two pregnant women dying as a result of the assault.

That's no shit.

Children killed in/by vehicles. We've been hearing this argument for awhile. Kids and vehicles is thrown out as a debate point and it's always bothered me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but yesterday I watched a video by a young female active duty Staff Sergeant when she said: "Vehicles are designed and manufactured for travel and pleasure. Weapons are designed and manufactured to kill." If we take that a step further; I think it's safe to say, They both do their job 99% of the time. It goes to intent. Apologies, I went back to find the vid to cite her as a source, but it got lost in the social media noise.

I already tire of Elon's purchase of Twitter. What was purported to be a new platform for all to enjoy "Freedom of Speech" has become an all-about-me platform and "my sense of freedom." His labeling of NPR as state-affiliated media is silly. Should we call Tesla a state-affiliated car company given the federal tax breaks and federal loans received. Would he even have SpaceX if it weren't for federal dollars?

There's 331 million people in the US and approximately 352 million guns in circulation. How many more you need?

I'm going to add - every sale including private get's a background check and registered at that time. Your local dealer can help with this. When you go to a gun show and purchase a weapon from a dealer from another state; you must go to a dealer in that state to transfer the weapon and do a "yellow sheet" + either dealer has to do a background check. This can usually be done at the gun show. Most in-state dealers will have a sign over their table saying "$15.00 fee" for being the receiving dealer. The rest of your post was most eloquent, Bill.

There is a growing movement to change: https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1643787733205409792

In the late 1990's one man killed 35 people at once which kicked off their NFA for all weapons and buyback program. I was down there in the early 2000's and can tell you the government confiscation had left many an Aussie seriously pissed off about government intervention. Having said that, It's been a whole generation since that happened, so over time and the next generation _doesn't know what they're missing_ so they don't miss it. If memory serves, their NFA had a provision for people that lived outside of town in the country. Their initial confiscation resulted in ~600,000 guns which they calculated at 20% of all guns. Here in the US, that 20% would equal about ~80,000,000 guns off the street. So to your point - it takes time. Also, keep in mind that Australia had no constitutional barriers. Ummm . . . taps fingers on desk . . . nope. Have a good time, John.

Not too far from my house, Tesla just installed [another] fifty (50) charging stations in a high traffic area. Even rural America has a forecast of EV's.

This whole passage is no less than eloquent. I've stood at this pulpit so many times when talking to my fellow veterans about why I'm not on Facebook, etc. "But, I use it mostly to stay in touch with family and guys I served with." Uh Huh and that's how they gotchya.

True. It was always about _in your home_. It was easy to watch Texas sow a path to Constitutional Carry once they passed the vehicle security bill wherein castle doctrine extended to the vehicle. [I forget the actual name of the bill].

You're right. It's best we do nothing.

You do until there's a Gun Responsibility Bill that passes.

Seriously. Then, it's safe to say we've found 377 "soft spots" since Columbine to indicate a systemic problem. Imagine the last thing you do is hug your little girl before she went to school. The last thing she does is die from shots ripping through her body and you weren't there to protect her. That's my fucking "soft spot."

"The majority of Americans support new, effective gun control laws and help for mental illness to address the root causes of these massacres." He's not wrong.

<shudders>

Never underestimate the power of the back room deal. e.g. Kamala lambasting Biden in the debates only to wind up as VP.