1 wrenchwench  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 5:35:43pm

[Dobro slide]

2 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 5:47:58pm

Bringing this over from downstairs... today long time National Review writer John Derbyshire came right out and asks the question: What, Exactly, Is Wrong With “Racism”?

in which, besides demonstrating his ignorance of the ancient history of the British isles, he concludes:

[...]

As for "domination over others," though, I can detect no widespread desire for any such thing in today's world. Among American whites, the strongest negative desire I can see is for separation. For every white person who wants to lord it over blacks, there are a hundred at least who would just like to stay away from them, to live as if they did not exist. This is the desire driving the voluntary residential and educational segregation that are such marked features of modern American life.

The white Britons whom Ms. Gibson would like to exclude from their nation's politics are similarly disposed. They wish no harm to the people of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa, Arabia, and the black Caribbean. They just wish those people had stayed in their own countries. And they resent their not having done so.

Is that racism within the current usage of the word? Probably.

Is there anything wrong with it?

Not that I can see.

It's a full frontal argument for segregation.

And I bet there are current NR writers who still agree with Derbyshire.

3 Charles Johnson  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 5:48:59pm

I've actually owned quite a few of the toys shown in this great video. The Roland Space Echo, for one.

I missed seeing the Mutron Bi-Phase, one of my favorite effects units from the pre-rack days.

4 Charles Johnson  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 5:54:03pm

How to hook up a Mutron Bi-Phase:

Image: ZZ6BB8F8E4.jpg

5 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 5:57:22pm

Cool video. Always fun to hear different instruments. Singing saws are cool.

6 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:00:45pm

re: #2 freetoken

Heard a British comedian the other day. He said, "We British like to make fun of ourselves."

"And by Ourselves, I mean, other countries. And by Make fun of, I mean, invade."

7 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:02:50pm
The white Britons whom Ms. Gibson would like to exclude from their nation's politics are similarly disposed. They wish no harm to the people of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa, Arabia, and the black Caribbean. They just wish those people had stayed in their own countries. And they resent their not having done so.

Mr. Derbyshire, you ignorant slut.

You do realize that all of those places were, at one point, part of the British Empire, ie, these people wished that the white Britons had stayed in their own country, and resented them for not having done so?

Just a thought.

8 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:03:19pm

re: #7 SanFranciscoZionist

Mr. Derbyshire, you ignorant slut.

You do realize that all of those places were, at one point, part of the British Empire, ie, these people wished that the white Britons had stayed in their own country, and resented them for not having done so?

Just a thought.

Notice that he excludes China. I wonder why?

9 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:04:00pm

Famous musical saw song

10 blueraven  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:04:16pm

George Zimmerman TV interview gives prosecutors more ammo

A day after George Zimmerman talked about the death of Trayvon Martin on television, prosecutors said they would use the interview as evidence in the second-degree murder case.

The move did not surprise Central Florida defense attorneys, who said Zimmerman did himself no favors by agreeing to an hourlong interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday night.

"I think George Zimmerman needs to stop talking," said David Faulkner, a former FBI agent and Winter Park defense attorney. "I don't think the interview changes anyone's mind. It just adds more statements that they're going to have to defend at trial."

So why did he take the risk of going on national TV to tell his story? Money, his attorney said.

"The defense fund is virtually out of money and they can't provide shelter, security, anything pretty soon if the spending continues as it is and the donations continue as they are," O'Mara told the Sentinel. He described Hannity as his client's "earliest supporter ... a voice of reason saying let's not rush to judgment."

Zimmerman, O'Mara said, promised Hannity in April that he would get the Neighborhood Watch captain's first interview. O'Mara said the defense fund is down to about $30,000 to $50,000, "but there are outstanding bills that would pretty much devastate that."

The legal team has not been paid, he said, and the Hannity interview resulted in only a modest uptick in support.

...

Zimmerman told Hannity he walked toward Trayvon because he needed to find a street address for police, but he told Sanford police it was because he had forgotten the street's name, something detectives challenged him on.

Also, Zimmerman said on the night of the shooting that, while he was reporting the teen to police, Trayvon ran away. But he told Hannity "he was more … skipping, going away quickly. But he wasn't running out of fear."

...

The decision by Zimmerman's defense to allow an interview came as a surprise to many in the legal community.

Lyle Mazin, an Orlando defense lawyer, said a defendant has "unequivocal advantages" over the state: the right to remain silent and to have an attorney to speak for him. The Hannity interview, Mazin said, was "a fundamental failure of both of them."

"The more times a person tells a story, even if telling the absolute truth, the more [inconsistencies] will emerge," said Mazin, who has been critical of the state's case. "It's the human condition of storytelling."

Maybe they are going for legal incompetence. This is just weird.

11 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:08:30pm

Needs more cowbell.

12 Killgore Trout  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:10:14pm

Hezbollah Is Blamed in Attack on Israeli Tourists in Bulgaria

American officials on Thursday identified the suicide bomber responsible for a deadly attack on Israeli vacationers here as a member of a Hezbollah cell that was operating in Bulgaria and looking for such targets, corroborating Israel’s assertions and making the bombing a new source of tension with Iran.

One senior American official said the current American intelligence assessment was that the bomber, who struck Wednesday, killing five Israelis, had been “acting under broad guidance” to hit Israeli targets when opportunities presented themselves, and that the guidance had been given to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, by Iran, its primary sponsor. Two other American officials confirmed that Hezbollah was behind the bombing, but declined to provide additional details.

13 wrenchwench  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:11:53pm
14 Killgore Trout  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:12:02pm

Not Condi but Susan....
Rice: UN Security Council ‘Utterly Failed’ Syria

The United States says the United Nations Security Council has “utterly failed” after Russia and China vetoed a resolution threatening Syria with sanctions if it does not halt the violence.

Ambassador Susan Rice called the vetoes dangerous and deplorable. She said the Council's failure to act is a recipe for more violence, terrorism, and a war that could engulf the entire region.

15 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:13:44pm

re: #10 blueraven

Awfully risky giving that interview.

16 Killgore Trout  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:14:38pm

Syria Veto: Rice Suggests Bypassing Security Council

Ambassador Rice suggested the United States might be prepared to consider a final brief extension of the UN supervision mission, but noted the Obama administration “has not and will not pin its policy on an unarmed observer mission that is deployed in the midst of such widespread violence”

“It is simply not credible to argue that the mere continuation of an unarmed observer mission, in the midst of these threats and spiraling violence can or will fundamentally change anything.” she told reporters.

17 Killgore Trout  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:15:32pm

re: #15 Amory Blaine

Awfully risky giving that interview.

I think the evidence is that he acted in self defense. He does like to talk too much.

18 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:16:03pm

re: #12 Killgore Trout

"A terrorist state must not have a nuclear weapon."

Seems like a reasonable argument to me.

19 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:16:10pm
20 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:16:11pm

re: #1 wrenchwench

[Dobro slide]

21 Targetpractice  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:18:47pm

re: #10 blueraven

George Zimmerman TV interview gives prosecutors more ammo

Maybe they are going for legal incompetence. This is just weird.

He'd have been better off staying in jail. The cost of keeping him safe's gonna drain whatever donations he's received dry way before this ever goes to the pre-trial hearing.

22 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:19:09pm

re: #19 CuriousLurker

In fairness, it wasn't a handout. It was a bond, paid back with interest.

It would have been nice if GM had paid their bondholders back.

23 Digital Display  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:20:16pm

re: #17 Killgore Trout

I think the evidence is that he acted in self defense. He does like to talk too much.

Hi KT! We all must remember this is Florida.. Casey Anthony anyone?
In 2000..80% of everyone there played Bingo but nobody could figure out how to punch a vote in the booth..
There is nothing that would surprise me about what happens in Florida.. Nothing..

24 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:21:43pm

re: #23 Digital Display

Florida Voting Machine

25 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:23:33pm

re: #22 researchok

In fairness, it wasn't a handout. It was a bond, paid back with interest.

It would have been nice if GM had paid their bondholders back.

Why did he get it from the government?

26 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:24:03pm

A question for lizards. How to deal with a 14 and. 1/2 daughter who is doing some setting with her boyfriend. I just read it while she was outside for a couple of minutes.

27 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:24:56pm

re: #26 prairiefire

A question for lizards. How to deal with a 14 and. 1/2 daughter who is doing some setting with her boyfriend. I just read it while she was outside for a couple of minutes.

Some what?

28 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:25:38pm

re: #26 prairiefire

Wait--are you missing an 'x', there?

29 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:26:56pm

re: #25 b_sharp

Like the SBA, these programs exist to build businesses. It is in the governments best interest- they anticipate higher tax revenues in addition to the interest paid.

Often, these kinds of instruments are used when a company has large orders but not enough capital to invest in equipment or personnel.

Overall- and when it works, it is a win-win. It is not a handout or bailout.

30 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:27:22pm

re: #24 researchok

Still too complicated. :P

31 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:28:04pm

re: #27 b_sharp

re: #28 Mostly sane, most of the time.

Sorry, IPad fingers. Texting, dealing with second base type things.

32 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:28:37pm

re: #31 prairiefire

re: #28 Mostly sane, most of the time.

Sorry, IPad fingers. Texting, dealing with second base type things.

If that says what I think it does, the phone goes. Now.

Then again, we can be strict.

33 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:29:32pm

re: #26 prairiefire

Time for the 'there are some things you cannot fix and some things you cannot take back' talk.

Then comes the really important conversation about self esteem and dignity.

The things that make her proud of the best of you or any adult she admires do not come about in a vacuum.

34 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:29:52pm

re: #30 Amory Blaine

LOL

Touche

35 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:30:24pm

re: #32 Mostly sane, most of the time.

That too.

36 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:30:26pm

An incredibly apt analogy:

Mitt Romney is a quantum CEO, the Schrödinger’s Cat of private equity: From 1999 to 2002, he both was and was not the chief executive officer and sole owner of a powerful Bain Capital investment fund. After that period, Romney’s surrogates explain, he “retroactively” retired from this post. But, as Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment reminds us, just because you find a retroactively dead cat doesn’t mean he wasn’t previously simultaneously alive and dead.

While the two presidential campaigns tussle over this paradox, the real shame is how willing Romney and his defenders are to tolerate this bending of the truth, heretofore confined to particle physics. It’s another insight into the increasingly murky culture of American capitalism.

While Romney has claimed at times he was retired from Bain Capital during the period, he also signed documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission attesting that he was the “sole stockholder, sole director, Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director and President” of a multimillion-dollar investment fund.

37 blueraven  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:32:17pm

re: #29 researchok

Like the SBA, these programs exist to build businesses. It is in the governments best interest- they anticipate higher tax revenues in addition to the interest paid.

Often, these kinds of instruments are used when a company has large orders but not enough capital to invest in equipment or personnel.

Overall- and when it works, it is a win-win. It is not a handout or bailout.

Is it a hand up?

38 The Ghost of a Flea  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:32:22pm
39 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:32:54pm

Make her explain exactly what the text means. To her father.

If the young man was doing it, have you and Dad go over and ask him to explain exactly what it means.

I'll be honest; it's easy to say this. I don't care if she hates me.

40 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:33:21pm

re: #22 researchok

In fairness, it wasn't a handout. It was a bond, paid back with interest.

It would have been nice if GM had paid their bondholders back.

In fairness, POTUS never said handout, he said help.

Industrial revenue bonds are government sponsored. They constitute help because businesses save money. Here's an explanation of how they help that's simple enough for even me to understand.

41 Big Joe  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:33:37pm

GOP senators block top Obama jobs initiative

Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked the No.1 item on the president's congressional "to-do-list," refusing to allow a vote on a bill that would give tax breaks for companies that "insource" jobs to the U.S. from overseas while eliminating tax deductions for companies that move jobs abroad.

The Bring Jobs Home Act would provide a 20% tax break for the costs of moving jobs back to the United States and would rescind business expense deductions available to companies that are associated with the cost of moving operations overseas.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, had warned Democrats before the vote that his party would want to amend the bill -- possibly with hot-button issues like repealing the health care reform law or extending the Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels.

Party before country is the Republican way.

42 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:34:01pm

re: #29 researchok

Like the SBA, these programs exist to build businesses. It is in the governments best interest- they anticipate higher tax revenues in addition to the interest paid.

Often, these kinds of instruments are used when a company has large orders but not enough capital to invest in equipment or personnel.

Overall- and when it works, it is a win-win. It is not a handout or bailout.

The loan is still help from the government.

43 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:35:29pm

re: #37 blueraven

Yes- but more than that it is good business for all parties

44 blueraven  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:36:13pm

re: #43 researchok

Yes- but more than that it is good business for all parties

There ya go then...win/win

45 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:36:22pm

re: #42 b_sharp

Yes, but it is not a handout. It is responsible government

46 Sheila Broflovski  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:36:38pm

re: #19 CuriousLurker

Happy Ramadan!

47 Targetpractice  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:38:03pm

re: #41 Big Joe

GOP senators block top Obama jobs initiative

Party before country is the Republican way.

So, as per usual, the GOP is voting down a bill it would support simply because Obama endorses it.

And half the country will still vote for them.

Yegods.

48 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:38:24pm

re: #39 Mostly sane, most of the time.

First, she'll be mad that I read it. Then, I'll ask if they've actually done it, because I honestly am not sure when they've had an opportunity. Then I will tell her they can absolutely not sit apart from us when we all see a movie.
Then, I think we will have to wade through that murky water of acknowledging the allure of sexual passion and when it is actually appropriate for her.

49 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:38:31pm

re: #45 researchok

Yes, but it is not a handout. It is responsible government

yes it is.

50 Digital Display  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:38:47pm

How does the Gov't effect jobs and the Right interpretation of said economics?
It's more than Roads, Airports, Businesses and suppliers can contribute to our great system. How is Obama wrong?
Several years ago the State of Oklahoma offered Millions in Tax payer money to get our company to expand there. We got property, A building built brand new and tax breaks. We offered long term jobs to bolster the local economy.
This is how both the Government and Private companies can work together for mutual benefit.
( We struggled for almost a year to train locals in Oracle and technology..It was a commitment on our part..That looked iffy for months )

51 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:39:21pm

re: #49 b_sharp

How so? These loans are paid back with interest.

52 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:40:14pm

re: #51 researchok

How so? These loans are paid back with interest.

Sorry, that was agreement with your second sentence.

53 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:40:44pm

re: #46 Learned Mother of Zion

Happy Ramadan!

Thanks! BTW, I was looking at recent Reuters Editors Choice photos and I thought of you when I saw one because you could probably call it scary blurry Jew in the window. LOL

This was one totally bizarre: Clowns attend a mass at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City

54 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:41:21pm

re: #36 goddamnedfrank

Quote from article:

The U.S. has fallen to 24th on Transparency International’s global corruption list – below Chile and Barbados – and public trust in big business and the financial sector is falling dramatically.

We're number .... akk. n/m.

55 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:41:27pm

re: #26 prairiefire

A question for lizards. How to deal with a 14 and. 1/2 daughter who is doing some setting with her boyfriend. I just read it while she was outside for a couple of minutes.

Tricky. I'd like to think that I'd go with realistic. Avoid mentioning that you read the text and dive into a seemingly random discussion about birth control prescriptions, Gardisil, condom usage / STD prevention and taking responsibility for one's actions and health. If all goes well your enthusiastic support will weird her out and cause her to rebel towards abstinence. I'm guessing mentioning the text will just lead to a long counter productive diversionary discussion involving much huffing and puffing about trust issues. You don't want to compromise an intelligence channel unless you have to.

56 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:42:45pm

re: #40 CuriousLurker

It was bailout- and the bondholders, who usually first in line were just cut out.

Recall most bondholders are pension plans, widows and orphans, etc.

I wasn't against the bailout in principle, but when the bondholders got the shaft, I was pretty upset. The money went to where it should not have gone.

57 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:45:03pm

re: #53 CuriousLurker

I was going to make a sacramental wine joke but thought better of it.

Almost

58 compound_Idaho  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:45:20pm

re: #42 b_sharp

The loan is still help from the government.

Early after my business start up, I was not able to get an SBA loan. My credit union where I did my personal banking was not willing to even talk. USBank was willing work with me. That was almost 20 yrs ago. I still do all of may banking there and my home mortgage. Evil bankers.

59 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:46:48pm

re: #48 prairiefire

Then, I think we will have to wade through that murky water of acknowledging the allure of sexual passion and when it is actually appropriate for her.

I know lots of people who lost their virginity at 14. Not trying to freak you out but you might want to consider and be prepared for the possibility, then find the mitigation strategy you're most comfortable with. There's what we want to happen in life and what fate's going to deliver and they ain't often similar.

60 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:47:16pm

re: #58 compound_Idaho

Banks and bankers are like everyone else- there are good ones and bad ones.

The good ones never make the news- and unfortunately, there are a lot more bad bankers.

61 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:48:07pm

re: #59 goddamnedfrank

And a trip to the family doctor might be in order.

Reality isn't always pretty.

62 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:49:13pm

re: #56 researchok

Now, you've totally lost me. Romney's beef was with POTUS saying businesses don't do things 100% on their own, that they get help. The guy in question, a Romney supporter, admitted that he got help in the form of an IRB:

But in an interview with Boston-based reporter Jon Keller of WBZ-TV, Maloney acknowledged that his business received some government help. “The only way I was able to come here, because I had no money, was with an industrial-revenue bond,” Maloney said in the interview. Industrial-revenue bonds are typically issued by local and state governments to attract new business to an area. They create low-interest loans for new development and startups.

63 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:50:10pm

re: #55 goddamnedfrank

Well, it's surgically grafted onto her hand, so it's hard to get to anyway./ I think I'm going to be frank, gd frank. This issue always makes me a bit queasy. She has her Gardisil shots.
I think I need to confront just how sexual she thinks she is.

64 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:51:16pm

re: #63 prairiefire

Well, it's surgically grafted onto her hand, so it's hard to get to anyway. I think I'm going to be frank, gd frank. This issue always makes me a bit queasy. She has her Gardisil shots.
I think I need to confront just how sexual she thinks she is.

Yes you do.

65 Page 3 in the Binder of Women  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:51:20pm

re: #15 Amory Blaine

Awfully risky giving that interview.

Interview? It was a TelePrompTer telethon. Fox news is scum.

66 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:52:59pm

cspan has video romney getting introduced as the ceo of bain in 2000

@4.30

[Link: www.c-spanvideo.org...]

67 compound_Idaho  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:53:08pm

re: #59 goddamnedfrank

I know lots of people who lost their virginity at 14. Not trying to freak you out but you might want to consider and be prepared for the possibility, then find the mitigation strategy you're most comfortable with. There's what we want to happen in life and what fate's going to deliver and they ain't often similar.

Really? I don't think I know anybody that lost there virginity at 14. Are the folks I run with that different?

68 Renaissance_Man  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:53:38pm

re: #48 prairiefire

First, she'll be mad that I read it. Then, I'll ask if they've actually done it, because I honestly am not sure when they've had an opportunity. Then I will tell her they can absolutely not sit apart from us when we all see a movie.
Then, I think we will have to wade through that murky water of acknowledging the allure of sexual passion and when it is actually appropriate for her.

I'm just a guy, but honestly I'm more concerned about the sexting than whether teenagers are doing it. Teenagers will do it. We all did. Fighting about it will not help.

But kids need to learn. The internet is forever. Texts are forever. Unless she's comfortable with seeing what she sexted as a media headline, don't type or text it. Personally, I'd take the content of the text, print it as a headline in whatever appropriate media format (newspaper, blog post headline, etc), and plaster it over walls.

The internet is forever. Guarding your online correspondence will end up being more important than guarding your virginity.

69 alpuz  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:54:09pm

re: #67 compound_Idaho

Apparently.

70 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:55:14pm

re: #67 compound_Idaho

Really? I don't think I know anybody that lost there virginity at 14. Are the folks I run with that different?

I couldn't talk to people my age with XY genes at that age, but we're all different.

Coincidentally, my son cannot talk to people with XX genes his own age right now. (His sister and I don't count.)

71 Interesting Times  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:56:28pm

re: #67 compound_Idaho

Really? I don't think I know anybody that lost there virginity at 14. Are the folks I run with that different?

Why do you think they'd be rushing to confess the fact to you if they did? I certainly can't take it for granted that, just because people I know don't tell me something, they've never done or experienced it.

72 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:56:39pm

A few years ago, my then teen aged daughter was scared to death after a young man got a bit too over enthusiastic when alone with a boy she thought f as a 'friend' (clothes were torn, a near assault, etc).

I of course went nuclear, couldn't sleep fr days and wanted to deal in a very up close and personal with the boy. Being divorced and a long way from home only intensified my anger.

My sister, with whom I am very close, calmed me down somewhat when she told me what happened to my daughter is not so uncommon.

"Every girl has the same story".

I was shocked. I asked if it had happened to her and she said it did, a couple of times.

I asked her why she never told me- I would have beat the guy for sure for hurting my sister.

She replied and said she didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

I was shocked.

When you have a daughter, well, it's different- especially when you know what she may have to deal with.

73 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:58:24pm

re: #72 researchok

A few years ago, my then teen aged daughter was scared to death after a young man got a bit too over enthusiastic when alone with a boy she thought f as a 'friend' (clothes were torn, a near assault, etc).

I of course went nuclear, couldn't sleep fr days and wanted to deal in a very up close and personal with the boy. Being divorced and a long way from home only intensified my anger.

My sister, with whom I am very close, calmed me down somewhat when she told me what happened to my daughter is not so uncommon.

"Every girl has the same story".

I was shocked. I asked if it had happened to her and she said it did, a couple of times.

I asked her why she never told me- I would have beat the guy for sure for hurting my sister.

She replied and said she didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

I was shocked.

When you have a daughter, well, it's different- especially when you know what she may have t del with.

No, this did not happen to me.

74 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:58:27pm

re: #62 CuriousLurker

I'm not talking about Romney- he abused the system.

In more ways than most people can imagine.

And not just him and not just conservatives. When you're rich, things are different and not in a good way.

75 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:58:39pm

re: #67 compound_Idaho

Really? I don't think I know anybody that lost there virginity at 14. Are the folks I run with that different?

Seventeen's the national average, but I've had a pregnant fifteen-year-old in my class. Better safe than sorry, is how I see it.

76 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:59:25pm

re: #75 SanFranciscoZionist

Seventeen's the national average, but I've had a pregnant fifteen-year-old in my class. Better safe than sorry, is how I see it.

I started my sophomore year of high school watching an acquaintance carry her baby into school into the special program.

77 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:59:29pm

re: #73 Mostly sane, most of the time.

No, this did not happen to me.

Nor me, but I was very wary of guys, and not very social, until well after high school.

78 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 6:59:45pm

re: #73 Mostly sane, most of the time.

Thank goodness!

It's nice to hear of the exceptions.

I'm still a bit haunted by that episode she had to endure.

79 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:00:03pm

re: #63 prairiefire

Well, it's surgically grafted onto her hand, so it's hard to get to anyway.

Maybe find a way to load some parental control onto her phone so that you secretly get copies of all her texts. That way you don't risk getting caught and as long as you don't tell her the intelligence channel remains open. What you don't want is to give her a reason to start getting creative with secrecy, 'cuz kids can be really good at that.

80 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:01:43pm

re: #78 researchok

Thank goodness!

It's nice to hear of the exceptions.

I'm still a bit haunted by that episode she had to endure.

I'm glad she had a good father.

It might have helped me that my male friends were all boy scouts that knew my father personally.

He had taught them all to shoot guns and build igloos.

They could mimic his snoring. No Boy Scouts don't sleep in the same tent as the Scoutmaster; he's that loud.

81 blueraven  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:02:40pm

re: #77 SanFranciscoZionist

Nor me, but I was very wary of guys, and not very social, until well after high school.

It happened top me, with one of my Moms "friends"
I never told her. Luckily he left town soon after.

82 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:03:37pm

re: #79 goddamnedfrank

I think I can present that as an option, that we will be monitoring her texts. I was a latch key kid with a raging libido at her age. I think I am looking at this from the other end of the stretched elastic band.

83 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:03:47pm

re: #76 Mostly sane, most of the time.

I started my sophomore year of high school watching an acquaintance carry her baby into school into the special program.

It was weird. I've got yard duty one day, I'm watching the kids stand around and talk, and suddenly I realize, "A is pregnant." I was going to ask around and see if we had any information, and the very next day, one of the moms comes by my classroom, and says her son says one of his classmates is expecting, and does the girl need any baby stuff, because she's got lots of things from when her youngest was little, and she'd like to help out.

Turned out the administrators knew, but didn't think it was worth while to tell me. I was kind of annoyed. The answer to 'can I go to the bathroom' three times in one class changes, if you know the speaker is pregnant, for example.

84 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:04:37pm
85 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:05:07pm

re: #80 Mostly sane, most of the time.

I'm glad she had a good father.

It might have helped me that my male friends were all boy scouts that knew my father personally.

He had taught them all to shoot guns and build igloos.

They could mimic his snoring. No Boy Scouts don't sleep in the same tent as the Scoutmaster; he's that loud.

My husband and I used to go camping with the SCA. There was this one guy. He snored loud enough to wake the dead, loud enough that he kept us awake, in a tent maybe thirty yards away from his. Worse, we got up in the morning to discover that other people in our camp thought it was us, because who the hell would believe he could carry that far?

86 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:05:11pm

re: #81 blueraven

It happened top me, with one of my Moms "friends"
I never told her. Luckily he left town soon after.

A jackass from school felt me up at the public pool. It seemed like giving him too much energy to get too freaked out about it, for me.

87 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:06:14pm

re: #81 blueraven

It happened top me, with one of my Moms "friends"
I never told her. Luckily he left town soon after.

That upding was a virtual hug, not that I'm glad that it happened.

88 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:06:48pm

re: #87 Mostly sane, most of the time.

That upding was a virtual hug, not that I'm glad that it happened.

Yes, this. Hugding.

89 The Ghost of a Flea  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:06:54pm

Currently at The Daily Caller:


July 19, 2012
Obama labor agency nominee sent her kids to Communist-rooted summer camp

A forthcoming report from the conservative organization Americans for Limited Government (ALG) details how President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) sent her children to a politically left-wing Jewish summer camp with Communist roots.

Obama nominated Erica Groshen to be the BLS commissioner in February, but this new report — obtained by The Daily Caller and set to be released on Thursday — reveals for the first time publicly that she sent her children to Camp Kinderland. The ALG report reveals how “Groshen and her husband are listed in the Kinderland Directory 2011-2012, which indicates that they sent children to the camp during the 1990s and 2000s.”

“Camp Kinderland was founded in the 1923 as a place for the children of radical Jewish activists,” the report continues.

According to New York University, some of the camp’s founders were “activists in the Communist Party,” and all “were associated with the left wing of the Workermen’s Circle.”

“From 1930 the camp operated under the auspices of a branch of the International Workers Order [IWO],” NYU researchers add.

I didn't read the comments. I'm tense enough as is.

Derp.

90 blueraven  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:07:27pm

re: #82 prairiefire

I think I can present that as an option, that we will be monitoring her texts. I was a latch key kid with a raging libido at her age. I think I am looking at this from the other end of the stretched elastic band.

When my daughter was about a year older than your daughter, she had had a boyfriend for a year, I started talking about birth control and condoms. She swore she didn't need any of that.

About 6 months later she came to me and asked could she get on birth control. I took her to our family doctor.

91 Page 3 in the Binder of Women  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:08:26pm

re: #48 prairiefire

First, she'll be mad that I read it. Then, I'll ask if they've actually done it, because I honestly am not sure when they've had an opportunity. Then I will tell her they can absolutely not sit apart from us when we all see a movie.
Then, I think we will have to wade through that murky water of acknowledging the allure of sexual passion and when it is actually appropriate for her.

Girl, I am not a mom, prob because I was a kinda wild child in the times when parents didn't pay attention and did not want to risk it. BUT, my non-parental advice is just do it, take her to planned parenthood, set up a consultation, literature, and the pill. She's going to do what she wants, but at least a PP experience will instill the seriousness of it all.

92 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:09:48pm

re: #86 prairiefire

A jackass from school felt me up at the public pool. It seemed like giving him too much energy to get too freaked out about it, for me.

Martial arts training -> arm bar, wrist lock.

93 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:10:12pm

re: #89 The Ghost of a Flea

"yada yada communists murdered 4 billion people yada yada"

94 blueraven  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:10:38pm

re: #87 Mostly sane, most of the time.

re: #88 SanFranciscoZionist

I know...hugs back.

95 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:10:53pm

re: #89 The Ghost of a Flea

Currently at The Daily Caller:


July 19, 2012
Obama labor agency nominee sent her kids to Communist-rooted summer camp

I didn't read the comments. I'm tense enough as is.

Derp.

Now we're going after Camp Kinderland?

Oh for the love of God. Or not. They're kind of secular.

Az men fort kayn sevastopol,
Iz nit vayt fun Simferopol,
Dortn iz a stantsie faran.
Ver dar zuchn naye glikn?
S'iz a stantsie an antikl
In Dzhenkoye, dzhan, dzhan dzhan

Hey dzhan, hey dzhankoye
Hey dzhanvili, hey dzhankoye
Hey dzhankoye, dzhan dzhan dzhan

Enfert yidn af mayn kashe,
Vu'z mayn bruder, vu'z Abrasher?
S'geyt ba im der trakter vi a ban
Di mume Leye ba der kosilke
Beyle ba der molotilke
In dzhankoye...

Ver zogt as yidn konen nor handlen
Esn fete yoych mit mandlen,
Nor nit zayn kayn arbetsman?
Dos konen zogn nor di sonim -
Yidn, shpayt zey on in ponim
Tut a kuk af dzhan dzhan dzhan

96 kirkspencer  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:11:21pm

re: #92 b_sharp

Martial arts training -> arm bar, wrist lock.

unfortunately, far too often the rest of that sequence is -> suspension, assault charges.

97 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:12:13pm

In translation:

When you go to Sevastopol
Not too far from Simferopol
There's a little depot there
Why seek your luck elsewhere?
It's a special kind of depot.
In Zhankoye, zhan zhan zhan

Hey zhan, hey Zhankoye
Hey zhanvili, hey Zhankoye
Hey Zhankoye, zhan zhan zhan

Jews, answer my question
Where's my brother Abrasha?
He who rides his tractor like a train
Aunt Leah is at the mower
Bella is working the thresher
In zhankoye...

Who says that Jews can only be traders
And eat fat soup with soup nuts
But cannot be workingmen?
Only our enemies can say that -
Jews, let's spit right in their faces,
Simply look at zhan, zhan, zhan

98 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:12:46pm

re: #68 Renaissance_Man

Gah, yes. Thanks, folks.

99 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:12:56pm

first gay military couple had the first union ceremony on a military base today

freep is so happy for the new couple

[Link: www.freerepublic.com...]

To: Zakeet

its over...the Grand Republic is dead.

35 posted on Thursday, July 19, 2012 3:24:31 PM by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)

100 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:12:57pm

Looking back, I think my favorite "Seriously, Dad?" moment was the haunted house at church Halloween party. He was at the entrance, dressed in his bow hunting camo gear, full face paint, carrying his bow hunting gear, next to a gruesome dummy they had hung up.

101 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:13:27pm

re: #81 blueraven

{{blueraven}}

102 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:13:59pm

re: #79 goddamnedfrank

Maybe find a way to load some parental control onto her phone so that you secretly get copies of all her texts. That way you don't risk getting caught and as long as you don't tell her the intelligence channel remains open. What you don't want is give her a reason to start getting creative with secrecy, 'cuz kids can be really good at that.

My dad, who had six kids before my brother and I came along, was a frigging expert. He knew what we were going to do before we did. On more than one occasion I planned something with a girlfriend, and we'd be off somewhere hanging out with some boys and—*POOF*—my dad would materialize on the scene like some kind of wizard.

That never turned out well for us (or for any boys foolish enough to attempt using teenage bravado on my dad). * So, yeah, keep the intelligence channels open.

---
*I recall a couple of promises madeby my dad to boys that resulted in immediate meek responses of "Yes, sir. Okay, sorry, sir." LOL:

"Listen, you little sonofabitch, I'll grab you by your asshole and turn you inside out. Got it? Wanna try again?"

"If you don't shut up they're going to have to take us both to the hospital in order to cut my foot out of you ass. Now, get lost."

103 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:14:02pm

re: #96 kirkspencer

unfortunately, far too often the rest of that sequence is -> suspension, assault charges.

The kid already had his hands on the girl -> sexual assault. The girl using a wrist lock would embarrass the guy, not hurt him.

104 Targetpractice  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:14:31pm

re: #99 SpaceJesus

first gay military couple had the first union ceremony on a military base today

freep is so happy for the new couple

[Link: www.freerepublic.com...]

So that makes how many times the Republic has died? It's like a Highlander, only cutting off its head will kill it.

//

105 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:16:00pm

re: #88 SanFranciscoZionist

Yes, this. Hugding.

Ditto.

106 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:16:33pm

re: #91 Stanley Sea

Not a bad idea, my friend. Not bad at all. Gotta see where they're at nowadays. I might take her to the hard core one downtown where there are always abortion protesters. No coddling in a suburban clinic. More of a glimpse of the real deal of adulthood.

107 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:16:57pm

re: #104 Targetpractice

So that makes how many times the Republic has died? It's like a Highlander, only cutting off its head will kill it.

//

A country is more like Cerberus.

108 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:17:23pm

re: #104 Targetpractice


zombie america feeds not on brains, but on freep tears. it can never die

109 researchok  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:19:02pm

re: #102 CuriousLurker

We may be related.

My dad had similar boot to the backside threat.

"You'll be up in the air 10 minutes before you come down".

We were quite sure the exaggeration was on the mild side.

110 Big Joe  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:19:04pm

My favorite line to boys is, "I'm not afraid to go back to prison!"

111 Targetpractice  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:20:01pm

re: #110 Big Joe

My favorite line to boys is, "I'm not afraid to go back to prison!"

Be honest, you stole that off Bill Engvall, right?

112 MittDoesNotCompute  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:20:47pm

re: #111 Targetpractice

Be honest, you stole that off Bill Engvall, right?

There's your sign...

113 The Ghost of a Flea  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:21:32pm

re: #104 Targetpractice

So that makes how many times the Republic has died? It's like a Highlander, only cutting off its head will kill it.

//

We are the Lernean Hydra of National Exceptionalism.

Either that, or Jesus keeps granting us extra lives....

114 Big Joe  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:21:52pm

re: #111 Targetpractice

Be honest, you stole that off Bill Engvall, right?

Who? never heard of him.

115 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:22:05pm

Why the fuck am I getting ads to support the Joe Arpaio PAC?

116 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:22:42pm

re: #115 Kragar

Why the fuck am I getting ads to support the Joe Arpaio PAC?

To annoy you.

117 Targetpractice  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:22:44pm

re: #114 Big Joe

Who? never heard of him.

Never? Huh, must be a Southern thing.

118 Big Joe  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:22:53pm

re: #112 TedStriker

There's your sign...

Oh, maybe I did get it from him.

119 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:24:44pm

re: #116 b_sharp

To annoy you.

I've had enough of that today.

120 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:26:37pm

re: #109 researchok

We may be related.

My dad had similar boot to the backside threat.

"You'll be up in the air 10 minutes before you come down".

We were quite sure the exaggeration was on the mild side.

I think what made it especially scary was that he always said it in a totally calm tone of voice while looking them dead in the eye. As in, "Don't mistake this for a threat, it's a promise."

Delivery is everything, heh.

121 The Ghost of a Flea  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:26:47pm

re: #115 Kragar

Why the fuck am I getting ads to support the Joe Arpaio PAC?

Hell is no longer other people.

Hell is now a web-based, consumer-targetted multi-media marketing experience.

suck it, Sarte

122 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:28:05pm

re: #120 CuriousLurker

I think what made it especially scary was that he always said it in a totally calm tone of voice while looking them dead in the eye. As in, "Don't mistake this for a threat, it's a promise."

Delivery is everything, heh.

Yes it is. It also helps if you're not small and in Hapkido.

123 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:33:07pm

re: #122 b_sharp

Yes it is. It also helps if you're not small and in Hapkido.

He was a 6' 2", 200 lb. ex Marine who'd survived combat in WWII, 8 children, and 3 marriages. There wasn't much that scared him. But in a couple of extreme cases we kids were able to worry & disappoint him to the point of tears—that was the most God-awful feeling ever, to see him cry. :-(

124 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:35:17pm

re: #121 The Ghost of a Flea

Hell is no longer other people.

Hell is now a web-based, consumer-targetted multi-media marketing experience.

suck it, Sarte

Holly: Jean-Paul Sartre said hell was being locked forever in a room with your friends.
Lister: Holly, all his mates were French.

125 Sheila Broflovski  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:35:30pm

re: #123 CuriousLurker

I just want to wish you Happy Ramadan and easy fast.

126 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:36:11pm

re: #22 researchok

In fairness, it wasn't a handout. It was a bond, paid back with interest.

It would have been nice if GM had paid their bondholders back.

Why didn't he get it from a job creator?

127 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:36:52pm

re: #123 CuriousLurker

He was a 6' 2", 200 lb. ex Marine who'd survived combat in WWII, 8 children, and 3 marriages. There wasn't much that scared him. But in a couple of extreme cases we kids were able to worry & disappoint him to the point of tears—that was the most God-awful feeling ever, to see him cry. :-(

I'm 6' and I was 180lbs when my daughter was 16. Her boyfriend got the evil eye from me a couple of times.

128 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:37:21pm

re: #115 Kragar

Why the fuck am I getting ads to support the Joe Arpaio PAC?

"Support Sherrif Joe's efforts to take our country."

Take it where?

P.S. I'm leery of people who wear Transitions® lenses. Probably a personal shortcoming on my part but I think they look horrible. They only look cool as part of the whole ensemble, riding a Segway while wearing a fanny pack frontwards and some Crocs with socks.

129 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:38:21pm

re: #125 Learned Mother of Zion

I just want to wish you Happy Ramadan and easy fast.

Thank you, that's sweet! I saw that upthread #53 and responded.

130 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:39:07pm

re: #128 goddamnedfrank

"Support Sherrif Joe's efforts to take our country."

Take it where?

P.S. I'm leery of people who wear Transitions® lenses. Probably a personal shortcoming on my part but I think they look horrible. They only look cool as part of the whole ensemble, riding a Segway while wearing a fanny pack frontwards and some Crocs with socks.

How do you know they're Transitions?

I find them irritating because they take too damn long to clear up.

131 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:40:25pm

re: #129 CuriousLurker

re: #125 Learned Mother of Zion

I just want to wish you Happy Ramadan and easy fast.

Thank you, that's sweet! I saw that upthread #53 and responded.

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

132 kirkspencer  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:41:19pm

re: #103 b_sharp

The kid already had his hands on the girl -> sexual assault. The girl using a wrist lock would embarrass the guy, not hurt him.

You've not been paying attention to what happens in schools much, have you. Far too often, and especially (stereotypically but true) if the kid's part of a major sports team, my scenario is what happens.

133 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:41:52pm

re: #131 b_sharp

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

Sure we do, winter solstice, AKA Christmas, or "The Holidays"

134 palomino  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:42:24pm

re: #10 blueraven

Just further evidence of what should already be apparent: Zimmerman is a stupid, reckless, possibly mentally impaired individual who sure as hell shouldn't be patrolling streets with lethal weapons.

135 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:42:56pm

re: #131 b_sharp

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

What about that holiday....can't remember the name of it right now...you know, the one from Seinfeld, George's dad.

Or you could just make up your own, heh.

136 ozbloke  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:44:17pm

re: #131 b_sharp

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

But you do get the joy of telling kids their is no such thing as Santa, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy.

137 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:44:29pm

re: #135 CuriousLurker

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

What about that holiday...can't remember the name of it right now...you know, the one from Seinfeld, George's dad.

Or you could just make up your own, heh.

Like Kwanza?

138 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:45:01pm

re: #135 CuriousLurker

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

What about that holiday...can't remember the name of it right now...you know, the one from Seinfeld, George's dad.

Or you could just make up your own, heh.

Festivus! For the rest of us!

139 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:45:09pm

Mark Neumann, guy who wants to replace Herb Kohl as senator, releases this anti-science ad complete with caricatured bumbling government scientist.

140 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:45:17pm

re: #135 CuriousLurker

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

What about that holiday...can't remember the name of it right now...you know, the one from Seinfeld, George's dad.

Or you could just make up your own, heh.

The Festivus for the rest of us?

141 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:46:04pm

re: #133 Achilles Tang

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

Sure we do, winter solstice, AKA Christmas.

We need something like a bacchanalia but with hard liquor and no gods.

142 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:46:39pm

Fourth of July, Labor day, Memorial day, Arbor day, Groundhog day, New Year's Eve,* Flag day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

*No day whose chief tradition is aspirin qualifies as a holiday, therefore I omit New Year's Day.

143 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:46:51pm

re: #135 CuriousLurker

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

What about that holiday...can't remember the name of it right now...you know, the one from Seinfeld, George's dad.

Or you could just make up your own, heh.

Festivus is boring.

144 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:47:25pm

re: #137 Achilles Tang

mr. tang, are you a keeper of a saltwater tank?

145 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:47:44pm

re: #137 Achilles Tang

Like Kwanza?

Sure, why not?

re: #138 Mostly sane, most of the time.

re: #140 Kragar

Festivus—yes, that's it!

146 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:47:49pm

re: #136 ozbloke

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

But you do get the joy of telling kids their is no such thing as Santa, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy.

That's fun sure, but it doesn't last long.

We need a celebration where we can tell other people's kids that.

147 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:48:54pm

re: #131 b_sharp

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

I think Newtonmas is cool, although it's obviously somewhat derivative--and given that Newton was very devout, seems slightly off somehow--but it's still cool.

It's not only holidays you're lacking:

148 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:49:06pm

re: #139 Amory Blaine

Mark Neumann, guy who wants to replace Herb Kohl as senator, releases this anti-science ad complete with caricatured bumbling government scientist.

[Embedded content]

What a dork.

149 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:49:41pm

re: #144 SpaceJesus

mr. tang, are you a keeper of a saltwater tank?

I was for many years. 300 gallons worth, but I sold it a couple of years ago when my wife started saying she was going to bury me in it.

150 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:50:05pm

re: #135 CuriousLurker

We atheists don't get any cool sounding celebrations.

What about that holiday...can't remember the name of it right now...you know, the one from Seinfeld, George's dad.

Or you could just make up your own, heh.

Festivus!

Although it is theistic, I am also fond of Chanumas. [Link: cj-heretic.blogspot.com...]

(Warning, this makes somewhat more sense if you have a Jewish background. Sort of.)

151 ozbloke  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:50:32pm

re: #146 b_sharp

That's fun sure, but it doesn't last long.

That's when you can resort to pranks.

152 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:51:06pm

re: #149 Achilles Tang

I was for many years. 300 gallons worth, but I sold it a couple of years ago when my wife started saying she was going to bury me in it.

That sounds fine to me. As long as she removed the fish to a safe locations before putting you under.

153 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:52:01pm

re: #152 SanFranciscoZionist

That sounds fine to me. As long as she removed the fish to a safe locations before putting you under.

Being buried with your living fish just seems too much like those pharaohs being buried surrounded by drugged-up servants.

154 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:52:16pm

re: #151 ozbloke

That's when you can resort to pranks.

[Embedded content]

I like it!

155 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:52:30pm

re: #152 SanFranciscoZionist

That sounds fine to me. As long as she removed the fish to a safe locations before putting you under.

That was the problem, there were no guarantees and there were a lot of creepy things in there.

156 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:53:16pm

re: #150 SanFranciscoZionist

Festivus!

Although it is theistic, I am also fond of Chanumas. [Link: cj-heretic.blogspot.com...]

(Warning, this makes somewhat more sense if you have a Jewish background. Sort of.)

Observance of this holiday season starts on erev Thanksgiving, when the Head of the Household (the sages say that all who are bar or bat mitzvah) wtites a ritual letter to the President of the United States offering to pay down the National Debt in return for being made Chief Rabbi of Israel. This is in memory of the High Priests Jason and Menaleus, who actually pulled the same stunt with King Antiochus IV, and thus set in motion the events that led up to Channukah. [Of course, it is forbidden to actually mail this letter, unless, of course, you want to be included on the U.S. Secret Service's "nutcase list."]

157 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:53:38pm

re: #149 Achilles Tang

ah. i just got one about 6 months ago for my place. certain things about it have me confused. like nitrates not going away.

158 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:54:37pm

re: #157 SpaceJesus

How big is it?

159 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:54:45pm

re: #157 SpaceJesus

ah. i just got one about 6 months ago for my place. certain things about it have me confused. like nitrates not going away.

It's the fishes fault.

160 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:55:29pm

re: #158 Achilles Tang

55

161 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:56:39pm

re: #159 b_sharp


i only have 4 small ones. i dont know how they make so many damn chemicals. maybe they have a meth lab behind the rocks in there

162 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:56:43pm

re: #160 SpaceJesus

55

Your bacteria aren't doing their job.

163 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:57:33pm

re: #153 SanFranciscoZionist

Being buried with your living fish just seems too much like those pharaohs being buried surrounded by drugged-up servants.

The vikings chose a slave girl to go with the chieftain as his wife into the next life.

For some reason, the real wife was perfectly happy to allow this.

Wonder why?

164 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:58:01pm

re: #162 b_sharp


i thought bacteria broke down the amonia and nitrite then the algae eats the nitrate

165 erik_t  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:58:19pm

hey erik: STOP TRYING TO CUT OFF YOUR THUMB.

apologies for no shift key. one active thumb. thank goodness for wilderness expedient medicine

166 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:58:32pm

re: #121 The Ghost of a Flea

re: #143 b_sharp

Festivus is boring.

You should try the airing of grievances at my house.

167 CuriousLurker  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:58:36pm

re: #149 Achilles Tang

300 gallons worth

Holy crap! I just googled it to see how big that is. O_o

168 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 7:59:07pm

re: #2 freetoken

Bringing this over from downstairs... today long time National Review writer John Derbyshire came right out and asks the question: What, Exactly, Is Wrong With “Racism”?

in which, besides demonstrating his ignorance of the ancient history of the British isles, he concludes:

It's a full frontal argument for segregation.

And I bet there are current NR writers who still agree with Derbyshire.

I disagree with that last. I nevertheless updinged because I agree entirely with everything else.

169 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:01:14pm

re: #163 Mostly sane, most of the time.

The vikings chose a slave girl to go with the chieftain as his wife into the next life.

For some reason, the real wife was perfectly happy to allow this.

Wonder why?

"Obviously, my beloved husband would much prefer to have a younger, perkier model to start off in the afterlife with. Me, I'd prefer not to have my throat cut. So we have an understanding."

BTW, when it comes to matters Norse, I cannot recommend this gentleman's comedy highly enough.

[Link: skaldic.com...]

The albums are "Ragnarok 'n Roll", and "The Viking Home Companion (Radio Free Valhalla)".

170 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:02:23pm

re: #164 SpaceJesus

i thought bacteria broke down the amonia and nitrite then the algae eats the nitrate

I don't know about saltwater but I've never gotten rid of the nitrates completely in my fresh water. I have some 7 year old cichlids.

171 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:02:45pm

How about a holiday to celebrate scientific genius?

You'll just have to exclude everything certain scientists said about God, but still...

172 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:03:32pm

re: #170 b_sharp


mine are at 20ppm. they were at 15ppm but then i got a skimmer and somehow the nitrates went up.

it's not poisonous levels or anything, just kind of a wtf?

173 palomino  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:03:36pm

The notion that Obama laughs at Americans who celebrate hard work and intelligence is absolutely noxious. It's almost as sick as the birther/commie/Kenyan conspiracy theories. Obama celebrates hard work, brains, and education in nearly every speech he gives; moreover, the way he lives his life embodies a respect for hard work and intelligence. Does anyone honestly think he got where he is through a combo of laziness and stupidity?

And yet this is where Romney is now going in his attacks. While Obama's team focuses on Romney's career, finances and taxes (important considerations for a businessman candidate), the Romney team deceptively edits Obama's words to make it sound like he insulted most Americans. It's all part of the "Obama isn't really American" strategy. The Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright shit didn't really work 4 years ago, so now the approach is to make him seem less American...because it's the closest you can get in polite company to calling him a "ni**er without a birth certificate."

Romney may be a decent family man. But make no mistake--he's willing to sink as low as he must to win. He's been running for president essentially non-stop since early 2007, and there will be no "next time" for him. He's made it clear that he'll be using Palin's xenophobic playbook, not the McCain playbook (which had some integrity and sense of morality.)

174 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:04:18pm

re: #169 SanFranciscoZionist

"Obviously, my beloved husband would much prefer to have a younger, perkier model to start off in the afterlife with. Me, I'd prefer not to have my throat cut. So we have an understanding."

BTW, when it comes to matters Norse, I cannot recommend this gentleman's comedy highly enough.

[Link: skaldic.com...]

The albums are "Ragnarok 'n Roll", and "The Viking Home Companion (Radio Free Valhalla)".

175 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:04:37pm

re: #171 Mostly sane, most of the time.

How about a holiday to celebrate scientific genius?

You'll just have to exclude everything certain scientists said about God, but still...

That's the odd part about Newtonmas for me. I mean, I realize it's because he was born on Christmas, and science and all, but he was such a serious Christian that making him the star of an atheist holiday seems weird.

176 palomino  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:04:53pm

re: #168 Dark_Falcon

I disagree with that last. I nevertheless updinged because I agree entirely with everything else.

How about Jay Nordlinger? Wetbacks isn't a racist term?

177 b_sharp  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:05:00pm

re: #172 SpaceJesus

mine are at 20ppm. they were at 15ppm but then i got a skimmer and somehow the nitrates went up.

it's not poisonous levels or anything, just kind of a wtf?

How are the fish responding?

178 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:06:46pm

re: #174 Kragar

[Embedded content]

That is one of the best movies ever.

I once described the opening scene to a friend, a very serious feminist activist, as 'the funniest attempted rape in cinematic history'.

She was horrified. Then I showed her the movie. She agreed.

179 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:07:45pm

re: #175 SanFranciscoZionist

That's the odd part about Newtonmas for me. I mean, I realize it's because he was born on Christmas, and science and all, but he was such a serious Christian that making him the star of an atheist holiday seems weird.

re: #175 SanFranciscoZionist

That's the odd part about Newtonmas for me. I mean, I realize it's because he was born on Christmas, and science and all, but he was such a serious Christian that making him the star of an atheist holiday seems weird.

It would be highly interesting to go through the great scientists and see how many were religious. You'd have to scale them against their times, though. Galileo's sending his daughter to a convent to become nuns may have been religious, but was more likely a reflection of the times.

Faraday was very religious. Franklin enjoyed religion on his own non-specific terms. No idea about Tesla.

180 SpaceJesus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:08:06pm

re: #177 b_sharp

swimmin' around. clownfish are playing in the current like normal.

i want to add some corals though, but nitrates are too harmful

181 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:10:08pm

re: #160 SpaceJesus

55

That is about the minimum for stability. Bigger is always better. However nitrates won't go away (except as below), you have to remove them. Fish poop.

1: Match fish to tank size. Keep them small. Don't over feed.
2: Use a protein skimmer.
3: Get an anaerobic filter setup. The principle is to have a trickle feed into a sealed pipe loop (I used a set of large water filter canisters). Aerobic bacteria use up the oxygen in the first part and the anaerobics take over in the rest and they can break down the nitrates to nitrogen and nitrites. To some extent a deep sand bottom can do the same, if little oxygenated water circulates through it (and porous coral substrates do the same). You can also have a bottom type filter under the sand.
4: Make sure you have a suitably sized bio filter, not only a particle filter. I had a wet/dry system.
5: Make sure you use RO water for evaporation top off (tap water has lots of potassium which causes algae growth).

If that sounds hard, you can do a lot if you just keep the bio mass (fish and stuff) low. Remember one pretty fish you bought can easily weigh as much as all the rest together.

182 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:10:33pm

re: #178 SanFranciscoZionist

That is one of the best movies ever.

I once described the opening scene to a friend, a very serious feminist activist, as 'the funniest attempted rape in cinematic history'.

She was horrified. Then I showed her the movie. She agreed.

Harald the Missionary: Listen. I've been in this dump for sixteen years and I haven't made a single convert...
Snorri the Miserable: There was Thorbjorn Vifilsson's wife. You converted HER.
Harald the Missionary: Thorbjorn Vifilsson's wife became a Buddhist, not a Christian.
Snorri the Miserable: Same thing, isn't it?
Harald the Missionary: No, it is NOT.

183 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:11:08pm

re: #176 palomino

How about Jay Nordlinger? Wetbacks isn't a racist term?

Don't forget Conrad Black and his defense of colonialism.

No one could seriously dispute that almost all of sub-Saharan Africa, all of North Africa except Morocco, all of the Middle East except Israel and Jordan and most of the oil-rich states, and the entire former British Indian Empire were better governed by Europeans. The Philippines and Cuba and, during the piping days of the U.S. Marines’ occupations (even if they were deployed at times by the United Fruit Company), Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic were all better off under the Americans.

This kind of inherently racist idiocy is the NROs bread and butter.

184 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:11:29pm

re: #176 palomino

How about Jay Nordlinger? Wetbacks isn't a racist term?

It is. But my father says that on rare occasions too (though my dad's use of the term has declined sharply in the last few years), and neither he nor Nordlinger is any supporter of segregation. Freetoken was saying that there were NR writers who agree with Derbyshire's support of segregation, and I do not believe that is true. Whether any NR writers may have racist thought is another matter. I only intended to address the stated contention.

185 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:12:03pm

re: #179 Mostly sane, most of the time.

re: #175 SanFranciscoZionist

It would be highly interesting to go through the great scientists and see how many were religious. You'd have to scale them against their times, though. Galileo's sending his daughter to a convent to become nuns may have been religious, but was more likely a reflection of the times.

Faraday was very religious. Franklin enjoyed religion on his own non-specific terms. No idea about Tesla.

Yeah, in Galileo's day, becoming a nun (or making your daughter one) didn't necessarily indicate any special piety.

For Tesla I find this:

“So we find that the three possible solutions of the great problem of increasing human energy are answered by the three words: food, peace, work. Many a year I have thought and pondered, lost myself in speculations and theories, considering man as a mass moved by a force, viewing his inexplicable movement in the light of a mechanical one, and applying the simple principles of mechanics to the analysis of the same until I arrived at these solutions, only to realize that they were taught to me in my early childhood. These three words sound the key-notes of the Christian religion. Their scientific meaning and purpose now clear to me: food to increase the mass, peace to diminish the retarding force, and work to increase the force accelerating human movement. These are the only three solutions which are possible of that great problem, and all of them have one object, one end, namely, to increase human energy. When we recognize this, we cannot help wondering how profoundly wise and scientific and how immensely practical the Christian religion is, and in what a marked contrast it stands in this respect to other religions. It is unmistakably the result of practical experiment and scientific observation which have extended through the ages, while other religions seem to be the outcome of merely abstract reasoning. Work, untiring effort, useful and accumulative, with periods of rest and recuperation aiming at higher efficiency, is its chief and ever-recurring command. Thus we are inspired both by Christianity and Science to do our utmost toward increasing the performance of mankind. This most important of human problems I shall now specifically consider.”

186 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:14:35pm

re: #185 SanFranciscoZionist

Yeah, in Galileo's day, becoming a nun (or making your daughter one) didn't necessarily indicate any special piety.

For Tesla I find this:

“So we find that the three possible solutions of the great problem of increasing human energy are answered by the three words: food, peace, work. Many a year I have thought and pondered, lost myself in speculations and theories, considering man as a mass moved by a force, viewing his inexplicable movement in the light of a mechanical one, and applying the simple principles of mechanics to the analysis of the same until I arrived at these solutions, only to realize that they were taught to me in my early childhood. These three words sound the key-notes of the Christian religion. Their scientific meaning and purpose now clear to me: food to increase the mass, peace to diminish the retarding force, and work to increase the force accelerating human movement. These are the only three solutions which are possible of that great problem, and all of them have one object, one end, namely, to increase human energy. When we recognize this, we cannot help wondering how profoundly wise and scientific and how immensely practical the Christian religion is, and in what a marked contrast it stands in this respect to other religions. It is unmistakably the result of practical experiment and scientific observation which have extended through the ages, while other religions seem to be the outcome of merely abstract reasoning. Work, untiring effort, useful and accumulative, with periods of rest and recuperation aiming at higher efficiency, is its chief and ever-recurring command. Thus we are inspired both by Christianity and Science to do our utmost toward increasing the performance of mankind. This most important of human problems I shall now specifically consider.”

That's a pretty windy way of saying: "Christianity rocks!"

187 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:14:45pm

re: #182 Kragar

Harald the Missionary: Listen. I've been in this dump for sixteen years and I haven't made a single convert...
Snorri the Miserable: There was Thorbjorn Vifilsson's wife. You converted HER.
Harald the Missionary: Thorbjorn Vifilsson's wife became a Buddhist, not a Christian.
Snorri the Miserable: Same thing, isn't it?
Harald the Missionary: No, it is NOT.

The missionary is an awesome character.

I know that at the Birka dig in Sweden they actually found a little statue of the Buddha, originally from North India. I've always wondered if that was the inspiration for that exchange.

188 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:15:58pm

I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest tonight, though. I'd really rather subdue my foes with an overdose of Cute. The rest of the story is here.

189 palomino  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:17:40pm

re: #184 Dark_Falcon

It is. But my father says that on rare occasions too (though my dad's use of the term has declined sharply in the last few years), and neither he nor Nordlinger is any supporter of segregation. Freetoken was saying that there were NR writers who agree with Derbyshire's support of segregation, and I do not believe that is true. Whether any NR writers may have racist thought is another matter. I only intended to address the stated contention.

If you're only talking about segregation, then I suppose NRO is now free of that type of writer. But Nordlinger and Conrad Black are still employed there, so the blatant racism of other sorts lives on.

NRO's legacy on segregation isn't exactly pristine. Everyone seems to give Buckley's segregationism a pass, either because of the times or just out of deference to his overall intelligence.

Let's face the simple truth of the last 40 years: it's no accident that the GOP is still 95% white in a country that is only 60% white.

190 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:21:21pm

I was just going thru some H.P. Lovecraft and came across this, written in 1936.

“As for the Republicans—how can one regard seriously a frightened, greedy, nostalgic huddle of tradesmen and lucky idlers who shut their eyes to history and science, steel their emotions against decent human sympathy, cling to sordid and provincial ideals exalting sheer acquisitiveness and condoning artificial hardship for the non-materially-shrewd, dwell smugly and sentimentally in a distorted dream-cosmos of outmoded phrases and principles and attitudes based on the bygone agricultural-handicraft world, and revel in (consciously or unconsciously) mendacious assumptions (such as the notion that real liberty is synonymous with the single detail of unrestricted economic license or that a rational planning of resource-distribution would contravene some vague and mystical ‘American heritage’…) utterly contrary to fact and without the slightest foundation in human experience? Intellectually, the Republican idea deserves the tolerance and respect one gives to the dead.” - a letter to C.L. Moore (August 1936), quoted in "H.P. Lovecraft, a Life" by S.T. Joshi

191 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:23:10pm

I do find "Derb's" footer especially full of chutzpah:

John Derbyshire [email him] writes an incredible amount on all sorts of subjects for all kinds of outlets. (This no longer includes National Review, whose editors had some kind of tantrum and fired him.[sic, missing closed parenthesis in original.] He is the author of We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism and several other books. His writings are archived at JohnDerbyshire.com.

Yeah sure, Johnny, Rich Lowery had a 'tantrum'. Had nothing at all to do with the black people hating article you wrote.

/spits

192 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:26:43pm

re: #189 palomino

If you're only talking about segregation, then I suppose NRO is now free of that type of writer. But Nordlinger and Conrad Black are still employed there, so the blatant racism of other sorts lives on.

NRO's legacy on segregation isn't exactly pristine. Everyone seems to give Buckley's segregationism a pass, either because of the times or just out of deference to his overall intelligence.

Let's face the simple truth of the last 40 years: it's no accident that the GOP is still 95% white in a country that is only 60% white.

William F. Buckley was a segregationist back in the 1950's, but he did later change his position and admit he had been wrong. So did Robert Byrd, for that matter.

Note: This is not one of those old "Byrd was a Klansman!!1" posts from the LGF of yore. Instead Byrd was used to illustrate the fact that many people who were at first wrong about civil rights issues later changed their views and admitted they had been wrong.

193 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:27:20pm

re: #190 Kragar

Have you noticed how in those days, and before, it was perfectly acceptable to have entire paragraphs composed of one or two sentences?

194 darthstar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:29:43pm

re: #193 Achilles Tang

Have you noticed how in those days, and before, it was perfectly acceptable to have entire paragraphs composed of one or two sentences?

People were more literate back then. William Faulkner was a contemporary writer. A few subordinate clauses didn't send someone running for a 140 character reprieve or an emoticon for reassurance.

195 darthstar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:47:01pm

Okay...who wants to play count the plastic surgery procedures?

Image: 252645_472316276113474_1227148645_n.jpg

Me neither...but suffice it to say, zoom is not your friend, Ann.

196 darthstar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:48:01pm

re: #195 darthstar

Okay...who wants to play count the plastic surgery procedures?

Image: 252645_472316276113474_1227148645_n.jpg

Me neither...but suffice it to say, zoom is not your friend, Ann.

That's not to say I don't like plastic surgery...I love that gal who didn't get to replace Carson before they put that fucktard Leno in...

197 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:52:01pm

re: #196 darthstar

That's not to say I don't like plastic surgery...I love that gal who didn't get to replace Carson before they put that fucktard Leno in...

"Fucking Sneaky Bastard" is a much better description of Jay Leno than "fucktard". Whatever else he is, he's not stupid.

198 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:56:18pm

re: #194 darthstar

People were more literate back then. William Faulkner was a contemporary writer. A few subordinate clauses didn't send someone running for a 140 character reprieve or an emoticon for reassurance.

They also seemed more able to join connected thoughts together in logical sequence using just commas.

199 The Ghost of a Flea  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 8:56:30pm

Joe Arpaio’s Birther Obsession Just Keeps Getting Stranger

For months, the sheriff has been promoting the fringe conspiracy theory of birtherism, which claims Barack Obama’s birth certificate is fake and therefore he is ineligible to be president. But Arpaio took it to a grand scale with his latest stunt, promising to reveal “shocking” information about the document.

What he and his “investigator” ultimately presented, however, was something less than shocking. They spun new webs of the conspiracy, alleging secret codes were hidden in the birth certificate and claiming they found an elderly witness who could decipher the cryptography. It was the latest tweak to a theory that has long been debunked but remains kept alive by small pockets of conservative activists and writers.

Slightly more amusing, however, was just how high Arpaio was able to take the level of bizarre behavior and paranoia with the world watching through multiple live streams on the internet.

Mike Zullo, Arpaio’s volunteer “cold case” investigator who has been looking into the birth certificate for 10 months, told the crowd of local journalists that he and the sheriff had been threatened and were possibly in danger for uncovering the information. He said Arpaio personally assigned an armed deputy to tag along with him on a trip to Hawaii in May to protect him from potential threats. Zullo showed photos of Hawaiian police cars that he said were sent to intimidate them as they sleuthed around the islands looking for clues.

200 dragonath  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:05:30pm

re: #185 SanFranciscoZionist

Supposedly, Tesla had an obsession with the number 3. Three words... and the trinity. Maybe that has something to do with it.

201 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:07:34pm

re: #200 Fred Galt

Supposedly, Tesla had an obsession with the number 3. Three words... and the trinity. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Maybe he was a Raman?

202 jaunte  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:09:50pm

Stories I’d like to see: Pinning Romney down on taxes

The press is missing a trick in continuing to ask Governor Romney only whether he’s going to release more than his most recent tax returns. That allows him to say either yes or no (for now, it’s no), which produces no information. So no news gets made. But there are lots of other ways to get at the Romney tax issue by asking him a variety of different questions, for which even a refusal to comment would be news.

"4. Governor, what would you guess your average tax rate has been in the last 10 years? If you don’t know, could you ask your accountant to tell us?"

203 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:11:24pm

re: #195 darthstar

Okay...who wants to play count the plastic surgery procedures?

Image: 252645_472316276113474_1227148645_n.jpg

Me neither...but suffice it to say, zoom is not your friend, Ann.

*you're

204 Achilles Tang  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:12:06pm

re: #202 jaunte

Stories I’d like to see: Pinning Romney down on taxes

"4. Governor, what would you guess your average tax rate has been in the last 10 years? If you don’t know, could you ask your accountant to tell us?"

I want to see him asked how many jobs he has created with the hundreds of millions he has (wherever they are), what with being a master job creator and all.

205 ozbloke  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:13:31pm

re: #202 jaunte

Stories I’d like to see: Pinning Romney down on taxes

Stories I’d like to see: Pinning Romney down

206 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:18:51pm

re: #205 ozbloke

Stories I’d like to see: Pinning Romney down

He'd just wave you off and move away. Then his campaign would stop answering your questions. Reporters don't want to lose their access,and getting booted off of a campaign does not look good on a resume.

207 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:25:36pm

Haha! I win! I win!

Breitbart.com headline reads: Anti-Israel Bomber in Bulgaria Was Released From Gitmo Thanks To Left

If they've identified the right guy, he was released from Gitmo in 2004.

"The left" in this case appears to be the Swedish government and media, in case you were wondering. But I doubt most of Breitbart's readers will read far enough to figure out that Obama didn't personally unlock the cage himself.

208 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:27:56pm

re: #207 SanFranciscoZionist

Haha! I win! I win!

Breitbart.com headline reads: Anti-Israel Bomber in Bulgaria Was Released From Gitmo Thanks To Left

If they've identified the right guy, he was released from Gitmo in 2004.

"The left" in this case appears to be the Swedish government and media, in case you were wondering. But I doubt most of Breitbart's readers will read far enough to figure out that Obama didn't personally unlock the cage himself.

Unfair and loaded question that Breitbart.com is not asking: if this is true, why was the Bush administration so weak, anti-American and stupid as to crumble to pressure from...Swedes?

Unfair and loaded question that Breibart.com would be asking if this had happened on a Democrat's watch? Same as above.

209 Varek Raith  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:29:25pm

re: #208 SanFranciscoZionist

Unfair and loaded question that Breitbart.com is not asking: if this is true, why was the Bush administration so weak, anti-American and stupid as to crumble to pressure from...Swedes?

Unfair and loaded question that Breibart.com would be asking if this had happened on a Democrat's watch? Same as above.

Because SHUT UP!
That's why!

210 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:32:05pm

re: #207 SanFranciscoZionist

Haha! I win! I win!

Breitbart.com headline reads: Anti-Israel Bomber in Bulgaria Was Released From Gitmo Thanks To Left

If they've identified the right guy, he was released from Gitmo in 2004.

"The left" in this case appears to be the Swedish government and media, in case you were wondering. But I doubt most of Breitbart's readers will read far enough to figure out that Obama didn't personally unlock the cage himself.

I don't know what the latest is regarding this news but don't these bozos understand that Gitmo always had a built in release mechanism so to speak? They've been releasing prisoners from time to time since it's opening. This wasn't designed by "the left" and is just basic common legal methods.

211 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:33:38pm

re: #210 Gus

... They've been releasing prisoners from time to time since it's opening. This wasn't designed by "the left" and is just basic common legal methods.

Shhh...

212 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:33:41pm

Truther mentality. This is like people that blame Bush or "the right" for the 911 attacks.

213 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:34:23pm

Of course the right has been blaming Clinton for 911 basically for allegedly not "taking out" OBL.

214 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:35:15pm

So no. I don't blame Bush or the right for this either.

215 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:36:59pm

Carl Zimmer delves into the mystery of human chromosome 2, and hits some creationists between the eyes:

The Mystery of the Missing Chromosome (With A Special Guest Appearance from Facebook Creationists)

Neat stuff, explaining the history of our common past with chimps and gorillas and their chromosomes 2 and 3, its fusion in us, etc.

And then Zimmer runs into the IDiots:


The Mystery of the Missing Chromosomes, Continued: An Update From Your Preening Blogger

Klinghoffer is quite the work.

Recommend reading both links in full.

216 Varek Raith  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:37:26pm

re: #214 Gus

So no. I don't blame Bush or the right for this either.

I blame you.
No offense.
;P

217 Our Precious Bodily Fluids  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:37:32pm

re: #3 Charles Johnson

I've actually owned quite a few of the toys shown in this great video. The Roland Space Echo, for one.

I missed seeing the Mutron Bi-Phase, one of my favorite effects units from the pre-rack days.

The Mutron Bi-Phase was one of Frank Zappa's favorite effects, and can be heard prominently on "Pink Napkins", which is one of my favorite pieces from the "Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar" series.

218 Velvet Elvis  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:39:54pm
219 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:40:31pm

The names of the dead from the bombing have been released.

Maor Harush, 24, and Elior Price, 25, from Acre.
Itzik Kolangi, 28, and Amir Menashe, 28, from Petah Tikva.
Kochava Shriki, 42, from Rishon Letzion.
Mustafa Kyosov, 36. He was Bulgarian, the driver of the bombed bus.

May their memories be for a blessing.

220 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:42:33pm

re: #218 Velvet Elvis

I want one!

No, you get this instead.

221 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:43:00pm

I see Bachmann has now tripled down:

Bachmann ties Ellison to Muslim Brotherhood

Shrugging off criticism from GOP leaders in Congress, Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann broadened her allegations Thursday of Islamic infiltration in the U.S. government, accusing Democrat Keith Ellison of associations with the Muslim Brotherhood.

"He has a long record of being associated with [the Council on American–Islamic Relations] and with the Muslim Brotherhood," Bachmann told right-wing radio and TV show host Glenn Beck.

[...]

Where will she stop?

She's only got 4 more degrees to go until she reaches Kevin Bacon.

222 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:43:07pm

From the Communists at Forbes:

How Many CEOs And Presidents Do YOU Know Who Have Absolutely Nothing To Do With Their Company?

Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of a firm’s chief executive holding too many simultaneous titles, such as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board. It reduces checks and balances and increases temptations. Given top executives’ natural tendencies toward Type A energy levels and exercising power, I’ve always felt that a company is better served by a broader distribution of it.

In this general context, I find Mitt Romney’s claims that he had “no involvement in investment decisions or management” at Bain Capital from 1999 to 2002 intriguing. How shall I put it – it’s just kind of tough for me to imagine any hard-driving, ambitious chief executive – particularly one continuing to hold the titles of President, CEO and Director – as having absolutely no substantive connection to company operations for a three-year period.

223 Varek Raith  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:43:50pm

re: #220 Kragar

No, you get this instead.

[Embedded content]

So....
It's an Xbox?

224 blueraven  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:43:55pm

re: #202 jaunte

Stories I’d like to see: Pinning Romney down on taxes

"4. Governor, what would you guess your average tax rate has been in the last 10 years? If you don’t know, could you ask your accountant to tell us?"

How about

Governor, as you are vetting possible VP running mates, how many years of tax returns are your requiring from them?

h/t Rachel Maddow

225 Velvet Elvis  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:47:01pm

re: #224 blueraven

How about

Governor, as you are vetting possible VP running mates, how many years of tax returns are your requiring from them?

h/t Rachel Maddow

What if he his VP nom releases more tax returns than Romney?

226 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:47:39pm

re: #195 darthstar

Again, she don't look that bad. Restraint is the key for plastic surgery.

227 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:48:34pm

re: #221 freetoken

I see Bachmann has now tripled down:

Bachmann ties Ellison to Muslim Brotherhood

Where will she stop?

She's only got 4 more degrees to go until she reaches Kevin Bacon.

Wouldn't Kevin Bacon have to change his name to something a little more halal to become a Muslim?

228 Mocking Jay  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:49:16pm

re: #221 freetoken

She is the most un-American piece of shit in Congress.

229 SanFranciscoZionist  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:50:02pm

re: #227 Mostly sane, most of the time.

Wouldn't Kevin Bacon have to change his name to something a little more halal to become a Muslim?

Kevin Lamb. That sounds nice.

230 Velvet Elvis  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:51:58pm

re: #227 Mostly sane, most of the time.

Wouldn't Kevin Bacon have to change his name to something a little more halal to become a Muslim?

Yeah, there could be no connection otherwise. Muslims don't touch bacon.

231 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:52:39pm

re: #229 SanFranciscoZionist

Kevin Lamb. That sounds nice.

Kevin Felafel.

232 Mocking Jay  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:52:53pm

re: #230 Velvet Elvis

Yeah, there could be no connection otherwise. Muslims don't touch bacon.

I see what you did there.

233 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:53:30pm

re: #229 SanFranciscoZionist

Kevin and Kyra Sedgwick were on Mr. Gates genealogy show. They were, as they were afraid, cousins. They both come from early American families. At least they are 6 times removed.

234 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:53:32pm

re: #221 freetoken

I see Bachmann has now tripled down:

Bachmann ties Ellison to Muslim Brotherhood

Where will she stop?

She's only got 4 more degrees to go until she reaches Kevin Bacon.

Hillary Clinton aide and Bachmann target Huma Abedin got some support yesterday form Arizona Senator John McCain. To give the best view of his remarks, I'm going to skip the intro for my excerpt:

“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully. I am proud to know Huma, and to call her my friend.

“Recently, it has been alleged that Huma, a Muslim American, is part of a nefarious conspiracy to harm the United States by unduly influencing U.S. foreign policy at the Department of State in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist causes. On June 13, five members of Congress wrote to the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of State, demanding that he begin an investigation into the possibility that Huma and other American officials are using their influence to promote the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood within the U.S. government. The information offered to support these serious allegations is based on a report, ‘The Muslim Brotherhood in America,’ produced by the Center for Security Policy.

“To say that the accusations made in both documents are not substantiated by the evidence they offer is to be overly polite and diplomatic about it. It is far better, and more accurate, to talk straight: These allegations about Huma, and the report from which they are drawn, are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated American, and a loyal public servant.

“The letter alleges that three members of Huma’s family are ‘connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations.’ Never mind that one of those individuals, Huma’s father, passed away two decades ago. The letter and the report offer not one instance of an action, a decision, or a public position that Huma has taken while at the State Department that would lend credence to the charge that she is promoting anti-American activities within our government. Nor does either document offer any evidence of a direct impact that Huma may have had on one of the U.S. policies with which the authors of the letter and the producers of the report find fault. These sinister accusations rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma’s family, none of which have been shown to harm or threaten the United States in any way. These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis, and no merit. And they need to stop now.


Read the whole thing.

235 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:54:52pm

Just to make you all jealous, it's doing that summer rain thing here, where it comes down just a little, and smells like earth, only a really good smell.

I love that, especially since I don't have to be outside right now.

236 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:57:15pm

re: #234 Dark_Falcon

Yeah, but she and Glen Beck easily brushed aside McCain as an Islamic sympathizer.

237 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:57:41pm

re: #234 Dark_Falcon

Hillary Clinton aide and Bachmann target Huma Abedin got some support yesterday form Arizona Senator John McCain. To give the best view of his remarks, I'm going to skip the intro for my excerpt:


Read the whole thing.

Please note that McCain was civil because he was giving a speech from the Senate floor. He'd also be civil to Michelle Bachmann in person, if only because she is a woman. If John McCain or any of his children were ever to meet Frank Gaffney face-to-face however, their response to his bigotry would be unprintable.

238 Blizard  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:57:56pm

re: #221 freetoken

She's only got 4 more degrees to go until she reaches Kevin Bacon.

She's gone to plaid!

239 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 9:58:04pm

re: #236 freetoken

Yeah, but she and Glen Beck easily brushed aside McCain as an Islamic sympathizer.

Bachmann and Beck are not exactly sane or rational.

240 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:00:59pm

re: #236 freetoken

Yeah, but she and Glen Beck easily brushed aside McCain as an Islamic sympathizer.

Then they say that. McCain ain't gonna back down on this one. He just nailed his flag to the mast with that speech and he did it deliberately. Bachmann and Beck may claim to dismiss him, but they should be afraid. John McCain is a hard foe, and he is far more resolute than those two put together.

241 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:01:23pm

REPORT: Bottom Half Of American Households Have Just 1 Percent Of Nation’s Wealth

The bottom 50 percent of American households hold just 1.1 percent of the nation’s wealth, after its share declined steadily following the financial crisis, a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service found. The richest one percent, meanwhile, hold 34.5 percent of the wealth, as the chart below shows. The top 10 percent’s share of wealth has risen over the last two decades, the report found, but it has fallen for households in every group below that.

242 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:02:28pm

re: #241 Kragar

Just as God intended, yes?

243 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:02:43pm

re: #237 Dark_Falcon

Please note that McCain was civil because he was giving a speech from the Senate floor. He'd also be civil to Michelle Bachmann in person, if only because she is a woman. If John McCain or any of his children were ever to meet Frank Gaffney face-to-face however, their response to his bigotry would be unprintable.

You mean if only because she is a congressional colleague. Might want to rethink the phrasing here and the sex (identity) aspect.

244 Blizard  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:02:58pm

re: #241 Kragar

1%'ers!

Oh, wait...

245 Mocking Jay  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:03:16pm

re: #242 freetoken

Just as God intended, yes?

It's from the Gospel according to Saint Goldman-Sachs.

246 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:03:38pm

re: #241 Kragar

REPORT: Bottom Half Of American Households Have Just 1 Percent Of Nation’s Wealth

That's awful. OK, pathetic. Guess that just means I need to learn how to be more American. Why by golly I think that's great!

247 ozbloke  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:03:48pm

re: #206 Dark_Falcon

He'd just wave you off and move away. Then his campaign would stop answering your questions. Reporters don't want to lose their access,and getting booted off of a campaign does not look good on a resume.

I was thinking more along the lines of waterboarding.

248 Amory Blaine  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:04:57pm
249 Mocking Jay  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:05:02pm

re: #246 Gus

That's awful. OK, pathetic. Guess that just means I need to learn how to be more American. Why by golly I think that's great!

If the US had just $100, half of the country would only have $1 of that.

250 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:06:49pm

re: #249 Mocking Jay

If the US had just $100, half of the country would only have $1 of that.

But what makes America great is that that 50% of America would be able to dream about the other $99

251 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:07:14pm

re: #243 Gus

You mean if only because she is a congressional colleague. Might want to rethink the phrasing here and the sex (identity) aspect.

No Gus, I meant it as I wrote it. John McCain has cursed out his fellow senators on more than one occasion, but he keeps his language cleaner when dealing with a woman. It's a "decency due to [gender]" idea.

252 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:13:40pm

re: #250 Kragar

But what makes America great is that that 50% of America would be able to dream about the other $99

That's where Vegas comes in! And commercials. Consumerism makes people feel good. The more you buy? The closer you get to that 99 dollars. Step right up folks!

253 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:15:04pm

re: #252 Gus

That's where Vegas comes in! And commercials. Consumerism makes people feel good. The more you buy? The closer you get to that 99 dollars. Step right up folks!

You'll get there sooner or later. Till then, just use your credit card.

254 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:15:20pm

re: #237 Dark_Falcon

Please note that McCain was civil because he was giving a speech from the Senate floor. He'd also be civil to Michelle Bachmann in person, if only because she is a woman. If John McCain or any of his children were ever to meet Frank Gaffney face-to-face however, their response to his bigotry would be unprintable.

Here's the portion of McCain's speech that he excised from the congressional record.

I'd like to point out I have worked with the Center for Security Policy. It's friend ... the head of it is a longtime friend of mine. Still, this report is, is scurrilous.

Go to 56 seconds for the relevant section.

255 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:17:56pm

re: #253 Kragar

You'll get there sooner or later. Till then, just use your credit card.

I'd be happy if I could make 75, 100 grand a year. That was the plan until Bush made the economy crash. I mean. He was in the White House no?

//

256 Mich-again  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:18:47pm

Treat yourself to this song from Incubus.. If not now, when?

257 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:19:52pm

re: #255 Gus

I'd be happy if I could make 75, 100 grand a year. That was the plan until Bush made the economy crash. I mean. He was in the White House no?

//

75 grand would be nice.

258 Varek Raith  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:20:10pm

re: #255 Gus

I'd be happy if I could make 75, 100 grand a year. That was the plan until Bush made the economy crash. I mean. He was in the White House no?

//

Retroactive retirement.

259 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:21:57pm

We have left the industrial age and entered the financial age.

260 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:23:01pm

America would rather pay one idiot to be on a reality show 5 million dollars a year than build a factory to employ people.

261 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:24:56pm

re: #254 goddamnedfrank

I think it's really weaselly for a Senator to edit entire sentences out of the official record from remarks they presented on the floor simply because the edited portion doesn't particularly help the point they were trying to make.

262 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:25:04pm

I would rather that Bill Gates have payed his employees more than him setting up a charity.

263 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:25:25pm

We don't want charity.

264 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:25:26pm

re: #260 Gus

America would rather pay one idiot to be on a reality show 5 million dollars a year than build a factory to employ people.

Because we all hope we could be that idiot.

265 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:25:46pm

Good Night, all.

266 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:26:05pm

re: #264 Kragar

Because we all hope we could be that idiot.

That's part of it.

267 Blizard  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:28:47pm

re: #262 Gus

I would rather that Bill Gates have payed his employees more than him setting up a charity.

I would rather Bill Gates not endorse GMO crops but that's another story.

268 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:31:06pm

re: #262 Gus

I would rather that Bill Gates have payed his employees more than him setting up a charity.

If he only would have embraced UNIX, the world would have been a better place.

269 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:31:15pm

I would rather Bill Gates toss me a few million.

270 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:32:25pm

re: #267 Blizard

I would rather Bill Gates not endorse GMO crops but that's another story.

That may be so. Myself, I'm more of an anti-GMO skeptic.

271 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:33:14pm

When airplanes started crashing and burning and killing people we didn't stop building airplanes. We learned how to make them safer.

272 Mich-again  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:33:38pm

re: #259 Gus

We have left the industrial age and entered the financial age.

We have built all our wealth around things that are only worth what you can sell them for so confidence in the future is the most important commodity.

273 goddamnedfrank  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:34:34pm

When I was a kid I used to see Bill Gates driving himself around Redmond. I regret not kidnapping and holding him for ransom.

274 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:35:03pm

re: #273 goddamnedfrank

When I was a kid I used to see Bill Gates driving himself around Redmond. I regret not kidnapping and holding him for ransom.

Now we're talking.

275 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:39:50pm

What you want, as a nation, is to have more shoppers.

This is one of the greater American goals. It doesn't work very well.

Just like adhering to the principles and logic of 18th century men however noble they may have been and correct at certain junctures.

276 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:46:57pm
277 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:48:09pm

Stupid planet full of stupid people.

278 prairiefire  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 10:50:10pm

Night, lizards. Love you guys.

279 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:05:18pm

Frank Sinatra - They Can't Take That Away From Me Lyrics

(G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin)
[Recorded April 10, 1962, Los Angeles]

There are many, many crazy things
That will keep me loving you,
And with your permission
May I list a few?

The way you wear your hat.
The way you sip your tea.
The memory of all that -
No, no - they can't take that away from me.

The way your smile just beams.
The way you sing off-key.
The way you haunt my dreams.
No, no - they can't take that away from me.

We may never, never meet again
On that bumpy road to love
Still I'll always,
Always keep the memory of:

The way you hold your knife (do-do-do-do do-do).
The way we danced until three.
The way you've changed my life.
No, no - they can't take that away from me.
No, they can't take that away from me.

280 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:06:05pm

Fairy tales can come true...

281 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:06:47pm

And life gets more exciting with each passing day.

282 freetoken  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:07:45pm
283 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:09:28pm

re: #282 freetoken

[Embedded content]

[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

284 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:10:06pm

re: #280 Gus

Fairy tales can come true...

You mean a series of truly horrific events can be survived with magical assistance?

285 Gus  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:13:40pm

re: #284 Kragar

You mean a series of truly horrific events can be survived with magical assistance?

In the wee small hours of the morning
While the whole wide world is fast asleep
You lie awake and think about the girl
And never ever think of counting sheep

286 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:19:34pm

re: #285 Gus

In the wee small hours of the morning
While the whole wide world is fast asleep
You lie awake and think about the girl
And never ever think of counting sheep

The hour of the wolf: the period in the early morning when you're trying to sleep but are kept awake thinking about every possible thing that you ever did, could, or will fuck up

287 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:21:33pm

A Joke by Ingmar Bergman...

288 Gretchen G.Tiger  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:32:03pm

Just a drive-by to share this fb post.

I thought it was worth the share

Have a great late-night all!

289 Kragar  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:35:18pm

re: #288 ggt

Just a drive-by to share this fb post.

I thought it was worth the share

Have a great late-night all!

Upper Class Twit of the Year - Minnesota edition

290 Kragar  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 12:03:49am

Apparently in some circles, calling Bachmann and Gafney twits means you whole heartedly endorse and support the Muslim Brotherhood.

Fucking morons, how do they work?

291 goddamnedfrank  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 12:50:49am

Mitt Romney's vigorous "jobs" plan:

Former Justice Department official Patrick Trueman, who proudly participated in federal pornography prosecutions during their “heyday” in the late 1980s and early 1990s, told The Daily Caller that Mitt Romney’s campaign assured him that Romney would “vigorously” prosecute pornographers if elected president.

Trueman, the president of Morality in Media, contacted the Romney campaign earlier this year about the “untreated pandemic” of Internet pornography. “They got back to us right away,” he said.

Bob Flores, another former Justice Department official who prosecuted pornographers, accompanied Trueman to an hour-long meeting with Romney foreign and legal policy director Alex Wong, Trueman said.

“Wong assured us that Romney is very concerned with this, and that if he’s elected these laws will be enforced,” Trueman told TheDC. ”They promised to vigorously enforce federal adult obscenity laws.”

292 Decatur Deb  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 1:05:07am

re: #284 Kragar

You mean a series of truly horrific events can be survived with magical assistance?

Even a seres of truly horrific events often leaves survivors. Those winners of the 6 sigma lottery call it a 'miracle'.

293 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 1:15:11am

Morning, all

294 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 1:50:11am

At least 20 hurt after shooting during 'Dark Knight' screening in Aurora, Colorado

Updated at 4:40 a.m. ET: At least 20 people were hurt early Friday following a shooting at a movie theater near Denver, police said.

The incident occurred in Aurora, Colo., during a midnight showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises," a police official told NBC News.

Brenda Stuart, of 850 KOA radio, told Britain's Sky News that "a lot of people thought the gunshots were part of the movie."

"They heard what they thought were firecrackers," she added, citing witnesses. "Then they saw the bullets flying."

Eyewitness reports said the assailant may have been wearing a gas mask, Stuart said.
Tear gas went off in the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center following the gunfire, Stuart said. She added that bullets had passed from one theater into an adjoining one.

Police spokeswoman Cassidee Carlson said "the scene is still very active."

295 RadicalModerate  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:11:13am

re: #294 Varek Raith

At least 20 hurt after shooting during 'Dark Knight' screening in Aurora, Colorado

Live feed is here.
[Link: www.9news.com...]

And really bad news. At least 10 people confirmed dead, 39 injured. Unconfirmed reports have the death toll at 20+.
Eyewitnesses state that the shooter, who is reportedly now in custody, was dressed in full body armor/riot gear, with gas mask and helmet, and entered the theater via breaking into a fire exit.

296 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:23:46am

re: #295 RadicalModerate

Unspeakable.

297 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:28:55am

14 dead.

298 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:30:00am

50 injured.

Suspect in custody. Claims to have explosives at his apartment.

299 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:31:36am

Some reports say victims include an infant and a toddler.

300 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:32:29am

AR-15 and tear gas according to witness.

301 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:39:23am

This is just fucked up.

302 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:43:14am

Reports shooter is 20 years old.

303 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:44:12am

Suspect's apartment building evacuated and bomb squad searching the apartment and parking lot of the theater.

304 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 2:45:34am

Updated, suspect 'in his 20's'

305 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 3:33:50am

Fucking hell, what a thing to wake up to.

306 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:09:33am

What the fuck is wrong with people?

307 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:14:28am

Wow, this thread really put me in a good mood, I'm laughing so hard I got tears.
re: #26 prairiefire

Setting=petting?
So sorry
/

308 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:15:11am

re: #307 Tommy's cone of shame

Bad timing.

309 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:15:37am

I prolly shoulda read the last few entries.
Life is full of fucking monsters.

310 The Ghost of a Flea  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:21:44am

That's awful.

311 freetoken  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:23:37am

Other than twitter [Link: twitter.com...]
the best news outlet summaries I've found are on the Australian ABC site
[Link: www.abc.net.au...]

312 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:24:54am
313 ozbloke  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:25:21am

re: #311 freetoken

Other than twitter [Link: twitter.com...]
the best news outlet summaries I've found are on the Australian ABC site
[Link: www.abc.net.au...]

Publicly paid for.

314 freetoken  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:25:30am

Live news broadcast from Denver TV station:

[Link: www.9news.com...]

315 freetoken  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:27:03am

That's a high quality video stream - must not have hit bandwidth limit yet.

316 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:29:20am

I hope Gus wasn't there

317 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:30:05am

Edited.
I don't need to be posting that.
Sorry.

318 freetoken  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:31:55am

re: #317 Varek Raith

Internet commenters are blaming just about anything. From Muslims to, get this, HIPAA.

319 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:37:39am

The biggest reason I was such in a good mood is that my wife and kids are coming home from camp today, haven't seen them since Monday. They are bringing my wife's niece from Colorado. Luckily they don't get tv,radio, or phone service there. The niece is 14 and has never seen the ocean, we are going to fix that, taking her to P-town on Cape Cod.

320 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:41:38am

re: #318 freetoken

Internet commenters are blaming just about anything. From Muslims to, get this, HIPAA.

Just saw a Tweet blaming Rush Limbaugh.

321 freetoken  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:46:07am

Another live feed from Denver, local CBS:

[Link: denver.cbslocal.com...]

322 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:52:33am

Every time we have one of these kinds of shootings,I hope we can have a national discussion. Not just about guns,but about wtf is wrong with our culture. We are supposed to be exceptional and the best,but why are so many of us unhappy,angry and full of hatred? Why are so many of us on meds for depression,anxiety and other disorders? Something is wrong,and each of these incidents(to me at least) seems like a cry for help,a sign that something is wrong. But for some reason,the discussions that will help us find solutions don't happen very often. The CNN page with this story is loaded with people only worried about their right to be armed and that is the only way to stop this,to arm as many people as possible. That's not the conversation that needs to be had,not even close.

Yes,I know,it's a disturbed individual who did this. But if our successes are shared,if we need a web of support to do well(and I believe this is true),then aren't our failures interwoven too? Reports are that the shooter was in his mid 20s,WTF?

323 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 4:58:21am

Idiots already claiming this a Ramadan event. What assholes. I want to throw up.

324 freetoken  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:03:52am

re: #323 Learned Mother of Zion

Or the gun nuts over at Beck's site:

OLDSOLDIER10
Posted on July 20, 2012 at 7:51am
PubliusPencilman
Your lack of understanding of how this lone wolf used guns to cull the sheepole at a theater. Imagine if you will that everyone who was of age was carrying, no wolf would ever get more than a single shot off. Look at the 71 year old concealed carry grandpa in Florida, the wolves came out to loot and pillage the sheepole, and ONE …one person had the courage to remove the threat. This is what is wrong in the USA today, people are content to place their faith and trust in a mindless bureaucracy, paying huge taxes and being slaughtered for simply watching a movie. Don’t wana be a victim, Springfield sells some insurance that can be easily concealed. I too pray for the victims and their families, may God have mercy on them. My God and my guns thank God for he USA!

325 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:05:33am

re: #324 freetoken

I don't get the point of spelling the already-stupid word 'sheeple' as 'sheepole'.

I also don't get people who think that everyone is going to be able to be a crack shot in a confused, tear-gassed movie theater with confusion and pandemonium around. It's part of the gun fantasy, I guess.

326 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:05:45am

re: #323 Learned Mother of Zion

That's what I mean,that crap overwhelms the actual sensible discussions we have to have to make this sort of thing be less common place. In addition to being just idiotic and disgusting,it pisses people off and nothing comes of it but more hate and anger. And I'm not limiting this to mass shootings either. There are way too many people who have the idea that the only way to fix a problem is to shoot at it.

327 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:09:53am

bbl time to walk the dog.

329 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:15:18am

re: #325 Obdicut

I don't get the point of spelling the already-stupid word 'sheeple' as 'sheepole'.

I also don't get people who think that everyone is going to be able to be a crack shot in a confused, tear-gassed movie theater with confusion and pandemonium around. It's part of the gun fantasy, I guess.

Like that man who had a conceal carry at the Tuscon shooting.
Almost shot the wrong person.

330 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:19:18am

Morning Lizardim from the hot and clear wild north country. It is way too beautiful of a day to be dealing with a tragedy the likes of what occurred last night to our southwest. It was the first thing I heard when I turned on my radio this morning on the drive in to work. Talk about setting the tone for an otherwise beautiful weekend, as now I get to trundle off and celebrate my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary.

331 Velvet Elvis  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:24:07am
332 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:40:55am

4g mobile hotspot is slow....

333 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:49:33am

[Link: www.cbsnews.com...]

The suspect spoke of "possible explosives in his residence. We are dealing with that potential threat," Oates said. Police were at the Denver-area apartment and had evacuated other residents of the building. Oates did not say whether any explosives had been found, but Orr reports that Holmes' residence was "booby trapped" and police can see what looks like "buckets of extra ammunition" and some kind of chemicals, according to a law enforcement source.

334 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:52:16am

re: #333 Varek Raith

Shooting + explosives reminds me of Breivik.

335 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:54:00am

re: #334 Obdicut

Shooting + explosives reminds me of Breivik.

That was my first thought when I heard the story on the radio.

336 freetoken  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:55:52am

re: #334 Obdicut

Shooting + explosives reminds me of Breivik.

Yeah.

Someone via twitter posted a link to a local Aurora Tea Party site, which has a user named "Jim Holmes", but that is not an uncommon enough name to rule out coincidence.

337 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 5:57:27am

re: #336 freetoken

There's some poor police officer in Pheonix who is the most frequent result in the google search.

338 Interesting Times  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:00:03am

How horrid an irony is this? One of the victims, Jessica Ghawi (aka Jessica Redfield), had already survived a shooting just over a month earlier:

Aspiring Sportscaster Among The 12 Killed In Shooting At Colorado Movie Theater

Ghawi wrote for Busted Coverage and kept a blog of her own. Her last entry was an account of the Eaton Centre shooting last month in Toronto:

I can't get this odd feeling out of my chest. This empty, almost sickening feeling won't go away. I noticed this feeling when I was in the Eaton Center in Toronto just seconds before someone opened fire in the food court. An odd feeling which led me to go outside and unknowingly out of harm‘s way. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how a weird feeling saved me from being in the middle of a deadly shooting.

339 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:07:47am

Shooter's mother says "you have the right person"
[Link: abcnews.go.com...]

340 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:09:55am

re: #190 Kragar

I was just going thru some H.P. Lovecraft and came across this, written in 1936.

He must have met Taft.
/

341 Interesting Times  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:15:30am

re: #338 Interesting Times

One thing I can't help but notice is that the shooting she escaped, which took place in Toronto, occurred in a crowded food court...yet the death toll was just two. Similar thing happened just a few days ago in another Toronto neighborhood - mass shooting at a street party, dozens injured, but again, death toll just two.

Why are the death tolls so much higher in these US shootings? How do these wackjobs manage to kill so many people so quickly, within seconds even? Deadlier guns/ammo?

342 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:23:13am

Best Democrat that acts like a Republican:
Andrew Cuomo
[Link: metroland.net...]
There I said it.

343 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:25:40am

re: #341 Interesting Times

One thing I can't help but notice is that the shooting she escaped, which took place in Toronto, occurred in a crowded food court...yet the death toll was just two. Similar thing happened just a few days ago in another Toronto neighborhood - mass shooting at a street party, dozens injured, but again, death toll just two.

Why are the death tolls so much higher in these US shootings? How do these wackjobs manage to kill so many people so quickly, within seconds even? Deadlier guns/ammo?

If you think about it a theatre is almost a perfect shooting gallery if you break in via one of the fire doors at the bottom. As ascending ramp of seats - just random firing is going to hit someone. A food court or street party is a flatter environment where any aiming high is going to put the shot over the people.

344 Velvet Elvis  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:29:53am

Page for Jim Holmes at Colorado Tea Party Patriots No way to know if it's the same guy.

345 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:30:50am

re: #344 Velvet Elvis

Page for Jim Holmes at Colorado Tea Party Patriots No way to know if it's the same guy.

I presume we'll find out all there is to know about him soon enough.

346 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:34:26am

Not-so-good morning Lizards.

The shooting out near Denver puts a definite damper on things.

Philadelphia and area getting a much needed soaking rain.

And I'm out and about after being laid up at home for two days with a sprained ankle. Not much mobility, so I spent a lot of time with two laptop computers and one lapcat.

347 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:35:39am

What disgusts me is that there are already people claiming that this is a government conspiracy. What the hell, people. Do you really have to piss all over people's graves before they're even dug?

348 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:37:29am

Wingnuts still embracing the fantasy that firearms for everyone at all times would have prevented this from happening, instead of increasing it by several levels of magnitude.

349 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:41:08am

The 2nd Amendment is not compatible with the 21st century.

350 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:41:48am

Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. It's absolutely horrific to learn of the news this morning about the massacre in Aurora CO overnight at a showing of the Batman movie.

It seems that some folks have already made up their minds about the events - one person tweeted that this is the reason to expand concealed carry, as though having one more person with a firearm in a chaotic situation would have saved the day. The eyewitness accounts seem to indicate that the guy started firing on the crowds and they didn't know whether this was part of the movie or not since they were in the midst of a battle scene on screen. By the time they realized this was all to horrifyingly real, the crowds began to rush out.

I've also seen reports that among those injured were kids as young as 3 months. That's just nuts on so many levels. Other Twitters are wondering why 6 year olds were at a midnight showing of Batman.

Also, I can't tell just how many people were shot and how many were injured just trying to get out of there, but at least 20 of the injured were shot:

Of the wounded, at least 20 were being treated at the University of Colorado Hospital, said spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery. All of the wounded suffered from gunshot wounds, which ranged from minor to critical, she said.

"They're arriving by police, by ambulance. Some are walking in," she said.
The victims being treated there ranged in age from 3 months to 45, the hospital said.

Denver Health Center had six patients from the shooting, one of them in critical condition, five in fair, said Shelly Davis, house supervisor.
Swedish Health Center spokeswoman Nicole Williams said her hospital was treating three people, two of them in critical and one in fair condition. A fourth patient was on the way, she said.

Parker Adventist Hospital was treating two people for minor injuries, according to a spokeswoman.

Hundreds of police officers descended on the theater, and the FBI has joined the investigation.

While this is going over in CO, closer to home, police in Paramus NJ arrested a guy on a warrant from a neighboring town - and found a significant stash of weapons:

Police entered the house and found Eng, 43, asleep in his bedroom with a fully loaded 9 mm handgun under his pillow and two other handguns on his nightstand, Brock said.

On their way in, officers found two bags of high-capacity, fully loaded firearm magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition by the front door, police said. In the kitchen, they found three military-style ammunition boxes that contained thousands of rounds of ammunition, Brock said.

Police ultimately recovered a total of five long-barrel firearms, three handguns and 3,500 rounds of ammunition. A 90-round capacity “drum” magazine was also seized, along with assorted firearms equipment including scopes, ammunition cans, holsters and rifle stocks, Brock said.

Before acting on a warrant out of Bogota, the Paramus police had learned that Eng might have weapons in his home. He also had stated in court that if the police came to his house, there would be “two dead Paramus cops,” Brock said.

The suspect was released on $65,000 bail, despite the threats to his now ex-wife, the threat about police, and the weapons cache he had. I'd say that was far too low considering his history.

351 Interesting Times  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:42:12am

re: #343 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

If you think about it a theatre is almost a perfect shooting gallery if you break in via one of the fire doors at the bottom. As ascending ramp of seats - just random firing is going to hit someone. A food court or street party is a flatter environment where any aiming high is going to put the shot over the people.

True. Though the Tucson shooting that injured Gabby Giffords, which took place in a grocery store parking lot, also saw a higher death toll (six people). It's how quickly so many people die that freaks me out (and of course defeats the "if everyone were armed this wouldn't happen" argument)

352 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:42:39am

re: #347 thedopefishlives

What disgusts me is that there are already people claiming that this is a government conspiracy. What the hell, people. Do you really have to piss all over people's graves before they're even dug?

And if a bunch of gun rights, libertarian, nut case militia, etc. materials turn up in this guy's apartment the same people will be claiming it was planted there (and the shooter was a sacrifical agent) in order to further Obama's campaign to take all the guns.

It's a position not reached via logic. Using logic will not budge it. And the conspiracy theory can easily be molded to explain in or explain out any facts that come up.

353 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:42:51am

re: #346 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

Feel better... RICEing it should help.

354 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:43:14am

re: #352 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

And if a bunch of gun rights, libertarian, nut case militia, etc. materials turn up in this guy's apartment the same people will be claiming it was planted there (and the shooter was a sacrifical agent) in order to further Obama's campaign to take all the guns.

It's a position not reached via logic. Using logic will not budge it. And the conspiracy theory can easily be molded to explain in or explain out any facts that come up.

As is true of pretty much any conspiracy theory. In fact, that's a pretty good definition of such.

355 darthstar  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:47:53am

Mornin' everyone...tragic news out of Colorado. Senseless.

356 darthstar  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:52:21am

Yeah, Nate gets it too.

357 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:52:58am

Colorado guy named James Holmes tells people he is not James Holmes the shooter
[Link: twitter.com...]

Expect lots of mistaken identity, this is not exactly a unique name.

358 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 6:58:51am

I heard about this on my way to the grocery store - my first exposure to the news today. My first thought was that the guy listens to Rush Limbaugh. No, not starting any conspiracy theory, it was just the first thing that popped into my head. Kinda like Bin Laden was the first thought that popped into my head the morning of 9-11.

I can't even imagine the mindset that would drive someone to doing something like this. Turning a fun family outing into a bloody horror. It's so senseless.

359 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:02:45am

It's going to be a very busy day for gun nuts and the NRA.

360 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:03:58am

It's going to be a busier day for those who were injured and/or lost loved ones last night. It makes me heartsick.

361 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:05:14am

re: #359 Gus

It's going to be a very busy day for guns nuts and the NRA.

I'm sure the centrifuges are already spinning crazily. Thing is, I'm in support of gun rights, but even I don't think that this means we should give guns to everybody. What good could an armed citizen have done in that situation?

362 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:07:08am

I heard this about 5:30 this morning. I thought of my own 2 kids who are in the age group that would attend a midnight showing of a big movie like this.
I cant imagine the horror the attendees, the victims and their families are going through right now.

On a side note: I would think this will put an end to dressing in costume for any movie.

363 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:07:25am

re: #361 thedopefishlives

I'm sure the centrifuges are already spinning crazily. Thing is, I'm in support of gun rights, but even I don't think that this means we should give guns to everybody. What good could an armed citizen have done in that situation?

Probably would have ended up shooting innocent people in the confusion. There are no armed Rambo solutions.

364 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:09:00am

re: #363 Gus

Probably would have ended up shooting innocent people in the confusion. There are no armed Rambo solutions.

Exactly. As much as I love guns, they don't solve everything.

365 Velvet Elvis  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:09:45am

re: #361 thedopefishlives

I'm sure the centrifuges are already spinning crazily. Thing is, I'm in support of gun rights, but even I don't think that this means we should give guns to everybody. What good could an armed citizen have done in that situation?

Civilians owning assault weapons is absurd.

366 sattv4u2  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:11:19am

24 hours, people

In my few minutes here I've seen this guy tied to the Tea Party, Rush Limbaugh and Militias
We already have another James Holmes (and others to follow, I'm sure) asking people to "try not to jump the gun" (his words)

Take his advice!

367 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:11:24am

re: #365 Velvet Elvis

Civilians owning assault weapons is absurd.

But, but, but, we need our rocket launchers so that when Obama and the NWO take over the country, we can resist! DERP!

368 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:14:23am

So, is the general consensus that we shouldn't use this latest episode of innocent people being massacred by a gunman as a starting-off point for a discussion of whether it's a good idea to let everyone buy as many guns as they want?

369 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:15:10am

re: #368 iossarian

So, is the general consensus that we shouldn't use this latest episode of innocent people being massacred by a gunman as a starting-off point for a discussion of whether it's a good idea to let everyone buy as many guns as they want?

Not here. I'm tired of the silence. The denial.

370 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:15:29am

re: #368 iossarian

So, is the general consensus that we shouldn't use this latest episode of innocent people being massacred by a gunman as a starting-off point for a discussion of whether it's a good idea to let everyone buy as many guns as they want?

No

371 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:15:38am

Apparently we're aren't supposed to discuss it all or wonder about what would cause a young man to do such a violent and evil thing.

372 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:16:16am

If only he had a Muslim name...
/to infinity and beyond.

373 Velvet Elvis  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:16:49am

I'll put off being scared to go to the movies for the next year for 24 hours too.

374 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:17:15am

re: #366 sattv4u2

The investigation is only beginning so it will be some time before we know more details about the shooter. NBC News is reporting that the alleged shooter's mother wasn't surprised by any of this and that the cops have the right guy in custody.

375 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:17:39am

This is where the abortion debate will be at in 10 years' time.

"Political operatives on both sides of the aisle cautioned against using the latest example of a woman dying alone in a back alley to reopen the abortion debate."

376 sattv4u2  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:18:14am

re: #373 Velvet Elvis

I'll put off being scared to go to the movies for the next year for 24 hours too.

You better not drive, fly or go swimming then

From what I hear there are deadly car accidents, plane crashes and drownings!

oh ,, and put down that fried chicken. I know of someone that choked on a bone

377 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:19:26am

re: #376 sattv4u2

You better not drive, fly or go swimming then

From what I hear there are deadly car accidents, plane crashes and drownings!

oh ,, and put down that fried chicken. I know of someone that choked on a bone

Yeah, which is why we don't have laws against how fast you can drive, who can fly a plane, or whether local authorities have to post dangerous water signposts.

Oh, except we have all those things.

378 sattv4u2  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:19:40am

re: #374 lawhawk

The investigation is only beginning so it will be some time before we know more details about the shooter. NBC News is reporting that the alleged shooter's mother wasn't surprised by any of this and that the cops have the right guy in custody.

It won't really be that much time. They already have him, are in his apartment and I'm sure have interviewd his mother (and neighbors,, friends,, co-workers)

I didn't mean 24 LITERAL hours, but we'll know a lot,, soon!!

379 sattv4u2  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:20:30am

re: #377 iossarian

Yeah, which is why we don't have laws against how fast you can drive, who can fly a plane, or whether local authorities have to post dangerous water signposts.

Oh, except we have all those things.

And those laws have thankfully prevented all loss of life

Except that they haven';t!

but waytomissthepoint

380 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:21:40am

re: #379 sattv4u2

And those laws have thankfully prevented all loss of life

Except that they haven';t!

but waytomissthepoint

Um, my point is simply that those laws make people a lot safer than they would be in the absence of those laws.

381 sattv4u2  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:23:53am

Disgusting comments are disgusting!

buff • Goldsboro, North Carolina • 29 secs ago Report Abuse

they always keep shooting the innocent people.....shoot some of these crooked politicians that lie to us!!

JohnG • 39 secs ago Report Abuse

I hope most of the #$%$ that died were conservative trash!

[Link: news.yahoo.com...]

382 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:24:12am

We don't want to hurt the gun nuts feewings today. Our first thoughts are with your right to own guns regardless of your mental state.

383 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:24:13am

re: #376 sattv4u2

You better not drive, fly or go swimming then

From what I hear there are deadly car accidents, plane crashes and drownings!

oh ,, and put down that fried chicken. I know of someone that choked on a bone

You better not post at LGF, there will be downdings.

384 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:25:05am

re: #369 Gus

Exactly. I personally think these types of shootings are a symptom of much larger issues we face. Mental health care and the stigma attached. The ease of purchasing assault weapons and military/SWAT style equipment. The lack of compassion in our culture as a whole.

And it would be really nice if people realized the NRA is not about gun rights anymore. They are a lobby shop for gun and ammo makers. They use membership dues for that,not to keep guns from being taken from the average person. They fear monger and what happens? Gun and ammo sales go through the roof. It's about time this group was exposed and taken to task. It's one thing to monitor congress and lawmakers for over reach. It's another to promote fear,suspicion and infighting in families,neighborhoods and communities.

385 sattv4u2  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:25:23am

re: #383 Learned Mother of Zion

You better not post at LGF, there will be downdings.

heh,,, have you been paying attention to my Karma lately!?!?

/

386 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:25:48am

:rollseyes:

387 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:27:33am

No matter what we find out in the end about the shooter in this case, there is an even bigger issue.
The fact that he could obtain an assault weapon then walk into a public place and indiscriminately kill innocent people...this happens again and again. Something has to be done.

388 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:27:58am

re: #385 sattv4u2

up ding for a down ding. I always thougth you should be charged karma points for checking on your karma.

389 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:28:33am

re: #387 blueraven

No matter what we find out in the end about the shooter in this case, there is an even bigger issue.
The fact that he could obtain an assault weapon then walk into a public place and indiscriminately kill innocent people...this happens again and again. Something has to be done.

You're not supposed to talk about that!!!

390 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:28:50am

I always think of my dad when stuff like this happens. He HATED guns. He wouldn't let a gun cross the doorstep to his home. When we went visiting the hillbilly branch of my mom's family he refused to join the menfolk on hunting expeditions, leaving him with a bit of a reputation as a wimp. He didn't care.

I knew he'd been an artillery instructor during WWII but it was only after he died and I was going through his army papers that I saw that he shot expert with every time of firing implement known, handgun, rifle, automatic weapon, and of course, heavy artillery. He was a dead-eye apparently. Looked like I found the source of his intense feelings about guns - something he never talked about.

391 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:29:27am

re: #389 Varek Raith

You're not supposed to talk about that!!!

too bad.

392 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:32:22am
393 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:34:39am
394 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:34:57am

Gee, every so often some guy off the street buys a rapid-fire assault weapon and shoots a bunch of people in a crowded place.

I wonder what, if anything, could be done to prevent this.

395 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:34:58am
396 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:35:31am

re: #394 iossarian

Gee, every so often some guy off the street buys a rapid-fire assault weapon and shoots a bunch of people in a crowded place.

I wonder what, if anything, could be done to prevent this.

More guns!
/simple.

397 sattv4u2  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:36:36am

Ah well

Son's 18th birthday today

Taking him out to breakfast then he's off to the movies with friends.

And yes, they are going to see BatMan!!

398 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:37:06am

re: #392 Gus

I hope whatever's in there gets disarmed safely and nobody else loses a life to this prick.

399 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:37:42am

re: #396 Varek Raith

More guns!
/simple.

Make it legal to shoot anyone you suspect might potentially be a threat to you!

Pre-emptive slaying is the best way to avoid unnecessary violence.

400 sagehen  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:37:45am

re: #368 iossarian

So, is the general consensus that we shouldn't use this latest episode of innocent people being massacred by a gunman as a starting-off point for a discussion of whether it's a good idea to let everyone buy as many guns as they want?

Define "general consensus".

On the right, absolutely that's the overwhelming view. On the left, not so much. And there's a swath in the center who thinks we need a discussion of mental health treatment.

401 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:39:27am

re: #400 sagehen

Define "general consensus".

On the right, absolutely that's the overwhelming view. On the left, not so much. And there's a swath in the center who thinks we need a discussion of mental health treatment.

I was referring to the "let's not make this a political argument" statements.

As to what the views of the individual in question may be, I more or less agree.

As to whether we should just ignore the fact that this kind of thing is the direct result of our ridiculous gun legislation situation, I do not agree at all.

402 Decatur Deb  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:40:24am

re: #374 lawhawk

The investigation is only beginning so it will be some time before we know more details about the shooter. NBC News is reporting that the alleged shooter's mother wasn't surprised by any of this and that the cops have the right guy in custody.

There's a lot of that going around...

..I let this one slide because there wasn't much of a body count:

[Link: blog.al.com...]

403 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:42:03am

re: #19 CuriousLurker

It's interesting that many of the critics complaining about Obama's statement are doing so via Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and online media outlets, none of which would have existed but for the creation of the Internet. The Internet that was created not by a business, but a government project. A government project that has created billions in new wealth for businesses and individuals.

404 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:44:23am

re: #403 lawhawk

It's interesting that many of the critics complaining about Obama's statement are doing so via Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and online media outlets, none of which would have existed but for the creation of the Internet. The Internet that was created not by a business, but a government project. A government project that has created billions in new wealth for businesses and individuals.

I thought about that too with all the outsourcing complaints. Pretty much everybody complaining is doing so on Apple products and other computers built by cheap overseas labor.

405 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:45:25am

Some guy on Twitter keeps tweeting that this is all Rush's fault, every minute on the minute. As much as I hate Rush, there's no evidence the shooter was a Rush listener.

406 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:45:31am

re: #393 Gus

Looks like that photo shows a SWAT team entering an apartment via a window (or getting a good look inside).

407 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:45:31am

re: #403 lawhawk

And the internet which still depends on the pure math stuff being done by ivory tower elitsts at state schools.

I wonder if many of the anti-government types realize that Noam goddamn Chomsky actually provided the basis for all modern programming languages.

[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

408 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:46:34am

re: #402 Decatur Deb

There's a lot of that going around...

..I let this one slide because there wasn't much of a body count:

[Link: blog.al.com...]

"There are five verses in the Bible that define free-market gun rights and woman's subjugation to man. Disagree with me and you're a Satan-worshipping commie."

409 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:47:06am

re: #403 lawhawk

It's interesting that many of the critics complaining about Obama's statement are doing so via Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and online media outlets, none of which would have existed but for the creation of the Internet. The Internet that was created not by a business, but a government project. A government project that has created billions in new wealth for businesses and individuals.

A government project that was opened to the public through legislation created by a certain politician from Tennessee (who ran for President in 2000 and has been warning people about the threat of climate change)

410 sattv4u2  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:47:25am

re: #404 Killgore Trout

I thought about that too with all the outsourcing complaints. Pretty much everybody complaining is doing so on Apple products and other computers built by cheap overseas labor.

While driving their TOYOTA Prius's or Suburus!

411 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:47:27am

re: #404 Killgore Trout

I thought about that too with all the outsourcing complaints. Pretty much everybody complaining is doing so on Apple products and other computers built by cheap overseas labor.

And..? If you buy a company's product, you shouldn't complain about the practices of that company you don't like?

I own a hand-me-down iPhone. I think Apple should employ more people in the US, since shrinking our domestic market will also hurt Apple in the long run-- let alone the issues of worker treatment, etc.

What's the problem with me saying that? I'm not getting you.

412 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:47:47am

re: #406 lawhawk

Looks like that photo shows a SWAT team entering an apartment via a window (or getting a good look inside).

It is. Complex is called "Fitz Apartments".

413 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:48:24am

Tennessee license plates.

414 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:49:18am

I'd like to congratulate Michelle Bachmann on her daring investigation of recent distressing matters in Congress*. These are important matters to freedom and liberty and the preservation of the Republic, and I can think of no person more well-suited to this fact-finding endeavor than Ms. Bachmann.

*specifically, just how fucking far you have to go to get censured by this do-nothing bullshit House

415 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:50:32am

re: #405 Learned Mother of Zion

Some guy on Twitter keeps tweeting that this is all Rush's fault, every minute on the minute. As much as I hate Rush, there's no evidence the shooter was a Rush listener.

No, there isn't. But as I said earlier it was my first thought when I heard about this that the guy probably listened to Limbaugh considering the event at which the guy chose to vent his violent rage. Could just be a coincidence that Rush has been talking about this movie as a left-wing Hollywood Romney bashing product. It's also entirely possible that the guy chose the venue knowing it would result in the largest casualty count.

416 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:51:51am


Exclusive: New York police link nine 2012 plots to Iran, proxies

New York police believe Iranian Revolutionary Guards or their proxies have been involved so far this year in nine plots against Israeli or Jewish targets around the world, according to restricted police documents obtained by Reuters.
.....
The documents, labeled "Law Enforcement Sensitive," said that this week's suicide bomb attack in Bulgaria was the second plot to be unmasked there this year.

The reports detail two plots in Bangkok and one each in New Delhi, Tbilisi, Baku, Mombasa and Cyprus. Each plot was attributed to Iran or its Lebanese Hezbollah militant allies, said the reports, which were produced following the bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria of a bus carrying Israeli tourists.

417 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:52:18am

re: #411 Obdicut

What's the problem with me saying that? I'm not getting you.

It interferes with the attempt to turn any analysis of the beneficial role of government in the economy into puerile "I'm rubber, you're glue" bickering.

418 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:52:56am

re: #404 Killgore Trout

Actually, it's just that your analogy doesn't work. People who are complaining about government spending and claiming it doesn't create jobs aren't acknowledging things like the government's role in internet, the underpinning of all manufacturing and high-tech in academic, state-sponsored research, etc.

People who complain about outsourcing usually know quite well that they're using products who are outsourced. It's pretty hard to ignore that we live in a 'made in China' world.

So you're comparing a group of people that are denying reality with a group of people who are acknowledging it, even if it means that you could choose to see them as hypocritical if you want.

419 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:52:59am

DERP of the Day:

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Friday that the shootings that took place in an Aurora, Colo. movie theater hours earlier were a result of "ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs" and questioned why nobody else in the theater had a gun to take down the shooter.

During a radio interview on The Heritage Foundation's "Istook Live!" show, Gohmert was asked why he believes such senseless acts of violence take place. Gohmert responded by talking about the weakening of Christian values in the country.

"You know what really gets me, as a Christian, is to see the ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs, and then some senseless crazy act of a derelict takes place," Gohmert said.

W.T.F.

420 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:53:07am

re: #415 allegro

The guy was in his 20's, well below Rush's elderly demographic. Probably just a nut.

421 Velvet Elvis  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:53:33am
422 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:54:26am

Figures a GOP Congressman is the first politician to say something stupid about this.

423 Achilles Tang  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:54:51am
424 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:55:00am

re: #420 Killgore Trout

The guy was in his 20's, well below Rush's elderly demographic. Probably just a nut.

Yeah, umm, Rush is very influential among young idealistic college-age Teabaggers. Hate to break it to you. That being said, there are no links between this guy and any sort of political affiliation whatsoever, that I am aware of. I'm reserving judgement until such time as sufficient evidence is produced.

425 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:55:24am

re: #415 allegro

No, there isn't. But as I said earlier it was my first thought when I heard about this that the guy probably listened to Limbaugh considering the event at which the guy chose to vent his violent rage. Could just be a coincidence that Rush has been talking about this movie as a left-wing Hollywood Romney bashing product. It's also entirely possible that the guy chose the venue knowing it would result in the largest casualty count.

Does Rush even have a 20something listening demographic?

I think this guy was just a little Columbine-like attention queen who chose the largest possible venue.

426 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:56:04am

Union brother is fighting for his life:
[Link: www.watertowndailytimes.com...]
Please slow down in work zones

427 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:56:25am

re: #420 Killgore Trout

Yes because only elderly people listen to Rush.

And no,I don't think this guy was necessarily a far right anarchist type who loves talk radio. But get real.

428 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:56:37am

re: #419 Learned Mother of Zion

DERP of the Day:

W.T.F.

DUMBASS.

429 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:56:56am

re: #419 Learned Mother of Zion

DERP of the Day:

W.T.F.

Louie Gohmert is part of ongoing attacks on rational thought.

430 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:57:21am

re: #420 Killgore Trout

The guy was in his 20's, well below Rush's elderly demographic. Probably just a nut.

Wow.

I doubt there is a connection, but that is foolish logic.

431 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:57:38am

re: #429 erik_t

Louie Gohmert is part of ongoing attacks on rational thought.

And unfortunately unlike Michelle Bachmann, I think Crazy Uncle Louie will be returned to Congress.

432 Coracle  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:57:52am

If it hasn't happened already, it will be less than 24 hours before some rwnj with an audience will claim the Aurora shooter is an Obama operative clandestinely hired as part a conspiracy to create an environment where the population will be more amenable to strict gun laws, and eventual revocation of the 2nd amendment.

433 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:57:59am

Now the entire apartment block has been evacuated because they think the guy totally rigged his apartment.

434 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:58:34am

re: #433 Learned Mother of Zion

Now the entire apartment block has been evacuated because they think the guy totally rigged his apartment.

Yep. Police believe the unit might be "booby trapped."

435 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:58:45am

re: #432 Coracle

If it hasn't happened already, it will be less than 24 hours before some rwnj with an audience will claim the Aurora shooter is an Obama operative clandestinely hired as part a conspiracy to create an environment where the population will be more amenable to strict gun laws, and eventual revocation of the 2nd amendment.

That's what I expect someone like Rush to say. I don't know much about what happened so I am not going to pass judgment one way or the other.

436 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:58:51am

re: #431 HappyWarrior

And unfortunately unlike Michelle Bachmann, I think Crazy Uncle Louie will be returned to Congress.

They both should be censured and asked to resign.

437 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:59:24am

re: #436 blueraven

They both should be censured and asked to resign.

Those two and Steve King. Really a bunch of nuts, the lot of them.

438 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:01:12am

re: #437 HappyWarrior

Those two and Steve King. Really a bunch of nuts, the lot of them.

There are at least a dozen folks in the House who I think are beneath the dignity of their office, but Gohmert and Bachmann are really several cuts above (or below) their peers.

439 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:01:15am

Looks like conservatives are out of the gate with this one already.

440 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:02:10am

re: #439 Gus

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

441 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:02:13am

re: #439 Gus

Looks like conservatives are out of the gate with this one already.

[Embedded content]

[Link: twitter.com...]

It's a full on wingnut rant.

442 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:02:21am

Police: suspect's apartment is "booby-trapped"

443 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:02:29am

But remember to not hurt the gun nuts wittle feewings today. They're a very sensitive lot.

//

444 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:02:57am

re: #441 Varek Raith

[Link: twitter.com...]

It's a full on wingnut rant.

He blocked me. ;)

445 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:02:57am

re: #443 Gus

But remember to not hurt the gun nuts wittle feewings today. They're a very sensitive lot.

//

Extremely sensitive indeed.
Wonder why.
/

446 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:03:11am

re: #444 Gus

He blocked me. ;)

Lol.

447 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:03:23am

re: #442 blueraven

Ah shit. I hope they use robots. I really don't want this guy having the satisfaction of getting anyone else killed.

448 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:03:55am
449 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:04:21am

Gee, color me surprised.

450 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:04:47am

And remember not to also hurt the Teabaggers wittle feewings today either.

451 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:05:38am

re: #448 Gus

[Embedded content]

Of course, he's going to make it a political issue. Because registered Democrat means full supporter of Obama and everything liberal.//

452 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:05:40am

Their hypersensitivity has not gone unnoticed.

453 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:05:45am

Meanwhile the right wing is piling it on already.

SNAFU

454 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:05:46am

Are there no depths to which these people will not sink.

455 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:06:46am

They hate us a hell alot more than I dislike them. It must suck to live your whole life with a pathological hatred of people simply because of their ideology. I dislike conservatism. I don't hate conservatives. I hate individuals, sure.

456 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:06:56am
457 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:07:16am

re: #450 Gus

And remember not to also hurt the Teabaggers wittle feewings today either.

They can FOAD and DIAF for all I care. I'm sick of their political grandstanding.

458 Interesting Times  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:07:27am
459 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:07:53am

You know who else made things into political issues? Hitler.

/

460 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:08:01am

re: #458 Interesting Times

[Embedded content]

Afuckingmen.

461 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:09:47am

re: #420 Killgore Trout

The guy was in his 20's, well below Rush's elderly demographic. Probably just a nut.

Yeah, just a nut. For love o' Pete, we do not live in a vacuum. This kid did not just wake up in a gentle society and decide to go blow the brains out of movie goers. Why did he do it? We don't know yet. That said, I have no doubt that he was influenced by the violent rhetoric that is increasingly permeating our culture much in thanks to the NRA and the right for whom the filters have dissolved.

462 Reverend Mother Ramallo  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:10:03am

re: #414 erik_t

Upding + 10
Morning Lizards.
So what is Congress gonna do, have a serious discussion about gun laws, or is it time to try and repeal the ACA...again?
This is insanity.

463 Shropshire_Slasher  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:10:03am

My suggestion, turn off all electrical devices, walk,run,bike to the nearest ice cream stand and get a softee. See ya.

464 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:10:59am

Even if the guy is a registered Democrat, what exactly does that prove? Hell even if he campaigned for Democrats, what does it prove? Ted Bundy campaigned for Republicans and John Wayne Gacy for Democrats. Does that "prove" both parties approve of serial murder? Of course, not. The attempt to politicize tragedies like this is fucked up.

465 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:12:13am

I have no idea who the suspect is yet other than he's 24 years old, where he lives, and that he has Tennessee license plates.

466 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:13:38am

re: #461 allegro

Yeah, just a nut. For love o' Pete, we do not live in a vacuum. This kid did not just wake up in a gentle society and decide to go blow the brains out of movie goers. Why did he do it? We don't know yet. That said, I have no doubt that he was influenced by the violent rhetoric that is increasingly permeating our culture much in thanks to the NRA and the right for whom the filters have dissolved.

We don't know yet why he did what he did. The Columbine shooters had no political motivation. There is still a lot of confusion and mistaken identity because this is a common name and people are tweeting facebook pages and other websites that belong to other people with the same name.

467 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:15:02am
468 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:15:27am

re: #466 Learned Mother of Zion

People should really realize how common a name that will be, and show some sense and not go "Is this him?" That can lead to weird and bad shit.

469 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:15:31am

re: #465 Gus

I have no idea who the suspect is yet other than he's 24 years old, where he lives, and that he has Tennessee license plates.

Important piece of information we don't yet have: Did he know any of those people personally?

I saw one report about a baby being at the showing. What?

470 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:15:55am

re: #468 Obdicut

People should really realize how common a name that will be, and show some sense and not go "Is this him?" That can lead to weird and bad shit.

Yes, I feel sorry for the thousands of other James Holmes in this country.

471 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:16:04am

re: #468 Obdicut

People should really realize how common a name that will be, and show some sense and not go "Is this him?" That can lead to weird and bad shit.

Yeah good point.

472 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:18:40am

re: #468 Obdicut

People should really realize how common a name that will be, and show some sense and not go "Is this him?" That can lead to weird and bad shit.

People need to understand that google does not a fucking private investigator make, and incompetent googling of mass murderers has repercussions slightly more serious than incompetent googling of 'silly cute kitty jpeg'.

473 William of Orange  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:19:43am

For once I'm glad this sad excuse for a human being was caught alive.

Too many gun tontin' asshats have taken the easy way out, leaving mayhem in their wake and saving the last bullet for themselves. (Columbine for and Virginia Tech instance.) This loathesome individual at least will face a judge and jury. I'm eager to know what drove him off the cliff.

474 SpaceJesus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:20:23am

the shooter was a medical student? odd

475 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:21:29am

re: #473 William of Orange

For once I'm glad this sad excuse for a human being was caught alive.

Too many gun tontin' asshats have taken the easy way out, leaving mayhem in their wake and saving the last bullet for themselves. (Columbine for and Virginia Tech instance.) This loathsome individual at least will face a judge and jury. I'm eager to know what drove him off the cliff.

Yeah, I remember Va Tech very well as I had a lot of friends and some family who were there at the time. The fact that guy committed suicide made an already maddening story even more.

476 SpaceJesus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:22:16am

[Link: www.chicagotribune.com...]

AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - The apartment of the man suspected in the mass shooting at a Denver-area screening of the latest Batman movie is "booby-trapped" with an array of sophisticated material, the local police chief said Friday.

Speaking at the scene where police were working to gain access to the apartment, Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates said: "His apartment is booby-trapped. We are trying to determine how to disarm the flammable or explosive material. We could be here for hours or days. The pictures are fairly disturbing. It looks very sophisticated, how it's booby-trapped. It could be a very long wait."

477 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:23:47am

re: #468 Obdicut

People should really realize how common a name that will be, and show some sense and not go "Is this him?" That can lead to weird and bad shit.

Moonbats can be assholes too.

478 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:23:59am

How can we avoid discussing the very clear political component in this? Manufacturers haven't been able to keep up with the demand for guns and ammo since late 2008, just coincidentally after Obama was elected. The "second amendment solution" has been a part of rightwing rhetoric in various forms since that time - something we have spent countless hours discussing here.

I don't know if the kid was specifically politically motivated. He very well may not have been. That does not change the fact that our political culture has enabled this to happen. The kid's mom wasn't surprised, apparently knowing this kid was a firecracker fixin' to go off. Thanks to our laws, what could she do? Apparently it's quite legal to purchase assault weapons, riot gear, and smoke bombs regardless of one's mental state. It's the same thing that contributed to the Fast and Furious debacle. The ATF didn't have the legal support to stop a guy from buying/selling weapons even though they knew he was wrong.

479 SpaceJesus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:24:01am

dear prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments, i like you, but this time can you just go away for a few minutes? thank you

480 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:24:21am

re: #477 Learned Mother of Zion

I've never heard of that member of Congress. What district does he/she represent?

481 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:25:34am

re: #477 Learned Mother of Zion

Moonbats can be assholes too.

[Embedded content]

Yeah, that's lame too.

482 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:26:06am

re: #480 erik_t

I've never heard of that member of Congress. What district does he/she represent?

I dont think that was implied in any way

483 William of Orange  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:26:14am

All presidential campaign events on hold for Obama and Romney.

484 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:26:20am

re: #474 SpaceJesus

the shooter was a medical student? odd

Not too odd. Med school is high pressure. If he washed out of med school it could have been traumatic for him.

485 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:26:43am

It should be easier to buy pot than a gun.

486 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:27:14am

re: #482 blueraven

I dont think that was implied in any way

If the point was merely 'assholes exist everywhere', well... yeah.

487 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:27:56am

Today might be a good day to step away from the internet.

488 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:28:35am

re: #486 erik_t

If the point was merely 'assholes exist everywhere', well... yeah.

That was the only point

489 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:29:03am

re: #488 blueraven

Sky blue, water wet, fire hot.

490 Interesting Times  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:29:53am

Yes, gohmert, because it's SO EASY TO SHOOT A SPECIFIC TARGET instead of bystanders IN A DARK, CROWDED THEATER.

HerpDerpDerp

491 Big Joe  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:30:15am

re: #485 HappyWarrior

It should be easier to buy pot than a gun.

I want a GGT shirt of that slogan.

492 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:31:22am

re: #490 Interesting Times

[Embedded content]

Yes, gohmert, because it's SO EASY TO SHOOT A SPECIFIC TARGET instead of bystanders IN A DARK, CROWDED THEATER.

I honestly don't know how people as simple-minded as Gohmert function in a modern society. And don't tell me he's just playing to his crowd, because that dumb motherfucker sticks his foot in his mouth far too often for that.

493 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:31:31am

On second thought, the 3 month old was just going to sleep through the movie. It's the children that perhaps should have been home in bed at that hour.

494 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:33:09am

re: #490 Interesting Times

[Embedded content]

Yes, gohmert, because it's SO EASY TO SHOOT A SPECIFIC TARGET instead of bystanders IN A DARK, CROWDED THEATER.

What a dumbass. Seriously Gohmert is spouting out the rhetoric "If only someone else had a gun." It's not that simple. As you pointed out, a dark, crowded theater not to mention people scared as hell with a madman with a gun. I hate to break it to Louie Gohmert but guns don't solve everything. And we should have a reasonable expectation of safety while in a movie theater.

495 William of Orange  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:34:31am

Here's a small portion of some tweets from movie fans that witnessed the event. Quite sobering...

496 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:34:50am

re: #493 Mostly sane, most of the time.

On second thought, the 3 month old was just going to sleep through the movie. It's the children that perhaps should have been home in bed at that hour.

The 3 month old baby has been released from the hospital.

497 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:34:54am

re: #491 Big Joe

I want a GGT shirt of that slogan.

Go for it. Just thought of it on my own. Spur of the moment. This is something I'd love to ask hardcore war on drugs politicians who also flip out at any suggestion of responsibility in arms ownership and dealing.

498 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:35:18am

re: #490 Interesting Times

[Embedded content]

Yes, gohmert, because it's SO EASY TO SHOOT A SPECIFIC TARGET instead of bystanders IN A DARK, CROWDED THEATER.

What a fucked up view of society he has.
Yes, we should worry about whether to pack heat to get a burger or get gas.
WTF.

499 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:36:14am
Editor's Note: An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect. ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted.

Fucking idiots

[Link: abcnews.go.com...]

500 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:36:24am

re: #496 blueraven

The 3 month old baby has been released from the hospital.

For which I am grateful.

501 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:36:53am

re: #499 blueraven

Fucking idiots

[Link: abcnews.go.com...]

GOOGLE WAS WRONG?!?!

502 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:37:00am

re: #495 William of Orange

Here's a small portion of some tweets from movie fans that witnessed the event. Quite sobering...

The amazing thing Twitter and other social media have done is that they've made stories like this more personal. I remember after the Va Tech tragedy, my facebook's updates were full of people from Virginia Tech who were confirming that they were okay.

503 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:37:02am

re: #498 Varek Raith

What a fucked up view of society he has.
Yes, we should worry about whether to pack heat to get a burger or get gas.
WTF.

This.

504 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:37:27am

re: #495 William of Orange

Bullets came through the walls. Which means that even if there was concealed carry, it wouldn't have mattered to someone in the adjacent theaters if bullets were flying in different directions. The shooter wouldn't have been in that particular theater. Smoke bombs tossed into multiple theaters.

Sheesh, it sounds like something out of a nightmare.

505 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:37:48am

re: #499 blueraven

Fucking idiots

[Link: abcnews.go.com...]

Incompetent idiots. Seriously James and Holmes are common names. Do your homework before something like that happens.

506 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:38:00am

re: #499 blueraven

Fucking idiots

[Link: abcnews.go.com...]

I guarantee we can find James Holmeses who are:

Tea Partiers
Democrats
Republicans
Graduates of probably every major university
Members of every major religion
Guys who once dated your cousin/high school friend/ex-girlfriend

We're going to have to let the professionals handle this one.

507 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:38:47am

re: #502 HappyWarrior

The amazing thing Twitter and other social media have done is that they've made stories like this more personal. I remember after the Va Tech tragedy, my facebook's updates were full of people from Virginia Tech who were confirming that they were okay.

The Japanese tsunami. I have Japanese friends, so they would get on during the few hours they had electricity to tell us that they were okay.

508 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:39:21am

re: #506 Mostly sane, most of the time.

I guarantee we can find James Holmeses who are:

Tea Partiers
Democrats
Republicans
Graduates of probably every major university
Members of every major religion
Guys who once dated your cousin/high school friend/ex-girlfriend

We're going to have to let the professionals handle this one.

You would think...but the professionals blew it.

509 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:39:43am

TEH DERP CONTINUES:

510 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:40:23am

Facepalm.

511 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:41:54am

DERP DERPITY DERPTY DOO

512 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:42:00am

He's a Martian.
Now, everyone on twitter and such, STFU!
/

513 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:42:48am

Good grief, the derp is flowing freely today. Ugh. It reeks.

514 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:43:03am
515 Interesting Times  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:44:30am

re: #502 HappyWarrior

The amazing thing Twitter and other social media have done is that they've made stories like this more personal. I remember after the Va Tech tragedy, my facebook's updates were full of people from Virginia Tech who were confirming that they were okay.

On a related note, there's something extremely haunting about seeing the social media sites of people who just died (thinking of Jessica Ghawi/Redfield's blog and Twitter profile)

516 Eventual Carrion  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:45:29am

re: #325 Obdicut

I don't get the point of spelling the already-stupid word 'sheeple' as 'sheepole'.

I also don't get people who think that everyone is going to be able to be a crack shot in a confused, tear-gassed movie theater with confusion and pandemonium around. It's part of the gun fantasy, I guess.

Yep. You pull your gun to pop the perp. 3 rows over another person sees you with a gun and pops you because you must be the one that is shooting everything up, the person 2 rows over sees the person that popped you with a gun in their hand, etc. etc. etc.. Soon the initial shooter might be the only one standing and had only had to fire 3 shots to kill 135 people.

517 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:45:42am

re: #499 blueraven

Fucking idiots

[Link: abcnews.go.com...]

Although many seemed outraged by it that's why I mentioned Rush's demographics. The Tea Partier's profile says he was in his mid 50's. Today's shooter is in his 20's

518 gwangung  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:46:57am

re: #517 Killgore Trout

Although many seemed outraged by it that's why I mentioned Rush's demographics. The Tea Partier's profile says he was in his mid 50's. Today's shooter is in his 20's

Remember, likelihood only. Not definitely.

519 kirkspencer  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:47:51am

re: #517 Killgore Trout

Although many seemed outraged by it that's why I mentioned Rush's demographics. The Tea Partier's profile says he was in his mid 50's. Today's shooter is in his 20's

A problem with that: There are some 20's who follow Rush. I know at least six through my daughter.

520 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:47:53am
521 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:48:27am

Speaking of demographics, this is making the rounds among wingnuts this morning...
UPDATE Occupy Black Bloc Member James E. Holmes Shoots Up Aurora Co Movie Theater Killing 12 And Wounding 50.

James Holmes, DOB 12/13/1987: The Batman movie portrays the OWS crowd in a negative vein,the new Batman movie featured the villain as an Occupy Wall Street type. I would first look at the possibility that James Holmes, DOB 12/13/1987, was caught up in the OWS movement took it upon himself to strike back against “THE MAN.

I also find that unlikely. Not too many black bloc anarchists in med schools. Not impossible but unlikely.

522 kirkspencer  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:50:13am

re: #519 kirkspencer

(like to note she's not one of Rush's fans. However, she goes to Georgia Tech which has a large number of students who espouse TP-oriented positions, and she's identified some she knows specifically as Rush Limbaugh fans.)

523 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:50:48am

re: #519 kirkspencer

A problem with that: There are some 20's who follow Rush. I know at least six through my daughter.

I pointed this out upthread and got no response.

524 sagehen  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:51:01am

re: #493 Mostly sane, most of the time.

On second thought, the 3 month old was just going to sleep through the movie. It's the children that perhaps should have been home in bed at that hour.

Do you know how much a sitter costs? Taking the kid was probably the only way the parents could afford to go.

525 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:51:22am

re: #517 Killgore Trout

Although many seemed outraged by it that's why I mentioned Rush's demographics. The Tea Partier's profile says he was in his mid 50's. Today's shooter is in his 20's

Not outraged KT, but to suggest that Rush has no 20 something listeners is absurd.

Again, I dont think there is a connection. But the other day there was a 10 year old who called in to Hannity.
I have heard many young callers to these conservative radio shows.

526 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:53:05am

re: #520 Gus

[Embedded content]

More or less, except that sometimes laws do get passed, but then the nutters on the Supreme Court overturn them.

Because everyone in America is so free that they don't get to decide whether to let crazy folk carry guns.

527 SpaceJesus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:53:19am

imagine if your parents were shot and killed at a fucking batman premier

528 Achilles Tang  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:53:48am

WND already has the usual posters speculating about connections to liberal politics in general, and conspiracies. That is such a sorry crowd over there.

529 Mattand  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:54:34am

re: #527 SpaceJesus

imagine if your parents were shot and killed at a fucking batman premier

Are you making some kind of joke/reference about Batman's origin?

530 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:55:15am

People (particularly those on twitter) need to take a step back from their keyboards and think about what they're writing.

1) A paucity of information means that your first impressions may end up being completely wrong.
2) The discussions about gun control or concealed carry wait while investigators figure out what's going on here. They're dealing with what's an apparently still active crime scene at the guy's apartment; it's apparently booby trapped in a manner that may take some time to disable.
3) The guy apparently withdrew from medical school last month; could have been a 4th year.
4) Political affiliation may have absolutely nothing to do with the heinous crimes committed. Or not.
5) Mental status may have something to do with it. Or not.

There's more to worry about now than the political fallout at the moment; there's a whole bunch of people who are sitting in hospitals around Aurora and Denver - they were spending an evening hoping to be entertained by a new movie and instead are facing a life and death struggle after being shot. Our thoughts and prayers should be with them, their loved ones, and their families and friends.

The politics of firearms, gun control, mental health, etc. can wait. Of course, since we're into instant gratification, everyone will now proceed to figure out the guy's motivations, make claims that wont hold up to scrutiny, or otherwise make calls for this action or that.

531 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:56:25am

I FEEL A STRANGE COMPULSION TO FIND REASONS TO MINIMIZE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THE SHOOTER LISTENED TO MR. LIMBAUGH'S RADIO SHOW.

re: #530 lawhawk

The politics of firearms, gun control, mental health, etc. can wait.

Until what?

The next needless massacre?

No time like the present. Ban automatic weapons right now.

532 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:56:40am

re: #524 sagehen

Do you know how much a sitter costs? Taking the kid was probably the only way the parents could afford to go.

This is how I think about it, because my wife and I used to do this when our son was younger. Nowadays, we just don't go very often because the boy wouldn't be able to sit still, but we did used to when he was an infant.

533 sagehen  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:58:59am

re: #530 lawhawk

The politics of firearms, gun control, mental health, etc. can wait. Of course, since we're into instant gratification, everyone will now proceed to figure out the guy's motivations, make claims that wont hold up to scrutiny, or otherwise make calls for this action or that.

How 'bout the politics of, "I wonder how many of the wounded are uninsured. GSW's are expensive, no?"

534 Big Joe  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 8:59:04am

re: #531 iossarian

I FEEL A STRANGE COMPULSION TO FIND REASONS TO MINIMIZE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THE SHOOTER LISTENED TO MR. LIMBAUGH'S RADIO SHOW.

Until what?

The next needless massacre?

No time like the present. Ban automatic weapons right now.

they already are.

535 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:01:29am

re: #534 Big Joe

they already are.

True - I meant assault weapons.

536 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:01:45am

re: #530 lawhawk

You're honestly going to say his mental status may have had nothing to do with this? People without mental issues don't go on shooting sprees. As to what his specific issues are,we don't know yet,but to say it might not have anything to do with what happened is ridiculous.

537 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:02:42am

Because STFU is helping the investigation, helping to keep investigators safer, and easing the pain of those injured and mourning the loss of their loved ones.... how?

538 Lidane  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:03:43am

re: #530 lawhawk

The politics of firearms, gun control, mental health, etc. can wait. Of course, since we're into instant gratification, everyone will now proceed to figure out the guy's motivations, make claims that wont hold up to scrutiny, or otherwise make calls for this action or that.

Yeah, this.

Someone mowing down a bunch of people at a Batman premiere sounds like a guy who was going for an elaborate suicide by cop or who otherwise wanted to go out in a blaze of glory because he felt like a failure in his life. I'm not ready to argue that he was influenced by politics or whatever just yet.

540 CuriousLurker  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:04:10am
541 Mocking Jay  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:05:41am

re: #538 Lidane

Yeah, this.

Someone mowing down a bunch of people at a Batman premiere sounds like a guy who was going for an elaborate suicide by cop or who otherwise wanted to go out in a blaze of glory because he felt like a failure in his life. I'm not ready to argue that he was influenced by politics or whatever just yet.

Well if he wanted suicide by cop he could have had it. Unless he ran out of ammo or something.

542 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:06:07am

[Link: abclocal.go.com...]

Police said one person has been arrested and there was no evidence of additional shooters. The suspect was identified as James Holmes, 24, of North Aurora, reports ABC News. There was no immediate word of any motive. Holmes is an active student at the University of Colorado Denver Medical Campus, and according to the registrar's office, he started in the fall of 2011 and took his last class in the spring of 2012. He was a PhD candidate in the neuroscience department.

543 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:06:12am

re: #536 A Mom Anon

Spree killers can and do go on shooting rampages without being mentally ill; they will do so out of having an agenda or for revenge or other reasons.

A couple that come to mind:
Major Nidal Hassan.
Anders Breivik (his mental status is currently being debated by the Norwegian courts)
The Columbine massacre shooters.

Shooting rampager with mental health concerns:
The VA Tech shooter.

It's not nearly clear cut as you say.

544 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:09:01am

re: #543 lawhawk

While true in a clinical sense, I would still argue that there is something broken in any thought process that ends in a result like this. He may not be "mentally ill", but there is still something wrong, if that makes any sense.

545 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:09:24am

re: #542 Gus

Gah, that's scary.

My wife's med school class has a lot of very, very, very, very tightly wound people. It is not outside my imagination that some of them, if they, say, got caught cheating, or started failing, might completely be unable to deal with it and melt down violently.

546 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:10:22am
547 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:11:49am

re: #545 Obdicut

Gah, that's scary.

My wife's med school class has a lot of very, very, very, very tightly wound people. It is not outside my imagination that some of them, if they, say, got caught cheating, or started failing, might completely be unable to deal with it and melt down violently.

A PhD can be a pretty depressing course of study, especially if you're not doing well, or your prospects beyond the degree look dim. Multiple years of individual work towards a goal which turns out to have been illusory, and very little institutional support to reorient you into an alternative career path.

548 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:12:26am

re: #544 thedopefishlives

Thank you,that's what I mean. Happy and well adjusted people don't do this. Something is wrong on a mental/emotional level here. Official diagnosis or not.

549 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:14:09am

re: #545 Obdicut

Gah, that's scary.

My wife's med school class has a lot of very, very, very, very tightly wound people. It is not outside my imagination that some of them, if they, say, got caught cheating, or started failing, might completely be unable to deal with it and melt down violently.

I'm afraid I know where this is heading. PhD candidate in neuroscience and from California.

550 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:14:25am

re: #372 Varek Raith

If only he had a Muslim name...
/to infinity and beyond.

I'm sure he's connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. Everyone else seems to be.

551 Varek Raith  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:15:05am

re: #549 Gus

I'm afraid I know where this is heading. PhD candidate in neuroscience and from California.

DARWINISM!
/

552 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:15:23am

re: #548 A Mom Anon

Thank you,that's what I mean. Happy and well adjusted people don't do this. Something is wrong on a mental/emotional level here. Official diagnosis or not.

I keep thinking about his mom not being surprised by this and her "yes, you have the right guy" response.

554 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:16:16am

re: #397 sattv4u2

Ah well

Son's 18th birthday today

Taking him out to breakfast then he's off to the movies with friends.

And yes, they are going to see BatMan!!

Mazal tov!

Wish him a happy birthday from some crazy lady on the Internet.

555 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:16:31am
556 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:17:41am

re: #415 allegro

No, there isn't. But as I said earlier it was my first thought when I heard about this that the guy probably listened to Limbaugh considering the event at which the guy chose to vent his violent rage. Could just be a coincidence that Rush has been talking about this movie as a left-wing Hollywood Romney bashing product. It's also entirely possible that the guy chose the venue knowing it would result in the largest casualty count.

I really fucking hope that this guy has been a Batman obsessive since an early age, and this was just the natural thing for him to focus on when he went off the rails.

Because the idea that all this nonsense about Bane and Bain contributed to this makes me too sad.

557 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:18:20am

There is a Derp war going on between wingnuts who claim the shooter was a Black Bloc anarchist and moonbats who claim he was a Tea Party member.

558 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:18:43am

re: #549 Gus

I'm afraid I know where this is heading. PhD candidate in neuroscience and from California.

Every one should stop speculating on his motives until we have more info.
What is no doubt true, is that he is evil and most likely crazy as hell.

559 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:20:37am

re: #552 allegro

I keep thinking about his mom not being surprised by this and her "yes, you have the right guy" response.

I've been wondering about that too. Her statement seems to indicate the family knew there was a problem.

560 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:20:52am

re: #557 Learned Mother of Zion

There is a Derp war going on between wingnuts who claim the shooter was a Black Bloc anarchist and moonbats who claim he was a Tea Party member.

And my guess is that reality will show that politics have absolutely nothing to do with it. Just a gut feeling, obviously we have no idea at this point. I'm guessing he just had a complete mental meltdown and that the premiere of a dark, action-packed superhero movie would make the perfect opportunity to go out in a blaze of suicide-by-cop glory.

561 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:21:09am

re: #557 Learned Mother of Zion

There is a Derp war going on between wingnuts who claim the shooter was a Black Bloc anarchist and moonbats who claim he was a Tea Party member.

The noise machine is noisy.

562 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:21:13am

re: #466 Learned Mother of Zion

We don't know yet why he did what he did. The Columbine shooters had no political motivation. There is still a lot of confusion and mistaken identity because this is a common name and people are tweeting facebook pages and other websites that belong to other people with the same name.

Yeah. 48 hour rule. Let the mourners gather their dead, and the cops figure out how to defuse the damn apartment, and we'll try to figure out who this guy was.

Where's Batman when you need him?

563 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:22:01am

re: #557 Learned Mother of Zion

There is a Derp war going on between wingnuts who claim the shooter was a Black Bloc anarchist and moonbats who claim he was a Tea Party member.

Yes.

564 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:22:11am

re: #469 Mostly sane, most of the time.

Important piece of information we don't yet have: Did he know any of those people personally?

I saw one report about a baby being at the showing. What?

If it's a small baby...my friends tell me you can take a newborn almost anywhere, because they just sleep straight through and do not care what's blowing up on the screen.

565 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:22:41am

re: #535 iossarian

True - I meant assault weapons.

Assault weapons are. Unless of course you use the common incorrect definition of assault weapon that would include nearly every semi-auto weapon ever made, including for example. a WWII M1 Garand.

But then there was that guy in the tower in Texas with a bolt action. Do we ban every deer rifle too?

Simplistic measures don't make anyone safer. They just make you feel good for a short time until they fail miserably.

566 makeitstop  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:22:44am

re: #546 blueraven

Wow...he looks so non threatening.

His eyes are dead-looking, like a shark.

567 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:23:07am

Results for "black bloc" on Twitter.

Click "all" to see all.

568 Mocking Jay  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:23:54am

re: #567 Gus

Results for "black bloc" on Twitter.

Click "all" to see all.

You can't make me.

And now I'm off to go see the movie.

569 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:24:01am

re: #484 Killgore Trout

Not too odd. Med school is high pressure. If he washed out of med school it could have been traumatic for him.

Sometimes, people who know they're inadequate in some way try to cover it up by going into some sort of high-pressure, high-status degree program or profession. It usually doesn't help. They either wash out, or go weird and have to leave, or they end up being really bad doctors, lawyers, etc.

570 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:24:22am

re: #564 SanFranciscoZionist

If it's a small baby...my friends tell me you can take a newborn almost anywhere, because they just sleep straight through and do not care what's blowing up on the screen.

Yes, yes they do. As I mentioned upthread, the fishspawn would sleep happily through whatever movie we went to. I think we went to see the second Batman movie with him, matter of fact.

571 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:25:21am

A good one from Reason.

Half-Assed Media Speculation About the Batman Shooter
Matt Welch | July 20, 2012

572 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:25:27am

re: #560 thedopefishlives

I'm guessing he just had a complete mental meltdown and that the premiere of a dark, action-packed superhero movie would make the perfect opportunity to go out in a blaze of suicide-by-cop glory.

I don't know about that because he was wearing body armor. He was also armed when arrested and I haven't seen any indication he resisted.

573 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:25:53am

He does almost have Spock ears.

574 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:26:31am

re: #565 William Barnett-Lewis

Simplistic measures don't make anyone safer. They just make you feel good for a short time until they fail miserably.

The Texas massacre was fifty years ago. If banning a wide range of semi-automatic weapons means that you go fifty years without a large-scale massacre like this, then I think most people would agree that you have made people safer.

575 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:27:28am

The Daily Fail gets in on the act:

As speculation mounts about the motive behind the mass shooting, one private investigator has said that Holmes may have been part of Occupy Wall Street's most violent faction, Occupy Black Bloc.

Bill Warner told how the Batman movie portrays the OWS crowd in a negative vein, leading him to believe that may have been a cause behind the gunman's rage.

576 palomino  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:27:33am

re: #410 sattv4u2

While driving their TOYOTA Prius's or Suburus!

Right, all those homos and lesbians driving their foreign made cars and complaining about job outsourcing is really ridiculous, huh?

Prius -- made in Mississippi
Subaru -- made in Indiana

577 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:27:48am

re: #490 Interesting Times

[Embedded content]

Yes, gohmert, because it's SO EASY TO SHOOT A SPECIFIC TARGET instead of bystanders IN A DARK, CROWDED THEATER.

Oh, Jesus. I'm trying to imagine that. It's dark, there are shots, people are in costume, people are running around screaming, the movie may still be rolling?, and I'm trying to get a clean shot at the shooter, who probably does not have a spotlight on him and is also moving.

That's like 'nightmare situation' on the police shooting simulator.

Not being a SEAL, the only thing I'm going to do with a gun in that situation is have it in my hand in case the guy comes toward me and I can get a shot. And I'm going to hope he does not.

578 palomino  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:29:13am

re: #485 HappyWarrior

It should be easier to buy pot than a gun.

Fortunately, here in California, it is. But we're kinda weird...we like to get stoned more than play with deadly overcompensating phallic symbols.

579 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:29:55am

re: #578 palomino

Fortunately, here in California, it is. But we're kinda weird...we like to get stoned more than play with deadly overcompensating phallic symbols.

Careful.

People get very sensitive about their overcompensating phallic symbols.

580 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:31:45am

re: #576 palomino

A recent study found that the car with the most domestic ties is actually a Toyota Camry.

The Camry, which is assembled in Georgetown, Ky. and Lafayette, Ind., is followed by the Honda Accord and the Chevy Malibu, which rank No. 2 and No. 3 respectively.

Cars.com's annual American-Made Index ranks the most-American vehicles based on percentage of their parts that are made domestically, where they are assembled and how many are sold to U.S. buyers.

"In today's global economy, there's not an easy way to determine just how American a car is," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com editor in chief. "Most cars built in the U.S., for example, are assembled using at least some parts that come from somewhere else. Additionally, many U.S. automakers assemble vehicles in Canada and Mexico, while foreign automakers have opened plants on U.S. soil. Our index is another resource that car buyers can use to help guide their purchase decision."

In addition to grabbing the No. 1 rank, Toyota also has the Tundra (No. 9) and the Sienna (No. 6) on the list, matching General Motors, which also has three cars on the list for the first time since 2009, including the Chevy Malibu (No. 3), the Chevy Traverse (No. 8) and the GMC Acadia (No. 10). Honda held two spots in the top 10, while Ford and Chrysler each held one.

581 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:33:57am

re: #580 lawhawk

Yep.I don't think there's a 100 percent Made in the USA car anymore. All the car makers are multinational corporations now.

582 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:36:14am

re: #521 Killgore Trout

Speaking of demographics, this is making the rounds among wingnuts this morning...
UPDATE Occupy Black Bloc Member James E. Holmes Shoots Up Aurora Co Movie Theater Killing 12 And Wounding 50.

I also find that unlikely. Not too many black bloc anarchists in med schools. Not impossible but unlikely.

I would be surprised if the Black Bloc had graduated from breaking windows to costumed killing sprees, let me put it like that.

583 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:37:02am

re: #538 Lidane

Yeah, this.

Someone mowing down a bunch of people at a Batman premiere sounds like a guy who was going for an elaborate suicide by cop or who otherwise wanted to go out in a blaze of glory because he felt like a failure in his life. I'm not ready to argue that he was influenced by politics or whatever just yet.

Some men just want to watch the world burn.

584 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:37:52am

re: #552 allegro

I keep thinking about his mom not being surprised by this and her "yes, you have the right guy" response.

Imagine having to say that of your child.

585 wrenchwench  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:37:57am

re: #575 Gus

The Daily Fail gets in on the act:

Isn't Bill Warner the wacko P.I. who stalks Geller?

586 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:38:28am

re: #585 wrenchwench

Isn't Bill Warner the wacko P.I. who stalks Geller?

Yep.

587 blueraven  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:39:10am

re: #582 SanFranciscoZionist

I would be surprised if the Black Bloc had graduated from breaking windows to costumed killing sprees, let me put it like that.

Whoever he is, this is the action of one deranged person, not that of a group.

588 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:42:17am

Bill Warner is a lunatic. He offers no proof whatsoever that Holmes is with the black bloc other than using a stupid comparison of him having worn a gas mask and then showing a couple of picture of some black bloc protesters. There's nothing there other than a Bill Warner styled "wild guess."

589 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:43:52am

Speaking of Geller, one of her groups won a court decision over the right to put up advertising on MTA property.

The group, the American Freedom Defense Initiative, had wanted to place text-only advertisements that said, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.”

Then, between two Stars of David, the advertisement said: “Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”

The transportation agency said that the ad violated its prohibition on advertisements that demeaned individuals or groups on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin and several other listed categories. The group was given the opportunity to revise the advertisement, but it refused, arguing that the “no-demeaning standard” was a violation of the First Amendment.

The judge, Paul A. Engelmayer of United States District Court, said in a 35-page opinion that the agency’s standards would still permit ads that contained demeaning language as long as it demeaned people or groups outside of the characteristics or circumstances included in the prohibited list. He even offered examples, like “Blondes are bimbos,” “Lawyers are sleazebags” or “Upper West Siders are elitist snobs.”

Judge Engelmayer noted that the agency’s rules would even allow the use of the word “savage,” the objectionable word in the American Freedom Defense Initiative’s proposed advertisement, as long as it demeaned a group not included in the prohibited list.

590 wrenchwench  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:44:29am

re: #588 Gus

Bill Warner is a lunatic. He offers no proof whatsoever that Holmes is with the black block other than using a stupid comparison of him having worn a gas mask and then showing a couple of picture of some black bloc protesters. There's nothing there other than a Bill Warner styled "wild guess."

Shame on any "news source" who quotes him in public. Unless they use the wingnut font, of course.

:)

591 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:45:15am

re: #588 Gus

He's probably about as right as saying that the shooter was really Tyler Durden and this was all part of Operation Mayhem. Which is to say, not right at all.

592 Buck  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:46:14am

first photo of "Dark Knight" theater shooter James Holmes.

[Link: tmz.me...]

593 Big Joe  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:46:24am

re: #573 Gus

He does almost have Spock ears.

Image: tumblr_m5beqsiIAr1qz5njno1_1280.jpg

594 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:47:34am

re: #589 lawhawk

I don't really think it's in Israel's long-term best interests to be associated in people's minds with bigotry and intolerance, but that's just my take on things. Pam Geller no doubt knows better.

595 palomino  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:47:56am

re: #592 Buck

first photo of "Dark Knight" theater shooter James Holmes.

[Link: tmz.me...]

Great find, Sherlock--that photo's been on TV for 2 hours now.

596 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:48:54am

No idea what motive could have been but my impression after hearing that his place was booby trapped that the guy was mentally unstable somehow. Not sure.

597 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:48:55am

re: #594 iossarian

I don't really think it's in Israel's long-term best interests to be associated in people's minds with bigotry and intolerance, but that's just my take on things. Pam Geller no doubt knows better.

Of course Pam does, and any Israeli who suggests she's not doing them any favors is a traitor, a kapo, and probably a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

///

598 brennant  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:49:08am

re: #594 iossarian

I don't really think it's in Israel's long-term best interests to be associated in people's minds with bigotry and intolerance, but that's just my take on things. Pam Geller no doubt knows better.

PG wouldn't know what "knows better" is, even if "knows better" came up to her and offered her a cocktail.

599 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:49:37am

What a derpalanche on Twitter.

600 Obdicut  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:50:23am

I'm going to go hang out with friends for the weekend.

Value the cool people you've got, because, man, it's a cruel world out there. Appreciate what and who you've got.

601 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:51:53am

I'm planning menus and recipes for our "Vegetarian Week." It's the only time of the year that I can get Zedushka to actually eat vegetarian meals.

602 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:52:44am

re: #600 Obdicut

I'm going to go hang out with friends for the weekend.

Value the cool people you've got, because, man, it's a cruel world out there. Appreciate what and who you've got.

I've got two guest poopers (dogs) for the weekend in addition to my own two. It's nuts. But they're friendly, cuddly, and lovable so what more could I ask.

603 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:53:48am

re: #596 HappyWarrior

No idea what motive could have been but my impression after hearing that his place was booby trapped that the guy was mentally unstable somehow. Not sure.

His housing complex was for med students in the program he washed out of last month. So far his med school problems looks like the most likely motive.

604 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:54:00am

I think it's weird that his mother told the cops, "you've got the right guy."

605 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:54:34am

re: #603 Killgore Trout

His housing complex was for med students in the program he washed out of last month. So far his med school problems looks like the most likely motive.

Yeah, that can be stressful. That would be my bet.

606 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:54:49am

Sanity break - baby cougar.

607 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:55:22am

re: #604 Gus

I think it's weird that his mother told the cops, "you've got the right guy."

It's chilling, but why weird? It sounds as though she knew he was unstable.

608 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:55:23am

re: #601 Learned Mother of Zion

I'm planning menus and recipes for our "Vegetarian Week." It's the only time of the year that I can get Zedushka to actually eat vegetarian meals.

Try some quinoa if you haven't done so already. I'm a dedicated meat eater but I love the stuff and it solves the problems of meat cravings.

609 allegro  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:56:01am

re: #601 Learned Mother of Zion

I'm planning menus and recipes for our "Vegetarian Week." It's the only time of the year that I can get Zedushka to actually eat vegetarian meals.

I used to sneak vegetarian meals in on my total carnivore husband. I'd use things like portobello 'shrooms and lentils and stuff to give things the texture of meat without actual meat. I once grilled veggie burgers that he gushed over, getting half-way through before asking, "Wait. Is this meat?"

610 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:56:21am

re: #607 SanFranciscoZionist

It's chilling, but why weird? It sounds as though she knew he was unstable.

That's what I mean. It's weird.

611 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:56:43am

Stress is no excuse.

612 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:57:01am

Can someone tell me what the problem is with making sure a person who wants a gun is properly trained and licensed? You have to have at least rudimentary skills to get a driver's license,why is it such a big issue to have to meet some basic requirements for gun ownership?

613 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:57:01am

re: #611 Gus

Stress is no excuse.

No, it's not. Motive though.

614 Achilles Tang  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:57:30am

re: #603 Killgore Trout

It doesn't seem likely to me that someone acquires weapons and sets up explosive booby traps all within a month of flunking out of school. Whatever the reason this has been festering for some time; and may in fact be part of the reason for flunking classes, not the other way around.

615 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:57:52am

re: #612 A Mom Anon

Can someone tell me what the problem is with making sure a person who wants a gun is properly trained and licensed? You have to have at least rudimentary skills to get a driver's license,why is it such a big issue to have to meet some basic requirements for gun ownership?

You've got me. I don't see anything unreasonable about expecting that someone who buys a firearm be properly trained and licensed.

616 erik_t  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:58:06am

re: #608 Killgore Trout

Try some quinoa if you haven't done so already. I'm a dedicated meat eater but I love the stuff and it solves the problems of meat cravings.

Rinse it first. Otherwise it tastes... not so good.

Took me a damned year to learn that.

617 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:58:22am

re: #614 Achilles Tang

It doesn't seem likely to me that someone acquires weapons and sets up explosive booby traps all within a month of flunking out of school. Whatever the reason this has been festering for some time; and may in fact be part of the reason for flunking classes, not the other way around.

This is a good point as well.

618 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:58:41am

re: #612 A Mom Anon

Can someone tell me what the problem is with making sure a person who wants a gun is properly trained and licensed? You have to have at least rudimentary skills to get a driver's license,why is it such a big issue to have to meet some basic requirements for gun ownership?

Freedom.

I know, it's stupid, but that is literally where we're at.

619 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:59:09am

re: #614 Achilles Tang

I'd say he has had a lot of problems for a very long time.

620 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:59:32am

re: #611 Gus

Stress is no excuse.

Not an excuse, but if someone is already mentally ill, or evil, (and those can coexist, but are also independent of one another, in my personal humble belief), stress can be what leads to...well, this.

621 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:59:38am

re: #619 researchok

I'd say he has had a lot of problems for a very long time.

A pre-exisiting condition.

622 sagehen  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:59:44am

re: #606 lawhawk

Sanity break - baby cougar.

awwww!

poor thing looks hungry.

623 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 9:59:53am

re: #608 Killgore Trout

Try some quinoa if you haven't done so already. I'm a dedicated meat eater but I love the stuff and it solves the problems of meat cravings.

I don't like quinoa. Tried it a couple of times, just don't care for it.

I'm planning falafel, eggplant tagine, mushroom lasagna, spinach-mushroom fettucine.

624 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:00:00am

re: #608 Killgore Trout

I'm not a fan of quinoa, but any veggies prepared in any Indian dish will do wonders for me; I'm a meat and potatoes guy, but Mrs. Lawhawk has done a great deal to make me eat healthier.

With the veggies in my garden, I was able to make a ratatouille style dish - layered up grilled eggplant and zucchini with cheese (I think it was Gruyère) and threw on some grape and cherry tomatoes. Melted the whole bunch together; easy and quite tasty.

625 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:00:17am

re: #618 iossarian

In many states you do have to take safety courses before being allowed to buy a gun or rifle.

626 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:01:01am

re: #620 SanFranciscoZionist

Not an excuse, but if someone is already mentally ill, or evil, (and those can coexist, but are also independent of one another, in my personal humble belief), stress can be what leads to...well, this.

That's only because people culturally associate with the suspect.

627 sagehen  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:01:26am

re: #615 HappyWarrior

You've got me. I don't see anything unreasonable about expecting that someone who buys a firearm be properly trained and licensed.

Next you'll be telling us there's nothing unreasonable about making it easier to buy a gun than to vote.

//

628 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:02:15am

re: #621 Gus

An anthology of pre existing conditions.

I'm willing to bet over the course of the next few days, we'll hear of the 'warning signs' no one acted on.

Like say from the age of 10 or 12.

629 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:02:33am

re: #612 A Mom Anon

Can someone tell me what the problem is with making sure a person who wants a gun is properly trained and licensed? You have to have at least rudimentary skills to get a driver's license,why is it such a big issue to have to meet some basic requirements for gun ownership?

Because there are people who think that guns are magic, and that expecting people to register them, learn to use them, or maintain paperwork on them violates the Second Amendment.

Of course, the 2A does say that the militia should be well-regulated. I could see reading in a license and some classes into that. But I have a long, involved theory about linking gun ownership to local militia organizations anyway, so I may not be a reliable narrator.

May I add, as an English teacher, that the Second Amendment is ambiguously written, and that that floating clause causes a lot of trouble?

630 Achilles Tang  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:03:01am

re: #612 A Mom Anon

Can someone tell me what the problem is with making sure a person who wants a gun is properly trained and licensed? You have to have at least rudimentary skills to get a driver's license,why is it such a big issue to have to meet some basic requirements for gun ownership?

No problem there and even the NRA will likely agree with the principle (they still pretend to mainly a sporting organization), but I don't see what it has to do with this kind of occurrence. A maniac can pass gun training.

631 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:03:22am

re: #620 SanFranciscoZionist

Usually, there is a 'trigger' event.

General stress is a part of their makeup.

632 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:03:50am

re: #626 Gus

That's only because people culturally associate with the suspect.

Culturally associate what with the suspect?

633 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:04:15am
634 Eventual Carrion  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:05:05am

re: #600 Obdicut

I'm going to go hang out with friends for the weekend.

Value the cool people you've got, because, man, it's a cruel world out there. Appreciate what and who you've got.

My buddy, his son, me and my youngest are going to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire tomorrow. We went last year and had a great time so the boys were clamoring to go this year.

No jousting this year, but Archery and Siege Weapon Demonstration is on. Arrows and catapults for everyone :-)

I don't see WunderFool on the entertainment list this year, he was hilarious last year. I'm sure there will be some good acts this year as well.

635 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:05:17am

re: #632 SanFranciscoZionist

Culturally associate what with the suspect?

Oh never mind.

636 Killgore Trout  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:05:31am

re: #616 erik_t

Rinse it first. Otherwise it tastes... not so good.

Took me a damned year to learn that.

Also toasting it is very important. Toast in in a dry pan until it browns. It smells like baking bread.

637 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:06:33am
638 Buck  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:06:35am

ABC's Brian Ross apologizes for trying to pin Colorado shooting on the right

[Link: www.americanthinker.com...]

639 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:08:35am
640 Achilles Tang  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:08:37am

re: #638 Buck

ABC's Brian Ross apologizes for trying to pin Colorado shooting on the right

[Link: www.americanthinker.com...]

Good.

641 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:09:02am

What if they find out the shooter was a Brony fan?

642 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:09:15am

re: #601 Learned Mother of Zion

I'm planning menus and recipes for our "Vegetarian Week." It's the only time of the year that I can get Zedushka to actually eat vegetarian meals.

I have a good leek-potato soup recipe if you'd like.

643 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:09:35am

re: #632 SanFranciscoZionist

Stress

People assume stress in and of itself can trigger detachment and then this kind of behavior, but that is not true.

Most people live under one form of stress or another- often their entire lives.

People who live with health problems, marital problems, money problems, paycheck to paycheck, ad infinitum, live under quite stressful- and ongoing conditions.

They however are the type to go off the deep end, no matter how many years or decades they have been highly stressed.

644 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:09:41am

re: #638 Buck

ABC's Brian Ross apologizes for trying to pin Colorado shooting on the right

[Link: www.americanthinker.com...]

American Thinker

[Laugh track.]

645 Sheila Broflovski  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:11:53am

re: #642 William Barnett-Lewis

I have a good leek-potato soup recipe if you'd like.

Zedushka won't get near potato soup (with or without leeks). His mother used to make potato soup, it seems it would be pretty hard to fuck that up but she totally did. He also won't eat fish, except for gefilte fish.

646 iossarian  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:14:27am

re: #625 researchok

In many states you do have to take safety courses before being allowed to buy a gun or rifle.

This is a good thing. I note that Colorado is not such a state.

647 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:15:23am

re: #643 researchok

Correction

They however are not the type to go off the deep end, no matter how many years or decades they have been highly stressed.

648 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:16:09am

re: #646 iossarian

Cowboy country.

In more ways than one.

649 Kragar  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:16:49am

Not even 24 hours...

CO Shooting a Result of the Fact that Americans Don't Fear God or Hell

I can't help but feel that to some extent, we're reaping what we've been sowing as a society. We said to God, "Get out of the public arena." Lawsuit after lawsuit, often by misguided "civil libertarians," have chased away any fear of God in the land -- at least in the hearts of millions.

...

Recently, I wrote on the subject of Hell and how our society has generally lost its cognizance of it.

We've lost this cognizance to the point that a recent bestseller was a book by an "evangelical pastor," who for all practical purposes denied Hell (or the import of it). (It exists, but don't worry -- supposedly nobody's going there.) When the book was first published 16 months ago, it made the cover of TIME magazine. This month it was republished as a paperback.

This makes me think. "Wow, what the heck happened to Hell?" What -- was there some new revelation that changed what the Lord warned about? To me, what He said 2,000 years ago is still worth heeding: What does it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?

Tens of millions of young people in this culture seem to have no fear of God. It's becoming too commonplace that some frustrated person will go on a killing spree of random people. If they kill themselves, they think it's all over. But that's like going from the frying pan into the fire. Where's the fear of God in our society? I don't think people would do those sorts of things if they truly understood the reality of Hell.

Because everyone knows religion has never motivated a killing spree in all of recorded history.

650 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:17:00am

re: #647 researchok

Correction

They however are not the type to go off the deep end, no matter how many years or decades they have been highly stressed.

However, if someone IS the type to go off the deep end, I'm assuming a new or increased source of stress might encourage them to do so just then?

651 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:18:08am

re: #648 researchok

Cowboy country.

In more ways than one.

Meh. Not really. Maybe in a few tiny pockets. I mean cowboy in the traditional sense.

652 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:18:28am

re: #612 A Mom Anon

Can someone tell me what the problem is with making sure a person who wants a gun is properly trained and licensed? You have to have at least rudimentary skills to get a driver's license,why is it such a big issue to have to meet some basic requirements for gun ownership?

It goes back to the founders utter fear of standing armies. Only tyrants had a standing army and only a free militia, and every freeman must own a gun, could stop said standing army. This grew out of the bitter experiences of the English Civil War and the varied religious wars on the continent. Unarmed peasants were slaughtered while freemen could have a fighting chance.

I personally have no problem with a training/licensing system but in exchange would want the NFA of 1934 & the GCA of 1968 repealed as well.

653 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:19:00am

re: #647 researchok

Ask Gus about that- and the gunslinger politics with real law and order, 'moral champions' character types in the state.

The immigration politics out there is pretty astounding with rhetoric to match.

654 A Mom Anon  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:19:17am

re: #630 Achilles Tang

I didn't say it is going to prevent tragedy. But perhaps if people were licensed and trained they'd be a tad less apt to view a gun as some sort of panacea to social problems. This issue isn't a simple one. No one thing is going to fix it. I just think there's a very significant portion of the population that has no earthly clue the amount of damage a firearm can do beyond something really abstract. I'm for background checks and a bit of a wait before you can get a gun,I fail to see how that is trampling on anyone's rights. Which is what gun fanatics freak out over whenever this is brought up.

There's also no earthly reason you should be allowed to walk into a gun show and purchase a trunk full of assault weapons. Those types of weapons are designed for one thing only,killing people. That loophole in the law should have never been allowed in the first place.

655 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:19:28am

re: #651 Gus

See my 653

656 Lidane  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:20:42am

re: #649 Kragar

Not even 24 hours...

CO Shooting a Result of the Fact that Americans Don't Fear God or Hell

Because living in fear is something to aspire to. Really.

WTF is wrong with these people?

Because everyone knows religion has never motivated a killing spree in all of recorded history.

And God, of course, never killed anyone. Ever.

657 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:21:13am

re: #655 researchok

See my 653

Yep. We're a purple state. Our current governor is Democrat John Hickenlooper who is the former mayor of Denver. Another Democrat before that. Both of our senators are both Democrats, Mark Udall and Michael Bennet.

658 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:21:45am

NYPD Commish Ray Kelly: Information he's gotten says that the attacker was apparently calling himself The Joker, had his hair painted red.

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the gunman suspected of attacking a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado resembled Batman’s arch-villain “The Joker” at the time of the shocking attack.

“We have some information, most of it is public. It clearly looks like a deranged individual. He had his hair painted red, he said he was ‘The Joker,’ obviously the ‘enemy’ of Batman,” Kelly said at a news conference after noon.

Kelly said the NYPD is stepping up security at movie theaters around the city after suspect James Holmes walked into a Colorado movie theater during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” and opened fire, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more.

659 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:21:45am

But we also have our Tom Tancredos...

660 Kragar  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:21:45am

re: #652 William Barnett-Lewis

It goes back to the founders utter fear of standing armies. Only tyrants had a standing army and only a free militia, and every freeman must own a gun, could stop said standing army. This grew out of the bitter experiences of the English Civil War and the varied religious wars on the continent. Unarmed peasants were slaughtered while freemen could have a fighting chance.

I personally have no problem with a training/licensing system but in exchange would want the NFA of 1934 & the GCA of 1968 repealed as well.

Of course nowadays, where armies have tanks, drones, NVG, over the horizon artillery and more besides, the idea of a freeman with a rifle stopping an army is ludicrous. Not that it stops the NRA from masturbating with gun oil to Red Dawn every chance they get.

661 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:24:38am

re: #657 Gus

The western states fascinate me- there really is cultural independence thing, derivative of the western settlers going on, but in cities like Denver -and even the smaller centers- there is first class/world class culture, universities, etc., they find a way to coexist in the same place.

Uniquely American.

662 Achilles Tang  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:25:32am

re: #643 researchok

Stress
Most people live under one form of stress or another- often their entire lives.

Especially paranoiacs, like those who think Obama is an Islamic mole, planned since birth.

663 Gretchen G.Tiger  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:26:00am

Morning all,

I live in Aurora, ILLINOIS. thank Bob!

OMG and my kid was at the Dark NIght premiere last night.

Crossing myself and counting my blessings.

You?

664 Daniel Ballard  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:26:23am

re: #660 Kragar

Of course nowadays, where armies have tanks, drones, NVG, over the horizon artillery and more besides, the idea of a freeman with a rifle stopping an army is ludicrous.

I wish that were true, I really do. Unfortunately violent insurgent history tells us a vastly different story. IED's are now a likely part of any insurgency.

665 Kragar  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:27:12am

Tea Party Nation: Obama Might Be a Gay Drug Addict

Tea Party Nation president Judson Phillips sent out a conspiratorial email to members yesterday responding to the Obama campaign’s demand that Mitt Romney disclose his tax records, saying that Obama should release his college records to prove that he didn’t attend school “on a scholarship reserved for foreign students” and release medical records to show that he is not a drug addict, citing the report of “a man named Larry Sinclair claims that in 1999 he and Barack Obama had sex and then smoked crack cocaine.”

Judson Philips should release records proving he wasn't the drag queen stripper known as Fifi LePetomaine, who according to report is the goat fondling champion of southern Oklahoma.

666 wrenchwench  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:28:56am

re: #648 researchok

Cowboy country.

In more ways than one.

The word 'cowboy' has taken on many connotations that real cowboys don't deserve.

667 Kragar  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:29:18am

re: #664 Daniel Ballard

I wish that were true, I really do. Unfortunately violent insurgent history tells us a vastly different story. IED's are now a likely part of any insurgency.

The key letter there being the I, as in improvised. You can't just walk in off the street and decide to pick up 2 car bombs and a couple of bomb vests at your local walmart.

668 Gretchen G.Tiger  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:29:26am

re: #654 A Mom Anon

I didn't say it is going to prevent tragedy. But perhaps if people were licensed and trained they'd be a tad less apt to view a gun as some sort of panacea to social problems. This issue isn't a simple one. No one thing is going to fix it. I just think there's a very significant portion of the population that has no earthly clue the amount of damage a firearm can do beyond something really abstract. I'm for background checks and a bit of a wait before you can get a gun,I fail to see how that is trampling on anyone's rights. Which is what gun fanatics freak out over whenever this is brought up.

There's also no earthly reason you should be allowed to walk into a gun show and purchase a trunk full of assault weapons. Those types of weapons are designed for one thing only,killing people. That loophole in the law should have never been allowed in the first place.

We need to teach kids about guns. They need to take a basic shooting and gun safety course (which are available FOR FREE all over the country-most sponsored by the NRA). People are afraid of guns because they are not familiar with guns. Take the fear away, IMHO, is the best way to lessen gun crime.

Seriously, I know women who are so ignorant about guns that they would submit to a rape if a starter pistol were aimed at them.

669 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:29:41am

re: #661 researchok

The western states fascinate me- there really is cultural independence thing, derivative of the western settlers going on, but in cities like Denver -and even the smaller centers- there is first class/world class culture, universities, etc., they find a way to coexist in the same place.

Uniquely American.

We try but it doesn't always work. Still, the good things certainly outweigh the bad things. It is like you said, the west. That's why people come here. Many to just enjoy the big sky and open country. Mostly it's for the skiing.

670 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:30:34am

re: #660 Kragar

Of course nowadays, where armies have tanks, drones, NVG, over the horizon artillery and more besides, the idea of a freeman with a rifle stopping an army is ludicrous. Not that it stops the NRA from masturbating with gun oil to Red Dawn every chance they get.

The idea of a freeman with a rifle stopping an army was always ludicrous. Now, an army of free men, they might stand a chance. But Washington had to kick people's asses to get a fighting force that worked. The recurrent fantasy that one man with enough weapons can stop a much larger, equally or better armed force has always been ludicrous.

You've got your musket, and you're all alone on your farm, and a regiment hoves over the horizon, what do you do? You RUN LIKE HELL.

I recall one episode during the English Civil War where an elderly Roundhead lady and her two sons-in-law managed to stand off Prince Rupert's troops for some time from their manor house, shooting out the windows, while the maids melted down all the meltables for more shot. They did, however, eventually surrender the house. Rupert offered the old lady a commission, which I believe she declined.

671 Gus  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:30:34am
672 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:32:16am

re: #659 Gus

Years and years ago, when I was still back in the Old Country, I recall reading about a bus scandal in Denver. Apparently, they had bought articulated buses for a city with a real winter climate (back end jackknifing was the order of the day).

Turns out it was a good ole boy deal.

We of course took great pleasure in having a good laugh . We were still buying wooden escalators for the tube which led to a great fire tragedy.

When that was brought up, we didn't laugh with as much gusto.

673 researchok  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:33:39am

re: #669 Gus

Steamboat Springs.

God's Country is not an exaggeration, even if you're an atheist.

674 Daniel Ballard  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:39:50am

re: #667 Kragar

How would you explain the successes of insurgencies against big armies that we can see in France (WW2) and in Iraq/Afghanistan? Much of this pre dates modern IED's. Algeria, etc.?

675 HappyWarrior  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 10:43:30am

re: #665 Kragar

Tea Party Nation: Obama Might Be a Gay Drug Addict

Judson Philips should release records proving he wasn't the drag queen stripper known as Fifi LePetomaine, who according to report is the goat fondling champion of southern Oklahoma.

I thought the Tea Party was only concerned about fiscal issues. Oh wait, that's a load of shit.

676 sagehen  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 11:02:39am

re: #634 RayFerd

My buddy, his son, me and my youngest are going to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire tomorrow. We went last year and had a great time so the boys were clamoring to go this year.

No jousting this year, but Archery and Siege Weapon Demonstration is on. Arrows and catapults for everyone :-)

I don't see WunderFool on the entertainment list this year, he was hilarious last year. I'm sure there will be some good acts this year as well.

Do they serve roasted turkey legs that after you gnaw off the meat you can toss the bone over your shoulder? Flagons of beer purchased from buxom serving wenches? (in other words... what's the diff between a Medieval Faire and the Renaissance Faire?)

677 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 11:03:42am

re: #624 lawhawk

I'm not a fan of quinoa, but any veggies prepared in any Indian dish will do wonders for me; I'm a meat and potatoes guy, but Mrs. Lawhawk has done a great deal to make me eat healthier.

With the veggies in my garden, I was able to make a ratatouille style dish - layered up grilled eggplant and zucchini with cheese (I think it was Gruyère) and threw on some grape and cherry tomatoes. Melted the whole bunch together; easy and quite tasty.

Ever tried cracked buckwheat? Makes a nice pilaf and has a slight nutty flavor. I usually make it with onions and then serve it with sausage or another pork product. I've also used it as filler/meat substitute for soup or vegetarian chile.

678 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 11:17:17am

re: #673 researchok

Steamboat Springs.

God's Country is not an exaggeration, even if you're an atheist.

I like that area a lot. Been there during part of all four seasons and it was stunningly beautiful country essentially year round. Besides, they have a bridge named after James Brown - how cool is that?

From Wikipedia:
In 1993, the City Council of Steamboat Springs, Colorado conducted a poll of its residents to choose a new name for the bridge that crossed the Yampa River on Shield Drive. With 7,717 votes, the winning name was "James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge". The bridge was officially dedicated in September 1993, and James Brown appeared at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the event.

679 BeenHereAwhile  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 12:13:20pm

re: #79 goddamnedfrank

Maybe find a way to load some parental control onto her phone so that you secretly get copies of all her texts. That way you don't risk getting caught and as long as you don't tell her the intelligence channel remains open. What you don't want is to give her a reason to start getting creative with secrecy, 'cuz kids can be really good at that.

Handhelds like Blackberries (if it's not BEA networked) and Androids can have parental spyware installed in approx 10 minutes which can forward text messages, voice mail, etc to a 3rd party.

OTOH, iPhones have to be jail-broke in order to have spyware installed. Which increases the amount of time necessary to install parental spyware.

680 lawhawk  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 12:16:23pm

re: #677 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

I've never made it, but I do sometimes go and get kasha varnishkes from a kosher purveyor as a treat.


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Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
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