Fairweather

One of my Ed Abbey favorites: "Guns don't kill people; people kill people. Of course, people with guns kill more people. But that's only natural. It's hard. But it's fair."

Mr Ben, you are wise beyond your years.

I have zero interest in outlawing guns -- I just want to see them properly regulated with mandatory universal background checks, training and licensing: just like we have with cars (which are another possibly lethal implement which has been very successfully regulated) As a gun owner myself, I cant even begin to fathom why any rational individual would be against universal background checks and licensing. Imagine if we treated cars like we treat guns. Shudder! Cars are probably the single most heavily regulated thing we own... guns are largely unregulated... cars kill more people than guns, even if you factor in suicide. They kill more people unnaturally than anything, for that matter. If you leave suicide out of the equation, I think it's like 3:1, in fact. I'm not sure how your car analogy is supporting your argument for regulation There's also that pesky constitution thing that Rob & Co. can't get past. Guns are a protected right; cars aren't.

Rob's stat is BS.

Not sure who this was directed at, but you're preaching to the choir if you're talking to me. Pro gun. "Changing" was meant as a noun, in this instance, but was left intentionally muddy such that it would lure in all the usual suspects as a transitive verb.

Funny. Tell us, please, how many children have you raised? I know more than a few "kids" in their 20s who are smart, well-educated--and armed to the teeth. Your gun-grabbing agenda is going exactly nowhere in this generation or the next.

Hey, China's not on your chart! No matter, I suspect that gun deaths there are more of a state thang. Thank God their people are safe though.

[img:center]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Rtc2.gif[/img]

I've always wanted to see a video of a shock-loaded boot-axe belay. I still see climbers using them over sagging bridges from time. My guess: fail.

Pretty terrifying. A useful and sobering video/post. But I wonder if it's a completely legit test. The length of rope between faller and arrester is pretty short and, hence, there isn't much dynamism in the system. I've held several "punch thorough" type crevasse falls standing up--with 37-50 meters of single dynamic rope. But I'm still not sure if these anecdotes are completely useful either either. Also, in the video the arrester is facing toward the faller in almost every example--a pose that requires him to twist around pre-arrest and isn't how it usually goes down. Still, getting drug over the lip would be absolutely terrifying and I think about this often when I'm on a glacier with only one other partner. Thanks for the post.

I'll have to admit to being conflicted about government regulation/elimination of trans fats. Still, regulating or banning an ingredient in the private sector with cause in this manner is what government is for. What they are not for, IMO, is saying "we are banning this-or-that because it puts a financial strain on a healthcare system that we now totally control." One is a narrow door--the other is wide open.

Why do we have laws telling people how to drive and shit, too? I mean, every man is an island and nothing I do affects anyone else! Regulating how people drive is quite a bit different than telling them what they can put into their bodies, no? For example, we recently legalized pot here in Washington State--a measure I supported. Are you saying we should reconsider this? Pot good--fast food bad? Cigarettes bad--sodomy good? Trans fats bad--100,000 prescription deaths/year is a-ok? It gets complicated. Not something I'd expect the Free Lunch Party aka the Party of Simple Solutions for Simple People to be able to unravel. Still, with their insatiable need to control human behavior--a desire that probably exceeds even that of the evangelical right--this little exercise is certainly all about wasted keystrokes.

Uh oh. Sounds like someone's just a little bitter... Still, why is either sector telling folks how to live a good idea?

Some folks handle freedom responsibly--and some don't.

Ha, are you Free Lunchers still on the Koch Bros thing? I thought you had redirected your requisite hate to some other person or object by this time. Well, anyhow, no I don't like private employers telling their employees what they can and can't do either. Not one bit. I used to work for one. You, on the other hand, seem more than willing to allow your precious government to "nudge" its citizens to do God-knows-what-next. Of course there is a difference: The private company can simply deny you a job--government can tax you out of your home or put you in prison if it fits the latest narrative. You see, it's really not so much the healthcare equity thing as it is the next thing--and the thing after that. You once mentioned that you're a big fan of "agrarian reform." Terrifying.

(*The role of Doughnut Guy will be played by Marky Mark.) [video:youtube]VAFwL-JDw7Y

Yea, thought leaders--like Marx and Gramsci.

Good God, now there's an asperger rehearsed self improvement cassette tape if ever there was

Yes, we've already seen how you guys do it.

The party of Free Lunch never bothers itself with details or "what if" scenarios. Remember, Jay, we're talking free healthcare here!* *a minor 900 dollar per month handling fee and other bureaucratic pension fees may apply. your premiums may be more than advertised.

Yes, the Know-Nothing wing and the Do-Nothing wing are getting together for some big ideas next time around! Hmmm, much better than the I'll-do-anything-I-want autocrat that you elected. Exactly where does he get this new power to change acts of Congress like the ACA at will? Hillary Clinton, now there's a real go-getter. You guys would do better with Elizabeth Warren. Which isn't saying much.

Christie in 2016!

Uh, yea, well that bubble was not one of the choices. And after this dem-o-crat debacle it won't be for a long, long time.