tvashtarkatena
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Posts posted by tvashtarkatena
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While on the gulag theme, it's interesting to note that the two Koch boys are now fighting mass incarceration in a big $$$ way.
Give that the Kochs are thought leaders for a large part of the country, this is a huge win for everyone with an eye and a hand towards a kinder American society.
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I can't watch any of the GOP candidates talk - it's like an I Love Lucy episode, without the self awareness. I gringe.
I tried to watch Jeb Bush but after 30 seconds I realized that Trump is Einstein in comparison. He's a fucking moron who can't put a sentence together, just like Bro and Daddy. And he can't deliver a joke (my god, how he tries), and THAT is the unforgivable sin.
Trump delivers some pretty good insults directed at his colleagues, some are even wry, like his comment about Jeb: "I can't understand why Leman Brothers paid him 3 million just before it took down the economy.Where's the business savvy in that?"
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Whew! Thanks, Canada!
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It takes a lot for me to celebrate politics. The only time I actually gave out an audible whoop...ever...was when Obama, legal weed, and marital equality all rolled across the finish line within a single hour.
That was a pretty good hour to be alive.
As for the GOP, they've long suffered a die off problem that certainly isn't improving any. They've made a lot of enemies as assholes typically do, and those chickens seem to be roosting in large numbers lately.
Hating gays, brown folk, women folk, common decency, adult behavior, true national security (healthcare, reasonably income disparity, safety from being randomly shot), the environment, the Bill of Rights, anyone who isn't American (plus half of all Americans) and science never was a good, long term national strategy, but hey, blame Tricky Dick, the Gift that Just Keeps on Giving.
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Texas has a dirty little not-so-secret - it's going Democratic anyway thanks to it's growing hispanic population and increasing percentage of younger voters. 2020 was the estimate 3 years ago, but that could accelerate with America's rapidly changing tide of values.
America's undergoing a profound reexamining of its values with some pretty stunning results. Sure, money's still King, but the conversation's a bit more complicated these days. This is being driven from below by an increasingly tech savvy, skeptical, data driven, and connected generation - the best educated in history.
It's hard for fascism to flourish in a society bound by such a liberal bill of rights. One split into 50 different political fortresses. The tenets of fairness, collective security, and egalitarianism shine just a bit too bright for the losing side of history - the lynch mobs, chickenhawks, and grifters to take the prize.
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I reckon some folks actually watch debates.
Hard to imagine clipping the dog's toenails or re-caulking the tub wouldn't take priority, but there you have it.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the ACLU just filed two lawsuits this week: One against two Spokane psychologists who helped the CIA design its illegal torture program, taught that program, then went on to torture detainees themselves. The CIA then had them evaluate the effectiveness of the program they themselves designed.
The second is against Benton County WA for its robust debtors prison program. Essentially, the county is funding itself on the backs of the indigent. They are the only problem country contacted by the ACLU that has refused to take even a single step towards system in this regard, despite being the worst offender among Washington's 39 counties. Ah well, some folks prefer the hard road.
As the BATTLE OF THE TITANS RAGES ON Fox and CNN, regular ole people get up, sip their coffee, and go make the world a better place, step by step, armed with just the facts, ma'am.
And a few basic principles, born of decency.
No street theater required.
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I reckon if one of the kakesterz kids caught a bullet at school 'very limited' might be upgraded a bit.
a comprehensive 30 day background check with a nationwide criminal record database that isnt a bad joke would have a significant impact in keeping guns out of the hands of people with a proven history of violence.
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a couple of weeks ago i watched my pal David and son drop 500 krauts in about 20 minutes. damn that kids a good sniper. then we all went and tossed a disk around. Id join in but ive got the reaction time of a pillbox. i do love tossing those grenades, tho. good for the mental acuity and great for bonding, i reckon. kids gotta burn the bumper crop of testosterone off somehow.
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I never really feel 'unsafe' anywhere, but the only place I've been more dangerous than the US out of 35 countries visited was Johannesburg SA, and that is saying A LOT, because that place is a bit of a mess crime-wise.
I don't trust my fellow armed American for obvious reasons (see GOP line up for more information).
As for America being 'more violent' than other countries...data please? I would think that would be an argument FOR strict gun control, but then, you know, if A then B. That kind of thing.
Oh wait, that was CC's own Scare KKKrow. "If I only had a point!..."
or, less melodically put:
"Nothing to be done so I may as well not get off my ass to do anything."
HERO.
Changing the world is hard, sure. It's not for scare crows.
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Ah yes, the 'TV violence' argument, also from the 70s (does KKK even realize that was 40 years ago?).
Inconveniently, as entertainment violence has skyrocketed - war coverage, the net, UFC, etc...violent crime in America has dropped precipitously.
Next fiction, please...
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Government doesn't do 'culture'. It does 'policy'. Now, policy may affect culture, and it often does, but to say 'it's the culture, stupid' is a worn out dodge.
We know this because every other civilized nations seems to have solved this problem through policy choices.
Speaking of kids, some schools are now implementing mass shooter training (run, hide in the bathroom, etc). GRREAAAT.
Frankly, I'd say it would be preferable to deny the population all of its guns than instill yet another fear-based cultural meme into our already fear-driven society.
One gentleman on NPR this morning said it succinctly after living in Paris for a year: "Bad things can happen anywhere, sure, but it was so nice not to have to worry about my kid getting shot every time he stepped on the Metro to go to school. It was a huge difference in quality of life."
And there you have it. Should our fantastically stressed out nation add "hey toddler, don't get shot at school!" to our list of bogieman, or is it time for gun owners to give one up for the team?
The latter, of course. Adults can handle one of their toys taken away from them better than a 5 year old can handle his/her well-being taken from them in my estimation.
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Ben Carson on guns, ladies and gentlemen! SMART.
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dont worry about the kakester. his life's pretty shitty, hence the tude. Perfectly understandable, considering. Not acceptable, not at all admirable, but understandable.
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If you've been convicted of a violent crime, assault being the most common that skips below the background check or lack thereof radar, you are far more likely to use a gun in a violent crime. Yet in most of the US, those convicted of misdemeanor assault can buy as many guns as they want, and they do.
I don't believe we should sell weapons with more than six rounds, personally. Guns, with the exception of antiques, should have a heavy training, licencing, insurance regimen with some serious background checks. Perhaps limits on gun ownership, in an attempt to prevent stockpiling. Stockpiling no good. Many states already prohibit the sale of a gun to anyone who is not mentally competent, the definition of which varies from state to state.
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I get this child porn comment on occasion. It's a pretty faded meme from the 70s, born of an era where porn had just burst upon the popular scene and was testing the boundaries of the first amendment. It's for people who need a good shout at something for whatever reason. Anger? Recreation? I don't bother wondering about that.
I let them know I'd be interested in studying the case if they have a citation they can share. No one does, of course. At then end of there talk I thank them for actively participating and they thank me for coming all the way from Seattle to speak on something we all care about. We shake hands, smile with genuine affection, and go home feeling a little lighter than when we came.
Japan's got a suicide problem like we have a gun death problem - 50% higher than ours, and ours is relatively high worldwide. I think about 23K Japanese commit suicide, compared to 27K gun deaths here.
The two problems require two different sets of policy solutions, two nationwide retreats from violence as pleasure. This is a natural, evolved trait - after all, we're apex predators, but we now have some control over where evolution takes us through the evolution and extinction of memes. Violence is one of those memes we should attempt to minimize.
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there is no problem Americans cant solve. thats what we do. of course, that requires one to get off one's fat, lazy, pampered ass.
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i dont see any logic behind denying a convicted domestic abuser his guns. that makes zero sense. nothing to be done!
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Buckshot's full of shit, of course. add suicide and accident and gun deaths move to 2nd place in his list.
but even so, 11000 is a few more Japan, which averages a whopping 10.
but hey, nothing to do, right? shit happens.
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there's no correlation between 'crazy' and gun violence, so, yes, 'crazies' have as much right to have a gun as the morons who subscribe to this fiction. Drug n booze abuse and violent behavior are highly correlated with gun violence, however.
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why dont you ask the folks in Roseburg about that?
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I think its fair that we apply the same 'safeguards' when purchasing a gun as we do to women who want to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
a) You'll have wait 48 hours.
b) You'll need a note from your doctor.
c) You'll need to drive two states over for the actual purchase.
d) You'll have to have a probe shoved up your ass first (true in some states, actually). Admittedly, this one's probably just to fuck whicha.
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Politically, we need to take down the NRA the way we handed that organization its ass in WA state. There's no 'convincing' or 'compromise' here - this is solidly an Us against Them situation. If Us outnumbers Them at the voting booth, Us wins.
The idea of 'unity' in America on an issue like this is a crock. The smarter, tougher, more organized, and richer side wins here, plain and simple.
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We actually know how to curtail gun violence thanks to the CDC's excellent studies, completed prior to the RFks with NRA cock planted firmly up their bums banning gun violence studies by the CDC in the late 90s.
It has nothing to do with 'mental health' - there is zero correlation there. That's just another way for the GOP and its buttboys to blame poor folk for the Holding America Back from True Greatness.
It has everything to do with drug and alcohol abuse and previous acts of violence.
And the solution goes like this:
Comprehensive background checks. Got an assault charge or DUI? No guns for you (big data correlation there). Wanna 'sneak one' into your life afterwards? Welcome to felony-land. No guns allowed in prison, sorry.
Our gun sickness, and it is just that, is a form of cultural retardation that may stick around for a while, but we might as well knock the obvious candidates of the list of how gets to plink and who doesn't.
The arguments against gun control are, of course, bullshit on their face. They go as follows:
Nothing to be done. Really? Look around (internationally). Seems like we stand out in the crowd.
Safety. Hmmmm, the data clearly shows peeps with guns are more likely to die from them - via suicide, domestic violence, or accident.
The 'shoot the perp' argument. This one's a hoot. The last shooter's rampage took all of 9 minutes. Imagine a room full of idiots with their guns drawn (in response). Who do you shoot? Gifford's protector was almost shot by a highly trained gun toter who mistook his protecting her with his body for the assailant.
Of course, that's not you, Mr. Responsible Gun Nut. You would never make such a mistake. After all, you're highly trained.
Bottom line? Guns are cool toys and Gun Nuts like 'em. That's pretty much the sum total of what's really going on here. I've got several friends in that category who are, thankfully, somewhat on the sane side - you know, they don't post pics of their gun collections on the web in flaccid cyber-attempts to intimidate and such. They'll readily admit that's pretty much all there is to it.
The 'revolution' argument is so ridiculous it requires no comment.
So cut the bullshit, Gun Nuts and admit what's really going on. Ya just really like to play with guns. You're certainly never going to challenge the gubmint. You can protect your home far safer with a dog or, god forbid, some new deadbolts. No one's 'coming to kill you because, let's get real - you're nobody. And you're certainly not going to be the next French Train Hero.
What you will do is a) shoot yourself, b) shoot your loved ones or c) lose friends and kids to gun accidents in numbers far greater than those who don't own guns.
Conservative Champions- Funded by Stalin and USSR
in Spray
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Interesting question. Given a statistically viable sample of sheep fuckers, it's likely that only some would keep track. The World of Sheep fuckers would be divided between those who track and those who don't.
Would they split along that line socially? Would they argue?