jollyreaper2112
jollyreaper2112's JournalSomething to keep in mind about gun deaths
We are almost down half from our national peak. Thing is, we never heard about the people, just the numbers. Just like highway deaths. We know intellectually we have a 9-11 once a month, 3k dead in stupid road deaths. But unless the accident is big and sexy, it's always local news.
We are hearing more about each gun death now which is taking this away from being a statistic. The status who depends on us accepting these deaths as the cost of doing business. I've heard assholes use that very phrase to excuse preventable deaths. It's the same logic that says children lose fingers and limbs in factories, the cost of progress.
I think we are hearing more and getting Olympic athlete biographical coverage of the deaths because its sexy and sells. Our talking heads love a good tragedy, weeping parents, shrines of flowers and teddy bears. They're emotional vampires. And yet in their own craven self-service we might yet see public sentiment turn against the gun madness and make real reforms.
I suppose that the same thing could be said of past tragedies. The publishers were just looking to sell papers and might let a journalist rake some muck out of self-service, if he accomplished anything of social value that's beside the point.
The other thing that's happening through all this is the gun nutter position is being put in a really awful light, same as with the pro-rape republicans trying to justify the war on women. Their base won't let them back down and they look crazy to everyone else.
Sandy Hook Truthers
Can a brother get a debunking here?
http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/sandy-hook-ripdonation-webpages-created-before-the-massacre/
I assume this is up to the usual standards of winger wing-nuttery but I can't bring myself to wade through the feces to figure out what they're about.
I assume that this has as much fact behind it as Obama's $200 million a day trip to Indonesia, 9-11 Trutherism, Obama birtherism, hollow earth theory, moon landing hoaxing, and Big Foot.
Derp derp sandy hook shooter used handguns
This is the latest I'm hearing from gun fetishists. Somehow this is a big media conspiracy and the ar-15 was in the trunk the whole time.
According to Wikipedia, the ar-15 was used inside, a shotgun was in the trunk.
Far as I've heard, the ranges involved don't really make much of a difference between either weapon, it was all practically point blank. The only bonus for a rifle with a large magazine is more shots before roloading.
I just find this argument infuriating about as much as birther and truther nonsense. The only googling I could find on it not being an ar-15 goes to the usual nut sites and stormfront.
Anyone have the definitive word on this?
Google ad on msnbc streaming -- dumbest thing ever?
I watch Rachel on streaming and got this ad every break. It's this little obsequious shit practicing his groveling skills in an empty office. Mr. Coots, I love your hair. Mr. Coots, that's an impressive suit. Mr. Coots, the sight of you makes me question my orientation.
And then he sees a picture of a castle on the wall. Using his google phone, he identifies it. Mr. Coots enters and he applies this nugget of gold, asking the man if he's been to that region recently and why yes, he has. You know castles? I've always been into castles since a minute ago. Lips applied to ass and he's working in the tongue.
Is this really what Google wants to sell on? Shit, why not have a commercial with a man showing a woman the perfect time on a date and then the reveal is every little thing he learned about what she likes to impress her was learned from Facebook stalking? "Honey, you've never seen who I really am. I've only shown you the man you think you wanted. And we'll be together until the day we die. Aren't murder-suicides so romantic?"
Gun Problem, solved by a modest proposal
You are allowed to have any gun you want, including fully-automatic machine guns. But they all have to come in pink.
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Serious, responsible gun owners secure in their sexuality can deal with pink. They aren't idiots and I'm not concerned about what they own.
Irresponsible, insecure types who use a gun to feel like a man and are preoccupied with what others think of them won't be able to work through their own mental block. "How can a gay gun make me look like a baller?" Gun violence ends overnight. The nation heals.
Of course, this will only work so long as the most ignorant among us continue to hate the gays. If they do become more accepting, we could go back to ridiculous levels of gun violence.
Why men's rights advocates feel creepy
People are assholes in general. Therefore it stands to reason we'll get them in male and female flavors. And we certainly have evidence of that. Just read the police blotter and you'll see there are many angry and crazy women to go with the angry and crazy men.
And yes, there is a measure of blindness in society towards this sort of thing, assuming a man can defend himself or that he had it coming.
But even while admitting that, the self-identified MRA's seem to have a bigger chip on their shoulders and it always seems to go beyond an accurate description of the problem to a paranoid nightmare view of reality with gynocratic dictators persecuting innocent men.
I get the same vibes when social program faults are criticized from the right. I want reform of abuse and they say they want the same but their version of reform is repeal. You can't abuse a system that ain't there!
Back when an MRA leader self-immolated outside a courthouse there were links to subculture forums and their view of things was pretty eye-opening. It reminded me of the same sort of paranoid ideation of the winger sites, just swap out the bugbear for your favorite threat. Jews, blacks, illegals, liberals, gays, it all seems interchangeable.
It basically feels like an elaborate rationalization to avoid accepting blame. Is it likelier everyone else in the world has a problem or just me? Let's go with the rest of the world.
I'm ready for my McCarthy moment now
I keep waiting for us to have the "no shame" McCarthy moment. And waiting. And waiting. Every time they have a crowning moment of stupid I'm thinking "Maybe this is it, maybe this is the one!" And things continue as normal.
Wouldn't it be great if Democrats set the national talking points?
I am goddamn sick of stupid fucking bullshit getting turned into national talking points by the goddamn motherfucking Republican motherfuckers. Republicans gin up a controversy out of sawdust and fog, the fucking media takes the threat seriously and Democrats then play-act like they have to take Republican concerns seriously. It's no different from a goddamn child bawling about the monster under the bed, mom credulously believes it's there and dad is left trying to prove a negative. "I can't see a monster there, it's not there." No, that just means it's really good at hiding! "There's no monster there." That's what a monster sympathizer would say!
We always let the Republicans make the first move. So, is this like Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby, is this rope-a-dope? The story on the 2012 campaign is that Obama created an opportunity for the Republicans to fuck themselves by letting the crazies set the agenda. Rush Limbaugh talking points led the news cycle and so we got top stories of slut shaming, denying contraception, rape apologies, and immigrant-bashing. Romney was correct in that he would only get 47% of the vote but he mobilized the other 53% against him.
This gave Obama a victory, ok. But what's he going to do with it? We aren't talking about climate change, technological unemployment, resource depletion, and any of the big, serious issues that face us. Are the rights of gays and women and minorities unimportant? No. But at the same time, there are bigger issues at hand. Does it really matter if gays are allowed to marry if there's no food to eat? Does it really matter if women have to be paid the same as men if the jobs are still paying shit wages? Hell, if there are even jobs?
I want to see Obama get his baseball bat and tell the GOP how it's gonna be.
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I want to see Democrats setting the agenda for a change. I want internal reformers to say fuck the oligarchs, fuck the banks, fuck Wall Street, we're representing the people. Get on the bus or get under it.
This isn't going to happen, of course, which is why I'm so upset.
The newer, friendlier, nicer Republican party (if they manage to rebrand)
So, we've got the nutters doubling-down on the old strategy (god, guns, capitalism, brown people are scary!) and alleged party moderates trying to say "Hold on, now, we're going to have to reform."
Don't trust them.
It's not like we're talking about an aesthetic question like whether folk should remain acoustic or go electric, it's not like a professional preferring a certain toolset for a number of years and finally coming around to seeing the wisdom of the new-fangled way of doing things, coming onboard. It's not like someone growing up in a bigoted environment and giving up those beliefs due to life experience and coming to see the error of his ways. These people were drinking the kool-aid the week before.
Not to go all Godwin but this is like denazification after WWII. Party membership was required. I'm not going to fault the police chief for wearing the armband and shouting the slogans. I am going to fault him for going along with rounding up the Jews. I'm not going to fault the factory worker for taking part in the war machine but I will fault the industrialist who helped put Hitler in power in the first place, those who enthusiastically cooperated with the Reich and reaped the benefits.
You can at least respect the consistency of a fanatical true believer, the brutal honesty. Of course, the only good thing you can find to say about them is also the reason why they need killing, because they will never surrender, will never see reason, will use their dying breath to spit at you. You can't even say that much about the converts. These assholes were willing to follow the party line set by the true believers, the hardliners, the fanatics, but the moment the winds change they're willing to pretend they've come to reason. If they had any reason, if they had any principle, they never would have sided with such monsters. And we're talking America, not Nazi Germany. You might risk your political career telling Grover Norquist to go fuck himself but you won't be risking your life.
So, Jindal, you're willing to admit your party is full of shit? Fine. Leave public life in shame. Hughes, you knew the kind of misogynists you were getting in bed with from the start, don't act so surprised and outraged by all the rape talk. Frum, you cut your ties far enough back and have taken enough shit from them, at least you've shown you have some integrity. You're welcomed back to humanity on a probational basis.
FU GOP nominations
Double down, give GOP middle finger. Their tears are sweet as the finest mead.
Warren: get her on banking committee, threaten quisling dems with waterboarding if they cave.
Bill Clinton: Get him doing something official, what I don't know. Secretary of Explaining Shit?
Michael Moore: Team him up with the guy who did the documentary Fat, Sick, Nearly Dead, get him on a juice fast and down to a healthy weight, Surgeon General's point man on fighting obesity. Conservatives hate anything Michael Moore, plus we keep him healthy enough to make more films. How is this not a double-win?
Elliot Spitzer: Special Prosecutor, go after the banks that burned him on the prostitution angle. Yeah, like you don't already know that was a special FU just for him.
Elon Musk: Special Adviser on Science
I figure we could also pick from the people in this book who are still alive --
http://www.amazon.com/100-People-Who-Screwing-America/dp/0061126535
Angry conservative troll yelling at clouds.
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Member since: Fri May 5, 2006, 06:55 PMNumber of posts: 1,941
