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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#253226: Aug 27th 2018 at 6:55:48 AM

The Devil's Advocate argument is that suicidal individuals will find a way to kill themselves with whatever comes to hand: guns merely make it easier. This is why we need more epidemiological studies of suicide rates compared to gun ownership... if the government weren't banned from conducting them.

Edited by Fighteer on Aug 27th 2018 at 9:55:41 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#253227: Aug 27th 2018 at 6:56:35 AM

[up] We need more research on Gun Violence in general, including suicide.

Edited by megaeliz on Aug 27th 2018 at 10:00:32 AM

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#253228: Aug 27th 2018 at 6:57:58 AM

[up][up]That argument fundamentally misunderstands the mindset behind suicide, people don't engage in it because they want to die. They engage in it because it seems like the least awful choice, thus anything that stands in the way of it will reduce suicide rates because it's an intrinsically reluctant act.

But yes I agree that more research would be better regardless, it is deeply offensive and vile that there is a embargo on research for it.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Aug 27th 2018 at 10:00:22 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#253229: Aug 27th 2018 at 7:01:04 AM

There's a reason having guards and nets on bridges — heck, any minor obstacle to suicide really — seems to prevent suicides. A lot of times, that extra last minute hesitation caused by even the smallest obstacle is all it takes to get some people to decide not to go through with the suicide.

That's why a gun may be a suicide risk — it's a quick and easy method. But we probably need more indepth studies about this to confirm it. Studies which we are not allowed to do.

Edited by M84 on Aug 27th 2018 at 10:04:23 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#253230: Aug 27th 2018 at 7:28:05 AM

I have read in the past that the reason men, despite being less likely than women to attempt suicide, have a higher rate of actual suicide deaths is because men are more likely to use a gun to do it.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Aug 27th 2018 at 8:30:06 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#253231: Aug 27th 2018 at 7:32:50 AM

[up][up]Australia cut its suicide rate considerably when it put its buy-back scheme into action and reduced gun ownership in both rural and urban areas. <shrugs> I cannot remember the statistics off the top of my head, but I'm sure their studies are available, if anybody cares to dig even shallowly.

America is only unique in that it refuses to look enough to change towards what other people consider normal gun ownership and attitudes.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#253232: Aug 27th 2018 at 7:47:36 AM

That this mass shooting is the gun equivalent of a childish tantrum that happens when a gun-wielder decides to be a Sore Loser about a mere video game match?!
Yeah, pretty much. TBH, this describes a lot of shootings, only the trigger event for the shooting is slightly different, such as being turned down for a date or being oppressed by someone's existance.
I might not like Mc Cain, but he truly doesn't deserve that Trump turns up in order to make his funeral all about himself.
Pretty much my opinion. I already saw a headline that Trump didn't want to make a statement about his death at all.
Pretty much the people who have it out for videogames, or really whatever form of media they want to target, aren't going to be concerned with trivial details like that.
Forty years ago, television was blamed for all kinds of children's problemsnote . Now it's video games. In 40 years, it'll be adaptive VR or radioactive giant cockroaches.
The Republicans are terrified about the midterms.
Good.
The Devil's Advocate argument is that suicidal individuals will find a way to kill themselves with whatever comes to hand: guns merely make it easier.
But making it harder will, and does, decrease the amount of suicides. The severe depression that usually goes with suicidal tendencies makes it really hard for people to put in more effort for something; a gun suicide is simple and easy and rarely fails, and that's what makes it attractive. The problem isn't just getting past the 2nd Amendment, you also have to fight the very American idea that as an individual you're entitled to make your own decisions and have "maximum freedom", which I think contributes greatly to why it's often so difficult for suicidal people to get help.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#253233: Aug 27th 2018 at 7:56:26 AM

The problem isn't just getting past the 2nd Amendment, you also have to fight the very American idea that as an individual you're entitled to make your own decisions and have "maximum freedom", which I think contributes greatly to why it's often so difficult for suicidal people to get help.

Indeed — our culture very much promotes the idea that mental health is a matter of willpower and personal moral worth, and it's a failure to ask for help rather than "tough it out". FYI: I'm not sold on the argument I mentioned, just noting that it's an obstacle we have to face.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#253234: Aug 27th 2018 at 7:57:08 AM

The Republicans are terrified about the midterms.

Hopefully, those Democratic voters that complain the Democrats aren't doing enough, will see this list and realise they need to vote if they want the Democrats to do these things.

The question, however, is whether this spreadsheet was leaked with the hope of galvanising Republican voters to get out and vote to prevent this list from coming to pass.

I therefore assume that both the Republicans and Democrats are hoping their voters will be motivated by the list and that independents will vote for them (either because they want the list or want it opposed).

I wonder, however, whether it will have any effect at all.

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#253235: Aug 27th 2018 at 8:01:54 AM

"Vote for us or the Democrats will come after us for all the horrible and criminal things that the White House has done" doesn't sound like a very compelling argument.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#253236: Aug 27th 2018 at 8:05:02 AM

However, "DEMOCRATS BAD!!!!!" so it'll probably work to some extent.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#253237: Aug 27th 2018 at 8:12:34 AM

"Vote for us or the Democrats will come after us for all the horrible and criminal things that the White House has done" doesn't sound like a very compelling argument.
Faux News could use that verbatim and probably get more Republican voters to the polls.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#253238: Aug 27th 2018 at 8:54:45 AM

Amusingly, while Braggging about his approval rating from a poll on Twitter, he quoted his overall disapproval rating instead.

Over 90% approval rating for your all time favorite (I hope) President within the Republican Party and 52% overall. This despite all of the made up stories by the Fake News Media trying endlessly to make me look as bad and evil as possible. Look at the real villains please!

His actual overall approval rating is around 44 percent, and a disapproval rating of 52.

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#253239: Aug 27th 2018 at 9:25:06 AM

No talk about the new trade deal with Mexico?

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#253240: Aug 27th 2018 at 9:25:54 AM

Fake News was what I was thinking, yes.

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#253241: Aug 27th 2018 at 9:30:35 AM

If the Mexicans actually decided to become a US tributary....

I think the more likely situation is that the US and Mexico reached agreements on their bilateral NAFTA issues (things that don't involve Canada), paving the way for further talks.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Reflextion from a post-sanity world (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
#253242: Aug 27th 2018 at 9:31:40 AM

[up]x5-7 Although the propaganda would probably be more like "Vote for us so that the Demo(n)crats can't dismantle our government and our FREEDOM by coming after our FREELY AND LEGITIMATELY ELECTED OFFICIALS with this witch hunt!"

EDIT: [nja][nja][nja]

Edited by Reflextion on Aug 27th 2018 at 12:32:10 PM

Someone did tell me life was going to be this way.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#253243: Aug 27th 2018 at 10:02:26 AM

Trump doesn't even want Puerto Rico, let alone Mexico, as a part of the US hegemon.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#253244: Aug 27th 2018 at 10:10:03 AM

"U.S., Mexico reach NAFTA deal as pressure turns to Canada" - http://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta/u-s-mexico-reach-nafta-deal-as-pressure-turns-to-canada-idUSKCN1LC1E7

Also, from What The Fuck Just Happened Today:
Week of Aug 19 - 25: What We Learned in the Russia Probe

Edited by sgamer82 on Aug 27th 2018 at 11:13:12 AM

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#253245: Aug 27th 2018 at 10:17:47 AM

A couple of minutes ago, Trump tweeted this:

Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona is doing a great job. It would be really nice to show your support tomorrow by voting for him in Tuesdays Primary. Doug is strong on Crime, the Border, and our Second Amendment. Loves our Military & our Vets. He has my full and complete Endorsement.

Meanwhile, this is going on:

Flags at White House return to full-staff after brief tribute to McCain

After flying at half-staff for barely a day in tribute to Sen. John Mc Cain (R-Ariz.), U.S. flags at the White House and many other federal properties were raised Monday morning over the wishes of congressional leaders from both parties.

The flags at the White House were lowered Saturday night after Mc Cain’s death from brain cancer, but in a break with precedent, Trump did not issue a proclamation for them to remain there beyond the minimum period the law requires when a senator dies.

The move prompted fierce criticism from a leading veterans group and others who saw it as another slight from President Trump, who acknowledged Mc Cain’s death in a tweet on Saturday but did not issue a formal statement.

“By lowering flags for not one second more than the bare minimum required by law, despite a long-standing tradition of lowering flags until the funeral, the White House is openly showcasing its blatant disrespect for Senator Mc Cain’s many decades of service and sacrifice to our country as well as the service of all his fellow veterans,” AMVETS national executive director Joe Chenelly said in a statement.

U.S. code calls for flags to be lowered in the event of the death of a member of Congress “on the day of death and the following day.” But presidents have the power to issue proclamations extending that period and have done so routinely.

In a tweet Monday morning, Matt House, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), said that he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc Connell (R-Ky.) had asked the Department of Defense to “provide necessary support so that U.S. flags on all government buildings remain at half mast through sunset on the day of Senator Mc Cain’s interment.”

David Popp, a spokesman for Mc Connell, confirmed his involvement, saying it was a standard request when a senator dies.

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss called the return of flags to full-staff at the White House “sickening” during an appearance on MSNBC. Conservative commentator Bill Kristol, meanwhile, wrote on Twitter: “The White House is now an island of bitterness and resentment in a nation united in respect and appreciation.” Others on Twitter responded using the hashtag #No Respect.

Edited by Wyldchyld on Aug 27th 2018 at 6:30:09 PM

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#253246: Aug 27th 2018 at 10:46:16 AM

Told you that Trump will find a way to shit all over McCain's death without being there in person.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#253247: Aug 27th 2018 at 10:56:46 AM

Looks like none of the Arizona candidates are handling the McCain situation well.

Kelli Ward said McCain announcement about ending treatment was timed to hurt her campaign

Kelli Ward, a former state senator who has courted the far-right during her campaign, suggested on Facebook Saturday that Mc Cain's family released its statement saying the senator was ending medical treatment for brain cancer was timed to hurt her chances of winning Tuesday's primary. Ward staffer Jonathan Williams posted that he wondered whether Mc Cain's statement was released "to take media attention off" Ward's campaign, which was beginning a statewide bus tour. "I'm not saying it was on purpose but it's quite interesting," Williams wrote.

"I think they wanted to have a particular narrative that they hope is negative to me," Ward responded, according to a screenshot posted by the The Arizona Republic.

The news broke that Mc Cain had died hours after Ward's comment. Ward's campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the Facebook post. On Monday, less than two days after Mc Cain died of brain cancer, Ward tweeted, "Political correctness is like a cancer!"

Mc Sally, the Republican establishment's preference in the race, has mostly remained silent on Mc Cain during the primary. But Mc Sally's omission of Mc Cain's name when touting her support for the National Defense Authorization Act, which was named in Mc Cain's honor, when Mc Sally joined Trump at a signing ceremony at Fort Drum in New York, angered Mc Cain's daughter Meghan Mc Cain.

Arpaio, who was pardoned by Trump last year after being convicted of criminal contempt related to his hardline immigration tactics, complained in a since-deleted tweet on Friday that Cindy Mc Cain had blocked him on Twitter.

"I tweeted out my thoughts & prayers for" Mc Cain, his campaign account tweeted, and Cindy "BLOCKS me on twitter?"

Arpaio tagged Trump and several news outlets in the tweet.

Edited by Wyldchyld on Aug 27th 2018 at 6:59:26 PM

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#253248: Aug 27th 2018 at 10:57:35 AM

We all knew he would do that,he's that predictable

[up][up]

Edited by Ultimatum on Aug 27th 2018 at 5:57:42 PM

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#253249: Aug 27th 2018 at 11:02:38 AM

With Mc Cain out of the picture and Flake following him next year (they weren't/aren't great politicians by any extent, but they were far from the worst), the old saying that you can't spell crazy without R-AZ is becoming an outright fact.

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Aug 27th 2018 at 3:05:28 PM

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#253250: Aug 27th 2018 at 12:39:03 PM

Even worse than that regarding the flags - at work, I got an email directing us to put it at half-staff, then an hour later another one notifying us that the order had been cancelled.

Seriously, fuck Trump and every ounce of malice he has, from the big stuff to the petty.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"

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