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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
While I agree that that the idea that Obama faced no obstacles when he had the majority Congress to be inaccurate, Obama undoubtedly could have done more.
If I had to point out his biggest flaw, it was that he did exactly what Clinton did in 1993; try to be bi-partisan and get both parties to work together. And like Clinton it bit him in the ass.
In fairness, your views don't reflect the majority of people who call themselves Pro-Gun control. When a lot of people in your camp are calling for gun bans, don't be surprised that people assume you share the majority's position.
edited 19th Dec '12 12:30:36 AM by DeviantBraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016If I understood correctly, the problem with gun-free zones is that they're not enforced. They need people to enforce it and make sure no one can enter armed. These people must be armed themselves (and thus, stand guard in front of the door if we don't want to be hypocritical).
Also, arming teachers will just make the killers Shoot The Teacher First. The killer will always have the initiative unless the alarm can be raised before he kicks open the classroom door.
edited 19th Dec '12 2:41:44 AM by Medinoc
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."A lot of you are confusing the NRA for the GOA. The NRA, while also a lobbying group, runs firearms training classes, teaches Eddie Eagle classes at elementary schools (stop, don't touch. leave the area, tell an adult), and advocates responsible gun ownership.
GOA is the one that wants to arm everyone.
By centrist standards, both groups are batshit crazy. It's only by our crazy American standards that an organization like the NRA can be seen as reasonable and rational.
While one cannot necessarily ascribe causation to any particular factor, taken in aggregate, the United States is pretty fucked up in the head. For example, take a look at gun-death rates per capita
— we're #12 overall and #1 among First World nations. We also have some of the most lax gun control laws, the most conservative politics, the worst education, the worst medical and mental health care, and the highest poverty rates among first world countries.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that these things are related.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Hmm. I stand disappointed by Obama. His only possible defence for negotiating with the Republicans would be in an expectation that the Tea Party wing and the Norquist devotees revolt over even the slightest tax increase, allowing him to go over the cliff with a crippled Boehner and a weakened Republican opposition. And I don't like even that. Risking the country to sabotage the opposition is something the other guys do, Mr. President.
Hopefully Reid puts the brakes on this compromise.
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.Tell me about it.
We were dysfunctional before, but nowadays I look around and see a country which produces nothing except ax murderers with no vocation or self respect. And squeezes every red cent out of its citizens for services which ought to be government funded.
edited 19th Dec '12 8:12:24 AM by johnnyfog
I'm a skeptical squirrelLet's be fair. Most people are normal and reasonably ethical. It's the ones who aren't that cause most of the problems, however, and we lack effective strategies to deal with them. A major reason why we lack those strategies is reactionary elements of society insisting that government only work on behalf of the wealthy and the "morally sound" - by which they mean evangelical Christians.
edited 19th Dec '12 9:07:39 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Well, the religion is a side-effect of hypercapitalism. Come to think of it, I think this is why so many of those activist pizza moguls are evangelicals or Catholics or mormons.
You would think, as cutthroat businessmen, they would be generally agnostic and fatalist. But maybe they can't cope without some kind of rationale. It's like Sir Charles Trevelyan claiming that the Great Famine was meant to teach the Irish a lesson.
I'm a skeptical squirrelhuh. Robert Bork has died: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/judge-robert-h-bork-conservative-icon/2012/12/19/49453de4-c5da-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html
so in interesting political effects of the Sandy Hook shootings, apparently theres record breaking amounts of gun owners giving up their guns voluntarily at gun buyback programs.
That, and even simple things like transportation in the big cities. Here, we're about to have another 25 cent hike (3 bucks), and come next year there will be an identical hike. That's what was on my mind when I mentioned it.*
edited 19th Dec '12 10:54:36 AM by johnnyfog
I'm a skeptical squirrelIs it just me or has the last 70 years of American history shown a pattern where the rich and wealthy regretted letting to much wealth flow to the middle class with postwar stimulus policies like the GI bill, and dedicated tons of effort to undoing that?
I'm reminded of Romney's "borrow tuition costs from your parents" line during the campaign and this utter fixation on always cutting, always "balancing" Social Security instead of giving it what it needs to fund itself and then leaving it alone. It's like they felt the middle class sponge was too saturated at the end of the 50s and have dedicated decades to squeezing it dry so that this middle class generation will be the last in America.
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.You are not making that up. In fact, the movement really got started in the 1970's, when the wealthy class noted that the general public had largely forgotten the lessons of the Great Depression and began sneaking in policies designed to increase their share of income. The rest of our current situation can be demonstrated to have snowballed from there.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

I must say, It's really annoying how whenever you say you're for gun control in the us the kneejerk reaction is "THEY WANNA TAKE MAH GUNNNNNNNNNNNS!!!!!!"
When I really want them to just be as regulated as Cars, mandatory annual inspections, Easily identifiable tagging tied to a specific owner, a slightly rigorous written and practical test, Mandatory background check (so this part I added in), etc.
edited 19th Dec '12 12:18:16 AM by Lanceleoghauni
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