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

FyodorDose Since: Mar, 2018
#240176: Apr 28th 2018 at 8:11:55 AM

I highly recommend you guys get firearm training and learn how to carry a weapon, if you live in the US. Being self-aware and responsible, as well as having the tools and knowledge to defend yourself is very liberating and also just something you should know. You shouldn't have to rely solely on an outside force for your protection, especially given how incompetent and honestly pretty racist American police can be.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#240177: Apr 28th 2018 at 8:12:53 AM

[up] Stop trying to proselytize about how awesome guns are. This is not the thread for it.

edited 28th Apr '18 8:13:26 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
Steven (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#240178: Apr 28th 2018 at 8:23:51 AM

[up][up] What the hell?

Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#240179: Apr 28th 2018 at 8:30:53 AM

[up][up][up]No. Thank you. We don't need any more Good Guys With Guns running around willy-nilly, thank you very much.

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#240180: Apr 28th 2018 at 8:35:45 AM

[up][up][up][up][up]

Well that was a hell of a non-sequitur. Also, that depends entirely on where you live and the layout of your home. I live roughly 3 miles from a State police barracks, and my home is cozy enough that a baseball bat would serve me far better than a gun would in home defense.

edited 28th Apr '18 9:10:46 AM by ironballs16

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#240181: Apr 28th 2018 at 10:57:39 AM

As much as I enjoy studying, watching, handling and looking at guns, I'm very well aware of the damage they can do.

Honestly, guns in home defense are a deterrent, not your first option. They're better off being your very last, and there's much more effective non-lethal options out there.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#240182: Apr 28th 2018 at 11:01:47 AM

I’m not quite sure what was said, but anyone who wants to keep a gun in their home should remember that the risk of accidental death almost triples in gun owning households. Suicide and homicide risks go up significantly as well. If you buy a gun your chances of getting shot go way up.

They should have sent a poet.
Coleman Since: May, 2016
#240183: Apr 28th 2018 at 11:02:20 AM

Besides you always have pepper spray or the environment around you to act as a deterrent.

Hi
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#240184: Apr 28th 2018 at 11:42:37 AM

[up][up]

Also, guns should really be seriously treated as weapons and not as something to be left lying around. Store them very securely.

[up]

Yes, those help.

edited 28th Apr '18 11:42:51 AM by TheWildWestPyro

Fighteer MOD Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#240185: Apr 28th 2018 at 11:51:07 AM

I thumped that post for being off-topic (and dumb), and apparently that was taken as a hint to ramble on about guns for half a page? I don't get you guys.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#240186: Apr 28th 2018 at 11:58:20 AM

OK, OK, we'll stop too.

Back on topic: it appears that Trump does not grasp what the midterm is going to look like for Republicans.

edited 28th Apr '18 11:59:01 AM by TheWildWestPyro

tricksterson Never Trust from Behind you with an icepick Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Never Trust
#240187: Apr 28th 2018 at 1:19:38 PM

Hardly surprising. His thinking is that he doesn't want it to happen therefore it won't. And if it does its will be everybody's fault but his. If, and I still think it's a bigger if than most people here, the Democrats win either the House or Senate, much less both, expect calls for investigations into "voter fraud" and holding up seating any Democrats until those investigations are completed.

Trump delenda est
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#240188: Apr 28th 2018 at 1:20:58 PM

[up][up]As I've said it before but I'm fairly confident that the Republicans will eventually curse the fact that Donald Trump won the election, the damage he can cause them is rather incalculable.

[up]That's not something he can do, he'll absolutely make excuses about it but he simply doesn't have the power to stop duly elected officials from taking their rightful positions.

edited 28th Apr '18 1:21:57 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#240189: Apr 28th 2018 at 1:52:42 PM

The loss of the House ends Trump's legislative agenda for at least 2 years (and for fuck's sake I hope its all over by 2020), while taking the Senate stops the bleeding on the Supreme Court and the worst of his appointments. Any reasonable person would be concerned with this, oh wait...

edited 28th Apr '18 1:54:31 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#240190: Apr 28th 2018 at 1:57:31 PM

If the Democrats take Congress I see three possible results.

1. Trump's agenda is defacto dead in the water reducing him to a lameduck President that is likely voted out come 2020.

2. The Democrats gain enough votes to impeach and remove Trump, if this happens then a Democratic victory come 2020 is pretty much guaranteed and whomever holds the position as President will just be a lameduck.

3. The Democrats stop Trump's agenda which causes him to feel more and more pressure until in frustration he resigns and bitterly complains about the deep state hijacking his Presidency.

I think #1 is the most likely one but I wouldn't dismiss either #2 or #3.

edited 28th Apr '18 1:57:41 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#240191: Apr 28th 2018 at 2:06:29 PM

[up]#2 doesn't happen unless a substantial number of Republican Senators play ball, which won't happen barring (maybe) a truly massive escalation of one or more of his scandals.

I suspect it will be a mix of #1 and #3, though I doubt he'd ever resign unless he's facing imminent impeachment or the indictment of his inner circle (and possibly himself for State level charges).

edited 28th Apr '18 2:16:45 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240192: Apr 28th 2018 at 2:12:19 PM

Mind you, Trump's actions have far far exceeded Watergate.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#240193: Apr 28th 2018 at 2:18:19 PM

[up]That's true. But its also true that partisanship (especially on the right) is far more prevalent now than it was in the 70s. Furthermore, the GOP back then could (and did) live without Nixon, the modern GOP's fate is tied to Trump in at least the short-medium term (which is all they ever account for).

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Gilphon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#240194: Apr 28th 2018 at 2:32:36 PM

I could see a decent number of Republicans playing ball with impeachment, if they take enough of a beating in 2018; the ones up for re-election in 2020 are not going to want to share a ballot with a liability like that.

Though the Prisoner's dilemma they'd find themselves in is that while they'd want him to be impeached, they wouldn't want to have to justify voting for impeachment to Trump's base.

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#240195: Apr 28th 2018 at 3:01:46 PM

Whether Trump can win reelection in 2020 depends almost entirely on how well the economy is doing. The mainstream Republican party may be in greater jeapardy than he is.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#240196: Apr 28th 2018 at 3:05:44 PM

I'm not sure if I'd say Trump has exceeded Watergate. He's certainly trying his best to though.

They should have sent a poet.
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240197: Apr 28th 2018 at 3:07:35 PM

I imagine it'll be harder for him to get reelected in 2020, between Democratic backlash and dissatisfied Republicans. And 2016 was only with the Electoral College - he lost the popular vote.

And I doubt his behavior on trade wars and the tax cut will help the economy.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#240198: Apr 28th 2018 at 4:02:26 PM

[up][up] I know the basics of Watergate, but I'm not that clear on a lot of the details.

I know it was more than what most people think it was though.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240199: Apr 28th 2018 at 4:14:33 PM

Watergate was Nixon ordering a bunch of his cronies to break into the Democratic Party Headquarters to find dirt or information they could use in the coming election then lying about it and doing his best to cover it up. During the process, it was also discovered he'd used his authority to go after a lot of political "enemies" and bug rivals.

I think Trump is a bigger deal because while this is certainly illegal and pathetic, it doesn't necessarily involve cooperating with a foreign power to fix an election.

edited 28th Apr '18 4:16:11 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#240200: Apr 28th 2018 at 4:17:45 PM

Actually, the most serious charges against Nixon involved financial kickbacks from certain businesses.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.

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