School Shooting

[Felch]

Kindly back this up with data of significant election fraud in the U.S.

I wasn't saying that there was significant election fraud in the U.S. Election fraud happens elsewhere, but it could happen here.

[Dauphin]

I wasn't saying home made ammo or guns are dangerous (they may be, I don't know guns), I was saying home made bombs are not a good idea. By extension, Just because you can, doesn't mean it should be legal to do.

[MichaeltheGreat]

By "gun ownership has increased" I mean that more distinct individuals as a proportion of the population possess firearms now as opposed to ten years ago.

The awesome thing about Oerdin's posts is that you don't have to actually read them; they're just guaranteed to be wrong. Well that's one awesome part. The other awesome part is that literally everything has something to do with right wing crazies of some kind in his mind. Like, they are responsible for everything. It's as if Oerdin never stops thinking about politics, and his partisanship dominates every single issue that crosses his mind.

Well, for the most part, right wing crazies (and left wing crazies) are behind most of what's ****ed up in this country. Also, there's two sets of numbers in play - households owning guns has gone up in the last two years, but against a background of declines, and it's also a typical pattern that gun ownership has gone up in times of extended economic uncertainty. The other side of the coin is where are the sales that drive strategic and marketing policy for gun makers? That is not in expanding households that have a gun for protection - that is in the hard core, "Gummint gon' steal mah gunz, new-world-order-UN-one-world-gummint-FROM-MAH-COALD-DED-HANDZ!!!" spooge-stained American Rifleman magazine crowd. That's where the money is, which is why good ol' "Bushmaster" ran a whole marketing campaign around "manhood" that was so insulting to their customer base that their customers should have shot the **** out of Bushmaster's corporate HQ and told them to shove their products where the sun don't shine.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2012/12/22/bushmaster-man-card-ads-consider-your-decency-card-revoked/yKG9EzARhbjCvKFn4Hg40I/story.html

[MichaeltheGreat]

[QUOTE=Felch;6183032]So election fraud doesn't exist in your world either? Just how naive are you?[quote]

Election fraud is primarily a myth cited by sore losers to try to litigate the result they failed to obtain at the ballot.

You seriously think there's widespread support for secession? I guess American jokes become British news. Might explain your warped perception of my country.

I'd like to see a few states secede.

[Felch]

Now, to be fair, there is election fraud in the world. There are dictators out there who go through the motions of an election, and then somehow wind up winning with 100.3% of the vote. I wasn't saying that election fraud is a serious problem in the United States, I was pointing out one of the weaknesses of democratic systems. Ballots can be tampered with. But when ballots fail, bullets prevail.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Now, to be fair, there is election fraud in the world. There are dictators out there who go through the motions of an election, and then somehow wind up winning with 100.3% of the vote. I wasn't saying that election fraud is a serious problem in the United States, I was pointing out one of the weaknesses of democratic systems. Ballots can be tampered with. But when ballots fail, bullets prevail.

However, nobody is fooled - like Ferdinand Marcos, the old Soviet "elections" - everyone involved knows they're a sham. Those weren't democratic systems. It's not bullets that prevail, it's hungry stomachs. People who are comfortable don't lead rebellions. A smart dictator allows just enough prosperity to spread to enough of the populace that people think they have more to lose than they do to gain if they go against the dictator.

[regexcellent]

A few days late but relevant to the Christmas season and also the Newtown shooting.

Spoiler:

Yeah yeah I'm going to hell

[kentonio]

Stay classy gun advocates..

Gun Advocates Reportedly Planning 'Appreciation Day' At Newtown Starbucks

Gun advocates are reportedly set to hold a "Starbucks Appreciation Day" at an establishment in Newtown, Conn., to celebrate the ability to carry weapons in the store. Gun control groups have vehemently criticized the event as "reprehensible."

NBC affiliate WVIT reported that gun rights advocates are using Facebook to rally supporters to head to Starbucks stores across the nation Friday to celebrate the coffee chain's open policy on carrying weapons. The company doesn't prohibit customers from openly carrying guns in states where it is legal. The "Starbucks appreciation day" Facebook page says they want to thank Starbucks for standing up for the right to bear arms.

One post by a Ridgefield, Conn., resident on the "CT Open Carry" page caught some attention. The resident said he and some members from the Connecticut Citizens Defense League were going to meet Friday evening at the Starbucks at 34 Church Hill Road in Newtown, the town where 26 people were killed in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year. (The Hartford Courant has a screengrab of the post, which appears to have been taken down.)

The Newtown Action Alliance, a group set up in the wake of the Dec. 14 tragedy, responded by calling the plans "reprehensible."

"Our community is still healing and we find it reprehensible that they are picking Newtown to rally," David Ackert, a spokesman for the group, told WVIT. "It is disturbing to think that tomorrow night you and your children may be sitting in Starbucks when people carrying guns walk through the door."

The group also posted a statement on its Facebook page Thursday:

We wonder why it isn't okay to appreciate Starbucks at the same time appreciate the sensitive nature of the gesture in our neighborhood half a year after our community was ravaged by #gunviolence. There are 5 other Starbucks locations within about 15 miles of ours to choose from.

Starbucks spokesman Danny Cowan told Newtown Patch that the company does not endorse the event.

"Our stores are gathering places for the communities we serve," he said in a statement. "We respect the diversity of our customers. We realize there are deep-standing passions on gun ownership. We abide by the laws that permit open carry. However, where those laws do not exist, open carry in Starbucks in prohibited ... We encourage both customers and advocacy groups on both sides to share their input with their public officials. We are extremely sensitive to the issue of gun violence in our society, and we believe by supporting local laws is the best way for us to provide a safe environment for both our partners and customers."

The local Starbucks store could not immediately be reached for comment.

This is not the first time such a campaign has been planned. In February, more than 1,000 gun enthusiasts joined a Facebook event page for "Gun Owners Support Starbucks" Day. Advocacy group Moms Demand Action and others have asked Starbucks to change its policy and ban guns in all store locations.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...usaolp00000003

[PLATO]

People's rights are sometimes hard for others to accept.

Still, I think this is a very poor choice of places to exercise those rights.

[kentonio]

Westboro have the 'right' (in your country) to do what they do, but when they picket the first thing that comes to mind isn't usually 'People's rights are sometimes hard for others to accept'. I just don't understand what the **** gets into people's heads when they even think of things like this. How the hell can people put something like this ahead of the feelings of a bunch of parents whose kids were murdered just last year? Especially as there's no goddamn point to it! There isn't some huge movement to outlaw guns that requires gun owners to get out and protest. This is just utterly repulsive and foul.

[PLATO]

Westboro have the 'right' (in your country) to do what they do, but when they picket the first thing that comes to mind isn't usually 'People's rights are sometimes hard for others to accept'. I just don't understand what the **** gets into people's heads when they even think of things like this. How the hell can people put something like this ahead of the feelings of a bunch of parents whose kids were murdered just last year? Especially as there's no goddamn point to it! There isn't some huge movement to outlaw guns that requires gun owners to get out and protest. This is just utterly repulsive and foul.

I agree totally...hence why I said it was a very poor choice. The fact remains that they and the Westboro folks do have the right to do what they do. It is very sad that some exercise their rights in a way that is designed to cause harm to others. Repulsive and Foul is probably not even strong enough to describe what both of them do.

[The Mad Monk]

Sandy Hook Bell Stolen Hours After Opening Of Playground
September 30, 2013 12:56 PM


ISLAND PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Police say a bell dedicated to those who died in Connecticut’s Sandy Hook school massacre has vanished just hours after it was placed at a newly built playground.

Nassau County police say the 8-inch by 8-inch brass bell was discovered missing around 1 p.m. Sunday from the playground in Island Park. It was last seen around 9 p.m. Saturday.

That’s the day community completed a two-day effort to construct the playground. It is one of 26 dedicated to the 20 children and six educators killed in the December 2012 massacre in Newtown, Conn. The playgrounds are being built throughout the region in tribute.

The bell’s inscription says: “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.”

Detectives ask anyone with information to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2013/09/30/sandy-hook-bell-stolen-hours-after-opening-of-playground/

[DaShi]

Hopefully they will replace it with something less corny.

[SlowwHand]

Like what? A .45 in a case that says "Break Glass In Case Of Emergency"?

[Uncle Sparky]

Since it was a brass bell, real patriots have probably melted it down to make bullets.