Hixter
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Posts posted by Hixter
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Reading your posts I have no idea actually where you stand on gun violence (not that killing people is ok, but if we should actually do anything about it.)
Can't believe that I even have to say this, but you can rest assured that I am against gun violence and I understand that it is a problem.
For the record, I'm also against kicking puppies and slapping babies.
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While admittedly the cultural context around gun usage is different in every country, we have no choice but to look at the dynamics. The most important observable dynamic in gun measures is change. Where were they before, and how did they change. While we can't expect our outcomes, or circumstances to be exactly the same, we can, look at commonalities between measures nations have taken, that have proven their efficacy statistically.
The article posted earlier pointed to a decrease in gun murders in Brazil after gun registration was mandated a decade ago, but now their gun murders are at an all-time high and the majority of guns haven't been registered. In the United States, the number of guns and concealed handgun license holders have skyrocketed, but our murder rate has declined, so I'm not sure that anything has had its efficacy proven statistically.
You know what reduces the murder rate? Effective, proactive policing. Early signs are that the fallout over cop vs. civilian shootings in this country has resulted in less aggressive policing and a resulting rise in shootings in the affected areas.
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I watched him in Beneath the Planet of the Apes yesterday afternoon. I strongly support removing guns from the hands of chimps, gorillas and orangutans.
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This is why that argument is pretty much bullshit.
That article doesn't prove or disprove a thing. First of all, comparing one country to another is useless. And that supposed downtick in gun deaths in Brazil after gun control was enacted? How does it explain this headline?
Brazil gun killings rise to highest level in 35 years
According to Wikipedia, 11 years after a gun registry was enacted in Brazil, more than half of all guns in circulation are unregistered.
My biggest question for you is, do you believe that gun violence is a problem?
That's a rather ridiculous question.
I agree, that was an interesting read. Thanks, Kevin. Here is some interesting data from today's paper regarding the frequency of mass shootings. They are far from "rare" as they were called in an earlier post.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column-will-next-mass-shooting-be-today/2248114
The article mentions that the tracker deviates from the FBI's requirement of 3 or more deaths to be considered a mass shooting; this is done to increase the figures and stir emotions. It also appears that the shooters' deaths are included in the figures; I assume it is also done to pad the figures.
I noticed that only about 15% of the "mass shootings" included the name of the perpetrator. I assume that this means that the other 85% were mostly gang shootings and other street-level criminal activities, not the types of unprovoked school and workplace shootings that people are citing as a reason to enact more gun legislation.
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no no no. criminals don't follow the law so there's no reason for laws!
No, there's no reason for additional laws when it's obvious that the existing laws aren't working.
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I'll admit that 'common sense' measures are neither cheap nor fool-proof if you'll admit you have a cognitive predisposition to attack any gun control measure.
I won't do that because it's not true. I am in favor of many gun control measures. I have no problem with background checks. I have no problem with restricting handgun sales to adults. I have no problem with preventing felons, drug abusers and the mentally ill from owning firearms. Those truly are common sense measures.
I have a problem with knee jerk laws enacted by politicians who claim that they'll solve our problems. So-called "assault rifle" bans are ridiculous, as they're used in less than 1% of shootings -- more people are killed by bare hands than by rifles. I'm against arbitrary limits on magazine capacity; my pistol was designed to hold 16 rounds, but if I were to cross the border with it into California I'd become a felon, serve jail time and lose my right to vote. Hell, the same thing would happen if I were to bring a mere magazine into California, and it's just a harmless, inert piece of plastic with a spring inside.
The simple fact is, if the U.S. took on handguns the way the U.K. and Australia did, lives would be saved. The statistics are unquestionable.
You simply can't compare one nation with another. The UK and Australia have had low murder rates for a century or more and they've greatly restricted handguns for a similar amount of time. As it stands, the number of firearms in the United States has increased dramatically over the last decade or two (as has the number of concealed handgun license holders) yet our murder rate has dropped drastically.
Handguns are shitty for hunting, easier to conceal, harder to fire accurately... why not become a rifle only nation?
Again, how are you going to get the criminals to turn in their handguns? I'd be curious to hear how many handguns were turned in by criminals in the UK and Australia, but my gut tells me that it was probably close to zero.
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You get pulled over they check your car registration, why shouldn't we be checking some 'gun registration' and empounding unregistered guns at a great cost to their carrier?
The simple answer is that it won't do anything to address the problems that we've been discussing: gun crime and mass shootings. It'll cost billions and it'll require legit gun owners to jump through hoops, and they'll do so if the law requires it. But the guys who are doing all the killing will ignore the law just as they do now. They'll continue to carry illegal guns illegally and kill people illegally when they desire.
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Anything that can help change the culture that guns are special, unlike any other product, is good.
I think that notion only exists in your beliefs, not reality.
But it didn't work that way for England.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings
Hey I am glad to see that you have your priorities straight.
I'll pretty much always be opposed to massively expensive government programs that don't accomplish what they're promised to do.
Here in Florida, it is illegal for a doctor to discuss guns with a patient. It is part of a pediatrician's job, if they see fit, to discuss gun in the house and safety. If you don't want your doctor talking about guns, fine find another doctor. But they can lose their license and be fined for discussing guns with a patient. Madness. Guns uber alles is destructive.
That's a stupid law and it's a reminder that additional legislation is rarely the answer to our problems.
Time to head down the street to drink a few beers with the fellas. One of them has a new rifle that he wants to show me.
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But what is wrong will taking sensible steps that could at least make some degree of difference?
The problem is that your suggestions wouldn't make any measurable difference, other than perhaps saving a few lives that might have been lost to accidents if everyone were forced to take classes in gun safety. It would literally cost billions of dollars and not even come close to addressing the problems at hand: (the rather rare) rampage killings and gun crimes committed by drug dealers, gang members and street criminals.
Also, the fact that your insurance company can't give you a higher rate if you're a gun owner is crazy. It increases their risk.
By an almost imperceptible amount.
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Curious to know if gun owners have to tell their insurance company that they own a gun, like they do if they own certain dog breeds (for home owner insurance purposes)?
I've never had to do so.
So tell me why don't you want your name to be on a registry of gun owners, with the make and models of your firearms?
It would be an unnecessary waste of tax dollars that wouldn't do a thing to reduce gun crime or save lives.
Canada implemented a long gun registry and, if I remember correctly, dumped it after costs of more than a billion dollars without much benefit.
Embed an ID chip into the gun.
Criminals would remove them as easily as they do serial numbers. And what about the 300 million chip-free guns that already exist?
We don't need it to collect money. Guns must be registered every year with the state (and federal government for guns), just like a car. You pay a registration fee each year. You also must take a course and pass an exam to have a gun owners license. This must be renewed every few years, just like with automobiles. Every time the gun is legally sold, a title transfer is done with the state/feds, just as with automobiles. The fees raised would be used to improve enforcement of gun laws already codified and to pay for the new government agencies.
And, it just so happens that we would know where the guns were, in the event that such information was needed.
So what would such a plan do, other than adding enormous expense and hassle to law-abiding gun owners' lives? Would drug dealers, street criminals and gang members register their illegal weapons and take safety courses?
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Or you know, help law enforcement track and trace guns that are used in crimes. Or to help law enforcement track down guns that have been stolen. Kind of similiar to the reason we register cars.
That would depend on an engraved serial number. Which is easily and typically filed off by criminals, I might add.
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Exactly.
So we need a database of guns to collect money? How does that make us safer or solve gun violence?
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What is the purpose of registering automobiles?
To collect money.
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The fact that having the names of all legal gun owners in a data base is a non-starter, really tells us all that we need to know. We know where the cars are, why can't we know where the guns are?
What would be the purpose of said database?
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Gun owners and the politicians that answer to them are far more powerful than the vast majority of people who want further sensible gun restrictions.
What exactly are those restrictions?
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My grandmother was born and raised in Ludington and I have many happy memories of watching the ferries from the lakeshore in the early 70s.This past weekend,the family and I camped up at Ludington State Park in Michigan, the wife and enjoyed a six pack of the below. Good stuff.
Went to a brewpub called Grandma's House last night in Denver. It was decorated with lots of kitschy stuff and even had bowls of hard candy like every grandma's house. The whole place emptied out for 15 minutes to watch the eclipse.
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Coda Brewing in Aurora, CO, just won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival for Via Chicago, their American-style Strong Pale Ale.
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My friend and I walked 2 blocks down the road for lunch at LowDown Brewing and it turned out that they were getting ready to tap 4 Three Floyds beers. I consumed my fair share of Zombie Dust and Gumballhead.
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Anyone going to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver? I'm on a plane bound for the Mile High City right now, but I'll probably skip the fest for the first time in years and just partake of the fun at local breweries.
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I'd say that the odds are good if everyone else decides to remain seated.
TRUE STORY: I was ejected from a Pearl Jam arena show about 20 years ago because I was slightly bouncing and swaying in my front row seat as Sonic Youth were on stage. I'd had words earlier with an abusive security goon (he asked to see my ticket every 5 minutes even though I hadn't moved from my seat) and he gave me the stink eye the whole time until a bunch of security guys showed up to escort me outside. The people sitting near me all told them that I'd been behaving myself, but out I went. One of my escorts apologized as he threw me out and said, "Sorry man, he called in and said that you were out of control. He's a dick."
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I wish my grocery store had a bar. I was in Scotland all last week so saw quite a bit of Rugby. I have to say, I don't even kind of get the rules but it's entertaining to watch. Those are some tough dudes.
It's a great concept: a grocery store with a bar serving Texas craft beer, and a restaurant with cheap, tasty food. They don't expect tips, but any that are left are donated to charity. They smoke brisket on site, so the whole place smells fantastic.
My neighbor played rugby for years and has tried to teach me the rules on numerous occasions, but I just can't get the hang of it. Fun to watch, though.
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Well, this sucks. My cable provider only offers PPV, and at $40/match, looks like I will be seeing zero matches.
You could pay about $8 for a month's subscription to a VPN service like https://airvpn.org/ and then use their simple app to connect to a server in the UK. Then you'll be able to watch the matches at https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/itv.
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Not really a fan, but I'm watching England-Fiji at the bar in my neighborhood grocery store.
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The entire tour has been postponed.
POSTPONED 2015 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR September 18, 2015THE WHO today confirmed that they are postponing all remaining dates on their “THE WHO HITS 50!” North American tour. They had initially postponed FOUR shows on doctors orders after Roger Daltrey contracted a mystery virus. Initially it was hoped that the rest of the tour might proceed, but after extensive tests the seriousness of his condition became apparent when doctors diagnosed Roger as having viral Meningitis and prescribed a period of rest. The band apologize to fans and realize that the postponement will cause an inconvenience for ticketholders. It wasn’t a decision taken lightly–THE WHO always give their fans 100% and were never going to compromise the show, but ultimately the band had no alternative but to postpone the tour.
Roger was particularly disappointed as he had been especially looking forward to the Teen Cancer America benefit in Los Angeles, a charity that he and THE WHO have worked tirelessly for. Thankfully he is already getting better and said, “We are very sorry to disappoint our fans in this way. For the last four weeks, I have been in and out of the hospital and have been diagnosed with viral Meningitis. I am now on the mend and feeling a lot better but I am going to need a considerable time to recover. The doctors tell me I will make a complete recovery, but that I should not do any touring this year.”
Pete Townshend added, “We are rescheduling all the shows for next Spring 2016. We apologize to all our fans who have supported us in the last 50 years. Once Roger is completely well we will come back stronger than ever and Roger and I will give you all a show to remember.”
The tour dates being postponed are as follows:
DATE CITY VENUE
Mon 9/14 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center
Wed 9/16 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
Sat 9/19 Las Vegas, NV Colosseum at Caesars Palace
Mon 9/21 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center
Thu 9/24 Portland, OR Moda Center
Sun 9/27 Seattle, WA KeyArena at Seattle Center
Tue 9/29 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
Thu 10/1 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
Sat 10/3 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
Tue 10/6 Saskatoon, SK SaskTel Centre
Thu 10/8 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
Sat 10/10 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
Tue 10/13 Milwaukee, WI BMO Harris Bradley Center
Thu 10/15 Chicago, IL United Center
Sat 10/17 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
Mon 10/19 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Fri 10/23 Pittsburgh, PA CONSOL Energy Center
Sun 10/25 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Tue 10/27 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Thu 10/29 Boston, MA TD Garden
Sun 11/1 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Wed 11/4 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Tue 12/1 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Fri 12/4 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
Sun 12/6 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
Tue 12/8 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Thu 12/10 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Sun 12/13 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
Tickets for the original dates will be honored for the new shows, which will be announced shortly.
Politics 2015
in Tongue-Tied Lightning
Posted
The only ones who can really solve the issue are the gang members, drug dealers and street criminals who commit the vast majority of murders. If they won't put down their guns, then it's up to the cops to throw them behind bars. There are already sufficient laws on the books to cover their crimes, but I won't complain if stronger sentences are handed out to them. I don't want the government to turn me into a felon overnight by issuing new laws willy-nilly that won't do anything to solve the problem but eventually criminalize me.