General Political Thread

[Mr. Heartbreak]

We have some wingnut pols here in Florida, but for pure, unadulterated batshit crazy, Texas always takes the cake:

http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/06/17/texas-congressman-masturbating-fetuses-prove-need-for-abortion-ban/

[Hixter]

After being backordered for months, I was finally able to purchase the 9-shot Mossberg 5903R that I'd had my heart set on. I just realized that it'll be delivered while I'm at Solid Sound.

 

[Mr. Heartbreak]

After being backordered for months, I was finally able to purchase the 9-shot Mossberg 5903R that I'd had my heart set on. I just realized that it'll be delivered while I'm at Solid Sound.

 

Hope they did a background check.

[LouieB]

After being backordered for months, I was finally able to purchase the 9-shot Mossberg 5903R that I'd had my heart set on. I just realized that it'll be delivered while I'm at Solid Sound.

 

You can really blow the shit out of a target with that I guess.  Or do they shoot 9 clay pigeons at a time?

 

LouieB

[lost highway]

After being backordered for months, I was finally able to purchase the 9-shot Mossberg 5903R that I'd had my heart set on. I just realized that it'll be delivered while I'm at Solid Sound.

 

 

Lame.

[Hixter]

Hope they did a background check.

The FBI background check will be performed by the dealer before I take possession. I'll pass with flying colors. 

 

You can really blow the shit out of a target with that I guess.  Or do they shoot 9 clay pigeons at a time?

It'll be used for home defense, so if I have the need to use it I won't want to worry about reloading. But it'll definitely put holes in plenty of range targets over the years.

 

I just realized that it'll be delivered while I'm at Solid Sound.

Lame.

I know, right? 

[Mr. Heartbreak]

It'll be used for home defense, so if I have the need to use it I won't want to worry about reloading. But it'll definitely put holes in plenty of range targets over the years.

 

I was just yanking your chain about the background check. I assume you are in very good stead. 

But I can't resist responding to the home defense comment. Is it replacing another "home defense" weapon? And if so, what happens to that one? Put out to pasture? Put in a closet with six other rifles? Just curious...this whole gun subculture in America is weirdly fascinating to me...

[Hixter]

I was just yanking your chain about the background check.

I know. No offense taken.

 

But I can't resist responding to the home defense comment. Is it replacing another "home defense" weapon? And if so, what happens to that one? Put out to pasture? Put in a closet with six other rifles?

This is the first shotgun I've owned. Short-barreled shotguns are the best firearm for home defense -- just ask Joe Biden. The risk of penetrating walls and hitting innocent people is greatly reduced with a shotgun. Rifles are completely unsuitable for home defense, as they'll possibly pass through the outside wall and into the neighbor's house.

 

I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to get rid of things, but as of right now none of my firearms overlap in terms of their utility. I have a rifle for hunting deer, an AR-style rifle for goofing around on the range and shooting hogs, a small revolver for concealed carry, a .22 rifle for shooting targets with kids and a .40 pistol that's my "I hear screaming from the house next door" gun.

[KevinG]

In this day in age we have a problem.  Mainly the problem is we think what the other side wants or believes, which often is a highly distorted or completely inaccurate.  Take for example Gov. Bobby Jindal's op ed in politico.  Where he says the following:

 

 

 

Because the left wants: The government to explode; to pay everyone; to hire everyone; they believe that money grows on trees; the earth is flat; the industrial age, factory-style government is a cool new thing; debts don’t have to be repaid; people of faith are ignorant and uneducated; unborn babies don’t matter; pornography is fine; traditional marriage is discriminatory; 32 oz. sodas are evil; red meat should be rationed; rich people are evil unless they are from Hollywood or are liberal Democrats; the Israelis are unreasonable; trans-fat must be stopped; kids trapped in failing schools should be patient; wild weather is a new thing; moral standards are passé; government run health care is high quality; the IRS should violate our constitutional rights; reporters should be spied on; Benghazi was handled well; the Second Amendment is outdated; and the First one has some problems too.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/bobby-jindal-opinion-gop-needs-action-92933.html#ixzz2Waomwe8k

 

It is laughable that Jindal would say these things.  I am sure I can find some op eds from the left that basically say similar distortions of the right's point of view.  It would be so much better if we would just listen to what people had to say, rather then respond to what we think they will say.  

[LouieB]

Where on earth do you live that you need 9 shotgun shots to defend your home?? I live in one of the largest and probably most violent cities in the USofA and I have an alarm system and no guns whatsoever.  I don't need an answer to this, because basically I do know the answer.  You feel like you need one and you have the right to have one, etc.  But let's be honest here.  If someone breaks in with even close to that firepower and that gun is locked up as it should be, you won't stand a chance.  And if you leave it sitting around loaded, then the chance of someone NOT invading your home getting shot is pretty significant.

 

Once again I totally understand that you like collecting guns.  I have a collecting fetish too, but when I buy LPs, no one is going to die.

 

And in 40 years of living in Chicago and actually going to some of the worst neighborhoods in this city without a gun, I have never been attacked.  Guess I am just lucky so far and need to start packing, since I now do have a right to do it.

 

LouieB

[Hixter]

Where on earth do you live that you need 9 shotgun shots to defend your home?? 

So what is an appropriate amount?

 If someone breaks in with even close to that firepower and that gun is locked up as it should be, you won't stand a chance. 

Gun safes unlock in about 2 seconds. Trust me, I'd rather confront an armed intruder with a gun of my own rather than face him/them unarmed. Besides, who says it will be, or should be, locked up while I'm at home?

And if you leave it sitting around loaded, then the chance of someone NOT invading your home getting shot is pretty significant.

If I shoot someone, it's because they broke into my house and/or threatened my life.

I have a collecting fetish too, but when I buy LPs, no one is going to die.

I'm not really a collector and it's certainly not a fetish. It's more like a guy buying a toolbox full of tools instead of relying on a single screwdriver and a pair of pliers that he keeps in a kitchen drawer.

And in 40 years of living in Chicago and actually going to some of the worst neighborhoods in this city without a gun, I have never been attacked.  Guess I am just lucky so far and need to start packing, since I now do have a right to do it.

It's a personal choice. I don't care what you do as long as you aren't trying to take away my right to choose. 

 

Myself, I've been in a situation where a handgun prevented my friends and I from being robbed (or worse.)

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Wow, so five or six firearms. I can understand someone fearing an intruder and therefore owning a firearm instead of (or in addition to) a security system. But multiple guns for multiple tasks, like tools in a toolbox? You sort of lost me there. I mean, I believe you, I just find it otherworldly. But then, I am a liberal suburbanite, so "shooting hogs on the range" sounds like something from a movie to me.

I am sort of presuming that you are not literally at home all the time, so I just hope there are not too many people with access to all these weapons other than yourself. I think that was what Lou was referring to when he said "the chance of someone NOT invading your home getting shot is pretty significant." So many people get shot because the wrong person picked up someone else's property/weapon.

[Hixter]

Wow, so five or six firearms. I can understand someone fearing an intruder and therefore owning a firearm instead of (or in addition to) a security system. But multiple guns for multiple tasks, like tools in a toolbox? You sort of lost me there. I mean, I believe you, I just find it otherworldly. But then, I am a liberal suburbanite, so "shooting hogs on the range" sounds like something from a movie to me.

It's pretty simple, really. You can't put a shotgun in your pocket for concealed carry. You can't kill a deer with a .22. You don't want to shoot a rifle inside your house. I have a security system, but the average response time isn't short enough to ensure that the cops will be there before Mr. Intruder and I meet face to face.

 

I hope I didn't give the impression that I shoot hogs on shooting ranges. I shoot targets on ranges and hogs on friends' ranches. They're considered a nuisance, invasive species and they cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage every year. The state pays bounties for every hog killed, but I'm not the kind of guy who likes to walk around with a bag of stinky hog tails in order to collect a few bucks.

I am sort of presuming that you are not literally at home all the time, so I just hope there are not too many people with access to all these weapons other than yourself.

I live by myself; my firearms are unlocked when I'm home and locked when I'm away from home or on the exceedingly rare occasions when I have child visitors. (Most of the time they're my neighbors' kids and they all own rifles and know all about gun safety.)

 

I chose to not own firearms when my kids were living in my house. Now that they are grown (and own guns themselves) I'd rather have a firearm or two at hand when I go to bed at night.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

I think I misinterpreted the sentence, and chose range instead of ranch.

I grew up with a rifle in my parents' basement: my dad had one for hunting. Not sure if it was ever loaded, where the shells were, etc. I never got into that at all, but I understand it is somewhat popular in certain areas.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

I do find it interesting that you chose not to have guns when your kids lived at home. What would you protect them with (I mean, by your own definition of protection)? I'm not being a smartass; I'm really curious how the thinking goes. I would like to have kids some day, and my mindset may change.

[Hixter]

I do find it interesting that you chose not to have guns when your kids lived at home. What would you protect them with (I mean, by your own definition of protection)?I've always made a point

I've always made a point of paying a little bit extra so that I could live in exceptionally safe neighborhoods. I made the choice to avoid gun ownership when my kids were small -- I was a single parent and didn't have much money to spend on guns and safes, anyway. By the time my kids were old enough to be around guns I had moved to California. Concealed carry was almost unheard of, so even if I'd bought a gun it wouldn't have made me any safer when I was in dangerous parts of SoCal.

 

It's all about an individual's right to choose. Even when I wasn't a gun owner I wouldn't have tried to force the same on the rest of the nation, I strongly supported the right to bear arms. I suppose it's the same with people who support a woman's right to have an abortion: most will never have one, but they support an individual's right to choose to do so.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Some people might be inclined to beat you up for comparing apples and oranges (guns vs. abortion), but I totally get your point. For me, that is actually a great example: I think it's very sad that women sometimes choose a medically unnecessary abortion. But I am well aware that they will choose to terminate their pregnancy anyway, even if they must take dangerous risks. I think it's better to support the woman's right to choose, even if I may not be happy with the choice, knowing at least she will be in a medically supervised environment.

 

Funny you bring that up, because it is up for debate again in the House of Representatives now - trying to move the goalposts on "viability" from 24 weeks back to 20 weeks. A really bizarre bit of grandstanding, and totally pointless, given that it will never get to the President's desk, and he would veto it anyway. Aren't these people in Congress the least bit concerned with things like job creation, the economy, etc? I just don't get it.

[IRememberDBoon]

You weren't actually expecting an insightful comment from him were you?

 

wait a dang minute! I actually took a speech from a leader of the party and asked a few questions about it!

 

the actual meat of the speech was so flipping insane that I asked a question about her hair. Im serious too. What is up in that mess of whatever? I don't understand. I apologize because im one of the slow ones on this board. Can you give me an answer?

 

And as far as the content of the speech. Give me some feedback on that one if you can as well. Thanks 

 

 

[lost highway]

 

 

I'm not really a collector and it's certainly not a fetish. It's more like a guy buying a toolbox full of tools instead of relying on a single screwdriver and a pair of pliers that he keeps in a kitchen drawer.

 

Notice I wasn't a big enough dork to post a picture of my compound miter saw to try and troll a thread about the political climate.  You have a fetish.  That's why you're posting pics in a political thread.  That's why LouieB responded to you.  It's what you wanted.  That's why I said it was lame.  It's like we're having a conversation about legalizing marijuana, people are comparing risks, benefits etc.  Then I post a big picture of a bong and am like "Check out my new bong!  Anyone got a problem with that?"  Immature.

[Hixter]

Notice I wasn't a big enough dork to post a picture of my compound miter saw to try and troll a thread about the political climate.  You have a fetish.  That's why you're posting pics in a political thread.  That's why LouieB responded to you.  It's what you wanted. 

A photo would have been helpful if I didn't know what a compound miter saw was. I didn't think that most people would know what a Mossberg 5903R looked like, so I added a photo. (I'd already downloaded it to attach to an e-mail I sent to my kids and parents.)

 

I wasn't trolling. This thread has hosted much debate about guns and gun control in the past.

 

I certainly don't have a gun fetish. I spend 10x more money and 100x more time on my other hobbies: amateur radio and brewing beer.

[LouieB]

Notice I wasn't a big enough dork to post a picture of my compound miter saw to try and troll a thread about the political climate.  You have a fetish.  That's why you're posting pics in a political thread.  That's why LouieB responded to you.  It's what you wanted.  That's why I said it was lame.  It's like we're having a conversation about legalizing marijuana, people are comparing risks, benefits etc.  Then I post a big picture of a bong and am like "Check out my new bong!  Anyone got a problem with that?"  Immature.

I am not taking issue with the fetish itself; everyone is entitled to their fetishes, which is why I am comparing this to the record collecting that many of us here have.  I admit it and revel in it I suppose, despite it being weird to the outside world.  You only need one gun to protect yourself and that could be small handgun or a regular shotgun or a rifle of some sort.  Fess up Hixter.  You DO fetishize guns.  It is only a problem if you think it is a problem. The rest of us know fetishes are just part of life.

 

LouieB

[Moss]

I have to admit, I find it a little suspicious that the rolling stone writer that brought down General Stanley McChrystal is dead at 33...

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michael-hastings-rolling-stone-contributor-dead-at-33-20130618

[Hixter]

I have to admit, I find it a little suspicious that the rolling stone writer that brought down General Stanley McChrystal is dead at 33...

Single-car crash with witnesses, so it doesn't seem like anything more than an unfortunate accident. Who would want to kill him? General McChrystal? The Obama administration? I just can't see it.

[lost highway]

 I spend 10x more money and 100x more time on my other hobbies: amateur radio and brewing beer.

 

Those are sweet hobbies. 

 

I'm not trying to down on you or anything, but come on.... you didn't somewhere inside of you want to start something by posting a picture of your new gun, without any attached comment to contextualize exactly how it enhances the general political thread conversation?  It seems a little disingenuous to pretend otherwise.

[Hixter]

You only need one gun to protect yourself and that could be small handgun or a regular shotgun or a rifle of some sort.  Fess up Hixter.  You DO fetishize guns.

I explained the purpose/use for each of the firearms I own (some of which were gifts.) A rifle that's suitable for hunting is wholly unsuitable for self-defense. A shotgun that's suitable for self-defense is completely unsuitable for self-defense outside of the home.

 

I'd be the first to admit to being gun crazy if I owned dozens or hundreds of them but I own 6. Would you consider someone to have a record collecting fetish if they owned 6 LPs?

 

The only thing that I have an unhealthy obsession for is good beer. I'm making a 300-mile detour from Solid Sound to visit a small Vermont brewery and plan to bring a suitcase full of their products back to Texas. Now that's a fetish.