Since I was here Burt,
"Despite its name, the caliber of the 38 Special cartridge is actually .357–.358 inches (9.0678 mm), with the ".38" referring to the approximate diameter of the loaded brass case. This came about because the original .38-caliber cartridge, the .38 Short Colt, was designed for use in converted .36-caliber cap-and-ball (muzzleloading) Navy revolvers, which had cylindrical firing chambers of approximately 0.374-inch (9.5 mm) diameter, requiring heeled bullets, the exposed portion of which was the same diameter as the cartridge case (see the section on the .38 Long Colt).
Except for case length, the .38 Special is identical to that of the .38 Short Colt, .38 Long Colt, and the .357 Magnum. This allows the .38 Special round to be safely fired in revolvers chambered for the .357 Magnum, and the .38 Long Colt to be fired in revolvers chambered for .38 Special, and the .38 Short Colt to fire in revolvers chambered for .38 Long Colt, increasing the versatility of this cartridge. However, the longer and more powerful .357 Magnum cartridge will usually not chamber and fire in weapons rated specifically for 38 Special (e.g. all versions of the Smith & Wesson Model 10), which are not designed for the greatly increased pressure of the magnum rounds. Both .38 Special and .357 Magnum will chamber in Colt New Army revolvers in .38 Long Colt, due to the straight walled chambers, but should not be done under any circumstances, due to dangerous pressure levels, up to three times what the New Army is designed for."
Magnum: "A magnum cartridge is a firearm cartridge larger than, or derived from, a similar cartridge. A magnum firearm is one using such a cartridge.", so a .44 round is X powerful, a 44 Magnum round is more powerful than the 44 but can still be fired by the same pistol, usually
Silencers are more accurately called "suppressors": A suppressor, sound suppressor, or sound moderator, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and also usually the amount of muzzle flash generated by firing the weapon. Suppressors can be used both with gunpowder-based weapons and with compressed air weapons. Sometimes referred to as a silencer, this term is a misnomer associated with "movie magic", as firearms cannot be "silenced" due to the pure physics of the projectile moving through the air. Long distance shooting (i.e. greater than 300 meters), while using a suppressor can result in a very low, or retarded, report noise at the moment of impact, creating a "silencing" notion at the point of target. The noise heard at the firearm location as the point a projectile leaves the barrel, though subdued, is not silent at all.[1]
A suppressor is usually a metal cylinder with internal mechanisms to reduce the sound of firing by slowing the escaping propellant gas and sometimes by reducing the velocity of the bullet.
Baffling recoil. Yes, one well know example is a device at the end of an AK 47 that directed muzzle gasses in a particular direction to help combat muzzle rise on full automatic. They are also called muzzle brakes. See below.
Reducing the visibility: A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a device attached to the muzzle of a rifle or other gun that reduces its visible signature while firing by rapidly cooling the burning gases that exit the muzzle, a phenomena typical of carbine length weapons. Its primary intent is to reduce the chances that the shooter will be blinded in low light conditions. Contrary to popular belief, it is only a secondary benefit that the flash suppressor reduces the intensity of the flash visible to the enemy.
Although they are typically mounted in the same position and sometimes confused with each other, a flash suppressor is different from a muzzle brake. While the former is intended to reduce visible flash, a muzzle brake is designed to reduce painful recoil inherent to large cartridges and typically has no effect on visible flash."
One downsize to longer barrels is they are less maneuverable and more difficult to conceal.
Misfires / Jams: the quality of the ammunition used, how well the weapon was made, how well it's been maintained, cleaned, etc. can all play a part is jams or misfires.
Converting semi auto to full: I believe that this depends upon the design of the weapon, some being easier and some not. I can’t speak more on this issue.
A .50 cal BMG, also called a Barret, is for extremely long distances. The round is typically considered "anti armor" and not generally anti personal, i.e., it's generally not used to kill individual combatants, although it can be and was used so in Iraq and probably Afghanistan. Its desirability is the long range. BTW, a .50 cal bullet is about 6 inches long. It's a big ass round. The recoil on one of those weapons is quite strong. Only a well trained soldier has the ability to fire a number of rounds off with any accuracy. I wouldn't call it a weapon designed "to kill more people". It’s also a damned expensive weapon to purchase, being over 5,000.00 USD the last time I checked.
Under Bullets: "Bullets are nearly always made of lead, sometimes with a metal jacket. Some bullets also have a hollow point which causes the projectile to mushroom upon impact, creating more damage in the target." The bullet covered in metal is referred to as a Full Metal Jacket (FMJ). There are also FRANGIBLE bullets designed to shatter harmlessly upon hitting something hard. These would typically be used in an airplane by an air marshal to prevent the bullet from piercing the fuselage
Magazines and Clips. "A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm (fixed) or removable (detachable). The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action of the firearm. "
A clip, however, is: "a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time." The M1 Garand, mentioned above used a clip to feed 8 rounds (cartridges) into the internal magazine of the weapon.
Additional comments: notice the "muzzle rise" from the from the soldier's weapon in the last video. This was a series of three shot bursts. The effect is most pronounced when the soldier switched from single fire to burst. Note, this was not full automatic fire, but three shot bursts.
“But Angelica had failed to complete all the financial aid forms.
Though Emory sent weekly e-mails — 17 of them, along with an invitation to a program for minority students — they went to a school account she had not learned to check.
Meetings with faculty advisers were optional and Angelica did not consult hers.
Another missed deadline cost her several thousand dollars in aid in her senior year. When it came time to declare a major, she had a B-plus average in the humanities and D’s in psychology. She chose psychology….”
“I post all their grades online during the semester. It displays a running weighted total. Yet many students never check this all semester long and are shocked! at the grade they get at the end.”
OMG
Really failing to have much sympathy here. I can understand difficulty with Financial Aide…that can be a mess, but deadlines, schedules, access to electronic BBs/email? No frickin excuse. I think it’s called “maturity”.
I've become a big fan of whole spices. Now that it's xmas time, i've been using whole nutmeg and grating it myself. Taste is better and lasts longer vs purchasing pre-ground spices.
Also, I'm a big fan of growing your own herbs in pots--at least the more hardy types: sage, rosemary, mint, etc. Dry them yourself.
I was becoming politically aware during the Bork fiasco. I credit my watching and reading all the various drama about the nomination to helping me understand constitutional issues and the theories of originalism, etc., and my general disgust for politicians. In that sense, he was very important. :)
"We used to allow people to smoke indoors in order to further their relationships with their family and friends, we used to allow those with an obsession with smoking to smoke around children and newborns. We no longer allow either of those things."
NO. In years past "society" believed that it was these were individual decisions with "society" having no say in the matter. There was no ALLOW. Then "society" decided that what was previously none of business now was. This was mainly the result of busybodies thinking that they knew what was good for everybody and enforcing their will on the rest of us.
I agree Kazzy. The point of my question was not really to get an answer but to point out the hypocrisy. Yes, I understand the emotional aspect of proximity, same tribe, etc., but let's proportional-ize this.
27 people (mostly kids) die by one shooter and the US is up in arms over it. Understandable.
Hundreds of kids die someone else from direct action by our gov't and no one is up in arms. The same gov't that is now up in arms about those 27 people. Frankly, I see little moral difference between CT and that infamous video of US Soldiers machine gunning civilians and kids and good Samaritans from a gunship.
This seems like a good place to post a request too, since Kazzy did it :)
I'd like to someone from BOTH the Left and Right to answer this question: 20+ kids and adults slaughtered by one guy with a few guns and understandable outrage follows. Hundreds, or more, kids and adults slaughtered by helicopter gun ships/drones/airplanes in Pakistan/Afghanistan and nothing. Where's the outrage?
Is it because it's "far away"?
Is it because they are "brown"?
Is it because they are Muslim?
Is it because there are so many killed; it's not a tragedy, aka Stalin's quote?
Yes, but no civilian and generally no cop, is WALKING around in public with a rifle. The cops keep those in the trunk. The vast majority of any firearms in public are handguns for the single reason that you can't conceal a long gun well.
There is indeed "something wrong". We've allowed our LEOs to become paramilitaries. They tendency to shoot first and ask questions later coupled with the weakness of oversight. Radly has document many times where cops go overboard. It's an outgrowth of the drug wars.
Here's how you know if something is wrong. Example: you're driving or walking along and you realize a cop is following you. Your first reaction is: fear, concern, worry, etc. Anything other than a "meh" and you'll know. Legit citizens aren't supposed to fear cops.
I believe that most LEOs now have .40 cal weapons. I've heard that the military and cops find the 9mm to be a "light weight" bullet with much less stopping power, ie more bullets need to be fired to provide stopping power, than the .40 and .45 cals. It's a tug of war between the weight of the ammo to carry vs the stopping power for the military.
Generally the M-16 and variants are military versions w/. caliber .223
The AR-15 is the civilian version of the M16
No civilian rifle can fire anything other than semi auto without modification (illegal without a permit). Military may come in a variety of selective fire options. It's my understanding, stemming from the Vietnam War, where soldier "sprayed and prayed" that full auto was determined to be wastefull, so the burst mode was developed. Full auto fire is very innacurate due to muzzle rise and such. Some of innacuracy can be countered by better design and additional "add ons".
And let's be clear here. "Nothing is going to stop someone as committed as this individual was one he sets events in motion." NOTHING. Not a law on magazine sizes, not a law banning AR-15s, not a law banning anything.
Those weapons still exist and will be available. Even if, magically, they were removed off the face of the earth, the cops still would have them. Someone truly intent to cause mayhem knows he can find anything he needs in the trunk of a cop car.
I have to give you some serious props. Your comments were fantatic. A monument to thoughtfull consideration on this issue. This whole shooting thing's a big furball but here you are in this thread posting things like: "I maintain my positions on this subject: I would rather ask the Mike Dwyers of this world what should be done to prevent the deaths of the Nancy Lanzas of this world on the basis of Consent of the Governed. They’re the people who are going to have to live with such legislation and as a Liberal, I’ll be damned if I’m going to back onerous and ultimately fruitless legislation to limit their rights." Well said.
You and I may disagree on things, but your factual statements regaring magazines, semi/auto fire, etc. show that you know something about which you speak-something often missing in debates like this.
"Details continue to emerge about what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday. It appears that the shooter forced his way into the building. Do you know what would have prevented that? Armed guards at every door. Metal detectors wouldn’t have stopped him. Swipe card access wouldn’t have stopped him. Stop-and-frisk wouldn’t have stopped him."
I don't think armed guards would have been a deterrent. Sure, it might have deterred someone not 100% committed, but the old saw about not being able to stop someone willing to give up their life to take another's is true. I'd expect the shooter would have shot the armed guard. There wouldn't be more than one armed guard to a door. Budgetary issues you know. MAYBE the shots would have given folks more advanced warning, but not much. MAYBE the guard could have returned fire and discourage the shooter or possibly killed him, but a determined shooter is going to get in.
That pretty much sums it up for me. Changes maybe to the margin, but maybe even not that. I am curious to know if this kid was on meds and what they were, if any. I'm wondering if there is a correlation or causation between all these shooters and meds, either in side effects or main effects.
We're still in a recession. We've done the whole Keynesian "spend money like we have it" stimulus and it didn't work. Let's try massive spending cuts. I really don't think we need another carrier task force or a few new nuclear subs. We also don't need bases all over the globe, and we can rein in some domestic spending. No need to fund folks' retirement for 20-30 years.
Let's get serious, the fiscal cliff is nothing but a few measly percentages of anticipated spending being reduced over the next 10 years. Taxes are going up sure, and folks will scream, but after a while folks will get used to it.
They will probably cut a deal in late January or Feb and make it retro to January 1 after everyone goes home and says they "stood up for their side".
As to the debt ceiling what are the odds on BOB writing a executive order to increase it?
If you'd allow me to own a small thermonuclear device I don't think I doubt I could be coerced in any meaningfull way. :)
And you know, I'd be happy with just "a lot less government". Less foreign intervention, less arbitrary power, more oversight, actual checks and balances. There's a lot of distance from what we have now to the "pure libertarian ideal". Any signficant movment in that direction would be good IMHO.
Nothing like being alone with your thoughts. Staring at the mirror of yourself shatters all the false images you have of yourself. Only then can you see your true self and opt to change it.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “A Primer on Guns”
Since I was here Burt,
"Despite its name, the caliber of the 38 Special cartridge is actually .357–.358 inches (9.0678 mm), with the ".38" referring to the approximate diameter of the loaded brass case. This came about because the original .38-caliber cartridge, the .38 Short Colt, was designed for use in converted .36-caliber cap-and-ball (muzzleloading) Navy revolvers, which had cylindrical firing chambers of approximately 0.374-inch (9.5 mm) diameter, requiring heeled bullets, the exposed portion of which was the same diameter as the cartridge case (see the section on the .38 Long Colt).
Except for case length, the .38 Special is identical to that of the .38 Short Colt, .38 Long Colt, and the .357 Magnum. This allows the .38 Special round to be safely fired in revolvers chambered for the .357 Magnum, and the .38 Long Colt to be fired in revolvers chambered for .38 Special, and the .38 Short Colt to fire in revolvers chambered for .38 Long Colt, increasing the versatility of this cartridge. However, the longer and more powerful .357 Magnum cartridge will usually not chamber and fire in weapons rated specifically for 38 Special (e.g. all versions of the Smith & Wesson Model 10), which are not designed for the greatly increased pressure of the magnum rounds. Both .38 Special and .357 Magnum will chamber in Colt New Army revolvers in .38 Long Colt, due to the straight walled chambers, but should not be done under any circumstances, due to dangerous pressure levels, up to three times what the New Army is designed for."
Magnum: "A magnum cartridge is a firearm cartridge larger than, or derived from, a similar cartridge. A magnum firearm is one using such a cartridge.", so a .44 round is X powerful, a 44 Magnum round is more powerful than the 44 but can still be fired by the same pistol, usually
Silencers are more accurately called "suppressors": A suppressor, sound suppressor, or sound moderator, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and also usually the amount of muzzle flash generated by firing the weapon. Suppressors can be used both with gunpowder-based weapons and with compressed air weapons. Sometimes referred to as a silencer, this term is a misnomer associated with "movie magic", as firearms cannot be "silenced" due to the pure physics of the projectile moving through the air. Long distance shooting (i.e. greater than 300 meters), while using a suppressor can result in a very low, or retarded, report noise at the moment of impact, creating a "silencing" notion at the point of target. The noise heard at the firearm location as the point a projectile leaves the barrel, though subdued, is not silent at all.[1]
A suppressor is usually a metal cylinder with internal mechanisms to reduce the sound of firing by slowing the escaping propellant gas and sometimes by reducing the velocity of the bullet.
Baffling recoil. Yes, one well know example is a device at the end of an AK 47 that directed muzzle gasses in a particular direction to help combat muzzle rise on full automatic. They are also called muzzle brakes. See below.
Reducing the visibility: A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a device attached to the muzzle of a rifle or other gun that reduces its visible signature while firing by rapidly cooling the burning gases that exit the muzzle, a phenomena typical of carbine length weapons. Its primary intent is to reduce the chances that the shooter will be blinded in low light conditions. Contrary to popular belief, it is only a secondary benefit that the flash suppressor reduces the intensity of the flash visible to the enemy.
Although they are typically mounted in the same position and sometimes confused with each other, a flash suppressor is different from a muzzle brake. While the former is intended to reduce visible flash, a muzzle brake is designed to reduce painful recoil inherent to large cartridges and typically has no effect on visible flash."
One downsize to longer barrels is they are less maneuverable and more difficult to conceal.
Misfires / Jams: the quality of the ammunition used, how well the weapon was made, how well it's been maintained, cleaned, etc. can all play a part is jams or misfires.
Converting semi auto to full: I believe that this depends upon the design of the weapon, some being easier and some not. I can’t speak more on this issue.
"
A .50 cal BMG, also called a Barret, is for extremely long distances. The round is typically considered "anti armor" and not generally anti personal, i.e., it's generally not used to kill individual combatants, although it can be and was used so in Iraq and probably Afghanistan. Its desirability is the long range. BTW, a .50 cal bullet is about 6 inches long. It's a big ass round. The recoil on one of those weapons is quite strong. Only a well trained soldier has the ability to fire a number of rounds off with any accuracy. I wouldn't call it a weapon designed "to kill more people". It’s also a damned expensive weapon to purchase, being over 5,000.00 USD the last time I checked.
"
I'll add a few more tidbits:
Under Bullets: "Bullets are nearly always made of lead, sometimes with a metal jacket. Some bullets also have a hollow point which causes the projectile to mushroom upon impact, creating more damage in the target." The bullet covered in metal is referred to as a Full Metal Jacket (FMJ). There are also FRANGIBLE bullets designed to shatter harmlessly upon hitting something hard. These would typically be used in an airplane by an air marshal to prevent the bullet from piercing the fuselage
Magazines and Clips. "A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm (fixed) or removable (detachable). The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action of the firearm. "
A clip, however, is: "a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time." The M1 Garand, mentioned above used a clip to feed 8 rounds (cartridges) into the internal magazine of the weapon.
Additional comments: notice the "muzzle rise" from the from the soldier's weapon in the last video. This was a series of three shot bursts. The effect is most pronounced when the soldier switched from single fire to burst. Note, this was not full automatic fire, but three shot bursts.
On “There are probably 40,000 reasons to want Piers Morgan fired from CNN….”
This just makes me sad. The way to respond opposing views is with more speech, not to shut someone down.
I do find it funny that people are asking BOB to deport him. For gun control? That's like asking Bloomberg. Idiots.
(ofc he's wrong about gun control but that's another issue)
On “What I Wish My Students Knew”
“But Angelica had failed to complete all the financial aid forms.
Though Emory sent weekly e-mails — 17 of them, along with an invitation to a program for minority students — they went to a school account she had not learned to check.
Meetings with faculty advisers were optional and Angelica did not consult hers.
Another missed deadline cost her several thousand dollars in aid in her senior year. When it came time to declare a major, she had a B-plus average in the humanities and D’s in psychology. She chose psychology….”
“I post all their grades online during the semester. It displays a running weighted total. Yet many students never check this all semester long and are shocked! at the grade they get at the end.”
OMG
Really failing to have much sympathy here. I can understand difficulty with Financial Aide…that can be a mess, but deadlines, schedules, access to electronic BBs/email? No frickin excuse. I think it’s called “maturity”.
On “The Cheap-Ass Pantry”
I've become a big fan of whole spices. Now that it's xmas time, i've been using whole nutmeg and grating it myself. Taste is better and lasts longer vs purchasing pre-ground spices.
Also, I'm a big fan of growing your own herbs in pots--at least the more hardy types: sage, rosemary, mint, etc. Dry them yourself.
On “The First Contemporary Culture Warrior”
I was becoming politically aware during the Bork fiasco. I credit my watching and reading all the various drama about the nomination to helping me understand constitutional issues and the theories of originalism, etc., and my general disgust for politicians. In that sense, he was very important. :)
On “Today”
"We used to allow people to smoke indoors in order to further their relationships with their family and friends, we used to allow those with an obsession with smoking to smoke around children and newborns. We no longer allow either of those things."
NO. In years past "society" believed that it was these were individual decisions with "society" having no say in the matter. There was no ALLOW. Then "society" decided that what was previously none of business now was. This was mainly the result of busybodies thinking that they knew what was good for everybody and enforcing their will on the rest of us.
"
I agree Kazzy. The point of my question was not really to get an answer but to point out the hypocrisy. Yes, I understand the emotional aspect of proximity, same tribe, etc., but let's proportional-ize this.
27 people (mostly kids) die by one shooter and the US is up in arms over it. Understandable.
Hundreds of kids die someone else from direct action by our gov't and no one is up in arms. The same gov't that is now up in arms about those 27 people. Frankly, I see little moral difference between CT and that infamous video of US Soldiers machine gunning civilians and kids and good Samaritans from a gunship.
But I notice the hypocrisy and it disgusts me.
"
This seems like a good place to post a request too, since Kazzy did it :)
I'd like to someone from BOTH the Left and Right to answer this question: 20+ kids and adults slaughtered by one guy with a few guns and understandable outrage follows. Hundreds, or more, kids and adults slaughtered by helicopter gun ships/drones/airplanes in Pakistan/Afghanistan and nothing. Where's the outrage?
Is it because it's "far away"?
Is it because they are "brown"?
Is it because they are Muslim?
Is it because there are so many killed; it's not a tragedy, aka Stalin's quote?
Do tell.
On “Ugly Guns Make America an Uglier Place”
Yes, but no civilian and generally no cop, is WALKING around in public with a rifle. The cops keep those in the trunk. The vast majority of any firearms in public are handguns for the single reason that you can't conceal a long gun well.
"
There is indeed "something wrong". We've allowed our LEOs to become paramilitaries. They tendency to shoot first and ask questions later coupled with the weakness of oversight. Radly has document many times where cops go overboard. It's an outgrowth of the drug wars.
Here's how you know if something is wrong. Example: you're driving or walking along and you realize a cop is following you. Your first reaction is: fear, concern, worry, etc. Anything other than a "meh" and you'll know. Legit citizens aren't supposed to fear cops.
"
I've seen cops at Heathrow carrying military assault rifles. I've also seen them in Switzerland.
"
I believe that most LEOs now have .40 cal weapons. I've heard that the military and cops find the 9mm to be a "light weight" bullet with much less stopping power, ie more bullets need to be fired to provide stopping power, than the .40 and .45 cals. It's a tug of war between the weight of the ammo to carry vs the stopping power for the military.
"
Generally the M-16 and variants are military versions w/. caliber .223
The AR-15 is the civilian version of the M16
No civilian rifle can fire anything other than semi auto without modification (illegal without a permit). Military may come in a variety of selective fire options. It's my understanding, stemming from the Vietnam War, where soldier "sprayed and prayed" that full auto was determined to be wastefull, so the burst mode was developed. Full auto fire is very innacurate due to muzzle rise and such. Some of innacuracy can be countered by better design and additional "add ons".
On ““Schools are becoming a dangerous place to work.””
And let's be clear here. "Nothing is going to stop someone as committed as this individual was one he sets events in motion." NOTHING. Not a law on magazine sizes, not a law banning AR-15s, not a law banning anything.
Those weapons still exist and will be available. Even if, magically, they were removed off the face of the earth, the cops still would have them. Someone truly intent to cause mayhem knows he can find anything he needs in the trunk of a cop car.
On “Where Do We Go From Here?”
BlaiseP,
I have to give you some serious props. Your comments were fantatic. A monument to thoughtfull consideration on this issue. This whole shooting thing's a big furball but here you are in this thread posting things like: "I maintain my positions on this subject: I would rather ask the Mike Dwyers of this world what should be done to prevent the deaths of the Nancy Lanzas of this world on the basis of Consent of the Governed. They’re the people who are going to have to live with such legislation and as a Liberal, I’ll be damned if I’m going to back onerous and ultimately fruitless legislation to limit their rights." Well said.
You and I may disagree on things, but your factual statements regaring magazines, semi/auto fire, etc. show that you know something about which you speak-something often missing in debates like this.
Kudos!
On ““Schools are becoming a dangerous place to work.””
"Details continue to emerge about what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday. It appears that the shooter forced his way into the building. Do you know what would have prevented that? Armed guards at every door. Metal detectors wouldn’t have stopped him. Swipe card access wouldn’t have stopped him. Stop-and-frisk wouldn’t have stopped him."
I don't think armed guards would have been a deterrent. Sure, it might have deterred someone not 100% committed, but the old saw about not being able to stop someone willing to give up their life to take another's is true. I'd expect the shooter would have shot the armed guard. There wouldn't be more than one armed guard to a door. Budgetary issues you know. MAYBE the shots would have given folks more advanced warning, but not much. MAYBE the guard could have returned fire and discourage the shooter or possibly killed him, but a determined shooter is going to get in.
On “Before the Gate of Hell”
That pretty much sums it up for me. Changes maybe to the margin, but maybe even not that. I am curious to know if this kid was on meds and what they were, if any. I'm wondering if there is a correlation or causation between all these shooters and meds, either in side effects or main effects.
Anyone got info on that?
On “We’re Going Over the Cliff”
Sorry, I don't read Krugman. He's a fool and he's wrong.
"
"after".
We're still in a recession. We've done the whole Keynesian "spend money like we have it" stimulus and it didn't work. Let's try massive spending cuts. I really don't think we need another carrier task force or a few new nuclear subs. We also don't need bases all over the globe, and we can rein in some domestic spending. No need to fund folks' retirement for 20-30 years.
"
I'm not a republican and I endorse this path :)
Let's get serious, the fiscal cliff is nothing but a few measly percentages of anticipated spending being reduced over the next 10 years. Taxes are going up sure, and folks will scream, but after a while folks will get used to it.
They will probably cut a deal in late January or Feb and make it retro to January 1 after everyone goes home and says they "stood up for their side".
As to the debt ceiling what are the odds on BOB writing a executive order to increase it?
On “Conservatives’ Jim DeMint Problem”
If you'd allow me to own a small thermonuclear device I don't think I doubt I could be coerced in any meaningfull way. :)
And you know, I'd be happy with just "a lot less government". Less foreign intervention, less arbitrary power, more oversight, actual checks and balances. There's a lot of distance from what we have now to the "pure libertarian ideal". Any signficant movment in that direction would be good IMHO.
"
In other words what you mean to say is this: "As long as the dominance and control is directed at where I THINK IT SHOULD BE DIRECTED, I support it."
I'm glad we got that clarified.
On “Rod Dreher needs to shut up.”
Nothing like being alone with your thoughts. Staring at the mirror of yourself shatters all the false images you have of yourself. Only then can you see your true self and opt to change it.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.