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A Revolution for Sanity
Author: BobR    Date: 01/11/2013 14:02:37

It happened again: another school, another shooting... This time it was much smaller and apparently no one was killed. A student at Taft High School in CA went after his classmates with a shotgun. Besides the impact on the students, it put to rest two "truisms" being promoted by gun advocates. The first one is that armed guards are required to prevent these things at school. It turns out that the school did indeed have an armed guard (watch the gun nuts go after him as being incompetent). The second is that only a good person with a gun can stop a bad person with a gun. In this case, it was a teacher and a school supervisor who simply talked him into surrenduring.

Would any of the proposed gun bans currently being considered have prevented this? Probably not (unless harsher penalties are imposed on parents for not securing their firearms so their kids can't get them). The problem in this case seems to have stemmed from bullying. There's not enough information available yet to know how this was managed by the school, but it was bad enough for the boy to create a "hit list", which got him previously suspended from school. This seems like a red flag, and we'll likely find out that this was poorly handled. Children being bullied, marginalized, and shunned will incur psychological damage, and the schools need to do a better job recognizing it happening and dealing with it.

NRA President Wayne LaPierre mentioned mental health in his don't-blame-the-guns explanation of why guns aren't related to gun violence, but I don't think he mentioned bullying, which has come under scrutiny before. He also mentioned violent video games and movies, another laughable scapegoat. How many millions of people in the U.S. watch violent movies or play violent video games and don't kill people? I'd even venture that for some it's a cathartic release which prevents actual violence (The Daily Show explores this in more detail).

It's kind of funny, really. During President Obama's first term, the paranoid gun owners were exclaiming loudly that his doing nothing about gun control was PROOF that he was actually planning on pulling out all the stops in his second term. I found it quite laughable. And then - Sandy Hook happened. I think the reality of 5-7 year old children being mowed down in a hail of bullets while in school was the straw that broke the camel's back, not just for the president, but for most of America as well. We were constantly being told that a few gun deaths were the price we had to pay for our constitutional freedom. We have finally realized that the deaths of so many innocents is too high a price to pay for a small minority to enjoy their distored version of a constitutional amendment.

Since the gun "enthusiasts" were not going to regulate themselves, President Obama tasked Vice-President Joe Biden with creating a task force and coming up with regulations to help get the madness under control. Everyone assumed that assault weapons and large capacity magazines would be easy first targets. That may be a false assumption. Nonetheless, the NRA is already on the offensive against the task force and the president himself. While states like NY are enacting tougher laws than what the Executive branch is considering, other states (like WY) are trying to pre-emptively neuter any legislation.

Naturally, all of this has the idiots foaming at the mouth. Fox "News" legal analyst Judge Napolitano informs viewers that the 2nd Amendment protects "your right to shoot tyrants". This is the very definition of throwing gasoline on the fire. How many mentally unhinged viewers will take him at his word? He is essentially advocating for the assassination of the president. How is this legal?

Another group of "legal scholars" misinterpreting the text and history of the 2nd Amendment is the "Oath Keepers". They are the militia arm of conspiracy nut job Alex Jones' Prison Planet. They too are advocating for an armed revolution. They have forgotten the lessons of the Civil War, when our military was not nearly as strong nor well-equipped as they are now.

Ultimately, the real revolution may came via the pen rather than the sword. Americans have put up with the "my cold dead hands" nonsense long enough. The states' right to form a militia does not give every yahoo the right to blow shit up with a machine gun. Sorry, but our right to domestic tranquility overrides your self-perceived right to own whatever weapon you want.

Viva La Revolucion!
 

83 comments (Latest Comment: 01/15/2013 03:53:21 by Raine)
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Comment by TriSec on 01/11/2013 14:09:01
Morning, gang.

Neuropathy is killing me this morning...I have boots on so I don't trip over my own feet today.

My car is going to be turning 100,000 on the way home today. (But that's young for a Subaru, plus I had the engine rebuilt 2 years ago, so no big whoop.)


Comment by Will in Chicago on 01/11/2013 14:09:25
Good morning, bloggers!! I hope that everyone is well.

I am preparing for my interview this morning. In the bad news, my great niece Emily Rose is still in the hospital with a respiratory infection.

Meanwhile, the gun culture still continues to have a hold on our nation. Boy, 13, arrested after bringing gun, ammo to school.


Comment by trojanrabbit on 01/11/2013 14:11:07
Adjusting fine tuning.....done.

At last night's Casino/Karaoke party at work I regaled my co-workers with rather regrettable renditions of "Sweet Caroline" (I was dragged to the mike for that) and "The Lumberjack Song" (which for some reason I REQUESTED). The scariest thing about it was that it was not alcohol induced.

I did have one co-worker (Canadian, so maybe that explains it) say this morning that he would have voted for me for best song....if there were such a thing.

One good thing aboot laying off the spirits is that this morning I am pretty much fully functional, which I cannot say for some of my co-workers.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 01/11/2013 14:16:22
Thanks for the good words yesterday, Will.

Hope your great niece recovers quickly (with no relapse).

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 14:16:29
Morning

Comment by BobR on 01/11/2013 14:18:33
blog is posted!

Comment by Will in Chicago on 01/11/2013 14:28:44
Thanks, Trojanrabbit, for the kind words.

Paul Krugman has some advice on the debt ceiling in his New York Times column today:

Coins Against Crazies

Finally, just consider the vileness of that G.O.P. threat. If we were to hit the debt ceiling, the U.S. government would end up defaulting on many of its obligations. This would have disastrous effects on financial markets, the economy, and our standing in the world. Yet Republicans are threatening to trigger this disaster unless they get spending cuts that they weren’t able to enact through normal, Constitutional means.

Republicans go wild at this analogy, but it’s unavoidable. This is exactly like someone walking into a crowded room, announcing that he has a bomb strapped to his chest, and threatening to set that bomb off unless his demands are met.

Which brings us to the coin.

As it happens, an obscure legal clause grants the secretary of the Treasury the right to mint and issue platinum coins in any quantity or denomination he chooses. Such coins were, of course, intended to be collectors’ items, struck to commemorate special occasions. But the law is the law — and it offers a simple if strange way out of the crisis.


Maybe it is just time to work around the GOP in the same way that we might drive around a roadblock. A boulder may be more open to compromise than the Tea Party.

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 14:31:29
good morning!



Comment by Will in Chicago on 01/11/2013 14:39:06
BobR, thanks for a great blog. I fear that the hard liners will not go down easy and we may have some idiot commit some acts of violent to live out their revolutionary fantasies.

There are limits on rights. One cannot shout "Fire!; in a crowded theater. Freedom of religion does not cover human sacrifice. Nor does the Second Amendment prevent the federal and state governments from imposing some limits on the ownership of guns and ammunition. I am waiting for Alex Jones or someone to declare the right to have rocket launchers for personal protection or hunting. (I wonder if they object to hunting licenses, as that is mandated by the government.)

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 14:55:56
*sigh* off to a 2 1/2 hour waste of time meeting - talk to everyone later

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 15:20:15
Quote by wickedpam:
*sigh* off to a 2 1/2 hour waste of time meeting - talk to everyone later
;( laterz Mala.


Comment by Scoopster on 01/11/2013 15:29:06
Mornin' all & Happy Fridee!

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 15:32:33
SO glad he is the Attorney General of Virginia... not.
Virginia Attorney General Ken "The Cooch" Cuccinelli's job is to enforce the law, but when it comes to a new federal law mandating that employee health insurance plans include the morning-after pill and other emergency contraception, he's encouraging opponents to break the law and go to jail,


Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 15:33:01
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all & Happy Fridee!

SCOOP! I love you energy today.

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 15:34:27
woo hoo! didn't have to sit in on the whole meeting!

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 15:36:32
Quote by wickedpam:
woo hoo! didn't have to sit in on the whole meeting!

Sweet!

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/11/2013 15:37:42
Quote by wickedpam:
woo hoo! didn't have to sit in on the whole meeting!



Yes! Meetings suck!

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 15:43:40
I don't like the title of this article, but I am glad to see this was passed.

Obama grants himself lifetime Secret Service protection

This title is a little bit better.

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 15:44:23
I don't think we can ever get enough of this:

Comment by Scoopster on 01/11/2013 15:47:35
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all & Happy Fridee!

SCOOP! I love your energy today.

I feel MUCH better today.. The cold was gone a couple days ago, but this damn cough has lingered. Last night was the first night in a week when I was able to actually use my sleep mask without a damn coughing fit popping it off my face every ten minutes!

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 15:54:47
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all & Happy Fridee!

SCOOP! I love your energy today.

I feel MUCH better today.. The cold was gone a couple days ago, but this damn cough has lingered. Last night was the first night in a week when I was able to actually use my sleep mask without a damn coughing fit popping it off my face every ten minutes!


the cough is horrible, it lingers and lingers and its finally starting to go away


Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 15:54:54
This is how Fox makes people stupitter

Actually, the NRCC started this nonsense.

http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=steve-benen463A6161-A5A7-B4CA-9448-FD0FE2F39FE5.jpg


I had a little fun at the National Republican Campaign Committee's expense the other day, when the NRCC mistakenly argued that a $1 trillion platinum coin would necessarily need $1 trillion worth of platinum. That didn't make any sense; the NRCC became the butt of jokes for a few hours; and the political world got a nice little lesson on how money works.

Everyone, that is, except the folks at Fox News, who yesterday made the exact same mistake.


Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 15:59:28
Quote by Raine:
This is how Fox makes people stupitter

Actually, the NRCC started this nonsense.

http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=steve-benen463A6161-A5A7-B4CA-9448-FD0FE2F39FE5.jpg


I had a little fun at the National Republican Campaign Committee's expense the other day, when the NRCC mistakenly argued that a $1 trillion platinum coin would necessarily need $1 trillion worth of platinum. That didn't make any sense; the NRCC became the butt of jokes for a few hours; and the political world got a nice little lesson on how money works.

Everyone, that is, except the folks at Fox News, who yesterday made the exact same mistake.


wow - an a penny has a penny's worth of copper in it


Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 16:02:21
yaeh, I'm sure the movie Steph is talking about is Hannibal, Gary Oldman get's eaten by pigs in the end

Comment by TriSec on 01/11/2013 16:10:42
That's Ron Paul talking now.

Shouldn't we be back on the Gold Standard?



Comment by livingonli on 01/11/2013 16:12:53
Good morning, folks. Couldn't sleep anymore so I am actually up early but I have to get up early tomorrow to be at work so it balances out. Working a whole bunch of College Basketball games tomorrow which should be brutal.

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/11/2013 16:15:00
Quote by Raine:
This is how Fox makes people stupitter

Actually, the NRCC started this nonsense.

http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=steve-benen463A6161-A5A7-B4CA-9448-FD0FE2F39FE5.jpg


I had a little fun at the National Republican Campaign Committee's expense the other day, when the NRCC mistakenly argued that a $1 trillion platinum coin would necessarily need $1 trillion worth of platinum. That didn't make any sense; the NRCC became the butt of jokes for a few hours; and the political world got a nice little lesson on how money works.

Everyone, that is, except the folks at Fox News, who yesterday made the exact same mistake.


I read the Matt Yglesias article yesterday. Hello, money is abstraction that is not based on precious metals. This is Fox showing its contempt for its viewers.

Comment by BobR on 01/11/2013 16:17:29
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
This is how Fox makes people stupitter

Actually, the NRCC started this nonsense.

http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=steve-benen463A6161-A5A7-B4CA-9448-FD0FE2F39FE5.jpg


I had a little fun at the National Republican Campaign Committee's expense the other day, when the NRCC mistakenly argued that a $1 trillion platinum coin would necessarily need $1 trillion worth of platinum. That didn't make any sense; the NRCC became the butt of jokes for a few hours; and the political world got a nice little lesson on how money works.

Everyone, that is, except the folks at Fox News, who yesterday made the exact same mistake.


wow - an a penny has a penny's worth of copper in it

A dime ain't worth what it used to be... a nickle, however, has held onto it's worth

Comment by BobR on 01/11/2013 16:19:16
I think they're confusing collectible coins where a $20 cold coin is minted with $20 worth of pure gold -vs- currency which is simply a placeholder for worth.

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 16:22:48
Quote by BobR:
A dime ain't worth what it used to be... a nickle, however, has held onto it's worth



Comment by Scoopster on 01/11/2013 16:23:05
Quote by BobR:
I think they're confusing collectible coins where a $20 cold coin is minted with $20 worth of pure gold -vs- currency which is simply a placeholder for worth.

It all comes down to their lack of education and deliberate ignorance of the facts, which are both hallmarks of this latest incarnation of the Know-Nothings.

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 16:26:35
Wolverines! Chris

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 16:27:46
Quote by BobR:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
This is how Fox makes people stupitter

Actually, the NRCC started this nonsense.

http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=steve-benen463A6161-A5A7-B4CA-9448-FD0FE2F39FE5.jpg


I had a little fun at the National Republican Campaign Committee's expense the other day, when the NRCC mistakenly argued that a $1 trillion platinum coin would necessarily need $1 trillion worth of platinum. That didn't make any sense; the NRCC became the butt of jokes for a few hours; and the political world got a nice little lesson on how money works.

Everyone, that is, except the folks at Fox News, who yesterday made the exact same mistake.


wow - an a penny has a penny's worth of copper in it

A dime ain't worth what it used to be... a nickle, however, has held onto it's worth



well, that's an interesting tidbit

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 16:29:24
is it me or are the gun people really parsing hard the gun definitions?

Comment by livingonli on 01/11/2013 16:29:24
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by BobR:
I think they're confusing collectible coins where a $20 cold coin is minted with $20 worth of pure gold -vs- currency which is simply a placeholder for worth.

It all comes down to their lack of education and deliberate ignorance of the facts, which are both hallmarks of this latest incarnation of the Know-Nothings.

It does feel like listening to GOPers that it is today's version of arguing with stupid people.

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/11/2013 16:29:57
Quote by wickedpam:
Wolverines! Chris



As in Red Dawn?



Comment by livingonli on 01/11/2013 16:30:07
Well, there is also one of the Fox News pundits who actually decried the teaching of Algebra as a "Liberal plot".


Comment by Mondobubba on 01/11/2013 16:30:57
Quote by wickedpam:
is it me or are the gun people really parsing hard the gun definitions?



Oh yes very much so. Did you know a hammer is an assault weapon? Seriously.

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 16:31:59
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
Wolverines! Chris



As in Red Dawn?



yep


Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 16:32:51
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
is it me or are the gun people really parsing hard the gun definitions?



Oh yes very much so. Did you know a hammer is an assault weapon? Seriously.



of course it is, especially if I throw it a the person(s) who is(are) pissing me off

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 16:35:03
Ok, you will remember I posted a link about the history of the Second Amendment yesterday, correct? If you missed it, here:

The Hidden History of the Second Amendment
In his 99-page article, Professor Bogus argues that the evidence, including an analysis of Madison's original language, and an understanding of how he and other founders drew on England's Declaration of Rights, strongly suggests that Madison wrote this provision for the specific purpose of assuring his constituency that Congress could not use its newly acquired power to deprive the states of an armed militia. Madison's concern, Professor Bogus argues, was not hunting, self-defense, national defense, or resistance to governmental tyranny, but slave control.

The "hidden history" of the Second Amendment is important for two reasons. First, it supports the view that the amendment does not grant individuals a right to keep and bear arms for their own purposes; rather it only protects the right to bear arms within the militia, as defined within the main body of the Constitution, under the joint control of the federal and state governments. At the time, the southern states extensively regulated their militias and prescribed their slave control responsibilities. Second, the hidden history is important because it fundamentally changes how we think about the right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment takes on an entirely different complexion when instead of being symbolized by a musket in the hands of the minutemen, it is associated with a musket in the hands of the slave holder.


Please forgive me while I pound my head on my desk after having read this:

Gun Appreciation Day Leader: If Blacks Had Guns, They Would Not Have Been Slaves




Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 16:37:09
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
is it me or are the gun people really parsing hard the gun definitions?



Oh yes very much so. Did you know a hammer is an assault weapon? Seriously.



of course it is, especially if I throw it a the person(s) who is(are) pissing me off


You should see the discussion I had yesterday. I highly recommend reading it. Wanna see moving goalposts? This was Classic.

And I must say, I am proud of how I handled myself.


Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 16:38:18
Oh, here is the new fucking RW meme: Guns/abortions.

GRRRRRR....

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 16:39:52
FUCK YOU CALLER.

Abortion: a medical procedure.

Gun: a thing.

Comment by livingonli on 01/11/2013 16:40:49
Quote by Raine:
Oh, here is the new fucking RW meme: Guns/abortions.

GRRRRRR....

Perfectly consistent with their definition of the sanctity of human life.

Comment by wickedpam on 01/11/2013 16:43:35
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
is it me or are the gun people really parsing hard the gun definitions?



Oh yes very much so. Did you know a hammer is an assault weapon? Seriously.



of course it is, especially if I throw it a the person(s) who is(are) pissing me off


You should see the discussion I had yesterday. I highly recommend reading it. Wanna see moving goalposts? This was Classic.

And I must say, I am proud of how I handled myself.



I've learned I can't have these discussions with people - my brain doesn't handle it well. You always handle these thing great!

Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 16:44:13
help me here, no strawman or Red herring responses:

Laws yes, restrictions on those who have done no wrong and are mentally "fit" NO! What makes me angry is a political agenda leveraging a horrific crime to further its agenda by making new laws that will only serve to tax law abiding citizens and create false sense of security as proven by the latest school shooting in the toughest gun control state in the nation!!!!




Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 16:45:09
Quote by wickedpam:


I've learned I can't have these discussions with people - my brain doesn't handle it well. You always handle these thing great!
Actually Bob is the master at that. This was really tough.


Comment by Raine on 01/11/2013 16:47:20
Quote by Raine:
help me here, no strawman or Red herring responses:

Laws yes, restrictions on those who have done no wrong and are mentally "fit" NO! What makes me angry is a political agenda leveraging a horrific crime to further its agenda by making new laws that will only serve to tax law abiding citizens and create false sense of security as proven by the latest school shooting in the toughest gun control state in the nation!!!!


I responded:

Still not logical, ___. Laws are, by nature, about restriction.