Dynadot
Spaceship Spaceship
Watch

Who is to Blame for the Troubled US Economy?

  • This poll is still running and the standings may change.
  • Both Parties

    268 
    votes
    44.7%
  • Neither Party

    57 
    votes
    9.5%
  • Democrats

    133 
    votes
    22.2%
  • Republicans

    141 
    votes
    23.5%
  • This poll is still running and the standings may change.

Impact
8,557
Here you can spout your USA political views.

Rules:
1. Keep it clean
2. No fighting
3. Respect the views of others.
4. US Political views, No Religious views
5. Have fun :)

:wave:
 
8
•••
The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Begin A VERY Rambling Stream of Conciousness Response]

Thanks for the rambling stream of consciousness :).

I didn’t ask that question to be contentious, I really would like to have an intelligent and respectful conversation on the subject. You seemed like a good bet.

Sorry about your relative /roommate. That must have been very difficult for you and your family.

I don’t have time to address everything you mentioned right now, but here’s a short summary of what I heard in your reply. Feel free to clarify or correct if I missed something in the rambling:

  • We can’t prevent it, it’s pointless to try.
  • Even if we could, the risk is too low to be worth the effort.
  • We’d all be safer if more people carried weapons and had concealed carry permits.
  • Some anger and defensiveness (no need to justify, just saying what I heard in your post.)
And off-topic, if we want to save lives we should focus our efforts on:
  • Keeping people from killing themselves (and occasionally others?) with tobacco and alcohol.
  • Requiring safer vehicles or a special permit to drive one not fitting the requirements
(I don’t totally disagree with either point, but don’t certain vehicles already have much higher insurance rates for that very reason? )

Anything else?

Let’s play a little RPG

You’re in a windowless conference room. Boss is pissed. If you want to keep your job (let’s assume you do) the group needs to produce one or more sets of recommendations for allocating budget to address school shootings / mass shootings or you’re all staying in that room for the foreseeable future. Ordering in Burger King or McD.? Hah - you wish! More like 6 day old cold cuts from the 7/11 next door.

The wall art is hideous, the chairs aren’t comfy. Your phone has been confiscated. There’s no way out.

You want to leave and have a life, and not die of listeria from convenience store bologna. What recommendations do you come up with?
 
Last edited:
0
•••
I think the argument of self-defense, CCW is overrated in those situations.

If you are in the middle of a shootout: probably you won't have time to react if you happen to be where the action is. By the time you reach for your pocket, you already got a bullet in your head.

This is silly argument. You don't need self-defense because you'll just die anyway. You think a shooter isn't going to change their plan if people shoot back?

My wife is a better shot than I am. She has a CCW and caries a .380, slightly smaller than a 9MM but will ruin your day. Threaten one of her kids, grandkids and see how fast she turns from nana to Annie Oakley.

Otherwise a semi-automatic handgun (with small magazine) vs an automatic weapon (assault rife, machine gun) is still a very unbalanced fight. You have to be very accurate, whereas the killer doesn't even have to aim, just shoot. In fact you could easily miss the target and shoot an innocent among the crowd and in the confusion... it's not so easy to hit a rapidly moving target even at close range.
Many Americans own guns but not many have that kind of practice. Owning a gun is one thing, being a sharp shooter is another.

It could be a sniper, so you don't see where the shots come from. See in Vegas how long it took to stop the killer.

Nice in theory. In practice ?

Sounds like a very dangerous country you live in. Probably a sh*hole Third World country :)

You're just imagining an argument based on 0 experience.
 
Last edited:
1
•••
Every situation and resulting actions in life will always be dependent on the specific factors involved in that particular situation.

My question was simply, if you were huddling with cover in the middle of a mass shooting (ANY mass shooting), would you prefer to be with someone with a gun in hand or would you prefer to be with someone that is empty handed?

Now a question to you. Aside from a wingnut with a gun(s) targeting innocent people, what else do most mass shootings have in common?

Hint: How many of these mass shootings have taken place where normal, everyday people are actually allowed to carry guns?

Using a gun successfully in self defense isn't necessarily about being able put a bullet in the bad guy, it can also be a deterrent when the bad guy knows/realizes that they too can become a target.


Yeaaaaaah, NO! But a lot of people would still think otherwise... LOL

People who have never been shot at think they can predict how people will act when shot at. Criminals will flee, hide, etc, just like anyone else.
 
1
•••
1
•••
Progressive liberals on ABC: Meet a 10 year old queer drag kid! He spent the night dancing at an adult gay bar for money!! Kid in drag, enters, dances suggestively up to the stage, dramatically falls on the floor and spreads his legs.

FABULOUS!!
--

Progressive Journalist: OMG! The Second Lady of the United States of America took a job at a Christian school that bans queer drag-queens from teaching children! BIGOTS.
--

Liberal Sheep: Your criticism of adults exploiting children is exploitation! Leave those children to do what they want! You're worse than those monsters in FOOT LOOSE!!
--

This world is nearing the end.

crazy-liberal-scum-2.jpg


In other words, she's teaching at a private Christian school.

crazy-liberal-scum.jpg
 
Last edited:
1
•••
This is silly argument. You don't need self-defense because you'll just die anyway. You think a shooter isn't going to change their plan if people shoot back?
...
You're just imagining an argument based on 0 experience.
Possibly. But can you tell me how many times was a mass shooting stopped by some CCW hero who happened to be on the crime scene ?
Vs how many times the shootout end on their own when the killer runs out of ammo, commits suicide or is overpowered by police.

Proliferation of guns is not without risk, it also means more accidents, more guns get lost/stolen or whatever and fall in the wrong hands.
In other words, by trying to solve a problem you often create other problems by virtue of unintended consequences.
 
1
•••
Possibly. But can you tell me how many times was a mass shooting stopped by some CCW hero who happened to be on the crime scene ?
Vs how many times the shootout end on their own when the killer runs out of ammo, commits suicide or is overpowered by police.

Proliferation of guns is not without risk, it also means more accidents, more guns get lost/stolen or whatever and fall in the wrong hands.
In other words, by trying to solve a problem you often create other problems by virtue of unintended consequences.

1) Machine guns have not been available to the public since 1930's.

2) More People Use a Gun in Self-Defense Each Year Than Die in Car Accidents
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/07...-defense-each-year-than-die-in-car-accidents/

3) Chicago Woman With Concealed-carry Permit Shoots, Kills Armed Robber
https://www.thenewamerican.com/usne...cealed-carry-permit-shoots-kills-armed-robber

You're using outliers to generalize about the effectiveness of legal firearms. In the UK, a women defending herself would be arrested taken to jail BEFORE an investigation.

Violent criminals don't stop being violent because guns are hard to get. They use knives, any other weapon to give themselves an advantage.
 
Last edited:
1
•••
President Trump in 2020.

Progressive liberals on ABC: Meet a 10 year old queer drag kid! He spent the night dancing at an adult gay bar for money!! Kid in drag, enters, dances suggestively up to the stage, dramatically falls on the floor and spreads his legs.

FABULOUS!!
--

Progressive Journalist: OMG! The Second Lady of the United States of America took a job at a Christian school that bans queer drag-queens from teaching children! BIGOTS.
--

Liberal Sheep: Your criticism of adults exploiting children is exploitation! Leave those children to do what they want! You're worse than those monsters in FOOT LOOSE!!
--

This world is nearing the end.

Show attachment 107337

In other words, she's teaching at a private Christian school.

Show attachment 107336
 
0
•••
Thanks for the rambling stream of consciousness :).

I didn’t ask that question to be contentious, I really would like to have an intelligent and respectful conversation on the subject. You seemed like a good bet.

Sorry about your relative /roommate. That must have been very difficult for you and your family.

I don’t have time to address everything you mentioned right now, but here’s a short summary of what I heard in your reply. Feel free to clarify or correct if I missed something in the rambling:

  • We can’t prevent it, it’s pointless to try.
  • Even if we could, the risk is too low to be worth the effort.
  • We’d all be safer if more people carried weapons and had concealed carry permits.
  • Some anger and defensiveness (no need to justify, just saying what I heard in your post.)
And off-topic, if we want to save lives we should focus our efforts on:
  • Keeping people from killing themselves (and occasionally others?) with tobacco and alcohol.
  • Requiring safer vehicles or a special permit to drive one not fitting the requirements
(I don’t totally disagree with either point, but don’t certain vehicles already have much higher insurance rates for that very reason? )

Anything else?

Let’s play a little RPG

You’re in a windowless conference room. Boss is pissed. If you want to keep your job (let’s assume you do) the group needs to produce one or more sets of recommendations for allocating budget to address school shootings / mass shootings or you’re all staying in that room for the foreseeable future. Ordering in Burger King or McD.? Hah - you wish! More like 6 day old cold cuts from the 7/11 next door.

The wall art is hideous, the chairs aren’t comfy. Your phone has been confiscated. There’s no way out.

You want to leave and have a life, and not die of listeria from convenience store bologna. What recommendations do you come up with?
Sorry Enlytend. I'm going to be a bit busy for the next couple of days so it may take a bit before I can actually respond.

Possibly. But can you tell me how many times was a mass shooting stopped by some CCW hero who happened to be on the crime scene ?
Vs how many times the shootout end on their own when the killer runs out of ammo, commits suicide or is overpowered by police.

Proliferation of guns is not without risk, it also means more accidents, more guns get lost/stolen or whatever and fall in the wrong hands.
In other words, by trying to solve a problem you often create other problems by virtue of unintended consequences.
TRICK QUESTION!

Quoting my previous post,
...Now a question to you. Aside from a wingnut with a gun(s) targeting innocent people, what else do most mass shootings have in common?

Hint: How many of these mass shootings have taken place where normal, everyday people are actually allowed to carry guns?...

Most of the SENSATIONALIZED mass shootings have taken place at venues where firearms are not permitted - i.e. Gun-Free Zones. Had a CCW permit holder brought their gun on premises then they would possibly/probably been breaking the law. Once again I point out that most gun owners/CCW folks are law abiding citizens.

Any way, I believe the Sutherland Spring shooting was stopped by a good guy with a gun.
 
Last edited:
2
•••
Kremlin coming to the aid of their embattled comrade:

Kremlin calls idea that Trump worked for Moscow ‘absurd’
https://www.apnews.com/545127faa10444a6bc0b2c8d4b0d4040

--------------------
Thanks Trump

4 Americans killed in Syria suicide attack

Senator (Graham) says Trump’s Syria comments may have emboldened ISIS deadly attack on US troops

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...e-emboldened-isis-deadly-attack-on-us-troops/

--------
Trump was warned in Iraq that ISIS was not defeated in Syria
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/politics/donald-trump-isis-syria-warning/index.html?utm_content=2019-01-16T18:20:05&utm_source=twCNN&utm_term=image&utm_medium=social

-------------
Just saw this, Pence lying his ass off. "ISIS has been defeated", hours after this latest attack:

 
Last edited:
0
•••
1
•••
BREAKING: Feds Arrest 21-Year-Old Jihadist Hasher Jallal Taheb in Terror Plot to Bomb White House – ISIS Sympathizer
21-year-old jihadist Hasher Jallal Taheb of Cumming, Georgia was arrested by the feds for plotting a terrorist attack against the White House with explosives.
The jihadist also eyed the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.

Taheb reportedly had a hand-drawn diagram of the ground floor of the West Wing of the White House.

US Attorney for the northern district of Georgia, BJ Pak, gave a presser on Wednesday.

“His alleged intent was to attack the White House and other targets of opportunity in the Washington, D.C. area,” Mr. Pak said.

Mr. Pak also revealed that Taheb intended to use explosives and an anti-tank rocket to carry out the attacks.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/feds-arrest-21-year-old-jihadist-hasher-jallal-taheb-in-terror-plot-targeting-white-house-with-explosives/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=129&v=tiAkA-8t70c
 
Last edited:
0
•••
2
•••
0
•••
Democrats Fall Short in Effort to Rebuke Administration on Russia Sanctions
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/16/us/politics/senate-trump-russia-sanctions.html

--------------------------------------

I think AOC is playing chess with Republicans. She says some out there kind of stuff. You give her all this attention. She uses this attention to zap them back.

"Where's Mitch?" -Rep. Ocasio-Cortez
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1085705523243216896

He’s not in the cloak room
He’s not in the Capitol
He’s not in the Russel building
He’s not on the floor of the Senate
And 800,000 people still don’t have their paychecks - so #WheresMitch?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‏Verified account @AOC 4h4 hours ago


DxFMUm7XQAIJz78.jpg


DxFfyJtVAAAqRpv.jpg:large
 
Last edited:
0
•••
Thanks for the rambling stream of consciousness :).

I didn’t ask that question to be contentious, I really would like to have an intelligent and respectful conversation on the subject. You seemed like a good bet.
Stop it Entylend! You're embarrassing me and making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside... blush, blush

Sorry about your relative /roommate. That must have been very difficult for you and your family.
Thanks.

I don’t have time to address everything you mentioned right now, but here’s a short summary of what I heard in your reply. Feel free to clarify or correct if I missed something in the rambling:
Lol... I really need to work on my communication skills because it appears your take away isn't what I was trying to convey.

We can’t prevent it, it’s pointless to try.
Even if we could, the risk is too low to be worth the effort
.
Not quite. I'm saying that I'm a realist and accept as fact that bad things are going to happen in life no matter what we do because there are and always will be bad people in the world intent on doing bad things to others. To think otherwise is fantasy. That's the way it has been since the beginning of man and will continue to be no matter how much more "civilized" we become.

The chances of bad things happening can be mitigated to varying degrees but it will always be based on a risk/reward or cost/benefit calculation whether done by us, the government, or the people that operate the places we go every day.

Again, if any of us civilians actually believed being shot was within the realm of realistic probability on any given day, why would we leave our house?!?!?


We’d all be safer if more people carried weapons and had concealed carry permits.
Generally I believe this to be true, but not because I think it will result in the bad guy being shot before they can do too much harm. I believe it acts as a strong deterrent. Will it stop every bad guy? No. But I believe most of bad guys and at least the mildly crazy do have an inherent sense of self preservation. Now those that are suicidal, maybe not so much...

Again, how many of the sensationalized mass shootings have taken place at locations where everyday citizens had the right to carry as they wished?

Some anger and defensiveness (no need to justify, just saying what I heard in your post.)
And off-topic, if we want to save lives we should focus our efforts on:
Keeping people from killing themselves (and occasionally others?) with tobacco and alcohol.
Requiring safer vehicles or a special permit to drive one not fitting the requirements
(I don’t totally disagree with either point, but don’t certain vehicles already have much higher insurance rates for that very reason? )
I don't think I'm angry about anything. Cynical yes, angry no.

I was trying to point out the hypocrisy of anti-gun people claiming it is all about saving lives when there are even greater causes of death that could be removed or changed.

Unfortunately these things -- despite their death tolls - won't be removed or changed because people (and the industries that make those products) feel their right to self-medicate or express their freedom and individuality is of greater importance than saving as many lives as possible.

Let’s play a little RPG

You’re in a windowless conference room. Boss is pissed. If you want to keep your job (let’s assume you do) the group needs to produce one or more sets of recommendations for allocating budget to address school shootings / mass shootings or you’re all staying in that room for the foreseeable future. Ordering in Burger King or McD.? Hah - you wish! More like 6 day old cold cuts from the 7/11 next door.

The wall art is hideous, the chairs aren’t comfy. Your phone has been confiscated. There’s no way out.

You want to leave and have a life, and not die of listeria from convenience store bologna. What recommendations do you come up with?
Let me start by saying I absolutely LOVE the scenario you've presented/painted here. I can actually visualize the entire room and participants. Crap! Seems we're having problems with the ventilation in the room as well. It's going to be a long stay in this room...

I have no answer to your question because there is NO WAY to prevent ABSOLUTELY EVERY possible permutation of a bad guy with a weapon intent on destruction.

To even begin to approach that level of security, not only would it be cost prohibitive, but it would put a major strain on everyone involved along with the entire school's infrastructure.

The best you can do - and is what most schools seem to have done - is figure out the most likely scenarios and attempt to protect against those as best they can within the budget they were given, without creating too many points of possible conflict and without infringing on too many rights. (Pretty much what I was saying further up.)

Unfortunately the biggest weakness in any and every plan will likely be one or more of the humans that must execute it effectively in order for it to work. People get complacent. They put their own well being above others. They...

Marjorie Stone Douglas High School likely thought they had a pretty good plan in place. Unfortunately there wasn't just one weak link, they were many.

A gunman with an AR-15 fired the bullets, but a series of blunders, bad policies, sketchy training and poor leadership helped him succeed. "
http://projects.sun-sentinel.com/2018/sfl-parkland-school-shooting-critical-moments/#nt=oft09a-2gp1

(Ps. If I even thought I had a solution to school shootings I'd be screaming it at the top of my lungs! That's assuming it didn't trample on any of our Constitutional Rights.)
 
Last edited:
1
•••
0
•••
1
•••
3
•••
No one cares what she does. Mitch's staff made copies of the letter for her to distribute. These publicity stunts are fun but payback will be harsh.

Democrats Fall Short in Effort to Rebuke Administration on Russia Sanctions
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/16/us/politics/senate-trump-russia-sanctions.html

--------------------------------------

I think AOC is playing chess with Republicans. She says some out there kind of stuff. You give her all this attention. She uses this attention to zap them back.

"Where's Mitch?" -Rep. Ocasio-Cortez
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1085705523243216896

He’s not in the cloak room
He’s not in the Capitol
He’s not in the Russel building
He’s not on the floor of the Senate
And 800,000 people still don’t have their paychecks - so #WheresMitch?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‏Verified account @AOC 4h4 hours ago


DxFMUm7XQAIJz78.jpg


DxFfyJtVAAAqRpv.jpg:large

Kristen Gillibrand Makes an Illegal Left Turn: ‘Yes’ to Illegal Alien Drivers Licenses
 
Last edited:
0
•••
Last edited:
1
•••
0
•••
Last edited:
1
•••
For 7th Consecutive Year, Visa Overstays Exceeded Illegal Border Crossings

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/16/6860...a-overstays-exceeded-illegal-border-crossings

"The report released Wednesday by the Center for Migration Studies of New York finds that from 2016-2017, visa overstayers accounted for 62 percent of the newly undocumented, while 38 percent had crossed a border illegally."​

"It is clear from our research that persons who overstay their visas add to the US undocumented population at a higher rate than border crossers. This is not a blip, but a trend which has become the norm,"
The report: http://cmsny.org/publications/essay-2017-undocumented-and-overstays/

We do have an immigration problem, but it's not one we'll fix with a wall.
 
0
•••
1) Estimated because we don't know how many people cross the border illegally.

2) It doesn't mean we don't need a border security. It means we need ICE to enforce the law.

For 7th Consecutive Year, Visa Overstays Exceeded Illegal Border Crossings

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/16/6860...a-overstays-exceeded-illegal-border-crossings

"The report released Wednesday by the Center for Migration Studies of New York finds that from 2016-2017, visa overstayers accounted for 62 percent of the newly undocumented, while 38 percent had crossed a border illegally."​

"It is clear from our research that persons who overstay their visas add to the US undocumented population at a higher rate than border crossers. This is not a blip, but a trend which has become the norm,"
The report: http://cmsny.org/publications/essay-2017-undocumented-and-overstays/

We do have an immigration problem, but it's not one we'll fix with a wall.
 
Last edited:
0
•••
Back