calimary
calimary's JournalI'm truly torn by this, but I find that I still keep coming back to what you're saying.
I'd be SERIOUSLY nervous if I knew my young children were over at another kid's house where there were guns. I don't think I'd want my kids over there. Mine are all grown up now, so it's past that time for me. But we've had WAY too many tragedies in which presumably responsible, law-abiding citizens don't keep their guns completely safe and hidden from curious children's prying eyes and searching fingers. Kids can wriggle their way into all kinds of places where they're not supposed to go, and where they're not supposed to know about it. Some kids know where their parents keep those guns because maybe they go out to target practice together - and what's to stop one of those kids from saying to their friends - "hey! C'm here! SHHHHHH!!! Don't tell anybody... You wanna see something REEEEEEEALLLY COOL?!?!?!!!!!" And then we have another one of those horrible nightmare family tragedies. You KNOW that kind of thing happens. How many times have we seen stories like this in the news, where it was just one really terrible mistake?
We've seen WAY too much of that. Hell, the mother of that nutcase in Newtown CT was a responsible, law-abiding citizen, too. Those were HER guns. Including that dreaded bushmaster (WHY???? WHY ON EARTH would she want such a thing in her home - under ANY circumstances????). How'd that work out for her - OR for any of the other grieving parents in that town now?
I'm really torn.
I completely understand and support privacy rights. I truly do.
But as someone who does NOT believe the answer to the gun problem is more guns in more hands, or that any Tom Dick and Harry is entitled to have free and unfettered access to any kinds of guns they want, for WHATEVER reason, I think I'd actually appreciate knowing who's got guns in my neighborhood. I would want to avoid them. I would not want to go into the house of somebody who had guns - knowing what could happen in a random or uncontrolled moment of madness - or of negligence or carelessness. ONE moment like that is all it takes.
So I'm torn.
You know how your first reaction tends to be the real one for you - it's always tell-tale. Well, this one's mine. The first time I heard about it, my immediate reaction was - "GOOD!"
And yet the right to privacy is also a key right that I recognize and greatly appreciate. I certainly demand it when it comes to MY body and a woman's right to choose.
I'm seriously torn. This is a difficult one. I don't know which side I'd take on this one.
Welcome to DU, former_con!
Good to have you with us! You make a great point about the whole framing thing. Notice how they're STILL parroting the "... we have a spending problem!" crap? They've been at this for more than 30 years. They've built a HUGE political infrastructure with well-funded think-tanks, foundations, forums, radio networks, an entire 24/7/365 cable network, ALL pounding out the well-studied, focus-group-tested, thoroughly test-driven propaganda relentlessly. We don't have anything remotely like that. A 30-year head start is awfully hard to eradicate overnight.
kpete, you've done it again! Yet another EXCELLENT bookmarkable post!
You could call it "Remarkable Bookmarkable"! GREAT stuff to make note of - AND KEEP TRACK OF!
This is a good resource to use in reply to some of those lamebrain emails you might get from your old racist knuckledragger uncle or whoever attempts to so blight your inbox. A real keeper!!!!
Welcome to DU, love_katz (btw, I do, too!)!
Good to have you with us! Remember walmart, too. They steadfastly REFUSED to stop selling bushmasters and other personal weapons of mass destruction. I, too, hope that speech marks the beginning of the end for the NRA's power and influence. Or just its end, PERIOD. I noted with some irony that the speech was scheduled on the day the Mayan calendar designated as the end of the world. Here's hoping that's EXACTLY what it winds up being for the NRA!
Welcome to DU, raquel69!
Good to have you with us! Only problem is - there were armed guards at Columbine. There were armed guards at Virginia Tech. Hell, Fort Hood had nothing BUT armed guards - all over the compound! Did that make any difference? Did that stop any of those shooters? Did that do any good at all? We just had several of those "good guys with guns" mowed down in the last few days - in Pennsylvania - WHILE wayne lapierre was actually on TV, giving his bullshit speech! THREE state troopers I believe it was. Seems to me all it'll do is inspire armed nutcases to figure out ways around those armed guards. Figure out what kind of rounds they make, what patterns they patrol, and what hours they're on duty and in what locations on campus. If my kids were still of school age, I would think twice about sending them to some armed camp.
Got a gun problem? Well then we need to add more guns! MAKES NO SENSE TO ME, WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And he unleashed the full power of lee atwater, and the Willie Horton ads, and all this other shit
that helped racists come proudly out of the closet and into politics. We're STILL suffering under the effects of that. kkkarl rove and george junior learned their dirty tricks from lee atwater's knee. atwater was such bad news, and did such awful things that he felt compelled to call Michael Dukakis to his deathbed to apologize for fucking him over - shortly before he died of cancer.
HORRIBLE man. HORRIBLE excuse for a human being. And ghwb brought him into the foregrounds and near sainthood with the GOP. They practically worshipped that bastard.
Welcome to DU, SpecialKinNJ!
Good to have you with us! Ed Markey would be great with a Senate platform, being one of 100 rather than one of that huge unruly rabble in the House. He'd class up the joint even more. Hopefully he'll be replaced in the House with someone worthy of him, and of Massachusetts.
Welcome to DU, mtasselin!
Glad you're here! I, for one, am relieved. Just what we do NOT need is that empty-headed weathervane who photographs well adding another "r" back into the Senate. I was SO glad when we got rid of the male bimbo. I'm a child of the 60s and JFK was the first President about whom I can remember having an awareness. I loved how his very wealthy family, despite all their money and power, was still somehow all about dedication to public service. I really admired that. The Kennedys viewed government service as a way to work for the public good. So seeing a Kennedy seat in the Senate fall into the hands of republi-CONS was a serious affront. A HUGE slap in the face. Utter apostasy. Looks like the chances are good that we won't see that abomination repeat itself with the soon-to-be-vacant Kerry seat. Seems to me Massachusetts is best served with DEMOCRATS in office. (Kinda like California!) Well, hell, kinda like EVERY state in the union, if you really wanna know.
Dang, wyldwolf! This is TERRIFIC!
Thank you so much for the compilation - must have taken you awhile!
This is well worth bookmarking for everyone. So much good reference material here!
: (where's that "you rock" smilie when you need it?) :
That's a GREAT one, isn't it?! "Douche canoe!" I'm gonna be laughing about that all day!
Excellent, Floyd_Gondolli!
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