The idea that several people shooting in a dark, crowded, tear gassed theater is better than one, because everyone who can get a gun is obviously an expert marksman with crisis intervention training and nerves of steal.
“If only people would have had guns to fire back!”- Fuck off with this argument. It’s a complete fantasy.
Agreed — the ‘everyone should carry a gun’ argument is completely stupid. For the reasons you say and also because just like Ta-Nehisi Coates is arguing in that post by azspot this morning, James Holmes was wearing body armor. Are we all supposed to wear body armor now too?
I wouldn’t trust 98% of the people around me to be able to identify the correct target, let alone hit it in a dark theater, with people screaming and running, alarms blaring, and their blood pressure skyrocketing. There’s good reason for use of force / tactical training.
And has there ever been one situation in modern history where an ‘armed’ citizen (who wasn’t former or current LE) saved the day? Ever?
One last thought: you want to be ‘that guy’ who starts shooting back in a crowd? Good luck with all the lawsuits!
A gun in every cold, dead hand. The NRA is a lobby for firearm manufacturers and gun dealers. Money. That’s what it’s always all about.
1) Romney Wins Maine Caucus - Tiny turnout. || FromNate Silver: Mitt Romney’s narrow win in Maine didn’t do much for him in terms of delegates, but it did spare him some bad press. || Note: Romney must be very thankful for the 194 individuals who voted for him over Ron Paul. Maybe Maine wasn’t aware there was a caucus happening?
2) Poll: Santorum now leads GOP primary race - In a new poll released Saturday from liberal polling firm Public Policy Polling, Santorum’s huge Tuesday night wins has now seen him surge ahead of both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich nationally, leading the race at 38 percent. Romney is now in second place at 23 percent, while Gingrich is fading in third at 17 percent. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is in fourth place at 13 percent.
3) Santorum quote:
“I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you. As you know, we have to, in lots of different aspects of our life. We have horrible things happen. I can’t think of anything more horrible. But, nevertheless, we have to make the best out of a bad situation.” - Rick Santorum on pregnancy resulting from rape
4) Obama quote:
“Whether you’re a teacher, or a small businesswoman, or a nurse, or a janitor, no woman’s health should depend on who she is or where she works or how much money she makes. Every woman should be in control of the decisions that affect her own health. Period. This basic principle is already the law in 28 states across the country.” - President Obama (via: sarahlee310)
5) Things the Catholic Church is and is not concerned about for $100, Alex?
VERY IS: Your lady parts and your pregnancy choices.Catholic bishops reject Obama’s ‘accommodation’ on birth control- Faced with a religious-based outcry over his birth-control mandate, President Obama on Friday unveiled an “accommodation” he said “protects” the religious freedom of churches opposed to contraception. Just hours later, the Catholic Church rejected the plan. Obama’s compromise, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said Friday, “continues to involve needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions, and to threaten government coercion of religious people and groups to violate their most deeply held convictions.”
IS NOT: Sexual abuse of children by priests.8,000 instances of abuse alleged in Archdiocese bankruptcy hearing - Sealed documents filed in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy identify at least 8,000 instances of child sexual abuse and 100 alleged offenders – 75 of them priests – who have not previously been named by the archdiocese, a victims’ attorney said Thursday. Archdiocese spokeswoman Julie Wolf said she did not have enough information to respond to the assertion, made by attorney Jeffrey Anderson during a pivotal hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley. Anderson represents about 350 of the 570 victim-survivors who have filed claims in the case.
6) About This Religious Liberty Stuff - When did the 1st Amendment change from basically saying that you can practice whatever religion you want and you won’t be burned at the stake as a heretic and we’re not going to form or recognize a national religion like the Church of England? When did it change to “everyone everywhere has to do what a bunch of old catholics in funny hats wants, because otherwise it hurts their feelings?” And why does it only apply to certain religions? [...] Does no one realize how absurd the Catholic Bishops are behaving? They are attempting, by dictate, to do precisely what the 1st Amendment bans, which is the establishment of a national religion. It’s obscene. And it is completely political. They are no longer functioning as a religious organization, but as a political party.
7) Breitbartocalypse Is Nigh!- Here’s Breitbart bellowing like a ruptured cow at the OWS protesters at CPAC. Jesus God, what a braying ninny. Does he think screeching inanities until his neck veins pulse alarmingly and being led away by security personnel is some sort of rhetorical triumph? What an asshole. || Note: I could only take about 10 seconds of this video. See if you can do better! Breitbart apparently switches from yowling “behave yourselves” to “stop raping people.” Lol. Yeah. Drunk, obv.
8) REPORT: By A Nearly 2 To 1 Margin, Cable Networks Call On Men Over Women To Comment On Birth Control- Out of a total of 146 guests who discussed contraception, the cables invited 91 men compared to 55 women as commentators. In other words, males comprised 62 percent of the total guests who commented on contraception. Fox was the most gender stratified network – on the Business network, 10 of 11 guests were male; on the News side, male pundits took up 65 percent of the guest lineup (28 men vs. 15 women). Sixty percent of MSNBC’s lineup was male (44 men vs. 31 women). And while CNN was more evenly balanced, it was still slightly tilted in favor of male perspectives (9 men vs. 8 women).
9) Does Watching Violence Lower Violence? - While exposing kids to the latest cadaver on CSI — or to Jack Bauer’s lessons in successful torture on 24 — is probably a bad idea, watching an action movie might in fact reduce violence among adults. A recent study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics suggests that violent crime rates actually dropped when a blood-splattered blockbuster was in the cinema in the United States. The authors Gordon Dahl and Stefano DellaVigna looked at data from 1995 to 2004 and concluded that violent movies deter almost 1,000 assaults on an average weekend in the United States.
Witnesses say police officers tackled a grandfather at an Arizona Wal-Mart Friday, leaving him bloody and unconscious.
The video game section of the Buckeye store got a little rowdy when people started trying to tear open boxes of games, and one woman got punched.
After one man’s grandson got trampled, he put the video game he was holding in his waistband in order to free up his hands and lift the boy out of the crowd, according to KSAZ.
That’s when cops moved in, slamming the grandfather’s head on the hard Wal-Mart floor. The aftermath was caught on cell phone video.
On another note: I know all the ‘cool kids’ say not to shop on Black Friday and / or to shop locally, but I’ll believe your heart’s really in this when you stop wanting the newest XBox gaming platform, iPads, TVs, or various video games, movies and music, and would instead be happy with a hand-knitted scarf or a hand-dipped soy candle.
Your parents and loved ones are the 99% and their money is not unlimited.
Image above:what we do in America, our role in the world. Certainly can’t last forever though, with our ‘Rick-Perry-minimum-wage jobs’ or no jobs at all. If we don’t consume enough today, the one percent will need more tax cuts — which we’ll gladly pay for by allowing the GOP to cut our social safety net programs.
Apparently pepper spray is the new Christmas tradition in the U.S.
“I heard screaming and I heard yelling. Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up.” — Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, California Wal-Mart customer Matthew Lopez • Describing what happened after another customer, who authorities say was “competitive shopping,” pepper sprayed 20 people (including children!) in an attempt to beat everyone else at getting stuff. Considering, you know, this incident and this incident, the usage of pepper spray seems incredibly ironic. Authorities are looking for the person who sprayed her fellow shoppers in efforts to buy a new Xbox 360 or something similar. Humanity sucks sometimes. source (via: shortformblog)
Twenty people, including children, received minor injuries after a woman reportedly pepper sprayed other shoppers at a Los Angeles-area Walmart store on Thursday as late-night Black Friday sales began in the United States and Canada.
Calling it an act of “competitive shopping,” a fire captain told the Los Angeles Times the woman had intentionally taken the pepper spray with her to the department store in Porter Ranch to get the edge on her fellow shoppers.
She used the pepper spray in several areas of the store, Los Angeles Fire Capt. James Carson told the Times.
At least seven of the shoppers were receiving medical care; areas of the store were reportedly evacuated after the incident. Victims reported irritation of the skin, eye and throat. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
Police are on the streets of Tottenham, north London, where overnight riots saw petrol bombs thrown at officers and patrol cars and buildings set alight.
Latest from London: Riot scene being described by news accounts and Twitter feeds across the net.. Being called a war zone, 26 police officers have been hurt..
Dozens have been arrested in the violence..
The riots are taking place in the economically deprived Tottenham area. Police cars are being set of fire, buildings and buses are being torched..
It all began when Mark Duggan, 29, father of four, was killed in what is being described as an ‘apparent’ exchange of gunfire..
Perhaps it is only 27% of these fucks who respond to any moment of cognitive dissonance with threats of violence. I think it may be most of of them, but lets go with 27% of TeaBaggers who make up 27% of Republicans, who are 27% of American voters. Sure it is a small and loud group, but it is still way too many folks dedicated to violence as their first option in any political discussion.
Q: Who in their right mind would think that the necessary response to a DEBATE CHALLENGE would be threatening to rape and/or assault the challenger?
A: Michele Bachmann supporters, who are either insane or fascists or insane fascists. And it’s interesting that Michele Bachmann has not condemned these people. Could that mean she agrees with them?
Egypt’s prime minister apologized Thursday for the violent attacks on protesters yesterday and said the country’s president has asked him to investigate the security chaos. “This is a fatal error, and when investigations reveal who is behind this crime and who allowed it to happen, I promise they will be held accountable and will be punished for what they did,” Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said on state-owned TV.
“The victim our nation has been tracking so closely for the last ten days is making a miraculous recovery and is now apparently sitting upright and communicating.
Oh, I’m sorry. That was a bit of a misdirect, wasn’t it?”
“I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you. As you know, we have to, in lots of different aspects of our life. We have horrible things happen. I can’t think of anything more horrible. But, nevertheless, we have to make the best out of a bad situation.” - 
“Whether you’re a teacher, or a small businesswoman, or a nurse, or a janitor, no woman’s health should depend on who she is or where she works or how much money she makes. Every woman should be in control of the decisions that affect her own health. Period. This basic principle is already the law in 28 states across the country.” - 
6) 
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