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You are here: Home / Politics / GOP Death Cult / Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Our Devoutly *Un*regulated Militia

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Our Devoutly *Un*regulated Militia

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  1. 1.

    Baud

    Maybe we should start celebrating mass killings. If people aren’t offended by the abuse of the Second Amendment, they shouldn’t be offended by abuse of the First Amendment.

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    Fine. Treat guns like cars. That includes mandatory liability insurance whose cost is determined, by private companies, based on whatever perceived risk factors they want to throw into their models. That AR-15 is gonna cost you.

  4. 4.

    PsiFighter37

    Apparently Duckworth is saying she will not vote for any more Biden nominees until more Asian-Americans are put forward as nominees for other positions. As an Asian-American myself, I would kindly tell her to fuck off. That is the stupidest thing possible to do, and Mitch McConnell has to be thrilled that we decided this was a great time to play blatant identity politics.

  5. 5.

    A Ghost to Most

    Don’t dare blame his neighbors (my neighbors, I live close to them) for making his life hell at Arvada West H.S. because he was a Muslim. No sir. Let’s not fix the problem, let’s rail about the tool he chose. It fits your narrative better. For the record, I have always supported banning high-velocity military weapons, but guns are not the problem. Greedy, bigoted, and spiteful people are. His fellow students tormented him. Some of you live in a liberal bubble just as sturdy as the biggest nazi assholes.

  7. 7.

    dr. bloor

    @A Ghost to Most:

    How about, because changing a gun law, however Herculean a feat that might be, is still far easier than changing the attitudes of your asshole neighbors?

    Must be tough being as wise and as virtuous as you are.

  10. 10.

    BlueGuitarist

    What part of “well regulated” is difficult to understand?

    would it help to say Second Amendment Absolutists insist the second amendment requires good regulations, or Second amendment originalists or textualists? It is right there in the text: well regulated.

  12. 12.

    FlyingToaster

    @A Ghost to Most: partly WRONG.

    I live in Massachusetts.  No matter how hellish his HS is, he wouldn’t be able to get ahold of an AR-15 unless he got it from his parents (ref: Sandy Hook).

    partly RIGHT.

    Institutional blind eyes are turned to bullying, if you’re bullying the “right” people.  I lived through it, my daughter had half a year of it before she snapped and the school administration was forced to step in (and a teacher was demoted before their contract was not renewed); my husband went through it.  Like bigotry, we’re talking generations of ingrained bad ideas, with absolutely no will to change a damn thing unless you make them pay.

  13. 13.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Omnes Omnibus: I mean, if she said that then I agree it’s not particularly helpful. But on the other hand, I don’t really see Biden having an issue with better representation either, so it’s not like this is a big threat.

    Really though, I would need to see what she’s actually saying, because I doubt it’s nearly as black and white as what’s posted here

  15. 15.

    moops

    @Professor Bigfoot:   It is only a matter of a few years before all our honorary white population catch the murder spree fever.  They are arming up now.  Once they become gun owners it is only a matter of time before a worrisome fraction of them become ammosexuals.

  17. 17.

    JanieM

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You’re just trolling now.

    Indeed. Same commenter in an earlier thread:

    Just another religious fanatic shooting up America. Take away the guns, and they will use knives, like the rest of the world.

    Fix the brainwashed religious assholes if you want this to end. Otherwise, you’re just fooling yourselves.

    I asked for a source on the “religious fanatic” description and, as is not the least bit surprising, got crickets.

  18. 18.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yes I did. Sonofabitch, this is why I shouldn’t read Balloon Juice while taking meetings. Meant to reply to PsiFighter37 at #4.

    Okay, this is yet one more reason I shouldn’t read Balloon-Juice while taking meetings.

  19. 19.

    Miss Bianca

    @A Ghost to Most:

    For the record, I have always supported banning high-velocity military weapons, but guns are not the problem. Greedy, bigoted, and spiteful people are.

    And yet strangely, greedy, bigoted and spiteful people are making life miserable for others in a lot of other countries in the world, and *still* the US is the only one of ’em where their victims get to take their “poor, poor pitiful me” aggressions out by grabbing an AR-15 and wasting a whole bunch of folks who had nothing to do with their problems at the hands of others.

    Yeah, sure, “guns aren’t the problem.” Why don’t you serve up “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” as a bromide chaser?

    Wanker.

  23. 23.

    dr. bloor

    @James E Powell:

    If Duckworth doesn’t have pictures of Joe fucking a goat and aspires to be a Democrat of influence in the future, this won’t end well for her.

  26. 26.

    J R in WV

    Some trolls just need their time in the Pie Safe…  where no one can hear them rant!

    Amazing how many comments are now cute dessert icons. Solves so many problems… Maybe in a long while I will be moved to open the Pie Safe, but probably not. So few regular commenters in there now.

    I’m learning how to use the tool as it should be used.

  27. 27.

    mrmoshpotato

    ask your kids what to do. they’ve been trained. (to survive mass shootings)

    Ah, freedom.

  29. 29.

    Miss Bianca

    @James E Powell: You know, I gotta say…I find the sight of Senators who belong to one minority group slagging the Administration’s Cabinet picks as “lacking diversity” when they don’t include *their* group, but *do* include members of a lot of other minority groups who have historically been nonexistent in previous Cabinets or administrations to be…kind of distasteful. I mean, they can make their point without a). creating a “Dems in Disarray!” scenario, and b). insulting people like Deb Haaland, et al.

    Plus their slap at Kamala Harris seems gratuitous and petty – what, she’s not “Asian” enough for them?

  30. 30.

    John Revolta

    For that cheesy move alone, the NRA ought to be disbanded and all its members shunned from civilized society forever. And then go after that Second *spit* Fucking *spit* Amendment.

  31. 31.

    gwangung

    @Miss Bianca: On the other hand, being Asian American hasn’t been that particularly noteworthy of attention when it comes to discussions of diversity; it’s almost always black and white, with being Latinx being thrown in there fare before any mention of Asians.

  32. 32.

    Roger Moore

    @Miss Bianca:

    Plus their slap at Kamala Harris seems gratuitous and petty – what, she’s not “Asian” enough for them?

    I don’t think that’s the point of the comments about Harris.  They’re saying it’s not enough to point to her and say Asian Americans are properly represented.

  34. 34.

    mrmoshpotato

    @PsiFighter37:

    Apparently Duckworth is saying she will not vote for any more Biden nominees until more Asian-Americans are put forward as nominees for other positions. 

    Do you have a link?  Sounds like we need to call our junior Senator’s office.

  39. 39.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: I dunno, to my mind “I’m gonna blow your shit up if you don’t give me what I want” isn’t grandstanding, it’s bombthrowing.

    ETA: Maybe I just don’t understand the fine art of politicking. Thank God Biden has way more experience with it than I do!

  41. 41.

    germy

    This shooter was able to kill 8 people the same day he purchased a gun, but right now the Georgia legislature is trying to prevent people from voting the same day they register.

    That’s a distortion of values. pic.twitter.com/qFok7lMibx

    — Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) March 22, 2021

  42. 42.

    Benw

    Been on my feet all day between chores and errands, so I finally settle down on the couch and my dog comes barreling up onto the couch, looms over me for skritches, curls up mashed against my leg, and sighs. And I feel about a week’s worth of tension drain away. Fuckin A dogs, man.

  43. 43.

    Obdurodon

    As I’m about to say on Twitter, the US is the only “modern” country that practices human sacrifice. Stochastic human sacrifice, where we don’t know who the victims will be but we know there will be some and many among us celebrate everything that leads to their deaths. The adherents of a certain religion celebrate the guns themselves, and they celebrate the bigotry that creates shooters – either directly, as in Atlanta, or indirectly, as in Boulder. It makes no difference. The cause is the same, the results are the same, the steps in between don’t matter.

  44. 44.

    germy

    The Founding Fathers never intended for Washington D.C. to be a state.

    #DCStatehood is really about packing the Senate with Democrats in order to pass a left-wing agenda.

    Just look at the DC voter registration data:

    ? 76.4% Democrat
    ? 5.7% Republican

    — Senator Mike Rounds (@SenatorRounds) March 22, 2021

    But the Founding Fathers did intend for every American to own an AR-15, apparently.

  47. 47.

    dmsilev

    @germy: The founding fathers never intended for there to be two Dakotas. Or even one Dakota.  He should resign from the Senate immediately.

  48. 48.

    MisterForkbeard

    @germy: I love Warnock, but this really seems like a messaging issue for Dems in general.

    It’s not “a distortion in values”, it’s “a fucking travesty of corruption”.

  50. 50.

    MisterForkbeard

    @germy: As has been noted extensively, the Founders also thought the poor, women, and minorities shouldn’t vote. So I’m not particularly enthused to follow their lead on voting rights.

  52. 52.

    Benw

    Also, too, the Lakers are on TV early enough that I won’t fall asleep in the first quarter and Tech’s women advanced! It’s not at the level of “breakfast with no hog” but it’ll do

  55. 55.

    MomSense

    @A Ghost to Most:

    Banning guns obviously precludes the community from addressing bullying and prejudice.

    Let’s ban all guns and be total assholes – said no one in the liberal bubble ever.

  56. 56.

    dmsilev

    2 hours after Pfizer #2, starting to feel light-headed and a bit dizzy. Guess it’s starting to work. Looking forward to finding out what mutation I’ll end up with.

  57. 57.

    Obdurodon

    @dmsilev: Following up on that logic, just for fun. If only the 13 original states had retained voting rights, Democrats would control the Senate 21-5 and almost 65% of the House (currently 84-46 but of course there wouldn’t be as many seats). Plus the presidency, and almost certainly the supreme court by *at least* 6-3. Doesn’t actually sound that bad. Republicans have benefited *enormously* from the addition of new states before, so maybe it’s hypocritical for them to complain about it now.

  59. 59.

    Gvg

    @A Ghost to Most: worship of guns is the big problem. Too many this it’s good to settle scores. Bigotry is also a problem, but other countries have bigotry without the guns and therefore don’t have the mass shootings. So I disagree with your conclusion, even though I am against bigotry.

  61. 61.

    Roger Moore

    @Obdurodon: ​
     

    Republicans have benefited *enormously* from the addition of new states before, so maybe it’s hypocritical for them to complain about it now.

    The Republicans haven’t let hypocrisy stop them before, and they’re not going to let it stop them now. If it weren’t for double standards, they wouldn’t have any standards at all.

  64. 64.

    Wapiti

    Here’s a proposal for Senator Kennedy: make driving with .08 BAL a felony and strip the perp of the right to own a gun. Win-win!

  65. 65.

    Kirk Spencer

    @A Ghost to Most:  So if all that is true, why did he shoot a bunch of middle aged to elderly Asian women? And why was his next stop going to be shooting MORE elderly Asians?

    Nope, sorry, distractions and diversions are not defenses.

  66. 66.

    JanieM

    @Obdurodon:  As far as I’m concerned, the entire pandemic year has been an exercise in stochastic human sacrifice. People had to be randomly sacrificed to other people’s murderous notions of freedumb and the sacred “economy.” I will never ever think of this country in the same way, knowing what came out of the shadows.

  67. 67.

    Brachiator

    @Obdurodon:

    Following up on that logic, just for fun. If only the 13 original states had retained voting rights, Democrats would control the Senate 21-5 and almost 65% of the House

    How does this even work in theory? The Republican Party did not even exist at the time of the original 13 states. The original Republican Party is not the contemporary GOP.

  70. 70.

    dmsilev

    @Roger Moore: Excellent point. Opens up a whole new set of fashion options.

    I’m being told, however, that the integrated 5G chips require a mandatory AT&T contract. That sucks.

  71. 71.

    mrmoshpotato

    @JanieM:

    As far as I’m concerned, the entire pandemic year has been an exercise in stochastic human sacrifice. People had to be randomly sacrificed to other people’s murderous notions of freedumb and the sacred “economy.” I will never ever think of this country in the same way, knowing what came out of the shadows. 

    Yup.  Three years of death and destruction (What atrocious thing will the orange bastard do today?) followed by a year that can only be described as genocidal.

  72. 72.

    Lyrebird

    @A Ghost to Most: His fellow students tormented him.

    If being bullied, tormented, and shunned was the main reason for mass killings, I think there would be a lot more of them.  Speaking as someone who still sometimes has flashbacks to the point of nausea.

    I think restricting weapons of mass slaughter is a good plan, and getting real about reducing bullying is also a good plan.

  73. 73.

    Obdurodon

    @Brachiator: Don’t overthink it too much. The confounding differences hardly stop at Republicans vs. Whigs, y’know. The point is that addition of states has *always* been a decision with significant political motivation and effect, and Republicans are hardly in a position to be complaining about it with respect to DC/PR/etc.

  74. 74.

    HumboldtBlue

    @PsiFighter37:

    One other thing is the fact that Biden has nominated 20 men and women of South Asian descent to cabinet and executive positions, and it’s as if that doesn’t count.

    Terrible optics from Duckworth and Hirono.

  75. 75.

    The Moar You Know

    I used to get into fairly heated discussions with my fellow gun owners at the range that if they didn’t accept some real restrictions on their hobby, that they were going to lose it all.  Gave up ten years ago.  They went on, most of all them, to make it not just a lifestyle but an identity.

    Me, I’m just somewhere between incredulous and appalled that absolutely not one thing has been done yet.  Not one restriction.  Not one rule.  Not anything.

  77. 77.

    HumboldtBlue

    This documentary looks interesting.

    Atomic Cover-up is the first documentary to explore the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 from the unique perspective, words and startling images of the brave cameramen and directors who risked their lives filming in the irradiated aftermath. It reveals how this historic footage, created by a Japanese newsreel crew and then an elite U.S. Army team (who shot the only color reels), was seized, classified top secret, and then buried by American officials for decades to hide the full human costs of the bombings as a dangerous nuclear arms race raged. All the while, the producers of the footage made heroic efforts to find and expose their shocking film, to reveal truths of the atomic bombings that might halt nuclear proliferation. Atomic Cover-up represents, at least in part, the film they were not allowed to make, as well as a tribute to documentarians everywhere.

  82. 82.

    Mary G

    This should please voters more than the fake scandals the right and the press are cooking up:

    Reuters: HHS SAYS IT IS EXTENDING THE OBAMACARE SPECIAL OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD TO AUGUST 15 FROM MAY 15— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 23, 2021

  84. 84.

    Brachiator

    @Obdurodon:

    Don’t overthink it too much. The confounding differences hardly stop at Republicans vs. Whigs, y’know.

    I enjoyed your historical doodle. But it falls apart if you think about it at all. And you don’t need it to explain anything about modern Republican stupidity.

  85. 85.

    Professor Bigfoot

    @The Moar You Know: Right?

    I’ve had that very argument with fellow gun-owners: that if you refuse to engage with people who simply don’t want kids murdered in job lots at school, sooner or later your precious 2nd Amendment will go by the boards.

    Because “fuck your dead kids” is a really shitty political slogan.

  86. 86.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: I’m sympathetic to her point and her goals, but the timing and strategy and messaging seem rather poorly thought out

    And sand-bagging Colin Kahl seems to me especially counter productive

  87. 87.

    Starfish

    @mrmoshpotato: She is absolutely right in this case. Obama had numerous Asian Americans in his administration; and when he spoke to people on their holidays, he tried. We just passed Nowruz. The Nowruz video under Biden was very “I guess someone almost tried” as opposed to what the Obama administration did.

    If the Asian American community is being attacked, we need some people in the civil rights division and other places looking at these issues.

    This “you can’t oppose anything Biden is doing ever” nonsense is a bit much.

  89. 89.

    Ruckus

    @FlyingToaster:

    I went through it. From a friend. I was a small kid in the 4th grade. I finally snapped and kicked his ass. He didn’t talk to me for the next 8 yrs we were in school together. I went to an all boys technical school freshman year, in the first 2 weeks they held an all school assembly, in the main hall/church. They told each freshman class to pick the smallest kid in each shop to go up on the stage. My class chose me. I told them no. The teacher, a brother at the seminary next door told me I had to go. I told him I’m not fucking going – I learned to swear rather young. He insisted. I said if I stand up I’m walking out the front door while flipping everyone off and I will go wait for the bus and that will be the last you ever see of me. They chose another kid. He went up on stage and all the guys up there got treated like shit for being small. Institutional bullying sucks just as bad as individual bullying. Religious bullying, that’s a whole nother level.

  91. 91.

    Brachiator

    @Starfish: 

    This “you can’t oppose anything Biden is doing ever” nonsense is a bit much.

    Earlier, Rep Clyburn was saying that he expected Biden to appoint more blacks. Now you have other members of Congress saying that he has to appoint more Asian Americans.

    It’s all politics. It’s all fair. And Biden is doing fine.

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