I'm pretty sure people who like having power over other people are the one's with the guns.
Odd. I own guns and I carry a gun. Can't say I want power over anyone, unless we're counting myself. I've always found it odd that the people who are most afraid of non-state actors carrying are usually the ones who also want more and more State and centralized power and authority. Thoughts?
The trouble is that for most anti-gun people, the only gun owners they encounter are the loud and aggressive gun nuts who argue with them. (And vice versa I suppose) As with most prejudicial situations, if both sides were to mix more and see that by and large the folks on the other side aren't that different, the air would leak out of the balloon.
I also don't like putting my safety in the hands of others, which is *exactly* why I carry a gun (I have a permit to do so). My ability to defend myself is my means of keeping my safety in my own hands, and I am willing to accept the responsibilities.
Your desire to take my gun away from me is a (legal) threat. I will do all I can to (legally) defend myself against that threat, too.
Alternately, my desire to take my gun away from you is a means of keeping my safety out of your hands. And your willingness to shoot people who disagree doesn't help your argument.
All three situations have in common that the criminals wanted money. Having a gun while a group of 15 year olds surround you with knives would be useless. If you seriously want to kill a kid who's had no chance in life... there's something wrong with you. Trying to use a gun while surrounded by mobsters would be suicide.
Never even thought of carrying a gun.
Many places in South America have a shoot-first-take money later, kind of crime, which is scary. But I don't see how your gun being discovered on your body would help you in that situation either.
As has been observed, if criminals have reason to suspect you carry a gun they will avoid jumping you....... or else just shoot first.
It's odd. I am constantly reminded about the "evil, racist, police" that kill people with impunity and am also constantly reminded that, in order to be safe, the only people that should possess a gun are police.
I know! It's like how I am constantly reminded about the "sloppy incompetent doctors" that kill people with impunity and am also constantly reminded that, in order to be safe, the only people that should do brain surgery are doctors!
I read not long ago, about a cop that shot a guy with a knife because he had seen guns that looked like knifes being sold at walmart or wherever. Now they'll be able to use the line "I saw a cellphone and there are cellphone guns now so...".
That would definitely give "he shot a guy with a knife" two possible meanings.
Except I outsourced the manufacturing of the weapon to Ruger (LCP) and the "looks like a cell phone" aspect comes from keeping it in a pocket holster with an iPhone 4 back glass to reduce printing. Oh, you know what else helps its concealability? Being comfortable with it staying in my pocket. Always....not wanting to parade it around to find opportunities to preach about my rights or get approving nods from Bubba and Cletus. Jesus, redneck America, stop fondling your effing guns! Not only will they go unnoticed, but the people around you will be safer as well.
The day will come when science will be able to install a gun into a man's penis, and then redneck America will finally find peace and happiness.
Kinda my take on it too. If they want to offshore work, then offshore it and deal with the accompanying barriers to getting stuff accomplished. Otherwise, hire people here and treat them fairly. Note that unlike H1Bs, if they don't treat them fairly, they're free to move on. What they can't have is the indentured, underpaid, but physically present H1B worker who doesn't dare speak up because they know they have a sword of Damocles in the form of a one way economy flight ticket to Bangalore hanging over them.
I have the Dilbert plan from years ago, wherein Wally's job is outsourced to India, so he gets a job with the outsourcing company doing his old job since he's a perfect fit for it, working from home, and with a pay differential to make up for having to live in an area with higher cost of living than India.
Trump is a con man, tells people exactly what they want to hear, then turns around and tells the next crowd something different.
You're describing Hillary Clinton, the Democrat lock. It's hardly a criterion for distinction between the two candidates in the general election.
Right. Remember when Hillary promised to make it her mission to bring about healthcare reform if Bill got elected, then did nothing about it. Except try to push it forward for 8 years. What a liar.
Yeah, the free trade agreements were supposed to let us get our toys cheap. Instead, the prices kept going up, the quality went to shit, jobs are gone, and wages are stagnant. The only people to benefit are the middle-men who buy cheap, sell dear, and pocket the difference.
And it's naive to think the politicos will balk at destroying the domestic IT sector, after destroying everything else.
Because when they go shopping, Americans would rather buy cheap Chinese junk at Walmart than quality American made products that are more expensive; then go home and complain that "they" are sending American jobs overseas, and somebody should stop "them". Like somebody who brings out a line of Trump brand clothing, all made overseas, while promising to bring back American jobs.
A lot of the things he wants to do, however, are things the president has the power to do. Deport illegals? Right now Obama is telling INS/ICE to not do their jobs. He can do that just by lighting a fire under their asses. Banning muslims? The law is already written that allows the president to ban any group of people he deems necessary from coming here. Renegotiating trade deals? That's a power of the executive branch of government. Joining with Putin to destroy ISIS? He'll be commander-in-chief.
Your point is much more valid for someone like Bernie, whose entire platform is a legislative agenda. All the stuff Bernie wants to do requires Congress to make deep, structural changes to our government and economic system. Half the stuff Trump wants to do can be done on day 1 in office.
A bit off topic, but you know that Obama has deported more illegal immigrants than any other president, right?
Not only did he inherit 40 million (in 1970s dollars) from his dad, he got to use his father's total fortune of 200 million as a guarantee for credit for his own businesses. Plus he had all the social and business connections that come with being born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
Those factors put his estimated net worth at 100 million in 1978. If he'd dumped that into a SP500 index fund he'd have 6 billion in cash today. The highest estimate of his holdings today is $4.1B (by Forbes), Bloomberg thinks his net worth is only $2.9B.
So, yeah, he pretty much inherited everything he needed to get where he is today.
And as has been shown, had he invested the money in stock index funds, or in real estate index funds, then he'd be much richer than he is. But then he wouldn't have the fun of a trail of shafted business partners and investors and customers behind him. And millions of people look at that track record of financial devastation, and say "Yeah, cut me off a piece of that!"
Just like Obama did all the things he promised to do.
I think Trump will actually build the wall for the same reason Cesar built the Pantheon in Rome: he wants a monument to be remembered by. If he could, he would build it out of marble or travertine, but that might be a little out of budget for Mexico (also, I predict he won't have Mexico pay all of it, he'll have most of it paid out of our taxes, with a small contribution from Mexico, and then he'll brag about what a generous negotiator he is).
The wall is literally the central piece of his campaign: not keeping Mexicans out (because it won't do that and he knows it): a monument to himself.
Good point. As you say, he knows it's not going to stop anybody. "And do you a beautiful nice precast plank with beautiful everything. Just perfect. I want it to be so beautiful because maybe someday they'll call it The Trump Wall. Maybe. So I have to make sure it's beautiful, right? I'll be very proud of that wall. If they call at this The Trump Wall, it has to be beautiful. And you put that plank up and you dig your footings. And you put that plank up -- there's no ladder going over that. If they ever go up there, they're in trouble, because here's no way to get down. Maybe a rope." Trump's MSNBC interview in NH, Aug 2015. Might work, as long as nobody lets the Mexicans in on the secret technology of rope.
That's kind of what Bush was, too: a leader. He couldn't do it himself, so he tried to hire really good people to get the job done. When he was able to find good people (Petraeus), he did well. When he wasn't able to find good people (Rumsfeld), his presidency went poorly. He was at the mercy of his underlings.
And that is exactly the kind of president Trump will be. Except he'll build a beautiful wall.
Yeah, remember that truism "Bush doesn't have to be smart or competent, he'll surround himself with experts"
Bush and Trump surround themselves with experts, much like a cavity surrounds itself with a tooth,
OK, lets assume that Trump is in it purely for his own benefit. What agenda do you think he is going to push that is going to benefit him? He doesn't need money - he could pull out of the race right now and pay the bills with the change he lost in his couch. So what exactly do you think he's trying to do to benefit himself that he isn't already capable of acquiring on his own?
THIS is why we should all be scared. Somewhere along the line, Americans stopped fearing the devastation that the LEFT is historically responsible for.
Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and the list goes on. Given enough leeway, the radical LEFT kills millions.
You're afraid of Trump? Don't be. Be afraid of the LEFT.
Who is silencing free speech on campus? Who is rioting and demanding rallies be canceled? Who is getting professors fired from their jobs? Who's calling for "muscle" to get pesky journalists removed?
I don't care if you're a Democrat. Democrats are fine. But the rise of the radical LEFT is 100% not fine. Be afraid. This shit is not something we want to mess with, and it's rising fast. And the Democrats aren't doing nearly enough to silence the rabble in their ranks.
Historically speaking, this ends with lots of bloodshed. And historically speaking the LEFT will be to blame.
Yes look how the left has destroyed the Scandinavian countries, and the rest of Europe, and Canada.
Funny how anonymity and Trump go together so nicely. Sort of like secret ballots... Trump is the first presidential candidate willing to say what the silent majority is thinking. That's why he does so poorly in opinion polls, yet seems to do so well in elections: many more people support what the guy says than are willing to admit. The mainstream media/rabid liberals can wag their fingers, shriek, and demonize him all they want. They may be able to harass us in to the closet: but the more they try to make supporting Trump a thought crime: the more people support him.
I'm voting for him primarily because he makes them so angry.
To quote myself, Trump voters are just getting that little titillation from feeling like they're doing something naughty the "Establishment" doesn't want them to, as though Trump is that bad boy their parents forbade them to date. But Trump's no bad boy, just pathetically needy.
Really you need to fix the toxic culture of the poor black community. We used to talk about these things but don't anymore because any criticism of black people is "racist." There is a culture that glorifies drugs, crime, and violence, and no amount of white people "checking their privilege" is going to solve that.
Blacks need to fix their culture. The government needs to fix or end the war on drugs, stop importing cheap labor immigrants who take jobs from blacks, and revamp entitlement programs to end welfare cliffs. That will help fix poverty.
Oddly enough the person most likely to fix the problems with the drug war and the labor supply is Trump.
One can only be thankful that the poor white community hasn't got a toxic culture, with no problems with drugs like heroin or meth, no crime or violence, no family abuse, no single parent poverty level families, etc. etc.
he's going to do something and it's going to be something
That's more than what any of his competition has to offer.
Bear in mind that the voters believe with absolute certainty that the other candidates will make everything worse. Trump *intends* to make everything worse but Trump is so unstable that there's a chance he might not be as bad as the others.
Oh piffle. Trump voters are just getting that little titillation from feeling like they're doing something naughty the "Establishment" doesn't want them to, as though Trump is that bad boy their parents forbade them to date. But Trump's no bad boy, just pathetically needy.
For some reason I find that a more rational belief than the belief that Trump will be somehow better for America than the other candidates.
When the media, the beltway, and political insiders are all saying "the world will end if Trump is elected..." it more likely means "their world will end." If he does even half of what he's proposing it means bad stuff for the politicians who've been sucking on graft for years, and it means even worse stuff for special interest groups that have paid graft for years.
When has he ever done even half of what he's proposed? The man's history is an unending story of one failed company after another, with Trump walking away and his partners, investors, and customers holding the bag. Let's see just one person come forward to say they did business with Trump and it worked out well and they're glad.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm pretty sure people who like having power over other people are the one's with the guns.
Odd. I own guns and I carry a gun. Can't say I want power over anyone, unless we're counting myself. I've always found it odd that the people who are most afraid of non-state actors carrying are usually the ones who also want more and more State and centralized power and authority. Thoughts?
The trouble is that for most anti-gun people, the only gun owners they encounter are the loud and aggressive gun nuts who argue with them. (And vice versa I suppose) As with most prejudicial situations, if both sides were to mix more and see that by and large the folks on the other side aren't that different, the air would leak out of the balloon.
I also don't like putting my safety in the hands of others, which is *exactly* why I carry a gun (I have a permit to do so). My ability to defend myself is my means of keeping my safety in my own hands, and I am willing to accept the responsibilities.
Your desire to take my gun away from me is a (legal) threat. I will do all I can to (legally) defend myself against that threat, too.
Alternately, my desire to take my gun away from you is a means of keeping my safety out of your hands. And your willingness to shoot people who disagree doesn't help your argument.
I was robbed in Thailand, Canada and in Cambodia.
All three situations have in common that the criminals wanted money. Having a gun while a group of 15 year olds surround you with knives would be useless. If you seriously want to kill a kid who's had no chance in life... there's something wrong with you. Trying to use a gun while surrounded by mobsters would be suicide.
Never even thought of carrying a gun.
Many places in South America have a shoot-first-take money later, kind of crime, which is scary. But I don't see how your gun being discovered on your body would help you in that situation either.
As has been observed, if criminals have reason to suspect you carry a gun they will avoid jumping you....... or else just shoot first.
It's odd. I am constantly reminded about the "evil, racist, police" that kill people with impunity and am also constantly reminded that, in order to be safe, the only people that should possess a gun are police.
I know! It's like how I am constantly reminded about the "sloppy incompetent doctors" that kill people with impunity and am also constantly reminded that, in order to be safe, the only people that should do brain surgery are doctors!
iShoot
uMiss
Life is ironic. Sometimes you miss people after they die, but sometimes people die after you don't miss them.
I don't own a gun, but I'd rather hang out with gun owners than nuts with gun phobias.
on behalf of the human race, I'd like to thank you for informing us of that fascinating and useful fact.
I hereby retract that comment, it was unnecessarily snarky and due mostly to the fact that I have the flu and feel irritable.
I read not long ago, about a cop that shot a guy with a knife because he had seen guns that looked like knifes being sold at walmart or wherever. Now they'll be able to use the line "I saw a cellphone and there are cellphone guns now so...".
That would definitely give "he shot a guy with a knife" two possible meanings.
I don't own a gun, but I'd rather hang out with gun owners than nuts with gun phobias.
on behalf of the human race, I'd like to thank you for informing us of that fascinating and useful fact.
Except I outsourced the manufacturing of the weapon to Ruger (LCP) and the "looks like a cell phone" aspect comes from keeping it in a pocket holster with an iPhone 4 back glass to reduce printing. Oh, you know what else helps its concealability? Being comfortable with it staying in my pocket. Always. ...not wanting to parade it around to find opportunities to preach about my rights or get approving nods from Bubba and Cletus. Jesus, redneck America, stop fondling your effing guns! Not only will they go unnoticed, but the people around you will be safer as well.
The day will come when science will be able to install a gun into a man's penis, and then redneck America will finally find peace and happiness.
Just like my Johnny Spy 007 set I got for my 8th birthday, with the gun that looked like a camera!
Kinda my take on it too. If they want to offshore work, then offshore it and deal with the accompanying barriers to getting stuff accomplished. Otherwise, hire people here and treat them fairly. Note that unlike H1Bs, if they don't treat them fairly, they're free to move on. What they can't have is the indentured, underpaid, but physically present H1B worker who doesn't dare speak up because they know they have a sword of Damocles in the form of a one way economy flight ticket to Bangalore hanging over them.
I have the Dilbert plan from years ago, wherein Wally's job is outsourced to India, so he gets a job with the outsourcing company doing his old job since he's a perfect fit for it, working from home, and with a pay differential to make up for having to live in an area with higher cost of living than India.
You're describing Hillary Clinton, the Democrat lock. It's hardly a criterion for distinction between the two candidates in the general election.
Right. Remember when Hillary promised to make it her mission to bring about healthcare reform if Bill got elected, then did nothing about it. Except try to push it forward for 8 years.
What a liar.
Yeah, but instead of 500 workers you now have 100 machines and 10 people doing maintenance.
and 10 more people cleaning the toilets for the 10 people. Some jobs just will not be offshored or automated.
Yeah, the free trade agreements were supposed to let us get our toys cheap. Instead, the prices kept going up, the quality went to shit, jobs are gone, and wages are stagnant. The only people to benefit are the middle-men who buy cheap, sell dear, and pocket the difference.
And it's naive to think the politicos will balk at destroying the domestic IT sector, after destroying everything else.
Because when they go shopping, Americans would rather buy cheap Chinese junk at Walmart than quality American made products that are more expensive; then go home and complain that "they" are sending American jobs overseas, and somebody should stop "them". Like somebody who brings out a line of Trump brand clothing, all made overseas, while promising to bring back American jobs.
A lot of the things he wants to do, however, are things the president has the power to do. Deport illegals? Right now Obama is telling INS/ICE to not do their jobs. He can do that just by lighting a fire under their asses. Banning muslims? The law is already written that allows the president to ban any group of people he deems necessary from coming here. Renegotiating trade deals? That's a power of the executive branch of government. Joining with Putin to destroy ISIS? He'll be commander-in-chief.
Your point is much more valid for someone like Bernie, whose entire platform is a legislative agenda. All the stuff Bernie wants to do requires Congress to make deep, structural changes to our government and economic system. Half the stuff Trump wants to do can be done on day 1 in office.
A bit off topic, but you know that Obama has deported more illegal immigrants than any other president, right?
Not only did he inherit 40 million (in 1970s dollars) from his dad, he got to use his father's total fortune of 200 million as a guarantee for credit for his own businesses. Plus he had all the social and business connections that come with being born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
Those factors put his estimated net worth at 100 million in 1978. If he'd dumped that into a SP500 index fund he'd have 6 billion in cash today. The highest estimate of his holdings today is $4.1B (by Forbes), Bloomberg thinks his net worth is only $2.9B.
So, yeah, he pretty much inherited everything he needed to get where he is today.
And as has been shown, had he invested the money in stock index funds, or in real estate index funds, then he'd be much richer than he is. But then he wouldn't have the fun of a trail of shafted business partners and investors and customers behind him.
And millions of people look at that track record of financial devastation, and say "Yeah, cut me off a piece of that!"
he'll build a beautiful wall.
Just like Obama did all the things he promised to do.
I think Trump will actually build the wall for the same reason Cesar built the Pantheon in Rome: he wants a monument to be remembered by. If he could, he would build it out of marble or travertine, but that might be a little out of budget for Mexico (also, I predict he won't have Mexico pay all of it, he'll have most of it paid out of our taxes, with a small contribution from Mexico, and then he'll brag about what a generous negotiator he is). The wall is literally the central piece of his campaign: not keeping Mexicans out (because it won't do that and he knows it): a monument to himself.
Good point. As you say, he knows it's not going to stop anybody.
"And do you a beautiful nice precast plank with beautiful everything. Just perfect. I want it to be so beautiful because maybe someday they'll call it The Trump Wall. Maybe. So I have to make sure it's beautiful, right? I'll be very proud of that wall. If they call at this The Trump Wall, it has to be beautiful. And you put that plank up and you dig your footings. And you put that plank up -- there's no ladder going over that. If they ever go up there, they're in trouble, because here's no way to get down. Maybe a rope." Trump's MSNBC interview in NH, Aug 2015.
Might work, as long as nobody lets the Mexicans in on the secret technology of rope.
What Trump excels at is being a business LEADER.
That's kind of what Bush was, too: a leader. He couldn't do it himself, so he tried to hire really good people to get the job done. When he was able to find good people (Petraeus), he did well. When he wasn't able to find good people (Rumsfeld), his presidency went poorly. He was at the mercy of his underlings. And that is exactly the kind of president Trump will be. Except he'll build a beautiful wall.
Yeah, remember that truism "Bush doesn't have to be smart or competent, he'll surround himself with experts"
Bush and Trump surround themselves with experts, much like a cavity surrounds itself with a tooth,
OK, lets assume that Trump is in it purely for his own benefit. What agenda do you think he is going to push that is going to benefit him? He doesn't need money - he could pull out of the race right now and pay the bills with the change he lost in his couch. So what exactly do you think he's trying to do to benefit himself that he isn't already capable of acquiring on his own?
"Trump Is a Near-Perfect Example of Needy Narcissism" http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2...
"Donald Trump’s Epic Neediness" http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03...
"Needy Trump Melts Into Putin’s Warm Embrace" http://bluenationreview.com/ne...
It makes just as much sense as women saying they are going to vote for Hillary because she has a vagina.
That makes those women sexiest, but they will never admit it.
Personally I find women with vaginas to be the sexiest, that's true.
One time when I had dyslexia, I married a woman with an angina.
THIS is why we should all be scared. Somewhere along the line, Americans stopped fearing the devastation that the LEFT is historically responsible for.
Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and the list goes on. Given enough leeway, the radical LEFT kills millions.
You're afraid of Trump? Don't be. Be afraid of the LEFT.
Who is silencing free speech on campus? Who is rioting and demanding rallies be canceled? Who is getting professors fired from their jobs? Who's calling for "muscle" to get pesky journalists removed?
I don't care if you're a Democrat. Democrats are fine. But the rise of the radical LEFT is 100% not fine. Be afraid. This shit is not something we want to mess with, and it's rising fast. And the Democrats aren't doing nearly enough to silence the rabble in their ranks.
Historically speaking, this ends with lots of bloodshed. And historically speaking the LEFT will be to blame.
Yes look how the left has destroyed the Scandinavian countries, and the rest of Europe, and Canada.
Funny how anonymity and Trump go together so nicely. Sort of like secret ballots... Trump is the first presidential candidate willing to say what the silent majority is thinking. That's why he does so poorly in opinion polls, yet seems to do so well in elections: many more people support what the guy says than are willing to admit. The mainstream media/rabid liberals can wag their fingers, shriek, and demonize him all they want. They may be able to harass us in to the closet: but the more they try to make supporting Trump a thought crime: the more people support him.
I'm voting for him primarily because he makes them so angry.
To quote myself,
Trump voters are just getting that little titillation from feeling like they're doing something naughty the "Establishment" doesn't want them to, as though Trump is that bad boy their parents forbade them to date. But Trump's no bad boy, just pathetically needy.
Really you need to fix the toxic culture of the poor black community. We used to talk about these things but don't anymore because any criticism of black people is "racist." There is a culture that glorifies drugs, crime, and violence, and no amount of white people "checking their privilege" is going to solve that.
Blacks need to fix their culture. The government needs to fix or end the war on drugs, stop importing cheap labor immigrants who take jobs from blacks, and revamp entitlement programs to end welfare cliffs. That will help fix poverty.
Oddly enough the person most likely to fix the problems with the drug war and the labor supply is Trump.
One can only be thankful that the poor white community hasn't got a toxic culture, with no problems with drugs like heroin or meth, no crime or violence, no family abuse, no single parent poverty level families, etc. etc.
he's going to do something and it's going to be something
That's more than what any of his competition has to offer.
Bear in mind that the voters believe with absolute certainty that the other candidates will make everything worse. Trump *intends* to make everything worse but Trump is so unstable that there's a chance he might not be as bad as the others.
Oh piffle. Trump voters are just getting that little titillation from feeling like they're doing something naughty the "Establishment" doesn't want them to, as though Trump is that bad boy their parents forbade them to date. But Trump's no bad boy, just pathetically needy.
For some reason I find that a more rational belief than the belief that Trump will be somehow better for America than the other candidates.
When the media, the beltway, and political insiders are all saying "the world will end if Trump is elected..." it more likely means "their world will end." If he does even half of what he's proposing it means bad stuff for the politicians who've been sucking on graft for years, and it means even worse stuff for special interest groups that have paid graft for years.
When has he ever done even half of what he's proposed? The man's history is an unending story of one failed company after another, with Trump walking away and his partners, investors, and customers holding the bag. Let's see just one person come forward to say they did business with Trump and it worked out well and they're glad.