A libertarian organization connected to the Koch brothers has named North Dakota the “most free” state. North Dakota also recently passed the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. I guess libertarians want to be free to keep the womenfolk barefoot and pregnant.
Along the same lines — men with loaded rifles crashed a pro-gun control rally of Moms Demand Action.
A member of Moms Demand Action said that she felt unsettled by their presence and said that the organizers would have to think twice before holding another event, particularly one where children could be present.
Because freedom, that’s why.
Ann Friedman of Columbia Journalism Review talks to Chris Hayes about the way he and his producers use a quota system to be sure the guests aren’t all white men. Sorta kinda related — here’s an essay about why gifted children from rural poor families don’t apply to elite colleges. And it’s not just about money.
Wow the story about the “men” with assault rifles in Indy is scary stuff, Intimidate much? Just think had these fellows been black men showing up at a tea party meeting, FAUX news and the dimwitted knuckle-draggers would be demanding congressional action!!!!! I would predict a backlash if our MSM had the stones to actually cover the story.
I wonder if these guys think they’re helping their cause by showing up with guns. The vast majority of Americans don’t own a gun and my guess is they feel pretty uncomfortable when they show up. So I say, keep doing it and you can show America just what a bunch of gun NUTS you really are. Just keep making our point for us, thank you very much.
I bet those boys waving around them thar pistols and rifles wished their pecker’s and their tag-along buddies were that big and scary – and not looking like a half-a-roll of dimes, with a little leather nickel-bag pouch that has more room than their Tic-tac sized cojones need.
As for North Dakota – no thanks, I’ll take the South Bronx.
Less assholes per square mile, I suspect.
And probably, sadly, plenty of coke – but, happily, no Koch Brothers.
“Hello, FBI? Just wondering if you could take a break from spying on my computer for a minute and look into these heavily-armed dudes at the gun-control rally.”
Really, how is it any different from the KKK intimidating a civil-rights rally 50 years ago? You’d think someone in law enforcement somewhere would give a damn about this.
Oh, and among women… N.D. = “hell on earth.”
And now for something completely different:
Happy 70th Birthday (on non-Orthodox Good Friday, even), Eric Idle!
Always look on the bright side of life.
An old friend used to call them “sidewalk commandos” and it brings to mind something we talked about after the Sandy Hook massacre. There was a teacher who threw herself between the gunman and some of the children in her class. To many of us, that stands as one of the most heroic actions we can remember. But, to others that might not be so. They prefer the “Dirty Harry” kind of hero who uses his superior firepower an unerring sense of good and evil to sort things out and go for a beer after the job is done. I wonder if the fellows that proudly displayed their guns in order to intimidate a group of Moms feel proud of themselves, and maybe a bit heroic for facing up to , you know, a bunch of Moms.
One of the conventions of action films made for children or inner children is that confrontation with the bad guys is highly stylized. The bad guys are better armed, highly experienced and without fear or compassion. The ragtag forces of good meet the evil juggernaut, chaos ensues, swords slash and bullets fly everywhere and when the smoke clears the bad guys are hurtin’. It’s a magical thinking kind of thing. I am not suggesting any similarity to any actual human beings or the way that they think. But, I guess in some people’s minds the Moms for Gun Control are just like the evil juggarnaut.
I do have a friend and neighbor, who is/was an avid hunter. He is level headed, not a mean spirited bone in his body. He described hunting as “just an excuse for a good walk in the woods.” I like to think that most gun owners are more like him and less like the “sidewalk commandos”.
“Along the same lines — men with loaded rifles crashed a pro-gun control rally of Moms Demand Action.” Ask them to leave; if they don’t see how they like a night in the tank for disorderly conduct.
And then there’s this armed imbecile – a gun lobbyist, and gun-safety TRAINER, who left his gun in the back of his station wagon:
“Utah Shooting Sports Council Chairman Clark Aposhian told KSTU that he was cleaning out his garage and placed the firearm in the back of his Dodge Magnum station wagon. He said the AR-15 military-style assault rifle was in a locked case and equipped with a thermal scope for night vision. Aposhian insisted the gun was not loaded at the time.”
Oh goody – it wasn’t loaded!
And it’s not like just ANYONE can walk into, say, a Wal-Mart, and buy a couple of hundred of them, right?
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/assault-rifle-thermal-scope-stolen-car-top-u
OY!
The level-headed ones, well, just don’t buy enough toys to be a concern to the gun and equipment makers and sellers.
I’ve been watching a bit of ‘gun TV’ lately, and they totally ignore the rational viewer. They are all about selling the rubes on killing, buying the latest toys, buying glitz, and generally provide a very poor concept of the outdoors as a place to impress your human stamp on everything you see and touch. This promotion is all about killing what you see, displaying the trophy, taking ill-advised shots, laughing at the thought of killing things just to be killing them, lots of whispering and make-up, and camo (as though the camera crews weren’t there – if the prey were to be scared off, they’d be long gone before camo or whispering or scent masks would have any effect). It is really a sad sight, even ignoring the shows about killing your neighbor if he looks at you funny (hyperbole alert). Not to mention the NRA-apologist shows…
The money behind this programming doesn’t give a rat’s posterior about any supposed “Second Amendment,” they just want to sell masses of overpriced toys to little boys, and to heck with the resulting chaos. All they care about is riling up the rubes, and they do a really good job of it – they hit all the hot buttons of the people who know, at some level, that they are failures, and sell them the ‘tools to make them the man they know they can never be.’ Even with those tools, they will never be that man-boy, but at least they can show their friends they have manlyish tools.
As a contrast, the fishing industry, just as involved at selling ‘sportsmen’ the latest gadgets, has taken a far different approach. ‘Fishing TV’ has made huge strides over the years – their tournaments require live release, are all about the quest, and the latest tournaments even have referees on board the boats to ensure minimal handling, penalties for dropping fish in the boat, and the use of research-tested techniques for immediate healthy release back into the water! The shows often have segments about habitat improvement and ecology (in their own specialized way, but still). The non-tournament shows are much more about enjoying the outdoors, catching and releasing fish, and keeping only what you intend to consume.
The best defense is a strong offense..That’s why everybody should have a night vision scope. It makes more sense to stop those night time home invaders at 1000 yds than to wait for them to bust through your front door and have to stop them at 2 yds.When you think about the advantage it gives you in your kill ratio, you’re almost compelled to say..”Gee, why didn’t I think of that sooner”?
I couldda had a V-8!
The article about gifted children from rural poor families was interesting.
Thies week, I was talking with a co-worker about the kids I grew up with, and which ones chose the military after high school.I graduated from H.S. in ’72, the draft had just been discontinued. Some boys joined the military because they had no direction, others because they were headed for trouble, some joined the Navy to “see the world”, several wanted an education. The guys who fared best became aircraft pilots, and went on to work for the airlines.(after a military retirement,those boys are set!)
I can’t think of one who joined to “kill Gooks” or out of a patriotic lust.I guess we were just a bunch of hippies…………..
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There may be a connection between rednecks asserting or intimidating liberal groups and the anticipated setbacks on DOMA and the GOP support for immigration reform with a path to citizenship. They sense (correctly) a loss of power as white hetero males lose status as the ruling class. What they fear – the ascent of brown skin foreigners and the rise of sexuality as a constitutionally protected right of choice – is happening around them. Expect even more desperate acts. I’m sorry. That’s how I see it. The more we win, the worse it will get.
I graduated from high school in 1963 in the smallest graduating class of the city. Unfortunately, two years later, the class of 63 was getting smaller because of Viet Nam.
Bonnie, my sister was in the class of ’65, Clearwater Central Catholic H.S. , she had a similar situation because of ‘Nam. Her boyfriend was drafted, and she heard from him until he left for ‘Nam.
“The level-headed ones, well, just don’t buy enough toys to be a concern to the gun and equipment makers and sellers.”
Yes, sad to say, I think Dan has it right. Guns are very popular here in rural NC. The people who seem to stand out are the ones who seem a little dodgy in the mental health department. I have an old friend who seems to be thinking about guns nearly all the time. He posted a sign that said, “Due to the high cost of ammunition, I will no longer be firing a warning shot, Thanks for your cooperation.”
This is his idea of humor. I’ve got to say that’s a real knee slapper.
A few years ago in a town nearby, a fellow was apprehended because he was stockpiling weapons, some of which were illegal, apparently. He had purchased an old school bus and managed to bury it, which is quite an accomplishment in the hard clay soil we have here. He used it as an underground storage facility for a huge cache of weapons and ammunition. Apart from the illegality of some of the weapons he had, he was totally within his rights, and you have to admire his ingenuity and old fashioned “stick-to-itiveness”. But, if I were his mental health counselor, the tale might raise my eyebrow.
Maybe I am being irrational or intellectually lazy, fair enough. But, if a guy is driving a ’72 Pinto, but has $100k worth of guns and ammo socked away, I get the impression that something is a little askew. Hell, under the right circumstances the ’72 Pinto alone could be considered a “weapon of mass destruction”.
erinyes..I recently did a job for a women from Largo who was in the first graduating class at CCC. She was born in 1947, so I would assume she graduated in the class of 65. She lives on Ponce de Leon and has lived there since 1950.
goatherd,
The guy BURIED an entire schoolbus in THAT clay?!?!?!
That kind of work-ethic, not actually related to any real work, brings to mind this Hero of the USSR:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexey_Stakhanov
Interesting, Swami. My sister must have attended school with her. My sister is 64 now. Her class was the 1st at CCCHS. They were VERY proud of the geo dome gymnasium which was pretty much ahead of its time. Small world!
Goatherd, Some goofy bastard here in Kissimmee was in the process of burying a bus or cargo container in his back yard recently too. There was no mention of weapons, though.The “authoritahs” did not like his project because it was on a rental property, and he failed to pull a permit. What’s the world coming to when a man can’t build an end times shelter without a damned building permit?
What’s the world coming to when a man can’t build an end times shelter without a damned building permit? 🙂
Yeah. it’s a shame! But the bright side is as long as he doesn’t take the mark of the beast..he’ll be alright. Maranatha!