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The simplest explanation for this disconnect is that Senate procedures enable minorities to thwart majorities.

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Originally posted by Niki2:
Thanx, Magons; yeah, that fire was pretty awful. Last I heard, possibly 5-15 dead. My heart goes out to them. Been a sad week all around.

Never fear, tho'; the loonies aren't actually gaining ground. We're holding them at bay, and in time they'll lose, they always do in the end. Just a matter of how long it takes. We can look back at how much sway these nutbags had in previous years in this county, and know we're moving forward...ever so slowly!

You're finding out more about our "beloved" loonies here on RWED right now because I'm bothering to post the stories. Usually I just shake my head sadly and look for some REAL news, but I'm giving vent to my more frustrated side recently by sharing them. So it seems worse than it is; there are crazies everywhere, we just don't hear about them all the time. Admittedly, we seem to have more than our SHARE here in the U.S., but we can take heart that their kind don't have as much power as their hateful kin in some other countries (not many other countries, admittedly, but some...). At least I like to think so. :o)

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Originally posted by Niki2:

In a nutshell:

[2 page thesis in blue letters written by somebody who doesn't post here, followed by a completely un-helpful:]

It's not over. Not by a long shot. When something as watered-down as merely increasing background checks at gun shows to keep guns away from the most obvious "wrong people" can't pass in our government, it's something we all need to sit up and think about.

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Originally posted by FREMDFIRMA:
Didn't hear a whole lotta screamin about this when folks were using it to stonewall a lot of the bullshit Bush and his cronies wanted to push through.

Of course, when it gets in YOUR way, uh huh, yeah...

Human and Civil Rights are very difficult to infringe upon, to excise, within our system for very fucking good reasons.

And yanno...
I think you folks are one of them.

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Originally posted by BLUEHANDEDMENACE:
Can someone please explain to me why background checks for all guns purchases are a bad thing, and why the resident gun bunny lunatics (Frem exlcuded) are so up in arms in celebration about its not passing?

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Originally posted by WULFENSTAR:
... that the majority of Americans, all individuals, disagree, dislike, and refute you and your kind. ...

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Originally posted by Niki2:
In a nutshell:

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In the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings, polls have shown overwhelming public support for expanding background checks on gun sales, with one poll showing 9 out of 10 Americans backing the idea. Yet on Wednesday, a bill to do just that went down to defeat in the Senate. As President Obama pointed out, “The American people are trying to figure out how can something have 90 percent support and yet not happen.”

The simplest explanation for this disconnect is that Senate procedures enable minorities to thwart majorities. The legislation on background checks had the support of 54 of the 100 senators, but it takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

The simplest explanation for this disconnect is that Senate procedures enable minorities to thwart majorities. The legislation on background checks had the support of 54 of the 100 senators, but it takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

Second, issue polls typically include nonvoters as well as voters. But in the eyes of politicians, nonvoters are nonpersons. Elected officials focus on the people who actually show up to vote, and their sentiments might differ from those who stay home on Election Day.

More specifically, politicians also have to worry about the people who vote in primaries. Republicans and Democrats need to nurture their ideological bases, or else face defeat at the hands of primary opponents. This tendency has become more pronounced in recent years in the House of Representatives, where red districts have gotten redder and blue districts have gotten bluer.

Third, intensity comes into play, as a passionate minority can trump a relatively indifferent majority. The former will remember in November, but the latter won’t. Gun control has usually exhibited this pattern: Second Amendment enthusiasts will always get in touch with their lawmakers and vote on the basis of this one issue, while supporters of more gun regulation may answer “yes” to a survey question and then forget about it.

Fourth, presidents have only a limited ability to drive public opinion and mass political action. Even at the peak of his popularity, President Reagan was able to motivate cards and letters when he was selling something that people already liked (e.g., tax cuts). When he tried to stir Americans on tougher issues (e.g., aid to Nicaraguan rebels), he got nowhere.

Today, presidents work in a much more demanding media environment. Until the 1980s, they could “roadblock” the television networks with an Oval Office address. Now, they have to compete with hundreds of other channels and the Internet. Moreover, their critics and opponents have many more opportunities to respond in real time. Nobody live-blogged FDR’s “Day of Infamy” speech.

Fifth and perhaps most important, James Madison still rules America. The Framers designed a bicameral legislature and the separation of powers specifically to prevent an automatic translation of public opinion into public policy. Supporters of the system say that it fosters deliberation and ensures the protection of minority rights. Critics say that it prevents passage of necessary legislation.

The National Rifle Association wins so many battles because of its zeal, its persistence, and its organization. Those who want tougher restrictions on firearms have to stoke the same kind of ardor, matching the NRA letter for letter, email for email, and phone call for phone call. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2013/0418/Why-the-90-perce
nt-lost-on-gun-background-checks?nav=87-frontpage-entryCommentary

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It's not over. Not by a long shot. When something as watered-down as merely increasing background checks at gun shows to keep guns away from the most obvious "wrong people" can't pass in our government, it's something we all need to sit up and think about.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

The " 90% " is as full of hokum and a made up number as the 99% crap.

Most folks rate this a complete NON issue, well behind the economy, sealing the border and ILLEGAL immigration.

Also, more legislation would have yielded exactly no effect on making anyone safer.

None. Zilch. Nodda.


That's why this nonsense failed.


Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Originally posted by Niki2:
C'mon, Mark, there's ANYTHING about our BabyWulf that ever surprises you? Seriously, man...!

Two-dimensional world. Only three dimensional when it's in the movies. Total inability to grasp anything beyond the simplest concepts, and he clings to those for dear life. Nuance terrifies him; gray is a color beyond his grasp; compromise is Unamurican! If he ever wrote a simple, logical sentence we would probably fall over at our computers; everything has to be in Dramatic Terms, and he's always the Hero. All he knows how to do is spew, and he does it, day in and day out, without making even a modicum of sense.

And you haven't passed the point of being surprised? I'm ashamed of you.

But then, we both have better things to do than pay any attention to him or The Drunk, so onward... ;o)

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Originally posted by WULFENSTAR:

Blah blah blah.

Me awesome, libruls suck. 'Murricka!

*insert video clip*

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Gee, is it me, or does every post from this idiot sound the same?

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Prior to the sword hunt called by Oda Nobunaga towards the end of the 16th century, civilians were free to carry swords for defense or simply for decoration. Nobunaga sought an end to this, and ordered the seizure of swords and a variety of other weapons from civilians, in particular the Ikko-ikki peasant-monk leagues which sought to overthrow samurai rule.

In 1588, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, having become Kampaku (Imperial regent), ordered a new sword hunt; Hideyoshi, like Nobunaga, sought to solidify separations in the class structure, denying commoners weapons while allowing them to the nobles, the samurai class. In addition, Toyotomi's sword hunt, like Nobunaga's, was intended to prevent peasant uprisings, and to deny weapons to his adversaries. This hunt may have been inspired by a peasant uprising in Higo the year prior, but also served to disarm the warrior-monks of Mt. Koya and Tonomine. Toyotomi claimed that the confiscated weapons would be melted down and used to create a giant image of the Buddha for the Asuka-dera monastery in Nara.

The 'Taiko's Sword Hunt,' as it came to be called, was accompanied by a number of other edicts, including the Expulsion Edict of 1590, by which Toyotomi sought to establish a census and expel from villages any newcomers who arrived in or after 1590. The chief goal of this was to place a check on the threat posed by ronin, masterless wandering samurai who had the potential not only for crime and violence in general, but for banding together to overthrow Toyotomi rule. It may be important to note that Hideyoshi, like most of this period, believed in rule by edict, paying little or no attention to legal principles. Also, while the Sword Hunt ostensibly succeeded in denying weapons to potential rebels, it also created discontent throughout the nation, increasing the number and passion of potential rebels.

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In New York, a man’s home was raided, his Concealed Carry Permit revoked and guns confiscated because someone told the police he was taking an anti-anxiety medication. I have received emails in the past week from several friends about this issue. One of them is a vet, M?F transgendered. She is concerned about being able to renew her own Concealed Carry Permit (CCP). As a veteran and avid target-shooting hobbyist, she is well trained in gun safety and use. As a transgender woman, she is a target and prey according to FBI statistics. Hate crimes against LGBT people are at a 14-year high.

According to the DSM-IV-TR, “Gender Identity Disorder” is one of the mental illnesses. In the DSM-V, it is renamed “Gender Dysphoria.” While claiming it is not a mental illness, the fact that Gender Dysphoria is in the DSM-V in the first place makes it suspect in the eyes of many. Two days ago, she sent this excerpt from a local outlet:

The enforcement action started on March 29th when New York State Police asked the Erie County Clerk’s Office to pursue revoking the man’s pistol permit because he owned guns in violation of the mental health provision of New York’s newly enacted guns law called the SAFE ACT.

The allegation turned out to be untrue and his guns returned to him. As it turned out, the police, sua sponte, initiated the action. The only lawyer involved in the matter was the man’s own attorney.

Erie County Clerk Chris Jacobs said, “When the State Police called to tell us they made a mistake and had the wrong person…it became clear that the State did not do their job here, and now we all look foolish.”

Flaws in the mental health reporting provisions of the NY SAFE Act were blamed for the misunderstanding. The county clerk added, “Until the mental health provisions are fixed, these mistakes will continue to happen”

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