Texpat forwarded this article approaching the subject of gun control from a different perspective than usual:
Bolsheviks and Nazis alike practiced collective punishment. The Reds would take hostages against “good behavior” of residents of a town and shoot them if any resistance was offered. Nazis would sometimes kill everyone in a town near which one of their troops perished. We look at such practices with abhorrence, though US and Allied bombings probably killed a few innocent bystanders of their own. As a culture, we don’t view collective punishments as acceptable…or do we?
When one insane man in the UK murdered a group of kids in 1987, hundreds of thousands were punished for his sins. British gun owners were deprived of their guns and not given a choice about it. That was collective punishment in its pure form, affecting only people who had no connection to the crime at all.
I particularly like the last paragraph. Hard hitting, but no less true:
And, in the end, our guns merely hold gun control pushers at bay. The victory over that unethical ideology will come from the cultural rejection of collective punishment. In my lifetime, Brady creatures and their ideological allies will be viewed with the same derision as the Ku Klux Klan.
What a cool Pistol, I always liked the Broom Handle Mauser.
Mornin’ Gang!
We can hope so. But gun control is yet another area where the US population is close to evenly divided. Soccer moms hate guns.
“Soccer moms hate guns.”
I interpret that to mean that you hate guns.
I would strongly disagree with your statement – I’m not sure where you came up with that idea, but I would contend it’s wwwwaaaaaayyyyyy off base.
Why is it that a bunch of “anarchists” seems to always appear during every big lefty rally/protest? Aren’t the big-government lefty and “anarchists” on different sides? One wants huge government and the other wants no government.
Furthermore, why is it that these “anarchists” seem to be mostly disaffected “students” b!tching about increases in tuition or cuts to “ethnic/womens studies”?
Many soccer moms in Texas can shoot the [posterior orifice] out of a rat at 50 yards with a .45.
The first thing a tyrant does when he takes over is to remove peoples means of self defense. The message that guns kill people has been pounded into our heads for decades – it was not true then and it is not now. The pro 2nd Amendment types have been out gunned in the battle for the minds of America.
Blaming a gun for a murder is the equivalent of blaming a pencil for a misspelled word.
I really like the quote in the picture:
I will not be held responsible for misdeeds committed by people who look like me. . . .
This is the approach that should be taken for race relations/reparations.
One of the big problems Obama and his “economic” team have with measurement is that vanishingly few of them have any feel at all for the economic situation of those at the other end of the economic spectrum.
This is parttly cluelessness, partly because food & energy are typically excluded in the measure of “core inflation” because they tend to be volatile. At some point, however, they need to keep in mind that it is entirely possible, even likely that these volatile commodities could also be trending upward, steeply, in value.
I’m bringing this one forward from last night because I know that you are all concerned about how much the Japanese nuke problem is directly affecting you activities here and now.
Here’s a series of handy charts explaining radiation doses from various sources and how much risk you generally expose yourself to by eating bananas. The banana formula is actually pretty handy.
http://xkcd.com/radiation/
Check out the Banana Equivalent Dose here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose
Lowrents – I think MHarper was speaking about women in general tend to support gun control at higher levels than men.
But here’s the real problem:
I suspect that the number of people who don’t own guns is growing.
Anyone need their barn moved?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o83W0gj_CRE&feature=player_embedded
This just in:
Newt’s running……..
#11 fa
yawn
G’Morning all
Talk about gun control will stir things up every time.
Here are the latest stats on gun control as of January, 2011
Overall gun control
54% less
44% more
This is a dramatic decrease of
19% less
78% more
since 1990
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/y1alhpsknkg1ntbd3cdklg.gif
ban handguns
71% no
29% yes
This is a dramatic decrease of
29% no
60% yes
since 1990
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/8hvydp_fg0sg7cwhhwa3_q.gif
“I suspect that the number of people who don’t own guns is growing.”
Hammie, you might check gun sales since the last presidential election.
I believe just the opposite.
Stumbled upon this blog last night (blind hog syndrome)
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/comparison-of-three-navy-ships-all-named-after-a-us-president/blog-95325/?page=3
OletimerLin, About your second chart, it scares the crap outta’ me that 29% think handguns should be banned! That said, the trend to more common sense is very good, people are getting themselves educated about guns in general. I’d say the Lame Stream Media’s strangle hold on all media matters is evaporating due to the internet, Fox etc.
BTW
A good website for gun owners. Manuals in downloadable PDF for “almost” every gun on Earth.
http://stevespages.com/page7b.htm
#14 Lawrence
I think you’re right, with 40 “Right to Carry” states and the fact that a lot of women are now arming themselves, many who may not have ever fired a weapon before deciding that they needed to take care of themselves.
Rember the 90-10 rule, 10% of disinters on any issue will never change. That leaves only 19% of the public in the negative and with facts and education, they can change.
WOW! Amazing hand eye coordination!
PingPong @ Warp 10!!!
“We will be there only a few days or a couple of weeks.”
snip
snip
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20110327/D9M7JGB00.html
#3 Lawrencio
Are you insane? I’m not a soccer mom. I have been a card-carrying member of the NRA.
Well or Panama City Beach Brawler has been charged with a Felony;
A $3800 LED screen?!?! Dang, FWIW; This happened in Hambone’s state, but she was from Montgomery Alabama. PC Beach is my summer stomping grounds.
#23 – DANGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG – wonder if
MickeyD’ser I mean Burglar King is charging extra for the show?Talk about sick! New Jersey Woman Accused Of Dumping Dog Down Trash Chute.
Warning, graphic picture.
Problems caused by excessive government are really starting to come home to roost.
This was a point made in a link I posted above.
The antics of Kimesa Smith in PCB, Hamousistan recently present us with an object lesson in why the dissolution of the American family is such a critical issue. Miss Smith, who is a 30 year-old unemployed mother of at least 4 decided Burger King didn’t let her have her way, so she went nuts, destroying a Burger King in the process. Many of the patrons decided to join in as well. She said that she stopped at the Burger King to get something in her stomach in preparation for a night of drinking. She did not say who would be caring for her children while she would be thusly occupied.
If the Democrats and wobbly Republicans in DC would cut people like Miss Smith off from all forms of welfare and make her find and keep a job, she might go from a tax sink to a tax source. If she won’t find a job, then let her get hungry enough to get some of the right kind of motivation. I get sick of paying for people like her to act like a bunch of uncivilized barbarians who feel some sort of entitlement to my labor. If we stopped paying for these idiots, we’d have a lot fewer fiscal problems in this country.
#25 – Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr – wissin oxygen THIEF!
Well, happy Monday morning to everyone! I see the gang is off and running.
The retreat on Saturday went well, especially since one mother brought her daughter in and warned us that two other girls had threatened to beat her up. What did Girl#1 do to the others? She broke up with her boyfriend. The boyfriend was a friend – not brother, cousin or other relative – of bully#1 or bully#2. Unreal. We handled it. The girls were put into separate small discussion groups. In our “large group” sessions, where we shared what we learned in the small group discussions, the topic of anger management came up. As I was talking about forgiveness and the damage that carrying anger does to us, I could see B1 and B2 rolling eyes, sighing heavily, and writing notes to each other. I’m sure they thought I was directing it at them, which was true – they were part of the group, and I was talking to the group.
There were three rounds to the retreat : What do I want? What does God want for me? and Do I seek His guidance? Each round has individual meditation on one of four Scripture readings (we had four groups), then small group discussion, then large group sharing. The goal of the day is to find out if what they want for themselves is compatible with what a loving Father wants for them, and then to see if they seek His guidance when those two things are not compatible. They are supposed to dig deep to see what their relationship with God is, and what they want it to be. The important thing is that the student does the driving; I emphasize very clearly to my facilitators that the adults do not tell the students how they SHOULD feel, only help them to understand how they DO feel.
By the end of the day, when I had individual prayer with each student, I was really touched. One girl came to me for prayer and admitted that her faith had been in serious doubt. Her comment was “I am so glad I came today. So many of my questions have been answered!” She answered her own questions by reading His word and delving into her own soul, but I just smiled and said “I’m so glad you came!”
One heartbreaking prayer request came from one of my male students. It seems his uncle is being held hostage in Mexico. Another girl has an alcoholic father, another’s father was just diagnosed with diabetes. There was the myriad of family trust issues and concerns for grades that I hear every year. I really treasure those one-on-one moments with my students, for it’s then that I am able to see their hearts and through prayer introduce them to a God who loves them.
I come home tired, but fulfilled.
Then yesterday, I mowed grass until I thought I’d puke and had to stop.
That was my weekend!
Good morning Hamsters. Cool front came through late yesterday and blessed us with 60 at 6. Overcast is holding it to 64 at 10:30. In the pastures some of the small, youngling native pecans are leafing out; the mature ones seem willing sometime soon; the ancient ones disagree and hold fast to their buds. We have learned to observe the ancient ones in the matter of late frosts/true arrival of Spring.
Great opening article, Texpat and Hamous.
#26 wagonburner Racist.
Mark Durie is an Anglican vicar in Australia.
Read the rest of his piece at markdurie.blogspot.com
#30 dave
sez you
We now know what the difference between Libya and Syria is.
Did they cut off the air supply to Congress? Those people have brain damage.
Assad has been killing people who disagree with him for years. He’s as reform-minded as Uday, Qusay, and Umbassday Hussein in Iraq would have been. Syria is also directly responsible for all kinds of havoc in the Middle East, especially Lebanon and Northern Israel.
Dang it. The Onion beat me to another one.
PCB BK Brawler Told Cops A Real Whopper
Hey, she lives in Westgate, that is where my parents were living when I was born. It was a tract home comunity just outside of Maxwell AFB, built after the war. My folk’s house was a 800 square foot 2 bedroom 1 bath house. No AC of course.
Victor Davis Hanson delivers another well-aimed kick to Obama’s bawls.
Shannom;
In read the blog post in your #31 and I appreciate its perspective.
Allow me to invite you to read two short treatises published in Small Wars Journal:
Another, older interpretation can be found here.
A somewhat longer investigation from the Australian perspective that differs somewhat from the gentleman you linked to can be found here. H/T to SWJ for this one as well.
Perhaps examining the military perspectives on the conduct of the war we find ourselves fighting might allow folks to better understand where I’m coming from.
Obama’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East can be summed up rather succinctly. I call it the Three Bears approach.
Syria has no oil.
Iran has too much.
Libya is juuuuuust right.
37 Sarge
Okay. It’ll have to wait until I’m at home on the PC.
These guys need to serve their sentences in an Afghan prison.
The leadership in Iran is practically giddy over the turmoil in the Middle East. And not just because they are involved with a good chunk of it.
The worrying part of this is that since they think the 12th imam is coming sooner than they originally thought, what’s to stop them from speeding things up even more?
#41 May 21st?
Who can even keep up with all the nutters with all their different dates?
Allow me to make a comment on sources.
I hope folks will forgive me the habit of relying on military scholarship as it regards an assessment of Islam. I personally feel that the professional Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen who write these hard to find papers meant to inform thier peers at the Command and Tactical levels do so fully cognizant of the fact that if they get it wrong, American boys and girls will die. I feel that provides them with both a moral and professional imperative to get it right that is absent in blog posts and news articles, most of which are generally written from a personal, political, or (in this case) religious bias—even those that emanate from what small, closed disussion groups call “the smartest guy I know.” The worst that can happen from an individual blog post is that somebody gets flamed or gossipped about behind thier back by people who do not rely on the same sources of information.
I do have more if you want.
For a general discussion of the subject of this special kind of warfare allow me to suggest LTC Dr. David Kilcullen’s work (also from Australia) Twenty-Eight Articles as well as his Countering Global Insurgency or purchasing a copy of the longer form of the piece (I will confess to reading only the internet version).
I also highly recommend the Field Manual written by General Petreaus, which was greatly informed by Col. Kilcullen’s work, FM3-24 Counterinsurgency Manual
The number of discussion topics on fighting Extremist Islamic Terrorism at Small Wars Journal are too numerous to list. One could literally spend years going through them, but they do provide a diversity of opinion that helps one come to a more complete and personal understanding of the true nature of the conflict.
I also recommend the blog called The Captain’s Journal, as well as Global Security, Micheal Totten, and Micheal Yon all of whom bring their own unique perspective to the overall picture.
But, you are also free to ignore any of the above. Its my understanding that in some circles I am regarded as being massively uninformed, sloppy in my research, have a nasty tone, and am prone to using ad hominem attacks if things don’t go my way in a discussion. I do find myself wondering why that should separate me from anyone else who posts on the internet, but there it is.
43wb
More importantly, why can’t I find Bluebell’s Tin Roof flavor on a regular basis?
One of daughter’s pals dropped off a dozen small cupcakes earlier today. I had one for desert after lunch. It was delicious, but I should have known better after I took the first bite. The inside had a very slight green tint to it. I figured they were leftover from St. Patty’s day.
#45
It’s seasonal. Here’s a BB timetable:
http://www.bluebell.com/Templates/UI/FlavorFrame.aspx
The last time I had their Tin Roof, I think they were putting mini-marshmallows in it. That’s just wrong.
44 Sarge
Thanks. Anecdotally, I have Marine friend who will brook no sweeping generalizations about Islam, and this even after losing some of his buddies when they fought in Fallujah.
I have a stepson who served two tours in Iraq (both in Baghdad, one as Force Protection on convoys in the early stages—when it was most dangerous to be riding in an American truck)who has similar sentiment, as well as a former business parter who served one in Afghanistan at the very beginning and another in Iraq after the Surge. His is an Intelligence MOS. FWIW, I finds that the greater majority of those individuals I meet who have served in the Middle East from both the First and Second Gulf Wars feel pretty much the same way.
Never saw marshmallows in Bluebell’s Tin Roof. But I did in another brand. As you say, downright nasty.
All that being said, the bottom line for me is Muslim dominated states are, in the main, dominated by radicals/jihadiists right now. And the radicals are in asendency elsewhere. A lack of a clear, consistent drumbeat of outrage from “the invisible moderates” (that is if they even exist) is unforgiveable and highly suspicious. And they will make ZERO headway in Western opinion circles until they do.
I wish y’all would quit talking about ice cream.
Given that most of those in question live under the control of bloodthirsty despots, I tend towards more forebearance towards the average man on the street than others seem to. In that atmosphere, even the polls taken are suspect as most answers given on official looking documents or to official looking canvassers are generally calculated towards keeping one’s head attached to one’s shoulders more than it is in giving an honest answer. I think that’s why the military men and women I have known who have been in direct personal contact with them come away feeling as they do.
#51 –
Octuple MEGADITTOS! (no charge for the spelling corrections mon Ami)
#53 – Anyone wonder where America might be (or not at all) if our founding Fathers operated based on the fear that King George wanted them obedient & thoroughly taxed or dead?
For an administration that fights so hard against transparency, they sure are easy to see through.
Yeah, I saw the spelling problem. I try to catch ‘em.
Sarge
I’ll settle for 50,000 Detroit Muslims marching in the street.
You know, there’s just something really uplifting about a cute middle aged brunette gassing up her new canary yellow Camaro.
Sarge;
Fascinating articles. I suspect that you are correct – Military sources are probably more reliable than civilian, especially in this area.
One of the things I came away with is that Islam is quite factionalized and extremely diverse in its belief structure. And, you can probably derive any point of view you would like on any subject, just by citing the right verses and the right scholar.
I have a hard enough time wading through the in’s and out’s of Christian Church history. I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to try to decipher which Islamic sect is which.
I do find it interesting that even in areas where Muslims do not live in fear of their life there is an almost total lack of condemnation of many of the most egregious terririst activities.
About where these folks are now if the British Government hadn’t been run by a Parliament and their armed forces possessed air power, automatic weapons, armor, and mechanized infantry.
Unless, of course, an International Coalition intervened and imposed a no-fly-zone and started blowing up British tanks.
#59 Hmmm… “uplifting.”
If I had more time, I could go places with that (figuratively and literally.)
That might make us feel better, but as mharper has said, those are the ones that left those regions and old habits and attitudes die hard. I doubt that 50,000 muslims marching in Detroit would have much affect on what is done and decided overseas.
Shoot Sarge,
I’ll settle for a thousand FREE London Muslims in the street protesting against the actions of the jihadists. Or in France. Or any other damn country where they enjoy freedom of assembly.
63
That is kind of a weaselly response.
Down boy.
Easy there fella.
66wb
I guess that was an unfortunate, yet innocent, poor choice of wording.
My connection went south for a bit.
If you look at that first piece, there’s an intepretation given that suggests methods of acheiving that goal, and there are others.
None of them recommend treating Islam as a monolithic faith, or that it is evil or immoral.
My goal is doing what I can to get people to understand that in portraying Islam as such, they are actually endangering the lives of our troops, and contributing to a longer war.
Let’s see…
The Tea Party becomes a legimate force in 18 months.
Twenty-eight years after 220 Marines are murdered in Beirut, moderate American Muslims are still trying to figure out how to get their message out.
Let me try again, and expand on my #68 at the same time.
If you’re fighting a war, and waiting on the enemy to do something, you’re doing it wrong.
If you’re fighting a war, and waiting on non-combatnats to do something, you’re doing it wrong.
You have to examine what it is that YOU need to do to make things happen. its the only way you are going to control the outcome, as best as outcomes can be controlled.
There’s a Leadership Principal that goes a bit towards helping to understand that concept.
If you are Leading and those you lead do not accomplish what is desired, your first question should not be “How did they fail me?”. It should be “How did I fail them?”. Once you have asked that question and answered it honestly, you might be surprised how much better they perform the next time around.
A laudable goal. Choose your battles and tactics wisely.
Modify Delete
Sometimes the battle chooses you.
Some are worth fighting whatever the cost.
For me, the way I understand it and the information I’ve gotten, this is one of them.
Another thing I’ll add.
There are people in this world who will fight battles with no where near the import of this one with a good deal more nastiness and zeal than what is actually at stake would require.
Sarge, with all the sensitivity and understanding you are showing for Islam, what do you have to say about the pi$$poor way almost all Muslim males treat the wimmins?
I wonder if “moderate” American Muslim leadership sits around asking themselves how they might have failed their legions of followers.
74 harp
Knowing him as I do, I take Sarge at his word that his concern is our men on the battlefield. Characterizing his recent forays into Muslim understanding as you do overstates that which he is doing, IMHO.
Im pretty certain he’s far from defending the general state female rights in Islamic culture.
Dammit Sarge this is getting complicated.
blah blah blah
Coalition.
blah blah blah
Direct national interest.
blah blah blah
QadaffiKhadafiGhadafiKadhaffiBig Mo must go.blah blah blah
Left unsaid was why we NEED to go into Libya, yet we couldn’t even offer a word of support to the Iranians who were dying like the Libyans. Why Libya and not Syria?
Geez. Which one do I choose…
I wondered how he would bring Bush into this.
blah blah blah
Iraq took eight years, thousands of lives, and lots of bux. We won’t repeat that.
Okay folks. Here’s the deal.
Sarge has taken what he deems as reliable information (that an American shift towards towards universal hatred of–or prejudice against–Islam in general is deleterious to our men and women in the battlefield) and is running with it.
Has he embarked on a task of unbelievable dimension? You bet your ass he has.
Good luck.
Which Muslims?
I’m not real happy with the way the Yearning for Zion folks treat their women, particularly the young ones. Hindu women don’t have is so good either, but they are improving at a much faster pace than even Western women did once they became an affluent nation. More than half the women in Peru are victims of domestic violence, I’m not happy about that. There are some isolated Eskimo tribes that have some weird customs when it comes to women, too. The Japanese are doing much better than they did before Hiroshima. Chinese women are restricted as to how many children they can have. Sierra Leone has a pretty bad record as does most of the post colonial African nations.
Am I supposed to care only about the Muslim women and ignore all the others? Are we supposed to single them our for our shame and scorn? What happens when they notice we’re doing that?
I thinkl Petreaus said it best when he took over in Iraq and addressed the troops:
Hard doesn’t mean impossible.
Like I said, its the Three Bears Policy.
Syria doesn’t have any oil.
Iran has too much.
Libya is juuuuuust right.
He can fight this until it reaches a stalemate and degenerates into a low intensity insurgency with no clear cut winner and no real prospect for a near term ending. This is gonna keep the price of oil artificially hign and without the political cost the Moratorium is bringing. Sorso won’t mind. The Europeans who pump the oil won’t mind. The greenies won’t mind. The folks trying to sell Electric weenie mobiles won’t mind. It helps everybody he cares about.
If he tried it with Iran, the price of oil would go too high as the Iranians would close the Straits of Hormuz and bomb the Saudi fields, thus ruining any chance of re-election.
And doing anything in Syria won’t do a damn thing to the price of oil.
#5;
Better than sucking them out at point blank range.
fat albert #11;
Obviously into a brick wall.
oletimer #15;
Is that Bill’s escape jet for when Hillary comes home?
Super Dave;
It could have been a TV the Burger King store bought a few years ago. From the televisions I’ve seen at Burger King, they are NOT $3,800 sets according to today’s set’s picture standards. Unless someone’s making a killer profit from the BK stores.
Australia. The Nocona, Texas of the former British Empire.
No doubt there’s been a spike in gun sales from “The Barry Effect”. But I think a large part of that can be attributed to gun owners like you and me buying more guns. I think the general trend has been for more people not to own guns thanks to unconstitutional bans in high population centers like DC and Chicago. I’ve noticed anecdotally that people not raised in houses with guns (Yankees moving down here) tend to be more in favor of gun control. We were brought up with guns in our houses (and no trigger locks) but were taught gun safety (if I had a nickel for every time my dad asked “Is your safety on?” I could retire). Their children have been taught to be pathologically afraid of guns, as if the guns themselves have a conscience and a will.
When I was a much younger man, I had a collection of Nocona Boot posters. I beleive there were six in the series and I had all of them dry mounted and framed up on the walls of my apartment.
This one was my favorite
But this one wasn’t bad either.
Dang.
Wish I hadn’t found that one on Ebay——-
For those who may not know, Nocona is located on the Red River where the Chisholm trail led for fording. The cowboys would all have their feet measured and a pencil outline drawn then continue on their journey north. When they returned with a pocket full of money from selling the herd, their boots were ready to be picked up. That’s how it started.
I saw an old pair of beat up boots in their storefront with a not attached complaining about their condition. It included a statement about how disappointed the owner was. He claimed to have walked to Montana and back 5 times in them, and look, they just didn’t hold up well at all. He did request a new pair though, and I think they accommodated him.
I don’t know why the Rebecca Black (Friday, Friday….) youtube video WB linked to yesterday is fascinating me, 62 million views now and still going about 3 comments per second. Over 1 million dislikes and only 135,000 likes, why are they watching it?