tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post9064468341761647166..comments2024-03-19T08:15:07.151-04:00Comments on the daily howler: HIDE BEHIND THE CHILDREN WELL: Mainstream elites prove useless again!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-29998722130223865292018-02-27T06:50:32.913-05:002018-02-27T06:50:32.913-05:00Oh my God, David. Not only do you suffer under in...Oh my God, David. Not only do you suffer under intolerable oppressive onerous and burdensome regulatory state, you have endure living in mass poverty as well. How <b>do</b> you do it? You must be a saint.mmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-971453864118906642018-02-26T20:58:49.075-05:002018-02-26T20:58:49.075-05:00There was a professor in my dept who kept a gun in...There was a professor in my dept who kept a gun in his desk drawer. One day a student came in to complain about his grade. The professor took the gun out and laid it on his desk. Then he said, "Do you still want to argue about this?"<br /><br />Needless to say he was fired, quickly. The only worse story I've heard is the one about the professor who invited a few students to her home and was fired after one of them was mauled by her pet mountain lion.<br /><br />I don't think you want to trust teachers to have guns.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-48753055383564930362018-02-26T20:28:50.774-05:002018-02-26T20:28:50.774-05:00"It seems reasonable that some pigs can fly.&..."It seems reasonable that some pigs can fly."<br /><br />FTFY, NFOAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-86629063077367761092018-02-26T20:27:21.271-05:002018-02-26T20:27:21.271-05:00I also notice David's tag-a-long troll cherryp...I also notice David's tag-a-long troll cherrypicked from the original 1997 study which was published a little over 2 years after the Act's implementation and ignored the 2004 update and the 2011 study, all of which supports Senator Feinstein's position.<br /><br />Talk about dishonest. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-56087964998717589162018-02-26T20:02:00.050-05:002018-02-26T20:02:00.050-05:00Not only are you moving the goal posts, David, you...Not only are you moving the goal posts, David, you're using a bullshit meme in doing it.<br /><br />SadAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-25536890827218979192018-02-26T19:56:25.715-05:002018-02-26T19:56:25.715-05:00Yours is the cherry-picked quote. Here's where...Yours is the cherry-picked quote. Here's where the rubber meets the road:<br /><br />"These results are perhaps to be expected. Available data from national gun trace requests to BATF, Milwaukee, and other cities indicate that assault weapons account for only 1 to 7 percent of all guns used in violent crime. Likewise, our analysis of guns used in homicides in Milwaukee suggests that a substantial majority of gun homicides (approximately three-quarters) are not committed with guns having large-capacity magazines. Further, victims killed with large-capacity magazines in Milwaukee were shot three times on average, a number well below the ten-round capacity permitted for post-ban magazines. This does not tell us the actual number of shots fired in these cases, but other limited evidence also suggests that most gun attacks involve three or fewer shots (Kleck 1991; McGonigal et al.<br />1993). Finally, a faster rate of fire is arguably an important lethality characteristic of semiautomatics which may influence the number of wounds inflicted in gun attacks; yet one would not expect the Crime Act to have had an<br />impact on overall use of semiautomatics, of which assault weapons were a minority even before the ban. On the other hand, the analysis of Milwaukee gun homicides did produce some weak evidence that homicide victims killed with guns having large-capacity magazines tended to have more bullet wounds than did victims killed with other firearms. This may suggest that large-capacity magazines facilitate higher numbers of shots fired per incident, perhaps by encouraging gun offenders to fire more shots (a phenomenon we have heard some police officers refer to as a “spray and pray” mentality). If so, the gradual attrition of the stock of pre-ban large-capacity magazines could have important preventive effects on the lethality of gun violence. However, our analysis of wounds inflicted in banned and non-banned magazine cases was crude and did not control for potentially important characteristics of the incidents, victims, and offenders. We believe that such incident-based analyses would yield important information about the role of specific firearm characteristics in lethal and non-lethal gun violence and provide further guidance by which to assess this aspect of the Crime Act legislation.<br /><br />One other fallacy in your comment, something they might not know in St. Petersburg - Feinstein is not a liberal.The Dana is a Trampnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-32892495069891130582018-02-26T19:33:40.803-05:002018-02-26T19:33:40.803-05:00mm - California's government has produced the ...mm - California's government has produced the highest poverty rate of any state in the nation -- worse than Alabama. There's not much national news coverage of how the many impoverished people live in this state. It isn't pretty.David in Calhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068188536758619565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-2544773308740230802018-02-26T19:23:05.649-05:002018-02-26T19:23:05.649-05:00AnonymousFebruary 26, 2018 at 3:21 PM - You are ar...AnonymousFebruary 26, 2018 at 3:21 PM - You are arguing from theory -- what you think might happen. Some states allow guns in schools. In fact, "gun-free school zones" are relatively recent. So, guns were allowed in schools all over for many years. It seems reasonable to think that some teachers and and some administrators did have legal concealed weapons in the schools, yet we haven't heard about the bad consequences that you fear.David in Calhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068188536758619565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-48310212943899229602018-02-26T17:16:53.158-05:002018-02-26T17:16:53.158-05:00That's the cute thing about David in Cal. He ...That's the cute thing about David in Cal. He enjoys all the strongest protections living in his gated community in sunny California, including consumer protections, environmental regulations, and gun regulations.<br /><br />You will notice none of these strict regulations and protections are so onerous to his liberties and freedom that he is forced to move his ass to Alabamy. <br /><br />No siree bob, David in Sunny California is very good thank you enjoying all those burdensome protections, but he would just like the rest to pollute ourselves a little more and loosen up the gun culture so he can watch from afar and feel so much more liberated.mmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-63223689952205114112018-02-26T16:58:09.735-05:002018-02-26T16:58:09.735-05:00Senator Feinstein is, of course, a notorious liar....Senator Feinstein is, of course, a notorious liar. Same as all liberal politicians - goes without saying. Here's the money quote from <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/impact-evaluation-public-safety-and-recreational-firearms-use-protection-act-1994/view/full_report" rel="nofollow">the document</a>: <br />"<i>Our best estimate of the impact of the ban on state level gun homicide rates is that it caused a reduction of 6.7% in gun murders in 1995 relative to a projection of recent trends. <b>However, the evidence is not strong enough for us to conclude that there was any meaningful effect (i.e., that the effect was different from zero)</b>.</i>"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-7149501887535778742018-02-26T15:43:56.374-05:002018-02-26T15:43:56.374-05:00" ...we already tried that and it didn't ..." ...we already tried that and it didn't work."<br /><br />More fake news from - surprise - David in Cal:<br /><br />https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons-ban-summary<br /><br />The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban was effective at reducing crime and getting these military-style weapons off our streets. Since the ban expired, more than 350 people have been killed and more than 450 injured by these weapons.<br /><br /> A Justice Department study of the assault weapons ban found that it was responsible for a 6.7% decrease in total gun murders, holding all other factors equal.<br /> Source: Jeffrey A. Roth & Christopher S. Koper, “Impact Evaluation of the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994,” (March 1997).<br /> The same study also found that “Assault weapons are disproportionately involved in murders with multiple victims, multiple wounds per victim, and police officers as victims.”<br /> The use of assault weapons in crime declined by more than two-thirds by about nine years after 1994 Assault Weapons Ban took effect.<br /> Source: Christopher S. Koper, “An Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Impacts on Gun Markets and Gun Violence, 1994-2003” (June 2004), University of Pennsylvania, Report to the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice.<br /> The percentage of firearms seized by police in Virginia that had high-capacity magazines dropped significantly during the ban. That figure has doubled since the ban expired.<br /> Source: David S. Fallis and James V. Grimaldi, “In Virginia, high-yield clip seizures rise,” Washington Post, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/22/AR2011012204046.html<br /> When Maryland imposed a more stringent ban on assault pistols and high-capacity magazines in 1994, it led to a 55% drop in assault pistols recovered by the Baltimore Police Department.<br /> Source: Douglas S. Weil & Rebecca C. Knox, Letter to the Editor, The Maryland Ban on the Sale of Assault Pistols and High-Capacity Magazines: Estimating the Impact in Baltimore, 87 Am. J. of Public Health 2, Feb. 1997.<br /> 37% of police departments reported seeing a noticeable increase in criminals’ use of assault weapons since the 1994 federal ban expired.<br /> Source: Police Executive Research Forum, Guns and Crime: Breaking New Ground by Focusing on the Local Impact (May 2010)."<br /><br />It would have been even more effective if it wasn't watered down to appease David's hero Newt Gingrich and David's GOP heroes in the 1994 Congress.<br /><br />Quick question, GOP troll in chief: what political group allowed the ban to expire at the behest of the NRA and the gun-manufacturers' various shills? The Dana is a Trampnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-54942401956893796112018-02-26T15:28:01.788-05:002018-02-26T15:28:01.788-05:00Interesting thought experiment, Dimitri. You might...Interesting thought experiment, Dimitri. You might want to try it and see.Not CMikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-55819604352292460212018-02-26T15:26:57.375-05:002018-02-26T15:26:57.375-05:00'ns. Taking a stand? That's beneath the Ho...'ns. Taking a stand? That's beneath the Howler; it's not in his self-imposed, immutable job description; that's for those stupid simpering liberals getting their hands dirty in the real world.'<br /><br /><br />I disagree here. Somerby does take a stand. His stand is defense of Trump, Trump minions, attacking liberals, attacking Maddow, bitching about corporates while ignoring Fox, the Murdoch empire etc. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-36747895927023297132018-02-26T15:25:07.165-05:002018-02-26T15:25:07.165-05:00He's just following the pseudo-progressive pla...He's just following the pseudo-progressive playbook. They love that word. <br /><br />It's a term they share with the alt right. Takes them all off the hook for doing stupid things like wasting a presidential vote by writing in a non-candidate or for voting for trump.Not CMike.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-2571155739216111832018-02-26T15:24:58.567-05:002018-02-26T15:24:58.567-05:00CDC hasn't been allowed to study gun deaths or...CDC hasn't been allowed to study gun deaths or anything else related to gun control since 2006. Time to change that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-55671253985151719382018-02-26T15:21:47.578-05:002018-02-26T15:21:47.578-05:00David, you live in CA. There are strict rules AGAI...David, you live in CA. There are strict rules AGAINST bringing guns to campuses. That applies to faculty as well as students. <br /><br />CA has a strong teacher's union. The Cal State College system has a strong union too. Neither will support arming teachers. It is not our responsibility and it interferes with the teaching role. Plus there are workload and pay issues involved. Those unions will strongly oppose such a suggestion.<br /><br />Then there are the parents. I would not want to place my child's safety in the hands of an unknown teacher who may or may not be qualified to use a gun in a crisis situation. I believe my child would be as likely to be shot by the teacher as anyone else. And there is the possibility of the teacher's gun being stolen, or some distraught student turning the gun against the teacher or class. It would be way too dangerous to put guns in classrooms on a regular basis, so as a parent, I would strongly oppose such a move.<br /><br />People need a special license to carry a concealed weapon in CA. Making it so that teachers can carry guns to school would mean opening that door to all kinds of other occupations and people, making our whole society less safe. That isn't going to happen in CA. I won't answer for Texas though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-29140528205834953302018-02-26T15:18:06.408-05:002018-02-26T15:18:06.408-05:00Somerby keeps talking about (and blaming) "el...Somerby keeps talking about (and blaming) "elites." Nice to know that the non-elites (i.e. Voters) are off the hook on this one. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-63733212750336344402018-02-26T15:00:23.919-05:002018-02-26T15:00:23.919-05:00Well, looky here. Ms Lithwick has written rather f...Well, looky here. Ms Lithwick has written rather frequently about guns and gun control. Here are a few examples (all in Slate):<br /><br />Bloody Heller<br />The Supreme Court created a gun rights crisis it’s unwilling to solve.<br />By Dahlia Lithwick<br />Oct. 5, 2017 5:12 PM<br /><br />The Second Amendment Hoax<br />How the NRA and conservatives have perverted the meaning of the right to bear arms.<br />By Dahlia Lithwick<br />Jun. 13, 2016 6:44 PM<br /><br />Who Has the Right To Bear Arms?<br />The fight over the Second Amendment, explained.<br />By Dahlia Lithwick<br />Nov. 21, 2007 10:54 AM<br /><br />DEC. 4 2015 5:21 PM<br />Mass Shootings Are Changing Us<br />Children have never known a time without lockdowns and mass shootings.<br />By Dahlia Lithwick<br /><br />Are Assault Weapons Protected by the Second Amendment?<br />The Supreme Court may finally have to rule on the right to keep and bear AR-15s.<br />By Dahlia Lithwick<br />Feb. 5, 2016 3:14 PM<br /><br />Not in My Backyard<br />The courts and legislatures won’t solve our gun problem. Maybe the free market can.<br />By Dahlia Lithwick<br />May. 30, 2014 4:23 PM<br /><br />Just a few of many examples. Doesn't seem to support Somerby's accusations against her. I know, I know...liberals don't care about gun control. Whatever! Fairness, thy name isn't Somerby. "Ass" is more appropriate. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-36453229431092186772018-02-26T14:44:47.615-05:002018-02-26T14:44:47.615-05:00@Johnny: You can't read the WaPo? So you just ...@Johnny: You can't read the WaPo? So you just take Somerby's word for it when he characterizes a WaPo story? Not a good idea, in my experience. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-78922633843819180132018-02-26T14:40:24.534-05:002018-02-26T14:40:24.534-05:00"It's time for them all to go."
or ..."It's time for them all to go."<br /><br />or as Shakespeare's Dick the Butcher said:<br />"Kill all the lawyers." <br /><br />Not at all an unhinged request. <br /><br />"How accurate is Healy's portrait? We can't answer that question."<br />Healy talked to the students. He quoted what they said. Why question the accuracy of Healy's portrait?<br /><br />"Lithwick cohort's failures and "mistakes."<br /><br />It's either Lithwick and her "cohort" (the press?) who are at fault or....<br /><br />'self-dealing "liberal"/mainstream elite which has persistently failed those kids'<br /><br />Ah yes. The crux of the problem. It's always the failure of liberals who have failed to create a perfect society. No one else will be criticized for THEIR failures. That's Hard Somerby Law. <br /><br />What by the way is a "mainstream elite?" Are there no non-mainstream elites to blame?<br /><br />Or perhaps: "The biggest problem these students confront is the relentless failure of elite adult authorities"...<br />it's the fault of " elite adult authorities". Who would they be? Are they Lithwick's cohort? Liberal elites? Do "authorities" include police, teachers, parents, elected officials? If so, are they identical with those liberal elites and Lithwick's cohort? <br /><br />This is a societal problem. You can't express concern about it and then fail to examine the whole problem, only choosing to criticize the usual suspects, as Saint Somerby does here. <br /><br />By the way, it must be a cushy job that Somerby has chosen for himself, to criticize everyone else ("It's time for them all to go.") and present oneself as blameless, as not part of that "elite", or "adult authorities."<br /><br />Apparently, finding fault with every journalist working today, deriding liberals as dumb and pathetic, and confining oneself to repetitious "musings" is a sufficient effort for Somerby and his fans. Taking a stand? That's beneath the Howler; it's not in his self-imposed, immutable job description; that's for those stupid simpering liberals getting their hands dirty in the real world. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-76771370598892994902018-02-26T14:38:57.101-05:002018-02-26T14:38:57.101-05:00American "gun deaths" are mostly suicide...American "gun deaths" are mostly suicides anyway, unless you count endless 'democracy promotions' and 'human rights defenses' abroad.<br /><br />I imagine killing oneself with an 'assault weapon' might be a bit awkward...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-61531467895416266162018-02-26T14:30:29.816-05:002018-02-26T14:30:29.816-05:0037% of Americans say they or someone in their hous...37% of Americans say they or someone in their household owns a gun. That's a lot of people. Maybe some are teachers or school administrators. If none of them choose to carry guns, then allowing them to do so won't have any effect, positive or negative.David in Calhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068188536758619565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-87876367062075660222018-02-26T14:26:40.514-05:002018-02-26T14:26:40.514-05:00The CDC studied it in 2003 and said it couldn'...The CDC studied it in 2003 and said it couldn't find that the assault weapons ban had any effect on lowering gun deaths or crime<br /><br />https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5214a2.htmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-36614812722139710272018-02-26T14:19:25.765-05:002018-02-26T14:19:25.765-05:00Teachers are not going to carry guns.Teachers are not going to carry guns.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-87773281764407576802018-02-26T13:59:41.366-05:002018-02-26T13:59:41.366-05:00Jonny - you have a point. But, many semi-automatic...Jonny - you have a point. But, many semi-automatic hunting rifles could be used just the way AR-15s were. So, just eliminating "assault weapons" wouldn't work IMHO. <br /><br />I'd like to see other approaches tried. I do think teachers and school administrators should be allowed to carry concealed guns (if they have the proper training), but that's hardly a complete answer. Maybe there's a better way to keep track of mentally ill people who are a threat to society. Maybe we should re-open the mental institutions. They were closed in the 1960's. David in Calhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068188536758619565noreply@blogger.com