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Actor Vince Vaughn Believes Senseless Gun Violence Can Be Solved by Righteous Gun Violence.

Vince Vaughn

Happy Place


Vince Vaughn wants you to exercise your right as an American to own and operate firearms. He told British GQ, "Banning guns is like banning forks in an attempt to stop making people fat. Taking away guns, taking away drugs, the booze, it won't rid the world of criminality." The star of the upcoming season of True Detective might be right. Punishing the many for the misdeeds of a few is not how to do things in America. Except taxpayers bailing out the banks after the banks robbed homeowners, but that's a different government overreach discussion.

Vaughn continues, however, extrapolating that America's reluctance to be armed and ready is what allows mass gun violence to escalate in the first place:

“Take mass shootings. They've only happened in places that don't allow guns. These people are sick in the head and are going to kill innocent people. They are looking to slaughter defenseless human beings... In all of our schools it is illegal to have guns on campus, so again and again these guys go and shoot up these ... schools because they know there are no guns there. They are monsters killing six-year-olds."

Vaughn, however, seems to forget that keeping guns out of places like elementary schools is for practical safety and emotional safety. Forget the fact that having a loaded weapon in a place of learning is completely unnecessary (unless the place of learning is a gun range. Then some guns will be helpful.) Imagine the atmosphere loaded firearms create for children who are trying to learn the building blocks of life.

"shoot up these ... schools because they know there are no guns there"

If this guy had half a brain, or if he'd had the opportunity to read some of our many discussions on this subject, he would never have made such a ridiculous remark as that.  Mass shooters do not go to schools BECAUSE there are no guns there. As the genius actor himself said, these are "sick in the head" people. They act, at least in most cases, out of explosions of rage and frustration and do not consider the gun status of the place.

I hate to even humor this tired and foolish argument, but if gun free zones were really to blame for mass shootings and not the incredible proliferation of guns, why is this a particularly American phenomenon? English and Australian schools are generally gun free zones too, aren't they?  Where are all their mass shootings?

Capitol Hill Intern Arrested for Bringing Gun to House Office Building

CNN

A Capitol Hill intern was arrested on Monday morning for bringing an unloaded gun into a House office building. 

Joshua Wheeler, a 25 year old from Kansas, was detained by United States Capitol Police after he entered the Longworth House Office Building with an unloaded Smith and Wesson 9 millimeter handgun. Wheeler started working as an intern for GOP Rep. Lynn Jenkins from his home state of Kansas last month.

Lieutenant Kimberly Schneider, the spokeswoman for the Capitol Police, told CNN Wheeler was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, and an unregistered firearm. The main entrance to the Longworth building, which is across the street from the United States Capitol, was briefly closed down after the regular security search all aides and visitors go through to access the building turned up the gun brought in by Wheeler.

Jenkin's spokesman told CNN the incident was an "an accident" and their office was cooperating with the police.

"Mr. Wheeler used poor judgment and was immediately placed on temporary leave as soon as we were informed of the arrest," Tom Brandt told CNN in a written statement on Monday.

TSA Chief Out After Agents Fail 95 Percent of Airport Breach Tests

Link provided by George Jefferson with the following remarks:

"Keeping You Safe 5% of the time what an F**king joke" and 

"TSA/DHS proves they are not worth a squirt of piss let alone Billions a year in funding..scrap the DHS and give the people back their money and their liberty"


What this report made me wonder is about the numbers of gun owners who've been caught "forgetting" they have guns while boarding planes. Wouldn't the 95% failure rate apply to that also? Are gun owners aware of this?  Is this another "bad rules be damned" kinda thing?

How Ty Cobb was Framed as a Racist

The New York Post - link provided by George Jefferson with the following: "False accusations of RACISM follow for decades‏"

I suppose George considers this article to be convincing.  I found it full of inconsistensies.

In 1908, among many other brawls Cobb participated in, he ignored an order from a black man laying asphalt in Detroit to stop walking, then after the two argued, Cobb started a vicious fistfight and was overheard to use the N-word against the road paver.

Today that behavior would certainly brand you as a racist, but racial slurs were commonplace then, even published in the papers.


Here's the best one - genteel parents indeed:

Both of his parents were genteel. His father, a state senator and “something of a public intellectual,” in Leerhsen’s words, once broke up a group of men plotting a lynching and was an outspoken advocate for the public education of black Americans. 

When Cobb was 18, his mother shot and killed his father, mistaking him for an intruder after he returned unexpectedly from an out-of-town trip. At trial, she was acquitted.

Oklahoma Pastor Shot Dead by Cops Who Say They Were Trying to Save him from flood

 
Nehemiah and Laura Fischer

The Daily Mail - link provided by George Jefferson

An Oklahoma man was fatally shot during a confrontation with two state troopers who were trying to rescue him and his brother from rising floodwaters on Friday, but the man's wife is questioning the troopers' account.  

The two Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers responded to a stranded motorist call near Tulsa at about 9.30pm on Friday and found Nehemiah, 35, and Brandon Fischer, 40, with two vehicles trying to move one from a roadway amid fast-moving waters, police say.

Police hold that a physical altercation ensued and a trooper fatally shot Nehemiah in defense of himself. But Nehemiah's wife, Laura, says she can't picture that happening, FOX reports. 

Nehemiah was pronounced dead at the scene and Brandon was arrested for assault and public intoxication.

NSA Domestic Surveillance Program Expires After Senate Fails to Reach Deal

ABC - link provided by George Jefferson with the following:

"We are here now facing yet another manufactured crisis with the vitally important Patriot Act provisions set to expire in a matter of hours," Reid said.

President Obama has warned that the expiration of the phone records collection program would pose a threat to national security.

"We shouldn't be disarming unilaterally as our enemies grow more sophisticated and aggressive and we certainly shouldn't be doing so based on a campaign of demagoguery and disinformation launched in the unlawful actions of Edward Snowden," McConnell said.

The NSA's domestic surveillance program expired at midnight after the Senate failed to reach a deal to pass legislation Sunday evening. 

The expiration came after the Senate convened for a rare Sunday session to deal with the expiring provisions of the Patriot Act. 

Before adjourning without reaching a deal, the Senate made some progress, clearing a key procedural hurdle on the USA Freedom Act, but due to procedural objections by Sen. Rand Paul, the Senate was unable to hold any additional votes to move forward with the measure. 

Three key provisions of the Patriot Act expired at midnight -- Section 215, which authorizes the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records; a roving wiretap provision that allows law enforcement officials to monitor terror suspects that use multiple phones; and a program that officials can use to monitor "lone wolf" terror suspects, not connected to any known terrorist organizations. 

NSA Surveillance Program 'Likely' to Expire Tonight, Richard Clarke Says

NSA's Domestic Surveillance Program May Expire: What You Need to Know

No 'Plan B' If Congress Misses NSA Deadline, White House Says

 

The NSA started the shutdown process at 4 p.m. Sunday. It will take an entire day to reboot the system, if Congress passes legislation reforming the metadata collection program.