Lance Thomas

Zorro provided the link. What do you think, is this guy Lance a hero or a nut?

No True Scotsman

Thanks to democommie who pointed out how frequently the pro-gun folks use this argument.

No true Scotsman is a logical fallacy, an ad hoc attempt to retain an unreasoned assertion. When faced with a counterexample to a universal claim, rather than denying the counterexample or rejecting the original universal claim, this fallacy modifies the subject of assertion to tautologically exclude the specific case or others like it.

The term was advanced by philosopher Antony Flew in his 1975 book Thinking About Thinking: Do I Sincerely Want to Be Right?.

Imagine Hamish McDonald, a Scotsman, sitting down with his Glasgow Morning Herald and seeing an article about how the "Brighton Sex Maniac Strikes Again." Hamish is shocked and declares that "No Scotsman would do such a thing." The next day he sits down to read his Glasgow Morning Herald again and this time finds an article about an Aberdeen man whose brutal actions make the Brighton sex maniac seem almost gentlemanly. This fact shows that Hamish was wrong in his opinion but is he going to admit this? Not likely. This time he says, "No true Scotsman would do such a thing."

Don't you just love that? Please leave a comment.

"Accidental" shooting at the Range

Mercury News reports on another "accidental" shooting. I realize this doesn't prove guns are bad news for women or that female shooters should be laughed at, but it is a funny scene. It reminds me of the way Breda handles a gun. Here's another example.

A 22-year-old Fremont woman accidentally shot herself at an indoor shooting range in town last week, Milpitas Police Department reported.

On March 10 at about 7:43 p.m., Milpitas police responded to Target Masters shooting range at 122 Minnis Circle on a report of a person being shot. Upon investigation, officers determined the woman was shooting a gun for the first time, when an ejected bullet casing landed in her shirt, police said.

The first-time shooter attempted to remove the hot casing from her clothing while holding the gun and it accidentally discharged. Police said the woman was shot in the leg and transported to a local hospital for treatment and she is expected to survive. There were no other reported injuries.

"It was purely accidental from our investigation," Milpitas police Sgt. Huy Tran said.

This is the second time in about two months that someone has accidentally shot themselves at Target Masters.

On Jan. 31, a 48-year-old San Jose woman was the victim of an apparent accidental shooting at the indoor range.

A preliminary investigation revealed the woman may have mishandled a firearm, causing it to accidentally discharge. The woman was shot in the torso and transported to a local hospital for treatment. The victim survived and there were no other reported injuries in that case, police said.

Target Masters staff would not comment about either of the incidents.

Of course we have the usual downplaying of the shooter's responsibility. The report said while she was playing hot potato with the ejected shell, the gun "accidentally discharged." Why do people keep saying the media is biased AGAINST guns. This is the kind of reporting I usually see.

Naturally, Target Masters doesn't want to comment on the TWO recent incidents of this nature. Any attention placed on them might make people wonder how frequent are these "accidents" and how safe are these shooting ranges.

I wonder if all the guys like Mike W., who became defensive about my comments to Breda will also support this Target Masters shooter? Let's see.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Newsy on Glenn Beck

Newsy claims to offer multiple perspectives. What do you think?



Wouldn't it be possible for someone to believe Glenn Beck is harmful to America yet not want to ban or censor him in any way? That describes me pretty well.

Jesse Ventura on the Polarization of America

Thanks to Apocalyptics Anonymous II for the video. Jesse very succinctly describes the tremendous polarization which has taken place, stating that he doubts if anything can be accomplished as a result. Do you think there's a growing percentage in both camps that is fed up and ready for something different?

Climate Denial - Crock of the Week

Are climate-change deniers and climate-change believers divided down the same lines as pro-gun activists and gun control activists? Are they more-or-less divided into conservative and liberal? This came via a wonderful post on Mother Jones.

A Gun for Real Men

Do the 4 Rules still count with these?