2013-01-30, 18:24 | Link #26061 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
Age: 40
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Perhaps we should call Vin Diesel in and ask him to thrash the senator's car after letting it dive into a ravine on some crazy stunt. |
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2013-01-30, 18:58 | Link #26062 |
Sensei, aishite imasu
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Hong Kong Shatterdome
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Republicans have a real existential quandary when trying to argue about causes of gun violence. On one hand, they are rather spot on in pointing that the presence of guns isn't necessarily the precipitating cause of violence (Switzerland, they have tons of military rifles as part of their militia system, or just private ownership).
The REAL problem the Republicans run to is that when you actually look at the more probable cause of violence in America (the untreated mentally ill, widespread poverty, war on drugs) tend to suggest that more liberal solutions are needed. That's why groups like the NRA are willing to burn media into a bogey man. Threatening censorship is easier for them politically than suggesting progressive social/healthcare/economic policies that might help combat violence.
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2013-01-30, 19:34 | Link #26063 | |
今宵の虎徹は血に飢えている
Join Date: Jan 2009
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2013-01-31, 01:19 | Link #26067 | ||||
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: classified
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The problem isn't inanimate objects, the problem is people, but that makes for a very difficult situation for both parties. Quote:
Just like the Dems. They want to ban something inanimate to divert attention away from the mental health issues, and I would add the connection between pharmaceutical drugs and these mass killers. The biggest lobby in these hearings is the one we're not seeing, and that's Big-Pharma. Neither major party wants to take them on. Quote:
It is the person who plays the game and/or uses the firearm, or a combination of both, that goes out and commits the crime. Banning video games over what some psycho does because he played them is as nuts as banning guns for the same reason. Quote:
Why is no one talking about the drug use involved here?
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2013-01-31, 02:51 | Link #26068 | |
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
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You know how Skynet plays games. Be afraid. Very afraid.
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2013-01-31, 03:05 | Link #26069 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: classified
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Then we'll all have to deal with this kind of thing.
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2013-01-31, 06:20 | Link #26070 | |
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
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Exclusive: Iran crude oil exports rise to highest since EU sanctions
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...90U01Y20130131 Quote:
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2013-01-31, 10:01 | Link #26071 | |
Sensei, aishite imasu
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Hong Kong Shatterdome
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Jared Lee Loughner definitely sounds like a case where being on his meds would have helped.
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2013-01-31, 10:23 | Link #26072 | |
Nyaaan~~
Join Date: Feb 2006
Age: 40
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Because drugs are only for rock stars and movie stars. Plebians should rightly know to stay clear!
Seriously though, gun control aside, I grew up in Vancouver, BC (Canada) and we have a massive homeless problem due to the relatively mild weather (homeless migration, if you'll believe it). A study was done years ago showing a vast proportion of these people are mentally ill and/or drug addicts -- the problem is there will always be those that fall through the cracks of any well system. Ultimately, as a society and as people, how important and how wide should this safety net be? There will be real costs to it that people refuse to bear (cue Universal Healthcare debate -- I'm joking, don't talk about it here, it's just similar) and even then some will slip through. Now, psuedo news: Authors of New Study Exposes Obesity and Exercise Myths Quote:
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2013-01-31, 10:39 | Link #26073 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Edinburgh
Age: 42
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Think this is a nice read, besides the writer seem to put some effort into writing this article, like real research work, unlike other videogames "journalists/blogger".
Shooters: How Video Games Fund Arms Manufacturers What I find shocking, but not quite unexpected, is how easy parents give in to kids whining, and even worst not checking what they are actually buying them. |
2013-01-31, 10:59 | Link #26074 | |
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 35
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However, the climate in Vancouver is pretty rainy, I would have thought California would have been more attractive? |
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2013-01-31, 11:59 | Link #26075 | |||
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: classified
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While this drug probably wouldn't effect a mentally stable person the way it did Laughner, a schizophrenic on this drug may be an entirely different story altogether. The problem is the effects of Salvia are not completely understood especially long term or side effects of abuse of the drug. Quote:
I supported a new style of medicare system for the poor rather than the corporate mandate to buy insurance that we were handed by our congress. Between Ronald Reagan and the ACLU, our mental health care system in the US is a complete mess and needs to be overhauled. There are too many people in need of serious mental health assistance that are slipping through the cracks. On top of this we have children that are being overmedicated for ADD they don't have (some of them do, but many don't) to fatten the profits of Big-Pharma. That needs to change. The obesity article was very interesting. I agree with Dr. David Ludwig, drugs and fat-burning fads cannot replace a good diet and excercise. The problem with obesity in the US is the lack of quality in our food, and the quantity of it most people eat. I mean really, do people need Crispy Cream every damn morning? I eat ONE main meal a day and have small snacks if I get hungry (usually salad or grains/granola). That main meal is a well balanced mix of meat, veges, and a very small portion of carbs (usually rice or bread). Being endomorphic, I don't need to eat very much to function, heck on one 800 cal meal I do my work and weight lift every day. So I can see how fat-burning drugs won't do any good if the person doesn't change what's wrong, i.e. their way of eating entirely. Quote:
I don't agree with EG's conclusions, but very interesting nonetheless. Thank you. __________________________________________________ _______________ More on the Syrian crisis. Russia concerned with Israeli 'attack' in Syria http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...339347,00.html
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2013-01-31, 12:06 | Link #26077 |
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
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Alcohol consumption plays a much more significant role in gun violence that mental illness and the use, abuse, or non-use of prescription drugs. The Jovan Belcher murder-suicide case is a good example. Beyond such anecdotal evidence are a variety of other studies that you can find from a simple Google search. I would guess that alcohol plays an especially significant role in domestic violence cases, where two-thirds of victims died as the result of gunshots.
Why doesn't the NRA argue in favor of cracking down on problem drinkers, or stressing that guns and alcohol don't mix, rather than focusing on "mental health?" Why do I think that such a viewpoint would not be widely shared by the organization's members? Lamar Alexander was once a Republican I could at least tolerate, but now he seems like another buffoon.
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2013-01-31, 12:43 | Link #26079 |
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
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No, I don't subscribe to that theory, Saintess. Tennessee has not elected a Democrat as senator since Al Gore, Jr., and the Gores were a powerful political family in the state for decades before that. It also has a slightly whiter-than-average population because of the relatively small number of Hispanics who live there. So I'd argue that Senator Alexander simply represents the opinions of those who vote for him.
I'm not saying that money does not matter in American politics; that would be absurd. What I am saying is that money is not the only thing that matters. Senators do, by and large, represent the opinions of their voters, and when there is a mismatch, as there was here in Massachusetts during the Scott Brown interregnum, it is eventually corrected. It is also important to understand the vast differences in the electorates that turn out for Presidential and off-year elections. Off-year electorates are more extreme, and more likely to include a disproportionate number of opponents of the incumbent President. Republicans who thought 2012 would be a replay of the 2010 off-year election seemingly either missed or ignored this fact. You might have thought seasoned political operatives like Karl Rove and Dick Morris would know better. Before watching Rove's widely-publicized tantrum on Fox News during the election coverage, I would have thought their absurd predictions of a Romney landslide were strategic in nature and designed to buck up the Republican voters. After that "performance" by Rove I'm no longer so sure.
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Last edited by SeijiSensei; 2013-01-31 at 12:56. |
2013-01-31, 12:55 | Link #26080 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: classified
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Alcohol abuse can be tied to all manner of ills, but we tried prohibition once and it didn't work. In fact, it made things much worse by providing the income for organized crime to become horribly powerful. Same thing has happened with drugs. The best way to deal with the alcohol issue is to find out why people abuse it in the first place. You'll find that the highest amount of abusers are usually poverty stricken. Same can be said for drug abuse. Gangs are another major issue with regard to homicide, and both drugs and poverty are related to why kids join them in the first place. I noticed in your link to DOJ that they state: The overall number of firearm homicides among intimates has fallen considerably during the past 30 years, however. Interesting considering the number of firearms owners is up since 1993. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that more women are becoming gun owners now? Quote:
The reason for their focus on mental health is because most of these mass murderers have mental health issues that are not being treated properly. When your funds are limited you have to choose your battles wisely. However, as you, I, and others here have shown, this issue of violence in the US is a very complex one. No one thing is responsible and blaming inanimate objects such as video games, guns, movies, music, or whatever new boogey man the politicians want to scapegoat, is just a cop-out to make it look like they're doing something. The real issues are psychotropic pharmaceutical, poverty, gangs, mental health, and drug abuse. Figure out how to solve those problems, and you will lessen the violent crime of the US.
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current affairs, discussion, international |
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