And I was talking about CULTURE = Kind of "INFLUENCE"
Bowling for Columbine
by drwtsn32 81 Replies latest social entertainment
-
-
avishai
This was posted by trauma hound awhile ago.
40 Reasons For Gun Control
Originally posted on FreeRepublic.com (conserative site, some of you may not like it), I found this as good article material with an almost satire writing style while still making valid points.
1. Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, & Chicago cops need guns.
2. Washington DC's low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Indianapolis' high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control.
3. Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control but statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are "just statistics."
4. The Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, both of which went into effect in 1994 are responsible for the decrease in violent crime rates, which have been declining since 1991.
5. We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a shooting spree at any time and anyone who would own a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.
6. The more helpless you are the safer you are from criminals.
7. An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray, but if shot with a .357 Magnum will get angry and kill you.
8. A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.
9. When confronted by violent criminals, you should "put up no defense -- give them what they want, or run" (Handgun Control Inc. Chairman Pete Shields, Guns Don't Die - People Do, 1981, p.125).
10. The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice about guns; just like Guns & Ammo has some excellent treatises on heart surgery.
11. One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seatbelts, a civil engineer for a better bridge, a surgeon for internal medicine, a computer programmer for hard drive problems, and Sarah Brady for firearms expertise.
12. The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard, which was created 130 years later, in 1917.
13. The National Guard, federally funded, with bases on federal land, using federally-owned weapons, vehicles, buildings and uniforms, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a "state" militia.
14. These phrases: "right of the people peaceably to assemble," "right of the people to be secure in their homes," "enumerations herein of certain rights shall not be construed to disparage others retained by the people," and "The powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively, and to the people" all refer to individuals, but "the right of the people to keep and bear arm" refers to the state.
15. "The Constitution is strong and will never change." But we should ban and seize all guns thereby violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments to that Constitution.
16. Rifles and handguns aren't necessary to national defense! Of course, the army has hundreds of thousands of them.
17. Private citizens shouldn't have handguns, because they aren't "military weapons", but private citizens shouldn't have "assault rifles", because they are military weapons.
18. In spite of waiting periods, background checks, finger printing, government forms, etc., guns today are too readily available, which is responsible for recent school shootings. In the 1940's, 1950's and1960's, anyone could buy guns at hardware stores, army surplus stores, gas stations, variety stores, Sears mail order, no waiting, no background check, no fingerprints, no government forms and there were no school shootings.
19. The NRA's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign about kids handling guns is propaganda, but the anti-gun lobby's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign is responsible social activity.
20. Guns are so complex that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy.
21. A handgun, with up to 4 controls, is far too complex for the typical adult to learn to use, as opposed to an automobile that only has 20.
22. Women are just as intelligent and capable as men but a woman with a gun is "an accident waiting to happen" and gun makers' advertisements aimed at women are "preying on their fears."
23. Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering butchers but revert to normal when the weapon is removed.
24. Guns cause violence, which is why there are so many mass killings at gun shows.
25. A majority of the population supports gun control, just like a majority of the population supported owning slaves.
26. Any self-loading small arm can legitimately be considered to be a "weapon of mass destruction" or an "assault weapon."
27. Most people can't be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, which most people will abide by because they can be trusted.
28. The right of Internet pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights, but the use of handguns for self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.
29. Free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but self-defense only justifies bare hands.
30. The ACLU is good because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the Constitution, and the NRA is bad, because it defends other parts of the Constitution.
31. Charlton Heston, a movie actor as president of the NRA is a cheap lunatic who should be ignored, but Michael Douglas, a movie actor as a representative of Handgun Control, Inc. is an ambassador for peace who is entitled to an audience at the UN arms control summit.
32. Police operate with backup within groups, which is why they need larger capacity pistol magazines than do "civilians" who must face criminals alone and therefore need less ammunition.
33. We should ban "Saturday Night Specials" and other inexpensive guns because it's not fair that poor people have access to guns too.
34. Police officers have some special Jedi-like mastery over hand guns that private citizens can never hope to obtain.
35. Private citizens don't need a gun for self-protection because the police are there to protect them even though the Supreme Court says the police are not responsible for their protection.
36. Citizens don't need to carry a gun for personal protection but police chiefs, who are desk-bound administrators who work in a building filled with cops, need a gun.
37. "Assault weapons" have no purpose other than to kill large numbers of people. The police need assault weapons. You do not.
38. When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give Microsoft preferential promotion, that's bad; but when the Federal government pressures cities to buy guns only from Smith & Wesson, that's good.
39. Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun for defensive purposes, which is why you see police officers with one on their duty weapon.
40. Handgun Control, Inc. says they want to "keep guns out of the wrong hands." Guess what? You have the wrong hands. -
jukief
Whether or not Michael Moore plays fast and loose with the facts, I think the fact that the movie calls attention to the gun crime in this country makes it worthwhile to watch. This is a scary place to live. So many guns in the hands of so many complete idiots. When we lived in Switzerland, all the men of army age had rifles and ammunition in their homes. They had to keep them there, where they were periodicaly inspected, because they were members of the standing army. Do you know how many crimes have been committed with those guns? None! I felt safe living in Europe; I don't feel safe here, not even in a city with a low crime rate, like Fort Collins, Colorado (an hour away from Littleton, BTW). Why do Americans have such a love affair with guns? Why do people need to own assult guns? For hunting? Give me a break. We need some decent gun control laws. Watch an hour or two of the trauma shows on TLC and you'll the results of our love affair with guns.
Moore made some excellent points in the movie, as well as in his books. I certainly don't agree with everything he says or with all his tactics, but that doesn't make everything he says untrue. If you're going to attack people for futzing around with the "facts," look first to our biggest and best example--good old Dubya.
As for Charleton Heston, when he assumed the role of president of the NRA, he put himself in a position to be criticized. Seeing that clip of him holding a gun above his head and saying "Over my cold, dead body" makes me nauseated. If he's senile, he should step down. In the meantime, he's put himself in the bull's eye (pun intended).
-
Jayson
Europe is not as "crime free" as some here try to believe. However, if America is so terrifying to you and Europe is so safe then that safe place is where you should be. (simple)
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/53811/784362/post.ashx#784362
I conceed that America has an issue with guns and homicide. I think if guns were abolished that would not change. There would be "weapon substitution." Many States do in fact outlaw guns in public. And it is a crime for a felon to even touch a gun. (This also includes those convicted of "domestic violence.") States with intense gun restrictions have some of the highest homicide rates in the Union. So it's not guns. My opinion is Urban cramp, inequality, pressure to be better than someone, with an intense lifestyle, and not enough outlets leads some people to violence. But that's just me.
Moore doing what he did to Heston would be like Dean going to debate (ambush style) Ronald Regan. Anyone who thinks that someone with dementia is fair game to exploit is sad indeed.
-
blacksheep
Europe is crime free? Take a reality check. Very recently a politial official was murdered while shopping in Sweden. A few years back a prime minister was murdered in Sweden.
These folks don't have body guards. Maybe they should rethink their practices.
-
Jayson
Very recently a politial official was murdered while shopping in Sweden. A few years back a prime minister was murdered in Sweden.
Maybe they should pass a law that makes it illegal to kill someone with a knife while they are shopping.
-
blacksheep
"Maybe they should pass a law that makes it illegal to kill someone with a knife while they are shopping."
Sorry, if you're attempting humor, it's quite lost. Murder is murder. A death due to stabbing isn't funny. I'm amazed you think it is.
-
Phantom Stranger
Hopefully I can politely point this out without anyone thinking I'm callin' their mama names...
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/08/09/heston.illness/ Posted August 9, 2002, this story indicates that on Friday, Charlton Heston announced via a videotape that he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The story mentions Friday, btw - August 9th, 2002, was a Firday, so it might have been the 2nd...don't know.
Bowling for Columbine opened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2002, and in theatres in October 2002.
While it looks bad in retrospect, we have no evidence to assume that Moore knew something about Heston's condition that was not common knowledge, and that Heston had not announced publicly. It's not unrealistic to say that Heston probably felt forced to reveal his condition as a response to the May Cannes screening of the film - otherwise, he had no reason to speak out about it.
Peace, out.
PS
-
Jayson
"Europe is so safe" America is so dangerous" blah blah I hear Kosovo is nice this time of year........I don't think anyone has ever been killed with a handgun in Europe. In WW 1,2, and 3 all the guns came from the USA. High School textbook in 2020 London.But point out that crime happens with or without guns no don't say that about Europe, violent crime doesn't happen there when the USA is in the debate...My point exactly. It screws up the whole ideology of gun control. I guess taking guns away from the people who could protect people against criminals makes sense. Armed citizens are dangerous to criminals.Please continue to talk about the horrors of blood thirsty Americans & the talented "only the left believe it" Moorisms..... I'm out.What really strikes me is all the comments along the lines of "while Mr. Moore's production may not be accurate is does attempt to bring to light an issue that is by and large never been addressed in the USA." Again guns and gun violence is never ever addressed in the USA.
I can't believe that you guys can sit here and know that this movie is a 100% fabrication but still support it. How long did you do that with Watchtower magazines? Some of what that twisted truth says is in fact not a total lie. But addresses something that you want to be true. Maybe a step by step discussion of all the inconsitancies in the show would remind you of the dangers of believing a lie. People who say that they are no longer WT believers, who claim that anyone who supports the Government of the USA has traded one cult for another now say that while Micheal Moore is a proven liar and while what he produced is a lie still, it might be true.
Hat's off guys, that hits a new low here for me. Like I said, I'm out.
P.S. Phantom, no one here cares about the dementia issue. Not as a JW and not now. Theocratic Warfarism and Heston is the enemy. No mercy. He's just another guy and it's "just another day" right Az? (I read your 9/11 comments and just shook my head.) I though more of you. Till now that is.
-
Phantom Stranger
Oh, don't leave before reading my last post, J!