A Well Regulated Militia . . .

[ursus arctos]

I think you are right about that, but in my experience very little thought is given to the psychological impact of repeated drills on kids in primary schools.

And that's before one gets to related insanity, like fundraising drives for armoured backpacks.

[Hot Pepsi]

America is so creative, partly because we absolutely refuse to do the straightforward rational thing.

We’ll invent armored backpacks before banning machine guns.

We will come up the most breathtakingly Byzantine health care system - and the AI to run it - rather than just have public health.

We will come up with all kinds of ways to privatize and commoditize basic human services rather than tax billionaires.

[ursus arctos]

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1718790717613728147

[Hot Pepsi]

The article indicates that the never managed to actually contact him.
OTOH, it was the Maine National Guard asking the police to do the inquiry. Why can't the national guard do that on it's own? It seems like the defense department should have that latitude to intervene when one of it's own or a member of the NG is a threat.

[ursus arctos]

https://twitter.com/sebastianmurdoc/status/1732071337554767990?s=12&t=xvOireV8JOIS_CpbTtDBow

[Hot Pepsi]

[ursus arctos]

Fewer than 24 hours apart

https://twitter.com/brihollisnews/status/1732506901324173527?s=12&t=xvOireV8JOIS_CpbTtDBow

https://twitter.com/msnbc/status/1732506201143800301?s=12&t=xvOireV8JOIS_CpbTtDBow

[Sean of the Shed]

Christmas in Florida.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67825635

[Sean of the Shed]

Another multiple shooting at a school in Iowa.
One student and the shooter have died
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67884584

[ursus arctos]

https://twitter.com/mikespiesnyc/status/1743353737014354308?s=12&t=xvOireV8JOIS_CpbTtDBow

[San Bernardhinault]

It's a shame he resigned and didn't have to face all the facts at trial, but it's good to see him gone.

Next up is getting rid of the NRA and any equivalent gun rights organisations. That'll be harder.

[ursus arctos]

He still is on trial and still very much at risk of being ordered to pay millions and barred from serving as a director or officer.

And the NRA is still at risk of having a federal monitor installed.

The larger question is whether they will just let the NRA wither and throw their support behind one of the other gun nut associations.

[San Bernardhinault]

Oh, the first two parts of that are good.

On the last, I always assumed that if the NRA became neutered then the gun rights people would start funding other gun nuts. The gun nut campaigners offer too many benefits to too many politicians to be allowed to become less effective.

[ursus arctos]

There are already a number of organisations fighting over that turf, generally by claiming the NRA is "soft" or even "woke".

Though it isn't going to be easy for any of them to take over the NRA's hegemonic position, at least in the short to medium term.

One reason for that is that a primary source of NRA funding is bequests from culture warriors. It is significantly more of a hassle to change one's will than it is to just stop making donations.

[Hot Pepsi]

Who would imagine that an organization based on lies and total indifference to human suffering would also be thoroughly corrupt.

[caja-dglh]

We've got Benedict on line 2.

[caja-dglh]

There were I believe eight people who were murdered this afternoon in Joliet, IL. There is a manhunt ongoing.

It has not even reached beyond regional news coverage.

[ursus arctos]

It has now made the BBC

[caja-dglh]

I guess the problem is there is very little story beyond 8 people are murdered and we think it is this guy in a Red Toyota. It wasn't even on Chicago NPR around 4.30pm when it started to truly hit news services. Bizarre how slow it has been.

[ursus arctos]

Libs of TikTok is certain that it is being "buried" because the suspect is Black and had been bailed.

[caja-dglh]

Early reports suggesting of the very-rare two shooter situation at the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade.

[Sean of the Shed]

One dead and nine injured.

[Satchmo Distel]

Shocking from CBS this morning interviewing the African-American father of two of the victims. "Do you think it might be gang-related?" Because, like, you're black so, you know...

[ursus arctos]

The National Rifle Association and its former CEO were found liable Friday in a case in which the New York Attorney General’s Office accused them of misspending millions of dollars on extravagant perks.

A New York state jury found that Wayne LaPierre, who led the NRA for three decades, squandered millions on vacations, private jets and expensive clothes, and said he was liable for $5.4 million in damages. Jurors also determined that the NRA failed to include or misrepresented information in tax filings and broke New York law by not adopting a whistleblower policy, the Associated Press reported.

[Balderdasha]

This isn't an atrocity, thankfully. I present this article only as a juxtaposition between the situation in the UK and the USA. The following paragraphs from this story caught my eye.

"Officers attended Haik’s home on 5 April last year to arrest him, but he was armed with a baseball bat and fired two shots from an imitation firearm when they entered the address before he was safely detained."

Would anyone be described as being "armed with a baseball bat" in the USA?

"Haik, 31, of Ashfield Road, Southgate, was convicted of conspiracy to import cannabis, conspiracy to supply cannabis, conspiracy to steal and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence."

Is there such a crime in the USA? Given that it's so legal and easy to own a real gun I can't imagine that there's much call for imitation fire arms.

"We also saw incredible bravery and professionalism from TSG officers who were shot at as they arrested one of the suspects.

Thankfully, only blanks were fired, but thanks to this investigation, a dangerous weapon is off the streets and a group of dangerous criminals are now behind bars."

Would an imitation firearm which can only fire blanks be described as a "dangerous weapon"?

https://dumptheguardian.com/uk-news/...rting-cannabis