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Janie Albright (Blank)

I find the gun debate interesting from the standpoint of how many ways there are to look at it. Everyone seems to be quite wedded to their own view and thus the arguing back and forth. I did not grow up with guns. My father although he served in the Army in WWII did not own a gun or hunt. However, Dennis an Army officer in Vietnam, was obviously trained in the use of firearms and always had a small .38 in his beside drawer. Dennis did not hunt but his father did and he inherited a shotgun and a rifle that had some value. Obviously all of these guns were licensed. And when his health began to fail we removed them from the home. 

It seems gun owners come in a few general categories. Those that have a single gun for home protection. Those that have a few because they hunt or target shoot. And finally the serious collector. Obviously there can be variations. I have no real issue with any of these assuming they are bought legally with background checks. There are plenty of laws on the books for this. But where I think we could do a better job is with the amount of guns an individual is licensed to own. Over a small number seems to me should require a special sort of permit or license. From what I’m hearing this Las Vegas murderer had in excess of 30 weapons most bought legally and fairly recently. Shouldn’t this raise a red flag and a visit from ATF? Shouldn’t he have to be licensed to own an Arsenal? Is he selling on black market? Is he planning a terrorist activity? This is not normal. If he has a valuable collection of rare guns then he should be willing to show his collection and be licensed for it. 

I agree that mental health issues loom large and I don’t think we will ever stop the guy who owns a gun and then decides to shoot himself or even his wife. As they say guns don’t kill people. Somehow this latest and many others in the past somehow passed under the mental health radar. But a guy who buys that number of guns, passing a background check each time should by virtue of the sheer number of purchases set off a red flag somewhere. 

The NRA lobby shoots itself in the foot by not being reasonable. It’s this all or nothing mentality that makes people feel so strongly. That and of course the obscene amount of money it hands out to control our elected representatives. I think surveys show most Americans are fine with having a weapon for home protection and in no way do they think assault weapons should be legal. If somehow you want to use your automatic weapon to target shoot or go to a firing range (or go with Frank to shoot wild boar) then you should have to keep it locked up at a specific facility and sign it out. Ok so I’ve weighed in. I’m sure many more of you have your own opinions and I encourage you to voice them. 

But wouldn’t this be a good topic to put on the User Forum where all of this discourse is in one place? Easy to read through and not have to hunt? You’d mark a box you’d like to know when someone posts and you’d get the same email you get now taking you there. 

Joe Mc and Dave F and John J others could talk about Philatelic collections. Dave M and many others could discuss Vietnam, again with all those posts in one place. I don’t see how that takes away from this forum in any way. It’s just an enhancement. These are interesting and sometimes serious topics and I for one like the idea of having all of the comments in one easy to find place. 

Michael McLeod

ha. The gun lobby shoots itself in the foot. I see what you did there. 

The gun lobby has not been successful via logic. The gun lobby has been successful via money.

Janie Albright (Blank)

Mike, ok that was a pretty pathetic pun but it seemed fitting....

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Hi Donna, saw your post and am glad you are safe for now. This whole world is going mad! Some very good friends have just moved to Alcaucin near Malaga and have invited us to visit them. I looked up the location between Catalonia and Malaga and it is Quite a ways. How is the rail system in Spain. Would love to see you.

Michael McLeod

Love you guys and it's great conversation but what I can't figure out is why it took us so damn long to get around to the subject of feral hogs.

David Mitchell

Janie,

Thanks for adding some additional reasonable points that I wanted to list but had already gone on too long. There is still more in this discussion that we have not mentioned, but maybe it's time to worry about the next gulf storm, or the baseball playoffs, or who had the best/worst prom date. 

(or yes Mike, Ferol hogs by all means!)

Or wether Mark got swallowed up by Nessie?

Mark, I thought you said you were headed on to the "Lake District" in England. Did you take a wrong turn and head up to the "Loch District" in Scotland?  Dear God I hope he didn't slip and fall in!

Or maybe you did get to the "Lake District" in England and got caught in "Charlotte's Web". 

David Mitchell

Wow, everybody must have just gotten home about the same time.

Timothy Lavelle

So  just as soon as I want to rename "marijuana" as "Mary Margaret", the real Mary M comes out with a pretty difficult to read article about gun control. You are not gaining me any votes in my 'name change' agenda here Mags...but like everyone, I love you for the sister you are and your bottomless heart.

Dave, I think your de-tooling of that article...can I use de-tooling for "takiing to pieces" Mike M? - was nothing short of excellent.

Maybe all humans are truly nothing more than a herd of animals and we simply can't change direction until we feel the whiff of hunter's bullets. After all, don't we all brag about how wonderfully 'Murica comes together when attacked??? Like that is some fundamental difference in us, making us, "O yes, once again, better than the rest of the world". Meanwhile as a nation we are totally weak kneed over preventing the murder of children and adults.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/repeal-the-second-amendment/ar-AAsVImn?li=BBnb7Kz

This article was posted in recent hours on MSN.com. If you are interested in an attempt to begin speaking about the elephant in the room (Big Jumbo..the 2nd amendment) this is of interest. At the end there is a link to an article in The Federalist rebutting this one. Again, I don't want to take away any guns...well, yeah, machine guns, fully automatic guns, M-79 grenade launchers, Light anti-tank weapons should not be in the hands of the public.

Frank. Love you man. I read about the feral pigs...OK, save one for me. Did any of you know that when I hurt my leg, Frank was the only one to pick up the phone and find me. That's not an O Poor Me because I don't spend my time calling any/all of you either. It is a remark about how much fun I make of Frank but he knows he is a brother. The only man I ever stabbed and didn't go to prison over.

Janie, I would like to add a category to your well written remarks about gun control. Outside of "defender of the house" "Hunter/Target Shooter" "Collector" groups, there is a pretty populous group of people that think the government or the people from the Group W Bench are coming to get them or their guns or both. I believe these people are being bowed to by current elected officials because of one fact...fact: all I have to do as a politician (in order to keep my high paying job) is stand up and say "Second Amendment...blahblahblah...cold dead hands...blahblah...guns equal democracy blahblah" and I will have this block of people in my hands; on my side; keeping me paid and my kids in very private schools. I think it was Dave that pointed out that NRA is dangerous because of the populace they literally control, not the money they dole out. ME SHOUTING: This populace is not the limited group I want controlling the future of this country. I want us to stop being embarrassed about looking some part of our population in the eye and saying "You betcha. I am the guy who is going to limit your out of effing control freedoms just a very tiny bit."

The federal gov't said..."Uhhh, we're killing too many people on the freeways. Let's back the speed down to 55 nationwide". Did we all freak-out? While inconvenient to some, did it save some lives? Why are guns, as a thing, more important than anything else to some us? Are we all just wannabe Outlaws?

Let's don't take the issues we are passionate about and place them where some people will conveniently read them, no matter how convenient that is. Let's challenge each other. Let's say the things we believe. Hell, we've not got that many years left. Let's rail against the darkness out in front of everyone rather than "turn to Page twelve where boring-ass LaVelle wants to talk about darkness again".

If we haven't got a pair, let's grow a pair. Your (WHSers) call as to a pair of what...

Donna, I know Julio will keep you safe but we all wish you were living in Chilicothe about now. Mary Ann's query makes me recall Torremolinos...let's all go to Torremolinos and create great reasons not to be able to look each other in the eye at the next reunion. Clare, bring your cane, we'll dance!

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Were are John Jackson and Keith Groff when I need their wisdom?

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Donald Trump is wreaking havoc across the world.

David Mitchell

I think I would like to make an aplogy to Mary Margaret, or at least, a clarification.

I am sorry. My emotional answer to the article was not meant to be a rant against you. All I know of you is a sweet, dedicated, caring, 39 year-old chick with a strong sense of patriotism and high moral values. One of our class' BEST!  I may disagree with you here, but I know you have every right to hold up your side of the discusson. And Lord knows, I beleive you and your family have paid dearly for that right.    

  (In fact, I tried to make a little "contribution" to that very same ideal many years ago, during part of my "misspent youth".)

But my rant was against the lady author, who's logic left me utterly baffled.

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Tim,

Your article brought up so many good points I'll just say "excellent back at ya". They did leave out the "Ludlow Massacre" of the Trinidad, Colorado coal miners in 1914. And they're conjecture at the end about what Monroe would think today was especially powerful. 

----------------

One more note to all: As the overall temperature in the room has risen so high, and the intensity of posts so rapid, I think we all just missed one of the best one-liners since the Forum began.

Ferol hogs - you cracked me up Mike.  

David Mitchell

Mary Ann,

I lured John on to the Forum one or two times several months ago. And Keith keeps telling me "You know, I ought to" - but so far, no show. Wouldn't they both be terrific in this yelling match? 

For that matter, what ever happened to Bob Berkemer?  He had dinnner at Keith's house a few months ago and must have driven his RV off the corner of the earth (or the power grid)?

Mary Clare Hummer (Bauer)

I agree, Dave, about everyone getting home from work. . I just got home from my physical therapy (5 weeks out and doc & therapist both say my knee rehab is remarkable. I am working very hard!) and the mailbox is overflowing. Everyone has been very busy. Let me be among those to commend you for your (post #1988) analysis of the article of post #1987. The only thing you left out is maybe don't ever use The Washington Post for anything except maybe your dog or cat.  

See how I slipped that in, Janie. I attached the numbers of the posts being referenced. Then if anyone missed it, they can jump back to it. I still think the discussions should be out in the open and everyone should be fearless. How else would I find out I have so much in common with Mary Ann (post #2005)?  

Hope everyone has a safe and meaningful weekend, even if that means doing absolutely nothing.

Clare

David Mitchell

Uhhh, retraction time here.

I made my own little cute literary inside joke on post #2001 about Mark in the Lake Disitrict of England. But I had the wrong children's books by the wrong author. It was not Beatrix Potter of the English Lake District, but instead E.B. White of the United States (Charlotte's Web). 

I knew you were all waiting with baited breath for that correction.

Now back to our regular programing. 

James Hamilton, M. D.

I must respectfully disagree with Post #2005. It is my opinion and belief that it is the dictators and terrorists in the world who are wrecking havoc. Our president is standing up to those who are doing this and I, for one, am happy and proud that he is doing so.

Yes, he often uses direct and sometimes coarse words which are considered "not presidential" but at least he says what he believes, tries to do what he said he would do and that alone is refreshing. He is not a politician but rather a businessman. Personally, I am fed up with politicians who waffle on many issues, dodge directly answering questions, worry more about being re-elected than making the hard decisions and are more concerned about what the rest of the world thinks about us than what Americans do. The USA is always there to help wherever there is a crisis or a disaster in the world such as tsunamis, famines, floods, landslides etc. That has not changed and never will.

Do I agree with everything President Trump has done? Of course not. But I certainly like the overall direction he is charting for the country.

I do not twitter, facebook or use the so called "social media". But I am glad he does as he can get his message directly to millions of people bypassing a third party, the press. Whether one leans left or right most people will find that the press is often influenced by ideology or, to be honest, ignorance. As a physician I read articles in the lay media about medical things that are totally wrong. By the time a reporter gathers limited information from a doctor, writes it down and then it is edited by yet another person, it does not resemble what really is the case. My bet is that any one of you has seen this same thing in your line of work. This is the "ignorance" of which I speak. It is not intentional but unless someone has expertise in a certain area the story often does not make sense to one who has expertise. The ideology is another story. I think we all know how that goes.

Sorry if I offended anyone, that is never my intention. We all want what is best for our country and the world. Unfortunately, it is often impossible to do both.

Note to Mike McLeod: I think you are a fine jounalist and I am sure you strive for accuracy in your reports. I hope you train the next generation of j-students to do the same.

Have a great weekend,

Jim

David Mitchell

Maybe it's time to turn this ship around and head back into calmer waters.

I think Las Vegas has struck a nerve in all of us.  

I think I owe you all an apology for raising the room temperature so high.  

Now Joseph saw that his brothers had learned their lesson, and no longer hid himself from them. He sent all his servants out of the room, began to weep and said to them,

"I am Joseph your brother,  whom ye sold into Egypt."

The brothers were so astounded that they could not speak.

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

This is #2005 chiming back in. First to Jim, why do you think I was offended by your discussion? I wasn't at all.  I respect your opinion but disagree with some of your thoughts. For Heaven"s sakes guys we are a bunch of 69 year olds soon to be 70!

I stand by my post however.

Michael McLeod

Well, Jim.

As a doctor, a "first, do no harm" kinda guy, I'm kinda wondering what you think about Trump taking his courageous stand against birth control for women?

James Hamilton, M. D.

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Mary Clare I feel the same way about you. It must be that we were born on the same day. Were you born at Mt. Carmel? Maybe our mothers were next door to each other!

Also, I can relate to painful knees, I played USTA and ALTA for 20 years and gave it up when we moved to Beaufort. The doctor says I am not ready for replacements but maybe in the future. For now I am going to try some cortisone shots.

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Thanks Jim, II certainly think we can.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

I have probably voted more times on both sides of the Atlantic than most people.  When I was in Columbus last September I was in the car with a family member when a political ad came on the radio.  She immediately turned it off although I told her it wasn't necessary.  After a moment she started to ask me when had I first realized that I was.......   She  began to stammer not knowing how to finish her question.  I offered "When was I first diagnosed as a liberal?" to which we both laughed.  I then said that it was probably during my college days. Now thanks to the exchange between Clare and Mary Ann I realize that it was much earlier.  Since I was also born in Mount Carmel a few months after you two I can now answer "Since birth".  I can't wait to have the chance to give that reply.

  I imagine that there are quite a few from our class on both sides of the aisle who came into the world in Mount Carmel Hospital but that is not going to keep me from using my line. 

Mary Ann, the fast trains AVE in Spain are fantastic.  It would be great to see you over here.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

Ha! Tonsils and adenoids obviously don't count, Jim.  Did I just hear a sigh of relief all the way over here?!