Bloomberg's "seventh biggest standing army in the world"

[EdC]

Interesting opinion piece on Bloomberg in Al Jazeera America from last week:

The real reason Michael Bloomberg cares about guns | Al Jazeera America

The article ends with this:

"To further his agenda, Bloomberg is counting on the public’s unwillingness to look beyond the flashiest proximate cause of surprise violence, as well as liberal stereotypes about rural Americans who own guns. But the biggest, most violently irresponsible gun owner in the country isn’t some left-wing caricature redneck or a deranged teen plotting a massacre from his basement. It’s the state."

My first reaction was that the author was engaging in a little hyperbole, but then I stumbled across this article today:
NYPD drunken shootings: three incidents in last week.

 

[mrjarrell]

The state and it's actors have killed more people in this country than terrorists. More people have died at the hands of cops than died in the Iraq conflict. Achmed doesn't worry me half as much as someone from a PD or alphabet agency. Bloomberg just wants the power brokers and their minions to be the ones armed. Then the rest of us will have to obey.

 

[youngda9]

Good dialogue in the comments, worth the read.

 

[mrjarrell]

Good dialogue in the comments, worth the read.

Lot of differing opinions and a good look at who reads Al-Jazeera. It's folks from across the political spectrum. Why is that, I wonder? Because, unlike other news outlets AJ actually is "fair and balanced". They present Op/ed pieces from all sides of the spectrum. That's why I've come to trust them for news.

 

[tetsujin79]

"fair and balanced"

More then the the BBC, but

Also, comments requiring FB? I find that FB is a nice anonymous echo chamber for the loudest voice. Just look at guns in regards to FB...

The state and it's actors have killed more people in this country

THIS

 

[tetsujin79]

My first reaction was that the author was engaging in a little hyperbole

Dude makes some points, being that it's an op-ed piece and all. But the snark kind of ruins the points he makes. It's the same emotional clap-trap that usually gets the far-wings frothing.

But I guess that's the point. Too bad it's gotta to the point where no one would believe an atheist vegan supports the 2A or that anti-abortionist christian would want to ban guns.

 

[mrjarrell]

More then the the BBC, but

Also, comments requiring FB? I find that FB is a nice anonymous echo chamber for the loudest voice. Just look at guns in regards to FB...


THIS

You could also reply via Google + and a few others. Keeps the nameless riff raff out and cuts back on trolls. I'm all for it. Facebook isn't very anonymous, since most people sign up with their real names. Fake accounts get deleted with alarming frequency. I don't know many venues that don't require some level of ID to comment. Even INGO requires a valid email addy.

 

[88E30M50]

The entire issue of gun control is one of power. A firearm gives a person or organization the ability to impose their will on another person. A firearm can take that power away as well. A firearm gives a cop the ability to remove the advantage an armed criminal has. A firearm gives a homeowner the ability to counter the power of either numbers or firearms when they are attacked. A firearm in the hands of a criminal gives them the ability to impose their will on many people that they would not otherwise be able to coerce. Before firearms, and in places where no firearms exist, physical might gives that same power over the folks that are physically weaker.

That's all there is to the gun control debate. It has nothing directly to do with safety outside of those two simple facts. To Bloomberg, the government having firearms gives them the power to impose their will on the population and when the population also has firearms, the government looses some of its ability to impose its will unless they get even more powerful firearms. The anti-gun crowd wants to eliminate firearms from the general population because they either give other citizens the ability to impose their will on them or, if someone is in a position of power, it limits their ability to impose their will on the public.

We gun owners, recognize that second fact that a gun takes away as much power as it gives. To us, a firearm reduces the ability of others to impose their will on us whether they are criminals or if they are our own government. That is all this argument is about. The Bloomburgs of the world have fought hard to reach the level of power they enjoy and are working just as hard to bolster that power by eliminating the power the people of our country have in firearms.

 

[phylodog]

More people have died at the hands of cops than died in the Iraq conflict.

How many were justifiable and necessary or do you lump them all in together as being wrong? Which number are you using for your observation? There seems to be some disparity among sources Casualties of the Iraq War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . What source are you using for numbers killed by LE?