CBS reporting 27 dead in Connecticut school shooting.

[Dr. Medulla]

The solution is to arm barbershop customers: http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/12/19/ ... rd-patron/

[Chuck Mangione]

We could always arm the children.

[JennyB]

The solution is to arm barbershop customers: http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/12/19/ ... rd-patron/

God dammit far west suburb of Moranjortsville.

[Mimi]

I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, but I can't stop crying about this. I've become one of those people I am always looking down on, internalizing something that has nothing to do with you. Which makes me feel especially like an asshole because I still have my son to hug and tuck in at night. That little boy Noah is especially getting to me because he reminds me of VH Jr. so much, and for some reason, since he had a twin, it just seems worse. I know I ambling totally irrational and will snap out of it, but is anyone else feeling this way? I didn't even cry like this when Scott got sick.

YES!!

One of the many things that I can't quite stop thinking about is the thought of the kids being scared that moment right before...

I haven't been watching much about it to maintain some sanity.

[JennyB]

I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, but I can't stop crying about this. I've become one of those people I am always looking down on, internalizing something that has nothing to do with you. Which makes me feel especially like an asshole because I still have my son to hug and tuck in at night. That little boy Noah is especially getting to me because he reminds me of VH Jr. so much, and for some reason, since he had a twin, it just seems worse. I know I ambling totally irrational and will snap out of it, but is anyone else feeling this way? I didn't even cry like this when Scott got sick.

YES!!

One of the many things that I can't quite stop thinking about is the thought of the kids being scared that moment right before...

I haven't been watching much about it to maintain some sanity.

I'm just hoping that it happened so quickly that they didn't have time to get scared.

[Mimi]

I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, but I can't stop crying about this. I've become one of those people I am always looking down on, internalizing something that has nothing to do with you. Which makes me feel especially like an asshole because I still have my son to hug and tuck in at night. That little boy Noah is especially getting to me because he reminds me of VH Jr. so much, and for some reason, since he had a twin, it just seems worse. I know I ambling totally irrational and will snap out of it, but is anyone else feeling this way? I didn't even cry like this when Scott got sick.

YES!!

One of the many things that I can't quite stop thinking about is the thought of the kids being scared that moment right before...

I haven't been watching much about it to maintain some sanity.

I'm just hoping that it happened so quickly that they didn't have time to get scared.

I know.

And those little kids that ran to the guy's house? Fuck.

[Dr. Medulla]

Have I got this right? Exposure to violent video games and movies leads mass shootings; exposure and easy access to actual guns in civil society doesn't.

[eumaas]

Pretty interesting piece:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc ... _page=true

[Dr. Medulla]

Pretty interesting piece:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc ... _page=true

Very nice essay, in no small part to demonstrate the silliness in assuming that the future is a straight line from the present. One of the things that is interesting is that the Black Panthers were actually engaging in the action that so many pro-gun people today only talk about—they were acting as a militia and were doing so to protect themselves from the state. Out of principle, the Panthers should be heroes and inspiration—as opposed to being the scary black men that justify the need for arming oneself to the teeth. Or the remarkable switching of positions regarding originalism versus a living Constitution, where the conservative originalist position morphs into living proponents and the liberal living morphs into originalism. Quite suggestive that principle isn't what's really being argued, but rather, by both sides, a politics of fear.

edit: Additional curiosity: Given that one of the arguments for gun possession is to protect oneself from government agents (how fringe is that position amongst the serious gun proponents?), isn't it inconsistent to suggest as a solution putting armed agents of the state inside schools?

[Dr. Medulla]

http://gawker.com/5970497/while-the-nra ... ing-people

Posted only for the coincidence that this spree took place during the NRA press conference.

[Flex]

No one teaches blind obedience to power better than your average gun rights supporter. The perfect mix of feigned radicalism wedded to a deep, deep commitment to the continued oppression of the marginalized.

[JennyB]

I guess also a registry of those with mental illness doesn't infringe on liberty.

[Heston]

"The only way to stop the bad guys is to arm the good guys."

Still can't believe what I'm hearing. Speechless.

[Dr. Medulla]

"The only way to stop the bad guys is to arm the good guys."

Still can't believe what I'm hearing. Speechless.

It's unfortunate that only in comic books that bad guys readily acknowledge themselves as wearing the black hats.

[Heston]

"The only way to stop the bad guys is to arm the good guys."

Still can't believe what I'm hearing. Speechless.

It's unfortunate that only in comic books that bad guys readily acknowledge themselves as wearing the black hats.

It's the lead item on the UK news and it's being compared to some kind of sick parody over here.