1. Nice takedown authored by Eric Boehlert
"Can conservative bloggers tell the truth?"
http://mediamatters.org/columns/200704180002

Webster Hubble Telescope at 11:54PM on Apr 23rd 2007

2. @Webster:

Is there a point reading past that first paragraph on Alfred French? I guess he wasn't telling the truth because he was found to have been "improperly using office resources to criticize Kerry". And also, he had an affair and didn't tell his boss the truth about it. That means he lied about Kerry? Amazing. Another example of amazing leftist "logic".

But let's continue. Letson is "discredited" because he learned about the fact that, during one of Kerry's purple heart incidents there was no enemy fire, from a "secondhand" group. Who was this "secondhand" group? Kerry's shipmates. This "discredits" him? Did Kerry's shipmates lie to the doctor for fun? And as for why he would remember Kerry... maybe because when Kerry got home he proceeded to slander the entire military? That might make it stick in his mind. So, again, what a worthless attempt on Boehlert's part.

Must we continue? And must all leftists respond to everything posted by the boys at Powerline with completely offtopic rants or links to far left groups like Media Matters (what a wonderfully Orwellian name).

Eric at 12:12AM on Apr 24th 2007

3. Tell me, for whom should I weep?

On April 16 of this year, thirty-two people were murdered at Virginia Tech. I use the term "people" instead of "students" purposely. There were old and young, male
and female as well different ethic groups. We the people were shocked and sickened. Our president ordered flags to be flown at half-mast and made a trip to the campus to speak on behalf of the American people.

There is no doubt that this was a tragedy. But, I am a little confused: for whom should I weep? Someone needs to find out how many of the slain were "libs", "neocons", Evangelical Christians, pro-abortion, pro-choice, etc. so that
I will be certain to mourn appropriately. Someone should also print the same statistics for the victims of September 11th, so I would have a clear picture of those worthy of my tears.

The hypocrisy in this country is astounding to me. Flags at half-mast for those shot at a university by one person, but not for anyone serving this country in Iraq or Afghanistan? The president sees it as his duty to represent us on a college campus, but has not attended a single funeral for a single one of our troops? In addition, the first thing I heard from the media after the shooting was about the second amendment. No mention of the fifth or sixth commandment (depending upon your religion), "thou shall not kill."

We live in a new America, which is based on hate and revenge. We are at each other's throats if we disagree on politics or religion, or we are afraid to talk about either out of fear of retribution. We are no longer united. The killer at Virginia Tech as well as the killers in so many senseless crimes were taking revenge on bullies, among other things, and we wonder why this keeps happening to our children, but don't we love and support bullies? We support the bullies running this country and our churches, don't we? We don't teach our children to stand up to bullies, but to be bullies, by our words and deeds, by our media and churches and leaders. Don't we also teach revenge? So tell me, for whom should I weep?






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See what's free at AOL.com.

Criss Thompson at 12:13AM on Apr 24th 2007

4. Hinderaker,

I favor gun ownership, but -- like all (R)ingers -- you don't even try to be reasonable here. When will you mention the greater risk of death from ubiquitous gun ownership due to: misfires, domestic abuse, misjudgement of intent, misjudgement of ability, escalated disagreements, ease of suicide, drunk shooting (even cops do it sometimes), kids using them, etc.. Deaths per year due to mass-murderers vs. deaths per year due to everyone packing is an equation that you don't seem able to talk about. Are you a one-trick pony? Well ... at least you have a trick. Mirengoff labors alongside you and he seems to have not even that.

Keep slogging,

lil_turk at 12:56AM on Apr 24th 2007

5. Criss Thompson,

Please weep for Charles Sumner because of Preston Brooks. If you really believe, "We live in a new America, which is based on hate and revenge. We are at each other's throats if we disagree on politics or religion ..." you're dead wrong. Politics has (in the past) been a blood-sport in this country; today's arguments are love letters by comparison ... even when we call Hinderaker a ding-bat. And you do remember they used to burn "witches" at the stake for "consorting with the devil," right? The U.S. is in a golden age. Now if only those evil hayseeds would step down and let Jim Baker run the country for the next two years, we'd be set.

Cheers,

lil_turk at 1:10AM on Apr 24th 2007

6.
There are far more accidental shootings per year with guns in the U.S. than there are intentional uses of them to either cause harm or to prevent it. Allowing people to carry guns in crowded venues such as shopping malls, schools, office settings, etc. would inevitably only compound the number of those accidental shootings.

If you want to take that risk in the privacy of your own home or in your car, that is your right and you have accepted those risks of your own will. But by carrying it in public places you put everyone else in danger through possible accidental discharge of the weapon.

Most citizens also are not trained in the proper rules of engagement. Would they use their weapon to stop a robbery? Creating unnecessary shootouts when the robber would likely have just taken the money and left? What about the stray bullets that result from those gunfights?

A better question is why was Cho able to purchase a gun at all. In 2005 a judge ruled him a danger to himself and committed him to a mental health facility for a short time. This made it illegal for him to purchase firearms under existing gun control laws, yet somehow he was able to walk into a gun store and buy a weapon. I can only assume the background check required on all gun purchasers was not run on him as the law requires if they failed to turn up something that was clearly on his record. If that does end up being the case the blood is on that store owners hands.

You can't blame this violence on our gun control laws when the only reason he had a gun in the first place was because those laws were not followed.

Peter at 8:45AM on Apr 24th 2007

7. Eric,

Why do right-wingers lie?

Webster Hubble Telescope at 8:49AM on Apr 24th 2007

8. It seems we have dozens of examples every year of innocent people injured or killed by exchanges of gunfire between gangbangers and police - in some cases hundreds of feet away from the exchange of gunfire.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20060520/ai_n16416153

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200608/ai_n16624475

The police train extensively to prevent the accidental shooting of innocent bystanders - and have specific rules of engagement specifying when they can and cannot shoot. Despite this, mistakes are made.

I can't believe that the average Joe gun guy, with 30 minutes of training at a local range 10 years ago isn't going to contribute to the unintended mayhem.

An interesting point in the "Classically Liberal" article is that each of the "mass murderer's" surrendered when confronted with a civilian carrying a gun...

Amazing, considering almost every one of these school mass killers has either had to be shot dead or committed suicide when cornered...

Making the "Classically Liberal" claims highly suspect...

Indeed the two "students" who subdued the Appalachian School of Law suspect, actually were off-duty Police officers who were students. Gross, a police officer with the Grifton Police Department in his home state of North Carolina, retrieved a pistol and body armour and Bridges, a county sheriff's deputy from Asheville, N.C retieved a 357 Magnum...

Which also explains how these two "civilians" knew a) that either of them were not the shooter, and b) to bracket the actual shooter instead of just running up firing away.

Details...details - something our connitwits seem to continually miss.

BT at 10:08AM on Apr 24th 2007

9. Honor in God for the Victims of the mass killer knowing judgment is by holy righteousness.

Exalt education on the campus of Virginia Tech and honor those brilliant young people take from us by reading and understanding: The word of God? The gospel of Jesus Christ revealed by the Holy Spirit to St. John reads,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

We attain knowledge of God by the word whereby all things were created. Life came from God and was the light. The light created by God coming to us from the Sun gives us life. The Sun sends the light to the earth with energy to create life. See a flower grow. Read the parable of the Sower in chapter 13, St. Matthew and how the seeds (words of God) grow or perish.

As real as the science and math of engineering is the truth that “as many as received Jesus, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name are “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Alan Klaus at 2:48PM on Apr 24th 2007

10. NRA go to hell you will.

Jared at 3:42PM on Apr 24th 2007

11. I'm a retired police officer, who pays attention to these kinds of stories, even the small ones. I think that armed intervention by citizens and aggressive law enforcemnt has had generally poitive results. Police generally get there a little late, and save the last few tha would have been killed. An armed citizen intervening, soon after the incident begins, can save many more lives.

Mistakes can and will be made,that's why permits to carry unsually have some training to go along with them. A trained armed citizen can be that once in a life time resource the community desperately needs for those critical minutes. I can get a federal permit to carry, and maybe I will, but I still don't like to carry that heavy uncomfortable chunk of metal (with sharp points), but the way things are going, it may be my duty to do so. I doubt very much if townspeople in the "wild west" had as much justification to carry a weapon as we do.

Count up the street robberies and home invasions in your city, and it's suburbs. It will scare you.

Wally Lind
Lakeville, MN

Wally Lind at 4:42PM on Apr 24th 2007

12. In the same book that says, 'Thou shalt not kill', in which kill should be translated 'murder', it also contains the rules for war, the definition of murder, manslaughter and the varying penalties, punishments and rewards. The book even declared times when God ordered people to kill.

I'm sure that the person who believes the part of the book (and the personal interpretation of killing) does not believe the part of the book where God ordered one human to kill another. If you don't believe in killing at all, the bible is the wrong book to quote from. The advise contained therein is discredited to unbelievers without spiritual understanding.
There are pockets of crazy people like me that understand that if the bible is supposed to be inspired by an Almighty God, it can't be part true and part false! If it is true then I have to reconcile what I don't understand with what God is saying.
Typically, the bible is often quoted by people that don't believe what it says as a weapon to get holy people in line with an unbelievers agenda and lack of understanding.
I'll bet that the 'Thou shalt not kill' crowd do not know what the bible actually says or understand what the bible says about self defense. There are even commandments about protecting the weak and defenseless.
It's weak and cowardly to try to twist the few words that a person thinks that they understand to win an argument when they honestly don't know what they are talking about and use the bible that they don't believe as a tool to make their point. Further, that they think that people who believe the bible should fall in line with their form of thinking about how biblical things should work, when you don't believe that they can, because you don't believe that it's true!

dalosophy at 4:49PM on Apr 24th 2007

13. Wally Lind,

If you're unhappy carrying the "heavy uncomfortable chunk of metal (with sharp points)" have you looked at: http://kahr.com/front.html? They've rolled out a lot of new stuff recently. Obviously, I have no way of knowing whether you're actually a retired cop, but if you are, you should probably carry. I'm surprised you don't. It's just that Hinderaker seems unable to present two sides to a story.

lil_turk at 6:08PM on Apr 24th 2007

14. Does this BLOG OF IRATE BLOGGERS MEAN THAT
the oversized 'HOOBASTANK Blog' which has
been ignored as to its parentage WILL NO LONGER
CRAP UP SENDING MESSAGES of sincere questions?
There is sadly no more RAMBLING WRECKER
in Virginia Tech. SO SAD TO WATCH NICE persons
go mad from horrible explosions!

Dorothea on the wall at 7:29PM on Apr 24th 2007

15.
Wally,

I have never heard of a police officer who supports vigilantism, at least not one who received the proper training. It would make your job so much harder and more dangerous than it is now for a number of reasons. First and foremost, you would have difficulty determining who the shooter was if multiple other citizens on the premises have guns. You're a cop (supposedly), you would know how little information you are given before you go in That is a danger both to you because you would have to hesitate to engage the suspect as well as those armed civilians who may be mistaken for the gunman.

Second, your comment about the wild west....there was a reason everyone carried guns: Because there was no effective police force yet to deal with crimes. And if I recall correctly, despite everyone and their mother being armed it was the most violent, lawless period in our history.

What you are advocating by allowing citizens to be armed anywhere and everything would effectively tie the hands of any police force in dispensing justice and instead leave it up to untrained civilians. That sure doesn't sound like something a cop would say to me.

Peter at 7:59PM on Apr 24th 2007