Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Da Geezer]

I agree with that to a point. In the last five or so years, the Senate has indeed become more dysfunctional. But the bills have also become more extreme. SB 1 this term was about nationalizing the vote.

When the Dems propose to do away with the filibuster, it is usually to pass a bill that is plainly unconstitutional. See Mondaire Jones' statement. He would be fine with packing the SC to attain a Prog goal. The reason Progs want to do away with the filibuster is ultimately to destroy the SC as a guardian of the constitution. Progs generally reject amending the constitution, which would achieve their goals but also follow the constitution.

The filibuster is not in the constitution, but it happened in the first Congress and thereafter: https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-...e/overview.htm. The Dems used it 300 times during the Trump years and the Rs used it once last year. IMO the problem is that the Dem party follows the playbook of Rules for Radicals, and is content and even eager to blow up the system. That was not true in the past. If you teach a generation to hate the country and to view everything as oppressor v oppressed, don't be surprised to see that reflected in our politics. The Republicans have never tried to do away with the filibuster.

The Progs have been successful in most everything they have done, so I agree with DSL. The filibuster will probably go away.

[Obi-Jon]

Jesus this MFer is on a roll...

DeSantiss just reinforcing his anti-free speech chops. What an asshole. If the Rays leave, then he will have created another block of voters (baseball fans) looking to give him the boot.


Every Town For Gun Safety is a mixed bag. As a gun owner with several military grade firearms, firearm legislation is of interest to me.


Reasonable "demands":

Require permits for CCW. Most of CPL training (in Michigan at least) covers state laws, how they are applied, and how courts handle cases. Plus range time where you have to be able to hit an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper at 15 feet 50% of the time. I'm good with that. States do not require permits/training are saying that if you don't even know which end goes 'bang', you're good to go for concealed carry in public. That is just plain stupid.

Restricted areas. Places that serve alcohol, courthouses, airports, churches and the like. To me, that's common sense. Dollar beer night at the local watering hole does not mix with firearms.

Red Flag laws. People who go on social media and clearly state how they're going to kill lots of people should have their firearms confiscated, imo.

Require that stolen or lost firearms be reported. That's a no brainer. Why wouldn't you do that unless your weapon is illegal?

Background checks on all gun sales. Go ahead, check my background. Responsible gun owners have nothing to worry about. Besides, my CPL exempts me from background checks or waiting periods. I don't need to buy a gun THIS INSTANT.

Alert law enforcement of a failed background check. Most states do not require this. A convicted violent felon can fail a background check trying to buy a weapon and face no consequences.


Unreasonable "demands":

Block Concealed Carry Reciprocity. That's an issue that belongs to the individual state, not the feds.

Repeal Stand Your Ground Laws. You invade my home, I will hammer you without hesitation. SYG laws provide instant karma to an evil doer.

Prohibit open carry. Michigan is an open carry state and has been since its inception as a state. How many times have you seen someone parading around with a gun? Doesn't happen very often at all. In my neck of the woods, probably half the strolling pubic is carrying concealed anyway. A solution in search of a problem.

Prohibit Assault Weapons. This is a subject that deals with cosmetics. If I put a pistol grip/folding stock and flash suppressor on my Ruger 10/22, it's now an assault rifle? And my non-modified Springfield M-14 is not? The real intent of this law to to reduce the products offered by gun manufacturers.

Prohibit high capacity magazines. Just for rifles, there are more than 30 million magazines 20 rounds or larger currently in circulation. Banning production will do nothing about the availability. It doesn't take much time to spit one mag and slam home another.

Mandatory storage: It would depend on the wording of the law. That would seem to be a safe maker enrichment law. I keep all my firearms but one in a tamper proof safe that cost me $1500 30 years ago. I have a Maxsafes Vein ID safe for the pistol not kept in the 'big box'.



A 12 gauge shotgun is the best home defense weapon anyway. If you have a handgun for that purpose, use specialty defense ammo. Hornady, Remington, Phoenix Rising Exotic, Black Hills, and G2 Research all make great home defense ammo. I prefer the Black Hills HoneyBadger (9mm).

AA - you have some experience. Have a preferred ammo or caliber?

[Hannibal]

DeSantiss just reinforcing his anti-free speech chops. What an asshole. If the Rays leave, then he will have created another block of voters (baseball fans) looking to give him the boot.

If you want to exercise your free speech, don't expect to be subsidized by the government if your opinions don't align with that of the taxpayers.

[Obi-Jon]

Taxpayers have nothing to do with the exercising of free speech. Lord DeSantis is an example of gov't retribution for not agreeing with his opinion.

[Hannibal]

You have a right to free speech. You don't have a right to taxpayer subsidization of your speech.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I agree with that to a point. In the last five or so years, the Senate has indeed become more dysfunctional. But the bills have also become more extreme. SB 1 this term was about nationalizing the vote.

When the Dems propose to do away with the filibuster, it is usually to pass a bill that is plainly unconstitutional. See Mondaire Jones' statement. He would be fine with packing the SC to attain a Prog goal. The reason Progs want to do away with the filibuster is ultimately to destroy the SC as a guardian of the constitution. Progs generally reject amending the constitution, which would achieve their goals but also follow the constitution.

The filibuster is not in the constitution, but it happened in the first Congress and thereafter: https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-...e/overview.htm. The Dems used it 300 times during the Trump years and the Rs used it once last year. IMO the problem is that the Dem party follows the playbook of Rules for Radicals, and is content and even eager to blow up the system. That was not true in the past. If you teach a generation to hate the country and to view everything as oppressor v oppressed, don't be surprised to see that reflected in our politics. The Republicans have never tried to do away with the filibuster.

The Progs have been successful in most everything they have done, so I agree with DSL. The filibuster will probably go away.

Probably talked about it to death at this point but the filibuster is a creation of Senate rules, not the Constitution, like you say. As far as the Founders generation goes, it was an unintended oversight more than anything. The Henry Clay-Andrew Jackson generation is the first to really exploit it but very rarely.

Between the Civil War and WWII it continued to be rarely used, almost always when some Senator felt extremely passionate against some bill and was willing to endure hours on his feet endlessly talking in an effort to block the bill.

The Civil Rights era after WWII changed things with southern Senators utilizing the filibuster far more frequently in order to beat civil rights legislation. The 1970 Mansfield reforms made it possible for the business of Congress to carrry on around the filibuster while making it easier to kill (60 votes instead of 67) but at the same time making it far easier to conduct a filibuster. Since 1970 but especially post 1995 you cannot pass anything in the Senate without 60 votes. Literally everything short of that will be filibustered with minimal effort. It’s become part of the routine process when for over a 150 years it was a weapon you pulled out only rarely.

I think it could be the R’s that finally gut it if they control the Senate for the next six to eight years. McConnell is really the only one stopping that from happening. And he’s got 4 more years at best.

[Obi-Jon]

The subsidization was for a baseball team training facility, not taxpayers. Gov Whineybutt is trying to penalize the baseball team because the Rays disagreed with his opinion. It has nothing to do with what taxpayers may or may not want.

[AlabamAlum]

DSL,

The side road taken about the filibuster isn’t really interesting (to me, anyway). Sure. Remove it. Or don’t. It doesn’t matter to me, really.

The interesting thing (again, to me), is Representative Jones saying if a filibuster is used that counters the legislation he (and his colleagues) wants passed, the filibuster will be removed so his legislation can be made law AND if his law(s) are found unconstitutional, that he will add justices to the Supreme Court until a majority can be reached and the unconstitutionality of the law ignored.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Peter Navarro indicted for contempt of Congress. Let’s have a few more! Maybe he and Bannon can share a cell in Leavenworth

[Mike]

DSL,

The interesting thing (again, to me), is Representative Jones saying if a filibuster is used that counters the legislation he (and his colleagues) wants passed, the filibuster will be removed so his legislation can be made law AND if his law(s) are found unconstitutional, that he will add justices to the Supreme Court until a majority can be reached and the unconstitutionality of the law ignored.

Those crazy right-wingers are such a threat to democracy.

[AlabamAlum]

Jon,

I generally find corporate statements of virtue signaling and finger-wagging distasteful and if Pampers were getting funds to build another diaper factory, and they issued a statement that said, “Hey, expectant moms, don’t murder your unborn baby by having an abortion” I would be okay with public funding being removed.

I personally think that the company can be as politically radical or active as they want, but once you lose your public vanilla veneer you run the risk of losing public funds.

[AlabamAlum]

Those crazy right-wingers are such a threat to democracy.

We must destroy democracy to protect it!

[AlabamAlum]

Jon,

1) I am only a fan of a shotgun in case of defending a house with few people in it. Someone breaks in and is close proximity of a loved one and you fire your 12 gauge (with a moderate choke), you have spray that runs a high risk of reaching unintended targets. Shotguns are in vogue (and I have several) but I’m a pistol guy for defense.

2) The concern with most non-jacketed hollow points going through a wall is real, but perhaps overstated. Most non-jacketed hollow points with a 9mm or similar often won’t be a real threat once they go through 2 separated pieces of sheet rock that make up most residential walls.

3) All the ammo you listed is good if a through a wall errant shot is a concern. I would add Glaser Safety Ammo to the list.

4) I love a 9mm. A Sig P365 is my EDC. But I’m also a huge Glock guy. Carried a Glock 30SF (.45) for years.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Jon,

I generally find corporate statements of virtue signaling and finger-wagging distasteful and if Pampers were getting funds to build another diaper factory, and they issued a statement that said, “Hey, expectant moms, don’t murder your unborn baby by having an abortion” I would be okay with public funding being removed.

I personally think that the company can be as politically radical or active as they want, but once you lose your public vanilla veneer you run the risk of losing public funds.

Yeah, but what you describe isn't the reality on the ground. Companies aren't being punished for taking ANY political stance. In Florida they get punished only if they take a political stance DeSantis doesn't like.

And just as a random note, I would really like to emphasize that virtue signalling is not something only liberals do. I personally find many of DeSantis' actions, like his social media bill, to be virtue signalling of the conservative strain. He knows the bill won't hold up but passed it anyways, knowing it likely won't be ruled unconstitutional once and for all until he's out of office and his frothing base has long forgotten it.

[Hannibal]

His social media bill has already been defeated in court. Also -- it's not virtue signaling.

I can't comment on whether DeSantis is inconsistent on his stances vis-a-vis corporate political statements, All of the sports leagues are woke, and there are no corporations out there spouting right wing talking points in their annual reports and their marketing campaigns.