tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post7766183221452036421..comments2024-03-28T06:32:24.557-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: The Pentagon’s initiative in Turkey is part of the US-NATO-Israeli led insurgency against Syria. In recent months, this insurgency has evolved towards an unofficial (yet de facto) allied invasion characterized by the presence inside Syria of French, British, Turkish and Qatari Special Forces.Deuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-85692489630621381142012-12-16T21:57:20.663-05:002012-12-16T21:57:20.663-05:00Somebody else Do the Math.Somebody else Do the Math.DRRhttp://d.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-35796344203670495192012-12-16T21:56:21.260-05:002012-12-16T21:56:21.260-05:00Workplace Killings<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers#Workplace_killings" rel="nofollow">Workplace Killings</a><br /><br />DRRhttp://d.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-88665742084192829552012-12-16T21:54:51.974-05:002012-12-16T21:54:51.974-05:00School Massacres<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers#School_massacres" rel="nofollow">School Massacres</a><br /><br />DRRhttp://d.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-72427282573785229952012-12-16T21:51:32.221-05:002012-12-16T21:51:32.221-05:00Let's hear it for the competition: List of Ra...Let's hear it for the competition: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers#Africa_and_the_Middle_East" rel="nofollow">List of Rampage Killers</a><br /><br />DRRhttp://d.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-74190188006846713642012-12-16T21:16:38.474-05:002012-12-16T21:16:38.474-05:00The Switzerland example is interesting Quirk. The...The Switzerland example is interesting Quirk. They government does appear to distribute weapons, automatic weapons nonetheless, to the citizenry. The do not, however, distribute ammunition anymore. I would imagine they also keep detailed records of the guns distributed but your point is well made in that the simple presence of guns is not a necessary condition for their use. It is a sufficient condition though and that leads me to your criticism of "Like most liberals you tend to blame the implement rather than the perp."<br /><br />No, I believe the perp pulls the trigger. The perp is the criminal but I do believe that making it very easy for the perps to access very powerful weapons increases the perps power and the resulting destruction unnecessarily.<br /><br />With respect to your reference to statistics indicating violent crimes dropping - that does appear to be the case and they have in most of the western countries around the world. The reasons for the drop are debated. One reasonable explanation for the drop is simply the change in demographics - young folk tend to perpetrate most crimes and young folk are, generally, in relative short supply in the west.<br /><br />But ya, maybe it really is a cultural thing and the Swiss don't mass murder each other in anyway near the Americans do. Go America!Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688752302081088907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-4769811172998119482012-12-16T19:08:30.446-05:002012-12-16T19:08:30.446-05:00.
Naw, there they just spread them out so they ar....<br /><br />Naw, there they just spread them out so they are not so noticiable.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-79188517926522524252012-12-16T18:46:05.342-05:002012-12-16T18:46:05.342-05:00It just occurred to me; you never have these types...It just occurred to me; you never have these types of deals in the Big, Inner-City Schools, do you?Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-73213159774397630582012-12-16T18:39:47.109-05:002012-12-16T18:39:47.109-05:00.
Ash, your mental processes tend to amaze. You ....<br /><br />Ash, your mental processes tend to amaze. You take a specific response to certain, as you call them, high-profile killings, that response being 'if only the poor victims had been armed' and then you somehow conflate that with the killings in Newton. As far as I know, no one has suggested that the children in Newton be armed other than you bringing it up. Your mind works in a strange and mysterious way.<br /><br />Like most liberals you tend to blame the implement rather than the perp. Your solution, eliminate most violent crime in the US by getting rid of all the guns, is simplistic on a number of levels. First, you ignore the futility of offering up solutions that will never happen. Second, you ignore the fact that violent crimes in the US have been dropping precipitiously over the past decade with the number of violent crimes involving firearms dropping almost in half. Third, you fixate on one issue as the root cause of the violent crime in the US which as I've stated is a simplistic view.<br /><br />I recall reading that in Switzerland where gun ownership is not only a right but an obligation violent crimes using firearms is negligible. The difference was suggested that Switzerland has no gun control merely social control while the US has no social control merely gun control.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-88351927765434971862012-12-16T18:36:00.164-05:002012-12-16T18:36:00.164-05:00Thanks.
Almost "All White, All Male."Thanks.<br /><br />Almost "All White, All Male."Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-35144575777154365792012-12-16T18:25:44.658-05:002012-12-16T18:25:44.658-05:00Good story above, Rufus.Good story above, Rufus.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04145155737835511824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-26224139819481602662012-12-16T18:25:16.516-05:002012-12-16T18:25:16.516-05:00Why are nearly all these type of shooters white? T...Why are nearly all these type of shooters white? There was that Asian guy, but other than that they seem all white. Black crime is out of control in many places but I can't recall any black doing this kind of thing, except those two driving around shooting people at random from the trunk of their car over days, and that isn't really quite like this kind of thing.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04145155737835511824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-64409982319824771232012-12-16T18:20:18.682-05:002012-12-16T18:20:18.682-05:00It is, after all, the Republican Party that runs e...It is, after all, the Republican Party that runs every cycle on "doing away with the Dept of Education."<br /><br />And, if I recall correctly, it Was under Reagan that we shut down all those mental health facilities.Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-47736724063242054282012-12-16T18:14:33.910-05:002012-12-16T18:14:33.910-05:00The crapper is crazy.
I was really asking Rufus t...The crapper is crazy.<br /><br />I was really asking Rufus to reply to the kind of criticism he is always putting out toward the Republicans.<br /><br />If the Republicans had cut spending on school security we would have heard about it from Rufus.<br /><br />Really, crapper, you spend way too much time worrying yourself about my outlook on things.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04145155737835511824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-69055145233136839562012-12-16T18:02:13.396-05:002012-12-16T18:02:13.396-05:00I've never killed an animal "for sport&qu...I've never killed an animal "for sport" in my life. Now, THAT sounds absurd.Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-30896304995392864302012-12-16T17:54:09.692-05:002012-12-16T17:54:09.692-05:00When I asked my son’s social worker about my optio...When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.”<br /><br />I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise -- in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population.<br /><br />With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill -- Rikers Island, the LA County Jail and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation’s largest treatment centers in 2011.<br /><br />No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.”<br /><br />I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. <br />Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-1339102569592429842012-12-16T17:45:30.077-05:002012-12-16T17:45:30.077-05:00More from the article
Three days before 20 year-o...More from the article<br /><br />Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.<br /><br />“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.<br /><br />“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”<br /><br />“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”<br /><br />“You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid bitch. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.”<br /><br />I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan -- they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.<br /><br />That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn’t have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.<br /><br />We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.<br /><br />At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he’s in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He’s in a good mood most of the time. But when he’s not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.<br />Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-76944485280093283482012-12-16T17:36:59.777-05:002012-12-16T17:36:59.777-05:00Several weeks into his new junior high school, Mic...Several weeks into his new junior high school, Michael began exhibiting increasingly odd and threatening behaviors at school. We decided to transfer him to the district’s most restrictive behavioral program, a contained school environment where children who can’t function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18.<br /><br />The morning of the pants incident, Michael continued to argue with me on the drive. He would occasionally apologize and seem remorseful. Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, “Look, Mom, I’m really sorry. Can I have video games back today?”<br /><br />“No way,” I told him. “You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly.”<br /><br />His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. “Then I’m going to kill myself,” he said. “I’m going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.”<br /><br />That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right.<br /> “Where are you taking me?” he said, suddenly worried. “Where are we going?”<br /><br />“You know where we are going,” I replied.<br /><br />“No! You can’t do that to me! You’re sending me to hell! You’re sending me straight to hell!”<br /><br />I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. “Call the police,” I said. “Hurry.”<br /><br />Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer.<br /> The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork -- “Were there any difficulties with… at what age did your child… were there any problems with.. has your child ever experienced.. does your child have…”<br /><br />At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing.<br /><br />For days, my son insisted that I was lying -- that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.”<br /><br />By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore.<br /><br />On the intake form, under the question, “What are your expectations for treatment?” I wrote, “I need help.”<br /><br />And I do. This problem is too big for me to handle on my own. Sometimes there are no good options. So you just pray for grace and trust that in hindsight, it will all make sense.<br /><br />I am sharing this story because I. . . .<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular" rel="nofollow">I am Adam Lanza's Mother</a><br /> <br />Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-35496664095954191462012-12-16T17:34:58.207-05:002012-12-16T17:34:58.207-05:00Most schools are worried about abductions and the ...Most schools are worried about abductions and the like of individual children. Pretty sad (and expensive) if you need start guarding against mass murderers armed with the latest and greatest firearm.Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688752302081088907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-23229686204193188402012-12-16T17:33:02.167-05:002012-12-16T17:33:02.167-05:00Nice to see you offer an argument Quirk.
Yes, it ...Nice to see you offer an argument Quirk.<br /><br />Yes, it would be absurd to arm the children. I think it is also absurd to believe that every American (subject to to the minimal restrictions you've mentioned) has the right to possess and carry firearms and ammunition capable of quick and easy mass murder (hollow point bullets are of great use for..?). I think it is also absurd for every American to have the right(subject to the minimal restrictions you've mentioned) to carry on their person concealed firearms in schools, churches, and most other public places. Being an American does not mean one has any level of competence in the use of firearms and the proliferation of firearms in the US has been deadly and the response to many of the higher profile killings is for many to suggest that 'if only the poor victims had been armed'. That is a clearly absurd response to the mass killings in Newtown.<br /><br />Now I'm hearing folk talk about locking up other folk who might kill, not have, but might. I think it would be more effective to limit how much power an individual has to kill.<br /><br />By the way rufus, what sport is it to kill rabbits with a shotgun? Way more sporting to do it with a 22. Oh, right, dinner was the object. Best get a Bushmaster and a shotgun.Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688752302081088907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-6024593929124242762012-12-16T17:23:08.367-05:002012-12-16T17:23:08.367-05:00In fact, federal spending in Nominal Dollars fell ...In fact, federal spending in Nominal Dollars fell from 2011 to 2012.<br /><br />The sad truth is, it's hard to get "Local" people to spend on education in that ed. spending usually comes out of Property Taxes.Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-77999411194834166182012-12-16T17:18:39.581-05:002012-12-16T17:18:39.581-05:00Yep, I'd bet he just walked through an unlocke...Yep, I'd bet he just walked through an unlocked door (maybe a service entrance to the kitchen, for ex.)Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-80394760169906378282012-12-16T17:17:22.337-05:002012-12-16T17:17:22.337-05:00For years, now boobie has been telling US that the...For years, now boobie has been telling US that the Obama adminisration is a spending machine. Rufus has been telling US that Federal spending as a % of GDP is falling. That the Federals ARE spending less.<br /><br />boobie does not FEEL this is accurate.<br /><br />boobie then tells US that the Obama administration is letting Federal spending for what had historically local challenges laspe.<br /><br />Instead of cheering these actual cuts in Federal spending, he points to the Obama Admin as being responsible for the low priority physical security was given at the school.<br /><br /> The boobie has no core, other than hate for Obama and black folk that escaped the abortionist's knife.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-84509805710898286102012-12-16T17:05:41.555-05:002012-12-16T17:05:41.555-05:00Adding a vestibule to entrances with security door...Adding a vestibule to entrances with security doors would be a huge improvement. Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-51451262270116476702012-12-16T17:01:14.247-05:002012-12-16T17:01:14.247-05:00Perhaps one thing that could be done would be bett...<br /><i>Perhaps one thing that could be done would be better glass in the windows, and doors that can only be opened from the inside (and, are somewhat resistant to force from the outside, such as weapons fire.</i><br /><br />Engineered design is an excellent perspective. I can think of a couple of things, such as including more isolated spaces, say columns, and closed spaces, such as the closets where several (?) teachers protected some of the students. A good brainstorming session could devise more and better spatial design options as well as material design.<br /><br />Also training for teachers, and security guards in the case of malls, from the very simple techniques for developing more acute situational awareness and for maintaining composure to more involved responses including use of distraction and isolating the most vulnerable.<br /><br />DRRhttp://d.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-21202060886459716762012-12-16T16:37:06.275-05:002012-12-16T16:37:06.275-05:00.
Ash, you are hardly one to be judging mental co....<br /><br />Ash, you are hardly one to be judging mental competence given your apparent inability to distinguish between the competency to bear arms of adults and children.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.com