I just learned there are truly people out there who don't believe the Sandy Hook shooting happened. I thought that was an Onion article gone awry. Huh. The funny thing is, the conspiracy theorists saying it was a government hoax to eliminate guns really don't get there is a much easier way to regulate guns. Why waste the money making something up when we could just repeal Selective Service? That ends the federal government "Militia" aside from screened and approved reservists and guard. That would put gun regulation squarely into the hands of each state. Unfortunately, the way the English language has been, the second amendment's "State" is not too clear. The way we think of it now is "State" equals country, "state" equals one of the fifty; however, as English mugged other languages in dark alleys and didn't have exceedingly cohesive conventions until the last hundred-thirty-ish years, we see a lot of nouns capitalized without any clear delineation as far as the Constitution is concerned. This brings us back to "State" as it is in the second amendment. If we say "State" defines the state's within the Union, then determining who belongs to the "Militia" is up to the states, ergo, states may dertermine who owns guns and what kinds. If we say "State" defines federal government, then the federal government need merely rescind Selective Service to completely remove the ability for any citizenry to justify the right to owning a firearm. The problem here is women are not held under Selective Service, so, unless a part of a guard or reserve, they, technically - I say that because it'd be impossible to actually execute this next part - could have all rights of gun ownership removed. This is why the morons who insist old, written documents be taken literally confuse me. I mean, I like my guns. I'd be really sad if someone had a legal basis to take my guns. That being said, a tragedy as relatively small in scope as Sandy Hook could never garner the backing of federally-mandated gun control across the country. Nothing short of a state-sized insurrection requiring the military to act against our own citizens could possibly do such a thing. Until then, there are much easier and quieter ways to repeal gun ownership. Now, litigation could go on forever as to whom the Founders' referred to when they said "State", but in the interest of the federal government's survival, it would likely choose itself (through the Supreme Court) as the object of the clause, thus removing any persons' ability to refute the legality of repossessing guns should the federal government choose to do so. Conspiracy theorists have an extreme narcissism problem, so they like to think they're smarter than the federal government, an amorphous entity with an unlimited amount of resources (it's still a cheap jerk 99% of the time) so compartmentalized, the President, itself (as a position, not person), actually does not have access to everything. These people think they've stuck it to the government and that one day, men in suits will show up to their door to say, "You found us out." Sorry to burst the bubble, but even state-sponsored hackers, who have discovered things worthwhile and we've physically found (well, CIA found) don't get that luxury. Sandy Hook happened. The Holocaust happened. The Russian Czars and Stalin massacring Russians happened. The Japanese destroying most of southern China happened. The Chinese dissenter massacres happened. The apartheid and genocides in Africa happened. The only thing that hasn't happened is conspiracy theorists stopped being basket-case assholes and started becoming actual investigators. Find us the Malaysian plane that disappeared. Find us that jewel from Titanic. Hell, if Sandy Hook didn't happen, physically find the kids who were involved. Find SOMETHING worth finding relating to any possibly-disputable subject. This arm-chair, tourist, know-it-all bullshit is exhausting. It's not helping anything or anyone; for the people affected by Sandy Hook, it's made it far, far worse in fact.
Stars
I think the day when everything comes together and I finally know my happiness will be the day Death takes me. Some of us just weren't lucky enough to be born for happy lives.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30933860 The simplest answer to this isn't through how they get money, weapons, or people. I'd like to refer to a line from the 2005 Matthew McConaughey movie Sahara: "Don't worry. It's Africa. Nobody cares about Africa." -General Zateb Kazim Not a great movie, but that line sums up the world's view of Africa. The only reason SA was ever considered important was for its diamonds. Other than that, the governments do next to nothing but cling to a non-existent power (if allowing their country(ies) to be taken by enemies is any indication of their power). They have no money because they have nothing to give. The money sent for aid, if it ever even reaches the government, typically goes directly to the ruling party/individual and their cronies. The people have nothing. Thousands are displaced by the insurgents, warlords, or corrupt governments, stealing ancestral lands, destroying homes, etc. Basics nearly every other continent has for the most part just don't exist. I can imagine the common people live in fear much of the time and just do everything they can to survive. Not to say everyone there is poor and living in mud huts. They have socio-economic classes, too, but they aren't like ours. Ours also aren't under constant, imminent threat of religious extremists. The people just want to live. Just have a normal, day-to-day life. Have a home, have a job, have a family. It's safe to say there are many who want to fight but are without means. They would fight to keep their homes if they could, but they aren't warriors or soldiers. Their governments sometimes gives groups guns, maybe training, but in the end, they're on their own against religious fanatics. I'm not saying the U.S. needs a direct hand in Africa. We don't even really need to fund them. We need to teach the governments, down to the lowest assistant/secretary/clerk, to stop being such shitstacks swindling each other and looking out only for "number one." It's the same problem in the M.E. The governments are so full of people who would stab their neighbor(s) in the back for a little extra that next to nothing ever gets done. It's true that our legislative branch is especially like that, but it's not on a scale that civil services, if they exist, are extorting people for their mail or some such. People here just don't get how lucky our boring lives are. Those who are all for sending our military in to do something they, themselves, don't understand should be challenged to take their Durrmocracy and Second Amendment over there to see how long their guns can win themselves a life like they have here. It is largely our fault the Taliban, Boko Haram, IS, etc. exist in the first place. This is what happens when you suddenly invade countries with zero plan. WW II was entirely different. There was no power vacuum. You had organized, educated, civic-minded individuals waiting on the sidelines to pick up the pieces. The M.E. had thousands of years of tribal culture that had no concept of a functioning State, only their immediate surroundings. Family was and still is their number one. Same in Africa. Those people we have "Americanized" are typically so corrupt, they'll wipe out entire villages just for a few thousand dollars. No different than what extremists are doing, just for different reasons. The funny thing is, if we focused on creating an environment that facilitated a mostly honest, civic-minded government devoid as possible of religious influence, we'd have seen a change. We'd be safer in the end, too. Instead, we fight for them and leave them just as ignorant as when we arrived. In the end, we're lucky we have an ocean between us and a government always watching us, because those are the only things stopping them from organizing here. But, it's Africa... It's over there. No one cares...
Raised off-the-grid in the remote Oregon wilderness, artist Gypsie Raliegh takes inspiration from anxiety, death, and heartbreak and combines darkness with whimsy in her comics to explore loneliness as a way of life. Source
Glad this guy is as out of touch with stupid, fucking pop-culture/millennial shit as I am.
Even though it was four years since the breakup on Christmas Day, I can still say it'd take all my strength to not expend every round of ammunition I own into your face, you cheating, psychopathic, manipulating, pathological liar. There is no depth to my level of hatred for you, and even if I was sent to the Seventh Circle of Hell, I'd still laugh because I know you'd be in the Ninth where you belong.
The only thing you should be worried about is this question I'm about to ask you: Who wants a taco?
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