bad news from the US

Thats what our Democratic party is all about. Have to be politically correct about everything. We wouldnt want to hurt anyone's feelings. I loathe them

 

I don't know much about the American media/politics, but isn't Fox pretty much the opposite of the Democrats?

 

Uhm... yeah... I'm pretty sure the network which runs Bones, FOX, has little to do with the Democratic party--and everything to do with the Republicans.

But I wasn't actually making a partisan comment... I think all of America is overly concerned with certain highly public traumas and tends to forget bad stuff happens every day and making a fuss over certain things deemed newsworthy is just completely disrespectful to everyone's pain.

I really liked Kenneth Cole's ad sometime in 2002 (I think) that said something to the effect of "On September 12, 2001 X people [where X was a huge number] still died of HIV" (or contracted HIV or something to that effect).

My mum died of cancer last year, pretty horribly, and watching shows about people dealing with cancer is really hard for me but I'm not going to suggest we pull all of them just because it traumatises me (and probably a million other people). You can't go through life trying to avoid reminders of bad stuff happening because life consists of a whole bunch of bad stuff. (Happily that's not ALL it consists of but yeah, there's a lot of suffering out there.)

And I'm certainly not going to live my life desperate to avoid offending anyone and everyone--that's just stupid.

 

There are two types of Fox's. Fox news channel is a Republican channel (yay) but Fox(different than the latter) is like any other channel, it focuses on news not political events like FNC. Im aware you werent making a partisan statement just likening what you said to who's running both houses of our Congress and trying to do exactly what you and i agree is stupid; sacrificing common sense to avoid hurting feelings which is detrimental to many.

 

Ok, you're right: I was forgetting the distinction. But Fox is still owned and run by Rupert Murdoch ultimately and I'm sure he sets the tone for the network and its policies. It's not like Fox is Democrat-run.

Also, I happen to really like the US Democrats and I'm super-delighted they took back the House and the Senate last year, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't make it sound like we see eye-to-eye on US politics. I don't think the Democrats are ridiculously politically correct (anymore than any other political party) and I certainly don't think their control of the US House and Senate is what prompted Fox to switch episodes of Bones this week.

 

Nor did i suggest that they did. They walk on eggshells alot with that type of stuff was the basic underlying point. i know you dont agree with me politically ive yet to see someone who does, my conjecture was that my miniature laud to the republican party would get that response. However i was only stating that what you said you didnt like sounded trademark to the aforementioned people. But our political differences arent the subject of the thread. So now that thats clear we can move on

 

I'm dyslexic and dysgraphic, which usually go hand in hand. It took a lot of practice to be able to type as well as I do, but trust me, most of it involves "catching myself," meaning that every second or third word, I'm backspacing to correct a transposition.

As far as the second amendment, the original intent of the amendment wasn't just to have an armed military, but also so the citizens would have a means to rebel, should the need arise. I forget who said it, but it was said that a rebellion every 20 years shouldn't be out of the question.

 

thats so good that you can manage your dyslexia

 

I was really shocked when I heard the new on the radio
Sometimes I feel so scared while living in the US. When I walk out the door, people may shoot me from any corners, and I don't even have time to scream my mother's name

 

I live about two hours away from Virginia Tech, a bunch of grads from my high school go there, luckily all are ok. As for the 2nd amendment, I stand by it. Guns don't kill people, people kill people.

 

I was kinda shocked wen I know the shooter was an Asain dude who was 22 , his girlfriend was 18.

 

I was also sad to hear of the news. It was a very graphic report on our news station at home last night.

 

I understand completely, I'm dyspraxic I also practice alot, I do exams by computer now because I can type faster than I write, despite the mistakes I make.

 

Honestly I dont think we should ban firearms because of an incident no matter how unfortunate it is. Deranged people are going to kill people no matter what, if firearms are banned then they will buy them on the black market. All we are doing is making guns harder for the average citizen to obtain.

Washington D.C is not any safer with the most strict gun laws in the nation. Gun Control is just a flawed piece of policy.

Aside from GLBT equality, I lean to the right on many issues.

 

So do I thinktank. Plus you're right, D.C. isnt any safer. 2 years ago i think it was a guy walked into the Capitol Hill building and shot two security guards

 

Even kids or teenagers use gun '4 fun". I 've read on the news that last year, a highschool student shot the school's principle, and then nearly to shoot the teachers who tried to stop him.

 

But the UK, Australia and NewZealand, where you can't buy a handgun at all, are loads safer than the USA.

From GunCite-Gun Control-International Homicide and Suicide Rates

Total homicide rates/100,000 pop.

USA __________ 5.70
UK ___________ 1.41
Australia ______ 1.86
New Zealand ___ 1.47

Firearm homicide rates/100,000 pop.

USA __________ 3.72
UK ___________ 0.11
Australia ______ 0.44
New Zealand ___ 0.17

Like the USA's gun murder rate is 37 times the UK's gun murder rate, so places witout guns do seem to be safer, don't they?

 

Heh, if you're anything like me, I'm certain that your handwriting is nearly illegible, too Originally, that's why I focused so much on typing, so people could actually read what I was writing. If not for the written word, however, I may never have learned of my dyslexia. I displayed all the common signs: gripping my pen near the tip, writing my letters from bottom to top, etc.

As far as gun availability, I'm of the opinion that yes, America has a terrible cultural problem with violence, and without firearms, we would still find ways to hurt one another. However, to imply that gun availability has nothing to do with the problem, or that making them unavailible would have no impact on our murder rate would be a statement of the blind.

All the same, I will continue to dream of the day that I will become the proud owner of a Glock 17L ^^ Long range pistol target shooting is difficult, and fun!

 

Hey Willie, Steam Giant... good points!

(Though I can't say I've ever dreamed of owning a gun. Well maybe a ray gun. *grin*)

With respect to Washington, DC and their gun control laws being a "failure," I think it's kinda disengenuous to consider them a failure when they only apply to small area, out of which I'm sure you can drive 10 minutes to another state and get a gun a lot more easily. Now if the entire US had as strict gun control laws as DC and then there was no real change in gun violence, that would be a lot more indicative of gun control laws being ineffective.

Not that I know anything about DC's gun control laws and how good and/or bad they are in general.

As for guns not killing people, no, that's true--a gun on its own does not jump up and go on a shooting spree. However, a gun makes it infinitely easier to kill another person (or persons) from a distance... so the saying "guns don't kill people, people kill people" is akin to saying "nuclear bombs don't level cities, people level cities." Of course there needs to be human will driving whatever scale of destruction you're talking about--but the ease with which that destruction can be accomplished with a tool specifically made to destroy is totally, 100% a factor in the violence that ensues. If people with guns had to actually get within easy retaliation range of their prospective victims and make more effort to kill and maim them than having to pull a trigger, there would be less gun violence. Guns make killing easy and human beings tend to like things that are easy more than things that are hard. Our technology is not neutral--it's shaped, just as we are, by the society from which it originated.

 

^^Exactly. Our news yesterday was talking to the guy who owned the shop where he bought the gun; he made the argument that it didn't matter if he bought a gun or not, if he wanted to kill then he could have - but surely without a gun and using only a knife or something, he couldn't possibly kill 30 people without being overpowered.