No sympathy or compassion. No sign of humanity. Just another insight into the mentality of the right wing and their meanspirited elected representatives. They have captured the Republican Party and turned it into a small, but very loud club of sick, perverted haters and fear mongers. Be wary America and pay close attention to them. Don't let them further subvert American democracy as they've already trying to do on many fronts.

Making jokes about people being shot and knived is just plain sick. It is almost as sick as those who profess to love democracy, but who won't allow the U.S. Senate to take votes on issues. It is simply illogical to say you love democracy and obstruct it at every turn at the same time.

But we will fight back. Americans will not allow a ten per cent minority to rule this country, nor will we accept the growing tyranny of a shrinking minority party. 2012 was just the beginning of the end for right wing elitists.

Uh oh. Looks like we'll have to ban knives!

http://www.businessinsider.com/at-least-14-stabbed-at-texas-college-2013-4

I propose a knife registry for existing knives made of metal or hardened ceramic with an immediate ban on the sale of new knifes with blades longer than 2 inches.

So here is the big question of the day:

Which would you have rather seen?

Ms. Thatcher in a bikini

OR

Annette as PM.

Both seem quite frightful and, yet, perversely amusing.

Two Mickey Mouse people gone in one day:

Annette Funicelllo (so sweet and innocent)
Maggie Thatcher (the exact opposite)

Someone upstairs has a good sense of humour, eh?

And neither the NHS nor Obamacare could save either.

But then again, doctors don't save lives or prevent death; they only extend life temporarily.

Obamacare? Really?
Tell us another.

"It's a crap bill written by Republipoops and greedy CEOs trying to sausage their appetites."

It's a crap bill written by Republipoops and greedy CEOs trying to sausage their appetites.

The right has become expert at making dire predictions. For decades we heard warnings of the Soviet flag flying over the White House and Congress. We were warned of the dire consequences of social security and medicare and we have always found ways to deal with problems that arose due to forecasting errors rather than anything structural within these programs. These same people predicted dire consequences during the civil rights and women's rights battles. They warned us of getting involved in Europe before World War II. And each and every time, they were wrong. They just keep delaying the day of doom rather than acknowledge the benefits of every government action they opposed.

And when they are in power and make mistakes, they refuse to acknowledge them or responsibilty for them. They were in power when the Great Depression and the Great Recession. They botched the war in Afghanistan by getting us involved with their neo-con concept of nation building which has held us there for over a decade, rather than just focusing on getting Al Quaeda and bin Laden. They did the whole Iraq thing for nothing. (How's that 'Iraq will pay for itself through oil revenues' thingy working out for America?) Democrats make mistakes too, but they tend to be a bit more honest about them and often become their own strongest critics (think of the LBJ led build up in Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin hoax and then how Democrats turned against the war to the extend that LBJ didn't run again).

But the right is like chicken little. Making dire predictions that never come true, while interfering with any attempts to solve problems that a majority of the electorate wishes to try. It worked for a while, but people are wising up. Theavailability of information and fact checking on the web is exposing the right wing for what it is and is just isolating them more and more. This makes them angrier and more frustrated and seems to back them into making more extreme and outrageous claims rather than considering the possibility that don't have sole claim to ways to fix our problems or some God given right to rule. This will either drive them to eventual extinction, or make them very dangerous.

America beware of a cornered wild beast !!!

" ACA is a big winner throughout the health care industry."

It's a crap bill written by leftists and greedy CEOs trying to assuage their appetites.

Health care will be scarce and less innovative. The PPACA marks the end of an era of medical advances.

Single payer countries import drugs and innovation from the US and export scientists and medical tourists to the US. The US health care market is going away along with the globe's source of medical innovation.

Pharma also spent millions to ensure that the ban on the government negotiating drug prices remained in effect. In the course of their opposition to many of the initial provisions, they convinced their man in the Senate, Max Baucus, Democrat, and chair of the committee that wrote the law to do their bidding. So we are both right. They opposed the intial proposal, spent millions to amend it, and won in the end. Not only were they allowed to continue to set their own prices here to make up for the lower prices in Europe due to negotiation, they gained millions of new customers and, unlike the insurance companies, had no restrictions on their profits.

There will be alot of discussion about the overall impact of ACA on the economy and quality of healthcare in the United States, but it is fairly reasonable to assume that actual providers will do quite well given all the new customers and all of the new things that are covered. Now that annual physicals are covered, diagnostics companies will gain because most include a few dozen laboratory tests that include routine chemistries, a few immunoassays, urine testing, and a complete CBC. And since the increase in volume is usually accomodated by increased batch sizes, the largest cost (labor) does not go up and profitability is proportionally higher. I would think the same would be true for pharma products. ACA is a big winner throughout the health care industry.

"Both Pharma and the insurance companies opposed ACA. "

This is not true at all. I guess you don't work in industry. PhRMA was involved in the negotiation of key points of the PP ACA.

My company would have our lobbyists talk at R&D events about what was going on in congress. When the ACA passed our fat, obscene CEO prattled on about it being "good for patients, good for biotech". He was happy, we were outraged.

A dark day for our industry and our company.

This is clearly not a thread that can discuss what is true and what is myth and what is outright lie. So why bring this up here when you can easily go out and ask any Gypsy that you see hanging around your community.

Is it true that Gypsy women are allergic to goose fat?

Both Pharma and the insurance companies opposed ACA. Once again you can only resort to re-writing history. And as I recall, 60 % of the Senate voted for ACA and at least half of the House did as well. The 90 % comment was referring to national polls of American citizens who support background checks for all gun sales. As I understand things, these checks already exist for gun stores; the issue now is to increase them to gun shows and private sales. And on this particular issue, the vast, overwhelming percentage of virtually all groups including Republicans and NRA members support new legislation. However, when a small group of Senators (right now the number is 3 or 4) say they will filibuster any attempt at new legislation and not even allow a vote on it, I feel fully justified in making my previous comment.

Another interesting thing to look at is number of voters in the 20 lowest population states who are needed to elect Senators. When compared to the total national vote, this tiny minority of voters is capable of electing 40 Senators who can block anything they want. How in the world can you call this a democracy? Protecting minority rights is an important function of government and I think most people will agree with that statement. In contrast, a dictatorship of a small minority is not consistent with democracy. Even looking at the House races in 2012, Democrats received roughly a million more total votes for their congressional candidates, but Republicans still won a majority of seats. This net results was politically caused by excessive gerrymandering in many Republican controlled state legislatures and is just another sign that Republicans believe in a dictatorship of the minority and that rigging election results is an acceptable tool to obtain their political ends when they can't make the sale directly with the electorate.

You can insult all you want. You can rant and rave about liberals. You can attack anything and everything that our current President does. But as long as the right wing relies on election fixing, abusing their limited power in Congress and filibustering everything in the Senate, and as long as they retain their anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-minority, anti-immigrant, anti-working class, etc. 'principles' they will never again gain the real support of the American people.

And I don't thing the new 'duh, duh' duh' stuff will work either. The only people who might like it are the few leftover Palinophiles.

CARLSON: I‘m sorry. I read the legislation and it said that it would regulate barrel shrouds. What is a barrel shroud? And why should we regulate that?

MCCARTHY: The guns that were chosen back in those days were basically the gun that most gangs and criminal were using to kill our police officers. I‘m not saying it was the best bill. But that was the best bill they could get out...

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: Do you know what a barrel shroud is?

MCCARTHY: I actually don‘t know what a barrel shroud is.

CARLSON: Oh, OK. Because it is in your legislation.

MCCARTHY: I believe it is a shoulder thing that goes up.

duh ban assault magazine clips duh stop and frisk is racist duh ban shoulder thing that goes up duh

You mean like Obama and his corporate pals in Pharma and Insurance shoved the Affordable Care Act down the people's throat?

" But their idea of democracy is that 10 per cent of the people can thwart the will of the 90 per cent because they have alot of money behind them."

I guess if I believed you could walk into a gun store and buy an automatic rifle I'd be for their stupid AWB law too.

But no. They're not just wrong, their stupid.

Dolt? Dumb? Is that how you support your positions?

Angry
Frustrated
Uninformed
Pathetic

Didn't you notice what happens to people who can't control their anger and hostility? Ask Rutgers ex-coach Rice what happens to people who can't communicate in a socially acceptable manner. Why can't you see how the name calling just turns most Americans off? Does the right wing have to be reduced to the status of a cult before they get it? Or will they get so frustrated that they attempt some kind of armed rebellion which they can't possibly win and will only wind up like Jim Jones' Temple or Waco. No matter what you think, and no matter how right and righteous you are in your views, the American people will not tolerate anything along those lines just as they seem to not be tolerating the anger and name calling and lack of any real substance.

And that's why I use the word pathetic because you seem to be so out of touch with reality.

Another diversion from the real issue that the right is afraid to discuss. They want their precious guns to defend democracy. But their idea of democracy is that 10 per cent of the people can thwart the will of the 90 per cent because they have alot of money behind them. Am I missing something here?

Today Obama referred to the rifle used at Sandy Hook as "fully automatic".

He thinks you can go into a gunstore and buy machine guns.

Go on. Connect the regulation by the FDA to freedom of speech. I'm slow, I guess. In some ways the FDA regulates freedom of speech by regulating things like claims and product labeling. So I hope you can understand why I have trouble seeing how the freedom of speech clause gives the power to the FDA to regulate free speech. I see it quite the opposite, actually. There is, however another area that directly gives the FDA certain powers. Would you like to elaborate on your theory, make another guess, or just open up to another point of view?

The first amendment concerns freedom of speech you dolt. Hence the FDA was founded upon that principle. Are you really that dumb?

Oh,this one ought to be good. How do you link the FDA to the First Amendment? Sorry, but you are way off base on this one and this one isn't even a left-right issue. I will be generous and give you one more guess before revealing the correct answer.

There is no point arguing about the Second Amendment with anyone who refuses to understand and discuss the words: A well REGULATED Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, ......

Discussing half an amendment is no more productive than attempting to become half pregnant. You cannot discard the entire qualifying statement that comes up front, just to suit your own personal agenda. I can only imagine the fun I could have with the Constitution if I used your approach to abridging it. We are governed by the entire Constitution and not a right wing Reader's Digest summary of the parts you like.

And just as an hint: If you want the link between the Constitution and the FDA, you need to start at the very beginning.

Yes, the FDA exists because of the first amendment. Happy Mr. Know it All?
You can't regulate mental instability nor the desire to kill, as some of you lefties have demonstrated. I will choose which "tools" I feel are appropriate to protect myself from those who would impose their will upon me, much like yourself. And yes guns are tools, whether you accept that fact or not. So are knives, of which I have many. I suppose the next step from you jokers will be to try and regulate how many of those I can own and length of the blade.......for the "children " of course!

Will Piers Morgan be offered the job of Rutgers University mens basketball coach? There should also be job openings at Rutgers for AD and University President. There is no excuse for what happened or how the University covered up the criminal behaviour of their coach. Whether the victims complained or not, assualt is assault and battery is battery, and we've all seen the video.

An appropriate punishment would be to make them all lie down on the floor and have the Governor of New Jersey do jumping jacks on top of them.

Excuse me, but having a car, be it a Beetle or a hot sports car is NOT a right; it's a privilege. Ownership requires registration and use requires a license that usually includes a demonstration of competance in operating the equipment and an understand of motor vehicle laws.

The same should be true for weapons.

Also note that many people think that using drugs is fun. Drugs, for the most part, are illegal. I defy anyone to show me a clause in the Constitution that gives the Federal Government the power to regulate any substance including narcotic drugs, ethical pharmaceuticals, or the food we eat. (The power IS indicated in the Constitution; my bet is that you can't show me where it appears).

Finally, the 'new' claim that the purpose of the 2nd Amendment was to allow the people to have arms in order to overthrow their own government if they didn't like it, is pure and unadulterated nonsense. Only those who don't know history and don't care to learn any could take such an absurd position. Anyone who studies the time period when the Constitution was written, and knows about a variety of associated laws and rules, will understand the real purpose of the 2nd Amendment which was to 'provide for the common defence'. You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to re-write history or create your own 'facts'.

Wow you should quite your job and become a Professional Poet man. You'll be famous!
Just goes to show there are mentally ill people on both sides of the argument.

Guns are shiny
Guns are good
I would kill you
If I could

I gotta gun
off my mum
she bought a gun
cos she is dumb

we want guns
cos we are yanks
what a nation
of total wanks

First of all, if you think that driving a VW is equivalent to driving a supercharged sports car, then you've obviously never driven a supercharged sports car. It's not about breaking the speed limit but how fast you can get there, amongst other things, so it IS a good analogy.

As for 30 round magazines, I did not say one word about those. I was talking about the ten round magazines commonly found in guns like the Ruger 10-22, which happens to be one of the most popular rifles in the country. .22's are more often use for target practice than any other gun and it's very common to set up multiple targets on the range for "plinking". Sure, you could plink 10 targets with a single shot .22 rifle but it would be boring and slow compared to a rifle that hold ten bullets.

I suppose you could do the same sort of plinking with an AK-47 with a 30 round magazine (and I've even seen 75 round drums for these) but it would be impractical to do so because 1) The ammunition is more expensive to shoot and 2)inherently more dangerous due to the type of ammunition used- 7.62 x 39 mm full metal jacket military rounds capable of piercing a bullet proof jacket etc.

So, for the sake of giving you a little ground, I would agree that there is no necessity for a person to own a military style rifle that holds 30 or more bullets if they want to shoot for fun. They're impractical for shooting for fun and impractical for hunting. They are designed to kill people, but then so are handguns. However, I believe that a person has the right to decide for themselves whether they want to legally own either, just like you have the right to drive a VW or a supercharged sports car. That's part of the reasons why this is supposed to be a "free" Country, although it isn't so much anymore.

The main point here is that lumping a .22 cal rifle that holds 10 bullets into the same category as an AK-47 or an AR-15 is being willfully ignorant on what constitutes an "assault" rifle. Get it?

It may be fun to drive a fast car, but whether you have a supercharged, turbo 500 HP engine or an original VW Beetle, you are restricted by the speed limit of whatever road you are on. Thus, bad analogy.

If the act of shooting off 30 rounds is such fun, why can't it be done with a toy gun or a gun that just fires blanks? There is no practical need for a 30 round clip, period.

Calling NRA people imbeciles does not help the 'cause'. This is the tactic of the right wing. They thrive on name calling, guilt by association, and labeling people. I do not doubt the honesty or integrity of gun enthusiasts and I recognize the legitimate differences between urban and rural culture, and can respect both. I give the benefit of the doubt to the head of the NRA in that I believe he is sincere, honest, and should be respected as a human being. However, I strongly disagree with his views and the ideas he promotes. It is one thing to attack ideas; it is quite another to attack people. The former can be part of a civil discussion about issues; the latter never solved any issue. So let's have a good vigorous discussion and leave the childish tactics to the right wing.

Wow.....
"Lets hope for a virus selective for morons in pick-up trucks".

You have some real mental health and hate issues don't you?
Seeing a psychology specialist with experience in paranoid, manic-depressive behaviour would be your best option.

And to boot, you're a racist of the worst kind; you think you're better that everyone else. Who are you going to hate tomorrow?
You'll find someone.....

the very fact that you imbeciles know so much about guns is disturbing and simply reinforces the need for stricter gun control. Yes, Switzerland has higher levels of gun ownership but they are generally a more level-headed, non-fanatical and frankly more secure and less cowardly population with less members of the mentally compromised God squad. That is why the incidence of gun crime there is not even remotely close to our level. Guns should not be openly available to such a large population with clear mental health issues. There is no need for stricter mental health checks - the very fact that you wish to buy a gun automatically means you have a disorder and hence should preclude you from obtaining one. We've got England to thank for all of this - Australia was formed by their criminals, America was formed by their cast-off religious nutters. The sooner the white American male is in the minority the better for all of us and the safer the children will be. As for the rednecks? Lets hope for a virus selective for morons in pick-up trucks. Yee-hahhh, Billy Bob!

The M1 Garande originally came with an 8 round magazine.

What I was really referring to are the numerous .22 cal rifles that only come with 10 round magazines or larger, such as the Ruger 10-22. You aren't going to slaughter a large number of people with a .22 rifle no matter how many bullets it can take, so making this type of gun illegal is just plain stupid.

Sure, you don't NEED a .22 rifle that holds ten rounds to shoot at stuff, just like you don't NEED a car with a 500 hsp engine to get from point A to point B, but you should have the option because it's FUN to shoot that short of gun, just like it is FUN to drive a fast car.

I'd be hard pressed to think of a rifle that takes a 30 round bullet clip. I think the M1 Garand tops out at 7?

Could it be that you don't know what you're talking about?

and congratulations to our president. At last, we've elected one with brains and balls.

If a sporting rifle cannot handle a smaller clip, get a different gun. Despite what the tiny minority of people who want no regulation and control of weapons of any kind, America was not set up for your convenience. Sometimes one must accept a bit of inconvenience for the overall good of society. It is just hard to see the term 'sporting rifle' along with reference to a 30 bullet clip. What kind of sport is that, anyway? Just very hard to see why it takes that kind of clip to go out and get a few deer or whatever else you might want for dinner.

The State of CT doesn't read this thread.

And I see the idiots imposed a ban on magazines holding 10 or more rounds. The only problem is this includes many sporting rifles for which there aren't any alternatives, so they'll be forced to backtrack on that issue just like NY did.

just like to take this opportunity of congratulating the state legislature in Connecticut for approving the gun control measures. May only be a small step but its a step in the right direction. Good to know that some parts of the country are still capable of well, informed rational decisions and not influenced by the shrill right-wing extremists whose impotent 'arguments' are nothing more than the desperate ranting's which often manifest as a result of questionable mental health issues. Slowly, but surely, we need to get the rest of the country to mature and follow Connecticut's lead. Its gonna take time and probably many more massacres before the penny finally drops for the terminally stupid but we'll get there. Well done CT. Nice to know that many Americans don't need a gun to feel brave. Now all we need is for the other states to grow a pair.

Yeah, yeah. That'll get people to vote with you.

The only jobs Dumbocrats create are rim jobs and blow jobs.

Is the economy good now? Not really.

Is the economy better than it was on January 20, 2008? Yes, much better.

Deal with the reality, Republicans. All the name callling, all the birther nonsense, all the dire predictions of doom won't change the above facts. We don't even need to get into all of your other 'antis' like anti-woman, anti-black, anti-immigrant, anti-middle class, anti-gay, anti-right-to-vote ....... ummmmmmmmm what is it that you are FOR, again? (more wealth for the rich? more freedom for business to pollute, fix prices, monopolize? more guns to make the NRA richer?, more wars of 'liberation' and 'nation building'?)

It is NOT the messenger that is killing the GOP; it's your unacceptable message and policies, and you guys still don't get it.

Democrats: Cleaning up Republican messes since 1933 !!!

And in another 20 years, little children will be asking: What is a Republican, daddy? And daddy will answer: Oh, they were a political party that went the way of the dinosaur.

GOP - RIP We will try to remember you for the three great, freedom-extending amendments of the 1860s and forget what happened when you controlled the White House and Congress which resulted in the Great Depression of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008. Maybe the South has forgiven you for Reconstruction, but the rest of us will remmeber how you twice almost destroyed the American economy.

Just the facts, ma'am; the ugly facts.

And don't bother with the excuses, blame game, and rewriting of history. Americans know the truth.

Heckuvajob Odumbo!

""The number of Americans living in poverty has spiked to levels not seen since the mid 1960s, classing 20 per cent of the country’s children as poor…

…The U.S. Census Bureau puts the number of Americans in poverty at levels not seen since the mid-1960s when President Lyndon B. Johnson launched the federal government’s so-called War on Poverty."

Very few people argue with an ultimate limit to sustainable debt. Some people thing they can learn something from information which might help them find the best way to deal with the debt. Others are already sure they know the answer and don't want to be distracted with additional information. And nobody really wants to talk it over rationally.

Who gives a damn about the percentages. The point is the debt level here is unsustainable.

Numbers vary depending on source and accounting methods. Try to Google, "US national debt by country" to get some idea of the numbers. You can also Google "US Debt contributors" or "US debt by President'.

Well I reckoned about 10-15% between them (a couple of Trillion) but that may be from figures a couple of years out of date.

Got a link to the latest figures? I'd imagine its gone up - certainly not reduced.

Genuinely interested - not being argumentative.

Would you care to guess how much of the American national debt is actually held by either Japan or China? You will be very surprised if you actually bother to look up the numbers.

It is just amazing how many more opinions there are here than actual facts.

You'd probably be equally amazed to see what the major contributors to the national debt are and even more amazed if you saw how the national debt increased under various Presidents over the past half century.

"England surrendered without a shot to their old enemies comprising the EU, Germany and France. They have no country. They are a subject people."

Considering how much of the US is in hock to Japan, I'd say your on shaky ground. We're in the pockets of them and the Chinese right now.