Random Thoughts

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9 responses to “Random Thoughts”

1. 

   Night Writer

   October 2, 2015

   I just got back from an interesting presentation by Dan Buettner, author of Blue Zones and other books about longevity, describing the commonalities of communities with markedly longer lifespans and reduced healthcare costs (most aren’t in the U.S.). Interesting food for thought and even action, though his heart – and most of the audience – leans toward nanny-state methods of enforcing healthy habits.

   During the Q&A, a written question from the audience was phrased something like, “Shootings such as yesterday’s demonstrate that there’s a lack of hope in communities. What is the role of hope in longevity?” I’m sure many in the audience were nodding sagely at the question.

   Buettner’s response – and I’m going to have to listen to the playback on MPR – was to the effect of, “Well, it’s interesting…but with the exception of San Luis Obispo (one of the “Blue Zones”), Blue Zones typically have few gun restrictions and guns are regularly carried.” That took me by surprise, but I’m pretty sure that that is what he said because there was audible gasping from audience at that statement.

2. 

   Mitch Berg

   October 2, 2015

   Night,

   I nearly cheered.

3. What’s the Answer to Gun Violence? | Vlad Davidiuk

   October 2, 2015

   […] of Mitch Berg at Shot in the Dark comes the chart above, which illustrates perfectly the endless flaws in arguments against the freedom to bear firearms, […]

4. 

   Night Writer

   October 2, 2015

   It was an interesting presentation, with useful information. Unfortunately, I got the definite impression that Buettner would be fine with forcing people into healthier life-styles by law, rather than individual choice. In fact, at one point he said “We have to stop beating the dead horse of individual responsibility. It’s not working,” going on to say we needed civic-wide action and coordination between governments and businesses to restrict choices.

5. 

   Prussian Blue

   October 2, 2015

   The BLM people are evil, but they aren’t stupid.
   They don’t care about Black people being shot and killed. What they care about is Black people being shot and killed by non-Blacks. The know the way to do this is to make the police hesitate to shoot Black people when they would not hesitate in shooting a non-Black. Since Blacks experience more social pathologies than non-Blacks, they are bound to commit more acts which justify a police shooting than non-Blacks. The only way you can reach parity, where Blacks are no more likely to be shot by a cop than non-Blacks, is to make the cops not shoot Blacks in situations where they would shoot a non-Black.
   The reason why Black leaders support gun control and especially hate stand your ground laws is similar. A Black who shoots someone will probably go to jail. A non-Black who shoots a Black is more likely to go free. Parity can only be achieved by forbidding guns for self-defense by everyone.

6. 

   MtkaMoose

   October 3, 2015

   Prussian Blue is on to something! Blacks are more likely to shoot someone during commission of a crime. Non-blacks are more likely to shoot someone in self-defense. BLM says they both shot somebody and ought to be treated equally. It’s like a bizarre corollary to William F. Bucklry’s quote, “the equivalent of saying that the man who pushes an old lady into the path of a hurtling bus is not to be distinguished from the man who pushes an old lady out of the path of a hurtling bus: on the grounds that, after all, in both cases someone is pushing old ladies around.”

7. 

   Prussian Blue

   October 3, 2015

   The word “justice” is hard to define. Justice depends on point of view. The goal is to not a “more just society”, but the power to make a group’s idea of justice enforceable. There is nothing racial about it, it’s the same-old, same-old.
   There are scary parallels between white supremacists and Black grievance mongers and SJW’s. For both, race is front and center, The most important thing in their lives. Poor, racist whites believe that whatever problems they have in life are due to the Jews and the Blacks. And the greedy capitalists. Got a shitty education? Can’t find a good job? In debt up to your ears to the credit card companies? Lost your house to the bank? It’s the fault of the Blacks and the Jews and the capitalists.
   Blacks lay the blame for the above on “structural racism”, which does not describe a thing that exists in the real world (any more than “romance” is a thing that exists in the real world), and is not a result of any person’s intentions or actions.

8. 

   Prussian Blue

   October 5, 2015

   Look at the timing:
   http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-to-propose-new-stricter-gun-control-measures/
   This is desperation. It will help her against Biden in getting the nomination, but it will cost her the election.

9. 

   Troy

   October 5, 2015

   Mister Buettner is not alone in his totalitarian disregard for individual freedom.

   Many “health” bureaucrats would be happy if everyone died after a healthy, long life of slavery to their ever changing whims regarding what is “healthy”.

   In fact, they probably wouldn’t mind setting up some Soylant Green system to make sure everyone died at exactly the same age to minimize “health disparities”.

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