Al Dente

Send this link to any gun nut enthusiast you may know. It's a piece by a radiologist who treated victims in the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings. An AR-15 shot causes lethal damage much more easily than a handgun. 

What I Saw Treating the Victims From Parkland Should Change the Debate on Guns by Heather Sher from  The Atlantic.

If only I could believe him. I'm sure some NRA whore in Congress will set him straight.

"The 43 Most Eye-Popping Lines from Donald Trump's 'Surreal' Gathering on Guns" by Chris Cillizza on cnn.com

On 2/22/2018 at 11:52 AM, DonRocks said:

Kind of unfair to humanity, to have terrified them for so many millenia, don't you think?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him will believeth in anything. - Hitchens 3:16”

--the late great Christopher Hitchens

A legal weapon (though CA banned it) that fires a .50 caliber bullet capable of penetrating an engine block. Just what you need for a home invader like a rabid rhino.

8 hours ago, DonRocks said:

To bring this full circle, back to the Buckley-Ali interview to which I referred up above, and which was dealing with the Black Panthers ...

The Mulford Act  was a 1967 California Bill that repealed a law allowing the public to carry loaded firearms (it was crafted in response to the Black Panthers carrying loaded firearms in conducting armed patrols of Oakland neighborhoods - they were performing "cop watching" - the more things change ...). It would not surprise me if DaveO has some memory of this.

Then-Governor Ronald Reagan supported the bill - say what you want about the Black Panthers: They effectively scared the crap out of white people. I have a story about my father, who took enormous negative press (here in Washington, DC) because he was going to allow a member of the Black Panthers to speak at the school where he was principal, but I'll save that for another time (I don't remember much about it, but looking back, I suspect this was one of his finest moments).

Reagan saw "no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons," and that guns were "a ridiculous way to solve problems that have to be solved among people of good will" - say what you want about Reagan: He was, at the core, a fundamentally decent man, and he would have been disgusted with today's NRA.

I suspect there's nothing more that Wayne LaPierre would like than for DaveO, Al Dente, and me to be quarreling amongst ourselves just because we might have some philosophical differences - let us not allow that to happen here.

Wow, this belongs in the Coincidence thread! I just got out of my car where I was listening to Radiolab's story about the Black Panthers and Reagan. The amazing takeaway for me is the fact that the 2nd Amendment was viewed as an antiquated part of the Constitution before the mid-60's. Most folks didn't give a shit about it.

"Radiolab Presents: More Perfect - The Gun Show" on radiolab.org

Sorry for my flurry of posts, but it's been a busy day for fucked up NRA news.

Georgia conservatives threaten Delta tax break after airline cuts ties with NRA

NRA Statement on Corporate Partnerships

Quote

some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice.  In time, these brands will be replaced by others who recognize that patriotism and determined commitment to Constitutional freedoms are characteristics of a marketplace they very much want to serve.

Since I work for them, I wish Amazon would cut its ties. But, they won't stop advertising on Breitbart, so I don't think they'll stop any involvement with the NRA.

On 2/25/2018 at 10:27 AM, DaveO said:

Do what works elsewhere around the world.

Sadly, American Exceptionalism prohibits this.

---

If you can stomach watching it, here's Wayne LaPierre just last week at the CPAC shitshow:

"NRA Chief Accuses Democrats of Pushing 'Socialist' Agenda in Wake of Florida Shooting" by Lauren Fox on cnn.com

I don't know how that man sleeps at night.

Also from the CPAC shitshow, Dana Loesch had this to say:

"I’ll say it really slowly so all the people on the platform in the back can hear me loud and clear: Many in legacy media love mass shootings," Loesch said, referring to the media assembled on risers toward the back. "You guys love it. I'm not saying that you love the tragedy, but I am saying that you love the ratings. Crying white mothers are ratings gold to you and many in the legacy media in the back.” 

"NRA Spokeswoman: Many in Legacy Media Love Mass Shootings" by Ben Kimisar on thehill.com

PS-- for those that don't know, "legacy media" is a fascist dog whistle term for media outlets that don't agree with their agenda. You know, the Lamestream Media that intellectual giants like Sarah Palin refer to.

http://www.foodandwine.com/syndication/instant-pot-overheat-melt

12 hours ago, kitkatpaddywak said:

Its gonna be so good!  I plan bringing a meaty spread from Chaps!

I'll wear my assless chaps!

Are you looking for a dromedairy?

I'd donate to help cover the legal cost!

Why Kids Should Sue The Government For Failing On Gun Control by Miles Howard from WBUR.

CHART: How Have Your Members Of Congress Voted On Gun Bills? by Danielle Kurtzleben from NPR

Remind me of which party gets all the NRA money? It isn't completely clear here.

1 minute ago, Mark Slater said:

Australia dealt with this problem in a direct and successful manner. It might be time for that here.

I actually saw a rebuttal to this excellent point on Facebook a few minutes ago. Evidently, because Australia was a colony of convicts, it's apples and oranges to compare it to the U.S.

We're always special.

Gorilla Sales Skyrocket After Latest Gorilla Attack

The only thing stopping a bad guy with a gorilla is a good guy with a gorilla.

I don't know why he brings up "mentally disturbed". He doesn't seem to have a problem with them having guns.

Trump Repeals Rule Designed To Block Gun Sales To Certain Mentally Ill People by Merrit Kennedy of NPR

Oh, and fuck Chuck Grassley.

DJT is having a live press conference where he's speaking "directly" to American's children letting them know that everything will be done to keep them safe. Fuck him too.

'Thoughts and prayers' — and fistfuls of NRA money: Why America can't control guns by Michael Hiltzik LA Times

"The gun rights organization spent a stupendous $54.4 million in the 2016 election cycle, almost all of it in "independent expenditures," meaning spending for or against a candidate but not a direct contribution to a campaign. The money went almost entirely to Republicans to a degree that almost looks like a misprint (but isn't): Of independent expenditures totaling $52.6 million, Democrats received $265."

Thought and Prayers and N.R.A. Funding by David Leonhardt, Ian Prasad Philbrick, and Stuart A. Thompson of the NYT

A special place in hell reserved for:

• John McCain
• Richard Burr
• Roy Blunt
• Thom TIllis
• Cory Gardner
• Marco Rubio
• Joni Ernst
• Rob Portman
• Todd Young
• Bill Cassidy

They represent the NRA to the tune of about $40,000,000. What does all that money buy? It surely doesn't buy anything for school children, mental health programs, or a simple fucking study on gun violence by the CDC.

A couple of doors down from my office and I never went. 

Just now, dcs said:

Here is a start:  Unwelcome Attention for John Kelly, the Man Enlisted to Bring Calm, by Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, Feb. 8, 2018, on nytimes.com.

Beatcha to it!  

44 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

[Edit: Mike, I'll look at that article you just posted - I should be able to walk back through some of the links in it, and get the whole picture.]

A better and more detailed article:

Unwelcome Attention for John Kelly, the Man Enlisted to Bring Calm  by Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman from the NYT

I wouldn't say I have any love for the guy, but I thought he'd at least keep a leash on 45. If a retired USMC General can't reign him in, who can?

“'He Was F---ing Pissed': With Rob Porter Gone, the Heat on John Kelly Is Increasing" by Gabriel Sherman on vanityfair.com

More drama from this moronic administration.

How the fuck does a former fucking model and fucking socialite have any fucking power in the fucking White House? Maybe 45 could give Paris Hilton a call and get her onboard. Hell, I'd rather have her as prez.

My head hurts.

3 hours ago, meatwad said:

This is propaganda, not journalism.

Propaganda? How so?

I forgot where I parked my car.

24 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Let me ask you this: I may be making a fundamental mistake. I know that, when the meat is on your plate, you're supposed to cut it against the grain (as that unlocks juices within the now-severed fibers). But when I carve a steak, I'm also carving it against the grain (look at the picture in the first post), and now I'm thinking that I should be carving it *with* the grain, so no juices leak out during the carving phase.

Does this explain why I'm getting juices on the carving block when I shouldn't be? If so, I'll carve my next steak along the grain and give it a try (which, incidentally, will be in about seven hours).

The purpose of carving against the grain is to keep it tender. This works because you're breaking those long fibers up into short pieces. If you cut with the grain, it'll be much tougher. I don't know that this applies to all meat. I'm thinking of filet mignon-- you pretty much can't help but cut with the grain because you or your butcher has already cut against the grain when processing the whole tenderloin. I suppose you could lay the steak on its side, but the meat is so tender already. 

I don't know what you mean by unlocking juices. Seems to me that the juice will be there whether you cut with or against the grain. Maybe you meant that some of that meat juice won't be released in your mouth before you swallow it if you cut with the grain. 

My apologies for using meat, juice, released, mouth, and swallow in the same sentence.