All They Need is a Handgun.

[overthere]

One of the biggest problems is the tens of thousands of guns that are illegally smuggled into America from Mexico. But democrats are never going to agree to much stronger border security because they also get future voters from illegal immigration.

There are far fmore guns that go the other way, into Mexico from America.

You may have noticed that they have a major war going on there bewteen the govt and various drug cartels. The cartels buy their weapons in the US, using cash generated from drug sales.

[Black Dog]

There are far fmore guns that go the other way, into Mexico from America.

You may have noticed that they have a major war going on there bewteen the govt and various drug cartels. The cartels buy their weapons in the US, using cash generated from drug sales.

And even if the original premise were true, another solution would be the reformation of drug policy to break the grip of the cartels and gangs responsible for gun violence on both sides of the border. Think the GOP would go for that?

[overthere]

Some arguments supporting the easy access to handguns is that the "bad guys" have the guns and use them to threaten, kill and intimidate the "good guys". The good guys should have easy access to guns so that they can protect themselves.

There is a way to neutralize the intimidation factor. The USA can make it mandatory that any person over the age of 16 has to carry a gun.

That way, no criminal or bad guy would pull out a gun if he/she knew that all the good guys around him/her has a gun and were ready to blow their heads off.

It worked in the old west. Why can't it work now?

This is the classic 'Archie Bunker' proposal.

At one time aircraft around the world were being routinely hijacked by a wide assortment of idealistic loons. His idea was that everybody who boarded an aircraft would be issued a loaded handgun. They'd be handed back in at the end of the flight.

The critical physical factor was that most people know if you start blasting away inside a pressurized aircraft it is fairly likely that there will be a catastrophic failure and everybody dies.

The critical psychological factor is that a hijacker has to believe that they are the craziest person on the plane. That is a tough assumption when there are 200, 300, 400 armed strangers on board. How can a villain predict who will or won't start shooting for any or no reason when he jumps up and shouts Allahu Akbar ?

It's like the nuclear equation of mutually assured destruction.

That has worked for almost 70 ears.

Archie Bunker might be right.

[Black Dog]

This is the classic 'Archie Bunker' proposal.

At one time aircraft around the world were being routinely hijacked by a wide assortment of idealistic loons. His idea was that everybody who boarded an aircraft would be issued a loaded handgun. They'd be handed back in at the end of the flight.

The critical physical factor was that most people know if you start blasting away inside a pressurized aircraft it is fairly likely that there will be a catastrophic failure and everybody dies.

The critical psychological factor is that a hijacker has to believe that they are the craziest person on the plane. That is a tough assumption when there are 200, 300, 400 armed strangers on board. How can a villain predict who will or won't start shooting for any or no reason when he jumps up and shouts Allahu Akbar ?

It's like the nuclear equation of mutually assured destruction.

That has worked for almost 70 ears.

Archie Bunker might be right.

Works great until someone snaps because the guy behind him is kicking the back of his chair for an hour, or the stewardess won't serve him a sixth Jack and coke, or the brown guy two aisles over looks shifty...

[monty16]

I am quite sure that Hitler was mentally ill.

And yes. We had a mass murder by one Cowan, I think first name Ed, in 1977 or 1978 in my area, at Neptune Moving Company. Problems with Jews was the ostensible cause, even though I am pretty sure it was mental illness. As I was writing I cheated and used google. It was actually Frederick Cowan (link) excerpt below (the excerpt is about 10% of the length of the story). My memory did serve me well.

Classification: Spree killer

Characteristics: Revenge - Suspended worker who collected Nazi paraphernalia

Number of victims: 6

Date of murders: February 14, 1977

Date of birth: June 1, 1943

Victims profile: Joseph Hicks, 60; Frederick Holmes, 55; James Green, 45; and Pariyarathu Varghese, 32 (ex co-workers); and Allen McLeod, 29 (police officer)

Method of murder: Shooting

Location: New Rochelle, New York, USA

Status: Surrounded by 300 officers, committed suicide by shooting himself

*************

Nazi-lover and amateur weightlifter Freddie Cowan shocked the New Rochelle community on Saint Valentine's Day, 1977, when he shot 10 people at the Neptune Worldwide Moving Company. Five died on the spot, a sixth person died weeks later.

From all accounts, people thought that Freddie was a regular guy with a couple of chips on his broad shoulders.

A hardworking ex-GI, Freddie lived with his parents and fantasized about being "like Hitler." He kept a collection of Nazi weapons and other memorabilia and enjoyed wearing his German tanker helmet and pretending he was in the SS. In one of his Nazi books found by authorities in his attic bedroom he had written "There is nothing lower than black and Jewish people unless it's the police who protect them."

Once, when he was drunk, he kicked a puppie to death because it was black. On another occasion he smashed a TV in a bar after finding out the woman he was talking to was Jewish. He also threatened a neighbor with his rifle for dating a black man. Freddie claimed to have no interest in women and told an acquaintance, "If you want to be a man, buy a gun." Surprisingly, people were stunned when this bigoted maniac went on a killing spree.

Cowan was supposed to return on February 11 but didn’t show up. As he lay hidden beneath an office desk, Bing could hear Cowan stalking through the hallways, indiscriminately firing the rifle into the walls and offices. “If I hadn’t walked out of my office, he would have gotten me. I heard the shots and I knew he was after me, he made that clear” he later said to reporters from the Times (Thomas, p. 28 2/16). But Bing had another reason to worry: he was Jewish. To Cowan, that was enough.

Inside the killer’s pocket, police found a membership card for the National State’s Rights Party in the name of Mr. Frederick W. Cowan. On the reverse side of the card, it listed several membership principles. They included “A free white America, Racial Separation, Expulsion of All Jews and Confiscation of ill-gotten Jewish Wealth.” And on the bottom of this same card, the party’s slogan read “Honor, Pride, Fight-Save the White.”

Picking Up the Pieces

New Rochelle Police eventually executed a search warrant at Cowan’s home on Woodbury Street. Found during that search was a terrifying array of Nazi mementos that astonished the police and gave an indication of just how disturbed Cowan had become. When Det. Harris first entered the room, he was shocked. “I didn’t know Fred, but his family were very nice people. I didn’t know how a person could go that way, have such negative feelings about Jewish people and blacks,” he said during an interview.

Inside the attic apartment police found eleven cans of gunpowder, shotgun shells, primers, three antique muskets, one rifle, shell casings and equipment to make bullets, thousands of rounds of ammunition, one machete, at least 20 knives, eight Nazi bayonets, military helmets from World War II, five posters of Adolf Hitler, dozens of Nazi books, literature and many SS items, flags and belt buckles.

Over the next few days, newspapers published a wide assortment of stories about the incident at Neptune. “Sniper Hated Cops, Note Says” wrote the New York Daily News. The New Rochelle Standard Star was more direct: “Gunman Idolizes Hitler and the Nazis.” The New York Times focused in on the racial aspects of the incident “Police Link Slayer of Five To a Militant Racist Party.”

Follow-up police investigation suggested that Cowan was a member of the National Sates Rights Party, a militant racist organization that encouraged

****************************

The white supremist groups like Ayran Nation, National States Rights Party and the Neo-Nazi movement were not widely publicized in 1977, though such organizations were already known to the police. After Neptune, law enforcement began to pay special attention to these militant groups and their frightening potential for violence.

In the police search of Cowan’s attic apartment on February 14, a thick metal belt buckle was found among his belongings. Inscribed boldly on the front of that buckle were these prophetic words: “I will give up my gun when they pry my cold dead fingers from around it!”

(excerpts ended)

You have absolutely no idea at all whether or not Hitler was mentally ill. Any knowledge you have of Hitler is through propaganda sources that demonize him. You would also be quite sure of other country's leaders being mentally ill if they have been demonized by the US or their lapdog Canada.

As for leaders who are truly mentally ill and that deficit can be judged by their performance on the world stage, you won't understand that at all. George Bush 2 would be a good example of a world leader who could qualify as mentally ill, substantiated by his action of leading his country into a war on trumped up and phony pretences. You have become incapable of understanding and seeing reality. Congratulations on you achievement!

As to Hitler: Learn something about Hitler and then come back and make the same proclamation based on real evidence. Some may start to take you seriously if you can make your case. In the meantime, you have succeeded in reducing your credibility to absolute zero.

[Black Dog]

You have absolutely no idea at all whether or not Hitler was mentally ill. Any knowledge you have of Hitler is through propaganda sources that demonize him. You would also be quite sure of other country's leaders being mentally ill if they have been demonized by the US or their lapdog Canada.

[monty16]

Should I have also mentioned American leaders who carpet bombed the Vietnamese and Cambodian people for some trumpe dup reason to do with dominoes falling?

Mental illness? Let's leave that to the experts who don't have a political football to throw around.

[Black Dog]

Should I have also mentioned American leaders who carpet bombed the Vietnamese and Cambodian people for some trumpe dup reason to do with dominoes falling?

Mental illness? Let's leave that to the experts who don't have a political football to throw around.

I get the point you're attempting to make, but geez louise, it's generally a good idea to avoid making statements that could be interpreted as saying Hitler got a bum rap.

[overthere]

Herr Shicklgruber was not insane, just misunderstood.

I blame society.

[monty16]

I get the point you're attempting to make, but geez louise, it's generally a good idea to avoid making statements that could be interpreted as saying Hitler got a bum rap.

Interpret what I say any way you like, I really don't care if you don't take the time to read and understand.

[monty16]

Herr Shicklgruber was not insane, just misunderstood.

I blame society.

No, he was not misunderstood and as well, he was not insane.

[On Guard for Thee]

No, he was not misunderstood and as well, he was not insane.

Burning 6 million people because of their religion is sane?

[jbg]

You have absolutely no idea at all whether or not Hitler was mentally ill. Any knowledge you have of Hitler is through propaganda sources that demonize him. You would also be quite sure of other country's leaders being mentally ill if they have been demonized by the US or their lapdog Canada.

That post was about Fred Cowan, not Hitler. Learn to read.

[jbg]

No, he was not misunderstood and as well, he was not insane.

Burning 6 million people because of their religion is sane?

For someone who dislikes Jews as intensly as certain posters do, Hitler was quite sane.

[On Guard for Thee]

For someone who dislikes Jews as intensly as certain posters do, Hitler was quite sane.

Whaa? Which posters would that be?

[jbg]

Whaa? Which posters would that be?

I don't mount personal attacks on posters.

[On Guard for Thee]

I don't mount personal attacks on posters.

I was just having trouble making heads or tails out of you post.

[Black Dog]

I don't mount personal attacks on posters.

Just passive aggressive jabs apparently.

[Black Dog]

Interpret what I say any way you like, I really don't care if you don't take the time to read and understand.

Whatever you say Hitler-lover.

[Big Guy]

Godwin's Law prevails.

[monty16]

That post was about Fred Cowan, not Hitler. Learn to read.

Be careful, you are getting back to your habit of personal insults again. You wrote:

I am quite sure that Hitler was mentally ill.

Always be aware of what you have said if past posts and thanks for ceasing with the personal insults!

[monty16]

Whatever you say Hitler-lover.

I'm not a Hitler lover and please stop the personal insults and attacks. Thanks!

[Wilber]

I think Hitler was mentally ill and there is plenty of evidence he became even more unbalanced as the war went badly for Germany and particularly after the attempted Wolfschanze assassination. Whatever, he was an evil SOB and mental illness is no mitigating factor in the 50+ million deaths resulting from his megalomania.

[monty16]

The point that needs to be made is that all world leaders that the US opposes are sooner or later labelled as insane. Then the US commits crimes against humanity of far larger proportions than some of these country's leaders and are certainly not considered as being insane.

So I agree, the US leaders who were responsible for the murder of millions in their wars of aggression are not insane. But then if makes it completely reasonable to not consider other leaders such as Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Johnson, Nixon, Assad, Saddam Hussein, or Ghaddafi as being insane. And some of those I've listed are responsible for the murder of few victims while others have been responsible for millions.

It would serve everyone well to be more aware of the real facts of history rather than parroting US propaganda. By doing so we could at least take away any pretence of legitimacy the US claims when it starts another war for political or economic reasons that will profit the US.

If there is only one good purpose for me personally on this forum it would be to help Americans see through their country's propaganda and start seeing the obvious truth that their country has become the pariah nation that is our greatest threat to future world peace. Their behaviour is only going to make it a certainty that more revenge attacks are going to happen. The next one may be in the form of 'a mushroom cloud'. For real! And not just trumped up to justify a war!

For a start, Canadians can begin to understand so that we are no longer a willing participant.

[overthere]

The point that needs to be made is that all world leaders that the US opposes are sooner or later labelled as insane.

That is just silly.

I have never seen anything from official US sources that labels Emperor Hirohito, Ho Chi Minh, Castro, Brezhnev, Chavez, Mao or many others as crazy.

Please stop inventing goofy theories like this.