I was once on an Amtrak train (BTW, I love Amtrak in a Joe Biden kinda way) and a squirrel decided to commit suicide by plummeting onto the train's switching station or some such thing. (I remember lots of jokes about fried squirrel).
I still love Amtrak, especially the older trains when they're empty at night and no one is yelling into their cell phone.
As someone who was once on a train from Baltimore to Boston when it struck someone or, uh, vice versa (won't go into detail on what that moment was like, yeesh.) and these were the days before texting, tweeting, and all other various forms of telling people in quick shouty bursts what just freaking happened two seconds ago! (2004) all we were able to do was listen to our battery operated Discmans, use our Nokia cell phones to tell people what happened the old fashioned way, and watch people meltdown from simultaneous boredom and incredulity that the actual physical impact of a human being on a locomotive could delay 3pm drinks on the Upper East Side.
Hating Toronto is a Canadian national passtime, but I must say if you're ever stuck on a train, pray it's with a bunch of Torontonians. Truly one of the most memorable nights of fun of my entire life, even WITH the repeating Stomping Tom singalong at one end of the car.
@Lymed: I've been on broken amtrak trains before. they don't let you off. you just sit there for 4 hours, not moving, in new haven connecticut (or rye, ny-- i've been trapped twice) wondering why the hell you ever decided to move to boston. it's hard to rent a car when you can't disembark.
@rubyruby: I misinterpreted "stuck in Baltimore" to mean stuck at the train station in Baltimore. I also somehow got it backward. I like to call this comment fail.
@MrInBetween: you're hilarious. what next? people from the south talk funny? seattle residents are tree-huggers? new yorkers are elistist? need i go on?
All of my relatives in Arizona have concealed carry permits, and conduct their lives strapped. I have no idea what keeps them in such mortal terror. Here in NYC, I usually arm myself with a smile and a polite word.
Actually, Mr. Frommer, I think Arizona is pretty much fine with that. You can also put Washington State on your list with its open and concealed carry laws.
@Swifter: And with any right comes the responsibility to exercise it wisely. I think the main thrust of Frommer's complaint above isn't gun rights themselves, but that the protesters were using their guns for"political protest," acting like "thugs" trying to "intimidate" others.
@Swifter: I was thinking more like the Klan, James Earl Ray or the Holocaust Museum killer. But mostly just trying to keep to Frommer's actual argument, since clearly there is nothing new to be said on the broader point. Enjoy.
@Swifter: And of course these people, just like the Founders, are living in a colony in which they have no means of having a political voice other than by resorting to violence. Which you actually seem ass on to advocating here.
@Swifter: Swifter, I usually respect your thought-provoking comments, but I think you've succumbed to knee-jerk stupidity on this one.
The argument for a broad interpretation of Second Amendment rights doesn't, and shouldn't, rely on deterring redcoats. And unless you've taken actual shots in anger at a peace officer or are planning to shortly, it's no better than empty bluster.
The argument -- on both sides -- would do better to focus on whether gun possession increases general safety and security...as would be the goal of the "well regulated Militia" referenced in the very first clause of the Second Amendment.
I'll bet that in an atmosphere free of knee-jerk stupidity, most Americans could come to some agreement that in some (rural) regions of the country, gun possession may enhance the general safety/security -- while in other areas (urban) it clearly does not.
There's nothing about this argument that would contravene a non-hysterical reading of the Second Amendment. Citing the threat from Tories, on the other hand, does seem hysterical and just gives the impression that you fear taking a more rational approach to this issue.
@skahammer: It was merely an example from our illustrious history. Besides, if Amy Winehouse is any example, people in rural areas have ample reason to fear the British!
Frankly, I'm not very worried about the prospect of gun control, simply because those who oppose it are very well armed and I really don't see how anyone is going to impose their will upon them with impunity.
@Swifter: I keep hearing this, over and over, about the possibility of gun control, so I'll mention it again: NO ONE IS PROPOSING GUN CONTROL LAWS. NO ONE. NOT IN THE SENATE, NOT IN THE HOUSE, NOT IN THE STATES, NOT IN THE WHITE HOUSE. Take your persecution complex and paranoia somewhere else. What Frommer is saying is that he is protesting the use of openly displayed firearms to disrupt and intimidate free speech.
For a group that constantly invokes the second amendment, you folks don't seem to give a shit about the first.
Lifelong Arizonan here. I can honestly say that you go months here without seeing someone carrying a gun openly, at least in the cities. It's just not as common as it's made out to be. We're not all carrying AR-15s around with our golf clubs.
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Sounds like a Bat Signal for dealers.
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I still love Amtrak, especially the older trains when they're empty at night and no one is yelling into their cell phone.
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Can't buy a thrill
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When the train pulled out the station
It had two lights on behind.
The blue light was my baby
And the red light was my mind
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Casey Jones, tweetin' to his friends.
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My name is Sharif, and I approved this thread.
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The right to own weapons is the right to be free.
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The argument for a broad interpretation of Second Amendment rights doesn't, and shouldn't, rely on deterring redcoats. And unless you've taken actual shots in anger at a peace officer or are planning to shortly, it's no better than empty bluster.
The argument -- on both sides -- would do better to focus on whether gun possession increases general safety and security...as would be the goal of the "well regulated Militia" referenced in the very first clause of the Second Amendment.
I'll bet that in an atmosphere free of knee-jerk stupidity, most Americans could come to some agreement that in some (rural) regions of the country, gun possession may enhance the general safety/security -- while in other areas (urban) it clearly does not.
There's nothing about this argument that would contravene a non-hysterical reading of the Second Amendment. Citing the threat from Tories, on the other hand, does seem hysterical and just gives the impression that you fear taking a more rational approach to this issue.
08/21/09
Frankly, I'm not very worried about the prospect of gun control, simply because those who oppose it are very well armed and I really don't see how anyone is going to impose their will upon them with impunity.
But, you know, give it your best shot.
08/21/09
For a group that constantly invokes the second amendment, you folks don't seem to give a shit about the first.
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Good question. He was shot, along with James Brady, in 1981 after leaving a speaking event. Eight years later, the Brady Bill passed into law.