Only Outlaws Have Guns

From the annals of the cowardly:

Polls show the majority of Americans in favor of gun control. Logically, there are clear steps to take if a society wants to control guns. But this will never happen according to the media reports after the Virginia Tech massacre.

But now is not the time to "rush to judgement." No, not when public attention is focused on the issue. That would not be the time to try to enact commonsense laws, or even revive some now expired no brainer legislation that would be a step in the right direction. Because the families affected wouldn't want this to never happen again.

After the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cautioned Tuesday against a "rush to judgment" on stricter gun control. A leading House supporter of restrictions on firearms conceded passage of legislation would be difficult.

"I think we ought to be thinking about the families and the victims and not speculate about future legislative battles that might lie ahead," said Reid, a view expressed by other Democratic leaders the day after the shootings that left 33 dead on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Which Harry Reid said this? Why, this one:

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) boasts of a favorable rating from the National Rifle Association, which lobbies against gun control, and House Democratic leaders are in no rush to jeopardize conservative freshmen elected from Republican-leaning districts in Indiana, North Carolina and Kansas.

We should certainly defer any discussion of the absurd availablity of automatic weapons to ANYONE AT ANY TIME to a future time, just like supposed raving liberal Kennedy says. If that future time never comes, well, we'll talk about it the next time there is a mass shooting.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., was one of very few lawmakers to defer pushing for gun control in the early hours after the shootings. "There will be time to debate the steps needed to avert such tragedies," he said on Monday, "but today, our thoughts and prayers go to their families."

Instead we should focus on the grieving families, which in this country of course means pointing the finger at anything but the real problem. Or perhaps we should be getting started on the project of routing out all insanity or possible insanity in our society. Lone gunmen, beware. Because this would be easier to achieve than a weapon ban. Like so many other countries already have had for years.

Another option proposed deserves our attention. Teachers should be trained in the use of weapons, so they can defend their vulnerable classes from such gunmen in the future. Then, if none of the students are packing heat on the day the homicidal maniac visits, and thus are sitting ducks, the teacher can step in and "Do what is necessary." This is the actual position of gun advocates, so it must make sense.

Other than the "this is not the time" trope, politicians are getting a lot of mileage out of the "blame democratic minorities" theme. Because the NRA and gun owners are a more active vocal minority, they are an insupperable barrier to making progress on gun control. This is why we cannot be expected to give a hearing to what is the majority view in this country, that gun control law is a reasonable area for development.

One senior Democrat, Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, said gun rights advocates are simply too influential to allow a tightening of gun control laws. "It's a regional thing, it's a cultural thing," Rangel said, arguing that even in areas where 85 percent of the people support more restrictions, the 15 percent minority is far more active and outspoken.

This is because American politicians and officials and judges never do things majorities of Americans don't agree with.

Are you following?

Car Boots as Evidence of Coming Human Extinction

Is there any government practice more asinine than booting a car? I have never had this happen to me, but as a resident of several metropolitan areas, I have been profoundly affected. It is symbolic to a point beyond rational discussion or human comprehension.

Behold:


Rewards the illegal parker or ticket shirker with exactly what they wanted in the first place: a good spot.

Punishes every single other driving member of society by taking up spot indefinitely, so no "law abiding" resident can park say, near their house, until scofflaw (who never seem to be luxury car owners by the way) decides to pay the fee.


That you can now boot your own car, to avoid theft or tickets, just hightens the absurdity.

Complain all the damn time

I'll get to the complaints presently, but first this nugget from Portland, courtesy of a blog named Things are better (now we have the bomb).

The article that goes with this picture is titled Complain all the damn time. It speaks for itself, so go read it. For me to say anymore would spoil the sense of detached irony that I am striving for here. It would be like trodding out into a fresh snow to investigate, only to ruin nature's blanket with your stupid footprints. You get the idea.

The article recounts the events that transpired when the Humboldt Neighborhood Association (HNA) asked the bar the Florida Room's owners to attend a meeting to discuss the sign.

...complaints from neighbors started pouring in. Bartenders fielded calls nearly every day, passersby popped in to voice their opinion on the SIN phrase (two also inquired about co-owner Patti Earley's "relationship with God," she says), and the Humboldt Neighborhood Association (HNA) asked Florida Room's owners to attend a meeting to discuss the sign. On March 13, the bar got a letter from two North Portland residents, asking that the Florida Room "immediately remove this advertisement," which they contended was "offensive, inappropriate, degrading, misleading to the children in the community, and insensitive to the history and tradition of the community."
...
Hanson, who attended the HNA meeting, says the SIN motto speaks to "who we are and who we cater to." Sitting next to Earley at the bar, Hanson explained that many of their regulars are servers and bartenders at other bars and restaurants. Earley pointed to the dozen or so patrons sipping drinks, and counted at least half as service industry employees. "We really like service industry clientele," she says. "They know how to drink, and how to tip."

"And they know exactly what we're fucking talking about [on the sign]," Hanson adds.
...
But [co owner] Hanson says they are expecting a letter-changing pole to arrive any day, and then they'll likely change the sign. "Maybe to something else offensive and vulgar," Earley says wryly.

And to top it off, the accompanying personal ad on this page also had me rolling in the aisles. Pictured is a young hip looking girl with the caption:

Cupcakes
I'm shallow, and high-maintenance conceited piece of arm candy searching for an arrogant, extremely petty...

A standard of truth rarely achieved on the internets.

this is...The Complainant

This blog is aimed at deconstructing the comment/complaint duality, whereby "comment" is the privaleged term, and "complaint" is seen in a less-valued, negative light. Just kidding. I just want to bitch about things. As such The Complainant will battle the forces of complaisance at every turn, restoring the "complaint" back to the lofty status that Aristotle, or somebody like that, meant it to have.

Complaint: An expression of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
Complainant: a party that files a formal charge, as in court of law.

I hereby file a formal charge against the world.