We’ve had a rough ride on the trail lately, so here’s a nice distraction, something completely different discovered by Andrew Sullivan’s team at “The Dish.”
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52 Responses to Sanity Break: Singing Flowers
Now on The Trail
Thanks Rebellious Renee for posting this on the thread of tributes to our departed Trail Hand Dr Dooty (Lee Charmichael), a nifty report on his project with friends using antique cameras to photograph old churches.
Craig,
Two great videos to honor our missing friend.
A bit of housekeeping. In looking for Dr Dooty’s past comments I discovered our Search button (above, right corner) only searched my posts, not comments. It now does both. You can search a commenter’s screen name now and get a display of posts that include that person’s comments. Then click “Comments” on any post to find them.
This might not work perfectly but you can also combine words with names using “and” — for example, to find Eprof’s comments on Obama, type: eprof and obama (since you’re a teacher Eprof thought you woudn’t mind being the class example)
The other day, I was wondering what we all posted after the last Republican convention. Especially glad we have archives today, Craig.
Craig, I didn’t mind one bit. Anything to help out the TM.
Blue, for something like that you can also use the Archives drop-down menu on our right sidebar, go to July or August, 2008, for all threads in those months (whichever month the convention was, i forget)
From the last thread: The Romney charm offensive
Thanks for the jnfo Craig…I SPENT AN HOUR searching and couldn’t find the archives last night
Sorry for the trouble, Bear. I have a comment search button on my admin page and had not realized the public search field didn’t include comments. Now it does. Just another Dr Dooty legacy for Trail mix.
To recap, there are two ways to dig thru our archives:
Search field at the top of the page, right corner (it now includes comments).
And the “Archives” drop-down menu on the right sidebar.
(By the way, we recently topped 300,000 comments on this site)
http://bit.ly/LQ3AaY
If you knew nothing of what happen in Aurora, CO last week, you might believe from reading or listening to President Obama’s speech that a criminal, or a known mad certifiable lunatic armed with a fully automatic AK-47 stormed the Century movie theater. Well James Holmes’AK-47 like most AK-47 are cosmetically built to look like the real AK-47. however AK-47′s like the one Holmes used has at least one significant difference. James Holmes AK-47 wasn’t a full automatic, it was a semi-automatic, (that is why he had that 100 round magazine), and is only capable of firing one shot per trigger pull. Our military doesn’t use a pure semi-automatic rifles like the one Holmes used, and also our military only uses real AK-47 on a limited basis; special situations. A real AK-47 is a Russian built weapon. The shotgun Holmes carried could have sent just as many if not more projectiles than the 70 some bullets fired from his AK-47. Depending upon the load each shotgun shell would have contained up to 27 pellets each one measuring between .24 to.36 of an inch, and the pellets could have been lead or steel. The shotgun itself could hold at least 5 shells, with an extender and one in the chamber maybe as many as 8, and the likelihood of the shotgun jamming as did Holmes’ AK-47 is unlikely.
So Mr. President get the public all worked up over a semi-automatic rifle, make them believe it is a military weapon, and no mention of the everyday shotgun which is capable of causing just as much carnage if not more; hence the name Scattergun.
Prior to the shooting James Holmes was not a convicted criminal, although understandably he is mentally disturbed, but where is the personal history that would have prevented him from buying the guns? So his purchases were totally legal. What would have caused many more death was his explosive rigged apartment. Now the President is correct that there are far too many murders with guns in Chicago by real criminal, but that is all happening in a city that has very strict gun enforcement policy.
If tomorrow the President issued an executive order ordering all citizens to turned in their guns, that would still leave two groups who would have or have access to guns. Government (law enforcement/military), and criminals.
More housekeeping: For those with smartphones I have installed software that reformats site for easier reading on your phone. Videos might not work depending on your phone’s software (requires adobe player for mobile), but text and pics should be ok.
MO
But if there had been some form of automatic alert that said “I just bought 6,000 bullets on line” someone might have asked a few questions.
Also, if someone on welfare buys $100,000 worth of guns at one time, someone might ask a few questions.
Also, if a clean record teenager buys a gun at a gun show in ten minutes and then sells it to someone else as a “private transaction” outside the tent, someone might ask a few questions.
Also, someone with a restraining order not allowed to instant purchase a gun until that order is lifted or at least let someone ask a few questions.
We are not talking about taking guns away or limiting the rights of decent people who just happen to like and use guns to have them. We just want some sort of sanity enforced for folks of crazed or criminal bent to have someone review their actions before they are allowed to purchase an instrument purposely constructed to kill things.
Oh and MO -- 85% of the NRA members actually agree that some form of checks should be allowed. Unfortunately Wayne LaPierre and the 15% of the crazies who support him have so much money that craven, soul-selling politicians are scared to death to do anything to balk him. The stats tell the tale. More and more guns in the hands of fewer and fewer people and lobbyists trying to keep the money flowing from basically old, white men.
Movingon,
The recent shooter-guy didn’t use an AK47, according to every media report I’ve seen, he used an AR15. Our military doesn’t use Russian AK47s either, nor do they use AR15s, but rather the military version called an M16. You know the diameter of a shotgun pellet, but don’t know that?
You should put Scrabble on here while you’re at it, Mr. C.
I heard one report that said James Holmes had a grant that paid him $26K/year for living expenses while in school. That might explain how he could afford guns and ammunition.
Hello everyone. Just checking in to pass along my condolences upon hearing the news of Horsedooty’s passing. When I first came here, he was one of the “older and wiser” gentleman I got to know here. I believe that Sturgeone said it best when he said, “Yo So Horsedooty.”. I also loved Craig’s quote from Sean.
http://craigcrawford.com/2012/07/26/sanity-break-singing-flowers/#comment-293720
Craig,
) all the time..Wow, just tried the new software, GREAT! Oh and the video’s played nicely…
Thanks. I read on my Android Evo(4 inch screen
Tony, so glad it’s working for ya. Also developing our own App for droids, iphones, etc. that should be quite snazzy once i figure it out. And exChamp, a scrabble app sounds great, i’ll bet there is one
yep there is a scrabble app
I an eating wonderful chicken teriyaki in the food court of Washington Square in Portland…I keep laughing as I read the lead Huffington Post story about Mitt’s disastrous visit to Britain….every hour there is something new…I can hardly wait for more news…
Here’s my idea of Romney’s farewell speech to England…from Monty Python-Holy Grail…
LUV YA DOOTY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V7zbWNznbs&feature=player_detailpage#t=127s
I was just seniorly mis-remembering moment. I read AR15 and thought M-14. Weird.
There are times when being a grown up is scary.
Palestinian youngsters in the Yarmouk refugee/concentration camp in Damascus have been protesting against Syria. An estimated 150,000 Pals live in Yarmouk. So far, the Pals claim that Syria has killed 198 of these protesters, 67 in the last month.
The split between Pals and Syrians is a big worry for hizbullah. The Iranian backed terrorists depend, for their mission and for their propaganda, upon the claim that they are the saviors of the Pals. Meanwhile Sunnis in Syria are holding protest meetings to gripe about hizbullah, whom many Sunnis call thugs, bullies, and foreigners.
Syria may these battles for Aleppo and Damascus, but the victories may be Pyrrhic.
I hope.
Tell me about it. IMO, while I was in, the M-14 was ok, just too unwieldy. We picked up grease guns which were much more flexible and significantly heftier than the M-16 POS.
The ‘rifle’ I shot most accurately was the .50 cal machine gun set to single shot. What was it, the M-2? It was a heavy sucker. Three-man carry.
Another nut claims Stand Your Ground in Florida…
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/26/florida-man-kills-door-to-door-salesman-i%E2%80%99ll-kill-anybody-that-steps-on-my-property/
Bloody good job Mitt.
What a cock up you’ve made of things.
So much for your foreign policy chops.
Hi Eprof, glad to know you are still keeping an eye on us.
Hope all is well with you.
jace
I don’t know much about the armed services, but the U.S. military using Russian-made weapons would be like the U.S. Olympic team wearing Chinese-made uniforms.
Oh, wait: bad analogy.
Best segment on cable news yesterday…
Fareed on Mittens and his failure overseas --
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-fareed-zakaria-mitt-romney-is-not-very-well-briefed-on-foreign-policy/
Why the sane 99% has not sent over Ice-T to take on Rush Limbaugh before? Ice-T is a formidable mouthpiece, too, and adds Law and Order to the reckless Rush.
Well, Mitt’s muck-up with his Anglo-Saxon cousins just keeps getting better.
An assessment of the London Olympics was not a “gotcha” question.
If he couldn’t say anything nice, it was the perfect opportunity for a little humblebragging on his part; first-hand understanding of the monumental task of putting on an Olympics and how he managed it.
He does, however, seem big enough to admit that he did not do it alone.
The ads against Obama and Elizabeth Warren are ridiculous. Saying any of us do anything in complete isolation is like an a single egg taking credit for becoming a German chocolate cake on its own.
BlondeW…
reading the comments on that Fareed article… priceless!
Can’t wait to see the Olympic opening ceremony tonight.
If you go to the Mt. Olivet (Fort Worth)obituaries, there is an on-line guest book where you can light a virtual candle and leave a message for H’dooty’s family.
Yes, Mittens had a GWB moment in Britain. I think that is the point Fareed was making…Obama’s biggest success in Europe is he is NOT GWB. Mitt is not charming like Bill Clinton or likable like Obama. No savvy.
Mitt’s biggest achievement in his stint with the Utah Winter Olympics was to cover-up the crimes and put the thieves in distant, safer positions.
Here is the link for Lee’s obituary. You can leave a comment, light a candle, or send flowers as desired.
Poor Mitt, he just doesn’t get it.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool……
Well, here’s an excerpt from Stillius’ Telegraph column that Jamie linked the other day. I think Doots would give a shout of approval:
“His current pledge to “revive” ties between the US and Britain sounds suspiciously like a talking point drummed up in a policy meeting and designed to differentiate himself from President Barack Obama for domestic purposes.
Yet there isn’t much currently wrong with the transatlantic alliance, as last summer’s exultant state visit by Obama showed.
It is true the president is less enamoured of traditional allies than his predecessors, but that reflects as much his exotic background and upbringing than his country’s changing interests. There have been plenty of bumps and kinks in relations before.”
The phrase “…his exotic background and upbringing…” makes the trip from British to American English quite gracefully. Thanks, Mr Stillius.
Apparently the British are saying that Mitt’s Charm offensive is devoid of any kind of charm and has been mildly offensive…it’s never a good sign when you have Euro’s pining for W…
Way to go Mitt!
Odd little story from yesterday which seemed all to familiar. http://on.wsj.com/QObmUB
Very similar to the story line in the 2010 movie “SALT” staring Angelina Jolie
Mitt’s statement was taken out of context, if you read or listen to what he actually said you’ll see there was nothing wrong with his observation of the situation. Lets not forget this was the same thing the Brits were so upset about 2 weeks ago when they learned at the 11th hour, the private security which was hired specially for the Olympics were 3500 personnel short. There was a whole segment about this on NPR.
MO
I agree that on its surface, there was nothing wrong with Mitt’s statement. What was wrong was that he is so clumsy and detached from normal expected behavior that it didn’t occur to him to be courteous. If you are a guest in someone’s home, you don’t criticize the chartreuse and orange bedspread. You thank them graciously for the hospitality.
Even more his advisors are less than impressive. Which one of them completely failed to brief him on the names and positions of people he was meeting and who failed to research the fact that you don’t talk about MI6. The Brits didn’t even admit that it existed until less than 20 years ago, and you never talk about schedules and meetings.
Sorry but Romney’s team are either totally inept or just plain stupid.
Indeed. The weather in the UK can be quite gloomy at times, and the winters are long with short days and long nights. Because of all that, I’ve seen some quite bright interior decorating schemes with that brightness carrying over into the furniture, etc.. Laugh and criticize until you have experienced Seasonal Affective Disorder, something fairly common in the highest latitudes.
Jace. Thanks. I get to TM between our camping trips this summer. Went through Bullhead City but you were out of town. Then, to the Zion and Bryce National Parks for nine days with a stop in Las Vegas to celebrate grandson’s 21st. Then, back to Las Vegas ten days later to see my son who is with USA basketball as staff. Now, in two weeks we’re back to Las Vegas on the way to Salt Lake City and Boise (to pick up a new trailer and to see friends). And, meeting in between online TM folks. Hope your summer is going well.
blue and Jamie, thanks for making it easy to leave a written remembrance of our great pal Lee Carmichael.
Lee loved Guy Clark’s art.
NEW THREAD
Well, let me take a page from Champ’s book…Watching Romney’s social awkwardness makes me suspect that he may be borderline Aspergers. Aspies do tend to blurt out their thoughts, regardless of social grace.
Well you are wrong on several parts. I said our military will use AK-47 on special occasion, training, and special situation. True it is not an issued weapon but I never said they were. My reference to the AK-47 came from President’s speech where he said, ” “A lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals,” “They belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities.” Well who wouldn’t agree with that, that is just plain common sense. But his speech came in the wake of the Colorado movie-theater massacre and wouldn’t be a stretch of one’s imagination to think he was referring that Holmes used a AK-47. Let’s not forget the news media were wildly reporting Holmes had a AK-47, assualt rifle. Holmes also had 1 shotgun and 2 Glocks, and an apartment that was rigged to blow up once someone came through the door. But you can’t do much about that as anyone can purchase most of those products at your local grocery store.
As to Jamie’s point: Although 6,000 rounds of ammo (some in the news media were reporting this number as 60,000 rounds of ammo) may sound like a lot to the lay person, but once that is broken down among 4 weapons, 3 which are different types and caliber, it isn’t all that much, and so the sale wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. The one thing that should have set off alarms is this. Although not illegal to buy or to own, the seller should have asked hin/herself why would a private citizen want such heavy armor protection. If you recall this is what the 2 gunmen in the famous LA shootout wore, and they actually had fully automatic rifles which were stolen from some armory.
Guns shows are gun shows, they sell guns, ammo, knives, cleaning equipment, stun guns, etc., just about anything under the sun, and it is all legal. You have gun shops, corporations which sell their products, you also have private sales taking place both inside and outside the gun show. If a violation is going to occur it will more than likely take place outside the show. But the gun shows are the straw man argument for the gun control crowd. Think about it, if you really wanted to buy a gun and you are a convicted felon, a wanted person, a mad lunatic, have been issued a restraining order, where would you go buy a gun? At a gun show with lots a law enforcement presence, where you have to present ID, may be stopped by the police, or make some private inquiries? All you need then is the money, no ID, just money. The seller doesn’t care who you are or what your intents are. Holmes passed the background investigation to own the guns her purchased, If CO has a waiting period, he must have passed that too. All guns purchased from a gun shop has a form which is submitted to BATF. All newly manufactured guns have been previously fired and the bullet forensics are registered with BTAF. More forms would not have prevented the Century massacre.
How many people will be killed by guns in Chicago this weekend?
Banning all guns will leave just the police and the criminals with guns, and there are far more criminals then there are police. By then we would all be living under Posse Comitatus Act.
NEW THREAD