Rose42

You’re really not as knowledgeable about guns as you think. Yours is a superficial knowledge and its evident you know very little about home defense - and thats not because you don’t like the AR 15.

straightUp Loc: California

Good point... and that's another reason why I like the idea. At least in spirit. But after watching her being interviewed about it I realized that she doesn't really understand the challenge and she was far more focused on the fantasy of the idea and when she suggested how great it would be for red states to be free of liberal politics, I immediately saw the irony knowing how dependent a lot of red states are on blue states just to survive, hence my opening argument.

I have always been an anti-federalist. I prefer the idea of a confederacy of sovereign states to the idea of a federated system of subordinate states suppressed by a centralized government. It's ironic that the people who disagree with me on this are almost always conservative. Maybe its because they see me as a liberal and therefore feel the need to disagree.

In any case, I don't think ANY government should be in charge of 350 million people. None of the governments ruling that many people are doing very well. China, India, Indonesia, the USA... all of them suck.

BIRDMAN

Smedley_buzkill

You might want to rethink your map. Florida is about as red as it gets.

straightUp Loc: California

Rose we've been through this before and I've been though this with a lot of others too... It's a common response from people who don't have a counter argument for any of the points I make. They revert to this idiot idea that you can't talk about guns without being an expert on everything there is to know about them. I'm not going to pretend that I spend half my life obsessing over guns, joining gun clubs and going to every gun show that rolls into town. I'm not what I would call a "gun nerd". But I did grow up with guns and I know how to use and maintain the guns I own. That's good enough for me and it's more than enough to understand the impact they have on society or the pros and cons of gun control.

You're argument is as idiotic as someone telling you that you can't talk about abortions because you don't have the expertise to perform the procedure.


If you think an AR-15 is a better weapon for home defense than a Mossberg 500, then I'm afraid YOU are the one who doesn't know anything about home defense. I can't wait to tell my NRA friends this one. LOL

And I never said I don't like the AR-15. In fact in the post you are responding to I actually described it as a well-designed and versatile weapon. I just don't think the general public is the place for it.

Smedley_buzkill

If you have always been an anti-Federalist as you aver, then why do you support Democrats and Liberals whose raison d'être is bigger, more powerful and more intrusive government? Asking for a friend.

straightUp Loc: California

I noticed you couldn't answer Riley's question... He asked if you think red states could survive financially without Blue states financial funds and all you did was rant about utter nonsense. I can see why he decided to ignore your response.

BIRDMAN

Yes

straightUp Loc: California

Someone else that couldn't answer Riley's question. Instead suggesting that blue cities (so every major city in the U.S) will implode in 10 years... I'd love to take that bet.

By the way, if that ever did happen it would be the end of the United States of America. Over 80% of the people in America live in the cities. And where rural America only generates 10% of the GDP, the blue cities account for 52% of the GDP, with the remaining 38% generated in smaller metro areas.

https://www.statista.com/chart/18684/us-cities-by-gdp/

manning5 Loc: Richmond, VA

Your factless sarcasms are noted. You base your argument on new ideas versus the tried and true? I believe you mean rushing into the implementation of a new idea before it has been properly vetted as most leftists do, and then have to backtrack and spend more money to fix the mess they created. The idea that you can "start anywhere" is the mantra of the left, and it is in fact true, but the thing is, you must course the entire problem before serious implementation. I can begin to design an airplane by considering the wing design, but I don't yet have an airplane design do I?

But this is how the left proceeds, putting the cart before the horse, so to speak.
Well, then the left builds a model of the plane, and based on their analysis of tests on the model, they proceed to build a plane, only to discover they forgot a few things and the plane won't fly. Sort of like Howard Hughes and his underpowered Spruce Goose. That is the left's total methodology, and the same principles and foibles apply to just about any enterprise, including running a city. Such methods as the Spruce Goose program waste time, manpower and money. Typical leftist results, and you can zoom to just about every big city in America and see it in action now. Good ideas must be tested very carefully before thrusting them onto the public, and most certainly not running round the country telling everyone lies like Obama did to get O-care passed.

Then too, a city is really an organic whole, which cannot be handled with just engineering methods. There is leadership, true management, financials, city services, the social milieu, the climate, topology, population size, local politics and a hell of a lot more to bring into focus (my guess is that another 15 or so major aspects must be accounted for.). Miss one of importance and you have a White Elephant on your hands, a Spruce Goose of a city or worse.

So much for the new ideas from the left! I do not want my city saddled with a Spruce Goose, nor with a minority of the population dictating what the architecture or the statuary must be, and whether to fund the police or not, although that is exactly what trends we do have in Richmond today. Leftwing madness.

For years our road system deteriorated till driving was a real hazard, and costly in repairs, until it was realized that the city management was diverting road funds to several major park developments, the Mayor claimed to brighten family outings (in the summer, of course!). The decision to delay the parks till later and fix the road system was a no-brainer, but it had to come from the media spotlighting the problem. Just one illustration of how second-level and leftist-oriented managers focused on the wrong things can really hurt a city. Grandiose plans sap the life out of simply running a city with competence and a goodly dose of civic responsibility, a very rational plan for the city's development, and some money in reserve.

We have had numerous proposals for truly major development programs here, including a casino, a six square block complex downtown, a new stadium, a ringroad, a new train station with new tracks, a new super-jail, and so on. They were each defeated for cause.

straightUp Loc: California

Oh, there we go...

That's it? No explanation or analysis, just "Yes".

So... then you're really just hoping.

Well, I'll hope with you... I really don't want to see people in the red states plunged into the third world because they lost the support of of the blue cities.

BIRDMAN

Produce and animals do not come from cities

BIRDMAN

I can tell you’re Booksmart but you sure the hell ain’t streetsmart

straightUp Loc: California

Well, anyone can make a simple assertion like that. It's like birdman saying "yes". It's simply the answer you want to be true. If it was based on anything other than wishes you would have a supporting argument, but you don't, do you?


Yes, it is... it's a silly response to a silly idea coming from a silly red-state politician. But it's also a presentation of two solid facts that begs the question that Riley asked.

One of those facts is that 14 of the 28 red states depend on the federal government to make ends meet. That's half. I don't see what's so silly about that fact and it does shed doubt on the ability for them to survive, despite your unfounded faith that they will. By contrast, only 1 of the 22 blue states (New Mexico) is in a similar situation.

Seeing that only 10% of the GDP is generated in rural America really puts this in perspective. Yes, it is a simplistic view but so is the view that people die without water - the simplicity doesn't negate the magnitude of the situation.

What these numbers tell us is that the blue cities are in fact the pillars that hold up the nation and I guess I'm getting tired of red states constantly bashing the blue cities, insisting that they are utter failures when they are in fact thriving AND supporting those red states. It's like the goat that bites your hand every time you try to feed it... after a while you just want to kick the goat in the head.

And that's the point of the simplistic and silly OP.

BIRDMAN

You’re missing the point brainiac cities don’t have goats