Posted on 04/18/2007 8:36:32 PM PDT by Josh Painter
It seems to be part of our nature to feel that we live in an era separate and distinct from the past until something like the Virginia Tech killings forces us to face reality. Then, the horrors and atrocities of "the olden days" visit us again.
Periodically it has been decided, by the people who decide this sort of thing, that history as we know it is over. Or, at least, that things have changed so much that the lessons of the past no longer apply.
Though there are fewer and fewer people around today who remember it, the conflict that was officially ended by the signing of the Versailles Treaty in 1919 was known for several decades as The War to End All Wars.
World War II, however, required a rewriting of the history books. The Holocaust and similar genocides committed by the Soviets now make the reverie of the 20s and 30s a sad footnote.
Since then, history has ended several times, notably with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Once again there was the sense that, finally, we had moved beyond the need to think about people and regimes willing to murder for their own ruthless purposes...
Technology has made great leaps forward, but human nature and the fact that society still sometimes produces people like the killer at Virginia Tech has not changed...
What happened on the campus in Blacksburg, Va., was an awful reminder of the challenge ahead of us not just to secure the safety of our college campuses, but to secure all of the rest of our nation as well. Once upon a time, madmen needed armies to attack other nations. This is no longer the case.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcradio.com ...
no, i had not seen it, thanks for pinging me.
Just WOW!
Well, the oppossing "wing" to the isolationist Pat/Ron appears in all honesty to be, come one come all, ours is yours for the taking! Frankly, I'll sit with Pat/Ron any day of the week in opposition to this FRee and willing handover.
Of course you complete your circle in realizing that "The world has changed. Rapidly individuals and small groups are beginning to pose more of an actual threat than standing armies.". If what you say is true, and I think it is, then you make the only rational argument for shutting this Country down for a while. Instead, we have liberalized our Legal Immigration to a point that we have no clue to whom we're letting come here, and don't even get me started on the Illegal crap that's allowed unabated. If only 1% of these unknowns are coming here to do specific harm, WE are in for a world of hurt. VT is a shining example on a VERY small scale. Multiply this by say 100 events at the same time on the same day. 100 VT events wouldn't amount to one tenth of one percent of the unkowns we've allowed to "immigrate" to our shores. Chaos anyone? I'm more isolationist every day that passes.
"The founding fathers could have never envisioned the destructive technologies to come that could be commanded by so few upon so many."
Again, just WOW! No FRiend, the Founding Father's knew exactly the type of carnage Man could visit upon his fellow Man, from the individual, to the tyrannical with many followers. That's why our Constitution seeks to empower the individual over the collective, it was the only sensible thing to do. They also knew that the occassional wacked out individual was not to limit the FReedoms of US other individuals. Thank God for the Founders, and a double Thank God for the 2nd Amd.
I'm not sure what you meant by "destructive technologies" except in this context, that somehow you equate the .22 cal or the 9mm used here as somehow more high-tech than say my .50 cal T/C New Englander Rifle. No, I'm thinking dead is dead. Is it that they were Semi-Auto's? That's not exactly "new" tech. In fact it's not too far removed from the high-tech pump or lever action. The high-tech difference being the gas tube.
The only thing I see in your post is a call FOR isolationism and the reasons are well documented in your own words. Isolationism WILL eventually trump Globullism. It may take a while and require good honorable men to spill blood, but Globullism in todays world, yeah, good luck with that. Blackbird.
Exactly. If you haven't read the essay On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs by LTC Dave Grossman, USA (ret.), it is worth a few minutes of your time. He is a retired Army Ranger, and his essay pretty much nails it.
You know that Fred is making liberals heads explode when the trolls sign up to post on the Fred threads. LOL!
Thanks for the link.
This man is eloquent and to the point.
Run, Fred, run!!
Where a small group can take out a city - or worse...
And no, I don’t believe the founding fathers had any concept of such things to come.
As far as locking up the country. Good luck with that. A freight plane loaded in a foreign country with a nuke won’t be inspected until after it lands - point being - it doesn’t need to land to do its job in any major city USA. An oil tanker filled with oil - with a nuke in its belly - impossible to detect until it goes off in LA harbor or NY or wherever... You can’t ignore the world and successfully lock it out. There are far too many ways into this country, from the air, seas or border. Any of which can be penetrated be a determined group no matter how hard you try. Just look at all the drugs that find there way here...
You only have to fail once and you have a million dead. The odds favor them.
The only hope is to kill them or civilize them where they are before they get here.
You are so right about liberal behavior. You can tell how upstanding someone is by how much the liberals attack them. I sure hope Fred runs. Looks like he is giving it serious consideration!
No, I was somewhat disappointed as well. It was a decent article, and there was nothing with which I didn't agree, but it was just generalizations. A reference at least to the right and obligation of individuals to be responsible for their own defense would have been appropriate.
Why should he have a plan for securing America's campuses? The President is responsible for the Defense of the NATION, not individual institutions that are either run by State governments or private groups.
Kinda funny, isn't it, that his voice is so distinctive we can remember it, and hear him talking through his written words.
You got something against 60 something cancer survivors? I don't have a problem with his age; usually with that comes wisdom, though Jimmah and Teddy the Swimmer are exceptions to that rule. As far as his cancer is concerned; his is a type that is usually NOT fatal, is very treatable, and he is in remission at this time.
If you have a beef with his policies, bring those up. Those are the things that need discussing in the primaries, not personal attributes.
Oops! Sorry glm! I didn’t realize your post was responding to 2007 Crusader. My response must have been meant for HIS post.
The maturity level of the kid(s) who is/are carrying, peer pressure, testosterone, "coolness factor," weapons handling skills, judgement...
However, on the flip side, I know some kids who are more mature and have better weapons handling skills than some cops I've met.
Ergo, I'd be treading on ice by advocating kids carrying. The regimen I'd require would be very tough except for a military veteran who has already been though military training and typically much more mature than your "typical" college kid.
I'll have to noodle on this scenario some more.
Cheers.
My idea is as follows:
1) One senior on each floor is armed. There are many seniors who have the requisite temperament and background
(Eagle Scouts would be good candidates). Others who have had gun safety training already.
2) CCTV on each floor.....not really expensive, and augment it with GPS tracking.
I firmly believe most colleges have enough screenable talent to handle this. I’m a pretty tough cookie, but watching this psychotic mow down a bunch of good kids brought tears to my eyes. I firmly believe that many if not most of these kids could have been saved if the above suggestions had been in force.
Best regards,
sjb
I do not disagree with you. Perhaps a better phrasing of the question is this: Given his stance that we need to take steps to ensure that people are better defended against psychopaths, what recommendations would he propose?
I personally advocate for much more liberal (like in the state of Virginia, unlike the campus of VT) conceal and carry laws. At least then the meat targets can shoot back.
2) Along with that, with a security guard monitoring, train the professors to lock the classroom doors and have the students take cover, when a particular alarm is sounded.
I agree with you. A psycho mowing down completely defenseless innocents is enough to get to anyone with a heart.
Come Dance with Ursula upon the still-smoking carcass of her enemies!
I was thinking the same. So close to this it’s hard to see. Maybe ROTC guys.
“troll at Post #23 has already ridden the lightning”
Possible to save the nic and the post so we are better able to make fun of him/her/it?
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