Congressman may face DC police probe due to gun in office

[BobCat]

Seems the DC cops are ok with it:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.2193445in his ppower -

Spirited debate is good. Life would be boring if everyone agreed on everything.

And, for all the people pining for "the good old days" - I think it would be amusing to look up J. Edgar Hoover and think about the chokehold the FBI had on the government of those days. Both left and right were in his power, or in the power of the mob.

This is my Country and I love it. Had my grandfather not brought his family here in the early 1900s, they'd have been dead and I'd never have been born.

[cb1000rider]

The only problem is that the law(s) they have allegedly broken are not federal laws that they have made, but rather local DC laws.

Which are ridiculous under the 2nd amendment anyway. I'm all for states rights, but they shouldn't conflict with the constitution.

[philip964]

The only problem is that the law(s) they have allegedly broken are not federal laws that they have made, but rather local DC laws.

Which are ridiculous under the 2nd amendment anyway. I'm all for states rights, but they shouldn't conflict with the constitution.

And if we could just get everyone to agree on this.

[VoiceofReason]

Brazil still has places that you can literally be “100 miles from nowhere”. Sort of like Alaska except you are not likely to freeze to death unless you choose to live in Patagonia.

Likely not going to happen in Brazil. Patagonia is primarily in southern Argentina, but also bleeds over into southern Chile (my wife was born and raised in the Argentinean portion of Patagonia).

From Wikipedia:

Patagonia is a sparsely populated region located at the southern end of South America, shared by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes mountains as well as the deserts, steppes and grasslands east of this southern portion of the Andes. Patagonia has two coasts; a western one towards the Pacific Ocean and an eastern one towards the Atlantic Ocean.

Oops! Thanks to those that corrected me. My mistake. I thought that a small part of Brazil was in Patagonia. What is your wife’s opinion of where she was born and raised after living in the U.S. for a while?

I would have loved to tour Central and South America but now that I am retired and have the time, it’s impossible. I don’t have the money and I am all crippled up. An Xray of my back looks like a black & white Arial photo of a train wreck.

[mojo84]

Interesting choice. Have you done any research on the crime and cost of living in Brazil? Speaking of your back, how about the health care system. Have you looked into their healthcare

I'll gladly and proudly choose the United States of America over Brazil any day.

[VoiceofReason]

Interesting choice. Have you done any research on the crime and cost of living in Brazil? Speaking of your back, how about the health care system. Have you looked into their healthcare

I'll gladly and proudly choose the United States of America over Brazil any day.

I suppose I am just old and fed up with the way the country is going and I don't want to be here to see the collapse and breakup of the U.S.

We are no longer a democracy, when two or three percent of the population can corrupt the institution of marriage in spite of the wishes of the majority of the people.

That is only one example. I could sit here for hours listing the problems this country has and it is the responsibility of both parties.

Obummer is a whole discussion which I don’t want to get into.

America was/is the greatest country in the world. It is what it is going to become is the reason I would like to move.

[BobCat]

VoiceofReason, I think you and I share some of the same concerns, and I think it is a matter of perspective.

I am old, tired, grey, wrinkled, deaf, and don't see my front sight so well anymore - or anything else, for that matter.

Reading the news overwhelms me with despair, for my blessed USA and for the world.

But when I think back to the 1950s, what they call "The Ike and Mamie Good Years" - Mickey Mouse Club on TV, Davey Crockett on TV on Disney, the marvelous plastic / die cast 6-shooters, the superb stamped sheetmetal M3 greasegun that was my favorite WWII gun - I have to admit that there were downsides too.

Without going on and on about how some things are better today, I just want to suggest that, even if "gay" marriage becomes legal/accepted, those of us who are married to people of the opposite sex will not suddenly become outlaws. I don't think the government has any place in the marriage racket anyway; it is for religious persons to preside, and the government and tax people need to get the heck out of the picture.

I don't think legalizing pot will change much - people who want to smoke it will smoke it, and have always done so. At best, making it clear that drugs are for losers - legal, but engaged in by folks disinclined or unable to do productive work - might keep some youngsters from trying it just to be rebellious.

I could go on and on - famous for it - but the point is that this is a Great country, a great culture (multifaceted, like a jewel), and if it is indeed sliding downhill, it is doing so at a glacial pace. I thought we were on the brink of collapse when I was in like, 8th grads - and it's been a while, and we haven't collapsed yet.

The background radiation is "normal", no bullets or shrapnel flying past my head, no poison gas or nerve gas - I say we've got it darn good!

[mojo84]

Interesting choice. Have you done any research on the crime and cost of living in Brazil? Speaking of your back, how about the health care system. Have you looked into their healthcare

I'll gladly and proudly choose the United States of America over Brazil any day.

I suppose I am just old and fed up with the way the country is going and I don't want to be here to see the collapse and breakup of the U.S.

We are no longer a democracy, when two or three percent of the population can corrupt the institution of marriage in spite of the wishes of the majority of the people.

That is only one example. I could sit here for hours listing the problems this country has and it is the responsibility of both parties.

Obummer is a whole discussion which I don’t want to get into.

America was/is the greatest country in the world. It is what it is going to become is the reason I would like to move.

I agree our country is not what it used to be and the majority of our leaders have lost the intended purpose for positions they hold and many of the country's citizens have lost their moral compass along with other founding values. However, to say one would rather live in Brazil or most other countries, I believe does not follow the "voice of reason". While we have our problems and we are not what we once were, we are still the greatest nation on this earth and we hold the most opportunity and promise. It is up to us to right the ship even though we face incredible odds and headwinds. We must not give up. We must keep fighting for what our forefathers and the founding fathers fought and died for.

It isn't up to the government to dictate to us what we should believe and what is right. It is up to us as society to lead the charge. Along with that, conflict and difference in opinion will arise but it is still up to us to right the ship. Our kids and grand kids will look back at us and wonder why we let the country get in the shape it is in.

Bottom line, if anyone wants to throw in the towel and move to another country they think is better, then don't wait another minute. Pack your bags and hit the road but don't try to come back when it is realized the grass isn't greener on the other side of the fence. Don't forget, there are millions that have come and are doing everything they can to flee from where they are and come to this country some seem to think is so bad.

[VMI77]

Interesting choice. Have you done any research on the crime and cost of living in Brazil? Speaking of your back, how about the health care system. Have you looked into their healthcare

I'll gladly and proudly choose the United States of America over Brazil any day.

I suppose I am just old and fed up with the way the country is going and I don't want to be here to see the collapse and breakup of the U.S.

We are no longer a democracy, when two or three percent of the population can corrupt the institution of marriage in spite of the wishes of the majority of the people.

That is only one example. I could sit here for hours listing the problems this country has and it is the responsibility of both parties.

Obummer is a whole discussion which I don’t want to get into.

America was/is the greatest country in the world. It is what it is going to become is the reason I would like to move.

I agree our country is not what it used to be and the majority of our leaders have lost the intended purpose for positions they hold and many of the country's citizens have lost their moral compass along with other founding values. However, to say one would rather live in Brazil or most other countries, I believe does not follow the "voice of reason". While we have our problems and we are not what we once were, we are still the greatest nation on this earth and we hold the most opportunity and promise. It is up to us to right the ship even though we face incredible odds and headwinds. We must not give up. We must keep fighting for what our forefathers and the founding fathers fought and died for.

It isn't up to the government to dictate to us what we should believe and what is right. It is up to us as society to lead the charge. Along with that, conflict and difference in opinion will arise but it is still up to us to right the ship. Our kids and grand kids will look back at us and wonder why we let the country get in the shape it is in.

Bottom line, if anyone wants to throw in the towel and move to another country they think is better, then don't wait another minute. Pack your bags and hit the road but don't try to come back when it is realized the grass isn't greener on the other side of the fence. Don't forget, there are millions that have come and are doing everything they can to flee from where they are and come to this country some seem to think is so bad.

One of the problems with heading to another country is that there really are no other countries that are better. In Hitler's Germany, Jews could escape to America and in that particular situation most countries were probably better. The same was true after the war for those people living in Soviet Russia or communist eastern Europe. With the destruction of America there is no place left to escape to. It's not just the US that is on the verge of collapse, it's the entire world.

Even if other countries weren't already teetering on the brink a US collapse would bring a lot of them down. I don't want to be a foreigner and outsider in another country when everything comes apart. I don't think "rich" Americans are going to fare too well in other countries during a global economic collapse. Americans abroad are more likely to find themselves being scapegoated, and as outsiders are likely to be targets for the wrath of the indigenous population. Emigration is really only viable when you leave a less stable country for a more stable country, and in a generally stable world. I don't see any countries that are more stable than the US however unstable the US may be at the moment.

[BobCat]

One of the problems with heading to another country is that there really are no other countries that are better. In Hitler's Germany, Jews could escape to America and in that particular situation most countries were probably better. The same was true after the war for those people living in Soviet Russia or communist eastern Europe. With the destruction of America there is no place left to escape to. It's not just the US that is on the verge of collapse, it's the entire world.

Even if other countries weren't already teetering on the brink a US collapse would bring a lot of them down. I don't want to be a foreigner and outsider in another country when everything comes apart. I don't think "rich" Americans are going to fare too well in other countries during a global economic collapse. Americans abroad are more likely to find themselves being scapegoated, and as outsiders are likely to be targets for the wrath of the indigenous population. Emigration is really only viable when you leave a less stable country for a more stable country, and in a generally stable world. I don't see any countries that are more stable than the US however unstable the US may be at the moment.

Excuse me, but that's the voice or Reason.

There is no place to go, we have to stay and fight for our country internally; steadfastly, reasonably, relentlessly, and firmly, against those who would tear it down.

Look: Orville and Wilbur flew in 1903; by 1918 you could buy a surplus JN-4 and go barnstorming. 15 years. Humans (Americans!) landed on the moon in 1969. If the pattern of "brand new" to "commonplace" held, I'd be able to buy a used space ship now, and my wife and I could head for the asteroid belt to do some mining.

We can't. Practically speaking, there is nowhere to go - so we live here and die here. Whether we die as free people or as slaves is not up to them, it is up to us.

[mojo84]

Just for the fun of it. Pick your country. My reasoning says Brazil is way down my list.



http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/r ... ountry.jsp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rotor]

Just for the fun of it. Pick your country. My reasoning says Brazil is way down my list.



http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/r ... ountry.jsp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If it's just for the fun of it, Texas-stan, this would be the best country right here. Just for the fun of it.

[C-dub]

Just for the fun of it. Pick your country. My reasoning says Brazil is way down my list.



http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/r ... ountry.jsp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If it's just for the fun of it, Texas-stan, this would be the best country right here. Just for the fun of it.

No need for the suffix. Just "Texas" will do.

[The Annoyed Man]

I could actually live abroad under my dual citizenship with France if I wanted to. My mother even owns property there - a nice apartment in a nice district of Paris - of which I will become part owner when she passes. But I have no desire to live there.........visit...maybe, once in a while, but live? No. I like Texas. Texas bin beddy beddy goo' to me.

Another other thing is, this whole refusal to enforce border security and immigration laws is going to hurt American ex-pats as much as anybody. If it doesn't get turned around soon, either the nation will cease to exist as we know it and there will be nothing left for an ex-pat to return to, OR the eventual anti-immigration backlash will be so severe as to make it nearly impossible for an ex-pat to get back in either. Either way, there is a distinct possibility that if you choose to leave, you may not be able to get back into the country in the future. For me, that makes it not worth leaving. Because no matter how sybaritic and easy a life lived in a French socialist utopia might be, there is no oxygen there for lungs that want to breathe free. Not to mention that a lot of foreign countries - France included - are about to be overrun by their own immigrant problems. And then there's the who crypto-nazi jew-hating thing. I'm not having any of that. So no matter how bad it gets here, it is still better than pretty much anywhere else, and it will continue to be better for the fact that pockets of free thinking people will continue to exist - no matter what happens.