Friday's rant

[IanD]

Toulon v Saracens on Saturday.

Is there any way neither team can win?

Perpetual extra time perhaps?

[blockhead]

Another mass shooting in the US. 14 Children dead and counting.
They have crazy people over there.
We have crazy people over here.
Our crazy people find it very difficult to get guns.

[paddyor]

Another mass shooting in the US. 14 Children dead and counting.
They have crazy people over there.
We have crazy people over here.
Our crazy people find it very difficult to get guns.

Well you know, the way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun or even better 3 good guys with a gun.

https://twitter.com/Zeddary/status/1529490125842964481

[Logorrhea]

US conservatives jumping on the "mental health crisis" needs to be addressed ............... followed by thoughts and prayers. Not a chance they will fight the gun lobby regardless of how many of their kids get shot.

A broken country.

[Oldschool]

US conservatives jumping on the "mental health crisis" needs to be addressed ............... followed by thoughts and prayers. Not a chance they will fight the gun lobby regardless of how many of their kids get shot.

A broken country.

A far too simple conclusion.

[Oldschoolsocks]

US conservatives jumping on the "mental health crisis" needs to be addressed ............... followed by thoughts and prayers. Not a chance they will fight the gun lobby regardless of how many of their kids get shot.

A broken country.

Very broken

[Oldschool]

US conservatives jumping on the "mental health crisis" needs to be addressed ............... followed by thoughts and prayers. Not a chance they will fight the gun lobby regardless of how many of their kids get shot.

A broken country.

Very broken

An even more simplistic view.

[ronk]

US conservatives jumping on the "mental health crisis" needs to be addressed ............... followed by thoughts and prayers. Not a chance they will fight the gun lobby regardless of how many of their kids get shot.

A broken country.

Very broken

An even more simplistic view.

Not wrong though. A more nuanced interpretation of the situation risks obscuring the salient truth. This is avoidable and self-inflicted, and it's only one symptom of a bigger problem.

A significant minority (local majorities) of people support policies that are deeply destructive and counterproductive. There's no 2 sides, they are wrong. All of them, about this.

[Oldschool]

Very broken

An even more simplistic view.

Not wrong though. A more nuanced interpretation of the situation risks obscuring the salient truth. This is avoidable and self-inflicted, and it's only one symptom of a bigger problem.

A significant minority (local majorities) of people support policies that are deeply destructive and counterproductive. There's no 2 sides, they are wrong. All of them, about this.

The gun culture is wrong but to conclude from that, that the US is a broken country is simplistic in the extreme.
Just as simplistic is that it's all the Republican's fault.
That's just simple scapegoating.
The Democrats leadership is an indictment of their own internal political system. Old people with old thinking and entitled to it. It was/is laughable to hear them blame Trump for the gun problems. The gun issue has been around forever. We probably don't understand it but it's certainly scary to think that a guy might (probably) have a gun in his dashboard, legally held and ??????
There are a lot of good things about the States.
We can't house ourselves as a country, a fairly basic requirement, that's pretty broken if you were to ask me.
In short what I'm trying to say is their gun situation needs to be fixed but that doesn't mean that the country is broken.
There is so much good about the US that people simply choose to ignore.

[ronk]

No one said that America is a hellhole with no redeeming features.

Ireland isn't perfect and I'll call us out when we get it badly wrong (& we do).

Broken country is not equal to failed state.

There are a number of things that every advanced country in the world can manage except America. And some of them are hangovers from slavery, America hasn't healed those wounds and is broken.

[Logorrhea]

US conservatives jumping on the "mental health crisis" needs to be addressed ............... followed by thoughts and prayers. Not a chance they will fight the gun lobby regardless of how many of their kids get shot.

A broken country.

A far too simple conclusion.

I didn't reach that concussion based on yet another series of mass shootings. The US has been broken for quite some time now.

[Oldschool]

No one said that America is a hellhole with no redeeming features.

Ireland isn't perfect and I'll call us out when we get it badly wrong (& we do).

Broken country is not equal to failed state.

There are a number of things that every advanced country in the world can manage except America. And some of them are hangovers from slavery, America hasn't healed those wounds and is broken.

I take your distinction between broken and failed and you are right.

[Oldschool]

US conservatives jumping on the "mental health crisis" needs to be addressed ............... followed by thoughts and prayers. Not a chance they will fight the gun lobby regardless of how many of their kids get shot.

A broken country.

A far too simple conclusion.

I didn't reach that concussion based on yet another series of mass shootings. The US has been broken for quite some time now.

The US is broken as Ronk explained and so are a lot of other states.
Any state patting itself on the back for not being broken the way the US is being selective and is simply a kettle calling a pot black.
The Irish have a blind spot when it comes to deciding who's responsible for "broken" in the US. An attitude that encourages group think of the wrong kind.
Believe me having family living in the states I'd love nothing better than if the US were to sort out the gun control problem.
But tell most people they're broken and they'll stop listening to you. The smarter ones might turn to you and say "well how do you suggest it can be fixed" and if they're a politician the likely response to your suggestions might well be "have you ever been in politics"

[Logorrhea]

The US is broken as Ronk explained and so are a lot of other states.

Well thats grand so. Glad you could add that to the discussion.

Any state patting itself on the back for not being broken the way the US is being selective and is simply a kettle calling a pot black.

What does that even mean? Who is doing that outside of the gun control issue? ................ well and healthcare, and the military complex, legal system, political system, education, employee rights, racism, media, social security etc.

The Irish have a blind spot when it comes to deciding who's responsible for "broken" in the US. An attitude that encourages group think of the wrong kind.

Why are you focused on defending the rebublican party for their inaction on this issue?

But tell most people they're broken and they'll stop listening to you.

The first step in addressing a problem is recognising you have one. Either way it doesn't matter. They wont listen to the families of the victims, or the 90% of americans that agree that back ground checks are appropriate. They do what the gun lobby wants them to do and will be reelected for that.

The smarter ones might turn to you and say "well how do you suggest it can be fixed"

I think that's already being addressed by the talking heads. I mean its a mental health crisis, or its a school security crisis ............. its clearly got nothing to do with guns.

[Oldschoolsocks]

No one said that America is a hellhole with no redeeming features.

Ireland isn't perfect and I'll call us out when we get it badly wrong (& we do).

Broken country is not equal to failed state.

There are a number of things that every advanced country in the world can manage except America. And some of them are hangovers from slavery, America hasn't healed those wounds and is broken.

That any modern democracy seems it perfectly normal for a family to go into medical bankruptcy is just abhorrent. A friend of my wife had to choose between cancer treatment for her husband or her house and her children’s education, and that’s in the “middle class”,

Then you look at the numbers of their own citizens they have incarcerated and that’s before you even look at the racial profile of the prison population, it’s just disgusting.

The country is broken and unless they can get a handle on their society it never looks like getting fixed

[Oldschool]

The US is broken as Ronk explained and so are a lot of other states.

Well thats grand so. Glad you could add that to the discussion.

Any state patting itself on the back for not being broken the way the US is being selective and is simply a kettle calling a pot black.

What does that even mean? Who is doing that outside of the gun control issue? ................ well and healthcare, and the military complex, legal system, political system, education, employee rights, racism, media, social security etc.

The Irish have a blind spot when it comes to deciding who's responsible for "broken" in the US. An attitude that encourages group think of the wrong kind.

Why are you focused on defending the rebublican party for their inaction on this issue?

But tell most people they're broken and they'll stop listening to you.

The first step in addressing a problem is recognising you have one. Either way it doesn't matter. They wont listen to the families of the victims, or the 90% of americans that agree that back ground checks are appropriate. They do what the gun lobby wants them to do and will be reelected for that.

The smarter ones might turn to you and say "well how do you suggest it can be fixed"

I think that's already being addressed by the talking heads. I mean its a mental health crisis, or its a school security crisis ............. its clearly got nothing to do with guns.

Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.

[Oldschool]

Thank God we've only got problems with housing people and our health system.

[Twist]

Leinster v. La Rochelle
Kildare v. da bleedin' Dubs

Possibly the two most important sporting events the year - if not all time - and they're on at the same f%~king time.

This is not the brexit I voted for!

[Dave Cahill]

Leinster and Liverpool

[Ruckedtobits]

The referee's decision to penalise Ross Molony at 71.38 on the match clock was wrong, just wrong. Big Mike was in a jackal position, Molony moved immediately to his feet and at no time obstructs the ball. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

In a game of tiny margins. This was a critical decision.

Rant, rant rant, etc.