49 Comments

1. 

   rickflick on 19th February 2018 at 4:31 pm

   The effect of the gun lobby is not just money, although that’s an important factor. The NRA will run campaign ads against any candidate they feel does not vote their way. They can gin up fear among constituents in many districts just by telling them candidate X wants to take away your guns. The farmers and hunters in most districts become one issue voters and can defeat the candidate. Since they know they can be hurt by the NRA, many are just going to try to work with them and stay in the background in order to get elected or stay elected.

   Reply
   • 

     Heather Hastie on 19th February 2018 at 4:38 pm

     Yes, good point. Something I didn’t think of because I’ve never had to watch one! Advertising to counter such messages is difficult too because they require people to engage more than than just repeat a slogan like MAGA. They often don’t even know what that means – it just sounds good.

     Reply
     • 

       Jenny Haniver on 19th February 2018 at 6:15 pm

       The students who survived the massacre have turned their rage into a powerful movement for gun control that is going national. They want change and they want it now. They aren’t beholden to any political ideology or entity; they don’t give a damn about what the president or the Republicans or the NRA wants. They want responsible action from the adults who make such a big deal about being in charge of this country but who do jack. I’m in awe of their courage and eloquence, and I’m hoping this will be a game changer. These young high school students put the SJW snowflakes to shame.

       And I loved the cartoon about the good Christians all raptured into the great cloaca mundi or anus mundi.

       Reply
       • 

         Linda Calhoun on 19th February 2018 at 10:09 pm

         And, best of all, those kids will soon be VOTERS!!!

         L

         Reply
         • 

           j.a.m. on 20th February 2018 at 4:22 am

           Let no ghastly tragedy go to waste when there’s partisan hay to be made.

         • 

           Linda Calhoun on 20th February 2018 at 7:02 am

           @j.a.m.

           That is unbelievably cold.

           These kids have just experienced a horrible, life-changing event. To suggest that their involvement in finding a solution is nothing more than “partisan hay” to me illustrates a complete lack of empathy and understanding.

           Plus, to think that they shouldn’t get involved in the political process and exercise their right to participate when they see that the system displays no motivation for finding any solutions is ridiculous. Maybe if your side had more to offer than just screeching about “They’re going to take your guns away” you wouldn’t be facing the opposition you’re about to encounter.

           We can’t keep everyone from speeding or driving drunk, so therefore we shouldn’t have traffic laws, right?

           I hope these kids start a wave. I hope every one of them registers to vote, votes in every election, and gets involved in the political process beyond that.

           Bravo to them all!!

           L

         • 

           Heather Hastie on 20th February 2018 at 7:38 am

           They’re an amazing bunch, and ara not yet tainted by the cynicism of their elders. It doesn’t seem impossible to them, which it does to older campaigners, and that might be what makes the difference.

         • 

           Heather Hastie on 20th February 2018 at 7:46 am

           Yes, jam, Linda is right. You have just pushed your luck too far. These children just watched 17 of their classmates and teachers die in front of them because of the lack of action by politicians on both sides. I did not make this a partisan post – you did with your comment. That’s it for you. When I get to my other computer you will find you’re no longer able to comment. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from now on though.

       • 

         Mark R. on 20th February 2018 at 6:52 am

         “anus mundi” Ha. Thanks for the LOL!

         Reply
2. 

   nicky on 19th February 2018 at 10:44 pm

   Yet, there is a clear and well established correlation between the numbers of guns in circulation and the number of gun deaths. A simple truth that US politicians try to contort themselves out of.
   There are a few (mild) outliers, such as Switzerland with a relatively high number of guns and relatively low number of gun deaths, but then, in Switzerland the wide spread possession of guns is in the context of a very well regulated militia, i.e. the Swiss Army.

   Reply
   • 

     nicky on 19th February 2018 at 11:13 pm

     Talking about well regulated militia, in those times most armies were professional armies, mercenaries. (btw, the Swiss were notorious mercenaries)
     A well regulated militia was probably something like a citizen’s army. I think (please correct me if I’m wrong) that a drafted army, were serving in the army was a civil duty, only came after the French Revolution.

     Reply
     • 

       Heather Hastie on 20th February 2018 at 8:21 am

       It’s the other way around. Professional armies were rare once upon a time. In places like England and France from Anglo-Saxon times, the nobnobles had an obligation to fight for the king. When the call went out, the nobles would get men together from their estate and march to join the king. There were never any battles at harvest time because peasants were busy. The nobles had the responsibility of arming, feeding etc their own troops. In Scotland men would run from the castle with the fiery cross across a route so all would see it, and that was a summons to the castle to fight. The cross was then planted in the foreyard of the castle. (It became something different and awful in the US.) There were laws requiring all men between certain ages to practice their battle skills, such as archery, each Sunday afternoon. For a while playing golf was made illegal in Scotland because people were playing that instead of archery. Even at the time of the Spanish Armada, the English army was tiny. Most of those who fought ended up not being paid and the wounded mostly died of dysentery because the ships they were kept on were in such poor condition. Uniforms were rare too, except for a few elite troops.

       It was only later that professional armies came about. The US model was more in line with the older model. Leading citizens brought men from their district to make up and fight for the Citizens army. They usually had to make sure those men were armed, fed etc. Each group had colours pinned to their clothes to identify their origin. Prisoners, as they had in Europe, were identified by wearing their coat or jacket inside out. (Turncoats.)

       Large, professional, uniformed armies are a modern phenomenon. The uniform is partly because of the need to identify your enemy from a distance, but also about instilling pride and comraderie. In reality, men mostly fight for each other, not the “greater” reasons politicians spout.

       Reply
       • 

         nicky on 21st February 2018 at 12:56 am

         Thank you for the correction. ☺

         Reply
         • 

           nicky on 21st February 2018 at 9:49 am

           Since talking Swiss I was reminded of the defeat (and death) of Charles the Bold by a Swiss mercenary army at the battle of Nancy in 1477. And I thought of Roman Soldiers, who also were professionals. I unduly hypothesized and generalised from there.

         • 

           Heather Hastie on 21st February 2018 at 1:45 pm

           Your assumptions were perfectly reasonable. iirc, because it’s not a period I know a lot about, the Roman legions were like national service, but it went on for a really long time – like 20 or 30 years or something. Then the former soldier was granted land in the conquered provinces to farm. It was how they spread themselves out and held onto what they got.

           Mostly it was only when they got to be big empires that they began to get professional armies because they needed them to hold on. Europe reverted to being mostly citizen armies once the Roman Empire fell.

           A lot of what everyone thinks they know about medieval wars etc is coloured by movies that get the details really wrong. I can’t watch most “historical” movies etc because of the inaccuracies. It’s too annoying, and probably I’m too pedantic as well!

       • 

         nicky on 24th February 2018 at 5:17 am

         Yes, it is an interesting subject.
         Some very belligerent tribes had neither drafted nor mercenary soldiers, it was their whole being. Thinking of Mongols (or Arabs during/after Mohammed?), not to mention the Samurai. During the ’80 year war’ of ‘the Seven Provinces’ and the Spanish, the Spanish soldiers were fighting for a pay and the spoils, we would call them mercenaries nowadays, while the Dutch were a kind of civic militia. Those Medieval knights were professional soldiers too (but what about their infantry? were they paid? drafted? or what?). The ‘Battle of the Golden Spurs” was clearly a civic militia (on the Flemish side), where an all foot soldier militia defeated the mounted French knights. When William conquered Britain, his soldiers were professionals.
         I cannot think the US Founding Fathers were not thinking of the Golden Spurs or the 80 year war, among other things, of course. The American Revolution was ‘civic militia driven’ itself.
         I would love to hear some comments from a military historian.

         Reply
         • 

           Heather Hastie on 24th February 2018 at 8:39 am

           Medieval knights were professionals in the sense that they trained to fight from the age of seven, but they weren’t paid. They had to have their demesne or whatever to support them. They drafted men to go with them from their demesne when they got the call from the king, but those men weren’t paid. A peasant’s lease agreement with the landlord included owing a certain number of days of service a year. Mostly these were done by working the landlord’s farmland for him, but some years it was military service as well. Following the Black Death when there were less people available to work the land, peasants were able to negotiate better deals and go to where they got the best deals. This was made illegal, but continued to happen as the peasants had the power. No peasants, no income. Cash only (no service requirements) rents were introduced, peasants moved around etc.

           Crusading armies weren’t paid. They’d been promised if they died they’d go straight to heaven, all sins forgiven, including those committed on the way. As they moved through Europe to the Holy Land they lived off the land and were a scourge. Wealthy crusaders paid, but the rest stole what they needed. Jewish communities in particular were frequently sacked and many of their inhabitants murdered in crusader zeal. They were God’s army, so it was all okay.

           I can’t comment on most of what you say – as is obvious, the military is not an area I know a lot about.

3. 

   j.a.m. on 19th February 2018 at 10:54 pm

   “More Mass Murder of Children” — I thought this post was going to be about the one supremely rich and powerful lobby (That Must Not Be Named) that’s responsible for nearly a million child deaths per annum. According to the logic of this post, saving even one life justifies restricting the rights of all.

   Reply
   • 

     nicky on 19th February 2018 at 11:35 pm

     If you want to call a fetus a child you might just as well call it a granny.

     Reply
     • 

       Yakaru on 20th February 2018 at 5:25 am

       +1

       Reply
   • 

     Mark R. on 20th February 2018 at 6:50 am

     Your logic is flawed; Heather’s is not. A high school student is not a fetus; sad that you can’t wrap your head around that simplicity.

     And 15-20% of all pregnancies in the US end in accidental miscarriages. So roughly 4 million pregnancies occur per annum, so that makes 600,000-800,000 “natural abortions”. Oh what to do; god kills so many! Perhaps if you get your sick wish and SCOTUS makes it illegal again, we can fill up US prisons even more! Super! I don’t know if in your sick world women who miscarriage have to go to prison for man-slaughter, but perhaps the men in power can pray on it.

     See how dumb your argument is when you show all the facts? I know you can’t, but the majority see right through you.

     Reply
     • 

       Heather Hastie on 20th February 2018 at 7:53 am

       If miscarriage is illegal, and a woman who is pregnant against her wishes miscarries, it is the man who impregnated her that should be imprisoned as without his actions, the pregnancy cannot and would not exist. If there is any danger of it being the man who is imprisoned rather than the woman, miscarriage will not be made illegal.

       Reply
       • 

         Mark R. on 20th February 2018 at 3:00 pm

         Man, what a shitty situation that would be. Reminds me of the fetus-fanatics who want pregnancies from rape victims to be carried to term. How sick is that? Only religion can twist a brain into that type of cruel decision making.

         Maybe one day in the US, women will actually be able to write and pass and repeal legislation that specifically affects them, instead of the present reality where men write legislation for them.

         Reply
         • 

           Linda Calhoun on 20th February 2018 at 3:54 pm

           And, in the cases where the forced-birthers succeed, the rapist gets visitation rights.

           How sick is that?

           L

4. 

   Jenny Haniver on 20th February 2018 at 5:06 am

   Can someone please identify the snake that’s drinking water?

   Reply
   • 

     Mark R. on 20th February 2018 at 7:12 am

     I think it’s difficult with just the head; this snake may have a pattern, but can’t be sure. From its eyes I can tell it’s not venomous (in general, venomous snakes have elliptical pupils, non-venomous have round). Also it looks to have smooth rather than keeled scales. I know this doesn’t narrow it down much, but doing a quick google search, I couldn’t find an image that looked similar.

     It’s a cool looking snake; I love the yellowish ochre color.

     It’s one for Greg Meyer the local Herp on WEIT.

     Reply
     • 

       Jenny Haniver on 20th February 2018 at 9:14 am

       Whatever it is, it is, as you observe, a cool looking snake.

       Reply
     • 

       ratabago on 20th February 2018 at 1:11 pm

       If I had to take a wild stab in the dark I would say this is very probably a king cobra, one of the elapid snakes, all of which have round pupils.

       Pupil shape seems to mostly be about hunting style, with a strong positive correlation between ambush hunting and vertical pupils:

       http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02046.x/pdf — Insights into the adaptive significance of vertical pupil shape
       in snakes, F. BRISCHOUX, L.PIZZATTO & R.SHINE

       Reply
       • 

         Jenny Haniver on 20th February 2018 at 2:11 pm

         I think you nailed it. It’s gotta be a king cobra. Looking at this image https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60750-d104122-i250879132-San_Diego_Zoo-San_Diego_California.html “Close up of a king cobra head”, everything comports – eye, head shape, placement of scales.

         Reply
       • 

         Mark R. on 20th February 2018 at 2:51 pm

         Yeah, that’s gotta be it. Good call!

         Coral snakes, also highly poisonous also have round pupils.

         Yes, ambush hunting. I think the vertical pupils are found predominantly in the viper family.

         Reply
         • 

           Jenny Haniver on 20th February 2018 at 4:26 pm

           I was growing rather confused trying to sort out this snake eye business, then I came across this website http://animals.mom.me/shape-venomous-snakes-eyes-10432.html, which though it’s written for the lay person, lays out the sometimes seemingly contradictory info concisely (at least for me), and cites the article that “ratbago” links to above. Then, as PCC(E) might say, as a lagniappe it throws in another anomaly: vine snakes of genus Ahaetulla, which have horizontal pupils with “a complex keyhole shape.”

         • 

           ratabago on 20th February 2018 at 7:39 pm

           @Jenny Haniver, nice webpage.

         • 

           Mark R. on 21st February 2018 at 7:12 am

           Thanks for the link. Exceptions are the rules of evolution.

         • 

           darrelle on 21st February 2018 at 8:45 am

           The information at the website Jenny Haniver linked to corresponds well with that study on pupil variations in vertebrates that Jerry wrote an article about on WEIT some time ago, Why do animal species vary so much in the shape of pupils in their eyes?

           “It turns out that having a vertical slit in low light gives ambush predators an advantage in calculating the distance to a prey item. (Remember, these predators must accurately gauge the distance to a prey item before they strike.) The calculations suggest that a vertical slit is better at maximizing the blur of objects that aren’t in focus. That is, it helps the predator gauge the distance to a prey by seeing which aspects of the landscape are blurred and which are not. The vertical pupil also aids in stereopsis: the comparison of images from different eyes that is also used to judge distance to prey.[Jerry describing the paper.]

           “That said, the advantage of having a vertical slit, for complicated optical reasons, diminishes as the eye gets higher off the ground. So the authors made and tested a prediction made from theoretical considerations:[Jerry describing the paper.]

           ‘We evaluated this prediction by examining the relationship between eye height in these animals and the probability that they have a vertically elongated pupil. There is indeed a striking correlation among frontal-eyed, ambush predators between eye height and the probability of having such a pupil. Among the 65 frontal-eyed, ambush predators in our database, 44 have vertical pupils and 19 have circular. Of those with vertical pupils, 82% have shoulder heights less than 42 cm. Of those with circular pupils, only 17% are shorter than 42 cm.

           Nearly all birds have circular pupils. The relationship between height and pupil shape offers a potential explanation. A near and foreshortened ground plane is not a prominent part of birds’ visual environment. The only birds known to have a slit pupil (and it is vertically elongated) are skimmers [Rynchopidae]. . .'”[Jerry quoting from the paper.]

         • 

           nicky on 23rd February 2018 at 8:13 am

           @ Jennifer, nice article, but I have two remarks.
           1- The idea that venomous snakes have elliptical pupils probably did not originate in the US, but more probably in Europe, since all venomous snakes there are vipers, with a vertical pupil. The other snakes in Europe are non-venomous colubridae, such as the Natrix natrix (grass snake) or the Natrix tessellata (dice snake), which all have round pupils. No coral snakes in Europe.
           2- The vine snake aka twig snake Thelothornis , also a colubrid, but with that peculiar pupil, are considered extremely dangerous. I would not go on “bites do not typically produce serious medical symptoms in humans.”, that is simply wrong, they are highly venomous. Like the Boomslang venom it is haematotoxic and slow acting (days). Although the snake is not aggressive at all and bites are rare, there is no anti-venom, and fatalities have occurred.

     • 

       nicky on 21st February 2018 at 12:14 am

       I advise you to forget about your round pupil rule of the thumb when approaching snakes: cobras and the related black mamba (Africa’s most feared venomous snake) have round pupils, as has the not very closely related boomslang.
       The heuristic possibly originated in Europe where (AFAIK) all venomous snakes are vipers/adders, which have a vertical pupil.

       Reply
       • 

         nicky on 21st February 2018 at 10:14 am

         And note, vipers -vertically pupilled- are very much ground dwelling ambush predators, they do not climb at all, while cobras and mambas often venture in the arboreal realm (not to mention the ‘boomslang’, litt. ‘tree snake’). Darelle is spot on.
         Horizontal pupils are mostly found in animals heavily preyed upon, larger visual field, as is speculated.
         I concur that the drinking snake probably is a cobra, possibly a king cobra indeed. Mark, what flowers do you want on your grave? ????????

         Reply
   • 

     nwalsh on 20th February 2018 at 7:54 am

     I believe it’s a J.A.M.

     Reply
     • 

       BigBillK on 20th February 2018 at 10:50 am

       +1

       Reply
     • 

       Mark R. on 20th February 2018 at 3:04 pm

       Yup…and good riddance to that addled individual. Thanks Heather for finally purging your site of that troll! I’m sure I speak for the majority here that he had it a long time coming.

       Reply
       • 

         Claudia Baker on 21st February 2018 at 5:36 am

         You definitely speak for me. I got a stomach ache every time I saw those initials. Such a miserable S.O.B. I will love this site even more now that I don’t have to endure those raving lunatic comments.

         Reply
       • 

         nicky on 21st February 2018 at 10:27 am

         I kind of pity him, always so negative and callous. I often asked myself, why doesn’t he get a life? Did his wife leave him? Is he the proverbial basement-of-his-parents lurker? Maybe some other hardship? Maybe in real life he’s different and he’s just trolling, some people make trolling a kind of hobby.
         Nevertheless a good riddance. Opposing opinions are to be encouraged, but should be argued, something he rarely, if ever, did.

         Reply
5. 

   BigBillK on 20th February 2018 at 10:54 am

   I marvel that anything in the US got accomplished on the Thursday after the shooting, what with all the National R(Homicide) Association members completely distracted by their orgiastic pleasures from the news. 17 orgasms in succession would be quite distracting.

   Reply
6. 

   Pliny the in Between on 20th February 2018 at 2:06 pm

   If we could just get a cartridge to gestate in an assault rifle’s receiver, we could call it a womb and then the Republicans would probably be all over regulation.

   http://farcornercafe.blogspot.com/2018/02/veestees.html

   Reply
   • 

     Mark R. on 20th February 2018 at 3:42 pm

     Indeed. The inorganic life-taking machine needs no regulation, but the organic life-giving organ needs strict regulation. This country continues its tiring tumble towards turpitude and torpor.

     Reply
   • 

     Heather Hastie on 21st February 2018 at 9:12 am

     I was going to say that sounds like a good basis for a cartoon, then I saw the link. Good one.

     Reply
7. 

   nicky on 21st February 2018 at 10:55 am

   That AR-15 raffle is a spoof, isn’t it? Isn’t it?

   I like the parallel between the rapture cartoon and the Portugese ‘hole waterfall’. Pure chance? Or is there a higher power overseeing it all after all? ????

   That sleeping kitten is a clear case of cat-alepsy!

   Reply
   • 

     Heather Hastie on 21st February 2018 at 1:47 pm

     I liked that parallel too!

     And cat-alepsy! Very good! 😀

     Reply
     • 

       nicky on 23rd February 2018 at 7:38 am

       I could resist the “rifle raffle’ though.

       Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.