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[Strife26]

I'd also like to see a breakdown of gun ownership, crime specifically, and violent crime in general, but no two places keep statistics the same way.

[Lord Shonus]

It's kind of funny (in the strange sense, not the amusing one) that they specifically call out the drug trade as a reason for South and Central America having the levels it does, but no such explanation is ever accepted (and seldom offered) for the US, despite a very high percentage of US gun deaths being related to the narcotics trade - something like 80% of homicides in Toledo this year were drug or gang (the latter usually is related to the former, as fights between gangs are usually over traffic and sale of guns, drugs and sometimes people) related.

[smjjames]

The GBD compare thing doesn't seem to have a category for gun deaths specifically, so, I wonder how they got their data.

It's kind of funny (in the strange sense, not the amusing one) that they specifically call out the drug trade as a reason for South and Central America having the levels it does, but no such explanation is ever accepted (and seldom offered) for the US, despite a very high percentage of US gun deaths being related to the narcotics trade - something like 80% of homicides in Toledo this year were drug or gang (the latter usually is related to the former, as fights between gangs are usually over traffic and sale of guns, drugs and sometimes people) related.

Probably because it's more complex than that, or it's a form of self-denial.

[mainiac]

So, you're saying that if he was part of the republican team and he does the demogoguery rhetoric, it wouldn't be dangerous?

I'm saying they wouldn't call him dangerous.  I dont really consider the man important enough to have an opinion on whether he is actually dangerous or not yet.

[Lord Shonus]

The GBD compare thing doesn't seem to have a category for gun deaths specifically, so, I wonder how they got their data.

It does. You have to use "Advanced settings" and set the display level to "4" to see it.

[smjjames]

Um, wtf Rubio?

"Marco Rubio said terrorism is part of God’s plan. “What we may interpret as bad, and most certainly is in the case of Paris or 9/11, even that is part of a broader plan for the universe and for our lives that we are just not going to know the answer to. God’s ways are not our ways.”"

From http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/they-all-have-an-answer-for-terror-take-their-word-for-it-216508

Then I guess we'd better start praying to god and sacrificing lambs and possibly virgins to god to get him to stop. /sarcasm Or perhaps he means we should stop fighting terror and let god the invisible intangible rainbow lovecraftian unicorn that shits invisible rainbows do whatever he/she/it wants, since that sounds like what Rubio is saying. /sarcasm

[FearfulJesuit]

Dick Cheney speaks out as a voice of reason against Donald Trump's Muslim-bashing. 

[Strife26]

Dick joins the battle!

Cheney 2016!

[RedKing]

Maybe it's an elaborate mindfuck with ISIS. Since they're trying to goad us into fulfilling Islamic apocalyptic prophecy and bring about the final battle between the forces of ad-Dajjal and The Faithful, maybe Rubio is saying "Oh yeah? Well your attacks are fulfilling OUR apocalyptic prophecies! Take that, rival-Abrahamic-religion-with-a-shared-backstory!"

....or maybe he's just trying to ride the Jesus Train to Electionville. Probably the latter.



And when Dick Cheney criticizes you for being too much of an asshole, you know you've gone too far.

[Frumple]

Um, wtf Rubio?[snip]

Eh, signaling to both the religious and the xenophobic/bigoted, that particular message. Bad things as god's (inexplicable) will is fairly standard for chunks of the states' religious demographic (one of you, goes Rubio's statement), and the not exactly sly way he insinuated that terrorist acts in places not the first world is a good thing (Only bad when it happens to white people, amIright, winks Rubio) will net the guy some nods from the racist fuckwit demographic. Very pandering statement, really. Almost approaching skilled rhetoric for the guy!

[smjjames]

Um, wtf Rubio?[snip]

Eh, signaling to both the religious and the xenophobic/bigoted, that particular message. Bad things as god's (inexplicable) will is fairly standard for chunks of the states' religious demographic (one of you, goes Rubio's statement), and the not exactly sly way he insinuated that terrorist acts in places not the first world is a good thing (Only bad when it happens to white people, amIright, winks Rubio) will net the guy some nods from the racist fuckwit demographic. Very pandering statement, really. Almost approaching skilled rhetoric for the guy!

I guess it makes sense in that way since both Cruz and Rubio are trying to inherit Trump's base supporters. Not sure if Carson is trying to, but he has enough problems with his constant stumbling.

[Egan_BW]

Maybe he wants to set the christian apocalypse in motion?
I could get behind that. 

[Baffler]

Isn't that the stated goal of a fair portion of evangelical churches?

[smjjames]

Maybe he wants to set the christian apocalypse in motion?
I could get behind that. 

Isn't that the stated goal of a fair portion of evangelical churches?

I think that depends on which type of 'apocalypse' you mean. Whether the 'everybody dies in a hail of fire and brimstone/most everybody dies in a hail of fire and brimstone, the survivors eke out a grim existence' type or the 'faithful turn into beings of light and vanish, the rest of the world continues on living, glad to be rid of the religious nuts' type.

edit: According to wikipedia, the bible (both old and new testaments) has like, 9 or 10 (one of them, the 'apocalypse of stephen' seems to be about the 'apocalypse' of one person) variants.

[Bauglir]

Then I guess we'd better start praying to god and sacrificing lambs and possibly virgins to god to get him to stop. /sarcasm Or perhaps he means we should stop fighting terror and let god the invisible intangible rainbow lovecraftian unicorn that shits invisible rainbows do whatever he/she/it wants, since that sounds like what Rubio is saying. /sarcasm

as a general rule, claims like this don't recommend themselves to any particular policy decision

the idea is to reassure believers that there is a higher good that all these tragedies play into, even if only in the afterlife, which often includes inspiring humans to achieve by overcoming adversity - it's rarely meant to lift the responsibility for dealing with bad things from human shoulders or suggest that the real solution is just to pray a lot, although there's definitely a slice of the population who interpret it that way

i don't buy it, for a lot of reasons, but i suspect what he's saying is, "Be brave and soldier on; pass the test", not "Abandon all hope and cower before god's suicide bomber army, your punishment for tolerating the gays" or whatever

i mean he sure as hell flubbed the delivery, but still