Gut Rumbles
 

May 10, 2006

quote of the day

"The right to be free from the threat of gun violence deserves as much respect as the right to bear arms."--- saul cornell

Yeah, and the "right" to a living wage deserves as much respect as the right to free speech, too, except for the fact that one ain't mentioned in the US Constitution while the other is. We've got so many got-dam "rights" today that it's hard to keep track of them all.

The right to breathe clean air. The right to have cheap gasoline prices. The right to affordable health care. The right to never hear or see anything "offensive." The right to stick a gerbil up your ass for an erotic thrill.

I have just one question: Why is it that the more imaginary "rights" people invent, the less personal freedom I have?

Comments

that's good Acidman. I can't top that. If someone is capable of harming someone else, they'll do it. And those in harm's way have the right to carry a gun.

Posted by: Vermont Neighbor on May 10, 2006 10:58 AM

Uh, keep in mind, Rob, that the Constitution is not about granting rights. Never was. It was about limits on the Federal government.

Thinking in terms of the Constitution granting rights is playing right into Liberal hands.

This is precisely why some opposed the Bill of Rights, because it left the impression that rights were being granted by the Constitution or the Government.

Posted by: WitNit on May 10, 2006 11:14 AM

I wish you hadn't brought up "living wage"; IMNSHO it doesn't belong in your argument.

It isn't nice when either side wants something for nothing - either the workers, or their employers. Greed is ugly no matter who's exhibiting it.

Posted by: TallerThinner on May 10, 2006 12:24 PM

"Why is it that the more imaginary "rights" people invent, the less personal freedom I have? "

Priceless! This should be a banner on your website. At least it's a quote that I'd like to remember whenever some leftist starts talking BS.

Keep up the good work. Your being sober has not noticeably affected your writing.

Jimboy

Posted by: jimboy on May 10, 2006 02:22 PM

Witnit, that was my point. The Bill of Rights was written NOT to grant rights, but to keep the government from taking them.

Fat lot of good that it did...

Posted by: Acidman on May 10, 2006 04:16 PM

Now you did it. I'm going to have to come out of hiatus and write ANOTHER piece rebutting Saul Cornell. He's not just "a professor of history at Ohio State University," he's also "Director, Second Amendment Research Center, John Glenn Institute" - supposedly a non-biased researcher into the Second Amendment issue. Right. And Michael Bellesiles was an unbiased historian, too. The "Second Amendment Research Center" is funded, either partly or wholly - I'm not sure which - by the anti-gun Joyce Foundation.

I've gone around the block with Professor Cornell a couple of times. Time to do it again.

Posted by: Kevin Baker on May 10, 2006 07:11 PM

I have no plans to kill anyone but if i decided to get rid of even one person i would now build one hell of a bomb and blow away a few dozen just to show the anti-gun idiots that guns aren't the problem. Asshole's are the problem and every anti-gun idiot is an asshole. Are you listening people, we don't need no stinking gun to get rid of you. Maybe with the support of 8 traitorious Generals we could kill a thousand a month like the terrorists. Yep, that' s right, the General's body count is over a thousand already.

Posted by: Scrapiron on May 10, 2006 07:21 PM

I think the right to bare arms should be restricted. There's nothing nastier than looking at some fat old woman's bare arms. Feh.

Posted by: Elisson on May 10, 2006 10:33 PM

My rebuttal to the Professor is up, if anyone cares.

Posted by: Kevin Baker on May 11, 2006 01:30 AM

Why is it that the more imaginary "rights" people invent, the less personal freedom I have?

Good question.

Posted by: Veeshir on May 11, 2006 07:03 AM

"Witnit, that was my point. The Bill of Rights was written NOT to grant rights, but to keep the government from taking them."

Acidman, I think his point is that the phrasing of your original post suggests that you only have rights if they're mentioned in the Constitution, ("...one ain't mentioned in the US Constitution while the other is..."), whereas the Constitution explicitly does *not* enumerate all of our rights. Some of them did not want the Bill of Rights because some people would read that as "If it's not in the Constitution, it's not a right". They tried to limit this effect with the 10th Amendment, but that's pretty much ignored these days.

The Constitution neither grants nor enumerates the rights of the people -- it specifies and limits the powers of government (to limited real-world success, of course).

Posted by: Strider on May 11, 2006 01:10 PM

Just like how San Francisco want to be "fre" of any military presence. I say good for them. But the next time SF has a major earthquake, I hope no military (including National Guard) comes anywhere close to the area to help restore order. Let them lie in their own ****!

Posted by: Chico Panther on May 11, 2006 05:32 PM

The right to be free from the threat of gun violence is absolutely one that we all should, and most of us do, enjoy. This position is so widely accepted that there is no place in this country where one person threatening another with gun violence is permitted by law.

Unfortunately for Saul Cornell, he is mistaken when he claims that he is not free from the threat of gun violence. I'm not psychic, so I can't, with any confidence, offer any suggestions as to what it is that Mr. Cornell is experiencing and confusing with the threat of gun violence. My best guess is that it is his inability to exact dictatorial control over the behavior of others. If this is the case, I can assure him that no such right exists. I'm really at a loss to come up with any alternative explanation for his hysterics.

Posted by: Tim Higgins on May 11, 2006 07:37 PM
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