Comments on The Pensive Quill: Infanticide in the Classroom

Ó Donnchadha, Fascinating account of the constit...

2013-05-09T12:46:56.725+01:00

Ó Donnchadha,

Fascinating account of the constitutional intricacies. Thanks for taking the time with it even f we are still baffled!

Marty, Around the same time 9 Afghan kids died in...

2013-01-19T23:18:23.799Z

Marty,

Around the same time 9 Afghan kids died in a landmine incident but hardly a mention of it. The media is ethnocentric.

A lot of uninformed comments regarding the commen...

2013-01-18T07:48:24.836Z

A lot of uninformed comments
regarding the comments about the US Constitution being old and outdated. The Constitution is the foundation of our whole society. It cannot be arbitrarily changed.

"There are essentially two ways spelled out in the Constitution for how to propose an amendment. One has never been used.

The first method is for a bill to pass both houses of the legislature, by a two-thirds majority in each. Once the bill has passed both houses, it goes on to the states. This is the route taken by all current amendments. Because of some long outstanding amendments, such as the 27th, Congress will normally put a time limit (typically seven years) for the bill to be approved as an amendment (for example, see the 21st and 22nd).

The second method prescribed is for a Constitutional Convention to be called by two-thirds of the legislatures of the States, and for that Convention to propose one or more amendments. These amendments are then sent to the states to be approved by three-fourths of the legislatures or conventions. This route has never been taken, and there is discussion in political science circles about just how such a convention would be convened, and what kind of changes it would bring about.

Regardless of which of the two proposal routes is taken, the amendment must be ratified, or approved, by three-fourths of states. There are two ways to do this, too. The text of the amendment may specify whether the bill must be passed by the state legislatures or by a state convention. See the Ratification Convention Page for a discussion of the make up of a convention. Amendments are sent to the legislatures of the states by default. Only one amendment, the 21st, specified a convention. In any case, passage by the legislature or convention is by simple majority.

The Constitution, then, spells out four paths for an amendment:

Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state conventions (never used)
Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures (never used)
Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions (used once)
Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures (used all other times)"

Guns are flying off the shelves here. I mean by the thousands. I cannot barely find ammo.

I went to the gun store yesterday and every AR15 was cleaned off the shelves. This is happening in every state.

One guy I saw had to wheel cases of ammo he purchased on a dolly.
he must have spent several thousand US Dollars.

LA California is having a gun show this past weekend. 60,000 were expected to attend. Thousands of weapons will be sold.

There is widespread panic .

The NRA (National Rifle Associations) signed over 250,000 new memberships the past month. The NRA is a major gun rights lobby.

"The National Rifle Association has gained more than 100,000 new members in the past 18 days, the organization told POLITICO’s Playbook on Thursday.

The number of paid new members jumped from 4.1 million to 4.2 million during that time."

Ó Donnchadha, I say to my friends in Northern ...

2013-01-17T18:59:58.365Z
Ó Donnchadha,

I say to my friends in Northern Ireland, maybe if you HAD the right to bear arms, as we in the US do, then the British Government and her Loyalist subjects would have been more careful of trampling your human rights.

But they would have more guns too. It hasn’t stopped the massive abuses of human rights in the US.

"A well armed populace is surely a deterrent to a tyrannical government"

What has it not worked in the US?

Anthony seems ok now a cara no worries..

2013-01-14T19:44:39.995Z
Anthony seems ok now a cara no worries..

Marty, is that problem still occuring? Just notic...

2013-01-14T19:38:51.433Z
Marty,

is that problem still occuring? Just noticed your comment on that. Sorry

Video games might be a bad influence too.

2012-12-24T18:38:55.190Z
Video games might be a bad influence too.

Very sad. And I hadn't even noticed that Obama...

2012-12-24T09:49:05.651Z
Very sad. And I hadn't even noticed that Obama didn't read Nancy's name on the roll.

I saw one father of a wee victim very early on send his condolences to her family in an interview he gave. It was heartbreaking.

I haven't seen any f the stories about his mother preparing for any collapse - I didn't even know Adam had Aspergers - but I still can't get my head round why she had those guns in her home.

I don't keep tablets in my house in case my child gets them, bleach, toilet cleaner, anything that poses any degree of risk is kept locked away. Why were the guns there? And if they had to be, why weren't they locked away safely.

Adam Lanza would never have been able to do nearly as much damage with a knife. The guns, and access to them, we're the problem.

Thought provoking piece from Lionel Shriver who used to live in Belfast

It's a strange country all right. I think a ...

2012-12-23T11:22:06.540Z
It's a strange country all right.

I think a huge problem lies in the culture of home schooling too. So many children and young people are taught at home with litlle or no opportunity to socialise, mix with peers or even take part in sports and games where winning and losing is an everyday part of growing up. As a result these kids are growing up loners with no social skills, no idea how to make friends, instead they are glued to video games and seem unable to distinguish fiction from reality... and have no value on human life.

I don't know if this was the case with this shooter but it always strikes me when there's yet another shooting at a school or whatever.

Marty, what I thought too when I heard the ARA pr...

2012-12-23T11:05:43.536Z
Marty,

what I thought too when I heard the ARA proposal. How it doesn't occur to these dimwits

One way of reducing unemployment and school shooti...

2012-12-23T10:54:38.170Z
One way of reducing unemployment and school shootings in the USA would be to give each child an armed guard. that is until the armed guards begin to flip which is the American way..

Ryan; just noticed your comment re teenage pregnan...

2012-12-22T23:54:38.812Z
Ryan; just noticed your comment re teenage pregnancy in north and west Belfast... And Larry's spot on reply.

There are many social reasons for this; poverty, low confidence, esteem, legacy of the war here, lack of education, influence of the catholic church, no aspiration for the future/no hope... I could go on.

It's not a cultural thing by any stretch of the imagination and I'm struggling to see how you've equated this to the gun culture in America?

I saw a stat today that said since Sandy Hook, the...

2012-12-22T23:28:50.670Z
I saw a stat today that said since Sandy Hook, there have been over 130 deaths by shooting in the US.

Hard to get your head round it all.

Marty. I noticed that as well, but thought it was...

2012-12-20T15:01:57.641Z
Marty.

I noticed that as well, but thought it was my browser, when a line gets to its specified length the carriage Return is not continuing onto the next line when it reaches its specified limit, minor correction required i would say.

mackers 'Larry, yours was the blogs 20,000th...

2012-12-20T12:41:29.087Z
mackers

'Larry,

yours was the blogs 20,000th published comment!'

Had no idea i'd wound everyone up that much lol

seriously, that's good going for the boul 'Quill' brilliant stuff. Congrats!!

do i get a prize!

Anthony on some posts the comments are coming up ...

2012-12-20T10:26:56.444Z
Anthony on some posts the comments are coming up cut, the sentence is cut before the edge of the page,its only happening on some any ideas a cara,

Larry, yours was the blogs 20,000th published com...

2012-12-20T09:55:17.191Z
Larry,

yours was the blogs 20,000th published comment!

Ryan 'One would have a baby and then all her ...

2012-12-20T09:31:04.792Z
Ryan

'One would have a baby and then all her friends would follow. I was just stunned. Totally dumbfounded and confused by the phenomenon and It seemed absurd to me but thats the way things were/are and always will be. Who was I to judge?'

Dangerous subject. These are not spoilt wee young girls opportunists who abuse the housing priority list and social welfare system. WISE up they are innocent victims, it's not a craze it's a social disease, FACILITATED by them evil brits!!

Michaelhenry, thanks. Ryan, culture for sure b...

2012-12-20T09:03:42.222Z
Michaelhenry,

thanks.

Ryan,

culture for sure but so is female mutilation in some countries. Last night Obama said 10,000 Americans die each year as a result of gun violence within the US. It seems this is much too high to make baseless the claims that there is a corelation between access to guns and killing by guns

Larry, Piers is asking about me? Thats ok as long ...

2012-12-19T23:22:54.613Z
Larry, Piers is asking about me? Thats ok as long as he's not hacking into my phone! Why is he not in prison already for phone hacking? All he does is bash guns and gun culture and calls Americans too fat, too dumb, too violent and a bunch of buffoons in general. I know you will hate to hear that!. If he hates the US so much I wonder why doesn't he just leave and go back to England. And he can take Tina Brown with him and drop off Niall O'dowd in Ireland while he's at it.
I understand the absurdity Europeans feel about guns here but they are here to stay. It's a cultural thing. During my 3 years living in Belfast there were a bunch of things that I just could never understand but I learned that its just part of the culture so I had to accept it and move on. The love of soccer was one! On a more serious note the level of teenage pregnancy was one of them. It mystified me to no end how so many teenage girls got pregnant in North and West Belfast. Why? Whats the rush? Whats the point?One would have a baby and then all her friends would follow. I was just stunned. Totally dumbfounded and confused by the phenomenon and It seemed absurd to me but thats the way things were/are and always will be. Who was I to judge?

Ryan Another point on guns. I really don't th...

2012-12-19T12:32:59.213Z
Ryan

Another point on guns. I really don't think possession of guns by the citizens keeps the American government in check. Look at Wacko, Ruby Ridge and any other attempt by any individual or groups of people to withdraw from the system in the USA and be self sufficient in the 'land of the free'.

Also, with the USA spending more on its military than ALL other nations on earth put together, individual gun ownership is hardly required as percieved by the 2nd amendment. at a time when a horse and a sailing ship were the most efficient modes of transport.

Piers Morgan is on CNN just now and he's askin about ye!

Ryan 'But you won't hear that from the Br...

2012-12-19T10:29:05.078Z
Ryan

'But you won't hear that from the British/Irish media. Piers Morgan, Niall O'Dowd why oh why did we ever let them in the country and how can we send them back?'

Gunpoint or in a box used to work pretty well for us until they offered Martin and Gerry some tv time and a glorified council job at Stormont.

As for points made on the USA constitution. It was written by a wee gang of Presbyterians in the late 1700s I believe, give or take an odd decade. The need for local malitias being a primary concern at the time regarding protection from savages/terrorists (locals) of the day and also to have an army of sorts should the Brits get 'superior' once again.

Honestly think in 2012 it's similar to living by the old testament or Sharia Law for everyone. Things have changed so completely since the consitution was written; society, population, modernisation, diversity. It's an outdated concept which was designed for a small group of people in a huge unknown new land. NOT USA 2012.

Ireland today, still trying to shake off the RC dictatorship. That carry-on in Galway hospital was a humiliating embarrassment in 2012. The hospital staff were prabably all kneeling at the gable wall awaiting a vision of 'our-lady' ffs shameful and they all have university degrees in medicine??????????? beggars belief

Larry, more controlled by government than any othe...

2012-12-19T03:04:32.498Z
Larry,
more controlled by government than any other western people? Not sure about that, some interesting points but every western nation has work to do when it comes to true freedom. The horrific and ghastly death(I would call it murder) of Savita Halappanavar last month shows us that Ireland certainly can't throw stones when it comes to freedom.
And one last point about guns-there are 130 million gun owners in the US. There have been 12 deadly mass shooting sprees in the last 10 years. 12 lunatics out of 130 million people. But you won't hear that from the British/Irish media. Piers Morgan, Niall O'Dowd why oh why did we ever let them in the country and how can we send them back?

How about we Americans deal with the reality, that...

2012-12-19T02:33:43.721Z
How about we Americans deal with the reality, that certain persons who have severe Psychological issues be protected in group homes and away from society in general ?

The story that is unfolding after all the POLITICS, is of an adult that was deeply disturbed, and a school system as well as Mother who dropped the ball every step of the way.

Europe and Ireland need to understand this. That in the US, we have certain inalienable rights, which are spelled out in our Constitution.
The 2nd amendment to the US Constitution , grants us the right to bear arms.

If the government decides to attempt and abrogate those rights, then everything is off the table.

I say to my friends in Northern Ireland, maybe if you HAD the right to bear arms, as we in the US do, then the British Government and her Loyalist subjects would have been more careful of trampling your human rights.

"A well armed populace is surely a deterrent to a tyrannical government"