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To the editor:
My sympathy goes out the family of Alex Pretti but with the drama on the subject I think it needs to be said that he was irresponsible to bring a gun to a demonstration or rally, whatever they're calling it today. It's handgun lesson 101 in what not to do when you're carrying a gun and it's his second amendment right.
Nobody understands better than I do. I myself have more than three, and if you're not familiar with the law in New York, this is one of the hardest places in the country to get a gun.
You don't go to help someone and then have a confrontation with law enforcement trying to be a hero. That was very poor judgement to do that. The law calls that going with the intent so I don't think he should be made a martyr. He put many lives at risk by bringing a gun there but news always puts their own spin on it because most people don't know about the risk of a full carry permit and responsibility that goes with it.
Thomas Curley
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Valete
This is incredible! We’re now reading a clear account of the chaos in Minneapolis and simultaneously learning a valuable lesson in critical thinking.
Wednesday, February 11 Report this
fcannisi
Unlike the thousands of Trump supporters who were armed when they stormed the Capitol on 1/6/21. Stop the BS.
Wednesday, February 11 Report this
Admin
The fact that he had a gun on him that he did not draw entitles federal agents to disarm him and execute him after he's disarmed? If you asked another Curly if this argument was idiotic and evil, I'm sure he would say "Why certainly."
Wednesday, February 11 Report this
Valete
Your letter clearly demonstrates that most people comprehend the core principles of the Left, which revolve around violence, intimidation, and deceit. I appreciate your insightful commentary.
Wednesday, February 11 Report this
Valete
With all due respect, sir, I have two questions.
1) Why would a peaceful protester carry a firearm to a protest?
2) Why would a man of peace carry a firearm in the first place?
In conclusion, only individuals with limited intelligence resort to violence. I unequivocally condemn all violent acts. As a pacifist, I firmly believe that all life is sacred and earnestly hope that the world will come to understand that violence, regardless of the circumstances, is inherently evil.
Wednesday, February 11 Report this
krell1349
Your logic could also be applied to the January 6th insurrection. However that turned violent. He carried a gun because he was allowed to. He did not use it. Despite what you say he should not have been killed. This is the work of untrained ICE agents.
Friday, February 13 Report this
Valete
It’s entirely plausible to believe that anyone attending a protest and carrying a firearm probably has violent intentions. Unfortunately, violence often leads to more violence!
Friday, February 13 Report this
Valete
Partisan politics often results in a double standard. Democrats’ wrongdoing is excused, while Republicans’ wrongdoing is met with outrage.
Politics is inherently Machiavellian, to the victor goes the spoils.
Niccolò Machiavelli’s works, especially The Prince, define politics as a power struggle. Leaders must prioritize efficiency, deception, and strength over morality to maintain control.
Key principles include being feared, acting cunningly, and employing calculated actions to establish authority. Only humans could devise a political system that is inherently flawed because they themselves are flawed due corruption, greed, and lust for power. Heaven help us all!
Let’s cut to the chase. If you prefer communism, vote Democrat. If you favor capitalism, vote Republican, it’s elementary!
Saturday, February 14 Report this
fcannisi
Isn't it curious that MAGA Republicans are so quick to label liberals as communists, yet they protest vehemently when conservatives are called fascists.
I offer a more accurate "cut to the chase" - if you prefer a social democracy (a.k.a. the Nordic model) vote Democratic. If you favor crony capitalism (a.k.a. pay for play) vote Republican.
Sunday, February 15 Report this
fcannisi
As for Word Man's false contention that Democrats escape criticism while Republicans receive outrage for their actions, I offer:
Monica Lewinsky, Vince Foster, Whitewater, Benghazi, Obamacare, Hunter Biden's laptop, Hillary Clinton's emails, Burisma, mask mandates, vaccines and more. Some critics of Democrats have even blamed them for NAFTA, which was negotiated by Bush 41 and the Wall Street bailout (a.k.a. the TARP Act) passed by Bush 43.
Word Man has one thing right - partisan double standards.
Monday, February 16 Report this
Valete
Wrong Again
Data on Political Corruption (1961–2016/2019)
Analyses covering roughly 50-60 years of presidential administrations show a substantial disparity:
Republican Administrations: Studies have documented over 100 criminal convictions of individuals or entities associated with Republican administrations (Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Trump) since 1961.
Democratic Administrations: In the same period, Democratic administrations (Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Clinton, Obama) recorded 3 criminal indictments and 1 conviction.
(Recent Data (1961–2016): Research covering 28 years each of Democratic and Republican administrations found that Republican administrations had 38 times more convictions and 39 times more prison sentences.)
Reenroe has been consistently wrong on every issue because he is unable to comprehend key facts and issues.
Monday, February 16 Report this
Valete
Fact Check: How smart is President-elect Donald Trump?
I read an article in the Florida Times-Union with a chart that ranks the intelligence quotients of U.S. presidents, along with the claim that President-elect Donald Trump would rank among the smartest with an IQ of 156. Is this legitimate?
The chart is based on a 2006 study conducted by University of California, Davis psychologist Dean Keith Simonton, Snopes.com reports. As IQ scores were not available for most of the presidents, Simonton used a "historiometric" approach to estimate their results:
In the conventional approach to measuring IQ, Snopes.com notes, people are given a standardized test, such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and their score on the test is assumed to reflect their level of intelligence.
Simonton's research was boiled down into the chart for a 2015 article published by US News, Snopes.com found. The chart shows the top 5 most intelligent presidents are John Quincy Adams (168.7), Thomas Jefferson (153.7), John F. Kennedy (150.6), Bill Clinton (148.8), and Woodrow Wilson (145.1). The bottom 5 are Andrew Johnson (125.6), George W. Bush (124.8), Warren G. Harding (124.3), James Monroe (124.1), and Ulysses S. Grant (120).
Donald Trump graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and anthropology. Mensa doesn't accept SAT scores from after 1994. However, Mr. Trump was a student at Wharton when it was possible to derive an accurate IQ core from known SAT scores. Given the usual requirements for admission to a top school like Wharton, I estimate that Mr. Trump has a 156 IQ at the minimum.
( A 156 IQ is at the 99.9905490555 percentile. That means that Donald Trump is smarter than 99.99 percent of the people on planet Earth. Not only does Trump qualify for membership in Mensa, but he could join the Triple Nine Society [people scoring at or above the 99.9th percentile on selected intelligence tests].)
Source: Florida Times-Union
FLORIDA TIMES-UNION – BIAS AND CREDIBILITY
Florida Times-Union – Bias and Credibility
Florida Times Union - Least Biased - Credible - ReliableFactual Reporting: High - Credible - Reliable
LEAST BIASED
Monday, February 16 Report this
fcannisi
WOW! Word Man posts stats PROVING that Republicans are far more corrupt than Democrats and cites this as "evidence" that Dems are not held to account. Only the twisted mind of a MAGA cultist could come to such a warped conclusion. As Word Man points out in his own post, 100 GOP officials have been convicted - BY JURIES OF THEIR PEERS - of crimes committed while in office over a 50-60 year period, while only 1 Democrat suffered the same fate.
To my mind, the only possible conclusion a sane person could reach is that Republicans are 100 times more corrupt than Democrats.
As for Trump's IQ, I found the Florida Times-Union report cited by Word Man. He conveniently left out the relevant details, namely "The chart (Word Man cites) is based on a real university study by a real psychologist, but the claim that Trump has an IQ of 156 is not. This rumor has been around since at least August 2015, when the website BeforeItsNews.com published an article with an estimation of his IQ... Snopes.com points out that the article in BeforeItsNews.com - a site consisting of anyone who wants to report on what's going on around them - is full of illogical conclusions. Trump's official school transcripts are not available, so it is impossible to know his actual scholastic aptitude scores. While the article's author used Wharton's general admission requirements to estimate Trump's IQ, the math still doesn't quite add up." The Florida Times-Union report ended with this statement - "And there is no way to know what Trump's IQ is."
In reality, Trump could have gotten into any school his daddy could afford and stayed there regardless of Dumb Donny's grades as long as the money kept pouring in. The recent admissions scandal involving the rich and famous are testaments to that fact.
Tuesday, February 17 Report this