The New York Times reviewed hundreds of documents including police reports, bank records and investigator notes from a decade of mass shootings. Many of the killers built their stockpiles of high-powered weapons with the convenience of credit. No one was watching.Whether the NY Times is advocating requiring credit card companies to monitor purchases of guns and ammunition or suggesting that the credit card companies refuse to process such transactions is open to interpretation.
I'm pretty sure that the Times participated in the public freakout of Admiral Poindexter's plan to monitor all credit card transactions (and everything else) in 2003. But when it's something that the Times disapproves of, they seem to have no compunction in having the Feds spy on folks without probably cause.
They should be careful of what they ask for. Watch who orders porn? Or wine? Or who uses credit cards at bars? Maybe Trump could have credit cards monitored to see who subscribes to the Times or the Washington Post. Once you open the door to monitoring lawful transactions because one group disapproves of the subject matter, there is no telling how far that will go.
Comrade, the Queen Of the World and I would like to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to both of you from me and Chp.
ReplyDeleteHave a safe and Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteEck!, E, and Da Cat.
A truly stupid idea, one which will prolly get some traction from the inane 'gun grabbers' but not from honest realists. I still hold to the notion that the only way we actually solve the crisis of unfettered gun deaths in this country is to treat gun ownership exactly like car ownership, no more or less. Require mandatory training, testing, licensing, liability insurance and the threat of loss if misused. This does no harm to the Second Amendment and was essentially endorsed by The Almighty Scalia. On that note, Comrade.. THANK YOU for your razor-sharp commentary on our collective human condition. Mele Kamikimaka!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOblio, I agree in principle, however:
ReplyDelete1) Training can limit people by choice of place of training, choice of time, etc. Even online training limits people.
2) Testing, easily used to ensure only the “correct” people pass.
3) Licensing, see 1 and 2.
4) Liability insurance, will block people based upon income, profiling and such.
5) Threat if loss is also used to ensure only the “right” people own guns.
There are ways to do things like this, but it has to be in a way that treats everyone fairly and properly...and no one has come up with a foolproof way yet. I’d love your list, if it wasn’t too easily used for abusive acts.