Back of the Napkin: Guns, Violence, and Gun Violence

by | May 14, 2021 | Guns, Musings | 190 comments

The topic of gun control has once again been raised in the US.  While a plain reading of the Constitution or a respect for human rights would render the discussion moot, as the right to keep and bear arms is both unreservedly protected by the Constitution and furthermore is necessary to exercise the fundamental human right of self defense, the debate will nevertheless continue.  The proponents of gun control claim that it is a necessary step for achieving public safety, so a part of the debate over the issue will, as always, revolve around the relationship between guns and violence.  The pro-gun-control side will tout statistics that purport to show a positive relationship between gun ownership and violence, while the anti-gun-control side will tout statistics that purport to show a negative relationship between the two.  As such, I thought it would be interesting to look at this relationship from multiple angles, to see how it changes based on what is being considered.  From what I had seen in the past, the most significant factor affecting how the relationship appears is the set of countries under consideration in the data-set.  Since the US is a populous, developed, American country, I decided to look at the same topics with data from three sets of countries: populous countries (the 20 most populous, accounting for over 69% of the world’s people), developed countries (as defined by the IMF) and American countries (those in North and South America, over 10M in population – which accounts for 95% of the people of the Americas).  All data on guns and violence in these countries I got from GunPolicy.org (source), an organization run by the University of Sydney with funding from the UN.  For each topic and data-set I created a scatter plot and applied a best-fit linear trend line.

First up, let’s consider gun ownership and homicide.  Homicide is the most violent of crimes, and the crime most likely to be accurately reported in every nation (lesser crimes are easier for criminals to hide and easier for authorities to ignore), so in addition to being a topic of great concern in its own right it is a good proxy for violent crime in general.

It is apparent that any supposed relation between gun ownership and homicide depends greatly on the data-set used.  Comparing populous  nations yields a weak negative correlation, comparing developed nations yields a strong positive correlation, and comparing American nations yields a moderate negative correlation.  The second chart would of course be a favorite of gun-control advocates, while the third would be a favorite of gun-control opponents.  Personally, I think the first chart is probably the most significant, as it encompasses the largest number of people for consideration.  Which chart you consider most illuminating will probably depend in part upon which set of nations you think the US is most properly compared to.

The article should end there, but the topic of gun ownership and its relationship to violence will often see debaters marshaling statistics on other topics than general violent crime.  A favorite is to consider not homicide in general, but gun homicide in particular.  While I feel this is disingenuous, as homicide is homicide and the victim probably doesn’t much care about the method after the fact, it is still a topic that will be raised and thus is worthy of consideration in our analysis.

Unsurprisingly, there is a more positive correlation between gun ownership and gun homicide.  This makes sense, as when a tool is more commonly available it will be more commonly used.  Of course, where guns are more common we would expect guns to be more likely to be used both to defend against crimes as well as commit them, so any correlations here seem to me to be of little value in comparison to correlations with total crime rates.  But there is obvious value here for those pushing gun control, so this highly parsed category will be a common sight in gun control debates.  I will say it is surprising to see that there is still a slight negative correlation between guns and gun homicides in the Americas, but since the Americas are the most violent continents in the world (at least as far as private crime is concerned), this does make sense.  It should also be noted that not all countries tabulate data on method of homicide (see tables below), so what correlations appear here are a bit less accurate than those apparent in the general homicide charts above.  Tables of the gun and homicide data are below for those interested in the specific numbers.

Populous Nations

Developed Nations

American Nations (Over 10M Population)

But that’s not all!  The debate on guns and violence frequently will see people reference suicides and accidental deaths as well.  While a free society has no duty (or even right) to protect people from themselves, so therefor suicides and accidents should be of no consideration in policy making, nevertheless this is of concern to those who wish to control guns, so we’ll consider it here as well.  First up we’ll take suicides, both the general rate and then the gun suicide rate.

With the exception of developed nations, among which there seems to be no correlation, there is a positive correlation between gun ownership rates and suicide rates.  And when considering only gun suicides, we see the strongest and most unambiguous positive correlation among all the topics considered in this article.  I think it is safe to say that guns are the favorite tool for suicide among suicidal gun-owners, which makes sense from the perspective that it is quick, easy, and effective, albeit it is probably not the least messy way to go and so not the most considerate to the clean-up crew.  An interesting note is that suicide rates tend to be higher in nations with lower homicide rates, which may imply that there are deeper cultural factors at play in all of this.  At any rate, while controlling guns would certainly reduce gun suicides, the likelihood that such measures would reduce suicides in general seems low.  But since suicides outnumber homicides in many nations (and in all developed nations), it is not surprising for the issue of suicides to be brought up when making the case for gun control, in order to bolster the numbers of people who die by guns.

Finally there is the issue of accidental gun deaths.  The numbers are generally quite low in comparison to homicide rates and suicide rates, but accidental gun deaths are still frequently mentioned during discussions of the topic of gun control, so I thought to include them.

The correlations here are all weak, which would indicate to me that while the proliferation of guns increases the opportunity for accidents it also increases familiarity with how to safely handle guns.

The take-away from all this is that there is not a clear and decisive answer in the data to the question of whether gun proliferation is related to violence, and conversely whether gun control would increase safety.  Depending on how one looks at the situation, one can get numbers to justify either position in this debate.  I guess this is why it has been said that “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics”.

 

About The Author

Gadfly

Gadfly

190 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    You data’s bad, it claims a mere 400 million privately held guns. There’s upwards of 600 million!

    • Hyperion

      All of them to soon be a felony.

    • creech

      Most at the bottom of assorted ponds, lakes and rivers.

    • Gadfly

      Realistically, it’s all estimates. No one actually knows, they just guess based on known manufacturing and purchases. There’s surely a lot of unknowns out there as well.

    • SDF-7

      Whoa.

  2. trshmnstr the terrible

    I can’t imagine that the r^2 on any of those plots is above 0.5

      • rhywun

        I am diameterically opposed to this take.

      • Gdragon

        Arc you serious?

      • Not Adahn

        These puns strike a chord with me.

      • Surly Knott

        Careful, that’s the sine Swiss is about to squint at us.

      • Swiss Servator

        All of you…

        *narrows gaze*

    • Gadfly

      I just checked, and the only charts for which the r^2 is above 0.5 are on all the Gun Ownership vs. Gun Suicide charts, and also on the Gun Ownership vs. Gun Homicide in Developed Nations chart. Everywhere else the r^2 is less than 0.5, with some charts having essentially an r^2 equal to zero. Which explains why gun-grabbers are so intent on focusing only on gun homicides and gun suicides, without regard to any larger, more meaningful trends.

  3. Hyperion

    The GOP gave the 2nd amendment away when they nearly unanimously voted for the Brady Law, unconstitutional garbage, to pass. That was the foot in the door.

    That was it, the 2nd amendment was effectively dead at that point, only a matter of time and that time is coming to an end.

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      Can they really take them all? I think not,

      • Animal

        They won’t try. They’ll use the power to tax. A $5/per unit tax on primers, say, buried somewhere in a 9,000 page “Violence Protection Act.”

        They’ll make it too expensive for almost anyone to exercise their Second Amendment rights, and support for it will dry up. Then they can do whatever they want.

        These people are after power and they mean to get it – and they’re playing a long game.

      • Hyperion

        And they’ll use random enforcement. The first guy to get life in prison for owning a 22 pistol will probably be a perceived political enemy. In reality some guy who posted the wrong thing on Twitter.

        The rule of law is dead, to be replaced by random acts of political targeting.

      • EvilSheldon

        The second guy to get life in prison for owning a .22 pistol will probably take a few cops to hell with him. May as well be hung for a wolf as a sheep, after all…

      • Gustave Lytton

        The real power is the threat of such a sentence to get a coerced plea deal. No one is murdering ATF agents arresting for auto sears now and they wouldn’t for .22’s then. Well maybe one or two would, and they’d be condemned as vicious criminals.

      • Plisade

        It is interesting to ponder how far the “you first” thinking goes, in terms of open violent rebellion, before it happens. The gulags operated for decades before any serious rebellion within them took place. I know I’d want to be on the winning side of any such encounter with legit gun grabbers, and by winning I mean I’d be considered a patriot rather than a violent criminal for cappin’ some G ass.

      • kinnath

        I read an interesting article a few years about the mentality of mobs.

        The first person to throw a rock through a window is taking a huge leap from non-violence to violence — a big mental step.

        The 20th person to throw a rock — not so much.

        So, yes, the all important question is “who goes first?”.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Treason doth never prosper…

      • EvilSheldon

        Strangely, no such tax hikes (and I 100% agree that this is the smart play) have ever come about, even in highly anti-2A locales. Why this is, is worth some thought – I don’t really have a good explanation.

      • R C Dean

        Well, not counting NFA tax stamps, anyway.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Nah, you’re too black pilled, not that they’re not going to try.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        I waver between sides on this one. Covid has black pilled me on the idea of people actually rising up when their rights are casually trod on. OTOH, guns are different.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Yeah, the last year hasn’t been too encouraging.

      • EvilSheldon

        Like I keep saying, people don’t start stringing up politicians until the grocery stores have been empty for a few weeks.

        It’s coming, but we’re not there yet, thank whatever you believe in…

    • Drake

      Weird how the national GOP is so worthless. Meanwhile state level Republicans have made concealed-carry legal in every state they control.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        The national GOP lives in DC with other DC people doing DC things and they have a skewed view. It doesn’t seem to harm their careers too much to be milquetoast while it’s another matter at the state level.

      • Hyperion

        Time to dial this federalism thing up a notch or two and render Panem on the Potomac just a token figure, sort of like the King and Queen of Britannia.

    • DEG

      That was the foot in the door.

      NFA ’34 has a sad.

      • Gadfly

        Yeah, that was the real foot in the door.

  4. Gustave Lytton

    Interesting points in the ownership numbers I see. Canada has much higher ownership rates than other Commonwealth countries (due to Indiana guns, no doubt). And the UK has lower numbers than continental Europe. Estonia’s rates are puzzling compared to its neighboring baltics.

    • Hyperion

      And most people in Indiana don’t even know that a Canada is. Michigan is as far north as one can go, and up there you find Yupers and after that it’s the North Pole and penguins. Good thing for sentient guns.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Im not a yooper,

      • Hyperion

        You ain’t up far enough. You’re one of them midlanders.

    • grrizzly

      There are more animals to hunt in Finland than in Estonia. Though I was told that the bear we ate in Tallinn was harvested in Saaremaa.

      • Hyperion

        I got my grill fired up. I could eat a big ol bear gizzard right now!

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Ugh, bear…

        Not my preference, too spongey and sweet.

        Never mind that you have to cook the hell out of it if you don’t want trichinosis.

      • Hyperion

        Don’t eat the liver. Eat that gizzards. Yummy bear gizzards.

  5. UnCivilServant

    2/3 of the interviews done.

    Just the rest of today.

    • Nephilium

      Second day of meetings that’s still ongoing for troubleshooting something with handovers. Looks like another wasted day, with two changes that I need to do afterhours tonight.

      • UnCivilServant

        Done with interviews.

        I’m tired.

        Now on to the paperwork…

      • Plisade

        It’s Friday arvo, man, phuckit.

      • UnCivilServant

        Can’t. Need to get paperwork in by 4pm.

      • Not Adahn

        You have the coversheets ready for the TPS reports?

      • R C Dean

        You didn’t fill out the forms in advance of the interviews?

        Do you even bureaucracy, bro?

  6. rhywun

    there are deeper cultural factors at play in all of this

    I think you could have started and ended there.

    • Hyperion

      Oh stop. Everyone, I mean except for science deniers, know that the USA is just like Norway and whatever works there will work here just the same. If not for the deplorables, we’d already be in paradise.

  7. Hyperion

    need more investigating

    Ruh roh, who left the barndoor open?

    I mean…. who are these science deniers! We already know everything about the origins of this virus. China said so and China is a completely trustworthy source of all the news that is not fake, just like CNN.

  8. Hyperion

    Am I the only one surprised that Biden has not flown in air support for Hamas yet? You know he his handlers want to, and you know his VP is in his ear calling for it.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Worst since 2014. Huh. What a coincidence that the Iranian giveaway deal was reached in 2015. Oh, the US wants to restart deal talks with Iran again? Well I never.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        “The power of accurate observation…”

    • R C Dean

      Well, he did say something about Hamas signifcantly reducing (not stopping) rocket attacks on Israel. So apparently there’s an appropriate level of rocket attacks on Israel, and Hamas just overshot the mark (so to speak). He did not indicate what he thought the right level of rocket attacks was, though.

    • Rebel Scum

      Israeli air strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism.

      Palestinians deserve protection.

      Unlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don’t exist to protect Palestinian civilians.

      It’s unconscionable to not condemn these attacks on the week of Eid.

      Maybe Palestine should not launch rockets from civilian areas. Maybe Palestine should not start shit that it cannot finish.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        ^^^

        It’s the kid brother popping his older brother on the nose while mommy and daddy have their backs turned. He knows that older brother can’t just deck him.

      • Hyperion

        The last sentence seems like common sense to me. But not to lefists, everything for them is about creating victims and demonizing the oppressors, regardless of the situation or the facts.

      • R C Dean

        Palestinians deserve protection.

        True. Mostly from Hamas.

        It’s unconscionable to not condemn these attacks on the week of Eid.

        Which attacks? The ones by Hamas? The ones by Israel? Both?

        And would all this be perfectly fine if it wasn’t during some kind of Muslim holy week?

    • OBJ FRANKELSON

      I wish that were the actual title of the article.

    • kinnath

      Toxic Felinity!

    • Fourscore

      Looks like fodder for a cat food commercial

    • Hyperion

      Cats are like little superheroes. When I get my next one, I’m going to buy him a cape.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        Cats are like little superheroes villians. Adorable villians.

      • Hyperion

        But he’ll still look right smart in that cape.

      • kinnath

        No Capes!

      • Sensei

        There were so many little gems in that film.

      • Hyperion

        Yes capes. In fact, I think it should be part of libertarian gear from now on. Goes well with the top hat an monocles.

      • Hyperion

        Yes, capes. Forget the incredibles, we are the glibertariat!

        Although, if you’re a female with a nice round bottom for us to focus the male gaze upon, OK, you can opt out of a cape.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Well that’s a blatant lie of omission.

      • Hyperion

        What successful economic strategy? The part about lockdowns and killing off a lot of the economy? Is that like giving blood?

        Or is it the part about trying to spend 5 trillion dollars we don’t have?

        Or is it the part about trying to kill of energy jobs?

        Or is the part about giving boatloads of dollars to untrustworthy states like Iran?

        I just cannot figure out which success she’s touting.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Does it matter?

        If you buy into the propaganda, you’re not thinking critically anyway.

      • Hyperion

        A half way intelligent 5 year old could tell they’re full of shit up to their eyeballs.

    • EvilSheldon

      “Let them eat cake,” for 2021.

      • Hyperion

        That would be the perfect democrat slogan. Too bad they aren’t smart enough to figure that out.

    • Plisade

      Never ascribe to strategy that which is adequately explained by incompetence.

    • Drake

      Bill Clinton really shouldn’t be a your role model.

      • Hyperion

        Why? Getting blown in the office by your chubby young intern can’t be that bad.

  9. Hyperion

    Hearing new announcements from wifey’s Globo about how if you’re fully vaccinated, you no longer have to wear a mask.

    It’s almost like they are making it up as they go. I mean totally pulling it out of their ass. But that can’t possibly be true, because they’re experts and all about SCIENCE!

    • Urthona

      I am fully vaccinated since last July and I have still been getting harassed for the past 10 months. Assholes.

      • Hyperion

        Don’t worry, that has changed. Didn’t you hear robot Biden?

      • Urthona

        The science is different now because.

      • Plisade

        $CIENCE! has always been at war with Eastasia.

  10. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Dammit

    Barracuda put me on their shitlist this week and I have clue why.

    • Hyperion

      Don’t fuck with barracudas dude, they’re fast and have razor sharp teeth.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I think the fuckers block email domains randomly when they’re not part of the barracuda network as a form of extortion.

      • Urthona

        Nemo’s dad’s girlfriend got fucked up, yo.

  11. Hyperion

    Heh, it was Biden on there saying ‘Wear a mask or get vaccinated’ If you get vaccinated you no longer have to wear a mask.’ Is that even Biden or is he dead? That sounds like a fucking robot, it’s comical to listen to.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      *contemplates sending resume to both of the companies*

      I wouldn’t mind ending up in the gun industry. A little outside my wheelhouse, but nothing I couldn’t hack.

      • Drake

        I had a first round interview with FN last month that didn’t go anywhere unfortunately.

    • Plisade

      “A detachable box magazine for firearms includes a hollow magazine tube extending longitudinally along a median plane. The magazine tube defines a single-stack portion extending to an upper tube end with an upper tube opening. The magazine tube defines a double-stack portion positioned below the single-stack portion and extending to a bottom tube end with a bottom tube opening. For example, front portions of the opposite tube sidewalls have a stepped shape between the upper tube end and the double-stack portion, and the rear portions of the sidewalls have a linear taper between the upper tube end and the double-stack portion.”

      https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/sig-sauer-files-p365-magazine-patent-infringement-case-against-springfield/

      It’s a single stack at the top that expands to a double stack at the bottom.

      • Drake

        Like every double-stack mag?

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        This patent covers the specific “faceted” shape of the single stack portion. The front has to have a “slope, vertical, slope” geometry. The back has to be tapered on both sides.

    • Sensei

      But they patented putting a bend in the middle of that tube at precisely the right place!

    • Not Adahn

      That mag caused an entirely new category of guns to be developed. I was wondering how the other three companies were able to get their own copies without infringing. Maybe they didn’t.

      • R C Dean

        SIG “invented” the double-stack mag? Huh. I had no idea.

      • Not Adahn

        Obviously it’s a different design than any other double stack mag, or the Glock 17 would hold 25 rounds with a flush fit baseplate.

      • kinnath

        They convinced a patent examiner that this differently shaped double-stack mag was novel and not-obvious.

        Next, we find out what a judge thinks.

      • DEG

        Heh.

        The Lee-Metford Mk II had a detachable, double-stack magazine. It was introduced in 1892.

      • Pine_Tree

        I carry a P365, and I have to say that that particular feature of the mag enables (IMO as an ME) a much better grip profile than a traditional all-the-way-double-stack. It basically lets it be fat where it’s fine to be fat, and thinner where you really want it to be thinner.

  12. Trigger Hippie

    OT: The mask mandate ends in Kansas City.

    Originally it only meant if all patrons in an indoor business had costumers who were vaccinated. That was changed earlier today to include everyone due to the unrealistic chore of trying to prove that via the Health Department(political fallout…*cough, cough*).

    Either way, I’m glad to know which businesses I can avoid when they keep this shit up.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Lucky you. The goofballs here are going with the only fully vaccinated and putting the burden on businesses to determine that (while holding the threat of OSHA enforcement for failing to comply).

      • Sensei

        NJ and NY have decided to think it over.

        For your amusement how about some Yōko Oginome

        https://youtu.be/1md3qCyBWvo

      • Gustave Lytton

        I love the eurobeat influence in the mid-80’s kayokyoku.

      • Sensei

        My little bit of it’s a small world was that one of the staff members of my language school went to (Japanese language) school with Utada Hikaru when she lived in NYC. I believe she went to a regular all English private school for her primary education.

        I just found that out this week when I was talking with my teacher.

        I love the fact that she was a failed US pop singer who went on to be a mega star in Japan.

      • Sensei

        Literally.

        I actually wouldn’t wish for her life. Mother and father had an awful relationship repeatedly married and divorced and her mother committed suicide by jumping out a window.

        She’s twice divorced. I just checked Wiki. I’m not surprised the last marriage to the bartender didn’t work out, but this was new news to me.

      • Tres Cool

        You kids don’t remember Pink Lady & Jeff.

        (not sure why I do)

      • Hyperion

        And no one knows how to figure that out. SCIENCE!

      • Trigger Hippie

        The enforcement here has always been lukewarm at best.

        The Show Me State is boring as shit but it does have its merits. Namely, a healthy dose of cynicism or outright hostility towards authoritarianism…mostly.

    • Hyperion

      In Kansas City, they’ve went about as fur as they can go.

      Only 49 more years left to win another super bowl…

      • Trigger Hippie

        Only another twenty years and three city relocations before the Raiders can muster as much as a division title…

        😉

      • Hyperion

        The Raiders have won more championships than the Squaws. Anyway, what do you expect from a billionaire man child who cuts his hair like that? Be like me and lower your expectations, no one will have to let you down one last time.

      • Trigger Hippie

        ‘Be like me and lower your expectations, no one will have to let you down one last time.’

        Come on, man. Show a little hope. The Raiders aren’t the Browns…yet.

      • Hyperion

        I just looked at their 2021 draft results. It won’t be long…

      • Trigger Hippie

        I hate the Raiders, naturally. But I don’t hate them as a team. If Gruden can continue to evolve as a coach and Carr can still be a better than average qb they could as good as say, the Titans next year. I really like your running back…did Hudson leave? That would hurt.

      • Hyperion

        Hudson is gone.

        Carr is a much better than avg QB and they’re loaded at all receiver positions. The offense is very good.

        The problem is the defense and now maybe the OL.

        Their current draft was fucking abysmal.

        Chuckie is not a bad coach, but I’m starting to doubt Mayock’s reputation as a recruiting genius. Maybe there just was not much in the current draft pool, I don’t know.

        They’d better do something in free agency to shore up that defense, or it’s another long season…

    • Mojeaux

      Hopefully the counties will follow. *eyeballs Clay County hatefully*

      • Trigger Hippie

        Right?!

        I still know a few mom and pop stores who never caved. They’ve taken a significant increase of my income over the last year or so despite the higher cost of their products. If I can finally hit some stores I used to free of a mask to save money, I will. But I’m not forgetting those stores either. A costumer for life.

        Bless those with quiet calm and dignity who stubbornly refuse to buckle.

  13. Rebel Scum

    *rolls eyes*

    “There has been a growing consensus that the January 6th attack is of a complexity and national significance that what we need an independent commission to investigate. I am pleased that after many months of intensive discussion, Ranking Member Katko and I were able to reach a bipartisan agreement,” said Chairman Thompson.

    “Inaction – or just moving on – is simply not an option. The creation of this commission is our way of taking responsibility for protecting the U.S. Capitol. After all, the Capitol is not just a historic landmark, it is where our constituents come to see their democracy in action,” Thompson said. “As such, we owe it to the Capitol police and all who enter our citadel of democracy to investigate the attack. The timing of this action is particularly poignant with this being National Police Week, when we honor those who gave their lives to protect us.”

    By the end of the year, the commission will put forward a final report on its findings about the reasons for the attack and the details surrounding the events, including suggestions on how to ensure that such events do not take place in the future.

    I do not recall hearing of a similar reaction the times someone actually bombed the capitol and shot into the chambers.

    • Hyperion

      “There has been a growing consensus”

      Math means nothing these days.

      • Hyperion

        And according to Stacey Abrams, everything that happens from this point in time forward is just a continuation of the insurrection. The obese cunte doesn’t even know what any of those words mean.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Political and philosophical dissent from authoritarian socialism is open rebellion to the Republic.

        Welcome to the New Patriotism.

      • Plisade

        “Racism is so American that when you protest it, people think you’re protesting America.”

        Wrong. I think that you know racism barely exists, systemic racism doesn’t, and you’re simply jumping on the bandwagon of having a socially acceptable excuse for failure.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        systemic racism doesn’t

        Sure it does. It just goes by the name of “anti-racism”, “diversity and inclusion”, “allyship” and a dozen other names.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        When I graduated I thought I wouldn’t have to hear that crap anymore. I suppose for a while I didn’t.

      • Trigger Hippie

        “Once they get into the real world” ringed the most hollow of threats, it seems.

    • The Other Kevin

      Just like both Trump impeachments, nobody outside DC (or the corporate media) gives a single fuck about this. I heard people talk about it for a week after it happened, and haven’t had one conversation about it since. Too bad there is the very real danger that they’ll use it to crack down on anyone who thinks the wrong way.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Around my little neighborhood they are keeping that flame lit. A bunch of middle/upper middle class homebodies think it was the worst attack on American soil.

  14. Hyperion

    Meth Face

    Man, talk about a bad double case of the meth face.

    • Pope Jimbo

      It is funny how mad the cops are that those two tricked them into doing their jobs.

      • Hyperion

        And then, they probably gave the cops two bags of white powder and said ‘This is fake meth they sold us, do something!’.

    • Hyperion

      “Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel and a “you can’t murder Jews” extremist

      Heh, is that you, CNN?

    • Sensei

      Those are both winners.

      • Not Adahn

        From now on, I choose to believe Hamas was founded by Bob Hamas.

    • Drake

      Good stuff

      • Urthona

        That one hasn’t appeared on Facebook and I wonder if they blocked it.

    • Urthona

      May is when they changed the reporting metric for covid cases and deaths though. it’s dropped off the map since last summer.

    • R C Dean

      This week, in cherry-picking . . . .

      • Sean

        Misleading information, on the internet? Never!

        Who can you trust these days?

        What kind of levels you seeing in the hospital?

      • R C Dean

        Decimal dust, basically. Its been months since it was an issue at all. I couldn’t tell you exactly how many we have, but it was less than 20 a couple months ago, so I would guess we’re in the single digits now, maybe a dozen.

  15. grrizzly

    Has anybody dealt with REST API? An hour ago I was unaware of its existence. Now I even got a client installed but have no idea how to make it work.

    • R C Dean

      Have you checked the thermostat?

    • Ted S.

      That’s because it’s RESTing.

      • Ownbestenemy

        And now you know the REST of the story

    • DEG

      I’ve worked with and on REST APIs.

      Send me an e-mail. I’ll see if I can help.

      • grrizzly

        Thanks. Sent you an email.

    • slumbrew

      Yep, deal with them all the time & write them now and then.

      You don’t need a client, per se, but a lot of people like Postman. I often just use curl.

      The idea is just you use the HTTP verbs – GET, PUT, POST, DELETE – to manipulate things.

      Feel free to e-mail me if you want some help.

      • Fatty Bolger

        Postman is great, I highly recommend it for anybody new to working with REST APIs.

  16. DEG

    I guess this is why it has been said that “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics”.

    Yes.

  17. The Late P Brooks

    Cracks in the dam

    Trader Joe’s has updated its mask policy and will not require customers who are fully vaccinated to wear a mask.

    The specialty supermarket is believed to be the first major national retailer to make the change after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new masking guidelines Thursday.

    “We encourage customers to follow the guidance of health officials, including, as appropriate, CDC guidelines that advise customers who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear masks while shopping,” Trader Joe’s said on its COVID-19 page that was updated Friday.

    I wonder how long the dumb fucks at Costco will cling to the superstitious mumbo jumbo.

    • Hyperion

      I want to ask yet again. How do they tell who is vaccinated? When I walk in without a mask and say ‘yep, I’m vaccinated’, what are they going to do?

      • Ownbestenemy

        It is setting it up for the big box stores to lobby for a vax passport system.

      • egould310

        A vax passport ? Won’t that hurt the Blacks? They’re already too poor/stupid to get a valid ID. Now they have to get a passport too?

      • Hyperion

        Yeah, I don’t see it working out too well.

      • Ownbestenemy

        No no. its private companies imposing it and gives the Dems another wedge issue to rail against. /not kidding, would completely not be shocked if that is the outcome.

    • grrizzly

      I’m surprised by Trader Joe’s. I thought there were among the most retarded. I saw long lines in front of their stores many months after such lines disappeared at other places.

      • Ownbestenemy

        It makes sense I guess. They decided they will follow CDC guidelines as they were released.

      • Sean

        Local one really eased up about a month ago or so. Along with new signage forbidding any video recording in the store.

        Yeah, prior to that they were pretty militant about metering in customers and offering hand sanitizer at the door.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Which all turned out to be bullshit. Sometimes it sucks to be actually on the side of science.

  18. Ownbestenemy

    Ah news as it should: local news breaking “GENERAL ALER TTHIS SUNDAY: VGK vs. Wild”

    Also casinos are saying you have to be vaccinated to drip the mask but from what I see its “we trust you to tell us if you are or not”

  19. Hyperion

    I guess it’s about time for the afternoon linkies. But, at risk of posting in dead thread.

    What’s going to happen when the Maricopa audit blows the fuck up in the public in the next few days? Because they’ve very likely found massive evidence of fraud. I know, it just goes away, as always. But I’m not sure, this is a few notches up from the tedious shit we’ve experienced before. We’re talking about having a fake president in charge by way of massive election fraud. It’s sort of a big deal.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Battle lines were drawn years ago. If it doesnt come from CNN, WaPo, etc, it is just unverified and cannot be trusted to people.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      What’ll happen? Those disposed to believe will believe and those disposed to disbelieve will disbelieve regardless of the truth found whatever it may be. IOW, not a damn thing.

    • Ted S.

      Why do you think it’s going to blow up in the public?

  20. The Late P Brooks

    How do they tell who is vaccinated?

    If they aren’t completely retarded (stop laughing), they’ll say, he must have been inoculated; he’s not wearing a mask. “Welcome to [insert store name].”

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      They just removed our requirement at work and we’re on the honor system. Let the good times roll.

  21. Ownbestenemy

    I gotta go to store and they removed their mask signs (Albertsons). I will test to see if people ask my vax status or if people generally treat it like measles, polio, etc.

    • Hyperion

      Well, we’ll see, people show their ID cards at Costco and the workers don’t even look at them.

      Maybe they’ll create POS stations that you have to scan your vax passport into to complete the transaction. No one ever thought of that before, but we have geniuses in charge today, experts you know.

  22. Desk Jockey

    Went to the gas station in SE Minnesota for lunch today. Half masked, no one asked. Employees weren’t wearing them. Had a guy actually cheer when he asked if he could take his off. The situation made me a sad kind of optimistic.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    They just removed our requirement at work and we’re on the honor system.

    Woohoo!

    • Hyperion

      I got vaccinated like 10 times and I took all the 3rd doses!