Bill Gates is joining Bloomberg

[23JAZ]

Looks like Bloomberg has found a new partner. http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5721788.

[Josh Runkle]

Yikes. Even if every NRA member gave everything they could, it still might not be enough.

This is why I don't like the NRA ads that pander to their base. We do need to rapidly educate the anti-gun public.

Frankly, doing away with Open Carry Douchenozzles (the one's that bring an AR into the grocery store, not the ones that dress nicely and have a holstered firearm) would be a huge step in our favor.

[23JAZ]

Yikes. Even if every NRA member gave everything they could, it still might not be enough.

This is why I don't like the NRA ads that pander to their base. We do need to rapidly educate the anti-gun public.

Frankly, doing away with Open Carry Douchenozzles (the one's that bring an AR into the grocery store, not the ones that dress nicely and have a holstered firearm) would be a huge step in our favor.

Elections are coming and he wants to throw his money around. He could cause serious problems for the NRA.

[GardoneVT]

Looks like Bloomberg has found a new partner. http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5721788.

So?

The biggest threat to our Constitution isn't the pocketbooks of our political enemies, but the mass ignorance of the youngest generation. If Bloomberg were half as smart as he is rich, he'd start up a chain of anti gun private schools and go on vacation.

[23JAZ]

So?

The biggest threat to our Constitution isn't the pocketbooks of our political enemies, but the mass ignorance of the youngest generation. If Bloomberg were half as smart as he is rich, he'd start up a chain of anti gun private schools and go on vacation.

Don't underestimate the power of money and stupidity.

[Suvorov]

Not a real surprise. Even though the guy has profited immeasurably from the quasi-free market system this nation provides, one does not even need to reach for their tin foil hat to find that Gates personal political views have always been pretty left of center. Civilian disarmament is just part of the deal.

It also should be pretty apparent that the world elite has always been opposed to civilian ownership of firearms going back from the day the first arquebus was used to blow a majestic knight from his horse. The gun more than anything ever invented makes men equal. Now if you are a little guy like (presumably) all of us are the gun is a comfort. If you are one of the elite however, the gun is a stark reminder that no matter how much money you have, no matter how many dead hookers you have buried on your 200,000 acre ranch, no matter how many politicians and public servants you essentially own, and no matter how many hired guns you may have - the lowest of the low, sufficiently motivated with a high power rifle, can reduce you to worm food with the pull of a trigger. Not very comforting and I think a big reason why so many of the super rich are jumping on the gun control band wagon.

[JRB]

Not a real surprise. Even though the guy has profited immeasurably from the quasi-free market system this nation provides, one does not even need to reach for their tin foil hat to find that Gates personal political views have always been pretty left of center. Civilian disarmament is just part of the deal.

It also should be pretty apparent that the world elite has always been opposed to civilian ownership of firearms going back from the day the first arquebus was used to blow a majestic knight from his horse. The gun more than anything ever invented makes men equal. Now if you are a little guy like (presumably) all of us are the gun is a comfort. If you are one of the elite however, the gun is a stark reminder that no matter how much money you have, no matter how many dead hookers you have buried on your 200,000 acre ranch, no matter how many politicians and public servants you essentially own, and no matter how many hired guns you may have - the lowest of the low, sufficiently motivated with a high power rifle, can reduce you to worm food with the pull of a trigger. Not very comforting and I think a big reason why so many of the super rich are jumping on the gun control band wagon.

You couldn't have articulated my own thoughts on the matter more accurately. Well said!

[GardoneVT]

Not a real surprise. Even though the guy has profited immeasurably from the quasi-free market system this nation provides, one does not even need to reach for their tin foil hat to find that Gates personal political views have always been pretty left of center. Civilian disarmament is just part of the deal.

It also should be pretty apparent that the world elite has always been opposed to civilian ownership of firearms going back from the day the first arquebus was used to blow a majestic knight from his horse. The gun more than anything ever invented makes men equal. Now if you are a little guy like (presumably) all of us are the gun is a comfort. If you are one of the elite however, the gun is a stark reminder that no matter how much money you have, no matter how many dead hookers you have buried on your 200,000 acre ranch, no matter how many politicians and public servants you essentially own, and no matter how many hired guns you may have - the lowest of the low, sufficiently motivated with a high power rifle, can reduce you to worm food with the pull of a trigger. Not very comforting and I think a big reason why so many of the super rich are jumping on the gun control band wagon.
I wouldnt exclude that motivation by any measure, but having spent a good deal of my working youth in the upper crust Highland Park area of Chicago, id chalk up the correlation of "monied person= gun control supporter" to basic naivete and /or ignorance.

Think about it for a moment. Put yourself in the shoes of someone at Bill Gates' social level. You rub sholders with the richest, most powerfull people in the global economy. For the most part, conflict and violence in that world is the stuff of theoretical debate, not real life application. Being targeted for petty crime or violence to someone at that station is like us worrying about being eaten by African cannibals. Add in the social standing one gains by tyring to 'do something humanitarian',stir in the human inflation of ego sure to happen when one has large amounts of money,and you get this.

Bill Gates may legitimately believe self defense is a myth, because in his own life hes never remotely encountered a situation where he needed to draw a pistol to defend himself by his lonesome. While theres certainly idealogical foes of the Constitution, such zealots are usually abetted by self styled 'moderates' who genuinely think theyre making a difference.

[Suvorov]

I wouldnt exclude that motivation by any measure, but having spent a good deal of my working youth in the upper crust Highland Park area of Chicago, id chalk up the correlation of "monied person= gun control supporter" to basic naivete and /or ignorance.

Think about it for a moment. Put yourself in the shoes of someone at Bill Gates' social level. You rub sholders with the richest, most powerfull people in the global economy. For the most part, conflict and violence in that world is the stuff of theoretical debate, not real life application. Being targeted for petty crime or violence to someone at that station is like us worrying about being eaten by African cannibals. Add in the social standing one gains by tyring to 'do something humanitarian',stir in the human inflation of ego sure to happen when one has large amounts of money,and you get this.

Bill Gates may legitimately believe self defense is a myth, because in his own life hes never remotely encountered a situation where he needed to draw a pistol to defend himself by his lonesome. While theres certainly idealogical foes of the Constitution, such zealots are usually abetted by self styled 'moderates' who genuinely think theyre making a difference.

Maybe.

I'm not privy to Bill Gates security methods so I can't speak for him, but many if not most of the super rich are known to employ armed security so the concept of self preservation is not lost on them, whether they want to take an active role in it or not. I'll agree that they don't probably give much thought to being the victim of an ATM robbery or getting jacked while stopping by the Quickie Mart, but the very fact they have security means that they are worried that some dood that has it in for them for whatever reason will be able to snuff them and all the money and sycophants in the world won't be able to help them. And I'm not saying they are wrong in doing so. Obviously I have the same concerns, but I lack the cash to be able to pay someone for personal protection and I'm not trying to take that ability from everyone else.

[Josh Runkle]

What if this is just their way to save the economy, by causing mass firearms purchases?

[fixer]

Not a real surprise. Even though the guy has profited immeasurably from the quasi-free market system this nation provides, one does not even need to reach for their tin foil hat to find that Gates personal political views have always been pretty left of center. Civilian disarmament is just part of the deal.

It also should be pretty apparent that the world elite has always been opposed to civilian ownership of firearms going back from the day the first arquebus was used to blow a majestic knight from his horse. The gun more than anything ever invented makes men equal. Now if you are a little guy like (presumably) all of us are the gun is a comfort. If you are one of the elite however, the gun is a stark reminder that no matter how much money you have, no matter how many dead hookers you have buried on your 200,000 acre ranch, no matter how many politicians and public servants you essentially own, and no matter how many hired guns you may have - the lowest of the low, sufficiently motivated with a high power rifle, can reduce you to worm food with the pull of a trigger. Not very comforting and I think a big reason why so many of the super rich are jumping on the gun control band wagon.

Pretty much where I am at. I mean all you have to do is look at some quotes from Bloomberg in the last 5 years to see the man has a raging case of narcissism. To people like this, it infuriates them that they cannot affect more influence, control, or imposition on the lives of others. In fact, to billionaire psychopaths like Bloomberg, it pretty much infuriates him that he isn't considered the second coming of Christ.

[ford.304]

The attitude I've personally witnessed is all part of the worship of the specialist and the professional. The idea that because we pay people to know how to use something, they couldn't possibly be used effectively or safely by anyone without a certification.

Think about how much modern upper class world works on that principle. You don't get those jobs without having a degree (preferably from an ivy league) or three. Good jobs don't generally pay you six figures to be a generalist. You pay someone to do everything for you - fix your toilet, make a nice meal, install your cabinets, fix your car, fix your computer, even drive you at a certain level. Why would you trust anyone who wasn't a specialist with that kind of power?

Combine that with the rampant fake-pacifism and the idea that "violence never solved anything" (forgetting that professional violence is *still* violence, even if they start by asking you nicely) and you get a bunch of people who can't even grapple with the idea of defending themselves.

[MDS]

I've never dealt with Bloomberg so I can't speak to that. But if you think Bill Gates plays his games from a place of ignorance or naivete... well, I strongly disagree. Google the Halloween documents for a glimpse of the underhanded, conspiratorial kind of tactics that he and his organizations are comfortable with. He didn't build his fortune through simple grit and spit and sticktoitiveness, and I'd be surprised if Bloomberg did, either.

[Vinh]

My nerd respect for Bill Gates just went to zero. Bloomberg terrorizes the east coast as a hobby, but with the addition of Gates, it feels like they might just be able to buy the country outright.