Is the US more like Denmark or Jamaica (two countries with strict gun control but widely diverging homicide rates)? Is the US more like Switzerland or Russia? We're not near the top in terms of equality or standard of living for those near the bottom of the scale, so there's nothing shocking about US homicide rates;…

If that was what the "… only criminals will have guns" statement was normally meant to convey, you would be right.

None of the mass shootings committed within at least the last 10 years
were committed by people with criminal records that would've
disqualified them from legally purchasing a gun.

And this is a perfect example of what I was talking about. People can use guns to prevent or end crimes. That's the deterrent effect I was talking about. That's why policemen have guns, and they're not the only ones who have used them that way.

"If you criminalize guns, only criminals will have guns" is a point about deterrence. If you don't try to understand the argument being made, instead of twisting it into a ridiculous form to make it easier to make fun of, then you are arguing against a straw man.

This analogy does not work. I do not believe that prostitution is often used as a deterrent against robbery, for example.

Ahem.

You must think it very odd of me…

Are we still doing innuendo? Because pulling out the hard way sounds more Japanese — monster-Japanese, anyhow.

Still criminally underrated compared to the sequel.

I am so sorry, but my professional paedagogical training did not cover brunettes.

I used to own an Echo (as showcased in One Hour Photo), so I can't talk. And I have doubts about how reliably mobile fashion accessories function as markers of machismo, whatever that is, which I don't know apart from that I have lots of it. But I have to take my straight lines where I can find them.

The driver was already unmanned by the minivan, so that's only fair.

Yes! They're paying attention to me! I knew it!

This is off topic, but I have a very strong and incredibly precise sense of what constitutes correct behavior in every circumstance, and I reasonably assume that any deviation from that behavior is meant as an insult directed at me.

Tangent — using "Counterpoint:" to lampshade how the statement that follows in no way resembles a valid argument is a fashion that I assume will fade. But I hope it doesn't, because it fills an important niche. It concisely discourages stupid arguments from turning into stupid bitter ones.

It's about the principle, not the money, which is why she was upset you didn't wait for your change.

What's hard to understand about a rich person buying lyrics to the world's most famous cautionary tale about imprudent retirement planning?

I want you to argue that America has been taken over by the special interests and partisans, and what we really need is to give this country back to the people, and when's a better time to do it than right now? Then let Kagan and Scalia carry you around the room on their shoulders.

That photo was taken just five minutes after it was announced that a 13-year-old prodigy wearing special red robes would be joining the court.