James Brady, dead at age 73, 33 years after he was shot along with President Ronald Reagan, for whom he served as press secretary. In happier days...
"He was... known for his wisecracks, though they sometimes boomeranged on him. As Reagan’s director of public affairs and research during the 1980 presidential race, he was barred from the campaign plane for a week. The offense: He and another Reagan aide had shouted, “Killer trees, killer trees!” while flying over a forest fire. The remark was a not terribly subtle reminder that Reagan had once identified trees as a major source of air pollution.
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47 comments:
" The remark was a not terribly subtle reminder that Reagan had once identified trees as a major source of air pollution."
I wonder how much Brady mocked people who say carbon dioxide is a major source of climate change.
Now the gun haters can't trot him out to justify violating the US Constitution.
"I know I would not be sitting here in this damn wheelchair if we had common-sense legislation."
This is a blatant lie. None of the legislation the Brady group advocates would have prevented John Hinckley from obtaining the gun he used to shoot Brady and Reagan.
http://www.davekopel.com/2A/OpEds/Brady_falsehoods.htm
The breezy, casual disregard for plain and obvious facts dishonors their namesake and their efforts.
But bless him. Being shot would be horrible, and living with the injury difficult.
He also wouldn't be sitting in that damn wheelchair were Mr. Hinckley a better shot.
"I used to be a track-runner. No more."
Me, too. No more. Chronic diseases.
Good guy, Brady. But he used his pathos to support bad policies.
In fact trees and vegetation in general are a major source of air pollution. There was smog in the Los Angeles Basin since well before the Spanish came. Plants do emit Volatile Organic Components or "VOC" and if you've got an inversion layer in a valley or basin, then those VOCs "cook" in the heat and voila, you've got smog.
In this, and in many other things, Brady didn't know what he was talking about. Doesn't make him unique--we all have our world views, and some of them are wrong.
None of the laws that Sarah Brady proposes would have prevented her husband from sitting in that damn wheelchair.
I should express some sympathy over the death of Brady, but after the way his people have demonized gun owners and attempted to take away our right to self-defense, all I can manage is "good riddance".
Often not mentioned is that Reagan was shot due to incompetence by the secret service. Had they been on the ball that day perhaps the shootings would not have happened.
Now when the gun control advocates can demonstrate that only the 100% sane, pure and virtuous will have to guns then maybe gun control will be popular, indeed if that were the case no one would need or want guns. Until then better to have access to guns by the law abbiding then access to guns solely by the criminals.
Do the Brady people push for a lot of legislation regarding mental health?
He was shot by a nut, fixated on Jodie Foster, with a six-shot revolver.
How in the world then or now would legislation have prevented this?
Having taken a class recently, I couldn't get out of my head the instructor showing us how not to hold a firearm. Esp the gangsta sideways position. A two handed grip, with the off/weak hand wrapped around the shooting hand, with thumbs parallel, is common sense gun control. And then I saw that the Brady line was about common sense legislation. Which he and his wife didn't seem to respect that well when it came to gun control.
When I was in DC a lot for a committee I chaired, tended to stay at the "Hinkley" Hilton a lot. And would often walk by where the shooting occurred.
""I know I would not be sitting here in this damn wheelchair if we had common-sense legislation.""
I'm not sure how to respond. It was illegal for Hinckley to have that gun in DC. Exactly what common sense legislation would help?
repeal of the 2nd amendment?
then confiscation by search of all weapons in the US?
That still would not rid a place like NYC or Chicago, where those weapons have always been illegal of their guns.
The remark was about The Great Smokies being called that for a reason. And the emissions causing the haze are indeed chemicals on EPA's list of pollution factors.
Did Brady ever support any improvement in mental-health laws that might have helped Hinckley, or reduced the odds of him attempting to shoot the President (and staff)?
Mocking the man you work for is not wise. Brady was in th wrong place that day and got sot because he was next to great man that was the target. I must admit Reagan took the shooting a lot better than Brady. He did not blame the tool used or even the shooter. Brady was bitter and Reagan was not. That shows the difference of character
"I know I would not be sitting here in this damn wheelchair if we had common-sense legislation."
But plenty of other people would've been victimized instead.
I have a hard time feeling sympathy for White House press secretaries = professional bullshitters. If you don't want to get shot, don't hang around with targets.
Kevin said...
...
"This is a blatant lie"
Like I said, professional bullshitters.
Tho perhaps he doesn't consider the legislation named after him to be "common sense".
Eric the Fruit Bat said...
He also wouldn't be sitting in that damn wheelchair were Mr. Hinckley a better shot.
IOW, if Hinckley had had better gun control.
I have always thought that the best thing that could have happened to Ronald Reagan was getting shot, wisecracking and appearing cool under pressure, and recovering.
It took away some of the energy from, and made people much less likely to listen to, the Reagan haters.
And I think in the back of many people's minds developed the idea that things just worked out for this guy, so they were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
(Getting shot and not surviving was probably the best thing that could have happened for JFK's reputation. However, since he was no longer around, he couldn't get any advantage from it, though Jackie could.)
I don't think what the late Jim Brady meant by "common sense" is what Thomas Sowell means by "common sense."
My own common sense is that living in a country where there are nearly 300 million guns (estimated) in the hands of 314 million people, that keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and spoiled rich kids (the Santa Barbara killer) is going to be impossible. My common sense is that "common sense" rules designed to prevent people from buying guns legally only means that they'll buy them illegally on the black market the same way that Prohibition led to the rise of speakeasies, bootleggers, and organized crime. Oh, and Brady's "common sense" would also mean that ordinary citizens who acquired a black market gun would not be able to get training in gun safety or proper tactics.
Legislation works well most of the time if a clear majority of
the people are in favor of it.
Otherwise, not so much.
repeal of the 2nd amendment?
then confiscation by search of all weapons in the US?
As I like to point out to my liberal friends.
There are 300,000,000 firearms in the United States. Owned by 100,000,000 citizens. Just how the hell do you propose to confiscate them? If just 1% decided that wasn't going to happen, it won't happen.
RAH said...Brady was bitter and Reagan was not. That shows the difference of character
In his defense, Brady was crippled and Reagan was not. I have a lot of sympathy for Brady and do not blame him for reacting emotionally to an event that had such a profound impact on his life.
I blame the activists who used him to advance their cause and I blame our celebrity-obsessed culture that gives the bully pulpit over to the people with the greatest emotional involvement, the very people least likely to make wise choices.
I don't blame Brady because he suffered brain damage and wasn't the same person he was before, his later life must have been hard for him and his wife. I do blame the people who used him to advance their agenda which also included his wife.
Hard case make shitty law.
Bless his heart.
Proscriptive laws only bind law-abiding citizens, and force criminals to get/recycle their guns from Mexico, etc. Excessive regulation of guns serves as an obstacle to people's natural right to self-defense. Besides, most homicides which involve a gun are committed by government agents and criminals. So progressive regulation of people's right to self-defense is unproductive at best and counterproductive at worst. That is in the worst case it enables criminals to commit their crimes unmolested by their victims by lowering the risk of an equal defense.
Hmmmm. Another guy who believes his personal safety is the responsibility of someone else.
As I recall Reagan was right. Research has proved that trees do pollute as well as clean the air. Interesting.
The ol' Argument from Pity: perhaps the favorite fallacy of "liberals."
It concretizes in the gun-control debate in the form of "A attacked [initiated force against] B, giving C the right to attack D." (D being the non-aggressive gun-owner.)
He was shot by a nut, fixated on Jodie Foster, with a six-shot revolver.
She's one of my favorites, but the media protected her on this one. She corresponded with Hinkley, and it was more than a simple "leave me alone you nutcase". She despised Reagan and made that clear to him.
Ah Fernandinande, Brady is one of the elites. Getting shot is supposed to only happen to the Little People.
Gun control is great ...
... as long as we're all given secret service protection in exchange.
On the tree pollution, ever heard of the Smoky Mountains, wonder why they have perpetual smoke? Try trees.
Then on gun legislation, it is against the law to shoot someone. So if you are going to break the law, how will further legislations work.
"common sense legislation" is a dog whistle to liberals for banning guns.
They have used that shtick in Britain to virtually ban all guns and they have tried it here time and time again.
NYC has this "common sense legislation" as does Chicago. See how well it works there.. oh yea, now they blame every state that does not have their "common sense legislation" for guns in their mist.
But hey... you think dope is easy to smuggle in? What till they smuggle in guns and ammo to the 2/3s of the populace that don't like this "common sense legislation".
Question for Larry King to ask Jodie Foster:
Would Ronald Reagan and James Brady have been shot by John Hinckley if you had been out?
For His Tombstone
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms"; "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government" (Thomas Jefferson)
"The very atmosphere of firearms any where and every where restrains evil interference---they deserve a place of honor with all that is good."; "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty teeth" (George Washington)
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” (Benjamin Franklin)
RAH: I must admit Reagan took the shooting a lot better than Brady. He did not blame the tool used or even the shooter. Brady was bitter and Reagan was not. That shows the difference of character.
To be fair, the incident did not harm Reagan to nearly the extent that it harmed Brady.
Tough video to watch. He made a moving statement that made no sense. And he was apparently a good guy and a very sympathetic victim of violence. But it is so disconnected from any gun control legislation as to be rendered meaningless in any objective analytical manner.
If Reagan's bodyguards had been allowed to carry guns, the shooting never would have happened. A bad guy with a gun only can be stopped by a good guy with a gun. If the Secret Service had been armed, there is no way a lone nut like Hinckley could have emptied his pea-shooter at the President from close range.
bbkingfish:
It's a risk management issue. When law-abiding members of a society are armed, we serve to increase the risk and opportunity cost of committing certain classes of crimes, including murder.
Unfortunately, the criminals have the advantage of premeditation. So their intentions can only be imperfectly matched through proactive mitigation and reactive countermeasures. The first responders are the people present in situation, not the people who will arrive later. They should be prepared and capable to act in self-defense.
Many would not be in wheelchairs if driving were not allowed.
and Greg Abbott (Tx Attorney General and next Governor) would not be riding around in a wheel chair if we had sensible tree trimming regulations.
I remember the networks trying to keep up with the developing events and Dan Rather somberly announcing that James Brady was dead.
Ten minutes later he reported that his condition had improved.
I owe Dan Rather a debt of gratitude for teaching me at 17 that network newsmen are full of shit.
bbkingfish wrote: If Reagan's bodyguards had been allowed to carry guns, the shooting never would have happened.
Please examine this photograph. Two men are to be seen prone on the pavement. In the light blue suit is James Brady. The prone man in the rain coat is Thomas Delahanty. Standing over them is Secret Service Agent Robert Wanko. Agent Wanko is wielding an Uzi submachine gun.
All of the President's Secret Service bodyguards are armed.
Hinckley had the element of surprise.
There has been a constant campaign to weaken this country because of its greatness for over one hundred years. Removing firearms from the public is the keystone of this campaign and will never go away. Brady was a tool. He's dead. No sympathy.
Quaestor, Bbkingfish was being sarcastic.
He was trying to imply that the Reagan assassination attempt proves that you should just give up your right to bear arms because even if you have a gun (like the Secret Service did) you can't stop another shooter (since the Secret Service didn't).
In other words, he's an idiot.
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