Thank you for saying this. That's not meant as a diss to those who feel differently. Being respectful to those who have died and those suffering doesn't mean we turn our brains off. Everyone said the same thing on 9/11. But as I sat there waiting to hear if my colleagues and friends were alive and trying to get through to my family, not knowing what the fuck was going on, I knew that a deeper conversation about our foreign policy had to happen. Luckily, I was with an older British executive who had a sophisticated understanding of the world and assured me my thoughts weren't unpatriotic or inappropriate or stupid. Talking is part of the healing process for some- including asking - why does this keep happening? what can we do to prevent it? But the truth is - no one can convince me that ownership of guns is a human right or has anything to do with our freedom as human beings. I personally know way too many people and way too many situations where guns did nothing to protect and only caused irreparable harm. Those who want their guns will continue to say it's their right as an "AMERICAN" to have a gun because of words written when the most-used weapon was, what a musket? Not something that shot off 100 rounds of ammunition at a time and that a very sick 20-year old could easily and legally buy. I understand well and respect what you are saying but it simply isn't true. A few months ago, how many were killed in a movie theatre? In a mall the other day? Another poster said 61 shootings (hundreds dead and wounded) since 1982 is "infinitesimal." But while that is statistically true, no loss of life will ever be enough for some (about 1/2 the US) to budge on their ownership of a thing whose ONLY purpose is to harm. The hunger for a false sense of safety and control that guns give many people won't go away because in a few weeks, when some think it's a more appropriate time to have this discussion, Americans will be too immersed in Christmas, then New Years, etc. Then before you know it, another mass shooting will be in the news. And since we are country that walks in fear (gun sales go up after a mass shooting- there's always an economic benefit to someone's suffering) and instead of talking about it and doing something about it, we'll be very sad for a few weeks. Then back to every day life. Thanks for a place to express my opinions and learn more about (sometimes way too much!) about the band. I'm out.

You don't need a car at all in NYC or a driver's license. As for going outside of the city - trains, taxis, and car services galore. Lots of others, too- Ricky Gervais, Albert Einstein, Henry Rollins, Ray Bradbury, Tina Fey, David Sedaris, Barbara Walters, etc.

He killed his father first and then went to kill his mother. Walter I know. My sister is a school psychologist in Phoenix. The number of times her school has been locked down because of threatened violence is horrific.

Point well taken, Walter.

There isn't any control or limitation or denial - that's the issue! Yes, the country with the highest incarceration rate is proof that criminal control laws work. I guess Americans are just more violent and more criminal than any other nationality.

We are the most heavily armed society in the world and it hasn't stopped shit. It's only increased the violence. (90 guns per 100 people. Source: Reuters)

yes you just made my last point perfectly.

Yes, statistically that's true but you're overlooking the every day gun violence in this country that is also part of the argument for gun control. If only the politicians would - they have no courage to do so. But the NRA certainly will with the "if a citizen had a gun they would have stopped..." Every day gun violence is another issue and another discussion. But yes as I noted above, every human being has the capacity for evil so making it easy to get guns doesn't help with every day gun violence either. Mental illness is not an excuse or a justification for the frequency of mass shootings in the US but how we manage them both of them might be.

Mental illness isn't an excuse nor is it ridiculous. It's a sad and horrible reality. Maybe you've never known anyone with paranoid schizophrenia but you might think differently if you had. Strict gun laws not a lack of incidence of mental illness have more to do with low homicidal rates in other countries. Every human being has the capacity to be evil - so yes, it could also be the case. Here's a timeline of Mass Shootings -just one type of gun violence in the US - since 1982. 61 of them. So you're right hecube, it's not going to stop. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map

It keeps happening here because it's too easy to get a gun and we don't know how to treat mental illness effectively. The profile is almost always men with paranoid schizophrenia who have easy access to guns. It wouldn't be "mass" without that method. Guns will never be outlawed in the US. Too many coward politicians afraid to go against the NRA and too many people who believe owning a gun is a human right. And we're too afraid as a country to discuss mental illness with any level of sophistication or empathy.

I think Pete answers his own question.

Kashmir = ringtone. Bring it on Home = ringback.

I like what you wrote. I am enjoying this thread because it's nice to see so many well-stated opinions - like a book club without the drama. Finding a honest friend isn't easy - even more difficult with fame, wealth, and power in the picture. That's one of the things Hoksyns notes in his interview - there was no around to say, "Dude, enough already," when things got out of control and the drugs compounded everything. Enablers always find someone to enable. I can't imagine being surrounded by people who just want to kiss my ass but I guess that's part of the price of that kind of life. One of the female employees talks about this a bit in the book with regard to the type of women that were around them. I'm always surprised how the photographer is allowed to talk about him and their activities so publicly it doesn't make sense with the insistence on privacy but I think he's more secretive than private. He must approve every entry.

Thanks, Walter! Yes, I agree. But even when they do ask tough questions (as Fricke implies in RS), Jimmy just says, "I'm not going to tell you." Which as I've previously said makes me laugh. I think Tolinksi even alludes to those kinds of situations in his book. So few celebrities create ANY boundaries these days it's refreshing that someone still does.