Idiot blew his leg off

[Thumpalumpacus]

Like with health care - it's decent if you can afford the alternatives.

Blaming the school "system" as a whole for the failure of American parents to involve themselves in their child's education is misplaced, in my opinion. Not to say there's not big problems with many districts, and with NCLB in particular, but the most important teachers any child has are mom and dad. Schoolteachers instill facts, but parents instill curiosity and outward interest.

The schoolteachers I know -- a few of them here, and several in SoCal -- complain more about the lack of parental involvement than they do about budget deficiencies or low pay.

My son went to a public charter high-school featuring competitive exams. The cost to me was exactly zero. He won a full-ride scholarship to public university in California.

[JuliaL]

Yep, this guy is an idiot. All of 43 feet away with 3 pounds of explosive.

I didn't watch. I don't enjoy injuries to idiots, deserving or not.

What I wondered was:
Forty three feet: didn't he trust his marksmanship?
Or was this all the accuracy he could expect from his weapon.

So we have a poor shooter with a questionable gun who is in the lower Duning Kruger tail to begin with.
Anybody else worried about elevated danger for the rest of us?

[I_am_not_mafia]

To answer your question directly, if you knew half as much about America as you seem to think you do, you'd know that schooling is handled on a state and local level, such that referring to one "system"  is silly.

Yes I know that. Which is why the southern states can have stickers on their science text books about evolution being a controversial theory and not fact. And why America is such a religious country. It's why you have people voting for Drumpf without regard for history.

[brewer]

Yep, this guy is an idiot. All of 43 feet away with 3 pounds of explosive.

I didn't watch.  I don't enjoy injuries to idiots, deserving or not.

What I wondered was:
Forty three feet: didn't he trust his marksmanship?
Or was this all the accuracy he could expect from his weapon.

So we have a poor shooter with a questionable gun who is in the lower Duning Kruger tail to begin with.
Anybody else worried about elevated danger for the rest of us?

This shooter had multiple issues.

1. To close to the explosive. 100yds/lb minimum. They had 3lbs, minimum should have been 300 yards. And that's for open explosive generating no shrapnel.
2. No scope. For a practiced shooter with an AR15 (that is what he was shooting) hitting a 3lb tannerite size target (assuming he used the containers the manufacturer sells) at 300 yds with no scope would have been no problem. Might take a few shots to zero in the target without a scope but it can be done. This guy was not taking the time to make an accurate shot. Just pulling the trigger in quick succession hoping to hit the target. My guess is that this guy needed more target practice time or a scope.
3. Obstructed explosive target. From the video it looks like they put the explosive behind something on the mower. That explains why he moved to the side to hit the target. The AR15 uses a .223 cartridge. The bullet it's self is relatively small (compared to other rounds) with limited penetration. Even a piece of sheet metal on the mower engine cover/cowling could have decreased the speed enough so that the explosive would not detonate. The manufacturer states that the round needs to travel at or in excess of 2000 feet per second.

Edit: Forgot to mention that he was using an assault rifle, not a target/hunting/sniper rifle.

[Thumpalumpacus]

To answer your question directly, if you knew half as much about America as you seem to think you do, you'd know that schooling is handled on a state and local level, such that referring to one "system"  is silly.

Yes I know that. Which is why the southern states can have stickers on their science text books about evolution being a controversial theory and not fact. And why America is such a religious country. It's why you have people voting for Drumpf without regard for history.

Yeah, I didn't say otherwise.

[KUSA]

Yep, this guy is an idiot. All of 43 feet away with 3 pounds of explosive.

I didn't watch. I don't enjoy injuries to idiots, deserving or not.

What I wondered was:
Forty three feet: didn't he trust his marksmanship?
Or was this all the accuracy he could expect from his weapon.

So we have a poor shooter with a questionable gun who is in the lower Duning Kruger tail to begin with.
Anybody else worried about elevated danger for the rest of us?

This really wasn't a gun issue but rather an idiot playing with explosives issue.

You literally have to be out of your mind detonating something like that just a few feet away from yourself. I would be terrified at the thought of standing that close to it.

[Minimalist]

but the most important teachers any child has are mom and dad.

And how many kids have a "mom AND dad" these days? 

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/201...al-family/

Fewer than half of U.S. kids today live in a ‘traditional’ family

And even if they do you run into this phenomenon. 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf

The share of married -couple families with children where both parents worked was 60.2 percent.

So if teachers are waiting for parents to pick up the slack they have a long wait because the 1960s are not coming back.

[Brian37]

Glad that firearm was in the right hands. But who cares, all the people who share his private health insurance will pay for it.

[KUSA]

Glad that firearm was in the right hands. But who cares, all the people who share his private health insurance will pay for it.

I think everyone can agree that he has no business outside of a padded room.

[Thumpalumpacus]

but the most important teachers any child has are mom and dad.

And how many kids have a "mom AND dad" these days? 
Lol
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/201...al-family/

Fewer than half of U.S. kids today live in a ‘traditional’ family

And even if they do you run into this phenomenon. 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf

The share of married -couple families with children where both parents worked was 60.2 percent.

So if teachers are waiting for parents to pick up the slack they have a long wait because the 1960s are not coming back.

And how, exactly, are teachers to pick up that shortfall?

Never hammer nails with a fish taco. Schools weren't designed to pick up shortfalls in parenting; it stands to reason, then that rather than castigate the American educational "system", Mathilda should have criticized the feckless nature of some American families.

And both parents working is not an excuse ... A SAHM still isn't coaching her child during school hours. Family learning happens during family hours. Parenting requires commitment, as you well know.