The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Just this morning, I read the following post on Facebook from a Tea Partier: "Nikko Jenkins was released from prison on July 30th for a ten-year stint for felony assault and burglary. Now he's in custody for the murder of a young mother... He had guns and ammo....Tell me again how gun laws protect people? ..." First thing's first - based on the minimal information provided in the post, it's virtually impossible to put forth a strong argument for or against stronger gun laws based on this one case. However, if we just look at things from a surface-value standpoint, this post sounds ridiculous. "He had guns and ammo.... Tell me again how gun laws protect people?" Let's see here - if we had stronger gun laws, it would have been more difficult for him to obtain guns and ammo, correct? If a person who once had a suspended license got into an accident which killed somebody, would this individual then say, "Tell me again how traffic ...

Just as it appears that a growing number of modern-day Republicans have gone off the deep end - going so far to the right that they've completely fallen off the spectrum and have started their own - it appears that a growing number of Libertarians are following a similar path. Libertarians tend to like the saying, "I want the government out of my wallet and out of my bedroom!" In other words, they have attempted to differentiate themselves from the two main parties by saying the government shouldn't be involved in our lives from an economic standpoint (differentiating themselves from the Democratic Party) and from a social-issues standpoint (differentiating themselves from the Republican Party). Sure, that sounds well and good from a sloganeering standpoint, but then many take that very slogan and run with it as far as their minds can wander and it gets them into trouble on multiple fronts. Libertarianism's main concern is in maintaining our freedom. Again, tha...

In light of former Kansas City Chiefs player Javon Belcher killing his girlfriend and then shooting and killing himself, NBC's Bob Costas made a few pro-gun control remarks at halftime of Sunday night's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. Gun control is a rather divisive issue, so as could be anticipated, Costas has received his share of support and criticism for his on-air remarks. While I haven't seen any gun control advocates posting statuses regarding Costas, I have seen a few anti-gun control individuals posting pictures with commentary on them. One has Costas pictured alongside O.J. Simpson and asks Costas "How about knives?" In another, Sam Elliott is portrayed with the following words written across the screen: "Do you really think criminals will obey gun control laws?" I understand people believing in their right to own guns, but do these uber-gun rights enthusiasts realize what they're saying when they post such thi...