The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I'm really not one who likes to brag, which is probably a big reason why I'm continuing to struggle making a lot of money writing. But in any case, I just heard a story the other day I felt the need to share. In the wake of the tragic San Bernardino mass shooting last week, I wrote a blog entitled, "Still too soon to talk about this?" which can be read here: http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2015/12/still-too-soon-to-talk-about-this.html After sharing this writing on my Twitter account, I received notification from a high school teacher in New York that she shared this very writing with two classes of her's (including an AP class), adding that it prompted an interesting discussion, and I won some new fans along the way. So, as The Dude might say, I thought that was pretty cool.

Billionaire Johann Jimmy John took to the streets this past weekend with a Bible in one hand and a sign which read, "Our freedoms are gone which is why I don't have the freedom to do this," in the other, to, as he put it in his discussion with us afterwards, "Be the toughest freedom fighter the world has ever known!" When I asked Mr. Jimmy John what the ultimate message with his protest was for the country, here's what he said in response: "As a white Christian straight male billionaire, I feel like my rights are going out the window one by one, day after day. Muslims can now worship here. Guys can marry guys. Women can work outside the home. Some blacks can vote. I mean, what in the world is going on here? What happened to the days when I knew where my place was and knew what to expect of everyone else? The days when women would have dinner ready by the time us guys got home from work and they'd spread their legs for a 20-second dessert afterwa...

How's this for ironic? In Fairfield County, Ohio over the weekend, an instructor accidentally shot a man in the arm during a gun-safety class. Where are the gun die-hards on this one? "Guns don't kill people; gun-safety instructors do!" "The only way to stop a bad gun-safety instructor with a gun is with a good gun-safety instructor with a gun!" Yeah, I always figured when taking a gun-safety class, I should probably write my will before attending, and be certain to wear a helmet and bulletproof vest. After reading this article today, I'm just waiting for a headline tomorrow which says, "Sex ed teacher spreads herpes to students." http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/13/us/gun-safety-class-shooting

Setting: Monday, May 27th at Mr. John LaPierre's 11th grade math class in Washington, D.C. Mr. LaPierre: "Okay, class. It's getting toward that time of year again - finals week. I think I'm going to go about things a little differently this year, though. What I'm going to do is take a vote. We can either have the final next Monday, June 3rd, and take the rest of this week to get ready for it, or we can have it tomorrow, May 28th, and spend the next few days just watching movies. Just write down your vote on a piece of paper and pass it up to the front - write down either tomorrow or next week. I'll then ask one person from each side of the debate to get up here and make a few points on why we should hold the final on their preferred day, and then I'll have the final say on when we do wind up having the test. Does everyone understand?" ::the class nods in unison, before writing down their votes on a piece of paper, and passing them up to the front o...

Upon first reading that Missouri Republican state Senator Dan Brown proposed legislation that would require 1st  graders to take a gun education class, which was designed by the National Rifle Association, to say I was shocked beyond all belief would have been like to say Siberia is cold in the winter. I have to imagine a large majority of people were thinking and feeling the thing upon seeing the headline. After reading the article in its entirety though, while I'm definitely not going to fully endorse Brown's legislation, I'm also not going to be highly critical of it either. I'll have to wait until more detailed information is released on the proposed bill. You see, as I'm sure most people thought the same thing upon seeing a headline which included the words "1st graders," "gun class," and "NRA," I thought Mr. Brown was proposing the insane idea of teaching 1st grade kids how to shoot guns. How could I think such a thing? Have y...