The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I already received two comments on the latest episode of my podcast ( I Feel Snitty ), entitled, "The NRA: The Never Rational Asshats (Part 1)": - "I love it!" - "I love this, as well!..." You can check out the episode at this link: https://ifeelsnitty.podbean.com/e/the-nra-the-never-rational-asshats-part-1/

The latest episode of my podcast ( I Feel Snitty ), entitled, "The NRA: The Never Rational Asshats (Part 1)," is now available. The show's description is as follows: In part 1 of my two part trilogy, I take on the NRA and the GOP with truth, logic, snark, and non-alternative fact-checks. After listening to this episode, you'll now know how to respond when someone tells you, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people" - and no, it won't be like Jeff Bridges utters in The Big Lebowski, where he says, "Yeah, well, that's just, like, you're opinion, man." So join me in fighting for common-sense gun legislation, for as author Margaret Wolfe Hungerford once wrote, "Gun violence is in the eye of the beholder, literally. You'll shoot your eyes out." I'm now being told she didn't write that. It must have been someone else... You can check out the episode at this link: https://ifeelsnitty.p...

I've heard every argument there is to hear from NRA enthusiasts whom believe gun laws are either unConstitutional or pointless, and upon closer inspection, each and every argument fails, bigly. Argument #1: "The 2nd Amendment!" I'm sorry, but the Constitution is 228 years old. When writing it, our Founding Fathers didn't think to themselves, "No matter the day, no matter the year, man should have the right to bear arms! Even well into the future, when these weapons evolve into machine-gun types, with or without bump stocks, anyone from elders to newborns should have the right to fire these motherf*ckers!" I don't think so. The more technology evolves, the more out-of-date the Second Amendment becomes. Does it need to be abolished? No, of course not. But should it receive an update, or at the very least, when discussing it, should more of us take into account the surrounding context of when it was written? Absolutely. It's like my mama alwa...

It seems that whenever a mass shooting occurs in this country, the NRA is ready to release a handful of memes which combat gun control advocates' arguments. In light of the horrific Orlando shooting a couple weeks ago, this cycle again repeated itself, and again, the meme was so asinine, I felt the need to comment on it. Here's what it said: "Anyone using their 1st Amendment rights on the Internet to tell me the 2nd Amendment only covers muskets because the AR was not invented yet. Get off your computer and write me a letter with a quill pen, then have it delivered by some guy on a horse and then and only then can we start the discussion of why you are wrong." I'm sorry, but did the Founding Fathers ever write the following words in the Constitution? "A well regulated student body, being necessary to the academic progression of our citizens, the right of the people to keep and write with quill pens, shall not be infringed." or "A well regu...

Actor Kurt Russell decided to show he's still a macho man when he went on an anti-gun control rant in a recent interview with the blog Hollywood Elsewhere . The has-been, I mean, "star," said this: "If you think gun control is going to change the terrorists' point of view, I think you're, like, out of your mind. I think it's absolutely insane. The problem - the problem that we're having right now to turn it around ... you may think you've got me worried about what you're gonna do? Dude, you're about to find out what I'm gonna do, and that's gonna worry you a lot more. And that's what we need. If I'm a hockey team and I've got some guy bearing down on me as a goaltender, I'm not concerned about what he's gonna do. I'm gonna make him concerned about what I'm gonna do... They can make a bomb pretty easily. So what? They can also get knives and stab you. What are you gonna do about that? They can also get ...

I'm getting sick and tired of this. I've reached a point where, once a day, after hearing about another mass shooting in this country, I raise my hands up in the air, grasp for words or meaning, and come up empty. So I wind up shaking my head and sighing for long periods of time, feeling overwhelmed and almost helpless by the anger and violence in my own home country. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of hearing 24-hour cable news networks covering a mass shooting almost every day. I'm sick of hearing about the killers' backgrounds and motives. I'm sick of hearing about political parties trying to spin the situation into their favor to win votes in the next election cycle. I'm sick of the constant talk by politicians with no action. But most of all, I'm sick and tired of the National Rifle Association (NRA) owning the Republican Party, dictating our gun laws, and brainwashing their supporters, all the while showing the least sensitivity humanly possible to th...

On Tuesday, Vox 's German Lopez wrote an article about a Monday Daily Show segment, where host Trevor Noah said the following with regard to pro-lifers not being so "pro-life" after all because of their stance on firearms: "If pro-lifers would just redirect their powers toward gun violence, the amount of lives they could save would reach superhero levels. They just need to have a superhero's total dedication to life. Because right now, they're more like comic book collectors. Human life only holds value until you take it out of the package, and then it's worth nothing." In response, German Lopez wrote this: "...But such an argument is unfair to pro-life, pro-gun conservatives - it misrepresents why they believe what they do. And while it's a funny argument for a comedian, misrepresenting people's views does more to confirm biases than change hearts and minds." He continued with this: "The facts on gun violence are, br...

When I'm out and about over the weekends, rarely do I discuss politics. This is mainly due to two reasons: 1) It's what I read and write about for the majority of my workweek and 2) I've learned that it's typically not a good idea to mix alcohol and political discussions. Like with most other people, when I'm away from the workplace, the last thing I want to do is think about or discuss my work. Reading and writing about current events, especially in the world of politics, for most of the workweek, the last thing I want to do when I'm out is talk about what I've read and written about for hours at a time leading up to that moment. Also, politics is a very touchy and divisive subject. There's an old rule which says states that one shouldn't talk about the four following subjects with another person (a stranger or person one doesn't know very well): 1) Money, 2) Sex, 3) Politics, and 4) Religion. On Saturday night, however, I did wind up discussi...

I read a letter-to-the-editor in the Columbus Dispatch  today, which, three hours later, still has me in a pose that you'll likely be able to find under "WTF" in the urban dictionary. The letter was written by Bruce Miller of Columbus, Ohio, entitled, "Gun violence rose from lack of discipline." I'll allow Mr. Miller to explain his solution to the issue of gun violence himself, picking up at around the midway point of his letter: "...How many Sandy Hook schools, Aurora, Colo., theaters and Charleston churches do we need for our government leaders to realize that gun control is not the answer? We need to bring back corporal punishment in the school system and at home. As a 56-year-old, I can still remember times when I got the so-called 'board of education' at home and school, but today that is outlawed, at least in school. The young people growing up today do not have the discipline they need, yet they are the common denominator in much of...

In Houston, Texas on Monday, 20-year-old Patrick Sanders' gun fell out of his pants while he was sleeping on the couch. A 3-year-old boy picked up the pistol and shot Sanders in the face with it. While Sanders is in critical condition, the boy wasn't injured. In light of this bit of news, the NRA will most likely respond with one of the following lines: - "A baby with a gun has more fun!" - "Crawl and fight!" - "Gun control means using both hands - one on the gun and one on the milk bottle!" - "Guns don't kill people; toddlers with guns kill people!" - "The only way to stop a bad toddler with a gun is a good toddler with a gun!" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/28/houston-man-shot-in-face-by-toddler_n_6057110.html

Oddly enough, for all of the pro-gun control blogs I've written over the past few years, one has appeared to garner more attention (and comments) than any other. It was written on April 12th of last year, is entitled, "A man tries to make gun-control proponents look dumb through his 'smart' aleck experiment, but makes himself look dumb in the process," and can be read at the following URL: http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-man-tries-to-make-gun-control.html Just today, I received this comment in response to the blog and some follow-up comments which were made by readers and myself: "Hey Numbnutz. Do you also want to ban alcohol bc of drunk drivers that kill people? I don't see you arguing that point." "Numbnutz," eh? In a span of just 23 words, Critical Thinking professors would likely debate one another on just how many informal fallacies this individual committed. The probable number is between one and six (i...

On April 12th of last year, I wrote a blog, entitled, "A man tries to make gun-control proponents look dumb through his 'smart' aleck experiment, but makes himself look dumb in the process," which can be viewed here - http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-man-tries-to-make-gun-control.html?showComment=1398357016839#c8342953763320375809. A few days ago, I received this response to that very blog: "He was not saying it for people who think that it is both the gun and the person who are killing is saying this for the people who want to take guns away even from people who are totally capable with a gun. If you don't want a gun fine have it your way but I have every right by the law to have a gun and I would gladly use it in protection and defense of my family. Even so, if gun laws were passed the types of people who shoot up people, do you really think a law against guns is going to stop them it will hinder them but it won't stop them it...

What seems to be the far-right's favorite line when debating gun control? "Read the Constitution!" Given that, I find it ironically humorous that the Missouri Senate's General Laws Committee, dominated by the Republican Party, last week voted 5-1 in favor of a bill which would make it a crime for federal law enforcement to enforce this country's gun laws. The bill states that the punishment for such "crimes" would be up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000. It would also call on school personnel to be armed, as well as for lowering the age to obtain a concealed weapons permit from 21 to 19. Yet the Constitution states that federal laws "shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the country notwithstanding." In other words, perhaps the Missouri Senate General Laws Committee should heed their own argument - "Read the Con...

According to Larry Pratt - head of Gun Owners of America - guns don't kill people; gun-control laws kill people. Appearing on Fox News Sunday , host Chris Wallace asked Pratt if the lack of stricter gun legislation that has been passed by Congress since the Newtown shooting was a victory for the gun lobby. In response, Pratt said this: "We're not really going to be able to talk about a victory until we get rid of the laws that prohibit people from having guns to protect themselves in schools and in other places. Every one of our mass murders in our country has occurred in places where guns are prohibited." Allow me to break down Mr. Pratt's logic: 1) Guns don't kill people; gun-control laws kill people 2) "Every one of our mass murders in our country has occurred in places where guns are prohibited." 3) These mass murders happened via guns 4) Even though these mass murders happened via guns, guns don't kill people 5) The only way ...

In light of the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut last year, a group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was formed. A chapter of this group met at the Blue Mesa Grill in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, only to witness around 40 individuals from the group Open Carry Texas (OCT) outside the restaurant unloading guns from the trunks of their vehicles in an obvious attempt to try and intimidate members of Moms Demand Action. After spending two hours in the parking lot, the members of Open Carry Texas went to a nearby Hooters restaurant. The women from Moms Demand Action (MDA) were then able to leave the Blue Mesa Grill unscathed. After members of the group left the restaurant, MDA released a statement regarding the incident, calling the OCT "gun bullies," who "disagreed with our goal of changing America's gun laws and policies to protect our children and families." In response, a member of OCT tweeted this message: ...

Alan Gottlieb is the executive vice president of the gun-rights group the Second Amendment Foundation, which is planning to team up with other such groups to hold a "Guns Save Lives Day" on the first-anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. After receiving a great deal of flack for the timing of the event, the groups have agreed to push it back a day - to December 15th. I know, how sweet of them, right? When he was a recent guest on the CNN show Piers Morgan Tonight , Gottlieb said this regarding the timing of the event with relation to the Newtown school shooting:  "My heart goes out to them... but that doesn't allow them to use that day either to attack my rights." Ah, the irony in that statement is so thick, I could have sworn it took steroids. Mr. Gottlieb is complaining that the anniversary of a horrific school shooting where 20 children and 6 adults were attacked and killed by way of a gun is somehow an attack o...

Texas Senator and man who makes Tom Cruise look sane - Ted Cruz - has been claiming that he and other Tea Partiers are speaking for the American people to defund Obamacare. He even went as far to say that if it were up to the American people, the vote would be 100 to 0 to defund the bill. Sorry, Ted, but like many of the other things you say, this is false. In five recent polls taken on the matter, an average of 38% of people support the defunding of Obamacare, while an average of 49.6% oppose such an idea, with another 13% whom aren't sure. Using Cruz's made-up vote count, this would result in 38 people voting aye and 50 people voting nay for the defunding of the healthcare reform bill. In other words, Cruz was just off by 62% and 50%, respectively... I actually find it to be quite funny that Cruz and the Tea Party claim to be speaking for the American people in shutting down the government to repeal, defund, or delay Obamacare. As I just noted, the numbers aren't on t...

NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre, as he contended on Meet the Press  a couple days ago and in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting, believes that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, and the only way to ensure our safety is through more good guys having guns. It's as simple as that apparently. When I hear this rhetoric, several questions immediately spring to mind, such as: Who are these good guys?; How many are there?; Where can we find them?; What is the definition of "good guy?;" Are there some guys whom are neither good nor bad?; Should they have guns as well?; Can we trust them?; How do we define "bad guy?;" Is there a way we can prevent these bad guys from having guns?; If so, how?; etc. In having all of these questions, I'm now going to attempt to crawl inside the mind of Mr. LaPierre (figuratively-speaking, of course) to see just how well this good-guys-with-guns idea could work. Since I don't have a ...

In what is being hailed as the most comprehensive study on the topic, Michael Siegel, Craig S. Ross, and Charles King III concluded the following when they looked at the relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rates in the U.S. from the years of 1981 to 2010: "We observed a robust correlation between higher levels of gun ownership and higher firearm homicide rates. Although we could not determine causation, we found that states with higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides." Here we have yet another study which suggests that if we want to save lives, Congress should start passing stricter gun laws. How many more lives must be lost before Congress finally starts taking these lives and studies seriously enough to do something about it? "A gun doesn't shoot someone; a person does." No, a person with a gun shoots someone. The next time the NRA sees a person's finger shooti...

About once a month I'm greeted with a lovely response to a blog of mine which includes so many right-wing talking points and bumper-sticker slogans, it presents me with the challenge of, "Can I think of any more?" Often times I give up after about two minutes of thinking over that very question. Just this morning I was greeted with such a comment - this in response to a pro-gun control blog I wrote in wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. This individual, who came across as a high school NRA member, responded to the blog with this: "liberal lackies know they are saying stupid comments but do so to take focus away from the real issues.... the fact is that no gun law will take guns away from criminals... we already have a law that says a criminal cannot own/possess/have-access-to firearms yet every day, in every state of the union, crime is being committed by criminals, many with stolen, smuggled, or otherwise illegally possessed weapons t...