The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

What's the answer to destroying ISIS? According to the National Fraternal Order of Police, armed off-duty cops at football games. Here is a portion of the letter the police union sent to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this month regarding the matter: "The terrorist attacks and threats of attacks from organizations like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are selecting targets based on the amount of death and injury they can inflict - mass murder and casualty events. Well-attended venues and areas are being deliberately targeted by the radical killers who do not intend or expect to survive the assault. Law enforcement, even when working actively with highly trained and skilled security professionals, cannot be certain that all threats will be detected and neutralized." Lovely, because more guns solves everything, right? More guns equals less gun violence; more bullets fired equals less killed by fired bullets; more guns at football games equals less...

Allow me to introduce all my readers to Texas state Representative Tony Dale. He's a Republican currently serving his first term in office, was given a 92% grade by the National Rifle Association, and just recently sent a two-page letter to U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), making it fully known he adamantly opposed allowing any Syrian refugees in the state. Why? I'll allow the anti-gun-control Texas state representative to tell you himself: "While the Paris attackers used suicide vests and grenades it is clear that firearms also killed a large number of innocent victims. Can you imagine a scenario were [sic] a refugees [sic] is admitted to the United States, is provided federal cash payments and other assistance, obtains a drivers license and purchases a weapon and executes an attack?" That's right, ladies and gentlemen; Tony Dale just admitted gun laws are too lax in his state. Since his recent statement contradicts pretty much every talking point he and the ...

On November 7th, the Detroit Free Press  published a letter-to-the-editor which has since gone viral. It was written by Richard Brunt of Victoria, British Columbia, and entitled, "You Don't Know How Good You Have It With Obama." Here's the letter: "Many of us Canadians are confused by the U.S. midterm elections. Consider, right now in America, corporate profits are at record highs, the country’s adding 200,000 jobs per month, unemployment is below 6%, U.S. gross national product growth is the best of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The dollar is at its strongest levels in years, the stock market is near record highs, gasoline prices are falling, there’s no inflation, interest rates are the lowest in 30 years, U.S. oil imports are declining, U.S. oil production is rapidly increasing, the deficit is rapidly declining, and the wealthy are still making astonishing amounts of money. America is leading the world once agai...

Starting next year, next to the words "insensitive," "jerk," "prick," and "douche" in the dictionary will be a picture of Samuel Wurzelbacher, or as he's better known, Joe the Plumber. Following the recent Santa Barbara shooting rampage, Wurzelbacher wrote an open letter to the victims' families, where he actually said this: "I am sorry you lost your child. I myself have a son and daughter and the one thing I never want to go through, is what you are going through right now. But: As harsh as this sounds -- your dead kids don't trump my Constitutional rights." He then claimed that pro-gun control activists "don't care about your family or your dead children at all," before following that up with this: "They sound like they do, whereas I sound uncaring and like I say, harsh. Don't be fooled - I care about your family and mine. The future of our very liberty lies in the balance of this fight....

With every passing day, I'm asked less about why I've separated myself from organized religion. This is due to an ever-increasing quantity of stories like the one I'm about to share with you. Even some extremely religious individuals, after reading such stories, shake their heads, and give me a look as if to say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know..." Not long ago, 8-year-old Sunnie Kahle was informed via a letter written by administrators of a Virginia Christian elementary school (Timberlake) that she wouldn't be granted admittance to the school unless she changed a few things. A portion of the letter read as follows: "We believe that unless Sunnie as well as her family clearly understand that God has made her female and her dress and behavior need to follow suit with her God-ordained identity, that TCS is not the best place for her future education." You see, Sunnie has short hair and is kind of a "tomboy," as the description goes. I guess...

Mikhail Kalashnikov, creator of the AK-47, seemed to express little regret over his invention throughout his years. However, a recently published letter he wrote to the head of Russia's Orthodox church not long before his death may showcase otherwise. Kalashnikov, who died last month at the age of 94, wrote the following to Patriarch Kirill: - "My spiritual pain is unbearable. I keep asking the same insoluble question. If my rifle deprived people of life then can it be that I ... a Christian and an orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths? ... The longer I live, the more this question drills itself into my brain and the more I wonder why the Lord allowed man the devilish desires of envy, greed, and aggression." I wonder if Wayne LaPierre and other NRA leaders will feel something similar when death stares them in the eyes. It may be easier to reflect and admit one's mistakes when lying on their death bed, but that doesn't undo those very mistakes, whi...

To my surprise yesterday morning, I received an email with the subject title of, "Douche????" from a name I didn't recognize at first - Thomas Ritter. After I read his email, which I'll get to in a minute, I had to backtrack on recent writings of mine, before finally searching my blog for "douche." Low-and-behold, I stumbled across the name Thomas J. Ritter - a fifth-grade schoolteacher in the state of Texas. On December 4th, I read an article about Mr. Ritter which prompted me to write a blog about it. You see, Mr. Ritter sent President Obama a critical letter with regard to the Affordable Care Act, where he said this: "This bill has caused such a divisive, dirisive [sic], and toxic environment ... The reality is that any citizen that disagrees with your administration is targeted and ridiculed. I hesitated to write for fear of some kind of retribution. I watched you make fun of tea baggers and your press secretary make fun of Ms. Palin which wa...

While the letter's authenticity is still in question, it is being reported by many right-wing media outlets and at least one more mainstream one that President Barack Obama has sent a handwritten response letter to Texas fifth-grade schoolteacher Thomas J. Ritter, who had sent the president a letter criticizing the Affordable Care Act. In Ritter's letter he wrote: "This bill has caused such a divisive, dirisive [sic], and toxic environment ... The reality is that any citizen that disagrees with your administration is targeted and ridiculed. I hesitated to write for fear of some kind of retribution . I watched you make fun of tea baggers and your press secretary make fun of Ms. Palin which was especially beneath the dignity of the White House." President Obama allegedly responded with these words: "I believe that health care reform will be the right thing for the country ... It certainly wasn't the smart 'political' thing! And I hope that in th...

In a recent fundraising email, the South Carolina Republican Party referred to the IRS "scandal" as "Obama's Gestapo."  In response, Jamie Harrison - chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party - said South Carolina Republicans were "equating its political opponents to the Nazi police that oversaw the imprisonment and mass-murder of millions of innocent people." After hearing Harrison's (and others') complaints about the comparison, South Carolina Republican executive director Alex Stroman said this: "If anyone was upset, we certainly regret it. Our goal was to highlight the IRS's questionable tactics and their decision to selectively scrutinize and target certain groups, including those in South Carolina." That's always a very smooth way of operating things. Step 1: Compare someone to Hitler and/or a group of people to Nazis Step 2: After receiving the inevitable complaints, send a half-arsed apology about the...

I just read a letter-to-the-editor in The Columbus Dispatch which got my blood boiling some, and I felt the need to respond with a letter of my own. It likely won't get published because it's a tad longer than the paper typically likes it, but in any case, I thought I'd share it with readers. Here it is: This letter is in response to the June 26th letter-to-the-editor, written by Wendy Kirk, and titled "Our society makes sex too easy for kids." Ms. Kirk starts her letter by saying, "Why do we as a society fight so hard for our children to have sex?" I think that's exaggerating matters just a touch. It's not like parents all across the country have formed a group by the name of "We Want Our Kids to Get Laid Soon." So, what evidence is there of this claim? The writer then followed that with this: "In some states and schools, kids as young as 9 are required to have the Gardasil vaccine, which is supposed to prevent cancers ...

An article just came out concerning a second-grade teacher at Holy Trinity School in San Diego - Carie Charlesworth - who was put on indefinite leave due to her ex-husband abusing her, and despite a restraining order, showing up at the school at one point, which resulted in it getting put on lockdown. School director Tom Beecher and human resources director Bobbie Espinoza tried elaborating on their decision by sending the following in a letter to Ms. Charlesworth: "We know from the most recent incident involving you and Mrs. Wright (the principal) while you were still physically at Holy Trinity School, that the temporary restraining order in effect were not a deterrent to him. Although we understand he is current incarcerated, we have no way of knowing how long or short a time he will actually serve and we understand from ocourt files that he may be released as early as next fall. In the interest of the safety of the students, faculty and parents at Holy Trinity School, we si...

I just read this essay yesterday and felt the need to share it. The original author is unknown and while it claims to have been written to "Dr." Laura Schlessinger, that has not ultimately been determined yet. Here's the essay: " Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them: When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them? I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this ...