When Wingnuts Rant, Respond With Facts. Then Enjoy the Sweet Sound of Silence.

This recent exchange started with this picture on Facebook:

Mr. Blunt and Cranky re-posted it on his personal Facebook page, and the following exchange ensued:

(Name Removed) Since when has anyone ever asked for a background check to vote, buy a home, get a driver’s license, etc.? Is it too much to prove you are who you say you are to exercise your right to vote by showing a valid Photo ID? I don’t think so, and that’s a far cry from a background check.

To which the B & C response was: “Actually, when you register to vote, they do quite a bit of checking behind the scenes, to make sure you’re legally able to vote, aren’t voting in more than one place, and so on. Getting a  driver’s license in our state includes a check of your criminal record. And anyone who has ever bought a home knows that you have to give them a whole helluva lot more information to get a loan than you ever have to if you want to buy a gun. So I’d say these are not persuasive analogies.”

The reply? Silence.

And that’s a pretty representative example of what happens when wingnut talking points are countered immediately with facts. The wingnuts either shout you down, or shut up and go talk to somebody else. Another example:

(Name removed) As some have pointed out, when is the last time a criminal or those wanting to participate in a criminal act going to apply for a background check let alone a background mental health check?

(B & C) You’d be surprised -  the FBI intercepts quite a few. And making everyone get a background check restricts the overall gun supply for crooks and crazies, making it harder and more expensive for them to buy guns. Plus, the current system is unfair to licensed gun dealers: if you go to a gun show, they get undercut by the shadow sellers; because the legit dealers have to run background checks, and the shady characters and individuals don’t.

(Name Removed)  The FBI may intercept quite  few, however, the criminal then turns around and acquires them by another means. All the FBI did is delay the process and the crime. The outcome is still the same. Don’t you think? Thanks for the honest discourse.

(B & C) If we make it harder for crooks to buy guns, that’s a win. Most of the “other means” cost more and add risk. Right now, all a criminal or adjudicated individual has to do is walk into a gun show with cash. He or she walks out with a gun. That’s too easy. Making it harder to get the gun in the first place changes the outcome.

Again, silence ensued. Loverly.

The lesson for us all? Don’t just ignore wingnut talking points. Counter them, debate them, respond with facts. Whether or not they are persuaded, they will at least shut up. And that, friends, is a win in and of itself.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Do You REALLY Think God Wants Morons for Followers?

Mr. Blunt and Cranky suspects that many religious people think so. At least, when they forward and share things like this:

It is hard to come to any other conclusion. Seriously, people, if God is all-powerful, then there is no way on Earth that we humans could “not allow Him in  schools”; for that  matter, there isn’t any way we could stop Him from going anywhere He wants to go.

Also, God IS “allowed” in schools: prayer has NEVER been outlawed in any school in our nation. What is not allowed is teachers forcing kids to pray in  a certain manner that the kids may not agree with. (You may have heard of this before – it is called “religious freedom”.

God gave us brains so that we may use them. Let’s all do so.

Mr. B & C

The Senate’s Pro-Killer Caucus

Today, some parents of children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown will be on Capitol Hill begging lawmakers to allow debate on background checks and other gun-related legislation. And thirteen Senators have already told these grieving families to go pound sand. Yes, they did say that.

You see, the Senators in question (add Bitchy Mitchy McConnell to the list from yesterday) are much more sympathetic to the Adam Lanzas of the world than they are to the victims of gun violence. Put another way, they support the rights of killers over the rights of the killed.

This writer suggests that you contact the thirteen members of the Pro-Killer Caucus (feel free to use that phrase): Senators Paul, Cruz, Rubio, Lee, Moran, Inhofe, Burr, Johnson, Enzi, Risch, Crapo, Coats, Roberts and McConnell. Tell them that you support the rights of the 99.999% of Americans who are NOT killers.

As opposed to these Senators, who support the killers’ right to bear arms: arms they can use to kill little children.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Twelve Senators Are Helping Crooks and Crazies Buy Guns

Here is the story of Rand Pail and eleven other Senators who are making sure that crazy people and violent criminals can buy any guns they want, any time they want to. They will filibuster any and all legislation that would keep kooks and perps away from weapons that could be used to slaughter innocent adults and children.

These twelve Senators are standing firm in their support for violent, insane, sociopathic murderers like Adam Lanza. They are shoulder-to-shoulder with terrorists like Timothy McVeigh. They support convicted felons who want to mug little old ladies and shoot them. They just love the two teenaged scumbuckets who shot a baby in the head last month. Yes, America, if you want to have guns, the Dirty Dozen wants you to have them too: even if a judge has found you to be mentally incompetent, or if you have a history of committing violent felonies.

You see, among the proposals that would be up for a vote in the Senate is one that would close some loopholes in our current background check system. 90% of Americans support this measure. That is ninety percent of our fractious, divided nation agreeing on something. When is the last time you saw that many of us agree on anything? We don’t want lunatics running around gunning down our children. We don’t want convicted felons shooting our babies and grandparents. That is what almost every American believes.

But these Senators don’t give a damn what we the people think. They only care about pocketing their large paychecks from the NRA. Never mind if the rest of us get our asses shot off by someone who should not legally be able to purchase a weapon. Nope, they are not concerned with the opinion of the law-abiding majority of Americans. They are watching out for the rights of the felons and the criminally insane to have assault weapons.

One doubts that the twelve sleazebuckets would say so themselves , of course. They’d prattle on with some conspiracy theory about black helicopter-riding Soviet assassins, coming to take our guns and canned goods, because they hate our freedoms; that, or something even less coherent.

But since what they do supports the gun rights of loonies, terrorists and criminals, then they are supporters of loonies, terrorists and criminals. Ladies and Gentlemen, we present Senators Paul, Cruz, Rubio, Lee, Moran, Inhofe, Burr, Johnson, Enzi, Risch, Crapo, Coats and Roberts: the Crazy Criminal Caucus.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Joe Biden Schools NPR Reporter, and Squashes the NRA

NPR’s Melissa Block got herself pretty well embarrassed by our Vice President yesterday. Mr. Biden did what politicians rarely do: he pushed back against her repetitious quoting of NRA propaganda with his own facts and viewpoint, without flinching, yelling or screaming. You can listen to it or read it here.

The “journalist” kept on trying to steer the conversation back to Gun Loony Land, but Joe was having none of it. Time and time again, he called BS on her “questions” (all too often, they were statements masquerading as questions) and responded with the facts.

As someone who is fed up with the sorry state of the “news” in this day and age, it was a treat to hear a politico nut up and school one of these biased, unprofessional weasels.

Mr. B & C

A Politician Says Something Smart. Wow.

Yes, you read that correctly. Over the weekend, President Obama pointed out to the rest of the country what is already common knowledge amongst rural Americans: that we have a different environment and culture than city dwellers, so gun control measures need to take that into account. No big deal, you say? Think again, dear reader.

The bulk of “news” coverage and political soundbite production has been focused on a few conflicting one-size-fits-all messages. This is bad because, like toques, socks, condoms and bathtubs, one size never fits all. In fact, such articles usually don’t really fit anyone all that well. But in an effort to simplify things, we still try to make everything fit into a single solution, and the devil take reality.

In this case, Obama is quite right to tell both Liberals and the NRA that they have to broaden their thinking. Here at chez Blunt and Cranky, we don’t have to worry as much about muggers or home invasion; we do have to mind coyotes and feral dogs, and the odd rabid critter. So the guns we need are different than those required by a downtown apartment dweller. And any new laws must take the full spectrum of gun owners into account if it is to be accepted and effective.

One isolated intelligent comment does not mean that our government will suddenly get smart. But it is heartening to see that a politico who had a diverse upbringing can be capable of putting himself in another guy’s shoes. And noticing that they don’t fit.

Mr. B & C

Lying Sack of S*** of The Week: The NRA

This week, the NRA decided to paint targets on a couple of school kids, for the “crime” of being the President’s daughters. In addition to being vicious, despicable, and perhaps intended to incite terrorist attacks on innocent children, the advertisement stood out as being almost completely devoid of any factual accuracy of any sort.

Put plainly; the entire advertisement is a lie; analysis

And then, after being called out for their revolting screed about the Prexy’s kids, the NRA lied again, saying that the ad about Malia and Sasha was NOT about, well, Malia and Sasha.

To the usual Crown O’ Polished Turds, we shall add some shell casings, with sharp jagged edges to remind these useless terrorist f***s of the scars they are inflicting on children around the nation. Not that they would care: look at what some of their kids are like, after all.

Mr. B & C

Second Amendment – Read the Whole Thing Sometime

Mr. Blunt and Cranky has this crazy theory, and it goes like this: the Founders were smart people who argued, haggled, debated, and In the end wrote a Constitution that said exactly what they meant. Nothing more, and nothing less. And if we don’t like something, we can bust our arses and amend it. (Yeah, a crazy notion,eh?)

But when people read the Constitution, they cherry-pick the bits and bobs they like and pretend the rest is not there, or that “the Founders were just kidding with that part”. That is not the act of a law-abiding citizen, folks. No matter if one is a Supreme Court justice or some regular schmuck, we have to respect the entire law. Including the Second Amendment.

People love the second part of the sentence, yes they do. But the first part, about the “well regulated militia”? Even Fat Tony and his posse at the S.C. tend to gloss over that bit.

The only reason to have battle-specific weapons is to fight a battle. And the only smart way to fight a battle is in an organized military group. For that matter, it is the only legal way to do it. So if you’re not in such an organization and you own and use military-style armaments, you are not in compliance with the law of the land.

Don’t like it? Pursue an amendment. But until you get one, just obey the friggin’ law.

Mr. B & C

Thought for Your Sunday: If God is Omnipotent…

then He would not be barred from school buildings because of the quantity of teacher-led prayers therein: He would be there anyway.

And if God’s love lasts forever, He wouldn’t bail out on us because we failed to tattoo the Ten Commandments on the foreheads of each and every student: He would be there anyway.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky was raised to believe these things, and is sure most other People of the Book were as well. So when he sees stupid T-Shirts like this one:

The Cranky One gets even crankier. Because these people seem to think we mortals can order God about. Like, whaaaaaat? Plus, the shirt-makers did not capitalize  “You”. Idiots.

We are not more powerful than God,  and cannot “allow Him in schools”. Either God is omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal, or He isn’t. You can’t have it both ways.

Mr. B & C