Stay Classy, NRA

So, the NRA forced a vendor to take down a bleeding Obama target that they were displaying on the floor at the recent NRA convention. . The vendor will still sell you one of these “zombies” that bleed when you shoot them, but they are hidden from view. So, yeah, the NRA and the vendor in question are totally down with the whole assassination and sedition thing, yup.

You can also buy “The Ex”, a lingerie-clad bleeding target so you can pretend to brutally murder a woman what done you wrong a zombie that looks nothing at ALL like a human being, nonono, notatALL, why, how could you even suggest such a thing. So, the NRA is down with the whole “kill those damn bitches” thing too, yup .

Between promoting Assassination and spousal abuse , it’s a wonder the NRA has time to focus on our Second Amendment rights. Oh, wait, that’s right: they don’t care about that stuff anymore.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Oh, by the bye: you can see pictures of both targets, pre- and post-shot to s***, by clicking the links. This writer chose to spare your stomach, but go right ahead and click it you like,

Lying Sack of S*** of The Week: Jim Porter

And who, you might ask, is Jim Porter? Why, he is the new Big Boss Gun Nut of the NRA. And a few of his truly epic lies (as well as his evident barking madness) can be found here.

Quite aside from his bulls*** validation of treasonous behavior (he thinks the South was right to secede in the 1800′s, for example), this nutjob says that the reason the NRA exists is to teach each and every one of us “the use of the standard military firearm”.

Really? Standard military firearms include automatic rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and other such weapons. Many of which are illegal, per the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

So, apparently, this jackass thinks the NRA was founded in order to do illegal, seditious acts, and to teach us all to do likewise. What the NRA usually says is that they are helping to preserve our Constitutional rights. So, either the NRA’s been lying about its mission for a good few years, or Mr. Porter has earned his Crown O’ Polished Turds. This writer thinks it is the latter.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

You’re On A Terrorist Watch List? Sure, You Can Buy A Gun

Yes, you read that correctly. If you are on a terrorist watch list, you can pass the current background check and buy a gun from a licensed dealer. Not surprisingly, some people want this changed. Even less surprisingly, the NRA and other Gun Nuts don’t.

Yes, you also read that last bit correctly. The Gun Nuts support the rights of terrorists to keep and bear arms. In fact, they managed to kill an amendment last week that would have taken away the ability of terrorists to buy AR-15′s, bulk gunpowder, and other tools of their lethal trade: that trade being, of course, the killing of Americans.

This is not a partisan issue: the Bushies and the Obamians both tried to take away the rights of terrorists to legally buy the materials they need to, well, terrorize us.

It is a money issue: the NRA, GOA, IFOA, and other lobbyists for the firearms industry want to have as many customers as they can; and terrorists buy lots of weaponry, powder, and other supplies. That is cash for the armament manufacturers, and they want that cash, regardless of how many of our citizens die as a result of terrorist acts.

And if course, it is cash to bribe elected officials to kill any legislation that might keep terrorist groups from being able to legally purchase weapons of mass (and individual) destruction. And like any crooked politico, the bribed “representatives” vote as they were paid to.

Gentle Reader, does this seem to you like “providing aid and comfort to the enemy”? Because it certainly does to me.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Gun Week, Day Three: Gun Owners Are Not Stereotypes. They Are People.

You’d never know it from the wingnut screechers whose voices dominate the debate on gun rights and gun violence, though.  The Loony Lefties would have you believe that all gun owners are mouth-breathing conspiracy theorists whose lust for automatic weapons is matched only by their desire to kill people. The Raging Righties say that gun owners are the only thing preventing the ObamaBots from taking over the world, and that we need the right to keep and bear mortars and bazookas, as well as machine guns and cop-killer bullet to protect our freedoms.

The Blunt and Cranky Family are gun owners, and fit neither of these stereotypes: we have guns for practical reasons. For example: chez BluntandCranky is out in the country, and is thus primarily equipped for varmint control. However, we are moving into town soon, and we will be getting different guns for different purposes. We aren’t trying to overthrow a government, defend against tyranny, or any those fevered dreams of the Gun Nuts. We also aren’t much interested in making a bunch of weapons manufacturers even richer than they already are, so we’ll be getting what we need and then stopping. 

Kind of like a normal purchase that a normal family normally makes, wouldn’t you say? Like pots and pans, power tools, canned goods, or anything else people use in their daily lives. No ideology, no philosophy, just ordinary pragmatism at work. Other normal gun owners have guns to hunt, or to defend their homes, and other likewise practical purposes.

Now, there are Gun Nuts who fit the stereotypes used by wingnuts to a tee: in fact, this writer knows a fair few of them. They strike us as either collectors, or deluded fools who are being fleeced by the armament industry. Thankfully, very few gun owners fit that mold.

Gentle Reader, always remember that mass media images are not always based in fact: all too frequently, they are exaggerations used to make a political point or to create outrage. Said outrage, of course, helps to drive up ratings of the Infotainment industry, thus making more money: note that truth and accuracy are not significant business drivers for these companies.

Gun owners, like humans in general, come in all different shapes, sizes, and types. People who treat us like cartoonish media memes do NOT convince us. Instead, all they do is piss us off, and make us close our ears to their rants. Want our attention? Talk to us as individual Americans. Which is what we are.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Gun Week, Day Two: The Second Amendment is NOT a License to Assassinate.

It might seem obvious to you, but it isn’t obvious to the Republican party of Benton County: their April newsletter includes the following from Chris Nogy (husband of the party secretary) :

“We need to let those who will come in the future to represent us [know] that we are serious. The 2nd amendment means nothing unless those in power believe you would have no problem simply walking up and shooting them if they got too far out of line and stopped responding as representatives.“

Gentle Reader, you surely know that walking up to government officials and shooting them is assassination.That is what people did to Ronald Reagan, MLK, RFK, and many others throughout history. The writer of that editorial is saying that the 2nd Amendment is a license to commit such crimes. And why does he think he should start assassinating people?

Again from the website, referring to a recent vote in the Arkansas legislature regarding health care financing: “The legislature approved the ‘private option’ health plan with 75 percent majorities in both the Senate and House. It’s called the ‘private option’ because it takes Medicaid dollars and uses them to purchase private health insurance for people whose yearly income is less than138 percent of the federal poverty level. The goal was to not simply expand a government program, as the federal government had initially directed, but instead to provide health coverage through the private sector and thus allow the free market to hold down costs.”

Got that? The Repubs voted to take public money and give it to the private sector. “Conservatives” tend to approve of such arrangements. But evidently it has sent Mr. Nogy (among others) over the edge: indeed, he is now advocating the murder of elected officials. All because Arkansas is taking Federal money???? That is crazy.

Now, other members of the Benton County GOP have disavowed Mr. Nogy’s remarks, but as of this writing have not removed them from the webpage: http://talkbusiness.net/2013/04/benton-county-gop-newsletter-suggests-shooting-legislators/ This would seem to indicate at least a certain level of tacit agreement on the part of the Republican Party.

Here’s the link to the party site: http://www.nogy.net/bcgop/Apr_2013/index.html Oh, and this writer took screen shots of the page, in case they decide to delete it. He will add them to this post if need be.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

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

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

Colorado Gun Rights Official Urges People to “Hunt Democrats”

And when someone from the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners says “hunt”, we can safely assume he means “shoot”: hunting deer = hunting humans.

Dudley Brown, whose organization was at one time judged too bats*** crazy for the NRA , said and we quote: “there’s a time to hunt deer. And the next election is the time to hunt Democrats”. That, people, is a threat, plain and simple.

You can say “Awww, he doesn’t really mean it“, but that would be very foolish. One recent example tells us why:

A few years back, Sarah Palin (also a devotee of shooting metaphors) published a picture of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ district in the crosshairs of a telescopic sight.. And as we all know, Ms. Giffords was shot and nearly killed soon afterwards.

Ms. Palin tried to pretend that her threatening language and images had no connection to the violent crimes committed after she published them. But that is very hard to believe. Seriously, folks, if politicos didn’t think their words had an impact, would they bother saying them? Of course not. They say what they say in order to accomplish a goal, and they mean what they say. The only time such slimy weasels pretend otherwise is when they are called on their violent rhetoric, or if there are consequences to the hate speech they spew.

Like Palin, Mr. Brown used language that strongly suggests shooting and killing people. And also like her, he’ll strenuously deny that when if a Democrat gets murdered. But he’ll still have blood on his hands.

And like Palin (or Pilate) he can pretend to wash it away. But the stain of blood can never be removed from the hands of a killer, or one who urges others to kill.

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

The NRA and “Republicans”, Talking Out Their A**es Again

At yesterday’s hearings on Gun Control, the ever-unhinged NRA mouthpiece Wayne LaPierre repeated one of the standard “Republican” lines: that we do not need new laws until President Obama enforces the existing ones. Sounds reasonable until you remember that:

Number A: the biggest impediment to the enforcement of existing laws is the Teapublicans’ persistent defunding of the government agencies who are charged with said enforcement. These Right-Wing fools expect our public safety resources to do more and more, while simultaneously refusing to pay them for so doing. Repubs must think money magically appears when needed, perhaps delivered by perky little fairies riding unicorns.

Letter 2: it is not Obama’s job to enforce each and every law on the books. No one person can do that. It takes thousands of people at all levels of government to do so. And they, too, have had their authority undermined, staffs reduced and budgets slashed by the “conservative” “Republicans”, to the point that they can barely do anything to enforce any laws at all.

Tell you what, Waynie old buddy old pal: give the cops the money and resources they need to enforce existing laws before you trot out that line of B.S. again.

Mr. B & C