Angry HR Guy

Human Resources Professional, Golfer, Former Rugby Player, Generally annoyed by stupid questions and inquisitive idiots.

Views are my own

[The Intellectualist @highbrow_nobrow]

Americans voted for this.

[The Intellectualist @highbrow_nobrow]

Jack Posobiec at CPAC: “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it.” (February 2024)

[Molly Jong-Fast @MollyJongFast]

The mainstream media is covering the odds and NOT the stakes

Yet again

[Norman Ornstein @NormOrnstein]

I spent 30 years as an election analyst for CBS. It was the gold standard for television news. Those days, and their standards, are long gone.

[Mark Madden @MarkMaddenX]

Yep. He’s all over the place in practice, doesn’t really have a position. They’re confusing him& killing his confidence. They’re teaching him to be a backup.

[Victoria Brownworth @VABVOX]

So Tim Walz believe kids should be fed at school so they can learn better and JD Vance believes kids should accept being shot at school as a "fact of life."
Vote accordingly.

[Mark Madden @MarkMaddenX]

This game = the stupid Olympics.

[Randy Baumann @DVERandy]

How is that no offside but TJ was

[Ray Fittipaldo @rayfitt1]

I can't believe how bad the officiating is in this game. The game is too fast for these guys, but they're also out of position way too often. Calling Pickens down by contact might be the worst call I've seen in a long time.

[Chad Tyson @chadtyson]

This is OPI?? #steelers

[The Intellectualist @highbrow_nobrow]

Here is convicted Russian spy Maria Butina in photos with:

1. Former Sheriff David Clarke
2. Scott Walker
3. Rick Santorum
4. Wayne Lapierre
5. Bobby Jindal
6. Donald Trump Jr.

[The Intellectualist @highbrow_nobrow]

Speaker Johnson: Guns are not the problem; it's the human heart.

Response:

This argument fails for many reasons.

The claim that guns aren’t the problem, but rather it’s the human heart, suggests that the American heart is somehow more corrupt than the Canadian, English, Australian, or New Zealand heart.

This implicitly anti-American argument overlooks the reality that all these countries, despite having similar cultural and legal backgrounds and histories, have people with bad hearts or bad intentions.

However, these nations have significantly lower gun violence rates because they implement effective gun safety measures, unlike the U.S.

The issue is not that the American heart is darker or more corrupt than the British, Australian, Canadian, or New Zealand heart. The problem is that our heart is sicker.

According to scholars, one of the primary drivers of violence is income inequality. When comparing our Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, the U.S. has much higher inequality than our peer nations among English-speaking democracies and advanced economies overall.

This parallels countries like Mexico, Brazil, and Russia, which also experience significant societal discontent due to similar levels of inequality. This discontent stems from a tax policy that favors the rich and redistributes wealth upwards, exacerbating societal issues.

While the American heart is not more corrupt than others, it is undeniably sicker.

This is evident in various human development metrics indicating that we are losing ground relative to our closest neighbors and allies—Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Compared to other economically advanced nations such as Spain and Japan, the U.S. also lags behind in several critical areas. For instance, life expectancy in the U.S. stands at about 77 years, which is notably lower than Canada's 82 years, the UK's 81 years, and Japan's 85 years. Furthermore, the U.S. performs poorly in other metrics such as infant mortality, where it has a higher rate than most developed nations, and healthcare access, where costs and coverage present significant issues.

Affordance and Telos

A critical concept often missing from discussions about gun violence is affordance—the potential actions that an object or environment inherently enables. Much like telos—a term originating from Greek philosophy that refers to the inherent purpose or end of a thing—affordance helps us understand the implications and intended use of different objects. Telos is closely related to teleology, which is the study of purpose or design in natural phenomena.

Both concepts emphasize understanding the inherent functions and goals of objects or beings. Unlike cars, elevators, or turkey basters—which, though they can be misused, are primarily designed for transportation, lifting, and cooking—guns are specifically designed with the affordance of inflicting harm or killing.

This fundamental difference makes it misleading to compare guns to other objects that can be misused. The primary function of a gun is to cause harm, distinguishing it from other tools whose primary purposes are constructive or benign.

Opponents of reasonable gun safety measures often argue that violence stems from the heart, not the weapon, asserting that societal changes, rather than the weapons themselves, are responsible for modern violence. However, this perspective overlooks the crucial fact that the increased availability and ease of access to advanced firearms enable individuals with harmful intentions to inflict significant harm more easily.

When comparing similar nations—such as the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—we observe markedly lower gun violence rates. This disparity arises from stringent gun control measures that effectively limit access to firearms for individuals with malicious intent. For instance, Australia experienced a dramatic decrease in firearm homicides following its 1996 gun law reforms.

Similarly, the UK introduced rigorous gun control after the Dunblane massacre, leading to some of the lowest gun violence rates among developed countries. Even Switzerland, despite its liberal gun laws, maintains strict regulations on gun ownership and storage, contributing to lower gun violence rates compared to the U.S.

Historically, societies in the 18th and 19th centuries and pre-World War II experienced higher violence rates. Despite a decline in overall violence, the U.S. remains disproportionately violent compared to peer countries, largely due to its permissive firearm regulations.

Unlike controlled substances like Advil Cold and Sinus, which were linked to methamphetamine production and are regulated, or poisons and dynamite, which require licenses due to their potential for harm, firearms remain remarkably unregulated. In many states, the main issue for purchasing a semi-automatic weapon is age; once someone hits their 18th birthday, they can easily buy such a firearm.

Federal law requires a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), but beyond that, the process can be straightforward.

With recent Supreme Court rulings, accessories like bump stocks that can make guns even more lethal are also easier to obtain. This misplacement of priorities means it's remarkably straightforward to purchase a semi-automatic weapon compared to the controlled but less complex process of buying regulated substances like Advil Cold and Sinus at a local drug store.

In sum, the argument that violence is solely a matter of the heart disregards the critical role of gun accessibility in facilitating violence. Restricting access to firearms for those likely to misuse them has proven effective in reducing gun violence globally, emphasizing the need for comprehensive gun control measures.

[Angry HR Guy @angryHRguy]

This officiating crew in Atlanta is already a disaster. NFL continues to be bad at this. Unreal.

[Jo @JoJoFromJerz]

Dick Cheney says he’s voting for a Democrat and the Fraternal Order of Police say they’re voting for a convicted felon.

Have we ever lived in weirder times?

[Liz Cheney @Liz_Cheney]

On Trump’s orders, Republicans in Congress are rejecting the border security deal. They’re also abandoning America’s allies in Ukraine. Trump and the GOP are losing the war on purpose in an inexcusable betrayal that will strengthen America’s enemies for years to come.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Just to be clear, most prominent elected Republicans in this country are allied with Kirk, appear on his show, attend his conferences etc - so will the media be asking Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley et al if they agree with Kirk’s views on Dr King? Or will they get a pass, as usual?

[Bill Simmons @BillSimmons]

Buffalo is better but the refs absolutely murdered Pitt in this game. Not to mention the 2 non calls on the Porter concussion and the Robinson concussion - the Porter play was egregious.

[trey wingo @wingoz]

The one constant the NFL season: horrendous officiating

[trey wingo @wingoz]

The @steelers are down 11 points to the 2 win @patriots. They lost last week to a 2 win @AZCardinals team.

[Molly Jong-Fast @MollyJongFast]

“Odds v stakes” @jayrosen_nyu