"Real Time" Gun Debate Goes Viral

Bill Maher's "Real Time" panel had a great, however brief, debate over gun regulation policies and America's unique gun culture. And by panel, I really mean the one-on-one that took place between author Sam Harris and Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey. Part of the debate concerned a blog Harris wrote several weeks ago, which you can read here.

This particular clip demonstrates how complex the gun-violence issue is to address in America. Even on a very liberal panel, there are vast differences of opinion as to how to tackle the problem. Responsible gun owners clearly are not limited to members of the Republican party.

Harris's blog, "The Riddle of the Gun," has also sparked an informative and interesting debate between Richard Dawkin's RDFRS. (I'm not sure if there's some sort of prize if one side succeeds at out-reasoning the other).

According to data compiled by Slate, more than 1600 people have died in America from gun violence since the Sandy Hook school shooting in December. By any stretch of the imagination, that is a hell of a lot of people. Slate has arranged the data into an interactive map that shows the date, age, sex and state, where gun-deaths have occurred. The point is, every day gun violence occurs in both Red and Blue states and an individual's opinion about gun laws and how to prevent gun violence is not limited to where one lies on the political spectrum.

For NTQ!'s take on addressing and reducing gun violence, check out Nathan Rothwell's editorial here.

On Bipartanship: Two Charts that Republicans Hope You’ll Never See

By Nathan Rothwell

I hope everyone stateside enjoyed their Labor Day weekend. I know Bill Maher did.

Last week’s episode of Real Time gave Maher a chance to confront writer/filmmaker/Republican hack Dinesh D’Souza over D’Souza’s role in Maher being fired from his own ABC show for comments made following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Far more interesting, however, was the confrontation between Maher and D’Souza over D’Souza’s film cinematic hit piece entitled 2016: Obama’s America.

The film attempts to paint President Obama as an angry anti-colonialist who intends to impose his agenda on the American people at all costs, and absolutely refuses to compromise with Republican lawmakers. However, when pressed in their interview by Maher to cite examples of Obama’s single-minded rage, D’Souza cited two examples, both of which amounted to flat-out lies.

Lie #1:

“Healthcare. Obama had a plan, and Republicans had a summit with Obama and they offered a lot of ideas. Obama could have taken one or two Republican ideas and he would have had a bipartisan plan.”

D’Souza is referring to a meeting Obama had with House Republicans in 2010, which the White House posted on its YouTube channel for all to see. I guess we can assume that D’Souza is only aware of this summit but did not watch it; had he watched it, he would have found that the following components of Obamacare were all suggested by Republicans and implemented into the PPACA:

• A mandate for all citizens to purchase health insurance if they can afford it, to prevent freeloaders
• Allowing dependent children to remain on their parents’ healthcare plans until age 26.
• Allowing health insurance premiums to vary based on participation in proven employer wellness programs
•  Providing grants to states to evaluate promising medical liability reform ideas
• Allowing employers to automatically enroll employees in health insurance programs, and allowing employees to opt out if they wish
•  Strengthening standards for community mental health centers to ensure they provide appropriate care and not take advantage of Medicare patients or taxpayers.

Is that more than one or two ideas, Dinesh? No? Then I guess we’ll move on to Lie #2:

Diversity is Key to Policymaking

FUN FACT: “Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.”

These words ring just as true today as they did when first uttered by Plato, commenting on the democracy of his time. Just as they in Plato’s time, politics today are off-putting. From pointless arguments and scathing rhetoric to underhanded tactics and outright corruption, most of us struggle to see the point in even voting, let alone ever holding public office. This leaves us at the mercy of those who fill the void, and a federal government that barely reflects the population it governs.

We’re all familiar with the lack of racial, gender, religious, and ethnic diversity within the halls of Congress compared to society at large. However, another largely unreported aspect is perhaps the biggest roadblock to Congress’ ability to function – the lack of occupational diversity.

On the August 5 edition of Real Time with Bill Maher, astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson presented the panel with some startling figures,“57% of the Senate, and 38% of the House [of Representatives], cite law as their profession,” Tyson reported. “In the courtroom, it doesn’t go to who’s right, it goes to who argues best. The act of arguing, and not agreeing, seems to be fundamental to that profession. And Congress is half that profession.”

Technically Congress is only 41% that profession, but Tyson’s point remains the same. Just as troubling is another figure: 39% of lawmakers list business as a profession. The next closest occupations are education at 15%, and health care professionals at 4%. Every other occupational background held by Capitol Hill lawmakers combines to form the remaining 1%.

The lack of occupational diversity is especially troubling for a governing body that is supposed to reflect and serve the interests of the American people. What’s more troubling, however, is that these numbers are indicative of a larger trend that has persisted for decades. According to the Congressional Research Service that provided the above occupational statistics, “in the overwhelming majority of previous Congresses, business has followed law as the dominant occupation of members.”