Piers Morgan - A "Usual Suspect" Who Pegs the Dumbometer
We're familiar with the "usual suspects" in so-called "news" media (really, "views" media these days). They form the vanguard of the Ministry of Propaganda, formerly known as the "mainstream news media" (though exactly what is "mainstream" about these extremists is hard to reckon). But of all the "usual suspects" plying their wares, Piers Morgan has got to be the dunce of the lot!
Following the Newtown, Connecticut murders by a deranged man, Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America was "interviewed" by Piers Morgan for CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" show. I quote "interviewed" because the show was marked by a succession of idiotic statements by Morgan, including personal attacks on his guest, followed by Pratt's attempt to penetrate the dull-witted Morgan's barrier to reason. Needless to say, Pratt was unsuccessful. But in the exchange, Morgan provided ample evidence that he is perhaps the stupidest interviewer on television, by far.
When Pratt observed that banning guns in the UK and other European nations did not prevent mass gun murders, Morgan was beside himself. Evidently, Morgan cannot deal with that obvious refutation of his simple-minded approach to ending mass murders by deranged individuals by banning the weapons they use. Deranged individuals would then find more clever ways to commit mass murders, like using explosives or driving heavy vehicles into packed buses. Deranged individuals are the problem, not guns. Nevertheless, Morgan made the asinine response of claiming Pratt had stated "an absolute lie." But, of course, Pratt was correct. Banning guns has not prevented mass gun murder in either the UK or on the European continent.
Morgan seems confused about the difference between a murder rate and the number of murders. Citing figures for the UK of 35 per year and thousands in the US obscures the issue of mass murder committed by deranged individuals. With roughy five times the number of people as the UK, citing absolute numbers for the USA is silly and completely beside the point where mass murders are the topic.
In every instance where a mass murder has been committed, had normal citizens been able to carry weapons for self-defense, the death toll from the actions of a deranged individual would have been far lower. Even more compelling, if potential mass murderers knew that they would be cut down by return fire, it is far more likely that freely arming citizens to protect themselves would make for a safer nation. So it should be clear, even to a thick-headed individual like Morgan, that disarming citizens simply makes the job of the deranged criminal all the more safe and easier.
Pratt then correctly pointed out that the violent crime rate in the UK was higher than in the USA. In fact, Pratt vastly understated the difference. Violent crime is at least ten times higher in the UK than in the US. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report says there were a total of 1,266,248 violent crimes among 308,745,538 Americans of all ages in 2010, the last year for which complete numbers are available. The UK's Home Office report, "Crime in England and Wales" records 2,203,000 violent incidents against adults in England and Wales. However, the UK report does not include children, whereas the US report does. Furthermore, the UK includes both Scotland and Northern Ireland, neither of which were included. The only conclusion is that violent crime is far more prevalent in the UK than in the US. With five times the population of the UK, actual violent crime in the USA is less than half of violent crime in the UK.
Such statistics make Piers Morgan very uncomfortable. So what is his reaction? Morgan states, "You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you?" Evidently, confounding Morgan with facts makes one "unbelievably stupid." In the real world, the dunce who is confounded by truth is often found to be that way not only because he might be ignorant, but also because he is ignorant for the simple reason he is too stupid to learn. This seems to be Morgan's problem. Imagine, trying to have a civil conversation with a dunce who then labels you "stupid" when, in fact, the dunce is probably the dumbest man on television! Kudos to Pratt for maintaining his cool in the face of unmitigated idiocy from Morgan!
In what might be the most ironic statement of the new century, Morgan claims Pratt does not have a "coherent argument" when, in point of fact, it is Morgan who has no argument at all! Pratt uses facts, figures, logic and reality to support his position. Morgan responds with childish name calling.
That CNN keeps a buffoon like Morgan on the air is, quite frankly, bizarre. It is particularly odd for a station that is desperately trying to repair it's image as a little more than a shill for the far Left.
Author of "Looking Out the Window", an evidence-based examination of the "climate change" issue, Bob Webster, is a 12th-generation descendent of both the Darte family (Connecticut, 1630s) and the Webster family (Massachusetts, 1630s). He is a descendant of Daniel Webster's father, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Webster, who served with General Washington. Bob has always had a strong interest in early American history, our Constitution, U.S. politics, and law. Politically he is a constitutional republican with objectivist and libertarian roots. He has faith in the ultimate triumph of truth and reason over deception and emotion. He is a strong believer in our Constitution as written and views the abandonment of constitutional restraint by the regressive Progressive movement as a great danger to our Republic. His favorite novel is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and believes it should be required reading for all high school students so they can appreciate the cost of tolerating the growth of unconstitutional crushingly powerful central government. He strongly believes, as our Constitution enshrines, that the interests of the individual should be held superior to the interests of the state.
A lifelong interest in meteorology and climatology spurred his strong interest in science. Bob earned his degree in Mathematics at Virginia Tech, graduating in 1964.
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