We have the video from the interview with Cam last night. I am still speechless. A high school teacher who doesn’t realize that federal law applies to the whole country, including New York. A high school teacher who took what New Yorkers Against Gun Violence said about the law at face value, and who pretty clearly hasn’t researched the topic at all. This is what’s teaching the next generation? God help us.
Click below to see the video, it is in three parts:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7gOSE4CBeU[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spz9_1RdEqQ[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF-HBACmuRs[/youtube]
I don’t know about you, but I’m utterly at a loss for words.
“Some of them might care about minorities.. just not the average NRA member who belongs to some militia in Idaho”
That’s your liberal’s definition of “tolerance” in a nutshell, right there.
Wait a minute… this guy is a history teacher? I’m fairly certain that Thomas Jefferson was in France when the Bill of Rights was ratified, so he wasn’t involved in “passing” the Second Amendment.
He was at a complete loss when it was pointed out to him that firing pins can easily be replaced. I’m sure he was thinking it, but didn’t want to say, that any legislation requiring microstamping of firing pins would necessarily have to include criminal penalties for “tampering” with them.
We were also appalled by that, mobo. A history teacher who thinks George Washington wrote the Bill of Rights? There’s so much to be horrified by in this guy’s complete lack of basic knowledge in civics and history. It has nothing to do with his views on the subject of gun control, he simply has no clue what he’s talking about. And he’s the one leading these kids to go rally for bills they know nothing about, at least as demonstrated by their teacher.
I think I were a taxpayer in Niagara Falls, I’d be asking for a refund of my tax money that went to pay his salary.
Scary, isn’t it?
What do you know? He played the “NRA members don’t care about black people” Card.
I’m stunned.
Fun stuff. Poor guy was fiercely convicted based on Brady Campaign sound bites, but hadn’t bothered to do any real research and was taken by surprise by someone who has.
I knew that there was a reason that I can’t get a teaching job. I’m just not as qualified as guys like this.
“Some of them might care about minorities.. just not the average NRA member who belongs to some militia in Idahoâ€
I suppose that I should introduce him to some of the minority NRA members I know here in Idaho. It would be worth it just to watch his brain explode.
Well, this certainly explains why American high schools are turning into prime examples of how not to teach children.
The man hardly had a grasp on topics related to his degree… expecting him to be a viable debate counterpart on another topic is apparently expecting far too much.
Listening to this guy fumble about the “laser printing” is hysterical … he clearly has no idea what he’s talking about. Cam is fantastic—informed and polite. He even makes excuses for Esposito allowing him to save face, explaining that the two different bills/technologies are similar and it’s easy to confuse the two. I probably would have mocked the caller at that point.
Those videos were amazing, thanks.
I grew up in NYC so I can say that this is pretty much par for the course in terms of intelligence, diligence and political views. The teachers unions have pretty much destroyed the educational system of this country.
Anyone who isn’t from NYC will have difficulty appreciating the complete ignorance of 99 percent of the populace on anything gun related.
Imagine the worst stereotype of a 10 year old boy who bases his gun knowledge on movies and counterstrike and then imagine that there is no one to set that person straight with the facts because everyone is equally ignorant and even shares that person’s views.
Promoting gun control in such an environment is about as difficult as making up any lie about guns and then telling it to people. No one has any knowledge with which to challenge even the most outrageous fabrication.
I remember watching Jay Leno’s “Jay Walking” with great incredulity because he would walk the streets of a city and ask basic American history questions that young adults generally answered wrongly. One night Jay asked the young adults he met in New York City and I thought it had to have been staged – I mean nobody is that ignorant! Well, now I have changed my mind! They ARE that ignorant! I would be, too, if I had that bufoon for a history teacher! Go homeschooling in NYC!
As a History buff working on finishing my MA and teachers cert., I’m ashamed at being associated w/ that guy.
Wow these videos are the BEST thing for our cause. Guy had NO IDEA what he was talking about and was struggling to keep up, meanwhile Cam cut him no slack, crushed all his arguments, without breaking a sweat and was extremely polite while doing it!
Unless somebody breaks into name calling this is how it ALWAYS goes!
Thanks for posting this. I hope Cam does send someone to the classroom next year. Kids are smart enough to realize if the chump lied about guns, the rest of the class was probably worthless.
Does anyone doubt Howard Zinn plays a magor part in this person’s class?
Also, I was amazed nuclear weapons were NOT brought up.
Cam is incredible. I’ve never watched him much. The self control it must take to not make a joke of this guy is beyond me.
Poor students.
I suspect his degree is in education, not history. So he knows a lot about the value of “diversity” and “tolerance”, but not much else.
Dan is right on. A family member got her degree in English Education, and quite honestly, she’s horribly unqualified, and she graduated from one of the best education programs in the country. Another family friend is a history teacher (she failed the accredation test several times before passing and getting her degree) and she is woefully ignorant of actually US history. I’m not sure I ever want to talk to her about world history…
One quick note – the family member is currently teaching “special needs” kids in a public school, which really makes her a babysitter. I feel sorry for her being put in the union environment, where she’s afraid to speak her mind on anything because of the political backlash from these “tolerence preachers.” I’m 100% private school educated, and I still had incompetent or otherwise dangerous teachers.
The person who said he was underqualified, and I hope this was sarcasm, is probably like most of us overqualified to teach.
The problem with this type of teaching goes FAR beyond the above. The Colleges of Education in the United States teach the arguably worst college-bound students how to teach rather than the subject(s) that they are expected to teach. For example, the history teacher above might have only had 4 or 5 actual history courses during his college career and those would have been lower-level courses. And his other coursework would have been geared towards maintaining his self-esteem rather than being actually rigorous enough to make him think. It’s very sad and scary.
99.9% of lawyers, teachers, and newspeople are unaware that the federal government’s power over states internal affairs comes thru either the commerce clause, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, or directly thru regulation pursuant to the fourteenth amendment. Other than those two freedom leaks, the federal government was intended to stay the hell out of people’s lives.
Clayton Kramer, bingo!
I have been looking for a social studies job for over 6 years now. It is amazing what I have seen in the clssrooms I substitute teach in, yet I am not getting hired either. I have my own theories about why, but this kind of stuff supports it.
Two words: “Home. School.”
People often ask why my wife and I home-school our kids. Being fairly diplomatic, I offer a general answer along the lines of “Well, we wanted the flexibility, yadda yadda.” What I want to say is” “Because I want my children to be educated as free people, with an understanding of the historical context of their freedom, and to understand how fragile that freedom is. I want them to know that the Constitution is about the rights of the people, not a list of powers granted to us by the government. I want them to be well-informed and ready to live wisely, to speak their minds and to defend the things they love with
clear eyes and a courageous heart. I want to raise sheepdogs, not sheep.”
That’s what I want to say. But maybe an easier way to answer is to just have people listen to this teacher in Niagara Falls. Good lord.
About eight years ago, someone who claimed to be a high school teacher tried to sell me on the line that the U.S. is more “Big Government” than Fascist Italy because here there are 435+ guys in charge, there and then it was 1 guy. I haven’t viewed just being a teacher as any great achievement since then.
To “Reader:” You are right on about the Constitutional ignorance of the “professional elites” in this country whom we foolishly entrust with our laws, our liberties, our governance, and worst of all, our children! But I would add to your list the 16th Amendment: once the central government was allowed to penetrate the protective insulation afforded us by our sovereign State goverments and confiscate our incomes directly from our paychecks and pocketbooks, we were doomed to be its slaves! What fools our ancestors were to have passed that Amendment! In their defense, they never intended it to be the the monster it has become. But let that be a lesson to us: no matter how good our intentions or the short-term results, NEVER, EVER give the central government access, control, or even “subtle” influence over your person, property, decisions, money, rights, or sovereign powers (either yours or your State’s) if you wish your children and grandchildren to remain free! – Arnie
To Declan Davies: Spot on, my friend!! Spot on!! Yours were exactly my sentiments. Home-schooling RULES! If I bring children into this world, I am responsible for them, not the government nor the taxpayer. I am! And that includes their proper education. And I’ll be be hanged for treason before I would ever subject my children to the stupidity and perversion that, as Mr. Esposito proves, passes for public education in this country. With all due respect to the gentleman who commented above about getting his teaching certificate (and I commend his desire to restore respectability to that profession), public education is controlled by the government and the education unions (essentially communist bureaucrats), not by the parents. Parents are the ones responsible but are not the ones in control (if you don’t believe this, just try to convince a teacher to let your Johnny do a report on how guns won our nation’s freedom; or on how Christianity helped end slavery, start hospitals, motivate our Founders, and originate the Red Cross; or on SCIENTIFIC objections to theories such as evolution, global warming, psychanalysis, and the merits of gun control). To be resposible for someone without having control over them is a recipe for disaster. Hence: the pitiful condition of so many families today, and the horrible yet commonly accepted conception of the present role of government in our lives with its attendant intrusions and usurpations and its concomitant burden of outrageous debt which even our grandchidren will be stuggling to pay off. Gentlemen, you are better fathers than that! Every contributor to this site has shown me far more inelligence and teaching ability than what I heard coming from that “professional” Mr. Esposito. Each one of you and your wives can do a better job educating your children, esoecially in the TRUTH, than anyone in government-controlled public teaching. Ultimately, it is your responsibility. The government holds you responsible! If your son decides to put his public school sex education into practice and his condom fails, YOU (not the government school) have to help pay for your new grandchild, or for the antibiotic shots, or for the court costs in a paternity suit or a rape defense lawyer. If you are going to be held responsible anyway, why not also be in control? Please consider it. If for no other reason than this: Our gun rights at stake (remember Mr. Esposito?)! – Arnie
Wow.
I am so glad I got my History degree through the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences instead of the College of Education when I went to Southern Illinois. Colleges of Education apparently teach how to avoid critical thinking. Then again, it’s not like my professors liked the answers I gave them when I applied critical thinking to their favorite topics. I received more than a few “well-researched, well-supported, and it makes sense but I hate your interpretation” notes on my papers.
Maybe I should take that certification test for fun.
It isn’t just history – a few years ago when I visited my son’s 8th grade science class (it was ‘bring your parents to school day), the science teacher asked me who came first, Copernicus or Einstein (she knew I was a physicist). I could not believe that she was serious – that she didn’t know. But she was and she didn’t.
Whoa.
Not knowing which clip it’s in or how far in, I don’t have time to find that and hear it for myself. Any chance it’s a case of life imitating parody?
McGehee, haha, no it’s nothing like that, but pretty entertaining nonetheless. It’s in the first video, from about 4:30 to 5:30.
Oh, okay. Thanks. Yeah, that guy ought to try educating himself about — damn near everything.
Spot on with home schooling!! Unions have destroyed eduction. This “teacher” is a nightmare and just a tip of the iceberg – imagine if your kid was in his class! He’s exposed now – hopefully he will get fired or demoted to scrubbing dishes in the cafe, oh wait his Union will protect him. He is so transparent and wishy-washy it’s not even funny!
The “debate” pro / anti gun control in Mike’s classroom will never happen.
Why, you ask? Because the NRA / anti – gun control representative will use with logic and reason. The anti will rely on stereotypes, generalizations, and hysteria.
And the NRA / anti gun control representative will clean their clock. Even high school students taught by this idiot will recognize that.
Moreover, Mike knows that; if he didn’t before, he does now. Thus, the “debate” will never happen.
The history teacher, (those who can’t do. . . ) might know that federal means federal, but by going back to NY as his example, he’s basically admitting that anti-gun laws exacerbate gun crime.
I also like how he comes back to “Something needs to be done.” excuse. . .Okay, something needs to be done. . . WHAT!?
I think I took brain damage from listening to all of that. The stupidity it burns like jalapeno peppers in an open wound.
before some troll asks me what I would do, I would decriminalize personal protection weaponry, and truth be told, I have no problem with decriminalizing the posession of ANY weapon, because the big scary weapons we are worried about when it comes to terrorism are Effing Expensive.
There is a reason that women and tourists are most likely to be targets for violent (including rape of course) crime is because women are small and less likely to be able to defend themselves, and tourists, have no local support system, and aren’t allowed (in most cases) to arm and defend themselves.
When I was 19, a woman was so intimidated by me, (she never accused me, but it came up in conversation, even though we were still friends) that she said “I almost thought he was gonna rape me.”
She said it jokingly, and I was a member of the group she was talking to, but that statement stygmatized me and ended up causing me great pain.
I would have rather she had a gun so she could have shot me, rather than ever telling that joke.
The Second Amendment is a Civil Right. Why do bigots pick and choose the Rights they agree or disagree with?
Why do the liberal bigots lie about all the information that reveals deaths from firearms is a criminal issue and not about a guns.
Why do we assist thease bigots in removing our Civil Right by debating this unconstitutional rubbish.
It’s like Rosa Parks having a bus problem! Wake up and call it for what it is… your Civil Right, PERIOD!
The problem is, different people have different definitions about the scope of a right. Saying something over and over again won’t make it true, you have to persuade.
Sebastian,
I disagree.
We are a republic ruled by law, not by majority. Majority is just short of mob rule.
We follow the rule of law, the Second Amendment has been determined to be a individual right by the courts.
You can persuade all you want and won’t change that fact!
Not just a good idea, it is the law.
If anyone infringes on the spirit of the Second Amendment they violate our Civil Rights.
We follow the rule of law, the Second Amendment has been determined to be a individual right by the courts.
Yes, but the courts have yet to decide what that means. Saying it’s an individual right doesn’t mean anything beyond you have some undefined right to have something called “arms.” But what are arms protected by the Second Amendment? Rifles, pistols? Machine guns? Rockets? Grenades? ICBMs? What are the circumstances where people can have their right limited? Felony conviction? Does a restraining order provide for enough due process?
It gets complicated, and whether we’re a Republic or not, the power to decide these things ultimately goes back to the People. They elect the representatives that approve the judges that get to define the scope of the right. So you’re stuck back at persuasion.
Saying we’re a Republic doesn’t take something that’s very difficult, and suddenly make it easy.
I love hearing conversations like this. Two rational guys taking different positions on a potentially explosive (no pun intended) issue while maintaining a respectful dialogue. Reading the comments here is another story. It’s disappointing such a great conversation is followed up by the comment mob devouring the guy that didn’t immediately espouse their beliefs.
Mike seemed to be honestly in search of answers to a problem close to his heart. Perhaps he was quick to align himself with ‘sound byte solutions’ people, perhaps he didn’t fully research all the solutions, sure. I can’t say I haven’t been guilty of the same before. Yes, it sounded strange to hear a history teacher talk about George Washington passing the 2nd Amendment (and I didn’t gradeuate high school) and yes, it was a bit silly to think federal law isn’t applicable within the state of New York, all true. I’ve goofed some ‘facts’ in the heat of the conversation too – especially when the other guy’s logic is starting to sink in.
And that’s why I think y’all are overly harsh on Mr. Esposito. He, unlike many I’ve spoken with on this subject, genuinely seemed to be considering the possibility of what Sebastian was saying to him was true – that his initial stance on the subject may have been hasty – and that he’d more then likely would follow up this discussion by actively researching the ‘other side.’ There’s a real courage in re-evaluating those ‘sacred cows’ (just ask John Stossel) and its very uncommon for a man to change core beliefs. I sense that uncommon courage in Mike, so I’ll give him a pass on the other stuff.
To this mob I ask: save your vitriol for the bastards that earn it, such as the people that make their livelihood deceiving people like Mike. I’m talking about the sound byte politicos, the “violence prevention†non-profit execs, etc.. The professional scab-pickers living off the constant bickering over an otherwise simple clause. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.†They are the enemy – not Mike.
Janet Napolitano recently said that people who focus on a single issue (she mentioned examples such as abortion or immigration) could possibly be terrorists. We now have a school teacher with a single issue – GUN CONTROL. Do we have a terrorist working in our public schools? After all he demonstrated a gross ignorance of the subject so he must be an uneducated terrorist.
Rob S:
Who knew that being accused of racism would be a hot button?
How can that man be a teacher.
This November when voting out all incumbents, think of your voting as you flushing your toilet.
Vote out all the crap that has been building in political land.
In 4 voting cycles(years) we will have a different government filld with new politicans and no “good old boy” system left.
We will not need to have term limits we, the people, will have determined that decission by flushing.
FLUSH FOR FREEDOM… FLUSH FOR LIBERTY!
I think that will solve most problems…to the revolution!
When speaking of Congress, I find toilet metaphors wholly appropriate.
Rob S, I disagree completely with your characterization. We’re not “devouring” him because he doesn’t immediately espouse our beliefs—we’re extremely critical of him because he didn’t have any idea whatsoever about what he was talking about.
People have the right to their own opinions—they do not have the right to their own facts. I don’t mind his differing opinion, I mind that he had no facts. It was like me arguing with someone about quantum physics. I have absolutely no business doing so, because I don’t know jack shit about quantum physics.
Ditto. I don’t mind disagreement. Even ignorance is excusable, provided the sufferer seeks to cure himself as soon as he realizes he’s got it.
What’s amazing is this guy is a teacher of American history, and knows so little about … American history.
I’ll bet he got straight A’s in his Edumacation classes in college, though.
Bill and Sebastion, you both make cogent points. May I throw in my 20 cents worth (Obama’s spending has inflated the currency)? If the Second Amendment doesn’t mean exactly what it says (i.e., I have the unalienable and unregulatable right to own, possess, and, in conjunction with a well-trained local militia, to employ, any and all military arms necessary to secure the freedom of my State or its subsidiaries from unconstitutional acts, usurpations, or perceived tyranny of the general government, its agents and officials, or its miltary, to include if necessary its forced alteration or abolishment; essentially, to do what our Founding Fathers did to Britain), then it doesn’t mean anything, leaving us at the mercy of 5 unelected judges or else the majority of the voters (most of whom were miseducated by the likes of Mr. Esposito!) to tell us what they want it t mean. So while I agree with Bill in the ideal, I have to admit that Sebastion’s position is the political reality in which I am forced to operate short of armed revolution (to which, in the end, our Founders were impelled to resort). But while I laud and support Sebastians efforts and will give due diligence to advancing them with my own energies, I shall always reserve the right to that last resort should we fail to achieve Bill’s ideal. And I believe it prudent that we prepare for that eventuality while at the same time working feverishly to preclude its necessity. Our Founding Fathers did both. We should do no less. – Arnie
I’m getting to this 52 posts late!!
I sat here in my living room for 30 minutes shaking my head. I kept waiting for this to be a joke. I was truly shocked.
Is it any wonder why the majority of his students are for Gun Control? I think his heart is in the right place, in attempting to stop young people from dieing, but he is so misguided.
I wish I lived near Albany, I would volunteer to go on the bus ride to educate/discuss/challenge their thinking.
I can’t wait to see the video of the debate in the classroom. Make sure you get it agreed up front that you can make it public.
Although to be honest I doubt they will find someone to debate it despite this guys belief.
I tip my hat to Cam for his professional manner.
This is the same high school that lowered the U.S. flag to half staff in honor of some punk killed while attempting an armed robbery.
Yesterday Liberty took a big hit in NY because all the “gun rights” organizations droped the ball. They played the same good old boy game and got the same old results.
When the hell are “we” giong to wake up, it is not “gun rights” it’s Civil Rights stupid!
Rosa Parks did not have a bus problem she had a Civil Rights problem!
Almost all of the discussion above is about the teacher’s qualification when it should be he teaches the violation of Civil Rights to young students.
Folks the country is burning and we are playing the violin.
God help us all! We are giving our rights away they are not taking them away
FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE… YOU FIGHT FOR IT!
bill, a 48%er!
MOLON LABE!
hahaha, thanks for posting that, great starting the afternoon with a laugh.
Pwned.
To think this guy is teaching history to our kids. He needs to go back to school himself and study American History 101 or even earlier. His school district should immediately take action and get him into American History for dummies or whatever they call the class. This is unacceptable. Parents, its your job to make sure your kids have no moronic, uninformed idiotic teachers such as this guy. This is worse than a disgrace. He is damaging the minds of young people.
fumble fumble fumble, duh duh duh. what a tard.