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BREAKING: Obama Starts Having The Grownup Conversation About Guns That The NRA Doesn't Want To Have

The NRA called the president some names today. The president, on the other hand, spoke about guns today and challenged us to dicuss them in a reasonable manner. I can confirm that the Second Amendment did not burst into flames. He made some changes and then challenged Congress to actually do something about the things he shouldn't change on his own, because, y'know, he's reasonable like that.

  • At 1:00, VP Biden talks about the tragedy these families repeatedly suffer through every day and the courage they show in the face of it.
  • At 3:08, Biden explains just how many groups had input on these ideas. There are a lot of them. Including Congress.
  • At 4:52, he quotes a Virginia Tech survivor, “I’m not here because of what happened to me, I’m here because what happened to me, keeps happening. And we have to do something about it.”
  • At 5:35, President Obama starts laying out the plan.
  • At 6:35, he starts listing off some of the unexpected people he heard from. Then we hear from them.
  • At 7:55, he talks about what really matters.
  • At 9:00, he talks about the tragic irony of our current situation. Over 900 people have died since Sandy Hook. 
  • At 10:20, he makes a really good point.
  • At 10:40, he starts talking about the tangible things they are going to do.
  • At 11:47, he says, "We don't benefit from ignorance." And I applaud.
  • At 12:10, he puts the responsibility on Congress to act on the measures that he shouldn't use executive orders for, what with his not hating the constitution and all.
  • At 13:30, he talks about the reasonable members of the NRA (the vast majority of them.)
  • At 14:00, he tells Congress to do something about high capacity magazines.
  • At 14:48, he shares an amazing quote from Ronald Reagan.
  • At 15:30, he points out that Congress hasn't approved a director of the ATF for SIX YEARS.
  • At 16:00, he speaks definitively about his stance on the Second Amendment.
  • At 17:30, he calls out the fear mongers and pundit class who try to scare the hell out of everyone so nothing ever changes.
  • At 18:00, he gives a shout-out to the vast majority of gun owners and challenges them to help.
  • At 19:10, he calls out to ALL of us to do something.
  • At 19:50, Obama and a little girl demand Congress be held accountable for their inaction, asking them some important questions, which gets a round of applause.
  • At 21:10, Obama gives a history lesson on the founding fathers.
  • At 21:45, he talks about the rights that were taken from others. 
  • At 22:55, he talks about a little girl who is no longer with us and makes me tear up.
  • At 23:50, he explains why we have to do the right thing.
  • At 24:36, he does the right thing.
Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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dogs
Science

Incredible 'bird feeder' photos give a whole new perspective on our feathered friends

It's amazing the magic we can find in our own yards.

via Carla Rhodes

Two northern cardinals captured on Carla Rhodes' bird-feeder camera.

The pandemic has caused many people to reevaluate their surroundings. When you’re stuck at home more often than you’d like, you start to pay a lot more attention to what goes on in your own backyard.

This type of introspection inspired wildlife photographer Carla Rhodes to get a closer look at the furry friends that live near her home in the Catskill mountains of New York.

What she found was magical.

“The winter of 2020-2021 was particularly brutal to humankind. After months of enduring the Covid-19 pandemic, we were now collectively slogging through winter. As a result of being stuck at home, I focused on my immediate surroundings like never before,” Rhodes said in a statement.

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nature
Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

KTVB/YouTube

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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family
Identity

57-year-old former model Paulina Porizkova had the perfect response to ageist comment online

"We have earned our beauty, we understand what it is, and we can see it so much better."

Photo by Malin K. on Unsplash

Paulina Porizkova took on a commenter who said she was in "pain" being "old and ugly."

Aging is a weird thing. From one perspective, it's something we should be grateful for. Few people would wish for the kind of short, uneventful life that would remove aging from the equation completely. The longer we live, the more we grow and learn and experience life, and "aging" is simply the mathematical sum of those experiences. All good, right?

On the other hand, our society does everything in its power to hide the fact that aging happens. Especially when it comes to women. According to Statista, the global anti-aging beauty market is estimated to be worth $58.8 billion. People will try all manner of creams, serums, masks, acids, lights, technologies and surgeries to try to prevent wrinkles, lines, sagginess, spots and other signs that our bodies are changing with time.

Most of us live our daily lives somewhere in the middle of these two realities, wanting to embrace our aging selves but also hoping to stave off some of the more obvious signs that we're getting older. It's natural to resist it in some ways, since the older we get, the closer we get to the end of our lives, which we certainly don't want to hasten—especially if we actually love living.

It can be helpful to see people who are embracing their age, which is why it can be inspiring to see someone like former supermodel Paulina Porizkova confidently sharing photos of her 57-year-old self.

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Pop Culture

Google now allows you to remove your personal information from its search results

We deserve control over our personal information.

via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

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online safety
Joy

TikTok star's fans raise $144,000 for 'guardian angel' Uber driver who stood by her after robbery

Raul Torres is a guardian angel.

via Becca Moore/TikTok

Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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heroes
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