Oh, for pete's sake

Someone is suing Apple because the iPod causes hearing loss.

Newsflash, Bozo: The iPod doesn't cause hearing loss. The operator turning the volume up too loud does. Wanna blame somebody? Look in a mirror, dumbass.

Here is the CNN story. Huh. Turns out the suit was filed right here in San Jose. Go figure.

This calls to mind the argument against guns we all hear all the time. *In a high-pitched whiny voice* "Guns kill people! Guns kill people!" And the counterargument so often articulated by my dear old gun-totin', lifetime-NRA-member, conservative, Libertarian-leaning dad. (Picture Yosemite Sam without his hat and you're close. Well, except now his hair is gray. But I digress.) Anyway, dear old Dad always answered, "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." True, that.

Now I am not "for" or "against" guns here. Not advocating a position at all. I WAS in the Army, after all. I know how to use a weapon and have done so many times. For the record, I have never shot at a person. (Only because I don't have a concealed carry permit.) I'm really only half joking, there. I do have a temper. Threats have been made.

Back to my point. I read Freakonomics recently and mentioned it here. Why does it get another plug? Well, because the authors point out that we hear so much about the danger of guns in our society, the number of children killed by guns every year, yada, yada, yada, but no one seems to realize that more children are killed in the US in swimming pools than by guns.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an estimated 260 children under five years of age drown each year in residential swimming pools and spas. According to the National Safety Council, in 2002, 73 children under 5 died as a result of a firearm.

Again, I am not advocating any position here. I'm just saying that personal responsibility comes into play in all our lives, whether because we have a swimming pool, a handgun, or a cup of coffee from the local fast-food drive-thru. Oh. Or an iPod.

Duh.