must we learn to live with it? i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. americans celebrated thanksgiving this week in the aftermath of two more mass shootings. last saturday, in colorado springs, an attacker-cladded body armor opened fire in an lgbtq nightclub during a drag show and killed five people. and then on tuesday, in virginia, a walmart manager gunned down six co-workers. he purchased the gun legally that very morning. so far, this year, there have been more than 600 mass shootings, could, to the gun violence archive. that's based on the definition of four or more shot or killed, not including the shooter. on thanksgiving day, president biden spoke at a firehouse on nantucket. said that he would attempt to pass some form of gun control before a new congress is seated in january. >> the idea, the idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to

be purchased is sick. just sick. it has no, no social redeeming value. zero. none. not a single solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers. >> i'm rooting for success. but i'm pessimistic. in fact, i'm thinking we might as well get used to it. the sad truth is that mass shootings have become part of our american existence, and we lack the capability to make the fundamental change to reduce them. instead, we've fallen into a typical pattern. it involves extending thoughts and prayers followed by expression of hand-wringing by some of our elected officials who really do want change. then the rhetoric focused on mental health by second amendment purists, maybe some limited debate, and then the news cycle moves on. only to be repeated soon thereafter when there's another mass shooting. so, let's stop spinning our

wheels and realize this is the price we pay for living in the united states mostly because of the enshrinement of our gun culture as the second amendment has been interpreted by the supreme court. the second amendment reads as follows 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. i think it's pretty straightforward that those 27 words are not to be farced and must be read as a complete thought. immediately post revolutionary war, the idea was that militias needed to keep and bear arms. otherwise, it would simply have read the right of the people to bear arms should not be infringed. where the days of long-regulated militias are long gone, so, too, are any unfettered right to keep and bear arms. well that's not how supreme saw it in the 2008 heller case. justice scalia wrote for a 5-4

majority. and said found that the second amendment guarantees an individual right to possess firearms unconnected to serve in a state militia. until the composition of the supreme court changes and the heller decision is overturned, nothing big can be done about guns. theore theoretically, we could repeal and replace the second amendment, but that requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of congress or for a convention called for by two-thirds of the state, and then it has to be ratified by two-thirds the state or conventions. that's not happening. the last time was 1992, it was the 27th amendment, having to do with whether congress could vote for its own pay hike. no the second amendment is here to say. without the supreme court to make the change, congress can only tinker at the margins. last june, president biden signed into law what was said to be the most significant gun control bill in three decades. it was bipartisan legislation that enhanced background checks

for gun buyers 18 to 21 years of age. it provides $750 million for mental health services. and it closed a loophole to prevent domestic abusers from purchasing firearms for five years, all worthy. but not enough to stop the madness. according to a new study, the number of american adults who said they carried a loaded handgun with them daily in 2019, it was 6 million people. double the number from just four years prior. and even if congress were not limited by heller, it lacks the resolve, the courage, to make monumental change. how do i know? because of sandy hook. in 2012, a 20-year-old gunman killed 20 6 and 7-year-olds and six adults. and nothing has changed. that was 13 years after columbine when two seniors

murdered one classmate and a teacher. and now parkland and uvalde, so, no amount of carnage, even involving kids will give politicians the willingness to address an uniquely american problem. we aren't inherently more violent than the rest of the planet nor do we have a mon non monopoly on gun violence. what setses apart is an sec to inventory of guns. according to a 2015 study by adam langford, a professor at the university of alabama americans make up 4.3% of the population but owen 42% of the world's guns from 1966 to 2012 the number of mass shootings were american.

and yemen, 10 million people, yemen has the world's second highest rate of gun ownership after the united states. and, no, the answer is not to arm even more people. the answer is not a good guy with a gun. last year, i spoke here about analysis from texas state university's advanced law enforcement rapid response training center. they looked at 433 active shooter attacks in the united states from 2000 to 2021. the datale they reviewed pound that most attacks were already over before law enforcement arrived. there were 433 active shooters in two decades. 249 attacks ended before police arrived. in 185 of those, the attacker left the scene or committed suicide. that leaves 64 cases. 42 times, the individual was subdued by a bystander, think

fight. in 22 cases was shot by a bystander, just 12 of them citizens. in other words, only 12 of 249 that ended before police arrived were due to a good guy with a gun. no. arming everyone isn't an answer. now, i'm not advocating for surrender. if mass shootings are a part of what we've become, i don't think we stop trying, but maybe we need to sharpen our focus. continue to grieve and mourn the dead, of course. and enhance security. hardened targets like schools and workplaces. and where we gather in large numbers. give law enforcement the apple, meta, google level of technology that it needs to approve background checks that are accurate and instantaneous. restrict as much weapon access agency a post-heller decision will permit. and elect presidents who will

appoint supreme court justices who don't think the second amendment reference to a well-regulated militia extends beyond militias. all the while hoping that if heller is overturned, congress will have the courage to seize the moment. and at the same time, and in the meantime, we lead our lives. i want to know what you think. go to my website at smerconish.com this hour and answer this week's folpoll question. does the second amendment guarantee an individual right to bear arms outside of militia? up ahead, this year's world cup being hosted by qatar. a nation smaller than connecticut. it's brought world attention to discriminatory practices and human rights abuses including death of migrants who build soccer stadiums. what will this mean for the sport plus the world? plus, men are in trouble. they account for almost three

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our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number. with are men and boys struggling and what should we do about it? >> the "the atlantic" magazine asked the readers and invoked discussions. the new book from next guest richard reeves. it was seven times greater for male than female students, 1 in

3 is out of the labors for for those who have a job, typical earns are $881 a week down from $714 a week in 1979. mortality from drug overdose, suicide and alcohol-related illnesses are almost three times higher for men than women. just the tip of the iceberg in the alarming findings in reeves' book called "the modern male is struggling" and why it matters and what to do about it. richard reeves joins me now he's a senior fellow at the bookings institution where he's the director of the men and boys project. so, richard, have we had some mass psychological breakdown, or is it something else? >> no, i think this is a structural problem. you likely just talked about the changes in the labor market. we've seen a decline in traditional male jobs in manufacturing, heavy industry. that's hit working class men particularly hard. but also the education system is really now failing many of our boys. we've seen girls and women

succeeding in the education system which is, of course, a wonderful thing. but they've blown way past boys and men. and actually there are many aspects of the education system that are not male friendly and just males struggle in the family and life in general. it's high time we pay attention to boys and men. >> is it just a consequence of women entering the workforce in what is frankly what will they should have had a lot sooner? >> i think it's just adjusting to the world of equality. and if you were previously unfairly ahead as many men were, this is somewhat of a recalibration. but the reasons lie beyond that. there's no reason to believe that women are employed men are employed less. or arguably, fathers matter even more now that we've changed the world that women can work as

well. there's no gain in the rise of women responsible for the fall of men but we are seeing more men struggling even as many women are doing better in the labor market and in the world in general. we can think of two things at once, more for girls and women and then pay attention to boys and men. >> is this a problem unique to the united states? >> no, most of the trends that you identified at the top of the segment are everywhere. there's more women with a college degree than men. the u.s. in the economic position of men seems to be hit particularly hard. most american men today learn less than most american men did in 1979. that's a fairly true economic fact. the economic changes seem to have hit american men harder than other countries. >> so, richard, you've convinced me, there's an issue here, there's a problem here for men and boys that i read and gained

great insight from the book. we just had a very contentious midterm election. i have no recollection of any candidate, democratic or republican, championing the cause that you are raising. why is that the case? what is no one speaking to this issue who is a representative. >>. >> i think many are afraid if you raise the issue of boys and men that somehow means that you're less concerned with the ongoing concerns of girls and women. i think that's a false choice. i think if i was the democrats, i would have made a big deal of the fact that the infrastructure bill, for example, of the jobs it was creating, 70% would have gone to men, mostly working class men of all colors actually. but no mention was made of that because of the fear, it will somehow seem that you're less interested in women and girls. and i think as conservatives, they would much rather talk about issues of marriage, going back to the '50s, et cetera.

and they want to talk about gender in a way that doesn't allow for the reality and wonderful news of gender equality. for different reasons, we're really being failed by political leaders. >> among the solution you would advance, redshirting. what's the short version of what is all about? >> boys have fallen well behind the girls in the learning system. one reason for that is that boys matures lower than girls. a 15 and 16-year-old boy and girl, they're actually not equivalent in terms of their brain development. what that means, girls are somewhat at an advantage partly because they hit puberty earlier. redshirting is that boys would start school earlier than girls. and would have a level field of education, than the one we have right now, simply because of the

biological differences in the tiling of development. as i said, a 16-year-old girl is a year ahead of a 16-year-old boy. >> and one final thought, if more women are pursuing a college education than men, that's going to have a significant impact on marriage and mating, right? that trend is a long-term trend? >> it's a long-term trend. it might, to be honest, michael, we don't know what impact it will have on marriage. the key question is women willing to marry men who are less educated them them. a nurse may well marry a plumber, but it needs to be played out. we'll see. it could have a negative impact, we just don't know that. >> thank you for writing the book and your willingness to discuss. really appreciate it. >> thank you, michael. >> some of the social media reaction that's come in, make

sure you're hitting me up, twitter, youtube and facebook. what does it acknowledge we have a boy/man problem in america with guns. girl/women have access and they're not going out and murdering people. america's problem is men. i wanted these two segments stacked. and my producer kathryn agreed. i'm glad you're linking those two things. we have a problem with that and firearms. i wanted to make sure i had richard reeves to have this conversation. it's just not being discussed, right in these terms there's a problem with guys in this country. i think that politicians are afraid if you speak to the interest of men you're going to be perceived or portrayed as misogynistic, like you're only concerned about men. what's that about. i want to remind you, go to my website smerconish.com. answer the poll question, does the second amendment guarantee the individual right to bear arms outside of a militia?

up ahead this month, the world population hit 8 billion, just 12 years after we hit 7 billion. but the estimation may surprise you. and those attending the soccer card can't have an alcohol, and the two biggest hosting the soccer tournament does this sign a light on qatar's human rights divisions or continue to be ignored?d? up to 300 miles of range on a full charge.

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friday, the u.s. battled england to a 0-0 draw in soccer's world cup competition. two of the world's greatest democracy playing in qatar a country that is not one. last week, fifa, the sports governing body announce nod alcohol would be sold at

stadiums. on monday, captains were warned if they'd receive yellow cards approving inclusion and discrimination. qatar, a country smaller than connecticut had little football in history when it won the right to host the sport's biggest event. is the world cup being played in qatar good for the sport or good for the war? qatar invested billions in preparation for the tournament. seven new stadiums, seven hotels, expansion of the rail networks, highways. since migrants 8s account for 8 of the workforce. human rights groups have found since 2010, qatars who migrant workers forced into jobs. and the inability to leave their jobs. the fifa president delivered an hour-long tirade, including

this. >> we're taught many, many lessons from some europeans, from the western world. i think for what we europeans have been doing in the last 3,000 years around the world we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people. >> so, is the fact that the games are being played there a useful way to sihine say light n qatar and raise awareness to human rights? or does holding it there excuse all of that? joining me now is sally jenkins, sports column kwiist for "the washington post," for has this piece, for the host. maybe i should call it el

bambino. i appreciate the parody. >> you have to credit these people for the incredibly bold sports washing which is the term for it. you go into the competition with terrible human rights and you whitewash it with a sporting event that millions want to see and then you normalize their behavior by doing that. >> one of the comments apapende to your piece from a "washington post" reader said it's appropriate we should shine a light on discriminatory practices. and you should shine a light on this? >> certainly -- when fifa, the world soccer -- governing body

or the international community make these deals in the first place. the host country signs a contract. the host country agrees to abide by certain human rights traditions. invariably, they break those agreements. they break those contracts, they break those agreements. the united states will have signed similar agreements. as far as i know, we don't break our agreements, okay? we uphold the basic rights tenets in those kt calcontracts. >> there will be something special come tuesday watching united states and iran settle some of our differences on a soccer pitch. >> well, i mean, that's -- look, there's no conflating -- conflating a sports event with iran, we're not going to settle anything important on the soccer pitch. but what we are going to do is expose iran about a worldwide

conversation about their human rights and what's going on at home. the fact of the matter is one of their most famous players was arrested simply calling into question the crackdown on young people going noing on in iran. >> they have no problem buying gas from that nation, now that it's time for the world cup, all of a sudden, they want to call out things that they knew existed? >> well, look, if qatar doesn't want these things brought up, dh don't host a world event. don't bid on these events. once you do, this is the sort of thing that's going to come to your town, as a host, to come to your city and town as a host. my advice to them is not handle it. >> with regard to the beautiful game itself, should we be celebrating a tie with england? >> certainly. that was a big deal for a very

young united states team that, mind you, has not had a whole lot of world cup success. in some people's minds, england was a favorite to go very, very deep in the tournament. if this young american team was staying on the pitch toe to toe with them that's a healthy sign. now, there's a lot left to go here. we'll see how they can advance. >> sally, thank you. appreciate your time. >> my pleasure. checking in on your social media reaction, youtube, facebook and twitter. what do we have? every media outlet chooses to ignore the human rights obligations of the whole region. the money that can be made there far outweighs any slavery and abuses that does occur. john, you make a valid point. does it also apply to those of us who watch? i mean, the media is putting it on because there's a market to provide that entertainment. how about something like me who watched the entire match yesterday?

i guess i'm deserving of that blame. i want to remind you, go to the poll question at smerconish.com and rechgister for the us in letter. does the second amendment guarantee the individual right to bear arms outside of a militia? there are 8 million people on earth according to a u.n. report it was only 2 billion less than ten years ago. what does it mean and where isi it all heading? is it possible the only thought that comes to mind is... ♪ finally? thiss financial security. and lincoln financiasolutions

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to 2 billion people in the '80s. and most of people added to that peak will be born in sub-saharan africa marking the shift between africa and india. joining me now, a professor from george mason university. professor, the progression is mostly in the poorest part of the planet. how will they be able to support those folks? >> good morning, michael, you're absolutely right, the 8 billion number doesn't tell us really that much. what we really need to know, how many people are living in particular areas and whether or not they have the resources to support them in a sustainable way. most of the population growth is coming in the poorest countries and particularly in african. the good news is, we're just at the point where we're developing the kind of clean energies technologies in solar, wind and geothermal, that will help that additional billion, maybe 2 billion people, become

productive without further damaging the earth's atmosphere. now, you can be an optimist or pessimist, but i'm hoping if we encourage all of our neighbors and friends to do the right thing, we have good reason for optimism. >> but if i'm a pessimist, because i'm naturally a cynic, i say those are already areas that are among the worst afflicted with climate change. it's like a double whammy. more people now and more the burden of climate change? >> that's absolutely true. and when we think about global population, it connects everything. it connects us by immigration. it connects us by the impact on climate and resources. and so, we all have to work together. i was happy to see at the big national meeting that rich countries have pledged tens of billions of dollars to help those poor countries get on the path towards a clean energy future. right now, the poor countries of the world really contribute very little to climate change. most of the climate change that's been done was by the rich

countries who brought us to the 8 billion point that hadn't been done by the countries that are about to add another 1 billion or 2 billion. so in a sense, i think it is our responsibility to help those countries get on a clean energy track and join the developed world by becoming more prosperous, but without doing more damage. and, then, of course, we ourselves have to cut back our emissions and i think we can do so. but it's going to take some will po power. >> here's another consideration looking downed road if jobs don't follow that growth, it's going to cause an immigration issue for the rest of the world. particularly the united states, right? if you're born in sub-saharan after, and there's no work there, you're going to want to get to the united states, and it's rife with the immigration debate that we have never been able to solve? >> that's right, immigration is

going to be sensitive, and it's going to be even more sensitive if we get a growing number of refugees coming outside of sub-saharan africa. the need is too be reduced for other countries to move. right now on the southeastern border, a lot of people are worried about folks from central america, guatemala and honduras coming. but those people were essentially given little choice. they're in the grips of a drought caused by climate change. their growth is much higher than mexico's so the combination of population growth and climate change is driving that already. for the future, whether or not we'll see lav waves of immigration really depend upon whether the countries of africa can build the resource, the resilience, the economies, to hope with the climate change nats already under way. in a way, what that's telling us, we need to invest in the developing countries of africa.

help them educate their youth, train for jobs, build their economy because that's the best investment for our own economic growth and minimize the pressures of immigration. >> professor, stick around for a essential. social media, we can respond to it together. kathryn, you put it up and i'll read it aloud so professor can hear me. we're struggling with the problems created by 8 billion. imagine how much worse things will be by 9 billion in 15 years and 10 billion by 2075. professor goldstone, you say what to that? >> i say, you have to remember that despite the fact we reached 8 billion with incredible speed, our economies have kept up. by almost every measure. calories available, life expectancies, the health of newborn infants, all around the world, we're actually doing better than we were when the global population was only 5 or 6 billion. we've learned how to be more

efficient in our use of water growing crops. what we haven't learned to to do is, first of all, share the wealth which is going to be critical to some degree if we're all to get to a happy destination together. and we haven't learned to wean ourselves off of older technologies that are still doing damage. of course, it's not a question of 8 billion people. 20,000 people taking down trees in the amazon can do an awful lot of damage that affects everyone else. so, we really need to think about where people are having the biggest impact and where we can provide the most help in managing it'the resources that all have to share. >> professor, thanks for your time. i appreciate it. >> glad to be here, michael. >> please make sure you're voting at smerconish.com on this week's poll question. can't wait to seat outcome of this at the end of the hour. does the second amendment guarantee an individual right to bear arms outside of militia? does it extend outside of

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now that attorney general merrick garland has appointed a special counsel, what impact might that have on a possible indictment of former president trump? in the wake of trump's declare ed candidacy for 2024 last week,

garland tapped jack smith to lead the investigation into the efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election. smith is registered to vote as an independent, served during the obama administration as chief of the justice department's unit that investigates public corruption. since 2018, he's been prosecuting war crimes in the hague, stemming from the conflict in kosovo. so what does it mean for trump's legal future? joining me is rinaldo mariotti host of the podcast on topic and politico magazine where his most recent piece is "this is what's going to happen if candidate trump gets indicted." who makes the decision as to whether he gets indicted? jack smith now or merrick garland? >> well, jack smith makes the initial decision, and merrick garland decides whether he agrees with him or not. if he doesn't agree with hem, then he has to let congress know

which is a little different than the typical decision made by the attorney general. it's more transparent. >> doesn't this remove the nuance of considering the implication of a former president indicted running for president? when you sort of contrast this out as jack smith, jack smith is looking at it simply was there a violation of law and can i prove it, not the bigger picture issues? >> i think it's fair to say that jack smith is less likely to put as much weight on those concerns as merrick garland. merrick garland was a jump for 22 years, you know, somebody who spent much of his career looking at both sides, very careful, deliberate, versus a career prosecutor, right? counsel robert mueller, famously gave a lot of deference and, you know, showed a lot of restraint towards the former president. so we'll see what mr. smith ends up doing.

>> the mar-a-lago case is straightforward, is it not? he had documents. they weren't his. he knew they weren't his. they were requested to be returned and he didn't. like that shouldn't take long to wrap up. do you agree? >> i think that's right. compared to the other cases. in other words, it's important for viewers to understand that even though the former president has had all sorts of legal troubles over the years and there has been some criminal investigations, i to think that the documents case is far nmore straightforward than any case that former president former president has faced before, which is a real problem for him. it's much easier to prove. it will still take some time, i think, because there are important considerations when you are dealing with classified documents. they need to make sure that the documents that they use in the trial are ones they feel comfortable with the world finding out the contents of and so on. but i do think it's pretty straightforward. >> is there any reason to await

the completion of the investigation into january 6th if they have already wrapped up the investigation and can make a recommendation about the mar-a-lago documents? >> i wouldn't. i would go ahead and charge the mar-a-lago documents and press forward. i mean, there are arguments as to why you might wouldn't to wait. but i think the far better move given the circumstances is to charge the mar-a-lago case. i am skeptical that the january 6th investigation will result in charges against former president former president. >> and a quick final question. what legal impact would an indictment have on his candidacy, if any? >> it would have no legal impact. whether it has a political impact is up to the people watching this program and millions of others. >> renato marotti, thank you. >> thank you. more social media reaction from the world of twitter. what do we have? i doubt an indictment will slow him down. it might, however, seriously

restrict the gop's access to funds from high-level donors not wanting to get connected to a criminal. maybe it opens up the opportunity for ron desantis or one of the would-be points to donald trump. the last point was interesting in terms of they can wrap up the m mar-a-lago piece of this soon. the legal significance of a potential indictment is nil. i mean, it won't slow him down at all unless the voters decide so. still to come, more of your best and worst tweets and youtube and facebook comments. have you voted yet at smerconish.com? this is this week's poll question. does the second amendment guarantee an individual's right to bear arms outside of a militia? go vote. even if you got ppp and it only takes eight minutes to qualilify. i went on ththeir website, uploaded everything, and i was blown away

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xfinity rewards is a program whose sole purpose is to say thank you with experiences big, small, and once in a lifetime. sometimes it's about cheering hard enough to shake the stadium. let's go! -haha, woo! sometimes it's as simple as movie night right here at home, on us. you mean the world to us. so we're bringing you closer to what you love. kinda like this- welcome to 30 rock! join xfinity rewards for free on the xfinity app today. our thanks. your rewards.

. there is the result of this week's poll question at smerconish.com. 31,000 and change voted. does the second amendment guarantee the right to bear arms outside of an militia? 76% say no. the heller decision said the right is unconnected to any service in a militia. i think that was the wrong outcome. some of the social media reaction that came in during the course of this week's program. what do we have? a few hundred shootings is trivial price to pay for freedom. what if a crazy president tried a coup and wanted to arrest everyone who disagreed. wouldn't you want armed

citizens? no, i wouldn't. that argument doesn't wash with me. and i mean the threat of mass kills it's not just the people killed, it's it's impact on our society. and what's frustrating is, it's the wrong legal outcome from the supreme court of the united states that heller decision is a bad outcome. i tried to explain that in the opening part of the program, and we have got a weak congress afraid to confront the gun lobby. you have heard this before. that's why i said i guess we are going to have to learn to live with it. what else came in in terms of social media? the foremost ignored words of the second amendment, a well regulated militia. well, wait a minute. can i put up on the screen, catherine, the 27 words of the second amendment? could do we have it? 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.

leave that up on the screen for a second. if i were in the room when this was being crafted and if the idea was to have nothing at all to do with the militia, right? wouldn't you just -- you'd strike that. if you wanted simply people to have the right to keep and bear arms, you would get rid of the first half of the sentence and you would say, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. but that's not what they did. they kept it together. a well regulated militia. okay? so it's pretty damgz clear to me this is militia speak. and if you are not living in an era of a middle litia, you don'e that unfettered right. that's the conclusion. hope you had a great thanksgiving. thank you for watching. i will see you back here next saturday.