Associated Press Doesn’t Call Out Calderon Lies
If an American politician suggested something that wasn’t true we’d expect the American mainstream media to call them out on it. Even when a foreign leader says something that is patently wrong, the MSM usually steps up. The exception is when it involves guns, and then the MSM just gives politicians a pass, as the Associated Press has once again done with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Read more
BBC News Quotes Mexican President: “US Irresponsible on Gun Trade”
In a news story from the BBC, Mexican President Felipe Calderon offers a few bold statements. First, he is quoted as saying, “I don’t honestly think the United States has many any significant efforts to deal with drug addiction,” but he then makes the even bolder statement of saying, “the American weapons industry is a veracious and ambitious industry. It’s clear to me that they’ve created conflict in poor country in Africa just to sell weapons, and in the same way they’re making money in this situation here in Mexico.” Read more
WaPo Cites 80 Percent Figure Long After it Was Debunked
Do the editors at The Washington Post actually believe what they write or will they use false numbers just to prove a point? We know the paper is vehemently anti-gun, but is it creditable to quote a figure that most of the mainstream media has acknowledge is a made up number? In an editorial titled “U.S. falls short in helping Mexico end its drug war,” deputy editorial page editor Jackson Diehl quotes the “old 80 percent of guns come from the United States.” Hasn’t this number been debunked enough for Mr. Diehl? Apparently not. Read more
Voice of America Over Simplifies Mexican Cartel Problems
There is no doubt that the violence south of the border, which is now sadly straying across the border into the United States from Mexico, is a problem for both nations. However, the problem is oversimplified in the mainstream media, and too often much of blame falls on Americans, and more importantly on American guns. Interestingly, one aspect that isn’t mentioned so much is the real problem: the American drug user. Read more
Police Go Where the Guns Are
Time and time again we question buybacks, new laws that restrict guns to law-abiding citizens and ask why don’t the police instead put more efforts to getting to the real problem, namely going after the bad guys directly. But now ABC 13 in Toledo, Ohio is reporting that local police are doing just that:
“Police are currently doing round-ups where violent criminals who carry guns hang out. It’s a problem plaguing the streets of Toledo.”
Finally, this sounds like a real solution to the problem. If you know where the criminals hang out, do sweeps instead of buybacks that won’t likely get guns off the streets!
Firing Back: Debunking Myths
A simple story on a local Fox affiliate has started a major conspiracy. The theory says that the National Guard is currently working with police in Albany, New York, to confiscate weapons from citizens in violation of the Constitution and Posse Comitatus. This story is making the rounds online, but the surprising thing is that it is getting little pick up in the mainstream media.
Of course the argument could be made that the MSM is so biased about guns that they won’t pick up this story as they don’t want the public to know. But that’s just why conspiracy theories get going. This is really a story that is so blown out of proportion that it deserves to sit up next to those stories that say “9/11 was in an inside job.”
Kristin Lowman for Fox 23 News, WXXA-DT in Albany, New York first reported the actual story, which noted that the National Guard has worked to develop technology that can scan a car to find hidden drugs or weapons. This story, which includes video, is suddenly turned around into some sort of wild conspiracy, where it becomes a tale of the National Guard training to take down militias and seize guns. In the latter case the authors aren’t so much real reporters, but journalist vigilantes, who hide behind names such as “Americans4Turth.” We appreciate and respect the desire to uncover the truth, but would you believe anything from a news organization that won’t offer a bylined article?
The moral of the story is don’t trust everything you read online. We’ll be continuing to watch for real threats to our Second Amendment rights, but this is one that is making a lot of very little.
NY Daily News Thinks Buybacks Could Solve Chicago’s Crime
In responding to the SCOTUS ruling, Errol Louis of The New York Daily News offered an editorial that looked at both sides of the issue. Louis also looks at the roots of Chicago’s crime problem, noting that the city’s efforts to break up the major drug-gangs have left a free-for-all scenario in its place. This is seldom understood by the media, and hardly reported.
However, Louis believes that churches can help solve the problem, in part by offering gun buybacks:
“New York has seen churches play a key role in anti-violence initiatives. An NYPD/district attorney gun buyback program at four Bronx churches this year netted 1,200 weapons in a single weekend, and a group of Brooklyn churches this month will serve as sanctuaries for people with outstanding arrest warrants who want to surrender peacefully.”
While we don’t see any problems with church groups providing moral and even spiritual support to these communities, the idea that gun buybacks will do anything is nonsense. There is little proof that any of those 1,200 weapons netted in New York City were ever on the streets. This part of the argument is just wrong, and it is a shame because many of Louis’s other arguments were really that far off base.
Who Guards the Guards: Tulsa Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Carrying Gun While Drunk
Should police officers be allowed to carry guns whilst off duty? That’s a debate that likely can’t easily be resolved. There are two sides of the issue, such as whether a peace officer would be able to respond when witnessing a potentially violent crime. But what about if the off duty activities mean heading to a bar?
“A former Tulsa police officer pleaded guilty Friday morning to feloniously pointing a firearm and carrying a firearm while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Thomas Fees resigned from the force in May as part of efforts to resolve the two firearm counts filed against him.”
According to the report he remains free on bond. We just have to ask, would anyone else who was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and pointed a gun at someone be free on bond?
NPR Report: Mexican Army May Be Colluding With Drug Mafia
While it sounds like something out of a movie or a TV, the truth is scarier than fiction. This story almost slipped under the radar, but when we heard about it this news made us stand up and take notice.
“A four-month investigation by NPR News uncovered evidence that Mexico’s army takes a side in this bloody conflict, and backs one drug cartel over its rivals.”
If this is true, and we sadly believe that NPR is right on this one, it brings up an interesting point. Why was Mexican President Filipe Calderon blaming American guns for the crime south of the border when it is likely his own military that is supplying the guns to the Mexican cartels?
NPR: Mexican Army May Be Colluding With Drug Mafia
The State Column Leans Anti-Gun in OpenCarry Article
In an article that took on the issue of open carry in the State of Texas, The State Column offered an opinion that seemed to be a tad bit anti-gun. From the opening sentence this article tried to push an agenda:
“Guns may be making their way into the hands of cartel members and violence may be increasing on the Texas-Mexico border, but that is not stopping Texas lawmakers from keeping guns accessible.”
While the article does offer commentary from both sides, it comes out swinging in a way that clearly makes the agenda known from the first salvo.
