Thumbs Up For “60 Minutes,” Thumbs Down for “20/20”

well massad i’ve got to say, i’m surprised that your surprised.
the media has been portraying gun owners as ticking time bombs for at least the last 25 years.
having been born in nyc where only cops and celebrities are permitted to own & carry, it surprises me when 800 deaths are recorded this past year depite the most draconian gun laws in the country, but there is never a peep said about it.
when will people take off the blinders and look at the issue and get educated about the facts?
sadly the answer is never. that would take effort on their part.
and let’s face it we are a country of lazy, fat, sound bite addicted couch potatos.

I didn’t see 20/20 but heard it was bad. What else would one expect from diane sawyer? (She doesn’t deserve caps in my book.) But I think your take on 60 minutes is right on. I just wished someone would have explained what an assault rifle really is. Maybe that part hit the cutting room floor- so to speak. Ya, I’m that old too.

I’d planned to watch the ABC special but since I knew from past experience it would be a hash job, I didn’t want to start cursing the tv on Good Friday.

I’m really surprised at the CBS story. They’ve never been even-handed when it comes to 2A issues. Today’s Shooting Wire gives it a bit different perspective.

http://www.shootingwire.com/

Diane Sawyer doing her usual business as the media lapdog for the Council on Foreign Relations. The sad part of it is that there are so many people sitting there hanging on every word she says. If people cared more about their rights than who the next American Idol will be, this country would be in a far better situation than it is now.

Shame on the Bethlehem PA police dept, and those two guys Chris Benton and Glen Dorney who facilitated that disgraceful subterfuge. ABC ould have easily had John Stossel participate for a half hour to balance the report, but didn’t.

We also need to realize that the commercial advertisers that sponsored that show need to be told that such nonsense won’t be tolerated. That THEIR business shouldn’t be helping those that distort and conflate the news. That YOUR dollars are going elsewhere. Here is a breakdown of the comercial breaks on the east coast and sponsors. WRITE THEM AND TELL THEM YOUR SICK OF THIS.

COMMERCIALS
Dannon yogurt
Kohls
Dove
Fidelity
Cialis
Universal movie – The Soloist
Verizon wireless
ABC extreme makeover home edition

COMMERCIALS
Abilify anti depression med
Petsmart
ATT & Apple
Nicoderm
New Line Cinema movie – Ghost of Girlfriends Past
Remax Reality
Bali
GMA promo
Promo ABC show – Castle
COMMERCIALS
Sprint
Reclast med
H&R block
ABC promo – The Unusuals
Marshalls
Empire City Casino
Chrysler
Optimum cable

COMMERCIALS
Verizon
Travelers Insurance
Transitions lenses
GMA promo
Dancing with the stars promo
Verizon fios
Stop and Shop supermarket
ESPN

COMMERCIALS
Local news
Att
Kohls
Dove
Universal movie – State of Play
ABC promo movie -Ten Commandments

The armed Citizen is always being short changed by the liberal media.They act as if CCW’s are issued,then everyone is somehow forced to carry. On a recent CNN segment entitled “Is it time for greater gun greater gun control”,they asked a rather timid middle age Woman if she thought if she carried a gun,would she be able to have stopped any of the recent killings.She responded by saying “No,I’d probably shoot myself in the foot if you gave me a gun”. The media try’s to portray the armed public as being incapable & inept in the use of firearms.
Nothing could be further from the truth in my experience with armed citizens.The vast majority of them are well trained,well educated and many times shoot better than the most of Police Officer’s out there who really don’t spend a lot of time practicing with their duty weapons. Like I said before,nobody is MAKING you carry a weapon.If you don’t,then don’t,but don’t take that right away from responsible Citizens who COULD make a difference if the proverbial “SH*T hits the fan”.If you choose to carry a gun,then it’s prudent & the responsible thing to do to get yourself some training as well as frequently practice with that weapon,but I don’t understand the line of thinking that you have to be an active member of Special Forces or the like to be able to effectively use a firearm in defense or only they should be armed.

Last I recall…….Rob Leatham,Jerry Miculek,Rob Pincus,Gabe Suarez,Clint Smith,Chuck Taylor just to name a few are not active Military or Police Officer’s,so are they unqualified to carry a firearm?

How about Mas’ girlfriend or daughter’s for an example?I’m not aware of him mentioning them being active Peace Officer’s or Military,but I’d personally feel a lot better knowing armed & well trained citizen’s like them were around should some psycho dirtbag decides he’s tired of living and wants to take some innocents with him when he goes.

The 20/20 show was horrendously bad. It was absolutely a set up to discredit concealed carry. Besides the fact that the shooter obviously knew who was armed, the question I have is why didn’t they have a scenario with several arm citizens properly trained? Is it possible that the smoke screen would have been blown away? And it failed to even address the deterrent effect of a shooter knowing before hand that some one might shoot back.

Absolutely a one sided unthinking approach with a blatant and disengeuious intent.

Well all this reminds me of Rosie O’Donnell, she hates people with guns, unless they are watching her kid. Maybe Diane Sawyer feels the same why. I have found that most people that are against others carrying weapons, that they really don’t want it unless it protects them some how. Then it seems to be ok.

I don’t know Mas, I think maybe ABC was so bad, we’re giving CBS a pass. Some of language and images they used were pretty nerve wracking. Obviously, we still have a long way to go in dealing with guns in the Mass Media.

Mas:

Good piece, but the phrase “licensed Beretta 9mm” is misleading. As a former Colorado resident (and CWP holder), I can assure the Centennial State does NOT license firearms. Perhaps you meant to say Ms. Assam was a permit holder or held an armed guard permit from the state. Regardless, her response was spot on and should serve as inspiration to all of us!

Mike in Montana

Obviously 60 minutes may not have been everything we would have liked it to be. However the media, like any organism is into stimulus response. So you all log in your nasty grams with 20/20 and give some good comments to 60 minutes. They presented a lot of progun arguments that no other show I have seen would have.

Perhaps we have gotten so jaded by the liberal media that we forget that good journalism isnt a free ride. It challenges. We are so used to anti-gun stories that we are not happy till we get a pro-gun story. Well while I would like it, that isnt a journalists job either.

Good for 60 minutes. Keep up that kind of reporting and I might even start watching TV again.

We should all simply send out email to all our freinds that support the 2nd ammendment and have them all write and email to the 20/20 production and to Diane Sawyer and let them know how we feel..I know I will.

I had expected a better 20/20 than I got. I’ve seen past episodes with John Stossel that were very pro-gun. When I saw that diane sawyer headed this show, I was leary, and it turns out, rightly so. I’m sorry to say I missed the 60-minutes segment. My responses will be going out to both 20/20 and 60-minutes.

I’m surprised that CBS (aka Communist Broadcasting System) would give a fair shake to gun owners. Sorry I missed that show, but then again, they’re usually not worth wasting my time watching.

I’m not at all surprised that 20/20 and Diane Sawyer would rig a segment AGAINST gun-owners. 20/20 and Diane Sawyer are what people talk about when they refer to the “MSM”, also known as the “Drive-by Media”. Incompetent, un-American, and often incoherent socialists (at best).

Mas,

I caught that 20/20 “Hatchet Job” on the boob tube. I had to work, so I missed the 60 Minutes piece.

What I noticed in the 20/20 bile was how sensational it was and the “guns are bad” slant. Quite frankly the Active Shooter segment was trash too, IMHO. It seems as if the shooter knew who the gun carrying good guy or gal was. That would most likely not be the case in real life.

Also, aside from a short marksmanship session I saw no training in cover and concealment, drawing/presenting your handgun, getting accurate hits in a combat situation or tactics. Thus the deck was “stacked” against the good guy or gal from the start in this sensational piece of drivel.

If they wanted to show an accurate and fair piece they should have real gun carriers play the part of the good guy or gal. I think the results may be a little different. I wouldn’t want to run this “test” with the average LEO, because statistically most LEO’s aren’t that well trained, nor are most LEO’s “gun” people. I do think they, the average LEO, would fare far better than the rank amatuers they used in this video form of infocrap.

Take care and stay safe.

Biker

PS: I had a great time at LFI 1 and learned a lot, thanks to you, Gail and all the assistant instructors.

Mass, Thanks for the info. I missed both but trust your assessment that we went 1 for 2. Given the Second Amendment’s normal treatment by the MSM I have to say I’m shocked we did that well. Perhaps it’s time for a little viral marketing on our part. Why don’t you gather the boys and girls up and do a little counterpoint video to show how things work in the real world. That’s an email attachment that would really make the rounds. I’ve got two sims glocks we can use 🙂 Scott

When my wife described the segment to me, I found myself wondering how the results would have differed if the subjects were alerted by gunshots somewhere in the building even a few seconds prior to the assailant bursting into the classroom.

There have been two attacks now where the murderer has blocked or chained exits to trap the intended victims before shooting, and it seems likely that future perpetrators will follow this model, and thus likely situations where one will have some advance warning.

What I want to know is where did Diane Sawyer tape the rocket engines this time?

I am very confused how it has come to this. We, gun owners who train for conflict, who train ourselves physically and mentally to confront people who mean to do us harm, Alpha men and women, have let a weaker sect of American society ie: people who cliam to be peace loving but attack us with hatred and have nothing but contempt for us have managed to gain such a foothold in their cause to neuter us and leave us defenseless so they can advance their eutopian socialist agenda. We are stronger, we are more resolute, we are armed, yet they do not fear us. They are going to legislate and litigate us to death, one lawsuite, one law at a time and all we can do is file motions and counter suits to keep our rights and our guns. In 1776 Did we beat the British with petition drives and Michael Moore Documentaries? Did we fight off Santayana with negative public opinion polls and law suits? No, we fought them, with our guns and our American resolve. I am tired of pretending that we have evolved past that!

In addition to the comments about the students lack of familiarity with the holstered weapons and the clingy, snaggy, oversized shirt there were other indications of a total set up. 1. The gunman was a trained instructor – how many psychos have been? They wouldn’t score hits any more often than the students here. 2. Each student with a weapon was in the center of the second row – by the time the second, third and forth “practice” round was in action the “psycho gunman” had repetitive practice that the students had not. (How often would a CC carrier always be in that same spot or even in that position in a classroom? Why not in a corner, at an angle or even by the door in which case the he/she would have been behind the shooter?) 3. As in actual cases there was no sound of firing in the hallway so the psycho did have the total element of surprise. No, we saw it (and missed the second one), but agreed that it totally lacked credibility. As far as the young man who lost his sister at Virginia Tech – I am very sorry about his loss. He would certainly not be as busy now had she been run down on the sidewalk by a drunk in a hybrid car…..even though her outcome would have been the same. There are many living who have saved themselves and others because they had access to firearms (as you all know) and we did not hear from any of them.

Thank you for the opportunity to express myself. I need to get some sleep as I have a Tea Party to attend tomorrow!

Here’s a $10,000 per sortie challenge to ABC 20/20 and Diane Sawyer, or for that matter, ANY antigun organization with 10 to 1 odds in their favor:

Put me in that classroom scenario, make it REALISTIC and I will win at least 90% of the time (I consider a win to be anytime I stop the gunman from continuing to shoot and kill students, even if it means I get shot – as long as the “active shooter” is also shot with hits that would be incapacitating).

To make it realistic:

1) The “Active Shooter” will not be a top-level police firearms trainer and/or SWAT team member. He or she should have firearm skills at a level that are equal to the skills of the average criminal “active shooter” taken from the history of such occurrences – meaning little or no experience shooting at moving targets that fire back. (Why didn’t ABC choose one of the students to portray the active shooter? Why did they decide to have the highly trained SWAT officer do it?)

2) I will get to sit anywhere I want in the classroom, and the “active shooter” will not get a chance ahead of time to see who I am or where I am sitting as Mr. “Highly Trained Professional” got to do in the ABC hatchet job.

3) Instead of being forced to carry my gun in a SERPA holster under a tight-fitting T-Shirt with almost no chance to learn to properly draw from it, I will be allowed to carry my weapon as I always do when in class – in a Horizontal Shoulder Holster.

4) My weapon will be a Simunition version of what I always carry and practice with – a 4″ Model of 1911 with Novak Wide Notch Sites and Crimson LaserGrips.

5) Have at least 30 students in the class – most University Lectures have far more – sometimes well over 100 in a lecture hall. Having just 30 students is being quite generous on my part, given the size of the average University Lecture class. But 30 will be enough.

I issue this challenge to ABC, and also to any anti-gun group that has the guts to accept the challenge. And I’d be happy to wager money on it – at a 10 to 1 margin.

Each time I lose I will give them $10,000, while each time I win, they will give me just $1000. I hope that if ABC of any other antigun group accepts this offer, they will be willing to play through the scenario many, many times – I can use the money!

Sincerely,

.45StayAlive

In the 20/20 segment, more ridiculous than anything else, was the fact that the “gunman” calmly stood there and shot at the “armed” student without taking any cover or evasive action, even as the student was shooting back.

Sure, that happens when you already know there is only one gun in the classroom, and the one gun is a paintball gun that can’t hurt you. Realistic simulation? Give me a break.

FYI, both 20/20 & 60 Minutes programs can be seen on their respective network home pages, (cbs.com & nbc.com)

Correction to above: cbs.com & abc.com

I agree with Long Island Mike, shame on the Bethlehem PA police department and to the “firearms instructor” for playing into this propaganda piece – if they were honest enough they would not have played along with this “set up”.

Sadly too many police currently have taken that “thin blue line” to the level of a castle wall and use it to hide the worst in nefarious activity.

Judges help little as our police forces morph into the jackbooted thugs of suppressive tyrants, Tazer deaths, direct executions, planting evidence, using confiscation as a means of profit have all sadly become standard operating procedure in far too many federal, state, and local law enforcement camps.

Statistics show that non-criminal armed citizens show more restraint and have FAR FEWER accidents and “mistakes” than law enforcement, when dealing with crime and deadly force – that alone is a great reason to have an armed population.

Radio, I have to disagree with you when you say “our police forces morph into the jackbooted thugs of suppressive tyrants,” etc.

As to your last paragraph, I’ve found over the decades that cops in general AND responsible armed citizens in general show great restraint. While armed citizens have fewer mistaken identity shootings etc., that is largely because the responding officer comes into an unknown situation in progress as a rule, while the armed citizen is more likely to have a clear situation facing him, since he is the chosen victim of the criminal he has had to draw down on.

We agree that there are many great reasons to have an armed population.

“She apparently didn’t look that hard. It wasn’t that long ago that an off-duty cop with a Kimber .45 (who might just as easily been an armed citizen with a concealed carry permit) engaged the gunman in Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square Mall and stopped the murders by pinning him down until the SWAT team could get there to finish him off”

That is right, an off duty cop? Might just as well have been someone with a CCP!

Everyone knows that the average guy with a CCP is as well trained and ready to go as a cop.

That is an insult to police, their training, and the hard work they do, and you sir are a moron for even suggesting such a thing. Thank you for showing your bias right out in the open…

Ayup. You hit the nail on the head, Mas. I saw the Dianne Sawyer bit and thought it was completely unfair to give college students an hour’s worth of “gun safety” training then throw them into a “gun fight” against experienced police officers. I wonder how the kids would have done with open top holsters and an hour’s worth of training from the classic “Shooting to Live,” by Fairbairn and Sykes or your own classic, “StressFire.”

Does anyone know where the video can be seen?