What one will not hear about guns from the main stream media....unfortunately!

[billethkid]

Articles like this :

Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it's up, says study - latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-gun-crimes-pew-report-20130507,0,3022693.story)

highlight the value of the internets access to many sources on ANY given subject. Those of us who take advantage of it get a much better perspective about the issues than is presented via the main stream media.

It does not mean that one's beliefs or views should change. It simply suggests that one must do one's home work to make a valid case.

As one of my professors used to say....it takes more than one point to make a curve!!

btk

[ugotme]

How right you are.

IF this is posted in certain papers and newscasts it is usually just "fluffed over."

I guess that is just the way it is!

[Taltarzac725]

Rate Of U.S. Gun Violence Has Fallen Since 1993, Study Says : The Two-Way : NPR (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/07/181998015/rate-of-u-s-gun-violence-has-fallen-since-1993-study-says)

[billethkid]

Rate Of U.S. Gun Violence Has Fallen Since 1993, Study Says : The Two-Way : NPR (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/07/181998015/rate-of-u-s-gun-violence-has-fallen-since-1993-study-says)

The last paragraph is very enlightening:

"In 2004 (the most recent year of data available), among state prison inmates who possessed a gun at the time of the offense, fewer than two percent bought their firearm at a flea market or gun show," according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. "About 10 percent of state prison inmates said they purchased it from a retail store or pawnshop, 37 percent obtained it from family or friends, and another 40 percent obtained it from an illegal source."

btk

[Arctic Fox]

"In 2004 (the most recent year of data available)"

Where are the data for the past nine years?

Basing today's decisions on stats that are almost a decade old is a bit worrying

[bimmertl]

Just Google it. It's all over the "main stream media". So the LA Times isn't the "main stream" media. That's a new one.

Here it is from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Gun crimes drop sharply - Video on NBCNews.com (http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51810484/#51810484)

[Taltarzac725]

I do not see the connection though with stopping either mentally ill or just plain evil mass murderers who go on rampages with various weapons with large magazines and a capacity to fire semi-automatically.

Statistically these mass shootings take very few lives but they also have a huge economic impact on the communities involved with mental illness treatment of victims' family members and other survivors, trials and incarceration of the shooters if they survive the violence, jobs lost to affects of this violence, police man hours, lawsuits, etc.

Still believe that common sense approaches to limiting access to ammunition, high capacity ammo cartridges, and to the rifles and pistols themselves would stop at least a few of these mass shooters.

[DDoug]

Thats a great article but my question is how do you get ,basically government influenced news media to report the whole truth. That is one of the bigger problems in this country is only half the truth is reported and that is where we get in trouble. Whole truths dont get people reelected

[JourneyOfLife]

Articles like this :

Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it's up, says study - latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-gun-crimes-pew-report-20130507,0,3022693.story)

highlight the value of the internets access to many sources on ANY given subject. Those of us who take advantage of it get a much better perspective about the issues than is presented via the main stream media.

It does not mean that one's beliefs or views should change. It simply suggests that one must do one's home work to make a valid case.

As one of my professors used to say....it takes more than one point to make a curve!!

btk

I think the LA Times is considered by some to be a mainstream liberal media outlet.

Liberal bias - Conservapedia (http://www.conservapedia.com/Liberal_bias#Liberal_media_outlets)

[Parker]

I no longer assume the media is telling me the truth, as I did when I was a young person. I now know that much of what I read is biased in one way or the other, and sometimes it is downright deceptive. I've learned to check things out on my own from a variety of sources, and try to ferret out the real facts to form my own judgements on any given subject.

I liked it better when I didn't have to work that hard! It was foolish but it sure was easier!

[billethkid]

Just Google it. It's all over the "main stream media". So the LA Times isn't the "main stream" media. That's a new one.

Here it is from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Gun crimes drop sharply - Video on NBCNews.com (http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51810484/#51810484)

ahhh the beauty of more than one head in the game....thanx.

And as per usual Brian Williams will always, ALWAYS put the slant on the message they want the public left with. For example in this news clip all the stats show a significant down trend which he reports, however his last but, states that 70% of all murders are done with guns. That is very misleading and of course the last thing a person hears. Remember what he wants his audience to dwell on is the big number 70% "of all murders".

I errooneously refer to the network news broadcasts as mainstream media....perhaps the alphabet media is a better assignation.

At least his report updates the findings through 2011. Seems the real facts of the matter are the gun statistics are much different than most people are aware of in the normal (whatever that may be) reporting.

btk

[Geewiz]

I'm all in favor for parents buying their minor children "my first gun" and letting them kill their baby sisters...Darwin wins!

[buggyone]

I just saw a television news crawler saying a 3 year old Florida child shot himself with his father's gun.

Yep, the child should trained by the NRA in safe handling of a gun.

[Shimpy]

I no longer assume the media is telling me the truth, as I did when I was a young person. I now know that much of what I read is biased in one way or the other, and sometimes it is downright deceptive. I've learned to check things out on my own from a variety of sources, and try to ferret out the real facts to form my own judgements on any given subject.

!

I wish everyone was informed as you. As a kid or young adult I figured if was on the news it was true. One of the biggest problems is what's NOT on the news. Mainstream media, NBC, etc, chose to ignore news which shows their viewpoint to be wrong.

[BobnBev]

I wish everyone was informed as you. As a kid or young adult I figured if was on the news it was true. One of the biggest problems is what's NOT on the news. Mainstream media, NBC, etc, chose to ignore news which shows their viewpoint to be wrong.

Back in the day of Edward R Murrow and Walter Cronkite, you could trust
those to be truthful, not so now.:(

[Golfingnut]

Would murder go down if there were ZERO guns in America or would other methods be used for murder?

[ilovetv]

I do not see the connection though with stopping either mentally ill or just plain evil mass murderers who go on rampages with various weapons with large magazines and a capacity to fire semi-automatically.

Statistically these mass shootings take very few lives but they also have a huge economic impact on the communities involved with mental illness treatment of victims' family members and other survivors, trials and incarceration of the shooters if they survive the violence, jobs lost to affects of this violence, police man hours, lawsuits, etc.

Still believe that common sense approaches to limiting access to ammunition, high capacity ammo cartridges, and to the rifles and pistols themselves would stop at least a few of these mass shooters.

I don't disagree, but when wannabe mass killers can't get high capacity ammo cartridges and the rifles and pistols themselves, all they have to do is rig up some portable propane gas tanks as the Columbine killers had, or rig up the pressure cookers like the Boston bombers did.

When psychos want to be on stage doing a massacre, they find a way regardless of laws. They are lawless to begin with.

Until police, school administrators, courts and mental health professionals take seriously and act upon the dark, sick-minded musings and threats of killers like the VA Tech one, as Prof. Nikki Giovanni did, these evil people will find ways to carry out their plans.

Not even the U.S. Army acted upon the crazed jihadist harangues that the Ft. Hood killer had done in classes with psychiatry residents at Walter Reed Army Med. Center! (But that, sadly, was probably due to to fear of "racial profiling" and corresponding "need" for political correctness).
______

The Professor Who Said 'Not in My Class' -- NY Times

“Once I realized my class was scared, I knew I had to do something,” she told The Washington Post.

So she confronted him about the dark sunglasses and maroon cap he would wear in class and the darker poetry that he would write.

“You can’t do that,” she told him, referring to the “intimidating” poems.

“You can’t make me,” he replied.

“Yeah, I can.”

Her next step was to lobby the department head, Lucinda Roy, writing a letter requesting he leave the class, she told CNN. And she was ready to go all the way.

“I was willing to resign before I would continue with him,” she told CNN. “It was the meanness.”

The Professor Who Said 'Not in My Class' - NYTimes.com (http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/virginia-massacre-day-three/)

[Taltarzac725]

I don't disagree, but when wannabe mass killers can't get high capacity ammo cartridges and the rifles and pistols themselves, all they have to do is rig up some portable propane gas tanks as the Columbine killers had, or rig up the pressure cookers like the Boston bombers did.

When psychos want to be on stage doing a massacre, they find a way regardless of laws. They are lawless to begin with.

Until police, school administrators, courts and mental health professionals take seriously and act upon the dark, sick-minded musings and threats of killers like the VA Tech one, as Prof. Nikki Giovanni did, these evil people will find ways to carry out their plans.

Not even the U.S. Army acted upon the crazed jihadist harangues that the Ft. Hood killer had done in classes with psychiatry residents at Walter Reed Army Med. Center! (But that, sadly, was probably due to to fear of "racial profiling" and corresponding "need" for political correctness).
______

The Professor Who Said 'Not in My Class' -- NY Times

“Once I realized my class was scared, I knew I had to do something,” she told The Washington Post.

So she confronted him about the dark sunglasses and maroon cap he would wear in class and the darker poetry that he would write.

“You can’t do that,” she told him, referring to the “intimidating” poems.

“You can’t make me,” he replied.

“Yeah, I can.”

Her next step was to lobby the department head, Lucinda Roy, writing a letter requesting he leave the class, she told CNN. And she was ready to go all the way.

“I was willing to resign before I would continue with him,” she told CNN. “It was the meanness.”

The Professor Who Said 'Not in My Class' - NYTimes.com (http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/virginia-massacre-day-three/)

The Professor Who Said 'Not in My Class' - NYTimes.com (http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/virginia-massacre-day-three/)

That's interesting about Prof. Nikki Giovanni and the Virginia Tech killer. There must be some checks and balances on this kind of power given to Professors though as in my experience people with a lot of control over others often abuse this authority. She was right about this student but there could be other unpopular students who are ostracized by there fellow students for any variety of reasons. Bullying from fellow students in all its myriad forms is often the start of the journey these murderers embark on which ends with them harming others using very violent means.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

I do not see the connection though with stopping either mentally ill or just plain evil mass murderers who go on rampages with various weapons with large magazines and a capacity to fire semi-automatically.

Statistically these mass shootings take very few lives but they also have a huge economic impact on the communities involved with mental illness treatment of victims' family members and other survivors, trials and incarceration of the shooters if they survive the violence, jobs lost to affects of this violence, police man hours, lawsuits, etc.

Still believe that common sense approaches to limiting access to ammunition, high capacity ammo cartridges, and to the rifles and pistols themselves would stop at least a few of these mass shooters.

I don't know if I had been trapped in a home in Waterbury MA when the neighborhood was shut down and a terrorist was on the loose I would have felt a whole lot safer having a gun with a high capacity magazine to protect my family in case the suspect came into my home

[janmcn]

I don't know if I had been trapped in a home in Waterbury MA when the neighborhood was shut down and a terrorist was on the loose I would have felt a whole lot safer having a gun with a high capacity magazine to protect my family in case the suspect came into my home

Nobody in Watertown MA had to use their guns. The residents stayed inside as they were told and let the professionals with guns handle it and no one got hurt, except for the terrorist.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

Nobody in Watertown MA had to use their guns. The residents stayed inside as they were told and let the professionals with guns handle it and no one got hurt, except for the terrorist.

Sure but if the terrorist had broken into a home it might have been a different story and in that case if I was there I would want all of the protection I could gather

[gustavo]

Sure but if the terrorist had broken into a home it might have been a different story and in that case if I was there I would want all of the protection I could gather

When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!!!

[Taltarzac725]

I don't know if I had been trapped in a home in Waterbury MA when the neighborhood was shut down and a terrorist was on the loose I would have felt a whole lot safer having a gun with a high capacity magazine to protect my family in case the suspect came into my home

Why would you need a gun with a high capacity magazine to stop one or two heavily armed intruders?? A shotgun would be just as effective in close quarters and would not present the problem of innocents being shot if the pellets went through windows or through thin walls. You don't need a Uzi for home protection unless you are fighting a platoon of home invaders.

[Monkei]

High capacity in close quarters ... Won't work shotgun is always preferred.

[Geewiz]

Oh boy....let's kill'em all...it solves errors in judgement... any paranoia...plus it adds to the size of one's erection. I love this country...the home of the brave and recklessly free.

Evil Is


Evil is as evil does
From the birthstone to the grave
We kneel with mouths wide open
At the priest’s behest we pray
But, evil knows this way
For evil is...

It whispers in our sleep
Seducing us with praise
Then draws it’s knife out slowly
The lover and the blade
Yes, evil know this way
For evil is...

Evil is a lonely child
Walking empty streets
As the sky descends upon him
His anger masks defeat
This is an evil thing
For evil is.

[Bucco]

Thats a great article but my question is how do you get ,basically government influenced news media to report the whole truth. That is one of the bigger problems in this country is only half the truth is reported and that is where we get in trouble. Whole truths dont get people reelected

Lack of any journalists working in the MSM is not only A problem, in my opinion, it is the BIGGEST problem facing this country today. and we demand such low quality reporting, AS LONG AS we agree with them it is ok.

This current stuff being bandied about now on the bill that was defeated is a great example. Rush a bill out just for politics, make brash statments...BOTH sides....instead of being statesman and going to the crux of it and finding common ground for a solution, IF there is a problem.

Media just feeds these people....they play to the media for politics...and we, the readers just suck it all up.....I mean we suck up what we agree with and call the others radicals.

Media is our biggest problem FAR AND AWAY.

[waynet]

Bucco,I'm in total agreement.

[Geewiz]

Most of what passes for news is commentary - a trend started by Fox and now picked up by MSNBC. Of course, as we dumb down...folks accept this for reality.

The truth is that we are in a rapid cycle of de-evolution...kids can't afford college and when they manage to go they get nothing but a technical education.

As the center of the circle cannot hold and things spin out of control folks no longer trust political institutions and turn on each other - hence the hard on for guns. We use to be a united states -- except for that small bit when we needed to abandon the concept of one person owning another (because doing so was repugnant).

Now, billionaires and corporations pit us against each other using labels that play to base sensibilities...when, in fact, what we all want is security, value for our taxes, taking care of our neighbors when they are in real need and a better future for our children.

[Bucco]

Most of what passes for news is commentary - a trend started by Fox and now picked up by MSNBC. Of course, as we dumb down...folks accept this for reality.

The truth is that we are in a rapid cycle of de-evolution...kids can't afford college and when they manage to go they get nothing but a technical education.

As the center of the circle cannot hold and things spin out of control folks no longer trust political institutions and turn on each other - hence the hard on for guns. We use to be a united states -- except for that small bit when we needed to abandon the concept of one person owning another (because doing so was repugnant).

Now, billionaires and corporations pit us against each other using labels that play to base sensibilities...when, in fact, what we all want is security, value for our taxes, taking care of our neighbors when they are in real need and a better future for our children.


As of 9:07 CNN is continuing their wall to wall, never ending coverage of the released girls in Cleveland......MSNBC continues their continuing coverage of Fox and one political party.....FOX continues their coverage of Benghazi..

Go figure

[OnTrack]

Oh boy....let's kill'em all...it solves errors in judgement... any paranoia...plus it adds to the size of one's erection. I love this country...the home of the brave and recklessly free.

:BigApplause:


.

[l2ridehd]

Most of what passes for news is commentary - a trend started by Fox and now picked up by MSNBC. Of course, as we dumb down...folks accept this for reality.

The truth is that we are in a rapid cycle of de-evolution...kids can't afford college and when they manage to go they get nothing but a technical education.

As the center of the circle cannot hold and things spin out of control folks no longer trust political institutions and turn on each other - hence the hard on for guns. We use to be a united states -- except for that small bit when we needed to abandon the concept of one person owning another (because doing so was repugnant).

Now, billionaires and corporations pit us against each other using labels that play to base sensibilities...when, in fact, what we all want is security, value for our taxes, taking care of our neighbors when they are in real need and a better future for our children.

Started by FOX?????????? ABC, CBS, and NBC started reporting opinion vs news long before FOX was even on the air. They created the market for FOX and all the other cable news networks by NOT reporting the news.

Today the so called "third estate" has completely stopped doing their job. I cannot believe or trust the reporting on either side of an issue. The information is so tainted with the opinion of the reporter that it is false information. The real facts of most stories come out so long after the incident that created the story, that they are then worthless.

Today I feel I can never believe anything I see reported by either side of the mainstream media. Such a sad state what journalism has fallen to that we no longer believe what they report. I live in Northern VA and it is probably worse here do to the Washington influence, but here it is worthless information. I canceled all newspapers because they report opinion vs news and I never watch TV news for the same reason. When I hear about an issue, I have to do my own research to find any accurate information.

[Geewiz]

Started by FOX?????????? ABC, CBS, and NBC started reporting opinion vs news long before FOX was even on the air. They created the market for FOX and all the other cable news networks by NOT reporting the news.

Today the so called "third estate" has completely stopped doing their job. I cannot believe or trust the reporting on either side of an issue. The information is so tainted with the opinion of the reporter that it is false information. The real facts of most stories come out so long after the incident that created the story, that they are then worthless.

Today I feel I can never believe anything I see reported by either side of the mainstream media. Such a sad state what journalism has fallen to that we no longer believe what they report. I live in Northern VA and it is probably worse here do to the Washington influence, but here it is worthless information. I canceled all newspapers because they report opinion vs news and I never watch TV news for the same reason. When I hear about an issue, I have to do my own research to find any accurate information.

All reporting has an ideological component - in the same way that history texts are ideological.

Still - ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN (when Turner ran the place) attempt to be balanced. Fox never made an attempt at balance - it's so bad that now Ailes is trying to dial back some of his "stars" as they are losing market share. MSNBC has the same issue on the left (their market share is actually going up because the pendulum is starting to move from the right to a more centerest position - I hesitate to say left as there is no left left in this country).

Just because you agree with an ideological tilt...that doesn't mean the tilt is not there.

Remember - at ABC, the chief talking head is a former Nixon staffer (Diane Sawyer) and despite my left of center sensibilities ABC is probably the best at giving straight news. Kudos to them.

Of course there are always those who see snakes in their underwear and scream about conspiracy theories when they don't hear what they want to hear. Truth is always relative....just watch Rashomon.

[Monkei]

Started by FOX?????????? ABC, CBS, and NBC started reporting opinion vs news long before FOX was even on the air. They created the market for FOX and all the other cable news networks by NOT reporting the news.

Today the so called "third estate" has completely stopped doing their job. I cannot believe or trust the reporting on either side of an issue. The information is so tainted with the opinion of the reporter that it is false information. The real facts of most stories come out so long after the incident that created the story, that they are then worthless.

Today I feel I can never believe anything I see reported by either side of the mainstream media. Such a sad state what journalism has fallen to that we no longer believe what they report. I live in Northern VA and it is probably worse here do to the Washington influence, but here it is worthless information. I canceled all newspapers because they report opinion vs news and I never watch TV news for the same reason. When I hear about an issue, I have to do my own research to find any accurate information.

Hopefully my post won't get deleted like it was before when I mentioned my opinion of "why bother to vote" but just as lobbyist now have more say so on an issue than 75 to 90 percent of the public in public polling so it is that big money now owns a lot of the media and especially the talk radio side of things. A radio station could have very good ratings with its political talk shows but a major company will still buy out that station and change its format to snuff out the message, taking a loss on a station here or there is a small sacrifice to make sure YOUR message does not face competition.

You mention that other news organizations created this hole for FOX to come in and report the news? I say that FOX came in to fill one side of the news that they figured was not being presented. They were never intended to be this big news machine with no biases. They have not disappointed. Just as people view MSNBC as a pro left wing organization, FOX is nothing more than a right wing organization.

[OnTrack]

All reporting has an ideological component - in the same way that history texts are ideological.

Still - ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN (when Turner ran the place) attempt to be balanced. Fox never made an attempt at balance - it's so bad that now Ailes is trying to dial back some of his "stars" as they are losing market share. MSNBC has the same issue on the left (their market share is actually going up because the pendulum is starting to more from the right to a more centerest position - I hesitate to say left as there is no left left in this country).

Just because you agree with an ideological tilt...that doesn't mean the tilt is not there.

Remember - at ABC, the chief talking head is a former Nixon staffer (Diane Sawyer) and despite my left of center sensibilities ABC is probably the best at giving straight news. Kudos to them.

Of course there are always those who see snakes in their underwear and scream about conspiracy theories when they don't hear what they want to hear. Truth is always relative....just watch Rashomon.



FAUX NEWS viewers are the real "low-information voters." (click here) (http://businessinsider.com/study-watching-fox-news-makes-you-less-informed-than-watching-no-news-at-all-2012-5)

Media outlets such as Fox News and MSNBC have a negative impact on people’s current events knowledge while NPR and Sunday morning political talk shows are the most informative sources of news, according to Fairleigh Dickinson University’s newest PublicMind survey.

“Ideological news sources, like Fox and MSNBC, are really just talking to one audience,” Political scientist and poll analyst Dan Cassino said in a press release. “This is solid evidence that if you’re not in that audience, you’re not going to get anything out of watching them.”






http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4fbbf449eab8ea4c79000007/news.jpg

http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4fbbf993eab8ea870700001e/news.jpg



.

[Moderator]

Please keep comments from straying into political territory.

Moderator

[DaleMN]

We should abolish the media. Or ask the Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional. Oh wait....isn't there something in the consititution about free speech? What the hell, let's do it anyway. :ohdear:

[Monkei]

We should abolish the media. Or ask the Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional. Oh wait....isn't there something in the consititution about free speech? What the hell, let's do it anyway. :ohdear:

The media has no agenda. It is negative to all sides just for a story. Always has been. Always will. People don't watch the news to see cats pulled out of trees by fire departments.

[rubicon]

It would seem that the arguments being advanced by posters concerning which news station offers the best and the most unbiased in reporting speaks for itself. From my view one of the few news sources I have confidence in is the Wall Street Journal. Why? Because they do not have a left or right bent. What they do have is a keen interest in what and who makes sense to them from an economic standpoint. What we all are really interested in is how does this policy etc affect me financially. That I understand

[DaleMN]

The Wall Street Journal doesn't have a political leaning? :1rotfl:

[wendyquat]

"ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN (when Turner ran the place) attempt to be balanced."


:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[Geewiz]

"ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN (when Turner ran the place) attempt to be balanced."


:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I'd respond to your sarcastic post (directed at me...so mod, don't accuse me of being abusive...I am actually a very kind fellow) with something a bit more literate...but, the mod would kill me...so party on.