Posted on 05/20/2003 1:14:40 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
Reeling from NRA Executive Director Wayne LaPierre charging CNN with fabricating and "deliberately faking" a story last Thursday to demonstrate how a banned "assault weapon" has much more dangerous firepower than a legal model, on Monday's Wolf Blitzer Reports, substitute anchor Miles O'Brien didn't go so far as to offer a retraction, but he did concede CNN's demonstration needed further amplification.
On the May 19 edition of the 5pm EDT Wolf Blitzer Reports, O'Brien announced: "On this program on Thursday of last week, we aired a live demonstration CNN set up with law enforcement officials of a banned semiautomatic rifle and its legal counterpart. We reviewed that demonstration, and one on another CNN program, and decided that a more detailed report would better explain this complex issue."
Space limits how much I can do on this today and it's pretty hard to explain in words what CNN showed in firing range tests, but let me try to concisely run through what CNN showed on Thursday, LaPierre's angry reaction on Friday and what CNN showed in a revised demonstration on Monday which implicitly illustrated how their Thursday presentation was, at the least, misleading.
-- Thursday, May 15 Wolf Blitzer Reports, anchored by Kyra Phillips. John Zarrella traveled to the Broward County, Florida Sheriff's Office's outdoor shooting range where Sheriff Ken Jenne narrated what viewers were seeing as a deputy fired two "assault weapons."
Jenne explained why he favors keeping the ban in place: "Because I think guns are the tools of hunters, but these weapons are really the tools to kill people and there's a major, major difference."
First, a deputy fired what Jenne described as "a AK-47, the Chinese version," which is "currently banned."
Viewers saw bullets fired into a pile of cinder blocks and chunks of the cinder block flying off, leaving a big hole in one block. Then, the deputy fired into a bullet-proof vest. Zarrella observed that the bullets "clearly fired right through" the vest.
Second, Jenne set up the next model to be tested: "This is an AK-47 also, but a civilian model. It has some differences and right now this only has a clip of 10 in the magazine -- or 10 rounds in the magazine. So this is a big difference than the 30 rounds in the previous magazine."
Viewers then saw the deputy fire four shots toward the cinder blocks, but nothing happened, not even a speck of the cinder block flew off, never mind any hole being created.
The very clear implication: The illegal model punches right through cinder block with devastating and deadly force, but the legal model can't even cause a speck to fall off.
Upon looking at the MRC videotape frame by frame, with the first rifle you could see a puff of smoke coming out of the end of the barrel as the deputy fired. But with the second gun, you could not see anything, as if no bullet were being fired. And if one was, the deputy either missed the target cinder blocks, or had good enough aim to be firing into the hole created by the first rifle.
Sheriff Jenne, Zarrella didn't bother to note, is a Democrat. From Jenne's bio on the Sheriff's office Web site:
"Sheriff Jenne was elected to the Florida Senate in 1978 and retained that position for 18 of the next 20 years. He held all of the top committee chairmanships and was Senate Democratic Leader when Governor Chiles chose him to become Sheriff of Broward County in January 1998, replacing the late Ron Cochran." See: www.sheriff.org
(Note how they landed the sheriff.org domain)
-- Friday, May 16 Wold Blitzer Reports, again anchored by Kyra Phillips. An angry Wayne LaPierre of the NRA charged at the start of a guest appearance:
"Apparently the only difference between the New York Times and CNN is that when a reporter for the New York Times fakes a story, he's fired, and at CNN he's not. Your bureau chief, John Zarrella, deliberately faked the story yesterday and intending to show that the performance characteristics of banned firearms on the list are somehow different from the performance characteristics of firearms not on the banned list. He was, he was implying that these were machine guns or fully automatic guns. That's not true."
Phillips retorted: "Mr. LaPierre, I have to stop you there. No one fakes stories at CNN and John Zarrella definitely did not fake a story at CNN. You're very off base."
-- Wolf Blitzer Reports, Monday, May 19, anchored by Miles O'Brien. After O'Brien conceded "that a more detailed report would better explain this complex issue" (see top of this item for full quote), Zarrella offered a detailed explanation of the differences between a legal and illegal weapon:
"This is a semiautomatic firearm. It instantly self-loads and fires one bullet for each trigger pull. The 1994 Crime Control Act says it is unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon. The law defines a semiautomatic assault weapon by name and description, listing 19 specific firearms by name that are illegal.
"The law also bans certain rifles, pistols and shotguns by description, as well as large capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The law is very specific. For a semiautomatic rifle to be banned, it must be able to use a detachable magazine and have at least two of the following features: A flash suppressor, a bayonet mount, a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, or a grenade launcher."
Zarrella admitted a major NRA talking point, and thus contradicted the clear implication of his Thursday demonstration: "In fact, if you fire the same caliber and type bullets from the two guns," one illegal and one legal, "you get the same impact."
Viewers then saw two of the "assault weapons" being fired at cinder blocks at an indoor range.
Zarrella previewed the first rifle: "Here is a .223 caliber bullet fired from a banned AR-15 rifle." Big chunks of the cinder block fell away. "Now, the legal version of that rifle," Zarrella explained before the same guy fired the second rifle. But this time, only a very small hole was created in the cinder block.
That prompted Zarrella to clarify: "The smaller hole made by the second gun has nothing to do with the gun or ammunition. The shooter just hit the second target more times in the same place."
In other words, the Thursday demonstration, in which the legal assault weapon caused no damage to the cinder block, was very misleading and very possibly an outright fabrication.
CNN deserves credit for re-visiting their earlier story in which, for all I know, they may have been the victims of the sheriff's shenanigans. But given how the clear implication of the demonstration was just plain wrong, that illegal assault weapons cause much more damage than legal models which have much less firepower, CNN still owes its viewers a more explicit acknowledgment that they visually conveyed a distortion of reality.
Down here in Broward County, we call him Sheriff Ken-Ken because he resembles a tiny Ken Doll. Sheriff Ken-Ken measures about 5 feet tall...in his elevator shoes.
Sheriff Jenne was elected to the Florida Senate in 1978 and retained that position for 18 of the next 20 years. He held all of the top committee chairmanships and was Senate Democratic Leader when Governor Chiles chose him to become Sheriff of Broward County in January 1998, replacing the late Ron Cochran."
True. Sheriff Ken-Ken isn't even a real lawman. He is a career politician. BTW, one of the great amusements down here is watching Sheriff Ken-Ken riding his horsey during parades. He looks like a tiny bald bowling ball trying desperately to keep from falling out of the saddle. It is also fun watching the Sheriff's Deputies riding with him straining to keep from bursting out laughing at Sheriff Ken-Ken's dilemma.
Zarrella admitted a major NRA talking point, and thus contradicted the clear implication of his Thursday demonstration: "In fact, if you fire the same caliber and type bullets from the two guns," one illegal and one legal, "you get the same impact."
So the first report was FRAUDULENT. However, don't expect Ken Auletta to criticize CNN for being biased. He is too busy leveling that charge at Fox News. So, Mr. Auletta, when did you ever catch Fox News FABRICATING stories such as CNN has done here and on other occasions?
Wrong, Sheriff Jenne. The Second Amendment protects you from people, not animals.
Typical cookie-cutter agitprop, to be expected from a lying politician. Fact of the matter is, the same guns I use on four-legged varmints are the same ones I'd use on the two-legged variety. Last hog I shot was with a Romanian SAR-1. $:-)
Using soft points in a five round magazine, of course... !
1. Say you live in Broward County and want a bill passed in Tallahassee. You've gotta see Ken Jenne. Say you want the governor to appoint you a judge. See Jenne, the Democratic state senator from Fort Lauderdale.
2. If you are a candidate and need campaign contributions, Jenne's your man. Suddenly it has become abundantly clear that Jenne is the king of Broward politics.
3. First there is the muscling of the School Board during the recent legislative session. Then there is his increasing influence in the past six months in three city halls where he snared legal work though his contacts. The School Board got a brutal lesson about Jenne's growing power this month. The seven members tried to block the changes Jenne wanted in the way board elections are held. Jenne steamrollered them. This year for the first time, Jenne has found a friend on the County Commission: Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, who was elected in November. The senator was blocked from having any influence on the County Commission for years by his rival, Commissioner Scott Cowan. Lieberman, who recognizes Jenne is a smart and savvy political operator, has opened the door of county government to Jenne.
4. Jenne, 50, still controls appointments to the governing board running the public North Broward Hospital District as its general counsel. He also uses the district to solidify his political alliances, raising campaign contributions for his friends from wealthy physicians.
5. And Jenne has the ear of the governor on other appointments, from the bench to the state Athletic Commission. Democratic boss Mitch Ceasar has power, but it's largely confined to the party organization and the votes it delivers. Nobody but Jenne covers so many bases and has influence that touches so much in Broward. Jenne's dark side.
6. Jenne's power comes from his 16 years in the Legislature and his role as minority leader of the Senate. His power also comes from his law firm, Conrad Scherer and Jenne, where he earned $300,000 in 1995. The firm gives him entree into governments where it does work. First, there were the north Broward public hospitals. in the past half-year, his firm has moved into Lauderhill, Miramar, Sunrise and the School Board.
7. And the former prosecutor has been walking the corridors of power a long time in Broward and knows just about everybody in politics. His Rolodex is legendary. But Jenne's power also comes from his willingness to extract a terrible political price for defying him. he can turn from soft-spoken friend to shouting enemy in seconds. Now, to have political power you must be prepared to use it against your enemies. Jenne, however, remembers every slight, every snub, every pol who told him "No."
8. Jenne thinks Cowan attempted to sabotage the senator's political career about a decade ago. Jenne still holds a grudge, but he can't really get at the county commissioner.
9. "The unusual thing about ken Jenne is that he can look squarely into the face of a friend and see an enemy. It has happened to me, "Cowan says. State Rep. John Rayson, D-Pompano Beach, voted against Jenne on legislation several years ago. He ended up with an opponent sponsored by Jenne in the 1994 Democratic primary. Jenne dismisses his power and the fear factor like this:"I'm not powerful. I'm just a little lawyer trying to do what's right for the public."
10. I was talking to him on the phone, but I think I could hear his tongue stuffed firmly in his cheek.
The very clear implication: The illegal model punches right through cinder block with devastating and deadly force, but the legal model can't even cause a speck to fall off.
Upon looking at the MRC videotape frame by frame, with the first rifle you could see a puff of smoke coming out of the end of the barrel as the deputy fired. But with the second gun, you could not see anything, as if no bullet were being fired. And if one was, the deputy either missed the target cinder blocks, or had good enough aim to be firing into the hole created by the first rifle.
What a fraudulent little bit of theatre, intended to panic the fearful and stampede the weak-minded.
This is an upside-down and backwards spin on a demonstration that I saw on the news many years ago. Hoping to use logic and reason to stop the headlong plunge towards idiotic gun-control laws, members of a shooting club in California allowed a news camera crew to film a comparison of the then-legal semi-automatic AK-47S and a centerfire hunting rifle.
A club member shot a watermelon with the AK, causing a small hole in the front and a fist-sized exit hole. Then he laid down the AK and picked up a semi-automatic Browning BAR in 7mm Remington Magnum, which he then fired at a second watermelon. Melon #2 vanished in a cloud of pink mist - nothing larger than a watermelon seed remained.
The message was clear: The AK, despite its gritty military appearance, was not as lethal as the shiny hunting rifle. Such logic never works on the left, though.
This brings to mind the episode of NBC blowing up the gas tanks of GM pickup trucks to prove how dangerous they were. I hope the public does NOT ease up on CNN over this gun fraud. They are obviously trying to QUIETLY slither away from this fraud that they perpetrated. I hope they are NOT allowed to do so.
Ken Auletta---WHERE ARE YOU????
Wayne LaPierre was on CNN the other day, he called them on this, he told them their story was false. I didn't catch the whole exchange but it was BEAUTIFUL watching him BLAST(and BLASTING is what it was) CNN for this story. May the NRA could provide a transcript, it WAS kewl!
Is this the normal way sheriffs are selected in Florida? Are they appointed for life, or a fixed term? Can the governor fire them? In Texas we elect our sheriffs and they regularly stand for re-election. They almost always have some kind of law enforcement background, often as a deputy in the same county, occasionally in a municpal police department, or less frequently from a "corrections" background. The sheriff runs the county jail as well as policing those parts of the count without a municipal police force, so some corrections background is actually a good thing.
1) He fired more bullets at the first cinder block than at the second.
2) He fired into the first hole or a single shot in the second test.
You have to be sitting awfully close to the tailgate on the turnip truck to not understand a)the same # of shells fired from the same weapon will create the same damage (if you use the same shell in each case) and/or b)the collorary, a different number of shells (or different ammunition ie:soft point vs armour piercing) will create differing results.
Bottom line: the conditions in the two tests were (billed by CNN) basically constant, but the results were different. Therefore, CNN is lying cause it ain't possible.
Am I missing something here?
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