No lie, no deception or misdirection is too low for the Brady Campaign. Especially when it comes from a Government report. If the Government prints it then it must be true. From their standpoint, I can understand that. A lie, no matter how egregious or incredible, but stated by the Government automatically instills a sense of truth and credibility in any who hear it. After all, it's the Government! The Government never makes mistakes.
It should come as no surprise to you that the Brady Campaign doesn't do research beyond acquiring the soundbites and snippets it needs to get its "message" out. It is the narrative that matters. Anything that interferes with that is simply ignored. After all, we can let facts interfere with good propaganda and get in the way of the message.
From them, we call it sad and pathetic. I've never understood how or why they've never hired a well-meaning but ignorant kid with decent intelligence and sent them forth to research firearms. At least armed with some rudimentary facts, I am sure you could twist them in a much more effective message than we see from them now. I know I could if I worked for them.
From the Government, though, this type of thing should have never seen the light of day. This just goes to show that politicians and many of the people who work for Government aren't the brightest bulbs in the box.
Especially with what I'm about to show you. This is a classic case of both sides getting totally suckered.
Here we have the following GAO report: Long-Range Fifty Caliber Sniper Weapons. It's an old report published in May 1999. The fact it is nine years old has never stopped the Brady Campaign. They'd quote homicide figures in colonial children if they had the data to manipulate to their own ends.
And here we have the Brady Campaign's page on the deadly, plane-downing, terrorist weapon system know as the .50BMG rifle. Just to make sure they don't change the narrative, here is a screen capture of the page in question:
What I want you to focus on is the end of that paragraph right in the middle. Here is the sentence:
They're not.
If you open the GAO report and go to the top of page 5, you will see the paragraph as plain as day:
I would love to know who that minority staffer was who did that search because they are an idiot. Because, folks, here is the ad they found that led to them putting this idiocy into a GAO report:
Yes, some intern or civil servant in Washington DC was let out of their padded room, allowed to do research and never had their work vetted by someone higher-up. As a result, this parody made it into an official GAO report as certified fact on the cheap cost and availability of the deadly .50 caliber sniper rifle.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I have but one request to any Deity listening: Please let me be testifying at a hearing for banning the .50 when the Brady Campaign brings up the $29.95 Internet price for these guns. I've never seen a man physically shrink to the size of a mouse in humiliation and whipping out this ad along with the GAO report before a committee to demonstrate the out-and-out lies of the Brady Campaign would so, so worth it. I think that is a modest request.
I can't believe the Brady Campaign fell for it.
On second thought, I can. Alas, I can believe in this type of ineptitude from the Government.
Snort.
It should come as no surprise to you that the Brady Campaign doesn't do research beyond acquiring the soundbites and snippets it needs to get its "message" out. It is the narrative that matters. Anything that interferes with that is simply ignored. After all, we can let facts interfere with good propaganda and get in the way of the message.
From them, we call it sad and pathetic. I've never understood how or why they've never hired a well-meaning but ignorant kid with decent intelligence and sent them forth to research firearms. At least armed with some rudimentary facts, I am sure you could twist them in a much more effective message than we see from them now. I know I could if I worked for them.
From the Government, though, this type of thing should have never seen the light of day. This just goes to show that politicians and many of the people who work for Government aren't the brightest bulbs in the box.
Especially with what I'm about to show you. This is a classic case of both sides getting totally suckered.
Here we have the following GAO report: Long-Range Fifty Caliber Sniper Weapons. It's an old report published in May 1999. The fact it is nine years old has never stopped the Brady Campaign. They'd quote homicide figures in colonial children if they had the data to manipulate to their own ends.
And here we have the Brady Campaign's page on the deadly, plane-downing, terrorist weapon system know as the .50BMG rifle. Just to make sure they don't change the narrative, here is a screen capture of the page in question:
What I want you to focus on is the end of that paragraph right in the middle. Here is the sentence:
A government study found that a used .50 caliber BMG sniper rifle can be purchased online for just $29.95When you finish snorting your Coke, notice they provided a footnote. It is the very report I just told you you about. At this point you have to thinking, "That has to be a typo! No one will actually go to the report and check the Brady Campaign's 'facts' since we all know they're lying. They have to be making that up!".
They're not.
If you open the GAO report and go to the top of page 5, you will see the paragraph as plain as day:
C. Costs of the WeaponEmphasis mine.
The cost of a new fifty caliber sniper rifle can range from about $4,000 to $7,000. The retail price for a new Barrett model 82A1 with two ten round magazines and an air and watertight case is approximately $6,800. On the other hand, the cost of a modern second-hand fifty caliber rifle is only about $3,000. An Internet search conducted by the minority staff revealed the sale of one used fifty caliber sniper rifle for only $29.95.
I would love to know who that minority staffer was who did that search because they are an idiot. Because, folks, here is the ad they found that led to them putting this idiocy into a GAO report:
Yes, some intern or civil servant in Washington DC was let out of their padded room, allowed to do research and never had their work vetted by someone higher-up. As a result, this parody made it into an official GAO report as certified fact on the cheap cost and availability of the deadly .50 caliber sniper rifle.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I have but one request to any Deity listening: Please let me be testifying at a hearing for banning the .50 when the Brady Campaign brings up the $29.95 Internet price for these guns. I've never seen a man physically shrink to the size of a mouse in humiliation and whipping out this ad along with the GAO report before a committee to demonstrate the out-and-out lies of the Brady Campaign would so, so worth it. I think that is a modest request.
I can't believe the Brady Campaign fell for it.
On second thought, I can. Alas, I can believe in this type of ineptitude from the Government.
Snort.
5 comments:
ROFLMAO - I am jaded for sure boss!
Funny as that would be, I note the report said a "used" rifle, and there's no mention of a URL or model.
I think it's more likely that it was parts or a rusted dewat that sold basically as scrap, that they found.
Unless you have some information we don't?
(I do find it Typically Brady that they transform an un-sourced, unspecified "we saw on the internet that one sold for $29, maybe" into "they can be bought on the internet for $29".)
That's gotta' be a typo in the original report. The preceding sentence says "only about $3000", which the next sentence would back with a specific instance. It just doesn't make any sense otherwise. Cut the staffer some slack.
On the other hand the Brady Bunch should get a kick in the ass for not recognizing the typo.
Of course they can be bought for twenty nine ninety five.
That's twenty-nine ninety-five *decimal* zero zero.
Not twenty-nine decimal ninety-five.
Heck, I think you can get a Ferret upper for 1695! ;-)
Alternately, maybe they were poking around one of the auction sites and saw an auction with a starting price of 29.95. *shrug*
Lies, damn lies, and statistics...
If they were $29.95 I'd own a bunch of them.
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