Jay Nordlinger posts on the intersection of reflexive anti-gun kneejerks and the leftwing politicization of sportswriters:
A reader notes that I wrote recently about the intrusion of politics into sportswriting (here). Then he quotes Peter King of Sports Illustrated, today:
My heart goes out to the victims of the Fort Hood and Orlando shootings and their loved ones. Senseless, senseless incidents. I will not go quietly into the night on this one. America needs to do something about idiots with handguns. How many more Fort Hoods and Orlandos do there have to be before our political leaders have the guts to severely restrict access to murderous weapons?
Our reader comments, “Good point. An Army base is no place for weapons.” And, to add insult to injury, we know what the Associated Press reported, here: “Packed into cubicles with 5-foot-high dividers, the 300 unarmed soldiers were sitting ducks.”
Meanwhile, at Pajamas Media, Bob Owens writes:
The American media has a long and ignoble history of firearms ignorance often based upon the propaganda of anti-gun organizations.
Finally, if but for once, that ignorance and fact-free hype may have served to actually save lives.
Read the whole thing — especially if you’re a bored producer at low-rated CNN looking for material to inflame your remaining viewer.
PJM Home
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
3 Comments
1. Joe Hooker:Ironic because Fort Hood, like any military base, IS a gun-free zone. All military arms are securely locked up in guarded arms rooms and can be checked out only for duty missions — even so the troops will not get ammo for most training missions. Since Hood is federal property Texas CCW and open carry laws do not apply. No soldier is authorized to carry a private weapon while in uniform (it’s a court-martial offence)and base regs do not permit carry, open or concealed, for anyone, military or not. In addition, all private weapons must be registered with the provost marshal.
So in effect Ft. Hood is a gun-grabber’s dream, just as a larger society would be if the Brady crowd had their way. The soldiers were helpless to retaliate because they were unarmed.
Nov 9, 2009 - 1:47 pm 2. Mike:“There’s no fighting in the War Room!”
Nov 9, 2009 - 4:46 pm 3. OCBill:In another CNN spot, the wife of a soldier injured in the shootings at Fort Hood said that when he was deployed to Afghanistan, at least he would be allowed to shoot back.
Nov 9, 2009 - 8:20 pm