NPR Gun Control Program

O

oldbillthundercheif

Moderator
On NPR's legal show today objectivity went out the damn window. They had two "experts" from think-tanks and universities arguing the "collective right" interpretation of the 2nd, one guest from the Brady anti-iron organization, and the host. The host's voice warbled with some sort of strange combination of fear and hatred every time she said the word "gun".

That was it... not one single voice for the individual rights view. They had me yelling to myself in the car and they were not taking calls. Every person on the show was spewing some of the most easily argued-against drivel I've ever heard and nobody from our side was there to tear it up.

During the "technical" portion of the discussion one of them actually said something very close to this (I don't recall the exact wording):
"The pistol-grips on these semi-automatic assault weapons allow for very rapid shooting known as "sweeping fire"". Then he started in on the "grenade launching adapters" on "assault weapons" and finished off with a wacky comment about most hunting rifles being semi-automatic.

That guy was the moderate voice in the discussion.

I like NPR. I listen to it fairly often. This trash really chafes me, though.

Have they always been this slanted when dealing with gun control?

I've never noticed any glaring bias before today, but today was a whopper.
 
You've just now noticed NPR's very liberal spin on guns. Start listening to their spin on everything else. It's disgusting.

There was once an NPR sound clip of an Army general talking about an "open house" for local community families. He talked about the base tour and then described how they demonstrated the M-16 rifle and even provided some of the local kids a chance to fire one.

NPR Woman: "Isn't that dangerous? I mean, giving kids guns!"
General: "Not really. They're supervised by our instructors at all times and the kids are really attentive. It's a big thrill for them."
NPR Woman: "But aren't you equipping them to become killers?"
General: (Tersely) "Well, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?"

There was a sudden break and a short NPR ad spot ran. When programming continued, it was another host. :D
 
Bill (thundercheif) - NPR is an incredibly biased news source. They do much more in-depth reporting than the so-called "drive by" media, but the show you listened to is a perfect example that they're not interested in being unbiased. Name for me the last news report you heard on NPR that wasn't anti-Bush. I'm not saying they should be pro-Bush, but just that they should be unbiased since they're funded by taxpayer dollars.

Bill (CA) - That story you posted is a complete fabrication. One of those instances where even if it isn't true, it ought to be.

-Dave
 
I like NPR. I listen to it fairly often. This trash really chafes me, though.
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I listen to NPR often also, and even from their affiliate in NYC, I haven't heard anti-gun crap that bad. Now if you want to do something that might have an effect, find the name of the president of your local afiliate and their (business) address. Write a short letter explaining you're a regular listener and a contributor (whether you actually are or not) but were very upset by the biased and false reporting on that program. Further, politely explain that although you generally like NPR you will withhold your usual donation during their fund drive as a sign of your dissatisfaction and disgustwith their one-sided reporting on that program. NPR and PBS rely on public funds, but also rely on donations and fund drives to run. To a certain degree they are still somewhat beholden to the market and their client base. Let them know their bias will cost them.
 
On NPR's legal show today objectivity went out the damn window
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NPR's "objectivity" went out the window YEARS ago. And I'm not just talking about guns! Listen to any of their commentary on the environment, very left. Schools... left. Politics... left, left, left. etc.

Very sad for a "public", taxpayer funded broadcast.
 
What show was this? All Things Considered tends to be a lot more objective in my experience than, for instance, Fresh Air or Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! Denouncing NPR in a blanket statement for something said on one show would be like denouncing all of Fox News for something Alan Colmes said.
 
Yes NPR leans left but show me a better source of hard news from a national outlet.

Fox, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC etc... are full of bias everyday. NPR has more well rounded coverage than all these other outlets combined.

I don't agree with everything they say or think that they don't have issues but please look at the big picture.
 
Well, the show's synopsis seems encouraging. Are we SURE what the editorial slant of the show was?

A recent federal appeals court ruling that invalidated a Washington, D.C. ban on gun ownership raises important issues over the meaning of the Second Amendment. Throughout history, legal theorists have split on whether the Second Amendment protects the rights of individuals to own guns or only the right to establish armed militias. But now some liberals are unexpectedly supporting the view that individuals have a constitutional right to own and use guns, and that gun control laws may be unconstitutional. This week on Justice Talking: Is the left giving new ammunition to the NRA?
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That synopsis has diddly to do with how the conversation went. Listen to it. Steam will come out of your ears.
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I am listening to it. Just finished the 3rd segment. (which I listened to first) No steam to be found.

Listening to 1st segment.. Discussing DC ruling as personal vs collective. Talking to plaintiff Shelly Parker.. hmm, not exactly a big deal.. she is talking about reasons for owning a gun for self-defense and her transformation from "I don't like guns" to "I want to be able to get one, but DC laws suck". This is a very strong story to present to anyone not familiar with guns. Discusses how gun bans in DC was ineffective.

Listening to 2nd segment with Robert Spitzer discussing VT shootings and effects on the gun control debate. Discussed political responses. Discusses problems with the Brady Law (as per mentally ill). Discussed differences between different states (VA vs NY)

I've no more time right now, but the first half hour sounded extremely moderate in discussing this issue. The second half hour has a counterpoint to the 1st segment (mother of kids killed in drive-by) but that's just a balance.

OldBill, honestly, you need to re-listen to this show. This is pretty damn stand-offish. Left leaning? I suspect unless they openly asked listeners to go buy a gun today you'd think that.
 
Listen to the part where they "debate" different interpretations of the 2nd and then tell me I'm wrong.

There were three or four voices for the ridiculous "collective rights" view and zero for the individual rights view.

You are right that a few of the sections were no big deal, but some of them were plain awful.
 
The host's voice warbled with some sort of strange combination of fear and hatred every time she said the word "gun".
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You are imagining things.
That was it... not one single voice for the individual rights view.
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The entire first segment was about someone pushing for individual rights in DC. In her own words. Being pretty damn convincing.

Listen to the part where they "debate" different interpretations of the 2nd and then tell me I'm wrong.
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No, those two didn't represent all sides of the debate. But then, debates rarely only have two sides. I'll easily agree with you there. They debated how the states and feds should define militia.. pretty much a worthless segment.

I think your condemnation of an entire network (and this show isn't even carried on my local NPR station) due to a segment of a show is a little overboard.
 
Where the hell did you get the idea that I was condemning the whole network?

I said I like NPR, listen to it often, and that this was the first time I had noticed any significant bias.
 
Where the hell did you get the idea that I was condemning the whole network?
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I interpreted your comment:

I like NPR. I listen to it fairly often. This trash really chafes me, though.

Have they always been this slanted when dealing with gun control?

I've never noticed any glaring bias before today, but today was a whopper.
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to reflect on all of NPR.
 
Npr

definitely tilts sharply to left (I listen to podcast), however, sometime, they have really interesting interviews such as talk on free market reform in taxation, talk on speculative finance by finance professor, etc.

The other reason I recommend NPR is we tend to congregate and read/listen to things which reinforce our existing belief.

--John
 
I can sum up what I've heard on NPR quite succinctly.

1. I tell really boring stories. This is art. Give us money.
2. Wow, listen to this really crappy folk music from hippies!
3. Guns are bad and evil things that cause violence.
4. GLOBAL WARMING OMG!!!!!111

:barf:
 
Some of the stories these folks dig up are indeed as boring as watching soybeans grow but I am willing to sit through the 15 minute segments about the host's walk in the park for the segments that talk about the various wars and conflicts that no other news outlet even bothers to mention.

The station down here goes to the BBC World Service around midnight and that is also a high-quality news source.

If they are offering information and analysis of current events that I can't get anywhere else, I can shrug off the mild slant that sometimes creeps into the picture.

The gun-control program the other day irritated me because I rely on these folks for a good percentage of my raw news information. If they screwed up one program with a one-sided discussion, how many other programs are being tilted by this sort of thing?
 
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