November 17, 2009
CNN's "Militias are Crazy!" Day 2
After yesterday's report attempting to portray a militia group as borderline terrorists, CNN's Jim Acosta used today's report to try to portray the founder of the group as also being an unfit parent.
Lee Miracle may run training exercises for the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia once a month in a rural area outside of Flint, but he's just as busy at home. He and his wife Katrina have eight kids, and there are more than 20 guns in the house. This explains why Lee refers to the family as "Lee and Kate plus eight plus a gun rack."Make that several gun racks. The Miracle children are very much growing up in the militia. They take part in militia training exercises, including the weapons training.
We were there when 13-year-old Megan fired off her shotgun, but even the couple's six-year-old has had her share of target practice.
CNN's dimwitted followers obediently go where they are led, all but wetting themselves in the comments. One reader professes shock and outrage that a family has both children and guns in the same house, declaring that "somebody should do something" about that. The next poster down rhetorically asks if there is any difference between the militias and the Ku Klux Klan. It is tough to discern whether they feel having guns or belonging to the Klan would be more distasteful.
The hit job CNN did on the Miracle family was as easy as it is predictable.
They crafted both the text of the blog entry and tone of the video to inspire shock that young women and girls in the family are being taught to shoot firearms.
Being CNN, they never mention the fact that these young ladies are adequately supervised, use both the proper eye and ear protection, and in the one instance they broadcast, use a single-shot, preferred by many for training young and new shooters. In other words, the Miracle children exhibit the tells of youth taught how to act responsibly around firearms. That the women are as empowered to use firearms for their defense as are the males somehow doesn't excite the pseudo-feminist leanings of the CNN staff.
Those things don't fit CNN's narrative, you see.
It's much better to play up a caricature and beat down a strawman. Why waste time trying to discover why increasing number of people have determined that our federal government too incompetent, corrupt, and power-mad to trust?
After all, it's only news.
Although my parents were not in the milita, I grew up in a home that had a loaded, unlocked gun in every room, including the bathroom, kitchen, basement.
There were never any accidents. I never "played" with them. My parents taught me from a very YOUNG age to respect them, what they could do if used improperly, and how to use them, reload them, clean them, etc.
No one needs to "do anything" about it. Its the parents responsibilty to teach their children about weapons if they choose to have them in their home.
Posted by: Steele at November 17, 2009 05:10 PMI detect the pimp hand of Morris Dees at play here. He must have a big Visa bill this month or something.
Posted by: Purple Avenger at November 17, 2009 06:02 PMOf course there are at least 20 guns in the house. If one kid gets to have 2 guns, all the others will want 2 as well. You know how kids are.
Posted by: Tim at November 17, 2009 09:30 PMRemember, kids: The miltias are terrorists, even though they never killed anyone. Hasan is not a terrorist even though he did kill people. There will be a quiz on this tomorrow.
Posted by: Your MSM at November 17, 2009 09:44 PMHORRORS! That is clearly what these nice reporters think themselves, and what they want the viewer to think.
News Flash: MILLIONS of Americans in their 50s and older grew up with firearms as a NORMAL part of their lives. Virtually all summer camps, Junior High, and High Schools had riflery as an activity, and gun clubs in the schools. I first fired a gun -- under adult supervision -- at age six as did many children. Consequently, guns held no forbidden fascination for us, but we DID respect them for what they were: dangerous tools that we were taught to use safely, like powr tools.
There were no school shootings, and much lower crime. I am SO sick of the horror-stricken attitude toward guns, and law abiding people who own them, and use them. We are not the problem, people, and NEITHER are our guns. Please recognize your violent fantasies as your OWN, and not the reality of gun owners.
Please give this some considertion.
Posted by: Bill Smith at November 17, 2009 11:04 PMJust watched the vid. You know, it was not nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be. Huh.
Posted by: Brad at November 18, 2009 04:22 AMIt's almost like the "elite" come from a different country, isn't it? Few hunt; many believe that guns are evil (vice the people who use guns for evil things); they do not believe in taking responsibility of one's action and explain away the most horrific and violent actions to "a bad environment" or "a shortage of recreational facilities".
How would you change this state of affairs?
Posted by: favill at November 18, 2009 07:39 AMA copper lining there. If the Left is a political movement, and it is, and has coercive ambitions, which it does, a pervasive disdain and fear of firearms as well as the military and militaria begs the question, just what body of men or other mechanism will they ever use to enforce their will? If the worst of our fears and the greatest of their plots are ever to be made real, who will man these posts? No one, friends. No one at all. The teenage Stalinists have no teeth and only the most drastic alteration in their character can change that.
Posted by: megapotamus at November 18, 2009 08:42 AMAnd in other timely news: last night's episode of NCIS:LA featured a storyline about... a militia! An eeeevil militia who chases poor Mexicans back over the border only to let them die in the desert from thirst! Oh those eeevil militia-men!
They portray the militia so stereotypically it was hilarious!
The regular NICS would never have done an episode like this. Gibbs would have kicked their asses if they tried.
Posted by: Stoutcat at November 18, 2009 09:39 AMI grew up in a household in which my Dad's hunting rifle, a .22 and a shotgun were stored in a broom closet and the ammo was on the shelf above them. Horrors! I started shooting when I was 8 years old when my grandfather wanted to get me and my cousins out of his hair for awhile and sent us off with his .22 and a couple of boxes of shells to shoot ground squirrels. I'm sure the MSM would characterize my family as a bunch of hicks but the fact is that between me and my 3 siblings we have 7 college degrees. We didn't "play" with guns because we grew up understanding what they were for and how they worked. If people would only bother to teach their kids safety around guns they wouldn't need gun cabinets and locks
Posted by: Penny at November 18, 2009 02:24 PMThe now, thankfully, lame duck Governor, John Corzine signed into law the new measure limiting New Jersey resident to the purchase of just one handgun per month.
...
But in the fevered liberal frenzied rush to limit handgun purchases, the Legislature also banned legitimate gun dealers from buying more than one handgun a month too.
I am your stereotypical middle-aged female. I am employed in the legal field. As with everyone who gives a damn about our beloved nation, I wondered what on earth could I do to stop the insanity of a runaway government, as well to protect myself and my community in the event of a terrorist attack. I am now a proud member of a militia. Now, before I threw in 100%, I checked the members out at a training exercise. Golly gee, CNN would be disappointed. The members are all employed, hard workers, property owners, and patriots who love our country. Obviously they do not fit in with the demographics of CNN's viewership. Sadly, when I've mentioned I'm in a militia, the frightened look I receive in return tells me there are more willing to live on their knees than those willing to fight for the birthright our forefathers bequeathed us.
Posted by: SierraCheryl at November 19, 2009 01:32 PM"The next poster down rhetorically asks if there is any difference between the militias and the Ku Klux Klan."
Well, yeah, there is.
The Klan members are Democrats.
Posted by: Loki at November 20, 2009 09:28 AM
