FL Shooting Survivor Colton Haab: CNN Told Me I Needed To "Stick To The Script"; Entire Town Hall Scripted

Real Clear Politics

JROTC Cadet Who Survived Shooting: CNN Producer Refused To Let Me Ask About Arming Teachers  . . . “ 'What they had actually done was wrote out a question for me,” he said.

"On a previous interview Haab did with CNN, he shared his thoughts on arming teachers and allowing those who are willing to carry on campus. Haab said he absolutely thought that CNN producers rewrote questions for his classmates who participated in the event.

“ 'It was a little piece of paper cut out. And I know for a fact that nobody cut their own paper out and wrote their own question. Especially when they were all based off the same topic. So, to me, it from right there it showed this isn’t correct. Why do they all have the same size piece of paper with a short little question on it?”

"Haab said it was because of this that he decided not to attend the event. “To me it was a total waste of my time, honestly.' ” . . .

Dana Loesch: Here’s The Real Story Of What Happened At CNN’s Garbage Town Hall

The Federalist

As Loesch and her security detail walked toward the stage, audience members shouted at her phrases like, “murderer,” “child killer,” and “burn her.” Jake Tapper, CNN’s chief washington correspondent and anchor of “The Lead,” was the event moderator.

"Dana Loesch described on The Federalist Radio Hour podcast what happened behind the scenes of Wednesday’s CNN’s televised town hall event titled, “Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action.” Loesch, representing the National Rifle Association as their national spokesperson, said she wasn’t informed until hours before of the event’s format or that students would be asking questions.

“ 'I had nothing in advance. I didn’t know how the setup was going to be. I didn’t know it was going to be in a giant arena where it was 360 all the way around. I had no clue,” she said. “But I wanted to go and represent the people that I was representing, and also because I’m a parent too…I have kids and my oldest child is just a couple of years younger than these students.”

"The audience had already filled the arena and the event had started two hours before the cameras were even turned on, Loesch said.

They had music that was playing. They had montages that they were flashing across the screen. They had a number of speakers from the school and from the community. They had the sheriff go up and speak. He mentioned special interest groups, referring to the membership of the NRA.Then they brought the politicians out…and that was the first hour. After all of this was already happening, after emotions were already running high, and after CNN put everyone together and cranked up, really trying to wind people up even more.I had no questions in advance. It was even weird the way they had us walk out because it was like entering like you were a boxer or like WWE. You were walking up to the stage and they had music playing. You had to walk in aisles with all these people screaming and you had to walk toward the stage. That’s how you entered.

. . .
Watch CNN’s Scripted Anti-Gun Town Hall Go Completely Off The Rails

. . . "The reaction of both Tapper and Nelson indicates that the scripted event went awry, as Tapper was clearly expecting an approved question for Nelson, not a premature rant aimed at a woman who had not even been brought on stage by the network yet.

"Colton Haab, one of the students who survived last week’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, told the media he chose not to attend the town hall, because CNN tried to give him written questions to ask at the event. Haab is a Junior ROTC enlistee who personally helped dozens of students stay safe during the shooting by moving them to a more secure classroom and setting up Kevlar screens to shield students from bullets." . . .

A familiar pattern? Russian trolls on Twitter ‘rile’ Americans on gun violence

McClatchy

"An organization that monitors Russian trolling has spotted a peculiar similarity between certain types of social media postings that went up immediately after the Oct. 1 Las Vegas festival shootings and again after last week’s shootings at a school in Parkland, Fla.

"The pattern: A day after the tragedy, the trolls tweet on all sides of the gun control debate. A day later, they push conspiracy theories.

"It’s a formula designed to stir up emotions over mass violence and gun laws, and more broadly to foment anger and exasperation over the U.S. political system.

“ 'The purpose is to stoke tensions,” said Bret Schafer of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, which is financing researchers following 600 or so Twitter accounts suspected of being operated by Russian “trolls” — pro-Kremlin mouthpieces aiming to encourage discord in the United States." . . .

Armed deputy in Florida school shooting never tried to engage gunman

Washington Times  A Florida sheriff says the deputy who was on duty at a high school where 17 people were massacred waited outside the building for about four minutes without ever going in.Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel announced during a Thursday news conference that Deputy Scot Peterson resigned after being suspended without pay.Israel said he made the decision after reviewing video surveillance and interviewing witnesses, including the deputy himself. The sheriff says Peterson responded to the building where the shooting took place, took up a position outside a door and never went in.When asked what Peterson should have done, Israel said the deputy should have “went in, addressed the killer, killed the killer.”Authorities say 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz fatally shot 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14.

Everything You Need to Know About Federal Background Checks

The Trace

A step-by-step guide to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which vets anyone who attempts to buy a gun through a federally licensed firearms dealer.

      "In the United States, anybody who wants to buy a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL) is subject to a background check. Since 1998, when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, went online, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has processed more than 273 million of them.

     "The overwhelming majority of gun background checks take just minutes to clear the would-be buyer. Only 2 percent result in a rejection because of a disqualifying record in the shopper’s personal history.

     "And then there are the people who slip through the cracks and obtain guns they should have been barred from possessing — sometimes with deadly consequences. The gunmen in the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooting, Charleston, South Carolina, church massacre, and Virginia Tech rampage each had a history that banned them from owning firearms. Yet none were stopped, because of omissions and loopholes in the system.

     "It’s such cases that expose the hidden complexities of NICS, and the importance of each element functioning the way that it should.

     "Given the central role that background checks play in balancing individual Americans’ gun rights and our shared public safety, it’s worth investing a few minutes to understand how they work." . . .  Full article

The 12 Reasons Why Americans Fail Federal Gun Background Checks

"More than 2 million people have been blocked from buying a gun after failing federal background checks since 1998. But some reasons for denial are more common than others."

 . . . 8. Adjudicated Mental Health: 31,854

Disqualifying mental health records form the second-largest body of records held by the NICS Indices. Simply receiving a diagnosis of a severe mental illness like schizophrenia is not enough to bar an American from gun ownership  — a judge must legally declare a person mentally unfit to own a gun or involuntarily commit him or her to a mental institution.

An Open Letter to the Montana Legislature

Mike Adams  "Dear Montana Representatives:
     "On February 13 th , I had the opportunity to speak in Dennison Theater at the University of Montana (UM). Events leading to the speech as well as events occurring during the speech made it clear that the Montana legislature must act to restore respect for freedom of speech on its publicly funded university campuses. I write today to ask that you pass specific free speech legislation we have already adopted in my home State of North Carolina.

     "Prior to my speech, in a bizarre statement to the entire university community, UM president Seth Bodnar stated, “Ours is a university driven by the core values of inclusiveness and equal opportunity. We stand united against divisiveness, intolerance, and hate.” He continued saying, “nor do we condone speech that is hateful or targets people based on their identities.” I characterize this statement as bizarre because he seems to be referring to me as the one responsible for “divisiveness, intolerance, and hate,” and as one who “targets people based on their identities.” This statement would have been more accurate had he been describing UM’s Dean of Journalism, Larry Abramson.

     "I have written previously with direct evidence that Larry Abramson had initially succeeded in excluding me from a limited public forum at UM based upon my viewpoints. I also documented indirect evidence that he did so based on my religion. (See my previous column, “Grizzly Bigotry at the University of Montana.”). There is now credible direct evidence that Abramson made his decision based upon my religion. This matter is serious and demands a formal investigation. I am fully prepared to supply the relevant evidence to the legislature should they decide to initiate a formal inquiry.

     "Unlike Dean Larry Abramson, I have never engaged in “the targeting of people based on their identity” for the purpose of excluding them from participating in the free exchange of ideas on a university campus. Accordingly, Bodnar is completely out of line when he lectures me while refusing to address the overt religious bigotry that exists within his own administration." . . .

Amazing New Breakthrough to Reduce Mass Shootings!

On account of the Rule of Journalism that permits the word "immigrant" to be used only in sentences with the word "valedictorian," you may not have heard of some of these mass shootings at all.

Ann Coulter  "As fun as it is to ridicule the FBI for devoting massive resources to chasing down Hillary Clinton's oppo research while blowing off repeated, specific warnings about school shooter Nikolas Cruz, we've put a lot on the agency's plate.

"We're hauling in nearly 2 million manifestly unvetted Third World immigrants every year, leading to a slew of FBI "Watch Lists" with a million names apiece. In 2015, Director James Comey said that there were ISIS investigations in all 50 states -- even Idaho and Alaska! And that's just one terrorist organization.

"Maybe the FBI brass would still be a bunch of incompetent, PC nincompoops if we weren't dumping millions of psychotic and terrorist foreigners on the country.

"But even the most efficient organization would have trouble keeping track of the Nikolas Cruzes when our immigration policies require approximately one-third of the country to be constantly watching another third of the country.

"Thanks to our Second Amendment, the United States has fewer mass shootings per capita than many other developed countries, including Norway, France, Switzerland, Finland, Belgium and the Czech Republic. (And 98 percent of our mass shootings occur in "gun-free zones.")

"But imagine if we could cut our mass shootings in half?" . . .

Trump's words twisted again by liberal media analyst Toobin

President Trump suggests a few selected volunteer teachers might be armed

Only a few would be armed Mr. Trump's own words.

Jeffrey Toobin grossly misquotes the President. At least Wolf Blitzer clarifies the statement.

Gun-free zone signs all work

Bo Deen

 A.F. Branco  

CNN strategy is that it is always easy to ask forgiveness.

Dox:  

Doxxing, by way of "name-dropping," is document (doxx) dropping. It's publicly exposing someone's real name or address on the Internet who has taken pains to keep them secret. Also spelled "doxing."

A private citizen received online abuse after CNN tracked her down and publicly shamed her for unknowingly sharing a “Russian-coordinated event” on her Facebook page.  "After CNN published her full name, the woman received waves of abuse and harassment, with CNN consumers calling her a “stupid old hag,” a “traitor,” a “treasonous hillbilly,” “ugly,” and “racist trash.”
. . . Drew Griffin and the network have not yet confronted Michael Moore, who attended a rally allegedly organized by Russians.

In July, the cable news giant hunted down a man who posted a meme on Reddit poking fun at the network. The man publicly apologized to the network.

Even the left attacked their network of choice over this  "Left-wing journalists Chris Hayes and Glenn Greenwald blasted the far-left CNN for ambushing a female Trump supporter in Florida earlier this week.
"On Monday, CNN’s Drew Griffin tracked down a private citizen whose worst sin might have been sharing — without knowing she was doing so — a “Russian-coordinated event” on her Facebook page. Griffin proceeded to publicly shame this woman, even though his left-wing employer gave a Russian-coordinated event more publicity than Putin could have ever hoped for.

"Michael Moore was also at that rally and as of now CNN has not demanded he answer for his “unwitting” Russian collusion.

"This is not the first time the last-place cable channel has attacked an innocent civilian. Over a silly video that mocked CNN, CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski openly threatened its creator, warning him that if he ever did it again CNN would “dox” him, or publish his private information so the Internet could abuse him.

"Many accused CNN of doxing this woman. The anti-Trump network told the whole world her name and even chose not to blur out the address number on her house.

@donlemon hey Don, why did CNN ruin that Florida woman’s life?— Caleb (@dru55555) February 22, 2018

So she was unaware; what about Michael Moore?

Comrade Michael Moore Attended Glorious Russia-Backed Anti-Trump Rally  . . . "I didn't trust Russia then, and I don't trust Russia now. I'm glad the Dems finally wised up, even if they only started caring after Hillary failed.

And that's what makes the following item extra tasty. Gregg Re, Fox News:

Michael Moore, the polemical filmmaker who has long accused President Trump of colluding with Russians, posted videos and pictures of himself participating in a protest in Manhattan that was allegedly organized by Russians in November 2016.

Prosecutors said Friday that the Russians indicted for meddling in the presidential campaign were also behind anti-Trump rallies that occured after the election.

That's right, Robert Mueller is now saying that the post-election "Trump Is NOT My President" rally outside Trump Tower was organized by the Russkies. And Donald Trump's biggest critic (literally!) was front and center:

CNN: the most busted name in news

I know: such a frivolous title for discussing the forces shaping our national decision-making.

Thomas Lifson: CNN busted trying to put scripted words in mouth of hero Stoneman Douglas student at televised town hall

Nobody should take CNN seriously anymore.  Somewhere in Hell, Josef Goebbels is expecting company.

"CNN would be the object of humor if its behavior were not so contemptible. Coming in the wake of its disgrace over using chyrons to proclaim President Trump a liar, giving up all pretense of objectivity, the latest scandal reveals an active propaganda effort to manufacture fake questions from real children, even from a boy hero who used his body to protect others during the shooting at Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School." . . .

Are Democrat midterm ambitions the real reason Parkland is still in news?
. . . "Not long ago, Democrats were licking their chops at the prospect of a November midterm sweep.  Since then, however, two momentous things have occurred: both the Trump-Russia-collusion narrative and the Democrats' generic congressional poll numbers have collapsed.  To right this listing ship, leftists need a new issue, and fast, and they may think they've got it: gun control." . . .

Add caption

Calls to Lower Voting Age as Tide Pod Generation Suddenly Bestowed With Great Wisdom  . . . "All that it took was one school shooting, a well-funded and highly-coordinated anti-Second Amendment movement and a crooked cable television network falsely presenting itself as a legitimate source of news and Americans are being scolded by teenagers who have somehow become wise beyond their years and are presented as morally superior to their elders." . . .

After What This PUNK Survivor Said To Dana Loesch, She Deserves To Be Grounded

NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch attacks media over shootings: 'You love the ratings'  . . . " 'Many in legacy media love mass shootings. You guys love it," Loesch said. "Now, I'm not saying that you love the tragedy. But I am saying that you love the ratings. Crying white mothers are ratings gold to you and many in the legacy media." . . .   CNN reaped the benefits

Even the Left Is Slamming CNN’s Bullying of Female Trump Supporter: ‘Despicable,’ ‘Vile,’ ‘Awful’

CNN: Trump Is 'Flailing', 'Doesn't Know What To Do'  . . . "During a “listening session” with families of the victims of last week's Parkland School shooting, President Trump suggested that arming teachers might make schools safer; as they would no longer be soft targets. The media and the left ran with this, doing their best to paint it as a crackpot idea." . . . 

CNN hits a new low, no longer pretending to be fair at all

Anyone tuning in to CNN for real, accurate news should look elsewhere – or have his head examined.

Peter Barry Chowka  "On Tuesday evening, I was watching CNN (note to editor: my request for hardship duty pay will follow) when I observed a new low point – and considering the recent history of CNN, that's really saying something.  The program was The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.  Like all of the hosts on CNN, including news anchors, Blitzer is consistently anti-Trump, so I wasn't expecting anything close to fair and balanced.  But what I saw this time was even more obnoxious and telling.  As Blitzer and his talking head guests opined, a chyron on the bottom of the screen (the text scrolling with breaking news updates or quick summaries of points being discussed) said, all in caps:

BREAKING NEWS:WHITE HOUSE REPEATS TRUMP'S FALSE CLAIMTHAT HE'S TOUGHER ON RUSSIA THAN OBAMA

"There it was, right out in the open: an unproven, opinionated editorial judgment on a supposed hard news program, spelled out for everyone to read."

. . . [Even!]The left-of-center media analysis website Mediaite took note of CNN's performance on Tuesday in a story titled "CNN Completely Jumps the Shark with Chyron Fact-Checking Subjective Trump Claim."  The author, Aidan McLaughlin, is no friend of President Trump, judging by his recent Mediaite articles and his Twitter feed." . . .  Full article here.

"Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran reporter and analyst of news on national politics, media, and popular culture.  He is a frequent contributor to American Thinker.  In addition to his writing, Peter has appeared as a guest commentator on NBC; PBS; the CBC in Canada; and, on January 4, 2018, the BBC in London . . .