by Brian C. Joondeph
The left can't handle the truth.
Now a week out from the tragic Parkland Florida shooting, emotions are still running high. Stories and explanations change by the day. Answers should be forthcoming, but instead, we are left with only questions. Rather than answering these questions, the media is posturing and preening for political purposes.
Here are some of the questions worthy of asking.
Days after the shooting, CNN hosted a town hall meeting. Rather than a thoughtful discussion regarding causes and potential solutions, it lived up to CNN's goal of a political rally. Yet CNN claims that its meeting was not political. Could CNN pour a cup of coffee without it being political?
Did CNN stack the audience and prep participants? CNN has a history of planting Democrats in its town hall meetings. One participant claimed that CNN gave him scripted questions to ask. Plausible? Isn't CNN the network that supplied Hillary Clinton with debate questions in advance?
CNN turned their town hall meeting into a Dana Loesch- and Marco Rubio-bashing fest. Yet neither pulled the trigger that terrible day. Why is the shooting their fault?
Plenty of other individuals and groups are being blamed for the shooting – the NRA, Republicans, and President Trump. They were not in the school that day. They did not shoot anyone. Nikolas Cruz did the shooting. Why isn't he being blamed?
What about the police officers who remained outside or hid behind cars during the shooting? Or the flippant Sheriff Scott Israel, deflecting blame as skillfully as Barack Obama did for eight years? Why is blame being directed at those who had nothing to do with the shooting?
Where is the blame over the Obama-Holder Justice Department, paying schools to hide or overlook crime, in an effort to improve arrest and incarceration statistics? As Jack Cashill wrote in American Thinker, ignoring crime doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Those chickens always come home to roost, whether Trayvon Martin or Nikolas Cruz
The NRA contributed $1.1 million to candidates in the 2016 election cycle, according to Opensecrets.org. The left says the "Republican Party is owned by the NRA." Is that so? One million isn't that much – unless you believe that the Russians influenced the 2016 election by spending that amount on Twitter and Facebook ads. Is anyone asking about the really big money?
Fahr LLC, owned by left-wing climate warrior Tom Steyer, contributed $90 million in 2016. The American Federation of Teachers gave $31 million, and the National Education Association contributed $30 million. The NRA are a bunch of cheapskates in comparison. Which groups are really buying influence in Congress?
What has Big Education done for school safety, other than making schools "gun free zones," turning them into target-rich environments? Not only are they not protecting their students, but they are also leaving their union dues-paying teachers vulnerable in school shootings. Why doesn't Big Education care about teachers and students?
Why do these shootings almost always happen in "gun free zones"? Would a bank or jewelry store ever declare itself a "gun-free zone"? What about any government building in the country? Does this make sense?
Members of Congress bray about the evils of guns and how arming teachers is a bad thing. Yet their workplace is surrounded by armed guards and metal-detectors. Many of them travel with armed escorts. Governors and big-city mayors surround themselves with armed security, at work and at home. Why won't they protect children with the same zeal?
When elected officials eliminate armed guards from the U.S. or state capitols and declare them "gun-free zones," they can join the discussion of arming teachers. Why doesn't CNN or any other media outlet ask elected officials to explain this hypocrisy?
Why are conceal-carry teachers a bad idea? Aren't they similar to air marshals? Have air marshals accidentally shot passengers? Or children who also fly on airplanes? Why do we protect airplanes in a way we won't protect schools?
Some pilots are armed, not all – just as some teachers or other school employees, not all, could be armed. Are pilots accidentally shooting passengers or each other? They are the last line of defense against another 9-11. Why is there no last line of defense for our children if a shooter gets into a school?
If the NRA had been abolished years ago, would Sandy Hook have been prevented? Would the Parkland shooting not have happened? What about Columbine? Or Aurora? Or the Pulse nightclub? Would Chicago be murder-free and safe? Eliminating the NRA would have as much effect on murder rates as getting rid of SUVs would have on the climate.
If gun control is such an important issue to Democrats, why didn't they do something when they had the chance? From 2009 to 2011, they controlled Congress and the White House. Yet they did nothing when they had the opportunity. Why not?
Columbine happened on Bill Clinton's watch, Sandy Hook on Barack Obama's watch. What did they do to stop these national tragedies? Why don't they share the blame for their inaction? If Obama could "slow the rise of the oceans," why couldn't he end gun violence? Has any reporter asked him?
If the age for owning a firearm is raised to age 21, should that also be the minimum age for military service? Or an abortion? Or a driver's license? Or voting? Cars and abortions are dangerous and deadly, too.
How old was James Hodgkinson, the congressional baseball shooter? Or Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter? Hint: Both were older than 21. How would an age restriction have stopped them?
Why are there armed guards at museums and jewelry stores? At sports stadiums, airports, and concert venues? But not at schools. Are paintings and watches more valuable than children?
How long does the average school shooting last? How long does it take first responders to arrive on the scene? What happens at the school before help arrives – especially if no teachers are armed? Can anyone refute the axiom, "When seconds count, help is minutes away"?
President Trump held his own listening forum, to hear all points of view, unlike CNN's forum, which was one-sided. The president had a few notes. Big media were obsessed with that. Don't TV news anchors and former presidents read from teleprompters? Didn't the last president use a teleprompter to speak in a sixth grade classroom?
These are all interesting questions worthy of discussion, particularly in a forum like a CNN town hall with a national audience. Yet that will never happen. Why not? Is this a problem to be solved or simply a political issue to be exploited?
Lots of questions. Few answers. If the left wants a rational discussion of the Second Amendment and school safety, perhaps some of these questions need to be asked and answered. Otherwise, it's cheap talk and virtue-signaling...while waiting for the next school shooting.
Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Here are some of the questions worthy of asking.
Days after the shooting, CNN hosted a town hall meeting. Rather than a thoughtful discussion regarding causes and potential solutions, it lived up to CNN's goal of a political rally. Yet CNN claims that its meeting was not political. Could CNN pour a cup of coffee without it being political?
Did CNN stack the audience and prep participants? CNN has a history of planting Democrats in its town hall meetings. One participant claimed that CNN gave him scripted questions to ask. Plausible? Isn't CNN the network that supplied Hillary Clinton with debate questions in advance?
CNN turned their town hall meeting into a Dana Loesch- and Marco Rubio-bashing fest. Yet neither pulled the trigger that terrible day. Why is the shooting their fault?
Plenty of other individuals and groups are being blamed for the shooting – the NRA, Republicans, and President Trump. They were not in the school that day. They did not shoot anyone. Nikolas Cruz did the shooting. Why isn't he being blamed?
What about the police officers who remained outside or hid behind cars during the shooting? Or the flippant Sheriff Scott Israel, deflecting blame as skillfully as Barack Obama did for eight years? Why is blame being directed at those who had nothing to do with the shooting?
Where is the blame over the Obama-Holder Justice Department, paying schools to hide or overlook crime, in an effort to improve arrest and incarceration statistics? As Jack Cashill wrote in American Thinker, ignoring crime doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Those chickens always come home to roost, whether Trayvon Martin or Nikolas Cruz
The NRA contributed $1.1 million to candidates in the 2016 election cycle, according to Opensecrets.org. The left says the "Republican Party is owned by the NRA." Is that so? One million isn't that much – unless you believe that the Russians influenced the 2016 election by spending that amount on Twitter and Facebook ads. Is anyone asking about the really big money?
Fahr LLC, owned by left-wing climate warrior Tom Steyer, contributed $90 million in 2016. The American Federation of Teachers gave $31 million, and the National Education Association contributed $30 million. The NRA are a bunch of cheapskates in comparison. Which groups are really buying influence in Congress?
What has Big Education done for school safety, other than making schools "gun free zones," turning them into target-rich environments? Not only are they not protecting their students, but they are also leaving their union dues-paying teachers vulnerable in school shootings. Why doesn't Big Education care about teachers and students?
Why do these shootings almost always happen in "gun free zones"? Would a bank or jewelry store ever declare itself a "gun-free zone"? What about any government building in the country? Does this make sense?
Members of Congress bray about the evils of guns and how arming teachers is a bad thing. Yet their workplace is surrounded by armed guards and metal-detectors. Many of them travel with armed escorts. Governors and big-city mayors surround themselves with armed security, at work and at home. Why won't they protect children with the same zeal?
When elected officials eliminate armed guards from the U.S. or state capitols and declare them "gun-free zones," they can join the discussion of arming teachers. Why doesn't CNN or any other media outlet ask elected officials to explain this hypocrisy?
Why are conceal-carry teachers a bad idea? Aren't they similar to air marshals? Have air marshals accidentally shot passengers? Or children who also fly on airplanes? Why do we protect airplanes in a way we won't protect schools?
Some pilots are armed, not all – just as some teachers or other school employees, not all, could be armed. Are pilots accidentally shooting passengers or each other? They are the last line of defense against another 9-11. Why is there no last line of defense for our children if a shooter gets into a school?
If the NRA had been abolished years ago, would Sandy Hook have been prevented? Would the Parkland shooting not have happened? What about Columbine? Or Aurora? Or the Pulse nightclub? Would Chicago be murder-free and safe? Eliminating the NRA would have as much effect on murder rates as getting rid of SUVs would have on the climate.
If gun control is such an important issue to Democrats, why didn't they do something when they had the chance? From 2009 to 2011, they controlled Congress and the White House. Yet they did nothing when they had the opportunity. Why not?
Columbine happened on Bill Clinton's watch, Sandy Hook on Barack Obama's watch. What did they do to stop these national tragedies? Why don't they share the blame for their inaction? If Obama could "slow the rise of the oceans," why couldn't he end gun violence? Has any reporter asked him?If the age for owning a firearm is raised to age 21, should that also be the minimum age for military service? Or an abortion? Or a driver's license? Or voting? Cars and abortions are dangerous and deadly, too.
How old was James Hodgkinson, the congressional baseball shooter? Or Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter? Hint: Both were older than 21. How would an age restriction have stopped them?
Why are there armed guards at museums and jewelry stores? At sports stadiums, airports, and concert venues? But not at schools. Are paintings and watches more valuable than children?
How long does the average school shooting last? How long does it take first responders to arrive on the scene? What happens at the school before help arrives – especially if no teachers are armed? Can anyone refute the axiom, "When seconds count, help is minutes away"?
President Trump held his own listening forum, to hear all points of view, unlike CNN's forum, which was one-sided. The president had a few notes. Big media were obsessed with that. Don't TV news anchors and former presidents read from teleprompters? Didn't the last president use a teleprompter to speak in a sixth grade classroom?
These are all interesting questions worthy of discussion, particularly in a forum like a CNN town hall with a national audience. Yet that will never happen. Why not? Is this a problem to be solved or simply a political issue to be exploited?
Lots of questions. Few answers. If the left wants a rational discussion of the Second Amendment and school safety, perhaps some of these questions need to be asked and answered. Otherwise, it's cheap talk and virtue-signaling...while waiting for the next school shooting.
Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/02/parkland_shooting_questions_that_the_left_cant_answer.html
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