The Truth About Guns gives Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America a great deal of coverage. More than a few commentators are unhappy about this editorial “obsession.” They’ve pointed out – as have we – that Mother Demand Action (MDA) is a sham. They have nowhere near the popular-never-mind-active support of gun rights groups. So why give the doyennes of disarmament the oxygen of publicity (as Margaret Thatcher warned journalists covering the IRA)? Doesn’t that simply raise MDA’s profile and, thus, spread their message? To paraphrase President Richard Nixon, I’m glad I asked me that question (again) . . .
Mothers Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is the single most dangerous group to gun rights in America. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s the headline from the progressives at msnbc.com: The new leaders on gun safety in 2013? Moms. Again, MDA’s pole position is not because they’re a force at the ballot box. Or on the streets. MDA’s “rallies” are so poorly attended the media must bend over backwards to avoid wide shots that reveal the organization’s stunning lack of popular support. No, MDA’s strength is pure PR.
If MDA spokeswoman and founder Shannon Watts didn’t exist, the media would have to invent her. In fact, they have. That headline tells the tale: MDA are the new leaders for “gun safety” because msnbc says so – to the point where the non-news network includes the group in their branding ads. Thousands of left-leaning publications are in their thrall, from the New York Times to the Grand Rapids Press. Thank to fawning press coverage, MDA has replaced the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence as the go-to gun control group.
Compared to the carpet bombing coverage afforded MDA by the mainstream media, The Truth About Guns’ sniping at MDA has a relatively minor impact. But we’re not without influence. As Nick’s quarterly traffic report reveals, The Truth About Guns garners more than 1.6m unique readers per month. Equally, we’re a blog. We can return to stories again and again, keeping salient facts at the fore, introducing new ones as they arise. Generally, we can prove a point by [let’s face it] endless repetition.
I know our MDA coverage can get tiring. And no, I’m not going to trot out the old saw “if you don’t like it, don’t read it.” My justification: the number one firearms blog on the planet has a responsibility to report on the number one danger to your natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. Just as I repeat that phrase ad infinitum, I feel obliged to report every move by MDA to disarm Americas. They dodge, we feint. They feint, we weave. But we will never waver in our commitment to counter anti-gun agitation.
That said, it’s your blog. If you want TTAG to cut down on its coverage of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, if you think we’ve gone overboard, we’ll dial it back, But before you provide feedback below, let me say this about that: it’s not good enough to be for gun rights. It’s not good enough to be against gun control. If you want to defend your gun rights, you must know what your enemy is doing. As Thomas Jefferson said, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. We’re good with that, MDA-wise. Are you?
Its okay the hate keeps me warm
I know how you feel. In my case, the science of gun use is so clearly on our side–by a mile–that I worry that I will have a stroke over the total abandonment of scientific, logical, critical thinking about guns in society. If they really wanted a safer world, they would embrace the science and take solace in the fact that crimes involving guns are down to less than half of what they were in the ’70’s. They would be thrilled that since Columbine, the number of attempted school shootings have plummeted because school staff and students are willing to speak up when they hear about a credible threat. No, instead, it is abundantly clear–they really do just want our guns. In their book, “Armed”, Gary Kleck and Don Kates essentially came to the same conclusion.
Oh, by the way, as a Californian, as of today, if I guy another shotgun or rifle, I have to register it. The very thing we were assured would not happen, is here. I don’t know whether to cry or just drink heavily. Where did I leave my Scotch?
I hope MDA didn’t take your Scotch. They seem to endorse a “Temperance” (leading to “Prohibition”) viewpoint, or at least did not object to banning a book with a bottle of wine in Little Red Riding Hood’s basket. They seem to have the same mind-set as those who foisted Prohibition on us — “We know best, and must protect you poor misguided fools from yourselves”.
I would say, none of the items listed should be banned. As for coverage of MDA, I think we need to keep an eye on them.
MAIG/MDA, like Bloomburg, and Piers Morgan, are the best things to happen to gun rights in decades, they are right on course to deal Gun Control a crushing blow. All of them constitute an Anti-Gun Elitist mentality that shows mainstream Americans the true ‘Gorgonian’ face of gun control. The MDA , I’m especially thankfull for, and here’s why. The straight and narrow gun owning American, you know the kind of guy or gal, who owns a rifle, perhaps of the semi-auto variety, and a standard cap mag or two, but keeps a 9mm or 45 ACP, or a maybe a wheel gun handy for emergencies, you know. These folks are the kind that whole heartedly support the 2A, but yet scoff when they read/hear the NRA talking about Obama/MAIG/MDA is coming for your guns, they say, “yeah right”. But when they read about MDA, and what there all about, and witness Bloomburg, our would be tyrannical dictator of all things firearm and soda related, while Piers Morgan blathers on and on about privately owned firearms, attempting to save his ratings, the same 2A supporters people sit up and take notice, and more importantly get involved. 1994 was a good example, it took the AWB to shake people out of their apathy, thankfully, we now have MAIG/MDA to provide a sort of early effect of waking people up. For every usefull idiot that the MDA signs up to their cause, 10-20 sign up to ours, so I say, give MDA all the coverage you can manage, thanks to the intensity gap, the MDA only makes our job defeating the Anti-Gun Elite that much easier, and the funny thing is they don’t/can’t even realize that! 🙂
If you’re near SoCal I’ve got a scotch for you.
[email protected]
Thanks. Sadly, Nor-Cal. But I still have some Scotch left–Lagavulin, 16 years old.
Biofire, I live in Canada where we had a long gun registry for unrestricted rifles and shotguns. ( We also have a handgun registration [ since 1934 ], restricted and prohibited registries as well. The LGR was in effect from approx. 1998 to April 2012 when it was finally abolished. The entire time the anti’s said “if it saves one life”. That was their mantra to keep it going whenever there was a threat to end it. In a decade and a half there was never an example where the LGR stopped a crime. They must live in a nice reality.
Maybe you should do what I did 14 years ago. Move north a few hundred miles.
+1000
Red Dawn?
Thumbs up on the little ‘Red Dawn’ ref, lol 🙂
I vote NO publicity let this sham collapse under it’s own weight
The sham will not collapse on its own, because MAIG, CNN and MSNBC dont want to let it.
Correct. It’s a self-fulfilling myth. With BIG money behind it.
they (msnbc, cnn have no more creditability with the media world anymore look at there ratings almost basement levels let them blab all they want a very few are listening
I agree. If they do something more than the typically pathetic gun grabbing schtick, then let’s cover it as a “teachable moment”; as an example of how to counter anti’s arguments or highlight their hypocrisy.
For example, when they merged with their Sugar Daddy Bloomie’s toadies, it was important to point out that these would-be civilian disarmers take aid and comfort from a man whose own daily routine is aided and comforted by men with guns. Reporting on their every coffee clatch kvetch session, however, affords them a mantle of legitimacy, by way of unearned publicity, which they use against us.
I’ve not said anything about this until now.
Here’s what I believe the TTAG should do, and Dirk showed us the way, as well as some others:
Follow the money. Follow the paper. Follow the DNS records, the web site IP address(es), the whole deal. Expose them for the frauds they are. Don’t bother debating them. Don’t get into an argument about their illogic. Lay bare their fraud and expose them.
go forth my son. you have learned well.
Hell yeah!
The media has basically turned into a PR mill and it’s up to concerned citizens to do the work that doesn’t get done. The resources mentioned are awesome; I’m flabbergasted when journalists can’t do the same; look up that domain information, see when it was registered, google the address and find out it’s just a storefront somewhere with dozens of other domains registered, find out what other domains are registered by the same people; it’s all out there and starts to pull the web apart. Add Form 990s (which I’m very impressed that a number of folks on these comments know about and dig up as they’re are great nuggets of information).
Too much of what we see is just sophisticated astroturfing with only a fake veneer covering it that is very easy to pull back if you make the efforts.
As an example, in Wisconsin, the couple of years ago effort to recall governor Scott Walker was using the domain recallscottwalker.com – which in spite of being presented by the media as some sort of grass roots effort was actually created a month *before* he was elected in the first place to get ready. Wow, not a single media outlet reported this little factoid and bought into the “grass roots anger” pitch hook, line, and sinker.
To get us back on topic, we need to keep on eye on stuff like this; skip it if you like but if just a few of us keep scraping, the truth will come out and these are awesome points to shut down these efforts when they come up for discussion.
Keep on keeping on.
THIS
Im going to agree that TTAG should keep up with the MDA coverage. The only way to counter disinformation is with actual information. To ignore something with as much money behind it as MDA, is not going to make it go away.
I also agree that TTAG should go on the offensive and start digging deeper. Sipsey Street broke F&F. The conservative Tree house basically got Zimmerman off and a exposed a whole lot of corruption in the process. TTAG should be doing more investigative work, and the AI should be supporting those efforts. Crowd Sourced research into the anti gun people would be very informative, and feared. I say time to play some offense.
Also a review of the PPQ M2 would be nice.
+1
as well as the once-in-a-while Israeli super-model (because it drives the jihadis nuts).
I agree with that as well. I do enjoy supermodels, maybe more than pictures of pretty guns.
But not as much as supermodels holding pretty guns.
Keep on exposing their mistruths and expose the sham behind the curtain at MDA!
You beat me to it, Dyspeptic. I was about to write “It’s fine with me if you cover MDA, as long as every reference to Shannon Watts begins…’Shannon Watts, who claims to be acting as a concerned mother, but who is actually a full-time PR professional recently hired to the cause with Bloomberg’s money, says….’ “
this.
Bloomberg spent 650 million in NYC on his pet projects. He has 29 Bn more behind that. We are passed the point where TTAG is giving them free publicity. They can buy all the eyeballs they want with Bloomberg’s billions. Watt’s is a high paid corporate call girl giving Bloomberg his wishes, that’s all.
This is the only strategy that will work. Continuing as you have been, just reporting and debunking their bullshit press releases and publicity stunts doesn’t do us any good. You’re preaching to the choir here when you do that, so the only purpose it serves outside of TTAG is to give the MDA stories that you link to on other sites more hits. Thus perpetuating the myth that they’re a popular group to the owners of those sites, encouraging more coverage.
If you’re going to cover these twits, then do as DG says: expose them. Dig up dirt on them. Ignore their distracting antics and find their Achilles’ heel. If you’re not going to do that, I say ignore them, because the current strategy of refuting them as if they’re a for-real grassrooots movement with enough membership to matter doesn’t seem to be helping us much.
When we attempt to match Liberals using the game that we would use against ourselves, we lose.
Liberals don’t care about facts, data, right or wrong. They care about winning support to their side. Period.
What we have to understand first and foremost is that they don’t think like us. Therefore we cannot fight them the way we think we could be fought. This is how to fail to meet them on the correct elocutionary battlefield.
While your efforts might pay off a bit and get some good data and facts for us the data and facts have ALWAYS been on our side.
Where we fail is in meeting them in the correct arena to play the right game. When we fix that we will win. And not a moment before.
Agreed. Liberal progressive gun grabbers have no interest in the truth, facts, history, or a balanced conversation. Expose the sham, follow the money, and paste their evil intentions all over the interwebz. I welcome destruction of their “facts” as a secondary mission.
As an aside, the timely and honest coverage of the Moms Funded By The Mayor Who Hates Legal Guns, TTAG gets decent original content and increased membership. We fight MDA and support TTAG simultaneously.
I’m in a classical mood today, so all I’ll offer is “Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”
We’re in a war. Keep the heat on. People can always skip those blogs if they just want the latest reviews. Arm the readers with how to counter MDA/MAIG agitprop. Expose the truth behind our enemies. Crush them beneath the hooves of our horses and relish the lamentations of the women… Oh shit… Went sort of all Genghis Khan on that one. My bad.
Continue to expose these MDA/Bloomberg regressive statists and their facade of propaganda for what it is as often as necessary to keep us focused and informed. They are the anti gun temperance movement; we must continuously educate ourselves as to their latest outrageous claims and activities.
Hearing their false claims and efforts to demonize us with the goal of disarmament stokes the fires of resentment and resistance. I can’t think of a better way to sustain the organized push-back we must maintain to protect our rights from their efforts to disarm and enslave us.
agree 100%
“the number one firearms blog on the planet has a responsibility to report on the number one danger to your natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.”
This sums up my sentiments perfectly.
+100
I wouldn’t mind a little cutback myself.
Although, on the other hand, I wouldn’t if you went on the offensive a little bit more often against them. The image above is a good example of how you could go against them: The assault weapon on the right already banned from America’s schools thanks to the “Gun Free School Zone Act”, and how their support of GFSZs have led to the slaughter at Sandy Hook.
But that’s just one man’s opinion.
This x100. TTAG needs to be exposing every single lie they tell and getting the real facts out there.
I agree with your assessment, and I’m good with your reporting on these lunatics.
When you’re giving the enemy the majority of their PR, you’re doing something wrong. Save it for Bloomie.
“When you’re giving the enemy the majority of their PR…”
The MSM’s doing that. TTAG isn’t.
Only a tiny part of the MSM, really. Pretty much just MSNBC and occasionally CNN. Those two and TTAG are probably 90% of their press mentions. Ask anyone who’s not a 2A guy or a cable news junkie, and they’ve never heard of ’em.
This is good to know. We need factoids like that to keep our own perspective intact.
Exactly. Ask the majority of people who are outside of the gun community what MDA stands for. I have a strong hunch the answers would mainly be “Muscular Dystrophy Association” or just “I don’t know.”
Agreed. Instead of reporting their latest press release, dig into them….deep. Expose their buffoonery. May I suggest even soliciting someone who is an expert in doing this. Make it real and intense.
even better – work on getting someone in the House of Reps to hold hearings and force Shannon to show up under threat of subpoena. Nothing would make me giggle more than to watch a webcast of her testifying and sweating as she is asked about their membership and facts. . . .
Now that’s not nice…but then again what MDA support is not nice either. And like you said it would be entertaining, once I get home and can actually view the videos. I agree.
Why would a professional
BS artistPR rep be worried aboutlyingtestifying on camera? And about a Congresscritter? PFFFFT…I wouldn’t mind the coverage nearly as much if we could assign some image to paste over that smug face when posting about her. It doesn’t have to be hateful. I don’t know why, but a giraffe comes to mind.
And Thank You for leaving her image out of this post.
I don’t think TTAG is empowering MDA. The great majority of people who read this blog aren’t likely to be convinced of MDA’s viewpoint, quite the opposite. Plus it’s good to know what the opposition is up to.
Agree. I actually enjoy the brief posts covering an MDA ‘really’ attended by, oh, eleven people.
“Follow the money.”
MDA “rally.” Laugh.
I dont really honestly think that the TTAG coverage is for anyone but us. CNN, MSNBC, HuffPo and any other long string of horrid awful publications not fit for “doo doo paper” are the coverage that continually gives Moms Demand Disarmament steam, at least IMHO.
My only real beef is that Shannon Watts makes me want to take a dremel to the inner bits of my skull when I occasionally look at her.
On a side note, DAMN these rooms to go ads and the fact that they are auto playing when I open an article up in a new tab.
…and auto play ads is why this page gets its scripts blocked on my laptop.
It’s always good to know what they’re doing and saying. It helps us counter their argument when we our entertaining our friends’ ears. Perhaps some of us just need the right amount of anger and prodding move into our own action.
Maybe 2014 can have an increased attention on the “hows.”
How can we counter their slogans and publicity.
How can we best spread our own TRUTH about guns.
How can we start our own grassroots, slogans, whatevers.
How can we get more involved.
Reading about the other side, getting angered, and doing nothing….does nothing. Let us all take steps to not only inform one another, but to motivate one another.
TTAG writers, can you use more of the strategy of “think globally, act locally?” You have a national audience. Continue to direct your readers to state/local forums and clubs.
I think this is a really good point. It’s not enough to see them and sit and stew. As the King said, “A little less conversation, a little more action.” More coverage on how to shoot these buzzards down (figuratively speaking of course) would be greatly helpful.
And I do have some tips for you all. Not enough for a full article but some pieces of advice.
First thing you need to do is open a few books and start reading. To properly dissect and destroy their argument you need to know how it’s built. The first book you need to read is Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals”. This book is THE consummate statist playbook. It explains how they do EVERYTHING. How they frame arguments, how they set up debate, how they rig the game in their favor. Once you know how they’re doing it, you can figure out how to counteract it. You can figure out how to sidestep their arguments, spot false dichotomy and the other logical fallacies and pinpoint when they’re using bad information to convince the low-information types that they’re right and we’re wrong.
The second book you all should read is a much longer and more difficult one. Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”. Contrary to popular belief the book is not all about military strategy. It is a philosophy and a way of life. Get through THIS one and apply the lessons it teaches you and you’ll find arguing and debating with people becomes a whole lot easier.
Concur. Even better would be the Cliff Notes versions so we could all use those key points with examples of how to refute with facts including the link to useful posts herexat TTAG and elsewhere.
Suggest reading An Army of Davids by The Blogfather.
http://www.amazon.com/An-Army-Davids-Technology-Government-ebook/dp/B003R4Z2KO
While it disgusts me to read anything about them, I believe we should know what they’re up to. If it wasn’t for this site I would not know they existed. We must remain vigilant and remember very important elections are coming soon. Gun right advocates may not get the press from the MSM but we can/will send a message in the polls.
Bloomberg and other fascists like Cuomo are the true threat to the Constitution. Do not exaggerate the truth.
i just want to know one thing about shannon: does the carpet match the drapes?
My guess, hard wood floor…
Freezer in the basement…
Busted plumbing, clogged drains. A section 8 rathole. bloomberg buys em cheap and adds to his slums.
“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
Right?
Exactly. Keeping a weak-ass fugazi organization like this around is better than allowing a true grassroots antigun organization to take root.
I was just gonna say that.
I’ve formed Dudes Providing Action. The goal is to provide action to moms demanding it. The only responsible thing to do with MDA is to subject them to ridicule.
This blog reaches a lot of people, has some serious influence. Never let the enemy’s propaganda go unchallenged, keep up the great coverage.
Agreed.
And with folks like Dirk, digging up financials, and other records, (I don’t have the first clue on how to find that stuff)
We, collectively, need to keep exposing their lies.
TTAG, does a great job of it.
As annoying as hearing about it gets, we need to stay aware of what our opponents are doing.
We also have the problem of occasionally forgetting that not everyone thinks like us. Sometimes we need reminded that there’s a world out there beyond a bunch of guys like us.
I have thought a lot about this. I agree with dirk and others. We need to dig deep and air the dirty laundry.
Yes we need to report what they are up to but add the defense and air more dirty laundry with each post.
We need MAIG’s year end financial report to find out how much they (were) paying to MDA before the ever-so-convenient merger. Even better would be to know how much SW is getting paid.
I know this is off topic, but there is a folly in the MDA ad presented at the top. The ad states “We keep little red riding hood out of schools because of the bottle of wine in the basket, why not assault weapons?”
First off, when little red riding hood was banned from school, it is not prevent private citizens from owning, purchasing, reading or transferring copies of the book for lawful purposes. It also did not prevent publishers from making new copies of it.
Secondly, it implies that today, so called assault weapons are not banned from schools. This is also false because last time I check, the gun free zone laws were still in effect.
Bottom line, they are using false logic in their example promote their agenda.
I just want some more good news, something cheerful to offset all the heartburn I get from reading about First, Second, and Fourth amendment violations.
How about for every MDA article we get a review of a firearm? I’d love to see an article on the S&W classic line 586 or a good look at the Primary Arms micro red dot and 3x magnifier.
My opinion is, as always, worth exactly what you paid.
That’s a good balance. I’d suggest even going a bit further: how about a weekly or twice monthly blog about a gun that will REALLY piss off MDA and dedicate it to their discomfort?
So long as you’re ridiculing them, sure.
As for mass murdering scumbags, HELL NO. Don’t feed the fame of becoming a glory killer. Let’s not make their names or faces notably or memorable. Let them die away.
John
I am sure it burns Shannon’s ass reading the comments about her love affair with Bloomberg while he pimps her out for his publicity stunts. The importance of 2014 is the mid-term elections, Bloomberg and Thugs With Jugs well be spending millions of dollars pimping his agenda of gun control, so hopefully it will be an expensive loss for them come November. Keep the coverage coming and keep the comments flowing.
$20 says the little midget uses hot candle wax imported from some obscure place because it impresses the chicks, while he spanks Shannon’s high paid A$$ and then pours the wax over her hubby John because he is slow with the video camera/
I really prefer Whores with Sores as a pejorative for MDA. Its more analogous than Thugs with Jugs.
On the one hand, we should avoid feeding the fire they’ve got under them. On the other, we DO need to keep tabs on what they’re doing.
My suggestion, take it for what it’s worth–Keep your eyes on them, let us know if they do something really big or really stupid, but maybe let the more minor stuff slide.
Perhaps we could do some research to find out if there are any “Moms against gun control” type groups out there and give them some exposure as well. Some of these are not specifically moms but groups like Babes with Bullets, Armed Females of America, A Girl and a Gun, Women Against Gun Control (yep, that’s right), Mothers Arms, The Well Armed Woman, and Second Amendment Sisters deserve a little coverage too.
Excellent idea! I had no clue these groups even existed until now. I can cite them in my letters to my legislugs.
I began reading A Girl and Her Gun from the time I discovered it until she stopped writing in late September of 2013. AGirl’s story of her journey from being a victim to being a non-victim is extremely compelling and should be mandatory reading for all ladies, in particular those who believe it won’t happen to them. Fortunately her blog and story are still up as of a few minutes ago. I would encourage everyone to go read it.
http://www.agirlandhergun.org/
I don’t want to see it cut back. We need to he aware of what MDA is doing and we need to motivate gun folk.
It may annoy some people , but I think the “community intel” outweighs the annoyance.
We need to follow what MDA is doing. Plugging our ears isn’t going to make them go away, and reporting on what they do is not enabling them.
They aren’t getting “publicity” here with anyone who wishes to strengthen their movement , but we are making people aware of their maneuvers and mechanations.
Some folks are annoyed, but I think it’s important that we keep track of their latest moves.
The entire argument that TTAG and other pro-gun blogs give
the MDA to much coverage is predicated on the saying “any
news is good news”. As long as we stay vigil in exposing their
fallacious reasoning and presenting logical, researched
counter points (supported by REAL sources) I believe we will
win the day.
On another note, after looking at the MDA’s ad above my first
thought had nothing to do with firearms but with books and
knowledge. It seems that if these “moms” were half as pro-active
about their children’s education as they were about removing
liberty public schools might not suck so bad.
Does anybody know which schools banned the book pictured?
It’d be awesome if those that banned it could be linked to the
MDA or other anti-rights organization.
Sun Tzu counselled to know more about your adversary than about yourself. The best way we as a group can do this efficiently is to let RF hit the link and then tell us what he found. But I don’t think it’s wise to include the link here; that just provides gratuitous hits for the coven.
And if their screeds upset you, go out and shoot something.
It doesn’t bother me, I enjoy keeping up with the other side of isle, however trivial, or idiotic.
maybe a meet up at starbucks in/near zionsville IN and we invite shannon over ?
Unless they actually accomplish something that is revelent, no. This website pays more attention to MDA than the NRA or GOA.
And I think a lot of eyes (including SW’s) are on what’s reported on this site. They seem at react accordingly.
“If you want to defend your gun rights, you must know what your enemy is doing.” — Exactly. This is why I think TTAG should continue to cover this threat. I don’t follow them through other media (I am generally distrustful of media) and TTAG provides well thought out opinions along with their coverage of the organization. Your coverage of these folks is important and valuable to gun rights and freedom-loving folks.
Keep up the great work, guys!
I do worry about the extra clicks they get when their articles are linked. But know thy enemy are wise words. Add the fact that on this site one can actually comment, I think coverage should continue.
So what if we’re giving the publicity? We’re giving them negative publicity – scratch that – we’re reporting the truth, after careful analysis of the facts. A job that the mainstream media *should* be doing, but has given up on as they’ve gone over to cheerleading a single point of view.
It’s your blog, RF. And even as a reader, I have no objections to your content or strategies. Keep up the good work.
I don’t need to see their press releases, or updates on their 30 second appearances on the least-watche cable network news on the planet.
When they actually do something, then it’s worthy of coverage.
Bloomberg is a colossal failure everywhere he tries to impede outside his little world. Watts is merely an extension of that failure. The money can’t buy back the people who bristle at the slightest hint of his name, and money doesn’t mean shit when people get pissed off enough- see Colorado.
They are dangerous, but only in the same way that Piers Morgan is dangerous, they’re all flash and no substance. For all their glom-on responses, they have yet to actually accomplish a damn thing. Hell the “Gun Community” handed them their only victory on a silver platter w/ Starbucks.
The dangerous ones are guys like Sugarmann, SPLC, and their intellectual allies. These are the ones that seem to know how to get in there and affect policy, and they have the ears of thug enforcers like Eric Holder to make it happen.
A PR-savvy suburban bitch with an elitist sugar daddy doesn’t frighten me. What frightens me is when we’ve drifted so far into a pissing contest with her that we’ve now mistaken her for our “most dangerous enemy.”
THEY ARE!! Because they win the sympathy of the masses to their corner and we don’t.
That is why we should be very concerned. There is only ONE way to fight them and as of yet we are not doing it.
If we don’t start doing it they will beat us. With no argument, no facts or data to back up their position, they will beat us. That is what is sad and really, really scary.
BTW, speaking of a certain disarmament-biased British TV “personality,” buffoon, and all around pile o’crap named after the things ships are secured to and unload on and an obsolete English car…
Did you see recently that he flung verbal crap at a certain Cricket pitcher, and took him up on a challenge to meet on the pitch? And said pitcher broke several of his bones while beating the living sh1t out of him while pitching at/to him in a batting cage. Karma IS a bitch.
There is only one way to beat the gun control crowd. We have to use their psychology against them.
http://www.anonymousconservative.com/blog/how-to-debate-liberals-on-gun-control-and-the-assault-weapons-ban/
http://www.anonymousconservative.com/blog/a-tale-of-two-gun-control-debates-and-rush-limbaughs-low-information-voter/
Excellent links thanks.
I vote that you keep mentioning their insane shenanigans, but quit linking to it. I want to know, but I don’t want to be tempted to give their sites or stories traffic.
While we don’t want to feed the fire, we need to get out of defensive mode and push an offensive. You done a lot of digging and blogged what you’ve found. Keep it up. But don’t just respond, be proactive. Undermine their credibility – both message and organization – with facts. There are too many afraid to take her on because she’s a woman and she’s pretty. Someone has to have the balls to hit back hard.
Also start pushing press releases of your own. Send them to Fox, the conservative talk shows, NRA and even local news and radio. Also send the releases to CNN, MSNBC, etc. Hey, maybe out together a few PSA’s of our own.
Example: I’d start pushing back on this ” Which is banned?” campaign with a response of “Both! And banning Little Red Riding Hood shows how ineffective and counterproductive bans are.”
The point is, get the Message outside of the blog. Take the offensive away from them and force then to give ground.
“And banning Little Red Riding Hood shows how idiotic bans are.”
Fixed it for you.
A lot of good comments here, and all of them piece together my exact sentiments. Not to mention the article itself.
While I would ordinarily say, “Fuck ’em”, and let their influence die like the passing fad that it ultimately will be, there are organizations and personalities will deep pockets and broad audiences that will milk that fad for every penny that it’s worth.
Groups like these, especially those will the backing of the aforementioned deep pockets (who shall remain nameless and shamed for this post) to keep them running even after their decidedly momentary popularity has effectively, fully petered out… not that they had much to start with. They will remain a thorn in sides of not just us, but every American literally until their financiers finally die of old age. Even then, as P.T. Barnum once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute”. They will always find some naive, wet-behind-the-ears sycophant with zero knowledge of the real world to donate — unquestioningly mind you and thanks only to their own willful ignorance and false sense of intellectual superiority — to their so-called “cause”.
We need to keep “sniping” at MDA. We must fight them in the blogs. We must fight them in the “news” sites. Must must fight them in the YouTube comments. We must fight them in the social media. We must never surrender, for our cause is the one that’s right and Just. We must make our mark in every place that we can, whenever we can, and with as much force as we can; in every opinion poll, election, and public forum (that actually allows differences of opinion).
They’ve already declared that they won’t rest until they’ve disarmed us, and don’t let them or any of their sycophantic stooges fool you: that is absolutely their ultimate goal regardless of whatever protestations they or anyone else on all of God’s green earth have to the contrary. It’s a war of attrition they want. It’s not debate. It’s not discussion. It’s capitulation, complete and total. It’s subservience. To them and their ideals. Integrity, morality, and justice be damned.
We will not allow them to win.
We cannot.
Not just for us, not just for our families, but ironically enough for them and theirs as well. Hopefully before they are able to sacrifice them on the Altar to Stupidity so that they can use them as props for their sick, fascist delusions.
They claim to play the “follow the money” game, too, when it comes to pro-rights groups like the NRA (with whom I have my own but totally different reservations). Well, let’s fight fire with fire. Follow the money trail for MDA, before and after billionaire-sugar-daddy-rescue. Follow the internet traffic. Publish the fact that they have no real contributing members. Publish the fact that they have no real interest from the vast audience of the internet. Publish the fact that their floundering required the help of a third-party — despite the fact that Shannon Watts is a millionaire herself.
Expose them for the frauds that they very well know they are. Put together a fact sheet, completely with relevant links and the lot, that we can copy-paste to every single “news” article, blog, YouTube video, and social media page where they are even so much as casually mentioned anywhere on the internet. Then we’ll flood the damned comments with it. Make a brief presentation of it that we can spread across the internet, seeding it on torrent sites if we have to to get the word out.
If they will not tell the truth, then we will simply have to fucking choke them with it until we drown them out and they finally STFU.
Wow! That makes me want to invade a small country…
MDA is bought and paid for by Bloomie. His callous disregard for our constitutional rights, his billions and his abuse of NYC resources don’t fly in real America. If you must mention MDA, do it with MAIG and Bloomberg in the same breath. Follow the money, always; expose MDA for the un-American fraud it is.
I want to keep tabs on the anti-self defense movement and is the main reason I visit this blog daily.
The caption reads “We keep little red riding hood out of schools because of the bottle of wine in her basket. Why not assault weapons?”
Who said AR-15s should be in schools? I don’t think anybody has suggested that the school library should keep a copy of an AR-15 to check out. And we all know that the only thing stopping Little Red Riding Hood from being in schools is the sign on the front door. Maybe we should issue the principle a book on guns to protect children from an invasion of little red riding hood books.
MDA is a bunch of dumbass c**** if they actually believe this crap. And those who are swayed are a sheep. You’ll forgive me if I decline to fall in step with pussified bitches walking headlong into tyranny. If you feel threatened by my guns, get your own gun. Who knows, you might even like it! I don’t mandate that you MUST iwb a firearm. How can you mandate that I MUST NOT?
Freedom is ugly. Freedom is imperfect. Freedom will not prevent crime, only tyranny can do those things. But tyranny prevents everything else.
You know, actually that’s not a bad idea you have forming there…
One practical way of fighting back would be to push hard – and I mean REALLY fight for it – to get some high schools or even middle schools to form shooting teams for .22 rifle/pistol competitions or trap/skeet shooting. After all, those are Olympic sports, right? Or at least used in portions of Olympic competitions. Oh, and don’t forget, most states gun laws do provide certain exemptions for competitive shooting…
How about fighting to get an NRA club, like the Science or Chess clubs? You want guns sense to protect kids, I can’t think a better way than that.
True we may not win at first, but we keep the fight up and sooner or later we will get in. Once we do that, we have the crack in the damn and make it the PR event it should be. More important, we’re not simply responding. We’re taking the fight to them in a way they do not expect and are not ready to fight.
…. If you want TTAG to cut down on its coverage of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America,…
Because you asked, my opinion is put them where they belong, under the fold.
It is important to keep up with what they are doing, trying to do, and wanting to do.
But not so much so as to give them any false sense of importance. Leave them to the Daily Digests, a passing notice, an “I see you but don’t really care about you” position more fitting to their mission of civilian disarmament.
I fully support MDA’s campaign to bring Red Riding Hood, dodge ball and Kinder chocolate eggs back to school.
Keep reporting until the bitch is in the ground.
I despise the message of the PSA: “for the children, we’ve crapped on the First Amendment. Why won’t you let us move on to the Second?”
Keep your enemies close, learn everything you can about them. With 2014 elections around the corner the money trail is going to get hazy. Expose them for what they are, a civil disarmament movement. Keep up the good work!
Please cut back. I’ll acknowledge the validity of some counter-coverage to MDA, but I want to read a firearms blog, not campaign-like postings all the time.
It is a good idea to post what the group is doing. As a mother of young children I am saddened that this group has done so little to actually increase the safety for children.
Please continue to expose them whenever possible for the liberal mucous secretion they are.
As irritating as it is to see their drivel cluttering up this site, I would rather keep track of what they are spewing here than going to the source and generating traffic that they will tout as “support.”
Always keep tabs on the enemy.
I don’t like reading MDA’s posts but I do like to know what is up with the competition. “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.”
“Cherish your enemies for they teach you the best lessons.” — Ho Chi Minh.
The founding fathers intended freedom of speech so that all ideas could be exchanged, knowing that some are questionable. They intended for Americans to be educated and knowledgeable about the particular topics being discussed, in this open environment ideas were intended to flourish or die based on merit. I know the MDA is short on fact, substance or constitutional footing, but we must be aware of what is being said and how facts are being distorted. As the quote from “Hellboy” “In Absentia Luci, Tenebrae Vincunt”, Latin for “In the Absence of Light, Darkness Prevails”.
Yes, keep posting about them and about other organizations that are spreading lies in order to gain control. Of course most of us are outraged by these organizations, but it’s very important that we know what they are up to.
I think that TTAG’s current level of coverage of MDA is beneficial to the gun community. Just don’t increase it.
1. Know your enemy’s thoughts, actions, strengths, and weaknesses.
2. Keep the pressure on. Never let up.
3. Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.
4. Ridicule is the most effective weapon.
5. Freeze, personalize, and polarize.
These people are the enemy: they want us to submit to their commands. Our goals should be, in order of desirability:
a. Persuade them to change to our side.
b. Convince them to be neutral, if they won’t join us.
c. Neutralize them, if they won’t be neutral on their own.
d. Destroy their effectiveness and abilities if all else fails.
Sometimes option (d) is the only available option.
TTAG’s coverage of the anti-civil-rights groups MDA/MAIG helps with #1.
As someone who fights in this arena on a daily basis, allow me to offer a few thoughts.
Sunshine is the best disinfectant . And it is often done with a bit of snark and sarcasm. You see the Illinois bunch showed up and testified in committee about their support citing the number of likes they had on their Facebook page. Yes, they equated FB likes with membership numbers of the NRA and other groups.
IF you take the post-Christmas post where they were beside themselves over kids posing with guns they got for presents. It goes to our point that there is not enough gun control to make them happy. After all, they are complaining about people who most likely went to an FFL, passed a background check and then gave a firearm legally to a spouse or child.
We know they are just astro-turf supported by Bloomies’s money. They are just the latest incarnation of a failed movement. Remember the Third way, Americans for gun safety, million moms, Ceasefire NJ, States United, Gun Guys.com and many more I just can’t remember.
There are more articles posted on TTAG in a single day, then all the anti-gun blogs combined. Think about that. The Brady’s, VPC, CSGV, LCPV, New Trajectory, and Common gunsense put up less content than this one blog. Then add in NRA, the gun rights examiners, Sebastian, Sean, Sipsey Street, Thirdpower, lawyers guns and money and they can’t even compare. And we haven’t even thought about the state organizations.
Many years ago a friend explained to me two things. 1. It is hard to be against something for an indefinite period of time. They are against guns. Period. And we need to remind everyone about that no matter what BS they spew. And being against guns takes a lot of emotion, and energy. Most of it fueld by grief and those who have lost someone and use this movement as a coping mechanism.
2. is you have to ask yourself what do they do when they get together? Do they talk about the gun show they didn’t go to? The gun they didn’t buy? The hunting trip they didn’t take, the magazine they didn’t buy? The match they didn’t shoot, the gun they didn’t buy? I asked an anti-gunner one time and he said we mainly bitch about you guys.
We have a natural fraternity built in. Minus a few of the Fuds, we all have something in common. At least enough to stop by here and read, comment and share. What do they have?
On gun blogs we have open debates and un-moderated comments. We are confident enough in our positions and logic to have an open debate. They, not so much. Always hiding behind the idea that gun guys are crude and rude and caveman like.
A great many working in the grassroots and gun rights movement do son on their own dime. They don’t have the professional art guys drawing up flashy memes or posters and ad campaigns. But we can use it against them. Fore it belies their astro-turf nature.
Not everyone has a research department at their disposal. But TTAG is important in the dissemination of information that grassroots gun guys can use to inform others, corss-post and evn include in letters calls and emails to legislators dissecting the astro-turf nature of Moms (who ain’t getting any action).
As someone who lives this 365 days a year, I don’t even have time to ferret all this stuff out. And TTAG is one place I stop by a couple times a day. And it is helpful in the fight.
Keep it up. Crank it up.
Forget about guns for a minute. These a$$h0les banned Little Red Riding Hood? Jesus Christ! How the hell do these idiots live with themselves.
So, when was Little Red Ridding Hood banned?
I have an old school story book with this story in it and I read it to my kids some times…
Oh no, wait, did I break the law?!?!?
Know thy enemy,
Be aware of when and where they’re holding their “big” protests,
And take pictures/video of how small they really are.
Our best defense is to win over the uninformed and fence sitters. Oh, and logic works too….
Expose the money trail (Bloombergs now).
Don’t give MDA the time of day.
Way too much attention is given here to an almost non existent entity.
10 women ,,,,,1 with a big mouth.
No one watches MSNBC and CNN isn’t that far behind.
Never, never, ever take your eye off the enemy when you are under attack. And make no doubt about it, we, our instruments of self defense, indeed our very way of life are under attack, with the aid and collusion of the lame stream media, and the forces of dependency.
Shine the light, and the rats will scatter, never, never, ever turn that light away or lose sight of the threat. Liberty, one lost, is lost forever. Not one step back.
keep your friends close and your enemies closer. if you don’t post about them, we won’t know what they’re up to.
TTAG is how I get informed about MDA’s silliness. I don’t have cable nor do I actively search or follow what they are up to online.
If anything, I always enjoy reading the sensible counter-points, statistics, or general “common sense” data that ends up shaming MDA’s illogical PR agenda every time. But that said, it would be nice to also end the rebuttals with a nice solid conclusion or counter-tagline that the pro-2A supporters can utilize if it ever comes up in conversation. And I think it’s that information that is important to share with all gun owners. So they can be informed of the facts and can repeat them to all the anti-gun and fence-sitters they come across.
After all, the battle is more about education and dispelling the lies that are being spread out there.
No. If they could they would shut TTAG down. So don’t give them anything but the ridicule they deserve.
May I suggest that if TTAG is “in it to win it”, then the goal of MDA-related posts isn’t to expose them or keep TTAG readers informed. But rather, if TTAG is indeed the world’s largest gun blog, when anyone anywhere types “MDA” or “Moms Demand Action” or any variation thereof in any search engine, a TTAG blog post is at the top of the search results. The goal should be to get people to read the pro-rights point of view and the arguments against MDA even before they get to the MDA site. I don’t know much about SEO or how to actually get TTAG posts on top, but that’s how we will dominate public opinion.
No problem with the current amount of coverage. Keep exposing their hypocrisy.
“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one. An unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle”
Edmund Burke.
Folks, let us associate.
I seem to recall this question coming up about a month and a half ago, most of the answers being to the effect of “I never hear about this group except here” and the majority saying that we shouldn’t give these dingbats any publicity.
So for about a week they got none, but they’ve erupted in TTAG again, and you are asking the question again.
Man, that graphic would be far more effective and something I could agree with if only two teeny, tiny changes were made to it. Keep everything the same, but:
1.) Change the heading’s wording to “One child is holding something that should be banned in America to protect them. Guess which one.”
2.) Swap out the “Little Red Riding Hood” book and put a “No Guns Allowed” sign in that little girl’s hands.
I have always felt there is something sleazy about using children to promote political causes, (and others), and citizen disarmament is a political movement. MSNBC, aka: the government rag, had an article just before this New Years, it read 2014 will be the year obama rules by regulation, rather than by legislation. I will not be so rude as to suggest, if the report is correct, he is dropping the thin veil of being president of A Democratic Republic and moving on up to Dictator. There is still way too long before 2016, and no relief in sight even then. Time is on their side.
Please keep doing what you’re doing Robert. That’s my suggestion.
Like I said in the last post about MDA, the 2A side of the fight NEEDS a Moms Demand Protected Gun Rights to Protect Their Children group. It’s as simple as that. The anti side is using “moms” because who can say no to mom? Well, you NEED to fight fire with fire, and the mama bears who pack to protect their cubs need to band together, TTAG, NRA, GG2G, whomever, can help get their message out, but they need to be organized!
As long as MDA is getting media coverage and lobbying access, places like TTAG will need to shine the light of truth on their dark machinations. (If they’re feeding solely on our attention, then withdraw it and let them starve.)
We need to know what our avowed enemies are doing — and since the McMedia machine won’t do it, someone needs to tell the truth about MDA’s anti-freedom astroturfing.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Keep the reportage up, and if it makes some people mad…GOOD. Every election, I see anti-2A, anti-freedom democrats being elected and I look at the pathetic voter turnout. I wonder what will it take to get the freedom-loving, pro-2A majority to the fricking polls? What does it take to light a fire under their butts to go vote? If reporting on the nefarious activities of MD(hot)A/MA(all)G gets people pissed enough to actually vote, then I’m all for it. Stay the course.
‘Keep your friends close and you enemies closer’.
Without the exposure of their nonsense we may become complacent and think we have “won” so please keep bringing us their idiocy and expose them for the kumbaya’ers they are.
We need to keep an eye on our enemies. I wholeheartedly agree with the writers on this.
What may be making people feel like it’s an obsession is because in my opinion gear reviews have felt a little lacking in the last few months that I have been reading this blog every day. For a blog with page views so high I feel like we can get a lot more hard tested gear reviews in. Possibly multidentional reviews. How many times can you review one gun or piece of gear, right? But for us heavy readers it may be nice to put the gear in some hard use, in different scenarios to show us it’s limitations.
In short, focus on what brought me here: the no-BS tell it like it is real world reviews
I think the coverage should continue.
1. It keeps everyone on our side aware (fired up) about their antics and progress.
2. The idea that they are going to get publicity through here doesn’t compute. I don’t think a whole lot of the audience they are trying to capture reads this blog, and if they do it’s an uphill battle for MDA.
-D
We do need to know what the SOBs are up to but I would perfer each time you put up one of their PR blurbs you do not link to them and that you as a part of the post ( not leaving it to the comments) take apart the lies and exaggerations. I know this put more work on you and the other editors but it is important when you think of the future traffic to the post that might be driven by a search query that the falsehoods of their screed not appear to be even tangently attached to a site called the truth about guns.
Excuse me but aren’t gun for eliminating enemies?
niceguns, really, no offense meant, but you may need to go back thru the class again. We are citizens, soldiers do the enemy thing.
For my TTAG reading time “investment”, I’d rather see how to promote 2A and RKBA proactively and effectively. In the future I’m going to research the 2A voting habits of the politicians that I vote on and TTAG could help with that. The MDA thing? Meh. It is annoying that Bloombum is funding them now, but I don’t think that’ll help them in the long run. I think getting the politicians out that vote anti-2A is the way to work.
Before the merger with MAIG I said let them fall on their own as it was obvious there was nothing there.
However, now that MDA is being funded AND seeded into the wider public sphere by the two most blatant examples of State Run Media™ ; CNN and MSNBC its clear there is a larger strategy in play; along the lines of what Soros has admitted and provrn with his fronting of a wide variety of leftist organs. I really wish I didnt have to think this way but the many many exmples of outright abuse of power by thus Administration and enabled by the MSM means we free citizens must speak up and in an organized fashion. So keep thr pressure on as you see fit Robert and I for one intend to take the time to visit comments sections at sites where there may be reasonable people interested in the facts and provide links back to TTAG when relevant.
PS: more links to other pro-freedom sites might help. I recall finding Codreas outstanding writing and SipseyStreet via mention here during F&F and I suspect some of that gace Atkinsson at CBS the “cover” at CBS on her reporting to say ‘we are being scooped by a couple of gun nuts who are brave enough to point out the obvious’…
Look at Talking Points Media and the journalistas getting insider briefsxat the WH. Things are going to get ugly asxObamacare
I’m more than good with the coverage….rage keeps the focus hahaha
This graphic is demonstrative of exactly how twisted these enemies of liberty actually are.
NOTE: Rich, I said LIBERTY! Your campaign, if it is that, NEEDS me.
Same amount of coverage. We have to keep track of what our ideological counterparts are up to.
Give MDA their own link on the home page so we have to look for them. They are too dangerous to have in the main blog due to the chance that idiotic drivel is contagious.
“If you want to defend your gun rights, you must know what your enemy is doing.”
A MUST, and, if you’re a Facebook type, I would recommend following any links that RF and the crew here at TTAG post, copy them into your status updates and lambast them in the comments.
As much as I enjoy TTAG and the tips it gives, I think it gives more credibility in social media to appear to have “stumbled upon” the stupid fncking NYtimes and Huffpo agit-prop articles, then beat the heck out of it.
I would love for y’all to not blanket post their press releases with out any additional comments or statistics disproving what they claim.
They (NRA) should just gather the MDA’s most recent and infamous illogical statements highlights and do a nice Colion Noir segment. Done.
I don’t like it, Mr. Farago, but it’s not like you’re spreading this news to people who might actually believe it.
We need to know what the enemy is up to. Prefer unpleasant truth to pleasing lies of omission. We don’t need to stick our heads in the ground.
That said, don’t let fun news about guns/competitions/etc. fall by the wayside.
I’m fine with the coverage, but I think there’d be greater value if you broke down and debunked their arguments too. Point out and name the logical fallacies, cite correct factual numbers, stuff of that nature, that helps our cause when we point others to read articles here who may not already be in the know.
Please continue with your current level of coverage concerning Moms.
You guys keep doing your thing. It’s you I stay for more than the content (though the content is AWEsome, haha).
So yeah. Keep letting them have it.
“If you want to defend your gun rights, you must know what your enemy is doing”
They “DO” precisely nothing but collect publicity. For my 2 cents I say let them rot in obscurity. The only value I see in covering them is when it is revealing of how pathetic their membership, attendance and gun-control efforts actually are. Documenting their adverts, talking-points and initiatives is doing to much for them.
“They “DO” precisely nothing but collect publicity.”
I disagree with this statement. They go to the state houses; they bend the ear of legislators. They know how to get things done – to a point. Of course, per capita, they have more moolah to work with than our side, but saying they’re just publicity mills is just plain wishful thinking!
The Gun Grabbers have nothing but time on their side, the number of supporters will grow regardless of the truth or nonsense of the claims and propaganda they spew forth. What they are selling has nothing to do with fact, only emotion, and the hatred of the gun.
TTAG should keep an eye not only on MDA, but on all of these closed minded morons… and continue to report on everything that is going on out there. This is a fight, (actually, a war) make no mistake about it. Like the Temperance Movement, these people will fight against us (and have been for decades) until they win. Consider how our children have been indoctrinated for decades to hate and fear weapons. They consider gun owners ‘crazy’, uneducated hillbillies (perhaps not even human?) Forget banning “Little Red Riding Hood” what about “Tom Sawyer” or any other number of books that somehow offend them. How about the way history is edited and rewritten to suit the agenda.
THIS IS SERIOUS FOLKS.
We should fight not only these organizations, but the individuals that they are composed of, EVERYWHERE. Send your kids to school with NRA (or TTAG) shirts, have them eat cookies shaped like guns (or just nibble them into shape) when they are suspended or sent home, Fight the school administration, get the media involved, make a fuss. Teach your kids to shoot responsibly, educate them on history (unedited or revised) instill them with your values, have them teach other children the truth with the same ‘religious-like’ ferocity that is being used against us.
the fight is for today, tomorrow, and likely forever.
Keep your friends closer and your enemies closer. Looking forward to more Moms Looking For Some Action.
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