ABC firearm news covered by former antigun group staffer

Obviously, they (ABC)have grown weary of the hypocrasy in the closet, and are coming out. Objectivity is a myth, politics is all, and journalism a political weapon.

Ah, yes Jake Tapper and his glory days posting at salon.com. This story http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/08/11/gun/index.html is a Jake Tapper classic of the genre. Note the correction that salon posted...

"CORRECTION: In a story about former George W. Bush fund-raiser Richard Dyke, owner of Bushmaster Firearms, Salon News repeated a police reporting error that a Bushmaster rifle was used in the shootings at the North Valley Jewish Community Center. In fact, the Bushmaster rifle was found in accused killer Buford Furrow's van, but was not used in the shootings. Salon regrets the error."

You see in a story about that neo-nazi nut Buford Furrow who killed a postman and shot up a jewish preschool, Tapper accused a Bush fundraiser had made the rifle that was used in the shootings. The reality was amusingly the exact opposite of the story Tapper tried to push.

It turns out that Buford had a rifle that he had made from parts, the receiver of which was made by Bushmaster. That single part was the basis for the Tapper accusation, even though it was only one part and the AR rifle of which it was a part was not used in the shootings. But the 9mm 'UZI' rifle which WAS used to shoot up the preschool, now that is where the truth gets interesting.

That 9mm rifle, a cheap copy of the IMI UZI model B, was made by NORINCO.

http://files.uzitalk.com/reference/pages/norinco.htm

And NORICNO is owned and operated by the government of the Peoples Repubic of China.

http://www.nti.org/db/china/norinco.htm

And who can forget the illegal campaign contributions that the PRC sent to the Clinton presidential campaign of 1996? Of which VP Gore was a central figure?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/cf051698.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/cf022398.htm

So unlike the spin Tapper tried to put on the Buford shootings, it turns out a Gore campaign contributor (and an illegal contributor at that) made the rifle used in the shootings! Funny how that factoid didn't make it to the salon.com correction of the original Tapper story.

I just wrote an Email to ABC, more or less stating that they are trying to hide Trapper's anti-gun bias by failing to mention that he was once employed by Handgun Control on the bio page they put up.

I then said that they should hire me to provide a counterpoint to Trapper. Something tells me that they won't. After all, I didn't pen a book accusing the Republicans of "stealing" the 2000 election. The fact that Trapper wrote such a tome *IS* mentioned in his bio.

James

Glad to see more people talking about Jake Tapper. I posted this with BFA back on the 24th of this month. Tim

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3141.html

ABC taps former Handgun Control Inc. employee Jake Tapper to report on gun issue
Posted on Wednesday, May 24 @ 00:15:00 EDT by cbaus

When you're done reading this story, please send it to a friend!

By Tim Inwood

As many gun owners are aware, the United Nations is starting their Small Arms and Light Weapons conference in New York City this June. This is yet another assault on our gun rights but, for a change, it is not being launched from Washington D.C. or a state capitol. This conference is part of a global effort to take your guns, and it is gaining momentum.

So while the UN sits down in June to do this, Second Amendment defenders will be watching....but who will Americans be watching to report the facts to us? An unbiased reporter who will give it to us straight? Unless you are watching Fox News, probably not. Most especially not if you are watching ABC. That's because the American Broadcasting Corporation added former Salon.com reporter Jake Tapper to their line-up in July 2003, and has been using him to cover firearms-related stories.

Click on 'Read More...' below for the complete story.

Who is Jake Tapper, you ask? Prior to working for Salon.com, Mr. Tapper worked for Handgun Control Inc. - something that ABC leaves out of his bio on the ABC website. Reporters will frequently tell us that whatever their privately held convictions, they don't let that interfere with giving us the straight story. I have no doubt Jake Tapper will say the same if he is challenged about his credibility. However his writing for Salon.com shows that he is yet another anti-gun leftist hack.

In one March 2001 piece he laments "Still no new gun laws in the wake of Paducah, Jonesboro, Springfield, Columbine and now Santee,...Congress hasn't passed a new gun control law since 1996." (as if we need new anti gun laws constantly). This is not reporting, it is advocacy, and Jake Tapper's writings are full of it. (Included at the bottom of this article are links so you can go look at a smattering of his pieces on guns).

Is this what passes for ABC's standards for a qualified reporter? We should not be surprised, I suppose. For as long as I can remember in my 43 years on this Earth I have heard of liberal bias in the news media. They have always denied it, but I can't help but think they enjoy insulting our intelligence since they have been so blatant about it in recent decades. They have given shows to people like Chris Matthews, who wrote speeches for Jimmy Carter. George Stephanopolis, one of Bill Clinton's high profile top aids replaced David Brinkley (shoes little George can hardly fill). Tim Russert once worked for Tip O'Neil. Katrina Vandenhoovel at CBS was a high ranking aide to Hillary Clinton....but we are told we can expect the networks and CNN, CNBC and MSNBC to cover issues fairly. Uhm, right. By their standards you might as well assign Bill Clinton to cover VFW conventions and a Satanist to do the Vatican beat. I might even suggest ABC hire Rosie O'Donnel to help Mr. Tapper with his stories aimed at the NRA, the UN is a big place after all.

So if you see Jake Tapper this summer standing before the UN smiling and nodding while telling us for our own good we need to eradicate the 650 million firearms privately held in private hands, and how the UN is right in doing this, remember that his mind was made up before he arrived.

Tim Inwood is the current Legislative Liaison and Past President of the Clinton County Farmers and Sportsmen Association, and a volunteer for Buckeye Firearms Association. The writer expresses thanks to those at TheHighRoad.org and AR15.com for bringing issues needing discussion to light.

If you want to express your opinion to ABC about this, please do so here.

To comment on Jake's ABC blog about this, click here.

Samples of historical anything-but-fair-and-balanced reporting from Jake Tapper on guns:

As Atlanta mourns, Washington waits

Guns and money

The NRA's big guns - Meet the 10 biggest obstacles to gun reform legislation

Still, no new laws

Playing both sides