Minuteman Monthly Issue 11 (June 2001) Thank you for registering for the Minuteman Monthly!! You are playing an important role in the future of life in America and the future of the Constitution of the United States of America. Please pass this newsletter on to family and friends, it's free. God, Guns, Guts and the Constitution made America free. In the last 40 years, all four (4) have been diminished and our Republic is suffering as a result. God has been our guide in America since the beginning, now we are lost, because we have abandoned our Guide. We think we are self-sufficient and we don't need God as our guide anymore. We are wrong. "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and in prosperity. We have grown in numbers and wealth and in power as no other nation ever has, but we have forgotten God. We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, and too proud to pray." Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) ******************************************* John Ashcroft "While some have argued that the Second Amendment guarantees only a 'collective' right of the States to maintain militias, I believe the amendment's plain meaning and original intent prove otherwise." United States Attorney General John Ashcroft 2001 We all worked very hard to get John Ashcroft into this position, now it seems, our hard won success is paying dividends. Thank you!!! ******************************************* June's Quote Of The Month "They tell us that we are weak, unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Three million people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us." Patrick Henry, 1775 Note: It is interesting to note that the population in 1775, was approximately 2.9 million. In Patrick Henry's above quotation, he refers to ALL THE PEOPLE, and NOT just those meeting the qualifications of service in the Militia. ***************************************** Gun Safety Tip Of The Month For June Know how to use the gun safely. If you don't know what you are doing while out shooting with friends and family, don't pretend to know what you are doing. It is always ok to ask questions. Don't be afraid about looking less than macho. If you make a grievous mistake while handling the gun, then how would you look? Many guys, when out shooting with friends or family tend to not ask for any instruction when being handed an unfamiliar firearm. June's Tip Of The Month is to not be afraid of looking less than macho when handling an unfamiliar firearm. Many guns operate a little differently from their cousins. If you neglect to ask questions about a gun you are unacquainted with, there is an increased risk of an accident. Swallow your pride and ask. ***************************************** This Month's Issue Issue 11 (June 2001) will focus on bias in the media in regards to gun control issues and other firearm related stories. Tens of millions of Americans get all their firearm knowledge from the entertainment industry, electronic media and print media. Of course these sources of information are not the best avenues of truthful and accurate information. The electronic and print media has always wielded a powerful sword. Indeed, if it was not for the fact that Samuel Adams, John Hancock and the Sons Of Liberty had virtual control of the Greater Boston area newspapers of the early and mid 1770's, there might not have been an American Revolution as we know it. If it were not for the Boston newspapers called the Boston Gazette and the Massachusetts Spy, the passions of the Colonists might not have been so vigorously stirred up against the British. However, in modern times, the role of the media seems to have been reversed somewhat. The important aspects of truth, freedom, liberty and justice have been replaced by things like circulation, political power, money and "political correctness". ***************************************** Three (3) Quotes "The Press, like fire, is an excellent servant, but a terrible master." James Fenimore Cooper American Author 1789-1851 "Our Republic and its Press will rise or fall together..." Joseph Pulitzer "The pen is mightier than the sword." Anonymous ***************************************** Savetheguns BookShop There has been 16,000 page views on the Savetheguns BookShop since January 9th. There are thousands of self defense, hunting and gun related books. Have you been there yet? www.vstore.com/vstorereading/savetheguns Help support us: www.savetheguns.com/buy_my_stuff.htm **************************************** MEDIA BIAS DEMONSTRATED (Just three weeks ago) The May 8 issue of the Washington Post ran an Associated Press story of a May 7 incident in an Alaska school, where a man stabbed four children in an elementary school. The children reportedly were stabbed in the neck and were all in serious condition. What's telling, though, is how the Post chose to cover this criminal atrocity. The piece, which was five paragraphs long, appeared buried on page A6. Other media outlets ignored the story entirely. As always, we must remain vigilant of media bias in local media outlets and stand ready to respond. If this deranged lunatic had used a semi-automatic firearm, this story would have filled headlines all over the nation. This unfortunate tragedy would have been the subject of media spin and outrage. But because a knife was used, the story got very little attention. In fact, for many of you, I am willing to bet that this is the first time you've even heard of it. *************************************** Media WatchDogs The media is supposed to be the watchdogs of government. One of their intended functions is to tell the truth about what is going on behind closed doors. But who is watching the media? Here is a list of some of the groups that are trying to hold a candle of truth to bias and partiality in the media. You might want to save these hyperlinks for future reference. www.fair.org/ Fairness And Accuracy In Reporting www.mediaresearch.org/Welcome.html Media Research Center www.academia.org/ Accuracy In Academia www.aim.org/ Accuracy In Media www.conservative.org/ American Conservative union www.capitolhillblue.com/ Capitol Hill Blue www.cato.org/ The Cato Institute www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/ Chuck Baldwin Live www.therightvoice.org/ Conservative Communications Center www.cmpa.com/ Center for Media and Public Affairs www.drudgereport.com/ The Drudge Report www.freerepublic.com/ Free Republic.com www.heritage.org/ The Heritage Foundation www.insightmag.com/ Insight Magazine www.boortz.com/ Neal Boortz.com www.nationalreview.com/ National Review Online www.junkscience.com/ Junk Science.com www.newsmax.com/ NewsMax.com www.northamerican.com/ Common Sense Radio with Oliver North www.ratherbiased.com/ Dan Rather Biased? (He sure is) www.rushlimbaugh.com/ No Explanation Necessary www.sierratimes.com/ Sierra Times www.spectator.org/ The American Spectator www.federalist.com The Federalist www.weeklystandard.com The Weekly Standard www.townhall.com/ The Town Hall.com www.worldmag.com/ WorldMag.com www.worldnetdaily.com/ WorldNetDaily.com (My browser's home page) Who needs ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN, when we have hundreds of sources of the truth. ************************************** THE MEDIA SHOULD NOT HAVE A POLITICAL PARTY!! We must contact the media when we find bias and hold their feet to the fire on this. ************************************** The entire gun control movement is solely based upon ignorance, fear and fabrications. Tens of millions of people get all their firearm knowledge from the media. These people get their fears and ignorance reinforced by a biased media. STOP MEDIA BIAS. ************************************** Media Contacts The following is a great page of links to the media. Please find time to visit this page and put it on your favorites menu or right on your desktop. Whenever we encounter media bias, the best way to counteract it is to make sure the media outlets know that you are not going to swallow it anymore. www.mrc.org/contact/welcome.html ************************************** Biased Media Indeed From July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1999, on ABC, CBS, NBC AND CNN, stories that advocated more gun control outnumbered somewhat pro-gun stories by a ratio of 357 to 36 as found by the Media Research Center. On the Network Evening News, only eleven percent (11%) of gun related stories, favored a traditionally pro-gun position. Only six percent (6%) of morning news shows favored a traditionally pro-gun stance. And according to the Media Research Center, ABC's Good Morning America promoted an anti-gun position in 92 of 93 stories, taking the morning news Hall of Shame award. Another study found the following rates of anti-gun soundbites on network news: 412 Anti-gun 472 Neutral 209 Pro-gun It was also found that pro-gun guests appeared about half as much as anti-gun guests: 82 Gun control advocates 58 Neutral guests 37 Gun rights guests Source: www.mediaresearch.org/specialreports/news/sr20000105.html Another great page full of these alarming statistics can be found right here. http://www.gunnery.net/news/media-bias.html ************************************ More Bias Since 1998, there have been approximately 700 firearm related stories on the major networks alone. Out of these 700+ stories, only around a dozen of them mentioned any of the estimated 2.5 million self defense uses of firearms that occur every year. Ignoring the fact that firearms are used for defense, sixty times (60X) more than for murder is a crime in itself. When the Citizens of the United States only hear stories where firearms are used to commit crime and hear nothing about the positive side of firearm ownership, truth and justice are severely diminished. ************************************ Bumper Stickers Have you considered a bumper sticker for your car or truck? How about your friends? Check out my new bumper stickers. www.savetheguns.com/bumper_stickers.htm ************************************ Need I say More? I think the average American Gun Owner already realizes that the media in general is leaning far to the left when it comes to being right on this issue. We should contact the media sources directly and call them on their biased reporting and we should, as dedicated activists, contact the companies that pay for advertising during these biased programs. The advertisers should be notified that the shows biased programming does not put you in the mood to purchase their products and services. Without advertising, these biased media outlets would be forced to change their wrongful ways. ************************************ What Can We Do? I personally find it infuriating, that the media is cloaking and concealing the fact that firearms are used to stop criminal acts nearly seven thousand (7000) times each and every day. According to many self defense professionals, about 90% of the time, the defender's firearm is never discharged. According to the owner of a professional self-defense training center, 14 out of 15 times, a criminal will retreat when faced with an armed and determined would-be victim. Will the media ever stand up in front of America and trumpet loudly, the truth on this issue? Or will they continue to play hide and seek with the truth? I am afraid that all we can do, as freedom loving Americans, is: 1.) To make contact with the media on a regular basis on the issue of their undeniable bias concerning firearm related issues. 2.) To make contact with the companies that regularly advertise on these biased news programs and tell them what we think about it. 3.) To support and help fund groups like those listed above whose mission it is to combat this dangerous bias. Groups like the Media Research Center ( www.mediaresearch.org/Welcome.html ) are trying very hard to keep the media honest. These groups deserve our wholehearted support. Because without the "hearts and minds" support of a much larger segment of America, our firearm rights will die. Media bias is at the heart of our fight. Let's not ignore it any longer. ************************************ Final Statement The network media is slanted. There remains no question about this fact. We need to be pro-active AND re-active. Save the media contacts page mentioned above. The average American who does not know the truth about firearms is easily swayed by the media. In order to win the hearts and minds of the people, the media must be more fair and equitable in reporting on firearm related stories. LET'S HOLD THEM TO IT!!!