Article on NPR about US/Mexican guns

[Old Fuff]

The Fact Checker(?) apparently can't understand (or doesn't want to). :banghead:

It can be easily explained. It appears that the Mexican government is only submitting the serial numbers of 17% of the total number of guns they've recovered. Of this 17%, 90% have been traced to commercial origins in the United States. This I can believe, but they didn't necessarily all come from the drug cartels. Many, many people who are not connected with drug trafficking are smuggling guns into Mexico, either for their own use, or to sell for a profit.

I think you could find a similar situation in New York City, Washington DC, or Chicago, where like in Mexico handguns and other firearms are effectively prohibited.

 

[Gamera]

I've just been waiting for someone around me to bring up the "90% of guns are from the US" thing. When they do I'm going to slap them across the face with some facts.

 

[jfh]

roostrider: It seems to me that your analysis conflates a number of factors here--

1. First, I don't think many of us, are disagreeing with the accuracy of the statement that '(perhaps) 90% of the 17% of the firearms....' What we did disagree with was the apparent rhetorical intent of the report.

2. Second, when the rhetorical intent of a piece of news dominates--rather than the 'factual' content, it is arguably (political) propaganda. IOW, writing designed to press a certain POV for some sort of gain.

Earlier on in this thread, I outlined my expectations for PR journalism. Included in that definition is criteria for access by its audience, and to fulfill 'timliness' and 'immediacy' needs of "the news." When the rhetorical intent overrides the factual content--as evidenced by many people deriving the wrong conclusion--we no longer have a report written to journalistic standards.

As for "the subjective" issue--it's a canard, designed by intelligent people who love to mentally masturbate.

Jim H.

 

[RoostRider]

I guess I was just happy that the rhetoric (arguably political propaganda) in this article was easily discernible.... it seemed to me to be so discernible in fact, that most would be able to pick it right out.... or at least, most should be able to pick it out, and if not, there is something wrong with the listener as well as the report....

Every news story, or story of any kind for that matter, comes with a slant.... I learned that in grade school and I expect it and read around it the best I can... in this case they gave me a lot to read around with.... Either way, they gave us some answers to questions that have been asked here, and they were the answers we suspected.... and they pointed out that the 90% number quoted by the administration so repeatedly, is in fact off the mark, and quite possibly way off the mark given the actual data available (although they certainly didn't lean towards this end)

 

[Eb1]

I hope I don't get in trouble for this by the forum, but....

100% of illegal immigrants from Mexico in the US come from Mexico..
How bout we do something about it?

Hey, Mexico. Give us our guns back, and we will send you your citizens back. One thousand Mexican illegals for every gun you send back that is registered to the United States.