Date: Thu, 25 May 1995 17:21:03 -0400 From: Craig Peterson To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Subject: [bglover@netcom.com: NRA-TV Summary 5/24/95] From: bglover@netcom.com (William Glover) Subject: NRA-TV Summary 5/24/95 To: craig@mainstream.com Date: Thu, 25 May 1995 18:45:41 +0000 (GMT) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- NRA-TV broadcast summary ... 5/24/95 The 5/17/95 show was a Town Hall re-run, so I didn't do the summary. ************************************************************************ CRASS COMMERCIAL MESSAGE NET is having pledge drive week. Even if you can't get NET, one day, you will. This is the best talk TV net around, IMHO. Why, because they let the guests talk, engage the audience in the conversation, and do not engage in Gotcha journalism. Give 'em a call at 800-NET-5555. ************************************************************************ Background... NRA-TV is the official NRA TV channel. NRA bills it as the weekly magazine of news and views for gun owners. NRA-TV is on Galaxy 7 transponder 20 at 10:00 PM EST, broadcast weekly on Wednesday. The network that NRA-TV is on is called NET(National Empowerment TV), the phone number is 800-5000-NET. The NRA pays NET for the broadcast time to air NRA-TV as an affiliate broadcaster. The funds for the show come from the NRA/ILA. I my opinion this is the best thing the NRA has ever done to bring the RKBA out of the shadows and to the public. Please support the NRA-TV show by phoning contribution to NRA/ILA at 1-800-392-8683 or mail contributions to NRA/ILA 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax VA 22030. NET is a non-profit TV network and will gladly accept donations at 1-800-5000-NET. AND THEY LISTEN...NRA-TV has an internet e-mail address, NET@NRA.org for feedback on the show. Drop Mrs. Tanya Metaksa a line with your comments. My editorial comments are in brackets[]. This is a summary report, not a verbatim transcription. Archives of these summaries are available from; http://www.portal.com/~chan/nra/tv/ or ftp://ftp.shell.portal.com/pub/chan/nra/tv/ Want more RKBA info - point your browser at //http://www.portal.com/~chan/ - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonight's main story:...Ginny Simone reporting from the NRA convention in Phoenix. As the anti-gun types and the media are doing their best to try and link the NRA to the OKC bombing, the NRA is just as determined to not allow that to happen. Simone... At the NRA Convention, you couldn't help but notice that it is not the NRA which drives the issues it is the members which drives the NRA. ***** Tom Washington excerpts from speech to the NRA convention ***** Defending the bill of rights is not "shameful"! Upholding the constitution is not "extreme"! And believing in the right to keep and bear arms is neither "paranoid" nor "dangerous." It is instead the keystone of American liberty! Generations of Americans have shed their blood and given their lives to keep that freedom alive. Simone... Who is the NRA, people like you committed to the Constitution, the rule of law and their country. ***** Tanya Metaksa excerpts from speech to the NRA convention ***** And this year -- 1995 -- where the heartbeat resounds stronger than ever with victory after victory, you can hear the beat ... But the heart of the NRA is not found in legislative wins or electoral victories -- though we've had so many. The heart of the NRA is found in who we are -- honest citizens committed to the constitution, to the rule of law, to freedom. The heart of the NRA is found in what we do -- free assembly, free and open court challenges, voting rights, the right to petition the government -- and, yes, free speech. Today more than ever, the heart of the NRA is cradled in the heart of this great democracy. (...) The NEED is for RESPONSIBLE, ACCOUNTABLE leadership -- and THAT is why NRA and a HOST of other organizations, from the ACLU to the Quakers, are calling for FULL, OPEN hearings by a select committee of the US Congress. Let THOSE hearings prove us wrong -- NOT Dan Rather,... NOT Connie Chung. (...) Americans are DIVIDED. Polls reveal that a majority of Americans -- fifty-two percent -- report fear of government. Were these just the so-called angry white conservative males? The zany conspiracy theorists we read about in disbelief? Hardly. More liberals than conservatives reported being fearful. There is no question that we must fight against criminals and terrorists, because that is a battle for the safety of our nation -- and NRA will help fight that fight. It is also clear that we must fight for freedom from fear, because that is a battle to recapture the soul of our nation. It is fear that has brought on this era of hatred and scape-goating. It is fear that draws too many Americans, however few, into the fold of the alienated. It is fear that draws people away from the democratic political process, saps the strength of our Republic and fools too many of We the People into thinking We the People are powerless. NRA is a 124-year-old living, breathing monument dedicated to the proposition that people ARE powerful. We know -- we've proven -- and the families you've met today have proven -- that people can make a difference. If your fear is infringement of your Second Amendment rights, do what we do. We do not have gun bans imposed by some monarch. We have gun bans imposed by politicians who acted like monarchs. If you don't like gun bans, vote in a new House, a new Senate. Just like NRA did. And, while you're at it, in 1996, vote in a new president. Just like NRA WILL do! ***** end of Metaksa speech quotes ***** ***** Wayne Lapierre excerpts from speech to NRA convention ***** We ... are being watched. The eyes of the nation, the eyes of history, are upon us. Our every word is being scrutinized, our every action studied. And we should be grateful. Let me tell you why. A few weeks ago I decided what I wanted to say here today. I wanted to give America a clear definition of our mission at NRA: That at the end of this century we want to leave the Second Amendment in the same condition as it was at the beginning of this century. But since April 19, that day of terrible, cowardly cruelty in Oklahoma City, I've realized that job will be harder than I thought. As we gather here today, our mission is in jeopardy. Because too many Americans are increasingly confused about who we are. I don't know. You could blame it on tragic events, or on poor reporting, or on political opportunists, or even on our adversaries. But all of a sudden, N-R-A patriots are being confused with Grade-A terrorists. Well ... to those in the national media, I hope you're listening, because I'm going to put a stop to the confusion right here and now. I will not sit idly by while the media, or the President, or anyone else, tries to disgrace the members of this great Association by blurring the distinction between heroism, and terrorism! There is a difference between democracy, and anarchy. There is a difference between criticism, and insurrection. There is a difference between sound reason, and sheer treason. There is a difference between acting within the law, and acting above the law. And believe me, there is a difference between 3.5 million united NRA members, and some scattered band of paranoid hate mongers! And if someone in this room doesn't know the difference, THEN THERE'S THE DOOR! (...) We do not do battle with bullets. We fight with ballots. (...) At the same time, there is no room in America for those who support a double standard of justice. And at NRA, we've been saying so -- for years. I'm talking about the double standard that says if someone wants to profiteer from rap music about killing cops, those rights are defended. But if a shotgun barrel is a quarter-inch below the legal minimum, they can surround a Ruby Ridge home and shoot a 14-year-old boy in the back and kill a mother holding a baby. Then promote the guy in charge of it all. I'm talking about the double standard that says, if a drugged-up ex-con speeds through LA., resists arrest and gets beat up, he can sue for a few million bucks and win. While the cop in charge gets ruined. But if a religious cult is suspected of a gun law violation, it can be assaulted with bullets, tanks and tear gas. Everyone dies .. and the cop in charge gets promoted. I'm talking about the double standard that says, it's okay to call gun owners "gun nuts" and call the NRA "an evil empire of lying, stupid, rednecks, zealots and extremists." But if we engage in some impassioned name-calling about abuses by a few federal police, we are suddenly indicted, tried and found guilty-by-association with America's most despicable criminals. Nonetheless, for some of my words, an apology was due. And I apologized. I have repeatedly said it, and our actions back it up: The NRA is pro-law-enforcement. We respect and support our many heroes out there doing their jobs every day under impossible circumstances. We're proud of them -- hundreds of thousands are NRA members. But I have also repeatedly said that if a handful of them behave like bullies, we're gonna call them bullies. If some of them act like thugs ... then that's what we'll call them. That's why the NRA and the ACLU and several other civil rights groups joined together 18 months ago to ask President Clinton to create a commission to investigate serious abuses by federal law enforcement agencies, in order to reduce many reported violations of constitutional and human rights. And what do we have to show for our repeated requests? Nothing. No fact-finding action that could settle the issue once and for all. No hearings. No investigations. No answers. Just hypocrisy and arrogance. While he appealed for "toning down the rhetoric," Mr. Clinton criticized NRA for our language ... by using this language! Let me quote him from a few days ago, quote: "We must stand up against these people who say they love their country but not this government. Who do these people think they are?" End quote. I'll tell you who we are. We are the people who helped clean out Congress in 1994, and who are going to help clean your clock in 1996! Mr. President, there is nothing un-American about questioning our leaders. As citizens, it's our job. There is nothing unpatriotic about being skeptical of our government. As citizens, it's our job. In fact, our very system of self-government requires us to question our officials and candidates with each election cycle. The more zeal and passion we bring to the process, the better government we get. So why do they so readily attack the NRA? I'll tell you why. They're attacking the messenger, instead of the message, because most Americans agree with the message! Most Americans think that government has grown so big it can't keep its hands out of our pockets or off of our rights. In fact, just eight days after the bombing in Oklahoma City, a 52% majority of Americans said they think the federal government has become so powerful that it poses a threat to the rights and freedoms of its citizens. That's not an NRA poll -- that's a Time/CNN poll April 27, 1995. That's the message, and Mr. Clinton doesn't get it. Think about it: Over half of your countrymen think the federal government has become so powerful that it poses a threat to the rights and freedoms of its citizens. Surely you've felt that invasion bit by bit, year after year. More and more you've got to scoot-your-butt-over-and-make-room-for-a- bureaucrat-and-his-book-of-rules. I know you've felt it. Especially if you own land, if you own a small business, if you own a home, if you drive a car, or heaven forbid, if you want to own a gun. But it's not just about your gun freedoms. It's about plans for a federal multi-agency super-police force called the "Directorate of Central Law Enforcement" that Bill Clinton and Janet Reno wanted to put together. It's about HR97, a bill that would allow Reno to establish a 2,500-member "Rapid Deployment Strike Force" that could be deployed to enforce federal, state and local anti-gun laws. It's about special micro-chips that the government wanted to put in every phone, fax and computer so it could tap into people's communications at will. It's about saddling the states with unfunded federal mandates, paperwork, red tape and regulations that deny private property rights and civil rights. It's about that California farmer whose tractor was seized and who faced a year in jail plus a $200,000 fine for allegedly running over an "endangered" kangaroo rat while plowing his own land. It's about federal agencies like HUD threatening to prosecute citizens for exercising their First Amendment right by opposing criminal halfway houses in their neighborhoods. It's about why 300 Marines, on a written test at Twenty-nine Palms Combat Center in California, were asked whether they would, quote "fire upon U.S. citizens who refuse or resist confiscation of firearms banned by the U.S. government," end quote. In the end, it's about all these creeping cancers ... feeding on all the freedoms we once took for granted. So it'll be tough to leave this century with the Second Amendment in the same condition as it was at the beginning of this century. But with courage and character, we will. ***** end of Lapierre speech quotes ***** These speeches and more are available from ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, look in directory /pub/general. [And we are making progress... Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma have recently passed CCW laws, more to come.] Bill .... bglover@netcom.com ======================================================================= Being a citizen is a full-time job. If we wish to reclaim our rights, we first must begin by reclaiming our responsibilities. Factoid: Follow-up on the 5/3/95 factoid where I wrote about the BATF and US Customs taking a swat team to raid an ammo distributor, Eagle Exim. They first stopped off to raid a machine shop, oops wrong address, then proceeded to take into custody 75 million rounds of warehoused ammo for sale to distributors. Eagle Exim didn't understand the seizure, asked why didn't they just review the paperwork, but no, the BATF had to do it their way, the wrong way every time. - From a person on the internet who took it upon himself to follow-up, he reports, 2/3s of the ammo has now been returned, and the rest should be returned shortly. Tests show the ammo was made and legally imported from Russia. The BATF had asserted that the ammo was illegally imported from China, which Clinton by Executive Order(read decree) banned. The local fish wrapper had a follow-up, 5/15, admitting the screw-up, luckily no one was hurt by the swat team, but they carefully committed any reference to the BATF's part in the raid in the follow-up story. They blamed the whole thing on a sister jack-booted agency, US Customs. I wonder why... Question, why wouldn't a simple phone call and visit to the warehouse to examine the importers paperwork have sufficed? Probably wouldn't warrant TV coverage and a news conference. This affair cost the taxpayers about $100,000, 'according to sources'. If you want to learn more about the up-coming police state, read the Clinton terrorist bill, which was oddly enough, submitted in February, before the OKC bombing. ======================================================================= To get public key - ftp netcom.com; cd /pub/bg/bglover; file nratv.zip -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBL8TPRBtLY5O5c0BdAQFBIgQAgBggGV9nOlZIRSgZcE1EqXzpa/OKD80a RKkib3fJK/HaJY7kT0RpaiDykwUkMfa4uB3oUBKMoR6k5lwyGehxQPgggtrDOQ2f PFFPZY5H5uKvYsHu94iHtJGUZCRenKiU/tQMg+sVd0AgocK/IkqxYlnFyY6VQ6jz N67x4qS82J4= =jjhA -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----