News Inquiry

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1813benny
Posts: 330
Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 6:03 pm
Location: state of total consciousness
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News Inquiry

Post by 1813benny »

To All Concerned:

I have been contacted via the PM section of the board regarding an older thread about the NRAF stores. The person in question stated that he is a writer for Bloomberg News and is researching a story about the NRAF store....the person joined on 24 Nov 2011 - so they are not a long time person posting here nor as a member of the press should they be trusted.

I am just alerting all to the potential for them fishing for topics and/or statements for them to twist regarding our sport and/or organizations.

They also stated that they are from Washington DC - 'nuf said on that one.

They are watching and looking for dirt.
Thedrifter
Posts: 281
Joined: Thu May 05, 2011 8:26 am
Location: San Antonio, TX

Post by Thedrifter »

Thanks,

Still new to the sport however i will not allow someone to take away what i have fallen in love with.
Soupy44
Posts: 411
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:37 pm
Location: Raleigh, NC

Post by Soupy44 »

I spoke with him to see what he is up to. Based on the questions is was asking, he is trying to write an article that the NRA is misusing NRA Foundation Funds, or at least, not distributing them the way the NRA says it is (50% local, 50% national).

He targeted those of us who commented on the NRA Grant Store thread on this site a while back. The thread where we complained about the NRA Grant Store being thrown on us without warning while it was going through the bumps of getting started. He thinks the NRA is making money off grant moneys being spent at the store. He also said he had crunched the numbers and the NRA was not distributing 50% to the states based on the tax records.

I tried to get him to call the NRA, but he said they had decided not to talk to him about this. He attended a Friends banquet recently, obviously for research purposes.

But, to make this even better, first read this article he wrote:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-1 ... gress.html

and then read this one:

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-f ... -license-1

When I asked him about this, he said based on how he read how the law was written, he had fulfilled the requirement, and then later said he misread it. For someone who uses the written word to make his living writing anti-gun articles, that's a pretty bad excuse.

I've forwarded notes on my conversation with him to the NRA folks who need to know.
Telecomtodd
Posts: 221
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:15 pm
Location: Saint Charles, MO

Post by Telecomtodd »

The gentleman in question is quite prolific in his career in writing about scandals across his 41-year tenure. Ranging from Watergate, airline safety, immigration, AIDS, and child molestation, he's now apparently run out of juicy stories and is looking for a high-profile liberal target - the NRA.

To the writer, you've written some great stuff, but why don't you look into something that's costing the country deeply - the Stimulus Program. The dirt on that one is pretty shallow for the digging, and just a few missteps are coming to light now. I'd chase that one all day long before I'd chase the FNRA money trail. Billions and billions of dollars given and lent stupidly without rules in place - I saw it first-hand in the ARRA program. It's a hot topic people want to hear about. Or are we just providing liberal-friendly stories?

Why don't you look into the BATFE and their poor handling of federally licensed dealers? Or the NFA Class III paper pushers who are clueless about the forms they sign, and the bank account information from licensees that fall into the hands of criminals? Thank goodness I didn't have by $25 in my special bank account at the time - after sitting on my paperwork for 4 months, it took four tries in 48 hours before the bank closed the account and started a security investigation. The only people outside the bank that had the account information were BATFE employees. Or is this not what liberal readers want to see?

I've participated in a statewide FRNA grant review meeting. The money goes where it is supposed to go, not where one can suggest without references (as has been done in the past by the writer) no matter how hot the flames can be fanned.

There's real, actual and juicy stories out there; don't think that some early frustration about new purchasing policies is enough to turn a molehill into a mountain.
justadude
Posts: 789
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:32 am

Post by justadude »

H'mm the idea that the NRA might not distributing funds exactly as stated is not so far fetched. However, after reading the articles in the links provided I don't get the feeling that this guy is likely the person to get to the bottom of it.

Thanks for the heads up.

'Dude
Marcus
Posts: 158
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:09 pm
Location: USA
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In case you missed it

Post by Marcus »

Here is the fruit of his labor
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-0 ... bread.html

Marcus
Telecomtodd
Posts: 221
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:15 pm
Location: Saint Charles, MO

Post by Telecomtodd »

There were a couple of points in the article that caused me a slight pause, so having the ability and means, I checked into them. I can state that certain aspects of the article are specifically flawed. A comparison would be like suggesting Johnny claimed to score a 1600-160X, but if you look at the official score and the actual targets, it was more like a 1362-17X.

Now that they're done with this project, allow them to move on to other more interesting things like the amount of calories children consume in school lunches or what the Obamas did on their 61 days of vacation over the last 31 months.
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