Friday, April 03, 2009

Go Tell Paul Helmke...

...he can stop pushing that 90% crap, because we know better now. Then point out his other lies. [More]

These creatures really do have no shame. I guess when you're caught red-handed, you may as well try to bluff your way out.

Besides, it's not like the typical Huffpovian* values truth above the dogma of indignation against non-collectivists. I'm waiting for the drowning out and redirecting to begin. In other words, the lies.

* Thought I might have coined a term here, but checked and someone beat me to it.

5 comments:

bud said...

Found this -
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/04/02/myth-percent-guns-mexico-fraction-number-claimed/

via a link on David Hardy's site which provides the raw numbers. As usual, the "90%" number can be "justified" only by cocking your head just so, closing one eye, and wishing really, really hard.

Real numbers-
Number of guns seized in Mexico -29000.
Number of guns submitted to BATF - 11000.
Number of guns successfully traced by BATF - 6000
Number of guns found to be from US - 5114.

Just as a thought experiment - how many siezures are drug gang related, and how many are the result of a domestic violence incident? The 29000 number is almost certainly too large as to drug-related violence, or any violence. Some of these have to be where the police stumbled across some guy trying to protect himself in spite of the draconian Mexican firearm laws.

Why was less than half submitted to BATF? Could it be if they submitted everything, it would make "creating" a 90% number much more difficult? Maybe they already knew where they came from, like Army deserters?

Why would BATF use 6000 instead of at least the 11000 number? Because 46.49% is not as dramatic as 90%, and they want to please their political masters?

Past thought experiments - let's look at the numbers:

IF you take the successful traces as your dividend, then you get 5114/6000= 85.23% - which, rounded up (why is it always UP???) gets to the 90% number.

If you're a normal person, however, and not someone with a axe to grind and a spin to impart, you use the total number of guns siezed as your dividend, and you get 5114/29000= 17.63%, but that's not going to impress anyone, is it?

So you cock your head, close one eye... and LIE.

Burrow Owl said...

Everytime I comment on one of Helmke's puff pieces on HuffPo, my comment never shows up- although they are always nice enough to send me a canned note telling me that I've violated their comment policy- 2 weeks after the fact.

Peter said...

I don't even get the email: my comments just never appear.

B@stards.

Anonymous said...

Re: Burrow Owl and Peter

Now imagine when the Huffpovians seize absolute power. It is not just dissenting comments that will disappear. Dissenters themselves will disappear, and their families will then receive canned notes saying that their relative violated the new order.

John Hardin said...

Number of guns successfully traced by BATF - 6000
Number of guns found to be from US - 5114.

And that's 85%, not 90%.

And what does "from US" mean? Manufactured? Last purchased?