A Terrorist Tool?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE- EDITED 01/10/05

The first article link is directly to CBS' site, the second artilce link is to the Google cached version which is applicable to my post.

I will be doing a follow-up to this post this week, as my opinion of CBS has worsened .

I have a full video recording with no audio- but do a have the transcript. Does anyone have a full video and audio recording?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the title of the CBS 60 Minutes article that is on it's website, and the name of their news segment to air this Sunday at 19:00EST.

Here are the first three paragraphs from the website (actually the Google Cache)article:

"(CBS) A military rifle capable of piercing armor from over a mile away is too readily available to civilians, and could end up in terrorists' hands, say critics of the .50-caliber weapon that is for sale in 49 states.

Correspondent Ed Bradley reports on the big gun that was recently banned in California for 60 Minutes, Sunday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

"I think it's a great thing on the battlefield," says one of the weapon's chief critics, Tom Diaz of the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C."

Now, I don't know about you, but this reads like pure propaganda to me, particularly in light of the fact, that the history of the long range .50 caliber rifle received it's start, where, you and CBS have already asked? (Well maybe you dear readers have, but CBS has not.) From the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association history page:

"For all its advantages, the .50 BMG cartridge would most likely have remained a machine-gun cartridge in the military's eyes, had it not been for the founders of the FCSA. In the 1980's, some people such as Skip Talbot, Marty Liggins, etc. saw the fifty's potential as a RIFLE cartridge for long-range, 1000-yard, CIVILIAN match/competition uses. The resulting private interest in this caliber spawned the FCSA. The success these civilian fifty shooters experienced in pinpoint, precision, long-range shooting, has led to the adoption of this caliber for sniper, counter-sniper, EOD, and anti-material applications by the US military; other government agencies; and many, larger, police SWAT/Emergency Response Teams."

Now, the eniter web article is fifteen paragraphs in length, nine of which are nearly all quotes from Tom Diaz, of the Violence Policy Center (more can be found here).

We do not hear from Ronnie Barrett, the owner of Barrett Rifles, until the ninth paragraph of the web article. For those that do not know who Ronnie Barrett is, he is the man that has produced some of the finest examples of the .50 caliber rifle in the World. His rifles are chosen by citizens, and the military alike, for the precision craftsmanship and quality his tools produce. The least expensive rifle he sells that is a .50 caliber, the Barrett M99, starts at $3,200.00 without a scope or scope rings.

I admire Ronnie Barrett, and my admiration for the man climbed enormously when he penned his letter to the Los Angeles Police Department on December 11th, 2002. The following is a quote:

"Please excuse my slow response on the repair service of the rifle. I am battling to what service I am repairing the rifle for. I will not sell, nor service, my rifles to those seeking to infringe upon the Constitution and the crystal clear rights it affords individuals to own firearms."

The CBS 60 Minutes segment, and the related web article are nothing more than propganda, but what have we come to expect from CBS- as recent events have borne this truth to be shown.

I say watch the program come Sunday, and then light up your local affiliates telephone lines, CBS' corporate programming lines (212) 975-3247 (they answer 46), their E-mail form page, or 60 Minutes directly at 60m@cbs.com.

Tell them what youy think, I know I will...

--WP