alan
Member
During the course of the CBS broadcast of 60 Minutes, this past Sunday evening, there was a segment entitled Armed and Dangerous. Possibly, the title should have ended with a question mark, but that is another matter. Actually, and by the way, surprisingly, the segment was a reasonable presentation of a complicated matter, and wasn't the usual anti-gun diatribe one has come to expect from network television in general or 60 Minutes in particular.
Unfortunately, the segment did display the usually sloppiness, or casual attitude toward facts. During his narration, Steve Kroft breathlessly informed his listeners/viewers of the following. That "the Gun Control Act of 1968 was the first federal gun control law enacted". When I was a school boy, 1934 and 1938 came before 1968, the respective "birth years" of the National Firearms Act and Federal Firearms Act, but that was before The New Math, which Mr. Kroft might have grown up with, or been taught when he was a school boy. Of course, one might wonder as to the status of the writers and researchers that CBS and The 60 Minutes employs also.
Of course, the whole thing could be simple a mistake. It would be a stupid mistake, but it could be just that, a stupid mistake. Of course, looking at past performances, one sees altogether to many such "stupid mistakes" to let the thing pass unmentioned. Fair enough, however one question still remains. Exactly what ends might CBS, 60 Minutes or the writers have hoped to gain, from their very obvious historical sloppiness.
In case anyone is wondering, yes, I e-mailed Feedback at the CBS website, re the above on Sunday night. No reply, of any sort has been had, nor, based on past performances, do I expect one.
Unrelated Addendum:
The 10 July Gun Week has a lengthy but interesting interview with John Ross, author of Unintended Consequences, as well as some other interesting items.
Unfortunately, the segment did display the usually sloppiness, or casual attitude toward facts. During his narration, Steve Kroft breathlessly informed his listeners/viewers of the following. That "the Gun Control Act of 1968 was the first federal gun control law enacted". When I was a school boy, 1934 and 1938 came before 1968, the respective "birth years" of the National Firearms Act and Federal Firearms Act, but that was before The New Math, which Mr. Kroft might have grown up with, or been taught when he was a school boy. Of course, one might wonder as to the status of the writers and researchers that CBS and The 60 Minutes employs also.
Of course, the whole thing could be simple a mistake. It would be a stupid mistake, but it could be just that, a stupid mistake. Of course, looking at past performances, one sees altogether to many such "stupid mistakes" to let the thing pass unmentioned. Fair enough, however one question still remains. Exactly what ends might CBS, 60 Minutes or the writers have hoped to gain, from their very obvious historical sloppiness.
In case anyone is wondering, yes, I e-mailed Feedback at the CBS website, re the above on Sunday night. No reply, of any sort has been had, nor, based on past performances, do I expect one.
Unrelated Addendum:
The 10 July Gun Week has a lengthy but interesting interview with John Ross, author of Unintended Consequences, as well as some other interesting items.
