Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Townhall.com and the Militia Movement: The Guns Are Free, But What About The Bullets?


Town Hall's Advertising Expertise

I've let this post simmer for about 48 hours because I wanted to gather more facts. I've read other articles before on "The Millionaire Patriot" Dr. Ignatius Piazza, but the above popped into my email and I decided to investigate it:

Can you believe this hypocrisy? Premiere Radio Network, makes a fortune off millions of listeners who believe the hosts they are listening to don't just "talk the talk" of conservative values but also "walk the walk" and yet when I place the word "Gun" in an ad with a proven track record of delivering over 3,000 courses and guns to responsible American citizens across this country, Premiere Radio Network refuses it!

That's incredible! Do Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck know about this blasphemy?

OK, so maybe the brouhaha has not been covered much by the MSM, but the fact remains that a gun training promotion was denied by a network that is a subsidiary of Clearchannel which has a close corporate "relationship" with Rupert Murdoch-owned FOX News. Rush Limbaugh, Laura Schlessinger, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and practically every microphone-slinging, right-wing air wave pundit owe's his substantial income to Clearchannel. And what about those pundits who include "screeding?"* Townhall.com (Townhall Daily) carries the likes of Ann Coulter(geist), Michelle Malkin, John Stossel, Chuck Norris, and Bill O'Reilly (who was awarded the "Courageous Broadcaster of the year" award at the Values Voter Summit).

It's an irony (not lost by "Dr." Piazza, to be sure) that Premiere Radio Network seems to bite the hand that feeds it. Is it so afraid of a liberal backlash? I doubt it. It seems to be some mid-level executive's lame attempt to present Premiere as a peaceful, non-violent advertising venue. But the more interesting thing about this affair is how Townhall.com has handled it: relaying "Dr." Piazza's message through its email list of subscribers. Almost secretly: you'll have a hard time finding the rant in Townhall's Oct. 4th issue. Is Townhall afraid of backlash as well? I'm not so sure. Publishing right-wing writings is its bread and butter. Then again, becoming involved in a gun control law suit could be a bit prickly, even to Townhall's tough hide.

Firearms Training Institute is definitely "militia lite": training programs cost from $1200 to $50,000 (lifetime memnbership). Taking cost into consideration, the "gift" of a gun is more like finding the plastic toy inside a box of Cracker Jack. However, Piazza has stepped up his promotion by offering to train teachers and pupils where crimes with firearms have been perpetrated.

wikipedia:

In 2007, University of Utah lifted the ban on students carrying concealed weapons. In support of this, Piazza announced that a free 5-day course on carrying and using a concealed handgun would be offered to every student there.

Then there's Piazza's own persona: he's been allied with Scientology, has been sued more than several times and made undisclosed settlements.

Check out some recommendations of Front Sight Firearms Training Institute by teenagers HERE. They're about as silly as you can get.

One former Front Site customer:

"I was flipping through the channels one evening and happened to catch a news segment about a place out in Nevada that was offering a free one day Uzi submachine gun class. I thought that sounded like a lot of fun."

Q: After you've finished a course on shooting with an Uzi, how do you put your knowledge to good use? A: Move to Alaska and show Sarah Palin what you can do to a moose.

And, of course, the high priest of right wing net media, Joseph Farah, endorses Piazza's promotion:


*My own word for writing in a thoroughly biased and bombastic style. Sort of like "bloviating" for writers.