Saturday, February 25, 2012

Grassroots (@ISRA) vs Astroturf (@CSGV) :A Tale of Two Organizations

Last year, we saw how this lowly third tier blog has as much, if not more, impact through their online writings as the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Ownership. Well Gun Free Zone noted that the CSGV is attempting a 'recruiting drive', so to speak, on their FB page. But will this help them be more effective? Let's take a look. We'll compare them to an organization that has a similar number of 'likes/followers' and started about the same time, the Illinois State Rifle Association.

The ISRA was originally founded in 1903 and registered as a non-profit in 1972, the CSGV started as the 'National Coalition to Ban Handguns' in 1974.

As of 2/25 (8 am), the ISRA had 4,971 'likes' on their FB page. The CSGV has 4, 148.

The ISRA has 1097 followers on Twitter. The CSGV has 1444.

Now for the differences.

The ISRA has a membership of over 10,000 people. The CSGV claims to be a 'coalition' of '48 national organizations' that few have even heard of. They used to claim '0ver 100,000 individual supporters nationwide' but that number is obviously as fabricated as the NGAC's '14 million'.

The ISRA, outside of the Executive Director , state lobbyists and the secretaries in the main office, is entirely a volunteer organization. From the President all the way down to the people handing out packets at IGOLD, it is run by individuals in their spare time. The CSGV relies primarily on paid, 'professional' anti-gun advocates to run/organize their activities.

From 2009 reports, the ISRA had a revenue of $1,195,322. The CSGV/EFSGV combined had a revenue of $579,666, 35% of which was spent on salaries alone. This is increasingly coming from the Joyce Foundation, a trend the VPC also followed.

Now let's look at activity by their 'supporters' using FB as a standard since, as shown above, the number of 'likes' are similar. Of the average number of 'Likes', 'Comments', and 'Shares' from the 10 most recent posts on both pages:

Likes: ISRA 38.1 CSGV 6.1
Comments: ISRA 12 CSGV 3.2
Shares: ISRA 21 CSGV 1

By these numbers is shows that the ISRA's volunteer staff is much more effective than the paid staff at the CSGV at getting their message out and/or the difference in actually having members in lieu of being a shell advocacy group shows in the amount of activity from its supporters.

So even if Ladd manages to get 5K 'likes' on their page, it is unlikely to increase their effectiveness outside of giving him a hollow sound bite.

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Useful Victims

It must be very convenient to have a pool of people you can throw out for any anti-gun nonsense under the sun:

The VT shooter obtained his firearms under the 'one gun a month' limitation following all waiting periods so why are the Brady's trotting out the 'VA Tech Families'? Because they're useful w/ their status as 'victims'. They're stooges being used for (and using) their victim-hood to push an anti-gun political agenda w/ no connection to the original shooting itself.

So now that they are shills attempting to restrict others' rights and property, why should I show them any respect whatsoever?

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

'We Americans'

Abby Spangler, head PEG-Head, has declared that only the few dozen people supporting the failed Starbucks Boycott are 'Americans'.
The tens of thousands of supporters of the 'BUYcott' are more like 'gang members', bad parents who don't care about children and want to see them dead. She worries that everone around her might be 'mentally ill and severely dangerous'. They all could be Anti-American Untermenschen so need to be controlled.

Abby is showing the signs of clinical paranoia and needs to seek help. This is one of the leaders of the anti-gun lobby in action.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Ladd Everitt Loves To Hate

Add people who play Role Playing Games like Dungeons and Dragons to the list Ladd 'Thunderfoot' Everitt, Comm. Dir. of the CSGV is bigoted against:

My guess? Even they wouldn't put up w/ him in High School. Either way it's another positive social grouping that Ladd can't understand and so projects his own hatred and anger towards.

In response to 'Texas Concealed Carry":

Geez. What group DOESN'T Ladd have some sort of stereotype against?

But the real belly laugh comes w/ this:

This coming from the guy who sockpuppeted for his boss for years under the handle GritsJr before getting caught and is now posting under another handle while refusing to acknowledge the connections.

It's amazing the world of hate and discontent that these people live in.

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I'm an Insurrectionist, He's an Insurrectionist, You can be an Insurrectionist Too!!

Ladd goes on another quote fishing expedition to show how R. Lee Ermey, Chuck Norris and Ted Nugent want to violently overthrow the Government, putting them in the same category as (as Sebastian TBFKASIH noted) Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and John Adams while at the same time ignoring the violent, bigoted rhetoric on their own site.

Let's look at it a different way. Let's assume (completely hypothetically) that Ladd's correct (for once) and the three individuals DO want to start the next revolution. Who will the people more likely follow? Some of the most popular figures in the US or the Omega males that make up the majority of the gun control movement? I mean really. Between the Gunny and Chuck Norris alone you have the majority of the military right there.

On the other side they have foil sword swinging kung fu artists.*

Anyone can see where the advantage lies. Maybe Ladd should start trying to get more 'Insurrectionist' types on his side. He might be more effective that way.

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*no offense meant to real martial art students.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

A Case of Clinical Denial

'Gunsensus' tweeted this:

Which explains why the NGAC resorted to hiding their dismal support numbers and Starbucks has shown absolutely no interest in changing their policy nor any negative effect on their stock (just like last time).

Here's a hint Lori, the 'boycott' is not 'gaining momentum', it's dead and has been from the start (just like last time). On the other hand, your boss paid for my Starbucks and some evil assault ammo. We have evidence, facts and (verifiable) numbers behind us. You have dick jokes.

Get some professional help. You need it.

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Chicago Weekend

Weekend Gun Violence Kills 7, Wounds 19

This is Sarah Brady's paradise.



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Redneck Ruger

My buddy, former blogger Longhorn Jeff, bought the Ruger 10/22 I had for sale and picked it up on Saturday. It's a 1973 model w/ an original, near mint, walnut stock and he didn't want to drill holes in it for a sling, needed for the Appleseed he's planning on attending.

W/ a bit of Southern engineering and the strap to the gun case it came in, here's the result:

Not as ugly as I imagined when he described it to me but he'ld better bring a backup in case it doesn't hold up to the stress an Appleseed puts on the sling. I know I had to repair mine after a day of abuse.

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Monday, February 20, 2012

Papieren Bitte!

The money quote from (in)formal activist Bill Jenkins:
"People behave better in our society when they know somebody is watching," he said.
What he's really saying is he knows HE needs to be continuously monitored otherwise he won't 'behave' so he projects that belief onto others. Licensing, registration, cameras, inspections. It would all be acceptable in the name of 'safety' to these people just like good little Winston Smith's.

And the Founding Fathers weep.

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Joyce Foundation Grant Money in Action

Posted using Joyce Foundation salary funds. And he calls us obsessed. Just take a look at the CSGV FB page, it's an altar to intolerance, bigotry and hatred not to mention trolling.


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Not a 'Formal Activist'? Another 'Gun Owner Butt'...

According to an article on Rahm's proposal to tax firearm owners:

CHICAGO | Bill Jenkins isn't your classic gun control lobbyist. In fact, he isn't even a lobbyist or a formal activist.

He is an Illinois gun owner and a father who lost a child to gun violence.

I'm wondering what they mean by that since he 'formally' debated Richard Pearson, ED of the ISRA and Todd Vandermyde, NRA Lobbyist back in September. He's also 'formally' been giving interviews regarding gun control for at least 6 years, is a board member of the NGAC and, in his own words, has "been working closely with the Million Mom March and the Brady Campaign..." and describes himself as a a 'passionate advocate'.

He supports gun registration and 'Assault Weapon' bans (while knowing little to nothing about them) and opposes Concealed Carry. Nothing to do w/ crime but all of this due to the fact that his son was murdered by violent criminals even after offering no resistance and giving them what they asked for.

Sounds like your classic gun control lobbyist/ formal activist to me.

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