Demand Action to Prevent Gun Violence Archives -

Misleading Infographic Of The Day

Normally, I like infographics. Used correctly, they convey a lot of useful information in an understandable format. However, they can be misused.

An example of infographic misuse is shown below. It comes from Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors and their Demand Action project.

What the infographic doesn’t tell you is that Harry Reid (D-NV) set the bar at 60 votes for any amendment to S. 649 to forestall any efforts at a filibuster. It was part of the motion to proceed to consideration of the bill and to accelerate the discussion. Otherwise, there would have been 30 hours of debate and Harry Reid didn’t want the details of Manchin-Toomey subjected to that much sunlight.

Moreover, their argument that five senators representing four states which comprise 1.4% of the US population is specious. You could make the equally valid argument that the six senators from three states – Vermont, Rhode Island, and Delaware – put Manchin-Toomey over the 50 vote mark. These three states, by the way, represent a mere 0.8% of the US population.

Jame Taranto of the Wall Street Journal in his Best of the Web Today column calls these efforts “a thuggish majoritarian rhetoric”. It helps put this infographic – which is nothing but authoritarian propaganda – into perspective.

Note To Demand Action – We Aren’t That Gullible

Demand Action to End Gun Violence (sic) is a project of Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors. This week they have been tweeting a “breaking” message about a new 50-state “analysis of gun violence”.

I’d like to believe that no one would be so gullible as to believe this “analysis” was unbiased and accurate. The sad reality is that this report from the Center from American Progress, a “progressive” research and advocacy group, has been picked up by a number of media outlets including MSNBC. I guess given the record of the media running with sham stories I shouldn’t be surprised.

The first indication that this is a biased report is who wrote it. The authors – Arkadi Gerney, Chelsea Parsons, and Charles Posner – all have links to either Bloomberg or Obama. Gerney preceded Mark Glaze as the executive director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Parsons was general counsel to the New York City
criminal justice coordinator prior to coming to the Center for American Progress. Finally, Posner worked for a Democratic polling group and Organizing for America prior to coming to CAP. To think that any of these authors would put out a report on guns that could pass the smell test is ludicrous.

The second indication that this report is a sham is the reliance on data and ranking from groups such as the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Violence Policy Center, and MAIG. While they do use some data that is valid, how they twist is not.

Finally, you need only read the “recommendations” to understand that this “analysis” was not at finding the truth but to promote advocacy for more gun control. They want universal background checks, a definition of “dangerous people” that goes far beyond felons and the mentally ill, a ban on “assault weapons and high-capacity magazines”, and stronger laws against trafficking.

This report is proof positive that the old saw that “figures lie and liars figure” is true.