In the same way that the Union Leader decided to change the common language concerning past and current, The Laconia Daily Sun tried to deflect from their bad wordsmithing by blaming it on others. To wit, this article with “assault rifle” (reformatted, emphasis mine):
Judge finds probable cause in felony weapons possession case
By Michael MortensenA Superior Court judge found Thursday that Laconia police had probable cause to arrest a Laconia man in June on multiple counts of being a felon in possession dangerous weapons. Thomas Coelho Jr. is charged with possession of an assault rifle, four handguns, and a pair of metallic knuckles. The weapons were taken on June 12 and 13 from an apartment on Strafford Street, in Laconia, which Coelho shared with Katelyn Stimson, also known Katelyn Lewis. Judge James D. O’Neill III issued the ruling shortly after the conclusion of Coelho’s probable hearing which had been continued from July 10.
Really, one of those EVIL assault rifles? A fully automatic rifle (which the military would use) or select fire (semi-automatic, 3 round burst, or full auto) assault rifle? After all, words have SPECIFIC meanings…
and in the firearms realm, words DO have meanings. And let’s throw this into the mix as well – a possible straw purchase?
At Thursday’s hearing the defense argued that the weapons in the apartment did not belong to Coelho, but rather belonged to Lewis. Under questioning by Coelho’s attorney Brian Lee, Lewis said she had acquired the five firearms and the metallic knuckles dating between 2005 and this past March. Under cross-examination by Belknap County Attorney Andrew Livernois, Lewis maintained that the weapons were hers.
So, I tried to call Mike Mortensen – he was out of the office so I talked with Roger Amsden in the News. I did tell him who I was and that this was related to GraniteGrok.
I also said my call was in reference to the term “assault rifle” and I wanted to know what KIND of assault rifle was meant in the piece. After all, that’s a big deal – a weapon capable of full automatic fire (squeeze trigger, multiple rounds fired – a true military grade weapon as opposed to a semi-automatic firearm (one squeeze, one round fired). You don’t hear of criminals commonly having such weapons here in the US – THAT would have been newsworthy. Yet, it was only a casual, almost off the cuff mention.
I straight out asked him: what was it. He refused to answer, even after trying to as the question different ways. It was clear he knew why I was calling and I admitted it – did the Sun just throw out that phrase because it was the Politically Correct term to use? His deflection of (paraphrased) “we just use what law enforcement tells us” was his constant reply; it was if he was embarrassed that the Mortensen and the Sun got caught furthering The Narrative.
What I didn’t tell him at the time was that the Sun had already outed itself in an article three days previous; the snippet that proves it:
The weapons were taken from the apartment when police went to the address after receiving a report of domestic violence on June 12 and the following day when they returned with a search warrant. All told, police confiscated an AK-47 style assault rifle, four handguns and a set of metallic knuckles.
So, the Sun knew what it was and, again, the structure of the operative phrase, AK-47 style assault rifle, says that while it may have the form of an AK-47, it is neither full auto or select fire nor an assault rifle. The latter is a term of art that requires the rifle to have those capabilities. Instead, it likely is just yet another semi-automatic rifle – NOT military grade as the anti-gunners would have you believe. After all “SCARY LOOKING” even as it is no more lethal than most rifles that have been sold over the last 150 years or so. But NARRATIVE!
I also called the Laconia PD to get more information on this – after all, they performed the arrest and one would think that they would know the real difference between an assault rifle and yet just another semi-automatic. I left a message yesterday for the admin assistant around 2pm and then called again just before 4pm – haven’t heard back.
Thus, the Sun (which along with the UL has been drifting Leftward, altho the Sun started further Left than that UL) is using its voice, under the guise of “objective reporting”, to push a view that other MSM outlets are also doing. I have noticed that since they fired their previous reporters (Gail Ober and Mike Kitch) and hired the reporters from the failed Laconia Citizen, that speed has increased now that they are the only outlet in town.
Now, am I going off the deep end here? Perhaps. What I do know, however, is that words DO matter and the fact that Amsden would continue to blame their word choice (again, reporters and papers are FAR better at wordsmithing than most – it’s their JOB to know the nuances their words reflect.
And they did it deliberately.
