Shut up and SING .......

bono parrots administration lie .......

Dear Bono: Get Your Facts Straight
At a concert in Mexico City, Bono repeats the “90% lie” about U.S. gun shops selling to cartels.

Long time listener, first time caller, as they say on talk-back radio. I’ve been a big fan since I first heard the opening chords of “Pride” as a twelve-year-old living in communist Poland. I own your full discography and all your concert DVDs. Needless to say, I’m a fan of U2 on Facebook. Which brings me to the topic at hand.

I always knew but never particularly cared that our politics were different. Such is the beauty of free society and such is the prerogative of entertainers to use their fame as a soapbox for their pet causes, even if sometimes rhetoric outpaces the reality (mind you, I don’t blame you; if I had to pay taxes at the Irish rates I too would shift my financial affairs to a more lenient jurisdiction). I can appreciate your music without agreeing with all of your activism. That’s how it should be. And I appreciate the fact that despite your own strongly held views, you don’t engage in nasty personal attacks against those who hold different opinions.

But activism is one thing and factual accuracy is another.

The other day, your Facebook page posted the following status update:

“Pride” In Mexico. “I want you to send a message of love to the good and the great people of the United States of America.” …

That intrigued me, so I clicked on the link to your website to read more. It contained your full quote from the concert at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, spoken before the band played “Pride” (yes, that song again):

I want you to send a message of love along the border to the good and the great people of the United States of America. … I want you to send a message to people of conscience.

Ask them to answer the question. Why is it that all we hear on the news is how drugs are smuggled through Mexico to the United States?

And we don’t hear about all the automatic weapons that are being smuggled into Mexico from the United States. Nine thousand registered arms dealers on the other side of the border. Nine thousand.

Most of the murders committed here are from weapons sold in the United States of America.

We sing this for the innocents who have lost their lives in the violence here.…

The drug-fueled violence and lawlessness in Mexico are truly horrible. But that old canard that drugs don’t kill Mexicans, American guns kill Mexicans, was a bit too much for me. Particularly when you say it to tens of thousands of Mexican fans who are likely to treat everything that comes out of your mouth as gospel truth. I made that point in a comment underneath your Facebook post. As of the next day, your post was “liked” by almost 12,000 people, and more than 550 fans commented. To my surprise, I found that even amidst this huge love-fest, six strangers agreed with my sentiment. Doesn’t seem like much, but it’s not about numbers; it’s about the truth.

And unfortunately your numbers, Bono, are wrong.

I can’t exactly blame you. You have probably heard the “statistic” that 90 percent of guns used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States from Hillary Clinton herself. Or Senator Dianne Feinstein. Or maybe even from William Hoover, assistant director for field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. After all, if anyone knows, the ATF should, right?

entertainers really should stick to entertainment ..... as most never finished collage or are High School Drop outs .... not mental giants by any stretch

As I commented on Facebook, for God’s sake, let’s not blame America for every ill in the world. Reducing NAFTA, as you do, to a neat juxtaposition of American guns moving one way to kill innocent Mexicans and drugs moving from and through Mexico the other way is morally lazy. I’m not pointing this out in order to blame Mexicans; after all they’re only responding to the demand up north — market forces at work, even if you wish they worked for the whole of the Mexican economy and not just its illegal sector. Yes, guns kill people, but what ultimately fuels violence is the seemingly insatiable appetite for coke and other illicit substances in the United States. Guns are an easier target for moral outrage than millions of individuals with rolled-up dollar bills up their nostrils, many of whom happen to be your friends from the entertainment industry.

[Mongo53]

I can’t exactly blame you. You have probably heard the “statistic” that 90 percent of guns used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States from Hillary Clinton herself. Or Senator Dianne Feinstein. Or maybe even from William Hoover, assistant director for field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. After all, if anyone knows, the ATF should, right?

You know how beneficial it would be if we had a profession in this country that would verify such claims, investigate the facts and story, then present it to the American people in a proper context, objectively, and told both sides of the story. If such a profession existed it would NOT be so easy for Politicians to mislead the poorly informed or exploit the ignorant, issue could be solved faster and more effectively as public support could colalesce much faster when the people get the facts and in a context that reflects the actual issue.

Oh to dream, if such a thing existed, what would we call it?

17% or 90%, what ever you need at the moment.

Yea, Fox News is the Problem.

[acommondisaster]

I've heard that Fox News lies.

[Mongo53]

Originally Posted by acommondisaster

I've heard that Fox News lies.

Its true, they've been on the air for years, and NOT one single story about Foxes!

What do you call reporting a figure is 90% when in reality the figure is 17%-18%? Incompetence or Dishonesty?