Meet the NRA's Board of Directors 16JAN13

HERE are board of directors of the nra, those responsible for keeping guns and high capacity ammo clips available for criminals and the deranged who commit gun violence, mass shootings, mass murders in our neighborhoods, workplaces, places of worship, parks, shopping malls and schools. They all have blood on their hands, not only the blood of American victims of gun violence but also the blood of tens of thousands around the world because of their opposition to regulation of weapons exports and smuggling from the U.S. It will be sublime irony if at some point they, along with the politicians they have bought and control ( see The NRA’s influence — in 6 charts 16JAN13 & OPENSECRETS.ORG NRA PAGE http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-nras-influence-in-6-charts-16jan13.html
) experience the fruits of their nra labors. This from Mother Jones....

Tom Selleck, Ted Nugent, and Karl Malone are just some of the high-caliber individuals who call the shots at the National Rifle Association.

—By Dave Gilson

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Exclusive: The NRA's powerful leaders include the CEO behind Bushmaster AR-15s and a top director who lives in Newtown.

The National Rifle Association claims to speak for more than 4 million gun owners. But the shots are really called by a hush-hush group of 76 directors. The majority are nominated via a top-down process and elected by a small fraction of NRA members. A breakdown of the current board, based on their official bios:

• 87 percent are men. 93 percent are white.
• 25 percent are current or former federal, state, or local lawmakers or officials.
• 22 percent are current or former law enforcement officers. 30 percent are current or former members of the military.
• 24 percent are lawyers.
• 12 percent are entertainers or athletes.
• 64 percent are hunters. 71 percent are sport or competitive shooters.
• At least 71 percent were nominated, endorsed, or selected by the NRA's Nominating Committee.

Some notable members of the NRA's current board of directors:

	Tom SelleckThe Magnum, P.I. star, gun buff, and vocal gun-rights supporter was the top vote-getter in 2008's board election. (Fellow '80s TV heartthrob Erik Estrada sought a seat on the NRA board in 2011 but eventually withdrew his candidacy.)
	Ted NugentAt the NRA's 2012 annual conference, the Nuge announced, "If Barack Obama becomes the next president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year," prompting a meeting with the Secret Service.
	Oliver North"I love speaking out for the NRA in large part because it drives the left a little bit nuts," says the Iran-Contra conspirator and Call of Duty pitchman.
	Marion Hammer The former NRA president helped craft and implement Florida's Stand Your Ground law, which provided a model for similar self-defense laws in 24 other states.
	Karl Malone"About the only thing I'd rather do than play basketball is hunt," says the retired NBA player in an recruitment ad for the NRA.
	Patricia ClarkA record-holding shooter, Clark has been on the board of directors since 1999 and is currently the head of the NRA's nominating committee, which helps pick the majority of board members. She lives in Newtown, Connecticut.
	Robert K. BrownThe former Special Forces soldier and big-game hunter is the founder and publisher of Soldier of Fortune, which was sued in the late '80s for running want ads for mercenaries and guns for hire.
	David KeeneThe current NRA president is the former chairman of the American Conservative Union. In 2003, his son was sentenced to 10 years in prison for firing at another driver during a road rage incident.
	R. Lee "The Gunny" ErmeyFormer Marine turned actor is best known for his turn as a drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket (who is gunned down by a suicidal recruit). He's also a spokesman for Glock.
	Wayne A. RossIn 2009, Sarah Palin nominated the former NRA vice president to be Alaska's attorney general, but lawmakers passed on him after he was accused of making homophobic and sexist comments.
	Roy InnisThe head of the Congress of Racial Equality, a civil rights organization now known as a climate-denying astroturf outfit. While representing the United States at a UN arms conference in 2001, Innis explained, "The Rwanda genocide would not have happened if the Tutsis had had even one or two pistols to fight back with."
	Ronnie G. Barrett Founder of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing and inventor of the .50 sniper rifle, which can penetrate armor from more than 4,500 feet and is legal for civilian purchase in 49 states.
	Carl T. Rowan Jr. Formerly a cop, FBI agent, and vice president for the private-security firm Securitas.* He is the son of columnist Carl Rowan Sr., who once caught a teenager swimming in his backyard pool and wounded him with an unlicensed handgun.
	Larry Craig The former Idaho senator sponsored a 2005 law protecting gun makers from liability in connection with their products being used by criminals. The NRA spent $1.8 million on lobbying Congress that year.
	Grover NorquistThe president of Americans for Tax Reform is a NRA Life Member and member of the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association. After Newtown, he echoed the NRA's line: "We have got to calm down and not take tragedies like this, crimes like this, and use them for political purposes."

More: See a complete list of current NRA board members.

* Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated that Carl T. Rowan Jr. is currently employed by Securitas, based on his bio on the NRA site. Securitas told Mother Jones that it no longer employs him.

Current members of the NRA board of directors

Joe M. Allbaugh William H. Allen Dr. Thomas P. Arvas Scott L. Bach William A. Bachenberg Frank E. Bachhuber Jr. M. Carol Bambery Bob Barr Ronnie G. Barrett Clel Baudler David E. Bennett J. Kenneth Blackwell Matt Blunt Dan Boren Robert K. Brown Pete Brownell Dave Butz J. William "Bill" Carter Ted W. Carter Richard Childress Patricia A. Clark Allan D. Cors Charles L. Cotton, David G. Coy Larry E. Craig

John L. Cushman William H. Dailey Joseph P. Debergalis Jr. R. Lee "The Gunny" Ermey Edie P. Fleeman Joel Friedman Sandra S. Froman Tom Gaines James S. Gilmore III Marion P. Hammer Maria Heil Graham Hill Stephen D. Hornady Susan Howard Roy Innis H. Joaquin Jackson Curtis S. Jenkins David A. Keene Tom King Herbert A. "Herb" Lanford Jr. Karl A. Malone Carolyn Dodgen Meadows John F. Milius Bill Miller Owen Buz Mills Cleta Mitchell

Grover G. Norquist Oliver L. North Robert "Bob" Nosler Johnny Nugent Ted Nugent Lance Olson Timothy W. Pawol James W. Porter II Peter "Jay" Printz Todd J. Rathner Wayne Anthony Ross Carl T. Rowan Jr. Dr. Don Saba Robert E. Sanders William H. Satterfield Ronald L. Schmeits Tom Selleck John C. Sigler Leroy Sisco Dwight D. Van Horn Linda Walker Howard J. "Walt" Walter J.D. Williams Robert J. Wos Don E. Young

Source: NRA

Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons (Selleck, Nugent, North, Ermey, Innis), NRA (Hammer, Malone, Clark, Keene, Ross, Rowan, Craig), Soldier of Fortune (Brown), Barrett Firearms (Barrett), Grover Norquist/Mother Jones (Norquist)

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Dave Gilson is a senior editor at Mother Jones. Read more of his stories, follow him on Twitter, or contact him at dgilson (at) motherjones (dot) com. RSS | TWITTER

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• Was Hitler Really a Fan of Gun Control?

  Detangling the history behind an over-the-top argument for unregulated firearms.
  http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/nra-board-members-selleck-nugent?page=1

GOP Report Finds No Connection Between White House And ‘Fast And Furious’ & Scathing GOP report on 'Fast and Furious' blames five ATF officials 31&30JUL12

FOR all their trying the gop / teabagger led House committee couldn't find anything to tie Pres Obama to the failure of "Fast & Furious". If they are really concerned about gun smuggling into Mexico they should stand up to the nra and actually address the issue of illegally imported assault rifles and tighten gun sales and background checks in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. See more on this on my earlier post VIDEO: U.S. Guns, The Awful, Shocking Truth 2AUG12 http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/video-us-guns-awful-shocking-truth.html
From Think Progress and The Hill...
GOP Report Finds No Connection Between White House And ‘Fast And Furious’ |
  Despite insistence from GOP leadership that the White House was behind the so-called “Fast and Furious” gunwalking program, a report from House Republicans released Tuesday names five officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms as culprits in the misguided effort. All five were reassigned before the release of the report — the first of three. The indictments in the report contradict House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) insistence that the President invoked executive privilege over the Justice Department’s information on ongoing investigations to protect his personal interests. The indication, however, is that the upcoming reports will try to tie the President to the program. It will “address the unprecedented obstruction of the investigation by the highest levels of the Justice Department, including the attorney general himself,” according to the Republicans who wrote the report.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/31/614491/fast-furious-report-white-house/

Scathing GOP report on 'Fast and Furious' blames five ATF officials

By Jordy Yager 

Republican investigators pinned the failures of “Operation Fast and Furious” on five officials in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in a scathing joint congressional draft report issued Monday evening.

The 211-page draft report, obtained by The Hill, called on the Obama administration and the Senate to bolster the leadership of the ATF — which has been without a permanent director for six years — in order to move beyond the failed gun-tracking operation that led House Republicans to place Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress last month.

“From the outset, the case was marred by missteps, poor judgments, and an inherently reckless strategy,” the report states.

Monday’s draft report was the first of three set to be issued by congressional Republicans on the botched operation that oversaw the sale of nearly 2,000 guns to straw buyers for Mexican drug cartels and may have contributed to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

The report announced that the House will move “soon” to “commence legal proceedings” to enforce the resolutions that placed Holder in contempt of Congress.

Republican staff for Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, prepared the report after investigating “Fast and Furious" for more than 18 months.

The report determined that five officials in the ATF were responsible, ranging from a former low-ranking special agent to the former acting head of the agency. Congressional investigators called attention to the weak leadership at the ATF and pushed for the agency to be strengthened.

“Strong leadership is needed at ATF to overcome the deep scars left by Operation Fast and Furious,” the report states. “Greater accountability within ATF would underscore that ineffective supervision and recklessness both have consequences.”

Specifically, the report pins blame on former Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division William Newell, former Deputy Assistant Director for Field Operations William McMahon, former Assistant Director for Field Operations Mark Chait, the former Deputy Director William Hoover, and former acting ATF director Kenneth Melson.

All five of the ATF officials who were singled out in the report have since been reassigned to other positions.

The report was compiled with the intention of looking at the problems surrounding “Fast and Furious” through the lens of the U.S. attorney’s office and the ATF.

The second of the three reports is expected to look at the alleged breakdown in management within Department of Justice headquarters with a special focus on the deputy attorney general’s office and the DOJ’s criminal division.

The final report is set to “address the unprecedented obstruction of the investigation by the highest levels of the Justice Department, including the attorney general himself” and “can only be prepared after the Justice Department fulfills its obligations to cooperate with the Congress and produce documents.”

Issa and Grassley, together with House GOP leadership, have pressed Holder for a cache of documents that relate to his department’s response to congressional inquiries on “Fast and Furious.”

The DOJ initially denied that it let guns “walk” ­— or knowingly fall into the hands of suspected criminals — in a letter to Grassley. That letter was later rescinded.

The report which is entitled: “Fast and Furious: The Anatomy of a Failed Operation,” was a culmination of four full committee hearings, 24 transcribed interviews, numerous telephone conversations with confidential witnesses, and thousands of documents received from the DOJ and “whistleblowers.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/241191-scathing-gop-report-on-fast-and-furious-blames-five-atf-officials

"Why was there no news coverage of this raid on the Arizona border? … Seizure was just five days ago. Right on the Arizona border!" 6APR12

RIGHT-WING extremist continue to circulate this false e mail from 2010, their intent is to fan the flames if ignorance and racial intolerance while the murder of Trayvon Martin has tension already high. It will do that among those to stupid to check the validity of the claims in the e mail, giving further proof to research linking conservatives to low-effort thinking (see earlier post Conservative Politics, 'Low-Effort' Thinking Linked In New Study 9APR12
http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/conservative-politics-low-effort.html ). And the really stupid part of this e mail makes reference to the weapons shown as destined to the U.S. when in fact Mexican drug cartels and criminal gangs get the vast majority of their weapons through sales and illegal smuggling from the U.S. (thanks to the nra opposition to reasonable gun control laws on gun sales and exports). From PolitiFact.......

The Truth-O-Meter Says:

"Why was there no news coverage of this raid on the Arizona border? … Seizure was just five days ago. Right on the Arizona border!"

Chain e-mail on Friday, April 6th, 2012 in an email

Chain email says media ignored recent 'raid on the Arizona border'

Share this story:

This photo, which a chain email says came from a 2012 Arizona border raid, came from a 2010 raid elsewhere in Mexico.

The photos tell a story.

But is it the one a chain email says they tell?

A screed popping into in-boxes in April 2012 says it depicts a raid on the U.S.-Mexico border, where U.S. border patrol, Mexican patrol, Arizona SWAT teams and "sheriff’s undercover agents" seized an impressive cache of assault weapons, ammunition, grenades and launchers.

More than two dozen photos support the narrative: Tarps covered with weapons. Men in military garb sorting clips loaded with bullets. Unmarked SUVs. Recovered uniforms.

Several images still carry Spanish-language captions.

"Why was there no news coverage of this raid on the Arizona border?" the email says. "Seizure was just five days ago. Right on the Arizona border!"

The message text includes a date: March 2, 2012.

A reader sent us the message, saying she had received it from at least three people in recent days.

We had to know: Did a significant raid take place in early March along the Arizona border that mainstream media failed to report?

‘WE MUST PROTECT OUR BORDERS!!!!!’

The email begins:

This is terrifying that we are seeing NONE of this on the news!!! WE MUST PROTECT OUR BORDERS!!!!!

This is the 2nd raid this year - this one took place on 3/2/12 at 3 am - Border Patrol, Mexican Patrol, AZ swat teams and sheriff's undercover agents. I worked with one of the agent's dad for 25+ years and he sent these pictures this afternoon.

3-7-2012

Our country is in BIG trouble....Why was there no news coverage of this raid on the Arizona border?

Definitely NOT Jose wishing to come pick lettuce!

This is exactly why we MUST support ARIZONA.

This seizure was just five days ago. Right on the Arizona border! This is but one seizure that has taken place along the border over the past year. There have been many more like this (but you won't hear about it on major media news). Not a mention on ABC - CBS - NBC - MSNBC - or CNN news- - even on FOX. These photos and reports come from a Spanish language news source.

Thank God for the border patrol and that they did not allow this to get in. Huge stash of assault rifles (grenade launchers in center!).

So, was there an Arizona border raid?

Um, no.

The first clues are in the Spanish-language photo captions. They refer just to an operation by "the military," near the municipality of Higueras. One says the raid happened at 10 a.m. about a third of a mile from the Marin-Higueras highway. Another says at least 25 offenders escaped to the mountains.

Any reference to the United States? No. Arizona? No. March 2012? No.

A quick Web search for roads identified in the photo captions turns up another false note: a YouTube video posted not last month, but in May 2010. It includes the same images repeated in the email message.

The Mexican town of Higueras, it turns out, is about 800 miles from the Arizona border. It’s more than 130 miles from Nuevo Laredo, Texas. (Or, by another measure, about 70 miles from the U.S. border.)

Snopes debunked a version of this chain email in August 2010.

A Newsweek article on May 17, 2010, says the Mexican military discovered a major training camp run by the Zetas drug cartel. Maybe you heard about the raid — back when it actually happened.

Our ruling

A chain email in April 2012 recycles images from a raid that happened nowhere near Arizona, and certainly not on March 2, 2012. "Why was there no news coverage of this raid on the Arizona border?" it says. "Seizure was just five days ago. Right on the Arizona border!" You didn’t see it on the news for an excellent reason: It’s not news. It’s instead a ridiculous claim that warrants a rating of Pants on Fire.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/apr/10/chain-email/chain-email-says-media-ignored-recent-raid-arizona/

About this statement:

Published: Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 at 3:27 p.m.
Subjects: Border Security
Sources:
Chain email sent April 6, 2012

YouTube, "revientan en Higueras ,Nuevo León. narcocampamento," uploaded May 11, 2010

Google Maps, Agua Prieta, Ariz. to Higueras, Mexico, accessed April 10, 2012

Google Maps, Nuevo Laredo, Texas, to Higueras, Mexico, accessed April 10, 2012

Snopes, Arizona Border Arsenal, Aug. 18, 2010

Newsweek, "Is the Flow of U.S. Weapons to Mexican Drug Cartels Increasing Under Obama?" May 17, 2010
Written by: Becky Bowers
Researched by: Becky Bowers
Edited by: Martha M. Hamilton

Three Victories against the NRA in 24 hours! 19JAN12

VICTORIES in the courts against the nra and their extremist agenda. From the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.....

Donate    Forward

Your support makes this possible! Dear Craig, Last week the gun lobby lost big, and supporters of common sense gun laws won big. With help from Brady's Legal Action Project (LAP), courts ruled against gun lobby challenges to gun laws in three important cases: In Washington, D.C. a federal judge dismissed a gun lobby challenge to an Obama Administration rule requiring that gun dealers in the Southwest border states notify law enforcement of bulk sales of semi-automatic rifles, a key indicator of gun trafficking. The court agreed with an amicus brief filed by LAP contending that ATF had authority to enforce the rule. A federal judge upheld Los Angeles County’s strong concealed carry restrictions, agreeing with an amicus brief filed by LAP. This victory follows victories at the district court level in similar cases in Yolo County and San Diego County, in which LAP also filed amicus briefs. A federal judge upheld New Jersey’s strong laws limiting the public carry of handguns, throwing out the Second Amendment Foundation’s challenge. Echoing LAP’s amicus brief, the judge stated that "the Second Amendment does not include a general right to carry handguns outside the home." But the gun lobby wants to strike down these laws and will do everything in its power to fight back. We need your help to stop them. The gun lobby has already stated that it will appeal these defeats and our LAP lawyers are preparing to fight again. You know that we cannot match the gun lobby’s vast financial resources — but with your help we can continue to beat them in the courts. With your help we won these three cases. Please help us continue to defeat the gun lobby with a special gift today. It will make a huge difference to our efforts. Sincerely, Jonathan Lowy Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Tell President Obama: Stop Gun Smuggling to Mexico 29AUG11

THE horrible violence in Mexico is directly linked to guns from the U.S. and the drug market in the U.S. We can do more to address both problems, and one of the most effective actions we can take is to do everything possible to stop the flow of guns into Mexico. President Obama can take action the doesn't require congressional approval, he must decide whether he has the moral courage to stand up to the nra and take these steps to help the Mexican government in their battle against the drug cartels. Please click the links or header to sign the petition calling on Pres Obama to take decisive action....

Donate    Forward

Tell President Obama: Stop Gun Smuggling to Mexico Sign the Petition Today! Dear Friend, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has joined forces with civil rights groups in Mexico to call on President Obama to stem the flow of illegal guns being trafficked from the United States into Mexico. Please sign the petition urging President Obama to take 3 specific actions to stop gun smuggling from the U.S. to Mexico. These actions do not require the approval of the U.S. Congress. Click Here to Sign the Petition Over the past four years, roughly 40,000 people have been killed in Mexico's "drug war".  Many of the guns that fuel this violence were smuggled over the border from the U.S. to Mexico. The violence must stop. We support the new "Stop Gun Smuggling" campaign and we need your help to get it off the ground. Thank you for taking the time to sign the petition and make your voice heard! Sincerely, Brian Malte, Director of Mobilization Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Sign the petition today! Find Your Chapter Facebook it Donate

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Donate    Forward   © Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

You can also mail a check to:  Brady Campaign · 1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100 · Washington, DC 20005 The Brady Campaign, along with its sister organization, the Brady Center, is the nation's largest, non-partisan grassroots organization leading the fight to protect you, your family and your community from gun violence.