NRA and Russian Money

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turkeestalker

New member
What is that old phrase?
Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see (read)?
Considering the date that phrase came to be, (1845?), and what forms of media were available at that time half was probably pretty close.
Compared to what forms of media are available today, their abundance and their ilk...
maybe half is being overly optimistic? ;)
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Cut through all the speculation and it boils down to one real thing. Either the NRA, through some of the people in it, broke some law(s), or they didn't.

IF there is proof that someone in the NRA has been breaking the law, in our name, then they should be identified and punished.

An accusation is not proof. An investigation is not proof. The findings of an investigation might be.

IF it comes to an actual investigation, if the NRA doesn't have every scrap of paper or electronic file about anything they are asked for, if they don't have it instantly available to turn over, they will be accused in the press of "stonewalling" or at the least being uncooperative.

We need to look at actual facts, and the law, and not just listen to the mob brandishing torches and pitchforks, chanting "burn the witch!!"

Personally, I find the idea of "Russia influencing the election through the NRA..." to be ludicrous. Does anyone actually think it was because Russian paid them that the NRA endorsed Trump over Clinton???

I'd think it was more like "thanks for the check for doing what I was going to do anyway..."

If some rules about how much can be given to whom, from where, (etc.) were broken, then the people who failed to do their "due diligence" need to pay for their failure. Aside from that, what is the issue??
 
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TXAZ

New member
Considering:
All the claims in the past 2 years on what the Russians (may have) done
The previous (insane?) claims of Mr. Wyden on virtually every area of world events
The number of attacks on NRA
Certain "news" organizations that don't appear to do much cross checking before running a sensational story

Why would you believe any of the diatribe?

The truth is out there, all you have to do to find it is discount un-credible sources.
 
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SSA

New member
The FBI is investigating a guy named Torshin. Torshin has had his picture taken with Putin. Torshin has had his picture taken at NRA conventions. That is just one example.
There are dozens, maybe hundreds of credible sources.
 
A

Aguila Blanca

Staff
SSA said:
The FBI is investigating a guy named Torshin. Torshin has had his picture taken with Putin. Torshin has had his picture taken at NRA conventions. That is just one example.
There are dozens, maybe hundreds of credible sources.
Click to expand...
Correlation does not equate to causation.

I'm an NRA member.

I've been to Russia.

So what?
 
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SPEMack618

New member
As have I.

Even more frightening, my Uncle was our Air Attache to Moscow in the early 90s. To this day, he is still in contact with some of his friends from the Russian Air Forces.

He is a life member of the NRA as well.

"Senior Air Force NRA member has ties to senior Russian air defense officials!
 
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turkeestalker

New member
Or you can Google 'NRA Russian money' and get over 3 million results.
Click to expand...

This same claim was made in a previous thread, and for curiosities sake I tried it.
855,000 was about all it came up with then, and is all it comes up with now.
Regardless of the number, since it's on the internet it must be true... uuh....bonjour?

Following a story for two years about a decade long Russian plot to elect Donald Trump as president... worthwhile endeavor.

Here is one sentence from the Rolling Stone article linked:

"It's all a big charade, basically," Glenn Simpson, founder of the research firm behind the infamous Steele Dossier, testified to the House Intelligence Committee.
Click to expand...

This totally credible Glenn Simpson guy is right once again... it IS all a big charade basically.
 
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Tom Servo

Staff
OK, guys. I'm gonna lay it on you. Here's what we have evidence of:

Some people in Russia sent some money to the NRA.

I know, right? Scandal!

Now let's parse the numbers. 23 people contributed a total of $2500 over a three-year period. That's $36/year per person. If I can throw a United States presidential election for that kind of scratch, sign me up.

The simpler, more likely answer is that there are 23 American business men, consultants, or students in Russia who are just keeping up with their magazine subscriptions. Note that none of that money went to the ILA, which does the actual lobbying, but to the NRA Foundation.

But that doesn't matter to a media who've been prodded to march in lockstep to an anti-NRA beat. They got themselves a story that had NRA, Russia, and money, and they ran with it under the expectation that people are too gullible to read past the headline. It's like a really annoying version of Mad Libs.
 
5

5whiskey

New member
Won't this Russia thing just go away? The only revelation out of this thing that bothered me a little was some of the NRA membership doing a "people to people" mission in Russia mere months after Crimea was annexed and a commercial airplane was shot down by a Russian SAM (fired by pro Russian ukrainians). even that isn't the end of the world. For all I know that trip was 3 years in the making and backing out wasn't simple. Torshin is a dead end imo. It's wanting to see the bogeyman sleeping in the NRAs bed since the media cant prove it slept in the presidents bed.
 
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Tom Servo

Staff
It's wanting to see the bogeyman sleeping in the NRAs bed since the media cant prove it slept in the presidents bed.
Click to expand...
The problem is the media and political landscape we have right now. They don't have to prove any of their allegations. If they're wrong, there's no pressure to retract or apologize. It's more profitable to run an attention-getting headline and collect the ad money from an audience preinclined to believe the allegations than it is to be an actual journalist.

So, we find ourselves living in the shadow of Harry Knowles and Steve Bannon and the public has real trouble distinguishing between real news and tabloid clickbait.

This is the real threat to the 1st Amendment and journalistic integrity, not some hostile quip from a frustrated politician.
 
4

4V50 Gary

Staff
How is this even an issue? If anyone received a lot of money from Russia, it's the losers of the last presidential election.
 
R

rickyrick

New member
Someone is in relationship with Russia, they’ve been taking our astronauts into space for years.
Roll my darn eyes.
 
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Buzzcook

New member
If anyone received a lot of money from Russia, it's the losers of the last presidential election.
Click to expand...
4V50 Gary: you got proof of that?
In a thread that questions the validity of legitimate news sources and various US intelligence agencies, to throw out an unfounded accusation seems ironic at best.
 
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DaleA

New member
Does anybody believe it is just a coincidence that at the NRA Foundation Banquet tonight there will be no RUSSIAN DRESSING option for the salads???
 
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