Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL)

Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
PO. Box 513, Newington, VA 22122 • 804-639-0600 • 703-372-3285 • 757-271-3705 • 540-446-5783

04/07/10 - Virginian-Pilot can't take the heat

Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Virginian-Pilot won't retract their intentional lies in their opinion piece 2. VCDL bus from Lynchburg to Second Amendment March in DC on the 19th - need head count! ************************************************************* 1. Virginian-Pilot won't retract their intentional lies in their opinion piece ************************************************************* Seems pretty clear that the Virginian-Pilot doesn't know what to do with the hot potato that they are holding. A couple of weeks ago they publish an opinion piece titled 'Gun activist hacks at Chief Jacocks,' that intentionally misstated what I had told Christina Nuchols during a telephone interview. Unfortunately for the paper, I recorded that conversation and have proof of what was said. I contacted the paper and asked to talk to the ombudsman - the person who referees such things and makes sure the paper prints a correction or retraction if necessary. I was told they didn't have an ombudsman (only real papers have on of those - what was I thinking?) I was told my only recourse was to send a Letter to the Editor. Not very professional of the Pilot, but I took what I could get. So I wrote an LTE, but, shockingly, it never got published! Who'da thunk it? I guess being concerned about the paper's credibility isn't a priority for the Virginian-Pilot. Anyway, here is what I emailed them on March 24th: To: letters*pilotonline.com Subject: Opinion piece has facts wrong I was interviewed by Christina Nuckols for the March 19th editorial, 'Gun activist hacks at Chief Jacocks.' The editorial's content does not match what I told Christina, and is pretty much just the opposite. Such inflammatory misstatements of my position may sell papers, but it is a poor way to run the Virginian-Pilot. Fortunately, I recorded the interview and that recording shows specifically that I did not level any insults at the rank-and-file Virginia Beach officers. In fact, I indicated that I trusted the Virginia Beach police officers and Commonwealth Attorneys to be able to drink responsibly while carrying a concealed handgun. I also pointed out that I would trust concealed handgun permit holders to do the same if the SB 334 had allowed them to do so. Additionally, I did not call Chief Jacocks a political hack, as I did not know his background. I had just pointed out generically that many police chiefs are appointed by City Councils and are not police officers who have worked their way up the ranks. When Christina pointed out how long Jacocks had been in police work, I said that I wouldn't consider him to be a political hack. Of course that's not what she wrote. (I will say that although the Chief worked his way up the ranks, that still doesn't mean he should be actively interfering with the rights of Virginia citizens to be able to defend themselves and certainly not doing so with his taxpayer provided badge on his chest.) Here is a link to the audio recording of that interview, taken on the afternoon of March 17th. That recording clears the air on this matter: http://www.vcdl.org/audio/DW_C0209.wav ************************************************************* 2. VCDL bus from Lynchburg to Second Amendment March in DC on the 19th - need head count! ************************************************************* The VCDL meeting last night in Lynchburg had a turnout of over 70 members! The previous Virginia Speaker of the House, S. Vance Wilkins, Jr., attended the meeting. Speaker Wilkins made a generous offer to donate enough money to cover half of a bus charter from Lynchburg to DC on the 19th! Currently we are looking at having 4 buses on that Monday: Richmond, Tidewater, Roanoke, and now Lynchburg. IF YOU HAVEN'T YET sent me an email to let me know if you are interested in taking such a bus ($25 per person), reply to this alert, change the subject to the departure city and the number of people in your party. Like this: Subject; Lynchburg 3 That way I can tabulate the emails using just the subject line and not have to open and read each one. The Board will be finalizing its decision on the buses in a day or two and I will get the word out to everyone. Please RSVP ASAP if you are planning on being on one of those buses. ------------------------------------------- ***************************************************************************