By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Continuing a string of admonishments for Barack Obama in the pages of the Washington Post, the newspaper’s popular “Fact Checker” recently awarded the president “three Pinocchios” for his assertion that it is easier for a teen to buy a Glock than it is to get a book.
During his remarks at the July 12 memorial for five murdered Dallas police officers, the president contended, “We flood communities with so many guns that it is easier for a teenager to buy a Glock than get his hands on a computer or even a book.”
However, according to the Fact Checker, that’s not true. The column noted, “It reminded us of a similar claim by Obama in March 2015, when he said, “There are neighborhoods where it’s easier for you to buy a handgun and clips than it is for you to buy a fresh vegetable.” In fact, he said a version of the comparison of guns and books at the time, as well. We awarded Three Pinocchios to a series of his odd exaggerations about guns, including the comparisons to buying vegetables.”
But Fact Checker awarded the president “three Pinocchios” for his assertion, which is the same as telling a large fib. In explaining this latest critique, the newspaper said, “It reminded us of a similar claim by Obama in March 2015, when he said, ‘There are neighborhoods where it’s easier for you to buy a handgun and clips than it is for you to buy a fresh vegetable.’ In fact, he said a version of the comparison of guns and books at the time, as well. We awarded Three Pinocchios to a series of his odd exaggerations about guns, including the comparisons to buying vegetables.”
That’s the same rating that Obama received back in 2013 from the Fact Checker after he repeatedly insisted that 40 percent of gun sales are conducted without background checks.
The Fact Checker uses from one to four Pinocchio images depending upon the seriousness of the canard. Pinocchio was the wooden puppet character from a Disney cartoon movie whose nose grew when he told a lie.
As the WaPo Fact Checker explained, “Federal law prohibits licensed firearms dealers from selling a handgun, such as a Glock, to people under 21 years old. It prohibits unlicensed people, like family, from selling or transferring handguns to anyone under 18. In most states, you need to be at least 18 to purchase and own a handgun.
“Public libraries, on the other hand, generally don’t have an age limit or a background check for children to get a library card and access books and computers for free,” the newspaper added.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation weighed in on this, because the gun industry, and particularly firearms dealers in Arizona, were both used and then abused as a result of the scandalous Operation Fast and Furious debacle that, to paraphrase Obama, flooded Mexico with illicit guns now being used by drug cartel killers.
That “gun walking” scandal occurred because the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed known or suspected gun runners to purchase some 2,000 firearms, and smuggle them into Mexico. Many of those guns have subsequently been recovered at Mexican crime scenes.
Obama provided cover to former Attorney General Eric Holder by extending executive privilege to thousands of subpoenaed documents until a federal court ordered their release. However, by the time those documents were turned over to Congress, the public had all but forgotten the story, and the media ignored it.
