Paid actors?

I haven't posted much about the pushback on the Florida school children who are staging an all-out effort to get some gun control in this country, because it's disgusting and distracting from the work they're doing (for which, by the way, they have collected $3.5 million to pursue), but just to highlight one particular claim: they've been accused of being paid actors.

Let's have a look at a different case:

A student survivor of last week's mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school said he was asked by CNN to "write a speech and ask questions" for a town hall but declined to attend the event after "it ended up being all scripted," a claim the network is pushing back on.

He said his question was about using veterans as armed security guards at schools.

"I expected to be able to ask my questions and give my opinion on my questions," said Haab.

"I don't think that it's going get anything accomplished," he concluded. "It's not gonna ask the true questions that all the parents and teachers and students have."

The WPLG-TV report said that Haab wanted to ask a question about using veterans as armed security guards as a deterrent to school shootings.

  The Hill

This got him a spot on Tucker Carlson, with the predictable follow-up presidential tweet:

And that got a CNN rebuttal tweet.

"After seeing an interview with Colton Haab, we invited him to participate in our town hall along with other students and administrators from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School," [Richard Hudock, CNN's senior manager of public relations] said. "Colton’s father withdrew his name from participation before the forum began, which we regretted but respected."

"We welcome Colton to join us on CNN today to discuss his views on school safety," he said.

None of that makes any sense without some details about how the kid got on Tucker Carlson's show and an explanation of why his father pulled him out of the event.

Haab is a member of the junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) and shielded other Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students while the shooter went on his rampage, according to a CNN report after the massacre last week.

Haab reportedly "ushered 60 to 70 people to shelter in an open Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps room" and used "Kevlar sheets generally used for the Junior ROTC marksmanship program" to hide and shield those in the room the shooter and possible gunfire.

"We took those sheets, and we put them in front of everybody so they weren't seen, because they were behind a solid object and the Kevlar would slow the bullet down," Haab told CNN at the time.

"I didn't think it was going to stop it, but it would definitely slow it down to make it from a catastrophic to a lifesaving thing," he added.

Haab said he also believed that assistant football coach Aaron Feis, who was killed in the shooting while shielding students from the shooter, could have "stopped the threat" if he was armed.

"If coach Feis had had his firearm in school that day, I believe that he could have most likely stopped the threat," Haab told Fox News on Feb. 17.

Maybe, but a pretty long shot. Also, the deputy sheriff assigned to the school who was armed stayed outside even as he heard the shooting. He has resigned. I'm guessing he'll have to also be moving to another town. Maybe out of state.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

So, it looks like it was all a bit vague, and therefore subject to interpretation - or misinterpretation.



UPDATE:


Must be a Trump supporter.

UPDATE 2/28:

The father of a survivor of a mass shooting at a Florida high school admitted Tuesday that he altered an email exchange between him and CNN before sending it to other news outlets.

The Associated Press reported that Glenn Haab acknowledged omitting some words from an email conversation with a CNN producer, but said he did not do it on purpose.

  The Hill

Sure, pal.  You should be ashamed of yourselves.