Why don't both the media and USG cut to the chase rather than the long and annoying manufacturing of consent?
Clearly, the picture being painted is that veterans, both active and returning, cannot be trusted and are all part of the newly designated group of 'homegrown terrorists'. In addition, those who feel that owning a gun is an integral part of American culture and the Constitution may soon have to think about that while being detained as 'mentally ill', and having their guns confiscated (
link) (
link). In case you all didn't know, supporting the second amendment is now considered a mental disorder.
Where Fast and Furious failed, the recent spate of shootings in Colorado and elsewhere (NYC) have not skipped a beat. Like clockwork, such events have heightened the media sensationalism, jingoism, and rhetoric for increased gun control as they lavish the news headlines and speeches with such buzzwords as: 'homegrown terrorists,' 'mental disorder', 'high capacity magazine', etc.
I don't mean to say the above story is false in any way, only that the media has a choice on what to report and how to report it. There is a reason why the more than 29 people shot or wounded in Chicago in the past week has not made national headlines as the NYC or Colorado shootings have. There is a pattern, a picture, they are painting with their broad brushes, and it involves a careful crafting of Constitutional supporters, gun owners, and returning veterans as the new clear and present dangers to our country- all the better to justify their increased militarization and grab for control and power.