Nearly all the coverage of the March for our Lives events today predictably looked like a scene straight out of central casting. That was particularly true of the coverage on CNN. Trust me. I sat through hours of it because, well… it’s Saturday and I’m the weekend editor, so that’s just how it goes. There was a decided, shall we say… “tone” to CNN’s broadcast. This was particularly true of the chyron messages which didn’t change overly much throughout the day. Here’s one which I captured straight from the television. Notice anything odd about it?

“MASSIVE CROWDS RALLY COAST TO COAST TO DEMAND GUN CONTROL”

Wait a minute. I thought this was a rally to end gun violence in schools? Or at least a more generic call to “action.” When did the focus of the entire thing become “gun control?” Ah, well. Nevermind, I guess. This is CNN.

They were at least revealing some of the conveniently repeated themes on display with the shirts and signs in the crowds. A more suspicious person might guess that this was all being orchestrated from somewhere. Here’s one of them which caught my eye immediately.

Yes, that’s one of the CNN hosts interviewing a speaker at the event. But look in the background at the green sign being held up by a teenager. “Abolish the 2nd Amendment.” These kids may be any number of things, but subtle ain’t one of them.

And then there was this. But don’t you dare suggest that their parents were helping them.

A six-year-old just handed this to me. pic.twitter.com/9osX7LNpFj — Laura Koenig (@2nickels) March 24, 2018

Wow. As I said on Twitter earlier, those kindergartners are really upping their game in mastering printers and label making.

But even if they’re focusing on political action, it’s good to encourage the young people to vote as soon as they are of age. And school safety should be an issue which is of concern to everyone across party lines. At least it’s not a promotional campaign for only one party, right? Ahem…

Yes, some of those attendees look a bit long in the tooth for high school, but they were all mixed in together. And that sign has “Greed Over People” (GOP… get it? I know, it’s subtle, right?) in a circle with a strike through it. And then there were a LOT of these:

Others carried signs reading, “GOP = NRA Vote Them Out.” Yes, despite the fact that a lot of these kids were barely aware of the NRA (if at all) just last semester, everyone was blaming the NRA. That’s easy to do when you don’t realize that the NRA is the biggest organization pushing gun safety out there and that nobody from the NRA has ever shot up a school. Some of the well “prepared” activists were far less subtle when it came to the organization. CNN covered one student who was handing out “contracts” for parents to sign, swearing they would never vote for candidates who refuse to “prioritize children’s safety over guns.”

Adam Buchwald, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivor, is passing out contracts to parents today at the March for Our Lives in Parkland, Florida. The contract asks parents to vote for “ethical legislators who will prioritize children’s safety over guns.” Every parent CNN’s Kaylee Hartung has talked to today has signed the contract. Buchwald has given speeches about he and his classmate’s mission to reform gun laws.

And then, of course, there was David Hogg, who apparently has not been back to school since the shooting. I’m just guessing about that, but the guy is on television so much it’s difficult to imagine how he would find time to do any homework. I once again had a moment to feel somewhat bad for David, wondering how he will react when he’s inevitably abandoned by the Democrats and left behind after they determine that his usefulness has come to an end and the next shiny thing comes along to catch their eye. His speech was all about voting in November, without a word about how they propose to actually make schools safer. I was going to embed that here, but it was simply too sad to watch. Instead, I’ll share with you a short video from Colion Noir who had a few words for Hogg. I should warn you in advance it contains a few bits of spicy language.