Archive for the ‘News’ Category

The Push to Expose ATF’s Gunrunner Cover-up Continues

June 14, 2011
Leaders from Gun Owners of America attended a congressional hearing yesterday where Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) laid the groundwork for what could, ultimately, send several federal agents to jail.
Rep. Issa, who has been investigating the scandal known as Project Gunrunner, questioned a panel of witnesses with experience in investigating corruption in the Executive Branch.
The question of the day was: Does the Justice Department have to respond to subpoenas relating to Project Gunrunner — a scandal which involves corruption in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)?
So far, the Department of Justice has sat on many crucial documents that have been subpoenaed by Congressman Issa.
But, to a man, each one of the witnesses on this star-studded panel — many of them former Democrat operatives — all told Rep. Issa that (short of some unforeseen circumstance) the Obama Administration SHOULD COMPLY with the subpoenas and give Congress the documents it is requesting (but which are currently being withheld).
Last week, GOA once again called upon the Congress to cut funding for a program that allows the Obama Administration to put guns into the hands of suspected gun smugglers, and then to turn around and blame law-abiding gun owners for the problem!
Battle heating up over anti-gun ObamaCare
In other efforts to cut anti-gun spending, the battle to repeal ObamaCare is still being waged. But recent news over budget battles in Congress are somewhat distressing.
If Congressional Quarterly is correct, gun owners are going to be disappointed with a deal that is being hammered out right now on Capitol Hill. In exchange for raising the debt ceiling, said CQ last week, politicians are promising that many spending cuts will not occur until “the next decade or longer.”
This is a real problem. As pointed out by RedState.org last week, it will be ‘difficult, if not impossible, for Congress to enforce these promised cuts on a future Congress.’
That means we would get increased spending (for things like anti-gun ObamaCare) with a promise of cuts in the future that will almost certainly never occur.
We need to let our Congressmen know that a vote to raise the debt ceiling WITHOUT voting to cut ObamaCare NOW is an anti-gun vote. Don’t let them sell you on the phony promise that they will get spending cuts 20 years down the road. Those cuts will never materialize!
According to RedState last week: “Members of the Tea Party and the conservative movement need to be prepared for some serious disappointment if news reports are correct.”
Why? Because in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, politicians are promising future cuts to spending which will occur so far in the future that “many of these politicians cutting the deal will be long gone from Washington, DC.”
That’s why we need to demand spending cuts right now. And cutting anti-gun ObamaCare and Project Gunrunner would be two good places to start.
ACTION: Please click here to send a email urging your Representative to vote NO on raising the debt ceiling unless there are REAL CUTS to defund ObamaCare and Project Gunrunner that will take place immediately.

About to Take Center Stage: Project Gunrunner!

June 13, 2011
A story that Gun Owners of America has been following over the past several months is ready to explode next week in the news.
If you have been reading our newsletter, The Gun Owners, or watching our videos on the GOA website, you know what Project Gunrunner is all about. It refers to an operation where the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosives (ATF) was working with gun shops, approving firearms purchases to buyers who were suspected smugglers.
While this scandalous activity remained hidden for some time, it really went viral in the news media after one of the guns sold to a smuggler was later used to murder Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December.
Since then, GOA has been lobbying the Congress to hold Congressional hearings to investigate the corruption in the Obama administration, specifically in relation to Project Gunrunner. GOA has corresponded with President Obama on this issue and has asked it members several times to urge their legislators to call for hearings themselves.
Well, there is good news to report. Beginning next week, the House of Representatives is set to commence hearings into Project Gunrunner — which also goes by the names of Project Gunwalker or Fast and Furious.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is the point man leading the investigation on the House side. His hearings are sure to reveal much new information, but even so, he has already discovered quite a bit.
Project Gunrunner “was authorized at the highest level,” Issa told a radio audience this past Tuesday. “This decision was made at least by people in the Office of Attorney General Holder.”
This underscores the tremendous hypocrisy and antagonism against gun owners on part of the Obama Administration. After all, officials (like the President) were blaming American gun stores for letting firearms slip into gun smugglers’ hands and, thus, fueling much of Mexico’s violence.
But all the while, the administration was quietly approving the sales of those firearms to those very same gun smugglers.
“[The ATF] apparently did this,” said GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt in his letter to the President, “in part, so it could push gun control in Congress by demonstrating that guns used in Mexican violence came from the United States.”
ACTION: Please urge your Representative to closely follow the upcoming hearings into Project Gunrunner. Tell them that it is unconscionable for Congress to be funding a program that allows the Obama Administration:
1. To put guns into the hands of suspected gun smugglers; and then,
2. To turn around and blame law-abiding gun owners for the problem!
Project Gunrunner needs to be defunded IMMEDIATELY!

Weinergate: More of the same

June 7, 2011

So, another politician that’s a pig…

This isn’t news, and that’s about all that will be published about yet another scandal involving a politician.

Well, well, well… Here we go again!

June 6, 2011

Politics. It’s an ever interesting field for many, and it does have a direct impact on our lives. What do you look for in a politician?

Are you a “bring home the bacon” supporter type? As in what will this or that person do for my home area?

Perhaps you are a singular social issue type. Mysandry (male hating sexist that believes that a woman can do no wrong.) Or you beat dead horse’s over gay rights, and look for insinuations or attacks at every opportunity based upon a belief. Then toss out red herring’s as though they are facts..?

Perhaps you are really into the Constitution and Bill of Rights? (Yup, I plead guilty to belonging in this group!)

Then there are always those that are going to save the world. After all, why should some have more than others..? Why are some more powerful than others, and so on goes the line. All Gore and the man made global warming extremist’s are a fair example of this group. Even if they are going to get rich by proclaiming themselves our saviors…

Are you an anarchist pretending to be a libertarian? A Libertarian with a solid streak of anarchist inside of you..?

Believe in pure democracy? That the majority position should always rule? Does the Utilitarian come out in you more often than not?

Just food for thought…

 

2012 is Coming Folks…

June 6, 2011

My good friend and fellow blogger Texas Fred has yet again hit one out of the ball park. This one is so good that it simply has to be shared. Please hit the links to really get the flavor of this article.

I have a blogging buddy out in California that goes by the handle of *wirecutter*. His blog
Knuckle Draggin’, is rude, crude, socially unacceptable in some circles, brutally honest and absolutely hilarious, in a SICK sort of way. Needless to say, I LOVE IT!

This is one of his posts that is not unacceptable, not in the circles I run in, it is that brutally honest thing I just mentioned. Please read 2012 is coming, folks and comment here, and on wirecutters blog too!

2012 is Coming Folks

An old West Virginia Hillbilly saying: Ya can’t get the water to clear up until you get the pigs outta the creek.

*If any other of our presidents had doubled the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?*

*If any other of our presidents had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? *

*If any other of our presidents had criticized a state law that he admitted he never even read, would you think that he is just an ignorant hot head? *

*If any other of our presidents joined the country of Mexico and sued a state in the United States to force that state to continue to allow illegal immigration, would you question his patriotism and wonder who’s side he was on? *

*If any other of our presidents had pronounced the Marine Corps like Marine Corpse, would you think him an idiot? *

*If any other of our presidents had put 87,000 workers out of work by arbitrarily placing a moratorium on offshore oil drilling on companies that have one of the best safety records of any industry because one foreign company had an accident, would you have agreed? *

*If any other of our presidents had used a forged document as the basis of the moratorium that would render 87,000 American workers unemployed would you support him? *

*If any other of our presidents had been the first President to need a Teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes? *

*If any other of our presidents had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take his First Lady to a play in NYC, would you have approved? *

*If any other of our presidents had reduced your retirement plan holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved? *

*If any other of our presidents had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? *

*If any other of our presidents had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? *

*If any other of our presidents had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought it a proud moment for America ? *

*If any other of our presidents had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia would you have approved? *

*If any other of our presidents had visited Austria and made reference to the nonexistent “Austrian language,” would you have brushed it off as a minor slip? *

*If any other of our presidents had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved? *

*If any other of our presidents had stated that there were 57 states in the United States, wouldn’t you have had second thoughts about his capabilities? *

*If any other of our presidents would have flown all the way to Denmark to make a five minute speech about how the Olympics would benefit him walking out his front door in his home town, would you not have thought he was a self-important, conceited, egotistical jerk. *

*If any other of our presidents had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, wouldn’t you have winced in embarrassment? *

*If any other of our presidents had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?*

*If any other of our presidents’ administrations had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11? *

*If any other of our presidents had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence? *

*If any other of our presidents had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America, would you have ever approved. *

*If any other of our presidents had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved? *

*So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive?

*Can’t think of anything? Don’t worry. He’s done all this in 24 months — so you have that much time to come up with an answer .*

*An’ how about all those vacations he & Michelle take constantly, (with a more than a full entourage’) paid for by American tax-payers? *

Every statement and action in this post is factual and directly attributable to Barrack Hussein Obama. Every bumble is a matter of record and completely verifiable.

Wirecutter and Knuckledraggin’, not for the weak hearted… But I really feel a distinct kinship with the guy! :P

If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you’re not a racist, you’ll have to vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you’re not an idiot!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Memorial Day…

May 29, 2011

Memorial Day was originally about World War One. It has come to symbolize the ultimate sacrifice made by all Veterans though, from every conflict, that have died in service to our nation.

Long time readers know that I am the son of a Veteran killed in action. That was a long time ago. Yet, my Fathers sacrifice, like that of so many others is no less relevant today than it was in 1953. Nor are the deaths of all those that died that we might live free. I feel more of less like it is a duty to remember those that died, and what they died for. Hence, this blog is primarily devoted to politics, social issues, and the American way of life.

Is America perfect? Of course not. We have made many mistakes over the course of time. Yet America, unlike many other nations actually does work at correcting things. That, among other things, is our legacy.

I for one, believe that we have a duty to protect and defend those things that others paid the ultimate sacrifice for. Things like the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The ideas expressed and debated in the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers. Inalienable Rights, and things of that nature. Hence, I take umbrage with those that I consider to be traitorous. Usually noted here as “The Usual Suspects.” I am a philosophical Libertarian, and will ever remain so.

I owe that to those that gave all, and to my ancestors.

 

Immediate Action Needed – Window Closes Tuesday!!

May 27, 2011

Copy the text of the email below or rewrite it in your own words and email it to:

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov

The comment period for the ATF’s proposed “temporary,” emergency regulation requiring firearms dealers to file reports every time someone purchases more than one semi-auto long gun was reopened, but that comment period closes this Tuesday, May 31.

During the last comment period on this gun owners were outnumbered by the prohibitionists.  That should NEVER happen!  We outnumber them 10 to one and our response to outrageous proposals like this should reflect that numbers advantage.

 

The ATF claims the reporting is necessary to combat the flow of firearms across the border into Mexico, but in light of the “Gunwalker” scandal currently being investigated in Congress and by the Justice Department Inspector General’s office, it looks like ATF is the problem, not the solution.

Some implications of the Project Gunwalker scandal are that ATF has already been receiving significant, voluntary cooperation from gun dealers in the border states, but that the agency has used that cooperation more to build inflate the numbers of illegally “trafficked” weapons as a way of justifying their existence.

Beyond the complications of Project Gunwalker, the idea of requiring reporting of multiple long gun sales is clearly in conflict with established congressional mandates and restrictions on ATF’s authority.  By attempting to push through this major regulatory change without congressional approval (which they could not get), ATF is seriously overstepping their legal authority.

Please copy and paste the following note into an email or write your own and get it submitted as soon as possible.  Also, please do the following: Cc info@FirearmsCoalition.org so we have some record of responses; Send copies to your Senators and Representative and ask that they send their own notes of opposition to ATF; Be sure to repost this Alert to all of your friends and every pro-gun forum you can find.  We must have an overwhelming response to this.

 

Sample comment:

 

To: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov

Subject: Oppose Regulation Expanding Multiple Sale Reporting

 

I am writing to oppose the Information collection action to register multiple sales of certain rifles with BATFE  from the 04/29/2011 Federal Register: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-04-29/pdf/2011-10355.pdf

This information collection is both illegal and unnecessary.

*  The action proposed is outside the statutory grant of authority to record information about multiple sales of firearms.  Title 18 U.S.C. § 923(g)(3)(A) specifically grants the authority to collect multiple sale information on handguns and revolvers.  Other firearms are excluded and there is no implied authority to extend this reporting requirement to rifles or any other type of firearm.

*  Analysis of the number of firearms seized shows that Mexico is being primarily supplied with firearms by South American countries, NOT the United States.  In fact, a STRATFOR report indicates that fully 90% of of the firearms traced in Mexico are NOT coming from the United States, contrary to assertions in the mainstream media: http://wwwprod-1756134246.us-west-1.elb.amazonaws.com/index.php?q=weekly/20110209-mexicos-gun-supply-and-90-percent-myth.

Additionally, Wikileaks cables have shown the US Government is at least partially responsible for supplying Mexico from the United States: http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2011/02/pentagon-fingered-source-narco-firepower-mexico.  These firearms are NOT from the US commercial market.

*  Source documents of the BATFE uncovered by US Senator Grassley and US Representative Issa show that BATFE has been complicit in supplying Mexican Narco-terrorist forces with firearms: http://www.scribd.com/doc/49971654/2011-03-03-CEG-to-DOJ-ATF.

*  ”FFL” holders are already required by law to respond to BATFE requests for information on firearms distribution pursuant to criminal investigations:  Title 18 U.S.C. § 923(g)(7).

*  The regulation contains no provision for the destruction of information collected, which establishes a nationwide registry of “certain types of firearms” as proposed. Because of this the regulation, as proposed, is illegal under Title 18 U.S.C. § 926(a).  ”No such rule or regulation … may require that records required to be maintained under this chapter or any portion of the contents of such records, be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof, nor that any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or disposition be established.”

There is a grave potential for this regulation to unduly burden citizens who are collectors or must obtain purchase permits at the local or state level to possess firearms. The proposed regulation does not say what the agency intends to do with the information but ostensibly it would be for criminal investigations. Subjecting law abiding gun owners to this type of investigation under the guise of “information collection” is an overt attempt to prevent them from exercising their 2nd Amendment rights to purchase and own firearms.

This regulatory action should not be approved.

 

 

# # #

 

Whether you use this specific language, edit it, or compose a letter of your own, please take action immediately!  Do not put off sending a comment!

Comments must be received by Tuesday May 31, 2011.

Repost — Repost — REPOST!!

Please Send Your Comments Immediately and cc to info@FirearmsCoalition.org.

 

Thank you for your Action!

Jeff Knox

Director, The Firearms Coalition

www.FirearmsCoalition.org

Senate Rejects Efforts to Protect Gun Records from ATF

May 27, 2011

 

The Senate yesterday tabled an amendment by Senator Rand Paul which would have protected 4473’s and other gun records from blanket searches by the ATF under the PATRIOT Act.

While some Senators withstood the heat from their leadership to protect your gun rights, many others buckled under the Washington-generated pressure.

Please click here to see how your Senators voted, and who it was that betrayed you!

Gun Exemption in so-called Patriot Act Legislation needed!

May 24, 2011
The House and Senate Republican and Democratic leadership have reached a “deal” on extending three expiring provisions of post-9/11 legislation for four years. Following a procedural vote on Monday night, the real battle begins on the bill.
Gun Owners of America worked with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on legislation to exempt 4473’s (the form all buyers fill out when a gun is purchased from a licensed dealer) from that statute’s broad provisions. Sen. Paul will offer that amendment this week, assuming Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is not able to block the amendment from being offered.
Here’s a major concern: Assume the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) goes to the “secret court” (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or “FISA” court) and argues, without anyone else in the room, that ALL 4473’s should be seized as “business records” because they are relevant to a terrorism investigation.
Can it do that? It’s certainly a big enough danger to warrant our concern and that of Sen. Paul.
In 1986, Congress enacted the McClure-Volkmer Firearms Owners Protection Act to limit BATFE access to 4473’s and other gun records. Such records can only be viewed as part of a “bona fide criminal investigation,” in connection with a trace, or pursuant to an annual inspection.
But under McClure-Volkmer, the BATFE clearly could not seize every 4473 in the country because of a generalized terrorism investigation.
The Paul amendment would make it clear that McClure-Volkmer is still applicable law and was not overturned by 9/11 legislation.
 
ACTION: Click here to contact your two Senators. Ask them to support the Paul amendment and to oppose any effort to invoke cloture (shut off debate) on the bill in order to make the Paul amendment out of order.
To be sure, that isn’t the only problem with the Patriot Act. Read more about this subject at  Rocky Mountain Gun Owners

Epic Fail obama:Obama adds new position to crush negative coverage online

May 24, 2011
In anticipation of a brutal 2012 re-election bid, Barack Obama has added a new position to the White House staff. Jesse Lee is now charged with crushing negative coverage of Obama online. His title is ‘Director of Progressive Media and Online Response.’
With virtually no opposition or challenge to the President offered by the mainstream media, the Obama machine has set its sights on the Internet, where there are significant demands of accountability from this Administration. If Obama can successfully smash such responsible journalism, then he will have the entirety of the news coverage in his hip pocket.
Continue reading at Anthony G. Martin’s Conservative Examiner.
Now, I ask the varied readers of this blog. Was this not to be expected? How many of us will end up censured, or worse..? Just who is this Jesse Lee? I’m sure that much more will be known about that character in the very near future. Yet another Czar…