Posts Tagged ‘United States’

Grilled Holder for lunch? Fast and Furious; Dead Americans and dead Mexicans. All for political gain.

December 13, 2011

Nearly a year ago I posted here about Operation Gun Runner, also known as Fast and Furious. I speculated at the time that the real reason for this botched operation was not for any noble cause. Nope, it was to justify the passing of ever more restrictions on your inalienable rights. Well, I suppose that the usual suspects had to come up somehow with a justification for their ninety percent lie…

The government’s “gun walking” scandal heated up a Capitol Hill hearing this week.

Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice, but Operation Fast and Furious dominated the discussion.

Holder, as he has already done numerous times in testimony before Congress, coninued his practice of stonewalling and deflecting blame for the failed scheme that led to thousands of firearms “walking” across the border into Mexico and into the hands of violent drug cartels.

Committee members grilled Holder on misleading Congress, not dealing appropriately with the individuals who called the shots on Fast and Furious and, even worse, for using the guns that the government allowed to “walk” to Mexico as an excuse for greater gun control in the U.S.

Fast and Furious Leading to More Gun Control

From his opening statement, Rep. Daryl Issa (R-CA), a chief congressional investigator looking into Fast and Furious, made clear that gun control, not crime control, is really the main objective of the Obama administration.

Rep. Issa pointed to recent ATF regulations to register many long-gun purchasers in southwest border states:

The idea that regulations, without any approval of Congress, to create databases in the southwestern states…clearly shows that, in fact, this administration is more interested in building databases, more interested in talking about gun control than actually controlling [the Fast and Furious guns].

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), a strong ally of gun owners, further pressed the point, assuring Holder that:

If the American people learned that the motivations for [Fast and Furious] was somehow to make a case to deprive them of their Second Amendment rights or to make a case to further the Department’s ability to further regulate gun rights within the United States, that would make them very angry.

Rep. Franks went on to read from an email between Mark Chait, ATF Field Operations Assistant Director, and Bill Newell, ATF’s Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious.  Chait wrote:

Bill – can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same [licensed gun dealer] and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks.

The demand letter Chait was referring to is a regulation (which is in violation of federal laws protecting gun owners’ privacy) requiring more than 8,500 firearms dealers in four states to report multiple sales of long guns to the ATF.

In other words, the Justice Department helped to create a huge mess, and is now seeking more authority to regulate firearms to clean it up.  At the same time, the Department has taken no action to hold anyone accountable within the government.

No Accountability at ATF

Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) questioned the Attorney General about holding specific people responsible for the government’s actions.

“Who is the person in the United States government that made the decision…to facilitate the guns going to Mexico,” Rep. Poe asked Holder, who claimed not to know.

After the hearing, Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren brought up that question to committee member Steve King (R-IA).

“Whoever was so stupid to authorize this operation…is still sitting there with the Justice Department because no one will tell us who the one is with such flawed judgment,” Van Susteren said.

King replied that, “If Eric Holder will not identify that person or answer that question, you have to wonder if Eric Holder isn’t the person.”

Holder remains defiant, and has rebuffed calls to step down or to fire those involved.

GOA Petitions Congress to Get ATF off the Backs of Gun Owners

 

President Obama and his Attorney General are clearly going after American gun owners, and they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal of more gun control.

Eric Holder should be fired immediately for his mishandling of Fast and Furious, and then further investigated for possible criminal wrongdoing.

 

But there needs to be more done, which is why GOA is urging Congress to take firearms out of the ATF’s jurisdiction.

The Fast and Furious scandal is not an isolated incident, but just the latest in a long string of abuses by the agency.  As far back as 1982, a Senate committee noted that ATF “has trampled upon the second amendment by chilling the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms by law-abiding citizens.”

But even in light of its many documented abuses, the agency has continued to grow in its budget, personnel, and mission.

This rogue, unconstitutional agency is dedicated to infringing on Americans’ fundamental right to keep and bear arms. And left unchecked, they will regulate it right out of existence.

If you haven’t already signed the petition, please do it today.  Citing a long string of agency abuses, it asks the Congress to exercise its constitutional authority to get the ATF out of the firearms business.  The petition goes directly to your Representative and two Senators.

The ATF has abused the rights of gun owners for far too long.  If enough Americans make their voices heard, we can do away with this unconstitutional agency.

So please, click here to sign the petition today, and then help spread the word.

SOURCE

Pakistan Redux: Yet another one…

November 27, 2011

Seems to me that neither the Pakistani government, nor ours / NATO can really be in any position to be pointing fingers. Yet another attack by our forces appears to have gone badly. Or did it? We hit them, our enemies, where we find them, and, all to often? They are being harbored, if not hidden within the territory of Pakistan.

That said, it would appear that the Pakistani’s intentionally protect people that have tried to harm ourselves or our allies. I mean, think about it, just for a minute or so… Alright, times up even though it only took a split second. Osama Bin Ladin was killed while hiding out in a Pakistan garrison city. Multiple terrorist’s have been removed from the chess board of life and sent to their virgins by our forces while within the Territory of, you guessed it, Pakistan.

This type of warfare, by definition, is unconventional. Not to mention that it is the only type of action that actually get’s results when dealing with enemies that swim among the fishes unnoticed. Will there be mistakes? Of course, there always are in this dirty business called war, and, sadly, innocents all to often pay the ultimate price when those mistakes are made.

Pakistan is, and should be, a natural ally of the United States, and NATO. After all, these same enemies of ours have vowed to destroy Pakistan on several occasions. That being the case I can understand them getting their panties in a wad over our incursions, at least publicly. They are after all a sovereign nation. Who really knows what is being said behind closed doors though? There could very well be more than a few officials and Generals sleeping better tonight because they know that since this or that bad guy is now with Allah and their hands are clean.

It is time that we drew our forces back from this adventure, and allow the Afghan’s to sink or swim. All the while maintaining our Special Operations forces war to continue on relentlessly pursuing those that would do us harm.

Newt Gingrich on Guns: A Mixed Record

November 10, 2011

Prior to the “Republican Revolution” of 1994, Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia had earned an A rating with Gun Owners of America. But that all changed in 1995, after Republicans were swept to power and Gingrich became Speaker of the House.

The Republicans gained the majority, thanks in large part to gun owners outraged by the Clinton gun ban. And upon taking the reins of the House, Speaker Gingrich said famously that, “As long as I am Speaker of this House, no gun control legislation is going to move in committee or on the floor of this House and there will be no further erosion of their rights.”

His promise didn’t hold up, however, and his GOA rating quickly dropped like a lead sinker to a “D.” In 1996, the Republican-led Congress passed the “gun free school zones act,” creating criminal safe zones like Virginia Tech, where the only person armed was a murderous criminal. Speaker Newt Gingrich voted for the bill containing this ban.1

The same bill also contained the now infamous Lautenberg gun ban, which lowered the threshold for losing one’s Second Amendment rights to a mere misdemeanor.2 Gun owners could, as a result of this ban, lose their gun rights forever for non-violent shouting matches that occurred in the home — and, in many cases, lose their rights without a jury trial.

While a legislator might sometimes vote for a spending bill which contains objectionable amendments, that was clearly NOT the case with Newt Gingrich in 1996. Speaking on Meet the Press in September of that year, Speaker Gingrich said the Lautenberg gun ban was “a very reasonable position.”3 He even refused to cosponsor a repeal of the gun ban during the next Congress — despite repeated requests to do so.4

Also in 1996, Speaker Gingrich cast his vote for an anti-gun terror bill which contained several harmful provisions. For example, one of the versions he supported (in March of that year) contained a DeLauro amendment that would have severely punished gun owners for possessing a laser sighting device while committing an infraction as minor as speeding on a federal reservation.5 (Not only would this provision have stigmatized laser sights, it would have served as a first step to banning these items.) Another extremely harmful provision was the Schumer amendment to “centralize Federal, State and Local police.”6

 

 


[1] Final passage of H.R. 3610, Sept. 28, 1996 at: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1996/roll455.xml . Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) warned his colleagues about the hidden dangers in H.R. 3610, and in regard to the Kohl ban, noted that it would “prohibit most persons from carrying unloaded firearms in their automobiles.”

[2] See Gingrich’s vote at: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1996/roll455.xml .

[3] Associated Press, “Gingrich Favors Handgun Ban for Domestic Abuse Convicts,” Deseret News, Sept. 16, 1996. The full quote reveals how much Speaker Gingrich had adopted the anti-gunners’ line of thinking: “I’m very much in favor of stopping people who engage in violence against their spouses from having guns,” the Georgia Republican said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I think that’s a very reasonable position.” But the fact that this gun ban covers misdemeanors in the home is primary evidence that NON-violent people have been subjected to lifetime gun bans for things like: shouting matches, throwing a set of keys in the direction of another person, spanking a child, etc.

[4] See H.R.1009, “States’ Rights and Second and Tenth Amendment Restoration Act of 1997,” introduced by Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R-ID).

[5] H.R. 2703, March 14, 1996 at: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1996/roll066.xml .

[6] S. 735, April 18, 1996 at: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1996/roll126.xml .

SOURCE

Will we be left with yet again holding our noses as we cast our votes..? Herman Cain‘s 999 plan will in fact raise taxes on virtually all Americans. That’s a really big no no for me. Romney is yet another RINO that would make the epic failure obama a shoe in if he were to run with Romney as his V. P. pick. Cain is also a suspect when it comes to being a closet gun grabber. Rick Perry has no real plan to deal with the invasion across our southern border, a deal breaker for me. Bachman needs to grow up politically. Ron Paul… is Ron Paul, what else can I say? Too be blunt, I have no use for Santorum, or any of the others, and in fact believe that they would be dangerous if placed into high office.

Still, I have to be considered a charter member of ABO, the anyone but obama group. Beyond that, the epic failure just might get reelected. To that end it is of utmost importance that we Conservatives and Libertarians see to it that both the Senate and House are solidly out of the hands of the Communist/Democrat/Progressive’s that are hell bent on destroying these United States. Election 2012 will, I believe, mark a turning point in American politics for years to come. Gary Nolan, a founder of the Libertarian Party, marked this election that way years ago while speaking at the Colorado convention. Something to do with election / political cycles.

Granted, no candidate is ever “perfect.” But compromising is simply not on the table when your core values are on the line. I say that along the lines of Barry Goldwater and it is a very good policy to follow. That takes a sort of moral courage that is, in reality, possessed by few people…

 

Questions and such; As the World (Election 2012) turns

November 2, 2011

All too often we seem to get caught up in things that are nothing but distractions. It’s like being on a deer or elk hunt, and focusing the cross hairs on the antlers. Sure, those are what will get you into the book and hang on the wall. Perhaps even on the cover of a magazine. But they don’t get to the heart of the matter, pun intended.

Let’s go over a few such things, in no particular order of importance.

Illegal immigration is a deal breaker for many Americans. Put a clamp on it, or you don’t get the vote from a pretty large number of Americans, including one heck of a lot of Americans of Mexican extraction. Hold your nose and vote appears to be what we are once again headed for on that one…

Taxes… Americans pay one heck of a lot in taxes. Add all the state and local taxes, often camouflaged as user fees and we are well above many other nations. An awful lot of that can be laid directly at the feet of the various unions. But certainly not all. Various special interests groups also play a big role. Examples might be moralists that seek to force their beliefs upon us all under the guise of public health or expense. Think “sin” taxes. Then there are those that take environmentalism to an absurd extreme. These things all have a monetary cost, and guess where the money comes from?

Constitutional Rights, including The Bill of Rights. Often, these are treated like statistics. As in being twisted to fit whatever this or that person or groups agenda is. Free speech and Second Amendment rights seem to fall into that category most often. However let’s not forget what the Supreme Court has done these past few years concerning private property rights or search and seizure just to name two. The “Patriot Act” seems to have been crafted to fit that famous quotation having to do with trading security for liberty.

The economy as always, or at least every time I turn around is always way up there and right now is probably at the very top of the list for many. As it should be… It is also tied by the neck to just about every other issue. Here’s the thing though. Government cannot “create” jobs. What it can do though is create a climate that either stifles job growth and hinders that, or encourages job creation. How to go about that has been the great debate for many years and, I suspect will continue to do so for many years after I am long gone.

The “Drug War” continues on unabated. Again, this issue is intertwined with many others, and no. I do not advocate the use of drugs, other than as needed for the medical issues of the individual. The fact that drugs being contraband though creates an enormous market with corresponding profits. Profits that allow the purchase of very powerful weaponry that is in turn used to secure and bolster the business of those engaged in such enterprises. End the drug war, and you put a knife to the throat of the profits of murdering thugs and terrorists around the world. No, it will not stop them from their nefarious ways completely, but will go a long way toward that end.

Special Interests legislation. A real black eye for America to be sure. Whether it is one sided sexist laws that destroy our families or pure cronyism in the name of social or monetary profits these things need to be done away with.

Military and Veteran’s issues. These are things that simply are far to wide ranging to list. We must have a strong and powerful military. We have more than a few enemies around the world, and the group of home grown “Hate America First” types certainly don’t help matters. The way that we treat our Veterans can be summed up in a single word. That word  being “shameful.”

The United States of America, still a work in progress, and still, the best place on this earth in which to be alive.

The epic failure obama’s continuing war on America: Border Patrol agent Jesus “Chito” Diaz

November 1, 2011

Yet another of our people that are sworn to protect and defend us gets hammered by our own government while doing their assigned duties. This is disgraceful to say the least. Republicans were no better on these sorts of issues either. Remember Ramos and Campean?

Related articles:

Jailed Border Agent Jesus Diaz Denied Bond; Family Speaks Out

Union Official Accused of “Sabotage” in Border Agent Case

Feds Prosecuted U.S. Border Agent for Mexico

Full Story Here:
Critics Furious As Border Agent Diaz Gets Two Years in Prison

 

Stolen from Texas Fred

Yet another reason for many at DOJ to face not only dismissal, but prosecution and imprisonment!

Rep Walsh Calls for Attorney General Holder to Resign

October 28, 2011
Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) sent a scathing rebuke to Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday and called on him to resign his post at the Justice Department.
Noting that Holder needed to “take responsibility” for implicating the United States as an accessory to violent crimes committed by the Mexican drug cartels, Walsh blasted the Attorney General for the role he played in the “subsequent cover-up” of the failed Fast and Furious operation.
As detailed by Gun Owners of America on many occasions, Operation Fast and Furious is the gun-running scheme where the Justice Department has approved — and in some cases, helped fund — the purchase and smuggling of firearms into Mexico.
The apparent purpose of this gun running scandal was to use the increased violence south of the border as a pretext for more gun control in this country. Sadly, two U.S. federal agents — and hundreds of Mexican citizens — have died as a result of these illegal sales which the FBI approved under the direction of the Obama Administration.
Rep. Walsh takes Holder to task for “knowingly [forcing] licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to violent criminals” and for claiming that he was “not aware” this happening. As Walsh notes, Holder “received no less than seven memos” detailing the creation and progress of Fast and Furious.
“The American people deserve to know the truth regarding Attorney General Eric Holder’s knowledge and role in the Fast and Furious operation,” Walsh said in a statement. “This program was deliberately designed to attack law-abiding American gun-owners and gun-dealers.  Why else would an anti-gun Administration force licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to violent criminals?”
Rep. Walsh told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto that Holder “needs to be held accountable.”
ACTION: Please click here to ask your Representative to follow Walsh’s lead in calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign.

Proposition 103: What is the Cost to Colorado Taxpayers?

October 22, 2011

IP-7-2011 (October 2011)
Author: Barry Poulson and John D. Merrifield

PDF of full Issue Paper
Scribd version of full Issue Paper

Introduction:

Proposition 103 is an initiative that will increase Colorado tax rates and require the state to spend the money on government schools. Prop 103 increases the personal income tax, the corporate income tax, and the statewide sales and use tax for the years 2012 through 2016.

The Fiscal Impact Statement prepared by Colorado’s Legislative Council Staff estimates the cost of the tax increase at $2.9 billion. However, the cost for Colorado taxpayers will be significantly greater than staff estimates. Legislative Council uses static analysis, measuring only the direct impact of the higher taxes on state revenue. They ignore the negative impact the tax increase will have on economic growth and jobs in Colorado.

SOURCE

So, even with built in automatic tax increases Colorado Schools (Unions) need even more money. Now why couldn’t I have guessed that?

Nevertheless, I’m sure that the people of Colorado will vote in favor of this measure. Because after all is said and done the people there are stuck on stupid.

Gads…

October 18, 2011

This only cost the people of America and Mexico how many lives..?

Note: The amendment’s sponsor, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the vote “just the first step towards ensuring that such a foolish operation can never be repeated by our own law enforcement.”

Senate Votes to End ‘Fast and Furious‘ Gun Program

By ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-bc-us–senate-fastandfurious,0,1479153.story

The Senate voted Tuesday to effectively block the Justice Department from undertaking gun-smuggling probes like the flawed “Operation Fast and Furious” aimed at breaking up networks running guns to Mexican drug cartels but that lost track of hundreds of the weapons, some of which were used to commit crimes in Mexico and the United States.

The 99-0 vote would block the government from transferring guns to drug cartels unless federal agents “continuously monitor or control” the weapons. The amendment’s sponsor, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the vote “just the first step towards ensuring that such a foolish operation can never be repeated by our own law enforcement.”

The Justice Department has already stopped the program.

The vote came as the Senate debated a $128 billion spending measure that would fund Justice Department operations and those of several other Cabinet agencies for the 2012 budget year already under way.

Operation Fast and Furious was a gun-smuggling investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives aimed at tracking small-time illicit gun buyers up the chain to major traffickers in an effort to take down arms networks. In the process, ATF agents lost track of many of the weapons.

Fast and Furious came to light after two assault rifles purchased by a now-indicted small-time buyer under scrutiny in the operation turned up at a shootout in Arizona where Customs and Border Protection agent Brian Terry was killed.

The operation has caused something of a firestorm in Washington and is the focus of an investigation by House Republicans, who have questioned whether Attorney General Eric Holder has been candid about all he knows about the botched operation.

Holder already has called a halt to the practice of allowing guns to “walk” in an effort to track them to arms traffickers, saying in a recent letter to lawmakers that “those tactics should never again be adopted in any investigation.”

The operation was designed to respond to criticism that the agency had focused on small-time gun arrests while major traffickers had eluded prosecution.

As recently as 11 months ago, the Justice Department’s inspector general criticized ATF for focusing “largely on inspections of gun dealers and investigations of straw purchasers, rather than on higher-level traffickers, smugglers and the ultimate recipients of the trafficked guns.”

The IG said some ATF managers discourage agents from conducting complex conspiracy investigations that target high-level traffickers.

SOURCE

This is far from over folks. Necks need to be stretched over this fiasco. Talk about political correctness on steroids..?

The Great Society

October 17, 2011

There are always social experiments going on. That said, most are flops. Social engineering just doesn’t work. At least when it is based in the political correctness of the day. One of the biggest failures in more recent times would be Lyndon Johnson‘s destructive socialist program known as “The Great Society.” This creation and expansion of the welfare state has caused, for the most part, the exact opposite of what it was meant to eliminate.

The epic failure obama’s attempt to wreck havoc upon America via obamacare, operation fast and furious, and pure Chicago style cronyism are extensions of that failed experiment. An exercise in repeating the same operation and expecting a different outcome are hallmarks of socialism and communistic thinking.

This macroeconomic success owed nothing to policymakers’ fine tuning, because neither the administration nor Congress made such delicate adjustments of fiscal policy as conditions changed. In truth, the U.S. government was institutionally incapable of fine tuning fiscal policy, however much it appealed to Keynesian economists drawing diagrams on blackboards.

Full Story

Now we have obama’s foot soldiers staging occupations here, there, and everywhere blaming America and our way of life for their own failures. They remind me of children saying “not me” when confronted about something that has gone wrong. Rather than rolling up their sleeves and doing something that is actually productive themselves they stage protests that ultimately result in more government, more rules, and less personal freedom.

The United States of America. Land of the free. That includes the freedom to fail. Home of the brave. Courage, to take on the task of personal wealth creation without having government getting involved in that task so long as we do not infringe on the freedoms and liberty of others while doing that.

2009, a look to the future

January 1, 2009

As I wandered around the Internet today I found a common theme on a lot of forums, blogs, and personal websites.

What will 2009 bring to us ordinary, and not so ordinary people here in America, and across the world. Here is my list; I really hope that some of these things don’t happen, but, that does not change my thinking that they very well might.

  1. America will continue in becoming balkanized. The ground work for an actual secession of many states, or an actual revolution is being laid as I type this.
  2. Israel will attack Iran after Iran delivers a devastating blow to Israel. Much of the world will be drawn into the conflict, and it will go nuclear.
  3. The American economy will go into an actual depression, as defined by economics. The trickle down effect will have terrible consequences for the rest of the world. See #1 above.
  4. The Bill of Rights will be gutted, and shaped to fit those that have come into power. Call them what you want; NWO, Elitist’s, it really will not matter.
  5. The issue of illegal immigration will be settled. By the issue of Gun Control.
  6. The issue of “Gay Rights” will be settled. Again, by the issue of Gun Control.
  7. The issue of Private Property Rights will be settled, not by the cowards in the Supreme Court. Again, by the issue of Gun Control.
  8. Education will fall by the wayside in human priorities. It will be food, or can Johnny learn to be a good socialist.
  9. The people of the world will return to a precious metal standard for monetary purposes. Because the mints print worthless currency.
  10. Irish Whiskey will regain it’s position of supremacy as the finest gift from heaven to man. Our Scot cousins will still be allowed in our homes though. After all, family, is family.

Please note that nearly all of these relate directly to number one. I fear for the future of these United States of America.