Month: July 2011

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How To Say Nothing In Five Paragraphs

July 20, 2011 by 1 Comment

I got the following email today from Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) regarding efforts in Congress to remove the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Toxic Substances Act to manage lead in ammunition, bullets, and fishing tackle. While I don’t actually remember writing her on this subject, I must have done so.

If you read the entire letter, nowhere in it does she say where she stands on the subject at hand. She’s happy to hear from me and wants me to continue to share my opinions with her. She says she is moderate and bipartisan. She says she supports the military and has military ties in her family. Blah, blah, blah.

What makes this banal email from her even more frustrating is that she is a co-sponsor of the bill in question. You would think if she got an email or letter asking her to support the bill, she would tout the fact that she not only supports the bill but is a co-sponsor.

This letter should be used in training classes for PR hacks as example of how to use spin on your constituents.

All I can say is that 2014 can’t get here soon enough.

July 19, 2011

Dear Friend,

Thank you so much for contacting my office in regards to the Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act (S.838). I greatly appreciate hearing from you, and I hope you continue to share your opinions and ideas with me. I am honored to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate, and it is important to me that my office is open and accessible.

Whenever I am asked to evaluate an issue, I look at all perspectives and interests so I can make the most informed decisions possible. I have always felt that elected officials should do more to work across the aisle to pass legislation that benefits all Americans. I have strived to promote bipartisanship among my colleagues in the Senate, and I pledge to continue working with individuals from all political backgrounds as I champion the interests of North Carolina.

I take great pride in my moderate record, both in the United States Senate and the North Carolina Senate. Throughout my career in public service, I have been particularly dedicated to advocating for middle-class families, making sure our children have access to quality education and promoting fiscal responsibility. North Carolina is the most military-friendly state in the nation, and I will work to continue this tradition. My own family has a strong military background, and I am so proud of our brave men and women serving in the armed forces.

As legislation comes before Congress, please feel free to contact me with your concerns, questions, and ideas. I have always said that constituent service comes first. As I tackle issues in the Senate that are important to our state, I want as much input as possible from the citizens of North Carolina.

Again, thank you for contacting my office. It is truly an honor to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate, and I hope you will not hesitate to contact me in the future should you have any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Signature

Kay R. Hagan

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Rep. Jason Altmire On Self-Defense Carry On Army Corps Of Engineer Land

July 20, 2011 by

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) proposed an amendment that restricts funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to enforce a ban on firearms on Corps-managed land. They manage over 11 million acres of land throughout the U.S. The Gosar-Gibbs-Altmire Amendment passed last week.

Rep. Altmire is also the co-sponsor along with Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) of HR 1865 – the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act of 2011 – which would do away with the ban on firearms on Army Corps of Engineers land. This bill has 73 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. From the text of HR 1865:

The Secretary of the Army shall not promulgate or enforce any regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a firearm including an assembled or functional firearm at a water resources development project covered under section 327.0 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations

So long as an individual was not prohibited from possessing a firearm and as long as possession at the lake or water recreation area was permitted under state law, the Corps would no longer be able to ban possession of a functional firearm on property they manage.

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Rep. Darrell Issa On The Demand For Info From The DEA And FBI

July 20, 2011 by

Rep. Darrell Issa was a guest on Cam and Co. He was interviewed by both Cam Edwards and Ginny Simone. He discusses the letters sent to the heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He revealed that that he and his investigators already know the names of the confidential informants that may have been paid with taxpayer monies.

It is a very informative interview to say the least.

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Bloody Hands

July 19, 2011 by

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced HR 2554, Stop Gun Trafficking and Strengthen Law Enforcement Act of 2011, on Friday to great fanfare along with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). They say they want to provide law enforcement with more “tools” to stop smuggling of arms along the border of Mexico. This, of course, ignores all the other laws already on the books which makes each and every thing covered under this bill a crime.

What they say and what they really mean are two entirely different things. Their bill and the fanfare with which it was introduced have dual aims: to promote more gun control and to divert attention from Eric Holder and the Obama Administration for its culpability in the death of hundreds of Mexicans along with Brian Terry and Jaime Zapata. By doing so, they are just as complicit in those deaths as those in the Obama Administration who dreamed up Operation Fast and Furious and all the other variants of Project Gunwalker to build support for more gun control.

The co-sponsors of Rep. Maloney’s bill are listed below. By signing on as co-sponsors they share in the goal of diverting attention on this scandal away from Eric Holder and Barack Obama. As I said above, complicit.


Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5]
Rep Chu, Judy [CA-32]
Rep Connolly, Gerald E. “Gerry” [VA-11]
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14]
Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7]
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17]
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51]
Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9]
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4]
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8]
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC]
Rep Quigley, Mike [IL-5]
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15]
Rep Speier, Jackie [CA-12]
Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6]

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Chris Cox On Arms Trade Treaty

July 18, 2011 by 1 Comment

Chris Cox, Director of the NRA-ILA, was interviewed by Ginny Simone of NRA News on the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty. One very important point that he made was that a treaty doesn’t go away at the end of a session of Congress if it isn’t ratified. It stays out there forever and a succeeding Senate could ratify it years after it was first submitted. That is what makes the Arms Trade Treaty so dangerous to our gun rights and freedoms.

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A Ph.D. In Biochem Doesn’t Make You An Expert In Everything

July 18, 2011 by 1 Comment

Sean has a story about an opponent of HB 111 which would allow concealed carry – but not alcohol consumption – in North Carolina restaurants and eating establishments that serve alcohol. Dr. Art Kamm has his Ph.D. in biochemistry and had worked in the pharmaceutical industry in the development of drugs to fight cancer for a number of years before he retired.

If Dr. Kamm was opining on the efficacy of a certain cancer drug, I would listen to him. If he were talking about clinical trials and the lengthy regulatory process it takes to bring a drug to market, I’d be interested. If he said something about the inner workings of the FDA, I’d assume he had some first hand knowledge. However, if as Dr. Kamm says, that passing HB 111 will scare the tourists, I’d say stick to your area of expertise. Anecdotal stories about one group of visitors from Australia doesn’t make you an expert on tourism or firearms policy.

Art Kamm reminds me of an old crank that lived in Haywood County years ago. Richard Suhre had been a scientist with the Atomic Energy Commission (the predecessor to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission). Suhre was a college educated man from a generation where few people had his level of education. He also thought that made him an expert in everything. He was constantly writing letters to the local paper giving his “learned” opinion on virtually everything. When he was talking about a potential nuclear waste dump in the mountains, he knew what he was talking about. On other things, not so much. So it is with Dr. Kamm.

Go to Sean’s site and read the whole thing.

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Melson: DOJ Response to Fast and Furious Investigation Intended to Protect Political Appointees

July 18, 2011 by 1 Comment

Attorney General Eric Holder is not as politically astute as I previously thought despite having been groomed by the Clintons. If he were more politically astute, he would have known better than to make a career bureaucrat the fall-guy for Operation Fast and Furious because they are exceedingly adept at in-fighting. Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson is currently serving in a slot set aside for a political appointee. However, Melson had been a career employee of the Department of Justice from 1983 until 2009 when he was appointed Acting Director with the understanding he would return to the career service. He didn’t get to the Senior Executive Service on talent and good looks alone.

When Melson was made the designated fall-guy, he balked. Moreover, he began to talk to Congressional investigators which led to today’s 10-page letter to Holder from Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley asking about “the smoking gun” so to speak.

Chairman Issa and Senator Grassley Press Attorney General Holder with Key Testimony

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley today pressed Attorney General Eric Holder about the Justice Department’s unsatisfactory responses and lack of cooperation with an investigation into the highly controversial Operation Fast and Furious. A letter sent by the two lead investigators highlighted testimony indicating internal disputes within the Justice Department and a statement from the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that the Justice Department is attempting to protect its political appointees.

“It was very frustrating to all of us, and it appears thoroughly to us that the Department is really trying to figure out a way to push the information away from their political appointees at the Department,” ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson said of his frustration with the Justice Department’s response to the investigation in a transcribed interview.

“The Department should not be withholding what Mr. Melson described as the ‘smoking gun’ report of investigation or Mr. Melson’s emails regarding the wiretap applications,” wrote Issa and Grassley. “Mr. Melson said he reviewed the affidavits in support of the wiretap applications for the first time after the controversy became public and immediately contacted the Deputy Attorney General’s office to raise concerns about information in them that was inconsistent with the Department’s public denials. The Department should also address the serious questions raised by Mr. Melson’s testimony regarding potential informants for other agencies.”

The full text of that letter can be found here. It is very interesting. The letter and Melson’s testimony leads one to believe that an active cover-up is in process at DOJ and that documents have been created after the fact.

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Issa And Grassley Press DEA And FBI For Answers

July 18, 2011 by

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are pressing the heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for answers to their agencies’ involvement in Operation Fast and Furious. This is amid reports that some of the targets of the ATF in Project were actually paid FBI informants.

While Issa and Grassley are pressing for information, I fully expect at the FBI to try and stonewall them.

Grassley, Issa Press for Answers from FBI, DEA in Fast and Furious Investigation

WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley and Representative Darrell Issa are pushing for additional information and documents from the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in relation to the two agencies roles in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reckless strategy known as Operation Fast and Furious. The strategy employed by the ATF allowed firearms to be purchased by known straw buyers and then transferred to third parties where the guns often crossed the border to Mexican drug cartels.

The letters are a follow-up to a recorded, transcribed interview with Acting ATF Director Ken Melson. The Acting Director was interviewed by congressional investigators on July 4 where he corroborated several details that included other agencies involved in Operation Fast and Furious.

In the letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller, Grassley and Issa asked about the “veracity of claims” regarding the possible involvement of paid FBI informants in Operation Fast and Furious and “specifically at least one individual who is allegedly an FBI informant” and “might have been in communication with, and was perhaps even conspiring with, at least one suspect whom ATF was monitoring.”

The letter to DEA Administrator Michelle Leonhart requested a briefing by DEA staff as well as “the number of informants or cooperating informants handled by other agencies identified in the course of any investigations related to Operation Fast and Furious.”

In addition, both letters (to Mueller and Leonhart) asked for communications of several members of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force who were working in coordination with the ATF to conduct Operation Fast and Furious.

The full letter to DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart can be found here.

The full letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller can be found here.

Both letters are detailed in the information sought. The Leonhart letter specifically asks about any communications regarding Fast and Furious by the heads or assistant heads of the DEA offices in Phoenix, Tucson, Nogales, and Yuma. This letter also asks for any information relating to Manuel Fabian Celis-Acosta who is the lone person in custody who can be linked to the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

The Mueller letter is broader in scope than the Leonhart letter. It seeks info on confidential informants, the investigation into the murder of ICE Agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico, and any communications between ATF and certain FBI officials including ones in Phoenix, El Paso, and Tucson. They especially are looking to see if ATF and the FBI agent in charge of the Terry murder investigation have had any communications.

If they get the information they request, things could heat up very quickly and even the mainstream media would not be able to ignore it like most of them have been doing these last few months.

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SAF’s Final Report From The UN Conference On Arms Trade

July 18, 2011 by

Julianne Versnel’s final report from the UN’s Third Preparatory Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty is below. Thank god someone is keeping an eye on this.

Amb. John Bolton and the Bush State Department told these folks to pound sand. Those times are past and the Obama Administration thinks the ATT is just hunky-dory. Given that the treaty will be ready in the next couple of years, it isn’t too soon to start writing your Senators about this treaty. Like all treaties, the Arms Trade Treaty must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate to go in effect in the United States. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.

FINAL REPORT on the Third Preparatory Committee (Prep Comm) meeting for the Arms Trade Treaty that ended on July 15, 2011.

By Julianne Versnel, Second Amendment Foundation Director of Operations

With the Chairman’s Draft Paper distributed on July 14, 2011, it is apparent that small arms and ammunition will be included in the ATT final draft that will be hammered out at the month-long negotiating conference in July 2012. Small arms and ammunition have been the focus of much of the discussions by the delegates. While this was expected from many less developed states, the vehement and strident comments suggesting the scope of the proposed ATT be broadened by Australia, Sweden, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Ireland and Norway were somewhat surprising.

This meeting had over 375 requests for registrations by NGOs and other interested parties. This was not an open meeting and specific permission had to be received so that registration could even be made. This is an unprecedented number.

A member of the UN staff asked me on the first day of the meeting why there were so many people who wanted to attend this conference. The First and Second Prep Comms meetings had had about 100 and 125 NGOs in attendance respectively. As the week progressed, the answer to the question became obvious. This conference is about firearms and ammunition. Just as this is an emotional issue that elicits strong feelings from Americans, so it is in the rest of the world.

The great majority of those attending were from organizations that deal almost exclusively with small arms. On July 14, 2011, NGOs were allocated one hour to make statements. Control Arms, a Survivors’ Declaration and IANSA spoke and were followed by remarks by the National Rifle Association, World Forum for the Future of Sports Shooting Activities and Defense Small Arms Advisory Committee. There was no presentation that discussed any part of the scope of the treaty beyond firearms and ammunition.

The fourth and final Prep Comm is to take place in mid February 2012. While this has been described as a technical conference, there is little likelihood that there will actually be further discussion for expanding the scope and reach of the ATT to be presented the following July.

The Second Amendment Foundation remains vigilant in covering the progress of the upcoming United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.