Catching Up

I’ve been out of town the last couple of days on business which accounts for the slow blogging.

To all the road warriors and/or people with ultra-long daily commutes, my hat’s off to you. I had about a 2 1/2 hour drive to get home last night and I’m whupped! It could be age or just inexperience in doing this on a regular basis but it wears me out. It also doesn’t help not to be in your own bed with your own pillow.

DOJ Inspector General To Investigate ATF Sting Operation In Milwaukee

An ATF sting operation called Operation Fearless will now be investigated by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General. This operation in Milwaukee featured a storefront sting effort that went horribly bad. They had merchandise stolen, left behind confidential documents, damaged the building that they were renting, and had an ATF-owned automatic weapon stolen which is still missing.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel investigated it and has a whole series on it.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote to two members of Congress that the Milwaukee sting appeared to raise “significant management issues relating to the oversight and management” of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The issues, the letter said, were especially troubling coming after the agency had promised reforms.

A bipartisan group of congressional members demanded answers after a Journal Sentinel investigation of the sting that revealed an agent’s guns, including a machine gun, were stolen, the ATF storefront was ripped off of $40,000 in merchandise and agents allowed an armed felon who threatened to shoot someone to leave the store. At least four of the wrong people were arrested and three of them charged, including a man who was in prison. The ATF machine gun is still missing.

The ATF promised better oversight in the wake of Fast and Furious, where agents in Arizona encouraged the sale of more than 2,000 firearms to gun traffickers but lost track of the weapons. Many ended up at crime scenes in Mexico and at the scene where a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed. The inspector general’s report on Fast and Furious was sharply critical of the ATF and the U.S. attorney’s office, finding “a significant lack of oversight” by both agencies.

Horowitz’s letter on the Milwaukee operation, called “Operation Fearless,” said the ATF’s internal report on the incident addressed the management issues that concerned him. But Horowitz said his office would still examine the Milwaukee sting, along with other recent ATF operations.

He said he would determine if the Justice Department and the ATF have responded appropriately to the inspector general’s recommendations after Operation Fast and Furious. He gave no timetable for when the review would be done.

You have to wonder if ATF really has become the gang that can’t shoot straight.

The Third Event



Yesterday I said things happen in groups of three and wondered when we’d be hearing that CBS New Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson was targeted. Well, that didn’t take long!


It was revealed in Politico today that her personal and work computers have been compromised and the incident is under investigation.

“I can confirm that an intrusion of my computers has been under some
investigation on my end for some months but I’m not prepared to make an
allegation against a specific entity today as I’ve been patient and
methodical about this matter,” Attkisson told POLITICO on Tuesday. “I
need to check with my attorney and CBS to get their recommendations on
info we make public.”

And when did she first notice this intrusion? It was in February 2011 which is when she began working on the Operation Fast and Furious story. According to her interview with WPHT Philadelphia, she was also working on a story about green energy spending by the Obama Administration.

I realize that correlation is not causation. However, it does seem very strange to me that right after Sharyl Attkisson starts work on a big story such as Project Gunwalker, her computers are compromised. When you add in the targeting of William LaJeunesse of Fox News, it gets even stranger.

You wonder if her post on CleanUpATF.org was the trigger or was it something more sinister such as the surveillance of bloggers Mike Vanderboegh and David Codrea who passed the story on to her. I’m not a conspiracy theorist but the timing is too coincidental and the topic too sensitive for the Obama Administration.

UPDATE: In an article in Commentary Magazine, Jonathan Tobin calls the attack on the press a fundamental attack on democracy. He discusses both Sharyl and William LaJeunesse.

Mag Ban On The Move In Illinois

Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) is now pushing SB 1002 which would ban magazines over 10 round capacity. A “special” feature of this bill are large fines and prison time for possession of standard capacity magazines for AR-15s and other modern sporting rifles.

The ISRA Alert on this bill is below. Please notice their warning in the last paragraph. It seems Sen. Kotowski has no problem using the Illinois State Police as his private storm troopers to stifle dissent.

URGENT ALERT – YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

MAGAZINE BAN ON THE MOVE IN THE ILLINOIS SENATE


Anti-gun extremist State Senator Dan Kotowski has introduced a ban on all magazines having a capacity exceeding 10 rounds. The bill (SB1002) banning magazines also requires large fines and prison sentences if you are caught with magazines for AR-15 and other modern sporting rifles.


SB1002 IS A BOLD AND BRAZEN ATTACK ON THE 2ND AMENDMENT:


1. SB1002 will have no effect on the criminal use of firearms yet will infringe on the right of law-abiding citizen’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms.


2. SB1002 is a backdoor way to limit your ability to defend yourself and family under the upcoming Illinois concealed carry law.


3. SB1002 is the first step towards the banning of semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns.


BLOOMBERG AND THE GUN GRABBERS WILL PUSH HARD TO GET SB1002 PASSED


Magazine bans are on the top of gun controllers’ wish list this year. They want to see Illinois join with the likes of New York, Maryland, California, and now Colorado in the destruction of the 2nd Amendment.


ONLY YOU HAVE THE POWER TO STOP SB1002. ACT NOW OR LOSE ANOTHER CHUNK OF YOUR GUN RIGHTS!


Here is what you need to do to stop SB1002:


1. Call your State Senator and politely tell the person who answers the phone that you are a law-abiding Illinois firearm owner and that you oppose SB1002 and you expect the Senator to vote against the bill when it comes to the floor. If you do not know who your State Senator is, the Illinois State Board of Elections has an interactive search page here:
www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx


If you already know who your State Senator is and just need the contact info, you can find that here: www.ilga.gov/senate/.


2. When you call your Senator’s office, you may hear all kinds of nonsense about how SB1002 will not affect law-abiding gun owners. Politely tell the person that you are not interested in hearing that, you are only interested in seeing SB1002 defeated.


3. Pass this alert on to your friends and family and tell them to make calls as well.


4. Post this alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you may belong.


5. Help keep ISRA on the frontlines of this fight for your rights, go the extra mile and recruit a new ISRA member. Sign them up over the phone at 815-635-3198, or browse to isra.org/join .


SPECIAL NOTICE: DO NOT call Senator Kotowski unless he is your Senator, and even then be very careful. Kotowski has a track record of having the State Police investigate and harass people that disagree with him.

Happening In Threes

It is often said that things, especially bad things, happen in threes. I wonder if that will be true of disclosures about Project Gunwalker.

The first thing that happened is that the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Justice released a report saying that former US Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis Burke had leaked a sensitive document to the press with the intention of undermining the credibility of ATF Senior Agent John Dodson. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) blasted this in a release earlier today.

The second thing that happened was the revelation that the Department of Justice targeted two FoxNews reporters and one producer. While much of the attention is about their targeting of Fox’s Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen, what caught my attention was that they also targeted William LaJeunesse. You may remember that LaJeunesse was one of two mainstream reporters who reported extensively on Operation Fast and Furious.

I’m now wondering if we will soon find out that the DOJ was also targeting CBS’s  Emmy-award winning Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. She not only was the lead mainstream reporter on Project Gunwalker but has also made the White House’s shit list over her reporting on the Benghazi scandal.

You know I wouldn’t be surprised given the Obama Administration.

Third Anniversary

Driving to work this morning it hit me that yesterday was the third anniversary of starting this blog. The realization that three years has elapsed gives me an even greater appreciation for bloggers like Kevin, Tam, JayGSebastian, and SayUncle who have been doing this for much longer.

Looking back over these three years is interesting.

We won the McDonald case and it has opened a whole new avenue of Second Amendment litigation in the states. Since then, we’ve won some and lost some. We are still waiting for another case to make it to the Supreme Court. I anticipate it will be a case involving carry outside the home in some manner.

We have seen tremendous growth in the sales of firearms and ammunition. The important thing about this growth is that many of these firearms are going to first time gun owners.

Illinois will have carry in some form thanks to the twin cases of Shepard v. Madigan and Moore v. Madigan. The Illinois General Assembly is still fighting it out to see what form it will take.

Despite some well publicized mass shootings and in the face of a full court press from White House, the media, and gun prohibitionists, we’ve beaten back efforts for new gun control legislation at the Federal level. Unfortunately, the gun prohibitionists have turned more of their attention to the states and have had some success. The usual areas such as California, New York, and Maryland have new gun control laws. More surprising was the enactment of background checks and magazine bans in Colorado.

We are still working to get to the bottom of the Fast and Furious gunwalking scandal. Attorney General Eric Holder is still fighting requests for documents from Congress. Moreover, while some involved have been reassigned, no one has yet to lose their job over this much less be indicted for violations of Federal law.

Among the gun prohibitionists, the old line groups such as CSGV, Violence Policy Center, and the Brady Campaign are fading in influence. Taking their place, for the most part, is Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors. To be more exact, it is Bloomberg’s willingness to spend some of his personal fortune that is pushing this effort more than anything the mayors themselves are doing. I still see the Giffords-Kelly creation of Americans for Responsible Solutions as being on the periphery for now. They are useful mostly as a reliable photo op.

Summing up, we have gained more than we’ve lost over the last three years. The key is to hold on to what we’ve gained by beating back the threats organized and financed by Mayor Bloomberg. The saying about eternal vigilance is true. We have to stay alert, stay focused, and continue to educate and energize those who believe in freedom.

The next three years should be interesting!

A Weekend Roundup

I haven’t done a weekend tab clearing in a while so I thought it might be time to do one.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has been pushing its member physicians to ask about firearms in the home. Nancy R. has a post about her recent experience with this and her excellent response. This is one to pass on to all your gun owning friends with younger children who will encounter pediatricians and their questions about gun ownership.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) may now be open to reviving the Manchin-Toomey background check bill if this article from Philly.com is to be believed. While he has primarily refocused his efforts on economic and financial issues, it seems he hasn’t totally given up on background checks.

The Army had been running a competition to select their next generation carbine. However, the Improved Carbine competition may be put on hold. Gen. Ray Odierno, Army Chief of Staff, has indicated that he is content with the improved M4 carbine.

Forbes ran an excellent article by Amy Showalter about just why the NRA succeeds in the gun control debate. It isn’t for the reasons that Mayor Bloomberg, the mainstream media, and the gun prohibitionists push. No, it is because of the grassroots and the efforts that that the NRA puts into training its volunteers.

Congratulations to Kevin Baker at The Smallest Minority on his 10th anniversary blogging. I don’t know what that is in human years but it is a lot!

Thirdpower points out the absurdity of the hysterics of the gun prohibitionists about “smart rifles”. As he says, “Joe Gangbanger isn’t going to be anywhere near one of these.” It might be because they cost over $23,000.

Bob Owens has a good post on Cape Fear Arsenal which recently announced they were building a new plant in Robeson County, North Carolina. To be honest, I’d never heard of Cape Fear Arsenal or their ammo before this weekend.

The Brady Center is suing the town of Nelson, GA over the town’s enactment of a law requiring each household have a firearm. As Dave Hardy notes, he has a hard time seeing any case or controversy as the law has no penalty for violation.

Cabbie tells authorities he has a terrorist in his cab. Adams County, Colorado deputies meet the cab and take said terrorist into custody. The terrorist? Daniele Perazzi of Perazzi Shotguns. He and his shotguns were released shortly after they figured the owner of one of the world’s most expensive shotguns wasn’t a terrorist.  Word is that he is considering legal action as well he should.

You know how Vice-President Joe Biden said rifles were too complicated for women’s feeble little brains? Breda provides a graphic demonstration why the Vice-President is an idiot.

Speaking of the Obama Administration, CBS News’ Bob Schieffer who has rarely criticized it, just unloaded on them in his Face the Nation commentary today. It was a bit shocking to hear someone in the mainstream media actually say what he did.

The final item comes from California where the best looking attorney general in America (according to BHO) has now certified that there are no patent restrictions encumbering microstamping. The net effect is that  it freezes the existing California handgun roster.

A Welcome Unintended Consequence Of The IRS Scandal

The scandal involving the IRS targeting tea party groups and auditing certain conservatives is having a welcome unintended consequence. Not only does it have the White House playing damage control but it may have put a hold on further attempts to reintroduce the Manchin-Toomey background checks.

According to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) himself on a West Virginia radio show, it isn’t helping.

Isn’t it more understandable, asked host Hoppy Kercheval, that people who fear more government intrusion or influence would now have some of those fears stoked after the revelations in the past week?

“Absolutely – I agree 1,000 percent,” Mr. Manchin said on MetroNews’ “Talkline.” “People are saying, ‘Joe, we read your legislation, it makes all the sense in the world and we’re for that legislation – we’re just afraid government won’t stop there.’”

I guess we should be thanking those faceless Obama ideologues in the IRS for being so overtly and over the top political in their actions.

Manchin goes on to say that the Second Amendment can only be changed by the legislative branch of the government. Perhaps someone needs to send Manchin a copy of the United States Constitution. The amendment process involves both Congress AND ratification by three-fourths of the states. Article V of the Constitution also say the states themselves could call for a constitutional convention.

Sheer Arrogance

There is a Twitter hashtag campaign called #ObamacareInThreeWords. The campaign was started by conservatives. So you have stuff like “IRS meets Kevorkian” and “Premiums will double”.

The White House is trying to fight back. One of their many Tweets is below.

It is an arrogant and authoritarian response in my (not so) humble opinion. Just because a bill is rammed through Congress, doesn’t make it then ensuing law any good.

About The Perceived Increase In Mass Shootings

James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy at Northeastern University. He is a columnist for the Boston Globe and is a strong proponent of gun control. In a column from this past August Fox examined the trends in mass shootings. Despite the perception that they are on the increase, Fox acknowledges that they aren’t in his Boston Globe column.

There is one not-so-tiny flaw in all of these theories for the
increase in mass shootings. And that is that mass shootings have not
increased in number or in overall body count, at least not over the past
several decades.

Based on data extracted from official police reports to the FBI, the
figure below shows annual incident, offender and victim tallies for gun
homicides in which at least four people were murdered. Over the
thirty-year time frame, an average of about 20 mass murders have
occurred annually in the United States with an average death toll of
about 100 per year.

Mass Shootings 1980-2010.jpg

Without minimizing the pain and suffering of the hundreds of who have
been victimized in seneless attacks, the facts say clearly that the has
been no increase in mass killings, and certainly no epidemic.
Occasionally, we have witnessed short-term spikes with several shootings
clustering close together in time.

So the next time a gun prohibitionist says that mass shootings are on the increase, point them to the data which refutes it.

H/T Dave Kopel