Month: June 2012

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Who’s The Bigger Idiot?

June 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

I’m trying to figure out who in this case comes across as the bigger idiot – the media or the sheriff and his staff

On Tuesday, the Broward County Sheriff’s Department arrested the owners of a pain clinic in Pompano Beach (FL) on charges of money laundering, racketeering, and prescription drug trafficking. They then seized guns and money from the owners’ home and office.

As to who comes off like the bigger idiot, I’ll let you make the call.

First, here is the lead paragraph of the story by Linda Trischitta of the Sun Sentinel:

The confiscated arsenal includes two short-barreled assault rifles, a portable rocket launcher case and a tiny .22-caliber pistol that would fit in a brassiere.

Including “a portable rocket launcher case” in the list of a “confiscated arsenal” is pretty stupid. Reporters are not known for having gun smarts. However, it seems the sheriff of Broward County and some of his staff are trying to out-stupid the media when it comes to firearms.

Sheriff Al Lamberti had this to say:

During a news conference at BSO’s Fort Lauderdale headquarters, Sheriff Al Lamberti called the firearms array “scary” and “sophisticated” and “not the day-to-day, target practice weapons you’d normally see.”

But, officials acknowledged, the bulk of the weapons had been legally purchased.

You almost expect him to say the doctors arrested had firearms with that shoulder thing that goes up.

Sgt. Ted Taranu of the BSO then displays the arrogance (and stupidity) that serves to tarnish the reputation of all the good law enforcement officers out there:

The olive-green rocket launcher case did not contain its projectile, and was harmless.

Sgt. Ted Taranu of BSO’s gun squad said it is not illegal to possess such a souvenir, but that a civilian really shouldn’t have one.

“The military controls such equipment that could perhaps be bought at a gun show or from a private collector for around $500,” said Taranu. BSO will now try to determine who bought it, and from where.

Sheriff Lamberti, by the way, is a Republican. It goes to show that Democrats don’t hold the license on making anti-gun comments nor that Republicans are always pro-gun.

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NRA-ILA Weighs In On HB 111

June 14, 2012 by

The NRA-ILA released this yesterday along with a call for members to call their State Senator and push for passage.

House Bill 111, legislation which would provide for restaurant carry, is currently awaiting action in the state Senate Finance Committee. HB 111 passed in the Senate Judiciary II Committee on June 6 by a voice vote.

HB 111 would allow law-abiding gun owners who have a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) to carry a concealed firearm into most restaurants that serve alcohol for on-premises consumption, as long as no alcohol is consumed by the individual carrying the firearm. Currently, 44 states allow for the lawful carrying of concealed firearms into restaurants where alcohol is served. Passage and enactment of this bill is critical to ensure North Carolina’s place among the vast majority of the states in trusting law-abiding permit holders to exercise their rights responsibly in these places.

In addition, HB 111 amends state law enacted last year in House Bill 650 (previously reported on here) that imposed restrictions on prohibiting CHP holders from carrying firearms in parks under the control of local governments. Because some municipalities have gone beyond what HB 650 allowed, HB 111 was amended to impose tighter restrictions on local governments. If enacted, this bill would restrict localities from prohibiting lawfully carried concealed firearms in such places as greenways, designated biking or walking paths, certain open areas and fields, as well as other areas.

The head of the Senate Finance Committee, Buck Newton, stated in a radio interview yesterday that it would only take about 15 minutes of their time to get it out of committee. I strongly suggest that they take that 15 minutes and get this done.

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Another Senator Calls For Holder To Resign

June 14, 2012 by

In what must be taken as a sign that he is in real political trouble at home well-known RINO, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, has joined the list of those calling for Eric Holder to step down. At least, in an equivocating, qualified manner.

Hatch made the call during a Wednesday interview on former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s radio show. “Well if he doesn’t cooperate with the Congress on this Fast and Furious, where one of our agents was killed because of the stupidity of this administration, then he ought to step own,” Hatch said.

“He’s basically a nice man, but by gosh he’s been so partisan in that job that I’m very concerned about him and tend to support Sen. Cornyn and others who think that he ought to retire.”

As The Daily Caller notes, his opponent for the Republican nomination in Utah, Dan Liljenquist, made the demand for Holder to step down in November 2011. Liljenquist just this week reiterated that demand and criticized Hatch for not demanding Holder’s resignation.

The late Speaker Tip O’Neill (R-MA) famously said “All politics is local”. In this case, I’m sure he was right.

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New Whistleblowers In Project Gunwalker

June 14, 2012 by

Mike Vanderboegh reported in an exclusive yesterday afternoon that one and maybe two new whistleblowers have come forward in the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious. What makes this unique it that they are from the Department of Justice and not BATFE.

Multiple, previously highly credible, sources close to the Gunwalker investigation report that there are at least one and perhaps two sources within the Department of Justice headquarters who have approached the Issa Committee seeking whistleblower status. One source, who reported that there were at least two of Eric Holder’s subordinates who “came in from the cold,” characterized them as “high-level” DOJ employees “with knowledge of Eric Holder’s actions before and after” the 4 February 2011 DOJ letter denying that the DOJ and its subordinate agencies knew about “gunwalking.” That letter has since been admitted by DOJ to have been a lie. If true, one or both of these whistleblowers may be the so-called “mole” — a source within DOJ said to have been leaking documents, including the wiretap affidavits, to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

What they bring with them from the cold, according to one source, is “the keys to the kingdom as far as Holder is concerned,” adding “if this comes out before the (contempt) vote (on 20 June), then Holder is toast.” Said another, “not even Boehner will be able to stop it. Hell, he’ll really jump on board and act like it was his idea.”

This could be one of the reasons that Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) scheduled a vote for next Wednesday on the contempt citation. Moreover, this could be behind Attorney General Eric Holder’s invitation to Rep. Issa, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to meet with him privately to discuss Project Gunwalker. Both Issa and Boehner have declined the invitation until such time as Holder provides the subpoenaed documents.

The offer to meet with Issa, Boehner, and Grassley came after Holder had turned down a request for a meeting from a bi-partisan group of representatives including Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Mike Quigley (D-IL), and Bobby Scott (D-VA). Gowdy had this to say about Holder’s refusal to meet:

Gowdy said that because Holder is seeking a meeting with leadership rather than with the actual investigators or with members really close to the scandal like him, “that tells me that you’re interested in a political resolution.”

“I’m not interested in a negotiation,” Gowdy said. “I’m interested in the documents. If this were political, then I’d say ‘Sure, let’s compromise.’ But, it’s not political to me. It’s about law enforcement, law and order, respect for the rule of law, confidence in the Justice Department — I want the documents.”

Gowdy went to say that when Speaker John Boehner green-lighted the contempt vote in House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that  Eric Holder realized that time was running out.

I tend to agree with that. I had thought Holder would be around come November but now I am seriously reconsidering that. Michael Bane in his last podcast said he thought Holder would throw himself under the bus come September in order to help Obama. If the whistleblowers come forward and are credible, I think Holder could be gone by mid-summer. Time will tell.

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Media In NC Starting To Notice Pressure On GOP About HB 111

June 13, 2012 by 2 Comments

Grass Roots North Carolina’s pressure on the GOP regarding HB 111 has caught the eye of the media.

The Associated Press’ Allen Reed sent out a 4-paragraph report on this issue. He notes, correctly, that the perception is that the Republican leadership is shunting the issue to the side and claiming they just don’t have the time. It appears to be have been picked up by a number of papers.

The Winston-Salem Journal goes further on the issue quoting Paul Valone of GRNC and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger on the issue.

“Do we have to wait until more die, Sen. Berger?” wrote Valone. “Will your legacy be that Republicans turned their backs on slain restaurant workers due to fear of bad press? I urge you to pull HB 111 from the Finance Committee and send it to the floor for an immediate vote.”

Berger, R-Rockingham, said he personally supports the bill, but that senate leaders are taking “a careful approach to it.”

“Whether we will be able to finalize the bill during the short session or whether it’s a long session issue we’ll pick up,” Berger said. “The issue is not going to die.”

Berger said the Senate would review the gun bill if there’s time left over after passing the budget.

“It’s not a question in my mind of if, it’s a question of when,” Berger said. “I think we’ll see it, but we’re working on a number of things, and that is one of them.”

If, as Sean points out, they have time to recognize not one but two livermush festivals, they have time to deal with this. Livermush is North Carolina’s answer to scrapple. If they don’t take the time, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of them suffer the same fate as former House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman who blocked the Castle Doctrine.

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Congratulations To Sharyl Attkisson

June 13, 2012 by 2 Comments

CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson and her team just won the 2012 Edward R. Murrow Award in the Video Investigative category. They won for their coverage of Operation Fast and Furious aka Project Gunwalker.

CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson, producer Chris Scholl and editor Matt Tureck took home the prize for won for Gunwalker. In the gunwalker case, ATF agents say they were ordered to allow thousands of weapons to be sold to suspected suppliers for Mexico’s drug cartels. The idea of letting so many guns “walk” onto the street was apparently to see where they would turn up and go after the major cartel kingpins instead of the smalltime weapons traffickers.

That wailing and gnashing of teeth you hear is coming from DOJ press flack Tracy Schmaler and White House Associate Communications Director Eric Schultz. They were the ones in the Obama Administration who tried to silence Sharyl through their bully tactics. Obviously, it didn’t work and the judges at the Radio Television Digital News Association rewarded her for standing tall.

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Brilliant Move!

June 13, 2012 by 8 Comments

The concept of microstamping is fairly well-known by now. It involves a laser-engraved number of a firing pin which transfers that code number to the primer of a cartridge. Its proponents argue that it will allow police to identify firearms used in crimes by shell casings left at the scene. That is, if only it was reliable and worked as its inventor and the gun control lobby said it would.

It is one of those things that sounds great in theory but fails in the real world. That hasn’t stopped states like California from adopting it or New York from strongly considering it.

The New York Times published an article online today entitled “New Method to Track Gun Use Stalled by Foes.” It will appear in the print edition tomorrow. The article describes the technology, the opposition to it by gun rights groups, and some of the studies done on its efficacy.

Its inventor, Todd Lizotte, who claims to be pro-Second Amendment and a member of the NRA had wanted his patent on the process to lapse into the public domain. The patent issue is critical for it to go into operation in California. He and his backers just didn’t figure in the tech industry savvy of the CalGuns Foundations whose officers know a thing or two about patents.

In California, legislation signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007 has been held up while the attorney general’s office makes sure the technology is unencumbered by patents. A gun rights group, the Calguns Foundation, went so far as to pay a $555 fee to extend a lapsing patent held by the developer to further delay the law from taking effect.

“It was a lot cheaper to keep the patent in force than to litigate over the issues,” said Gene Hoffman, the chairman of the foundation, adding that he believed the law amounted to a gun ban in California.

For the cost of two hours (or less) of a good attorney, the CalGuns Foundation has stymied the law’s implementation by keeping the patent in force.What an absolutely brilliant move! Gene Hoffman and his group are the masters of strategy and guerrilla tactics and this is just one more example of it.

H/T Brandon Combs

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John Cornyn Goes For The Jugular

June 12, 2012 by

This weekend we watched a bit of the French Open tennis tournament. It is always interesting to watch really good tennis players set up their opponent for the kill shot. At first it just seems that they are in a long rally with the ball going back and forth (and back and forth). In reality, they are maneuvering their opponent into position for the put away. It is a joy to watch when it all comes together.

So, too, it was with today’s Senate Judiciary Committee when Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) led Attorney General Eric Holder into that trap. Cornyn starts off by asking questions about the investigation into the national security leaks and the people appointed to run the investigation. The questions start off looking like easy lobs. Cornyn then goes for the jugular at which point Holder realizes he’s just been trapped. He tries to escape but Cornyn doesn’t let him.

It was a joy to watch.

The full 12 minute exchange can be found here if you are interested. An abbreviated version of the “kill shot” is below which should stop at the 6:51 mark.

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Quote Of The Day

June 12, 2012 by

The quote of the day comes from Tam regarding Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement of a special investigation into leaks of classified information.

Eric Holder announced that he was shocked, shocked! to find that there were leaks of classified information from the Obama administration, and he would investigate it immediately. I have no idea how the newscaster read that line with a straight face; this is like expecting the minister for Reich security in 1940s Germany to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Jews.