presidential nominations

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My, My, My! Isn’t This An Interesting Coincidence

June 3, 2021 by 2 Comments

After I posted about David Chipman attending one of the inaugural balls with his then fiancee’ Tara, I had a comment on the post saying they met while she was a secretary at BATFE’s Washington headquarters. With a little research, I find this isn’t totally accurate. While I don’t know how Chipman met his current wife, I do know she had worked at the BATFE since 1995 in one job or another.

According to her LinkedIn page, she started as a receptionist, became a writer-editor with them, moved over to the Treasury’s Trade and Tax Bureau’s Congressional Office, back to BATFE as a program manager, and finally advanced to Division Chief, Executive Secretariat Division where she currently works.

The Executive Secretariat Division does such things a publish the internal newsletter, handle correspondence, write speeches, and handle the archives of BATFE. They are also responsible for the BATFE’s historical program. Indeed, Mrs. Chipman served as the acting historian for at least a period of time according to this BATFE Facebook post. She is pictured along with then Columbus SAC Trevor Velinor.

Beyond the obvious nepotism issue that Mrs. Chipman faces if, god forbid, her husband is confirmed as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, there is the little issue of conflicts of interest. Ideally, BATFE employees would be scrupulously neutral when it comes to gun politics. However, we know this is an ideal and not reality.

Mrs. Chipman has jumped on-board with the Demanding Moms’ “Wear Orange” for gun violence (sic) program as seen in this picture.

Not surprisingly, she has also donated to the Cult of Personality Known as Giffords and has publicized it on her Facebook page. Her Facebook page has plenty of other progressive issues that she virtue signals about as well.

She is, of course, free to make donations to whom she wishes and to let the world know it in an unofficial manner. That said, it just reemphasizes the importance of making sure her husband is never confirmed to head BATFE. Even if she resigned if her husband was confirmed, she would still have his ear and use that to reinforce her progressive and anti-gun views.

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Liar! Liar! Pants On Fire!

May 28, 2021 by

Shannon Watts and Moms Demand Action tweeted out the following statement from David Chipman made before the Senate Judiciary Committee in their effort to have him confirmed.

Chipman’s main passion after leaving BATFE was to make as much money as possible and he didn’t care if he had to prostitute himself to do it. If he had to tell bald-faced lies in his testimony in various places, he didn’t care so long as the money kept rolling in.

As to fire, he knows a bit about that from his experiences in Waco.

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Twenty AGs Say No To Chipman

May 26, 2021 by 5 Comments

Attorneys general from 19 states have signed on to a letter from Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen opposing the confirmation of David Chipman to be Director of BATFE.

They call the possible confirmation of Chipman an “an attack” on the Second Amendment and say their oath to uphold the Constitution makes it impossible for them to support someone like him.

They go on to write:

The ATF has an important role to play in upholding the public safety of
communities around the country. Its agents deserve a director who will inspire
confidence from the people they serve. Given Mr. Chipman’s history of anti-gun
lobbying and political activism, Americans cannot be reasonably expected to believe
he will be an unbiased enforcer of current laws. As chief law enforcement or legal
officers in our respective states, we are concerned that Mr. Chipman will make
Americans less safe by diverting ATF resources to attack the rights of law-abiding
gun owners instead of cracking down on violent criminals and criminal
organizations.

I think it is rare to see attorneys general take such a stand against a nominee for a law enforcement position like this. I think if the nominee were someone like a former DA or former US Attorney who, while still probably anti-gun, had not made a small fortune by shilling for the gun control industry you would not have seen this.

You can read the letter in its entirety below.

05.25.2021 State Attorneys General Letter to US Senate Leadership by jpr9954 on Scribd

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David Chipman Nomination Hearing Today

May 26, 2021 by 1 Comment

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing today on the nomination of David Chipman, Joe Biden’s slap in the face to gun owners, to be the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. As he is lumped in with a few other nominees for various positions, I’m not sure what time his nomination hearing will actually be held but the live stream starts at 10 am.

I expect Chipman to be asked fawning questions by Democrats such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and equally tough questions by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). I think the final outcome will be a split vote with all Democrats voting to pass his nomination to the floor and every Republican voting against it.

It goes without saying that you should have contacted your own senators before today to voice your opposition to Chipman. I have sent both personal emails and the auto-generated emails in opposition to Chipman whose nomination to head BATFE is the equivalent of nominating an avowed vegan to head the meat inspection division of the Ag Department.

If you live the states of West Virginia or Arizona, I hope you have been putting a lot of pressure on Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) to oppose the nomination. The Democrats haven’t done away with the filibuster yet but even if they go to the “nuclear option” there is some hope that one or both of these senators would vote against Chipman.

In the meantime, it is now time to start making the calls.

Grass Roots North Carolina released an alert aimed at North Carolinians which also suggests contacting Sen. Mitch McConnell. It includes a way to get around McConnell’s web form’s rejection of out-of-state comments.

THIS IS SERIOUS!! 
ATF NOMINEE CHIPMAN  HAS MADE MILLION+ LOBBYING AGAINST YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS
Act now, hearings start Wednesday

IF THE CHIPMAN CONFIRMATION IS ALLOWED TO PASS IT WILL SPELL DISASTER FOR YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!
Joe Biden has found a special someone who hates your liberties as much as he does and wants to have that Waco Whacko head up the ATF or is it the “AFT” (to quote Biden). How could the Senate even consider confirming an anti-gunner to head up the ATF? SHOCKENINGLY CHIPMAN HAS MADE IN EXCESS OF A MILLION LOBBYING AGAINST YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!!!

When Chipman champions “gun safety” the real meaning behind the lie is ‘no firearm protection from criminals for you’— indeed, Chipman’s advice for you in these dangerous times is to”buy stronger deadbolts for the exterior doors of your home”.    

Mr. Chipman (who worked as an ATF agent for 25 years)- ticks off each of the ‘take your firearms boxes’: he saddled up with Mike Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety (safety for criminals only).

To top it off Chipman is a Senior Policy Advisor for Gifford’s: Courage to Fight Gun Violence. What kind of a nut does Mr. Chipman have to be, to believe that the demoralized and defunded police will get to your home in time to save you in those precious seconds when death is at your door? He didn’t care about the children burned to death at Waco, no doubt he doesn’t care about your safety either. What kind of a nut would confirm someone who is against YOUR right to keep and bear firearms to head up the ATF?

A stronger deadbolt is a road bump to disaster if you have no means to protect yourself from the criminal kicking in your door-or breaking your window. 

A FIREARM IS A SHIELD NOT A SWORD! 

NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR SENATORS AND SENATE MINORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL UNDERSTAND THAT  A VOTE TO CONFIRM CHIPMAN IS AN ANTI-GUN VOTE AND YOU WILL TREAT IT AS SUCH.  CHIPMAN MUST NOT BE CONFIRMED.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
  The link below will take you to a website form. It is not an email address. Just click on the link and it will take you to the form.
Contact Thom Tillis using this link, and call him at 202-224-6342 and 919-856-4630.
Contact Richard Burr using this link, and call him at 202-224-3154 and 800-685-8916.

Call AND Contact Mitch McConnell: Use both his phone number (202-224-2541 in D.C. OR  (502) 582-6304 in his district) AND his web contact form:  https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactform 

Contact him REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU LIVE and defeat his web form’s attempt to reject out-of-state comments by entering the following in-state address: 601 W. Broadway, Room 630, Louisville, KY 40202.

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO GRNC: Help us fight gun control while we promote Second Amendment principles. Please CLICK HERE to contribute. Bear in mind that GRNC is an all-volunteer organization, so you can be sure your donations are put to the best possible use. Any amount helps, and any amount is appreciated.
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE
Suggested Subject: Do Not Confirm David Chipman ATF Nominee
Dear Senator___________

I am contacting you today to demand that the Biden nominee for leading the ATF be rejected without compromise. David Chipman has no business leading an agency that has as it’s mission statement “…to protect communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations….” when he is so dedicated to removing the legal means of citizens to protect themselves from criminals via firearms. 

David Chipman is as anti-Second Amendment as they come and there is no place more dangerous than a gun free zone as we can see in Chicago and many other American cities right now. David Chipman is a danger to my safety and that of my family.

I will continue to monitor this important issue through alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina. Any vote for Chipman will be considered a vote against gun owners. 

Respectfully,  
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A Tale In Three Pictures

April 10, 2021 by 11 Comments

Do you recognize either the man or the location of the remnants of this fire?

Here let me give you a hint on the location.

Yes, that is the Branch Davidian compound in Mount Carmel outside of Waco, Texas as it is going up in flames. 76 men, women, and children died in that fire. The siege began when agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms raided the compound on February 28, 1993. 12 surviving members of the Branch Davidians were later tried on a variety of firearm offenses. The young man standing in the ashes holding what appears to be a M16 M14 was the ATF case officer for the trial.

Maybe you recognize him in this picture.

Getty Photo

Credit should go to the the British newspaper Daily Mail for linking the first photo to the man who is now President Biden’s choice to be the next Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The Daily Mail also has placed Chipman at the other infamous raid of that era – Ruby Ridge.

I guess Biden couldn’t get Waco Jim Cavanaugh so is making do with Chipman.

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#ReleaseTheList

October 16, 2019 by 1 Comment

The ultra-progressive group Demand Justice released a list of 32 potential nominees for the Supreme Court. They want Democrat presidential candidates to adopt this list or to release one of their own. This is what then-candidate Donald J. Trump did in 2016 to good effect.

I agree. Release the list! If the list(s) adopted by any of the Democrat candidates is anything like the Demand Justice list, it will be full of radicals, with little judicial experience, chosen to appease constituent groups.

Professor Josh Blackman provides a convenient grouping on The Volokh Conspiracy.

Academics: Michelle Alexander (Union Theological Seminary),  James Forman, Jr. (Yale), Pamela Karlan (Stanford), M. Elizabeth Magill (Virginia), Melissa Murray (NYU), Bryan Stevenson (NYU), Zephyr Teachout (Fordham), Timothy Wu (Columbia),


Progressive Litigators: Brigitte Amiri (ACLU), Nicole Berner (GC SEIU), Deepak Gupta (Gupta Wessler), Dale Ho (ACLU), Sherrilyn Ifill (NAACP LDF), Shannon Minter (National Center for Lesbian Rights), Nina Perales (MALDEF), Thomas A. Saenz (MALDEF), Cecillia Wang (ACLU),


Current/Former Government Officers: Xavier Becerra (California AG), Sharon Block (one of the three NLRB appointments at issue in Noel Canning), Vanita Gupta (Former Obama DOJ), Lawrence Krasner (Philadelphia DA), Catharine Lhamon (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights), Katie Porter (House of Representatives), Jenny Yang (Former EEOC Chair)


Federal Judges: Richard F. Boulware (D. Nev.), Jane Kelly (8th Circuit), Cornelia Pillard (D.C. Circuit), Carlton Reeves (S.D. Miss.)


State Judges: Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (California Supreme Court), Anita Earls (North Carolina Supreme Court), Leondra Kruger (California Supreme Court), Goodwin Liu (California Supreme Court)

Let’s look at the sitting judges first. All of the Federal judges were appointed by President Barack Obama. They have between five and nine years of experience and only one of them is on a Circuit Court of Appeals.

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This Reporter Gets It

October 6, 2018 by

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Kimberly Strassel is a journalist and member of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board. Unlike many in her profession, she is a conservative. Moreover, she has been steadfast in her support of Judge Brett Kavanaugh and has been very vocal about it on Twitter.

Yesterday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (RINO-AK) broke with her Republican colleagues and voted against invoking cloture on the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh. While saying that Kavanaugh was a good man she said he was not the right man for the Supreme Court “at this time”.

Strassel, in a pair of tweets, points out what Murkowski is really standing for.

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Cloture Invoked On Kavanaugh Nomination

October 5, 2018 by

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The Senate voted 51-49 to invoke cloture on debate regarding the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. This means that a final vote can be taken as early as Saturday afternoon. Cloture was invoked at 10:36am EDT which started the 30 hour clock on debate. If the Democrats relinquish the floor at anytime during that 30 hour period, the final vote can be called.

The only Democrat to vote for cloture was Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) while the only Republican to vote against it was Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Manchin is up for re-election this year while Murkowski doesn’t have to face Alaska voters until 2022. President Trump won both states in the 2016 election.

If this vote holds without any more Republican defections, then Judge Kavanaugh will become Justice Kavanaugh. The one wrinkle in this right now is Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) who plans to be out of town on Saturday to attend his daughter’s wedding. Too bad she didn’t have a June wedding!

The ayes and nays are below:

Grouped By Vote Position 

YEAs —51
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Capito (R-WV)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Cotton (R-AR)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Daines (R-MT)
Enzi (R-WY)
Ernst (R-IA)
Fischer (R-NE)
Flake (R-AZ)
Gardner (R-CO)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Hyde-Smith (R-MS)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kennedy (R-LA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lankford (R-OK)
Lee (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Paul (R-KY)
Perdue (R-GA)
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rounds (R-SD)
Rubio (R-FL)
Sasse (R-NE)
Scott (R-SC)
Shelby (R-AL)
Sullivan (R-AK)
Thune (R-SD)
Tillis (R-NC)
Toomey (R-PA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Young (R-IN)
NAYs —49
Baldwin (D-WI)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Booker (D-NJ)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Coons (D-DE)
Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Donnelly (D-IN)
Duckworth (D-IL)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Harris (D-CA)
Hassan (D-NH)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Hirono (D-HI)
Jones (D-AL)
Kaine (D-VA)
King (I-ME)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Leahy (D-VT)
Markey (D-MA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murphy (D-CT)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Peters (D-MI)
Reed (D-RI)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schatz (D-HI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Smith (D-MN)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-NM)
Van Hollen (D-MD)
Warner (D-VA)
Warren (D-MA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
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Email Subject Line Of The Day

July 11, 2018 by

You have to hand it to the gun prohibitionists. Those that don’t have Mike Bloomberg’s money at their disposal will find any reason to ask for money. This is especially true of that cult of personality known as Giffords.

Here is the subject line of their latest email missive asking for money.

Gabby and Mark need you to rush an emergency donation to help us stop Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to serve on the Supreme Court. Let me explain why this request is so important.

Don’t wait. Don’t think about it. Send money now. Operators are standing by. A donation of only $3 will feed a starving prohibitionist for a day. Wait, I think I’m getting these pleas for donations confused a bit.

The email goes on to promise, “We are no doubt going to send a number of emails about Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination.” At least that is honest of  their Executive Director Peter Ambler to acknowledge that this just the first in a series of emails. Having been on their mailing list for a few years, I can assure you that each and every one of them will have some “ask” for a donation or to sign up on their mailing list.

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GOA Supports Kavanaugh Nomination

July 11, 2018 by

This is one endorsement from a gun right group I didn’t see yesterday morning. It is from Gun Owners of America. There endorsement is a bit more tempered than that of the NRA or SAF. In my opinion, it is like that of some of us in the gun rights community or that of social conservatives. We had favorites other than Kavanaugh but can live with him as he will help solidify the conservative majority on the Supreme court.

From GOA:

Erich Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America (GOA), issued the following statement on Pres. Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court:

“Gun Owners of America is optimistic that Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be a huge improvement over the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on many constitutional issues, including the Second Amendment.

“Initial reports suggest that Judge Kavanaugh deeply respects the Second Amendment, even though he was not the strongest of the finalists.

“Nevertheless, Judge Kavanaugh filed a pro-gun dissent in Heller II, arguing that Washington, DC’s ban on semi-automatic firearms was arbitrary and unlawful.

“In fact, his dissent was so well argued that GOA’s subsequent legal briefs have repeatedly held up his dissent as the model to follow.

“In another case, Kavanaugh correctly interpreted the Firearm Owners Protection Act to find that a defendant could not be sentenced to 30 years in prison for use of a fully-automatic firearm if he was unaware that the gun fired automatically.

“Kavanaugh also supported the prevailing opinion in the Citizens United case, which affirmed GOA’s voice in the political arena.

“GOA hopes that the Senate will confirm Kavanaugh — and that the Supreme Court will take up more Second Amendment cases, thus repealing the onerous and unconstitutional restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms that exist throughout the country.”