So, how was it again that Gandhian passive resistance won the day during the Civil Rights movement? Well, there were these armed guards, you see. . .

The Rev. Jonathan McPherson holds the double-barrel shotgun he carried to guard Martin Luther King Jr. when the civil rights leader rested in this Smithfield house. (The Birmingham News /Bernard Troncale)

Martin Luther King guard, Birmingham's Rev. Jonathan McPherson, working on memoir.

Note that these informal armed guards predated The Deacons for Defense and Justice by several years.

As he and Frank Dukes stood with guns in their hands outside a home in Smithfield, then called "Dynamite Hill" because of bombings targeting civil rights workers, Jonathan McPherson had no idea they were playing a part in history.

The home was a gathering spot for civil rights strategy sessions and with the help of McPherson and Dukes, who organized students at Miles College to conduct the 1962 boycott of segregated downtown stores, it gave Martin Luther King. Jr. a safe place to lay his head.

"We knew they'd throw bombs, so we decided if we saw someone so much as light a cigarette we were going to shoot," McPherson said.

McPherson says they weren't afraid they'd be overcome by those seeking to kill King. "The only thing we were concerned with was freedom, justice and equality."

I can't wait to read his book.

Big Federal "Gun Bust" going down in Lancaster TX area.

Lancaster is a city in both Dallas County and Ellis County, Texas (USA). As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 25,894 (though a 2007 estimate placed the city's population at 35,050). Lancaster and Cedar Hill are the only two cities in the Dallas metropolitan area that expand into Ellis County.

Lancaster is a suburb of Dallas, Texas and is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Lancaster, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Duncanville. -- Wikipedia.

So says WFAA.

The Lancaster Police Department has teamed with federal agents in an ongoing federal firearms investigation.

Local officers, along with ATF, FBI, DPS, ICE and state police showed up Monday morning after spending time in the city on Saturday. Lancaster's police headquarters is being used as a base for the operation.

The U.S. Attorney's office has confirmed that investigators are working on issuing a number of warrants.

ATF officials said it is a federal firearms investigation that could lead to a number of arrests.

Authorities will not release the details of the investigation so as not to tip their hand to any suspect who may face charges.

Speaking of voodoo. I heard the most heart-felt and sincere argument for large capacity magazines for pistols on Saturday.

So, when I was checking out gun stores on Saturday as part of my Gunwalker scandal survey, I walked up on a conversation between a counter man and three good old boys about the pros and cons of extended magazines for pistols. Were they necessary, seemed to be the topic of debate. One fellow seemed to be hanging back from the discussion, but paying intent heed to the debate. Finally there came a lull in the back-and-forth and I was about to put in my two cents' worth when the silent chap, speaking with a glint in his eye and in an accent that had to come from Blount County (and Blount County, Alabama, does indeed have its own distinctive sub-dialect of Southern English), said (and I believe I'm quoting him exactly):

"I'll tell you why I want 30 rounds for MY Glock -- 'cause no voodoo cannibal zombie's gonna get MY momma!" And then, as an afterthought, he added: "An' they come aroun' in packs!"

Of course everybody broke up. But, you know, the boy does have a point.

Another country heard from. A voodoo sex ceremony safety tip.

Sometimes practitioners get answers to their prayers or perceived mystic response to their desires. They often see in those eventualities the hands of Voodoo. Such adherents would usually offer some form of material or immaterial gifts to Voodoo as a token of appreciation.

These days some Priests of Voodoo Lodges insist that these gifts be something to eat or drink, such as a chicken or some alcohol. Yet, it is immediately seen that such priests ask for those edible things for their own bellies and not for the benefit of the Voodoo. In the purer form of the philosophy, any token of appreciation is acceptable to Voodoo as the owner of life has no needs to be feed or festooned by humanity. -- "Voodoo as a Spiritual Force," Rasta Livewire: Rastafarian Views on Life, Politics and Social Issues

Except, apparently, sex.

Let's be mindin' where you put de candles, Rasta mon.

Reports From Saturday's Protests in ATL and RDU. "Socialism is poison for idiots."

From Pete at WRSA.

And from Randy's Right.

And this from another country:

Don’t Be Bullied, Even By Thugs with Guns: Thanks to peaceful protest marches, which are now headed into their third week, the unions and their supporters have shown us the definition of restraint.

When members of the Western Rifle Shooters Association showed up at the Georgia protests in Atlanta, packing guns and brandishing rifles (later bragging about their actions on their website), the protestors kept their cool. And the police were there just to make sure the WRSA kept their fingers off the triggers.

Still it had to be unnerving.

When the deputy Attorney General of Indiana suggested using “live ammunition” to clear the protestors out of the Wisconsin state house, Indiana didn’t hesitate: it fired him.

Zero tolerance for such rhetoric drew a significant line in the sand. -- "What Wisconsin taught America" by Catherine Poe.

I guess Catherine didn't talk to this guy:

David Codrea reports: Even ‘pro-gun’ representatives ignoring and ducking ‘Project Gunwalker.’ Entries in the new “Project Gunweasel" Contest.

“Project Gunweasel”

"Fire in the 'gloryhole!'" Pervert Vander Werf connected to Gunwalker scandal? Is Gunwalker even bigger than anybody ever thought?

Graphic of ATF "Gloryholer" Russell Vander Werf found at the ATF agent's own website, CleanUpATF.org.

2009, December. Russell Vander Werf, Director of Industry Operations (DIO) for Houston ATF (responsible for overseeing inspection of all federal gun and explosives licensees in the area), was arrested while in New Orleans, after damaging a hotel room in Metairie, LA. Damage consisted of disabling the fire alarm and replacing a bedroom door with a piece of plywood with a circular hole cut in the middle, wrapped in gray duct tape (known as a "glory hole)". The hotel manager had received a call reporting numerous young men entering and exiting the room and "sex noises" coming from the room. Vander Werf admitted that he put the plywood on the door and disabled the fire alarms. ATF confirmed Vander Werf was in the New Orleans area on official business. It has been confirmed that on or about Valentine's Day, 2011, Russell Vander Werf is being reassigned to ATF Headquarters in Washington. -- Wikipedia.

Robert Farago writing at The Truth About Guns reports ATF Glory Hole Agent Still Drawing Pay, Pension, Benefits. His source is this thread from CleanUpATF.org. Farago writes with outrage that ATF Headquarters favorite "gloryholer" had been spending the last year with full pay and benefits at home -- as a GS-15 that's not chump change. Unfortunately Robert did not read far enough. Later on in the string, ATF agent All Eyes On You writes:

It has been confirmed that Russell Vanderwerf is being reassigned to 99 New York Ave. The decision was apparently made a week ago and ATF Management doesn't want it announced, because they think they can move him without ya'll noticing?! Why so secretive? What else is going on with this puke?

And later he comments:

A paid move from Texas to DC with GS-15 pay, for a Deputy Chief spot. A DIO to a Deputy Chief sounds like a promotion to me. Disciplinary action? No way. He's a GS-15 supervisor, that'll never happen.

"What else is going on with this puke?" I think I have a clue -- Project Gunwalker. What was his job in Houston? "Director of Industry Operations (DIO) for Houston ATF (responsible for overseeing inspection of all federal gun and explosives licensees in the area)."

And recall that although the ATF is pretending that the Phoenix/Tucson offices are the crux of the Project Gunrunner prosecutions that it was Carter's Country in the Houston Field Office's area of operations which is on the record as having been told to proceed with suspicious sales. Recall also that even though Vander Werf was busted in late 2009, we know from the Fast and Furious documentation that the whole encourage-dealers-to-cooperate meme was being being worked at least back that far.

Okay, so Texas is a border state. But what if this is bigger than anybody ever thought? What if this is not about exaggerating the border problem, but the entire problem of criminal access to firearms all across the country?

But based on a rumor and a hunch, I decided to stop by a couple of Birmingham area gun stores yesterday and ask around. I had this question:

Have you ever called in a suspicious sale that had passed the NICS check but still seemed hinky and been told to go ahead with it?

At the first one, I had a counterman tell me yes, and then when I asked for more detail, the owner told me he was wrong and that he wasn't going to say anything further. He darn near ordered me out of the shop.

At the second, though, the owner wasn't there and the counterman and his partner both filled me in on their experiences. Yes, they said, it had happened more than once. Two instances stood out: one on a buy of four semi-auto AKs to some folks who wore gang colors and one on some Glock pistols to to a Hispanic girl accompanied by a couple guys with MS-13 tattoos. It just didn't make sense to them. The buyers did not know that they had passed the NICS checks. They could have been put off for further investigation. It just didn't make sense.

And that was just two gun stores. Two out of two I surveyed. In Birmingham, Alabama, far from the southwest border.

So what if this is more than anecdotal? What if Gunrunner is far more widespread than has been previously thought? What if it is just the tip of the spear of a policy to ENCOURAGE the circulation of firearms to gangs all across the country?

It strikes me that ATF headquarters may have very good reason to take an obvious disciplinary case deserving of firing and hold him close, pay him for doing nothing for over a year and then to promote him to ATF headquarters.

And that reason is the Project Gunwalker Scandal.

I have a suggestion for all Three Percenters out there. Stop in your local gunshops, wherever they may be, and ask them the same question:

Have you ever called in a suspicious sale that had passed the NICS check but still seemed hinky and been told to go ahead with it?

Ask them on condition of anonymity and report back to me here. Just give me towns or counties, nothing specific enough to get the dealers in trouble. What we need right now is more anecdotal evidence of this behavior on the part of the ATF. Of course if you find someone who is willing to go on the record to Senator Grassley or the House of Representatives you can pass that on too to my email address, GeorgeMason1776@aol.com.

And watch out for "gloryholers." They might be your tax dollars at work.

Codrea: Mexican government shrugs off CBS News investigation on ‘walked guns’ . Did Billy Hoover perjure himself ALREADY?

Billy Hoover (on right). Didja lie under oath, Billy? Didja?

Codrea raises some great points. Here's my question: did Billy Hoover perjure himself ALREADY?

Information about Calderon’s inner circle being involved would also have been known by William Hoover, ATF’s Assistant Director for Field Operations and Anthony P. Placido, DEA’s Assistant Administrator for Intelligence Division, at the time of their statement before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommitee on Crime and Drugs, concerning “Law enforcement responses to Mexican drug cartels,” presented March 17, 2009 (over a week before Clinton’s statement on the situation).

Yet here is what Hoover and Placido told the subcommittee, while testifying "the greatest proportion of firearms trafficked to Mexico originate out of the U.S. along the southwest border":

Internationally, the Department enjoys a strong collaborative relationship with law enforcement and other government agencies within Mexico and throughout the world. The Department would not have achieved the success it has without the remarkable support and courageous actions of the Mexican government.

A few questions:

Was that joint agency statement provided under oath?

In re testifying about “a strong collaborative relationship,” will investigations find that a decision to keep the Mexican government uniformed about “gun walking” operations was already either under discussion or in practice (note that Jaime Avila, who purchased the weapons found at Border Patrol agent Brian Terry’s murder scene, was documented as being under government surveillance in late 2009)?

Noting tie-ins not only with the highest levels in both the Justice and State Departments, as well as within his own government with its ruthless cartel connections, is it any wonder the Mexican spokesman didn’t want to say any more than he did?

FAIR Trade Group files lawsuit against the ATF for prohibiting the importation of certain long gun barrels.

The FireArms Import/Export Roundtable Trade Group (or, FAIR Trade Group) chose to file a lawsuit against the federal government after failing to secure a reasonable conclusion to a long standing dispute with the ATF over the interpretation of the Gun Control Act and actions taken by ATF in direct conflict with regulations published in the Federal Register. Read the press release here.

America as a Free Fire Zone :: A Critical Examination of Gun Culture Rationalizations

Another collectivist intellectual justification for citizen disarmament.

My reply to the puke:

I was once asked by an advocate of citizen disarmament what I thought of "gun control," and then, as I framed my answer, he added, "Give me the short answer."

"Okay," I answered, "if you try to take our firearms we will kill you."

I used to argue history, facts and common sense with such as you, but gave it up as a bad job.

It boils down to that: "If you try to take our firearms (liberty, property, insert any other God-given, inalienable right), we will kill you."

Making a "public safety" argument by appealing to a "solution" that would ignite a bloody civil war which would stack up bodies by the hundreds of thousands if not millions is, well, stupid beyond belief.

Not only that, but your side would lose. Did I mention that it is our side who has the firearms and knows how to shoot? And that it is our sons and daughters who make up the majority of the combat arms portions of the military?

Not that this will make a dent, but I thought it only polite to warn you that one should be careful for what one wishes for, lest you get it.

Mike Vanderboegh
The alleged leader of a merry band of Three Percenters
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com

Why firearms matter.

A tip of the boonie hat to Randy Dye for the link.

Project Gunwalker Scandal grab bag.

Senator Tom Coburn notices the Gunwalker scandal.

Robert Farago tells us more about how drug cartels get their weapons from evil American gun shows in U.S National Guardsman [Not Shown] Sold Drug Gangs Rifles, Vests, Grenades.

Paul Helmke's deadly hypocrisy."The Brady Campaign to Ignore the Project Gunwalker Scandal." Pay no attention to the ugly reality behind the curtain!

"Major Strasser has been shot! . . . Round up the usual suspects."

Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie. Hypocrisy is not simply failing to practice those virtues that one preaches. . . (A)n alcoholic's advocating temperance, for example, would not be considered an act of hypocrisy so long as the alcoholic made no pretense of constant sobriety. -- Wikipedia.

David Codrea brings our attention to a predictable hypocrisy by his headline: "Anti-gun groups silent on ‘Project Gunwalker.’" In his Examiner article, David rightly deconstructs the Brady Bunch's Dennis Hennigan as he declaims by loud silence: "Pay no attention to the ugly reality behind the curtain!"

Since 2006, 14 U.S. Custom and Border Patrol Agents have been killed, most recently Brian Terry, fatally wounded in December of last year with an AK-47. There is little doubt that more courageous federal officers will be struck down, with assault rifles trafficked from American gun shops. Perhaps the NRA bosses, and the House members they control, can explain to the families of the slain federal agents, and to those of the Mexican citizens who have lost their lives to drug cartel gunfire, the wisdom of depriving ATF of an important tool against gun trafficking. But please spare us the phony talk about the need to "enforce the laws on the books."

"Phony talk" indeed. If there's any explaining to do to "the families of the slain federal agents," it needs to come from the ATF, Eric Holder and the ideological supporters of citizen disarmament who seek to shield them from responsibility and retribution -- first and foremost among these last is the Brady Bunch.

David for one is having none of it:

Is it not in the interest of furthering the Brady’s purported goals to establish the truth in this? At least the ones they're willing to publicly disclose?

If not, Mr. Henigan, “please spare us the phony talk about the need to” give a Bureau that is so obviously broken even more power and authority before finding out exactly what’s wrong with it and fixing it. And “please spare us the phony talk about” how imposing even more restrictions on Americans who are already obeying “the laws on the books” is just the ticket for curing Mexico’s narcoterrorism woes.

Now Mr. Henigan surely knows, as does his boss Paul Helmke, the awful details revealed so far in the Project Gunwalker scandal. How could he not? Helmke is on my personal email list. Every time I have a Sipsey Street post about any ATF scandal -- especially Project Gunwalker -- he gets a copy in his in-box. Just as this Saturday morning he will be copied on this. (Hi, Paulie! Wanna come out and play?) And I never get a bounce-back. He must read each one, each new revelation, with all the horrified fascination of someone watching a slow-motion car wreck involving his children -- aghast, but unable to look away.

19 April 2010: Gravelly Point Park, Virginia. Paul Helmke and me in happier days. (Well, from the looks on our faces, at least I was happy. The headlines haven't been going in his direction these past few years.)

Yet as well informed as Helmke is, he has made no mention of the Project Gunwalker scandal. One would think from such studious ignorance that perhaps he will next change the name of his organization to "The Brady Campaign to Ignore the Project Gunwalker Scandal."

Knowing the real source of the weapon that killed Brian Terry, has he demanded the truth? No. He has continued to pimp a deliberate fiction. Thus does he spit on Brian Terry's grave.

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, killed with a rifle that the ATF deliberately let "walk." Paul Helmke doesn't give a tinker's damn about the truth of his death, or he would be doing something about it.

Knowing that these weapons have surely killed many innocent Mexicans, has Helmke sought congressional investigation and intervention? No. What's a few more dead nameless, faceless Mexicans when you've got a lying meme to push?

More dead Mexicans. Paul Helmke cries crocodile tears over them too.

By his silence on Gunwalker, Helmke is declaiming: "Major Strasser has been shot! . . . Round up the usual suspects."

The usual suspects of course being American gun stores, gun shows and the armed citizenry.

Paul Helmke, by his repeated insistence upon ever more power and resources for the ATF in the advancement of his own citizen disarmament agenda, which has now shown itself to have all the moral rectitude and trustworthiness of a fireman caught setting deadly fires, has lashed himself and his organization to the wheel of that criminally-run agency's ship of fortunes.

When that ship sinks, Helmke's agenda drowns with it just as surely as a frantic rat that can't make it to a bit of flotsam.

And do you know what I say?

"Torpedo . . . Los!"

The Ancient ATF - SPLC Symbiotic Monster Raises Its Ugly, Lying Head Again -- this time trying to provide cover for ATF in the Gunwalker scandal.

The Ministry of Truth (or Minitrue, in Newspeak) is one of the four ministries that govern Oceania in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. As with the other Ministries in the novel, the Ministry of Truth is a misnomer and in reality serves an opposing purpose to that which its name would imply, being responsible for the falsification of historical events; and yet is aptly named in a deeper sense, in that it creates/manufactures "truth" in the newspeak sense of the word. -- Wikipedia.

"Nigger Hunting License" issued at the ATF's get-togethers in the '90s called the "Good O' Boys Roundup."

They're trying to tone down the racist trappings of the "Good O' Boys Roundup" here in the Tennessee hills east of Chattanooga, where hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement officers gather every spring to let off steam.

There was a lot to tone down. Gone, for example, are many of the crude signs that once greeted arriving officers, like this one: "Nigger check point."

The "Good O' Boys Roundup" is organized by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and it was held this year on May 18-20.

Also gone this year was the traditional Saturday-night skit highlighting the "Good O' Boys steak dinner." In one skit, an officer in fake Ku Klux Klan garb pulled a dildo from his robe and pretended to sodomize another officer, who was in blackface.

But according to law enforcement officers who attended this year's and other events, a whites-only police remains in effect.

Still on sale were T-shirts with Martin Luther King Jr.'s face behind a target, O.J. Simpson in a hangman's noose and white D.C. police officers with a black man sprawled across the hood of their car under the words "Boyz on the Hood."

"Nigger hunting licenses" also were available throughout the compound, consisting of motor homes, trailers, tents and pickups gathered around a large beer truck.

At this year's event, some black officers -- including ATF agents -- attempted to crash the party and were turned away after having "bitter words" with some of the white officers in attendance, the officers said. -- Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, July 11, 1995.

"Nigger Checkpoint" sign at the entrance to the "Good O' Boys Roundup. Photo from videotape taken by infiltrators belonging to the Gadsden Minutemen constitutional militia, 1994.

In 1995, the ATF's Good O' Boys Roundup scandal broke into the open, thanks to a videotape provided by the Gadsden Minutemen, a constitutional militia formation here in Alabama. Boy did the excrement hit the rotary oscillator.

But just when the ATF prospects for serious chastisement looked most promising, the agency was bought some precious time by their own "white knight" -- Morris Dees of the ill-named Southern "Poverty" Law Center. In a Fox Butterfield story in the New York Times, Dees alleged that the Gadsden boys' videotape was a fake.

Of course it wasn't -- a fact proven later by none other than FBI master evidence technician Frederic Whitehurst. But at a critical moment in the ATF's fortunes, Dees had bought the agency some precious time by virtue of a well-timed lie.

Why would Dees help screen obviously racist conduct when he was nominally the big "anti-racist crusader?" Why would he risk discrediting his gravy train?

Because, SPLC and ATF have always had a two-headed monster symbiotic relationship, and that relationship formed an integral part of his gravy train as well. He HAD to defend such reprehensible conduct, or risk his "intelligence" stream being cut off.

This was first proven to me in late 1994, if I recall correctly, when we made up out of smoke and mirrors the "Dogtown Rangers." We knew that the ATF was illegally sharing case information with SPLC and wanted to prove it, so we put that name on a list of Alabama militia formations and let it get into the hands of the ATF, just to see how long it took to show up in SPLC's equally mis-named "Intelligence Report." To back up the list, we began mentioning the "Dogtown Rangers" in phone conversations, always hitting on how uncompromising and dangerous they were. If explosives disappeared from a quarry, we would say, "It must have been those Dogtown Rangers again."

It took less than two months for the mythical Dogtown Rangers to go from ATF file to SPLC "Intelligence Report." This is why when it became necessary to flesh out the story of the equally mythical Ramsey A. Bear recently, we made him an intelligence officer in, of course, the Dogtown Rangers. Once more, the ATF was tricked into chasing the elusive Dogtown Rangers.

Now, once again, the ATF finds itself in the middle of an even worse impossible-to-explain scandal. And who is their new "white knight" now that Morris is in semi-retirement in his palatial digs?

Meet David Holthouse, serial paid liar, admitted libeler and SPLC employee.

Long-time readers of Sipsey Street will recall Holthouse from this story in July of last year and this update from earlier this month.

Holthouse is a now a demonstrated, indeed, a self-admitted, libeler. SPLC had to buy and apologize their way out of a law suit by one of Holthouse's victims.

Did this chasten Holthouse? Hardly.

Here is his latest effort at the Media Matters website entitled: "Smuggler's Paradise: Guns, Drugs and Violence in the Southwest."

You may recall that Chris Brown at Media Matters just finished sticking his male member in the factual wringer with an attack on Larry Pratt of GOA, just before CBS validated everything Larry had to say.

Now comes Holthouse, who manages to write the ATF party line about "Gunrunner," even mentioning the death of Brian Terry, without mentioning the Gunwalker scandal that contributed to his death.

PHOENIX, Ariz.--The endless carnage of the Mexican cartel wars may seem a world away from the climate control and free Starbucks within the Phoenix Convention Center, where leading border security experts gathered this month for the fifth annual Border Security Expo. Yet it's only 150 miles from downtown Phoenix to the northernmost cartel war zone of Nogales, Sonora. Even closer are the badlands on the U.S. side of the border where last December a Border Patrol agent was killed in a firefight with Mexican drug smugglers. They were armed with AK-47s purchased legally from a gun store in Glendale, Arizona, less than a year before.

More than 73,000 firearms have been seized in drug raids or recovered from the scenes of cartel gun battles in Mexico since December 2006. According to law enforcement officials, "90 percent of the weapons that could be traced were determined to have originated from various sources within the U.S." Weapons sold over-the-counter in the U.S., including thousands of cheap, military-style assault rifles, are being used in Mexico to commit horrific violence on a massive scale.

Conservative politicians routinely demand that the federal government to do more to secure the border -- often championing nativist and draconian anti-immigrant policies. Yet they reflexively oppose even modest efforts by law enforcement to better track the flow of high-powered weaponry.

Straight out of the meme, huh? This guy should be part of The Ministry of Truth. Oh, wait, maybe he is.

Standing at the Phoenix conference hall podium, U.S. border security expert Alonzo Peña, the former Deputy Director of ICE, called for America to own up to its responsibility for the bloodshed in Mexico.

"We are the consumers of the drugs and we are the suppliers of the weapons," said Peña. "The drugs come to America, the money and the guns go back. U.S. weapons are giving these cartels the firepower they need. Much more needs to be done. There is a huge gap between what we are capable of doing to stop illegal gun trafficking to Mexico and what is actually being done."

Last spring, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms proposed to narrow that gap with an emergency regulation that would require the roughly 8,500 federally licensed firearms dealers in the four border states to report the sale of multiple assault rifles to the same person in any five-day period.

This proposed new measure would neither prevent nor delay the purchase of any firearms. It's designed to thwart the common practice among gunrunners of deploying "straw purchasers" to buy assault rifles in bulk. The proposed regulation mirrors a law on handguns that has been on the books since 1993, requiring gun stores to notify law enforcement authorities whenever a person buys two or more handguns in the same week.

The recent indictment of 17 alleged gunrunners in Phoenix details the kind of buying patterns the proposed regulation targets. According to the indictment, Uriel Patino, a legal resident of the U.S., paid cash last Nov. 3 for two AK-47 rifles from Lone Wolf Trading Co., a Glendale, Ariz. strip mall gun store. A week later, he came back and bought 10 more AK-47s. Two days later, he purchased five more AKs. A month after that, he bought 20 more. In all, he bought 232 weapons -- 42 handguns and 190 assault rifles -- all from the same store, in 18 visits. With each purchase, Patino passed an instant background check and signed a form attesting the firearms were for his personal use.

His claims were no more ridiculous than the National Rifle Association and other gun lobby groups portraying the proposed anti-gunrunning measure as a serious attack on the second amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. But that is just what they did.

"This administration does not have the guts to build a wall, but they do have the audacity to blame and register gun owners for Mexico's problems," said Chris Cox, the chief lobbyist for the NRA.

Facing stiff opposition from the NRA and its allies, President Obama repeatedly delayed approval of the emergency regulation. Now it may be too late. Last Friday--three days after the ICE agent was murdered in Mexico--the House of Representatives voted 277 to 149 to block the Obama administration from implementing the anti-gunrunning regulation.

Two years ago, a Department of Defense study concluded that cartel violence had destabilized Mexico to a point that it was at risk of becoming a failed state, meaning a total collapse of its civilian government.

But when the U.S. law enforcement professionals who are tasked with securing the border ask for commonsense firearms regulations to stem the flow of high-powered weapons to Mexican drug cartels, right-wing forces put the interests of the firearms industry above those of national security and federal law enforcement officials in both nations.

"We are being outgunned," said Luis Carlos Nujera, the State Secretary of the Department of Public Safety in the state of Jalisco, whose capital, Guadalajara, erupted in violence in early February after two cartel leaders were arrested. "The aim of the cartels is to destabilize and create panic. To do this they are using better and more modern firearms than many of our state and local police agencies possess."

At the Border Security Expo, ATF officials made it clear that interdicting firearms bound for Mexico is a top enforcement priority for their agency. "We have 'Project Gunrunner' groups in Phoenix and Tucson that were created specifically to address the gun trafficking that directly impacts the level of violence in Mexico and the U.S. border region," said James Needles, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division of the ATF.

Needles said that in May, the ATF will open a new anti-gunrunning office with seven agents in Sierra Vista, Ariz., just north of the border. "We're going after the Arizona-based distribution cells," said Needles. "The street agents know what's needed. Our biggest hurdle is Washington."

In the 48 hours after the House of Representatives voted to block the anti-gunrunning regulation, more than 40 people were killed in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a border city about the size of San Antonio, Texas. Among the dead were four Mexican police officers, shot down with assault rifles.

Okay, let's revisit that money quote above:

"We have 'Project Gunrunner' groups in Phoenix and Tucson that were created specifically to address the gun trafficking that directly impacts the level of violence in Mexico and the U.S. border region," said James Needles, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division of the ATF. Needles said that in May, the ATF will open a new anti-gunrunning office with seven agents in Sierra Vista, Ariz., just north of the border. "We're going after the Arizona-based distribution cells," said Needles. "The street agents know what's needed. Our biggest hurdle is Washington."

It is as if the whole Project Gunwalker allegations by ATF's own street agents, the letters by Senator Grassley, the documents appended to them, the FOX and CBS News pieces -- it is as if they never existed -- just went down the memory hole.

And once again, it is an SPLC stooge who runs interference for a beleaugered ATF.

Some things never change.

Storm blew through last night . . .

We kept our power but didn't get much sleep so got up late. Have to go to the doctors today (continuing wrangle with expensive heart medication, cast put in Wednesday probably making things worse). More posting later today, on Gunwalker and other subjects. Be sure and check David's War on Guns and Examiner column for the latest.

Mike
III

CBS Reports: Mexican Government is hip to Bandidos Gabachos as long as they carry ATF badges, apparently.

"Gunwalker scandal? What Gunwalker scandal?"

After all, "What's a few more nameless, faceless, dead Mexicans in the grand scheme of things?"

Even, it seems, to the Mexican government.

February 24, 2011 4:23 PM

Mexico responds to CBS News investigation

Last night our CBS News investigation reported on ATF's Project Gunrunner and allegations that it included a secret operation near the border that intentionally allowed thousands of assault rifles and other weapons to hit the streets.

Sources told us many of the weapons ended up in the hands of Mexico's drug cartels. Two AK-47 type assault rifles turned up at the murder of border patrol agent Brian Terry on December 14th.

Sources also told us that ATF agents operating in Mexico were instructed not to alert Mexican authorities about the operation.

The Mexican government responded today. Ricardo Alday, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. said Mexico intends to continue to work with the U.S. to enhance intelligence and information sharing, and that Mexico "will continue to encourage more aggressive interdiction efforts on the U.S. side of the border."

Well, if they want to do that, they'd better hire the Minutemen. It's the federal government that is smuggling the damn firearms.

Another Country Heard From. Only in this case it is a love note from Pragutopia, where all the 800-pound gelded gorillas live.

Normally when we get "another Country Heard From" submissions they come from collectivist weenies of one stripe or another. This time we have a parg commenting on my post, Larry Pratt comes out swinging on the Project Gunwalker scandal while the "800 pound gorilla" NRA rests upon its considerable ass.

It would seem, given the considerable historical revisionism, we may have discovered the chauffeur of the Weeniemobile.

Shooter 2.5 said...

Well, as usual the goa still can't do a single thing without the NRA's help. Pratt seems to have a problem with the NRA only because they were TWO days behind the goa in making a statement. It must be due to the fact the NRA has an executive board and a regular board of directors instead of being a family owned t-shirt company.

I have asked the members of a conservative website for seven years as to what the goa has ever done ON THEIR OWN and have yet to receive an answer.

The goa didn't do a thing to help the Katrina victims.

The NRA was able to delay Parker VS. Washington D.C. which we would have lost until we added Alito and Roberts. That lawsuit became Heller VS. Washington D.C. The NRA shared arguments and the goa was nowhere in sight.

The NRA shared arguments with the Second Amendment Foundation with McDonald Vs. Washington D.C. The goa had to mention the NRA in it's amicus brief which is pathetic.

The NRA and the SAF have each filed numerous lawsuits after Heller and McDonald. The goa has yet to file a single one. The NRA threatened to file a lawsuit against the city of Morton Grove. That city no longer has the infamous Morton Grove gun ban. Thank you NRA and thank you SAF.

If the goa had any sort of track.record they wouldn't need to ever mention the NRA. Thanks for nothing, goa

From Pete at WRSA: Matthew Bracken's latest.

"Q&A With EFAD's Matthew Bracken - Castigo Cay"

More Gunwalker Scandal items. Check them out. "The cost of doing nothing is ultimately a human one."

David Codrea writes: "Gun group calls for House investigation of ‘Project Gunwalker’"

Last night was the end of Round One. There is still a long fight ahead, and the opponent is crafty, tough, tireless and knows every dirty trick in the book. Please help those in the center ring who have risked so much just to get this bout scheduled.

Please use this briefing paper, get it to your representative, demand to know what he intends to do about it, and let him know if his answer is anything short of what is expected of a leader, you will make his evasion and equivocation on this matter of basic truth, justice and decency known at election time.

Tell him just like that.

And if you choose not to, rationalizing that someone else will carry the load, just remember we’ve already seen that the cost of doing nothing is ultimately a human one.

Rob Reed, Detroit Gun Rights Examiner, writes: "CBS News brings 'Project Gunrunner' scandal to the public."

Dave Workman writes: Bellevue v. Beltway: Gottlieb tells Holder ‘Investigate ATF or resign’

Washington State’s leading gun rights advocate wants heads to roll over the “Project Gunrunner” scandal, which was launched in 2009 ostensibly to curb the flow of American guns – some traced back to the Evergreen State – that are allegedly fueling the violent Mexican drug cartel war.

Hugh Holub reports: "More on the effort to cover up the truth about the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry."

"Want to know when you’ve hit a sore spot and there really is a fire where you reported there was smoke? When the other side goes after you and attacks."

This just in: The Washington Post is STILL Dead. Plus, now we have a bet on the table.

Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer's Washington Post sits unread on his breakfast table while he carries out the wreckage of his television set after throwing a bookend through the screen during Sharyl Attkisson's CBS piece on the Project Gunwalker scandal last night.

And this just in, for the hard-of-hearing or anybody else, the Washington Post is still dead.

And then there was this email from a DC friend:

Mike -- while I admire your persistence re the WoPo, reality is that you cannot not shame someone with no sense of same...

They are just so deeply embedded with The Establishment inside the Beltway, that their good reporters -- and they have some (Rick Leiby being one) -- cannot get the management okay to rock the boat. Not on an issue involving guns!!!

Keep up the fire... I'll bet the NYT does Gunwalker before the Post.

So, we have a bet on the table. The Grey Lady will beat Pravda to the Gunwalker story. Any takers?

Praxis: More on motorcycles from Fragraf in Michigan.

Mike,

I have two motorcycles, and would like to help Sipsey Street readers understand the value of having a lightweight, fuel efficient motorcycle capable of off-road travel. Specifically, I would highly recommend an on/off road bike that is capable of keeping up with traffic on most state and county roads, and have the ability to travel on lesser unmaintained roads and trails. My motorcycle is a Yamaha TW200, that comes standard with a very wide rear tire, is very low geared and is very comfortable off road and on backroads. The stock Yamaha lacks gearing to travel on a state trunk line, but this can be remedied with minor modifications. Other motorcycles of various makes and models, from KTM, Honda, Kawasaki, BMW and others would make a good "survival" bike. I bought mine used for $1200 with 1050 miles on the clock.

Here is my logic and ideas on ownership, use and deployment of the bike:

1. This motorcycle is easy on fuel. I've calculated the mileage at 87 mpg for this bike, on rural dirt roads.

2. This motorcyle (and other similar motorcyles are) are easy and inexpensive to maintain and fix. The machine is simple, and the book covers easy maintenance

3. This bike can go pretty much anywhere I might want to go. If I need to change location to evade, avoid or make a logistics run this bike stands a better chance of getting there in a SHTF scenario. If you remember the evacuation of New Orleans during the lead up to Hurricane Katrina, you might remember the long traffic jam on the freeways leaving town. This type motorcycle can keep you moving, and avoid the inevitable traffic jam during a mass evacuation.


4. The motorcyle can be deployed as a route recon vehicle for moving larger vehicles. The rider can help a convoy of larger vehicles avoid traffic jams, defiles, sharp curves, and other potential trouble spots and/or ambush sites.

5. It is a good bike to ride, and way more fun than driving my truck, and has become more fun to ride than my other bike, a Harley Davidson.

Limitations are few. These type bikes have small fuel tanks. They can be replaced by larger tanks, and gas cans are readily available. Storage is limited, but ammo cans or other make shift bags can be fitted on the bike. Other limitations are specific to the rider, and might be different for each individual.

In your original post, you mentioned stockpiling fuel. I have done so for the past two years. I have taken 30 gallon blue plastic barrels and buried them, leaving about 8" sticking out of the ground. I'll by 5 gallons and load the semi-buried barrels. Having the barrels in the ground will prevent theft, since a crook cannot easily carry away a barrel. As far as getting fuel out, I use a small foot pump and hose to remove fuel from the barrel. I treat with Stabil, and rotate my stock.

Good Luck to the Sipsey Street community and God save us all

Fragraf. Michigan III

Okay, just so you know, if this ever happens to me, it wasn't self-inflicted.

A man is in critical condition after shooting himself in the head five or six times at a Panama City gun range on State Road 390 near the old Panama City Airport.

A short, if exasperated, message to the Drudge Report:

Just sent them this:

http://www.cbspressexpress.com/div.php/cbs_network/release?id=27623

CBS COVERS THE BIGGEST GOVERNMENT SCANDAL SINCE WATERGATE AND STILL YOU SHITHEADS WON'T COVER IT?

Who's paying you?

Ex-Calderón guard leaked secrets (and arms) to drug cartels

But I thought it was that evil "gun show loophole"?

Bank accounts must be getting low again as SPLC issues new "militias are comin' to get yo momma" report. Ho, hum.

In the middle of all the Gunwalker scandal stuff, I fielded two requests for comment yesterday on SPLC's new "militias are comin' to get yo momma" report.

The first was by Matthew Biggs of Reuters' Atlanta office who quoted me correctly (as he always does):

Mike Vanderboegh, a militia veteran in Alabama who runs the influential blog called Sipsey Street Irregulars, said the SPLC lacked authority to comment on militia groups.

"There's always a big rise in militia groups whenever SPLC is trying to raise money. Do I think it's (the report) true? Certainly I think it's true, but not for the reasons they are positing," Vanderboegh said in an interview.

The second was by Kent Faulk of the local rag, the Birmingham News. His story ran yesterday here, so I suspect he will have a follow-up today, or, not. His email went as follows:

-----Original Message-----
From: Kent Faulk
To: GeorgeMason1776
Sent: Wed, Feb 23, 2011 3:22 pm
Subject: Question from Kent Faulk at The Birmingham News re: SPLC report

Mr. Vanderboegh,

This is Kent Faulk, with The Birmingham News.

Do you have any reaction to the Southern Poverty Law Center listing Three%er (Pinson) in its annual report on the number of extremist, anti-government, and hate groups?

It lists Three%er (Pinson) under anti-government "Patriot" groups.

Thanks,
Kent

To which I replied:

The Southern Preposterous Lie Center must be in need of more donations. Their reports, in case you hadn't noticed, bear a remarkable similarity, one after the other, year after year, as does their conflationary and distorted use of language. The only people who I know are actually "anti-government" are anarchists. The Three Percenters are FOR government that is small, safe, transparent and limited -- you know, like the Founders had in mind.

As far as whether or not the militia movement is growing (a Reuters reporter already called me on this one), to quote the Bard: "Who hath measured the ground?" SPLC, beyond the fact that its bank account proves conclusively that it has nothing to do with "poverty," is like a stopped clock which is right twice a day, or a rooster who believes that by crowing it can make the sun to rise.

Let me ask you this. I am attaching a briefing paper on the federal government scandal du jour -- Project Gunwalker. . . FOX News had a piece on this scandal yesterday, CBS (who I helped get in touch with the whistleblower ATF agents) is running this piece tonight:

http://www.cbspressexpress.com/div.php/cbs_network/release?id=27623

I broke -- (yes me, a militia guy, an "extremist," an "anti-government" radical according to the professional liars at SPLC) -- I broke this story on 28 December on my blog. How did I do this? Because I had numerous sources WITHIN the ATF, especially street agents. Sorta counter-intuitive, huh? After that I worked with fellow Second Amendment blogger David Codrea to link up the whistleblowers with (first) Senator Sessions' office and (later) Senator Grassley's office to get them protection. David and I have been banging on this story in the blogosphere and now, two months later, the major media is picking it up and we're going to have hearings.

Now, that said, let me ask you something: does that sound "anti-government" to you? Using freedom of speech, investigative journalism and the political system to expose one of the worst scandals in federal government's recent history? "Anti-government"? Really?

Again, to paraphrase the Bard: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy . . and there's sure as hell more than can be explained by the SPLC "Narrative of 1995." (See To Shake Their Guns in the Tyrant's Face by Prof. Robert Churchill, who labels SPLC as the proponent of a new "Brown Scare.")

SPLC should get a new gong to bang. The one they've got is a bit worn out.

Pathetic lying con men, all.

Mike Vanderboegh
The alleged leader of a merry band of Three Percenters.

GOA issues Gunwalker Scandal Congressional Briefing Paper: "All right, you apes, so we took the frigging hill. Now we gotta take the next one."

Taking the hill. Pfc. John J. Allen of Company E in the 25th Infantry Division leads his men in attack on the west central front in Korea, March 30, 1951. (AP Photo/Cpl. Don Doucette/U.S. Army)

Remember day before yesterday when Larry Pratt came out swinging on the Gunwalker scandal?

Last night, just before the CBS piece ran, Chris Brown at the collectivist "analysis" chop shop Media Matters slammed Larry Pratt as a conspiracy theorist.

On February 22, Gun Owners of America (GOA) president Larry Pratt appeared on America Live and presented a variety of misleading reasons for his opposition to Andrew Traver, President Obama's nominee to head up the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Pratt's objections during the segment were political in nature, wholly ignored Traver's distinguished record as a law enforcement officer and veered into far-flung accusations of criminal conspiracies by the ATF.

Then the CBS piece ran. Well, as David Codrea commented to me last night in a phone call regarding Collectivist Brown, "Sucks to be him."

Congratulations aside, I feel like the non-com whose battered squad has made it to the top of the hill and now realizes he's got to not only hold the ground he's taken, but push on to the next rise.

Gun Owners of America has just brought up some more ammo in this fight, so let's be fillin' up those ammo pouches, people. Drink water, and drive on.

This Congressional Briefing Paper sums up what we know up to now about the Gunwalker scandal. And for the next couple of days, a lot of your Congresscritters and Senators are at home, having taken this President's Day week off. That gives you two days to download the GOA brief, print copies and stuff them in your elected representatives' hands with a demand for hearings on Gunwalker.

TWO DAYS.

Y'all have done magnificently up to this point. But we need to keep driving ahead. One media event doesn't move these critters.

YOU DO.

"All right, you apes, so we took the frigging hill. Now we gotta take the next one."

Off your butts, people. We've got one more hill to climb. And quickly.

And be prepared for counterattack along the way.

Vindication. CBS runs the definitive Gunwalker story so far: Gunrunning scandal uncovered at the ATF. "You can't stop the signal, Mal."

"You can't stop the signal, Mal." -- Mr. Universe to Malcolm Reynolds in Serenity, 2005.

David Codrea writes:

Mike Vanderboegh and I are both more than pleased with this initial report. It exceeded the high expectations we had for this after corresponding and speaking with the people involved. We were both impressed with their interest in this story and perceived a commitment to be thorough and truthful. They were, and our expectations for further reports with even more details remain high. The bar has been set for others following to try for.

Indeed. As I watched our vindication play out in electrons I couldn't help but think of Mr. Universe. "You can't stop the signal, Mal." The Project Gunwalker scandal, which began as a whispered rumor, is now out in front of the whole world to see. Most significantly, the ATF and DOJ hid, refusing to comment, refusing even to send out the weasel-worded non-denial deniers. Guilty. As. Sin.

There is more coming on CBS, I can promise you that. And now the other networks and print "authorized journalists" will have to get off their duffs and start to play catch-up.

When they write the history of this scandal, today will be recalled as a red-letter day. And the people that read it will have no idea how much time, effort, tears, curses and sweat, went into getting to this day. Nor will they ever know how much the agents risked to get the word out. They kept their oaths. Remember that.

I'll tell you truly, when the video below came to the end, I darn near cried.

No more posting tonight. Tonight, I'm going upstairs, kiss Rosey, and sleep the sleep of the just. I hope the agents do too.

Mike
III

Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7357550n&tag=related;photovideo



February 23, 2011

Gunrunning scandal uncovered at the ATF

Program aimed at stopping the flow of weapons from the US to Mexico may have allegedly had the opposite effect

(CBSNews)

WASHINGTON - Keeping American weapons from getting into the hands of Mexican gangs is the goal of a program called "Project Gunrunner." But critics say it's doing exactly the opposite. CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports on what she found.

December 14, 2010. The place: a dangerous smuggling route in Arizona not far from the border. A special tactical border squad was on patrol when gunfire broke out and agent Brian Terry was killed.

Kent, Brian's brother, said "he was my only brother. That was the only brother I had. I'm lost."

The assault rifles found at the murder were traced back to a U.S. gun shop. Where they came from and how they got there is a scandal so large, some insiders say it surpasses the shoot-out at Ruby Ridge and the deadly siege at Waco.

To understand why, it helps to know something about "Project Gunrunner" an operation run by the ATF the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Read the indictment

"Project Gunrunner" deployed new teams of agents to the southwest border. The idea: to stop the flow of weapons from the US to Mexico's drug cartels. But in practice, sources tell CBS News, ATF's actions had the opposite result: they allegedly facilitated the delivery of thousands of guns into criminal hands.

CBS News wanted to ask ATF officials about the case, but they wouldn't agree to an interview. We were able to speak to six veteran ATF agents and executives involved. They don't want to be quoted by name for fear of retaliation. These are their allegations.

In late 2009, ATF was alerted to suspicious buys at seven gun shops in the Phoenix area. Suspicious because the buyers paid cash, sometimes brought in paper bags. And they purchased classic "weapons of choice" used by Mexican drug traffickers - semi-automatic versions of military type rifles and pistols.

Sources tell CBS News several gun shops wanted to stop the questionable sales, but ATF encouraged them to continue.

Jaime Avila was one of the suspicious buyers. ATF put him in its suspect database in January of 2010. For the next year, ATF watched as Avila and other suspects bought huge quantities of weapons supposedly for "personal use." They included 575 AK-47 type semi-automatic rifles.

ATF managers allegedly made a controversial decision: allow most of the weapons on the streets. The idea, they said, was to gather intelligence and see where the guns ended up. Insiders say it's a dangerous tactic called letting the guns, "walk."

One agent called the strategy "insane." Another said: "We were fully aware the guns would probably be moved across the border to drug cartels where they could be used to kill."

On the phone, one Project Gunrunner source (who didn't want to be identified) told us just how many guns flooded the black market under ATF's watchful eye. "The numbers are over 2,500 on that case by the way. That's how many guns were sold - including some 50-calibers they let walk."

50-caliber weapons are fearsome. For months, ATF agents followed 50-caliber Barrett rifles and other guns believed headed for the Mexican border, but were ordered to let them go. One distraught agent was often overheard on ATF radios begging and pleading to be allowed to intercept transports. The answer: "Negative. Stand down."

CBS News has been told at least 11 ATF agents and senior managers voiced fierce opposition to the strategy. "It got ugly..." said one. There was "screaming and yelling" says another. A third warned: "this is crazy, somebody is gonna to get killed."

Sure enough, the weapons soon began surfacing at crime scenes in Mexico - dozens of them sources say - including shootouts with government officials.

One agent argued with a superior asking, "are you prepared to go to the funeral of a federal officer killed with one of these guns?" Another said every time there was a shooting near the border, "we would all hold our breath hoping it wasn't one of 'our' guns."

Then, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered. The serial numbers on the two assault rifles found at the scene matched two rifles ATF watched Jaime Avila buy in Phoenix nearly a year before. Officials won't answer whether the bullet that killed Terry came from one of those rifles. But the nightmare had come true: "walked" guns turned up at a federal agent's murder.

"You feel like s***. You feel for the parents," one ATF veteran told us.

Hours after Agent Terry was gunned down, ATF finally arrested Avila. They've since indicted 34 suspected gunrunners in the same group. But the indictment makes no mention of Terry's murder, and no one is charged in his death.

Kent Terry said of his brother, "He'd want them to tell the truth. That's one thing my brother didn't like was a liar. And that's what he'd want. He'd want the truth.

In a letter, the Justice Department which oversees ATF says the agency has never knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to suspected gunrunners.


By Sharyl Attkisson

BREAKING STORY: CBS to take up Gunwalker Scandal tonight! Get the word out! Boost their ratings!

And yes, David and I have been helping as best we could behind the scenes.

"Torpedo los!"

LATER: David's take.

02.23.2011

CBS NEWS UNCOVERS GUNRUNNING SCANDAL WITHIN THE ATF

Agency Secretly Endorsed Practice of Letting Guns "Walk"; ATF Agent to CBS News: "God Only Knows How Many Guns Were Used to Kill People"

Tonight on the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC (6:30 PM, ET), CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports on a major scandal building within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), one of America's top law enforcement agencies. CBS News uncovered evidence which supports the allegation that the agency that is supposed to stop border gunrunning to Mexico's drug cartels actually participated in letting it happen. Attkisson reports that these guns have turned up at the scenes of violent crimes, including the murder of a U.S. border patrol officer in Arizona.

CBS News reveals that "Project Gunrunner," an ATF operation that aims to stop the flow of weapons from the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels, has allegedly facilitated the delivery of thousands of guns into the hands of criminals. Often bought with cash, and sometimes brought in paper bags, sources tell CBS News that several gun shops wanted to stop the questionable sales, but were encouraged to continue selling by the ATF, so that they could continue gathering intelligence and see where the weapons ended up. This dangerous tactic is referred to as letting the guns "walk."

Veteran ATF agents called this strategy "insane" and "appalling," with one, speaking under a condition of anonymity, telling CBS News, "We were fully aware the guns would probably be moved across the border to drug cartels where they could be used to kill." CBS News has been told that at least 11 ATF agents and senior managers voiced fierce opposition to the strategy.

Sharyl Attkisson's full report, including a potential link between "Project Gunrunner" and the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, broadcasts tonight on the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC.

"Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary."

I think we should accept his invitation to civil discourse.

"I’m proud to be here with people who understand that it’s more than just sending an email to get you going," Capuano said, according to the Statehouse News. "Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary."

Oil pipeline destruction in Libya and a Praxis solicitation: Motorcycles as both alternate and military transportation.

1942 Harley Davidson

In view of this headline, "Qaddafi Just Ordered The Destruction Of Oil Pipelines To The Mediterranean," the email below requesting a praxis on motorcycles seems well timed. First, here's the gist if the Libya story:

"There's been virtually no reliable information coming out of Tripoli, but a source close to the Gaddafi regime I did manage to get hold of told me the already terrible situation in Libya will get much worse. Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities. They will start by blowing up several oil pipelines, cutting off flow to Mediterranean ports. The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes: It's either me or chaos."

Here's the email:

Mike...

As the level of unrest increases in the mid-east, the exit of a number of skilled technicians necessary to the uninterrupted production, piping, processing, and export of oil and natural gas, becomes critical. Stratfor has identified this issue in their Libyan analysis, but it applies in several other countries as well. Depending on the emerging Egyptian policies regarding the Suez, we risk losing a very significant portion of our present imported oil supply. The repercussions of this potential loss go far beyond $5 per gallon gasoline and $6 diesel... both of which assume vehicular fuel will be available at all. These ramifications get into 'declared national emergency' territory, which we've discussed over for a number of years, a la Rahm Emanuel's 'never let a good crisis go to waste'. I'm not promoting motorcycles, but a 'Praxis' article on the merits of versatile, high-mileage(efficiency), transport, in the event purchasing enough fuel to operate your half-ton pickup becomes problematic or impossible, might be prudent. Good used bikes capable of 35 - 50 mpg are readily available, with plenty of performance, for under $3K, and beat crap out of 'shank's mare'... particularly if you're humping a ruck.

So, anybody out there want to tackle the challenge? Append it to this post or email it to me and I'll put it up as a free-standing post. Meanwhile, top up your strategic fuel reserve, if you have one.

Grab bag of Gunwalker & ICE stuff.

David Codrea writes:

New ‘Project Gunwalker’ allegations could expand Grassley investigation.

Hugh Holub gives us this question:

"Inside ATF…an ugly picture …how many dead bodies are out there as a result of Project Gunrunner?"

The Sierra Vista-Herald asks:

Will justice be served in Brian Terry case?

The corpsical Pravda finds a scandal nugget -- wrong scandal, but whatever:

Former ICE intelligence chief is among immigration agents under investigation.

And finally, David celebrates the birth of a new term:

Not Bad...

"Canada, U.S. agree to use each other’s troops in civil emergencies." Plus why the Canadian flag has a maple leaf.

Canada.com reports:

Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the militaries from either nation to send troops across each other’s borders during an emergency, but some are questioning why the Harper government has kept silent on the deal.

Now, before any NWO freaks get their black helicopter shorts in a wad, here, from Wikipedia are the manpower statistics of the Canadian armed forces:

Military age 16 – 60 years old
Conscription No
Active personnel 67,756 (31 Dec 09) (ranked 58th)
Reserve personnel 23,599 (paid primary); 4,229 (Rangers) 19,288 (Supplementary)
Deployed personnel 3,600

Okay, now that ain't enough to secure ONE major US city (or Winston County, Alabama, come to that) if it doesn't want to be secured. True the Canadians have some few regular troops that are among the best in the world, but the accent is on FEW. So while Alex Jones and Mark Koernke will be crapping all over themselves about this story, I wouldn't worry about it.

But since somebody brought up the subject of Canada, I thought, in interest of complete disclosure and possible conflicts of interest, that I should tell you that one of my great-great grandmothers was French Canadian, a daughter of lumberjacks named Nellie Bean (Anglicized from "Bien"). There was no love lost however between my grandfather Vanderboegh and Canadians despite the blood tie. In fact he had internalized the natural Wolverine allergy to Canadians.

He once asked me, "You know why Canada puts a Maple Leaf on its flag?" No, I didn't, I replied, innocently gullible. "Because," he explained with a grin, "that's what lumberjacks wipe their asses with."

"And," he added, do you know why its red?" I shook my head. "Because Canucks all have hemorrhoids."

Of course, this post is all just a cheap excuse to play Monty Python's Lumberjack Song.

"How's that gunless revolution thing working out for you?

Kurt Hofmann responds to this citizen disarmament wanker in Forbes. Too bad I don't have time right now to respond myself.

Shocker: ATF agent says the Dealer in the Gunwalker Scandal WAS A PAID CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT! "Gunrunner TWO?"

No wonder he has been reluctant to go on the record with the press. From
CleanUpATF.org.

1DesertRat writes:

This really sickens me to see Gillett getting rewarded for a history of misconduct and incompetence. It also appears he has not taken any heat on approving the Tucson version of phoenix's "Gun Walker" in Tucson called linebacker or wide receiver (something like that)where he and Newell approved "walking" several hundred assault rifles to Mexico. Also, get this ......he approved the signing (and paying) of the FFL dealer as a CI, paid him as a CI and allowed him to profit from the illegal straw purchases ATF directed him to do.....what a deal! What do you think would be happening right now if one of those guns were linked to the Tucson shooting of Rep Gifford? How about it Senator Grassley.....are these ATF supervisors really the "untouchables"? Retaliation by ATF management is a way of life in ATF. Why......because all know management is corrupt and will pull out all stops to protect one another and NOTHING ever happens!

Agent Jumper then responds:

The best part of this post (if you enjoy hypocrisy) is that The Retaliator (Gillett) actually tried to terminate two of the smartest and most productive agents in Phoenix for what he personally deemed to be mismanagement of government funds in the payment of an informant. The Retaliators ruling was overturned by higher ups based on their conclusions that Gillett didn't know what he was talking about but its still pretty funny. Wait till the press gets ahold of Gunrunner II, the Tucson Experiment. Can you imagine the pucker factor Newell and Gillett experience every time a shooting takes place involving a 7.62 round? Give them some coal and turn both of them into a diamond factory.

This just in: The Washington Post is still dead, and Obama dithers, while Hillary gathers her skirts to protect HER butt even if nobody elses.

Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breur scans this morning's Washington Post with a troubled brow, reassured that once again Grimaldi has written nothing about the Gunwalker scandal, but still uneasy about what lies ahead, thinking to himself: You know, if Hillary was President, half the witnesses would be dead by now as an example to the rest.

This just in, the Washington Post is still dead to the Gunwalker scandal story.

While Obama dithers and the political gangfighter Emanuel falls back upon a defensible base to become crowned Emperor Rahmulus the First of the failed state of Chicago and Eric Holder alternately bobs and dunks in his own sea of scandal troubles -- and Gunwalker is not the only one -- there is one administration official who is said to be gathering her skirts for a fight to the death to protect her reputation in this growing scandal -- Hillary Clinton.

The State Department is the one key venue of this story which so far lies untouched. Think about it: do you suppose that the ATF actually made its own foreign policy in Gunwalker by allowing the smuggling but not informing the Mexicans? Certainly, our informants tell us, DOJ was involved, all the way up to Eric Holder. But do you suppose that even Eric Holder would presume to do so without consultation with the State Department at some level?

My sources say no. My sources say that the State Department signed off on Gunwalker stiffing the Mexicans. My sources also say that the Iron Dowager Empress is furious that the cover-up has been handled so poorly and is determined that it not blow-back on her.

This seems a profitable course of inquiry for authorized journalists, to me. With the cover-up collapsing spectacularly, Hillary may want to "go on the record" about how much this had nothing to do with the State Department and how she is shocked! shocked! to find gambling going on here. Who knows, it may be in her interest to appear to be the only responsible adult in the whole Obama administration. It is not like she is heavily invested in being an Obamanoid team player to the extent that she goes down with the Titanic. In fact, this may be exactly the moment she has been waiting for.

Of course don't expect the Washington Post to cover THAT story. Because, as of this morning, they're still dead.

This just in: Hillary Clinton to star as Inspector Renault in re-make of Casablanca!



Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gf8NK1WAOc

Harry Reid wants to outlaw prostitution. Does this mean he's turning himself in?

Maybe not.

Larry Pratt comes out swinging on the Project Gunwalker scandal while the "800 pound gorilla" NRA rests upon its considerable ass.

Eric Holder to Lanny Breuer, pointing at the 800 pound gorilla sitting on its ass: "What about him?" Breuer: "Don't worry, that's the NRA, he's tame."

As previously reported, FOX had two pieces on the Project Gunwalker scandal today. The better of the two was Larry Pratt's commentary on the Traver nomination which of course is intimately intertwined now with the Gunwalker scandal.

Larry came out swinging, and apparently the ATF had declined to provide anyone to defend Traver, for it was Larry vs. Megyn Kelly, who was spinning out the administration meme as best she could.

I want to go on record about one thing. When it came to David's and my attention that the whistleblowers were out there willing to tell their stories, Larry Pratt was one of the first guys we called for advice on how and who to contact to make that happen. GOA worked quietly behind the scenes, helping us get in touch with the right people in Sessions' and Grassley's offices. We also consulted him on how to help move the story along in the media. At every turn, Larry and the GOA were there to help any way they could. It is the height of irony that the FOX build-up to the story on Traver credited NRA with its opposition, whereas it was GOA that was, like the Gunwalker scandal, early in the trenches against Traver while the NRA sat back and calculated the odds, as the Lairds of Fairfax always do.

When the behind-the-scenes story of the opening moves of the Project Gunwalker scandal is finally told, you will be able to find Larry Pratt and Gun Owners of America in the index with multiple citations. The NRA? Once again, missing in action, resting upon its considerable "800 pound gorilla" ass. Of course, they will later claim credit for all of it, as they usually do -- after the fact.

Mike
III

Link: Larry Pratt takes on Obama's ATF nomination. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vir7ebYAoWY&feature=player_embedded#at=24