Up obscenely early, walked over half of Capitol Hill Green Zone, exhausted.

More tomorrow.

Issa Threatens Holder with contempt

FOX reports.

The politically reliable Jordy Yager.

Issa's letter.

Here's the link to the White House of Cards

The "Minority Report." As I told some folks with the investigation today, this is a house of cards capable of being collapsed by one more email.

"Minority Report" -- Bloody Hands Cummings & White House issue a report saying that the Bushes made them do it, and besides, it was all Phoenix's fault.

Pete Yost of AP Democrats try to shape the narrative in advance of the Thursday hearing. I'm reading it now and will post link when I have it.

"So get more rocks and build you a dam." A high compliment and a metaphor from one rock to another.

"Vanderboegh," the friend/source/retired spook said to me in a conversation on the general topic of 'change agents' a couple of days ago after I got to DC, "you're like this little rock in the middle of their stream, defying the water. The water and everything in it can try to ignore you as they pass by, but they can't go through you, or under the ground you occupy. You just sit there and defy them and they hate you for it, because you not only defy them but you mock them. It pisses them off because you just won't go away or get out of their way."

"Yeah," I replied, "but the low-life in the water still gets around me."

"So get more rocks and build you a dam."

He always has a way of putting things into perspective, being a rather more formidable (if less obtrusive) rock himself. I took it as a high compliment and the subject of a recruiting poster for more citizen-rocks.

That's a hint.

Legend

Gaius Mucius Scaevola, legendary Roman hero who is said to have saved Rome (c. 509 bc) from conquest by the Etruscan king Lars Porsena. According to the legend, Mucius volunteered to assassinate Porsena, who was besieging Rome, but killed his victim’s attendant by mistake. Brought before the Etruscan royal tribunal, he declared that he was one of 300 noble youths who had sworn to take the king’s life. He demonstrated his courage to his captors by thrusting his right hand into a blazing altar fire and holding it there until it was consumed. Deeply impressed and fearing another attempt on his life, Porsena ordered Mucius to be freed; he made peace with the Romans and withdrew his forces. According to the story, Mucius was rewarded with a grant of land beyond the Tiber and given the name Scaevola, meaning “left-handed.” -- Britannica.

Documents released in the case of one of Terry murderers.

Mostly motions, and, although interesting, no smoking guns that I see immediately.

Court documents released today reveal new details in the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

ABC15 and five other news organizations took legal action against the Department of Justice to make the sealed court documents public.

The records released Monday include sixty pages of paperwork including an indictment charging Manuel Osorio Arellanes with second degree murder in Terry's death.

Names of most other defendants are still being kept secret.

An existential battle for the GOP, and the country. Not surpisingly, the GOP elite is cheating in its battle against the Tea Parties.

Camp Mittens Duplicity on Allen West Worse than Conspiracy: It’s a Habit

"They lied." Tweet from Senator Grassley

ChuckGrassley

#F&F Documents releasd Fri nite by Justice clearly show Holders people knew abt gun running days b4 I opend investigation Yet they lied

28 Jan

Drone Diplomacy: Comply or Die

All the money is on cyber intel (to generate targets based on "signatures") and drones to kill them. When domestic unrest occurs in the US due to economic decline, these systems will be ready for domestic application. Oh joy.

Sipsey Street Exclusive: Attack of the Gun Control Monkeys. "Joined at the hip." January 2011 Emails Demonstrate the Long Symbiotic Relationship Between Anti-Firearm Zealots and ATF Brass.

The Gun Control Monkeys -- ATF & The Joyce Foundation -- Joined at the hip.

=

Roseanna Ander, executive director of the University of Chicago's Crime Lab, backed the Police Department while noting that "it would be great if we had more resources and more could be done."

She said she understood the argument set forth in the opinion — that people in high-crime areas might believe they'd be safer with a gun in their home. But research shows that gun availability leads to more bloodshed, not less, she said.

"I understand the concern about public safety, but that is not going to get you a safer public,'' Ander said. "That is a solution that doesn't fit the problem. It's putting gasoline on a fire. What we need is more water."

Ander said that rather than put more guns on the street, policies and strategies that "reduce the availability of guns (rather than) increase the availability of guns in these high-crime areas" should be considered. -- "Court took cheap shot at city's crime rate, Chicago officials contend. Ruling's references to high murder rate stun some city leaders," Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2010, an article on McDonald v. Chicago, the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Chicago's handgun ban.

The date is 25 January 2011. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has been dead a month. In Phoenix, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke has finally indicted the Fast and Furious straw buyers, in an attempt to keep them under the thumb of DOJ and away from anybody who might talk about the formerly clandestine operation that this blog and others have been writing stories about for four weeks. The "big bust" is announced in this article at MyFoxPhoenix: "Gun Running Operation Uncovered in Arizona." In Martinsburg WV, Special Agent Benjamin R. Hayes, Chief of the Law Enforcement Support Branch at ATF's National Tracing Center (seen here in a training video) has seen the article and turns to his government computer to find out more. Sipsey Street has obtained a series of emails, beginning with Hayes' first, which are transcribed below. They give us a glimpse into the symbiotic relationship between ATF senior management and the anti-firearm zealots of the Joyce Foundation.

No, that's not 50s comedian Ernie Kovacs. That's ATF Chief of the Law Enforcement Support Branch Benjamin R. Hayes.

From: Hayes, Benjamin R. (REDACTED)

Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 01:26 PM

To: Ander, Roseanna

Subject: FW: Gun Running Operation Uncovered in Arizona

Interesting. I wonder if this will make the evening news

Benjamin R. Hayes

Special Agent

Chief, Law Enforcement Support Branch

National Tracing Center

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

244 Needy Road

Martinsburg, WV 25405

(REDACTED)

Don't embrace mediocrity!

Quid Opus, Opus Bene.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/local/phoenix/gun-running-operation-az-01252011#

Roseanna Ander, Executive Director, University of Chicago Crime Lab and Chicago attorney Myron M. Cherry

And who is Roseanna Ander?

Why she is Executive Director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, which has nothing to do with forensics or CSI and everything to do with laying the "scientific" predicate for more gun control. From the UCCL website:

Each year around the world, roughly 500,000 people are murdered. Millions more are the victims of other crimes, and billions of dollars worth of property are stolen. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about how best to address this major social problem. For example, a 2005 report from the National Academy of Sciences argued there is surprisingly little good evidence about effective ways to reduce gun violence in America. This is true despite the fact that countless new programs have been launched all over the world the past several decades to try to reduce violence. Yet programs are almost never implemented in a way that facilitates rigorous evaluation; this lack of feedback makes it difficult for policymakers to learn from experience.

The University of Chicago Crime Lab seeks to improve our understanding of how to reduce crime and violence by helping government agencies and non-profit organizations rigorously evaluate new pilot programs. . . . The Crime Lab began in April 2008 in partnership with the City of Chicago, and has been made possible by generous seed funding from the Joyce Foundation, the University of Chicago Office of the Provost, and the School of Social Service Administration through the Center for Health Administration Studies.

Among the Crime Lab’s ongoing projects is the Chicago Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence Among School Age Youth. Our recent "design competition" identified one promising project, out of more than 30 applications, that has the potential to reduce youth gun violence in Chicago.

The UCCL describes her bio thusly:

Prior to joining the Crime Lab, Ander served for 10 years as Program Officer for the Gun Violence program at the Joyce Foundation in Chicago, responsible for the foundation's $3 million in grant-making each year for research and other activities to understand and reduce gun violence. In addition she developed and implemented the Foundation's $6 million, three year Early Childhood Education initiative. Ander spear-headed a number of new Joyce Foundation initiatives to reduce youth gun violence including working with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to convene a national summit of law enforcement leaders around gun violence prevention. In addition, she oversaw the Foundation's work to promote the development and implementation of the National Violent Death Reporting System, which is now housed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and being implemented in 17 states. Prior to joining the Joyce Foundation, she served as the Public Health Liaison for Attorney General Scott Harshbarger of Massachusetts. She holds a Master of Science degree in health policy from Harvard School of Public Health.

Ah, yes, the Joyce Foundation. From Wikipedia:

Since 2003, the Joyce Foundation has paid grants totaling over $12 million to gun control organizations. The largest single grantee has been the Violence Policy Center, which received $4,154,970 between 1996 and 2006, and calls for an outright ban on handguns, semi-automatic and other firearms, and substantial restrictions on gun owners. The Joyce Foundation's position on gun control has led to frequent opposition and criticism from gun rights groups, particularly the National Rifle Association, which calls the Joyce Foundation an activist foundation whose "shadowy web of huge donations" leads "straight to puppet strings that control the agenda of gun ban groups".

But the Executive Director of the University of Chicago "Crime Lab" is only one of the hats Ander wears. She was appointed to the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission by Governor Pat Quinn and just two months after this email exchange she was named to Rahm Emanuel's Chicago mayor transition team's Committee on Public Safety, along with Father Michael *Snuffy" Pfleger, dubbed Snuffy by David Codrea for having infamously called for a Chicago gun store owner to be "snuffed out." Hey, Jake, as David routinely asks, "Whaddaya expect, it's Chi-town."

So Ander is a long-time, highly placed anti-gun zealot, a critical cog in the efforts of the citizen disarmament lobby. Yet ATF senior manager Hayes has apparently more than a passing acquaintance with Ms. Ander. And she, it seems, expects to be queried out of the blue by Hayes. Her reply:

From: Ander, Roseanna

Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 03:25 PM (Eastern)

To: Benjamin.R.Hayes (REDACTED)

Subject: Re: Gun Running Operation Uncovered in Arizona

Are the names in the indictment public? I want to pull up the actual indictments and can't with first and last names.

Roseanna Ander, Executive Director

University of Chicago Crime Lab

55 East Monroe, 30th Floor

Chicago, IL 60603

(LARGE BLOCK REDACTED)

Liar, liar, pants on fire. Gunwalker Bill raises his right hand to God and lies his ass off at a recent House hearing.

Two minutes later, in a move that bespeaks remarkable inside knowledge of and familiarity with the ATF chain of command, an impatient Ander goes straight to the horse's mouth -- William "Gunwalker Bill" Newell, then ATF SAC of the Phoenix office, responsible for Fast and Furious.

From: Ander, Roseanna (REDACTED)

Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 2:27 PM (Central)

To: Newell, William D.

Subject: Fw: Gun Running Operation Uncovered in Arizona

Do you have this info?

Roseanna Ander, Executive Director

University of Chicago Crime Lab

55 East Monroe, 30th Floor

Chicago, IL 60603

(LARGE BLOCK REDACTED)

Gunwalker Bill responds, and seems to know Ms. Ander quite well also:

From: Newell, William D. (REDACTED)

Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 03:30 PM

To: Ander, Roseanna

Cc: Hayes, Benjamin R. (REDACTED)

Subject: Re: Gun Running Operation Uncovered in Arizona

They were all just posted on the site below. There are several indictments, the main one being the "Avila" one.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/index.html

Bill Newell

Special Agent in Charge

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

Phoenix Field Division (Arizona and New Mexico) (REDACTED)

(LARGE BLOCK REDACTED)

Ms. Anders seems appreciative as well as very knowledgeable about the arc of Gunwalker Bill's career, for she seems to know about his then expected reward of the promotion to to ATF Attache in Mexico City, a job which Newell had long coveted, and which was vacated by the forcing out of Darren Gil, who had objected to being kept out of the loop of Fast and Furious (after the scandal blew up a few days later with Senator Grassley's first letter on the subject, Newell's promotion was first put on hold, and then withdrawn).

From: Ander, Roseanna

To: Newell, William D.

Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 4:38:40 PM

Subject: Re: Gun Running Operation Uncovered in Arizona

Thank you. I guess you are leaving town on a high note!

Roseanna Ander, Executive Director

University of Chicago Crime Lab

55 East Monroe, 30th Floor

Chicago, IL 60603

(LARGE BLOCK REDACTED)

That celebratory high-five prediction would turn out to be premature.

The central point of this email exchange is this. The ATF has always denied that it plays one side of the policy debate or the other, claiming that it is only "enforcing the laws passed by Congress" without bias or favor. Here we see, in the easy familiarity between two high-ranking ATF senior managers and one of the most energetic anti-firearm zealots in the United States, the real truth -- that any pretense of impartiality is just that, a lie. The ATF senior management has a symbiotic relationship with the citizen disarmament lobby and evidently has had for many years. They are, in fact, joined at the hip. More scandalous grist for the upcoming ATF oversight hearing mill, no doubt.

Praxis: A Combat Gear Primer at Survival Blog; An Inexpensive Dutch LBV & M76 Grendade Launcher Attachment for M14 Rifle.

A tip of the boonie hat to the Irregulars who forwarded this link to a concise "Combat Gear Primer" by "Andrew A." at SurvivalBlog.com.

Also, I dropped off I95 North today while I was out and stopped at the warehouses of BTP Arms of Waldorf, MD -- who can be found on the Internet at KeepShooting.com for a pre-arranged tour by the very helpful staff.

Previously, I did a post on the inexpensive M76 clone grenade launcher attachment for the M14-series rifle. They are only thirty-five bucks, which is a steal compared to the three hundred price tag I saw on the last USGI I spotted at a gun show -- a year ago. Upon inspection it appeared to me to be a perfect copy and accommodated the 22mm ass-end of an M1A2 rifle grenade adapter.

Of interest as well was this Dutch Army surplus copy of the USGI LBV.

The load bearing vest sample I examined was in excellent shape and of a pattern quite similar to US Woodland.

The attachment points appeared to me to be adaptable to both ALICE and MOLLE pouches and the grommets on the bottom of the vest look like they could also hold the old World War II hooks. The best thing is that they are selling these for just $9.49.

David Codrea: "OIG sharing information with DOJ over Wide Receiver CI's objections."

All the better to cover you up, my dear.

Rumors and mists.

There are rumors and mists along the Potomac this morning, some of them quite contradictory and probable disinformation. I'm headed out now to see if I can penetrate them through to the fog machine and get closer to the truth. More later.

"The Committee for Tarring and Feathering"

In the wake of the Boston Tea Party, increasing numbers of Maine settlements were turning radical. Falmouth voted to ban the selling and drinking of tea in town, but since its merchants had 2,500 poinds of the stuff on hand -- a heavy investment -- they were not considered trustworthy enough to keep the resolve. A handbill soon appeared, produced by the local Committee for Tarring and Feathering, declaring that no one in town should doubt what would happen to those who bought or consumed tea. The notice was signed: "Thomas Tarbucket, Peter Pitch, Abrahan Wildfowl, David Plaister, Benjamin Brush, Oliver Scarecrow, and Henry Hand-Cart." Falmouth merchants got the idea and stopped selling tea. -- Ten Tea Parties: Patriotic Protests That History Forgot by Joseph Cummins, pp. 138-139.

Insomnia has few positives, but I am catching up on my reading. Just finished Ten Tea Parties: Patriotic Protests That History Forgot by Joseph Cummins this morning. It is an excellent read, covering some of the many anti-British East India Company protests that happened before and after THE Boston Tea Party we all know. (Lexington, Massachusetts actually BURNED their tea before Boston dumped theirs.) From the Epilogue:

Most (present-day) Tea Party constituents have a good grasp of the events that occurred during the Boston Tea Party, but they would do well to understand the details of the other patriotic protests described in this book. All are remarkable, because each town staged its protest in its own unique way. Patriots burned tea in Greenwich and Wilmington and Annapolis; made it disappear (and reappear) in York; dumped it overboard in New York and Charleston; and rejected it in Philadelphia and Edenton. And all manner of people participated in the protests. The working-class laborers of Manhattan, the distinguished ladies of Edenton, the mysterious Swamp Men of Greenwich -- all were united behind a common cause. For the first time in the nation's history, Americans banded together AS AMERICANS. -- pp. 201-202.

I learned a lot from this book and I highly recommend it to present-day Three Percenters.

David Codrea: ‘Progressive’ icon's view refutes modern 'monopoly of violence' advocates

"We shall have lost something vital and beyond price on the day when the State denies us the right to resort to force in defense of a just cause."

Damn the Constitution, just fall in line and obey.

Obama to the nation: Onward civilian soldiers.

Matthew Boyle: The DC Dodgers

It ain't baseball.

Citizens

My daughters came home from college this weekend to be with their mother while I am in DC and yesterday Rosey led them to the neighborhoods around us that were struck by the tornadoes of last week to help clean up. They will be back out there today as well. I'm as proud as a frog eating fire of them all.

More than a little interesting.

"Seller in Columbus gun ring stages hunger strike."

Personnel Is Policy. Dennis Wagner's article about the anti-firearm zealot Dennis K. Burke.

Readers will recall my survey of Dennis Burke's career, Personnel Is Policy," Part One and Part Two. I concluded Part Two with this:

Why did the administration pick Burke for the job of overseeing Fast and Furious? What was it about him that made them think he could be trusted with such a sensitive position? His anti-gun politics? His competence in executing the agendas of his superiors? His powerful friends? Why do they sustain him now, even in his disgrace when they are publicly trying to blame the whole thing on him? We will one day find out.

But one thing is certain, in politics -- even dirty, murderous politics -- as well as business there is this eternal truth: Personnel is Policy.

Now comes Arizona Republic reporter Dennis Wagner to bring the story of Burke to a larger audience: Burke of Fast and Furious had anti-gun history. He even quotes yours truly, with a quibble:

But there are critics, especially among staunch Second Amendment advocates, who paint Burke as a liberal apparatchik who was willing to let criminals move weapons to Mexican cartels if it would help justify new firearms restrictions.

"It's no coincidence that Dennis Burke, a longtime anti-gun policy person, was made U.S. Attorney in mid-2009 ... the same month (sic) that Fast and Furious begins," said Mike Vanderboegh, a gun-rights blogger. "They picked precisely the right guy to run a clandestine program." (The operation began a month after Burke's appointment was confirmed.)

Not sure about Wagner's quibble here. I made no mistake about the timing of the onset of Fast and Furious and Burke's appointment, nor their inextricable linkage. I am told that one depended upon the other and whether F&F began when the concept was formed or the operation kicked off is rather like trying to argue that your creation began with an act of copulation and not the gleam in your daddy's eye that preceded it.

Wagner does plow some new ground, though, adding something that I missed in my research for the two articles on the subject:

(Burke) began working on gun control. DeConcini said Burke helped draft the Anti-Drug Assault Weapons Limitation Act of 1989. A five-year battle ensued, ending with President Bill Clinton signing the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which made it a federal offense to possess certain semiautomatic rifles manufactured after the law's passage.

DeConcini said Burke fostered the measure in concert with a key figure in the White House, policy analyst Rahm Emanuel, who years later would become chief of staff for President Obama. Emanuel now is mayor of Chicago.

In fact, I have since learned that Emanuel and Burke were quite the anti-firearm policy couple before and during the Clinton Administration, and are described as "fast friends" by one source. Given that my first DC insider source (my "old spook") insisted that the Gunwaker scandal began as a meeting in Rahm Emanuel's office when he was Obama Chief of Staff in early 2009 about how to overcome the potential political blow-back of more gun control, Burke's friendship with the consummate practitioner of "The Chicago Way" makes even more sense.

Insomnia.

"There is no right or one way to lead … It should, however, always be authentic. Otherwise it's not leadership at all." -- Richard Neff.

Woke up about 0200 my time, read a little bit of All In, the new biography of David Petreaus, but couldn't get back to sleep. In part, this was because I awoke with the fear that I am not up to this task that is before me this week. I'm not sure anyone is, or that anyone else could be. The stakes are as high as they get. We stand once more, at the opening of this fateful year of 2012, at a crossroads in the history of our sad, battered old Republic. Take one path and we'll stagger on in the Founder's experiment. Take the other . . . well, the other is a short trip to the precipice of an abyss. And once started it will be darned difficult, if not impossible, to stop or turn back, with the pressure of events and human folly at our backs.

It is easy to be discouraged and doubtful at two o'clock in the morning and it is important at such times to remember that the first actually flows from the second. Doubt can paralyze if you let it, or it can leaven your judgment. In my life I have known men and women who never doubted their own competence and direction -- people convinced that they, and they alone, had the answer and so they sought to mold other people, and even reality itself, to that answer. They were, one and all, lousy leaders and almost universally worthless as human beings.

In the flurry Friday night to get the story out about the White House document dump, I was down in the hotel lobby, working the cell phone and their guest computer. My frenetic activity drew the attention of the night manager, who asked me, "Are you a journalist?" I gave him my stock answer these days, "No, but I play one on the Internet." I have always felt the same way about being called a "leader." I have never really thought I was a leader, or, if I admitted on the evidence that people seemed to agree with what I said and followed me along as I went, that I was not a very good one. I still believe that, even though the group of folks who consider me to be a leader has grown over the years.

I have long told the story of how, after I was selected as the leader of what became my militia unit, the 1st Alabama, I asked the boys why they picked me, a transplanted Yankee in their eyes. There was an uncomfortable silence and then a good old boy back in the corner offered, "Hell, Mike, its BECAUSE you're a Yankee. We put you out front and you get killed, we ain't lost nothin'." Later, the same guy told me, "Look, we agree with what you say and the way you say it, but that's not why. It's because we trust your judgment that you won't get us killed for nothin'." Implied in that was the promise that if I did get them killed for SOMETHING, they would follow me willingly. It was the first time that someone, anyone, had ever trusted me with that kind of burden and it was humbling and scary at the same time. I felt like Forrest Gump when Lieutenant Dan Taylor welcomes him and Bubba to Vietnam:

"Two standing orders in this platoon. One, take good care of your feet. Two, try not to do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed." Bubba and Forrest look at each other and then Forrest says, "I sure hope I don't let him down."

There is a lot of discussion in the book All In about the "mask of command," about how a leader like Petraeus must hide his human feelings in order to effectively lead. I rather agree with the sentiment of Richard Neff at the top of this essay. I have never commanded men in battle, so I don't think of myself as a "commander." I have led citizens over the years in a variety of settings to accomplish shared purposes, and God has given me a talent for putting into words what many others feel and think. This, and this alone, makes me a leader in some sense. And it is a burden. It is a responsibility, and I feel it keenly, especially right now, sitting in a hotel room thanks to the subscription contributions of you, my gentle readers, after my original plan broke down. YOU have made it possible, once again, for me to be here and I feel very keenly the hope that I don't let you down, that I am equal to the task. I'm not a leader, see, but people keep asking me for serious advice. And they go where I go and help push me along to where they think I need to be. But in my heart of hearts I know that I am just some guy lucky to have such friends. And that, and that alone, makes me special. Not me, but my friends. You.

I am a writer, yes. An investigator, yes. An advocate for a point of view, certainly. I will wear all these hats in turn this week as I both cover the story and push it along to the best of my ability. But mostly I'm a citizen. Just a citizen. Doing what the Founders expected all citizens to do -- hold their government to account by whatever means to preserve the liberty and property of all.

I don't know if I will succeed.

But I will do my best.

-- Mike

III

Nightmare

I was selfish today.

I went to Gunston Hall this morning, home of my one of favorite Founders, George Mason. I had never been there before, though I always wanted to go. Previously, events never seemed to work out. Not only did I get to tour the house and grounds but I blundered into an archaeological symposium, Mason Neck Underground, and ended up staying most of the day. Great stuff. Fascinating. Bought a book on the Anti-Federalists. Shamefully selfish, but I'm darn glad I went. Back to plotting blows against the Empire this evening.

Kurt Hofmann: "The Obama administration, the Tiahrt Amendment, and 'Project Gunwalker'"

Interesting observations.

Guess they haven't heard that civil war works both ways and is no respecter of position.

They don't call it "The Sucker State" for nothing.

Praxis: DARPA-Funded Hacker's Tiny $50 Spy Computer Hides In Offices, Drops From Drones

And looks like a darn fine idea for resistance fighters, too!

Praxis: 30 Round M16 Mag Pouches at Widener's: A Buck Each.

Newbie issue special.

David Codrea: "Documents say DOJ knew of Fast and Furious connection day after Terry murder."

Does the email from Wilkinson indicate the Attorney General committed perjury in his testimony before the committee?

MASS AMNESIA STRIKES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT! Outbreak of weaponized Alzheimer's? Can they remember their way to the rest room?

"I can't remember my way to the john! What's my name? Why am I here? Did I forget to zip my fly? What's a fly?"

The Associated Press reports an outbreak of mass amnesia at the Justice Department!

In a letter to the committee, the Justice Department said that Wilkinson DOES NOT RECALL a follow-up call with Burke and that Wilkinson DOES NOT RECALL discussing this aspect of the matter with the attorney general. According to the letter, the department has been advised that Burke HAS NO RECOLLECTION of discussing this aspect of the matter with Wilkinson. (Emphases supplied, MBV.)

Can this be evidence of a new terror weapon involving weaponized Alzheimer's? Has someone subjected Justice to an attack of BZ gas? Can they remember their way to the restroom?

Sipsey Street Exclusive: BREAKING. White House dumps 500 plus pages of documents tonight! Emails from Burke to Holder's office regarding Terry murder and Fast & Furious weapons?

Sipsey Street Irregulars has learned that the Department of Justice, at the direction of the White House, has dumped more than 500 pages of documents including emails on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Darrell Issa tonight. Sources say that among these are at least one email on 15 December 2010 from then US Attorney Dennis K. Burke to Monty Wilkinson, aide to Eric Holder, informing the Attorney General office of the murder of Brian Terry and, later that day, of the seizure at the scene of Fast and Furious weapons. More shortly.

LATER: NPR was apparently the preferred outlet for the dump. Go here -- http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/01/27/146010135/emails-show-how-fast-and-furious-ambush-news-unfolded-at-justice-dept

They also have the emails posted. Holder is screwed. Of course the only reason they're doing this is to further the modified limited hangout, which now apparently includes Eric Holder. Remember, these are the emails that the WH WANTED to release. What does that tell us? That they're protecting the White House and are willing to dispose of Holder to do it.

On the ground across the river from Mordor-on-the-Potomac

Interesting times. Plane had to do an abort landing because of cross winds. Got down on the second try after what appeared to be much religious conversion going on around me. I was whistling "Garryowen" and people looked at me like I was nuts. When we finally touched down, the cabin erupted in cheers. I just finished the chorus of Garryowen. As Churchill said, nothing is so exciting as to be shot at without result, or words to that effect. Miscommunication and poor assumptions caused pick-up arrangements to fail. Rented a car I didn't want to have to rent. Overnight accomodations failed for same reason, so it looks like a motel for Mrs. Vanderboegh's blacksheep son tonight. But still, I'm here. Will have more later. And if the fellow who gave me that Armor of God medal from the Pentagon gift shop wants to give me a call, my cell phone is still the same but I've lost your number. Short on blood suger, I'm headed out to get something to eat. May God bless you all who made this trip possible.

Autopsy of Injustice. Let the dead teach the living in the Gunwalker Scandal.

"So that is where we are, as far as I know. The committee may have a rabbit in their hat. In fact, if they've been doing what they claim to have been doing they should have a whole warren of embarrassing rabbits for Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano and the sitting president of the United States. If. . . Maybe. . . Or, the fix is in, which means they have decided to try to save their rotten system and not the country."

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt van Rijn

It is early on the morning I fly out to Mordor-on-the-Potomac. I awoke too soon from my sleep with this essay almost fully formed in my head, and so I present it you, gentle readers, as a follow-on to the previous post, including the words above, which I am told has excited some consternation and displeasure at the Issa committee.

The term "autopsy" in its modern sense dates from the the 1650s or thereabouts. It derives from the Greek "autopsia" which means "a seeing with one's own eyes," and its spirit is embodied in the Latin phrase "Mortui vivos docent," or, "Let the dead teach the living."

There are those, and they are not only folks working for Darrell Issa, who believe that I am being too harsh, too suspicious, of the year-long investigation. Various people called me yesterday to chide me for a lack of faith and respect. "Why did you have to embarrass the Congressman about Davos?" one asked.

Truth be told, I don't care whether the independently wealthy Darrell Issa goes to Davos. Good on him, both for making the money and having the ability to jet around the world. I mentioned it only because I knew it would get their attention, these people who almost consistently refuse to answer my questions directly. Heck, I even understand that, knowing what Rachel Madcow or "Bloody Hands" Cummings would do with the knowledge to try to discredit the investigation with guilt by association.

I poked them about Davos, not because I think Issa is hobnobbing with George Soros in some grand, Alex Jones conspiracy or simply out of pique that the committee has mystified me and other more mainstream journalists with their actions (or, in most cases, inactions), but rather because I have had almost two decades of "autopsia" when it comes to federal law enforcement scandals and, perhaps more than any other observer of this, the worst of such scandals, I believe that the dead should teach the living.

(Sidenote: It is no small thing that the committee has for many weeks cut off the flow of information to "mainstream" journalists who, unlike me, actually have a pay grade. Have you noticed how many Gunwalker stories Sharyl Attkisson of CBS has done lately? Zero. Zip. Nada. Bupkus. You know why? I have no specific knowledge, but I can tell you that editors -- especially editors who are made nervous by the threat that this scandal poses to their Dear Leader's regime -- do not keep reporters on stories where the sources dry up. And the committee has in great measure dried up the flow of information on what it is that they are doing. If they are now upset that people wonder why that is and what it portends, even to the point of making unfair guesses, well . . . they have only themselves to blame.)

"Mortui vivos docent."

The Randy Weaver family. The ATF wanted to make him an informant against the Aryan Nations. He refused. In the end, the U.S. Marshals killed his 14 year old son Sammy with a shot in the back and the FBI "accidentally" shot his wife Vicki in the head as she held their 10-month-old daughter Elishiba. With optics that FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi used, he could have seen Vicki Weaver's back teeth, even firing through the door glass as he did. As Wikipedia notes, "A Justice Department review later found this second shot was unconstitutional and the lack of a request to surrender was 'inexcusable', since Harris and the two Weavers were running for cover and could not pose an imminent threat." The FBI dubbed their temporary camp "Camp Vicki" and during the ensuing ten-day standoff negotiators taunted the survivors with "Vicki, come on out, we have blueberry pancakes." The negotiators later claimed they didn't know Vicki was dead, but Lon Horiuchi certainly did.

Politicians of both parties saw to that Lon Horiuchi was protected from legal consequences. FBI Assistant Director Larry Potts (a "FOL" -- "Friend of Louie," FBI Director Louis Freeh -- was censured for his role and in the subsequent cover-up. He was allowed to retire in 1997, after also participating in the command decision at Waco.

"Mortui vivos docent."

Some of the kids at Waco before their encounter with the FBI Hostage Roasting Team.

Here's some views of the end result of your tax dollars at work:

No one -- NO ONE -- was ever punished or even inconvenienced by what they did to these children at Waco. Eric Holder was instrumental in covering up the circumstances of the Waco inferno, including the prosecution of U.S. Attorney Bill Johnston, the only federal employee who seemed remotely interested in getting to the bottom of what actually happened. In this, Holder had bi-partisan help from the GOP. (See This Is Not An Assault: Penetrating the Web of Official Lies Regarding the Waco Incident by David T. Hardy & Rex Kimball.)

This bi-partisan cover-up cooperation continued to pay Eric Holder dividends into the 21st Century. From an article by Tommy Witherspoon in the Waco Tribune, 16 January 2009:

U.S. attorney general nominee Eric Holder not questioned about Waco Branch Davidian siege.

U.S. Attorney General-designate Eric Holder was prepared to be bombarded during his Senate confirmation hearings Thursday with a host of questions about a variety of topics, including his role as acting attorney general during a special investigation into the 1993 Branch Davidian debacle.

While he fielded questions about waterboarding terrorist suspects and the 2001 pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, Senate Judiciary Committee members didn’t get around to asking about the Branch Davidian investigation.

Former Attorney General Janet Reno recused herself from a special investigation that was conducted by former U.S. Sen. John Danforth into how the fire started in April 1993 in which Branch Davidian leader David Koresh and 75 of his followers perished.

Reno’s recusal left Holder, then No. 2 at the Justice Department, as acting attorney general for the purposes of Danforth’s 14-month, $17 million investigation.

Sen. Arlen Specter — ranking Republican on Senate Judiciary — indicated earlier this week that the Branch Davidian siege and Holder’s involvement in Danforth’s investigation might be a topic discussed during Holder’s confirmation hearings. Internet blogs have been rife with speculation about possible Holder testimony on the siege.

Danforth said this week that he supports Holder’s nomination and thinks he will be an excellent attorney general. He said as acting attorney general, Holder was the person to whom Danforth and his investigators submitted requests for information.

“He was very good and played it straight,” Danforth said. “I think that, oftentimes, the reaction to people in agencies or departments where there is an investigation going on is to circle the wagons. But that was not him at all. He was very forthcoming and very cooperative with us and provided the information we needed.”

Waco attorney Bill Johnston, a former assistant U.S. attorney who helped prosecute 11 Branch Davidians on murder charges, was the only person prosecuted as a result of Danforth’s investigation.

Johnston admitted that he failed to turn over his personal notes to investigators that they said revealed Johnston knew at least by 1994 that the FBI used tear-gas devices capable of sparking a fire on the final day of the 51-day standoff with Koresh.

They said Johnston also lied to a special grand jury in St. Louis about his level of cooperation.

"Mortui vivos docent."

Baylee Almon, barely alive, pulled from the rubble of the Murrah Building, Oklahoma City, 19 April 1995. She died shortly afterward.

"Mortui vivos docent."

Kenny Trentadue.

The official explanation of the bombing -- what Oklahoma investigative journalist J.D. Cash derisively called "The Lone Bomber Theory" -- was seriously complicated by credible reports of "others unknown." As I wrote recently:

A U.S. Attorney in Arizona made the proffer to McVeigh associate Michael Fortier in order to flesh out the "lone bomber theory" and divert attention away from Elohim City, the Aryan Republican Army and federal undercover informant Andreas Carl Strassmeier.

The name of that United States Attorney was Janet Napolitano.

The Oklahoma City Bombing, we now know, was at least influenced by and at worst executed by participants in a larger FBI operation called PATCON (See here and here. PATCON, and the cover-up of its deadly offshoots, was carried out under administrations of both parties. Eric Holder and Janet Napolitano are both long-time players in this cover-up, but then it has its GOP participants as well.

"Mortui vivos docent."

Brian Terry, Killed in Action, 15 December 2010, Peck Canyon, Arizona.

Let the dead teach the living. And what do these hundreds of dead -- thousands if you count the Mexican victims of Gunwalker, and I do -- as a result of federal law enforcement actions over the past two decades teach us? What do the bi-partisan cover-ups in all these cases teach us? They teach us that trusting anyone in the federal government when they utter the phrase "we will get to the bottom of it" is folly. They teach us that the Eric Holders of the world -- these evil men who commit crimes under color of law, violating the Constitution that they swore an oath to uphold -- could not succeed in their crimes without the urbane and sophisticated John Danforths of the world who cover for them.

My problem is that I have seen with my own eyes too much. I no longer trust. I can no longer be patient. For we who have trusted and been patient in our previous searches for federal justice have always been betrayed by the same people who claimed to be determined to "get to the bottom of it."

If my long education in bi-partisan perfidy in the cover-up of federal murder and mass murder has made me impatient, abrasive, untrusting and cynical, I make no apology. If we do see a complete and honest investigation of the Gunwalker Conspiracy, it would be a triumph of faint hope over jaded experience.

But that's not the way to bet.

"Mortui vivos docent."

-- Mike Vanderboegh

I can understand why he wants to get out of town. Darrell Issa flies off to Davos to hobnob with the global elite, leaving us to wonder just what the hell he has in mind for Eric Holder.

No, I didn't make that headline up. Issa has flown off to Davos to hobnob with the international elites this weekend. That, at least, is what I'm being told. This is a marvelous turn of events for the New World Order conspiracists. Shortwave millennialists will be going nuts. Much is being made today in various places of Issa's latest letters to Holder here and here.

Here's the Daily Caller's story and interview with Issa.

Here is David Codrea's take, which lays out succinctly the public facts as known.

Last night, I was floated some rumors that Morrissey and Hurley, Cunningham's fellow myrmidons working under Dennis Burke on the Fast and Furious clandestine operation, were also going to plead the Fifth along with Cunningham. This was obviously far too optimistic, and perhaps I was meant to jump at it, but I waited for confirmation. A good thing. I announced rightly that the committee was going to have an announcement this morning. But I didn't expect how truly wimpy it would be. Morrissey has until 5 o'clock Eastern today to respond to the committee. No one expects him to come forward, even though he is a Bush appointee. And why should he? Where are the threats of contempt of congress? Where is the plain talk of doing unto Holder as he has been doing unto them?

So I understand why the Three Amigos in the Phoenix U.S. Attorney's office are clamming up. What do they gain by coming forward now? The committee has made much sound and fury, but so far indications are that it signifies nothing. Recall that I previously reported that the Issa people have even cut off the flow information to Grassley's office. Recall that the committee made much noise in letters about going after Kevin O'Reilly and seeking information about the March 2009 meeting between Newell and the White House. None of that, I am told, will be mentioned at the upcoming hearing. Believe me when I tell you that I am not the only reporter, mainstream or Internet, that is wondering just what the hell is going on here. The frustration is palpable, and we compare notes in mutual mystification.

I sent this email to a number of participants in the investigation today.

From: georgemason1776

To: REDACTED (Congressional staffer)

Sent: Thu, Jan 26, 2012 11:05 am

Subject: Just between you and me. A cry in the dark . . .

So, Issa flies off to Davos while his chief counsel crafts a small solution which points to Phoenix -- except the stonewall on Phoenix is still holding. No follow up (apparently) on O'Reilly, March 2009 meeting, etc. So what's the plan? Get Holder up there and swing their limp dicks around trying to hit him? What is there in this that will do anything but discredit the whole investigation in the eyes of people who are paying attention? WHAT IS THERE EVIDENCED IN ANY OF THIS BESIDES A REASONABLE CONCLUSION THAT THE FIX IS IN?

Don't they understand that their (your) whole system is in a crisis of legitimacy?

I'm not being just rhetorical here and would very much appreciate some sort of hopeful input.

I just checked my email -- no one has responded as yet.

So that is where we are, as far as I know. The committee may have a rabbit in their hat. In fact, if they've been doing what they claim to have been doing they should have a whole warren of embarrassing rabbits for Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano and the sitting president of the United States. If. . . Maybe. . . Or, the fix is in, which means they have decided to try to save their rotten system and not the country.

I suppose we could ask Darrell Issa, but he's flown off to Davos.

I'm getting on a plane tomorrow morning, dear readers, to see if I can sniff out the truth. Either way, you'll read about it here, on Sipsey Street.

Praxis: Take-down AK coming. Now I LIKE this idea.

First Look: US Palm Takedown AK47.

Self-described "Educated elitists" for Romney.

"Florida primary pits tea party vs. cocktail party."

The death of reloading? New polymer cases. The latest in a long line of "miracle" inventions, if you keep track of them as they go by.

Polymer Casings: The Future of Ammo?

Attack of the Killer Green Windows.

Woman Claims Neighbor’s Energy Efficient Windows Are Melting Her Toyota Prius. I don't know why, but this struck me as funny. "Green" window attacks "green" hybrid car.

Kurt Hofmann: "Blocked funding for ATF's planned shotgun import ban already paying dividends."

The "sporting purposes" clause still needs to go (and despite rumors to the contrary, it has not yet done so).

Two from David Codrea: "What have been effects of politics and new media on 'Gunwalker'?" and "Ignorant or lying? An open letter to Rep. Hank Johnson."

"Gunwalker is a milestone of sorts, because it truly is a major story that had to be brought to the networks and newspapers, and they still resist reporting on it at all, let alone not embedding their reporting with their own agenda."

Stupid and venal is as stupid and venal does.

Sipsey Street Exclusive: Fifth Amendment Theater. A Whole Flock of Designated Goats. The Issa Committee will have an announcement in the morning.

Why is this man smiling? He's taking the Fifth, of course.

There are rumors floating about regarding the three Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Phoenix during the Fast and Furious clandestine operation, one of whom, Patrick Cunningham, has already resigned and claimed Fifth Amendment protections. I am reliably informed by an investigation insider that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will have an announcement on this in the morning. Look for it to involve some real Fifth Amendment Theater.

Folly responds.

Mordechai Rumkowski, Head Judenrat of the Lodz Ghetto. The Nazis called him a "Useful Jew."

Just received this email:

From: Jeff Folloder

To: georgemason1776

Sent: Wed, Jan 25, 2012 4:30 pm

Subject: Really?

Vandy,

(And I use that because I have no idea how to correctly pronounce your name...) If you are going to be getting all lathered up over me, you really do need to make sure your "facts" are a bit more accurate. I've no desire to sue you for libel, slander or otherwise because your not really worth the effort. I counted many factual errors in your latest rant and even pointed out a few of them in the comments section. Nice to know I have now hit your radar. I'll make sure to salute you when I censor the next post on SubGuns. The folks over there are going to be so pleased to know that I run the place. Really good stuff!

B'bye now. Please don't get too worked up.

--

Jeff Folloder

NFA Trade and Collectors Association

Website: www.nfatca.org

Direct: 281.492.8288

My reply:

From: georgemason1776

To: jeff.folloder

Cc: lensavag ; gunlaw

Sent: Wed, Jan 25, 2012 5:22 pm

Subject: Fwd: Really?

Dear "Useful Jew,"

Well, Folly, if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. I'll be posting your response, but in the meantime I'm also forwarding it to two of the victims of YOUR campaign of slander and lies, Len Savage and Bob Sanders.

The old NFATCA board's symbiotic relationship with ATF is crumbling and you are now despised by a growing portion of the membership as well as the Feds you sucked up to, who in truth never looked upon you as anything but useful idiots anyway. Truth will out.

For Ramsey A. Bear,

Mike Vanderboegh.

Attack of the "Useful Jews." The ATF Snitch Anti-Defamation League raises its "pragmatic" head. A Jeremiad from "Folly." Don't ever say that an ATF snitch is without ANY friends.

Jeff "Folly" Folloder about to be struck by reality in the case of U.S. vs. Clark.

Remember this post? What they did, and didn't, talk about at the NFATCA public meeting at the SHOT Show. Whispers of ATF snitches and U.S. vs. Clark. Apparently Sipsey Street is getting under some folks' skins for writing home truths like ths:

(A) little bird tells me that there was a lot of gossip and grumbling behind the scenes about NFATCA President John Brown's recent outing as an ATF snitch and just exactly how he is getting sweetheart (i.e., teflon) status in the soon-to-implode case of U.S. vs. Clark. Inquiring minds, it seems, want to know. The background noise of grumbling among NFATCA members is growing. The commoners don't like the "special status" of the Lairds and are wondering how much Brown and his former compadre Dan Shea (a source tells Sipsey Street that the former friends have had a falling out) told the ATF bigwigs like Rick Vasquez about THEM. (See here and here for previous Sipsey Street revelations about Mr. Shea.)

Just how long is the NFATCA going to tolerate a federal confidential informant as their "leader"? Inquiring minds want to know.

Well, this elicited a response from Jeff Folloder at the official NFATCA site.

The report from SHOT and a Response to the Voices of Discontent. . .

First things first... The allegation that John Brown (or Dan Shea) is a confidential informant. Just because Savage or Vandy or even a lawyer claims it to be so doesn't necessarily make it a fact. Being a CI is a tremendously complicated process and is not something that is undertaken casually. Have a look at the guide: http://www.justice.gov/ag/readingroom/ciguidelines.htm

So Bob Sanders states in a motion that he believes through his own discovery that John is a CI... That's just an opinion. And it is done to cloud the issues surrounding the pending issues against his client. It's a sound tactic, whether it is true or not. Unfortunately, it isn't true. And what's worse, Bob Sanders represented John and the NFATCA, so there may even be some doubt as to whether ethics and propriety were violated by such a disclosure, true or not. It's called conflict of interest. I wonder what will be flipped on who when Bob gets his next client?

As for ATF, it is now a holy charlie foxtrot. Sure, life would be easier if the ATF did not exist. Crappy legislation was given to a bunch of folks for interpretation and enforcement and then those folks have had to wing it on their own without leadership and with political agendas. It's not a good mix. But ATF isn't really going away any time soon so we chose to figure out how to push the ball forward instead of just banging the drum for their demise. It was a pragmatic and practical approach. We needed to get things done. And we met with initial rebuff, but eventually became an effective agency for change. It was an era of cooperation. At least with us.

"Vandy," huh?

Ah, yes, the "pragmatic" nest of snitches. As opposed to the "I-got-mine-but-I-need-some-mutual-favors-done-for-me-and-you" nest of snitches, no doubt.

Questions:

Perhaps Folly can explain how John Brown got caught forwarding emails regarding Len Savage's case to the ATF, giving them an inside look at Len's positions?

Perhaps Folly can explain the strange case of Ramsey A. Bear and how it was Dan Shea who ratted out that stuffed child toy to the ATF -- a subject that has been established under oath in court depositions?

Perhaps Folly can explain the hows and whys of the internal investigation of ATF Firearms Technology Branch personnel who were close personal friends of Shea's and Brown's?

Perhaps Folly can explain how he, who folks tell me doesn't even have an FFL, got the job of rewriting the testing procedures of the Firearms Technology Branch which will affect not only the entire industry of which he is NOT, repeat not, a part but also defendants in criminal cases brought by the ATF?

And did you get this part?

And we met with initial rebuff, but eventually became an effective agency for change. It was an era of cooperation. At least with us.

Well, that's an admission, isn't it? "At least with us"? Isn't that the core of the allegations? That Brown and Shea and, by his own admission, Folly were getting special considerations from ATF by having their own concerns addressed? It is no secret that the NFACTCA board under Brown and Shea's leadership have been more than willing to throw the interests of their membership under the bus. For his part, Folly has routinely censored any complaints about Brown, Shea, the NFATCA board and the ATF at the SubGuns message board that he runs.

As for the rambling critique of "my" report on the NFATCA meeting results, that was straight from a linked article at an attorney's website. I will let Bob Sanders answer Folly's criticism of him directly, but an attorney I talked said Folly's attack on Sanders was "ignorant of the law and stupid in the first degree."

As for me, I can only extend the invitation, as I have several times in the past, to Brown, Shea and now, by dint of his volunteer ATF Snitch Anti-Defamation League work, Mr. Jeff "Folly" Folloder, that, if any or all of them believe that I have libeled, slandered or defamed them under the laws existing today, they can sue me. It is an open invitation. I stand by my sources. And I also am certain that I will enjoy the discovery process far more than they will, the guilty modern day Rumkowski's, who sell out their membership for the privileges of being "useful Jews."

"This horrible conduct." Interesting agitprop from Missouri.

Agitprop:

from Russian: агитпроп

Derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message.

Gun target stickers found at Mo. Capitol offices.

Authorities in Missouri were investigating the discovery Tuesday of small stickers resembling gun targets that were found near the office doors of several state lawmakers.

Senators widely condemned the orange, round stickers displaying crosshairs as an affront to their safety, and police appeared to step up their presence in the Capitol hallways. The stickers were placed next to the doors of at least five Democratic state senators. The House clerk said a sticker also was found next to the doorway of at least one House Republican office.

The point of the stickers was not immediately clear. However, their discovery came as the Senate was debating legislation on whether Missouri should implement a portion of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Several Democrats were leading the opposition to the Republican-backed bill, which would require approval from the state Legislature or voters before Missouri can take steps to create a state-run health-insurance exchange.

Dave Workman: "New term for gun prohibitionists doesn’t change their agenda." Taking a page from Pappy "Pass the Biscuits" O'Daniel's campaign advisers on "reform."

The evolving collectivist language misuse to conceal an agenda. The word for gun confiscation is now "gun reform." Like Pappy "Pass the Biscuits" O'Daniel's campaign advisers, they apparently think they need to get them a little "reform." Now if they can just get Dapper Dan to help out.

Link.

Praxis: On the necessity of training. Copy this, cut it out, and tape it in the upper right corner of your bathroom mirror where you encounter your lovely face every morning. "A people who had to fight to become independent must not relinquish this independence without fighting."

Henri Guisan, commander-in-chief of the Swiss army and militia during WWII, inspects the troops.

A people who had to fight to become independent must not relinquish this independence without fighting. Those who are cowards and renounce their freedom will not find the strength to gain it back under more favorable circumstances. Those who are brave never think that a war is hopeless. Being brave is not only a matter of an individual's courage when he faces danger but to the same extent a matter of the expertise that he has gained through hard work, pain, and sacrifices to boost his self-confidence. We must acquire this expertise by working constantly and consistently. We lack combat experience. Hence, we shall hold our own against a battle-tried opponent only if we learn what is relevant from developments (in the war abroad) and then apply our insights with extensive training. -- Lieutenant General Herbert Constam, "Instructions on Combat Tactics," January 1941. Quoted in Stephen Halbrook's The Swiss and the Nazis, page 151.

"Shovel ready."

"U.S. Bridges, Roads Being Built by Chinese Firms."

Missed this back in September when it first ran.

Remember that behind every call for arms confiscation lies the deadly threat -- "We will take your firearms if we have to get the government to kill you to do it."

The execution of citizens of the town of Bochnia by the Germans during the occupation of Poland, 18 December 1939. Fifty-six people were executed that day in an exercise of "government monopoly of violence."

Three Death Penalties for Prohibited Arms Possession.

A special German court in Zamość [near Krakow] sentenced to death 19 year-old Franciszek Pokrywka of Powieki, 27 year-old Iwan Zilnyk and 35 year-old Paweł Huzar, both of Ułazów, for prohibited possession of firearms as well as for violating the duty to report possession of firearms.

Pokrywka had an automatic pistol with six cartridges and, despite the universally-known order about surrendering the arms, he did not give it up. Sometime later he sold the pistol to Zilnyk, who a few days after that offered the firearm for sale to Huzar, who, though he did not buy it, still failed to fulfill his duty to report it to the proper authorities.

The above-mentioned death sentences have already been carried out. -- Nowy Kurjer Warszawski [New Warsaw Courier], Jan. 22, 1941, quoted in Stephen Halbrook's Citizens in Arms.

I've been scanning a lot of Stephen Halbrook's work lately, trying to find the right chapter heading quotes for Absolved. Particularly impressive is his The Swiss & The Nazis: How the Alpine Republic Survived in the Shadow of the Third Reich.

In the process I encountered the dry newspaper announcement above. You know, I have been criticized mightily across the political spectrum for my response to an an impatient gun grabber, "If you try to take our firearms, we will kill you." But the thing is, those who propose to take our liberty and our property have already decided -- in their ignorance of the unintended consequences -- that it is worth it to them (or, at least, inconsequential) if we are killed in the process.

As I observed in my call to break Democrat Party headquarters windows in advance of the passage of the tyrannical Obamacare mandate:

Nancy Pelosi's Intolerable Act is within days of passage by devious means so corrupt and twisted that even members of her own party recoil in disgust.

This act will order all of us to play or pay, and if we do not wish to, we will be fined.

If we refuse to pay the fine out of principle, we will be jailed.

If we resist arrest, we will be killed.

They will send the Internal Revenue Service and other federal police to do this in thousands of small Wacos, if that is what it takes to force us to submit.

This arrogant elite pretends that this oppression is for our own good, while everyone else understands that this is about their selfish, insatiable appetite for control over our liberty, our money, our property and our lives.

All gun confiscation proposals come from the same motivation. Thus, if we say, "If you try to take our firearms we will kill you," it is important to remember that this is a threat of defensive violence to counter their original threat of offensive violence.

Properly formulated, shorn of all bushwah and pretense, what these people are saying to us first is this:

"We will take your firearms if we have to get the government to kill you to do it."

Such people will be insulted if you call them National Socialists, but is there a functional difference in the exercise of their demands?

You could ask Franciszek Pokrywka, Iwan Zilnyk and Paweł Huzar -- three human beings executed for the knowledge and possession of just one pistol -- if they thought so. Oh, that's right, they're long dead, killed by the exercise of that "government monopoly of force" that the gun grabbers of CSGV are so proud to advocate.

Praxis: Sipsey Street Irregulars Improvisation Contest.

Today, while I was still struggling with on-line problems and cell phone disconnectivity, I stopped by a thrift store to ease my frustration and found some Crown Products totes for a dime a piece. I bought 75. They are similar to the "natural color" tan one in the illustration above, 13-3/4" in height by 11-3/4" in width with about a 3-1/2" gusset. These are produced to put a customer's logo on and are often used as sales show giveaway bags. These, however, are plain without logo, just all-over coyote brown. So why did I buy them?

The material is thin which suggested bandoleer to me. Anyway, I thought I'd offer them to any of you "improvise, adapt and overcome" guys and gals out there who might have a bit of skill with a sewing machine. Drop me a line by email (GeorgeMason1776ATaol.com)or snail mail (PO Box 926, Pinson AL 35126) and I'll send you 4 each of these to play with to you heart's content -- no charge. The only thing is, if you come up with a good idea, you must have documented it and the creative process so others can duplicate. When we get all the submissions in, I'll make a grand praxis post. So, bandoleers? Drum mag carry pouches? Claymore bags? Let your imagination wander. And if you need more than four for whatever you're attempting, let me know. This ought to be fun.

Still struggling with virus/email hack but you need to know this. Tweet the SOTU.

Tweet the State of the Union

WTF?!?

Now I can't send an email without getting this shit:

The message was not sent because of an error. Your message was not sent. Please click on the URL below, complete the image puzzle, and then resend your message. http://challenge.aol.com/en/us/spam.html

What the hell is this? Another virus?

I'll have more later, if I can figure this shit out.

What they did, and didn't, talk about at the NFATCA public meeting at the SHOT Show. Whispers of ATF snitches and U.S. vs. Clark.

"Hot topics."

During the NFATCA meeting, it was disclosed that the ATF, as of last week, has changed its opinion regarding the proper procedure for deactivating a barrel for importation. Previously, ATF issued a letter stating that drilling three holes into the barrel was sufficient. While destroying the functionality of the barrel, it allowed for the barrel to be used in a dummy-gun for a collector, who basically desired a non-functioning replica of a particular firearm. ATF has now announced that it is requiring any such imported barrel to be torch cut in three locations.

Also, ATF has now stated that after having the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) review 18 U.S.C. § 922, it has been decided by OLC that a manufacture may stockpile as many post-86 machineguns as that manufacturer sees fit; however, only the manufacturer may manufacture the post-86 machinegun. What this means, is that it is no longer acceptable or legal, even if the manufacturer has a variance approving the following, for one manufacturer to manufacture the receiver, register the receiver on a Form 2, and then transfer the receiver on a Form 3 to another manufacturer for completion. The OLC has determined that the only transfer of a post-86 machinegun is to a law enforcement agency. There are clearly other concerning issues with regards to this that I will not address, in the hopes that they have eluded ATF.

Lastly, the NFATCA informed everyone that ATF is under specific direction that anything less than 100% during a compliance inspection must result in some form of administrative action. ATF will be conducting compliance inspections of all dealers within 36 months; the days of not having a compliance inspection for 10 years are a thing of the past.

And that is pretty much all the hot topics from the ATF Town Hall meeting and NFATCA meeting.

Well, no, not actually, because a little bird tells me that there was a lot of gossip and grumbling behind the scenes about NFATCA President John Brown's recent outing as an ATF snitch and just exactly how he is getting sweetheart (i.e., teflon) status in the soon-to-implode case of U.S. vs. Clark. Inquiring minds, it seems, want to know. The background noise of grumbling among NFATCA members is growing. The commoners don't like the "special status" of the Lairds and are wondering how much Brown and his former compadre Dan Shea (a source tells Sipsey Street that the former friends have had a falling out) told the ATF bigwigs like Rick Vasquez about THEM. (See here and here for previous Sipsey Street revelations about Mr. Shea.)

Just how long is the NFATCA going to tolerate a federal confidential informant as their "leader"? Inquiring minds want to know.

Newt misses opportunity.

I didn't watch much of the debate. Actually I fell asleep on the couch. But I did spot one golden -- but missed -- opportunity to shatter Mitt's glass jaw, and it could have been by any of the other three, although it would have been more effective if Newt had delivered the line. When somebody starts out from jump street savaging you, the best way to deal with it is with humor. After Mitt delivered his first broadside, Newt should have grinned wryly throughout the jeremiad and then replied, "Boy, Mitt, your inevitability cloak is slipping. Your loss in South Carolina must have stung pretty badly, huh?" The audience would have roared and come to their feet, despite the rules. Then he could have gone on to try to refute the charges (by whatever legerdemain he can). In any case, the look on Mitt's face would probably win Newt another three states with all the free media he'd get on THAT one. Not endorsing Newt by a country mile, just sayin'.

The horror! The horror!

Citizens killing criminals in righteous self-defense in Detroit. And some guy wants more cops instead. Why not just arm more citizens and give out bounties on dead crooks?

Dr. Evil is betting against the house of western civilization, and loving it. George Soros as survivalist.

"George Soros on the Coming U.S. Class War."

Sitting in his 33rd-floor corner office high above Seventh Avenue in New York, preparing for his trip to Davos, he is more concerned with surviving than staying rich. “At times like these, survival is the most important thing,” he says, peering through his owlish glasses and brushing wisps of gray hair off his forehead. He doesn’t just mean it’s time to protect your assets. He means it’s time to stave off disaster. As he sees it, the world faces one of the most dangerous periods of modern history—a period of “evil.” Europe is confronting a descent into chaos and conflict. In America he predicts riots on the streets that will lead to a brutal clampdown that will dramatically curtail civil liberties. The global economic system could even collapse altogether. . .

Critics already allege he is stoking the fires by funding the Occupy movement through Adbusters, the Canadian provocateurs who sparked the movement. . .

Occupy Wall Street “is an inchoate, leaderless manifestation of protest,” but it will grow. It has “put on the agenda issues that the institutional left has failed to put on the agenda for a quarter of a century.” He reaches for analysis, produced by the political blog ThinkProgress.org, that shows how the Occupy movement has pushed issues of unemployment up the agenda of major news organizations, including MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. It reveals that in one week in July of last year the word “debt” was mentioned more than 7,000 times on major U.S. TV news networks. By October, mentions of the word “debt” had dropped to 398 over the course of a week, while “occupy” was mentioned 1,278 times, “Wall Street” 2,378 times, and “jobs” 2,738 times. You can’t keep a financier away from his metrics.

As anger rises, riots on the streets of American cities are inevitable. “Yes, yes, yes,” he says, almost gleefully. The response to the unrest could be more damaging than the violence itself. “It will be an excuse for cracking down and using strong-arm tactics to maintain law and order, which, carried to an extreme, could bring about a repressive political system, a society where individual liberty is much more constrained, which would be a break with the tradition of the United States.”