The Natural Consequence of Liberalism Run Amok.

"Deadliest city in America plans to disband its entire police force and fire 270 cops to deal with budget crunch."

Israelis prepare amid fear of Iran war.

"Amid media speculation that Israel may carry out a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites and possibly prompt a regional war, the number of Israelis collecting state-funded gas masks has quadrupled from 17,000 in April to 70,000 in July, according to the military."

"Will 'Fast and Furious' Show That Cover-ups Work?"

"As talk show host and former CNN correspondent Chris Plante puts it, the media’s greatest power is the power to ignore. So far, the media, with a few exceptions, have barely mentioned a jaw-dropping scandal that could have crippled the Obama administration. If only people knew..."

David Codrea: BLM declares Burning Man Second Amendment-free zone.

"It’s not like crimes of violence, particularly sexual assault and rape are unheard of there, and Mr. Seidlitz’s edict is silent on any responsibility or duty to protect those he demands be defenseless. His notice does admit 'Actions by a few participants at previous events have resulted in law enforcement and public safety incidents similar to those observed in urban areas of similar-size populations,' documenting that he knows people he is disarming may be exposed to physical danger."

It's supposed to, Henry. It's supposed to.

What happens when rats mate with humans: Henry Waxman.

"If someone is so fearful that, that they're going to start using their weapons to protect their rights, it makes me very nervous that these people have these weapons at all!" -Henry Waxman, D. California, 15 May 2001, "MSNBC Investigates" report on "The .50 Caliber Militia."

I recalled this quote after seeing this latest outrage from the People's Republik of Kalifornia:

"California lawmakers approve ban on open carry of rifles, shotguns."

The state Assembly on Wednesday voted final legislative approval to a ban on carrying unloaded rifles and shotguns openly in public in California cities, with supporters citing recent mass shootings in other states and concern by police officers.

The Assembly voted 43-30 to send the legislation to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has said he owns three firearms but has not yet taken a public position on the bill.

Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge) introduced the measure as a follow-up to a bill signed last year by Brown that prohibited people from openly carrying unloaded handguns in public. Some have carried guns in public in a demonstration of a right to bear firearms.

The new measure makes it a misdemeanor, subject to jail time and fines, to openly carry unloaded long guns in incorporated cities. It was backed by law enforcement officials including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.

"The more guns we have on our streets, whether visible or not, the potential for tragedy increases exponentially," Beck said. "I am in full support of repealing the open carry laws."

I'm sorry, but if I had been born on the Left Coast I would have refugeed out of there a long time ago.

GOP platform blames Obama Justice Dept. for killing of Border Patrol agent.

"The Republicans' 2012 platform directly blames the Obama administration for the shooting death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, as well as unnamed others along the Mexican frontier."

What a country! We have more retail gun stores than we do grocery stores! Is that great, or what?!?

"Guns in America, a Statistical Look."

There are more than 129,817 federally licensed firearms dealers in the United States, according to the latest Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives numbers (as of Aug. 1) . Of those, 51,438 are retail gun stores, 7,356 are pawn shops and 61,562 are collectors, with the balance of the licenses belonging mostly to manufacturers and importers of firearms and destructive devices.

For comparison, here are some numbers of other ubiquitous elements of American life:

* Gas Stations in the U.S. (2011): 143,839 (source TD LINX/Nielsen via National Associations of Convenience Stores, Association for Convenience for Convenience and Fuel Retailing)

* Grocery Stores in the U.S. (2011) 36,569 (source: Food Marketing Institute)

* McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. (2011): 14,098 (Source: McDonald’s Corporation Annual Report 2011)

. . . According to ATF reports, in 2010 there were 5,459,240 new firearms manufactured in the United States, nearly all (95 percent) for the U.S. market. An additional 3,252,404 firearms were imported to the United States. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

Outstanding!

Maybe they should check the cemeteries. Those folks still vote Democrat.

The Case of the Disappearing Black Voter.

For those times when Mayor Bloomberg gets out of his limo?

Frustrated Upper West Side Resident Hangs "Rat Crossing" Signs.

Finding it tough to pass the offering plate.

National Atheist Party Cancels Convention Due To Lack Of Funding.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Department of Defense for scattering military equipment out into the hinterland where the armed citizenry can get their hands on it when push comes to shove.

"Police expand arsenals with surplus Army gear."

David Codrea: Second Amendment bloggers share concerns over training police for domestic war.

As well they should. Be sure to follow the links and do the action items requested.

America’s Crisis of Political Legitimacy

Excellent synopsis.

Throughout the year, the class time travels to societies in crisis over legitimacy: From the England of Henry II to its long revolution of 1640 to 1688 to the American Revolution in 1776, the French and Russian Revolutions of 1789 and 1917, and Weimar Germany as Hitler comes to power in 1933.

In each instance, a government has forfeited its claim to obedience and loyalty—at least in the view of a significant portion of its subjects—and has broken down. The questions are: Why? And what comes next? At the extreme, a polity’s condition reaches the state described by a Russian revolutionary leader when he said that the Bolsheviks did not seize power; they found it lying in the gutter and picked it up.

Legitimacy is probably the single most important concept in political analysis, and Beer’s class could have continued indefinitely. The fall of the Soviet Union would be a fine topic, and China’s 20th-century evolutions could occupy a whole year, especially its latest effort to shift from Maoism as a basis of legitimacy to successful economic development. This is the political equivalent of a triple flip without a net.

The time-traveling class should also drop in on the United States in 2012, which is slipping into a crisis of legitimacy relatively unnoticed. . .

Gallup and Rasmussen are telling us that the Founders were right to posit that a breakdown of the limits of government would cause a breakdown of consent. In response to the question of whether the current government has the consent of the governed, only 22 percent of likely voters say “yes.” The partisan divide is marked; Democrats split evenly, but only 8 percent of Republicans say yes. These are scary numbers, particularly when one considers that many of the “no consent” Democrats are probably on the left, denying the legitimacy of a government that does not do more for them. Also scary is that the political establishments of both parties seem oblivious.

So Beer’s time-traveling students would have little trouble deciding that the United States has a legitimacy crisis. They could produce competent term papers on how it arose. The big question, of course, is what happens next. That is indeterminable. Unstable political arrangements often continue for a long time, until some crisis pushes them over the edge. France faced severe fiscal problems in 1789, and Russia’s tsars might still be with us if they had avoided the strains of World War I. So the United States might be pushed into full-blown chaos only by serious fiscal dysfunction or some national security disaster. Unfortunately, neither of these possibilities appears remote.

The urgent question is how to find a road back to stability and consent without going through a crisis and consequent upheaval. This is a mystery, since the set of societies that have faced and surmounted legitimacy crises without turmoil is a limited one. In later years, Beer added to his syllabus the topic of the great reform acts in England during the 19th century, but that example seems almost unique. Most societies must endure considerable pain.

Yet another country heard from . . . To paraphrase Mrs. Gump, crazy is as crazy does.

"The Last Stop On The Right’s Crazy Train."

Another country heard from . . . These guys could give a 1930s Nazi Gauleiter a run for his money in race obsession.

Chris Matthews and MSNBC Now Claim the Word 'Chicago' Is Racist

Funny. I never saw these guys at a Tea Party rally.

What are uniformed field representatives of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Relations Service (CRS) doing assisting Occupy/anarchist activists outside the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Tampa?

How the Gutsiest President--EVER--Single-Handedly Killed OBL

Funny.

Obama's second term plans.

‘Shoot the Mother F**ker’. The next time somebody asks you, "What do you need an 'assault rifle' for?" tell them that murderous criminals travel in packs.

Type of evil 'assault weapon' used by gun store owner Stephen Bayezes to repel a murderous assault by a pack of armed thieves.

"Gun Store Owner Opens Fire on 3 Burglars After They Drove Van Through Wall."

The owner of the Guns and Ammo Gunsmith store in North Augusta, S.C. thought he was going to die tragically. Three men had driven a van into his store, executing what they hoped would be a quick “smash-and-grab” robbery.

Instead, they met owner Stephen Bayezes, who opened fire on the three intruders after the commotion set off an alarm, hitting each one at least once. He says he is not proud of what he was forced to do, but added sometimes “you’ve got to.” The incident occurred on Aug. 9, but the owner says a set of tire marks on the store’s floor and an unfinished wall are daily reminders of the night that he almost lost his life.

“It’s a haunting thought. It literally is a haunting thought when you see the tire tracks, you hear the tires,” Bayezes told WRDW-TV. “Everybody assures you that you just did what you had to do to protect your family. They say it’ll heal over time, but when does time go away? It’s something that nobody ever wants to do.”

But he says he had no choice after he heard one of the robbers shout, “Shoot the mother f**ker!,” followed by the sound of a gun cocking. “I mean, they would’ve shot me. In my mind, with no reservation. If that firearm had been loaded, I might’ve been a statistic.”

With his fight-or-flight reflexes in full gear, Bayezes started shooting, striking all three men, killing one while the surviving two escaped.

More of that "To Protect and To Serve" stuff from the "Only Ones" of the LAPD.

The motto of the LAPD is "To Protect and To Serve." I guess that's what two of Los Angeles' finest "Only Ones" are doing here: "LAPD officers slam cuffed woman to ground." Her sin? Using a cell phone.

David Codrea: Attorney’s analysis of Project Gunrunner report shows admission of gunwalking.

"This is a succinct summation of many points citizen journalist Mike Vanderboegh shared with readers of his Sipsey Street Irregulars blog in comprehensive analyses in May and August of last year, but Hardy’s reminder is timely and serves to help get this information not just out there for cognizance of Congressional investigators and the general public, but also, through an appeal he wrote at the end, to another important group of people."

“I expect the crowd in power to destroy everything…”

Be sure and read the comments.

The population has known subconsciously for a long time that something is very rotten, and that things are going to fail at some point, in what will likely be an ugly upheaval. ‘Til now, that sense was captured by the “zombie apocalypse” trend, which gave middle America a way of considering the pending chaos and collapse in a manner that didn’t require them to consider shooting their neighbors.

Got militia?

Don't try this with an AR.

Is "Necessity The Mother Of Invention," or merely just a mother?

Another country heard from (again). The Government Monopoly of Violence advocates of CSGV (Collectivists Supporting Government Violence) call us traitors and urge their followers to "smoke out the insurrectionists."

We are indebted to Robert Farago for the pointing out this tweet from the "Coalition to Stop Gun Violence."

"Smoke out the insurrectionists who dominate the pro-gun movement. And call them what they are: Traitors who r preparing 4 war w/ our gov't."

Of course, I figure prominently in the CSGV list of "insurrectionists" and "traitors."

They really do believe, and have enunciated their beliefs many times, that the federal government should retain a monopoly of violence , thus contradicting the Founders' original intent of the Second Amendment.

Souvenir photo of a German Einsatzgruppen advocate of a government monopoly of violence. The hand-written note on the back of the photo says, "Ukraine 1942, Jewish Aktion, Ivangorod".

As Kurt Hofmann has written, "Forget 'gun control'; CSGV represents 'genocide enablement lobby'." And Kurt has their own words to back it up:

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) most starkly exemplifies this way of thinking, with their insistence on a "government monopoly on force," which executive director Josh Horwitz claims is "the fundamental organizing principle of any political entity, including the United States." In support of that assertion, Horwitz cites Max Weber, whose Article 48 was absolutely indispensable in Hitler's rise to power. Interesting choice of influences, CSGV.

Blogger Miguel, of Gun Free Zone, recently caught CSGV taking their twisted philosophy to its logical extreme, and tracked this Twitter exchange, in which gun rights advocate LC Scotty asked CSGV if rounding up a minority group for the concentration camps would not justify armed resistance:

So govt rounding up citizens based on relig/ethnic id would not warrant armd resistance if courts bless as constitutional

CSGV's astounding response:

Correct. As long as the Const. is functioning as our system of gov't, there are peaceful methods for redress.

Keep in mind, by the way, that CSGV would have us take the government's word on whether or not it was complying with the Constitution. In other words, according to CSGV, there can never be any justification for armed resistance, as long as the government makes a token effort to toss a flimsy veneer of Constitutional legitimacy over its excesses.

So these are the people who call US "traitors" to the Constitution. They're from another country, all right -- I just can't figure out if it's Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia.

More advocates of a government monopoly of violence. Warsaw Ghetto, 1943.

One of NYPD's finest sounds off on training and other issues. (No wonder they can't hit the broad side of a barn.)

A real head scratcher. "Marksmanship? Whut's dat?"

"NYPD officer AMA. All questions regarding 12lb trigger pulls and any other issues that have cropped up due to last week's shooting."

I'm posting this here instead of politics or AMA because I'd rather talk about gun side of things because I want to answer and discuss issues

NYPD officer here to answer any questions. Here are some facts:

•Every officer hired since the introduction of pistols in the NYPD back in the early nineties is NOT allowed to use a revolver as their service weapon. They must choose between a Glock 19, S&W 5946, or a Sig P226. All of these guns are in DAO variant and have NO external safety.

•Everyone who is allowed to carry a gun in the department (not everyone is) has to re-qualify once every six months (give or take, it's been as short as five and as long as nine sometimes).

•MOST NYPD officers fire their FIRST gun, ever in their entire lives, at the police academy, some as young as 21 to as old as 35 shooting for their very first time, and on a DAO pistol.

•The qualifications are HORRIBLE (and) get dumbed down every year.

•The NYPD offers once a month training for members to use, on their own time. However, all that is done during these sessions are the same basic dumbed down qualification exercises. You will only receive real help if you outright fail. Missed 12 out of fifty @ 7 yards? GOOD ENOUGH!

•Our tactical training is a joke and maybe ten people in a department of 34K have had Active Shooter training (I'm not exaggerating).

There is a lot broken, basically.

Some of our members NEVER take their service weapons out of their gun belts, and never carry ANYTHING off duty. I've seen people with 3 years on have brown rusted rear sights. Some never clean their weapons unless forced to by the firearms unit.

The NYPD has been tight fisted with ammo for the longest time. Take your one box and be happy.

I'll answer any questions you guys have.

PS: Our holsters are shit also.

Misdirection

Dear Mayor Bloomberg -- THIS is how things work in the real world outside Gotham.

"Customer kills gunman during armed robbery attempt at Jacksonville Dollar General."

A 57-year-old father and grandfather stopped off on his way home from work Monday night to fill a grocery list his wife left for him that morning.

But after entering the Dollar General at 1921 Dunn Ave., he was thrust into an armed robbery that ended with him firing his weapon and one of the two robbers lying dead on the floor.

Two men entered the store about 9:20 p.m., both with handguns, said Lt. Rob Schoonover of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

“One of them had the clerk and one of them was at the front cash register,” Schoonover said.

The manager then alerted the customer to the situation.

“The customer, who had a concealed firearms permit and a firearm, fired at the suspect, striking him apparently two times, killing him,” Schoonover said.

The other robber, wearing a blue bandana and gloves, ran out the front and fled eastbound on Dunn Avenue in a small sport-utility vehicle. . .

The man, who the Times-Union is not identifying because the other robber has not been caught, knew well how to use his gun, according to his family.

“He’s always been a marksman,” his wife said. “He shoots in competitions, but this is the first time he’s ever killed anyone and I don’t know how he’ll handle that.”

The store was equipped with video surveillance and the man was being taken in for questioning, but he’s not being charged, Schoonover said.

“The citizen did not get shot, none of the employees were hurt, this worked out good tonight,” Schoonover said.

Armed citizen saves cop, incident ignored by media. Police chief refuses to acknowledge that citizen saved cop's life.

Armed Citizen Stops Violent Attack on Cop.

Two concerns here. First:

Both Phares and Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff stopped short of crediting Stevens with saving the officer’s life.

True. It’s impossible to know if Stevens saved Harrison’s life. That would require some sort of concurrent, alternate reality where Stevens didn’t intervene, then comparing the two outcomes. Life isn’t a tidy double-blind clinical trial.

The FBI reports that in 2010, 19 police officers were slain while alone on patrol. Seven officers were killed with their own weapons. Of 56 officers killed, 16 had fired their own weapons, as Harrison did.

Second: Only local station WAFB reported this incident. FBI Supplemental Homicide Reports show that private citizens killed police attackers only three times annually since 2000. Yet an unusual and compelling story of self-defense by a concealed carry licensee gets mentioned only by local media. Media blackouts allow anti-rights propagandists to continue claiming that self-defense incidents are rare, so banning concealed carry wouldn’t be an imposition.

A Darwinian moment in Montana. Don't go around all drunk and ghillied up.

Sasquatch stunt takes a tragic turn on highway. It is impossible to make this stuff up.

A man dressed in a military-style “Ghillie suit” who was attempting to provoke a Bigfoot sighting was struck by two vehicles and killed on U.S. 93 South of Kalispell Sunday night.

“He was trying to make people think he was Sasquatch so people would call in a Sasquatch sighting,” Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Schneider said. “You can’t make it up. I haven’t seen or heard of anything like this before. Obviously, his suit made it difficult for people to see him.”

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as Randy Lee Tenley, 44, of Kalispell.

Schneider said Tenley’s motivations were ascertained during interviews with friends who were not in the immediate area but were nearby when the man was struck at about 10:30 p.m.

“Alcohol may have been a factor,” Schneider said. “Impairment is up in the air.”

GOP elitists aspire to replicate the Whigs. "If this is how it's going to be, I don't want to be a Republican."

"Texas delegates planning floor mutiny over RNC rules changes."

On Monday morning, at a meeting of more than 100 Texan delegates and alternates at the Saddlebrook Resort 20 miles north of Tampa, one topic got the crowd more fired up than any other. Delegate Melinda Fredricks read aloud a letter condemning recent changes to the national Republican party's rules that would allow the GOP presidential candidate to veto and replace state delegates.

"Our delegates are in shock that such an amendment even would be presented before the Rules Committee much less passed into rule," Fredricks said. "Please know from the Texas delegation standpoint that the only way a floor fight can be avoided is for this rule to be stricken."

At that point, the entire Texas delegation stood up and applauded.

Texans don't necessarily want to have an ugly floor fight on the same day the party officially nominates Mitt Romney. But they're willing to do it if their concerns about the rule aren't satisfied. The changes, which Mitt Romney's top lawyer put forward last week and Gov. Haley Barbour along with some other Romney supporters have embraced, are seen by opponents as intended to significantly weaken the power of grassroots politics and insurgent candidates such as Ron Paul. Many against the move worry that it would give national candidates the power to replace delegates--often grassroots party faithfuls--with big-time donors or friends.

"We truly consider that an infringement on our rights," Fredricks, a member of the rules committee, told Yahoo News of the changes. Today, states generally choose their delegates at state conventions, and then those individuals travel to the national convention to cast their vote for a candidate based on the share the candidate won of the primary or caucus vote of each state. But, the changes could allow a candidate such as Mitt Romney to boot out any delegates who are assigned to vote for him and replace them.

While opposition to the rules began with Ron Paul supporters, it has spread to the entire Texas delegation and significant portions of those from South Carolina, Colorado, Virginia and Louisiana too. Mitt Romney's campaign lawyer Ben Ginsberg proposed the rule last week, but even some Romney supporters are staunchly opposed to the changes. Indiana delegate and Romney supporter James Bopp wrote in an email to RNC members that it's "the biggest power grab in the history of the Republican Party." Fredricks, a Romney supporter, says only 30 people of the more than 300 Texan alternates and delegates support Ron Paul, yet the delegation is "united" in its opposition to the rule.

CBS Exclusive: "Fast and Furious IG report slams ATF Phoenix personnel."

"The Inspector General (IG) draft report on Fast and Furious heaps blame on the Phoenix-based staff of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) according to those familiar with the document."

Well, there's a big surprise. You didn't think Kevin O'Reilly's name would come up, did you? Ask yourself just one thing. Who is in a position to read and leak the contents of this report which is not yet final and hasn't been seen outside the executive branch? Someone who is interested in what the military calls, IPB -- "Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace."

Well, as long as they weren't Absolved readers, I guess they're not terrorists, huh?

From the Associated Press -- Prosecutor: Ga. murder case uncovers terror plot.

Four Army soldiers based in southeast Georgia killed a former comrade and his girlfriend to protect an anarchist militia group they formed that stockpiled assault weapons and plotted a range of anti-government attacks, prosecutors told a judge Monday.

Prosecutors in rural Long County, near the sprawling Army post Fort Stewart, said the militia group of active and former U.S. military members spent at least $87,000 buying guns and bomb components. They allege the group was serious enough to kill two people — former soldier Michael Roark and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tiffany York — by shooting them in the woods last December in order to keep its plans secret.

"This domestic terrorist organization did not simply plan and talk," prosecutor Isabel Pauley told a Superior Court judge. "Prior to the murders in this case, the group took action. Evidence shows the group possessed the knowledge, means and motive to carry out their plans."

One of the Fort Stewart soldiers charged in the case, Pfc. Michael Burnett, also gave testimony that backed up many of the assertions made by prosecutors. The 26-year-old soldier pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter, illegal gang activity and other charges. He made a deal to cooperate with prosecutors against the three other soldiers.

Prosecutors said the group called itself F.E.A.R., short for Forever Enduring Always Ready. Pauley said authorities don't know how many members it had.

Burnett, 26, said he knew the group's leaders from serving with them at Fort Stewart. He agreed to testify against fellow soldiers Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, identified by prosecutors as the militia's founder and leader, and Sgt. Anthony Peden and Pvt. Christopher Salmon.

All are charged by state authorities with malice murder, felony murder, criminal gang activity, aggravated assault and using a firearm while committing a felony. A hearing for the three soldiers was scheduled Thursday.

Prosecutors say Roark, 19, served with the four defendants in the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division and became involved with the militia. Pauley said the group believed it had been betrayed by Roark, who left the Army two days before he was killed, and decided the ex-soldier and his girlfriend needed to be silenced.

Burnett testified that on the night of Dec. 4, he and the three other soldiers lured Roark and York to some woods a short distance from the Army post under the guise that they were going target shooting. He said Peden shot Roark's girlfriend in the head while she was trying to get out of her car. Salmon, he said, made Roark get on his knees and shot him twice in the head. Burnett said Aguigui ordered the killings.

"A 'loose end' is the way Isaac put it," Burnett said.

Aguigui's attorney, Daveniya Fisher, did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press. Attorneys for Peden and Salmon both declined to comment Monday.

Also charged in the killings is Salmon's wife, Heather Salmon. Her attorney, Charles Nester, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Pauley said Aguigui funded the militia using $500,000 in insurance and benefit payments from the death of his pregnant wife a year ago. Aguigui was not charged in his wife's death, but Pauley told the judge her death was "highly suspicious."

She said Aguigui used the money to buy $87,000 worth of semiautomatic assault rifles, other guns and bomb components that were recovered from the accused soldiers' homes and from a storage locker. He also used the insurance payments to buy land for his militia group in Washington state, Pauley said.

In a videotaped interview with military investigators, Pauley said, Aguigui called himself "the nicest cold-blooded murderer you will ever meet." He used the Army to recruit militia members, who wore distinctive tattoos that resemble an anarchy symbol, she said. Prosecutors say they have no idea how many members belong to the group.

"All members of the group were on active-duty or were former members of the military," Pauley said. "He targeted soldiers who were in trouble or disillusioned."

The prosecutor said the militia group had big plans. It plotted to take over Fort Stewart by seizing its ammunition control point and talked of bombing the Forsyth Park fountain in nearby Savannah, she said. In Washington state, she added, the group plotted to bomb a dam and poison the state's apple crop. Ultimately, prosecutors said, the militia's goal was to overthrow the government and assassinate the president.

Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said the Army has dropped its own charges against the four soldiers in the slayings of Roark and York. The Military authorities filed their charges in March but never acted on them. Fort Stewart officials Monday refused to identify the units the accused soldiers served in and their jobs within those units.

"Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield does not have a gang or militia problem," Larson said in a prepared statement, though he said Army investigators still have an open investigation in the case.

"However, we don't believe there are any unknown subjects," he said.

District Attorney Tom Durden said his office has been sharing information with federal authorities, but no charges have been filed in federal court. Jim Durham, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, would not comment on whether a case is pending.

Of course, it is all a GOP conspiracy: "Leader of Army Plot to Assassinate Obama Apparently Attended the 2008 Republican Convention as a Page." Well, as long as they weren't Absolved readers, I guess they're not terrorists, huh?

CSM: "US 'civil war' fears abound."

"The UN will not 'mess with Texas,' Martin Nesirky, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman, tells Reuters."

Well, that's reassuring, coming as it does from that paragon of rectitude, the United Nations. Purty smart on their part, I'd say.

The author of the article, however, makes this statement:

Today’s stakes, though substantial, are not of civil-war caliber. Whether Obama or Romney is elected in November, chances are great that the workings of the Constitution will temper any revolutionary strains, as it has since the end of the Civil War.

This is whistling past the graveyard of history, pure and simple. What if, for example, the election is stolen, or perceived to be stolen?

The damage that has been done to the perceived legitimacy of the federal government by this administration is greater than any other time in history, save in the run-up to the War Between the States, and probably even then. The Gunwalker Scandal is only a small part of that. Does the author think that just because someone declares the election to have been "fair" or the Supreme Court votes 5-4 that something is "legal" when it is blatantly unconstitutional on its face will be meekly accepted? Does he think people will merely roll over for more depredations upon their liberty and property?

This Christian Science Monitor reporter doesn't get around much, does he?

We are closer to civil war right now than at any time since 1861. Believe it.

Two Important Posts from David Codrea.

"Issa to question OIG head as ATF pores over report."

"DC Bar Counsel punts Holder ethics complaint amidst conflict of interest concern."

Issa and Grassley's "September Surprise?" Issa calls DOJ's IG Horowitz to Capitol Hill for September hearing on Fast & Furious.

Issa continues to play three-dimensional chess with the Gunwalker conspirators.

Congressman Darrell Issa, California Republican and House Oversight Committee Chairman, sent a letter on Friday to the Justice Department's Inspector General Michael Horowitz that summoned the IG inspector to a Capitol Hill hearing to testify before the House Oversight Committee on September 11.

According to Mr. Issa's letter, Horowitz already sent a draft of the eagerly awaited for Fast and Furious report to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) as well as Attorney General Eric Holder and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General on August 21. Issa points out:

"Under normal circumstances, the Department has two weeks to complete this review, which would make its response due by September 4, 2012. It would be regrettable if senior Department officials applied political pressure on you to delay publication of this report. Given the considerable public interest in this case and the Attorney General's own purported interest in learning the recommendations set forth in your report in order to make important management changes, it is incumbent upon you to release this report as soon as practicable."

We have been told through our sources for some time to be ready for a "September Surprise." The idea was to get the OIG report on the record and then, if it was a whitewash, to blow it out of the water with additional documents and witnesses already in the hands of the Issa committee.

Another "anonymous" country heard from . . . Bloomie, ist dat du?

Reacting to my post -- "NYPD: The gang that couldn't shoot straight. What a great argument for more gun control, right Bloomie?" -- Mr. Anonymous, the most prolific collectivist poster here responds:

Let's now hear a bit about how a bunch of beer-bellied yahoos with John Wayne fantasies dancing in their heads would do so much better at avoiding hitting bystanders in a real life armed exchange with bad guys than intensively trained police officers. C'mon, give us a chuckle. If that NY street had been populated by readers of this blog, there'd have been a pile of dead bodies on that street, and many of the corpses would have been Vanderboegh's blog buddies, shot in a circular firing squad by their country bumpkin comrades. Sorry for bringing some reality to your little fantasy land. You may now return to jerking off to old John Wayne movies. Better not publish this one either, Mike. Give in to your old Stalinist instincts and suppress inconvenient facts with all your might. You pathetic little toad.

A Powerful Movie.

A friend invited Rosey and I to go see 2016 with him Friday night. It was an offer I certainly couldn't refuse since he was buying the tickets. It was, as Thomas Sowell says here, "a powerful movie."

I was planning on writing a review of it, but today has been a singularly rough day. Let me present Sowell's analysis instead, along my own recommendation that you all go see it. If you have someone close to you who still isn't convinced of the danger posed by Obama's anti-Americanism, be sure and take them too.

And always remember that when democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizen still gets to vote.

Department of Pre-Crime, Southern Preposterous Lie Center Division

NYPD: The gang that couldn't shoot straight. What a great argument for more gun control, right Bloomie?

"NYPD Confirms: Our Bullets Injured All 9 Bystanders."

NYPD chief Ray Kelly confirmed today that all nine bystanders wounded in yesterday's shooting near the Empire State Building were injured by police bullets, reports CNN. The two officers who approached Jeffrey Johnson fired 16 rounds after he pulled his gun on them at point-blank range, and authorities think at least seven rounds hit Johnson, reports Gothamist. (See surveillance video of the shooting here.)

“We recovered whole bullets from two of the victims," Kelly said. "Actually, we think a total of the three out of the nine bystanders were struck with bullets, the rest were struck with fragments of some sort.” Of the nine, six were treated and released from local hospitals by this morning. The other three were in stable condition, reports the New York Times. It remains unclear whether Johnson got off any rounds himself after pointing his gun at police.

LATER: Dave Workman asks Is gun control the answer when cops shoot people?

The World's Largest Army.

Bloomberg tries to explain why New York's finest gun down innocent bystanders. Isn't this what Bloomberg said would happen if civilians packed heat?

But. . . but . . . they were official government employees. That's not supposed to happen.

A women's accessories designer fatally shot a vice president of the company that laid him off near the Empire State Building Friday, causing a chaotic showdown with police in front of one of the world's best-known landmarks. Police killed the suspect and at least nine others were wounded, some by stray police gunfire, city officials said. . .

The two officers fired a total of 14 rounds at Johnson, Kelly said. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the nine wounded may have been shot by police in the mayhem. Johnson's semi-automatic weapon was equipped to fire at least eight rounds; at least one round was left in the clip, police said. Another loaded magazine was in his briefcase.

David Codrea Exclusive: Shipley’s father asked Issa and Grassley to investigate son’s case

Copies of letters received this week by Gun Rights Examiner from a source close to the case of John Shipley, the FBI agent convicted of illegal gun dealing who has been the subject of a series of exclusive recent reports in this column, show that House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley were approached by Shipley’s father in September, 2011, and again in February of this year, with a request to investigate “egregious criminal conduct by members of the ATF and DOJ” as evidenced in his son’s case.

Is Richard Lynch coming to get yo' momma? Disinformation comes in all shapes and sizes.

“He said, they have the names addresses of every member of Congress, and the Senate, their wives, their children, the school that they go to, all the cabinet members, all of the head officials in Washington, all the officials in state governments. And he said, they will all be assassinated, quickly.”

Geez, why don't they threaten us with something we're scared of? Killing off all the Senate and House would, among other things, be -- in about 50% of the cases -- the right folks from a Constitutional point of view. Not that I'm condoning it, mind you, just that they ought to be more forward thinking with their disinformation.

Market Daily News claims to have broken the code on the DHS' massive ammo purchases. "Mystery Surrounding 1.2 Billion Rounds Of Ammo Solved."

The explanation? Why its a remake of that old Chuck Norris B-movie, Invasion USA.

After years warning of the out-of-the-blue presidential candidacy of Barrack Obama, Wiles appears most certain, again, that a powerful connection can be made between information he’s received from a high-level informant at Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—regarding the approximately 20,000 Russian commandos suspected of legally entering the U.S. from Canada—and conversations he had with an old acquaintance, the famous Russian spy of the old Soviet Union era, Colonel Stanislav Lunev.

“Colonel Stanislav Lunev told me, personally, years ago—he said, the Russian military strategy is, that, we [Russians] will strike so hard [at the U.S.], that there will be such shock, that the American people will surrender,” Wiles recalls, during a conversation he had with the spy over a several-day period in 1999.

“He was not talking about a nuclear, chemical [or] biological attack; he was talking about commandos in the country [U.S.]. He said . . . this is what he said, Spetznazs, which are the Russian commandos.

To take something like the massive ammo purchase that is, in fact, for the Obama regime delegitimizing and discrediting -- obviously they are frightened of, and getting ready to fight, their own people (something the people who are awake cannot fail to notice) -- and then to link it to some bovine excrement like an old script from Invasion USA offers cover for the regime by linking the very real purchase to a wild conspiracy theory that few would believe.

It also fails the logical smell test. Decapitating the governments -- federal, state and local -- of the United States would rob any invaders of exactly the Quisling class that they need to exert control. The presence of foreign troops on U.S. soil would unite people in a way that very little else could. Disinformation comes in all shapes and sizes, people. Try not to chase NWO pixies and just get ready for whatever comes. Then, in the very unlikely event that Invasion USA happens, you'll be ready. But I must tell you that I don't believe that Richard Lynch is coming to get yo' momma.

David Codrea: Issa says ATF’s McMahon ‘will probably be referred for criminal prosecution’

“This is somebody who our reports said perjured himself before the Congress,” Issa charged. “We don’t understand why J.P. Morgan would hire somebody who’s lied to Congress, and will probably be referred for criminal prosecution.”

FBI Standard Operating Procedure -- a hyped up case, a Bureau political agenda, a dirty lying snitch, and punishment for the credulous dupes. Georgia Geriatic "Militia" members sentenced.

"Ga. Senior Citizen Militia Members Get Five Years In Prison."

Two members of a Georgia militia arrested in a disrupted plot to kill government officials last year were each sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to conspiring to obtain an unregistered explosive device and silencer.

Frederick Thomas, a 73-year-old from Cleveland, Ga., and 68-year-old Dan Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., were each sentenced to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Both were members of fringe militia organization they referred to as a “covert group.” Federal authorities arrested them in November 2011 for allegedly plotting to attack U.S. citizens and federal employees using the biological toxin ricin. Their alleged targets included Attorney General Eric Holder and former Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney.

One reason the feds might have chosen not to pursue further charges: Joe Sims, the FBI’s confidential informant in the case wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen. Sims was accused of molesting his step children and failed a polygraph test after claiming to know about a plot to blow up buildings in Atlanta, according to a story in Esquire earlier this year. . .

The feds alleged that the plot was inspired by the online novel “Absolved,” which was written by Mike Vanderboegh, the blogger who wrote some of the first posts about the ATF’s Fast and Furious scandal.

Be sure and read the Esquire article here: "Counter-Terrorism Is Getting Complicated. Especially in the case of the Waffle House terrorists, where it may be the Department of Homeland Security that's fomenting terror."

Nothing new under the sun for the American Secret Political Police. "Richard Aoki, Man Who Armed Black Panthers, Was FBI Informant."

The Mulford Act was a 1967 California bill prohibiting the public carrying of loaded firearms. Named after assemblyman Don Mulford, the bill garnered national attention after the Black Panthers marched on the California Capitol to protest the bill. The bill was signed by California Governor Ronald Reagan and became California penal code 12031 and 171(c.)

David Codrea noticed it here. Huffington Post has it here, but it originally came from the Center for Investigative Reporting.

The man who gave the Black Panther Party some of its first firearms and weapons training – which preceded fatal shootouts with Oakland police in the turbulent 1960s – was an undercover FBI informer, according to a former bureau agent and an FBI report.

One of the Bay Area’s most prominent radical activists of the era, Richard Masato Aoki was known as a fierce militant who touted his street-fighting abilities. He was a member of several radical groups before joining and arming the Panthers, whose members received international notoriety for brandishing weapons during patrols of the Oakland police and a protest at the state Legislature.

Aoki went on to work for 25 years as a teacher, counselor and administrator at the Peralta Community College District, and after his suicide in 2009, he was revered as a fearless radical.

"All power to the people . . . er, ah, the FBI secret police."

But unbeknownst to his fellow activists, Aoki had served as an FBI intelligence informant, covertly filing reports on a wide range of Bay Area political groups, according to the bureau agent who recruited him.

That agent, Burney Threadgill Jr., recalled that he approached Aoki in the late 1950s, about the time Aoki was graduating from Berkeley High School. He asked Aoki if he would join left-wing groups and report to the FBI.

As David comments: "I certainly hope no "conspiracy theorists" point out how armed Panthers were exploited to gin up hysteria and pass the Mulford Act..."

David Codrea Exclusive: "The Strange Case of FBI Agent John Shipley."

A Shipley Case summation so far.

Theory (cover story?) about the replacement of Dapper Dan Restrepo.

Mind you, this comes from long-time collectivist Tom Hayden, of SDS infamy. "Obama, Upset by Latin America Criticism, Replaces an Advisor."

OIG report finally delvered to DOJ. Public will see it in 30 days.

Katie Pavlich has it here.

"It's Official: Facebook Is the Department of PreCrime."

One of the other issues that I have not blogged on these past days is the outrageous case of Brandon Raub. Lew Rockwell has this summation about Raub and the dangers of Facebook. I do not participate in Facebook. This limits some of the stuff I need to do, but I get over it. I wish more folks did as well. I'm sure Brandon Raub does now.

David Codrea: McMahon not only one favored with ATF ‘sweetheart deal’

The Gun Cop - Bankster Complex.

“The only difference between the FBI and the KGB is that the Soviet secret police never pretended to be a legitimate law enforcement agency.”

Ashamed to say that what with all the health issues these past days I neglected to mark the anniversary of Ruby Ridge. William Grigg does a great job of putting it all into the larger context here -- "Ruby Ridge: The Age of State Terrorism Begins."

Unexpected trip to the doctor yesterday, unexpected C-T scan today.

Sorry, guys, but I am still in the rut of two steps forward, one step back. You may recall that I had a post-op infection that drained out my back. Over the months, that wound has never healed completely, although some times it was looking like it, only to get worse with drainage ranging from clear to pussy. (Sorry if you are reading this before breakfast.) Anyway, the drainage has recently picked up and I was compelled to get to the doctor yesterday, who scheduled the C-T scan for this morning. This has screwed up my writing times so the past few days have been more than sparse. I'll try to pick up the pace sometime this afternoon.

"We represent the Lollipop Guild . . . and in the name of the Lollipop Guild, we wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land." Know an insane dwarf? Eric Holder wants to hire him.

"Holder Justice Department Recruits Dwarfs, Schizophrenics, and the ‘Intellectually Disabled’"

It is impossible to make this excrement up.

The wages of Fast & Furious Perjury: McMahon allowed by ATF to double-dip.

The Gunwalkers Bill -- Newell & McMahon.

ATF official also holding private-sector job, Congress members say.

In an unusual arrangement, a senior official of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives involved in the controversial gun operation Fast and Furious is receiving his government salary while working full time for the investment bank J.P. Morgan, according to two Republican lawmakers.

In a letter Tuesday to B. Todd Jones, the acting ATF director, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said that Deputy Assistant ATF Director William McMahon, who oversaw the agency’s Western region during the Fast and Furious operation, has been receiving two salaries simultaneously.

The lawmakers said the ATF apparently approved allowing McMahon to remain on paid leave for four or five months while working for the investment bank in order to reach retirement eligibility.

“ATF has essentially facilitated McMahon’s early retirement and ability to double dip for nearly half a year by receiving two full-time paychecks — one from the taxpayer and one from the private sector,” Issa and Grassley wrote.

ATF spokesman Mike Campbell said the agency is reviewing the letter. “Due to privacy act considerations, all we can confirm is that Bill McMahon is still currently employed by ATF,” Campbell said.

The letter was provided to The Washington Post late in the day Tuesday and attempts to reach McMahon and the investment bank were unsuccessful.

McMahon is receiving a six-figure salary as an official in the ATF Office of Professional Responsibility and is serving as executive director of global security and investigations for J.P. Morgan in the Philippines, according to Issa and Grassley.

David Codrea Exclusive: Facts of Shipley case lead to some conclusions, much speculation

"While such questions are necessary and understandable, much of the speculation is unlikely to be answered without further investigation by those with the resources, and most importantly, the inclination to do so. Unless and until that happens, to include pressure to investigate by some of the political figures the family has approached, this story will be relegated to a niche readership. John Shipley’s story will remain unknown, and gun collectors and hobbyists, including those in law enforcement, will continue to remain at risk due to arbitrary interpretations of the law, self-serving prosecutions, and a “watchdog press” that all too often seems content to nap at government’s feet and reserve its snarling for those who get too close."

Time to trade those kirpans for something more potent.

"Temple massacre has some Sikhs mulling gun ownership."

Prayer request.

Folks, Johnny M. is veteran of Iraq with three Purple Hearts garnered in three I.E.D. explosions. He's going through some tough times right now and if y'all can include him on your prayer lists, I sure would appreciate it. -- Mike

Another country heard from . . . "I hope that someone someday shoot your whole family just practicing."

Anti-gun and Anti-Hunting Radicals Attack U.S. Trap Shooter.

Interesting background to Akin's political stupidity.

Akin appears to have picked up conclusions from 1972 article now hotly disputed.

Praxis: Night Fighting 101

"Practice night land navigation, and force-on-force training. You will be well on your way to always being the one who detects the enemy before the enemy detects you."

David Codrea Exclusive: Unlikely trafficker cited in Shipley case given inexplicably lenient sentence.

"Documents analyzed over the past few days in this column, received from a source close to the case of former FBI agent John Shipley, convicted of illegally dealing in firearms, introduced readers to a curious character involved in gun trafficking, Jonatan Lopez-Gutierrez, a Mexican national with a non-immigrant visa and a Texas driver license displaying a Juarez, CH, address, who turns out to have been an astonishingly unlikely participant in such schemes."

Roscoe Bartlett's home away from "civilization."

"Survivalist congressman is ready for doomsday."

Taking on the Hoplophobes.

"Gun-buying enthusiasts crash firearms 'turn-in' event at Memorial Coliseum."

"Gun supporters protest Richmond library rule with 'open-carry' read-in."

Well done in both cases.

Two on the Southern Preposterous Lie Center.

From The American Thinker: "Southern Poverty Law Center's Lucrative 'Hate Group' Label."

From Townhall: "Fanning the Flames of Left-Wing Violence."

Rough day.

My apologies for a lack of work product, but I've been having a bit of a rough patch the past two days. Keep me in your prayers.

Genocide looms for white farmers in South Africa.

Mrs. Retha van Zyl, post mortem.

ODENDAALSRUS, FREE STATE Jan 6 2009 - Farmer Koos van Zyl (63) and his wife Retha (66), a much loved local teacher who had just retired, were ‘slaughtered like animals’ on their farm Poortjie in the Free State on January 5 2009, reports Volksblad newspaper.They were first attacked and cruelly mutilated with a meathook, and then shot dead with their own shotgun, said police. Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha described the scene as “absolute carnage’ after paramedics arrived. It was the second farm attack in the Odendaalsrust district within a week.

A 27-year-old suspect has been arrested, while fleeing in their daughter Marietjie’s red Chevrolet Avea sedan with a stolen sheep. Sergeant Majang Mosupa of the Free State police said Mrs Van Zyl had apparently gone outside to turn on the electricity generator when she was attacked. It is suspected that the attacker, a former labourer who was fired for stealing from the couple only a day earlier, had apparently turned off the generator off to her outside. Mr Van Zyl, who was frail and very ill, was then attacked in the kitchen with a meathook which slashed open his neck and head, said Mosupa, while Mrs Van Zyl, who had also been attacked several times with the meathook, then was tied up and dragged through the homestead. The couple then both were shot in their chests with a shotgun.

Family history has it that the Vanderboegh (also rendered as van der boeg and van de boeg) history begins in Zeeland in the Netherlands on the coast near the Belgian border. We first were farmers on the island of Cadzand, then migrated to Vlissingen across the water where we became boatbuilders about the time of Admiral De Ruyter. (The "boeg" is the prow of a ship, also referring specifically to the hawser hole where the anchor rope ran through. Thus, "Vanderboegh" means "man from the bow of the boat.") When the troops of Napoleon overran the Netherlands, they deliberately put the Dutch shipbuilding industry out of business and the impoverished Vanderboeghs returned to the farms around Cadzand. (I always knew there was a reason I didn't much care for the French.)

In 1849, my branch of the Vanderboeghs, who belonged to a bunch of religious dissenters of the Dutch Reformed Church called "the Seceders", decided to go to America, where they settled in western Michigan. Others migrated to South Africa. As near as I can tell, the name itself seems to have died out in both Holland and South Africa, leaving only those of us in America with the ancient moniker. But whatever the descendants of the Vanderboeghs who went to South Africa are called these days, they are in increasing danger.

A hat tip to World Net Daily for bringing my attention to this article: Genocide looms for white farmers.

The article is largely drawn from reports gathered by Genocide Watch, a non-partisan international group, according to its mission statement, "exists to predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder. We seek to raise awareness and influence public policy concerning potential and actual genocide. Our purpose is to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide."

Genocide Watch lists South Africa as "Stage Five, Polarization, just at the edge of Stage Six, Preparation." (Stage Seven is the Genocide itself.) Here is the latest report.

David Codrea Exclusive: Conspiracy indictments indicate sanctioned gunwalking, government lies.

"Documents analyzed over the past few days in this column, received from a source close to the case of former FBI agent John Shipley, convicted of illegally dealing in firearms, indicate not only a pattern of government-sanctioned 'gunwalking' similar to what occurred in the Fast and Furious debacle, but also raise suspicions that federal agents lied on the application to obtain a search warrant for Shipley’s residence."

Mark Potok's pointy anti-racist hat doesn't impress Dana Milbank of the Washington Post.

Dana Milbank: Hateful speech on hate groups

(T)he Southern Poverty Law Center should stop listing a mainstream Christian advocacy group alongside neo-Nazis and Klansmen.

Another country heard from . . . redefining "racist nutjob."

Michael Z. Williamson comments on Major General Jerry Curry's questions about recent massive ammunition purchases by Janet Napolitano's DHS:

He's a truther, a birther, a racist nutjob and an 0bama's-a-Muslim ranter with little background. His statements on firearms indicate little knowledge. The amounts in question are perfectly reasonable for agencies of the size in question. Nice to see the loons create drama where none existed.

Assuming that MZW is calling MG Curry a "racist nutjob" because the ignorant moke believes that the general does not like the color of Obama's skin, he evidently doesn't know exactly who Jerry Curry is. Here's a CNN interview about Curry's experiences in the United States Army after the order to desegregate came down from Harry Truman.

But wait, don't they have strict gun control? Capitol Hill (outside the Green Zone) sees an uptick of violent armed robbery.

Police investigate serious assault in Capitol Hill.

Major General Jerry Curry: "Who Does The Government Intend To Shoot?"

"Those against whom the hollow point bullets are to be used — those causing the civil unrest — must be American citizens; since the SSA has never been used overseas to help foreign countries maintain control of their citizens."

In the war in Iraq, our military forces expended approximately 70 million rounds per year. In March DHS ordered 750 million rounds of hollow point ammunition. It then turned around and ordered an additional 750 million rounds of miscellaneous bullets including some that are capable of penetrating walls. This is enough ammunition to empty five rounds into the body of every living American citizen. Is this something we and the Congress should be concerned about? What’s the plan that requires so many dead Americans, even during times of civil unrest? Has Congress and the Administration vetted the plan in public.

I fear that Congress won’t take these ammunition purchases seriously until they are all led from Capitol Hill in handcuffs. Why buy all this ammunition unless you plan to use it. Unknown to Congress, Does DHS plan to declare war on some country? Shouldn’t Congress hold hearings on why the Administration is stockpiling this ammunition all across the nation? How will it be used; what are the Administration’s plans?

Obama is a deadly serious, persistent man. Once he focuses on an object, he pursues it to the end. What is his focus here? All of these rounds of ammunition can only be used to kill American citizens, though there is enough ammunition being ordered to kill, in addition to every American citizen, also every Iranian, Syrian or Mexican. There is simply too much of it. And this much ammunition can’t be just for training, there aren’t that many weapons and “shooters” in the U.S. to fire it. Perhaps it is to be used to arm illegal immigrants?

We have enough military forces to maintain law and order in the U.S. even during times of civil unrest.

We have local police, backed up by each state’s National Guard, backed up by the Department of Defense. So in addition to all these forces why does DHS need its own private army? Why do the SSA, NOAA and other government agencies need to create their own civilian security forces armed with hollow nose bullets?

Were I the JCS, and if I wasn’t already fully briefed on this matter, I’d stop the purchase of hollow point bullets, ask the secretary of Defense why all this ammunition is being purchased and spread around the country? If I got answers like the ones Congress got during the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious – I’d start tracking all ammunition deliveries nationwide to find out what organizations and units are using them, for what purpose and, if it is not constitutional, prepare to counteract whatever it is that they are doing.

This is a deadly serious business. I hope I’m wrong, but something smells rotten. And If the Congress isn’t going to do its duty and investigate this matter fully, the military will have to protect the Constitution, the nation, and our citizens.

With more than a little help from the unorganized militias, Jerry.

David Codrea Exclusive: Documents show prejudicial tactics helped result in Shipley conviction

David Codrea sends this link along with this prefatory request:

Today's Gun Rights Examiner report looks at how prosecutorial misconduct on the back end forms a perfect pincer strategy with the front-end "enforcement" practice of turning a blind eye to guns being trafficked to Mexico. It is the fourth installment of a heavily-documented series begun this week that I hope to conclude by tomorrow or Monday.

Please share the link, as, like with Gunwalker when we were first trying to get people to notice, this is an important story the mainstream press has no interest in people learning about.

Over in Georgia doing stuff.

Will have posts later this afternoon.

David Codrea Exclusive: Reports point to ATF oversight and authorization of illegal rifle sale.

Documents received and analyzed by Gun Rights Examiner this week continue to add credibility to the claims of John Shipley, an FBI agent convicted of dealing in firearms without a license who has insisted throughout his legal ordeal that he was merely an active collector. Reports of Investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in which they interviewed then-suspect Jonatan Lopez, a Juarez, CH, resident who purchased a Barrett .50 caliber rifle that was later recovered in Mexico, provide significant corroborating details. The rifle had been previously owned by Shipley, but was sold by him to a former deputy sheriff who then sold it to Lopez, in a deal evidently brokered by an El Paso Federal Firearms Licensee.

Nothing to see here, citizens. Move along. Chick-Fil-A sandwiches as Death Cards?

"Skipping Over the Shooting at FRC."

Somebody asked me yesterday why I thought the shooter brought along 15 Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, since he hated the company so much. Why were the sandwiches important to him? "Death Cards," I guessed. "If he had been successful and had time, he probably was going to pose his victims with sandwiches stuffed in their dead mouths."

Matt's on his way back to Germany and, then, to Afghanistan.

Leatha's

It was great having him here. Yesterday we journeyed to Hattiesburg to visit his youngest sister and take her out to lunch for her birthday. We went to a great local place, Leatha's Bar-B-Que Inn out on Highway 98 West. I couldn't eat much thanks to my usual nausea but what I had was great and Matt just raved about it. He flew out early this morning and should get to spend some time with his family in Germany before he has to fly back to Kabul. Keep him in your prayers.

Maybe the title should be "There is no United States."

"There is no California."

David Codrea Exclusive: Documents confirm ATF surveillance in U.S. before gun found in Mexico

"Trial testimony transcripts and a press release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement show an El Paso gun dealer was cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in its surveillance of suspected gun traffickers as part of a joint eight-month operation between ICE and ATF, documents received and being analyzed this week by Gun Rights Examiner reveal."

Southern Preposterous Lie Center hoisted upon its own petard.

Back in the spring of 2005, the Southern Preposterous Lie Center attacked the Family Research Council as one of "A Dozen Major Groups Help Drive the Religious Right’s Anti-Gay Crusade." It labeled the FRC as a "hate group."

Now that diseased chicken has come home to roost. "Family Research Council accuses Southern Poverty Law Center of sparking shooter’s hatred."

The head of the Family Research Council on Thursday (Aug. 16) accused the Southern Poverty Law Center of sparking hatred that led accused gunman Floyd Lee Corkins II to shoot a security guard at the conservative Christian lobbying group’s headquarters.

FRC president Tony Perkins called the Wednesday shooting “an act of domestic terrorism.”

“Corkins was given a license to shoot an unarmed man by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center that have been reckless in labeling organizations as hate groups because they disagree with them on public policy,” Perkins said.

The SPLC tracks domestic extremists and lists the FRC as an “anti-gay” hate group. On Thursday, Perkins called “an end to the reckless rhetoric that I believe led to yesterday’s incident that took place right here.”

The SPLC’s Mark Potok called Perkins’ accusations “outrageous,” and said his group is committed to offering “legitimate and fact-based criticism.”

“The FRC routinely pushes out demonizing claims that gay people are child molesters and worse — claims that are provably false,” Potok wrote on the SPLC’s blog. “It should stop the demonization and affirm the dignity of all people.”

Corkins, 28, of Herndon, Va., had volunteered at The DC Center, a gay advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

He has not been charged with a hate crime, but was found to be carrying symbols of a recent flare-up in the culture wars. Corkins was found to be carrying 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches when he was arrested, along with a 9 mm pistol and 50 rounds of ammunition. . .

The American Family Association issued amplified the FRC’s condemnation of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“They have repeatedly and without cause demonized FRC, and have spent years stirring up anger in the homosexual community and directing that anger toward an organization whose only crime is to promote and defend the classic American values of faith, family and freedom,” the group read.

“Thus according to SPLC’s own standards, it is the SPLC that is to blame for yesterday’s shooting.”

The Montgomery castrato, Mark Potok, immediately fired back: "SPLC: Family Research Council license-to-kill claim ‘outrageous’"

The FRC and its allies on the religious right are saying, in effect, that offering legitimate and fact-based criticism in a democratic society is tantamount to suggesting that the objects of criticism should be the targets of criminal violence.

Riiiight. Which is exactly what the SPLC has been doing for years. Maybe FRC can sue the bejeezus out of SPLC and get that multi-million headquarters that "poverty" built.

Collectivist tyranny's Typhoid Marys -- Doctors who target gun ownership as a social disease.

Doctors target gun violence as a social disease.

Is a gun like a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol? Yes say public health experts, who in the wake of recent mass shootings are calling for a fresh look at gun violence as a social disease.

Ever heard of Garen Wintemute? David Codrea had this link-packed article about this anti-firearm weasel last year.

Here's a friendly bio of the guy.

Here's my take. I think that tyrannical collectivism is a far worse social disease than gun ownership. Wintemute's propagation of hoplophobia for the purposes of citizen disarmament makes him the Typhoid Mary of the 21st Century as far as I'm concerned. The fact that he cloaks his tyrannical work in pseudo-science ranks him right along with the "racial biologists" who laid the groundwork for the Final Solution. And if that violates Godwin's Law in somebody's mind, then that's just tough. I'm serious.

Why is this pseudo-scientist of tyranny smiling? Because he can get his bogus theories printed in USA Today without challenge.

David Codrea Exclusive: Shipley documents point to more government-sanctioned gunwalking!

"Documents made available to Gun Rights Examiner this week from a source close to the case of FBI agent John Shipley, convicted of dealing in firearms without a license, bolster defense claims that he was merely an active collector, and further reveal evidence of guns being smuggled to Mexico following ATF-directed deals by suspects under extended surveillance. A mysterious receipt for a gun sale to a Mexican resident, reports of investigation that include suspect interviews, trial transcripts, government press releases, Mexico weapons recovery pictures and the indictment of a trafficking suspect all lend credible support to concerns that the government itself engaged in wrongdoing."

David Codrea: Philly DA purposely turns blind eye to ‘gun crime tip’

“[Ramsey] has openly carried a firearm in the city of Philadelphia but is neither a certified police officer, nor does he have a license to carry firearms.”

A Bright and Shining Lie. The Canonization of Saint Eliot Ness. B. Todd Jones thinks rebranding the ATF will solve its problems and make us all forget about Ruby Ridge, Waco and the Gunwalker Scandal.

Ness remarried in 1939, to illustrator Evaline Michelow. The Nesses moved to Washington, D.C. in 1942 where he worked for the federal government, directing the battle against prostitution in communities surrounding military bases, where venereal disease was a serious problem. Later he made a number of forays into the corporate world, all of which failed from his lack of business acumen. In 1944, he left to become chairman of the Diebold Corporation, a security safe company based in Ohio. After his second divorce and third marriage, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Cleveland in 1947, after which he was expelled from Diebold. In the aftermath, Ness began drinking more heavily and spending his free time in bars telling (often exaggerated) stories of his law enforcement career. He also spent himself into debt. Ness was forced into taking various odd jobs to earn a living, including as an electronics parts wholesaler, a clerk in a bookstore, and selling frozen hamburger patties to restaurants. By 1953, he came to work for an upstart company called Guaranty Paper Corporation, which specialized in watermarking legal and official documents to prevent counterfeiting. Ness was offered a job because of his expertise in law enforcement. The company soon moved from Cleveland to the quiet rural town of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, where operating costs were lower. He made a decent income from GPC and moved with his wife and adopted son into a modest rental house. Once again, he enjoyed going to local bars and regaling amazed audiences with his tales of crime fighting. He collapsed and died at his home of a massive heart attack on May 16, 1957, at the age of 54. Collaborating with Oscar Fraley in his last years, he co-wrote the book The Untouchables, which was published a month after his death.[11] This book, among others about the Untouchables by Oscar Fraley, was heavily spiced with fiction including fictional characters and events to make the books more appealing to a general audience. -- Wikipedia.

Eliot Ness, patron saint of the ATF.

From the Wall Street Journal: "Firearms Bureau Struggles to Define Its Role."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives brings fewer than a hundred alcohol and tobacco cases a year. It now plays second fiddle to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on explosives. And its skill at catching firearms violators is in doubt after the flawed probe known as Fast and Furious.

No wonder the agency's boss is looking to reinvent it, and maybe even change its name.

The ATF is a Washington oddity, stitched together in the 1970s from units going back to the age of Prohibition. Gun-rights supporters are wary of it, yet they are also loath to see firearms regulation move to the FBI.

So the ATF survives, and acting director B. Todd Jones has to figure out what to do with it. "We're the entity that everyone loves to hate," said the 55-year-old former Marine.

Mr. Jones, who doubles as the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis, said he sees a "sweet spot" for the agency in tackling violent crime, particularly in some big cities like Philadelphia that have seen an increase in murders and drug-related shootings.

Hence an idea discussed by top ATF officials: ditching the agency's anachronistic seven-word name and rebranding it the Violent Crime Bureau. Mr. Jones confirms the discussions, but cautions it isn't easy because the change would require congressional approval. The bigger point, he says, is to improve the morale and professionalism of agents who often grumble about being overshadowed by the FBI.

Since taking over last year as the ATF's fifth acting director in six years, Mr. Jones has tightened controls over undercover probes and confidential informants. New chiefs are in place in 16 field offices. And he consulted a historian to dig up proud moments in the agency's past. Legendary lawman Eliot Ness worked for an ATF predecessor known as the Bureau of Prohibition, leading his team of "untouchables" against the distilleries that made Al Capone rich.

"Legendary lawman" indeed. As the Wikipedia citation quoted above indicates, much of the "legend" came from the failed old drunkard's own mouth. Yet it is certain that Ness is now, and always has been, the patron saint of the gun cops of the ATF. His birthday, 19 April, is celebrated with ATF award dinners and golf tournaments, and the story circulated after the fiery end of the Davidians at the hands of the FBI that the Fibbies had chosen Ness' birthday to repay the Mount Carmel residents with interest (about twenty to one) for the four dead ATF agents killed in the 28 February raid that began the standoff. (While Mt. Carmel was still burning, the FBI raised a flag with four stars and "ATF" emblazoned on it. A pretty birthday picture it was for the Eliot Ness fans of the ATF.)

But, hey, B. Todd, go ahead and try to rebuild your agency around a bright and shining lie that owes more of its currency to Hollywood than to history, and by all means, rename it the "Violent Crime Bureau." The Davidians wouldn't quarrel with that name, nor would the thousands of Mexican victims of the Gunwalker Scandal. Violent crime, from the crippling of Kenyon Ballew up through the murder of Brian Terry, is what the ATF has facilitated or committed itself. Good choice, B. Todd.

A present from the FBI to the ATF on the birthday of Eliot Ness, 19 April 1993.