It would appear that the Gunwalker program of the ATF is looking worse all the time. The Federal government has been maintaining that it was merely a sting operation that has suffered miscommunication. Now we find out that not only was the ATF knowingly selling to illegal buyers, but they were actually buying firearms illegally themselves, and delivering them to the Mexican cartels. That is not a sting operation; it is the deliberate arming of criminals, and the only explanation I can see is to give credence to their complaints that the cartels were arming themselves from American dealers, all so that they could whine for more gun laws and more funds.
Sort of like an unethical fireman starting fires so he could get more work and a raise. And these sales were under the aegis of the Department of Justice, though they claim they didn't know about it. The ATF would have had to inform the FBI for the NICS checks, so the DoJ would seem to be lying. The information was also being relayed to the White House, so when the POTUS says he had no knowledge, I don't believe it. Most of the information media has been completely ignoring the situation, with the exception of the NY Times and the Washington Post, who have both been trying to make excuses, so we know who's pulling their strings.
It's a sad day when the federal government is working with foreign criminal gangs for the purpose of curtailing civil liberties of American citizens.
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The last time I posted I mentioned that I had received a copy of a book for a review; the book was Glock: The Rise of the American Gun, by Paul Barrett.
I found the book quite fascinating. In it, Paul tells the story of Gaston Glock, from his humble beginnings repairing car radiators and making cast items such as curtain rods, to becoming a multimillionaire. I can't say that Glock comes off well; he changed along the way, and not for the better. A quite common story of someone with humble beginnings catapulted into wealth and power, and losing part of themselves in the process.
Alongside his story, we are shown how the Glock pistol spread ripples into modern culture, including politics, movies, TV, law enforcement, and music. Something that I found interesting was that the more anti-gun groups attacked him, the more successful he became; he had people working for him who were smart, knew how to spin things successfully, and used their own attacks against them. He also had amazing luck; things would happen at just the right time and to just the right people for him to use to his own advantage.
We are told the story mainly through the people who were involved; his sales people, legal people, and those from other parts of society; the other firearm companies, politicians, police, and more. If I were making a documentary of the book, I could advertise that it would feature "politics, intrigue, treachery, sex, violence, and courtroom drama!".
For the most part the book is quite objective; the author does believe in some gun laws that I do not, but reserves those for the last part of the last chapter of the book, and doesn't let them affect his telling of the story. He actually corrects a lot of misconceptions that people have about firearms and gun violence statistics, including a lot of false facts spread by the anti-gun groups, so I feel that he is doing his best to tell the story in an unbiased manner.
Whether you are a firearm owner or not, pro-gun or anti-gun, I can recommend it to anyone interested in modern culture and its influences.
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If anyone is curious about the type of people who go to a Gunblogger Rendezvous, Sam has put together a slide show just under five minutes long of some of us who attended. If anyone is interested, I'm the fat guy with the shaved head and photographer's vest at 2:41. SandyG (my wife) is holding a Cabela's hat at 3:47.
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Anyone familiar with these oldies?
Sort of like an unethical fireman starting fires so he could get more work and a raise. And these sales were under the aegis of the Department of Justice, though they claim they didn't know about it. The ATF would have had to inform the FBI for the NICS checks, so the DoJ would seem to be lying. The information was also being relayed to the White House, so when the POTUS says he had no knowledge, I don't believe it. Most of the information media has been completely ignoring the situation, with the exception of the NY Times and the Washington Post, who have both been trying to make excuses, so we know who's pulling their strings.
It's a sad day when the federal government is working with foreign criminal gangs for the purpose of curtailing civil liberties of American citizens.
****************************************************
The last time I posted I mentioned that I had received a copy of a book for a review; the book was Glock: The Rise of the American Gun, by Paul Barrett.
I found the book quite fascinating. In it, Paul tells the story of Gaston Glock, from his humble beginnings repairing car radiators and making cast items such as curtain rods, to becoming a multimillionaire. I can't say that Glock comes off well; he changed along the way, and not for the better. A quite common story of someone with humble beginnings catapulted into wealth and power, and losing part of themselves in the process.
Alongside his story, we are shown how the Glock pistol spread ripples into modern culture, including politics, movies, TV, law enforcement, and music. Something that I found interesting was that the more anti-gun groups attacked him, the more successful he became; he had people working for him who were smart, knew how to spin things successfully, and used their own attacks against them. He also had amazing luck; things would happen at just the right time and to just the right people for him to use to his own advantage.
We are told the story mainly through the people who were involved; his sales people, legal people, and those from other parts of society; the other firearm companies, politicians, police, and more. If I were making a documentary of the book, I could advertise that it would feature "politics, intrigue, treachery, sex, violence, and courtroom drama!".
For the most part the book is quite objective; the author does believe in some gun laws that I do not, but reserves those for the last part of the last chapter of the book, and doesn't let them affect his telling of the story. He actually corrects a lot of misconceptions that people have about firearms and gun violence statistics, including a lot of false facts spread by the anti-gun groups, so I feel that he is doing his best to tell the story in an unbiased manner.
Whether you are a firearm owner or not, pro-gun or anti-gun, I can recommend it to anyone interested in modern culture and its influences.
****************************************************
If anyone is curious about the type of people who go to a Gunblogger Rendezvous, Sam has put together a slide show just under five minutes long of some of us who attended. If anyone is interested, I'm the fat guy with the shaved head and photographer's vest at 2:41. SandyG (my wife) is holding a Cabela's hat at 3:47.
****************************************************
Anyone familiar with these oldies?
8 comments:
It's a sad day when the federal government is working with foreign criminal gangs for the purpose of curtailing civil liberties of American citizens.
Been doing it for some time, Bob.
James: there has always been that kind of behavior, but what I am seeing is an administration that barely gives lip service to the Bill of Rights, and doesn't seem to care when they are caught breaking the law. At least some of the past offenders had some semblance of shame, and tried to hide their offensives. This current bunch has the attitude of being some sort of elite, and beyond reproach by their subjects.
Excellent review of the Paul Barrett book, Bob.
Good commentary on Gunwalker, too.
Aaron: I tried to look at it objectively; I notice you did also. I am getting a bad feeling that the Gunwalker mess is not going to end up with justice served; the majority of the news media is either ignoring it, or trying to make excuses for the current administration. The justice department is blatantly disregarding the investigation, knowing full well that the POTUS will not force their hand or do anything to look bad. I'm afraid (and I hope I'm wrong) that the most that will happen is some of the lower ranks will be thrown to the wolves, and the media will try to sweep it all under the rug as quickly as possible, especially with this being an election year.
bob, I have quotes from leaders in the admin and in support of the admin, e.g. Foster Dulles and these people are speaking of "modernizing" the Constitution, "bringing it into the new century" etc.
In other words, thumbing their noses at it, e.g.
October 28, 1939 - In an address by John Foster Dulles [later U.S. Secretary of State], he proposes that America lead the transition to a new order of less independent, semi-sovereign states bound together by a league or federal union.
June 28, 1945 - President Truman endorses world government in a speech: "It will be just as easy for nations to get along in a republic of the world as it is for us to get along in a republic of the United States."
1961 - The U.S. State Department issues Document 7277, entitled "Freedom From War: The U.S. Program for General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World." It details a three-stage plan to disarm all nations and arm the U.N. with the final stage in which "no state would have the military power to challenge the progressively strengthened U.N. Peace Force."
1975 - In Congress, 32 Senators and 92 Representatives sign "A Declaration of Interdependence," which states that "we must join with others to bring forth a new world order...Narrow notions of national sovereignty must not be permitted to curtail that obligation." Congresswoman Marjorie Holt refuses to sign the Declaration saying: "It calls for the surrender of our national sovereignty to international organizations. It declares that our economy should be regulated by international authorities. It proposes that we enter a 'new world order' that would redistribute the wealth created by the American people."
And so on. Those people in Washington are not your friends.
James: I know all about the people in DC; I have never considered them friends, or people to be trusted without watching them. They are supposed to be our servants, but they are not. From the time a politician is elected, he has one thing in mind: getting re-elected, and taking as much from the system as he can before being replaced.
"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone.
The people themselves are its only safe depositories."
- Thomas Jefferson
"Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire."
- Robert A. Heinlein
I'm not into guns at ALL, but the book sounds interesting. I may want to read it myself! Thanks for the review!
Going to check out the gunblogger slideshow now!
BNobG:
Love those oldies, esp. Hot Rod Lincoln.
I should grab a copy of the GLOCK book...sounds like it'd be a decent read.
Good Jefferson quote, too.
As to the Gunwalker fiasco, there are always more people that KNOW about such things...
Getting them all to "fess up" is the REAL trick.
Obama allows FAST & FURIOUS...ditto for Holder.
Sack 'em both.
And some think Hillary Clinton would be "better"...not with HER stance of gun control.
It's those damn progresives...every single time.
Good psot.
Stay safe.
It would be WORSE
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