Sunday, November 13, 2011

John Brown's previous lies are a mouldering in the grave, but his service to his ATF masters goes marching on.


Dracula: "Renfield, go write me an apology for the NFA Branch screw-ups."

Renfield: "Yes, master! Yes, master! We can get it in the next issue of Small Arms Review! Oh, look, master, a fly!"

Well, the ATF snitch John Brown has reared his ugly head again, this time in the pages of Small Arms Review, a magazine owned by his fellow snitch Dan Shea. Long-time readers will recall previous appearances of the President of NFATCA, the National Firearms Act Trade and Collectors Association (the machine gun equivalent of the NRA) in the true story of Ramsey A. Bear and more recently as the strangely-protected and unindicted actor in the case U.S. v. Clark, (which I understand is close to completely imploding in nuclear fashion).

Mr. Brown's latest service to the ATF bureaucratic state can be found in his article "Turning Up the Heat" in SAR. Some relevant excerpts:

As the summer came to a close, NFATCA board members resumed their weekly conference calls. . . One of our board members was furious about how long transfer times were taking as the year progressed. It was interesting to hear not only the frustration but the pure anxiety of what some of are members were actually feeling from the constant delays in processing as we all were falling victim to the slow grind of how a growing phenomenon is not being handled well by the government. In spite of the economy the number of Forms being processed by the NFA Branch continues to explode while the resources available to handle this ever growing situation seem to dwindle. At last count the NFA Branch had ten available examiners that were handling the work what would normally be staffed by twelve personnel.

With the increased work load weighing heavily on fewer people, it looks like this is a losing battle for the Branch. Ted Clutter is on top of this stack of Forms trying his best to manage the onslaught of work. With the recent change to handling Forms according to state, the NFA Branch managed to get a handle on transfers for a short period of time; however, being short on examiners insures that the tide will continue to rise.

Just how bad is the rising tide? The truth of the matter is that we are slowly approaching the one hundred thousand transfer mark faster than we expected. This means that it is likely that when ATF meets its fiscal year in October that the monthly average on Forms processed will likely exceed 9,600 forms per month. If you do the simple math this means that each examiner in the NFA Branch is responsible for approximately 50 forms a day once you have taken out all of the holidays and other activities required in their jobs.

Form 4 transfers are taking about five months and when you look back at where we were four years ago when a Form 4 only took 22 days it is hard to believe that the processing time has deteriorated to such a point. Believe me when I tell you that the Branch team in place is bailing water as fast as they know how. We need to reach out to our congressional representatives to make certain that we support the NFA Branch with appropriate funding support to meet the increasing demands that we the industry are putting on the branch. . .

The bottom line is simple. ATF and the NFA Branch is making every effort to keep up with the demand that is ever increasing with the industry with the huge increase, not in machine guns, but in SBRs, SBSs, AOWs and suppressors. There are however two critical elements that must occur in order for this to be successful and move us back to the days when Forms were processed with the speed that is reasonable and palatable. First and foremost, we as industry's members must be diligent in our preparation of all of the forms and information that we submit to the NFA Branch. If you want to know why the NFRTR is as inaccurate as it is, you must remember one simple rule: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Many of the bad information items found in the NFRTR that are found today can easily be traced back to bad input. So be careful what you submit.

Secondly, each and everyone one of us (sic) has a responsibility to support the initiatives that agencies like ATF need in order to get the job done. Take the time today to let your local representatives know what you expect and why. With both of these efforts we can all offer the support to help the NFA Branch reach the goals necessary to provide the type of customer service that we are all expecting.

And in addition to all that, come and support the NFATCA in its efforts to bring positive changes to how the industry and ATF work together. Join us and help the entire industry make the difference in a positive way. Contact us today at www.nfatca.org.


Here is an analysis of this by someone who has watched the NFATCA and Mssrs. Brown and Shea for years:

ATF Apologist in Chief, John Brown, has published another evocative essay in the December issue of Small Arms Review. Purporting to speak for the NFATCA, Brown issues a clarion call to rally NFA collectors owners and the industry in support of increases for the ATF budget. He goes so far as to recommend that readers make phone calls and write letters to their congressional representatives in support of funding increases. The increases are necessary because ATF is the victim – the increased demand is the fault of the industry.

The primary focus of the essay is the NFA Branch. Delays in processing NFA forms and errors in the NFRTR data base are the problems identified (Brown claims that the NFRTR error rate is 40%. This refreshes fading memories of the roll call training for ATF HQs personnel conducted by a former NFA Branch Chief, Tom Busey). However, this is not the mid 90s. This is December 2011.

Brown provides an explanation for those who are too stupid to figure out what causes processing delays and errors in a data base.

1. There are too many forms (Brown describes this phenomenon as an onslaught);

2. The NFA Branch is grossly understaffed. They are working their fingers to the bone but just can’t keep up with the onslaught;

3. The industry is sloppy in completing forms.

Brown posits facts, without attribution. (Most readers will readily recognize that these are factoids that did not originate with the people regulated, by the people regulated, or for the people regulated. They are all self serving and obviously came from those served by them. Who knew that an association such as the NFATCA, whose reason to be is to advance industry goals and objectives, would be in full court mode supporting more government?)

The essay concludes with solutions:

1. More funds to hire more ATF processors;

2. Those submitting NFA Forms should spend additional time completing them to ensure that they are error free.

3. Everyone should call or write Congress to urge more funds for ATF.

Could be worse, the essay could have recommended “Occupy the Industry.”


Indeed.

"(E)ach and everyone one of us (sic) has a responsibility to support the initiatives that agencies like ATF need in order to get the job done."


Given that John Brown and Dan Shea have been doing everything they can to support ATF "initiatives" like those mounted against David Olofson and the economic Waco against Len Savage, Brown knows of what he speaks.

He's just not plain in enunciating exactly what that means.

But then, what do you expect of a compromised snitch?

The only question I have is how long is the NFATCA going to put up with this sorry spectacle?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"At last count the NFA Branch had ten available examiners that were handling the work what would normally be staffed by twelve personnel".
I know of @ least 2 DEAD Federal employees that would love to be doing paperwrok today. As opposed to being DEAD because of the ATF, DOJ etcs' F&F Terror campaign.

Anonymous said...

Ya, rather than pushing for their Congressman or Senator to do away with the un-Constitutional NFA act of 1934....instead, we should all be writing to give them MORE power.

:Shaking Head:

Sean

Anonymous said...

Actually the NFA branch (excepting lab guys with rubber bands) seems to be the only vaguely functional part of the ATF. I've heard that it's because they are part of the tax collection side vs the LE side and are hence end up run by people who are not trying to become secret squirrels/Joe Hero.

What they should do (well other then revoking the NFA) is peel the entire NFA branch off and give it to treasury where it can be run by tax collectors who understand the whole "process more forms, make more money" equation.

Ed said...

How about reducing the role of the BATFE in everyday commerce so that less employees are needed (NFA '69, GCA '68, Executive Orders, Agency Directives, etc.)?

Most successful business continuously evaluate their processes to ensure that each process adds maximal value to the delivered good or service. In the past twenty years, productivity (the measure of the effect of an individual employee on the volume of goods or services) has increased substantially. Adding employees are not necessarily the best solution, unless the volume of end products has increased and productivity cannot be gained by reducing or eliminating inefficiencies in the processes or more employees are needed to increase the quality and yield.

Adding employees only increases cost to the employer. In the case of government that is you and me, paid for in increased fees and taxes. The goal here is less government, hence less cost of government and less fees and taxes.

In the case of consumer goods and services, that increase in cost is ultimately passed on to you and me, but we have the option of not purchasing the goods or services.

Anonymous said...

"Ya, rather than pushing for their Congressman or Senator to do away with the un-Constitutional NFA act of 1934....instead, we should all be writing to give them MORE power."

And then watch the value of their investments plunge 90%? Do you really think a Sten MKII would sell for $5,950 if the Federal Government wasn't restricting the supply through NFA34, GCA68, Hughes Amendment, et al?

W W Woodward said...

“Take the time today to let your local representatives know what you expect and why.” Since I am not a member of the National Firearms Act Trade and Collectors Association (NFATCA) and due to financial considerations will most likely never be Brown assuredly doesn’t care what I expect. However Just in case he trolls this blog site upon occasion:

I expect the National Firearms Act and the ATF to be respectively repealed and disbanded because; they both represent unconstitutional infringements upon my rights as a sovereign being.

Of course I'm fuly aware that I can expect in one hand and poop in the other and see which one fills up first.

[W3]