A word to the wise is sufficient.

"It’s Tracking Your Every Move and You May Not Even Know."

When is a pair of shoes in a shoe box NOT a pair of shoes in a shoe box? When the bomb squad wants to shut down half of a city to blow them up.

"Let's blow the sucker up anyway!"

Remember The day the earth stood still? Well the attack of the faux terrorists finally came to my town.

Shoes cause scare in Birmingham post office. WBRC Six' version:

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) – A package containing a pair of shoes caused some trouble for a post office in Birmingham on Tuesday.

A suspicious package was discovered at the downtown post office on 3rd Avenue North sometime before 8:30 a.m. The building was evacuated and the bomb squad was called to the scene.

After the package was detonated, the contents were revealed to be a pair of shoes.

Authorities have not yet said what made the shoe package suspicious.

Another from Carol Robinson of the Birmingham Snooze:

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - The suspicious package that caused police to shut down streets around the main post office in downtown Birmingham this morning turned out to be a pair of tennis shoes in a shoe box, Birmingham police say.

Police used a small explosion to open the box at 8:48 a.m. so they could see what was inside, police Sgt. Johnny Williams said. The explosion caused a loud boom and caused the ground to vibrate but did not destroy the picnic table on which the shoe box was sitting, Williams said.

Police are reopening the roads around the post office, which were shut down not long after police arrived about 7 a.m. The picnic table was just outside the main entrance to the post office.

Well, thank the Lord they saved the picnic table. That would have been a tragedy. I've got an alternate plan. The next time this happens, the first cop on the scene should whip a five dollar bill from his wallet, locate the nearest urban outdoorsman, and bribe him to go over and take the top off the shoe box.

If it explodes, what have we lost? And it is not like he didn't volunteer.

Well, that was quick. Back on the air after Chicken Little weathermen reverse their doomsaying.

Shucks. I didn't even get to spot my ex-wife on a bicycle.

Tornado on way. Shutting down for now. Will be on watch for my ex-wife on a bicycle.

"Welcome to the party, pal!" Glenn Beck's Blaze finally discovers Gunwalker with a big catch-up article. Soros' propaganda chippie spins like a top.

"Obama Denies Knowledge of Controversial Fed Operation Smuggling Guns Into Mexico." Most interesting for those of us who have been living with this story since 28 December is this bit of Newspeak from a George Soros' propaganda chippie:

Someone sends an angry mob to my door.

Today I received in my post office box an angry mob. Yes, it is the Angry Mob Play Set consisting of 9 hard vinyl figures, 2" to 3" tall. It comes with a warning they have small parts and are not suitable for children under 3 years old. There was no explanatory note, just 9 diminutive angry mobsters.

Who would send an angry mob to my door? Well, the box contains contradictory information. The return address reads as follows:

"Melson Kissimak 80-Feet
69269 Testicle Tuck Trail
Burnt Scrotum, Texas 78744"

It is accompanied by this note on the outside of the box:

"TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: This package does not contain poisoned fruit, anthrax powder, letter bombs, Christmas cards or stacks of small bills; however it does contain implements of war."

I can only imagine what the FBI drone assigned to read my mail thought of that. It is a wonder that the figures did not melt from repeated x-raying.

But back to the contradictory part. Despite what "Melson Kissimak 80-Feet" claims, the USPS package mailing label indicates that it came from zip code 20912, Tacoma Park, Maryland. It also indicates that while mailed on 19 March it took a full week to get to me, so the FBI theory is probably correct since it was sent "Priority Mail."

So, as to who would send an angry mob to my door, we are left with mere speculation. Friend? Foe? Fed? Feeb? Your guess is as good as mine.

LATER: It seems someone sent another similar angry mob to Len Savage's door, although his arrived some days ago. The plot thickens.

Even Later: A reader thinks that this might be a clue. I have my doubts, although I must say it is a vivid graphic full of, ah, anatomical angst.

More Gunwalkers in Texas?

More North Texans Linked to Drug Cartel Guns

One weapon linked to shootout in which eight people were killed

Four Tarrant County men bought more than $100,000 in assault rifles over the past six months, including one that was used in a shootout in Mexico in which eight people were killed, according to a federal criminal complaint.

It is the third case in the past month in which guns purchased in North Texas have been linked to the drug war in Mexico.

The men, Reynaldo Bazan, Saul Bazan, Carlos Bazan and Obed Martinez, were arrested on Thursday by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.

It was not immediately clear if the Bazans are related.

The men face charges of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license.

The complaint alleges they have bought 129 assault rifles since October, usually two at a time.

One of the weapons, purchased by Reynaldo Bazan, was used in an "altercation" with the Mexican Navy in which eight people were killed, the ATF said.

The complaint did not specify where it occurred, but the details match a shootout on March 1 in the city of Valle Hermoso, near Matamoros, which is across the border from Brownsville.

According to news accounts, it was a five-hour battle. Mexican marines killed eight suspected cartel gunmen. One marine was injured. The military unit came under fire after responding to a report of a suspicious convoy of SUVs and fought back, killing the gunmen.

In the SUVs, the marines seized 12 high-powered weapons, grenades, a grenade launcher and assorted ammunition.

The arrests in North Texas follow two similar high-profile busts in recent weeks.

Just two weeks ago, three illegal immigrants were arrested after managers at a Fort Worth gun store notified authorities about suspicious purchases. The guns were destined for the violent drug cartel known as the "Zetas," the ATF said.

On Feb. 28, three Lancaster men were arrested when a gun they allegedly purchased at a Fort Worth gun show was linked to the Feb. 15 shootings of two U.S. agents in Mexico.

One of the agents, Jaime Zapata, was killed. That incident also was linked to the Zetas.

Poor Paulie. His gun prohibitionist ship is sinking fore, aft and amidships and he's still trying to take over the helm.

Paul Helmke with a "dangerous and irresponsible person," 19 April 2010.

Folks,

In the press of the Gunwalker scandal I missed this from four days ago: "Brady Campaign Attends Obama Gun Summit, Not NRA." Old Paulie gives us an insight in his day in the sun at the Obama "gun control summit."

On Tuesday, I attended a meeting at the U.S. Department of Justice with representatives from the White House, the Vice-President’s office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, and others from the Obama Administration, along with leaders from the gun violence prevention movement, to discuss how to reach the goals outlined in the President’s statement. Officials from the Administration indicated that this was the first of what they hoped would be a series of discussions. They said they had not settled on, or excluded, any relevant proposals.

I began the discussion by listing basic measures that the Brady Campaign, and others, felt could make a difference. The list included: a strong background check system, with good and complete records of dangerous and irresponsible people, applicable to all commercial gun sales; more tools for law enforcement to stop trafficking in illegal guns; increasing the number and type of military-style weapons, including “assault clips,” that should not be readily available to civilians, like machine-guns and fully automatic weapons. Administration officials then asked questions. My colleagues and I gave examples and arguments for legislative, administrative, and voluntary policies that could help reduce the bloodshed.

The meeting lasted more than 90 minutes. Having this many Administration representatives spend this much time on this initial meeting signaled to me that the President is serious. He wants to do something meaningful about gun violence. After meeting with others, including law enforcement and “gun rights” groups, Obama’s representatives will be presenting specific proposals. We hope those will include all the “sound and effective steps” that the President called for in his statement.

He can wish for prancing unicorns to crap chocolate candies too, but that doesn't mean anything of the gun confiscationist program is going to survive the Gunwalker scandal. This political offensive is doomed before it starts. The gun control fortress is collapsing, burning and falling down around his head. Helmke knows it, too. He's just going through the motions, until somebody finally gives him the word that "alles ist kaput!" and he can come out of the ruins with his hands in the air.

A German firearms control scheme collapses in the middle of the 20th Century.

All Gunwalker, All the Time. The scandal waters rise.

Ken Melson ponders his fate and wonders, "How did the water get so deep when I'm on the fifth floor?"

Senator Grassley gives Laura Ingraham a scathing interview.

David Hardy notes "Gun Walker" keeps growing

Robert Farago comments on Obama on ATF Operation Fast and Furious: “I did not authorize it”

Right. Because there’s no way that the ATF would keep the President of the United States and the Attorney General in the dark about the main thrust of its firearms interdiction program—for which they received an extra $200m or so—and tell the Mexicans what they were up to. Because shhhh. It’s a secret!

We can now conclude that President Obama isn’t the ringleader in a large criminal conspiracy perpetuated by a federal law enforcement agency against an ally. I repeat: the buck doesn’t stop there. But this exchange does reveal the Prez and his number one law enforcement guy as disconnected and incompetent.

Now, shall we talk about the cover-up?

Dave Workman asks "How high up does ‘Project Gunrunner’ go? (Who knew what and when?)"

Linked on Drudge, Richard Dunham also writes "Obama says he didn’t inform Mexico of U.S. gun smuggling operation because he didn’t know about it." Also picked up on Tickle the Wire, a blog that deals with federal law enforcement news.

Just to be clear, even though the Darren Gil interview did not appear on the Evening News with Katie Couric last night, CBS did NOT spike the story.

I received several emails outlining concerns -- one containing a rumor from DC that the story was spiked -- about the failure of CBS to run the Gil interview on Katie Couric last night. After checking with several sources, I am pleased to report that is not the case. Actually, as I said yesterday, I had expected the story to break next week, especially with the foreign news competition. That is what happened, but CBS felt it was important enough to go ahead and get it published without waiting. So they put it on the Web and they will be circulating a TV piece to affiliates and the Up to the Minute program overnight Sunday to Monday.

I repeat, this story is not spiked.

Unless you mean in the metaphorical sense that it is a sharp stick driven into the heart of the conspiracy.

Lanny Breuer reacts poorly to the Darren Gil interview.

This just in: The NRA discovers the Project Gunwalker Scandal. Just ask Wayne the Weasel.

Wait! Wait! We're supposed to be at the FRONT of the parade!

NRA boss unveils shocking news on radio!

Of course he gets most of the details wrong, but hey, at least he found someplace to park the weinermobile.

CBS drives a dagger in the heart of the cover-up! Gil speaks the truth about Breuer & Melson! My suggestion to them both: stay out of Ft. Marcy Park.

Kenneth Melson, Acting ATF Director and key figure in the Project Gunwalker fiasco and cover-up. He should stay out of Fort Marcy Park.


Folks,

I knew this was coming, but thought with the press of foreign news it would be next week. I'm taking Rosey out to dinner tonight. It may be I can only afford McDonald's, but we're going to celebrate. That dollar cheeseburger is going to taste like filet mignon.

ATF gunwalking: Who knew, and how high up?

Since our first report in which ATF agents told us they allowed thousands of weapons to cross into Mexico, one crucial question has been: Who knew -- how high up? This week for the first time, President Obama addressed the controversy. It was in an interview Tuesday evening with the Spanish language network Univision.

"Well first of all I did not authorize it. Eric Holder the Attorney General did not authorize it. He's been very clear that our policy is to catch gun runners and put 'em into jail," Mr. Obama said of the controversial ATF operation called "Fast and Furious."

"You were not even informed about it?" asked Univision reporter Jorge Ramos.

"Absolutely not," said Mr. Obama. "There may be a situation here which a serious mistake was made and if that's the case then we'll find out and well hold somebody accountable."

But who? In an exclusive interview with CBS News, the lead ATF official in Mexico at the time Darren Gil says somebody in the Justice Department did know about the case. Gil says his supervisor at ATF's Washington D.C. headquarters told him point-blank the operation was approved even higher than ATF Director Kenneth Melson.

"Well first of all I did not authorize it. Eric Holder the Attorney General did not authorize it. He's been very clear that our policy is to catch gun runners and put 'em into jail," Mr. Obama said of the controversial ATF operation called "Fast and Furious."

"You were not even informed about it?" asked Univision reporter Jorge Ramos.

"Absolutely not," said Mr. Obama. "There may be a situation here which a serious mistake was made and if that's the case then we'll find out and well hold somebody accountable."

But who? In an exclusive interview with CBS News, the lead ATF official in Mexico at the time Darren Gil says somebody in the Justice Department did know about the case. Gil says his supervisor at ATF's Washington D.C. headquarters told him point-blank the operation was approved even higher than ATF Director Kenneth Melson.

"Is the director aware of this," Gil asked the supervisor. Gil says his supervisor answered "Yes, the director's aware of it. Not only is the director aware of it, D.O.J.'s aware of it... Department of Justice was aware of it."

Gil goes on to say senior Justice official Lanny Breuer and several of his deputies visited Mexico amid the controversy last summer, and spoke to ATF staff generally about a big trafficking case that they claimed was "getting good results." Gil says Melson, ATF's Acting Director, also visited Mexico City. Gil's Deputy Attache and his Analyst questioned Melson about the case that surrounding all the weapons showing up in Mexico. "His response was 'it's a good case, it's still going on,'" recalls Gil, "and we'll close it down as soon as we possibly can."

As to what Melson, Breuer and the other officials knew, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has been asking. Among other things, he has told the State Department to turn over notes and records from any Breuer visits to Mexico City in summer of 2010. But his repeated requests have so far been denied. And the officials mentioned would not speak with CBS News.

The whole controversy was exposed last month when ATF agent John Dodson and others blew the whistle to CBS News. They told us they were ordered to let assault rifles and other weapons "walk" into the hands of Mexican drug cartels in a failed attempt to take down a cartel.

But if Justice Department officials knew, it's even more incredible when you find out who didn't: ATF's own agents in Mexico.

Gil first found out something was amiss in early 2010 when serial numbers from a flood of guns used in cartel crimes were all tracing back to the same case in Phoenix: "Fast and Furious." But when Gil's analyst checked ATF's computer files to find out more, he hit a brick wall.

"Not only did he not have access, I as the attache, the head agent in Mexico for ATF operations, did not have access," says Gil. He was locked out.

That was a red flag because Gil says as the senior ATF official in Mexico, it was his job to approve any ATF operation involving Mexico; and he didn't approve this one.

In fact, Gil specifically emailed his staff on Jan. 25, 2010 that no firearms would be allowed to cross into Mexico for a case without his approval. The email also stated that if he ever approved such an operation, he'd make sure the weapons were "stopped on the Mexican side of the border." They'd never be allowed to "walk" or reach the streets.

Gil didn't know it but even as he wrote that email, ATF agents in Phoenix have told CBS News they were already letting traffickers move weapons to Mexican drug cartels without stopping them. The idea was apparently to see where the guns would end up and try to build a big case.

Faced with the flow of guns and the serial number evidence tracing to Phoenix, but locked out of the computer case files, Gil says he repeatedly questioned his supervisor in Washington. He says some of the conversations became screaming and shouting matches. He says he was instructed not to tell his Mexican counterparts about the case. Gil said he inquired, "when is this case gonna shut down? The Mexicans are gonna have a fit when they find out about it." Gil says he also noted "at some point, these guns are gonna end up killing either a government of Mexico official, a police officer or military folks, and then what are we gonna do?"

Gil is the second ATF agent to tell CBS News that he specifically warned of such an outcome. Agent John Dodson says he told his superiors in Phoenix much the same.

"I specifically asked one time, 'are you prepared to go to the funeral of a Border Patrol agent...are you prepared for that fact because it's only a matter of time before that happens," Dodson told CBS News.

That's exactly what happened. Two of the weapons, AK-47 variant assault rifles, were eventually found at the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry last December. Officials are looking into possible connections to the murder of Customs Agent Jaime Zapata in February.

Gil retired from ATF in December, in part over his objections to Fast and Furious and the way it was handled. He says he's speaking out because nobody else in charge has stepped up to explain that ATF agents in Mexico were never part of it. Yet they're now facing threats of prosecution from some Mexican politicians.

"The (Mexican) government's looking at (ATF agents) potentially bringing weapons into their country, which in many cases is an act of war." Gil says by not explaining that ATF agents in Mexico weren't part of Fast and Furious, ATF executives are putting the agents in danger. "They're leaving my guys out in Mexico alone, and they're not doing the right thing."

Lanny Breuer and Eric Holder, architects of the Project Gunwalker Scandal and cover-up. They should stay out of Fort Marcy Park too.

John Richardson, writing at No Lawyers -- Only Guns and Money, says,

Mike Vanderboegh has mentioned Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, head of the Criminal Division at DOJ, many times on his blog Sipsey Street Irregulars was involved in Project Gunwalker. Gil's interview is confirmation that Breuer was probably up to his neck in it. The question now is whether he or Melson will be thrown under the bus to protect Attorney General Eric Holder.

As mentioned a few days ago, ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson will be appearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs. Now that Darren Gil has gone on the record with CBS's Sharyl Attkisson about higher-ups being involved, it would be a shame if the screws weren't put to Melson to testify under oath on just how high it went.

Yesterday I bet a certain reporter a hat that Melson would never testify next Thursday. I figured that they would either pull him from the witness list or 86 the hearing the hearing until a later date. Now I wonder if they can afford to do even that.

The longer the cover-up goes on, the guiltier they look, and the higher up the food chain the speculation goes. As CBS asks: "ATF gunwalking: Who knew, and how high up?"

My suggestion to Melson and Lanny Breuer? Stay out of Fort Marcy Park. There are some very powerful people above your pay-grades who are going to want you dead.

Mike Vanderboegh
ATF Scandalmonger, First Class and the alleged leader of a merry band of Three Percenters.

And since somebody brought up the subject of North Korea: An Oldie but a Goodie.

New crisis for police agencies: They're running out of PC scenarios for their wargames.

Kim Jong Il, star of Team America. Besides white Christian capitalist American gun owners, he's the only PC-acceptable scenario evil bad guy left.

"Critics: Iowa terror drill portrays immigration foes as killers."

A reporter asked me for comment about this and I replied:

Political correctness has severely limited the scope of fictional scenario writers. Red Dawn, remade with Chinese bad guys, is itself remade at great expense before release to make the bad guys North Koreans. Like the North Koreans have that many armed sampans to project force across the Pacific. The Sum of All Fears gets made into a movie without Jihadis but with American neoNazis as bad guys. Of course, it is not like Jihadis have flown planes into American buildings or shot up American army bases before, right? The Manchurian Candidate gets remade with neither Manchurians nor Communists, but with evil capitalists.

What does that leave the PC scenario writers? White "extremists", almost always racists and neoNazis (although "Christian religious fanatics" are sometimes substituted). And, trust me, they are almost always "firearm enthusiasts." Because of course firearms ownership predisposes people to being a racist terrorist, right? Why don't these schmucks take a leaf from Hollywood and make all their bad guys North Koreans? Or, like Team America, at least malevolent interstellar cockroaches.



Or how about White Christian Religious Fanatic neoNazi Gun-toting North Koreans?

Now there's a plan.

Sheesh.

Well, like they say, "DURKA DURKA MOHAMMED JIHAD!"

Good price on Turkish 5.56

Several Irregulars have brought my attention to this deal on ATI Turkish 5.56 62-grain "green tip" equivalent (but without the paint). It is packed in 30 round boxes, 990 rounds to the cardboard case, for $259.00. The price is excellent given recent trends. As to quality I do not know. Anybody out there have any experience with this stuff? Is Turkish ammo as good as Turkish tobacco? Does it burn clean?

OK, all you future resistance gun smugglers take note: Trying to ship everything at once usually leads to catastrophic failure.

WWII machine gun found in Lithuanian mail.

Guys and gals, the weight of an unloaded MG-42 is 11.57 kg or 25.51 lb. The package weighed 20 kilograms or 44 pounds. Let's allow for a couple of pounds or so for the cardboard box stout enough to hold it and packing to keep it quiet. (Clanking when handled is what we old smugglers call a "clue".)

The difference in weight after that is ammo. The greedy part was expecting that an under-worked postal employee wouldn't notice when he had to tote something with all that weight in it and wouldn't get curious about it.

C'mon on. You if can't break the weapon and ammo down into several shipments that won't strain the back or the curiosity of a postal service employee you don't deserve to get it through to the other end.

Sheesh.

Stupid is as stupid does.

"In order to ascertain the extent to which these accounts are accurate, please ensure that CBP officials are prepared to answer questions."

PDF of letter and attachments here.

March 16, 2011

Via Electronic Transmission

The Honorable Alan D. Bersin, Commissioner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20229

Dear Commissioner Bersin:

Since January, I have been investigating the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) operation called “Fast and Furious”—part of the broader “Project Gunrunner” initiative. According to several agents, ATF leadership encouraged gun dealers to engage in sales of multiple weapons to individuals suspected of illegally purchasing them for resale to Mexican cartels. Specifically, I am seeking information on whether CBP officials had an opportunity to seize weapons from straw purchasers on two specific occasions.

First, on March 8, 2011, federal authorities indicted 11 defendants, including the Mayor and the Police Chief of a small town in New Mexico, for conspiring to smuggle weapons from the United States into Mexico.1 According to the indictment, on January 14, 2010, Blas Gutierrez and Miguel Carrillo were pulled over near the border and were found in possession of eight weapons, including three AK-47-type pistols. 2 Also according to the indictment, two of the weapons were later smuggled to Mexico, where they were found this month, March 2011.3 I understand that CBP may have been the agency that conducted the vehicle stop referenced in the indictment and that some of the weapons may have been connected to Operation Fast and Furious. However, CBP allegedly let the individuals go, perhaps because it failed to determine that the weapons or individuals were connected to ATF operation at the time of the vehicle stop.

Second, CBP officials allegedly stopped Jaime Avila near the border in the spring or summer of 2010. He allegedly had the two WASR-10 rifles in his possession that were later found at the scene of Agent Brian Terry’s murder, along with over thirty additional weapons. CBP officials contacted ATF or an Assistant United States Attorney who allegedly instructed CBP to allow Avila proceed without seizing the weapons.

1 Indictment, filed March 8, 20l1, United States v. Villalobos, Case 2:11-cr-00487. (Attachment 1)
2 Id. at 3.
3 Id.

Page Two

In order to ascertain the extent to which these accounts are accurate, please ensure that CBP officials are prepared to answer questions about these two incidents in addition to questions about the use of force policy at the staff briefing scheduled for this Friday. If you have any questions about this request, please contact Brian Downey at (202) 224-5225. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member
Attachment

Center for Public Integrity(?) deliberately misses the point of Gunwalker. "Waco Jim" raises his ugly head. But Sen. Grassley is not so gullible.

Illustration from Center for Public Integrity article. "This Ruger .45-caliber handgun was among eight weapons border patrol agents saw near the Mexican border during a routine stop on Jan. 14, 2010, and released. A year later, it turned up at a murder scene a few miles away in Puerto Palomas, Mexico."

John Solomon and the Center for Public Integrity continue to disappoint. They seem congenitally predisposed to conclude that the Project Gunwalker scandal is proof that we need to give the ATF more power and authority. To that end, they even haul out our old serial perjurer friend Waco Jim Cavanaugh in this article, "Border agents unwittingly freed suspects near border with weapons from federal sting," with the subtitle, "Episode highlights lack of tools, coordination in gun trafficking fight."

Really? I would have thought it would have raised more critical questions about "Gunwalker," but then I'm not partially funded by donations from gun prohibitionists.

On Jan. 14, 2010, federal border patrol agents stopped two men driving a car through the border-crossing town of Columbus, New Mexico. Inside the vehicle was a cache of assault weapons, including AK-47s, Ruger .45-caliber handguns and pistols called “cop killers” because their ammunition can penetrate armor.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers ran the guns’ serial numbers in a nationwide database and waited. None of the eight came back flagged as stolen or suspect, so the agents let the men go — just a few short miles from the Mexican border, where gun trafficking is fueling a violent and deadly drug war.

At the time, the border guards were unaware that six of the weapons had been purchased by alleged straw buyers in a federal sting and were supposed to be monitored by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents trying to bust a major Mexican gun running ring.

The ATF had not yet flagged the weapons in a law enforcement database, and CBP wouldn’t alert its sister law enforcement agency to the traffic stop for five months, delays that would prove fateful for both agencies.

The two men in the car turned out to be Blas Gutierrez and Miguel Carrillo, who earlier this month were indicted as part of a Mexican cartel gun trafficking operation that also involved Columbus’ mayor and police chief, court records show.

And one of the Ruger pistols from the vehicle turned up at a murder scene directly across the border in Puerto Palomas, Mexico, on Feb. 8 of this year, according to court records and a lawyer for one of the defendants.

The episode — confirmed by the Center for Public Integrity through interviews, internal agency memos and court records — highlights major gaps in the U.S. war on Mexican gun and drug cartels: America’s frontline agencies aren’t always coordinated fully and often feel powerless to arrest suspected gun runners in the absence of tougher federal laws.

As a result, weapons from an ATF sting in Arizona called “Fast and Furious” unwittingly ended up in the possession of a trafficking ring in a neighboring state while other guns crossed the border and at least one showed up at a murder scene in Mexico.

Two things. First, note how what CPI reporters apparently think we need is "tougher federal laws." Uh, huh. And that would stop deliberate "walking" of firearms south of the border by the agency that is supposed to interdict them exactly how?

Second, there is the characterization of the whole Gunwalker scandal as a "sting." This not only trivializes and localizes what was surely a much broader policy that goes to the highest levels of the United States government (which is why the "Mr. Big sting" excuse was floated by ATF supervisors in the first place, as cover), but ignores important evidence and testimony already in the public record.

And of course who do they trot out for confirmation but our old serial perjurer moke, the supposedly-retired-but-apparently-still-on-the-payroll-of-ATF-public-relations, James "Waco Jim" Cavanaugh, who has the advantage over any current ATF employee of not being in a position to be caught covering up by false statements -- this time. ("Well, okay maybe there WERE guns on that helicopter but I'm sure not gonna tell you that under oath, Congressman.")

In reaction to the controversy, the Justice Department recently issued a stern warning that agents must always interdict weapons headed across the border, even if it jeopardizes a criminal prosecution. In the Columbus case, a statement from the office of the New Mexico U.S. Attorney said that “every effort was made to seize firearms from defendants to prevent them from entering into Mexico, and no weapons were knowingly permitted to cross the border.”

But such statements are harder to implement on the front lines of the gun trafficking wars, according to agents, supervisors and prosecutors. James Cavanaugh, a former ATF commander, said stemming the flow of guns to Mexico is a Herculean task given the lack of law-enforcement resources and political will.

“I don’t see how it’s realistically going to slow down if we don’t make changes in resources, laws and policies,” he said. “It’s important because people are being slaughtered.”

Why the hypocritical, bloody-handed sonofabitch! The agency management he's defending with this bullshit stand -- BY TESTIMONY OF THEIR OWN AGENTS -- with smoking guns in hand over piles of Mexican and American bodies and this puke, being one of them, decries "slaughter" and points in the opposite direction!

What is this? "Give us more power and money to abuse before we kill again"?

Senator Grassley, on the other hand, apparently has a more critical eye and has a somewhat different view of this latest factoid that the CPI melds into the "more power and authority for the ATF" meme.

Courtesy of IowaPolitics.com we have this press release:

U.S. Sen. Grassley: Presses for more answers on Operation Fast and Furious, allowing guns to "walk"
3/24/2011

For Immediate Release Thursday, March 24, 2011

WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley continues to press the administration for answers about its policy that allowed guns to “walk” over the Mexican border. Grassley began questioning the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in January. His requests for information about the involvement of various agencies, including ATF, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection have been stonewalled by the administration.

Grassley is now asking Customs and Border Protection for information about reportedly stopping Blas Gutierrez and Miguel Carrillo near the Mexican border. The two were recently indicted as part of a gun trafficking operation involving the mayor of Columbus, New Mexico. Additionally, Grassley is asking about allegations that Customs and Border Protection stopped Jaime Avila, who was recently indicted as the straw purchaser of weapons found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder. In both instances, Border Patrol agents allegedly found the gun runners to be in possession of multiple weapons, but let the suspects proceed for unknown reasons.

“No longer can this administration stand idly by and answer every question by saying that the Justice Department Inspector General is investigating. There is too much at stake. U.S. agents may have been killed because of a tragically ill-advised policy,” Grassley said. “The President said a serious mistake may have been made here, and that, if so, he would hold someone accountable. It is clearer every day that serious mistakes were made. Now it’s time for accountability.”

Grassley’s letter to Customs and Border Protection (March 16, 2011) made a specific request for officials knowledgeable about the agency’s involvement in Operation Fast and Furious be made available at a briefing that was already scheduled to take place with Grassley staff. Customs and Border Protection did not make officials available and there have been no attempts by the agency to schedule a subsequent briefing when officials would be available to answer the questions in Grassley’s letter. Click here to read Grassley’s latest inquiry to Customs and Border Protection.

Grassley’s letters to the administration about the policy of letting guns walk can be found on his website, Grassley.senate.gov.

The CPI will, unless I'm very much surprised, continue to run interference for the Obama administration by uncritically hitting on the memes the Gunwalkers need to succeed with the cover-up. In the end I doubt they will succeed in doing anything other than staining their own reputations. "Public Integrity" indeed.

I must say I expected better of John Solomon, given my experience with him on the Oklahoma City bombing story. But then, that did not deal with the cherished notion of citizen disarmament personally favored by so many "unbiased journalists."

Mike
III

LATER: Even David Hardy calls this "Predictable spin on 'Operation Gunwalker'" Also be sure to read Robert Farago's
"What the ATF Forgot to Mention in Their Press Release on the Indictments of the Men Who Supplied the Guns that Killed ICE Agent Zapata."

Another country heard from . . . The Empire doesn't strike back. It merely waves its limp dick around thinking it impresses onlookers.

"Pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain!"

In reply to my post below about Jamie Gorelick the Cover-Up Queen. Anonymous said...

Mike Vanderboegh lives off his wife, who works at a forklift company -- and also gets a monthly disability check from our "Marxist" federal government because he claims to be too sick to work.

The American Dream.

You know, I can't figure out what pisses my enemies off more. That I'm getting my extorted Social Security money back and they'll never get theirs? Or that I haven't died yet from congestive heart failure? It's a puzzle.

Or maybe it is just because in my shortened lifespan, with the help of my friends, I'm more of a danger to their regime than the average moke.

The poster is quite correct about where Rosey works, and the implied threat of this knowledge is duly noted. But still, I have to smile. If they are this juvenile, they really are the punks I've always suspected them to be.

"Waco Jim" Cavanaugh, is that you?

Afterthought: I told Bob Wright this the other day and I believe it to be true. Citizenship by example is both contagious and the greatest threat to the regime's appetites. Folks go around worried about getting on some list, or whether some federal agency is going to victimize them, so they hide their resistance, which in some cases means merely hiding their opinions for it is no real resistance at all.

Understand this. Both Bob and I have stuck our ugly mugs in the tyrant's face more than once over the years. Each of us, and there are many more like us, has caused the federal government more than a little bit of inconvenience and consternation in the past almost two decades.

Yet, WE ARE BOTH STILL ALIVE. We have not been imprisoned. We have not been beaten in spirit. Every day we exist unbloodied and unbowed proves the impotence of the federal Imperium. Oh, they have the means to kill us. They have proven that over the years. Yet in our cases they lack the will. And it is will that wins battles, and wars, whether they are shooting wars or political ones. Every day we still live and fight and defy the federal government shows the regime to be the timid punks that they are. As an example to others, that is a victory.

Some of you have asked me, when we met, "How are you doing?" I often answer "I'm still here." Sometimes I'll add "defying all expectations and many fervent wishes." Now you understand what I mean by that.

Every day of life for us is a victory over the big, bad, swaggering but limp-dicked Empire. Every day.

We are both still alive, Bob and me, and many others like us -- and that's what pisses these people off. Not our continued existence, mind you, but our continued good cheer in the face of their ineffectual threats, and especially the bad example that sets for other free men and women who may resist.

After that, insults like the one above are merely public displays of impotence and, really, rather pathetically funny. Even the implied threat is pathetic.

Mike
III

Halt! Or I'll demonstrate my impotence!

Praxis: How did GIs attach equipment to their pistol belts prior to ALICE clips?

Loren asked in comments below on the Pistol Belt praxis:

How were things secured before the ALICE clips? You mentioned grommets, but I'm sure others are curious about how it all worked.

Sorry, I should have explained.

Note the picture of the World War II GI above and how the first aid pouch and the canteen hang from the belt? Each pouch is provided with a stout metal hook that, believe me, is a pain in the fingers to attach but once there will stay on. Here's a picture of the back of a WWII canteen cover:



Here is the back of an M1916 holster for the M1911 .45 pistol, showing the metal hook for attachment to the M1912, M1936, M1956 and LC-1 & 2 pistol belts. The slots below the hook are for using the holster with a leather belt.



You have to insert one end of the hook into a grommet, then twist and fold the belt to align the second grommet. You've got to work the belt a bit, loosening it up. Use needle-nose pliers if necessary.

Hope that helps.

Mike
III