"This is a familiar maneuver employed by the government, bringing its unlimited resources to bear against people it in turn renders financially defenseless — what Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars has pegged 'an economic Waco.'"
Actually, the ATF itself uses that term. Doesn't it, Sterling Nixon? Still working the rubber room, Sterling, or have you retired yet?
CBS reports: Congressional investigators fault ATF's "irresponsible tactic" in ICE agent murder.
The press release:
The letter:Monday, February 27, 2012Issa: Becca Watkins (202) 225-0037Grassley: Beth Levine (202) 224-6197Issa, Grassley Continue to Press for Answers in Zapata MurderEvidence Reveals that Similar Investigative Tactics to Fast and Furious were UsedWASHINGTON – Chairman Darrell Issa Senator Chuck Grassley today questioned Attorney General Eric Holder about revelations that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was aware of straw buying by Manuel Barba during a several month span of which one of the weapons found at the murder scene of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Officer Jaime Zapata was purchased.In a letter to Holder today, Issa and Grassley wrote that in addition to Otilio and Rafael Osorio and Kelvin Morrison, which they have previously asked about and received non-substantive responses, it appears that another straw purchaser with ties to the Zapata murder was well-known to ATF officials. In their letter, they wrote, “Records indicate that ATF opened a case against Manuel Barba in June 2010,[1] approximately two months before he took possession on August 20, 2010, of the rifle which was later trafficked to Mexico and also used in the murder of Agent Zapata.[2] Additionally, the documents show that ATF had indications in October 2010 that Barba was obliterating serial numbers on weapons, the possession of which would have been a prosecutable offense.[3]” Yet, Barba was not arrested until February 14, 2011.Issa and Grassley have been investigating the actions of the Justice Department and the ATF that allowed gunwalking, guns purchased by known straw buyers who then often transferred the firearms to Mexican Drug Cartels, to occur in at least one ATF field office jurisdiction.One of the major flaws found in the tactics used in Operation Fast and Furious, where gunwalking was known to occur, was the failure to conduct surveillance of individuals known to be trafficking weapons to Mexico, which allowed such firearms to reach the border. Issa and Grassley said that the same irresponsible tactic appears to have been used as the ATF allowed guns to cross the border in Texas. . .
February 27, 2012VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSIONThe Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney GeneralU.S. Department of Justice950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20530Dear Attorney General Holder:For almost an entire year, we have been requesting that the Department provide information about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF’s) knowledge regarding Otilio Osorio’s straw purchasing activities. We are interested in him because he was the straw purchaser of the weapon used in the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent Jaime Zapata on February 15, 2011.Letters from Senator Grassley on March 4, 2011, and March 28, 2011 provided documentation that, on September 17, 2010, ATF traced trafficked weapons to Otilio’s brother and co-habitant, Ranferi Osorio, as well as the Osorio brothers’ next-door neighbor, Kelvin Morrison. Senator Grassley further inquired why these facts did not prompt ATF to conduct a “knock and talk” with these individuals or begin conducting surveillance on them.On November 9, 2010, as part of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation, ATF witnessed Otilio and Ranferi Osorio providing 40 weapons with obliterated serial numbers to an undercover ATF informant for the purpose of trafficking the weapons to Mexico. Surprisingly, they were not arrested for another three and a half months. Senator Grassley further inquired why they were not arrested at the time they were observed to be in possession of weapons with obliterated serial numbers, which is a crime. He asked whether ATF or DEA continued to surveil the Osorio brothers between early November and their arrest, following the discovery that Otilio Osorio’s weapon was used in the murder of Agent Zapata. Inexplicably, the Department has failed to provide substantive responses to any of these letters, including a subsequent follow-up letter on this matter, sent jointly on October 25, 2011.ATF has tried to distinguish this case from Operation Fast and Furious and to justify its failure to intervene. In one news article on the Osorio brothers, ATF North Texas spokesperson Tom Crowley is quoted as saying: “[T]aking them down and arresting them at that time would have possibly jeopardized that investigation. . . . None of the tactics used in this investigation were anything similar to what was used in Arizona’s Fast and Furious, including intentionally walking firearms across the border.”[4] Yet failure to conduct surveillance of individuals known to be trafficking weapons to Mexico was a core problem with the tactics used in Fast and Furious. Lack of surveillance is what allowed such firearms to reach the border. The same irresponsible tactic appears to have been used in this matter.Now, news reports indicate that this may have been an issue with a purchaser of another one of the weapons found at Agent Zapata’s murder scene.[5] Records indicate that ATF opened a case against Manuel Barba in June 2010,[6] approximately two months before he took possession on August 20, 2010, of the rifle which was later trafficked to Mexico and also used in the murder of Agent Zapata.[7] Additionally, the documents show that ATF had indications in October 2010 that Barba was obliterating serial numbers on weapons, the possession of which would have been a prosecutable offense.[8] At least as of December 13, 2010, ATF also was aware that Barba was still under indictment for a 2006 state case, and thus had been unlawfully receiving firearms while under indictment.[9] However, a warrant was not issued for Barba’s arrest in this case until February 14, 2011.[10]To assist us in better understanding of the circumstances leading up to the murder of Agent Zapata, please answer the following questions:
1. Did ATF have any contact with Barba, such as a “knock and talk,” between June 7, 2010, when Barba’s case was opened, and August 20, 2010, when he received the weapon that would later be used in the murder of Agent Zapata?2. When did ATF agents first contact Barba in connection with this case?3. Records indicate Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) interviews were conducted in this case by early October 2010. When were FFLs first contacted by ATF in this case?4. What information about Barba or the individuals known to be working with him as straw purchasers was communicated to the FFLs?5. What cooperation did any FFLs agree to provide ATF in this investigation?6. Did any FFLs ever provide ATF with advance or contemporaneous (within three days) notice of purchases by the individuals suspected to be working with Barba as straw purchasers?7. Why was Barba not arrested in October 2010 when ATF obtained audio evidence that Barba was obliterating serial numbers before trafficking weapons to Mexico?8. Why was Barba not arrested in December 2010 when ATF knew he had been unlawfully receiving firearms from straw purchasers while under indictment?9. How many weapons were purchased between June 7, 2010, and February 14, 2011, by the straw purchasing ring associated with Barba?10. How many weapons purchased between June 7, 2010, and February 14, 2011, by the straw purchasing ring associated with Barba were interdicted?
Thank you in advance for ensuring your response arrives no later than March 9, 2012. Should you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Ranking Member Grassley’s staff at (202) 224-5225 or Chairman Issa’s staff at (202) 225-5074.
Sincerely,
(Issa & Grassley signatures.)
cc: The Hon. B. Todd Jones, Acting Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Hon. Michele M. Leonhart, Administrator, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
The Hon. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Hon. Patrick Leahy, Chairman, U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary
[1] ATF Management Log for Case 782045-10-[redacted], Baytown Crew, available at http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/baytown.pdf (accessed Feb. 23, 2012).[2] Plea Agreement, United States v. Barba, Case 4:11-cr-00087, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (filed Oct. 31, 2011), at 9.[3] ATF Management Log for Case 782045-10-[redacted], Baytown Crew.[4] Jack Douglas Jr., “Fort Worth Gun Falls Into Wrong Hands, Kills U.S. Agent,” CBS 11 News (Feb. 15, 2011), available at http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/02/15/fort-worth-gun-falls-into-wrong-hands-kills-u-s-agent.[5] Sharyl Attkisson, “Second gun used in ICE agent murder linked to ATF undercover operation,” CBS News (Feb. 22, 2012), available at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-57383089-10391695/second-gun-used-in-ice-agent-murder-linked-to-atf-undercover-operation.[6] ATF Management Log for Case 782045-10-[redacted], Baytown Crew, available at http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/baytown.pdf (accessed Feb. 23, 2012).[7] Plea Agreement, United States v. Barba, Case 4:11-cr-00087, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (filed Oct. 31, 2011), at 9.[8] ATF Management Log for Case 782045-10-[redacted], Baytown Crew.[9] Id.[10] Id.
Chef: How come all you guys sit on your helmet?Soldier: So we don't get our balls blown off.
More anecdotal evidence why the police should be the only ones allowed to carry firearms.
Ballistic tests are being run on the handgun Nagy, 43, used to take his own life to determine whether it is the same weapon he used to shoot the apparently unarmed Lantych in the right forearm and right inner thigh. Investigators will also determine whether the gun was his service weapon.
I guess his forearm saved his family jewels.
"And remember, grasshopper, to tell them that you are not a crook."Is the IRS attempting to intimidate local Tea Parties?
Many Tea Party boards are afraid to speak out publicly about these intrusive requests because of fear of being personally targeted and singled out by the IRS. This is especially scary to citizens of modest incomes that don’t have the financial means to hire accountants or tax attorneys. And that is probably the point. Cower and fade away, or face possible persecution at the hands of government bureaucrats.
Kurt Hofmann: "Arizona bill to establish border security militia draws CSGV's fear and loathing."
The CSGV is perhaps the only U.S. "gun control" group to openly call for a government monopoly on force. Now, though, it seems as if even that's not enough. Not only do they want a government monopoly on force, but it must be a federal government monopoly.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
This is for those who are a bit unclear about who we are and what we're supposed to be about, at least as the Founders saw it:
We are the armed citizenry of the united States. The Founders expected future generations to be like them, both armed and citizens. These concepts were, to them, inseparable. Only a free man may possess arms that he or she may use for his or her own purposes. Only a citizen, someone constantly participating in the political process and vigilant to threats to liberty, utilizing all non-violent means available can be expected to short-circuit threats to liberty, life and property prior to violence morally justifiable as self-defense.
"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials." — George Mason, in Debates in Virginia Convention on Ratification of the Constitution, Elliot, Vol. 3, June 16, 1788
In practical terms, the armed citizenry is supposed to:
1. Provide security in life, liberty and property to each citizen in his home from depredation by common criminals;
2. Provide security in life, liberty and property to the community by assisting, when necessary, duly constituted authority in maintaining civil order; and
3. Provide security in life, liberty and property to the states and nation by being the credible countervailing power to would-be tyrannical government.
These three functions are provided for in the concept of a "well-regulated militia," -- which at the time meant well disciplined, well led, well trained, well armed, with weapons of common caliber -- bands of citizen soldiers operating in the common defense of life, liberty and property.
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power, and jealousy will instantly inspire the inclination, to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive." -- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution (Philadelphia 1787).
Each task requires the armed citizenry to be "well-regulated," but each requires a different set of rules of engagement, as we style them today.
Tasks One and Two are, largely, non-political. The burglar is not motivated by your politics (or his) but by the prospect of obtaining your property, the rapist by access to your wife or daughter. Likewise, the ordinary urban mob is motivated less by politics and more by culture and the prospect of loot encouraged by a breakdown of normal civil order. They may claim politics as the reason, they may even believe it, and their destruction may have a political outcome, but the urban riot is merely the common burglar writ large. It is a crime of opportunity. They do it because they can.
"Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American...[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." -- Tenche Coxe, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.
Thus, these first two tasks of the armed citizenry are widely recognized as a legitimate exercise of defensive violence. The Founders, indeed, accepted this as they did the air they breathed. It was a given under the English Constitution and the common law that underpinned it. Only today in the minds of collectivists of varying stripes who covet other people's property, liberty and lives is it controversial -- and for the same reason that a burglar bitterly denounces burglar alarms.
Task Three, on the other hand, is entirely political, and thus far more controversial in some uninformed quarters although this was the principal purpose of the Founders in codifying it in the the Second Amendment. In Part Two of this short series, I will discuss what the Founders had in mind, and how today's armed citizenry must adapt their mission statement to new realities that they never foresaw.
"Whereas, to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them; nor does it follow from this, that all promiscuously must go into actual service on every occasion. The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it." -- Richard Henry Lee, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.
Received this email this afternoon from a fellow whom I have disappointed in many ways. My reply is below, as well.
MY REPLY:-----Original Message-----From: Daniel (REDACTED)To: georgemason1776Sent: Sun, Feb 26, 2012 3:24 pmSubject: Comments on CPX Foxtrot at WRSADear Mike,Having recently read the circular firing squad over at WRSA, CA asked you a few direct questions that I believe deserve to be answered,despite having been scrubbed from the comments recently.I understand you have serious concerns regarding Kerodin, but do you really think that airing dirty laundry for the world to see does anything productive for morale? I think it to be extremely short-sighted.I understand Gunwalker has consumed your time for well over a year now,and you did your damnedest,and I applaud you for it. However,I was there almost two years ago at Fort Hunt Park when you said Absolved was finished,and yet you are still working on it. That would make me wonder if you were really done with it,or if you're really working on it now.Either way,it doesn't instill confidence in me with you.I have been financially supportive of you and your efforts on multiple occasions,and I would like to think that I am not misplacing my trust in you.It would make me happier to see you as the Mike Vanderboegh of 4 or 5 years ago,than what I have seen you put yourself through lately. You can do much more productive things with your time,in my opinion.We all admire your valiant work in trying to hold Mordor accountable,and we all see the complicity of the media and both wings of the fed.gov party, and bless you for doing the work that the multimillion dollar press refuses to do.But for petes sake,stop with the Kerodin thing. Please.And finish your books already.For the Republic,Dan (REDACTED)
Daniel,I went through the 90s when we let Kerodins attach themselves like leeches to a movement without doing enough to mark the difference. So, no, I will continue to speak out on Kerodin until dispositive FOIA documents or court discovery records prove me right.From my latest post this morning, in case you missed it regarding Pete's demand for answers:
Explain to me why I owe you an answer to any of them. I didn’t lie when I said Absolved was finished. It was, in raw form. That I responded to editorial concerns raised by others that caused me to rewrite the entire work — interspersed by huge episodes of writer’s block — is immaterial to you. Gee, I fucked up, I’m human. So sue me. But what, really, do I OWE you, or anybody, about Absolved? Half of it, including most of the tactical, practical lessons, have already been published on the Net. For free. You may not have noticed, but I’ve been a little busy in the mean time, ferreting out ATF scandals prior to Gunwalker, netting together the Coalition of Willing Lilliputians which put us in a position to learn of, and exploit, that granddaddy of all federal scandals. To reckon the Gunwalker Scandal expose’ in terms of “casualties” ignores the value of the results already achieved against the enemy — destruction of legitimacy, barely managed chaos within federal law enforcement agencies — all of which buy time for folks to get ready. Ask Eric Holder how much trouble I have put him to since 2009. This is not something that you didn’t already know, because I explained it at some length to you in conversations early on.I disappointed you. SFW. Get in line.You criticize me for soliciting money through my blog subscriptions, yet you more than anybody know the limit of my finances. I could not have accomplished a tenth of what I’ve done on Gunwalker without those extra resources, which, by the way, I have to pay taxes on.So I don’t meet your qualifications as a leader because I rightly question your choice of convict “friends”? Whose ego is bruised?I didn’t make up the characterization of Kerodin as a leader of “Death Eaters,” but I damn sure see my friend’s point. Forget his compromised status as a federal felon which makes him eminently blackmailable — as well as discrediting on its face to any claim of “leadership” in the Three Percent — his previously expressed penchant for targeting non-combatants is both discrediting and dangerous. Indeed, accepting such “logic” is merely an expression of feared weakness, not an understanding of real strength.The MORAL component of our fight is the only thing that makes it worth doing. Otherwise we are the same sort of monster that we condemn. I am a Christian, first and foremost. I will have to look my God in the eye one day and justify my life and actions. If that makes me a disappointment in your eyes, then I suggest you look in the mirror for an explanation.– Vanderboegh
Absolved was finished, it simply wasn't ready for print. As far as misplaced trust, I'm the same guy I always was. I thank you for your past support and I can tell you that I tried to waste none of the donations sent my way. However, I can only do so much, and my failures are all my own. Indeed, most of my failures came about due to overwork because I could not say no to the many projects which are left at my door, always with the comment, "Only you can do this, Mike." But I am more worried about what my God will say to me later than anything else, as, indeed, we should all be.
There is a tendency -- natural, human trait -- to look for leaders who are omniscient, infallible into whom we pour all our own hopes for success of a common enterprise. I am not such a person. If Absolved has one message above all it is this: don't look for leaders, be your own leader. Do what you can, all that you can, where you are at.
It is certain that no one else could have done the Gunwalker business, or pushed it as far as it has come. Even Pete acknowledged that. So what should I rank as more important than that?
As far as "airing dirty laundry" and "factionalism" it has always been my belief that people who willingly submerge their basic principles in order to attract more so-called "allies" like Kerodin are extrapolating from their own needless sense of weakness, brought on at least in some measure by the isolation and anomie of modern life. And, in the end, they are self-defeating, since they enabled the hand that knifed them in the back. We are stronger than that, or, at least we will be if we understand that embracing such as Kerodin will drive off all our potential allies when the time comes.
The reason I'm so particular about allies and principles is that what we must attempt, should we ever face more tyranny from the Feds, is an open source insurgency, which is to say, many small-scale, local fights with national, even international, principles. Some call it "leaderless resistance" but that is not true. We must be led, but by principle. And only 4th Generation Warfare which targets policymakers -- and policymakers only, not their families or other innocents -- will win. Kerodin, apart from all the questions surrounding him, blurs those moral bright lines. If we fight by his rules and lack of moral sense, we will lose. Hence, I will continue to speak out against him, even with my last breath. This isn't about ego, it is about unshakable principle.
If that is not what you wanted to hear, I am sorry for your disappointment. It happens to be the truth as I see it.
Mike
III
This wasn’t part of Operation Fast and Furious, which was run out of Arizona. It was another gun-walking operation, running out of Texas. A second “walked” ATF gun was also recovered from the scene of Zapata’s murder, sold by a different group of people… who were also on the ATF radar screen. How many more of these gun walking fiascoes are there? Who knows? That question should be taken seriously: who knows?This is, by the way, how the Obama gun-walking operations were designed to work. No credible attempts were made to follow or interdict the weapons, unlike the much smaller Bush-era gun-walking failure called Operation Wide Receiver, which put radio tracking devices on its guns. The entire point of Operation Fast and Furious, as well as offshoots like the Texas operation, was to recover the walked guns from murder scenes. One of those scenes involved a United States Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry. Another involved ICE Agent Jaime Zapata. A couple hundred more of them featured dead Mexican citizens.Considerable effort has been invested in building a shield of plausible deniability around Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama. Holder’s shield became implausible deniability, once he committed perjury before Congress, and tried to defend himself by claiming he has no idea what most of the Justice Department is doing at any given time, does not communicate with anyone, and believes “lies” are entirely a matter of feelings.It is, however, undeniable that either of these men could dispel the shroud of obfuscation surrounding the gun-walking murders by ordering full cooperation with congressional investigators, and the immediate provision of all documents lawfully requested by subpoena. They are both accountable for their refusal to do so.What say you, Republican leadership? Is there enough blood on Eric Holder’s hands to get those impeachment hearings going yet, or do you need to hear him laugh at contempt of Congress citations a few more times?
This bill begs the question whether openly carrying a gun in a public place is, by itself, disorderly conduct. We think it is, for the simple reason that it will cause fear, if not panic, among many people who see this behavior.Why is that guy carrying a gun? What does he intend? I should call the cops. Those are the thoughts that will dart through the mind of most onlookers. Does it disturb the peace of these people? Absolutely.
