The Hero of Medicine

Special foreword posted on Dec. 20, 2012: Visitors coming over from the Slate Thacker/Wintemute interview: You've been lied to. Look this post over and then see my rebuttal here.

UPDATE 2: Visitors from The Atlantic Wire-- it looks like Adam Clark Estes has no more integrity than the other two --he repeated the lie in his column even though he had the link and knows better.

My original blog post from 2007 follows.

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Wintemute’s first challenge was to find some way to eavesdrop on gun transactions without attracting notice. At first he tried recording his observations by speaking into a hidden tape recorder that he carried with him, but the quality of the recordings were poor.

“Then I realized that everybody (at the gun shows) was using cell phones,” he recalled in a recent interview.

Wintemute decided to do likewise. He recorded his observations by calling up his voice mail, the capacity of which he had expanded for the study. The voice mail messages were then transcribed by members of Wintemute’s staff. He made visual recordings of the gun shows by taking pictures with a hidden camera. [More]

I won't go here into why I think this study is crap, aside from the fact that Wintemute is one of the more notorious agenda-driven anti-defense propagandists out there. Going to gun shows is hardly equivalent to doing "shoe-leather epidemiology" in South Central or East LA amongst these guys. And I'll only note in passing what a disappointment I find this PhysOrg.com site to be--is this what purported scientific "news" has been reduced to: blatant rah-rah press releases for anti-defense fanatics?

What stands out most for me was this character snooping in on private transactions without the knowledge of the people involved--and many gun shows I've seen have a "No Cameras/Recording Devices" policy. I've also seen some case law involving "news gathering" and hidden cameras/microphones, but "research"--particularly for propaganda purposes--is arguably a different beast altogether. If the shows were posted to keep cameras out, dealers and patrons may well have had some sort of expectation of privacy. I invite anyone with knowledge of California law in this regard to weigh in via "Comments," below.

At the very least, it ought to tell us something about the ethics of this character who has to sneak around like a cheap, bumbling East German spy. And here's the clincher:

Eventually, he hopes to train others to become observers at gun shows — and possibly to go one step further than he did and notify local police when they witness an illegal transaction.

This isn't science. This is a police state informant developing his own private snitch patrol--and I would hope any evidence he gathered would be inadmissible, since he's made it clear his real purpose is to effect criminal prosecutions.

Actually, I would hope he's done something for which he can be prosecuted and sued. And I wouldn't mind if he was forcibly ejected from the next gun show he attends.

In the mean time, as a public service, WarOnGuns would like to assist promoters, dealers and customers in detecting an enemy in their midst--feel free to adapt this into a flier to post and distribute at gun shows:

WARNING!
IF YOU SEE THIS MAN, NOTIFY SECURITY IMMEDIATELY.
HE IS GAREN J. WINTEMUTE,
AN ANTI-GUN "RESEARCHER" KNOWN TO STALK GUN SHOWS WITH HIDDEN CAMERAS AND RECORDERS. HE IS REPORTEDLY TRAINING HIS FOLLOWERS TO MONITOR YOUR TRANSACTIONS AND CALL THE POLICE!

I guess it's easier going after citizens at gun shows than it is stalking and reporting on criminals. It's sure a hell of a lot safer for "The Hero of Medicine"--because we know what the folks who are truly causing the problems do when they find snitches in their midst.

"The Hero of Medicine." That sounds like a title Stalin would hand out, doesn't it?

Letter to Judge Lodge

I wanted to share a letter to Judge Lodge I was sent a copy of, because the writer has some first-hand knowledge of the forms and the audits.

June 11, 2007-06-11

Hon. Edward J. Lodge
Federal Building &U.S. Courthouse, MSC 039
550 W. Fort St., Room 400
Boise, ID 83724-0039

In re: RED'S TRADING POST, INC. v. RICHARD VAN LOAN

Dear Judge Lodge,

I am a FFL dealer in West Texas and I have been trying to follow this mess with Red's Trading Post. I have felt free to contact the local BATF office for questions and felt that I could trust their word. If there was something the BATF inspector wasn't sure about he would contact the BATF legal council in Dallas.

About a year ago I became uneasy because of BATF behavior in other parts of the country and started asking the inspectors to send me written verification. The inspectors have never been wishy washy and promptly complied with my requests with their name on the document.

Today I called the BATF office to make sure & clarify that the way I was keeping firearm transaction records was legal & approved. The BATF inspector directed me to the white 2005 FEDERAL FIREARMS REGULATIONS REFERENCE GUIDE,PAGE 64,"CODE 478.124 Firearms transaction record. ", paragraph (b) A licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer shall retain in alphabetical (by name of purchaser), chronological (by date of disposition), OR numerical (by transaction serial number) order, and as a part of the required records, each Form 4473 obtained in the transferring custody of the firearms.

I use the numerical system of keeping records and the inspector said that was perfectly legal according to the regulation.

Judge Lodge, notice the key word "or"in the method of keeping records. The word "or" is an exclusive term and means that anyone of the methods named in the regulation can be implemented and that the use of more than one of the named methods is not required.

Judge Lodge, notice that no where in that paragraph does it say that there must be a "front to back"or a "back to front" method of arrangement.

Sir, I cannot say for sure if BATF DIO Richard Van Loan and the Government's attorney do not understand the English language or they are abusing their authority under color of law. There is no greater offense to our fragile Democracy than a sworn officer that commits perjury or abuses their authority. If DIO Richard Van Loan, agent Caleb Rushing, and the Government's attorney get by with what they are trying to do,then they will become a law all in their own and can make up the laws as they go. AND that, Judge Lodge, is a tyrannical dictatorship.

Judge Lodge, I pray that you will do the right thing and relieve Red's Trading Post of this travesty, hold the authorities accountable, and grant Red's Trading Post compensation for the way they have been wronged.

What it Would Take

Pfleger has had limited success urging adults to search their own homes for weapons they may not know their children have, but spoke with CBS 2 late last month, he worried about what it would take to stop the killing.

What, like snuffing out John R-i-g-g-i-o?

A Variety of Perspectives

In putting together the panel, we sought input from a variety of perspectives so that we could have a frank, unscripted discussion of the many issues and complex web of problems that have led to the tragic deaths of these young people. We had representation from the faith community, the public schools, the police, family members of those killed and those accused of killing and community leaders and we met directly with students from some of the most affected schools.

Ah, the Queen of the Authorized Journalists weighs in. ABC 7 President & General Manager Emily Barr sounds like she actually believes her own line of ...

RELATED:

• A Panel of Experts
• Stop the Snuf...uhh...Violence

We're the Only Ones Just, Peaceful and Paid Enough

Araujo will continue to be paid as Justice of the Peace until the outcome of her trial for Felony Assault Charges with a Deadly Weapon.

And there are new developments for her attorney (and former DA) Terry McEachern as well:

“The Court finds and concludes that the material allegations contained in the (complaint) are true and that (McEachern committed) professional misconduct” in not turning over information that could have been used to impeach the only witness against some 45 Tulia residents: discredited undercover narcotics officer Tom Coleman, whose unsavory law enforcement background and alleged racism ultimately led to the pardon of most of the defendants, the majority of whom were black.

Don't you hate it when bad things happen to good people?

[More from "The Only Ones" files...]

There Oughtta Be a Law

US veterans are twice as likely as civilians to commit suicide, according to a study released Monday, which researchers said underscores the need for mental health care for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan...

More often than not, firearms were used in the suicides, the study found.

Maybe we could get our pro-gun leaders to negotiate some sort of mental health background check deal with the Democrats...

WarOnGuns Hiatus

Friday will be my last post to WarOnGuns for an indefinite time--possibly as short as a few weeks, perhaps up to a month. I'll have more details then--I just wanted to give an advance heads up.

And no, nothing bad is happening. Quite the opposite, actually.

We're the Only Ones Getting Off Lighter Enough

William Kloss III, 37, of Neversink, pleaded guilty to felonies for arson and insurance fraud before County Court Judge Frank LaBuda. He's expected to get 2½ to 7½ years in prison when he's sentenced...

Kloss, who works in auto body, made it known to friends that he would destroy their cars. These included former sheriff's deputy Amanda Cox and former New York City Department of Environmental Protection officer Edward Kowalik Jr.

Cox, 25, was sentenced to probation and will be terminated from the sheriff's department. Kowalik, 32, pleaded guilty last week to felonies. In exchange for his plea, he's expected to get six months in jail and five years probation.

Via Declan, who adds: "Mr. Kloss gets his picture in the paper and a sentence of up to 71/2 years. While his 'only one' accomplices get light sentences, with little or no jail time and no mug shots plastered across the local rag. How nice!"

There's nothing I can add to that.

Working Together

Together, we have crafted a bill that will prevent gun violence, but maintain the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

What rights were those again?

And did you ever figure out what a barrel shroud is?

This Day in History: June 12

WHEREAS the infatuated multitudes, who have long suffered themselves to be conducted by certain well known Incendiaries and Traitors, in a fatal progression of crimes, against the constitutional authority of the state, have at length proceeded to avowed rebellion; and the good effects which were expected arise from the patience and lenity of the King's government, have been often frustated, and are now rendered hopeless, by the influence of the same evil counsels; it only remains for those who are entrusted with supreme rule, as well for the punishment of the guilty, as the protection of the well-affected, to prove they do not bear the sword in vain.

Another believer in the supremacy of big government who was in for a big surprise.