Down the Rabbit Hole: Part III

How many independent sworn statements by people with nothing to gain by lying and everything to lose if they do are needed to establish credibility?

[Via David R. Olofson]

Part I
Part II

Down the Rabbit Hole: Part II

This is a sworn statement. That means the person giving this deposition risks having his life destroyed if he makes a false statement. That means if he is not committing perjury, an independent investigation must determine if BATFU planted evidence.




The charges raised herein are among the most serious of crimes a government enforcement agency can perpetrate on a citizen. This document alone ought to be enough to DEMAND congressional hearings.

[Via David R. Olofson]

Part I

Friends

L. Neil Smith vents.

Hoo-boy, does he.

One point of clarification: NRA members do not have an individual representative to write to as this suggests. And seeing as how nobody wants to run with my suggestion of finding out where they stand and supporting them accordingly, I wouldn't expect that to be much of a pressure generator anyway.

But I do expect this to generate a lot of pure hatred on the gun forums.

Yikes!

[Via Ron W]

Texas Democrat Gun Owners Caucus

Amendment II Democrats is organizing the first-ever meeting of the new Gun Owners Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party at the upcoming 2008 State Convention in Austin, TX next month. If you are a delegate, alternate, or guest to the Texas convention, you are welcome to attend. Here are the details:

Friday, June 6, 2008 at 9:00am
Austin Convention Center
Level 3, Room 8B
500 E. Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, TX 78701

We've had extensive discussion on and with these folks before--on several occasions.

There are many issues I could raise and ask if they've taken a stance (and if not, why not?), when and what was it on timely and vital subjects like BATFU, Red's, Olofson, Cavalry Arms, etc., stuff that I focus on every day and certainly ought to merit comment from a gun rights group. But I believe there is a more clear and unequivocal demarkation line they could stand behind.

Fellas, you shouldn't need to wait until the June caucus because the candidates' positions are established, clear and not subject to credible change.

Who are you backing for president?

Where Credit is Due...?

U.S. Rep. Bill Sali, R-Idaho, said Friday that his complaints about the slogan - "Always Think Forfeiture" - persuaded the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to end its use on the Leatherman tools handed out to participants in a training program.

But a spokesman for the federal agency said Friday that the agency actually stopped using the slogan about two months ago, when other members of Congress first raised concerns.

So who the hell does BATFU think they are to require a FOIA demand before they'll release the names of other congressmen who "had inquired about the slogan"? Why is that not a freely-accessible public record, and does it not nicely illustrate what light-fleeing shadow-dwellers they are?

Oh, and nice try, Walt Minnick. I see you credit yourself with being "instrumental in the creation of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration)." So I see what you mean about "pay[ing] attention to details" when the topic of assert forfeiture comes up.

I also see that as of a couple months ago, the majority of your support came from out of state donors--that'll serve the independence of Idahoans well--nothing like a little carpetbagging by proxy, eh?

I truly don't fault Sali. You don't know what you don't know, and those other congressmen should have come to the fore on this and been the leaders they tell us they are. And BATFU getting all snitty didn't help. The bottom line is, it's a good thing.

Here's somethihg else good that came out of this:

That changed March 19, when a blogger looking at ATF contracts on a government-purchasing database found an order for 2,000 Leatherman tool-kits engraved with the slogan.

The blogger wrote about it on www.freedomsight.net, and the issue took on a life of its own in the blogosphere. Gun owners and private property rights activists seized on the phrase as a sign that the agency was biased toward law-abiding gun owners.

It's very nice to see Jed get some recognition, and affirms that bloggers can and do affect the course of things.

So--who knows how to file that FOIA request? Not that I don't automatically believe every word they say...

[Via Wayne Newton :) ]

Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast...

...Daddy, slow down some 'cause you're makin' me run...

AvgJoe is on a tear--all these links and so little time...:)

Here--I've combined 'em in one post:

We're the Only Ones Not Really Only Ones Enough

A man coaxed an aspiring model into his car by flashing a fake police badge and then raped her at gunpoint, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office.

Well--they've got just about everybody conditioned to obey on command, don't they? Figures some enterprising sort would figure out how to work that to his advanntage and actually increase violent crime.

We're the Only Ones "All in the Family" Enough

Drew Peterson won't get back 10 guns authorities seized last year, but his police officer son appears likely to end up with the weapons, Peterson's attorney said Tuesday.

I didn't realize Peterson had been convicted of anything. If he has, what's he doing on the street? If he hasn't, why is it lawful to take his guns?

The Microstamp Workaround

Codes engraved on the face of the firing pin could easily be removed with household tools, Beddow found.

That alone should be enough to stop this foolishness. And of course, there are many other reasons, too.

I guess California in general--and the University of California in particular--must be pretty flush despite desperate pleas for more money...

We're the Only Ones "Mentoring" Enough

Authorities in New York have launched a case against a police officer who once led a department "gay" organization, alleging he preyed on a relative's adopted son and forced the boy to have sex with him.

But don't you dare lift a pink...uh...finger against him...

-------------------------

Ahhh--I see he just sent me another one. I'll get to it in a bit, AJ--I see it merits it's own separate post.

Fulfilling All Expectations

The 50 U.S. states are holding more than $32 billion worth of unclaimed property that they're supposed to safeguard for their citizens. But a "Good Morning America" investigation found some states aggressively seize property that isn't really unclaimed and then use the money -- your money -- to balance their budgets.

We've let them get away with being thieves for so long I don't know why anybody would be surprised to find them stealing whatever they can get away with. But that won't stop the "Authorized Journalists" at ABC from continuing to cheerlead for more and more government, and of course, a monopoly of force. And acting all surprised at finding that power corrupts.

[Via AvgJoe]

There's Stupid

...and then there's Huckabee.

And not one person "booed"?

Say, can I make jokes about aiming guns at presidential candidates, too?

McCain Pledges More Infringements

But I believe an accurate, fair and instant background check at guns shows is a reasonable requirement. I also oppose efforts to require federal regulation of all private sales such as the transfer between a father and son or husband and wife. I supported campaign finance reform because I strongly believed our system of financing campaigns was influencing elected officials to put the interests of "soft money" donors ahead of the public interest.

And not one person "Booed"?

This Day in History: May 17

On May 17, 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence was presented in Philadelphia, the inhabitants of Coxsackie signed a Declaration of Independence of their own. The faded yellow parchment, found in an Albany attic some years ago, bears the names of 225 signers, most of them Dutch names of freeholders from the Coxsackie District of the Colony of New York.