Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Original Fast and Furious Source Says ATF Still Squandering Resources, Padding Numbers

“So, the moral of the story and others like Fast and Furious, if you need some numbers to justify something, just go out and create your own criminals and crimes,” 1desertrat concluded. “Hold a press conference and convince everyone how you are making the community safer.” [More]
Based on what the guy who first tied "gunwalking" in with the Brian Terry murder says about continued bureau ineptitude, don't expect Obama's ATF payroll additions to be anything but a political ploy to con his useful idiot followers into thinking he's being "progressive" about addressing "gun violence."

State of the Union

Watch it tonight here, at 9 Eastern.

Of course, if you want to save time, here's all we really need to understand:

Not Me

If a bad guy with a gun had decided to walk onto that train and start shooting people, I would have been prepared and able to use my gun to defend my own life and the lives of everyone else on that train, including yours. [More]
Nope, sorry. I've never cared much for the sheepdog analogy. That and I hold no illusions.

If others happen to benefit from me protecting myself and mine, that's just the breaks. I suppose I'd be more inclined if true innocents were being threatened rather than probable enablers who hold me in contempt, or the just plain willfully oblivious.

A story I've always hated is Disney's version of "The Grasshopper and the Ants," with its unearned happy ending.  Me, I'm an Aesop man.

It's the reason why I have no sympathy for a wish expressed by some gun owners that we had our own Bloomberg-style money angel.  Yeah, just latch on to another excuse to do nothing.

[Via Michael G]

We're the Only Ones Uncloaked Enough

But Kavanagh, a retired police officer, insisted he’s not trying to cloak law enforcement activity from public view. [More]
No, of course not.  Neither was his "law and order" counterpart in Texas, also a "Republican."

They just want to be able to escalate through the full continuum of force up to lethal if you get your camera too close.  Who among us doesn't want that?

[Via Steve T

Written by the Victors

For some, he said, the line between what is historically valuable and not is drawn at that which does not promote maximum unity. For others, the line leads to maximum knowledge, and the “troubled wisdom” that comes with it. [More]
I suppose just leaving things at "what happened" is too much to expect from "progressive" Opposite Day "historians" who know best what of the past we need to learn from.

Besides, totalitarian revisionists have a history all their own...

[Via Michael G]

A New System

Seeking to quell stubbornly persistent gun-related violence in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday will unveil a new system for handling such cases, creating a dedicated gun court in Brooklyn and a 200-officer police division focused on gun crime. [More]
Is closing the barn door after the horse has escaped "new"?

[Via Bluesgal]

Arctic Blast from the Past, Present and Future

I give Canada as a country 50 yrs tops before it completely disintegrates into ethnic enclaves and no small amount of blood letting. [More]
Every once in a while, an old article attracts a new comment that merits being seen -- but won't be unless highlighted.

What Have We Learned from This?

In September 2014, while he was at work, she removed his AR-15 rifle from his apartment “as collateral” for $50 that she claimed he owed her. After Carroll called the police, NCPD officers not only confiscated the rifle from the mother’s apartment, but also seized two other long guns and a magazine belonging to Carroll and found in the house. [More]
There's got to be a lesson in here somewhere. But what?

A Baleful Legacy

Indeed, by battling for extraneous causes like Second Amendment rights ... today’s so-called political conservatives have largely abandoned the battle where it counts. [More]
Yeah, it was never about principles and freedom.  It was about investment banking and equity funds.

Historic 'Militia' Moment

Their purpose there in Harney County is to help open a line of dialogue and to serve as a buffer to prevent another Waco incident.   This is a righteous mission, if done right, and we stand in full support of it. [More]
Fingers crossed...

A Few Words of Clarification on the Vanderboegh Fundraiser

When people have needed Mike,
he's been there for them.
I've seen some discussions on other sites about my fundraising effort for Mike, and unsurprisingly, some quickly devolve into ignorance, squabbling, attacks, and everything EXCEPT caring about our friend and doing the two simple things being asked for: Spread the word and make a payment acknowledging value received from his work.

I disagree with the contention that "Absolved" would be an automatic money-maker, and question the industry experience and qualifications of anyone making such an assertion. If it were, a publisher would have offered Mike an advance sufficient to complete it. As is, my sense is that without a dramatic increase in willingness to help, better odds portend a garage full of self-published boxes of books, with most sales on Kindle, and the vast majority neither spending any money OR encouraging others to check it out.

Hopefully I'm flat-out wrong and future sales of whatever product emerges will exceed wildest expectations. I don't claim a crystal ball, merely an ability to observe that anything not backed by establishment interests generally requires a committed grassroots effort.

As for the contention that Mike should have pulled back from Fast and Furious to work on the book and let someone else pick up the slack, that's just plain ignorant and comes from those who doesn't know what they're talking about. I don't  even have words, so I'm just gonna let that one go.

And did someone say "blog ads"? Revenue there is driven by page views, click-throughs and purchases, and guess what: The same people who won't help with the fundraiser won't help with that, either.

By way of a project status update, and corroborating my observations, I put out my plea for Mike four days ago -- that post, as of now, has brought in as many page views as this blog typically gets in only one day. My Facebook post only has 80 shares. My Twitter post has one retweet and two "likes."

"Profiles in Apathy" is the name of that self-defeating game, and I've seen it more times over the years than I care to recall.

But all is not negative. Far from it, thanks to a happy few.

Thank you to all who have shown leadership in this, made donations and spread the word. Just so you know, your efforts have already made a real and positive difference for Mike and Rosey, and I'm committed to growing things even more, with additional posts planned. My cynicism isn't with you, but with a majority that never lifts a finger beyond sharing discouraging opinions

Here's the deal: I didn't do this to argue with anyone about anything. I intentionally titled my appeal "Plea to All Friends of Mike Vanderboegh."

I didn't address it to anyone else. I don't care about them.

If you're not his friend, if you won't share the link and if you won't make a gratitude offering, your reasons why are neither important nor solicited here. That isn't what this is about. Go do something else and leave those of us who care about him to do our work in peace.

And if you are Mike's friend, act like one.

Full Circle

Black college students across the country have demanded that they be segregated from white peers, calling for “safe spaces” on campuses meant only for so-called students of color. [More]
Now that's Opposite Day "progressive"!

Can we expect a latter day Rosa Parks to demand a seat at the back of the bus?

And what happens if whites demand "safe spaces" segregated from blacks?

What's that, Hosea? No, I don't think they're interested...

I see a comment under the feature link calling this"the complete failure of public education."

I disagree. For those who grok the goals, this one goes in the "success" column.

Rifleperson

Marine Corps boot camp, job titles to be gender neutral by April [More]
In the spirit of facilitating "progressive" elevation, I've identified one title they'll need to change. And while "Expert" and "Sharpshooter" are compliant, they're going to have to come up with something a little less unwieldy than "marksperson."

Is it really a matter of "sexism" when the evidence says certain just-the-way-it-is physical realities cannot be ignored? If it is, and if they can be, let's all look forward to a more inclusive NBA and NFL.

Do you think most of the top brass is enthusiastically on board with this due to political allegiances, or are they hanging on to see what happens in November?

Feel the Burn

ISIS burns fighters alive for letting Ramadi fall [More]
So I guess they decided not to go with a "Jihadi of the Month" motivator?

Hey, Batter, Batter, Batter...

Guess you can't do that any more -- it could hurt somebody's feewings... [More]

Now who wants a nice participation trophy?