Posts Tagged ‘Fast and Furious’

LinkSwarm for April 14, 2017

Friday, April 14th, 2017

Good news, everyone! Your tax returns aren’t due until April 18th this year. So you can panic slightly later than usual…

  • How Trump won: by “consolidating the Republican base and then earning massive levels of support from whites without a college degree.” With lots of wonky demographic data goodness. (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
  • More on that district-by-distract voting map in last week’s LinkSwarm.
  • The Beltway has a spending problem.
  • Republicans retain Kansas’ fourth congressional district.
  • Brian Krebs would like you to know thatches week’s Russian spammer arrest in Spain had nothing to do with election hacking.
  • Scumbag who killed Brian Terry with a Fast and Furious gun arrested in Mexico. (Insert innocent until proven guilty yada here.)
  • Hey Lois Lerner: If you want to seal your testimony because you think it might bring death threats, maybe you shouldn’t have used the IRS as a weapon against your domestic political enemies… (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
  • BATF spending taxpayer dollars on NASCAR race suites.
  • Did Hezbollah take out their own second-in-command?
  • Texas Governor Greg Abbott: build the border wall with funds withheld from sanctuary cities. (Hat tip: Dierctor Blue.)
  • Gavin McInnes at Taki’s Magazine thinks the Syria strike was five different 4D chessboard wins. Excerpts: “This shows women that America is in charge and we will keep the world’s children safe. Deep down, all they really want is a patriarchy.” And: “Obama’s legacy was the only death on April 6, 2017.”
  • U.S. forces drop a GBU-43/B Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb on Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan.
  • “Obama’s covert drone war in numbers: ten times more strikes than Bush.” Details: “A total of 563 strikes, largely by drones, targeted Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen during Obama’s two terms, compared to 57 strikes under Bush. Between 384 and 807 civilians were killed in those countries.”
  • Inside baseball account of the Gorsuch confirmation battle. Also:

    It turned out the open seat was an “electoral asset” for Trump. Voters didn’t like him or Hillary Clinton. But once filling the seat became the “principal issue,” Trump had the advantage. Everyone knew she would dump Garland, a moderate, for someone further to the left.

    “We didn’t know if the president would be a conservative or not,” McConnell said. However, he had promised to pick a nominee from a list of 20 conservative jurists. (McConnell had advocated such a list.) “This reassured conservatives.” The result: he got 90 percent of the Republican vote and won.”

    (Hat tip: Director Blue.)

  • Daily Mail pays Melania Trump $2.9 million for calling her a whore.
  • Prisoners secretly build computers from recycled parts, hide them in the ceiling, hook them up to the prison network, and use them to commit fraud. “They were able to travel through the institution more than 1,100 feet without being checked by security through several check points, and not a single correction’s staff member stopped them from transporting these computers into the administrative portion of the building. It’s almost if it’s an episode of Hogan’s Heroes.” That’s some mighty fine correctional supervision there, Marion Correctional Institution…
  • Is the Trump dip over in gun sales? (Hat tip: Shall Not Be Questioned.)
  • Archeologist Jacques Cinq-Mars was attacked and shunned for offering up evidence that challenged the scientific consensus of the day. Good thing there’s no way that could possibly happen in climate research…
  • Why not a reverse auction for airline overbooking? (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
  • Ft. Hood brings the Funk.
  • Austin-area massage parlor turns out to be a front for prostitution. Try to contain your shock.
  • Enjoy your Easter weekend!

    LinkSwarm for June 3, 2016

    Friday, June 3rd, 2016

    Another week, another Texas flood. Try to stay dry and enjoy a Friday LinkSwarm:

  • Paglia on Clinton: “If it were a Republican in the crosshairs, Hillary’s shocking refusal to meet with the Inspector General (who interviewed all four of the other living Secretaries of State of the past two decades) would have been the lead item flagged in screaming headlines from coast to coast. Let’s face it—the genuinely innocent do not do pretzel twists like this to cover their asses.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
  • New York Magazine massively re-edits article on why Hillary won’t debate because the original wasn’t fawning enough.
  • Eight reasons Hillary sucks. Including Obama: “she does not seem to want to run on Ben Rhodes’s foreign policy, Jonathan Gruber’s Obamacare, Lois Lerner’s IRS, Lisa Jackson’s EPA, Eric Holder’s Justice Department, or Barack Obama’s racial healing. And yet she needs Obama’s hard-left base. So far she has rejected her 2008 Annie Oakley, Reagan-Democrat schtick, gambling that her Black Lives (alone) Matter and transgenderism pandering can ensure that she will match Obama’s historic share of the minority vote. But so far it seems just as likely that she will lose more voters among the white working class than she can lease from Obama’s core.”
  • College students are allowed to ask Hillary Clinton original, spontaneous questions that just happen to be scripted by the Clinton campaign. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
  • At judge’s order, 20,000 documents related to Fast and Furious scandal released. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
  • Trump is right: Some illegal aliens are being lavished with more benefits than our own veterans.
  • How a naval contractor named “Fat Leonard” infiltrated the Navy with bribes, prostitutes and lavish parties. “The Soviets couldn’t have penetrated us better than Leonard Francis.” Our country is in the best of hands. (Hat tip: Dwight.)
  • Oberlin students are among the most precious of snowflakes.
  • More on the same theme. Alas, this morning I just don’t have time to explicate all the manifest idiocies on display by the Social Justice Warrior Campus Cadets…
  • Obama Administration bitch-slapped for attempting ex-post facto regulation. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
  • Columbia was once a basket case and Venezuela a thriving nation on the rise. Thanks to The Magic Power of Socialism™, they’ve switched places.
  • This bitch is so crazy I can’t even keep up with her crazy bitch shit.”
  • Enya: rich crazy cat lady.
  • Flooding-related blackout leads to Texas prison riots.
  • City Manager behind Dallas’ controversial city-owned hotel steps down.
  • If your political party openly calls for the complete destruction of the oil industry, maybe you shouldn’t have your national convention in Houston.
  • Science Fiction writer Gregory Benford on university host escort duties for G. Gordon Liddy, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, and a certain “Tom.”
  • Space City Comic Con turns into an actual con. As in the fraud kind…
  • Swiss open world’s longest tunnel with ceremony featuring marching uniform worker drones, a horned goat god, and a giant flying death baby.
  • Brian Terry’s Killers Convicted

    Monday, October 5th, 2015

    This didn’t seem to get much national play, but the murderers of border patrol agent Brian Terry were convicted:

    Two men were convicted of murder charges Thursday in the killing of a Border Patrol agent whose death brought to light the bungled federal gun-tracking operation known as Fast and Furious.

    The jury found Jesus Leonel Sanchez-Meza, also known as Lionel Portillo-Meza, and Ivan Soto-Barraza, guilty of all counts. They face a sentence of life in prison.

    The 2010 killing of agent Brian Terry exposed the Fast and Furious operation in which agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking the weapons. But the agency lost most of the guns, including two that were found at scene of Terry’s death.

    It is my understanding that both Sanchez-Meza and Soto-Barraza are illegal aliens. It is also my understanding that no one in the BATF has been fired over Fast and Furious

    Garland Jihadi Got Gun Through Fast and Furious

    Sunday, August 2nd, 2015

    Well, isn’t this special:

    A gunman killed during his attack on an Islamic prophet Muhammad art show in Garland, Texas, reportedly bought a pistol through a botched federal firearm sting.

    Nadir Soofi bought a 9-mm pistol at a Phoenix gun shop in 2010, one report said, that sold illegal firearms through ATF’s heavily criticized Operation Fast and Furious to track firearms back to Mexican drug cartels.

    See, that’s the problem with the Obama Administration. You can pick something out of The Crazy Rightwing Conspiracy Book of Madlibs and have it turn out to be true…

    Guns and Crime Round for November 11, 2014

    Tuesday, November 11th, 2014

    Veteran’s Day seems like a good time to have another gun and crime roundup. Includes some stuff held from before the election:

  • In case you missed it, Eric Holder’s Justice Department performed a 65,000 page Fast and Furious document drop on election eve.
  • The latest statistics on guns and crime shows that “the hypothesis of ‘more guns=more deaths’ cannot be true in the frame of reference of American society over the past 31 years.”
  • Anti-gun Democratic Missouri state Senator Jamilah Nasheed arrested for carrying 9mm while intoxicated. When Democrats say that average citizens can’t be trusted with guns, they seem to really be talking about themselves…
  • Six in ten Americans say that guns make a home safer. (Hat tip: Alphecca.)
  • Nine out of ten Americans support expanded gun purchase background checks–except for when they, you know, actually vote on them. (Hat tip: Say Uncle.)
  • The exception: Washington State, where Bloomberg outspent the NRA 10-1 to pass a ballot initiative that institutes additional complex and cumbersome background checks. And Bloomberg is going to try to roll the same model out in other states with ballot initiatives. (Hat tip: Shall Not Be Questioned.
  • Ways not to avoid police attention: Name yourself “Pazazu,” worship evil gods, and brag about buried skeletons in your yard.
  • What not to do after you’ve shot someone. (Hat tip: Tam.)
  • Three thugs try to rape man’s granddaughter. Result: one dead thug, two critically injured thugs.
  • Speaking of rapists who got what they deserved: Texas father who killed man raping his five year old will not face charges.
  • All other things being equal, you probably shouldn’t taunt police over your mugshot.
  • America’s oldest veteran is Richard Overton, a 108 year old Austinite who drinks whiskey and smokes cigars.

  • World’s Briefest Honeymoon.
  • If you can be thwarted by a can of bug spray, perhaps the thug life isn’t for you:

  • Gun and Crme Roundup for April 16, 2014

    Wednesday, April 16th, 2014

    The Bundy Ranch story is part of the Second Amendment story (and the Tenth Amendment story), but is too big and sprawling to unpack here. So here are some of the other things that have been happening:

  • Gun grabber Michael Bloomberg has pledged $50 million to defeat the NRA. Since every time Bloomberg opens has wallet, it seems like more Republicans win, we’ll see how long that commitment lasts…
  • But Bloomberg is sure that his Big Gulp and gun banning antics have earned him entry into the kingdom of heaven. “It’s not even close,” says he. Well, when you’re so exalted that you know the mind of God, why bother with the opinions of puny mortals?

  • “We gun owners have been utterly unreasonable and lacking in common sense for roughly 20 years. And by golly, look where it’s got us! We’ve whomped the enemies of gun rights into quivering submission.” (Hat tip: Borepatch, who offers further thoughts.)
  • Fast and Furious helped supply arms to gun trafficking rings in the U.S.
  • Connecticut: Massive non-compliance with new gun registration rules.
  • East Texas citizen terminates meth freak with gun.
  • Eric Holder wants to waste more money on smart guns.
  • A Harvard Law roundup on recent gun cases I haven’t had time to read yet. (Hat tip: Shall Not Be Questioned.)
  • Beaver County, PA Sheriff has around 700 guns seized from his home for violating a court order. Guess what party he’s from? Hint: The media decline to name the party when reporting the story. (Hat tip: Ditto.)
  • Two men rape and murder four women in California while wearing GPS tracking bracelets.
  • Detroit homeowners kill seven intruders in seven weeks.
  • Dumbass in Tuscaloosa finds out once again that gun beats machete.
  • Four pro gun bills (including a preemption bill) make their way through the Arizona legislature. (Hat tip: Alphecca.)
  • Gun News Roundup for October 14, 2013

    Monday, October 14th, 2013

    Enough gun news popped up this weekend to justify a roundup:

  • California Governor Jerry Brown vetoes an assault weapons ban. “We’re through the looking glass here, people!”
  • But before you celebrate this unexpected outbreak of common sense on Brown’s part, consider that he signed a bunch of other gun control bills, including a lead ammo ban.
  • Gun Owners 1, Groupon 0.
  • Police officers three times more likely to commit murder than concealed carry holders? (Hat tip (last two): Ace of Spades.)
  • Gun control has becomes so toxic that Colorado’s Democratic governor John Hickenlooper is asking gun control groups to stay out of the latest recall election against Democratic state Sen. Evie Hudak.
  • ATF tried to tries to block Fast and Furious whistle-blower’s book. (Hat tip: Shall Not Be Questioned.
  • Did an ATF agent get the IRS to target a Texas pastor? (Hat tip: Sipsey Street.)
  • As a member of the Ft. Worth City Council, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis tried to imposed background checks on gun shows, presumably in violation of state preemption law first passed in 1987, and even after Houston got it’s ass handed to them in court for trying something similar. (Hat tip: Cahnman’s Musings.)
  • Meanwhile, various gun grabber petitions slouch toward the ballot in Washington State. (Hat tip: Shall Not Be Questioned.)
  • Obama Asserts Executive Privilege Over Fast and Furious Documents

    Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

    Backing up Eric Holder’s stonewall of congressional investigation of Fast and Furious, today Obama asserted Executive Privilege over subpoenaed Fast and Furious documents. As Judge Napolitano noted, executive privilege only applies if the President was personally involved. That does rather suggest that Obama himself was involved in the decision to let guns walk across the Mexican border to drug cartels, doesn’t it?

    I believe this cartoon by Nate Beeler of the Washington Examiner is good:

    But I liked this altered version better:

    I haven’t been doing much coverage of Fast and Furious, mainly because bloggers like Sipsey Street and Snowflakes in Hell/Shall Not Be Questioned were doing such good jobs moving the story forward I didn’t feel a need. But now that the Obama Administration is in full cover-up mode, well, bring the swarm.

    Remember: Over 200 innocent people have died due to Fast and Furious. So when liberals tell you that “It’s not Watergate,” they’re right. It’s much worse.

    And the Ted Cruz campaign emailed a reminder that Cruz was on top of the Fast and Furious scandal before anyone else in the Senate race.

    Welcoming Eric Holder to Austin

    Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

    Several Austin bloggers are suggesting that people gather to “welcome” Eric Holder to Austin, where he’ll be speaking at the LBJ Library on UT campus. I won’t be able to, due to commitments with my new job, but I encourage others to do so if it fits into their schedule.

    And here’s a related cartoon from Frugal Cafe:

    Fast and Furious Update for December 8, 2011

    Thursday, December 8th, 2011

    Some cleaning-up after yesterday’s bombshell:

  • Holder stonewalls today on both fast and Furious and Elena Kagan’s role in ObamaCare.
  • Wisconsin Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner suggests impeachment of administration officials involved with Fast and Furious. he’s right. Breaking the law in a way that results in the deaths of innocent Americas solely to justify a cynical political ploy is indeed an impeachable offense.
  • Say Uncle pointed out that the U.S. House of Representatives now has a Fast and Furious webpage. Including this handy PDF listing all the fast and Furious players, and this one listing the victims. A very good start, though this scandal begs for some sort of interactive web widget to follow all the threads of evidence…
  • Obama gives Holder the dreaded vote of confidence.
  • Sipsey Street also provides an email thread between former ATF head Kenneth Melson and former United States Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis Burke on getting their Fast and Furious stories straight.
  • Also from Sipsey Street (really, if you’re only going to follow one source for Fast and Furious, it should be them) comes further news of Obama’s war on the ATF whistle-blowers.
  • Republicans House members to Holder: Heads must roll.