Friday, July 01, 2011

What is this I don't even

A controversial program by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that tried to track illegal weapons sales shows the need for tougher gun laws, according to a report issued Thursday by a House Democrat.
LOLWUT?

So we need to crack down on the flow of guns being illegally smuggled into Mexico by increasing the power and funding of the federal agency that was, as it turns out, aiding and abetting most of the actual illegal smuggling in the first place.

I guess you need a law degree from the University of Maryland for that to make even the slightest shred of sense, because from here it sounds like the opposite of a solution, if not outright crazy talk.

Given the revelations on Operation Fast & Furious, this is like finding a guy climbing through a broken window in your living room wearing a ski mask and an ADT uniform, and when you shine the flashlight in his face, having him pull his mask off and try to sell you a burglar alarm system because of the rash of break-ins in the neighborhood. Seriously, this is the Justice Department equivalent of the proverbial fireman that moonlights as an arsonist so he can heroically put out fires.
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25 comments:

Themadlemming said...

Well, some folks have suggested that the whole operation was just a deliberate stunt to push for more gun laws.

Tam said...

Sure it was.

Still, given that they've been caught red-handed, you think they'd realize that the jig was up.

This is like finding a guy climbing through a broken window in your living room wearing a ski mask and an ADT uniform, and when you shine the flashlight in his face, having him try to sell you a burglar alarm system because of the rash of break-ins in the neighborhood.

Stephen said...

Tam, really now, what else did we expect from those idiots.

Douglas Hester said...

As a former Terrapin, I beg you not to hold that school responsible for Mr. Cummings's bleats. He no doubt was an idiot long before he arrived there.

Rather blame the sheeple in that state who keep returning him to office, along with Steny Hoyer, Barbara Mikulski, etc. That's one of the main reasons we fled that progressive paradise years ago.

Tasso said...

Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!

Tam said...

Dammit! He's using the Chewbacca defense!

Anonymous said...

ADT uniform or not, why is the guy climbing through the window still alive to offer the alarm system deal?

While I'm glad your flashlight has working batteries, I'm sorry to hear your 1911 is broken.

There's a message there somewhere...

Blackwing1 said...

It's an interesting thought...all of the non-Constitutional federal government is simply a massive exercise of Munchausen's Syndrome by proxy.

My wife refers to it as, "The government breaking both your legs, and then expecting you to be grateful for offering you crutches."

Anonymous said...

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. The Great Oz has spoken!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE

Gerry

Yu-Ain Gonnano said...

"Prosecutors and law enforcement agents should not have to bend over backwards to imprison those who provide military-grade weapons to murderers," Cummings said.

It kinda highlights the problem if the ATF has to bend over backwards to look in the mirror.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

Anon 2:36PM,

She did say "YOUR living room" -- not HERS. :)

global village idiot said...

"Nice border you got here. Be a shame if anything were to happen to it."

gvi

WV: exesepl (n) - the inverted form of exegesis, highly communicable when applied by government.

Chris said...

Sadly (VERY sadly), Cummings represents the district I live in. I learned early on that he is so much of a party hack that he gives the term a bad name. I doubt that he has ever had an independent thought since his first term. His tortured reasoning in the quotes attributed to him in the article are par for his course. Which is closer to miniature golf than a PGA tour site.

Anonymous said...

"Dammit! He's using the Chewbacca defense!"

It's my best move . . . most of the time.

Wookies don't live on Endor.

Shootin' Buddy

Anonymous said...

Did anybody notice that the report was released before the hearings?

Tam said...

Anon 2:36,

"ADT uniform or not, why is the guy climbing through the window still alive to offer the alarm system deal?"

Because my living room is not a free-fire zone (and, if you live in America, neither is yours.) If I identify a target, and it ceases to act in a threatening manner towards myself or my property, the mantle of "justifiable" falls off my homicidal actions.

Remember that "justifiable" is merely an affirmative defense to the charge of Homicide.

treefroggy said...

Butt-boy Cummings is just carrying the white man's burden. I suspect that he's finding the view from inside Chucky Schumer's bung-hole is no different from the view inside Obama's. Shame that the price of his soul is less than dear.

I wonder if he has relatives in Chicago ?

Crotalus (Dont Tread on Me) said...

Yeah, Tam, one would think that they knew the jig was up. But they are the government; they figure that they can lie to us, and we'd better ha ha believe it, for their socialist agenda is all, and the truth is nothing.

The Scribbler said...

I'm going to disagree on one point. It's more like the guy trying to sell you an alarm system having already stolen your stuff. Barn doors and horses and all that.

Lazy Bike Commuter said...

I knew this all seemed familiar! I think I'll start thinking of it as the "Backdraft" scandal.

Now, do we have a Kurt Russel?

Ed Rasimus said...

Tam, you need to move to Texas where your living room, your entire house, your lot and even your neighbor's, if threatened by theft, burglary or damage, is a legitimate zone of defense. And, you can "stand your ground" as well.

I don't recommend "free fire" but it is good to know that all the options are available to the homeowner.

Of course, Rep Cummings would love to see the rest of the nation a festering sore like Maryland and the District.

Tam said...

Ed,

We have all those laws in Indiana, too. If you shoot a non-resisting, compliant person in Texas, (even if he has broken a window,) you'd better by god hope that there aren't any witnesses, 'cause Texas sure does love its needles.

(Besides, I just couldn't stand your restrictive gun laws down there, with all the expensive fees and renewals and mandatory training classes and 51% nonsense and no open carry and can't have even one beer if I'm carrying... It'd be like moving halfway to New York. ;) :p )

global village idiot said...

Mr. Rasimus, we have essentially the same protections in Indiana and, if memory serves, can carry in a few places you can't.

And in your state as well as ours, it is as Tam said - once the threat ceases to be a threat, the justification for lethal force ceases as well.

Tam has actually had to draw her sidearm in her own defense before. If I had a choice, I'd rather have someone with her demonstrated self-discipline and her understanding of the use of lethal force in a Castle Doctrine state over someone with a cavalier "NOW can I shoot?" attitude in my platoon.

gvi

Tam said...

(I will point out that Texas is unique in its authorization of use of lethal force against property crimes at night: "A person is justified in using deadly force against another to prevent the other who is fleeing after committing burglary, robbery, or theft during the nighttime, from escaping with the property and he reasonable believes that the property cannot be recovered by any other means; or, the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the property would expose him or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. (Nighttime is defined as the period 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise.)" This came up sometime back in '00 or '01, IIRC, when some guy shot a fleeing hubcap thief dead, and wasn't prosecuted. The media was furious. The Cletii on the gun boards were ecstatic. Me, I get a little uncomfortable around people who practically get chubbies over shooting hubcap thieves...)

Justthisguy said...

The pastor touched on this in the sermon this evening. He said something about the people in charge being exactly upside down and backwards between what they say and what they do. Of course, he's a recent citizen, and takes that more seriously than a lot of us birthright citizens.

He's also been known to carry a Claymore (blade, not kaboom) up the aisle in the church, used to ride an RD-350, and flies a Kaman Ovation guitar. Quite the man, he is.

The sermon was all about the Declaration and the Constitution, with quotes from the Founders. Made my eyes wet, at times.

Oh, he also mentioned the concept of just exactly what would you rather die than put up with.