Tag: Law and Disorder

Shocker of the Day, FBI Intelligence Violations

Prepared to be shocked because the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has uncovered proof that the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) is violating laws in their pursuit of made-up bogeymen:

EFF has uncovered widespread violations stemming from FBI intelligence investigations from 2001 – 2008. In a report released today, EFF documents alarming trends in the Bureau’s intelligence investigation practices, suggesting that FBI intelligence investigations have compromised the civil liberties of American citizens far more frequently, and to a greater extent, than was previously assumed.

It’s OK though since they’re violating your rights to fight the terrorists. Also nobody is going to hear nor care about this so the FBI will likely not even get a slap on the wrist. Hell they’ll probably get a pat on the back for a job well done. Your government at work ladies and gentlemen.

Did You Hear Things are Happening in Egypt

Did you know bad shit is going down in Egypt? If you didn’t you’re apparently the average American because of the handful of people I’ve brought Egypt up to only two knew about the massive civil unrest and riots. Do yourself a favor, don’t be a stereotypical ignorant American and read on on the situation in Egypt. It’s far more important than any shit happening within our borders at the moment.

ATF Releases Study

Although it seems the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms Explosives and Fun (ATF) a little late Snowlakes in Hell let us know they finally released their shotgun study [PDF]. Surprisingly it seems Saigas may be safe.

There is some stupid shit in there. For example exhibit four talks about integrated rails. If your rail runs along the top of the shotgun it’s “for sporting purposes” while rails located anywhere else are apparently only for murdering people with our side mounted flashlight (flashlights are also an item on the “bad things” list). Forward pistol grips are apparently evil as are those horrible magazines that can store an arbitrarily high number of rounds (the ATF chose five to be the number of rounds useful for “sporting purposes”). Oh and mounts for grenade launchers are also a no-no.

Basically the list contains a ton of stupid shit, about what you expect from a government agency that only exists to bad things that are fun. Thankfully nothing on that list specifically prohibits the Saiga shotgun (it’s imported with a five round magazine).

I Must Agree

Several people in the gun community have been bringing up the Hughes Amendment, the law that bans any machine gun manufactured after 1986 from being transferred to peasants civilians. Basically people are saying the amendment wasn’t legally passed and therefore should be invalidated. I’m agree with Snowflakes in Hell that this is a wasted effort.

My reasoning is slightly different though. The reason I believe this effort to be futile is because we’re trying to use legal policy to repeal something that was illegally passed. This sounds good on paper but there is one hitch, it was illegally passed by the exact system that makes legal policies. We’d be asking those who make the law to admit they were wrong and then get them to repeal said law. That doesn’t usually work because our government has a habit of never admitting failure and on the rare occasion they do the status quo remains because they say, “Well it’s been law this long so we might as well just leave it alone.”

The only way we could possibly get the Hughes Amendment repealed, in my opinion, is by getting a bill through. I don’t see that happening anytime soon since people seems to think machine guns are some kind of magical weapon that can destroy all of society should they become legal for lawful citizens to own (remember according to anti-gunners lawful citizens becomes blood thirsty psychopaths the second they get a gun).

Thankfully Most Criminals are Morons

If you’re a criminal and want to obtain a gun how do you go about doing it? According the the anti-gunners you go to a gun show. What they don’t tell you though is the fact most people at gun shows are dealers and thus required to perform background checks thus most criminals usually try to get somebody with a clean record to purchase guns for them. This is known as a straw purchase and is illegal. Thankfully most criminals are rather simple minded and don’t think things all the way through so they often raise a bunch of red flags when trying to skirt the law. The guys at Monsoor’s Sports Shop encountered one of these idiot criminals trying to obtain a gun through a straw purchase:

Monsoor’s Sport Shop owner Pat Wendling contacted the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last week about a possible “straw purchase” after the 28-year-old La Crosse man came in to look at handguns.

What do you think was the red flag that caused them to call the ATF was? I’m betting it was this:

When shown a 9 mm Taurus pistol, Damon Taylor lifted his shirt, tucked the gun in his waistband, commenting it would fit nicely, according to an ATF agent’s affidavit unsealed Friday. He said he wanted to buy the pistol for his fiancée and asked how to go about it.

Ah yes the waistband carry test followed by an excuse that he wanted to buy the gun for somebody else. Yup, that won’t raise any attention at all.

Beyond this story though I’d also like to give a shout out to Monsoor’s. The La Crosse area is where I was born and spent a good chunk of my life. During my time living there I did quite a bit of business with them and they were always great people to deal with. If you’re ever in the area and need something gun related I highly recommend them.

It’s Almost as if Banning Something Doesn’t Work

Ah the United Kingdom (UK), often referred to as Brady Paradise around these parts. There is all but a complete ban on firearms in portions of the UK which is claimed to be for your protection. What the UK government doesn’t seem to realize is simply making something illegal doesn’t actually prevent people from obtaining it. Case in point it seems officers are investigating firearms smuggled into their fine country:

Weapons smuggled into the UK from the US in hold luggage are being hunted by police, it has been revealed.

American Steven Greenoe, 37, is being held in the US accused of smuggling 60 guns into the UK, including Glock and Ruger 9mm pistols.

Police fear many were sold on to criminal gangs in north-west England.

It’s almost as if there is no magical force preventing the smuggling of firearms. My God it seems as though the only thing banning guns does is prevent law abiding citizens from defending themselves against criminals who obtain guns regardless of laws and regulations. The case does bring two other realizations to light though (that everybody reading this site already knew):

Writing in The Times, he said: “This makes a mockery of the stringent checks we all endure at US airports, such as removing our shoes and belts, having our toothpaste confiscated and all the other irritants.

“Steven Greenoe’s guns could just have easily been bombs.”

Holy shit it seems airport security is really just secure theater. NO WAY!

Authoritarian Falsifies Information to Gain More Authority

Here’s something that will be a shocker to nobody, an authoritarian made up information in order to gain additional funding so he could increase his authority over his subjects. It seems the previous Ramsey County sheriff, Bob Fletcher, made up information about terrorist organizations that threatened Ramsey Country:

Just weeks into the new Ramsey County Sheriff administration, we finally know why former sheriff Bob Fletcher ignored Minnesota Data Practices requests for the 78 Terrorism Information Briefs he boasted about preparing and disseminating since 2005.

“They never existed,” Randy Gustafson, the new public information officer for Sheriff Matt Bostrom, said in a telephone interview on January 19. “It is a very big lie.”

Oops. But hey that’s not even all of it:

While Gustafson was looking for answers to the Daily Planet’s October 20 Data Practices Act request, he discovered that some of Fletcher’s most shocking figures, such as his claims that Ramsey County citizens were threatened by 22 domestic and 11 international terrorist groups in 2009, had been made up, too.

I think this is yet another great example of the fact your government doesn’t love you. Many people in positions of power are lying in order to gain more power and increase their salaries.

I Am TJIC

I’m sure everybody reading this already knows who TJIC is. If not he’s a blogger who has the unfortunate combination of living in Massachusetts and being against the government. Because of this unfortunate combination he lost is second amendment right because he exercised his first amendment right:

A blog threatening members of Congress in the wake of the Tucson, Arizona shooting has prompted Arlington police to temporarily suspend the firearms license of an Arlington man.

It was the headline “1 down and 534 to go” that caught the attention. “One” refers to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in the rampage, while 534 refers to the other members of the U.S. House and Senate.

Was the post distasteful? Yes. Was the post inflammatory? Yes. Was the post overall in poor taste? Yes again. Was the post protected speech under the first amendment? Yes. That last yes makes every other yes irrelevant.

Likewise TJIC didn’t threaten anybody. No specific names are mentioned just a general clause that states he doesn’t like politicians. This would be akin to tossing the writers of Mars Attacks! in prison because their movie depicted both congress and the President being killed by the martians. Now I badmouth politicians all the time and have made many remarks about horrible things we should do to them but it’s talk, speech, and satire (mostly).

But this event demonstrates the fact that we are not free people in this country. Sure some of us are more free than others depending on where you live but ultimately we’re all peasants at the mercy of our rulers in government. They seem willing to leave us mostly alone so long as we don’t criticize them while they make our lives even more restricted each day and steal more and more of our money. The second we cross them though, the second we criticize an illegal war, the second we speak against them we’re given labels such as terrorist, communist, and of course unpatriotic. Our rulers in government has passed laws that allow them to use their monopoly on the use of force to arrest, torture, and even murder people with these arbitrary labels.

So yes I will join this meme going around the gun blogs and say I to am TJIC. I am a man who disagrees with the government and has openly stated as such. If our government would respect the very laws put into place to keep them in line this entire post would be unnecessary. But this post is necessary because we are not free people and our government doesn’t respect the restrictions that were put into place during the founding of this country.

California AB962 Struck Down

For the first time in a long time some good news as emerged from California. The law passed last year that would have made it illegal to mail order ammunition in the state of California has been struck down in the Fresno Superior Court:

The law, passed last year as AB 962, would have banned mail order ammunition sales and required all purchases of so called “handgun ammunition” to be registered. In an unwritten ruling from the bench, Judge Jeffrey Hamilton found the law unconstitutionally vague on its face and issued an injunction against its enforcement. For now, at least, mail order ammunition sales to California residents can continue, and ammunition sales need not be registered under the law.

The lawsuit—funded by the National Rifle Association and the California Rifle and Pistol (CRPA) Foundation as part of a joint Legal Action Project—was prompted in part by the many objections and questions raised by confused police, ammunition purchasers, and sellers about what ammunition is covered by the new law. Plaintiffs in the case include Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker, the CRPA Foundation, Herb Bauer Sporting Goods, ammunition shipper Able’s Ammo, collectible ammunition shipper RTG Sporting Collectibles, and individual Steven Stonecipher. Mendocino Sheriff Tom Allman also supported the lawsuit.

Being California is about as tyrannical of a state as you can get you can bet money this will be appealed. Still score yet another one for the good guys.

Determination

Some people have determination and some do not. While some people would rob a Gamestop by walking in and holding the store up others are more dedicated to their trade and prefer to tunnel through a wall.

The man being charged broke into a vacant building next to the Gamestop and dug a hole in the wall separating to two properties. He then walked off with $5,342 worth of merchandise and $288.55 in cash. You have to give the man credit, tunneling through a wall takes determination.