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Fast and Furious, Root Cause Analysis

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Currently Eric Holder is screaming that the cause of guns going into Mexico was because of a “lack of gun control.”  There’s one problem with that though, it is false.  Not only is that statement blatantly false but in light of the evidence, given Operation Fast and Furious, gun control is what allowed those guns to walk to Mexico.  While it may seem humorous and a joke, the fact is it’s true.

I have largely been silent on Fast and Furious for one major reason.  There are a lot of other people covering it better and more in-depth than I possibly could.

To start off for those who are familiar with the term, root cause analysis is something used in engineering to identify problems to come up with solutions that don’t just hide the problem.  Ultimately proper root cause analysis should trace the problem to a point where you can turn the issue on and off like a light switch.  Now we’re going to trace back through the events and find the point where we can turn this issue that would turn this problem on and off.

What was Fast and Furious?

Fast and Furious otherwise known as Operation Gunwalker, was an operation conducted by the ATF under the guise of busting Mexican drug cartels.  This was done by forcing FFLs to complete illegal firearms transactions, purchasing firearms and handing them over to known criminals, and otherwise circumventing current law for criminals.

The ATF didn’t just allow guns to flow into the hands of criminals, but actively encouraged the practice. They purposely cleared transactions that were flagged. They performed the straw purchases themselves, delivering the weapons to known criminals. They instructed dealers to go ahead with transactions the dealers could tell were not “honest”.

Often when agents had followed the firearms they were told by their superiors to let the recipients go and not to follow them.  All of these actions violated existing law, yet the cause, as purported by Eric Holder, was a lack of gun control.

How did gun control cause Fast and Furious though?

The most direct route is the fact that this whole program was done with the mind of expanding gun control.  New gun control legislation and powers were the motivator behind the program.  Even as the program crashes and burns, pushes for new legislation based of the inflated numbers of Fast and Furious keep appearing.  The results of the program were used to force the long arms registry and to bolster support for additional funding for the ATF.

However the actions of the ATF have common threads with different agencies.  It is all a quest for money and power.  So we have to look back further to where the ATF got the root of its power and what allowed them to use this power to try to gain more.

The ATF is responsible for overseeing FFLs and ensuring adherence to existing firearms laws.  The can put a business that works in firearms under faster than any other.  The agency can halt a FFLs license during an investigation which can easily put them out of business.  So when the ATF asks a FFL to do something illegal, there ATF has all the leverage to make the dealer comply.  The only other option is for the FFL to go out of business under the weight of the ATF.

The ATF gained this power and latitude under the Gun Control Act of 1968.  Unsurprisingly allegations of abuse led to the Firearm Owners Protection Act to attempt to rein in the ATF.  The FOPA also stated different registry’s were prohibited from being enacted or run by the ATF, one of which they are attempting in the wake of Fast and Furious.

The depth of the corruption within the ATF and its drive to seek power through runs even deeper back to the National Firearms Act of 1934.  This provided the ATF, which was under the department of the Treasury at the time, the ability to enforce the newly created firearms laws.  This law laid the foundation for what would become the power-hungry space the ATF occupies today.

Both the GCA 1968 and the NFA 1934 are both pieces of legislation made in the effort to regulate firearms and limit their ownership.  The ATF blatantly violated existing laws during Operation Fast and Furious and went through considerable effort to arm and traffic firearms to prohibited persons.  All the while the ATF was clamoring for more gun control.  However many law-abiding citizens were left jumping through the hoops and difficulties of the existing maze of firearms legislation despite the appearance of lax laws created by the ATF.

Conclusion, Gun Control is the root cause

The ATF completely disregarded existing laws and regulations in conducting operation gun walker.  Many of those coerced into participating were in a situation that allowed the ATF leverage over them because of existing gun control legislation.  The ATF during the operation was petitioning congress for more gun control legislation, which it would be responsible for enforcement.

The ATF was also petitioning congress for additional funding for two reasons.  The first was a claim of a lack of resources to enforce existing law, which was false since they were expending resources to actually circumvent it.  The second was that it would need additional funding for enforcement of the expanded programs.

The root cause of Fast and Furious is gun control itself.  Existing gun control legislation provided the ATF with leverage over FFLs to coerce them into transactions they knew to be criminal.  Gun control provided the ATF with the resources and power to organize and conduct the operation.  Lastly, gun control was the root cause of the operation itself.  The operation was conducted in an effort to create a crisis that would warrant the further restriction of firearms.  This restriction would either be that of ownership by law-abiding citizens, or that in preventing new purchase by a law-abiding citizen.

Without the GCA of 1968 the ATF would not have had the leverage over a FFL to coerce them into proceeding with an illegal sale.  Without the NFA of 1934 the ATF would have never been the power-hungry beast it is today.

To say that a lack of gun control allowed Operation Fast and Furious is like saying a lack of prohibition let the DEA allow drugs to be smuggled across the border.  Oh wait, bad analogy, the DEA took part in Fast and Furious too.

If a lack of gun control allowed Operation Fast and Furious then violating the law to commit a treasonous act of war against a friendly neighbor is lacking in laws as well.

What is wrong with these people?

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Merely a week after a crazed gunman shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head and left several others dead and wounded at a local political event, a Tea Party spokesman in the same area received a public death threat at a town hall meeting– from one of Jared Loughner’s victims.

What made him think that this behavior was ok for him?  Just because you’re shot does not give you a license to go around threatening people who you disagree with.  Being shot also does not instantly make you any more credible as a source of information on any subject, other than what it feels like to get shot.

I’m sorry this individual was shot, however with the following information:

He has been profiled by CBS and has publicly blamed Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Sharron Angle for inciting the violence that caused the events of last Saturday.

It’s obvious his brain isn’t firing on all cylinders.  Crazy knows no political affiliation, it is the ultimate “bipartisan” issue.  I would suggest next time follow a longer cool down period.  I know I can be extremely hot headed, and I trust my friends to keep me in check.

Quote of the Day–Alan Andrews

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A few years ago you could count on a raft of bad anti-gun laws getting passed after a nutjob killed someone. Now the gun banners can’t even get Obama to listen to them. –Alan

[Thankfully this is true.  I was very young when the original assault weapon ban occurred.  I had the benefit of growing up around firearms.  I got my first firearm when I was 8, first time I shot a firearm though I was three and a half, my dad said I grinned from ear to ear.  I remember coming home from school and my dad writing letters to congressman, because every time he turned around there was a new attack.  As I got older I began to see what was going on, especially when I fully learned about Ruby Ridge.  I was fully introduced to that incident when I was the same age as his son.  It was at that moment my whole view of the world changed.  I realized this wasn’t really about guns, it was about power and control.  Junior year of high school I discovered a book on one of the book shelves(we had lots of books).  The cover though caught my attention.

Amazingly it was unread even by my father, he did read it immediately after me in a 3 day binge.  I started reading it immediately.  In the begging while setting up the plot there were a few events that even I couldn’t believe that he was using to set the tone.  Sadly Google broke my heart and educated me to the actual gravity of the situation.  In another instance though I was provided hope.  I read that whole book in about a week, reading it even through my classes.

After reading Unintended Consequences I realized there was even more at stake than just power and control.  There’s a whole culture under attack.  Those outside of it don’t understand, but if you ever go to a major shooting event it becomes obvious, it’s a culture.

Thankfully the events at the end of that book have not come to pass yet.  Many throughout our culture have stepped up to educate and inform those on the outside.  Because of this the response has been considerably more constrained than it would have been even 7 years ago.

While the war certainly hasn’t been won, these events show us how far we’ve come.  Even more importantly it didn’t go down like the beginning of Enemies Foreign and Domestic.

If you haven’t read Unintended Consequences, I highly suggest you do.

-B

]

Two Assurances in Life

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There are two assurances in life. Death, and taxes. It seems King County has now combined to two, to make sure the government get a cut for kicking the bucket.

“The reason we do that is to make sure no one goes to the crematorium or to their grave without society and the family knowing exactly how their loved one died,” says Gareth Johnson, King County Prevention Division Manager.

A death that occurs under mysterious circumstances probably needs an investigation. However when someone is dying of a terminal disease, or a baby is born without developed lungs. Odds are in those later cases, cause of death is already known. Why does the state need to further investigate it and send the bill? Also in many cases, such as this one, why is it “societies” business?

Taking blood dancing to a new low

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Breda has informed us that fearless leader took dancing in blood to entirely new lows.

I’m at a loss for words.  It’s disgraceful and beyond measure.

What makes them so special?

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James Clyburn would like special treatment for members of congress at airports.

“We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congress people should be treated like everybody else,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”

Why shouldn’t the congress critters by abused by the DHS and TSA they created?  Oh that’s right, they think they’re a ruler over us peasants.  They believe that because this happened once, that magically all of them are going to be dead.  Now with all the threats they think, “They want us all dead.”  No, we want you out of office because you’re acting like elitists.  I would like to point out though the shooter would have been considerably more effective just driving a truck into the crowd.

As for a security measure mentioned today,

and they are demanding improved protection ranging from office security cameras to the installation of a Plexiglas barrier over the House floor.

I believe Executive Orders from Tom Clancy already solved that barrier.  All of this behavior is to remind us who the rulers are, and who the peasants are.

Update on EPIC TSA Lawsuit

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EPIC has submitted numerous Freedom of Information Act requests regarding the body scanners.  They have posted the information online for all to see.

These documents include:

Initially it was claimed that the TSA body scanners could not store or transmit images.  Then the US Marshal Service in August 2010 reported they had saved more than 35000 images.  The TSA responded by claiming that it has not done so and the machines do not have the ability.  Some still believe the TSA, the smart one’s have distrusted them from the start.

One WBI system,  identified by  the Government, shall (26) have the capability, which can be configurable at the superuser level. to record  images for training purposes. The superuser password shall(27) be managed by  the TSA. The capability to retain  images at the superuser level will be disabled on operational systems

Later in the same document(emphasis mine):

Incorporate a three  level user and password scheme allowing supervision and “superusers” access and override capabilities

While they claim for it to be possibly disabled the fact that the feature is there means that someone can re-enabled it.  Some would claim that no one would possibly want it.  However there have been rumors about a “new fetish”.  The thing is though, it’s already happened.  That could be your one of your loved ones.  We know the types of people the TSA employs.

While reading through the Operational Requirements, you can find the following:

image

Normally one would avoid conjecture, however what could be considered critical to national security regarding the privacy capability of the device?  NMAB-482-1 can be found here, the section we really care about is here.

It appears that the tactic being used for airport security is to rule this search as being administrative.

Airport security searches fit quite naturally into the administrative search exception to the Fourth Amendment. Administrative searches are justified on the basis that they serve a societal purpose other than standard criminal law enforcement (Vernonia School District 47J, 1995, citing Griffin, 1987). After all, the Fourth Amendment cannot be construed to prevent the government from fulfilling a variety of other necessary functions, such as maintaining school discipline, preventing drunk driving, detecting illegal aliens, or even ensuring air traffic safety (Vernonia, 1995; Michigan Dept. State Police, 1990; United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 1976).

Each of those examples though require some sort reasonable suspicion.  Randomly stopping cars for drunk drivers and testing everyone, until recently has never happened.  In the instance Florida’s new checkpoints, there will probably be a strong legal challenge.  When attempting to maintain school discipline they must be disruptive to begin with.  As for illegal aliens, detecting them is extremely difficult. If it is as they claim above, why isn’t Arizona’s law legal unquestionably?  Especially since it requires contact of a lawful nature, they can’t just walk around carding people.

With regard to the TSA though, they claim the right to do this to any person for any reason.  No reasonable suspicion is required of a crime having been committed.

Against the special need of the government, the court must consider the passenger’s expectation of privacy. This consideration involves the same analysis used in the threshold issue of whether a search has occurred, with one important difference. Deciding whether a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy for purposes of determining whether or not a search has taken place is a yes-or-no-question. Either one does or does not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in this context. On the other hand, expectation of privacy as a factor in the balancing test becomes a matter of degree. Thus, the court in Vernonia (1995) held that schoolchildren, because of the supervisory role schools have over them, have a decreased expectation of privacy at school. As discussed in the first section, airline passengers most probably have a legitimate expectation of privacy against being searched in an intrusive manner. Nevertheless, this expectation could decrease if passengers perceive the threat level to be high.

Emphasis mine.  Their method to get around this problem is to convince the public that a statistically rare event (you’re actually more likely to be struck by lightning) is actually more common than it is.  The comparison to school children also shows the view they have of the public in general of being children and the government has the supervisory role.  We’re the children in school and they’re the principal.

Further the NMAB states:

Thus, measures should be taken to minimize the appearance of nakedness, the number of people having access to and identifying the image with the traveler, the time the image endures or is preserved, the uses to be made of the data, etc., to the extent consistent with safety objectives. The next section deals with the concept of less versus more intrusive means.

The assumption though that is enough for some people regarding their privacy is false.  If it wasn’t why would these have popped up overnight?  Also the ability to store the images as I talked about earlier has been proven to be false.  While they may claim it is not “normally” enabled.  The machines do have the capability and there is no way for the public to verify that it does not store the image.  We must take the governments word, which at this point should be worthless to everyone. If you opt out of the scanner the TSA humiliates anyone who refuses to go through the body scanner.  They are doing a procedure that is highly intimate and detrimental to victims of sexual abuse.  This scanner can also reveal however private medical information that may not want to be shared because it’s no one’s business but yours and your doctors.  This also ignores the health concerns regarding the radiation exposure.  What is disturbing is this is the only time I’ve ever heard of people working around equipment that uses radiation that do NOT wear dosimeters. 

These documents display a crafted, thought out, and planned destruction of our 4th Amendment rights.  Their justification to violate the 4th Amendment centers around creating the illusion of necessity.  A Security Theaters has yet to stop any terrorists.  Yet they claim that their infringements are necessary and merely administrative to stop this “common” threat.  They need to be rendered impotent to stop the spread of their idiocy and evil.

(Sorry about going all Kevin Baker(it’s a complement Kevin) on this post.)

1st Amendment Threatened…

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In lieu of the event that occurred in Arizona on Saturday, January 8th, Rep. Robert Brady wants to introduce legislation to “protect” congress.

Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) reportedly plans to introduce legislation that would make it a federal crime to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress.

Watch the video, you will notice that, just like any other politician, he avoids answering the questions directed to him.

He is one of the many dancing in the blood of the victims who died and were injured.

TMM would have added this to his post had he been able to find the link.

H/T to JayG