Idaho Pharmacist Who Wrestled Down An Armed Robber Was Fired

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An Idaho pharmacist who wrestled down an armed robber was  fired.

A pharmacist who fought off an armed robber in Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho was awarded a special award from the city. But his award from his employer was termination because he confronted and captured the robber.  

He chased the armed gunman who stole medications, and was able to tackle him. 

He confronted the man who informed him he had a gun and started reaching for his pocket.

But, the former college wrestler tackled him. As often happens, the robber accidentally dropped his gun, and the two fought for it.

The thug was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, robbery, and aggravated assault.

The pharmacist received a Citizen’s Appreciation Award from the City.

He was fired by corporate headquarters located out of town.

The pharmacist has found another job.

Untrustworthy GPS Directions...A Parable For Obama

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We use a GPS device in cars today to tell us how to get around. But, like with the Obama Administration, can we trust everything it tells us?

Too many people trust their GPS without question. In the past, people have trusted GPS units that have directed their cars onto railroad tracks to get stuck, and actually have directed people into a lake.

One couple put faith in their car’s GPS this week, and it got them stuck in the Oregon Mountains for three days.  They followed the GPS exactly as it told them, and it took them down what turned out to be the wrong road.  It was a very snowy road, and the car was mired in the deep snow.  Fortunately for them, they had blankets, food, and water. However, because of the trees, and the mountains, they were not able to get a signal out, and they were stuck on the road until they were rescued.  

You must periodically check to see if the GPS is leading you down the right path. The good thing about a GPS is that it tells us the direction we need to go. The bad thing is that it can lead us in the wrong direction.  

Our country was turned onto our own snowy side road by the blizzard empty promises, closed door meetings, and misdirected faith placed in the “Messiah.”  Many followed him blindly, and with complete trust. Enough followed him  to get elected. The rest of us who did not vote for him were simply taken along for the ride. And what a ride it’s been so far. How’s your “Hope and Change” nowdays?

Obama has consistently let all Americans down by his indecisiveness, and socialist agenda for the United States. He cannot or will not recognize terrorism for what it actually is. He is bad for the safety of Americans.

He calls the terrorist Major Nadal’s murders at Ft. Hood, an “isolated incident.” What else can we expect when he has to give a “Shout Out” to someone at a convention before he announces the Ft. Hood terrorist murders to the public on TV. Obama votes “present,”just like he did about 120 times in Illinois Legislature votes. He can’t make a decision. 

He must vascillate. He believes he can please all by taking no stand. Where was the Presidential outrage? Where is anything except his usual aloofness?

He called the attempted bombing of a Delta airliner coming from Amsterdam that was foiled by the terrorist’s incompetence  and the intervention of passengers another  “Isolated Incident.” That statement is an outrage. This is an “isolated incident” when the Nigerian terrorist admitted that he trained with 25 other terrorists for the same type of mission to down airplanes? They are on their way.

What is coming is at best a score of other “isolated Incidents” from the same Yemini Al Qaeda source…and others. We can take that to the bank. Obama again votes “present.”

Why does the Obama administration choose to deliberately lie to the American people? This isn’t just a little “white lie” from a politician. This is a major work of Obama’s lying. A 7^th grader could see through this lie. You can see through this lie. And the American people are beginning to see through this lie.

Janet Napolitano, who is apparently not qualified to be Obama’s political appointee as Homeland Security Secretary,  said  that the security system worked perfectly in the matter of this Nigerian Al Qaeda operative.  We know that she backed off this lie the next day because it was a passenger who stopped the aborted attempt.

Obama’s administration of our security was insufficient. Airline passengers and crew are the last line of defense against an airborne terrorist, not the first line of protection. That is the job of the TSA and the FBI, and other law enforcement/intelligence agencies.  Her initial reaction is like her saying that the Titanic lifeboats worked perfectly. Well, they did, as far as they went. The life boats that made it to the cold Atlantic water worked just fine, there just weren’t enough of them. So, the lifeboat system was a failure.

And, just why in the world did it take Obama four days to publicly react to the attempted bombing? With the facts we know, why is it an isolated incident? Where was the Presidential outrage on this latest terrorism?  Obama votes “present.”

But, what does one expect when Obama denies there is a war on terror, and that terrorist attacks are to be politically correctly called “Manmade Disasters?” What can anyone expect when he takes months to act on his field commander’s immediate request for at least 40,000 more soldiers just to maintain a status quo there?  “Obama again voted “present. ”Our country, under Obama, is the laughingstock of the world. Even Al Qaeda must be rolling on the floor.

Obama insists that we must have national health care. All polls show that at least two thirds of Americans don’t want this abomination and Europeanization of America.  But, realize that he is doing exactly what he promised in his campaign. Just like the GPS directions tell you how to proceed.  

Even many Democrats are telling the President to back off of “Cap and Trade, ” the President’s next stop on his agenda, after the scandalous revelation of fraud in global warming “science.” Obama said himself that his plan of “Cap and Trade” would mean that energy prices would “Necessarily Soar.”  Is that what we really want?

Today’s Rasmussen Poll showed only 25% of voters strongly approve of Obama’s performance as President. 41% strongly disapprove of his overall performance. All polls have been consistently in this area. He has a Presidential Approval rating of -16. He has the worst first year rating of any President since Presidential polling began after WWII.

Obama continues to vote “present” as he did over 120 times in the Illinois legislature. Many of us have persistently re-checked  the snow covered road that our nation’s G.P.S, the "Great Public Socialist," is taking us down, like the wayward GPS in the news. And, we are fearful of the continued direction he is pushing us toward.

We should have been alerted to the wrong road with his push for everything to be done “now.” Just like when a wayward GPS says, “turn left now, ” and the left turn is over the edge of a ravine.  We should have stayed with the map that our forefathers laid out before us several hundred years ago.

Who will rescue us as the motorists were rescued after being sent down the wrong road? No one. It appears that we won’t be as lucky as the Oregon motorists.  

"New" Personal Firearms Regulations At Fort Hood

Undoubtedly feeling heat from anti gun groups and the Pentagon, the Fort Hood commander has put a “new” command policy in place that will further make the base appear to be a highly regulated “Gun Free Zone.” What the commander is doing is more forcefully reiterating the base firearms regulations that Nidal ignored. Nadal’s handguns weren’t registered at the Fort as was required for soldiers who want to have private firearms on base. He ignored all base regulations and military and state laws regarding firearms and murder. 

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The “new “ regulations set forth how everyone on base must report privately owned firearms taken into Ft. Hood.

Anyone entering the base with a personal firearm must register the firearm with the base, and must declare to gate guards that they are bringing a personal firearm into the base.

The “new” regulations requires all service members and their families who are living or temporarily staying at Ft. Hood to register all privately owned firearms they keep on base.

The “new” regulations say that personnel must notify their immediate commander of their having personal firearms, and keep them in their respective unit arms room.

Service members living on base must notify their commander when they buy, sell, trade, give away, or make any changes in their ownership or long term possession of a personal firearm kept on the base.

All personal firearms carried onto the base have to have post registration documents and are subject to inspection.

The announcement made when the new regulations were issued are specific in saying that they are “punitive in nature, and applies to all of III Corps, subordinate units, and all family members base wide.

All is in response to Major Nidal’s Jihad at the base Soldier Readiness Processing center. He is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

Accused Killer and Terrorist Major Hasan Out Of Intensive Care

Jihadist murderer Nadal Malik Hasan has been transferred out of the Intensive Care Unit that he has been in since his murders at Ft. Hood. His attorney said that his gunshot wounds inflicted on him by police when they stopped his Jihad during his killing spree has left him paralyzed from the chest down. They have also left him incontinent. The condition will be permanent for whatever life he has left.

He has been moved to a private room. His privately retained defense attorney says that he should be moved closer to the base, unless there is some compelling reason to keep him in that hospital.

His attorney would like more access to him.

His incontinency and impotency could be a problem when he meets his "72 virgins" and Allah.

Anti gun fundraising groups are still blaming his handgun for the killings, and not the murderer for his deeds.

Bloomberg Group "NRA Member" Poll Skews Results Showing NRA Members' Anti Gun Rights Beliefs

Bloomberg’s “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” and other anti gun fundraising groups are promoting a Bloomberg associated "Poll" that claimed 69% of NRA members supported requiring Brady criminal background checks for all gun sales at gun shows, and that 82% of NRA members supported prohibiting people on the Terrorist Watch List from buying guns. One anti gun group is claiming that the NRA isn’t listening to its membership.

The NRA said that the "Pollsters" had no access to official NRA membership lists. Interestingly enough, no NRA members have stepped forward to say that they participated in this "Poll." Did you?

Here's the NRA response to the "Poll."

"Understanding the Latest Anti-Gun Poll

This week, anti-gun New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, released the findings of a poll conducted by a political consulting firm called "The Word Doctors," whose slogan is "It's not what you say, it's what people hear." Word Doctors' president is a pollster who has been reprimanded by the American Association for Public Opinion Research and censured by the National Council on Public Polls, and who says that the key to polling is "to ask a question in the way that you get the right answer."

At some other time in our nation's history, an organization like this would not have been commissioned to conduct a poll, and perhaps it would not even have existed. At a minimum, its poll would have been considered biased and rejected by every newspaper in the country.

But today, as the distinction between editorials and news has become blurred, information is treated so superficially that a catchy word or two is enough to get someone elected to public office, and some in positions of authority cannot conceive of the concept of shame.

Thus, earlier this week, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) excitedly called attention to the bought-and-paid-for Word Doctors "poll," which claimed that a majority of NRA members and other gun owners support Lautenberg's bills to prohibit the possession of firearms by people placed (often mistakenly) on the FBI terrorist watchlist (S.1317), to require gun show promoters to send ledgers of customer information to the federal government (S.843), and to let the FBI retain records for 180 days of every gun purchase approved by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) (S.2820). The poll also claimed support for Bloomberg's proposal to rescind the Tiahrt Amendment, which prevents unfettered release of BATFE firearm trace data. (Bloomberg, of course, wants to use the data in lawsuits against the firearms industry.)

But did the poll really show such strong support? Certainly the participants didn't have much information to go on. The poll didn't explain that the watchlist has been under fire by the Department of Justice's Inspector General's office and the ACLU for improperly including the names of innocent people, and that many innocent people have been mistaken for those who are on the watchlist. It didn't explain that Lautenberg's gun show bill would do much more than require NICS checks on private gun sales at gun shows.

The poll mischaracterized the issue of NICS record retention. Instead of informing poll participants that the accused Ft. Hood murderer had been investigated by the FBI and found to not constitute a terror threat months before he went through a NICS check to purchase the gun he allegedly used in the murders, the poll simply asked whether "the FBI should be able to access and keep information about gun purchases by terror suspects in cases similar to [the accused Ft. Hood killer's]?" Worse, Word Doctors misinformed poll participants by telling them that the accused killer was still under investigation at the time he purchased the gun.

The poll also asked if participants agreed that "The federal government should not restrict the police's ability to access, use, and share data that helps them enforce federal, state and local gun laws," when in fact the Tiahrt Amendment fully allows access to trace information, as long as it's related to crimes that they're actually investigating.

And the poll also claimed that a majority of gun owners want to "balance" their rights against the need to stop criminals from getting guns. But what it actually asked was whether gun owners agreed that "We can do more to stop criminals from getting guns while also protecting the rights of citizens to freely own them." Coupled with the poll's findings that an overwhelming majority of gun owners believe "Criminals . . . should be punished to the maximum extent of the law" and "Law-abiding Americans should have the freedom to choose how to protect themselves, based on their personal situation," it's fair to conclude that gun owners understand the two concepts aren't mutually exclusive. Since the ideas are compatible, they don't require a "balance," as suggested by gun control supporters.

Notably, Lautenberg mentioned none of the poll's findings that undercut the anti-gun agenda, and Dionne mentioned few. These include findings that an overwhelming majority of gun owners:

• Thinks President Obama will try to ban guns;
• Agrees that the Supreme Court's decision in last year's Heller case was correct;
• Agrees that the Second Amendment should prevent all levels of government from infringing the right to arms;
• Agrees that people should be allowed to carry guns for protection in national parks;
• Agrees that people should be allowed to transport firearms in baggage on Amtrak trains;
• Agrees that gun laws should be less strict or left as they are; and
• Opposes or is neutral about gun registration and an "assault weapon" ban.

One final note: Since Word Doctors had no access to NRA membership lists, there's no way the pollsters could verify that any of the "NRA members" actually were NRA members. While this is a fatal flaw, we mention it at the end only because the poll's other flaws were even worse."

What's Next...? Now It's A Toy Gun Buyback

There’s going to be a toy gun turn in at the East Providence, Rhode Island City Hall's annual tree lighting celebration today, December 11th. Anyone who turns in a toy gun will be rewarded with a bag of cotton candy in return. What are the reasons for this? Maybe this is to desensitize children to future gun buy backs, or even seizures by the Government, and program them that they are a good thing.

It's sponsored by the “East Providence Prevention Coalition.” While it’s not clear from the name of the group what the Coalition coalesced to prevent in East Providence, it appears from their website that they focus on substance abuse and violence prevention. Perhaps with an open ended name like that, they are more free to “prevent” other new things that they decide should be “prevented” in East Providence too, such as the possession and ownership of toy guns there, without being locked in to just drug abuse and violence prevention.

In conjunction with this silly effort, we are reminded of the “Women’s temperance League” and their attempts to rid America of the evils of John Barleycorn. They too might decide that Prohibition should be reinstituted, or that nail clippers are too dangerous to possess, or that dodge ball should be ended in public schools, if it’s still allowed there. The Coalition could have already pressured the schools to end it, and have chalked it up as a violence preventing victory. The list of possibilities is endless. They wouldn’t even have to add anything to their name.

One can’t be anything but skeptical that a toy gun “buy back” will affect substance abuse, let alone prevent present or future violence. Wait, I take that back. A kid shot me with a rubber band gun once when I was 9 or 10. It did hurt, but I never turned to preteen, teen, or adult violence, or a life of crime because I had toy guns myself. I can’t think of a single person who did. Can you? This is political correctness gone amok. What do you suppose he feels about a toy gun cut from wood on a band saw? They can make a mean working rubber band gun.

The local Police Chief supports the “buy back” program and believes the toy gun turn in has gained popularity in the last ten years. Toy gun turn ins became law in South America when dictator Hugo Chavez’s Venezuelan government banned toy guns earlier this year. However, here in Rhode Island, the Chief is the area’s layman toy expert, self appointed child psychologist, and guardian of what is good and evil in toys. Santa Claus he’s not. He believes that raising a child who has a toy gun or two conditions the kid to enjoy the toy gun since, in his learned mind, and opinion as a town official, there are better toys to own. Call him the New England’s toy gun enforcer. We don’t know if he has any children that he has taken toy guns from.

He believes that the more real a toy gun looks, the more someone will enjoy it. He is concerned that there are some toy guns that look real, and police sometimes mistake them for the real thing. He also is concerned that some have been reported to have been used in commission of crimes.

So, what he’s doing is creating two classes of toy guns, real looking ones, and cheap looking Chinese toy factory models containing lead paint. This is just like the Bradys do when they classify some guns as “sporting” and other guns as having no “sporting purposes” like the cosmetically evil black rifles.

Maybe they could give a bag of cotton candy for a cheesy Chinese toy gun, and add a box of Cracker Jacks for a more realistic looking toy gun. Maybe they could give a movie ticket for a working Nerf gun or working marshmallow shooting gun. My grandson has one of those Nerf guns, and he’s a crack shot with it. He would never turn it in during a “buy back.” Not in a million years. Not even for a Transformer or a Bakugan. Not even for a box of them. Maybe the Chief is after Nerf guns because he heard the University of Colorado banned them this week. They were used in “Zombies versus Humans” games on campus. It's a good thing that the “East Providence Prevention Coalition” doesn't know about that game. It sounds kind of violent, doesn't it?

A real live policeman will be present if someone comes to turn in a BB gun or a real gun. No amnesty has been promised for these two types of guns, but maybe the Chief will promise not to spank kids who turn in their toys Friday, that is, if they do it peacefully. What did little Ralph's Mom in the movie say about the Red Ryder BB gun he wanted? "You can't have one, It'll put your eye out."

If and when it comes to registration and a total ban of all toy guns, what does the Chief propose to do with the rebellious children who will not register theirs or won’t turn them in? From their cold, dead hands, perhaps?

New Illinois Gang Member Firearms Law... UPDATE:

Illinois Gang Member Firearms Law... UPDATE:

The Cook County Prosecutors have announced that they have charged the first gang member with possession of an illegal firearm under a law the Illinois governor signed last week. He faces a potential 3 to 10 year sentence if convicted as a gang member in possession of a firearm, and no probation is available.

We predicted earlier this week that persons charged under this law would also have committed several other crimes at the same time, and that there was a great possibility of this new "Enhanced Gun Crime" charge being plea bargained away.

He was charged with multiple charges. The charges were: Unlawful use of a weapon, possessing a firearm, possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number, and and possessing ammunition without having a valid state firearms owner ID card.

New Illinois Anti Gun Law For Gangmembers Probably Won't Work

Does a new Illinois anti gang gun law really mean anything? It adds further penalties for the possession of a firearm by a street gang member without a Firearms Owner Identification Card. But, this charge can simply be plea bargained away. This blog will offer an inside view below of the actual plea bargaining process with the Prosecutor, actual examples of possible plea bargains, and how the new firearms law violation can be plea bargained away.

The new gun law would send gang members to prison for three to ten years. The killer whose crime spurred this new law was a gang member who was on probation for unlawful use of a weapon.

This law will be ineffective for several reasons. Most obviously, isn't this just another law for the gang banger to break? When he's off to do a drive by shooting, do a drug deal, or rob someone, does he care that he's carrying a firearm illegally? Illinois has some of the toughest anti gun laws that already don’t work. Chicago, of course, has no gun crime because of its tough firearms laws.

It also will not work because many of the charges under this law will probably be dismissed as part of an overall plea bargain package. It will simply be plea bargained away.

As a generality, the majority of criminals who are arrested on firearms charges usually have committed another crime or two at the same time. It's typically another felony. They are usually facing multiple charges of some type. A typical example of multiple charges might be the charge of violation of this law itself, plus a second charge or third charge of some kind such as possession of a stolen firearm, or robbery, or drug violations, etc., while they have the gun. They could be charged with one or more other felonies at the same time.

But, most cases are disposed of by plea bargain. If it weren't for plea bargains, the courts would be too clogged with criminal motions and trials to ever get anything else done. Forget civil matters too...no time for them with all this criminal workload. So, the practical solution is plea bargaining. The Court encourages it.

The ultimate decision of whether or not to offer a plea bargain is based on the policy of the elected prosecuting official in the jurisdiction. It sometimes depends on the type of crime charged. Some Prosecutors are liberal with them, and some are not. Some of the policy is Judge driven. A person can even get a reduced charge plea bargain for premeditated murder. This new law violation certainly isn't on par with a capital offense.

Some Judges will complain to the Prosecutor if there is a very restrictive plea bargain policy by the Prosecutor or inclination of a particular Assistant Prosecutor. This clogs their docket. The Judge can't make the Prosecutor do anything because of the separation of powers (Judicial versus Executive). But the Judge has other ways to deal with a non responsive Prosecutor. Hypothetically, and in theory, the extreme, it could become harder for the Prosecutor to get favorable rulings, or even get adjournments. The Judge could apply subtle pressure. Of course, the Prosecutor would have a tough time convincing anyone that his "bad luck" in Court has anything to do with the lack of plea bargains being offered. Sometimes, some Judges will confide their feelings to the Prosecutor himself, his staff, trusted defense attorneys, or even other Prosecutors. His displeasure will become obvious to the Prosecutor in one way or another.

So, the plea bargain comes into play. There are plea bargains in probably 95% of all criminal cases. Here are a couple of hypotheticals for one hapless criminal charged under the new law.

Sentences for some violations of firearms laws similar to this, or where the gun is used or possessed during the commission of a crime are sometimes served before the sentence for the other crime even begins to be served. They are added to the sentence for the underlying crime.

The Illinois law specifically calls for mandatory time of at least three years, and no probation is available under a conviction for this law. That's only with a conviction, not just being charged. You don't go to prison by just being charged, at least not yet. However, there is no prohibition against the charge being plea bargained away.

Some states, like Michigan, mandate extra time on conviction for just the possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. This frequently comes as a surprise to those non career lawbreakers charged with growing marijuana to sell, and have a hunting rifle or a shotgun that their Grandfather gave to them years somewhere in the home where the pot is grown. It's 2 years extra time there. However, when there are multiple offenses, this charge is usually plea bargained away there.

That's a good incentive for the bad guy to want a plea bargain. Who wants to add 3 to 10 years to a sentence? Here's how the plea bargain process works. These scenarios do not consider any possible sentence enhancements for repeat offenders. That's another issue entirely, but could be part of the process in a pretrial.

Let's say that the gang member is charged with an armed robbery, assault, and the mandatory time weapons charge from one crime spree. Let's say the case is solid, and the thug has no priors. The carrot dangled in front of the defendant is no mandatory time above that for the underlying offense.

A plea bargain is a win-win for the Prosecutor and the Defendant with multiple charges. The Prosecutor still gets a felony conviction with no trial, and the Defendant could avoid some jail time. The State or County saves thousands of dollars by not having a trial. It might surprise some to find that Trials are very expensive for the jurisdiction. But, the high cost of trial will not prevent the Prosecution from pursuing a case. They get a pay check whether they do a lot of trials or not. They are not afraid to go to trial.

Here's how a plea bargain could be negotiated where a Defendant is charged with something such as a violation of this anti gang law and other felonies such as an armed robbery and assault too, One scenario is no plea deal offered. This is usually reserved for people like the killer of the Chicago cop, or someone with an atrocious criminal record.

The plea bargain negotiated with the Prosecutor could be:

1. Plea on the nose to the armed robbery and assault, and the State dismisses the weapons charge.

2. Or, the offer might be to plea to the armed robbery and the State will dismiss the assault charge and the weapons charge. Depending on the type of assault, there could be a stiff jail time penalty for it.

3. There might be an offer called a "Proffer" from the Prosecutor for the defendant to "work with" the police," and all some or all charges are dismissed. This is not likely to happen in a violent crime charge, or where the defendant can’t make bond, or where the prosecutor does not want the defendant out of jail. It's more likely in a scenario where the underlying crime is not a violent crime, but something like a serious drug charge.

4. There's also the option of the plea deal to be for the defendant to testify against a co-defendant. If this is done, then the charges could be dismissed or reduced based on the testimony. The defendant could also be offered a "cap" or a limit on the minimum amount of time the defendant would have to serve before release or eligibility for early release from jail, or an early parole opportunity.

The bottom line is that the gang member charged with the enhanced weapons charge may not ever spend an extra day jailed as a result of it because that's the way the adversarial legal system works.

The law is in honor of Officer Alex Valdez, who was shot and killed in Chicago last June.

You can find the new law at:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/96/096-0829.htm

Senator Lautenberg Proposes A National Firearm Registration System

Democrat Senator Frank Lautenberg has proposed a new national gun registration scheme. Although it’s not called firearm registration, it is a national de facto gun registration system. You draw your own conclusions. Here’s his press release.

“WASHINGTON, DC – Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today introduced the PROTECT Act, legislation to preserve records of gun sales for longer periods of time to aid law enforcement officials in preventing gun crimes and terrorist acts. Under current law, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) must destroy these records in most cases within 24 hours of allowing a gun sale to proceed.

“It makes no sense to immediately destroy information linking a gun purchase to its buyer and seller,” said Sen. Lautenberg. “We are too often asking law enforcement to protect our communities with one hand tied behind their back. Preserving background check information would help law enforcement do its job and keep our families safe from criminals and terrorists. We must overturn the ill-conceived 24-hour destruction policy so we can successfully combat gun violence and terrorism in America.”

The Brady Law requires federally-licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) before they sell guns. The NICS system creates an audit log of the purchase during the course of the search. A rider that has been attached to appropriations bills each year since 2004 mandates that the FBI destroy this audit log within 24 hours of allowing the gun sale to proceed.

The 24-hour destruction requirement hinders the FBI’s ability to verify that gun dealers are conducting background checks properly and to retrieve guns from those who are prohibited from having them. In 2002 - prior to the 24-hour rule - the Government Accountability Office (GAO)reported that over a six-month period the FBI used retained records to initiate 235 actions to retrieve illegally possessed guns, 228 (97 percent) of which would not have been possible under a 24-hour destruction policy.

Records are also destroyed when known and suspected terrorists purchase firearms, since nothing in current federal law prohibits them from purchasing guns. The FBI’s current practice is to keep background check records for these purchases for 90 days. If, at the end of the 90-day period, the FBI still has not found any other disqualifying reason to prohibit the purchase under current federal law, all records related to the purchase are destroyed.

At the request of Sen. Lautenberg, the GAO released a report earlier this year finding that from February 2004 through February 2009 there were 963 cases in which a known or suspected terrorist identified in federal terrorist watch list records attempted to buy a gun or explosives. In 90 percent of these cases -- a total of 865 different times -- the known or suspected terrorist was cleared to buy a firearm or explosive. Last week, Attorney General (AG) Holder announced his support for a separate Lautenberg bill, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Criminal Act of 2009, which would give the Department of Justice discretion to deny a gun purchase to someone on the terrorist watch list.

Sen. Lautenberg’s legislation, the Preserving Records of Terrorist & Criminal Transactions (PROTECT) Act of 2009, would:

• require the FBI to retain for 10 years all records related to a NICS transaction involving a valid match to federal terrorist watch list records; and

• repeal the requirement that other background check records be destroyed after 24 hours, and instead require that the records of all non-terrorist transactions be maintained for 180 days.

When asked about the 24-hour destruction rule at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in April 2007, FBI Director Robert Mueller said, “[T]here is a substantial argument in my mind for retaining records for a substantial period of time.” Video of Director Mueller’s remarks can be found here.

Last week, Tom Kean, former Republican governor of New Jersey and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, and Mayor Bloomberg of New York City wrote an op-ed opposing the 24-hour destruction of gun records and the inability of law enforcement to block gun sales to terror suspects.

The measure is cosponsored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Carl Levin (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Sen. Lautenberg is a long-time advocate for responsible gun safety measures. He has also introduced legislation to close a loophole that allows guns to be sold at gun shows without a background check. And Sen. Lautenberg is the author of the domestic violence gun ban, which has successfully kept more than 170,000 guns away from domestic abusers.”

FBI Wants To Buy Two 20mm Rifles And Accessories

The Federal Bureau Of Investigation is looking for a few 20MM magazine fed rapid firing cannons, suppressors, and four extra 20 round magazines. They must have the ammo already.
Are they cracking down on street gangs? You and me? Or, are they anticipating a major Al Qaeda offensive?

They are buying them in a non- competitive contract from Anzio Ironworks in Florida.
Here's their Notice of Intent to Purchase "Spec Sheet:"

Magfed 20mm Rifles
Solicitation Number: 10-Q-LDQ002768
Agency: Department of Justice
Office: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Location: Quantico Contracts Unit

Notice DetailsPackagesInterested Vendors List
Original Synopsis
Nov 27, 2009
6:03 pm

Solicitation Number:
10-Q-LDQ002768
Notice Type:
Presolicitation
Synopsis:
Added: Nov 27, 2009 6:03 pm

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intends to award a non-competitive, sole source purchase order to Anzio Ironworks Corporation, 1905 16th Street N, St. Petersburg, FL 33704 for two (2) Magfed 20mm Rifles and accessories in accordance with FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.


The FBI intends to procure the following items:


Magfed 20mm Rifle with Belgian Camo Overcoat finish. Includes bipod, brake, handguard, free floated barrel and case (Qty: 1 each)


Magfed 20mm Rifle with Navy NWV Camo Duracoat finish. Includes bipod, brake, handguard, free floated barrel and case (Qty: 1 each)


Non-firing bolt assemblies (Qty: 2 each)

Extra magazines (Qty: 4 each)


Suppressors in 20mm (Qty: 2 each)

Based on extensive market research conducted with knowledgeable individuals in Government and the related industry, only one responsible source, Anzio Ironworks Corporation can provide the requested products/service.
This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, interested parties may identify their interests and capability to respond to this requirement or submit quotes to this office by 2:00PM EST, Monday, December 7, 2009 to Ms. Christina R. Sims via fax @ 703-632-8480 or by email to Christina.Sims@ic.fbi.gov.
All correspondence shall reference solicitation number 10-Q-LDQ002768. Phone calls will NOT be accepted. Information received will be used solely to determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement. This contract will be awarded as a commercial item in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Parts 12 and 13.5. All contractors anticipating award, must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration Database and the Online Representations and Certifications. In addition, interested parties must also be registered and have completed the On-Line Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). Information and registration details can be found at http://orca.bpn.gov.
This notice will be distributed solely through the General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website: www.fedbizopps.gov. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring the FBO website to ensure they have the most up-to-date information about this acquisition.

Contracting Office Address:
FBI Engineering Research Facility, FBI Academy
Quantico, Virginia 22135
Primary Point of Contact.:
Christina R. Sims
Christina.Sims@ic.fbi.gov
Fax: 703-632-8480

Secondary Point of Contact:
Lynda M. Theisen,
Contracting Officer
Lynda.Theisen@ic.fbi.gov
Fax: 703-632-8480

See the Government paperwork at:
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=b332080a26cd6f599163b2fada224717&tab=core&_cview=0&cck=1&au=&ck=

Obama's First Year Full Of Humor...Unfortunately

In his first year, Obama has been a constant source of unwitting amusement to many as he plods through his first year as President. Other Presidents, such as Gerald Ford, have had their moments because of various foibles committed by them during their terms. President Ford had a penchant for falling down Air Force One stairs, much to the chagrin of his press Secretary and to delight of the M.S.M. and Saturday Night Live.

Obama didn’t wait too long for one of the early Faux Pas committed by him. At a St. Patrick’s Day Party at the White House just one month into the age of Obama, the Irish Prime Minister was just a few lines into his speech, when he stopped reading the teleprompter and told Obama that he was reading the same speech that Obama had just read.

Obama took the stage again to save the day, and when he reached the podium, the rogue teleprompter switched to the correct speech that the Prime Minister was to have read. Obama started to read the Prime Minister’s speech, and graciously thanked himself for giving the St. Patrick’s Day party at the White House. Thus was born “TOTUS,” the Teleprompter of the United States.

And, who can forget Obama’s Gift to the British prime Minister? The President received a custom made writing pen, crafted from deck wood from a slave ship from the P.M. Obama reciprocated by giving the P.M. a collection of classic American movie DVDs. Problem was that they were not recorded in a format that European DRVs could use for playback.

To add further insult, Obama, in an early act of Narcissism and cheesiness, gave Queen Elizabeth II a cheap IPod containing some of his favorite speeches.

Of course, there was the promise of the Golden Age of Obama, where many Obamaphiles were led to believe in the following “Hope and Change”

1. You won't have to think for yourself. Oh my God, its so hard to make decisions or plans for one's future anymore. You can depend on President Obama for the rest of your life to do all your thinking and make all decisions for you from now on. If he is too busy, someone who works for him will. What a load off your mind. Just trust them.

2. All your needs will be provided for. Just wait for your monthly government check. As long as there are wealthy people to provide for us and the government printing presses are well oiled, we will never run out of money. As many heard someone else say on Barack's election day, "I never thought this day would come. I'll never have to work to pay for gasoline again. I'll never have to work to pay my mortgage anymore." Well said.

3. Your college tuition will be free. Why should you leave your parent's house and struggle to get a grant or a student loan or pay tuition when everything will be given to you? It's a fact that under Obama you will get a "B" for just showing up in class now.

4. There will be no world conflict because we will all get along now. Everybody loves Obama. Terrorism has begun to end now that the world knows we are harmless. We no longer have anything to fear. All overseas terrorist attacks don't affect us because we live so far away

5. No one will hate America anymore. Everyone knows that the only reason that all the world hated us was because of George W. Bush. He’s gone, problem solved.

6. You won't have to worry about gun violence or crime. Obama is against guns, gun ownership, and is against concealed carry of handguns. His attorney general announced that Obama “has a few things he wants to do with guns.” We can join Europe in making guns illegal. They have no crime problems.

7. Your health care will be free. We are modeling our free health care after the efficient systems in Canada and England. Health care is for the healthy and the young. Valuable resources won't be squandered in treating the elderly because they have lived their lives. He will give every elderly person a Yugo. "Here are some pain pills for you to relax with. Now, Yugo take them."
The Eskimos used to set their elderly outside in the winter when they got too old. Now we can depend on Obama to do this for us.

8. Your housing will be free. There are lots of vacant houses now. If you don't like the one you live in now, you can just move into one you recently vacated on mortgage default. You can depend on Obama, or maybe even you to pay my mortgage for me if I ever need to get one. I might even hand out bumper stickers to you that say, "Honk if I'm paying your mortgage."

9. And, of course, free food too. Some people get free food now, but the program will expand for everyone. Instead of shopping, You will just show up at a government warehouse free super market and get all the free food that you can eat. Please, always be thoughtful and courteous and not take too much.

10. The wealthy will pay for everything. Need he say more?

11. Chicks dig socialists

Military Loses Track Of Thousands Of Firearms And Other Weapons In Afghanistan

You and I know where all of our firearms are at all times. I know where mine are at every moment. They are locked up or in a secure place. Of course, I don’t have a quarter of a million of them. But, you and I aren’t the United States Government. A U.S. Government investigative report says that of the weapons it has sent to the Afghanistan government, thousands are missing.

You won’t believe the amount of weapons that the Military has lost track of in Afghanistan.

The U.S. has shipped about 242,000 firearms and other weapons to Afghanistan in a four year period ending in 2008. The report says that the military didn’t keep inventory records that were complete for some 87,000 weapons. That’s over 1/3 of the weapons that are unaccounted for. The report says that there were “lapses in accountability” in that period.

The missing weapons include rifles, machine guns, and RPG’s. The military also can’t say where an additional 135,000 weapons that they got from other countries and sent to Afghanistan are, or if they are even still in Afghanistan.

The Chairman of the House subcommittee on National Security has extreme concern for this lapse. He’s concerned that these thousands of weapons may have fallen into Afghan terrorist hands, and that they may even be turned against and used against American Soldiers. How do you explain that to a constituent with family serving in a war zone?

The military can’t even give serial numbers for over half of the missing weapons.

The report also recommends that the Secretary of defense make sure that when weapons are in control of the United States that there are clear accountability procedures. It also says that all U.S. weapons be tracked by serial numbers, inventory, and know where every one is at all times.

This loss is disgusting.

Man Convicted of Domestic Violence Wins In Federal Lautenberg Law Case..Gun Rights Still Intact

A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that the anti gun “Lautenberg Law” is overly inclusive. It’s a win for a Wisconsin hunter. The man was fortunate enough to have Appeal Judges in his case that applied “Originalist” interpretations of the Second Amendment in deciding his appeal.

Steven Skoien was convicted of domestic battery in a Wisconsin state court and was sentenced to two years in prison.

As a result of his conviction, he was subject to anti gun sanctions of the “Lautenberg Law.” Federal Law stated that he couldn’t own or possess firearms or ammunition because of his domestic violence conviction.

He appealed, arguing that applying the additional “Lautenberg Law” penalty to him violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms as explained in Heller.

The Federal Appeals Court ruled that his Second Amendment rights are still intact, regardless of his misdemeanor domestic-violence conviction. The Government Prosecutors just used their own assertive “conclusion” that people convicted of domestic assault were excluded from firearms rights just like felons are. They didn’t use any legal arguments, just their own conclusions. That” lawyer speak conclusion wasn’t sufficient enough for the Court.

The Judges ruled that the “Lautenberg Law” was over-inclusive for three reasons.

First, “The firearms prohibition exists indefinitely.”

Second,” ….it contains no exceptions nor any basis for potential restoration of gun rights;”

And third, “it does not require an individualized finding of risk that the domestic-violence

misdemeanant might use a gun in a future offense.”

The North Carolina State Supreme Court became the first high Court in the country to restore Firearms Rights to a man convicted of Domestic violence earlier this year.

Here’s what got the man into firearms problems. His Probation officer discovered that he had bought a deer hunting license, and suspected he had a gun to use for hunting. They searched his home and found a 12 gauge shotgun, which belonged to his father, and several other guns. He admitted that he had gone deer hunting earlier in the day. They also found a deer carcass in his garage.

His lawyer argued to the Appeals Court Judges that he had the gun for hunting, and not for the right of self defense. This was an argument that worked against Lautenberg firearms sanctions.

The government prosecutors also made several mistakes in the appeal. As basic as it may seem, they didn’t argue that a person convicted of domestic violence or the shotgun he possessed actually falls outside the scope of the Second Amendment as it was understood to be at the time of its adoption.

The Court found it odd to argue that a conventional hunting gun is completely unprotected by the Second Amendment. They also looked to Heller ‘s referring to the founding era’s importance of the right to bear arms “ for self defense and hunting.” The Court also said that a “long gun” used primarily for hunting is “obviously useful” for defensive purposes too. The Judges also noted that Heller said that generally the sorts of weapons protected were those that were in common civilian use for lawful purposes at the time the Amendment was ratified. Nothing in Heller remotely suggested that a standard shotgun is immune from second Amendment protection.

The second mistake made by government attorneys was that they did not assert that a person convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor is categorically prohibited from exercising the Second Amendment right as a matter of founding era history.

The court also noted that scholars, even today, argue if, and to what extent, that persons convicted of felonies were excluded from owning or carrying guns during the “founding era.” Felons were not absolutely banned from gun rights until 1968, although there was a somewhat loose prohibition before that.

So, the Defendant in this case has made a base hit to third with his argument. It remains to be seen if he will round the corner to home plate with the U.S. Supreme Court based on any further action.