Front Sight, Press

From the Sipsey Street Irregulars:

Prosecutor Who Raised Questions About Waco Cover-Up Removed

By Michelle Mittelstadt
September 14, 1999
Associated Press

WASHINGTON–The federal prosecutor who raised questions about a possible Justice Department cover-up in the Waco standoff was abruptly removed from the case along with his boss, according to a court filing made public Tuesday.

Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder recused U.S. Attorney James W. Blagg in San Antonio and assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Johnston in Waco, Texas, from any further dealings in criminal or civil proceedings related to the siege.

Read the whole thing here

The Crimes of Eric Holder from Jeff Knox:

• As a Federal Prosecutor, Holder refused to prosecute FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi or any of his superiors for the murder of Vicky Weaver at Ruby Ridge. 
• As Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno, Holder was in charge of defending and covering up for the government in the Waco Massacre. 
• Holder was the official in charge of the Elian Gonzales affair and ordered the pre-dawn SWAT raid to seize the 6-year old Cuban refugee from the home of relatives who had legal custody of the boy. 
• After the terrorist attacks of 9-11, in which the terrorists used box-knives and airplanes as their weapons, Holder called for new restrictions on firearms sales and transfers. 
• In the Heller case, Holder signed on to an amicus brief arguing in support of the DC gun ban and the “collective right” theory of the Second Amendment. 
• Holder has called for federal investigation of every firearm transfer – even between relatives – and the registration and licensing of all firearm and firearm owners.
• Holder has called for federal restrictions and controls on the internet and limits on internet speech and privacy as well.
• Holder handled Clinton’s pardon of a group of Puerto Rican terrorists who murdered a number of people in New York City as well as the pardon of billionaire tax evader Marc Rich (the man who created the petroleum “spot market” – the system which recently drove gas prices over $5.00 a gallon.)
• Holder has been an outspoken advocate of stricter gun control, greater government control, and more police powers – though he opposes the death penalty, supports closing down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and opposes any kind of “harsh” interrogation techniques.

See also: The Wind at Mt. Carmel

One of the best archives of news stories on the Waco investigation and cover-up can be found at CSNUR

PDF of the Johnston letter to AG Reno

No Confidence: An Unofficial Account of the Waco Incident (PDF)

Holder “supervised” the DOJ cover-up in the Danforth Waco investigation

Topics: Stopping Power, 2008  Retrospective, If, DC Defies Supreme Court, Plaxico Burress, CCW in National Parks.

Blogs referenced in this podcast:

The Lawdog Files

God Is a Beer Drinker

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Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will — Justice William O. Douglas

Joe Huffman has some excellent coverage of the “gun fight” in Seattle over Mayor Nickels’ attempt to ban legal handguns from all city property and parks:

My name is Joe Huffman and I am from Kirkland.

I represent myself and my 22 year old daughter. We both have concealed pistol licenses and carry a pistol wherever we can legally do so.

I find it very telling the people providing the number of dollars spent and people injured do not tell us how many of those people were legally shot by the police or a private citizen defending innocent life. By this omission they imply guns are only used for evil.

I’m shocked that a city that prides itself on tolerance would engage in such Jim Crow like tactics to discriminate against gun owners. I’m certain the mayor and his staff cannot answer just one question which should have been their first step before going down this path. That question is, "Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?"

With such clear guidance from the State Attorney General the mayor has a tremendous amount of gall to push forward with such an attack on an essential civic right. If his plan were to ban the presence of Christian crosses, the star of David, or burqa from city facilities there would be a public outcry that would be heard worldwide and calls would be made for his resignation if not his arrest. And the same outcry should be made for this encroachment upon a specific enumerated right guaranteed by both the Washington State Constitution and the U.S. Bill of Rights.

I’m not a lawyer but it appears to me that such egregious behavior warrants investigation by Federal Prosecutors into the possibility of prosecution under 18 USC 242, the statute covering the deprivation of rights under the color of law.

Read the whole thing here.

See also Video from Seattle firearm ban hearing

DC tightens gun rules after landmark court ruling

2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The District of Columbia Council passed more regulations for gun owners Tuesday, months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the city’s 32-year-old handgun ban.

Among other things, the bill requires gun owners to register their weapons every three years and receive training by a certified firearms instructor.

"This bill will be, I think, one of the most progressive registration laws in the country," Council member Phil Mendelson said.

The National Rifle Association accused the city of forcing residents to jump through unnecessary hurdles, thereby undermining the intent of the Supreme Court’s ruling in June that affirmed the right of Americans to keep guns in the home for self defense.

"The D.C. Council continues to try to make it harder and harder for law-abiding citizens to access this freedom," NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said…

…Tuesday’s bill builds on those regulations. It requires gun owners to spend at least one hour at the firing range and four hours in the classroom with an instructor before registration. The bill also requires a criminal background check for gun owners every six years.

Source: The Associated Press

This is a case study in how criminal bureaucrats break the law while pretending to uphold it. The D.C. Council is obviously defying the Supreme Court, and if our Justice Department had any stones, the entire D.C. Council would be indicted on civil rights violations.

And while we’re on the subject, this is what the Brady Campaign, the Obama Campaign, Mayor Bloomberg, and all of the other enemies of freedom mean when they say “sensible gun control” or “common sense gun control.” That is code for regulations on guns that are so complex, byzantine, and difficult to fulfill that only millionaires with stables of lawyers will be able to own firearms.

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can get going without pep pills,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when, no fault of yours, things go wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct him,

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor, If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, or politics,

Then, my Brother, you are as good as your dog.

– Author unknown

Generally, I think it’s untoward and probably bad luck to take pleasure in someone else’s misfortune, but I can’t resist this one. Sen. Frank Lautenberg was taken to the cleaners by scam artist Bernard Madoff:

New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, entrusted his family’s charitable foundation to Madoff. Lautenberg’s attorney, Michael Griffinger, said they weren’t yet sure the extent of the foundation’s losses, but that the bulk of its investments had been handled by Madoff.

Lautenberg’s foundation handed out more than $765,000 to at least 100 recipients in 2006, according to the most recent listing on Guidestar, which tracks charitable organization filings.

Source: Fox News

Breaks my heart…

Smith & Wesson has identified a condition that may exist with the bolt supplied with some rifles that would allow the striker to become disengaged from its locking tabs during cycling of the bolt, allowing the rifle to fire without the trigger being pulled. In the interest of consumer safety, we are initiating this recall to allow for the prompt inspection and, if necessary, the repair and replacement of each bolt.

This recall applies to the bolts of all i-Bolt rifles manufactured by Smith & Wesson prior to December 1, 2008.

Please contact Smith & Wesson directly at 1-800-331-0852 or at ibolt@smith-wesson.com to arrange for the inspection and repair, if necessary, of your bolt.

h/t to The Firearm Blog

Put a Hold on Holder’s Nomination

by  Brian Darling

A conservative senator would be a true American hero if he or she would put a hold on — i.e., threaten to filibuster — the nomination of Eric Holder to be the next attorney general.

Let me be clear: I don’t believe that conservatives should use the filibuster to block Holder. But I do think the filibuster is an excellent procedural tool to force a needed debate. Senators should explore Holder’s views on the right to bear arms and the Elian Gonzales raid before they consent to his appointment.

The Second Amendment is sacrosanct to all freedom-loving Americans. Yet Holder, in his capacity as former deputy attorney general from 1997 to 2001 and acting attorney general in 2001, signed a brief to the Supreme Court last year arguing that “the Second Amendment does not protect firearms possession or use that is unrelated to participation in a well-regulated militia.” This strongly suggests that Holder is hostile to private gun ownership and will work to restrict gun rights.

Source: Human Events

(I do not ordinarily participate in marketing campaigns like this, but Halbrook has done outstanding scholarly work on the Second Amendment for years and deserves every nickel that may come to him as a result of this book.)

The Second Amendment Book Bomb on Bill of Rights Day, December 15!
http://www.secondamendmentbook.com/

Monday, December 15, marks America’s Bill of Rights Day, the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. To commemorate this event, the Second Amendment Book Bomb website has been created, a unique and powerful way to communicate the importance of the Bill of Rights’ Second Amendment for the protection of liberty. With your help, we can launch constitutional rights to the top of national book bestseller lists, making a loud and clear statement that Second Amendment rights are inalienable!

The Second Amendment has already won a historic victory on June 26, 2008, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own and bear arms. However, the Heller ruling was immediately attacked and efforts continue on the national level and across the country to undermine gun rights. Therefore, to secure the Second Amendment now and for the future the American public must be made aware of the reasons why the Founders sought to protect this right.

And now we have the tool to do so. Fascinating, seminal, and inspiring, the new book, The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, by Dr. Stephen P. Halbrook*, is the perfect way both to educate ourselves and to reach friends and family who don’t yet understand Second Amendment rights. Our goal is to reach one million Americans with Dr. Halbrook’s book during the Holiday Season and throughout the New Year ahead. Will you help?

To achieve this goal the Second Amendment Book Bomb website has been established to create a phenomenon so great that even the mainstream media will have to take notice. Let’s spread The Founders’ Second Amendment so far and wide that Americans across the political spectrum, and all walks of life, will be discussing the Second Amendment in every possible venue.

With your help, we can make Dr. Halbrook’s book #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. To make this happen, please go to the website and pledge to buy at least one copy of the book before or on the December 15th Second Amendment Book Bomb date. Let’s make this the most amazing and explosive event ever on the right to bear arms, and declare in no uncertain terms that the Second Amendment will be around for a very long time to come.

With your pledge to buy the book, we can:

* Make The Founders’ Second Amendment #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
* Make The Founders’ Second Amendment a #1 bestseller on Amazon.com.
* Make The Founders’ Second Amendment a #1 bestseller on BarnesandNoble.com.
* Make The Founders’ Second Amendment a #1 bestseller on BooksAMillion.com.

Please help now by making your pledge here: http://www.secondamendmentbook.com/

*Stephen P. Halbrook is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and author of The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms. Having won three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, he filed an Amici Curiae Brief in District of Columbia v. Heller on behalf of 55 members of the Senate, the Senate President, and 250 members of the House of Representatives.