Click here to view the embedded video.

[snip] Holder and one of his other deputies, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, have both admitted that statement was false in recent Senate hearings.

“The letter was withdrawn because there was information in there that was inaccurate,” Holder replied to Sensenbrenner’s question.

Still unsatisfied, Sensenbrenner followed up again. “Tell me what the difference is between lying and misleading Congress in this context?,” he asked Holder.

Holder responded that whether a statement is a lie or misleading comment depends on what the person making it is thinking at the time. (Click here to read the rest.)

Wow. Honestly, how does Holder come out with this BS and keep a straight face? When he’s not slumping back into his chair in disgust at being questioned, that is? What a crock.

Get this, though – Holder never, not ONCE, acknowledged just who signed off on this absurd program. Apparently, no one did, since in the 10 months he has been questioned about “Fast and Furious,” he has not come up with ONE name. And no one has been fired for their part in this, either. Just unbelievable.

And then there was the second hearing of Jon Corine appearing before Congress to try and explain where in the hell $1.2 BILLION dollars went. His answer? “I dunno.” Okay, okay, he said, “I do not know,” but really, he may as well have just shrugged his shoulders and given the first response. Oh, he feels bad about this, he really does. Not enough to use any of his multi-millions to DO anything about it for all of those folks who lost their money, or the employees who are out of jobs as a result. Nope. Screw them. He doesn’t know what happened to the money under his watch, but really, it’s just tough for those people. I am sure his “devastation” over what happened while he sits on his pile of money is a real comfort to those people who lost everything. Right.

This is not over yet, though. The investigation will continue, and he may well be brought up on charges. He sure SHOULD be, but we know how that can go, especially for close, personal friends/bundlers of Obama…

Sigh. Really? These is the guy responsible for our Justice Department? And the other one Obama and Biden’s “go-to” guy for all things financial? Holy cow.

Okay, it’s Friday, and time for a bit of a break. You can discuss the stories above, or anything else that hits you, but feel free to also share a musical interlude that appeals for a TGIF.

Here are my offerings for this Friday, with winter coming on:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And this one from the incomparable Sarah McLachlan:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Okay, friends – it’s all you now!

How in the hell is Holder, and every single one of the administrators who went along with this, not indicted and facing trial? I’m no attorney, but I am fairly certain that money laundering is ILLEGAL, especially for the head of the US Justice Department.

As you might suspect, this is all part and parcel of the horrendously stupid “Fast and Furious” gun-walking program. Rep. Darrell Issa is doing his best to uncover the extent of this program under Holder:

[snip] The New York Times reported on Sunday that “in operations supervised by the Justice Department and orchestrated to get around sovereignty restrictions” drug enforcement agents “laundered or smuggled millions of dollars in drug proceeds as part of Washington’s expanding role in Mexico’s fight against drug cartels.”

In a Monday letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Issa announced he’s investigating the allegations made against the DEA in the New York Times article.

“As you are fully aware, since March of this year, I have been investigating the reckless tactics — in particular gunwalking — used in ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious,” Issa wrote. “That operation, which you personally acknowledged was ‘fundamentally flawed,’ failed spectacularly to meet its objective of bring down Mexican drug cartels. Precisely because the ends do not justify the means, the law limits the conduct alleged in this story.”

“Apparently, this same goal of dismantling Mexican drug cartels motivated the Drug Enforcement Administration in aiding and abetting these same cartels in laundering millions of dollars in cash,” Issa continued. “In fact, The New York Times reports that agents needed to seek Department approval to launder amounts greater than $10 million in any single operation.”

Issa wrote that, according to the report, many agents said the $10 million requirement was frequently “waived” because it was treated more like a guideline. He said that means “hundreds of millions of dollars” could’ve been “laundered” into the hands of drug cartels by the Obama administration and Holder’s Justice Department. (Click here to read the rest.)

This just gets worse and worse with every passing day. The NY Times article stated that the DEA did this in order to see how the drug cartels move their money. Because I am sure the DEA/DOJ just couldn’t figure it out any other way than laundering potentially hundreds of millions of dollars. This isn’t just folly, this is sheer insanity, and it starts at the top – all the way to the top with Obama, who is still standing behind Holder. Hell, he picked him in the FIRST place, so that tells you something right there.

And speaking of following the money, former NJ Governor and US Senator, Jon Corzine, is about to be on the hot seat this Thursday regarding the disappearance of $1.2 BILLION of investors’ money at MF Global. That is all bad enough, but like the “Fast and Furious” program, with every day, more information leaks out. Now it seems that Corzine threatened to quit his post if he was not allowed to throw money into European bonds.

And you may recall, Jon Corzine played an integral part in helping this Administration as evidenced by both President Obama and VP Biden heaping praise on Corzine in this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Well, I think that explains a LOT, doesn’t it? But there is oh, so much more on this issue. Guess who sits on the advisory board of the PR Firm that worked for MF Global, and which provided financial advice to MF Global? That would be President Clinton. Former PM Tony Blair, too, but that’s the U.K.’s problem. The company, Teneo Holdings, was paid $625,000 for it’s work with MF Global:

[snip] Clinton’s office insists the former president did not profit from the relationship between MF Global and Teneo Holdings, where he is chairman of the advisory board. But Teneo, on whose advisory board former British Prime Minister Tony Blair also sits, was paid $125,000 a month for at least five months in one of MF’s biggest consulting arrangements, according to sources at the brokerage house.

The relationship was controversial within MF Global even before the company’s financial problems hit the news as executives questioned why an outside firm was needed for work that had long been done in-house.

“I don’t know what they did,” one MF source said. “It was always unclear.” (Click here to read the rest.)

Yes, Obama and Biden’s financial guru will be spending some quality time in front of Congress trying to explain why he was so gung-ho about investing in European bonds, and how $1.2 Billion of investors’ money disappeared.

The workers at MF Global want to know, too, and are suing the executives who ran MF Global into the ground. Serves them right. I hope the workers get a ton of money from them.

I hope Rep. Issa and Congress continues to follow these money trails to the very end. And I hope some of these folks, like Holder and Corzine, end up in a room cell of their own. They deserve nothing less, don’t you think?

There is a reason why I am mentioning this. I just have to share what one of the owners of the development said while we were chatting. She said she didn’t know where we stood politically, but that for their purposes, they were really glad Obama was president. Why? Because a whole bunch of Americans are buying property down there. People are upset that they may be taxed up to (and above?) half of their income. The developer went on to say that she wasn’t just talking about people who were wealthy, but like a plumber who had worked hard all of his life, and saved his money for his retirement.

I told her that I am okay with being taxed up to 30% (which she thought was exorbitant), but any more than that seemed excessive, especially when there are so many corporate loopholes that need to be plugged, not to mention those who commit tax evasion (like Charlie Rangel and Timmy Geithner, to name two). Since we are regular donors to a number of worthy causes of OUR choice, we want to be able to continue giving to those organizations rather than the government taking half (or more) of our income.

Anyway, I thought that was pretty interesting to hear from her, and telling, too.

Seems those OWSers are still hanging around. Yawn. Glad Philly arrested a bunch of them. How they have gotten so much ink and air time on so vague a message is beyond me, but that’s our media. Go figure.

It’s kinda like the AP story I saw today highlighting the debate flubs of the Republican candidates, “Fact Check: GOP Field Flubs, Big And Small.” I am not suggesting that the media NOT cover these things, of course they should. But if they are going to highlight the GOP flubs, they sure as hell better highlight the DNC flubs, too. Obama easily has as many malapropisms as Bush, though you’d never know it from the MSM. And while this article is focusing on Civics, one could easily focus on Obama’s claim that if Congress won’t act, he will independently of them. Talk about a blatant disregard for the Constitution at best, and ignorance of the three branches at worse. Never mind the Great Lakes in Oregon, or the 57 states, or any number of malapropisms from Obama. Only the GOP flubs are fodder for the media. Whatever.

And one last thing I want to mention, speaking of the media. If you have already heard about this while I was gone, my apologies. But get this – Holder is telling The Daily Caller to stop reporting on the calls for him to resign. I am not kidding. But what is WORSE is that those in the media whose job it is to be watchdogs for this kind of thing are just ignoring Holder’s attempt at censorship. Huh? From The Daily Caller:

[snip] The groups’ silence contrasts with their vigorous defense against Republican critics of the news media, and contrasts with the praise given to the media’s aggressive coverage of decisions by officials in George W. Bush’s presidency.

The media watchdogs’ silence comes as President Barack Obama’s administration faces political peril with public approval having fallen to the level held by President Jimmy Carter. A Holder resignation would likely add to the administration’s immediate problems, and increase the GOP’s 2012 momentum.

Attorney General John Ashcroft “never asked a reporter to stop reporting on a subject, no matter how uncomfortable it may have been,” said Mark Corallo, who served as Ashcroft’s press secretary during his 2001 to 2005 term, when many media articles painted Ashcroft as a proponent of excessive police powers after 9/11.

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. … We understood that we would take a lot of heat,” he said. “Freedom of speech and of the press — our wonderful First Amendment — allowed the media to cover things that made us uncomfortable.”

The controversy began on Nov. 29, when TheDC’s reporter asked Holder about congressional calls for his resignation. The question prompted the nation’s top law enforcement official to point his finger at the reporter and demand that “you need to stop this. It’s not an organic thing that’s just happening. You guys are behind it.”

“I don’t recall [Attorney General Alberto] Gonzales ever talking with a reporter like that — ever,” said a former department official. In 2007, Gonzales was subject to numerous critical articles following Democratic legislators’ investigations into the administration’s decision to fire several district attorneys, all of whom had earlier been hired for political slots by the same administration. [snip] (Click here to read the rest, which includes specifics about just what the media “watchdogs” did report on after this attempt to silence The DC.)

Uh, yeah, no. And believe you me, I was all over anything negative (IMO) the Bush Administration did, and Gonzales in particular. But I don’t recall Ashcroft or Gonzales trying to silence factual reports of their activities, or calls for resignations, either.

Okay, that’s it for me for now. Too many interruptions with the tree guys here and the fence being delivered, etc., etc. So, it is up to you now. What’s on your minds?

Second is this one, which I sure hope is true, one way or the other: “Issa: If Holder Is Not ‘Doomed,’ The Obama Administration Is.” From your lips, Rep. Issa, from your lips…

Faithful reader Helenk informed me earlier that something crazy is going on in Iran. I suppose one can always make that case, but even more now, with claims that Ahmadinejad was arrested, along with an advisor, though Reuters refutes that claim.

Meanwhile, Breeze provided an article that claims Ahmadinejad’s media advisor WAS imprisoned. Wanna know why? Oh, you’re gonna love this:

[snip]According to the report, Javanfekr, the former caretaker manager of the daily Iran, has been convicted on publishing an article in the August 13 special edition of the newspaper deemed to be in violation of Islamic principles.

Okey dokey. Now I kinda wonder just what it was he said, don’t you? Hmmm.

Well, it is Monday. This seems like just the right tune for the day:

It’s an Open Thread, and now it’s all yours.

So much of this program is disturbing, but what was disturbing about Holder’s testimony yesterday was his sheer and utter refusal to apologize to the family of Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry. He would not apologize to Agent Terry’s family. That speaks volumes about what kind of person Holder is, and it is not good, IMHO.

Here is Holder during the testimony on Tuesday. He says some general comments about how he regrets what the Terry family is going through, but one thing stands out. Listen:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Did you catch that? He refused to acknowledge any blame on the part of the “Fast and Furious” program for Agent Terry’s death. Wow. That is simply mind boggling.

Lest his life be forgotten, just a bit about who Agent Terry was from a statement his family made in June, 2011, at a Congressional hearing:

During BORTAC training, Brian was given a class room writing assignment. The assignment was to write something about himself that would give the instructors some insight as to who he was. He composed a poem that he entitled “If Today Is to Be the Day…So Be It” and I would like to read it to you so that you can have a better understanding of who he was:

“If you seek to do battle with me this day, you will receive the best that I am capable of giving.

“It may not be enough, but it will be everything that I have to give and it will be impressive for I have constantly prepared myself for this day.

“I have trained, drilled and rehearsed my actions so that I might have the best chance of defeating you.

“I have kept myself in peak physical condition, schooled myself in the martial skills and have become proficient in the applications of combat tactics.

“You may defeat me, but I’m willing to die if necessary. I do not fear death for I have been close enough to it on enough occasions that it no longer concerns me.

“But, I do fear the loss of my honor and would rather die fighting than to have it said that I was without courage.

“So I will fight you, no matter how insurmountable it may seem, to the death if need be, in order that it may never be said of me that I was not a warrior.” (Click here to read the rest, and there is so much more to his story, including serving as a Marine, and a police officer.)

And yet, Holder cannot find it in his heart to apologize to this man’s family for the loss of his life due to this insane program. Wow.

Another aspect of this whole fiasco was the outing of the ATF whistle blower. The person who outed that agent was none other than (former) Arizona US Attorney, Dennis Burke:

Former Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, who resigned in August, admitted late Tuesday that he leaked a document aimed at smearing Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent John Dodson, an Operation Fast and Furious whistle-blower.

“Dennis regrets his role in disclosing the memo but he’s a stand-up guy and is willing to take responsibility for what he did,” Chuck Rosenberg, Burke’s lawyer, said according to NPR. “It was absolutely not Dennis’s intent to retaliate against Special Agent Dodson or anyone else for the information they provided Congress.”

[...]

The memo that leaked this summer ended up being an attempt by Justice Department officials to cast aspersions on Dodson — one of the leading ATF Fast and Furious whistle-blowers. Burke admitted he leaked the memo in a Tuesday afternoon letter to Justice Department Inspector General Cynthia Schnedar.

The memo was leaked to press and had the names of criminal suspects deleted — but kept Dodson’s name on it. Attorney General Eric Holder came under fire during Tuesday morning’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing when he wouldn’t answer any questions from Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley about the leaked memo, who was held accountable for it and how they were held accountable. (Click here to read the rest.)

First of all, I have to take umbrage with the characterization of US Attorney Burke being a “stand up guy.” A “stand up guy” does not reveal the name of the whistleblower while protecting the names of the criminals.

Second of all, a “stand up guy” does not attempt to cast aspersions on an agent who has served his country and who speaks out about a program that has cost the lives of numerous people, including at least one US agent.

No, a “stand up guy” supports the whistleblower, goes on record to support hat person, and acknowledges ones own complicity in the program, not throw someone to the wolves. Just sayin’.

This is still far from over. Eric Holder may have testified before Senate, but he left many questions still unanswered. Of course, I am not one bit surprised by that result, or lack thereof. Holder is hardly an honest broker, not when it comes to this program, or others that have occurred under his watch (previously reported here, e.g., this one relating to the New Black Panther Party).

Last I checked, 34 US House of Representatives have called for Holder to step down. I agree with them, he should. At the very least, he needs to apologize to Agent Terry’s family.

That’s what I think. What do you think?

(There is an upcoming benefit on November 12th to help Brian Terry’s mother travel to hearings regarding his death: rememberbrianterry.com.)

UPDATED: Senator Grassley is very upset with Eric Holder regarding his refusal to allow witnesses to testify:

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said Thursday that Attorney General Eric Holder is continuing to stonewall congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious. This time, Holder is refusing to provide 11 of the 12 witnesses Grassley and House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa have requested be made available for interviews.

“We have requested 12 Justice Department witnesses be made available for transcribed interviews,” Grassley said in a Thursday Senate Judiciary Committee executive business meeting. “Despite the department’s promises of good faith cooperation, only one witness has been provided so far — former U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke. The department has refused to schedule interviews with any of the other 11 witnesses. That’s not the good faith cooperation I was promised, and it is unacceptable.”

Grassley and Issa are demanding to know who was involved in crafting a February 4 letter to the Department of Justice sent to Congress, which contained claims — now understood to be false — that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives did not allow guns to walk into Mexico. (Click here to read the rest.)

Uh, yeah. So why is it they haven’t brought charges of perjury and obstruction against Holder yet? Any attorneys out there with the answer to that question?

And the number of US Representatives calling for Holder to resign has risen to 38 now. Seriously = why aren’t ALL Of them, Democrats, too, calling for it? His behavior as Head of the DOJ is doing real damage to this country, and they should care more about THAT than about party, and Obama’s freakin’ election.

That are going to make my head explode. First, news that the ten executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are still operating in the red, and which are largely to blame for the housing crisis, got BONUSES. And I am not talking little bonuses, either. Those ten mo-fos got = and you better sit the hell down and swallow whatever you are drinking – $12.79 MILLION DOLLARS. Yes, you read that number correctly.

Gosh, I hate this Administration:

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government regulator for Fannie and Freddie, approved $12.79 million in bonus pay after 10 executives from the two government-sponsored corporations last year met modest performance targets tied to modifying mortgages in jeopardy of foreclosure.

The executives got the bonuses about two years after the federally backed mortgage giants received nearly $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts — and despite pledges by FHFA, the office tasked with keeping them solvent, that it would adjust the level of CEO-level pay after critics slammed huge compensation packages paid out to former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines and others.

Securities and Exchange Commission documents show that Ed Haldeman, who announced last week that he is stepping down as Freddie Mac’s CEO, received a base salary of $900,000 last year yet took home an additional $2.3 million in bonus pay. Records show other Fannie and Freddie executives got similar Wall Street-style compensation packages; Fannie Mae CEO Michael Williams, for example, got $2.37 million in performance bonuses. (Click here to read the rest.)

So they got these massive bonuses for mild improvements after getting $170 BILLION of our taxpaying dollars. Are you freakin’ KIDDING me with this? Outrageous, just outrageous.

Just in case you need a reminder, check out this hearing from 2004:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Good grief, this makes my blood boil.

Next up is the Federal Government’s continued attacks on South Carolina, this time about our new Immigration law set to go into force in January. (You may recall that the NLRB went after SC for Boeing opening up a manufacturing plant here rather than in a union state, despite Boeing having plants in other states with unions, and which cost zero union jobs.)

Yes, the DOJ, that bastion of fairness and justice – cough, choke, cough – is attacking the state’s immigration law, which is similar to Arizona’s. If someone commits a crime, and the police have reason to suspect they are illegal, they can ask for proof of citizenship. If the person is illegal, the police officers will call in the appropriate immigration personnel to handle the offender. Additionally, businesses have to ensure their employees are here legally. (I thought everyone had to do that ANYWAY. I have had to prove my citizenship numerous times for positions I have taken.) But this DOJ takes umbrage with all of that, so it has filed a lawsuit against SC, naming Governor Haley as the defendant.

Now, let’s be clear – in no other country can you expect to go on your merry way if you are discovered to be there illegally. If you think you can live and work easily in another country without a visa, passport, or green card, go check it out. I’ll wait. Oh, no, I won’t because your ass will either be in jail, or on a plane home. No other country, including the two with whom we share borders, will allow you to live and work inside their country ILLEGALLY. Their laws are strict, and THEY ENFORCE THEM, unlike the United States.

The Federal government claims that this is their bastion – that’s their beef. Our governor, a daughter of LEGAL immigrants herself, Nikki Haley, said the government is not doing its job, it is not protecting our borders, it is not keeping out illegal aliens, and they are taking our jobs. Considering SC has higher unemployment than the national average, that is no small thing.

Here is more about both the law, and the complaint against it:

[snip] he government wants a judge to stop enforcement of the legislation, which requires that officers call federal immigration officials if they suspect someone is in the country illegally following a stop for something else, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles told The Associated Press.

“The Department of Justice has many important tasks,” Nettles said. “Two of those important tasks are the defense of the constitution and ensuring equality is afforded to all.”

The law says all law enforcement officers are required to call federal immigration officials if they suspect someone is in the country illegally. The question must follow an arrest or traffic stop for something else. The measure bars officers from holding someone solely on that suspicion. Opponents railed against the measure as encouraging racial profiling.

[...]

The law also makes it a felony for someone to make fake photo IDs for illegal residents and creates a new law enforcement unit within the Department of Public Safety to enforce state immigration laws. It also makes it a felony for illegal immigrants to allow themselves to be transported.

Nettles said the law is unconstitutional and violates people’s right to due process.

I’m sorry, but none of those things sound all that egregious to me. The state wants to ensure people are living and working in the state legally, and it wants to punish those who try and get around that by making fake IDs, which I would think is illegal anyway. And this violates” due process”??

You know, if the DOJ wasn’t already such a laughing stock for the crap it has been pulling with not going after actual offenders, like the New Black Panther Party, or lying its freaking ass off over “Fast and Furious,” I might give them a tad more leeway. But they don’t deserve it. Not by a long shot.

Oh, but wait, there’s more. This is from none other than Janet Napolitano:

In a news release, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said South Carolina’s law “diverts critical law enforcement resources from the most serious threats to public safety and undermines the vital trust between local jurisdictions and the communities they serve, while failing to address the underlying problem: the need for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level.” (Click here to read the rest.)

Oh, freakin’ spare me already. DO YOUR JOBS!!! This is just another wordy excuse for not doing what the US Constitution declares is the role of the Federal Government – to protect the country and its citizens from “invasion.” Do your damn job, and stop attacking states when they have to resort to taking care of their own borders for lack of federal action.

And speaking of the DOJ and lying its ass off over programs like “Fast and Furious,” the DOJ dumped a TON of emails on Congress the night before another hearing on this program. Yep. They have had months to do this, but waited until the very last minute to release 650 pages. Why? Well, because there was a hearing scheduled for the next day, that’s why.

But get this – not only are there more Congresspeople demanding Holder step down, but the data dump revealed the following:

[snip] The new documents, according to Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, “indicate that contrary to previous denials by the Justice Department, the criminal division has a great deal of culpability in sweeping the previous Wide Receiver strategy under the rug and then allowing the subsequent Operation Fast and Furious to continue without asking key questions.”

“Most importantly, officials raised very appropriate questions related to Operation Wide Receiver at the same time that many of these same officials were receiving briefings on Operation Fast and Furious,” Grassley said in a statement. “It begs the question why they didn’t ask the same important policy questions about an ongoing case being run out of the same field division.” [snip](Click here to read the rest.)

Have I mentioned how much I hate this Administration?

So, sorry if this makes your head explode, too. I just had to share. I am sure there are things going on in your neck of the woods or with this government that are getting on your last nerve, too. Feel free to share that with us, too. I need an aspirin…

Again, CBS News is leading the way in investigating this program:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday denied having any advance knowledge of a controversial program run by federal officials that allowed thousands of guns to be smuggled from the U.S. to Mexico in an effort to trace them to leaders of drug cartels before the program’s existence became public.

She said the Justice Department did not “request coordination” or give “any kind of notice or heads up” about “Operation Fast and Furious,” the ATF operation which put thousands of guns in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. The weapons may have been used in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

During the hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) asked Clinton at what point did the State Department learn about Operation Fast and Furious.

“My recollection is that I learned about it from the press, that’s my recollection,” Clinton said.

That sounds like a definitive answer that State was NOT involved. When pushed further by Rep. Mack about the existence of a waiver from the State Department for the DOJ program, which would have been required, Sec. Clinton said she would investigate the matter. Let’s hope she does. I, for one, would like to know the answer to that question.

And the drumbeat for Eric Holder to resign grows ever louder. Now, a total of 17 US House members are calling for Holder’s resignation:

(Rep. Dan) Burton, who once chaired the House oversight committee that is currently investigating the Justice Department over Operation Fast and Furious, said he has always opposed Holder and didn’t believe he should be confirmed as attorney general in the first place, based on his record of deceiving Congress.

“I think he’s been a mistake from the very beginning,” Burton told TheDC in a phone interview.

“When I was chairman of government reform and oversight during the Clinton administration, we had Holder before my committee a number of times and he misled the committee. In fact, he lied. During his confirmation in the Senate, I sent a letter to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, [Sen. Patrick] Leahy, and I sent it to the other members of the committee as well, and I cited specific cases where Holder had not been straight with the committee and I said he should not be confirmed.”

It also appears Holder misled Congress on May 3 when he told the House Judiciary Committee that he had known of Operation Fast and Furious for only a few weeks. Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley told TheDC he personally handed Holder a letter on the topic while the attorney general was in his office months earlier. Senior aides sent Holder numerous briefing memos on the subject, including the name and intimate details of the failed operation, as early as July 2010. (Click here to read the rest.)

I want for Holder to be brought up on charges, and have to testify in public for this insane program. Will that happen if he resigns? If he resigns, will it let him off the hook? In any event, it is clear that he is a conniving liar who has no place anywhere near the DOJ.

Secretary Clinton appears to be in the clear on this whole issue, though I look forward to the answer regarding a waiver for the DOJ. But Holder continues to look guiltier and guiltier. He cannot get his comeuppance soon enough for me, and I trust for the families of the federal agents lost, and those families in Mexico who lost loved ones as a result of these weapons. Yep, his comeuppance cannot come soon enough…

What do you think?

Why it has taken so long for this to come out is a question the Administration is facing from Congress members, particularly Rep. Darrell Issa, and Senator Chuck Grassley, as The Daily Caller reports:

[snip] The two top Republicans wrote to Holder on Tuesday criticizing what they said was the Department of Justice’s late and lacking response to Grassley’s March 2011 request for details about the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jaime Zapata. “Not only was the response more than six months late, it completely failed to answer the key questions,” Issa and Grassley wrote.

Issa and Grassley then detail how the DOJ’s severely late response is still rife with inconsistencies. Zapata was murdered in Mexico on February 15, 2011. At least one firearm involved in Zapata’s murder was traced back to Otilio Osorio, his brother, Ranferi Osorio, and their neighbor, Kelvin Morrison. The DOJ arrested the three, and in a March 1, 2011 press release announcing the arrest, revealed that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had been investigating since early in November 2010.

Otilio Osorio made the weapons purchase, which included a gun linked to Zapata’s murder, on October 10, 2010. On the same March 1, 2011 press release announcing the three men’s arrests, the DOJ said it was unaware of the weapons purchase.

“According to ATF documents, however, the agency had reason to believe as early as September 17, 2010, that Otilio’s brother and co-habitant Ranferi Osorio and their next-door neighbor Kelvin Morrison were straw purchasers,” Issa and Grassley wrote. “Yet the ATF apparently made no effort to contact Ranferi Osorio or Kelvin Morrison and inquire about how their weapons came to be trafficked to Mexico within two weeks of their purchase.”

Every step of the way, it seems this program, and its oversight, have been fraught with mismanagement. Whether this is willful duplicity, sheer stupidity, or both, it is evident that the left hand hadn’t a clue what the right hand was doing. As a result, we have lost two federal agents, and many more Mexicans have died.

And it gets worse. Apparently, the ATF had the chance to arrest these men, but failed to do so. As to the murder of Special Agent Jame Zapato, Issa and Grassley made the following claim:

[snip] Issa and Grassley add that they have documents they say indicate the ATF didn’t write a “Report of Investigation” about the November 9, 2010 weapons transfer “until over three months later, on February 25, 2011.” That day is, Issa and Grassley point out, “the same day ATF received the report tracing the Zapata murder weapon back to the purchase by Otilio Osorio.” [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)

This just makes me ill. The sheer incompetence of the DOJ under Holder and Obama is staggering. No wonder yet another Congressperson, Rep. Joe Walsh, has called for Holder to step down. That would be nice, but I want him to be put on trial for these murders, for those in Mexico, and for the horrendous way this program was operated (not to mention that it existed at all).

With this new information, one can understand now why Secretary Napolitano is grilled by Congressman Chaffetz about this whole program:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Good grief. I am just shaking my head in disgust at Napolitano’s responses. Someone, anyone, PLEASE tell me how in the hell this woman is in this position?? “I do not know.” “I do not know.” “I do not know.” How incompetent is this woman? Not only is she incompetent, but she seems to show little remorse for the outcome of this failed policy, insisting upon getting her two cents in when Rep. Chaffetz completes his questioning. Wow. No “I am sorry, I feel terrible, my heart goes out to all of the families, this was stupid as shit,” or anything. Nope. Just more defensiveness from someone in Obama’s Administration.

Holy crap. I have to say, I am thankful for Congresspeople like Rep. Chaffetz and Issa, as well as Senators Grassley and Cornyn, for pursuing the truth about this horrendous program, “Fast and Furious.” May the truth prevail, and may justice roll down like water.

*UPDATE*: The calls for Holder to step down have increased to eight members of Congress.

Okay. Are you sitting down? Good. If you are drinking something, put it down. Alright. Here it is: Justice Dept. Proposes Lying, Hiding Existence Of Records Under New FOIA Rule.

Yes, you read that right. Can you believe that? They want to change FOIA so they can LIE to the American public. These people make me use colorful language, the jackwagons.

Here are the particulars:

A proposed revision to Freedom of Information Act rules would allow federal agencies to lie to citizens and reporters seeking certain records, telling them the records don’t exist.

The Justice Department has proposed the change as part of a large revision of FOIA rules for federal agencies. Specifically, the rule would direct government agencies who are denying a request under an established FOIA exemption to “respond to the request as if the excluded records did not exist,” rather than citing the relevant exemption.

The proposed rule has alarmed government transparency advocates across the political spectrum, who’ve called it “Orwellian” and say it will “twist” public access to government.

In a public comment regarding the rule change, the ACLU, along with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and OpenTheGovernment.org, said the move “will dramatically undermine government integrity by allowing a law designed to provide public access to government information to be twisted to permit federal law enforcement agencies to actively lie to the American people.”

Well, gee, you think? This is just beyond imagination. Obama’s Administration is FAR from being the transparent one he promised during the 2008 Campaign, not even close, as the article makes clear:

The news is “not surprising, coming from the Obama administration,” said Christopher J. Farrell, director of investigations and research at Judicial Watch.

“The Obama administration is already doing it right now by actively misleading the public concerning White House visitor logs,” Farrell said. “Every day, the Obama administration misrepresents and conceals the true, complete record of who is going in and out of the White House — all the while proclaiming themselves champions of transparency. It’s truly Orwellian. The proposed rule change should be rejected.”

Well, hell yes, it should be rejected. It is obscene that the DOJ would even SUGGEST such a thing, but not surprising given their MO since Obama took office and appointed Eric Holder in charge.

It is especially egregious in light of the claims Obama made about this very act:

Upon taking office, President Obama released a memorandum declaring his administration was “committed to operating with an unprecedented level of openness. Specifically, he pledged to bolster the strength of the FOIA act, calling it “the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open government.” (Click here to read the rest.)

Well, there is only one thing to say here – Barack Obama is a liar. A big, huge liar, as he has demonstrated time after time. When even the Huffington Post has to acknowledge that this Administration is far from transparent, you know it is bad.

You know, whenever I see something like this, or Obama’s recent tripping around the country pronouncing loudly for all to hear that he has no intention of following the US Constitution, and that Congress is superfluous, or shoving Obamacare down our throats, or giving half a billion to a company in Finland to make “green cars that only get 10mpg, and cost $90,000 a PIECE, or Solyndra, or calling Tea Party people (or anyone who opposes his policies) racist, or any NUMBER of things, it really, really pisses me off. It pisses me off at all of those people who threw good judgment out the window and voted for a slogan rather than a qualified candidate, who threatened people who did not support Obama, who engaged in voter and caucus fraud, who stole votes from Hillary, and on and on and on it goes, to put this man into the White House. The damage he and his Administration are doing to this nation expands daily.

So, thanks, all you boneheads who voted for this man, who gave him the most important job in the world on the thinnest of resumes (when you would NEVER hire someone for your own company or school on such flimsy records), who bought into his race-baiting, and engaged in rampant misogyny to support him. Thanks a whole lot for nothing.

Now, what the hell are you going to do to make this right?

The warning comes after Kenya sent troops across the border into Somalia to pursue Islamist Al-Shabaab militants. The terror group has threatened Kenya with retaliatory attacks, saying it considers the forces’ incursion an affront to Somalia’s sovereignty.

Al-Shabaab, which is linked to al Qaeda and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, is fighting to impose its own interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia, on Somalia.

Wow, yes, I can understand why they would be concerned about this danger, especially since two days after this alert was made, a grenade was detonated at a Kenyan pub. Yikes.

What I cannot understand, given the above and a host of similar dangers, is why our DOJ felt compelled to take back their current training manuals on terrorism. As one might expect, the manuals included information on Islamist terrorists. Well, CAIR, the Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood connected organization in America, along with another Muslim organization, threw a hissy fit about the US mentioning Islmaist terrorists in their manuals. So, what did the Obama Administration do? They kowtowed to CAIR:

Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole confirmed on Wednesday that the Obama administration was pulling back all training materials used for the law enforcement and national security communities, in order to eliminate all references to Islam that some Muslim groups have claimed are offensive.

“I recently directed all components of the Department of Justice to re-evaluate their training efforts in a range of areas, from community outreach to national security,” Cole told a panel at the George Washington University law school.

The move comes after complaints from advocacy organizations including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and others identified as Muslim Brotherhood front groups in the 2004 Holy Land Foundation terror fundraising trial.

In a Wednesday Los Angeles Times op-ed, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) president Salam al-Marayati threatened the FBI with a total cutoff of cooperation between American Muslims and law enforcement if the agency failed to revise its law enforcement training materials.

The DOJ is removing ALL references to Islam in these manuals. I am sorry, but this is just insane. This nation has suffered attacks at the hands of Islamists, and is under threat from Islamists around the globe even now. How dare our DOJ capitulate to an organization associated with the Muslim Brotherhood which has waged jihad against the United States!

Oh, but wait – there’s more:

Maintaining the training materials in their current state “will undermine the relationship between law enforcement and the Muslim American community,” al-Marayati wrote.

Multiple online sources detail MPAC’s close alignment with CAIR.

In his op-ed, Al-Marayati demanded that the Justice Department and the FBI “issue a clear and unequivocal apology to the Muslim American community” and “establish a thorough and transparent vetting process in selecting its trainers and materials.”

Specifically, al-Marayati called for a new “interagency task force” to review the training materials — a task force including representatives of the Islamist organizations the FBI is tasked with monitoring. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

So let me make sure I understand this. The very groups who have ties to Islamist radicals are making demands on just how our government goes about finding these groups, and how they deal with these threats? And the DOJ is acquiescing to this? Are you kidding me with this?

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t it precisely this kind of political correctness that allowed Major Nidal Hasan to stay in the Army? Despite his preaching radical Islam, associating with known terrorists (Anwar al-Awlaki),and poor performance reviews, he was allowed to stay in the Army. As a result, he was able to gun down a number of soldiers in cold blood at Fort Hood. Had it not been for the actions of a couple of people, there is no telling the amount of carnage he could have waged.

How CAIR, an organization the FBI determined was an organization affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, has amassed so much power in the United States is beyond me. What is even more startling is that it is not held in high regard by the majority of Muslims in this country: Although widely publicized in the media, CAIR is regarded as a leadership group by only 12 percent of Muslims in America, according to an August 2 report by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center. Muslim groups that separate politics from religion, such as the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, do not ally with progressive groups and get little media attention.

That said, considering high officials are submitting to them makes it clear that this DOJ needs a massive overhaul. From the top on down, including Eric Holder, and Deputy AG Cole, who acknowledged that these materials had been returned (at taxpayer expense to placate these groups, they need to go. They do not have our best interests at heart, and are putting us in danger by their caving to groups like CAIR. We have been attacked by radical Islamists, and those same groups are planning to do us harm even now. To deny this, to put US citizens at risk, is downright criminal, or it should be.

How many more American lives are we willing to lose in the name of political correctness? Naming an enemy and preparing for that enemy are not the same as being intolerant or biased, it is just the reality in which we live.

To ignore known and real threats as the DOJ is willing to do lest they offend is sheer insanity. At least that’s what I think. What do you think?

Intrepid reporter, Sharyl Atttkisson reported for CBS News brings us the latest on this new twist to “Fast and Furious”:

Police say Jean Baptiste Kingery, a U.S. citizen, was a veritable grenade machine. He’s accused of smuggling parts for as many as 2,000 grenades into Mexico for killer drug cartels — sometimes under the direct watch of U.S. law enforcement.

Law enforcement sources say Kingery could have been prosecuted in the U.S. twice for violating export control laws, but that, each time, prosecutors in Arizona refused to make a case.

Grenades are weapons-of-choice for the cartels. An attack on Aug. 25 in a Monterrey, Mexico casino killed 53 people.

Sources tell CBS News that, in January 2010, ATF had Kingery under surveillance after he bought about 50 grenade bodies and headed to Mexico. But they say prosecutors wouldn’t agree to make a case. So, as ATF agents looked on, Kingery and the grenade parts crossed the border — and simply disappeared.

Six months later, Kingery allegedly got caught leaving the U.S. for Mexico with 114 disassembled grenades in a tire. One ATF agent told investigators he literally begged prosecutors to keep Kingery in custody this time, fearing he was supplying narco-terrorists, but was again ordered to let Kingery go. (Click here to read the rest.)

I imagine this must have been unbelievably frustrating to these ATF agents to watch this guy walk. It probably went against everything they had been trained to do. Yet, under this Administration, under this DOJ, under this ATF, that is precisely what they had to do as this American citizen engaged in some mighty dangerous trafficking into Mexico.

Meanwhile, the DOJ, headed up by Liar in Chief, Eric Holder, has been mighty busy elsewhere. And just what is occupying their time, specifically the Civil Rights Division? I bet you could guess:

A senior official from President Barack Obama’s Justice Department spent Thursday night and Friday in Alabama appealing for evidence that could strike down the state’s innovative immigration-enforcement reform, which business executives say could open thousands of jobs to unemployed Americans.

The full-court press against the state’s immigration reform complements Obama’s 2012 campaign strategy, which seeks to spur turnout by Democratic-leaning Hispanics in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and other swing-states.

The law allows police to make a “reasonable attempt” to verify the legal residency of people who have been arrested or detained, and it requires public schools to check the eligibility of students.

The administration officials “see every Alabaman as having a Bull Connor on the inside waiting to come out … [and] they’re attacking Alabama to motivate left-wing voters in other states,” said Mark Krikorian, direct of the Center for Immigration Studies. Among progressives, “it is 1963 forever,” he added.

The state had an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent in August, slightly down from 10 percent in July. Unemployment in Alabama’s poorest counties, which are mostly African-American, is above 20 percent. (Click here to read the rest, and there is much more to this article.)

In fact, unemployment in the African American community continues to hit hard, so it makes sense this Administration would be so concerned about a state certifying workers are here in the country legally. Oh, no, wait a minute – no it doesn’t, especially when the state contends its own citizens would benefit from illegal immigrants returning to their country. One would think that such rampant unemployment within the AA community would be of primary importance to Obama, who benefited mightily in 2008 from this community. One would be wrong.

No other country in the world has such open borders as those demanded by some in this country, including this Administration, which consistently sides with those who are here ILLEGALLY rather than the states trying to keep them out. The country from which a quarter of these illegal immigrants come, Mexico, has an incredibly strict policy regarding illegal immigrants (did you know that Mexico deports more illegal aliens a year than the United States? Yeah. That says a lot, doesn’t it?). Yet, Obama and his minions seem to care less for the rule of law in this country than about the potential votes they might get. There is something seriously wrong with that.

Just as there is something seriously wrong with government officials watching someone break the law with impunity – numerous times – and doing nothing about it. Nothing. Even knowing that what the person is trafficking will rain down fire and brimstone on those caught up in some drug cartel’s battle. But, hey, whatever, right?

And all of this is taking place under the auspices of our “Department of Justice.” I can only shake my head in disgust. How about you?

But I don’t want to get ahead of myself. What Ms. Attkisson said in a recent CBS radio interview with Chris Stigall is really startling, shocking, infuriating, and disconcerting. No, really, it is. Check out these excerpts from the interview:

“Since the very beginning, those who knew a lot more about this case than I did, including officials who work for the Obama Administration – this is nothing particularly against him or anyone else who happened to be in charge – they have said this is bigger than Iran Contra. They have said this is bigger than Watergate.” Attkisson replied.

The CBS investigative reporter also noted, “The idea that this started as one whistleblower that pretty much all the officials were painting out to be a liar – an ATF agent in Phoenix. And to see where this has moved over the months to officials admitting, okay this program was going on but it was isolated to Phoenix, Arizona. Then saying, okay people did know about it at ATF headquarters, but that’s where it stopped. To saying, ok the White House and DOJ did know about Fast & Furious but they didn’t know about the details.”

Doesn’t that just make you so angry? The lies, lies, and more lies to cover up what this Administration did while casting false aspersions against the whistleblower. And that is just the start of it.

Attkisson discusses the issue of Holder and his testimony, and there is lots coming out about that now (again, Holder has been subpoenad), but this part of the interview really caught my eye:

The Philadelphia radio host then queried, “Do you believe Sharyl that this goes beyond the Department of Justice because of the international nature and the homeland security nature? I have read people surmising that this has to involve almost by definition it must involve the Secretary of State’s office and the Department of Homeland Security.”

“Congress is trying to find that out, they’ve been asking for documents from the State Department and other departments and haven’t always gotten – well, they haven’t gotten a lot of what they asked for, so they don’t know yet.” Attkisson replied. (Click here to read the rest.)

Okay, I had not thought about the potential State Department component of all of this. It makes sense, of course, considering the involvement with another nation. Naturally, any discussion of the State Department cannot be had without mentioning the head of the Department, Sec. Clinton.

I know this is going to sound silly, but it honestly choked me up to read this. I am just so disheartened by Clinton’s participation in this tainted Administration, and all of the ways her carrying out Obama’s flawed policies affect her. With hindsight being 20/20, I wish she had never sullied her name by going to work for this man. Now, she is connected to this incredibly short-sighted program which cost the life of a border patrol agent and numerous Mexicans, giving support to the TALIBAN opening offices in Qatar, even as they are attacking our embassies and military bases, and validating the Muslim Brotherhood. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Never mind her going to work for a man who was abusive to her, and women in general, a reality that overshadows her work for women and children.

Indeed – all I can think of is the old adage, if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

As for Holder, despite his whining and complaining, he is in the very midst of this whole thing. I love this excuse from the head of the DOJ:

On Friday, Holder sent a letter to congressional investigators stating that he does not read every document addressed to him and that they are reviewed by members of his staff. Holder went on to say that none of the reports mentioned the controversial tactics used in Fast and Furious.

Ah, the “I didn’t do my job by reading these critical reports” defense. Good one! Except Issa is not buying what Holder is selling (thank goodness):

On Monday, Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is investigating the scandal, replied to Holder in a letter saying, “Operation Fast and Furious was the department’s most significant gun trafficking case. Whether you realize yet or not, you own Fast and Furious. It is your responsibility.”

Issa told “Fox News Sunday” that he was going to issue the subpoena to find out why the top Justice officials are “denying knowing about something that they were briefed on?”

“We want to know what and when they knew it,” he said. “But more importantly, we have to understand — at what level of the authorization really come? It wasn’t an ATF operation. They were part of that. It was a joint operation in which DEA knew more than ATF.” (Click here to read the rest.)

Yes, we DO want to know what, where, how, why all of this came to be, as well as the involvement of the State Department, and any other government departments that may have had a hand in this poorly conceived program.

So, let the subpoenas fly, Rep. Issa. Let’s get tot the bottom of this no matter where it leads or who it takes down. Watergate was big, HUGE, in fact. If this is bigger, then let the hearings begin…

Does Holder care that Obama continues to by-pass Congress with his numerous Executive Orders, skirting US law? Nah. Does he care that Labor Secretary Solis declares that the US will extend all the same labor rights and benefits to illegal immigrants that citizens enjoy? Nuh uh. Does he think it is the least bit suspicious that the head of the AFL/CIO, Richard Trumka, has made, on average, a visit to the White House every 16 days, or that Trumka talks to the White House EVERY DAY, which might imply an extraordinary influence on policy? Yawn. Nope.

So what DOES Holder and the DOJ see as critical? Upholding India’s law – even though India did not ask them to do so.

Huh?

Yes, the DOJ is going after Gibson Guitars for using a particular type of wood from India for their fret boards that the DOJ claims violates INDIA’S laws. WTH? Are you kidding me?? The answer would be no – this is not a joke. The DOJ has raided Gibson Guitars. I am just shaking my head in disbelief. I saw something about this while on vacation, and thought it must have been the (virgin) Pina Coladas by the pool, but no – it is real. The US DOJ is going after them for what they perceive as Gibson violating another country’s laws :

Juszkiewiz said the government suggested that the company’s use of unfinished wood from India is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because of the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law in India. The Holder Justice Department raided at least two Gibson manufacturing plants this week forcing hundreds of workers off their jobs. Juszkiewiz says the company lost a million dollars this week.

Finally, Henry Juszkiewicz told Dana, “The Obama Justice Department wants us to just shut our doors and go away.” He says he will continue to fight for the Gibson company and its workers.

To say that the CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, is hot under the collar about this is both an understatement, and understandable:

“What it does is it shuts down production because we use that as raw material. If they take our raw material we can’t produce the product. So it’s been extremely disruptive beyond the value content,” said Juszkiewicz, according to a story from Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 WTVF-TV.

According to a press release from Gibson, the heart of the issue comes down to the Department of Justice’s interpretation of a law in India.

Federal agencies have “suggested that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law in India. (If the same wood from the same tree was finished by Indian workers, the material would be legal.),” the Gibson press release said.

This is not Gibson’s first brush with federal agents. In 2009, agents seized guitars and ebony fingerboard blanks from Madagascar, according to the Gibson press release and other stories.

Holy cow. Are they KIDDING with this? Really? This is where we are? Holding companies to account for laws in OTHER countries, which it appears they are not violating anyway? It is disturbing to the extreme that the same agency that gave us “Fast and Furious” is going after a guitar maker for wood legally imported from another country based on its interpretation of the other country’s laws.

This is insanity. The DOJ is failing across the board to ensure compliance in this country on a host of laws, but they are raiding a small manufacturing company that is in compliance with US laws? Wow. I tell you, 2012 cannot come soon enough for me. No telling how much more damage Obama and his Administration will do to the country in the time remaining to his destructive stint in the White House, but good grief, this is just beyond the pale. What’s next, going after any number of companies because they might not support The One with their donations (better watch out, Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz – you could be next), or because their companies are not unionized? Holder claims this is not political in nature. And I think he is full of crap.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Obama realized the CEO of Gibson Guitars will be in attendance at his big Jobs speech tonight (which sounds like it will be more of the same o’, same o’ from him – I expected nothing less). Yep, Henry Juszkiewicz will be the guest of Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), sitting there looking at Obama while he blathers on. Rich, ain’t it?

Something is seriously, seriously wrong at the DOJ when they start trying to impose the laws of other countries on a select company, select because its CEO belongs to the wrong party, it would seem. Hmm. This reminds me of something. What could it be? Oh, yes – now I remember. Revenge. And that has no place in our government.

A U.S. law enforcement operation intended to crack down on major weapons traffickers on the Southwest border spiraled out of control as federal agents were told by superiors to “stand down” and ignore weapons bought in Arizona headed for Mexico, a House panel heard Wednesday.

Three federal firearms investigators told the House Oversight and Government Reform committee that they wanted to “intervene and interdict” loads of guns, but were repeatedly ordered to step aside.

“Allowing loads of weapons that we knew to be destined for criminals — this was the plan,” John Dodson, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent, testified to the panel. “It was so mandated.”

He added: “My supervisors directed me and my colleagues not to make any stop or arrest, but rather, to keep the straw purchaser under surveillance while allowing the guns to walk.” [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)

Holy cow. I don’t know about you, but I find that to be incredibly disturbing.

This program was halted when Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry, 40, was killed with one of the guns from this incredibly misguided, ill conceived, dare I say, idiotic, program.

Here’s the thing – finding out who actually authorized this program has been much harder than it should be. Obama denied that it was Eric Holder, though the ATF is under his purview. If you have seen any of the hearings on Capitol Hill, you know that trying to get that name has been like trying to pull hen’s teeth. But Obama said that there will be swift action against whoever it was, though it sure wasn’t Holder. Yeah, okay. Well, SOMEONE approved this plan.

That was then. This is now. And that is not the end of it, not by a long shot. The All Stars discussed this very issue on Tuesday night after several Mexican officials, in response to deaths in Mexico as a result ofn “Operation Fast and Furious” spoke out:

Yes, this is a big deal, and Eric Holder has lots of ‘splaining to do. That’s what Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley think, too, as this Daily Caller article highlights:

Top Republican lawmakers have authored an explosive new letter containing details of secret testimony by acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson, which reveal for the first time the extent to which his agency was involved in an international gun selling scandal.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, fired off the letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Tuesday detailing what Melson told Congressional investigators in a secret July 4 testimony.

One key takeaway from the meeting was that Melson acknowledged to investigators that agents had witnessed transfers of weapons from straw purchasers to third parties without following the guns afterwards. Straw purchasers are people who could technically legally buy guns in the U.S. but their intent was to turn around and sell them to drug cartels in Mexico.

Another point Melson clarified for investigators was that the ATF group carrying out the mission of Operation Fast and Furious was placed under the direction of the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s office. The U.S. Attorney in Arizona, Dennis Burke, is a political appointee of the Obama administration.[snip]

Here’s the thing, though – it seems that, Obama’s pledge notwithstanding, the DOJ is not being at all helpful in getting to the bottom of this. Gee, aren’t you surprised by that? No? I wasn’t, either:

The DOJ has not been fully cooperative with a number of Issa’s and Grassley’s requests for documents and other evidence in this investigation. According to the July 5 letter, Issa and Grassley said Melson told them he asked the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) to be more cooperative with Congressional requests for information, evidence and documents.

Their letter also details how Melson told Issa and Grassley that he and other senior ATF officials moved to reassign every major official involved in Operation Fast and Furious. Melson said Obama administration Justice Department officials directed him and other ATF officials to not communicate to Congress the reasoning behind the reassignments. [snip]
(Click here to read the rest.)

Oh, the plot thickens. No doubt, it will get thicker before all is known about this incredibly stupid, moronic plot. As you might guess, those firearms that were purchased were done so on our dime.

Despite the Democrats’ attempts to try to defuse this issue and make it all about gun laws, this is about the DOJ, and the ATF. It is about who crafted, and authorized, this program which cost the life of an agent, and lives across the border. I hope Rep. Issa and Sen. Grassley stand firm in getting to the bottom of this.

I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg. What do you think?

Naturally, Obama’s Administration has continued the trend of Obama the Candidate. It has taken a major step back in that whole transparency thing, according to the AP. Even when he wins awards for being transparent, he has to do so in a closed ceremony – how much more hypocritical can one be?

Well, there is one bit of transparency that is now coming forth about Obama. And that is how he pays off his big campaign donors. Of course, it is not unusual for a president to give a plum position to a big contributor, but Obama has done so for about 200 – that is two hundred – of his supporters in government positions in just two years. By comparison, George W. Bush hired about 200 contributors over EIGHT years. Uh, yeah.

So much for that “change” in Washington from “special interests,” huh? I know, I know, I am not surprised, either, but I didn’t drink the Kool Aide and vote for the man who made this claim:

[snip] As a candidate, Obama spoke passionately about diminishing the clout of moneyed interests. Kicking off his presidential run on Feb. 10, 2007, he blasted “the cynics, the lobbyists, the special interests,” who had “turned our government into a game only they can afford to play.”

“We’re here today to take it back,” he said.[snip]

Ahahahahaha – I know, I know, it is hilarious. Or it would be if so many people hadn’t bought this total BS.

And in direct contradiction to what the candidate said, here are some particulars of Obama the president’s sycophants:

Telecom executive Donald H. Gips raised a big bundle of cash to help finance his friend Barack Obama’s run for the presidency.

Gips, a vice president of Colorado-based Level 3 Communications, delivered more than $500,000 in contributions for the Obama war chest, while two other company executives collected at least $150,000 more.

After the election, Gips was put in charge of hiring in the Obama White House, helping to place loyalists and fundraisers in many key positions. Then, in mid-2009, Obama named him ambassador to South Africa. Meanwhile, Level 3 Communications, in which Gips retained stock, received millions of dollars of government stimulus contracts for broadband projects in six states — though Gips said he had been “completely unaware” that the company had received the contracts.

[...]

• Overall, 184 of 556, or about one-third of Obama bundlers or their spouses joined the administration in some role. But the percentages are much higher for the big-dollar bundlers. Nearly 80 percent of those who collected more than $500,000 for Obama took “key administration posts,” as defined by the White House. More than half the 24 ambassador nominees who were bundlers raised $500,000.

• The big bundlers had broad access to the White House for meetings with top administration officials and glitzy social events. In all, campaign bundlers and their family members account for more than 3,000 White House meetings and visits. Half of them raised $200,000 or more.

• Some Obama bundlers have ties to companies that stand to gain financially from the president’s policy agenda, particularly in clean energy and telecommunications, and some already have done so. Level 3 Communications, for instance, snared $13.8 million in stimulus money.[snip]

The last one is particularly troublesome to me. I thought the nation generally frowned upon companies having inside tracks to getting our hard earned, tax paying dollars. I dunno about you, but for Level 3 to get that kind of cold, hard cash from the stimulus sounds like payback to me. (You know, the $3 Trillion stimulus that Obama thought was a joking matter the other day? When he flippantly, arrogantly, joked there weren’t as many shovel ready jobs as they thought, that one? What a piece of work. It is not a laughing matter to most of us, President Obama.)

Oh, but wait – there is more:

[snip] The appointment of George Washington University law professor Spencer Overton illustrates how the administration has rewarded many top fundraisers.

Overton wrote in 2003 that the influence big donors wield in elections means that an “overwhelming majority of citizens are effectively excluded from an important stage of the political process.” Yet Overton bundled at least $500,000 for Obama. He was named to the Obama transition team and in February 2009 was appointed principal deputy attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy. Overton visited the White House more than 80 times from January 2009 through the end of 2010 for events ranging from small meetings with high-level staffers to social and entertainment events, sometimes with his wife, records show. Overton resigned the $180,000-a-year job in July 2010. He declined to comment for this story.

Overton is one of seven campaign bundlers who took jobs at Justice, including Attorney General Eric Holder, who was a $50,000 bundler. Holder had been deputy attorney general in the administration of President Bill Clinton. [snip]

Just to be clear, here is the problem with “bundling” contributions:

[snip] Bundling is controversial because it permits campaigns to skirt individual contribution limits of $2,500 in federal elections. Bundlers pool donations from fundraising networks and, as a result, “play an enormous role in determining the success of political campaigns,” according to government watchdog Public Citizen. [snip]

Yes, that would be a bit of a problem. And it also helps explain how someone who has made such a mess of the DOJ got his position. Of course, I am referring to Eric Holder, who has been just a disaster in upholding federal law (the examples are too numerous to mention here, but the dismissal of the clear cut voter intimidation by the New Black Panthers case is the tip of the iceberg).

There is so much more to this story I cannot possibly recount it all here, so I urge you to read it all. It goes into more detail about those who got these positions, but I have to leave you with one more example:

[snip] In March 2009, Obama appointed $500,000 bundler and law school pal Julius Genachowski to chair the Federal Communications Commission, an independent agency. Two other bundlers at the FCC are chief of staff Edward Lazarus, a litigator and former federal prosecutor, and William T. Lake, a lawyer specializing in communications and e-commerce issues who serves as chief of the media bureau.

Genachowski had previously served as chief counsel to the FCC chairman in the 1990s, but his close ties to Obama have raised eyebrows. He has turned up so often at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. that in March, congressional Republicans demanded an accounting of whom he has met with and what was discussed. [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)

You know someone is spending a lot of time at the White House when US Representatives are demanding to know just what the hell they are doing there all of the time.

Ah, yes – the only thing transparent about Obama is how much “change” he is getting from his bundlers. I mean, members of his Administration. Heaven knows, they siphoned a whole boatload of it into his coffers. He is returning the favor with OUR change.

That is the kind of change I can do without.