It has been quite a long time since there has been anything to write about Fast and Furious. In fact since Eric Holder ran to Barack Obama and begged the president to use Executive Privilege to seal the documents which I believe show the upper level of the Obama regime to have been complicit in the scandal the investigation has been dead for all intents and purposes.
But today Darrell Issa, and all those who want to learn the truth about the scandal which left Brian Terry and Jamie Zapata dead, won a small victory.
This government-contrived tragedy near Naples, ID in 1992 – followed by Waco in ’93 – were the opening shots. Did we miss their meaning? Look back on these two 20-year-old events through what you now know about the expansion of unchecked government-power since. Do you like where we have gone?
A Western New York man now faces seven years in prison for violating Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new gun control-law, the NY Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act (or SAFE Act).
Benjamin M. Wassell. Credit: Buffalo News
Benjamin M. Wassell, an Iraq War veteran, was charged with twice selling newly banned military-style ‘assault’ weapons and standard-capacity magazines to an undercover police officer as part of a sting operation conducted by State Police and the New York Attorney General’s Office, the Buffalo News reported.
Altogether, the 32-year-old Silver Creek resident was slapped with three felony charges and one misdemeanor, which as noted could end up putting Wassell, who has no prior convictions, behind bars for as many as seven years.
“By selling these illegal firearms, Mr. Wassell’s actions had potentially dangerous consequences for New Yorkers,” said state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “We have seen far too much gun violence in our state in recent months, and the sale of illegal semiautomatic weapons will not go unpunished.”
On Jan. 24 Wassell sold a Del-Ton AR-15 to an undercover agent along with six standard-capacity magazines and 299 rounds of ammunition for $1,900.
Due do the fact that the rifle has one or more military cosmetic characteristics, i.e. a detachable magazine, a pistol grip and a telescoping stock, it is considered an ‘assault’ weapon under the NY SAFE Act and cannot be sold to anyone but a licensed dealer or an out-of-state citizen.
The first sale Wassell made to the undercover officer was made nine days after the Governor rammed through the law in the dead of night after waving the mandatory three-day legislative review period. Instead of arresting Wassell after his first offense, the investigators held out and remained undercover to see if he would sell another banned firearm. Unfortunately, he did…
Thoughts and analysis. This is only beginning.
Gun owners in the Empire State should be on high-alert moving forward. Both Cuomo and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg will continue to appropriate state and city resources to conducting sting operations that attempt to entrap law-abiding gun owners.
NY SAFE Act: Question on ‘Assault’ Weapons Registration
The way it looks, lawmakers want to ensure that this law is taken seriously. Previously legal firearms are now banned. And if you fail to register them in the coming weeks, you’re now a criminal in the eyes of the state.
Also, please note that these laws do not only apply to firearms, but magazines as well. The NY SAFE Act put a retroactive ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. If you’re caught with a 10-plus round magazine, you’re a criminal. If you load more than seven rounds in your ten round magazine, you’re in violation of the law.
“… He asked me would I mind if he searched my vehicle, and I said, ‘Well, yes, I would mind if you searched my vehicle.’ ”
But thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, the deputy did not have to take no for an answer. In the 2005 case Illinois v. Caballes, the Court declared that “the use of a well-trained narcotics-detection dog…during a lawful traffic stop generally does not implicate legitimate privacy interests.” So the deputy was free to walk his dog around Burns’ truck. “He got out with this dog and went around the car, two or three times,” Burns says. “He came back and said the dog had ‘passively alerted’ on my vehicle.” via This Dog Can Send You to Jail – Reason.com.
Project censored: The expanding police state tops the annual list of stories under-reported by the mainstream media, By Yael Chanoff – Thursday, October 11,2012
People who get their information exclusively from mainstream media sources may be surprised at the lack of enthusiasm on the left for President Barack Obama in this crucial election. But that’s probably because they weren’t exposed to the full online furor sparked by Obama’s continuation of his predecessor’s overreaching approach to national security, such as signing the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, which allows the indefinite detention of those accused of supporting terrorism, even U.S. citizens.
We’ll never know how this year’s election would be different if the corporate media adequately covered the NDAA’s indefinite detention clause and many other recent attacks on civil liberties. What we can do is spread the word and support independent media sources that do cover these stories. That’s where Project Censored comes in. Continue reading →
Everybody loves texting (click to jump to source article)
In November 2009, police officers in the state of Washington seized an iPhone belonging to suspected drug dealer Daniel Lee. While the phone was in police custody, a man named Shawn Hinton sent a text message to the device, reading, “Hey whats up dogg can you call me i need to talk to you.” Suspecting that Hinton was looking to buy drugs from Lee, Detective Kevin Sawyer replied to the message, posing as Lee. With a series of text messages, he arranged to meet Hinton in the parking lot of a local grocery store—where Hinton was arrested and charged with attempted possession of heroin. Continue reading →
The New York Times points out that two-thirds of the most frightening post-9/11 plans for attacks on American soil were stings orchestrated by the government agents. Typically, a bumbling, gullible, down on their luck “potential terrorist” with no history of violence is coaxed into some sort of involvement and then arrested, followed by news media trumpeting the “narrowly foiled plot” Continue reading →