ATF Operation Castaway Could Be Florida's Fast and Furious Scandal

When Barack Obama promised Sarah Brady he was pursuing gun control "under the radar," maybe he really meant it. The new controversy surrounds the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' Operation Castaway.

Operation Castaway is the program that led to the arrest of, gun dealer, Hugh Crumpler III. He has been charged for his part in a weapons smuggling operation from Florida to Central America. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R) is asking, Attorney General, Eric Holder and, ATF Acting Director, Kenneth Melson questions about the full nature of the ATF's Operation Castaway, specifically about the involvement of the ATF's Tampa Field Division.

The ATF is already denying any wrongdoing in the program. The ATF is claiming Operation Castaway was nothing like the botched Fast and Furious program that had ATF personnel allowing and encouraging weapons to flow from gun stores in the United States and into the hands of Mexican gangs. The problem is how do we trust the ATF? We already caught them allowing the smuggling of weapons to Mexico. How can we now be expected to believe the ATF would not also allow weapons to be smuggled into Central America?

How many more programs like this have been going on? Has our federal government had a secret policy of allowing weapons to illegally fall into the hands of dangerous criminals? If so, what is the motivation? The only obvious answer is that ATF is attempting to build a case for more gun laws in the United States, especially with regard to the sale of assault weapons.

Barack Obama for Community Organizer 2012

Bararck Obama for Community Organizer 2012 Campaign Poster

Barack Obama has not been much of a President, but we've all heard he was an awesome community organizer.  Maybe he should give that another try.

Obama Using ATF to Pass Gun Control Under the Radar

Barack Obama Giving the Finger

When Barack Obama told Sarah Brady he was pursuing gun control "under the radar," people began to wonder exactly what he meant. Now, we have a specific example of how a President can abuse his power, overstep his authority, and circumvent the system to enact his own special gun laws.

Under the Obama administration, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, commonly known as the ATF, has unilaterally passed a new rule that requires firearms dealers in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas to report to the ATF sales to an individual of multiple semiautomatic rifles, greater than .22 caliber, with detachable magazines during any five-day period. The stated purpose of this new law is to limit the flow of firearms from the Untied States to Mexico.

This new rule essentially amounts to a new federal gun-control law; however, it was passed without a single vote in Congress. Barack Obama knew he could never get this sort of gun-control law through both houses of Congress, so he just created the law through executive authority and got in through the backdoor.

One of the most problematic features of this new gun law is that is does not apply equally to all states. American citizens who live in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas are now subject to more federal gun restrictions than those citizens in other states. Since the federal government cannot impose federal laws on specific groups of people, this law is unconstitutional.

We may not have to spend a lot of time worrying about the uneven application of this law on the southern border states, however. If the ATF gets away with this law, they are bound to expand it to more states. Eventually, the Obama administration will argue the law was so effective in curbing illegal gun sales in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas that the gun smugglers have started using buyers in states like Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah, etc. Then the ATF will expand the law to other states. Eventually, the law will probably apply to Alaska too. Do not be surprised if Barack Obama and the ATF start claiming people are buying guns in Alaska, putting them on boats, and sailing them down the Pacific coast to Mexico.

A ridiculous part of this new rule is the "greater than .22 caliber" clause. Nearly all firearms, except .22s themselves, are greater than .22 caliber. The ATF probably threw in this clause to give the illusion the ATF is concerned only with high-powered rifles. In reality, this law going after just about any rifle caliber. For example, the ATF has always been very aggressive about targeting, AR-15s, the civilian version of the M16. Standard AR-15s fire .223 (similar to 5.56 NATO). Even though the .223 round is only moderately powerful, when compared to most rifle rounds, the ATF probably set the power threshold so low for this law so they could include AR-15s.

Also note that the ATF is specifically mentioning "detachable magazines" and "semiautomatic" rifles in the rule. This is just code for "assault weapons." The ATF simply does not like people have assault weapons, and those are the first weapons they would abolish if given the chance. That is what they are pursuing with this rule. This rule is what will set the stage for eventually placing stricter controls on the types of guns the ATF does not like.

The most egregious element to all of this ATF reporting business is the hypocrisy. The Obama administration is claiming that too many firearms are ending up in Mexico, but the ATF's "Fast and Furious" program was deliberately allowing actual working firearms to be transferred to Mexican gangs. Obama and the ATF are out panicking everyone about how many US weapons are ending up in the hands of gangs in Mexico when our government was just caught intentionally allowing--and even encouraging--those weapons to flow into Mexico as part of a organized effort. You just can't make this stuff up.

Obama Stimulus Cost $278,000 per Job

Barack Obama - My Stimulus Package Poster
Image: Pundit Kitchen

Barack Obama's stimulus was a spectacular failure. Click the link below to read the full article from Jeffrey H. Anderson at The Weekly Standard.

"Obama’s Economists: ‘Stimulus’ Has Cost $278,000 per Job"

Barack Obama Blunders on Death of Medal of Honor Winner

Medal of Honor (Army)

Obama got the facts wrong when speaking to troop at Fort Drum on June 23, 2011. He essentailly stated that Jared Monti was alive when he received the Medal of Honor, when the medal actually had to be awarded posthumpously because Jared Monti was killed in Afghanistan on June 21, 2006 while placing himself in extreme danger to rescue Specialist Brian J. Bradbury.

Here is what Barack Obama said.

"Throughout my service, first as a senator and then as a presidential candidate and then as a President, I’ve always run into you guys. And for some reason it’s always in some rough spots.

First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn’t receiving it posthumously."

Salvatore Giunta received the Medal of Honor while alive, and this was probably where Obama got confused. To some, this might seem like an honest mistake, but we are not talking about the odd troop here and there. Jared Monti and Salvatore Giunta were both awarded the Medal of Honor, and one of them actually died while displaying the overwhelming courage required to win such and award. The Medal of Honor is no common thing. This is a tremendous honor bestowed on only the bravest of the brave.

Barack Obama should not get a pass on this one. There is no excuse to mess up such an important detail in public, especially when the audience is the men and women actively serving their country. Barack Obama should take the time to learn the names of the most heroic soldiers so bravely fighting and dying in his protracted wars. If he cannot be bothered to learn the names, at least he should have the decency to load them into his teleprompter.

Barack Obama 2012 Campaign Poster

Barack Obama 2012 Campaign Poster

Barack Obama Pursuing Gun Control under the Radar

Prominent gun control activist, Sarah Brady said that, in a meeting, Barack Obama assured her that gun control is very much on his agenda. Regarding gun control, Sarah Brady recalls that Barack Obama said, "I just want you to know that we are working on it." and "We have to go through a few processes but under the radar."

Do we really want a President who fiddles with the Bill of Rights? More seriously, do we want a President who feels the need to fiddle the Bill of Rights "under the radar"?