Gadahn Nabbed

The Pakistani government has announced the capture of Adam Gadahn this morning. You do not know how long I have awaited the day that this traitorous piece of dung is pulled out of circulation. To al Quaeda he is known as Azzam al Amriki (Azzam the American). To me he is know as a walking corpse. I just hope that Obama doesn't pardon him. With my luck he will. I just hope he gets a nice horny Biker as a cell mate. Oh well at least he's done helping our enemies.

So Much for Posse Comitatus

Those who read my post from last night will perhaps remember me mentioning the potential use of Army troops on American soil. I'm sure some of my KoolAid drinking readers scoffed at that. Well next thing you know, some ex police cadet goes wacko in Alabama and goes on a shooting spree. Then what do I see in the news coverage? This picture from Reuters (click it to see it in its original context):



the caption reads: "U.S. Army soldiers from Ft. Rucker patrol the downtown area of Samson, Alabama after a shooting spree March 10, 2009."

You see there in that picture if you look at the detail a very serious problem. US Army ACU uniforms combined with vests reading "Police".

Perhaps some of my less informed readers might not know what posse comitatus is. Allow me to inform you. Posse Comitatus is a federal law that was passed on June 16th 1878 after the Civil War. This law was a strengthening of the Insurrection Act of 1807 and a reaction to the stationing of federal forces in the former states of the Confederacy. In effect, it makes it illegal for federal military forces to be deployed to act in any law enforcement capacity.

Wikipedia has a pretty good article about it.

Interesting that no "mainstream media" outlet is mentioning this tidbit, not even Reuters the outfit that published the picture.

A Few Misc. Topics

I've been very busy lately, but there were a few items I wanted to post on tonight.

First off, I got a rather disturbing call this evening. My father called. My wife answered the phone and immediately knew something was amiss from the tone of his voice.

My father and step-mother were traveling between their home in the Rocky Mountains back to the East Coast to visit family. They had stopped along the way to overnight in Illinois. When my father came out of the motel to load the vehicle to leave he encountered a man who told him a sob story.

My father being the kind man he is, decided to help the man by giving him a ride. Well long story short, the man managed to navigate my father to an unfrequented location where he could be relieved of his wallet and car. My father is physically unharmed from his encounter but has suffered monetary and also without a doubt psychological trauma from the encounter.

Way to go land of Lincoln, preying on an elderly gentleman that is only trying to follow his convictions and be a good Samaritan.

I am resolved that my father will never travel again without a means to defend himself from such predation.

Next topic. This article was forwarded to me by a co-worker. Can someone tell me why Obama is so damned reticent to produce his birth certificate in order to remove all doubts about his eligibility to be president? I mean honestly. I'm tired of people forwarding me all of these articles about all of these challenges to his eligibility to fill the office. I mean if there is no problem with his documentation why not just cough it up to quell the noise?

I guess this is just another instance of the broken promise of openness in his administration.

Now on another note, this one addressed to the folks forwarding these articles to me... Honestly, do we really want to challenge Obama's eligibility? Think about the ramifications for a moment. Even if he is indeed ineligible to be president, ejecting him would only mean that we would be relegated to the loathsome prospect of a Biden/Pelosi administration. Talk about a case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire".

Beyond that the liberals could give a rat's ass about upholding the constitution.

Next topic... Rex 84. Also known as Readiness Exercise 84.

For those not familiar with it here is the politically correct Wikipedia page on it. Here is a somewhat less politically correct presentation of the information.

Now, I'm not usually the type that engages in conspiracy theories. I usually leave that to the mindless Ron Paul drones. But, the second page does indeed present a number of executive orders that can be researched and doing so does seem to support their contentions.

Now to my question. I've read the constitution from front to back more times than I can count. Nowhere in that document did I find any authorization that allows a president to rule by fiat. That is, in effect what executive orders are, the executive branch dictating law.

Answers.com presents a collection the standard arguments that are used to justify the issuance of executive orders, but all of these explanations seem vaporous at best to me. I thought the whole idea behind the blood spilled in our revolution and creation of the constitution was to eliminate the abuses that ensue from being ruled at the whim of a regent.

Beyond that as I mentioned before, the liberals scoff at the constitution... Doubt that, why then are they deploying troops inside our nation's borders to employ the lessons they've learned in Iraq against American citizens to put down the civil unrest that is sure to arise with the implementation of all of these socialist policies?

Last topic. The French recently honored the last surviving British veteran of the bloody trenches of World War I. Ambassador Maurice Gourdault-Montagne awarded 110-year-old Briton, Harry Patch the Legion of Honor medal.

It is always sad to see these first hand recollections of history passing from our collective grasp.

Frank Buckles at 109 years old, is the last living American veteran of WWI. It is sad to see these ranks thinning. The ranks of our WWII veterans are also sadly becoming thinner. So many of these folks have stories of endurance, honor and courage that could inspire and stand as stark lessons for our pampered youth to learn.

They can tell us stories of national resolve in the face of adversity. Unfortunately, I doubt our nation could successfully endure the challenge of fighting either of the world wars in this day and age. Our national resolve would shrivel to raisins on the vine in no time flat in the face of casualties in the field and rationing back at home. We're too busy bailing out businesses that don't deserve being bailed out, sucking at the government tit, discarding the free market, nationalizing businesses and carjacking elderly good Samaritans.

I can only shake my head in shame at the vapid shadow of our former greatness that we as a nation have become.

AWB Part Deux

I don't know how many people have told me that the "blue dog" democrats wouldn't allow the passage of any gun control legislation and that Obama wasn't an anti-gunner. Bovine feces! Socialists hate an armed public. They hate the idea that they might be resisted when they come to confiscate "nationalize" your property.

Eric Holder, (Obama's Attorney General) announced today the administration's intentions to reinstate the now defunct Clinton-era assault weapons ban. Click the title of this post for an article.

I challenge any liberal to provide me with any real proof that this idiotic imposition on the rights of Americans had any positive effect reducing violent crime. Simply stated, there was no increase in criminality after the AWB expired. There was no decrease in criminality while it was in effect. Banning guns does nothing except impose on the rights of Americans and prevent them from pursuing happiness and defending their families.

Obama ran on the mantra of "Change"... So far, there's not been any change. The only change I've seen is that he's trying to out-Clinton Clinton. Change indeed... I can only shake my head in disgust.

An Atmosphere of Fear

Prior to the election of the sainted Barack, any time the specter of terrorism arose in political discourse our liberal foes would lower their crooked, boney fingers accusingly and shriek the words "fear monger!" Indeed we had been attacked. In fact, more people died in the attack on 9/11 than died during the attack that launched this nation into World War II. Of course the libs denied in droves that it was terrorists that perpetrated that attack. It was of course our own government that killed all of those people they posited.

This perception that we were "using fear" was bolstered by the fact that the much hated president Bush had been so very effective at preventing further attacks. Our men and women in uniform had taken the fight to the terrorists' home turf and kept them busy there. Our national security agencies had managed to break up every attempt to cause us further harm. The libs were lulled into a false sense of security.

Well now that atmosphere of fear mongering has of course subsided. The holy Hussein has ascended his throne and now everything is goodness and light, right?

Well no. Obama is trying to shove trillion dollar spending packages down our throat so fast that no one can look under the covers to see what a bitter pill that package truly is! He tries to sell it as an economic stimulus package. Of course no one is stupid enough to believe that a trillion dollars worth of condoms, dog parks, butterfly resorts, gifts for perpetrators of voter fraud and STD research is going to stimulate a damned thing (except for the egos of the liberal legislators that take their seats in the Kremlin of the new USSA). Everyone with a clear mind sees that this "stimulus" package is nothing more than a tool to cram pork and liberal societal engineering experiments down our throats.

What is Obama using as a shoe horn to cram this thing down our throats? Why nothing but good old fashioned fear mongering of course! If you don't pass the "stimulus" package then the economy is going to crater and "500 million Americans" a month are going to lose their jobs (never mind the fact that there are only about 300 million Americans Ms. Pelosi). The economic Aramagedon will of course be horrendous if Barry doesn't get his raft of needless spending.

What is the specter he is trying to avert? Why a recession of course. What is a recession really? In my mind a recession is nothing more than the American consumer getting a piss poor attitude and deciding to hold on to their cash. It really isn't anything more than that. Some glitch happens in the markets and the consumers get spooked and stop spending. There is no systemic flaw that causes a recession there isn't anything that can be done to stop it from happening beyond changing the mind set of the consumer. How does tossing all of this needless fear mongering about positively effect the attitude of the consumer? Simply said, it doesn't. In fact it makes it worse.

So when we raised the specter of a real determined enemy that wants to do us true harm we were worthless fear mongers but when Barry-boy tries to cram a trillion dollars worth of spending and social engineering down our throats using fear of nothing more than a bad attitude, that's perfectly OK! Mass-murderers are not to be feared, but a consumer with a piss-poor attitude that is dire! Right!

The American voter isn't that stupid. Support for the "stimulus" bill initially started out being very high. Many pollsters placed the support level at 78-80%. But as soon as the details of what this sham of a deal contained were released the support rocketted into the cellar. Now the pollsters place the support for this monstrosity down around 30-35%. Of course it doesn't matter what the hell the American people want. Washington is deaf to our pleas! Washigton has been deaf to our pleas for decades and the election of Barry-boy will not do a damned thing but deepen that trend.

Speaking of those terrorists that want to do us harm... What has the wunderkind been up to in that arena? Why of course he's stopping the prosecution of them of course. Sending the message that if you slaughter American service members then you will not face any retribution.

During the election we were not supposed to mention Obama's close ties to islam, but now that he's in office he's running around the world himself touting them as strong suits and kissing muslim ass on al-Jazeera. He is actively proving that he detests our military service members. He counts their sacrifices for nothing! On the other hand god forbid that some muslim terrorist pig fucker is inconvenienced by having to hang out in Gitmo or by being tried for planning the murder of American sailors!

Shame on you Barry and shame on you America for allowing this idiot into office.

Notice Anything About These Actual Mugshots?

Can any of you find one with a McCain/Palin T-Shirt?

More Liberal Morality on Display

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested today after FBI wiretaps caught him conspiring to sell the US Senate seat vacated by President elect Obama. Other charges include that he also threatened to withhold state help for a childrens' hospital unless sizable campaign contributions were given. In addition, Blagojevich is accused of threatening to withhold state aid to the Chicago Tribune in the sale of Wrigley Field unless the paper fired editorial writers who had been critical of his administration (more "unbiased" press no doubt).

Upon hearing of the charges, Obama made every effort to put as much distance as possible between himself and the fallen governor. Let's not forget however that both Blagojevich and Obama shared in the efforts of fallen campaign fund raiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

SWAT Raids Organic Food Coop

On December 1st, a heavily armed SWAT team raided an Ohio family's home, rounded up the entire family and held them on a sofa at gun point for 9 hours... Adults, toddlers and infants alike. The SWAT team was exercising a warrant sworn out at the behest of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (who were also represented during the raid) for the egregious crime of running a retail establishment without a license. You see the Stower family has operated a well-known organic food coop out of their western Cleveland home for years. This is apparently the latest in a string of SWAT raids that appears aimed at cracking down on Amish and traditional farmers for allegedly distributing traditionally raised farm products outside of the regulatory process. Those targeted claim that it is an attempt to persecute small family farms in favor of large corporate industrial farms. After a long string of tainted meat recalls by corporate farm operations, how much more dangerous could this truly be?

Now, I really have very little interest in the issue of hippies distributing organic foods out of their home. My issue arises when SWAT tactics are inappropriately used in abeyance of an American's 4th amendment right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. How is it reasonable to hold children at gun point? How is it reasonable to use a police unit designed for extremely dangerous situations to exercise a search warrant on a bunch of hippies in regards to a third degree misdemeanor? This is a continuation of the no-knock warrant issue that I blogged about some time ago. I have nothing against the police. I do however think that we the people need to be vigilant against this obvious attempt to do an end around posse commitatus and the fourth amendment. It has become unsettlingly common to have every warrant served as a no-knock warrant and it has also become unsettlingly common for police forces that don't need them to create heavily armed SWAT forces then try to find any reason to use them.

Liberal Proclivities

Once again we've witnessed the liberal proclivity toward crime. The son of a democratic Tennessee state senator is being investigated for the break in.

You know you don't see Republicans doing these sorts of things to democrats. This is just one further verification of my contention that liberalism is synonymous with criminality. The liberals sure like to bitch and belly ache about eavesdropping on terrorists and enemies of our country but boy-oh-boy they don't have ANY compunctions about eavesdropping in this instance. Obviously they only support eavesdropping on their adversaries... What does that say about their relationship with those terrorists? You know, like Obama's buddy Billy (let's blow up the Pentagon) Ayers...

In further proof of the media's bias against Republicans, the following is widely mentioned in news articles about this matter:

"The Secret Service contacted The Associated Press on Wednesday and asked for copies of the leaked e-mails, which circulated widely on the Internet. The AP did not comply."

So the AP refuses to help the Secret Service to investigate the crime... nice.

You wonder why I dislike liberals so... It is low-life, no-class tactics like this. You see these sort of things so often from their side with so very little reciprocity from the right. This inherent criminal component of the liberal psyche is what drives their world view. That is why they are so anxious to ban gun ownership... Because when they look into their own cold, hard hearts they see the criminal proclivities openly lurking there fighting to boil to the surface. Clearly if they couldn't be trusted with a gun, then no one could... They fail to understand that not everyone is infected with their festering criminality... well either that or they're scared they'll get shot while breaking into a conservative's property.

All Things Being Equal

Normally and by all counts, the 85 year old Leda Smith should be dead. When a 17 year old burglar broke into her house however, Leda would not be just another statistic. She pulled her .22 caliber revolver and trained it on the intruder. She did not shoot him, instead she forced him to call 911 himself and request the police come to pick him up. Her act broke up a burglary ring that had been victimizing the neighborhood.

This moment of uncommon justice would never have occured were it for the democrats. Instead Leda Smith would not be a fiesty elderly lady any more... She'd likely have just been dead. This moment of unfortunately uncommon justice was brought to you by the wisdom of the founding fathers and a few ounces of steel. It proves once again that armed citizens are a detterent to crime and that they by and large can be trusted to act in defense of themselves and the law when confronted with lawlessness and criminality.

I'll bet that 17 year old will vote democrat once he turns 18.

A Gun in the Hand....

...Is worth far more than an entire police department on the other end of the phone. Click the title of this post to see the article that spawned this post. Read it and then come back. So gun control-aholics... Explain to me again how it is that we should all surrender our right to self defense and allow 911 to replace that pistol in the nightstand... What was it that calling 911 did to prevent that woman's murder?

The woman told the dispatcher someone was trying to break into her home in
upscale West Covina, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Dan Rosenberg said.
"Deputies heard gunshots followed by silence and an open phone line," he
said.

Deputies arrived at the house, 20 miles east of Los Angeles, a few
minutes after Wednesday's late morning call.

The woman, whose name was not released by police, had been shot several times. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

California has received the highest rating of all 50 states from the Brady Campaign against gun violence. Please explain to me how all of those laws made this woman any safer.

Allow me to introduce you to a little common sense.

Oklahoma and Kentucky are tied for the worst rating from the Brady Campaign. California however had 6.8 murders per 100,000 citizens in 2006. Kentucky had 4 per 100,000 and Oklahoma had 5.8 per 100,000. Somehow all of that gun control doesn't seem to equate to fewer murders. In fact if you think about it, why would a criminal care about gun laws? If they are going to disregard laws prohibiting breaking and entering, rape, theft or murder why would they abide by laws regarding the possession of firearms?

Sometime ago a family member of mine, my sister, came to this blog and tried to equate my teaching my son marksmanship to this. Her reaction was not unlike other reactions I've received from other liberals to the image of my adorable son holding a tool that could save his life. So if this woman had taken up a firearm and defended herself, preventing her murder; would she be the same as those terrorist children?

Let's make this absolutely clear. Guns do not cause crime... liberalism does. As time has gone by, our nation has moved more and more to the left. What has that move brought us? When I was a child we could (and did) pray in school. Luckily, that's been eliminated and instead our children are fed a constant diet of agitprop. Our crime rates are drastically higher than back then, but thank goodness our children can't pray in school. When I was a kid I got a spanking when I misbehaved. Thank goodness that's being eliminated. I mean violence among inner city youth is spiraling out of control, but it's good that parents soon will not be able to correct their children in any meaningful way. When I was a kid it was almost unheard of for children to be born out of wedlock and the majority of people went to church regularly. Luckily both of those heinous things are also on the decline, our prison population is the highest it's ever been as a percentage of the population at large, but luckily little girls can hatch one unwanted kid after another out of wedlock and membership in those hateful churches is on the decline. Naturally none of those things are related.

Liberals have mangled our society. They've tried to engineer it into some Utopian fantasy by enacting their stupid laws and when those laws are found inadequate, rather than repealing them as failed concepts, they simply enact more laws to patch the holes and further constrict or abridge our freedoms. Liberalism is the cause of crime. It is the liberals that decry punishment for criminals and prefer "rehabilitation". We all know that the criminal isn't to blame for his or her behavior right? Life should not have any consequences of course.

It is liberals that enjoy and strive to disarm the law abiding, leaving them defenseless like the woman in the linked article and it is they who are to blame for their deaths.

Hopefully the SCOTUS will interject some common sense in this insanity, but even if they come out completely on the correct side of the issue and abolish every infringement of our right to keep and bear arms it will still do nothing to eliminate the underlying mental illness that spawned those infringements in the first place... liberalism.

Who You Gonna Call?

Well certainly not those guys (see linked article). For two years running, the Philadelphia police department has responded to calls of celebratory gun fire and ended up firing at unarmed innocent bystanders. This year, the officers managed to leave one innocent man in a coma and injure a 9 year old boy!

Now let me say that I do not think that the police officers intentionally fired on these people. What I also think is that police officers are supposed to be highly trained individuals. As such, they should react in stressful situations in a far more measured and careful manner than untrained individuals.

Now I ask you this, what's the worst an untrained armed individual could have done in this situation? Well the could have killed or maimed innocent people. Now I ask you this, what is the difference between that and what the highly trained officer of the Philadelphia police department did... not just once, but for two years in a row.

Gun control proponents will insist that you should remove guns from everyone but the police. They will tell you that this should be done because introducing untrained individuals into a volatile situation will in some way make matters worse.

Again in this case, how could matters have been any worse? Police officers responded to a call of celebratory gunfire... The word "celebratory" certainly places the second word "gunfire" in a different context. These weren't desperate bank robbers or blood thirsty murderers the police were responding to deal with, they were people celebrating... That doesn't exactly churn up mental images of a situation where someone should end up in a coma as a part of the resolution! At the very worst, the police should have pulled the miscreants aside and told them that if there is any more gunfire, then someone will be locked up... maybe issue a citation. That's it. There was no call to go shooting up the neighborhood.

I'm sorry even being untrained, I know that I could have reacted far more appropriately than these officers did.

Training is not required to possess common sense. Training is not required to intervene in volatile situations. How would life be if we all thought that our only recourse in any situation was to call 911 and not personally intervene. Imagine the scene, a man is choking on a bite of his steak. Rather than rushing over and using the Heimlich maneuver, you just dial 911 and wait for trained professionals to arrive. How about if you saw a car accident that resulted in an unconscious driver and a burning car? Should you just call 911 and stand by to watch the driver sizzle?

Over time I will continue to highlight these missteps by law enforcement professionals, not to indicate that I disapprove of cops... I certainly don't! I only wish to highlight the fact that they, like us are mere human beings and further to point out the fallacy of believing that they are in some way infallible paragons of virtue that will protect us from all harm thus rendering the need for acts of self-defense irrelevant.

Always remember, by and large, policemen do not prevent crime, they only investigate it ...and... a gun in the hand is worth a thousand cops on the phone!

Legislation We Can Get Behind

Iowa Republican representative Steve King has introduced a bill in the house judiciary committee entitled "To reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, modernize firearms". If you've been paying attention, the BATFE is certainly a bureau that could use some reforming. This legislation proposes the following:

• It clarifies the definition of the word "willful" because we all know that government bureaucrats are incapable of using a Websters dictionary. In order to revoke a gun dealer's license, his offenses have to be qualified as "willful". Unfortunately the BATFE has been calling every inadvertent petty error (like using "Y" and "N" on forms instead of "Yes" and "No") a willful violation.
• It allows for BATFE findings to be appealed before an administrative law judge. Right now, firearm retailers have had to attempt to appeal the BATFE findings to the BATFE... Basically beg them to change their mind. That hasn't been a very fruitful process.
• It allows a grace period for persons taking over a firearm business to correct the administrative shortfalls of the previous owners. Currently the BATFE is able to punish new gun shop owners for the transgressions of the previous owner.
• It sets up a requirement for the BATFE to inform license applicants in writing with a reason for a denial of the license request and sets up an avenue of appeal. Currently the BATFE can simply refuse to issue a license with no explanation what so ever.
• It codifies some limits on firearm information disclosure that have been limited through a series of appropriations riders.
• It requires the BATFE to set up clear an documented investigation guidelines. Currently there are none. The BATFE does not have any written guidelines for how it investigates licensees and how it tests samples. In fact, they have ruled some devices legal only to change their minds after the manufacturer has manufactered and sold what they were told were legal devices. Often times these "re-evaluations" occurred as a punitive measurein retaliation after a manufacturer has offered testimony in legal proceedings that was not beneficial to the BATFE's case.
  
• It defines the the licensing requirements for gunsmiths. Currently gunsmiths who do nothing more than repair firearms are saddled with the same license requirements that a retailer or manufacturer would have.
  
• It prevents the disclosure of FFL record information to anyone but law enforcement agencies.
• It refocuses the BATFE’s efforts primarily on violations of firearms, explosives, arson, alcohol and tobacco laws instead of on broad law enforcement tasks like gang or drug investigations.
• It eliminates an anal retentive portion of the Youth Handgun Safety Act that states that a youth under 18 must have written permission on their person to use a handgun even when the parent or guardian is present. In other words, if you and your child were target shooting and you handed your child a pistol to fire, you have just broken the law if you did not also hand them a signed note stating that they may fire it.
  
• It enacts a permanently ban on taxes or “user fees” on background checks by the federal instant check system. These fees are already banned yearly on appropriations riders. This just eliminates the need to renew that prohibition every year.
  
• Permanently bans creation of a centralized electronic index of dealers’ records—a threat to gun owners’ privacy that Congress has barred through appropriations riders for a decade.
• It allows manufacturers to import and transfer of machineguns for use in the development or testing of firearms and ammunition. This was an issue that the original machinegun importation ban did not take into account. Currently, ammunition manufacturers can not import AK47's for example to test the bullets that we are manufacturing and selling to the Iraqi army.
  
• It permits federal security contractors and professional film and theatrical organizations to transfer and possess machineguns. There's been a big deal made because contractors in Iraq are inept in handling their weapons and executing tactics. This is largely because they can not be trained in the United States. Also a large portion of or entertainment business has been exported to other locations around the globe, because prop guns, guns that fire only blanks, are still considered machineguns even though they are incapable of firing a projectile. That makes filming action movies or war pieces impossible to do.
  
• It repeals the expired Brady Act’s waiting period provisions removing dead law from the books.
  
• It assigns sole responsibility to the BATFE for receiving multiple handgun sale reports. This relieves retailers from requirements based on a confusing patchwork of local and state laws.
• It allows for the importation of barrels, frames and receivers from non-importable for use as repair parts in existing firearms.

Now we all know that the congress has been quite lax in getting things passed into law this session. Perhaps if we all get a hold of our congressmen and stress to them, the importance of this law, they will not let it die in committee.

The liberals see no need to fix the BATFE, they are fine with a government agency running roughshod over the rights of the citizens. The only thing that will convince them to pass this law that reins in this rogue agency is a fear of not being reelected.

Over sixty percent of us agree that the second amendment enshrines an individual's right to keep and bear arms. If only over sixty percent of us would get off our asses, perhaps we could preserve that important right.

By the way... Way to go Steve King. Y'all in Iowa reelect that man!

Quel faux pas (a Dearth of Common Sense)

Admiral Chester Nimitz once said of our Marines on Iwo Jima, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue". Playing off of that quote, I'd like to say the following about people today:

"Common sense is an uncommon virtue"

Click the title link and refer to the article there throughout this post.

Minneapolis Minnesota police burst unannounced into a home the other day just after midnight. Hearing the commotion, the homeowner fired his shotgun three times at the unidentified intruders in his home. The police responded with a hail of twenty-two rounds. Defying all odds, the home owner was missed by every single shot. Luckily, his wife and six children were also unharmed in the uncontrolled hail of gunfire. The confrontation came to an end when the home owner's children yelled to him informing him that the intruders were the police.

What was the home owner's crime you ask? There was none. The SWAT team simply raided the wrong house... Quel faux pas! An innocent family's lives were endangered. Quel faux pas! Twenty two shots were fired with such poor control that not a one hit the intended target, again, quel faux pas! The home owner's door... smashed to splinters, quel faux pas! Where's the common sense in this?


We, the tax payers pay the police's salaries to protect us... We pay them to do a job. In this case, they failed... When the homeowner sues to recoup his damages guess what, we will pay again. So we paid for shoddy police work that led to more expense for us. Where's the common sense in this?

Surely this is an uncommon occurrence. That's what every police chief will tell you in response to such an event... Hold on, back that truck up! Did you note the words "in response to such an event"? This happens far more than you could ever believe. Fully thirty percent of all gun related fatalities reported every year are due to a police officer's bullet.

Every year those fatality rates are used as a basis for a hew and call to enact tougher gun control laws and nearly one third of them are a result of police shooting someone. Well the police don't run around randomly shooting innocent people right? Wrong. Police mistakenly shoot innocent people all the time. The difference is that if a police officer "accidentally" shoots someone he does not suffer the same legal jeopardy that a private individual does. A private individual that accidentally shoots someone is opened to all sorts of civil and criminal hazards. If civil damages do happen to be adjudicated for a victim of a police shooting, the officer doesn't even pay the damages... We do! That however is "if" the victim's family ever sees justice. More often than not, other officers simply close ranks and protect their brothers denying any chance of justice. Where's the common sense in this?


It seems to me that every argument against concealed carry and civilians intervening in armed confrontations will find someone claiming that a civilian does not have the proper training to react properly in such circumstances. Turning that logic on its head would indicate that police officers are specially trained, and therefore should be held to a higher standard of culpability should they be involved in a shooting than a "dumb uneducated civilian". Their training supposedly allows them to react in a calm, measured fashion in these dangerous situations. Why then twenty two shots in response to three shotgun blasts and FIFTY rounds into an unarmed man? That sure sounds like a bunch of yahoos shooting the place up to me, not trained professionals reacting in a calm, deliberate and measured manner.

The constitution tells us:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..."

Is it reasonable for paramilitary police units to run amuck, randomly targeting innocent individuals; damaging their property, traumatizing their children, raping the sanctity of their homes; in some cases murdering people in cold blood; planting evidence to protect their asses? Is that reasonable?

Surely this is the exception and not the rule... Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

Quoting from this incredible CATO institute document (read the whole thing, you'll be incredulous just like I was!):

A 2000 Denver Post investigation found that judges exercise almost no discretion at all when it comes to issuing no-knock warrants. The Post found that Denver judges had denied just five of 163 no-knock applications over a 12-month period (local defense attorneys were surprised to learn there were even five). “No-knock search warrants appear to be approved so routinely that some Denver judges have issued them even though police asked only for a regular warrant,” the Post wrote. “In fact, more than one of every 10 no-knock warrants issued over the past seven months was transformed from a regular warrant with just a judge’s signature.”

Among the paper’s other findings:

• In 8 of 10 raids, police assertions in affidavits that weapons would be present turned out to be wrong.
• Just 7 of the 163 affidavits for no-knock warrants offered specific allegations that a suspect had actually been seen with a gun, evidence that’s essential to procuring a no-knock warrant. Even here, police found weapons in just two of the seven searches.
• About one-third of the no-knock warrants were never reviewed by a district attorney before going to a judge, a violation of the police department’s stated policy. Many of the prosecutor reviews that did take place took place over the telephone.
• Nearly all of the warrants were for narcotics and were granted solely on the tip of an anonymous informant and an officer’s assertion (minus any corroborating evidence) that weapons would be found at the scene or that the suspect was likely to dispose of evidence.
• Of 146 no-knock raids conducted in Denver in 1999, only 49 produced charges of any kind. And of those, just 2 resulted in prison time for the targets of the raids.

Read those statistics again. Do they indicate a reasonable pattern of searches? Of 146 searches only 49 produced any charges. That means the homes of 97 completely innocent families were violently invaded by paramilitary units, innocent people were terrorized, flash bang grenades were tossed through windows, children held at gun point, innocent lives placed in life threatening situations for nothing! There weren't even guns in those homes 80% of the time. Where is the common sense in this?


If you read on in the CATO Institute document you will find a deliberate pattern of behavior on the part of the government of disassembling posse comitatus (the act that prohibits the use of military assets in civilian policing). Rather than using the military to enforce the law, they simply create a new army by dumping military hardware and training wholesale on police forces. So as our right to keep and bear arms has been steadily eroded by one law after another, the police forces have been arming up with tanks, armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers, machine guns, incendiary devices, body armor and even bayonets! While the federal government has been merrily closing down over 80% of our gun stores, they've also been dumping billions of dollars of military hardware on police departments, creating a second army that appears quite often to be doing nothing more than terrorizing law abiding citizens in the sanctity of their own homes. Our tools to cast off oppression are taken away and they meanwhile are given more permission and equipment to kick down the doors of innocent Americans. Where is the common sense in this?

Why does every podunk need a tank driving, machine gun toting SWAT department? Aren't SWAT departments intended to react to unusually dangerous situations? Why then does a small town that never had a murder or hostage situation need its own SWAT department? Why is a SWAT team needed to take down some dude with a few doobies? Last I heard pot makes people mellow and apt to eat, not violent and apt to volatility.

One of my employees is a retired FBI hostage negotiator. He's told me on many occasions how the SWAT units are "yahoos" and "overly gung-ho" or "just looking to shoot someone... anyone". This is coming from an insider that's been there.

Why would police ever need bayonets? Honestly, where's the common sense in that? ...bayonets? (almost as smart as prohibiting bayonets on the stupid assault weapon ban... there's been such a rash of drive by bayonettings after all!)

Now I don't want you to think that I am against the prosecution of crime. I firmly believe that criminals should be vigorously prosecuted, but I also believe that our founding fathers certainly did not have this in mind when they penned the fourth amendment to the constitution. I expect police to be sure that when they break down that door that:

1.) They have the right address (duh!)
2.) That the allegations leading to the search have been well corroborated.
3.) That such harsh measures are warranted and that all other tactics have been evaluated and rightfully deemed unusable.
4.) That officer's practice measured, restrained and appropriate responses to threats.
5.) That the consequences of incompetence and wrong-doing on the part of officers is borne by the officer guilty of such malfeasance. If something goes wrong, heads should roll!
6.) That citizens be treated in a humane and dignified manner while in police custody.
7.) That you CLEARLY identify yourself to prevent "accidental" shootings when an alarmed homeowner rightfully attempts to defend his home against an invasion.
8.) That no innocent people die! (These are who you're paid to PROTECT and SERVE! Look those words up in the dictionary if you're confused.)

My belief that criminals should be punished, is not suspended when those criminals happen to wear a badge. In fact that badge indicates to me that I should be even less tolerant of criminal behavior. A badge is not a get out of jail free card. It is a symbol of authority and with authority comes great responsibility. It is the symbol of those who are the servants of the law, not an elite class that is above the law. Justice is after all supposed to be blind not blinded by the glint of a badge. Police should be police and not a second army! That my friends is common sense. I know it rings oddly in your unaccustomed ears.

A Little Dose of Perspective

With all of the righteous indignation being thrown at President Bush for Commuting Scooter Libby's jail sentence, I thought it only fair to remind everyone of all of the pardons issued by Bill Clinton so that this commutation can be viewed in the proper perspective. So without further adieu, here are some of the lovely people that Bill Clinton thought should be free to walk out of jail:

NAME	OFFENSE
David Phillip Aronsohn	Failure to pay special occupational tax on wagering
Wanda Kaye Bain-Prentice	Mail fraud
Antonio Barucco	Desertion in violation of the 58th Article of War
Kristine Margo Beck	Bank embezzlement
David Christopher Billmaier	Possession with intent to distribute amphetamines
Terry Lee Brown	Interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle
Joe Carl Bruton	Conspiracy to commit mail fraud
Nolan Lynn DeMarce	Making false statements to obtain bank loans
Jimmy C. Dick	Conspiracy to manufacture counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes
Edward Eugene Dishman	Conspiracy to defraud the United States and Oklahoma counties
Brenda Kay Engle	Conspiracy to commit theft from interstate shipment
Mary Theresa Fajer	Conspiracy to commit bank embezzlement
Albert James Forte	Making and subscribing false and fraudulent income tax return
Fendley Lee Frazier	Interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle
Robert Linward Freeland, Jr.	Forcible rescue of seized property
Ralph Leon Furst	Embezzlement of United States mail
Barbara Ann Gericke	Conspiracy to introduce contraband into federal prison
Billy Joe Gilmore	Mail fraud and aiding and abetting
Loreto Joseph Iafrate	Failure to record receipt of firearms
Carl Bruce Jones	Distribution of marijuana and use of telephone to facilitate marijuana distribution
Candace Deon Leverenz	Unlawful distribution of LSD
George William Lindgren	Bank embezzlement
Brian George Meierkord	Making false statement to bank
Jackie Lee Miller	Conspiracy to defraud the United States
Joseph Patrick Naulty	Carrying away goods moving as part of foreign shipment
Theodore Roosevelt Noel	Selling whiskey in unstamped containers and making false statement in the acquisition of firearms from licensed dealer
Mary Louise Oaks	Conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims
Robert Paul Padelsky	Misapplication of bank funds
Elizabeth Amy Peterson	Conspiracy to make false statements to bank
Susan Lauranne Prather	Causing marijuana to be transported through the mail
Gary Lynn Quammen	Misapplication of bank funds
Robert Ronal Raymond	Conspiracy to manufacture, receive, possess, and sell firearms silencers
Elizabeth Hogg Rushing	Misapplication of bank funds
Marc Alan Schaffer	Submission of false statements to Selective Service System Local Board
Roy Aaron Smith	Misprision of a felony
Diane Dorothea Smunk	Embezzlement by government employee
Thomas Peter Stathakis	Selling and delivering firearms to out-of-state resident and falsifying firearms records
Kathleen Vacanti	Conspiracy to defraud the United States by obtaining payment of false claims, presenting false claims to the United States, forging a writing, and aiding and abetting
Pupi White	Making false statement on United States passport application
Charles Coleman Wicker	Conspiracy to conduct illegal gambling business
Roderick Douglas Woods	Misappropriation of bank funds and aiding and abetting
Bradley Vaughn Barisic	Making false statement to National Labor Relations Board
Herschel L. Brantley	Larceny in violation of 93rd Article of War
Linda Bailey Byars	Bank embezzlement
Patricia Ann Chapin	Falsifying prescription for controlled substance
Ronald Jacobs	Theft from interstate shipment
Margaret Mary Marks	Willful misapplication of bank funds
John Richard Martin	Embezzlement of funds from savings and loan association
Earl Thomas McKinney	AWOL, Larceny by check, writing check with insufficient funds, and false claims
Shirley Jean Odoms	Filing false claim for tax refund
Jack Pakis	Operation of illegal gambling business
Gordon Roberts, Jr.	Interstate transportation of forged and falsely made securities
Carl Edward Terhune, Jr.	Issuing United States Postal Service money orders while postal employee with intent to defraud Postal Service
Irving Frank Avery	Possession of counterfeit plates
Billy K. Berry	Medicaid and mail fraud
Clio Louise Carson	Transmission of wagering information
Giuseppe Casadei-Severei	Obstruction of justice
Glen Edison Chapman	Removing, possessing, and concealing non-tax-paid whiskey
Ralph Wallace Crawford	Mail fraud
Aaron Golden	Failure to file a currency transaction report
Monroe Lee King	Making plates for counterfeiting Federal Reserve Notes
Ralph Lee Limbaugh	Theft from interstate shipment
George Edward Maynes, Jr.	Distribution of cocaine
Charley Morgan	Unlawful possession of still and manufacture of mash
Linzie Murle Morse	Interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicle and selling stolen motor vehicle
Charles Patrick Murrin	Bank robbery
Moises Jaurequi Ramos	Misprision of a felony
William Ray Richardson	Interstate transportation of stolen property
Raymond Phillip Weaver	Theft of four pounds of butter
Bill Wayne West	Dealing in firearms without license
Anita Glenn Whitlock	Bank embezzlement
Edward Kenneth Williams, Jr.	Receiving and selling stolen motor vehicles and aiding and abetting the same
Larry Edward Winfield	Mail fraud
Louis Anthony Winters	Unauthorized absence from duty, Assault with dangerous weapon
Haig Ardash Arakelian	Possession of marijuana
Estel Edmond Ashworth	Theft of mail by Postal employee
Vincent Anthony Burgio	Possession of counterfeit government obligations
Thomas Earl Burton	Attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine
Jesse Cuevas	Unauthorized possession of food stamps
Harry Erla Fox	Absence without leave
James William Gardner	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine
Alejandro Cruz Guedea	Larceny of government property
Sebraien Michael Haygood	Importation of cocaine
Warren Curtis Hultgren, Jr.	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine
Sharon Sue Johnson	Bank embezzlement
Ronald Ray Kelly	Unauthorized absences, escape from lawful custody, and breaking restriction
Francis Dale Knippling	Conversion of mortgaged property
Michael Ray Krukar	Unlawful distribution of marijuana
Michael Francis Larkin	False statements to HUD
Leslie Jan McCall	Use of telephone to facilitate cocaine distribution
Bobby Joe Miller	Misprision of a felony
William Edward Payne	Willful attempt to evade excise tax on wagers
Robert Earl Radke	Willful attempt to evade income taxes
David Walter Ratliff	Making false statement to the government
Billy Wayne Reynolds	Mail fraud
Benito Maldonado Sanchez, Jr.	Possession of marijuana without payment of transfer tax
Vicki Lynn Seals	Making a false statement to a federally insured bank while an employee of that bank
Lewis Craig Seymour	Distribution of Phencyclidine (PCP)
Irving A. Smith	Conspiracy to engage in price-fixing
Darrin Paul Sobin	Conspiracy to manufacture marijuana
Monty Mac Stewart	Conspiracy to defraud U.S. and counties within Oklahoma, mail fraud, and aiding and abetting filing a false income tax return
Kevin Lester Teker	Maliciously damaging property used in an activity affecting interstate commerce by means of an explosive
John Timothy Thompson	Use of the telephone to facilitate cocaine distribution
Paul Loy Tobin	Interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicle
Gerald William Wachter	Conspiracy to cause stolen goods to be transported in interstate commerce
Marian Lane Wolf	Misprision of a felony
Samuel Harrell Woodard	Absent without leave, Theft from an interstate shipment
Henry Ossian Flipper	Conduct unbecoming an officer
Meredith Marcus Appleton, II	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and to distribute cocaine
Steven Laurence Barnett	Misapplication of bank funds and aiding and abetting the same
Russell Carl Clifton	Transmission of a false distress signal
Albert McMullen Cox	Bribery of a public official
Bernard Earl Crandall	Theft from interstate shipment
Eugene Harold Del Carlo	Conspiracy and blackmail
Kenneth Lee Deusterman	False statement to HUD
Frank Allen Els	Possession of an unregistered firearm
Arthur Neil Evans	Protecting and assisting a deserter from the U.S. Army
Elizabeth Marie Frederick	Distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine
Jackie Lynn Gano	Receiving money or benefits through transactions of federal credit institution with intent to defraud while officer or employee of institution
Daniel Clifton Gilmour, Jr.	Importation of marijuana
Michael Lee Gilmour	Importation of marijuana
Theodore Avram Goodman	Unauthorized sale of government property
Michael Charles Jorgensen	Misprision of a felony
Leonard Charles Kampf	Conveyance of government property without authority
Kenneth Marshall Knull	Disobeying a lawful general order, negligently suffering destruction of military property, negligently hazarding two Naval vessels
Reza Arabian Maleki	Conspiracy to make false statements to INS; false statements to INS, and aiding and abetting the same
William Ronald McGuire	Income tax evasion
Freddie Meeks	Making a mutiny during wartime
Steven Dwayne Miller	Possession of counterfeit Federal Reserve notes with intent to sell or otherwise use same
Jodie David Moreland	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana
Lloyd Robert Odell	Theft of government property
John Richard Palubicki	Conspiracy to defraud the IRS; income tax evasion
Patricia Ann Palubicki	Conspiracy to defraud the IRS; income tax evasion
Mark Edwin Pixley	Aiding in the manufacture, by cultivation, of marijuana
Theodore Alfred Rhone	Wire fraud and aiding and abetting same
Warren David Samet	Transporting, concealing, and facilitating the transportation of marijuana that was acquired without paying the tax imposed
Steven Elliott Skorman	Distributing lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
Ronald Marsh Smith	Stealing mail matter
Richard Beauchamp Steele	Conspiracy to eliminate competition by fixing prices in interstate commerce
Christine Ann Summerbell	Theft of mail by postal employee
Robert A. Suvino	Conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud
Daniel Larry Thomas, Jr.	Illegal use of a communication facility to distribute cocaine
Howard Edwin Walraven	Theft from an interstate shipment
Martin Harry Wesenberg	Willfully failing to pay the special occupational tax on wagering, and aiding and abetting the same
Virgil Edwin West	Mail fraud
Preston Theodore King	Failure to appear for physical examination; failure to appear for induction into the Armed Forces
Gregory Leon Crosby	Theft by postal employee
Everett Gale Dague	Conspiracy to obstruct commerce by extortion, extortion, demanding or receiving illegal payments on behalf of a labor union, and demanding or accepting illegal unloading fees from a motor vehicle driver
Terry Stephen Duller	Engaging in illegal gambling business, failure to pay excise tax
Richard George Frye	Knowingly shipping and transporting a firearm in interstate commerce, having been convicted of a felony
Edgar Allen Gregory, Jr.	Conspiracy to willfully misapply bank funds, make false statements to a bank, and commit wire fraud; misapplication of bank funds by person connected with a bank
Vonna Jo Gregory	Conspiracy to willfully misapply bank funds, make false statements to a bank, and commit wire fraud; misapplication of bank funds by person connected with a bank
Carl David Hamilton	Bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud
Charles Edward Kirschner	Theft of bank property
Charles Douglas Megla	Mail fraud
Owen Neil Nordine	Interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle
William Thomas Rohring	Forgery of U.S. Treasury check
Lawrence David Share	Conspiracy to commit securities fraud, sale of unregistered securities, and the use of manipulative devices in connection with the sale of securities
Wayne Cletus Steinkamp	Conspiracy in restraint of trade in interstate commerce
Peter John Thomas	Conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute
Heather Elizabeth Wilson	Use of telephone to facilitate commission of drug-trafficking felony
Donna Marie Yellow Owl	False statements
Carl Stanley Gilbreath	Interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle
Claudette Dean Goodson	Aiding and abetting embezzlement of government funds
Dane Robert Hessling	Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine
Elwood Dwight Hopkins	Theft of government property, Mutilation of coins
Thomas Vernon Jones	Filing a false tax return
Madison Dow Kimball, Jr.	Bank robbery
Cynthia Lou LeBlanc	Conspiracy to distribute and possess methaqualone
Peter Thomas Lipps	Possession of counterfeit government obligation
John Carroll Michiaels	Purloining and coverting property of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and aiding and abetting therein
Richard Edwin Sacchi	Conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute
Horace Carroll Smith	Conspiracy to violate the federal securities laws
Tammy Lawan Tallant	Misprision of a felony
Carl Dennis Waren	Interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles
Robert Alexander Warr	False statements
James H. Wetzel, Jr.	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine
Diane Mae Zeman	Use of a telephone to facilitate importation of hashish oil
William Oshel Casto, III	Embezzlement by a bank employee
Donald Demerest Hall	Misapplication of bank funds by an employee
Cheryl Ada Elizabeth Little	Conspiracy with intent to distribute a controlled substance
Joe Clint McMillan	Conspiracy to violate the Sherman Antitrust Act
Jeralyn Kay Rust	Wire fraud
Jane Marie Schoffstall	Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (methamphetamine)
William Calvin Smith, Jr.	Interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle
Glen David Curry	Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, distributing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, and using a telephone to facilitate distribution of cocaine
Dave Meyer Hartson, III	Mail fraud
Carl Edward Karstetter	Conversion of government property
Donald Spencer Lewis	False statements to a government agency
Walter Sidney Orlinsky	Extortion under color of official right
Howard Charles Petersen	Embezzlement by a bank employee and making false entries in a bank's records
John Laurence Silvi	Conspiracy to make unlawful payments to a union official
Laurence John Silvi, II	Conspiracy to bribe a union official
John Donald Vodde	Possession and distribution of cocaine, and aiding and abetting
Melinda Kay Stewart Vodde	Distribution of cocaine, and aiding and abetting
Philip Donald Winn	Conspiracy to give illegal gratuities
Jimmy Lee Allen	False statements to agency of United States
Virgil Lamoin Baker	Violation of the Military Training and Service Act
Garran Dee Barker	Conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud
Nancy M. Baxter	Tax evasion and filing a false amended tax return
Charles N. Besser	Mail fraud
Harlan Richard Billings	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 1,000 pounds of marijuana
Edward Raymond Birdseye	Unlawful use of a communication facility
Roscoe Crosby Blunt, Jr.	Fraternization
Charles Edward Boggs	Receiving a stolen motor vehicle which was part of interstate commerce
Terry Coy Bonner	Possession of an illegally made destructive device
Alfred Whitney Brown, III	Illegal sale of wildlife by allowing hunting over a baited field
William Robert Carpenter	Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
Philip Vito DiGirolamo	Conspiracy to import marijuana, willfully subscribing to a false tax return
Peter Welling Dionis	Conspiracy, importation, and possession with intent to distribute hashish
Darrin Dean Dorn	Conspiracy to damage property by means and use of an explosive
Peter Bailey Gimbel	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine
Philip Joseph Grandmaison	Mail fraud
Joe Robert Grist	Misapplication of funds by a bank employee
LeRoy Kenneth Hartung, Jr.	Interception of wire communications
Joseph Riddick Hendrick, III	Mail fraud
Judd Blair Hirschberg	Mail fraud
Robert Quinn Houston	Conspiracy to obstruct commerce by extortion
Martin Joseph Hughes	Aiding and abetting the falsification of union records, aiding and assisting in the submission of false tax records, making false statements to a government agency
Jere Wayne Johnson	Conspiracy to defraud the United States and Garfield County, Oklahoma, while serving as a county commissioner
Michael Thomas Johnson	Filing false tax returns
Daniel Wayne Keys	Possession with intent to distribute marijuana
Larry Ray Killough	Unlawful distribution of prescription drugs
Jack Kligman	Conspiracy and mail fraud
Hector Osvaldo Labagnara	Conspiracy to transport stolen motor vehicles in interstate commerce, to receive and sell stolen motor vehicles, to transport false vehicle registrations in interstate commerce, and to receive and dispose of false vehicle registrations; receipt and sale of stolen motor vehicles
Moses Jubilee Lestz	Forgery of United States savings bond
Leon Lee Liebscher	Conspiracy to defraud the United States (tax evasion)
Pierluigi Mancini	Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
John Ross McCown, Jr.	Structuring of transactions to evade reporting requirements
Edward Francis McKenna, III	Possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids
Andrew Kirkpatrick Mearns, III	Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine
Ralph Eugene Meczyk	Filing false partnership and individual federal income tax returns, and aiding and abetting therein
Philip James Morin	Distribution of cocaine
Thomas Edward Nash, Jr.	Conspiracy to restrain interstate trade and commerce
Roger Lee Nelson	Aiding and abetting mail fraud
Jose Rene Pineda-Martinez	Entering U.S. without inspection, Transporting an illegal alien within the U.S.
John Russell Raup	Larceny of government property and wrongful possession of marijuana
James William Rogers	Conspiracy to commit racketeering
George Wisham Roper, II	Conspiracy to bribe public officials and to defraud the United States government
Daniel Rostenkowski	Mail fraud (two counts)
Dean Raymond Rush	False statements on a loan application
Archibald R. Schaffer, III	Violation of the Meat Inspection Act
Anthony Andrew Schmidt	Conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine
Stanley Sirote	Bribery of a public official
Dent Elwood Snider, Jr.	Use of a telephone to facilitate the distribution of cocaine
James Lawrence Swisher	Obstruction of a criminal investigation
Larry Kalvy Thompson	Aiding and abetting misapplication of bank funds, misprision of a felony
Stephanie Marie Vetter	Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
Danny Ray Walker	Interstate transportation of stolen property
Thomas Andrew Warren	Conspiracy to import marijuana
Michael Lynn Weatherford	Aiding and abetting interstate travel in aid of racketeering
Jack Weinstein	Conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property
Robert Owen Wilson	Mail fraud
Charles Elvin Witherspoon	Embezzlement of bank funds
Charles Z. Yonce, Jr.	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and aiding and abetting therein
Verla Jean Allen	False statements to agency of United States
Bernice Ruth Altschul	Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Nicholas M. Altiere	Importation of cocaine
Joe Anderson, Jr.	Income tax evasion
William Sterling Anderson	Conspiracy to defraud a federally insured financial institution, false statements to a federally insured financial institution, wire fraud
Mansour T. Azizkhani	Conspiracy and making false statements in bank loan applications
Cleveland Victor Babin, Jr.	Conspiracy to commit offense against the United States by utilizing the U.S. mail in furtherance of a scheme to defraud
Chris Harmon Bagley	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine
Scott Lynn Bane	Unlawful distribution of marijuana
Thomas Cleveland Barber	Issuing worthless checks
Peggy Ann Bargon	Violation of Lacey Act, violation of Bald Eagle Protection Act
Tansukhlal Bhatka	Filing fraudulent income tax returns
David Roscoe Blampied	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine
William Arthur Borders, Jr.	Conspiracy to corruptly solicit and accept money in return for influencing the official acts of a federal district court judge, and to defraud the United States in connection with the performance of lawful government functions; corruptly influencing, obstructing, impeding, and endeavoring to influence, obstruct, and impede the due administration of justice, and aiding and abetting therein; traveling interstate with intent to commit bribery
Arthur David Borel	Odometer rollback
Douglas Charles Borel	Odometer rollback
George Thomas Brabham	Making a false statement or report to a federally insured bank
Almon Glenn Braswell	Mail fraud, Perjury, Filing false income tax return
Leonard Browder	Illegal dispensing of controlled substance and Medicaid fraud
David Steven Brown	Securities fraud and mail fraud
Delores Caroylene Burleson	Possession of marijuana
John H. Bustamante	Wire fraud
Mary Louise Campbell	Aiding and abetting the unauthorized use and transfer of food stamps
Eloida Candelaria	False information in registering to vote
Dennis Sobrevinas Capili	Filing false statements in alien registration
Donna Denise Chambers	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, use of a telephone to facilitate cocaine conspiracy
Douglas Eugene Chapman	Bank fraud
Ronald Keith Chapman	Bank fraud
Francisco Larios Chavez	Aiding and abetting illegal entry of aliens
Henry G. Cisneros	False statement (misdemeanor)
Roger Clinton	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, Distribution of cocaine
Stuart Harris Cohn	Illegal sale of commodity options
David M. Cooper	Conspiracy to defraud the government
Ernest Harley Cox, Jr.	Conspiracy to defraud a federally insured savings and loan, misapplication of bank funds, false statements
John F. Cross, Jr.	Embezzlement
Rickey Lee Cunningham	Possession with intent to distribute marijuana
Richard Anthony De Labio	Mail fraud, aiding and abetting
John Deutch	Offenses charged in January 19, 2001
Richard Douglas	False statements to a government agent
Edward Reynolds Downe, Jr.	Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to subscribe to false income tax returns, securities fraud
Marvin Dean Dudley	False statements
Larry Lee Duncan	Altering an automobile odometer
Robert Clinton Fain	Aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false corporate tax return
Marcos Arcenio Fernandez	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana
Alvarez Ferrouillet	Interstate transportation of stolen property, money laundering, engaging in a monetary transaction with criminally derived property, false statements to government agents, Conspiracy to make false statements to a financial institution
William Denis Fugazy	Perjury in a bankruptcy proceeding
Lloyd Reid George	Aiding and abetting mail fraud
Louis Goldstein	Possession of goods stolen from interstate shipment
Rubye Lee Gordon	Forgery of U.S. Treasury checks
Pincus Green	Wire fraud, mail fraud, racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, criminal forfeiture, income tax evasion, and trading with Iran in violation of trade embargo
Robert Ivey Hamner	Conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
Samuel Price Handley	Conspiracy to steal government property
Woodie Randolph Handley	Conspiracy to steal government property
Jay Houston Harmon	Conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute, importation of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, Conspiracy to import cocaine
John J. Hemmingson	Interstate transportation of stolen property, engaging in a monetary transaction with criminally derived property
David S. Herdlinger	Mail fraud
Debi Rae Huckleberry,	Distribution of methamphetamine
Donald Ray James	Mail fraud, wire fraud, and false statements to a bank to influence credit approval
Stanley Pruet Jobe	Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud
Ruben H. Johnson	Theft and misapplication of bank funds by a bank officer or director (13 counts)
Linda Jones,	Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, to make a false statement to a bank, to launder monetary instruments, and to engage in monetary transactions in property derived from specific unlawful activity; aiding and abetting bank fraud; aiding and abetting false statements to a bank; aiding and abetting laundering monetary instruments; aiding and abetting engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specific unlawful activity; obstruction of justice; falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact by trick, scheme, or device; making a false statement
James Howard Lake	Illegal corporate campaign contributions (two counts), wire fraud
June Louise Lewis	Embezzlement by a bank employee
Salim Bonnor Lewis	Securities fraud, record keeping violations, margin violations
John Leighton Lodwick	Income tax evasion
Hildebrando Lopez	Distribution of cocaine
Jose Julio Luaces, Jr.	Possession of an unregistered firearm
James Timothy Maness	Conspiracy to distribute Valium
James Lowell Manning	Aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false corporate income tax return
John Robert Martin	Income tax evasion
Frank Ayala Martinez	Conspiracy to supply false documents to the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Silvia Leticia Beltran Martinez	Conspiracy to supply false documents to the Immigration and Naturalization Service
John Francis McCormick	Racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, aiding and abetting Hobbjay houston harmons Act extortion (five counts)
Susan H. McDougal	Mail fraud, aiding and abetting in misapplication of Small Business Investment Corporation funds, aiding and abetting in making false entries, aiding and abetting in making false statements
Howard Lawrence Mechanic, (aka Gary Robert Tredway)	Violating the Civil Disobedience Act of 1968, Failure to appear, Making a false statement in acquiring a passport
Brook K. Mitchell, Sr.	Conspiracy to illegally obtain USDA subsidy payments, false statements to USDA (two counts), false entries on USDA forms
Charles Wilfred Morgan, III	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine
Samuel Loring Morison	Willful transmission of defense information, unauthorized possession and retention of defense information, theft of government property
Richard Anthony Nazzaro	Perjury and conspiracy to commit mail fraud
Charlene Ann Nosenko	Conspiracy to defraud the United States, and influencing or injuring an officer or juror generally
Vernon Raymond Obermeier	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, distribution of cocaine, and using a communications facility to facilitate distribution of cocaine
Miguelina Ogalde	Conspiracy to import cocaine
David C. Owen	Filing a false tax return
Robert William Palmer	Conspiracy to make false statements
Kelli Anne Perhosky	Conspiracy to commit mail fraud
Richard H. Pezzopane	Conspiracy to commit racketeering, mail fraud
Orville Rex Phillips	Unlawful structuring of a financial transaction
Vinson Stewart Poling, Jr.	Making a false bank entry, and aiding and abetting
Normal Lyle Prouse	Operating or directing the operation of a common carrier while under the influence of alcohol
Willie H. H. Pruitt, Jr.	Absent without official leave
Danny Martin Pursley, Sr.	Aiding and abetting the conduct of an illegal gambling business, and obstruction of state laws to facilitate illegal gambling
Charles D. Ravenel	Conspiring to defraud the United States
William Clyde Ray	Fraud using the telephone
Alfredo Luna Regalado	Failure to report the transportation of currency in excess of $10,000 into the United States
Ildefonso Reynes Ricafort	Submission of false claims to Veterans Administration
Marc Rich	Wire fraud, mail fraud, racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, criminal forfeiture, income tax evasion, and trading with Iran in violation of trade embargo
Howard Winfield Riddle	Violation of the Lacey Act (receipt of illegally imported animal skins)
Richard Wilson Riley, Jr.	Conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute marijuana and cocaine
Samuel Lee Robbins	Misprision of a felony
Joel Gonzales Rodriguez	Theft of mail by a postal employee
Michael James Rogers	Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana
Anna Louise Ross	Distribution of cocaine
Gerald Glen Rust	False declarations before grand jury
Jerri Ann Rust	False declarations before grand jury
Bettye June Rutherford	Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
Gregory Lee Sands	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine
Adolph Schwimmer	Conspiracy to violate the Neutrality Act and export control laws, and conspiracy to export arms, ammunition, etc. to a foreign country
Albert A. Seretti, Jr.	Conspiracy and wire fraud
Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw	Armed bank robbery and using a firearm during a felony
Dennis Joseph Smith	Unauthorized absence, Failure to obey off limits instructions
Gerald Owen Smith	Armed bank robbery
Stephen A. Smith	Conspiracy to misapply Small Business Administration loans
Jimmie Lee Speake	Conspiracy to possess and utter counterfeit $20 Federal Reserve notes
Charles Bernard Stewart	Illegally destroying U.S. mail
Marlena Francisca Stewart-Rollins	Conspiracy to distribute cocaine
John Fife Symington, III	False statements to federally insured financial institutions, wire fraud, attempted extortion, and false statements in bankruptcy proceeding
Richard Lee Tannehill	Conspiracy in restraint of trade
Nicholas C. Tenaglia	Receipt of illegal payments under the Medicare Program
Gary Allen Thomas	Theft of mail by postal employee
Larry Weldon Todd	Conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in violation of the Lacey Act and the Airborne Hunting Act
Olga C. Trevino	Misapplication by a bank employee
Ignatious Vamvouklis	Possession of cocaine
Patricia A. Van De Weerd	Theft by U.S. postal employee
Christopher V. Wade	Bank fraud and false statements on a loan application
Bill Wayne Warmath	Obstruction of correspondence
Jack Kenneth Watson	Making false statements of material facts to the United States Forest Service
Donna Lynn Webb	False entry in savings and loan record by employee
Donald William Wells	Possession of an unregistered firearm
Robert H. Wendt	Conspiracy to effectuate the escape of a federal prisoner
Jack L. Williams	Making false statements to federal agents (two counts)
Kevin Arthur Williams	Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine
Robert Michael Williams	Conspiracy to transport in foreign commerce securities obtained by fraud
Jimmie Lee Wilson	Converting property mortgaged or pledged to a farm credit agency, and converting public money to personal use
Thelma Louise Wingate	Mail fraud
Mitchell Couey Wood	Conspiracy to possess and to distribute cocaine
Warren Stannard Wood	Conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing a false document with the Securities and Exchange Commission
Dewey Worthey	Medicaid fraud
Rick Allen Yale	Bank fraud
Joseph A. Yasak	Knowingly making under oath a false declaration regarding a material fact before a Grand Jury
William Stanley Yingling	Receipt of a stolen motor vehicle
Philip David Young	Interstate transportation and sale of fish and wildlife

So now, what were you saying about having no respect for the rule of law? Quite a few perjurors in that list isn't there? Not to mention quite a bit of nepotism! I mean what is worse, commuting the drastic jail sentence of a man who couldn't remember the facts about a crime that never happened or pardoning your own brother for conspiracy to distribute cocaine? Of course we all know that Roger Clinton was just supplying Al Gore Jr.'s needs right?

You know something I just noticed that's interesting? Count them... Nearly ¼ of the people Clinton pardonned were drug dealers... Most of which were trafficing in cocaine or pot. Was that another favor for his vice president's son?