Blackwater busted

By GottaLaff

I'll provide details when I find them. For now:


Today is officially Bust the Bad Guys Day.

My Blackwater for Dummeez primer here.

UPDATE:

Federal prosecutors indicted Gary Jackson, who was president of Blackwater until last year, on Friday in a case that stemmed from a raid on Blackwater's North Carolina headquarters in 2008, which turned up 22 automatic weapons, including 17 Russian-made AK-47s.

Along with Jackson, the other Blackwater officials charged include the company's former lawyer, Andrew Howell, former vice president Bill Matthews and two employees tasked with overseeing Blackwater's armory and documentation having to so with its status as an arms dealer.

And yet the State Department still employs them. It's about time they Xe the light.

Here's an older post from 2008 about a few AK-47s that showed up in their armory.

Law enforcement officer: "Buy as many guns as you can afford"; Judge: Carry a gun

By GottaLaff

You may be acquainted with 42bkdodgr, my "72-year-old friend" who contributes Special Comments to TPC from time to time.

He sent me this message yesterday, and I had to share:

Yesterday at a Mens Club luncheon I attended as a guest, there was a law enforcement officer running for top law enforcement position in Vegas.

He told the group that he favored no gun registration requirement and that people should buy as many guns and ammo as they could afford, because the way the country was going, they made need them.

I was shocked and scared from what was said. This coming from a law enforcement official.

I'm scared, too, 42bkdodgr, although I am becoming less shocked, which is a commentary on the recent state of affairs in and of itself.

But I'm not just alarmed by that one story. That was bad enough. No, it gets worse. Today, when I opened my L.A. Times, I found this:

One judge's solution for citizens feeling less secure because of budget cuts in an Ohio county: Carry a gun.

He explained that anyone with a gun should be "law abiding".

Yes, I'm sure all those angry, extremist militia types and/or Tea Baggers, and/or anyone with a grudge against the government who is being egged on by the likes of Sarah Palin to "reload" will remember to be "law abiding".

Emotion has nothing to do with it.

Rage is so easily controlled, isn't it? Especially these days. Why, sure as shootin', these people are as trustworthy and reasonable and safety conscious as they can be with their lethal weapons.

Mackey [...] was expressing concerns with budget cuts that have trimmed the sheriff's department from 112 to 49 deputies in the county, which is Ohio's largest by land area.

Asked by WKYC how people should respond to the cuts and limited patrols, he said, "Arm themselves. Be very careful and just be vigilant because we're going to have to look after each other."

Feel safer now? That awesome posse mentality is so in vogue these days. I must remember to purchase Nordstrom's finest hottt studded leather holster to match the gleam of ready-aim-fire in my eyes.

Even if the judge did not intend to encourage vigilantism, IMHO he was being irresponsible. Guns are not the answer to budget cuts. His honor might have thought about the possible consequences of his words before he opened his influential judicial mouth.

Fallujah birth defects blamed on US weapons; doctors told "not to embarrass Americans over the issue"

By GottaLaff

BushCo's fraudulent little war takes yet another turn for the worse:

Birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah have soared in recent years, with doctors saying advanced US weaponry such as white phosphorous and depleted uranium shells may have caused a "massive, unprecedented number" of congenital health problems.

A BBC investigative report has found that the incidence of birth defects in Fallujah has reached a rate 13 times higher than that found in Europe. One doctor at a US-built hospital in the city says the number of birth defects has spiked from one or two per month prior to the Iraq war to two or three per day today. [...]

[BBC world affairs editor John] Simpson says the Fallujah doctors who raised the alarm about birth defects were "well aware that what they said went against the government version, and we were told privately that the Iraqi authorities are anxious not to embarrass the Americans over the issue." [...]

Simpson further reported that he had "heard many times" that women in Fallujah were being warned not to have children.

If this is true, and I believe it is, it's inexcusable. There was controversy over the weaponry at the time. Now we see the horrific consequences of actions taken in our name.

I (among many others) don't recall giving my approval, but Boy Georgie and his trainer Dickless McHeartStent were just a tad headstrong and didn't care. About anything. Except their own little power trip.

As for embarrassing Americans, BushCo managed to do that all on their own.

Meet the Tea Party's Military Wing

By GottaLaff

Back in October 2009, I posted a Special Comment by 42bkdodgr about Pat Buchanan and the Oath Keepers:

The organization is made up of ex-Army paratroopers and police officers who repledge themselves to defend the Constitution, even if it means disobeying orders. Stewart Rhodes, the organization founder, says the reason for the type of membership, is “my focus is on the guys with the guns”.

Mother Jones picks up where 42bkdodgr left off:

[A] small group of fellow soldiers at the Fort Drum Army base in upstate New York are angry about the recent direction of the federal government. In the belief that it is already starting to turn on its citizens, they are preparing for the day the feds will find some pretext to declare martial law. Their conspiracy-minded rhetoric mirrors that of a recently established group called Oath Keepers. [...] [T]he group encourages active duty soldiers to stay anonymous—they identify themselves as Oath Keepers and subscribe to the group's tenets. But Pray and his pals take the rhetoric a step further: They are actively stockpiling weapons, running drills, and outlining a plan of action for the day "the shit hits the fan"—the day they will be forced to go AWOL to their "fortified bunker," and if it becomes necessary, to turn their guns against fellow soldiers. "I'm willing to fight to the death," Pray tells reporter Justine Sharrock in her new profile of Oath Keepers and its founder.

They also have a lengthy piece here called "Oath Keepers and the Age of Treason"...

Glenn Beck loves them. Tea Partiers court them. Congressmen listen to them. Meet the fast-growing "patriot" group that's recruiting soldiers to resist the Obama administration.

And they provide a slide show of who is connected to this lovely group. Here are the thumbnails, and each has accompanying text that is quite revelatory:

(click on image to enlarge)

Disturbing, to say the least.

H/t: Gr8RDH

Tea Partier Charged With Stockpiling Weapons: Palin on "righteous Mission from God"

By GottaLaff

Kate Glass/Gloucester Daily Times A stockpile of weapons and ammunition was found at the Bridge Street home of Gregory Girard on Tuesday night.
/ Staff Photographer

Need more proof of how HateSpew McSmileyFace inspires her followers? Why, here's some now:

The Massachusetts man charged this week with stockpiling weapons after saying he feared an imminent "Armageddon" appears to have been active in the Tea Party movement, and saw Sarah Palin, who he said is on a "righteous 'Mission from God,'" as the only figure capable of averting the destruction of society.

As we reported yesterday, Gregory Girard, a Manchester technology consultant, was found with a stash of military grade weapons, explosive devices including tear gas and pepper ball canisters, camouflage clothing, knives, handcuffs, bulletproof vests and helmets, and night vision goggles, say police. They believe Girard, who pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, was "preparing for domestic and political turmoil," and feared martial law would soon be imposed.

Girard's wife said her husband had recently told her: "Don't talk to people, shoot them instead," and "it's fine to shoot people in the head because traitors deserve it."

Oh, this guy's a real peach. Here's something he posted. Please note the "inner city youths" button:

I have studied the "National Security Force," which is Obama's name for the secret police force he is creating. I have read the new law that gives them the right to operate as an extension of the DoD, carrying firearms, and executing search warrants, executing arrest warrants, and the like. Needless to say, it's a secret police force of some kind, and it appears likely to be created from inner city youths.

So much for that folksy keepy America-y safey thing, eh Sarah? And about that swell suggestion of yours to let the Tea Tantrumers go leaderless... mob rule is so much more preferable. At least Girard had enough lethal weapons for nearly everyone.

Oh, but sharing them would be veering smack dab into socialism. Never mind.

There's a whole lot more here, at TPM.

H/t: HarborGuy, RightWingTurds

Jesus Guns, the Sequel: "Uncle Sam had seen fit not to give us a 'pussy 'Jewzzi'"

By GottaLaff

(Via. Click to enlarge)

Remember the Jesus Guns? Weren't they special? Well, now we have the sequel:

And what they will never tell you on Fox "News", and probably not even on CNN or MSNBC, etc. is contained in the following three emails sent to Mikey Weinstein of the Nobel Prize-nominated Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), following an ABC News exposé last week on the bible versus that are encoded on the rifle scopes made by Trijicon, Inc., and used by our military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You'll have to follow the link to read the e-mails, but I'll give you some nasty, hate-filled, bigoted, startling little details from the weevils who need to be exposed right out loud:

The soldier shares an appalling alleged account of his superior officer's description [of the Jesus Gun] [...] All the better, said the officer according to the soldier, than what they might have received since "Uncle Sam had seen fit not to give us a "pussy 'Jewzzi' (combination of the word 'Jew' and Israeli made weapon 'Uzi')"."

Jewzzi SIR! Yes SIR!

To be more specific:

[T]he senior NCO said that the private's rifle was also something else; that because of the biblical quote on the ACOG gunsight it had been "spiritually transformed into the Fire Arm of Jesus Christ" and that we would be expected to kill every "haji" we could find with it.

You can read the rest here.

Meantime, I would like to dedicate this post to those who saw nothing wrong with a few innocent little Biblical inscriptions that would never really cross the line or even see the light of day.

And if all this doesn't convince the doubters, imagine substituting the name Jesus Christ with Allah.

Still poo-pooing us "alarmists"? How's about this:

He said that the enemy no doubt had quotes from the Koran on their guns but that "our Lord is bigger than theirs because theirs is a fraud and an idol". [...]

This senior NCO was apparently also the head person of a conservative, crazy Christian group called the "Christian Military Fellowship" and made a big deal about the importance of joining to everyone. He told us all that we MUST read a book called "Under Orders" in order to make it through this combat deployment and said he had many copies for everyone.

Nope. Nothin' wrong with that. He was just bein' neighborly, doing unto others, and loving his fellow man.

Marine Corps "Concerned" About "Jesus Guns"

By GottaLaff

(Via. Click to enlarge)

For background on prayers being secretly inscribed onto military weapons, see my previous post.

How nice to know the Marine Corps is concerned. Are they drumming up a few prayers for Jesus Guns out of that concern? Maybe they can have something special inscribed on the next batch:

"We are aware of the issue and are concerned with how this may be perceived," Capt. Geraldine Carey, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps, said in a statement to ABC News. "We will meet with the vendor to discuss future sight procurements." Carey said that when the initial deal was made in 2005 it was the only product that met the Corps needs.

Now, now, what's wrong with militarizing religion... or religionizing the military?

Wait for it...

However, a spokesperson for CentCom, the U.S. military's overall command in Iraq and Aghanistan, said he did not understand why the issue was any different from U.S. money with religious inscriptions on it.

Just FYI, Trijicon, who makes the sights, has a $660 million multi-year contract for up to 800,000 sights.... for the Marines and the Army.

U.S. military rules specifically prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan and were drawn up in order to prevent criticism that the U.S. was embarked on a religious "Crusade" in its war against al Qaeda and Iraqi insurgents.

Rules, schmules.

Maj. John Redfield, spokesperson for CentCom:

"This does not constitute proselytizing because this equipment is not issued beyond the U.S. Defense Department personnel. It's not something we're giving away to the local folks."

Ohhhh, well then! Our bad.

But ABC News was able to find repeated references to the Biblical citations in on-line discussions of the gun sights.

Oops. What's the opposite of our bad? Our good?

Back in 2006, on a self-described "Armageddon Forum," a number of users discuss the Bible references. "Seems there's a different verse on each model," writes Mr45auto. "They chose some whoppers too!"

And here's one from a 2006 thread on a gaming forum:

"DoD contractor puts bible verses on it's (sic) products."

There were more like this, even on YouTube, where a video about the verses got nearly 20,000 hits. Here are a couple of comments from that very page:

"I love it. I love it. Yes, Trijicon, those guys are Christians. On all of their different sights they have verses on there."

"For those of you who aren't Christians, well, you know, get over it."

It's good to know how concerned everyone is. I feel somehow comforted and no longer feel the need to worry one whit about the separation of church and state.

U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes

By GottaLaff

(Via. Click on image to enlarge)

Jesus saves! Love your fellow man! Then shoot 'em with Guns for Jesus:

Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found.

The sights are used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers. The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U.S. Army.

U.S. military rules specifically prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan and were drawn up in order to prevent criticism that the U.S. was embarked on a religious "Crusade" in its war against al Qaeda and Iraqi insurgents.

One of the citations on the gun sights, 2COR4:6, is an apparent reference to Second Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament, which reads: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

There are more references cited here.

Whatever happened to separation of church and state? Remember that?

According to "Mikey" Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group that seeks to preserve the separation of church and state in the military, this violates the Constitution.

Weinstein, an attorney and former Air Force officer, said many members of his group who currently serve in the military have complained about the markings on the sights. He also claims they've told him that commanders have referred to weapons with the sights as "spiritually transformed firearm[s] of Jesus Christ."

He said coded biblical inscriptions play into the hands of "those who are calling this a Crusade."

That should go over well.

VIDEO: Rep. Gingrey (R-GA) Encourages Guns at Town Halls

By GottaLaff

Oy:



TPM tell us that there were a dozen with firearms at the Obama event, the same one that I posted about earlier.

This is becoming a bad habit. Why is it happening more and more often? Since when were gun owners' rights trampled? They weren't. So what do these people have to prove, other than their own "manhood"? This is dangerous behavior, unnecessary and unacceptable considering the recent toxic, hostile environment.

As author and former Secret Service agent Joseph Petro is saying right now on the Rachel Maddow Show, stunts like these, carrying weapons to public events, can encourage violence against the president. The threat of force is right out there for all to see, with the very real potential for tragedy, which is not exactly the calm atmosphere the Secret Service--and the more rational and peaceful among us-- strives for.

Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists: A baby-faced young girl screamed, “Separate your feet!”

By GottaLaff

On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country

and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong,

mentally awake, and morally straight.

How helpful, kind, cheerful, friendly and courteous of them!

The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence — an intense ratcheting up of one of the group’s longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters.

“This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl,” said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriff’s deputy here in Imperial County, whose life clock, he says, is set around the Explorers events he helps run. “It fits right in with the honor and bravery of the Boy Scouts.”

The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out “active shooters,” like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.

“Put him on his face and put a knee in his back,” a Border Patrol agent explained. “I guarantee that he’ll shut up.”

Now everyone gather 'round the campfire to roast some marshmallows for some yummy s'mores! Weeee!

Cathy Noriego, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. The group uses compressed-air guns — known as airsoft guns, which fire tiny plastic pellets — in the training exercises, and sometimes they shoot real guns on a closed range.

“I like shooting them,” Cathy said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”

Speaking of being inappropriately excited:

There have been numerous cases over the last three decades in which police officers supervising Explorers have been charged, in civil and criminal cases, with sexually abusing them.

Several years ago, two University of Nebraska criminal justice professors published a study that found at least a dozen cases of sexual abuse involving police officers over the last decade. Adult Explorer leaders are now required to take an online training program on sexual misconduct.

What a healthy, wholesome program! Who's enrolling their kids this summer? Hands?

“Before it was more about the basics,” said Johnny Longoria, a Border Patrol agent here. “But now our emphasis is on terrorism, illegal entry, drugs and human smuggling.”

The law enforcement posts are restricted to those ages 14 to 21 who have a C average, but there seems to be some wiggle room. “I will take them at 13 and a half,” Deputy Lowenthal said. “I would rather take a kid than possibly lose a kid.”

How inclusive of them. Hey kiddies! Tell your friends! Fun for the entire family!

Just as there are soccer moms, there are Explorers dads, who attend the competitions, man the hamburger grill and donate their land for the simulated marijuana field raids. In their training, the would-be law-enforcement officers do not mess around, as revealed at a recent competition on the state fairgrounds here, where a Ferris wheel sat next to the police cars set up for a felony investigation.

Their hearts pounding, Explorers moved down alleys where there were hidden paper targets of people pointing guns, and made split-second decisions about when to shoot. In rescuing hostages from a bus taken over by terrorists, a baby-faced young girl screamed, “Separate your feet!” as she moved to handcuff her suspect.

How precious. I hope she didn't muss her hair or scuff her shoesies.

In a competition in Arizona that he did not oversee, Deputy Lowenthal said, one role-player wore traditional Arab dress. “If we’re looking at 9/11 and what a Middle Eastern terrorist would be like,” he said, “then maybe your role-player would look like that. I don’t know, would you call that politically incorrect?”

Alrighty now, kids, this break has lasted way too long. Everyone in the van! We're off to grenade-throwing practice! Everyone grab your weapons, and don't forget to fasten your seat belts! Safety first!

H/t: The Joshua Blog

VIDEO: U.S. Marine found with weapons, explosives at airport

By GottaLaff



I believe a report on this due to come out tonight. I may be wrong, but I thought I heard Rachel Maddow mention it (or was that a different report?). Per our Commenter HippieCyndi:

Apparently the Pentagon has been either monitoring or firing soldiers who are involved with right wing extreme elements quietly.

Michael Savage may have to sue the Pentagon now.

A United States Marine is being held on $50,000 cash bail after airport officials found a gun, explosives and other weapons in his suitcase. U.S. Marine Justin Reed of Jacksonville, NC was stopped at Boston's Logan Airport shortly after 7 a.m. on Sunday - 04/19/09

H/t: HippieCyndi