Month: October 2005

Today’s Post

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This is sort of a two-parter. Part I is at another blog. If you’ve read The Smallest Minority for any length of time, you know I tend toward the long-winded, and I’m not afraid to quote others in full, either. But this time, I’d like you to read a really excellent piece over at Circa Bellum. I’d read it somewhere before, but he has the piece in its entirety, and everyone ought to read it: Davy Crockett vs. Welfare. Go read.

I’m serious.

Finished? Excellent. Now, read this email I recently received from Congressman Kolbe’s office, in its entirety:

Dear Mr. Baker:

I am writing to let you know about some important recent developments in Congress related to border security in southern Arizona.

Last week, the Homeland Security Appropriations House-Senate conference committee, of which I was a part, met and finalized the nation’s border security appropriations for fiscal year 2006. I am pleased the final resolution provides the resources needed to secure our border, including more than $56 million that I specifically designated for the Border Patrol Tucson Sector. In addition to the $21 million requested by the Border Patrol for patrol stations, fencing, lighting, vehicle barriers, and roads, the final agreement includes an additional $35 million specifically for the Tucson Sector to help them protect the border. This money can be used at the Border Patrol’s discretion to ensure it has the resources it needs to do its job. The conference report has been adopted by the House and Senate and has been sent to the President’s to be signed into law.

We must secure the border. From additional agents, detention space, airplanes, helicopters and UAVs, to better technology for securing and facilitating travel into the US by land, air and sea, this bill has everything that is needed to protect our homeland. I am especially pleased to almost triple the construction funding for the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector. Border Patrol will now have increased financial resources to protect our borders beyond their original plans. The additional $35 million provides the Border Patrol the flexibility to use the money as it sees fit either on new projects or to expedite current projects.

Funding benefiting southern Arizona includes:

Construction Projects ($12.7 million total)
* Willcox Border Patrol Station — $10 million for a new 120 agent station
* Sonoita Border Patrol Station — $2.7 million for a new 150 agent station

Tactical Infrastructure ($8.5 million total)
* Douglas Roadway Project — $975,000 for 16 miles of all weather patrol roads with associated pedestrian fence and vehicle barriers to improve Border Patrol access and restrict cross border access.
* Douglas Fencing Project — $2 million for international ditch reconstruction in an earth channel parallel to the border that is failing and allowing erosion to undermine border fence.
* Naco Roadway Project — $543,000 to build all weather patrol road beginning from a location from 2.5 miles west of the Naco Port of Entry and continuing 6 miles west; and beginning from a location 2.5 miles east of the Port of Entry and continuing 4 miles east.
* Tucson/Yuma Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge Vehicle Barrier Project — $5 million to provide all environmental documentation, engineering, and construction of vehicle barriers and patrol roads in the Cabeza Prieta NWR and Barry M. Goldwater Range.

Overall, the bill provides $30.8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes $19.1 billion for border protection and immigration enforcement. That is a $1.2 billion increase over last year.

Other highlights of the bill include:

* $1.8 billion for border security and control, funding an additional 1,000 Border Patrol Agents. When combined with the fiscal year 2005 Supplemental, 1,500 new agents will be hired in fiscal year 2006;
* $3.4 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, funding an additional 250 criminal investigators and 100 Immigration Enforcement agents; when combined with the fiscal year 2005 Supplemental, 568 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and officers will be hired in fiscal year 2006;
* $41 million for border security technology, including surveillance and unmanned aerial vehicles;
* $562 million for Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Operations for border and airspace security;
* $45 million for increased intelligence and targeting for cargo and passengers;
* $138.8 million for the Container Security Initiative, supporting efforts in 48 foreign ports;
* $21 million for FAST/SENTRI/NEXUS to maintain security & facilitate travel on our land borders;
* $2.9 billion for the Coast Guard’s homeland security missions;
* $4 million to continue and expand an immigration security pilot project at foreign airports;
* $1 billion for immigration detention custody operations;
* $135 million for transportation and removal of illegal immigrants;
* $94 million for the Institutional Removal Program,
including an additional 100 agents;
* $40 million for implementation of the REAL ID Act;
* A requirement that DHS submit a comprehensive immigration enforcement strategy that reduces the number of undocumented aliens by 10 percent per year and a requirement that DHS and ICE develop a national detention plan for undocumented aliens;
* $3.3 billion for first responders, including grants to high threat areas, firefighters; and emergency management;
* $2.5 billion for passenger and baggage screeners;
* $88 million for the training of airport screeners;
* $443 million to procure, install, maintain and integrate in-line explosive detection systems;
* $1 billion for aviation direction and enforcement activities;
* $85 million for air cargo security, including 100 new inspectors, funding to fast track pending air cargo regulations; and research and development of next generation technologies;
* $8 million for rail security inspectors and explosive detection canines;
* $5 million for trucking security and $4 million for HAZMAT truck tracking and training;
* $686 million for Federal Air Marshals, ensuring mission coverage on both domestic and international flights, including $2 million for secure communications;
* A requirement to develop and implement improved air cargo security standards and protocols, as well as the use of EDS equipment to screen air cargo at airports;
* $538 million to develop radiological, nuclear, chemical, biological, and high explosives countermeasures;
* $35 million for rapid prototyping of homeland security technologies;
* $110 million for research, development, and testing of antimissile devices for commercial aircraft;
* $20 million for container security research;
* $318 million to start-up the new Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and its help coordinate global nuclear detection and tracking;
* $63 million for university-based centers of excellence and fellowships;
* $180 million for critical infrastructure identification and evaluation, and outreach and partnerships with industry;
* $14 million to identify and characterize potential bio-terrorist attacks;
* $39.6 million for U.S. Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Forces (ECTFs), including an additional 50 people devoted to combating electronic crime and identity theft;
* $93.3 million for cyber-security;
* $255 million for enhancing secure communications with State and local governments;
* $2.6 billion for traditional Coast Guard operating activities, including maritime safety, drug interdiction, and fisheries, environmental, and humanitarian missions;
* $487 million for the Federal Protective Service to protect over 8,800 federal facilities nationwide;
* $25 million to enforce laws related to forced child labor, intellectual property rights, and textile transshipment;
* $7.9 million to support investigations related to missing and exploited children; and
* $1.9 billion for citizenship and immigration services.

I am pleased to see that Congress is acting so broadly to secure our nation’s borders, and I hope that we will also vote on a comprehensive border security and immigration reform bill in the coming months. I will continue to keep you informed as legislation is considered, or other events occur that effect border security.

Sincerely,

Jim Kolbe
Member of Congress

Yep, that’s our Congress at work. When the only tool you have on your belt is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.

Two Hours in the Dentist’s Chair

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Actually, a bit more than that. Two molars that already had pretty big fillings, #18 & 19, back two on the left side, lower jaw. (The wisdom teeth came out at age 18.) Now they are two molars with temporary crowns. The novocaine hasn’t worn off yet, at least not completely. I think I’m going to be pretty sore when it does.

I put the appointment off twice because of work, but not today!

Damn. That money could have gone to another gun, more ammunition, or a nice kitchen appliance. (The remodeling work begins in November.)

I have had better days.

“…Reason to Suspect ‘It is Drug Related’ “

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Are you going to join in the Great Wal*Mart Ammo Day Buy? Well, I said we wanted to see what happened. This might give some of us a clue. (Check the date – 11/5/2002) Reader Carl sent me this news story (link appears to be broken due to age, but the players are real – see below):

Who bought 1,000 rounds of 9 mm ammo?

Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff

November 05, 2002
When someone bought 1,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition at a Cookeville store recently, clerks became suspicious.

So did police after they received information about the purchase.

The ammo appeared to be headed for use in drug related crimes, according to Capt. Nathan Honeycutt of the Cookeville Police Department.

That was last week, and investigation into the matter continues today, with one man under arrest so far, but not for having the large quantity of powerful bullets.

A thousand 9mm rounds? That’s a decent weekend for some of us.

Last Friday, federal, regional, and local officers executed a search warrant and arrested Vernon Thomas Mendoza, 25, of Buffalo Valley Road, Cookeville.

He is facing “a variety of federal charges, including possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and possession of methamphetamine for resale,” Capt. Honeycutt said.

Well good on ’em, then. But how did they know about Mr. Mendoza?

Meanwhile, the search for where the ammunition wound up continues, and detectives are hot on the trail, he said.

With the information they first received last week about the ammo purchase, police detectives set up an undercover investigation which included the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agency, working with the 13th District Drug Task Force, and Detective Lt. Doyle McClain and Detective Sgt. Carl Sells.

“We are still trying to find out where this much ammunition was going, and we have some very good leads now,” Capt. Honeycutt said today. “In fact, we have a pretty good idea of where it is and more arrests are pending.”

He said 9 mm ammunition of the type bought “is the most likely thing that goes into automatic weapons commonly used by criminals.”

Wait… I thought automatic weapons were strictly regulated by the 1934 National Firearms Act? And that kept them out of the hands of criminals. But now they’re “commonly used by criminals”?

Oh. You mean semi-automatic weapons. Well why didn’t you say so?

“And to buy that much at one time is very unusual, so that is why it raised the suspicions of the store and of the police,” Honeycutt said.

It might be unusual in Cookeville, but it’s pretty damned common most places. When I buy .45ACP it’s by the thousand round case. I guess these guys would have had little kittens if they’d found out about my recent purchase of 768 rounds of .30-06, in Garand clips on bandoleers, shipped in evil .50 caliber ammo cans!

While it is not necessarily illegal to possess such ammunition in that quantity, detectives working this case have reason to suspect “it is drug related,” he said.

Not necessarily illegal! How nice! I guess my cabinet full of reloaded ammo isn’t necessarily illegal either? Or all the loose projectiles, various powders, primers and empty cases?

He said the “behavior” of the buyer, as well as the quantity of the purchase figured into the suspicion raised.

I can imagine what bothered the clerks. The guy comes up and says “I need a thousand rounds of 9mm and six cases of Sudafed. And hurry up, I’ve got things to do!”

“Our detectives did not wait for somebody to get hurt, but took a proactive stance and moved to track down this ammunition,” Honeycutt said.

The arrest of Mendoza was the first result, and more arrests are expected, he said.

When the officers and DTF and ATF agents arrived at Mendoza’s residence last Friday about 11 a.m., they found him there with his girlfriend, and he was arrested without incident, Honeycutt said.

But he made no statements, Honeycutt said.

Allegedly, he had a handgun and methamphetamine, and his arrest was based on those items.

But the officers did not find the 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

“So it is still a very, very active investigation,” Honeycutt said this morning.

He praised the work of the Cookeville Police detectives and the “excellent cooperation” of the ATF and the Drug Task Force.

Mendoza was taken to Nashville, where he will be arraigned in federal court.

Published November 05, 2002 12:12 PM CST

I didn’t find any follow-ups on this story, but in checking, I did find this golden oldie:

Killing of family dog unfolds on videotape

By LEON ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer

Review finds officers acted properly in stopping car

Three minutes and seven seconds tells the story of a dog named Patton.

The dog, which was shot at close range Jan. 1 by a Cookeville policeman during a felony traffic stop, belonged to the James Smoak family of Saluda, N.C. At the time, the Tennessee Highway Patrol suspected the Smoaks — James, his wife, Pamela, and his stepson, Brandon Hayden — were involved in a Nashville-area robbery.

Yesterday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol acknowledged there was no robbery, just a calamitous mix-up in communications between dispatchers working for two separate patrol offices. This failure to communicate led to the shooting of the Smoaks’ dog, an incident that was preserved on videotape by a dashboard camera in a patrol car.

Even so, the THP officers did not act inappropriately by making the felony stop, according to an internal investigation.

“Our investigation has found that our troopers on the scene that night — Trooper David Bush, Trooper Jerry Phann and Lt. Jerry Andrews — did have probable cause to conduct what in police terms is called a ‘felony stop’ of a motorist,” said Beth Tucker Womack, spokeswoman for the Department of Safety. The THP is part of the Safety Department.

A felony stop is ordered when the occupants of a car are thought to have been involved in a crime.

Likewise, the Cookeville Police Department’s internal investigation determined that its officers, who were providing backup for the troopers, “performed their duties according to training and policy,” said department spokesman Capt. Nathan Honeycutt.

You can read the rest at the link.

I wonder how many BATF agents are going to be tied up investigating a nearly-simultaneous purchase of tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition of various calibers? Or how long it will take Wal*Mart to shut down ammo sales on Nov. 19?

KevinLeave a comment

National Ammo Day Approacheth.

And the guys at AR15.com have come up with an amusing twist. On the afternoon of Nov. 19, at 3:30PM Central time or as close as practicable, a bunch of us (me included) are going to go to our local WalMart and buy as much of the Winchester white-box or Remington value-packs of ammo as we can afford – preferably every bit in stock, in our preferred caliber(s). We’re kind of interested to see if it rings any bells anywhere.

Someone else suggested picking up a copy of Red Dawn on DVD at the same time.

I just might do that, too.

UPDATE, 10/17. The High Road forum has picked up on this, too!

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I Can’t Stop Now! More Validation!.

Again, sorry for the lack of posting. Work has been… consuming. And I’m in the middle of a lot of stuff having to do with my house. Anyway, I got this email today:

Just wanted to let you know that your message is getting through, and being spread.

We recently had an eight year old in the community shot by a fourteen year old with a handgun. Not much info on who owned the gun, why the kids weren’t in school or who was supervising them, but an unfortunate accident none the less. The local liberal paper took the opportunity to parrot the gun control lies with a front page article saying how child shootings are not uncommon because there are “eight per day in the US”. Followed by an editorial with the same BS and suggestions for getting trigger locks and asking the question “do you really need a gun?”

I knew I had read relevant material on your site, so looked up some info and sent them the following letter.

http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/112919501214480.xml?huntsvilletimes?olet&coll=1

Look about half way down.

I had a lot more to say, but they limit us to 250 words.

Regards

Louis Barraza

And here’s that letter-to-the-editor:

Teach your kids

The shooting death of the Huntsville boy this week was a tragic occurrence, but there was no need by The Times to sensationalize it (“A deadly mixture,” Oct. 7) by misquoting Centers for Disease Control statistics.

The actual number of children ages 0 to 14 killed by accidental gunshot in the United States was 60, per the CDC report for 2002 published this year. Not “eight per day” as The Times claimed.

The numbers quoted are for “children” up to age 24, the vast majority of which were killed in drug, illegal activity or gang- related homicides.

While everyone agrees that 60 deaths are surely 60 too many, some perspective is in order. In the same age range, 95 died from falls and 838 drowned.

Complications from doctors and medical mistakes killed 69, making firearms just a little less likely to kill than a mistake by a doctor.

The Times’ suggestions are a good start in reducing tragedies, but the most important – education – was left out.

Guns are not uncommon, and all children should be taught safe practices whether they live in a home with any or not.

Children are naturally curious and must be taught about the dangers and uses of firearms, just like they are taught about the danger and uses of the poison under the sink or the power tools in the garage.

Louis G. Barraza

Thank you, Louis. It encourages me to know that all of the time I put into the blog actually has a payback.

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That’s What I Figured. Dammit.

Rob Smith reports that he’s dying. Someone wrote jokingly once that “perfect health is just the slowest possible rate of dying.” There’s a difference though, I think, when The End is staring you in the face, and the only question is “Days, months, or a couple more years?” For those of you not familiar with Rob’s site Gutrumbles, or his (appropriate) persona of Acidman, Rob started his blog after life hit him in the balls. With a 10 pound sledghammer. Repeatedly. Blogging is Rob’s version of therapy. Sometimes reading his posts is much like watching an all-day plane crash, but he’s usually entertaining, never boring, and he’s often very insightful. Getting a huge dose of reality forced down your throat tends to strip away the bullshit, and Rob’s been stripped raw.

I hope he stays with it as long as he can, and Rob? I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone.

KevinLeave a comment

On the Dearth of Posting.

Sorry about that. I’ve been busy both at work and with personal stuff, and honestly I haven’t been all that inspired to post, even when I find articles that would normally pique my interest.

Hopefully this won’t last all that long, but bear with me. I haven’t quit, just slowed down.

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I Just Listened to Bush’s Speech.

I’d say my post True Believers was just vindicated with regard to his position.

Message to Sheehan: The noble cause Casey died for is freedom. Everybody’s freedom.

Message to the “bring ’em home” crowd: Fuck off. We’re staying until we’re finished.

Message to the rest of the appeasers: They won’t be appeased. Accept it. Live with it. Deal with it. Or shut up and get out of the way.

Message to Iran and Syria: You’re next.

Good speech. Delivery was typical Bush – bad pronunciation and sometimes awkward, but the meaning was plain and blunt. And the one thing the world has learned about George Walker Bush is, when he makes a statement you don’t have to parse it for meaning. He IS the no-nuance President.

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Compare and Contrast.

A couple of weeks ago in An Atheist No Longer I declared that I am now a reformed Pastafarian, worshipper of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (Sauce be Upon Him! Ramen.) Imagine my shock when I saw this Cox & Forkum cartoon:

This is obviously a ripoff of the original art, “Touched by His Noodly Appendage”:

I AM OUTRAGED by this blasphemy! I think I’ll be filing suit against Cox & Forkum for violating my civil right to not be offended. I live in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. If I file in California, I think my chances are probably excellent.

Rope, Tree; Some Assembly Required.

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I got an email from Francis. He’s pretty torqued about this story:

Florida city considers eminent domain

By Joyce Howard Price
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 3, 2005

Florida’s Riviera Beach is a poor, predominantly black, coastal community that intends to revitalize its economy by using eminent domain, if necessary, to displace about 6,000 local residents and build a billion-dollar waterfront yachting and housing complex.

Yep. Those 6,000 residents sure will love living in those new houses… What? You mean they’ll have to live somewhere else??

“This is a community that’s in dire need of jobs, which has a median income of less than $19,000 a year,” said Riviera Beach Mayor Michael Brown.

He defends the use of eminent domain by saying the city is “using tools that have been available to governments for years to bring communities like ours out of the economic doldrums and the trauma centers.”

Mr. Brown said Riviera Beach is doing what the city of New London, Conn., is trying to do and what the U.S. Supreme Court said is proper in its ruling June 23 in Kelo v. City of New London. That decision upheld the right of government to seize private properties for use by private developers for projects designed to generate jobs and increase the tax base.

Err, no. That decision upheld the power of government to throw people out of their own homes for projects the government hopes will generate a larger tax base. “Right” has nothing to do with it.

“Now eminent domain is affecting people who never had to deal with it before and who have political connections,” Mr. Brown said. “But if we don’t use this power, cities will die.”

Then perhaps they should?

Jacqui Loriol insists she and her husband will fight the loss of their 80-year-old home in Riviera Beach.

But the Supreme Court has legislated decided. Your home is not your own, even if you pay your rent taxes.

“This is a very [racially] mixed area that’s also very stable,” she said. “But no one seems to care … Riviera Beach needs economic redevelopment. But there’s got to be another way.”

In the Kelo ruling, a divided Supreme Court held that private development offering jobs and increased tax revenues constituted a public use of property, but the court held that state legislatures can draft eminent-domain statutes to their satisfaction.

Dana Berliner, senior lawyer with the Institute for Justice, which represented homeowners in the Kelo case, said “pie in the sky” expectations like those expressed by Mr. Brown are routine in all these cases.

“They always think economic redevelopment will bring more joy than what is there now,” she said. “Once someone can be replaced so something more expensive can go where they were, every home and business in the country is subject to taking by someone else.”

Last week, the Riviera Beach City Council tapped the New Jersey-based Viking Inlet Harbor Properties LLC to oversee the mammoth 400-acre redevelopment project.

“More than 2,000 homes could be eligible for confiscation,” said H. Adams Weaver, a local lawyer who is assisting protesting homeowners.

Viking spokesman Peter Frederiksen said the plan “is to create a working waterfront,” adding that the project could take 15 years and that “we would only use condemnation as a last resort.”

Viking has said it will pay at least the assessed values of homes and businesses it buys.

Unless, of course, the owners tenants fight it. Then they’ll get less than market value minus “back rent” when the legal challenges finally run out.

Charming, no?

Other plans for the project include creation of a basin for megayachts with high-end housing, retail and office space, a multilevel garage for boats, a 96,000-square-foot aquarium and a manmade lagoon.

Mr. Brown said Riviera Beach wants to highlight its waterfront.

“We have the best beach and the most attractive redevelopment property anywhere in the United States,” he said.

Mr. Frederiksen said people with yachts need a place to keep and service them. “And we want to develop a charter school for development of marine trades.”

I’m sure the former residents will love working in the new marina.

Mr. Brown and others said this could be one of the biggest eminent-domain actions ever. A report in the Palm Beach Post said it is the biggest since 1954, when 5,000 residents of Washington were displaced for eventual development of the Southwest D.C. waterfront, L’Enfant Plaza, and the less-than-successful Waterside Mall.

That would be the initial “takings” case argued before the Supreme Court, Berman v. Parker. “Less-than-successful,” eh? You don’t say.

The fact that Riviera Beach is so financially downtrodden may seem ironic because as Mr. Brown notes “it sits right across the inlet from Palm Beach,” one of the nation’s wealthiest areas.

“Palm Beach County is the largest county east of the Mississippi, and we have the second-highest rate of poverty in the county,” the mayor said.

I’ve discussed the Kelo decision here twice before. Once, during the oral-argument phase in Slouching Towards Despotism, and then after the decision in Sprinting Towards Despotism. The only real surprise was that Sandra Day O’Connor, who wrote the Midkiff decision, the second “takings” case dealing with eminent domain, dissented in Kelo.

Francis, I don’t know what to do, but Mike of Feces Flinging Monkey sent me this cartoon that says a lot:

As some members of the blogosphere have recommended repeatedly, “Rope, tree; some assembly required” is the only thing that comes immediately to mind. I keep wondering if this won’t drive another person or three to press the reset button.

UPDATE – 10/5: And don’t miss this post by Ravenwood.

“They want to steal my land,” Segal said. “What right do they have when I intend to do the exact same thing they want to do with my property?”

Welcome to post-Kelo America. All your property are belong to us!