Posts Made By: Dave Snope

I thought that we had whistleblower protection laws? Or is it different in an Obama world?

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is being accused of retaliating against an agent who helped publicize the agency’s role in allowing thousands of guns to cross the U.S. border and fall into the hands of Mexican drug gangs.

The agent, Vince Cefalu, who has spoken out about the ATF’s so-called “Project Gunrunner” scandal, says he was served with termination papers just last week, and he calls the move politically motivated.

“Aside from Jay Dobyns, I don’t know of anyone that’s been more vocal about ATF mismanagement than me,” said Cefalu, a senior special agent based in Dublin, Calif. “That’s why this is happening.” Dobyns, an ATF special agent based in Tucson, has appeared several times on Fox News to discuss the scandal.

Cefalu first told FoxNews.com about the ATF’s embattled anti-gun smuggling operation in December, before the first reports on the story appeared in February. “Simply put, we knowingly let hundreds of guns and dozens of identified bad guys go across the border,” Cefalu said at the time.

Since then, Cefalu’s claims have been vindicated, as a number of agents with first-hand knowledge of the case came forward. The scandal over Project Gunrunner led to congressional hearings, a presidential reprimand – Obama called the operation “a serious mistake” – and speculation that ATF chief Ken Melson will resign.

P.S. Don't bother trying to search for 'Cefalu' at the LA Times or NY Times website. These beacons of journalism who look out for the little people that are abused by the powerful aren't interested.

With a new statue of late US President Ronald Reagan after a centennial commemoration in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, June 29, 2011. The 180 kilograms (400 pounds) and 2.18 meter (7 feet, 2 inches) tall bronze statue honors Reagan at the Freedom Square in central Budapest, to mark his efforts to free the people of Hungary from the yoke of communism.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/slideshow/ALeqM5hseBQ0mh_At4i8DKPEuOhzqLMRSA?docId=29086c8367e14b64806892b7aaa9597d&index=0

On Tuesday, the United Nations again made itself an international laughing stock – except perhaps to the American taxpayers who continue to foot 22 percent of the bill – by appointing North Korea chair of the U.N. Conference on Disarmament. That would be the same North Korea that, according to an article this week by Senator John Kerry, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has “twice tested nuclear weapons…is developing missiles to carry them…has built facilities capable of producing highly enriched uranium for more nuclear weapons” and has defied a U.N. arms embargo by exporting weapons and sensitive technologies to rogue regimes.

Alas, Senator Kerry is also one of the lead champion of the United Nations in the Senate. According to the U.N., “The Conference is funded from the UN regular budget, reports to the General Assembly and receives guidance from it.”

North Korea assumes the Conference chairmanship by being the next state in the alphabetical rotation of the 65 members, which include five nuclear weapons states and 60 other countries such as Iran and Syria. North Korea will preside over the Conference for a four working-week period.

The 'most transparent administration ever' continues to cover up it's crimes and treat harshly anyone who goes against them. So far two major whistleblowers have been fired. Who's next?
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The Justice Department is obstructing the congressional investigation of a U.S. law enforcement operation intended to crack down on major weapons traffickers on the Southwest border, according to the embattled leader of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Ken Melson, the acting director of the ATF, lobbed the accusation when he sneaked in for an interview with congressional investigators on July 4, two days ahead of his scheduled interview with the inspector general about the operation known as "Fast and Furious," Fox News has learned.

"If his account is accurate, then ATF leadership appears to have been effectively muzzled while the DOJ sent over false denials and buried its head in the sand," Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said in a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Eric Holder. "That approach distorted the truth and obstructed our investigation."

The Justice Department is reportedly looking to oust Melson, who has been acting ATF director since April 2009, as the agency deals with its biggest scandal in nearly two decades. Andrew Traver, who was tapped in November by President Obama to become the permanent ATF director, could be named as acting director until the Senate acts on his nomination, sources have said.

Yesterday, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson answered questions from Rep. Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley surrounding Operation Fast and Furious. Melson voluntarily participated in the interview and appeared with personal counsel, meaning although the Justice Department has prohibited Melson to testify before Congress on behalf of the DOJ about the scandal, he can in fact come forward with information as an individual informant outside of the DOJ and separate from DOJ interests.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder, Issa and Grassley expressed disappointment in the DOJ limiting and controlling Melson's communication and interaction with Congress surrounding the scandal but called the information Melson presented yesterday "extremely helpful," to the investigation.

Melson revealed the scope of Operation Fast and Furious reaches far beyond ATF and the Justice Department. He said the FBI, DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) and other agencies were heavily involved.

The evidence we have gathered raises the disturbing possibility that the Justice Department not only allowed criminals to smuggle weapons but that taxpayer dollars from other agencies may have financed those engaging in such activities. While this is preliminary information, we must find out if there is any truth to it. According to Acting Director Melson, he became aware of this startling possibility only after the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and the indictments of the straw purchasers, which we now know were substantially delayed by the u.s. Attorney's Office and Main Justice.

It is one thing to argue that the ends justify the means in an attempt to defend a policy that puts building a big case ahead of stopping known criminals from getting guns. Yet it is a much more serious matter to conceal from Congress the possible involvement of other agencies in identifying and maybe even working with the same criminals that Operation Fast and Furious was trying to identify. If this information is accurate, then the whole misguided operation might have been cut short if not for catastrophic failures to share key information. If agencies within the same Department, co-located at the same facilities, had simply communicated with one another, then ATF might have known that gun trafficking "higher-ups" had been already identified. This raises new and serious questions about the role of DEA, FBI, the United States Attorney's Office in Arizona, and Main Justice in coordinating this effort.

We hope that the Department will take a much more candid and forthcoming approach in addressing these very serious matters with the Committees. If other important fact witnesses like Mr. Melson have a desire to communicate directly with the Committees they should be informed that they are free to do so. They should also be notified that if they are represented by personal counsel, they may appear with personal counsel rather than with Department lawyers.
http://nation.foxnews.com/eric-holder/2011/07/06/atf-director-says-holder-obstructing-fast-and-furious-probe

With one more victory for freedom from opressive, violent, genocidal governments, George W. Bush adds 8 million South Sudanese to the 50,000,000 people that were liberated in Iraq and Afghanistan. 8 million people now have hope and no longer have to live in constant fear of slaughter, rape, and enslavement of their children from their Arab overlords.

Amazingly, the NY Times gives credit where credit is due:


Christian groups had been championing the southern Sudanese since the 19th century. And their efforts paid off in 2000 when George W. Bush was elected president of the United States. He elevated Sudan to the top of his foreign policy agenda, and in 2005, the American government pushed the southern rebels and the central government — both war weary and locked in a military stalemate — to sign a comprehensive peace agreement that guaranteed the southerners the right to secede.

On Saturday, one man held up a sign that said "Thank You George Bush."

The American-backed treaty set the stage for a referendum this January in which southerners voted by 98.8 percent for independence.

At 1:20 p.m. on Saturday, the southerners officially proclaimed their freedom

…South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, wearing his signature black cowboy hat given to him by Mr. Bush, signed the interim Constitution. Then the speeches began.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/world/africa/10sudan.html

In an August 5, 2009, interview on NBC News, Obama said that:


“The last thing you want to do is raise taxes in the middle of a recession, because that would just suck up, take more demand out of the economy and put businesses in a further hole.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8glbYVk3WSo&feature=player_embedded
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In a 75-minute meeting Sunday night, President Obama
once again demanded that more than $1 trillion in tax increases be part of any deficit reduction package attached to a vote on the debt ceiling. In the session, Obama rejected a Republican proposal to seek $2.5 trillion in spending cuts and reforms, and insisted on higher taxes on businesses and wealthy individuals.

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This man knows that it's wrong but insists on doing it anyway under the socialist guise of "fairness". That is, taking money from America's job creators and giving it to the government. All to fix a massive deficit that HE created. A script that could have come straight out of his pal Alinsky's book "Rules For Radicals".

Just another small reminder of how bad things have gotten for Jews in all of Europe. And another PC clue as to who the perpetrators are. This is what happens when you get get overly liberal governments that feel they need to nurture immigrant cultures at the expense of their own, creating all manner of excuses and protections for otherwise unacceptable behavior. European orthodox Jews have expressed surprise that American Jews can openly wear a yarmulke without fear of being attacked. Lets keep it that way. It starts at the top.


Lodewijk Asscher, Amsterdam's mayor, has ordered the new decoy strategy to cut the number of verbal and physical attacks on Jews, amid fears that anti-Semitic "hate crime" is on the rise.


"Jews in at least six Amsterdam neighbourhoods often cannot cross the street wearing a skullcap without being insulted, spat at or even attacked," according to local reports.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/7846704/Dutch-police-use-decoy-Jews-to-stop-anti-Semitic-attacks.html

Bear in mind that the 2011 federal spending deficit is projected to be $1.65 trillion. That's about $4.3 billion per day of the government spending more than it takes in.

Apparently, after Monday’s contentious White House meeting, McConnell decided he did not want to take a backseat in the ongoing budget negotiations that have been dominated by Obama and House GOP leaders.

In the nearly two-hour-long White House meeting Monday afternoon during which leaders reviewed savings found last month by a group led by Vice President Joseph Biden, McConnell asked only one question, according to a Republican source familiar with the talks.

“How much does the Biden plan actually cut from next year’s discretionary spending budget?” the Kentucky Republican asked the room.

Obama’s Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew told him, “$2 billion.”

A second source close to the original Biden group confirmed this number.

McConnell grew frustrated in the closed-door meeting, complaining that such a sum was too small, given the scale of the savings Members on both sides of the aisle were hoping for. McConnell’s displeasure spilled over to the Senate floor Tuesday morning, when he attacked Obama for presenting Republicans with “gimmicks” instead of solutions.

“The hope here was that budget gimmicks and deferred decision-making they actually support would have the appearance of serious belt-tightening. But the practical effect would have been, at most, about a couple of billion dollars in cuts up front with empty promises of more to follow,” McConnell said early Tuesday morning.

$2 billion. A few hours worth of savings. What an insult to the American people. What a joke. The country is being run by toddlers.

Forgot the link from The Hill: http://www.rollcall.com/news/mcconnell_outlines_three_step_debt_contingency_plan-207218-1.html?pos=hftxt

First Hamas, then the Muslim Brotherhood "dialogues", then they side with Hezbollah on the border dispute, now this group of child-killers is being set up to be an official Obama Negotiating Partner. Where are the women's rights groups to complain about the Taliban rape movies, or the mass murder of schoolgirls caught reading books? Where are the gay rights groups to complain about the Taliban policy of beheading homosexuals? Where is our Hollywood children's rights ambassador to complain about the Taliban's enslavement of girly-boy sex slaves? Where is our drug czar to complain about the Taliban being the leading heroin producing organization poisoning our youth?

Then there's that little terrorist thing they do. And didn't they just murder Karzai's brother?

Nevermind all that, because in our country we have real terrorist problems. In the words of many our leftist leaders, it's the Republicans practicing economic terrorism, or, in the words of Sen. Ted Kaufman (Rod's cousin?) the Republicans are on a holy jihad to keep the tax cuts.


TEHRAN (FNA)- Washington and the Taliban have come to terms with each other over the inauguration of a representative office for the Afghan rebel group in one of the Muslim countries, a former member of the Taliban disclosed on Saturday.


"The US has agreed with the establishment of a political representative office for the Taliban leadership in one of the Muslim countries after the Taliban separated itself from the al-Qaeda," Molavi Arsala Rahmani told FNA.

"The international community headed by the US did not agree with the establishment of an official mission for the Taliban leadership in the past but now the US has agreed with it," Rahmani said.

The source declined to provide any further information about the exact place of Taliban's would-be representative office, but guessed that the mission will likely be established in Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Turkmenistan.

Members of the Afghan parliament had earlier denounced the United States' secret talks with the Taliban, and said the talks have isolated Afghanistan's High Council for Peace and undermined the peace process in the war-torn country.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9004250781

I know that there are still a few people that get very worried about onstoppable global warming after the annual sensational news reports of a large chunk of floating ice breaks off of the peninsula. This should help alleviate those sleepless nights.


Abstract: Surface air temperature (SAT) from four reanalysis/analysis datasets are analyzed and compared with the observed SAT from 11 stations in the Antarctic. It is found that the SAT variation from Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is the best to represent the observed SAT. Then we use the sea ice concentration (SIC) data from satellite measurements, the SAT data from the GISS dataset and station observations to examine the trends and variations of sea ice and SAT in the Antarctic during 1979–2009. The Antarctic sea ice extent (SIE) shows an increased trend during 1979–2009, with a trend rate of 1.36 ± 0.43% per decade. Ensemble empirical mode decomposition analysis shows that the rate of the increased trend has been accelerating in the past decade.



http://www.springerlink.com/content/8581741l757257h0/