Articles by Herschel Smith

Recoil.

Before September 16, 2007, Slatten was just another one of the nameless and faceless “one percenters,” serving, living, and dying in some of the most dangerous spots on Earth.

“2007 was the deadliest year of the war,” Slatten told me, “I saw far more combat that year with Blackwater than I ever did in the military. You got shot at every time you went out. There was an average of 180 firefights every day that year. It was turned all the way up.”

Yes, it was like that in Fallujah too.  My son was there.

Everything changed when Slatten’s four-vehicle Blackwater Tactical Support Team, callsign Raven 23, responded to a car bomb attack on a diplomatic security detail in Baghdad. “There was a huge explosion at lunchtime; we dropped our food and ran for the trucks.”

They took small arms fire from multiple positions around the traffic circle at Nisour Square and responded in kind. “It was a bad situation; the Iraqi police were shooting at us, and vehicles became involved. There were civilians intermixed with the people shooting at us. My brothers did the best that they could do in an impossible situation.”

Slatten fired two rounds at a pair of armed individuals maneuvering against the team’s position — killing one of them.

While Slatten’s account of his actions signifies an appropriate application of force with restraint, there are conflicting reports that other members of the team did not.

The M240 gunner in Slatten’s BearCat armored vehicle fired dozens of rounds at a white Kia that matched the description of a suspected vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).

The vehicle, which was occupied by innocent civilians, had failed to stop despite the team’s repeated warnings. He continued firing, resulting in numerous casualties. “Some guys on the team had a problem with what the machine gunners were doing. They thought they shot too much in a crowded circle.” Slatten, however, doesn’t share that view: “I think they didn’t shoot enough. If you’re getting shot at, you’re supposed to shoot back. They used discretion.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 14 civilians were killed during the firefight and another 17 were wounded. Those specific numbers have been contested by some, but it was, by any measure, a tragic incident.

After the fight, Slatten and his teammates figured this was just another day on the job in an active war zone. They were wrong. Not long after they pulled into their Green Zone compound, their vehicles peppered with bullet impacts, an investigation into the Nisour Square event began to unfold.

[ … ]

“We reported to the investigators where the fire was coming from, and they found expended AK-47 shell casings in those locations,” Slatten remembers. “The State Department said it was a ‘good shoot’ and cleared us. Then, the FBI picked it up, and it got all sideways.”

But the case was thrown out by Judge Ricardo Urbina, who said the case was a nonstarter, rife with prosecutorial misconduct, and a total lack of evidence. He dismissed the case on New Year’s Eve 2009, saying: “The court declines to excuse the government’s reckless violation of the defendants’ constitutional rights as harmless error.”

Then-prime minister candidate Nouri al Malaki demanded “American justice” for his people — namely, a public trial for those involved in the Nisour Square incident.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden flew to Iraq, publicly apologized on behalf of the United States and vowed to appeal Judge Urbina’s decision, while then- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in an email from her private server asked “… what can we do about Judge Urbina’s ruling example, what is the likelihood of success on appeal? Can the U.S. file a civil action against the company? Pay compensation to the victims? What other options do we have?” It was clear the executive branch was interfering in the role of the judiciary.

[ … ]

Slatten was charged with a single count of murder, for killing the Kia driver — a shot that Slough said in multiple sworn statements that he had taken. The Kia driver’s father repeatedly refused to testify against Slatten, saying that the FBI had always told him that Slough killed his son.

The lead investigator was an Iraqi police colonel with definite ties to Iranian-backed insurgent groups. There were no autopsies conducted, and no forensic evidence utilized by the prosecution to build their case.

You can read the rest at Recoil.  But there you have it.  The FBI, Hillary Clinton, Maliki and Joe Biden.  That’s where the problem began.

I wish I was that good.

Source.

(Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2019 federal rule banning so-called “bump stocks,” a rapid-fire gun attachment that was used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that guns equipped with bump stocks qualify as machine guns, which federal law almost entirely bans. The decision was a setback for the Sacramento, California-based non-profit Firearms Policy Coalition and other gun rights advocacy groups that had sued to challenge the rule.

My understanding is that when a case will impact every circuit court, the appeal goes to D.C. circuit.

What a shame.  Never forget what happened (the executive branch literally made law in lieu of the Legislative branch doing it), where this rule came from (ATF), who recommended it (NRA), and who ordered the ATF to do it (Trump).

And to think, all of this was to cover up a running gun battle for miles and miles down main street in Las Vegas, perpetrated by someone other than the stated culprit.

Community caretaking should be left up to families and churches.  The state has no business involved in such affairs.

PJM.

On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he had suspended woke Soros-backed state attorney Andrew Warren after his declaration that he would refuse to enforce any Florida laws restricting abortion or transgender surgeries for minors.

“State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” DeSantis said. “It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida. I have the utmost trust that Judge Susan Lopez will lead the office through this transition and faithfully uphold the rule of law.”

As awesome as it was to see DeSantis take such a stand for the rule of law, this story is even better than we thought. According to the executive order, DeSantis sent police to remove him.

As of the signing of this Executive Order, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by other law enforcement agencies as necessary, is requested to: (i) assist in the immediate transition of Andrew Warren from the Office of the State Attorney for the 13^th Judicial Circuit of Florida, with access only to retrieve his personal belongings; and (ii) ensure that no files, papers, documents, notes, records, computers, or removable storage media are removed from the Office of the State Attorney for the 13^th Judicial Circuit of Florida or any of his staff.

Awesome.  He didn’t engage in politics or speeches, he took action to remove the excrement.  This is even better than it appears on first glance.  From Ammoland, this guy was also rabidly anti-gun.

On Florida’s Stand Your Ground law: “As we said then, this law protects violent criminals & wastes resources by taking officers off the street and making us try cases twice – and has nothing to do with responsible gun ownership. And it’s slowed down the system, delaying justice for victims and their families.”

On Constitutional Carry: “Don’t let them fool you. This is ‘permitless carry’ – zero limits on who can carry concealed – and has nothing to do w/ the Constitution. This makes our neighborhoods less safe, and law enforcement doesn’t want it. You can’t claim to support cops while supporting this. No sane person thinks the 2nd Amendment protects owning a nuclear weapon, which means we recognize the Constitution clearly permits reasonable regulations on right to bear arms. The only issue is whether it’s reasonable to require permits to conceal – and it definitely is.”

On Modern Sporting Rifles: “Another mass shooting using a military-style assault rifle that has no place in our society. Another opportunity for us to do something. Another inevitable disappointment by our elected ‘leaders.’ And another difficult conversation with my children about their safety.”

On Florida’s preemption statute: “Who in Tallahassee is more hypocritical – extreme pro-lifers who oppose common sense gun laws that save lives, or so-called conservatives who profess local control but routinely bind cities & counties from solving local problems?”

So he’s gone now.  Good for DeSantis, a man of action.  Well, bye – you jerk.  Don’t come back.

Ammoland.

“I don’t know what the mission really is anymore, but I don’t like it. For the past couple of years, I have found myself asking “why” a lot more often. As of late, the answer is typically because “they” said so. I still don’t know who “they” are. But I seem to disagree with whoever “they” are on pretty much everything,” Garcia wrote in his resignation letter.”

“The last time morale was this low with ATF was probably 2013-2016. Coincidentally, that was also the last time we had an administration openly criticize law enforcement,” Garcia wrote. “Both administrations preached diversity, or rather “celebrate” it, but then expect everyone to have the same liberal opinion.”

“Did our leaders forget that ATF agents are law enforcement? Most agents are pro-gun. All agents should be anti-criminal. We did not become ATF agents so we could collect data, ensure firearms are in compliance, seize trigger groups, argue about what a firearm is or is not, seize firearms for reasons other than prosecuting criminals, or spend countless hours inputting data to justify someone else’s existence in HQ. We became ATF agents so we could work the streets and smack evil in the mouth. We took this job because we are willing to risk it all and hope that we can make the streets just a little bit safer for the law abiding, upstanding citizens of the USA. At least that’s why I became an ATF agent,” Garcia wrote.

“We can probably agree that law abiding citizens do not commit gun crime. I think that we can probably also agree that the majority of gun owners tend to be more conservative than liberal. So essentially, gun control will only affect law abiding, conservative citizens. Therefore, the Government is only punishing the conservative population. Similarly, in the summer of 2020, rioters were allowed to burn cities, assault the police, and terrorize citizens with little to no consequence. However, the chaos associated with January 6 has resulted in hundreds and hundreds of prosecutions. The vast majority of the defendants have been convicted of simply being there. They didn’t even have pallets of bricks or frozen water bottles staged at the scene, let alone Molotov cocktails for them to throw at the police. Still, 18 months later, the left continues to be absolutely obsessed with it,” Garcia said.

So let me get this straight.  After Ruby Ridge, the Waco, Texas, ATF siege, and gun running in the fast and furious scandal, this agent is just now coming to the conclusion agents of the FedGov are doing things that are untoward?

I’m sorry, but I have no sympathy for him or his ilk.  A patriot would never have taken a job with the ATF to begin with.  There’s that thing about “shall not be infringed” and what the Westminster Confession of Faith says about lawful oaths and vows that would have troubled me.

Source.

According to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, its investigators and the U.S. Marshals working with them got a tip that Toney Brown was at his parents’ home and went to the residence to look for him. According to deputies, U.S. Marshals requested help from the Madison County SWAT Team and the Limestone County Special Response Team.

“Me and my husband both told them we will go in there with you and take you through it,” Brenda Brown said. “We didn’t care because he wasn’t here. If he had been here he would have turned himself in. He would have never wanted us to go through this.”

Still, Brenda Brown said the authorities on the scene deployed tear gas, broke windows and damaged her home.

Why not just surround the home to make sure he didn’t escape through a window, knock on the door, and walk through the home like civilized people?

The controllers never sleep.

Sportsmen and women across the United States are facing yet another misguided threat from the government, and it’s one we’ve all seen before: a proposal to ban lead ammunition.

In early June, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced its proposed 2022-2023 Hunt Fish Rule. The FWS’s annual rulemaking usually benefits hunters and anglers by opening new species, acres, and hours on National Wildlife Refuges. But this year’s proposal includes an entirely unwelcome aspect: the immediate restriction or phaseout of the use of lead ammunition on National Wildlife Refuges. The proposed rule comes amid a nationwide ammunition shortage and would have serious consequences on the ability to hunt on public lands, as well as the primary source of conservation funding in the U.S.

Anti-lead activists attempt to sell the narrative that alternatives to lead ammunition are “easily accessible to hunters” and “cheaper to buy.” This could not be further from the truth. In fact, manufacturing traditional lead-based ammunition has shown to be a much simpler process than using alternatives like copper and is far more cost-efficient.

In 2021, the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation conducted research into the price of lead ammunition versus nonlead ammunition in Maine amid a state legislature debate over a lead ammunition ban bill. The result, when sampling the ammunition calibers most popular among deer and bear hunters, was that “non-lead ammunition was, on average, 59% more expensive than lead options.” In addition, there are simply no viable nonlead alternatives for some calibers, most notably .22 ammunition used for hunting small game.

Traditional ammunition means that everyday hunters have one less major cost to worry about to enjoy the sport they love. Under the proposed rule, however, steep prices for nonlead forms of ammunition would be of concern and potentially a reason to stay home instead of going afield during the upcoming hunting seasons. The problem is even more acute during the current national ammunition shortage that is keeping many hunters from being able to buy even traditional ammunition.

[ … ]

Perhaps the greatest concern is the limited scientific support for this proposal. The USFWS cites no studies or data in the proposed rule, and even anti-lead activists can point to no studies that show the use of traditional ammunition causes population-level impacts on wildlife or the environment. There is simply no scientific support for an across-the-board ban on traditional ammunition — especially considering the consequences of shutting down hunter access to federal lands and forcing a significant decline in conservation funding.

There doesn’t have to be a scientific basis for the rule.  This is what controllers do.

They worship the creature (and creation) rather than the creator.  The next sacrifice to Baal is what they’re after, regardless of the basis.  Baal isn’t alive, so he didn’t tell them to do this.  But they may be listening to the voices in their head, or worse, agents of evil.

What did you expect from this administration.

I’m not sure how much hunting occurs on National Wildlife Refuges, or whether this includes National Forests, National Wilderness, or what.

This won’t stop manufacturers of lead ammunition, but look for some national law to eventually slime its way out from the halls of Congress.  This is just the first salvo.

They’ve always wanted the ammunition.  It’s easier than going after firearms.

Via Ken, this report.

Don’t do this.  Bears are not usually your friend.

Oh, there may be exceptions like this one, but he’s a rare bird who cannot be emulated without a lifetime of work.