Traver Off Target - Obama’s ATF pick exemplifies what is wrong with U.S. law enforcement.

NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE ^ | December 29, 2010 | Kevin D. Williamson

[rellimpank]

—good post, in fact, I had already copied and sent to some friends—

— thanks and Happy New Year-

[blackie]

Abolish the AFT!

[Still Thinking]

Agent Traver has lent his name and his agency’s clout to the usual range of anti-gun causes, including repealing the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the use of the ATF’s firearms database to criminal investigations, forcing gun-grabbers and class-action lawyers to gather their own data. (The nerve.)

"It's not fair! Why can't we collect data and label it in ways that technically are grammatically correct but completely misleading, while pretending neutrality on the politics? NHTSA gets to do it to help MADD trample liberties!"

[colorado tanker]

LOL!

[budwiesest]

Thanks for the ping, Joe. Just going after low-hanging fruit is about what you'd expect from the pension-seeking public employee. The part of the title: "..what is wrong with U.S. law enforcement" caused me to reflect on a couple of things I witnessed this 'Holiday'.

One was an elderly woman (70-ish) walking down a sidewalk where apparently, she'd dropped something,(paper, I don't know) when a woman's voice on a squad-car PA shouted, "Go back and pick it up!". The woman kept walking, and again, the loudspeaker boomed, "Go back and pick it up!" She did this time, and they drove off, satisfied, to fight crime somewhere else.

Less than a half-a-mile later, I see a Highway Patrol writing a ticket for a woman who was pushing a stroller with a baby in it. I don't know what she did to deserve a ticket because I wasn't there at the time, but it seemed odd, just before Christmas to witness two incidences of what appeared to be excesses in the exercise of authority. Or, at the very least, a zero tolerance for any human fallibility coupled with an unhealthy lack of compassion. Good Will Toward Men? Maybe not in the final days of 2010.

I'm beginning to wonder if we haven't created a monster at both the federal and local levels. Culturally, society is going to hell with all the handouts and lack of responsibility or respect people have toward one-another, but the response- delegated as it were- by those in uniform indicates we've gone beyond "Service with Concern" to a military occupation where check-points and "Your papers please" can't be far behind.

This could have all been avoided had we not let the nanny staters dictate the usefulness of gutting the 2nd ammendment.

A few of us can remember the good 'ole days when guns weren't so vilified and society went about business as usual and things were just fine. In fact, violence so typical today was the exception back then. (For me, I want a non-assault weapon because I've been assaulted before and it's no fun.)

In order to put the Genie back in the bottle, two things have to happen: citizens must regain their right to keep and bear arms when are where they will, and this para-military force masquerading as local police must be come to and end. Once the first step is instituted, the second will no longer be necessary.

[Joe Brower]

Well said, budwiesest. The monster that now presides over us at every level of government was birthed long ago, and has been growing ever since. Now it is so immense and all-consuming that it can no longer be ignored, even by the most complacent.

The lines between Leviathan's selfish hordes and those of us who still know what it means to be "free men" become clearer with each passing day. Clearer... and sharper.

[Titan Magroyne]

Scathing and quite good opinion piece. Enjoy the read, my FRiend.