Katie Pavlich ‘Fast And Furious’ Book Acknowledges Efforts By Others
David Codrea:
“In Interviews, Author Doesn’t Credit Reporters Who Broke Fast and Furious,” M. Catherine Evans of American Thinker posted today.
She’s referring to Katie Pavlich’s media tour promoting her new book, “Fast and Furious,” and specifically to work by this correspondent, Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars, and Seattle Gun Rights Examiner (among his many other journalistic hats) Dave Workman going unacknowledged.
Ms.Pavlich’s reply was posted as a follow-up, where she cites references crediting us for our work.
Because this has been brought to my attention before, and because it appears to be one of contention among our respective readerships, it’s appropriate that it be addressed in this column.
Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/article/katie-pavlich-fast-and-furious-book-acknowledges-efforts-by-others
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.DavidCodrea.com.
NRA: Katie Pavlich on Her New Book About Fast and Furious
Cam Edwards talks to Katie Pavlich from Townhall about her new book, Fast and Furious: Barack Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal and the Shameless Cover-Up
NRA News: Senator Chuck Grassley with the Latest on Operation Fast and Furious
Ginny Simone talks to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
NRA News: Family of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry Issues Statement
Cam Edwards talks to Lana Domino, friend of the Brian Terry family, who released this statement: “The Terry Family, like most of America, is sickened to read the latest revelations relating to ATF’s error-plagued and misguided Fast and Furious Investigation. It is beyond our comprehension that U.S. federal law enforcement agencies were not talking with one another. American citizens deserve better from their public servants; the FBI, DEA, ATF and U.S. Attorney personnel in Arizona should have been coordinating their investigative and prosecutorial efforts. This coordination should have started and continued with basic information sharing and deconfliction. One can only imagine that if the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Attorney personnel had only shared their information with ATF agents that the Miramontes brothers were FBI informants than the entire Fast and Furious debacle could have been avoided. With this single piece of information, ATF could have chosen not to proceed with Operation Fast and Furious which ultimately put almost 2,000 assault weapons into the hands of some of the most dangerous criminals in North America. Had this simple piece of information been shared among the different federal law enforcement agencies in Arizona, some 200 Mexican citizens would not have had to lose their lives in needless violence and U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry would still be alive.”
Even The Moral Liberal Calls Out Obama and Holder on Fast and Furious
When a website named The Moral Liberal calls out Eric Holder and President Obama you know something is very interesting – and in the case of Holder very wrong. The article, titled “Mexican Drug Lord Freed After Pledging To Cooperate, Keep In Touch,” offered this passage:
Just when you think you’ve heard it all involving the Obama Administration’s disastrous Mexican gun-running experiment, new details surface to illustrate a new level of negligence and incompetence on the part of federal authorities orchestrating the scandalous program.
Known as Fast and Furious, the federal experiment allowed Mexican drug traffickers to obtain U.S.-sold weapons so they could eventually be traced to drug cartels. Instead federal law enforcement officers lost track of more than 1,700 guns which are believed to have been used in an unknown number of crimes.
And when the Feds had alleged drug lord Manuel Fabian Celis-Acosta, how did they handle it? The story describes how:
The top Fast and Furious investigator, Special Agent Hope MacAllister, scribbled her phone number on a $10 bill after Celis-Acosta promised to cooperate and keep in touch with investigators. Then Celis-Acosta disappeared into Mexico and later slipped back and forth across the border, illegally buying more American weapons and financing others. It’s all in the government records. You can’t make this stuff up.
Now if only this story made the mainstream media for the whole country to hear.
Dave Workman: Another F&F ‘doc dump’ as interest renewed in probe
Our friend Dave Workman continues to follow Fast and Furious, and this weekend offered a post titled “Another F&F ‘doc dump’ as interest renewed in probe.”
He writes:
The late Friday document dump — presumably so it will get lost in the weekend — has become a habit of Eric Holder’s Justice Department in the on-going Congressional probe of Operation Fast and Furious, so yesterday’s reported delivery should be nothing new.
The controversial Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gun running sting has been under scrutiny for more than one year.
Kudos to Workman for continuing to follow this story the media continues to ignore.
Fast and Furious Coverage Still Tries to Blame Bush
Last week The Los Angeles Wave reported, “Justice Department provides gun-operation document,” and noted:
The Justice Department late Friday provided hundreds of pages of internal documents to the House committee looking into Operation Fast and Furious and related programs.
The documents sent to Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who heads the committee that subpoenaed them, focus heavily on other Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operations in which weapons were trafficked from Arizona gun dealers through straw purchasers across the border to Mexican drug cartels.
The article of course offered this passage:
The ATF, then under the control of the Bush administration, planned to follow the weapons to the border, where Mexico police would continue with the operation. However, Mexican officials reported they never saw the vehicle and the weapons were lost.
Yet another example that once again shows whenever there is even the smallest amount of Fast and Furious coverage there remain attempts to pin it on Bush.
David Codrea: Veteran Agent: Feinstein Did Not Act On ATF Abuse, Corruption Evidence
From our friend David Codrea:
Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was informed of management corruption and abuse issues at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) before allegations of “gunwalking” surfaced, but opted to do nothing about it. That allegation comes from veteran Special Agent Vince Cefalu, who recently informed Gun Rights Examiner of his efforts to persuade the powerful Democrat to investigate documented instances of gross mismanagement and perjury.
Cefalu is the veteran street agent who was served termination papers last June for his efforts to bring management wrongdoing to light, a move perceived by other whistleblowers and observers as not just retaliation, but direct defiance of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and concerns he articulated as Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
“When they showed they were going to tee it up on me and others out of sheer abuse and covering their national screw-ups, I wrote to Feinstein,” Cefalu told this correspondent.
“I listed a series of corrupt acts, gross mismanagement and abuse of employees, etc. Through her aide, she sent a strongly worded inquiry,” he elaborated. “There was no follow up until I called and emailed a dozen times. Finally ATF responded nine months later, basically stating they have done no wrong, and thanks for inquiry.
Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/veteran-agent-feinstein-did-not-act-on-atf-abuse-corruption-evidence
Does Obama Owe Calderon an Apology?
This week The Daily Caller offered a story, “Congressman: Obama owes Felipe Calderón ‘Fast and Furious’ apology.” It noted:
Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert told The Daily Caller he thinks President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder both owe Mexican President Felipe Calderón a phone call apologizing for Operation Fast and Furious.
“Absolutely, he [Obama] should apologize to Mexico,” Gohmert said in a phone interview Monday. ”But in this case it’s not only the president, but Attorney General Holder should [also] be apologizing.”
Here we disagree a bit. First, we know that Obama has the whole apologizing thing down by now. He’s pretty much traveled the world, bowed to foreign leaders, apologized for America (while saying we’re also a lazy nation) and basically made America look bad.
And while Fast and Furious did make America look bad, enough is enough. Has Mexico ever apologized for the illegal immigrants? Has Mexico ever apologized for the drugs that flow north? No and no.
But maybe Calderon should also consider apologizing for even claiming America is responsible for his nation’s problems.
Finally, Holder should be apologizing to the American people for this debacle, and should do the right thing and step down.
Media Matters Tries to Debunk Fast and Furious
Apparently the idea that the United States government took part in an illegal operation known as Fast and Furious, that it resulted in the death of a border control officer as well the deaths of dozens (or even hundreds) of Mexican citizens and that three Democratic Senators blamed gun owners isn’t really a conspiracy, or anything like it. This week Media Matters for America instead tried to call foul that anyone would suggest a thing. Apparently if you don’t blame Bush for this mess, you’re off base.
The so-called watchdog site reported:
This morning’s edition of Fox News’ America’s Newsroom hosted Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips to discuss efforts by Tea Party leaders to pressure Republican congressional leadership regarding the ATF’s failed Operation Fast and Furious.
Media Matters has previously noted that Phillips has a questionable claim to genuine Tea Party leadership and has made many inflammatory, conspiratorial and extremist statements that call into question the media’s treatment of Phillips as either a mainstream or authoritative Tea Party figure.
Not surprisingly, Phillips spent the interview promoting the right-wing conspiracy theory that Fast and Furious was a plot to promote gun control instead of a failed law enforcement investigation.
We’re still not sure whether Fast and Furious is just a failed law enforcement investigation or a plot to promote gun control, but maybe Media Matters should question why so few news outlets are noting it at all? Isn’t this something that should MATTER to the average American?
