Author: Grumpy
U.S.A. — “President Biden Announces 13 New Actions to Reduce Gun Violence by Maximizing the Benefits of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” a Sunday White House Briefing Room “Fact Sheet” statement claims. The unproven presumptions packed into that headline are that “gun violence” is a legitimate term rather than an exploitable political one, that it will be reduced, that infringements on rights are beneficial, that they are politically unifying, and that the result will be safer communities.
That’s some concentrated weasel-wording there, packing five full lies in just 20 words. Seasoned Democrat propagandists are nothing if not pros at that.
“These reports make clear that BSCA is saving lives,” the statement continues, citing as “proof” that “enhanced background checks” have kept some under-21-year-olds from buying guns, prosecutions of people, some of whom may just be enthusiasts and collectors, is up, and tax plunder has been redistributed “to make our schools safer, improve access to mental health services, and help young people deal with the trauma and grief resulting from gun violence.”
That the schools are still “gun-free” predator empowerment zones, and that the statement is short on empirically documenting how swarms of headshrinkers have done anything but encourage and fund complementary neuroses is secondary to an observable reality: They’re claiming lives are being saved without actually proving that they are. Yeah, they’re pros at this.
As for those benefits, the statement is promising that will be forthcoming, it’s curious that an administration that’s talking about enhanced background checks is so quiet – some might say obstructionist – on the president’s son, Hunter Biden, getting a gun after denying using controlled substances on a Form 4473 Firearms Transaction Record. ATF, the Justice Department, and a federal court have all said that’s Hunter’s private business and no one else’s, and the Secret Service has signed an affidavit denying any involvement at all.
As far as keeping guns out of dangerous hands, the false assumption being pushed here is one that ignores a 2016 Department of Justice prisoner survey:
“An estimated 287,400 prisoners had possessed a firearm during their offense. Among these, more than half (56%) had either stolen it (6%), found it at the scene of the crime (7%), or obtained it off the street or from the underground market (43%). Most of the remainder (25%) had obtained it from a family member or friend, or as a gift. Seven percent had purchased it under their own name from a licensed firearm dealer.”
In other words, don’t look for weekend headlines on Chicago and Baltimore homicides to show a statistically significant reduction anytime soon. Ditto for anything “mental health” or “red flag”-related, especially since we’re basically talking bribes to the states to do end runs around due process.
The whole thing is a meaningless boondoggle that does what Democrats with the media in their pockets do best: Spend money that’s not theirs, attack rights, and spread lies. And helping them do that this time out were the usual suspects from the Vichycon wing of the GOP, the useful idiot/self-serving swamp creatures who continually prove themselves adept at turning coats and stabbing backs.
First, we get to thank Marco Rubio, who introduced the bill.
Then there are 10 Senate Republicans who cut a deal in June of last year to an “agreement in principle [talk about an oxymoron] on gun control legislation,” which was “the number needed to break a GOP filibuster on the package.” They were:
- John Cornyn, R-Texas
- Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
- Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
- Richard Burr, R-N.C.
- Bill Cassidy, R-La.
- Susan Collins, R-Maine
- Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
- Rob Portman, R-Ohio
- Mitt Romney, R-Utah
- Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
And true to what we’ve come to expect from them, NRA at the time provided cover, saying:
“As is our policy, the NRA does not take positions on ‘frameworks’. We will make our position known when the full text of the bill is available for review.”
That way, a form of “plausible deniability” could be maintained with those who don’t look too closely at things to realize the bill itself would never have advanced in the first place without that “compromise.” No matter, memories are short, and everyone was counting on four of the senators retiring in 2022 and another five not being up for re-election until 2026.
Assuming Rubio, Cornyn, Tillis, Graham, and McConnell are still in the running, expect “A” grades and boilerplate assurances that they’re “staunch defenders of the Second Amendment.”
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The Secret Armies of Europe
U.S.A. — President Joe Biden remains “fully committed to further regulations on guns,” according to a recent report in The Advocate, but a statement from the White House following a deadly shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas suggests he is also committed to hypocrisy.
In a Briefing Room statement, Biden referred to the eight people killed in Allen and then said, “Jill and I are praying for their families and for others critically injured.”
However, as Business Insider noted, “Biden called out Republicans for sending ‘thoughts and prayers’ following the latest mass shooting, and called on members of Congress to pass gun-control bills.”
If Biden can do it, why can’t Republicans? Does the Oval Office have a monopoly on prayers for murder victims?
Whatever else Biden wants in during the remainder of his presidency, restrictive gun control and a ban on semi-auto rifles remains at the top of his wish list, The Advocate story indicated. Following the shooting in Allen, Biden made what has become a reflexive pitch for additional gun controls. He also wants to eliminate the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which protects the firearms industry from junk lawsuits trying to hold gun makers responsible for crimes committed with their products.
As reported in the Business Insider article, “Biden noted that the Texas gunman wore tactical gear and was armed with an AR-15-style weapon.”
“Once again I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Biden said in a prepared statement. “Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers…”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Biden is “using his bully pulpit; he’s been very clear.”
Following the shooting, Biden dragged out the traditional gun control wish list. In a tweet, he spoke of a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines,” universal background checks and a safe storage mandate. These are all things he has been wanting for years, long before the mall shooting in Allen.
If Congress were to deliver such legislation, Biden says he would “sign it immediately,” according to Politico.
But Congress does not appear inclined to accommodate the gun control president. While he’s been outspoken on the gun control issue, Biden has also acknowledged he has essentially done all he can, and that the ball is in Congress’ court.
Press reports about Biden’s inability to get the GOP-led House to cooperate on gun control routinely fail to mention two important points.
In a story published by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in June 2022, it is clearly explained, so that even a reporter can understand, “Nearly two decades ago the Department of Justice funded a study to analyze this very topic, and it concluded that the assault weapon prohibition had ‘mixed’ results.
“Researchers noted there was a decline in crimes committed with firearms classified as assault weapons,” the report acknowledged, “but noted ‘the decline in AW use was offset throughout at least the late 1990s by steady or rising use of other guns.’
“In other words,” the FEE article explained, “there was a decline in crimes committed with firearms that were banned, but the drop was replaced by crimes committed with other types of firearms that were not banned.
“While gun violence overall fell in the US during this period—just like many other countries around the world—the decline continued even after the Federal Assault Weapons Ban ended in 2004. Authors of the government-funded study plainly stated ‘we cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation’s recent drop in gun violence’ and any future reduction in gun violence as a result of the ban was likely ‘to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement.’”
Add to that a Rand report from earlier this year which noted, “we find inconclusive evidence for the effect of assault weapon bans on mass shootings,” and “we find limited evidence that high-capacity magazine bans reduce mass shootings.”
The second point is even more egregious because the White House and the media can easily look at the annual FBI Uniform Crime Reports, which consistently show that rifles of any kind are used in only a fraction of homicides in any given year. According to FBI data, far more people are murdered annually with knives or “personal weapons” (i.e. fists, feet, hands) than with rifles.
Possibly the biggest hypocrisy of all is that Biden, and his allies in Congress, are all protected by the same kinds of guns they want to ban for everyone else.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion — an accounting error that could be a boon for the war effort because it will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons now without asking Congress for more money.
The acknowledgment Thursday comes at a time when Pentagon is under increased pressure by Congress to show accountability for the billions of dollars it has sent in weapons, ammunition and equipment to Ukraine and as some lawmakers question whether that level of support should continue.
It also could free up more money for critical weapons as Ukraine is on the verge of a much anticipated counteroffensive — which will require as much military aid as they can get. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said the offensive was delayed because they did not yet have everything they needed.
The error was caused when officials overvalued some of the systems sent to Ukraine, using the value of money it would cost to replace an item completely rather than the current value of the weapon. In many of the military aid packages, the Pentagon has opted to draw from its stockpiles of older, existing gear because it can get those items to Ukraine faster.
“During our regular oversight process of presidential drawdown packages, the Department discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine. In some cases, ‘replacement cost’ rather than ‘net book value’ was used, therefore overestimating the value of the equipment drawn down from U.S. stocks,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.
She added that the mistake hasn’t constrained U.S. support to Ukraine or hampered the ability to send aid to the battlefield.
A defense official said the Pentagon is still trying to determine exactly how much the total surplus will be. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the comptroller has asked the military services to review all previous Ukraine aid packages using the proper cost figures. The result, said the official, will be that the department will have more available funding authority to use as the Ukraine offensive nears.
The aid surplus was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
To date the U.S. has provided Ukraine nearly $37 billion in military aid since Russia invaded in February 2022. The bulk of that has been in weapons systems, millions of munitions and ammunition rounds, and an array of trucks, sensors, radars and other equipment pulled from Pentagon stockpiles and sent quickly to Ukraine.
Members of Congress have repeatedly pressed Defense Department leaders on how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it is not subject to fraud or ending up in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has said it has a “robust program” to track the aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and to keep tabs on it once it is there, depending on the sensitivity of each weapons system.
There also is a small team of Americans in Ukraine working with Ukrainians to do physical inspections when possible, but also virtual inspections when needed, since those teams are not going to the front lines.
In late February, the Pentagon’s inspector general said his office has found no evidence yet that any of the billions of dollars in weapons and aid to Ukraine has been lost to corruption or diverted into the wrong hands. He cautioned that those investigations are only in their early stages
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The good old days!*
*Of course they never really did happen! Grumpy