Fast and Furious

[bacpacker]

I just ran across this and thought it worthy of a little conversation. I hadn't really learned much about the aftermath of the case until I read this article. Some how I completely over looked this story.



"The National Border Patrol Council, which represents all 17,000 of the agency’s nonsupervisory agents, called Monday for the resignation of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. for his role in the botched “Fast and Furious” gunrunning operation that resulted in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Council President George E. McCubbin III, a 25-year Border Patrol veteran, described Mr. Holder’s actions in the case as “a slap in the face to all Border Patrol agents who serve this country,” adding that the attorney general showed “an utter failure of leadership at the highest levels of government.”

Two semi-automatic AK-47 assault weapons found at the scene of the Dec. 15, 2010, killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry were traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to “straw buyers” who bought the weapons as part of the Fast and Furious investigation."



Border Patrol group calls for Holder's resignation - Washington Times (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/18/border-patrol-group-calls-holders-resignation/?page=1)

[Fatty]

He needs more than a resignation. His actions have been proven intentional.

[The Stig]

While I agree that Holder is a shitbag, how do we tie this back into the day-to-day aspects of prepping and avoid the political aspects?

[realist]

Holder's view is I don't obey the law I am the law......... Stig you are right he is a REAL shitbag.

[ak474u]

Absolute conspiracy to make gun stores and buyers look like crooks... If I had another brother, he'd look like agent Brian Terry.

[Sniper-T]

... how do we tie this back into the day-to-day aspects of prepping and avoid the political aspects?

For one, it shows how a black market system can and does exist here in our polite society. Come SHTF, it is easy to see how it can/will escalate.

For the sheeple who are relying on the good will of the government, and FEMA, and whoever else would do well to have some barter items stockpiled. Not saying everyone is corrupt, or that it is indeed corruption, but a little grease on some palms might make things run a little smoother, or may procure a few 'extras'

[The Stig]

SniperT - excellent reply and great job connecting a national news story to local prepping efforts.

[Grumpy Old Man]

While I agree that Holder is a shitbag, how do we tie this back into the day-to-day aspects of prepping and avoid the political aspects?

I'd like to add to this discussion without getting overly philosophical, yet addressing the aspects of this that are germane to being prepared. What I see this as is a disconnect between various branches and departments within not only the federal but state and local governments as well. Not to mention the factionalization of the general populace. And as Sniper pointed out the corruption that has become rampant within the system. What does this have to do with prepping?

The answer is in the concept of WROL- Without Rule Of Law. When actions are taken to further an agenda without electoral approval, no matter what that agenda is, then they are done WROL. We must take into account what, if any, effects these actions may have on ourselves and make preparations for them. In my recent travels I have noted that tensions are heating up in the cities and that is even spreading to the smaller burgs, without a lot of local LEO "interference". This affects me to the extent that I will only go to one WallyWorld and even then only in the very early morning,~ 6 a.m. I don't get much at WW, but that is my source for skivvies and socks, and sometimes ammo.

All this is , to me, symptomatic in the decline of "moral fabric" in our world. I can no longer expect people to act with politeness and manners, but rather I need to expect the worst may happen. That in itself is sad. But, it also reminds me to be situationally aware, condition yellow, as it were, all the time. Even in my own home. We had a home invasion in a bedroom community about 15 miles from me recently. Fortunately I am still fairly rural so I'm father off the beaten track and don't make as tempting a target. (I have a horse trailer in my front yard and two older trucks in front of my '20s era farmhouse). But I need to be aware that it can happen to me and prepare for that eventuality.

That elected officials may have engaged in unlawful behavior is not the point. The point is that our entire society is grouping into camps on every issue and each camp regards the others with increasing hostility. How to deal with this "us or them" mentality is going to be the challenge for me without letting my baser instincts take over. I need to prepare myself mentally for a society that is becoming more animalistic on a daily basis.

This is a little disjointed, but I hope I've made my point. This isn't about politics or parties; it's about the symptoms of an increasingly self-absorbed and amoral society that doesn't care about much other than satisfying material desires no matter what it takes. That is what I (we?) need to mentally prepare for.

[The Stig]

Totally Kick Ass Post

Well said. Relevant, on point and practical.

You Sir win the internet for the next 20 minutes.

[izzyscout21]

That^^......

is one of the most well thought out posts joining this subject andd prepping I have ever read.

Spot on, Grumpy!

[bacpacker]

Well crap Grumpy, you took the words right outta my mouth. :)

Really not much to add to that other than you are dead on point with your post. I too have seen tensions rising on a couple trips we have taken recently and locally. We have had 3 attempted home or business invasions in the past month near hear. All of which ended with at least 1 dead perp, others injured and in 2 cases the victim's in the hospital after cuts or beatings. To me the scum is getting braver, but the population is getting fed up with it and deciding to take care of things. It is truly a sad state of affairs.

[Sniper-T]

^
At least you guys still have the option of defending oneself with lethal force. Up here, there is no such thing as Castle law, and in fact, often our Liberal POS government sides with the attacker/invader if you harm them. There have been cases where the victim has been exhonerated in court, but not without a costly legal battle.

That said, any punk-ass-bitch that tries to invade my home, will be in for a rude awakening! See your family in court pal!

[Gunfixr]

Well, to sort of extend Grumpy's line of thought, when the politicos, and the Gov't in general acts WROL, then they are more likely to cause a SHTF situation due to their screwing with the economy, taxes (economy related), laws and freedoms, which could or will cause a general upheaval amongst the population, or cause an economic collapse.

Things we definitely need to both watch and prepare for.

On sort of a side note, Obama used Executive Priviledge to try to declare that Congress cannot hold Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to hand over papers demanded of him related to this incident.
This show that WROL goes right to the top.
Congress voted to overrule his (Obamas) decision, FWIW.

[Stg1swret]

Tying this to being prepared has much to do with knowing your local area, and situational awareness. I can name the gun shops in my area known to conduct shady business, and I also know the immediate local scumbags. being aware of this is a big plus as far as preping is concerned. I know who to immediately look out for for the most part.

The local police can only do so much if and when society breaks down, so it is up to us to be aware of the potential and probable bad actors.

[bacpacker]

Great points Stg. Situational awareness is getting much more important every week. It just seems that the threats keep growing from many new sides.

[Stg1swret]

I agree about the threats. Since the F&F story broke, I started changing my preping strategy. I've placed more emphasis on intel gathering about what is happening in my area, and also augmenting my current defensive posture via "primative weapons, i.e., bow/arrow, knife, etc. Stealth has now become the name of the game. maintaining a much lower profile is also a work in progress. None of my neighbors currently know what I posess, and I plan to make sure no one else ever does. The F&F problem along with the new domestic drone issue is starting to really make one think about how to accomplish what needs to be done without prying eyes observing anything.

[bacpacker]

Prying eyes are a problem. Just folks driving by the house see stuff in passing. For that matter i tend to do that on my routes to and from work. Im looking at passage more than anything in a GH situation. But others are not so innocent.

[Fatty]

which is why my drapes are always closed. can't see inside, can't tell if someone's home or not. People are uncomfortable with what they can't see.

[helomech]

If you can see my house you are trespassing. No public road within a half mile of my house, and it is a looong dirt road.