A long list of everything going wrong with Obama's foreign policy

Wait...he's got a "foreign policy?"

U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder and his views on the Second Amendment

If you thought "Project Gunwalker - Operation Fast & Furious," the Dept. of Justice/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' supplying of high-powered weaponry to Mexican drug cartels, was just "a mistake" or "merely an example of federal bureaucratic incompetence," it's time to think again.

For sometime now, here at The Bliss Index and at many other outlets, there have been numerous accounts of Fast & Furious being a stealth attempt not to track illegal firearms and their use by the cartels but, instead, to specifically undermine the Second Amendment.

Breitbart.com's BREITBART.TV, as part of its "Vetting" campaign, has just released the following video of a talk U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder made a few years before he took the lead at DOJ.

Listen closely -- it's telling and chilling.

From Breitbart.com:

Breitbart.com has uncovered video from 1995 of then-U.S. Attorney Eric Holder announcing a public campaign to "really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way."

Holder was addressing the Woman's National Democratic Club. In his remarks, broadcast by CSPAN 2, he explained that he intended to use anti-smoking campaigns as his model to "change the hearts and minds of people in Washington, DC" about guns.

"What we need to do is change the way in which people think about guns, especially young people, and make it something that's not cool, that it's not acceptable, it's not hip to carry a gun anymore, in the way in which we changed our attitudes about cigarettes."

Holder added that he had asked advertising agencies in the nation's capital to assist by making anti-gun ads rather than commercials "that make me buy things that I don't really need." He had also approached local newspapers and television stations, he said, asking them to devote prime space and time, respectively, to his anti-gun campaign.

Local political leaders and celebrities, Holder said, including Mayor Marion Barry and Jesse Jackson, had been asked to help. In addition, he reported, he had asked the local school board to make the anti-gun message a part of "every day, every school, and every level."

Despite strict gun control efforts, Washington, DC was and remains one of the nation's most dangerous cities for gun violence, though crime has abated somewhat since the 1990s.

Holder went on to become Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton administration, and currently serves as Attorney General in the Obama Administration.

The video of Holder's remarks was uncovered by Breitbart.com contributor Charles C. Johnson.

Incompetence...or worse?

"Operation Fast and Furious" -- the debacle that gives us a view of the administration's efforts to undermine the Second Amendment.

In a video clip (at bottom) from this morning's testimony by the USAG before Congress, Attorney Gen. Eric Holder admits the effort was "reckless," "tragic," "flawed" and that "...more people are going to die."

No big deal, Mr Holder?

U.S. Border agent Brian Terry: Another Fast and Furious casualty...

At the very least, Holder and his team (on this) were criminally negligent. More likely, though, they have been caught in a web of lies they offered in an attempt to cover-up a scheme to subvert the U.S. Constitution – a scheme that resulted in the murders of at least one U.S. Border agent and likely hundreds of other innocent civilians.

It’s not just a crime, it's a national shame.

Fast and (Very) Furious...

According to CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson (who deserves heaps of praise for being first and foremost in the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious), she's touched a nerve.

Jeff Poor, reporting for The Daily Caller, writes about the Department of Justice's reaction to her ongoing coverage:

Did the White House try to strong-arm a journalist in the wake of the Justice Department’s “Operation Fast and Furious” scandal? CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson says government leaders took a very aggressive tack following her revelations earlier this year.

On Tuesday’s Laura Ingraham Show, Attkisson said DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler and White House associate communications director Eric Schultz yelled and screamed at her over the story.

“The DOJ woman was just yelling at me,” Attkisson said. “The guy from the White House on Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed at me. Eric Schultz — oh, the person screaming was Tracy Schmaler. She was yelling, not screaming. And the person who screamed at me was Eric Schultz at the White House.”

Attkisson explained the vicious tongue-lashing:

“In between the yelling that I received from the Justice Department yesterday, the spokeswoman — who would not put anything in writing — I was asking for her explanation so there would be clarity and no confusion later over what had been said. She wouldn’t put anything in writing,” she said.

“So we talked on the phone and she said things such as ‘the question Holder answered was different than the one he asked.’ But the way he phrased it, he said very explicitly, ‘I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.’”

Attkisson also said the DOJ and White House representatives complained that CBS was “unfair and biased” because it didn’t give the White House favorable coverage on the developing scandal.

“Is it sort of a drip, drip. And I’m certainly not the one to make the case for DOJ and White House about what I’m doing wrong,” she added. “They will tell you that I’m the only reporter, as they told me, that is not reasonable. They say The Washington Post is reasonable, the LA Times is reasonable, The New York Times is reasonable — I’m the only one who thinks this is a story, and they think I’m unfair and biased by pursuing it.”

Following is an audio interview with Attkisson. It's worth a listen...

Didn't see that one coming...

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world...so it's easy to understand how a busy person can miss some of the important things out there. So as a service to you - and some of the folks here - The Bliss Index™ presents the following collection of news and information you probably didn't see coming...

News item: Iran agrees to nuclear exchange, will send enriched fuel to Turkey - The deal, brokered with the help of Brazil, could be a breakthrough in the long diplomatic deadlock over Tehran's nuclear program. Ahmadinejad calls on the West to resume talks. Experts are saying Iran scored a a”nuclear coup.” Hey, how’s that diplomatic dialogue working for ya?

Add Iran: Meanwhile Israel is taking Iran at its word and preparing to ensure “never again” isn’t a hollow promise…

Add Israel and the Middle East: "Residents in Southern Gaza who supported Hamas because Israeli troops were beating them and bulldozing their houses have just been beaten and had their houses bulldozed. By Hamas." (h/t: fark)

Last add Middle East: Meanwhile Israel is taking Iran at its word and preparing to ensure “never again” isn’t a hollow promise…

Hope and no change...

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

Are you telling me she didn't see this coming?: Barbara Boxer is facing her toughest race since 1992, according to most pollwatchers. (Boxer, btw, has never polled well, it's just that she's been incredible lucky to have horrible GOP opponents in general elections.) In this article, Democratic challenger Mickey Kaus shows that California's junior senator is having a difficult time connecting with moderates...

Five years ago in L.A.: It seems like just yesterday Antonio Villaraigosa was elected mayor. It’s been downhill there ever since…

Looks like someone has some ‘splainin’ to do: Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D), who is seeking the U.S. Senate seat belonging to the outgoing Christopher Dodd (D), appears to have talked up his military record - actually, exaggerated is more like it...

The day the laughter died and with it, a career...

Add stolen valor: As the terrific Instapundit blog points out, “if by chance Blumenthal is elected, he wouldn’t be the only Democrat in the Senate caught lying about serving in Vietnam.”

From the "No Duh" department: “States’ Tax Collections Falter, Widening Budget Gaps.” Yes, some legislators still think it’s a good idea to raise taxes (driving business down…or out of state)...

Totally unpredictable (not): Jerry Brown lashes out at GOP candidates - California's AG calls his gubernatorial rivals Whitman and Poizner "the apostles of darkness and ignorance." This from the man who sold (out) California for 30 pieces of silver back when he was governor -the first two times...

Pondering the future-past (passed?)...

Here's a shocker (not): ACLU sues to stop Arizona's immigration law. Because, you know, illegal immigrants are due their American rights...

Add Arizona's immigration law: Remember the LA City Councilman who led the charge to boycott Arizona because of the "racist" law? Turns out he's never even read the law...

Speaking of "not having read the Arizona law" - Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano admits she hasn't read the Arizona immigration law, but passed judgment on it anyway. "That's not the kind of law I would have signed," she declared. "I believe it's a bad law enforcement law. I believe it mandates and requires local enforcement and puts them in a position many do not want to be placed in," Napolitano said. "When I was dealing with laws of that ilk, most of the law enforcement agencies in Arizona at that time were opposed to such legislation," she claimed. (h/t: RealClearPolitics)...

Number of federal law enforcement/public safety officials in photo who criticized Arizona's immigration law: 2 (two).

Number of federal law enforcement/public safety officials in photo who have actually read Arizona's immigration law: 0 (zero).

Finally, last add Janet's Reading List - Here's "Big Sister" in living color, admitting she's never read the law which she's been harping on. (Oh, and don't forget, prior to being head of DHS she was governor of...ta da - Arizona!):

Raising (hell with) Arizona...

Several weeks after its passage (and later amending), Arizona’s controversial immigration law continues to be…controversial – to say the least. From the Phoenix Suns (er, sorry, Los Sols) to President Barack Obama, everyone seems to have an opinion – even if they don’t know what they’re talking about (or if they’re just being cynical and playing the race card)...

Yesterday, America’s second-largest city (and arguably the largest Mexican-populated city in North America), Los Angeles made a statement. After a morning of grandstanding, the LA City Council voted to bar official travel and contracts with Arizona. What’s the immediate impact of that? According to LA city officials, it is believed that approximately $8 million in contracts can be canceled, immediately, without any legal repercussions. In the long-run, it’s estimated that losing the City of Angels’ official business will hit the Grand Canyon State to the tune of about $50 million-plus, annually. As Officer Vic (who I appeared with on the Brian Sussman show on KSFO-AM 560 this a.m.) put it, “…glad to see they got all those potholes taken care of.”

LA’s decision runs counter to the sentiment being expressed nationally according to a number of polls. A new poll from the Pew Foundation shows that, “Fully 73% say they approve of requiring people to produce documents verifying their legal status if police ask for them.” Is anyone listening?

The controversies continue to build this week as “Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill targeting ethnic studies, hours after a report by United Nations human rights experts condemned the measure. State schools chief Tom Horne, who has pushed the bill for years, said he believes the Tucson school district's Mexican-American studies program teaches Latino students that they are oppressed by white people. Public schools should not be encouraging students to resent a particular race, he said.’It's just like the old South, and it's long past time that we prohibited it,’ Horne said.” (h/t: Yahoo!/AP)

All of these resolutions and polls, however, are meaningless – at least in the sense that the law will eventually be ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court down the line. According to numerous experts, including the man who helped co-write it, the chances of it being upheld are quite good.

We shall see…

Late addition: Wouldn't it be nice if the nation's chief law enforcement officer, the U.S. Attorney General (Eric Holder) actually read the Arizona statute before criticizing it? According to a Washington Times story, Holder is quoted as having expressed concerns about the law but he really can't explain anything about the law because he "hasn't read it." He also, prior to asking his staff to read it and brief him on what it means, said the law's passage was "unfortunate." Why is that, Mr. Holder? If you haven't read it and don't know what it says, how can you honestly criticize it?

Terror, fear and loathing

Homegrown terror: fact or fiction? Fact. “Five young Muslim American men from the Washington suburbs who disappeared late last month were detained in Pakistan on Wednesday in a police raid on a house linked to a militant group, American and Pakistani officials said.”



Add Pakistani terrorists: the American who was arrested for his alleged role in last year’s massacre in Mumbai, India, is said to have been “a U.S. drug informant.” This story is just beginning to be told…


Terrorists - from America?

U.S.A.G. Eric Holder goes to NYC for meetings on the upcoming 9-11 mass murder/terror trials there: It’s what’s known in the game as “a bad situation being made worse.”


The brains behind the idea to bring terrorists back to the city targeted for the 9-11 attacks...

U.S.A.G. Eric Holder goes to NYC for meetings on the upcoming 9-11 mass murder/terror trials there: It’s what’s known in the game as “a bad situation being made worse.”

From Copenhagen (and its in-house newsletter, The New York Times) comes this headline for Most Obvious Observation of the Year: “Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag” Obvious reply: Ya think?!


This week's home to most of the hot air being generated anywhere...

Europe…feelin’ the love? Our bestest friends, the Brits, aren’t.

Add Climate Change: Apparently, the prez has some nifty ideas on ways to fix that-there-global-warmin’…

Last add Climate Change: Reportedly, not all of the president’s fellow Dems are on-board with his view on the weather of the world. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) sent Barack Obama the following letter:

Dear Mr. President:

I would like to express my concern regarding reports that the Administration may believe it has the unilateral power to commit the government of the United States to certain standards that may be agreed upon at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The phrase “politically binding” has been used.

Although details have not been made available, recent statements by Special Envoy on Climate Change Todd Stern indicate that negotiators may be intending to commit the United States to a nationwide emission reduction program. As you well know from your time in the Senate, only specific legislation agreed upon in the Congress, or a treaty ratified by the Senate, could actually create such a commitment on behalf of our country.

I would very much appreciate having this matter clarified in advance of the Copenhagen meetings.

Sincerely,
Jim Webb
United States Senator

In other words, “Who made you king?”


The president and the senator who reminded him he's just a president - not an emperor...