The View From North Central Idaho

H/T to Uncle.

Mangan is reading the Brady script to CNN this time (previous posts about Mangan):

ATF special agent Tom Mangan says the .50-caliber rifle has become one of the "guns of choice" for the drug cartels. The weapon fires palm-sized .50-caliber rounds that can cut through just about anything.

Mangan showed CNN the power of the rifle on a gun range near Phoenix, Arizona. The weapon, a Barrett, was seized in an ATF raid. A round fired from 100 yards away tore through a car door and both sides of a bulletproof vest like those used by Mexican police.

"There's nothing that's going to stop this round," Mangan says.

The rifle was intercepted as it was being smuggled into Mexico. Mangan says investigators believe four others already had passed through the border.

Watch the video to see and hear the emotional appeal these bigots invoke. What they don't seem to realize is all this is caused by the banning of recreational drugs. In other words, governments cause crime.

As you should already know:

• ATF agents raid Gilbert gun shop (I "love" this line, "ATF officials seize rifles and artillery in Gilberta")
• Gilbert gun dealer raided by federal agents
• Gilbert firearms business raided by ATF over suspected violations
• CavArms raided by the ATFE
• Cavalry Arms Update
• The BATFU Horse and Pony Show
• Cavalry Arms Update: "Seize Everything"
• Cavalry Arms raided by the Feds
• ATF RAIDS ANOTHER FIREARMS MFG - CAVALRY ARMS.
• Cavalry Arms Raided by ATF
• ATF raids Firearms Manufacturer...for suspicions of fraud and money laundering
• Cavalry Arms raided by ATF today

The ATF Special Agent doing the talking in this video about Cavalry Arms is no stranger:

I've blogged about him before.

His cell phone number and email, as of last month, are 602-859-6317 and Thomas.mangan@atf.gov.

Here are some other times he has appeared in the news and what he said:

• "Operation Tarnished Eagle" Thwarts Plot to Overthrow the Government of Laos (June 4, 2007)
• Gun smuggling increases (December 28, 2007)
• ATF agents find large firearms cache in Phoenix — some 'weapons of war' (December 27, 2007)
• ATF: Stolen explosives found with firearms, chop-shop (December 24, 2005)
• Feds probe attempt to buy ammonium nitrate (January 5, 2005)

''These are, quite frankly, weapons of war,'' ATF special agent Tom Mangan said as he picked up an assault rifle and examined it. "These are military-type weapons. This is firepower you would expect to see on the battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan."

Agents said Thursday they found the 42 weapons in a storage locker about 10 days ago. The guns were worth $250,000 in all: Belgian-made ''FN'' handguns, semiautomatic AK-47 rifles and other pistols. They also found four olive boxes loaded with .50-caliber bullets - ammunition that's big enough to take out an airplane.

''The type of firepower you're seeing here is on the increase,'' he said. ''You're seeing sophisticated weapons, military weapons, assault-type weapons, assault pistols, very expensive pistols. This level of fire power gives criminals options they haven't had before.''

Put him on your list of people to be charged with violation of 18 USC 242.

I don't know if was the reporter or the ATF agent. But it was probably one of them that has a decimal point out of place or has much more valuable AKs that I have ever heard of:

Agents said Thursday they found the 42 weapons in a storage locker about 10 days ago. There guns were worth $250,000 in all: Belgian-made "FN" handguns, semiautomatic AK rifles and other pistols. They also found four olive boxes loaded with 50-caliber bullets—ammunition that's big enough to take out an airplane.

"These are, quite frankly, weapons of war," ATF special agent Tom Mangan said as he picked up an assault rifle and examined it.

"The type of fire power you're seeing here is on the increase," he said. "You're seeing sophisticated weapons, military weapons, assault type weapons, assault pistols, very expensive pistols."

ATF officials said gun runners typically gather large caches of weapons anonymously through "straw" purchases. They might give someone $100 to go into a gun show or a Wal-Mart and buy a few rifles at a time. They might buy guns over the Internet.

Any idea what an "olive box" is? Ignoring that--the 42 weapons figures out to nearly $6,000 per firearm. Could it be someone was that sloppy with the numbers? Or was it something else? If it were just the numbers I would give someone a pass for making a careless mistake. But the ATF agent is exaggerating with the other stuff too. It makes me suspicious. Mr. Mangan sure gets his name in the news frequently.

Yes, I know, "nanny state stupidity" is redundant. Get over it. I want to rub the nanny noses in it when they come visiting.

In southern Idaho there is a fireworks supply company, Firefox Enterprises, being sued (a civil lawsuit, not criminal) by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Here is a copy of their complaint.

Basically they told Firefox they had determined that certain fireworks are banned hazardous substances. Furthermore CPSC regulations specify that "components" that are "intended to produce" banned fireworks are also banned hazardous substances. They want an injunction against Firefox directing them to:

• not sell, give away, or otherwise distribute any chlorate compound, magnesium metal, permanganate compound, peroxide compound, zirconium metal, or any chemical listed at 16 C.F.R. § 1507.2 to any recipient who does not possess a valid manufacturing license for explosives issued by the ATF;
• not sell, give away, or otherwise distribute any of the following chemical for which the particle size is finer than 100 mesh (or particles less than 150 microns in size) to any recipient who does not possess a valid manufacturing license for explosives issued by the ATF: aluminum and aluminum alloys, magnalium metal, magnesium/aluminum alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, or zinc metal;
• not sell, give away, or otherwise distribute any of the following chemicals in any amount greater than one pound per year per recipient to any recipient who does not possess a valid manufacturing license for explosives issued by the ATF: antimony and antimony compounds, benzoate compounds, nitrate compounds, perchlorate compounds, salicylate compounds, or sulfur;
• not sell, give away, or otherwise distribute any fuse in an amount greater than twenty-five feet per year to any recipient who does not possess a valid manufacturing license for explosives issued by the ATF;

For those of you not familiar with the chemistry of common household and barnyard substances:

• Matches are a chlorate compound
• Matches contain sulfur
• Hair bleach is a peroxide compound
• Magnesium metal is found in many cars, motorcycles, and other common objects in your house and garage
• Starting with aluminized mylar balloon and other common objects it's not difficult to make particles of aluminum smaller that 150 microns
• Cow/chicken/pig/etc. manure is a nitrate compound and can be, and has been for hundreds of years, a component for fireworks and explosives
• Many lawn and garden fertilizers are nitrate compounds
• Ordinary string as well as cigarettes and cigarette paper (it's specially treated) can be used as a fuse

And those are just the things I can think of off the top of my head.

The more basic problem is they are trying to prevent crime. This is prior restraint and is like duct taping people's mouths shut when they go into a crowded theater so they can't falsely yell, "FIRE!!!" As I said back in 1998

Crime "prevention" is a very hot button for me.  There is no limit to the evil that can be justified and/or enabled once you accept the premise that it is acceptable to prevent crime by restricting liberty.

December 3, 1998 6:53 PM
Microsoft Gun Club Public Folder

This started in 2004 and I have sort of been following along. It doesn't directly affect me in the foreseeable future because I have the required ATF license and I no longer buy my potassium chlorate from Firefox. I buy in quantities about 10 times larger than what they think is a large order and hence get it much cheaper from a different source. Today I received an email from another fireworks supplier that I have also utilized which said in part, "THE FIREFOX CASE HAS BEEN LOST". The judge has told the CPSC and Firefox to negotiate a mutually acceptable plan or else he, the judge, will make the decision.

So to those pinheaded jerks at the CPSC: I just want you to know you are one stupid set of nannies when you are trying to ban people from selling cow manure. Why don't you go get a real job instead of being professional assholes?