Chapter Six: Welcome to Murdergate

Beginning on page 76, the author pads the text of her book with another story that initially doesn't seem very well connected with the ongoing narrative of events. I started reading through the details of the February 15, 2011 attack on two ambassadors to Mexico by the Zeta gang without understanding where we were going with this story. I suspect that Katie had aims of promoting a NRA interest wherein the agents had been denied firearms to protect themselves while doing their business in Mexico. (I would like to point out that the firepower possessed by the Zeta gang in his particular ambush would have made firearms in the possession of the agents of little use.) The clearest connection, however, is that the weapon used in the shooting was one of those weapons who's purchase had been supervised by Operation Fast and Furious.

Yes, and drugs sold by pushers whom the police turn into informants when looking to catch people higher in the pecking order still kill or destroy lives. Straw purchasing is not illegal in Arizona. Had Otilio Osorio been intercepted and the guns he purchased prevented from crossing the border into Mexico, it stands to reason that the Zeta drug gang would have found weapons somewhere else to use in this attack. Now, the idea could be like chaos theory where the flapping of a butterfly's wings can change everything. I could work with that if the same people putting forward that supposition in this situation balked at having the same reasoning applied when it comes to gun control in the United States.

Still, this is a vindication of the investigation of Fast and Furious moreso that the regrettable death of Agent Terry. Terry's gun was straw purchased and later used in a crime. As it was purchased in Arizona and used in a crime in Arizona, that death speaks of a need to have better background checks on the purchase of firearms and.. perhaps waiting periods to provide for such background checks to be adequately performed. There is no reason to believe the gun was smuggled south and then re-smuggled back north. Therefore, it cannot be reasonably said to have been a death caused by a gun that was allowed to 'walk.' The death of the agents Zapata and Avila, however occurred with an American purchased weapon that was taken south after being purchased.

Vindication for Katie. It is nice to see that she can have a point here or there.

I once read a book, "Soap-bubble Stories" which gave me a chuckle. Uncle Columbus would say, "Gypsies!" to remind the family of past troubles (caused by Gypsies) and change the direction of the current conversation. Finally, gypsies are outside and:

At the sound of the fall, the Councillor ran up the steps to his front door, and put out his head cautiously to see what was the matter.

"Gypsies!" said Uncle Columbus without raising his eyes from his book; and for the first time in his life he was right.
~~ Soap Bubble Stories at OpenLibrary.org

So, Katie Pavlich, one well-earned "Gypsies" for you. :)

Unfortunately, my bright and shining hope for Katie Pavlich is turned a bit sour by the light of truth. As it turns out,

The Romanian-made AK-47 was purchased at a Texas gun store in October by Otilio Osorio, 22, whom federal authorities began investigating in connection with suspected weapons purchases on behalf of Mexican drug lords a month after the rifle was bought.
~~ Assault rifle used in U.S. agent's killing in Mexico traced to Texas,  LA Times, March 5 2011.[1]

In other words, as a vilification of Operation Fast and Furious, this killing and this weapon is a red herring. It highlights, rather, that weapons were being purchased and shipped into Mexico outside of Fast and Furious and without the supervision of the ATF.

Katie's text is strictly speaking true although it is worded to obscure the truth. "A Dallas area man, Otilio Osorio, who had been under ATF surveillance for months, was accused of buying the guns used in Zapata's murder and arrested for gun smuggling." (pg 78) Said in that way, at this point in the narrative, it suggests taht Otilio was under investigation when he purchased the guns. As we've previously established, he was under investigation a month after the rifle was bought. This particular weapon was not one that was supervised by Operation Fast and Furious and the store owner was not directed to make a suspicious sale as Katie has otherwhere purported.

Perhaps this was an oversight... sigh, sadly not. The misrepresentation is intentional. Katie's book was published April 17, 2012. The article above was published March 05, 2011. The truth was known or at least reasonably knowable to anyone actually interested in doing a few moments or research.

She goes on to state that "reports surfaced that Carter's Country Gun Store, located in Houston, had sold weapons to straw purchasers at the request of the ATF." This might be true. But the implication is that this gun was one of those. We should remember, however, that Katie uses bloggers with anonymous sources as credible news sources. This "report" could well have been the paranoid rant of some random blogger. Well, I mean, that's all the credibility reading and researching Katie's book has inspired me to possess.

Remember: the woman uses footnotes to support text when the actual footnote refutes her point. Not the greatest degree of journalistic integrity.

Katie moves forward to quote a NRA News Radio program.. Oh, please! Like they are even remotely likely to be impartial fact-checkers! Really? What, we going to quote Rush Limbaugh now? Because, you know, he never makes stuff up or misrepresents the truth. Not him.

She quotes DeGuern:

'Well, this looks a little suspicious.' But the ATF Agents that were dealing with ... the personnel at Carter's Country said, "No, we need your help. We want to follow these guns. We want to know who the people are and you can help us.' So that's what Carter's Country did. They tried to be good citizens that they were asked to be, and have always been, only to have it blow up in their face.

~~ Fast and Furious, Katie Pavlich, quoting DeGuern, pg 79

Except that, plainly spoken, one of the guns used to kill Zapata had been purchased prior to Otilio began being investigated was in fact purchased by Otilio before he came under investigation.

Sorry, Katie, I'm going to have to retract that "Gypsies" which I had thought you earned. I'll keep it over here on a shelf and you might be able to pick it up later.

"It's going to be acrimonious, there's no question. [Obama] has been one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times," Issa said on Rush Limbaugh's radio show just before the November 2010 elections. He intended to prove it.

Rush? Really? Rush wouldn't recognize the truth if walked up and slapped him in the face with its penis.

Historically, Obama is more benign than Jr. Bush. He had the Patriot Act, 2 wars, no-bid contracts, and water-boarding. Even Clinton had his sex scandal. The only reason to say Obama is one of the most corrupt Presidents in modern times would be because you have learned to flat-out blatantly lie on your radio talk show. Sheesh. Presidents are not corrupt just because they are black or because they hold values different than yours. They are corrupt if they let business interests influence how they perform their duties to the American people. Think about that for awhile and then read up on Citizens United.

As an aside:
It is rather amazing that none of the guns that went missing during the Bush-era Operation Wide Receiver fiasco or in the years after that were used to kill Americans. I wonder if the serial numbers were not recorded or what other possible reason might explain this.