Executive Actions–Paper Tigers

Of all of the 23 new Executive Actions that President Obama put into the works this week, there are a few that stand out from the rest either because they are so incredulous or because they have no logical meaning whatsoever.

Executive Action #9:  Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

Will this Executive Action include those in his own administration, namely the Department of Justice and Eric Holder? Not only do we have a dead American border agent with Brian Terry in the Fast and Furious scandal, but we also need to add the reported guns and war grade weaponry that were shipped into Libya just before the attacks on the Benghazi consulate that killed 4 of our American citizens. Will these be included in the “criminal investigation of illegal guns recovered”? Probably not.  Oh—and you probably don’t know this because the mainstream media hasn’t deemed it newsworthy—but at the same time Ambassador Chris Stevens was asking for help and support in Benghazi, the Italian consul was also being attacked.  He, too, asked for help from his government.  The difference is that the Italian government thought enough of their countrymen to remove their entire staff from Benghazi. (See, Secretary Clinton?  Someone knows how to do their job and actually have the security intelligence to make the necessary arrangements to get their people out of hell before they lose their lives!)  Sad we should learn from another country on how to properly handle those pesky terrorists. Wonder if they were using the weapons we provided?

Executive Action #10:  Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.

Once again, does this include the guns and military style weaponry our government was responsible for providing to the Mexican drug cartel in the Fast and Furious scandal? Sixteen teenagers were massacred at a birthday party in Mexico with guns tied to Fast and Furious. (Perhaps if our government is the one losing the guns, it’s not worth noting to law enforcement right? Just checking….)

According to Congressman Darrel Issa (Chair of the Oversight Committee):

[Todd] Jones was first brought into the job of ATF Acting Director in the middle of the Fast and Furious scandal after Justice Department officials had falsely denied reckless conduct and allegations by his predecessor that there was an effort underway to shield the Department’s senior political appointees from the scandal.   Because of the numerous ATF mistakes during his tenure as Acting Director pertaining to Fast and Furious, his nomination is a slap in the face to the family of fallen Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, Mexican citizens whose murder has been linked to Fast and Furious weapons, and ATF whistleblowers whom he failed to support.

Another more recent death tied to Fast and Furious is Mexican beauty queen Maria Susana Flores.  The murder also has ties to ATF supervisor George Gillett—none of which you would know if you rely on the mainstream media for news.  One of the leading experts in Fast and Furious is Katie Pavlich.  In a recent article, Pavlich wrote that Flores was used as a “human shield” in a shootout between the Mexican drug cartel and the Mexican military. According to Pavlich, Gillett purchased the guns used in the shootout at a gun shop in Phoenix, Az. for the Fast and Furious gun running operation. Pavlich states that Gillett “lied on over 4,000 forms” by listing an address that does not exist as his (which, by the way, is a felony). So is Gillett in prison? No. So far it has been determined in the F&F investigation that Gillett’s “management and judgment is seriously lacking” but other than that, he’s fine.  Despite the findings in Sen. Chck Grassley’s report, as of today George Gillett still free, is still employed and is still collecting a paycheck. Only in our government can a person still have a job after breaking the law. If you or I or any other average citizen pulled a stunt like Gillett did, I guarantee we would already be in a prison somewhere!

So in order to help with EA #10, how about we begin with our own DOJ/ATF and take ownership of the debacle that is Fast and Furious!

Executive Action #13:  Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

So we now need to “maximize efforts” as if we were not doing so to begin with? What exactly does this action mean? We already have state and federal laws in place to prosecute gun crimes; the problem is we also have a federal government that chooses to bypass said laws only when it pertains to them.

Don’t you think we need to start looking at ourselves to prevent gun violence? It would also help if the federal government starts enforcing the laws we already have.  Also, how about we actually start at home as parents?  The last time I checked, our government has not made it mandatory to obtain a license to be a parent (although in some cases that may not be a bad idea…). In all seriousness, “moral decay” is what we are watching happen before our eyes and is destroying the family unit as a whole.

Executive Action #16:Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

and

Executive Action #17: Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

Say again? Other than having an obvious gunshot wound in the toe, why would a doctor ask a patient out of happenstance, “Hey, John do you have a gun in your house?” Each state has a list of who they consider “mandated reporters”.  Those on that list are required by their state laws to report if they suspect abuse in the home or if there is a great chance of harm to a person or others. There is also the relationship between a doctor and his/her patient that provides confidentiality. I personally believe this is a slippery slope when our government is able to determine the parameters of our relationships with our healthcare providers. It would appear that the doctor/patient relationship is quickly becoming doctor/government relationship.

With all of this gun control debating and the 23 Executive Actions, when you take a good look at what Obama is actually proposing it has absolutely nothing to do with “controlling guns” at all.  Instead it seems to be just another “smoke and mirrors” tactic to distract us from the really important issues.  However, despite the hard work of the mainstream media to try to bury stories like Fast and Furious and Benghazi, Conservative America refuses to let them get away with it.  And if Obama is really serious about “holding people accountable” and prosecuting for the “sale or distribution of illegal weapons”, he needs not look further than within his own administration.

I truly hope that We the People of this great country will not allow the tragic deaths of Americans and Mexican citizens to go ignored.  We need to stay on them and make sure we’re a nation that demands accountability for such vile actions–and not simply a country that wants to know which woman The Bachelor will choose next…

(Clarification:  Unlike our previous title, Obama recently signed 23 Executive Actions, not “Orders”, three of which were made “memorandums”.  From New York Magazine:  “So what’s the difference between a ‘presidential memorandum’ and an executive order? Not much…Basically, for all intents and purposes, a memorandum is an executive order. However, since executive orders are a particularly controversial and politically charged lever of presidential power  (the mere mention of them has inspired talk of impeachment among some of Congress’s more firebrand Republicans), it’s important to note that they (or something exactly like them) comprised only three of the items on Obama’s list of 23 ‘executive actions.'” By the way, watch this video from CNN at approximately 3:34; Wolf Blitzer called them “orders”, too.  Editor)