General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMeet the Former Militiaman Behind the Fast and Furious Scandal
On December 8, when Eric Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee about Operation Fast and Furious, the bungled federal attempt to combat gun smuggling to Mexico, his testimony was met with frequent snickers and occasional hostility. The source wasn't Republican committee members, but rather a blogger seated at the press table. Wearing a homemade press pass in a National Rifle Association badge-holder, Mike Vanderboegh had arrived at the hearing toting an Army-issue laptop case that appeared capable of withstanding a roadside bomb.
A large, ruddy fellow with white hair and a mischievous smile, he had played a key role in turning Fast and Furious into a national scandal. From his home in Pinson, Alabama, Vanderboegh writes a little-known, far-right blog called Sipsey Street Irregulars. Last December, in a post titled, "Border Patrol agent killed with ATF-smuggled AR? Some ATF agents seem to think so," he reported on rumors flying around law enforcement circles about the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Two weeks earlier, Terry and his team had been tracking a Mexican "rip crew"who specialize in robbing drug smugglersin Nogales, Arizona. Shots were fired and Terry was hit in the back. He died the next day.
Vanderboegh reported that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives believed that the gun that killed Terry had been part of an anti-gun smuggling operationlater known publicly as Operation Fast and Furious. Vanderboegh suggested that ATF agents had encouraged "snitches" to purchase hundreds of guns in the US and smuggle them into Mexico to track the weapons to high-level drug kingpins. He quoted a website set up by anonymous disgruntled ATF agents: It "appears that ATF may be one of the largest suppliers of assault rifles to the Mexican cartels!" one wrote.
Using what he calls the "desert telegraph" (an anonymous email system) to communicate with whistleblowers, Vanderboegh says he helped arrange for ATF agents to talk to the staff of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who was then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Department of Justice. Later, Vanderboegh connected the whistleblowers with the staff of Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who took over as the committee's chair in January.
more . . . http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/fast-and-furious-scandal-mike-vanderboegh
JHB
(37,161 posts)Counting "late 50s" as 55 to 59, he was born somewhere between 1953 and 1957.
So in 1967 he was 10 to 14 years old, and was already inclined to be a radical. (assuming, of course, that it is true, and that he's not just name-dropping radical-left 60s orgs.)
In 1977 he would have been 20 to 24 years old. In other words, old enough to have gotten disillusioned with his old radicalism and ripe to jump to a new one, with the aid of an ex-Nazi mentor.
In 1993 he was 36 to 40 years old. Got a question: what was he doing between 77 and 93? Aside from, hazarding a guess, watching Rambo, Red Dawn, and the collected works of Chuck Norris. And, hazarding another guess, not joining the armed forces before he showed up for the "militia".
To quote a Michael Cain line, "some men just want to watch the world burn."
summerschild
(725 posts)the Bob Herbert piece on the Rachel Maddow Show website. I can't find anywhere that captured the opening segment that provided the background. I had never read the FULL background on this - the "conspiracy" concoction used as an excuse for the hearing.
These people are fucking insane. The public DOESN'T KNOW THIS! I wanted to alert others but cannot find the program portion that preceded Bob Herbert.
Does anyone have a link to the FULL story presented by Maddow?
M0rpheus
(885 posts)I believe what you're looking for, starts at ~2:30.
http://leanforward.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/20/12326260-holder-contempt-votes-outlandish-origins?lite
summerschild
(725 posts)proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)summerschild
(725 posts)for the link and for your initial post!
Incredible what is going on in this country!