It seems the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) regulators have their collective dresses up over their heads regarding the importation of a new (in their minds) class of firearms.
First we need to make a distinction between the BATFE regulators and their field guys. As I see it, their field guys are cops. I’ve met and worked with a number of them and come away impressed. They have some truly gifted investigators working explosives and arson cases. On the other hand, the regulators are a bit nitpicky — bureaucrat is a kind way of putting it.
The heinous culprits the bureaucrats are fretting over are a class of “firearm” so concealable we cops would surely miss them during a patdown or indeed a full-blown search. They are subminiature collector guns. Most of this class even fires a teeny-tiny bullet from a rimless cartridge.
The regulator weenies feel the tiny bullets could be lethal. I believe them. Especially if the nar-do-well stuffs the sub-miniature in your ear, eye socket or up your nose. What on earth would we do without these ever-vigilant public service oriented regulators looking out for our welfare and protecting us from ourselves?
I guess it’s a good thing we have them to ferret out new and dangerous weapons. After all if we allow these sub-miniature threats to exist and flood the marketplace then it will be the proverbial camel’s nose under the tent. Pretty soon the whole camel will be sitting on your lap watching soaps with you on the big screen. Even worse, the market soon could be flooded with subminiature RPGs.
Come on, the federal government can generate more than enough Toro Caca with all its other agencies. The last thing we need is more regulatory crap from BATFE.
Municipal Toro Caca Generators
Just so it doesn’t appear as I only pick on the feds in this section, I have to comment on an Associated Press article out of Winter Haven, Florida. Apparently, the Chief of that department, Paul Goward, was “forced” to resign.
The Police Chief who served for two and a half years sent a memo to the department titled, “Are you a Jelly Belly?” It stated:
“As I look around the department I see a disconcerting number of us that appear physically challenged with obesity and/or a general lack of physical fitness. This is a tremendous concern to me because the literature, to say nothing of common sense, states that if you are obese and/or out of shape you are a predictable liability to yourself, your family, your partner, this department, the city of Winter Haven and the citizens of our city. So, take a good look at yourself.
If you are unfit, do yourself and everyone else a favor. See a professional about a proper diet and a fitness training program, quit smoking, limit alcohol intake and start thinking self pride, confidence and respectability. And stop making excuses for delaying what you know you should have been doing years ago. We didn’t hire you unfit and we don’t want you working unfit. Don’t mean to offend, this is just straight talk. I owe it to you.”
The article says there was some hurt feelings on the staff and an anonymous letter of complaint was sent in protest. It claimed to represent the opinion of an unknown number of police employees. They accused Goward of having an insensitive, arrogant and hard management style.
David Greene, City Manager “accepted” Goward’s letter of resignation and he immediately left his post. But a funny thing happened; Greene hired a new chief just two days after Goward’s resignation without any candidate search. It seems it was the same guy Greene hired as Chief a few years back when he was the City Manager of a neighboring city.
Hey, your Imperial Majesticness, City Manager Greene, if you don’t want the guy working for you and you want someone else instead, have the balls to tell him that. Don’t use some lame excuse like an inane memo. And those of you who wrote the letter, have the juevos to tell it like it is. If the Chief was a prick — okay. But say that. Don’t use some Toro Caca anonymous letter of complaint about hurt feelings. He may have been a prick but his memo was absolutely right.
