It should be noted that the Senate thwarted a filibuster attempt by Republicans under the new rules prior to the vote for this previously unknown Obama campaign contributor.
The Senate approved Jeh Johnson as the fourth Homeland Security secretary, giving him the reins at a department that, more than a decade after its creation, is still unstable and trying to figure out its role in the massive federal bureaucracy.
The 78-16 vote gives President Obama a solid victory, filling a major Cabinet post that has remained empty since Janet A. Napolitano left in September.
“In Jeh, our dedicated homeland security professionals will have a strong leader with a deep understanding of the threats we face and a proven ability to work across agencies and complex organizations to keep America secure,” Mr. Obama said in a statement released soon after the vote. “I look forward to Jeh’s counsel and sound judgment for years to come.”
Moments after the Johnson confirmation, Democrats set up a vote on another contentious Homeland Security nomination in Alejandro Mayorkas, Mr. Obama’s selection to be deputy secretary of the department, even though Mr. Mayorkas is facing an internal department investigation.
Mr. Johnson brings the shortest list of qualifications to the job of any of the secretaries, having served only as a top lawyer in the Defense Department.
The company Law Enforcement Targets has apologized on their Facebook page for a new series of targets they were selling for law enforcement.
The targets, apparently based on the requirements of the Department of Homeland Security and other Federal law enforcement agencies, depict such “targets” as a seven-year old boy with a gun and a pregnant woman with guns pointed at the Federal shooter.
The advertisement reads, “Designed to prepare officers for the worst possible situation. Background is faded further highlighting and highlighting the threat.” The product description of the little boy reads, “…dipicting a very young boy holding a real gun.”
The targets are apparently intended to desensitize law enforcement to shooting citizens of the United States no matter what the circumstance.
The apology reads:
We apologize for the offensive nature of our “No More Hesitation” products. These products have been taken offline due to the opinions expressed by so many, including members of the law enforcement community.
This product line was originally requested and designed by the law enforcement community to train police officers for unusually complex situations where split-second decisions could lead to unnecessary loss of life.
Consistent with our company mission as a training supplier (not a training methods company), we will continue to seek input from law enforcement professionals to better serve their training objectives and qualification needs. We sincerely appreciate law enforcement professionals for the risks they take in providing safety and defending freedom.
The comments on the Facebook page show that the people are less than pleased with the apology. Some are charging that the company may have withdrawn the targets from the web site, but are still selling them to the Federal government and local law enforcement.
Marilyn Zimmermann This is surreal… but so is the reality of sharia law, and our own government and culture being slowly and stealthily infiltrated by a theocratic spirit of antichrist. enter the burka clad gorilla in the room.
Michael Ballou All the pictures that I have seen of the “No More Hesitation” targets are all White people. Do you have targets of Asian, Black, Pacific Islander, Native American, and Hispanic pregnant women, children, and old men too? I want to ensure that you are an Equal Opportunity Target Supplier. Post some pix of your products.
NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST You people are truly sick, and I sincerely hope you go bankrupt, and soon. You are a small, but apparent cog in the growing machine of totalitarianism in this country.
NRA Gifting Page I’d like to echo an earlier post: “By denying FULL responsibility for poor judgment and blaming LE and Homeland Security for the design you are confirming they asked you to produce targets of regular Americans defending themselves in their kitchens to specifically desensitize cops to the natural resistance they experience in shooting the innocent. — THAT won’t be soon forgotten.”
Donna Kaplan apparently did some research demanding that the company make a public disclosure of which agencies purchased the targets.
Donna Kaplan Law Enforcement Targets: I would like a list of all government entities who purchased, through contracts, any products from your company. To include, Agency Name, Quantity, Item Name, Item Cost and Purchase Order Number. Ten days is the legal amount of time you have to post that information in this public forum.
Since you receive government contracts (between 2000-2009, $42.3 million), according to the open records law item #3 below dictates that you are obligated to fulfill the request of a list of any and all agencies (federal, state or local) and their purchases:
Sec. 552.022. CATEGORIES OF PUBLIC INFORMATION; EXAMPLES. (a) Without limiting the amount or kind of information that is public information under this chapter, the following categories of information are public information and not excepted from required disclosure unless made confidential under this chapter or other law:
(1) a completed report, audit, evaluation, or investigation made of, for, or by a governmental body, except as provided by Section 552.108;
(2) the name, sex, ethnicity, salary, title, and dates of employment of each employee and officer of a governmental body;
(3) information in an account, voucher, or contract relating to the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds by a governmental body;
(4) the name of each official and the final record of voting on all proceedings in a governmental body;
(5) all working papers, research material, and information used to estimate the need for or expenditure of public funds or taxes by a governmental body, on completion of the estimate;
(6) the name, place of business, and the name of the municipality to which local sales and use taxes are credited, if any, for the named person, of a person reporting or paying sales and use taxes under Chapter 151, Tax Code;
(7) a description of an agency’s central and field organizations, including:
(A) the established places at which the public may obtain information, submit information or requests, or obtain decisions;
(B) the employees from whom the public may obtain information, submit information or requests, or obtain decisions;
(C) in the case of a uniformed service, the members from whom the public may obtain information, submit information or requests, or obtain decisions; and
(D) the methods by which the public may obtain information, submit information or requests, or obtain decisions;
(8) a statement of the general course and method by which an agency’s functions are channeled and determined, including the nature and requirements of all formal and informal policies and procedures;
(9) a rule of procedure, a description of forms available or the places at which forms may be obtained, and instructions relating to the scope and content of all papers, reports, or examinations;
(10) a substantive rule of general applicability adopted or issued by an agency as authorized by law, and a statement of general policy or interpretation of general applicability formulated and adopted by an agency;
(11) each amendment, revision, or repeal of information described by Subdivisions (7)-(10);
(12) final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, and orders issued in the adjudication of cases;
(13) a policy statement or interpretation that has been adopted or issued by an agency;
(14) administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;
(15) information regarded as open to the public under an agency’s policies;
(16) information that is in a bill for attorney’s fees and that is not privileged under the attorney-client privilege;
(17) information that is also contained in a public court record; and
(18) a settlement agreement to which a governmental body is a party.
(b) A court in this state may not order a governmental body or an officer for public information to withhold from public inspection any category of public information described by Subsection (a) or to not produce the category of public information for inspection or duplication, unless the category of information is confidential under this chapter or other law.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 1035, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1319, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1229, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.
The targets are particularly eerie when considered in light of the massive amount of ammunition that the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies down to the Social Security Administration have been purchasing.
Although the company web site does not have an address, Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the company, founded in 1992, is at 8802 West 35W Service Drive NE, Saint Paul, MN 55114-1614.
For weeks news of massive purchases of ammunition have sparked concerns across the Internet that the government was preparing for possible clashes with American citizens.
Reports are the DHS has ordered a million rounds of ammunition and large amounts of riot gear. It has even been reported that the amount of ammunition has been redacted from official government documents available to the public. The amount of .223 ammunition purchased by the DHS and ICE is over 4-million dollars.
While some might consider the purchase by these law enforcement agencies as nothing extraordinary, even the least cautious might find in curious that the Social Security Administration and the National Weather service is also stocking up on ammunition.
Redacted information on DHS forms — Courtesy Prison Planet.com
California, at the same time, is considering legislation that would red flag any person purchasing 1000 rounds of ammunition or more.
Private owners are finding it difficult to find ammunition at a reasonable price in the calibers ordered by the government. Charges have been levied by some gun dealers that the State Department has ordered ammunition being shipped into the United States to be held in storage—at the expense of the business ordering the ammunition—for the sole purpose of driving the price of ammunition up.
Concern is also raised over the United Nations small arms treaty still making its way through the consideration process. Reports are that the small arms treaty effectively nullifies the Second Amendment protection and bans virtually all weapons from private ownership. While the Supreme Court has ruled that treaties cannot violate the Constitution of the United States, fears are that the government could proceed to confiscate and destroy weapons until an elongated court battle could be conducted.
The Senate approved Jeh Johnson as the fourth Homeland Security secretary, giving him the reins at a department that, more than a decade after its creation, is still unstable and trying to figure out its role in the massive federal bureaucracy.
