Not only did U.S. officials approve, allow and assist in the sale of more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa cartel — the federal government used taxpayer money to buy semi-automatic weapons, sold them to criminals and then watched as the guns disappeared.

This disclosure, revealed in documents obtained by Fox News, could undermine the Department of Justice’s previous defense that Operation Fast and Furious was a “botched” operation where agents simply “lost track” of weapons as they were transferred from one illegal buyer to another. Instead, it heightens the culpability of the federal government as Mexico, according to sources, has opened two criminal investigations into the operation that flooded their country with illegal weapons.

Operation Fast and Furious began in October 2009. In it, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives encouraged gun stores to sell weapons to an arms smuggling gang, then watched as the guns crossed the border and were used in crimes. Each month, the agency allowed hundreds of guns to go South, despite opposition from some agents.

All told, the gang spent more than $1.25 million for the illegal guns.

In June 2010, however, the ATF dramatically upped the ante, making the U.S. government the actual “seller” of guns.

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Read More at Fox News By William Lajeunesse, Fox News

With little more than a year remaining before the 2012 vote, even the hyper-arrogant Barack Obama must be getting a bit edgy about his dwindling chances of re-election.

Three years ago, mouthing vacuous speeches and making vacant promises, Obama lied, schemed and intimidated his way into the White House while his campaign committee of left wing journalists provided critical cover for personal and political histories which would have doomed the candidate had they seeped through the wall of media silence.

But although Obama could be presented as a relatively “unknown quantity” prior to the 2008 election and depend upon media lackeys to fill in the blanks with predictably glowing reports of towering intellect and limitless ability, those days are now gone.

For as this radical leftist’s Regime has displayed deep red colors from day one, renewed claims of post-racial harmony, a moderate political agenda or murky, feel-good screeds about hope and change will not sell this time around to any but the most rabid of the Obama base.

After all, though much of the public may know nothing of the White House inspired Solyndra and Fast and Furious scandals or the $3 trillion Obama has added to the national debt, voters do understand 10% unemployment and $4.00 per gallon gasoline.

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

 Read More at Coach Is Right By Doug Book, Coach Is Right

I’ve always thought it a fluke that the United States has no official language. Why didn’t the founding fathers specify an official language in the Constitution? They probably didn’t think of it, since they had other, more difficult issues to work on. Or maybe they did think of it, but concluded an official language was unnecessary because it was so obvious that the Constitution itself and the Declaration of Independence were in English, and all the business of the new government and all of its states were conducted in English.

Regardless of the reason, the failure to designate an official language has allowed language minorities to demand translations of official documents and taxpayer funded translators in U.S. courts and other government institutions. Under the Voting Rights Act language minorities among U.S. citizens are entitled to vote on ballots translated into their own languages other than English.

In other countries with more than one official language, like Canada and Belgium, all government documents must be published in both official languages and government translators provided at all official functions. But that has not quelled separatist sentiment from flaring up along language lines, and on-going battles over public signage and what language to teach to newcomers.

The bureaucracy and parliament of the European Union, with its 23 official languages, is sinking into financial quicksand as it tries to translate every parliamentary bill and draft regulation into each language.

In the U.S. with no official language, every language is equally official. What happens when law violators claim that they don’t have to obey laws not published in their own equally official language? Why should I have to respond to a traffic ticket not written in my language? Those claims have been made and upheld in courts in Canada and other countries with more than one official language.

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Read More at Floyd Reports By Jan Ting, Floyd Reports

With no solution in sight for Europe and new fears of a global recession, investors dumped stocks and commodities and ran to the safety of U.S. Treasurys.

Treasury yields, as a result, slipped to historic lows with the 10-year yielding 1.75 percent and the 30-year at 2.86 percent.

The dollar was also a beneficiary of a massive fear trade that sent U.S. stocks sharply lower, on the heels of steep sell-offs in equities markets around the globe.

The worst performing stock market sectors mirrored the sell-off in global commodities markets, with materials down 4.6 percent and energy stocks down 4.1 percent.

Copper, hit by concerns of a Chinese slowdown, tumbled 7 percent to a 1-year low. Gold, usually a safety play, was sold into the maelstrom as investors raised cash. The euro [EUR=X 1.3469 -0.0108 (-0.8%) ], broke below 1.35, a recent bottom of its range. It was trading in the 1.346 area, an eight-month low against the dollar. The dollar index [.DXY 78.38 1.04 (+1.34%) ] was 1.4 percent higher.

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

 Read More at CNBC By Patti Domm, CNBC

Veteran political analyst Dick Morris says he thinks Obama might “pull a Lyndon Johnson” and not run for re-election. It is a hard thing to believe but Morris’ article in The Hill newpaper this week makes the case. And I disagree.

Morris’ theory goes like this: the economy is in shambles because of (in Obama’s mind) “partisanship” and Obama must spend all his efforts to get the United States back on economic track. As evidenced by Michelle Obama’s dour expressions at the recent joint session of Congress (did you see those frowns? I did and found them very strange!) the Obama’s are not having fun as President and First Lady. Obama has not been polling well and his insistance on a sweeping liberal healthcare reform will cost the Democrats control of the Senate, meaning an Obama second term might face total Congressional control by Republicans. Thus, rather than take on the mighty tasks of fixing the economy AND running for re-election, for an office that would be dogged into the second term by rabid investigating Republicans, he punts now and leaves office with head held high. That is the theory.

I say it won’t happen. Obama is a supremely political person despite the First Lady’s public pouting. While the President is trending down in the polls, and the outlook is increasingly dangerous for him, his support is still very credible, in the 40% range, in the neighborhood of Hillary Clinton’s support during the last Presidential election. Though he can no longer claim to be the candidate of “hope,” especially to the 50% of unemployed high school graduate age young black men in every urban setting across America, he still has a strong voter base. They just might not have cars, insurance or gas money to all get to the polls for him next year.

Barack Obama is a Chicago politician and Chicago politicians don’t just give up. Jesse Jackson, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., most influentially, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin would not let Obama back away from his office – their own success (and largesse) depends too much on his Presidency. It was always a stretch to think that Barack Obama was elected on an image of “reform.” The reality is that Cook County is a petri dish for political corruption and back room deal making that has seen criminal indictments against four – yes four – living Governors of illinois, from both parties, the most recent being the incarceration of former Republican Governor George Ryan and the trial of Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich. Obama himself has not been tarred with actual claims of corruption, but his administration has, including claims of bribery involving the U.S. Senate vacancy appointment of former Senator Roland Burris as well as using White House political appointments as pay-offs for political favors. Whether Obama is personally corrupt or not, the environment in which he was “brought up” in politics was filled with corruption; and one would imagine that the job of “community organizer,” i.e., union lawyer, in the Chicago area, would not change the inputs much. Obama owes these folks in Cook County a great deal for backing him. And Barack Obama’s “machine” depends too much on him to be President – and fuel their fancies. Even if HE wanted out, THEY would not let him out.

So, unless Obama’s favorable ratings continue their decline in big statewide blue states like California to levels below the popularity of former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, I think he is in it for the long haul, one-term President or not.

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

 Read More at CA Political Review By James V. Lacy, California Political Review