Fast & Furious: Denouement

The Office of the Inspector General has released its findings on the Fast & Furious debacle. The short version? Everybody short of Attorney General Eric Holder has egg on the face. The report finds that Holder himself was unaware of the operation until February of 2011.

In the wake of the report, former Acting Director Kenneth Melson announced his retirement, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein resigned. Aside from the ATF Phoenix division staff, he seems to bear the brunt of the investigation's ire.

And what of Holder? He fired back today about the "baseless accusations" leading to his contempt charge from Congress, and in the eyes of the public, he's right. The Democrats claimed that Issa's investigation was a partisan witch-hunt, and this report validates that assertion.

The report calls for a wide swath of disciplinary action, though I'm not expecting much. To this day, not a single government agent has been held responsible for Brian Terry's death.

I have the whole thing mirrored here [4Mb pdf]. Their findings start on page 440, and I've condensed them below.

Borderlands 2

It's out, and it's good.

Little of Borderlands 2 will come as a surprise to those who played the first. The graphics and environments are slightly improved, but they aren't a departure. The interface is simplified, particularly regarding inventory management, and the mini-map is a welcome addition. Other than that, it's Borderlands, except it's Borderlands 2.

That's in no way a bad thing. The original game was phenomenal, but it could have used a few tweaks, which is what we've got here. There's more variety in weapons and locations, and the new classes are more versatile, particularly in weapon choice (my siren is a heck of a sniper). Co-op matchmaking is smoother, and while there's an interface for trading guns between players, it's a bit clunky.

If there's a plot to speak of, I haven't really found much of it. The Hyperion corporation has taken over Pandora, and they're mining the planet for Eridium. I know this because of the occasional earthquake, and the fact that CEO Handsome Jack chimes in with some sarcastic banter about his diamond-studded pony from time to time.

Like I said, this is Borderlands. Not Mass Effect. Not Chrono Trigger. This is a game about the giddy nihilism of blowing up ugly things with gloriously bizarre weapons so you can be rewarded with even more gloriously bizarre weapons to blow up even more ludicrous ugly things.

At that, it excels.

(Image courtesy of FPSGeneral)

Full of Derp

Maia, showing her distinctive coloring and dignified bearing.

The Big Stupid, Part II

I would think the Democrats are smart enough to leave gun control alone by now. I'd think that, but apparently, I'd be wrong. They released their 2012 platform [pdf] today, and it includes this happy little chestnut:

We recognize that the individual right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans’ Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms. We can focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening our background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements – like reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole – so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few.  [p. 18]

Well, derp. In case "reasonable regulation" and "gun show loophole" sound familiar, they're straight out of the Brady Campaign's post-Heller Handbook of Strategic Backpedaling in the Case of Epic Fail and Grasping at What Straws May Remain.

Speaking of Democrat weirdness, I had an odd moment of cognitive dissonance during Biden's speech when the crowd started chanting "four more years!" Where had I heard that before?

Oh, right--1972. Truly bizarre.