Is This Any Way To Run a Drug War? (Video)

Nick Gillespie | April 18, 2007

The Smoking Gun is turning 10 years old and they're celebrating by beefing up the video component of that invaluable source for all sorts of official, semi-official, and secret documents.

Here's a clip they're touting that will be of special interest to Reason readers--and to all opponents of the War on Drugs and stupid government in general. Watch as a Drug Enforcement Administration agent literally shoots himself in the foot with a Glock handgun while teaching Florida school kids about gun safety. "I'm the only one professional enough in this room that I know of to handle a Glock 40," boasts the agent immediately before injuring himself.

After the boom-boom, he sagely adds: "Guys: Never play with guns."

Which, if nothing else, should have made the kids glad that he wasn't teaching sex ed.

Take the rest of the morning off and check out TSG's video archive here.

Comments

|4.18.07 @ 9:38AM|#

That clip never gets old.

|4.18.07 @ 9:40AM|#

That clip is definitely one of the top five video clips of the internet age. It maybe number one. I am at a loss to think of a better one right now.

|4.18.07 @ 9:52AM|#

That is a classic, and it illustrates well the danger of guns - even trained professionals are at risk when handling them.

|4.18.07 @ 9:54AM|#

Just goes to show...that people on power trips shouldn't have guns. Nappy headed brutha' capped his own foot.

|4.18.07 @ 9:56AM|#

HoI-

LOL!

You so funny.

Goldwater Conservative|4.18.07 @ 9:59AM|#

That video has nothing on this one

|4.18.07 @ 10:00AM|#

It has finally dawned on me that HOI is a parody sock puppet. The problem is that people are so rediculous anymore, you can't tell what is satire.

|4.18.07 @ 10:05AM|#

"...and THAT'S how we LEARNED OUR LESSON!"

GinSlinger|4.18.07 @ 10:06AM|#

For the umpteenth time, John the word is ridiculous--not an "e" to be seen.

|4.18.07 @ 10:12AM|#

It has finally dawned on me that HOI is a parody sock puppet. The problem is that people are so rediculous anymore, you can't tell what is satire.

Hey, I'm not the one who suggests that a firearm accident, even a comical one, has any relevance to the War on Drugs or "stupid government".

|4.18.07 @ 10:22AM|#

Well, given that the guy who seems incapable of following even the most basic of firearms safety rules is a DEA employee, it seems to be an indictment of both.

|4.18.07 @ 10:27AM|#

For the umpteenth time, John the word is ridiculous--not an "e" to be seen.

Since I see "ridiculous" spelled "ridiculous" all the time now I suspect it will not be long before that become an accepted spelling with an entry in Websters.

|4.18.07 @ 10:28AM|#

whoa, what happened to that blog entry including the link to the debbie schlussel post?

Timothy|4.18.07 @ 10:33AM|#

HoI makes me wish for our old trolls back.

|4.18.07 @ 10:33AM|#

rediculous (re-dick-u-less) adj. to diculous or dick again.

Re: Diculous -as in the subject of the Memo, i.e. diculous behavior in the Office.

|4.18.07 @ 10:34AM|#

Tim, I am an old troll, I just have to change my handle every so often due to spoofing.

|4.18.07 @ 10:36AM|#

Definer:

Hypocracy (Hi-pock-rah-see): Insufficient governance; semi-anarchy.

|4.18.07 @ 10:41AM|#

I used to think that "hypocrisy" was the most misspelled word in blog comments sections. However, I have since concluded that "loser" is; how people came to conclude that a non-winner should be spelled the same as something that is having it's tightness reduced is bit of a mystery.

|4.18.07 @ 10:41AM|#

Isaac,

Since language is made in practice, not in theory, you may be right. There have been numerous attempts to fix the English language's archiac and confusing spelling system, most notably by Noah Webster in the late 19th Century (that is why the Red Sox and White Sox are not spelled SOCKS), they have always failed. Perhaps bad spellers such as myself will someday cause the system to be more rational.

Jack|4.18.07 @ 10:47AM|#

The Red Sox are the Sox because Harry Frazee ganked the name from a popular club called the Red Stockings because the Boston Americans weren't putting asses in the seats. Amusing anectode about early twentieth century trademark law? Yes. Relevant to the discussion? Nope!

Timothy|4.18.07 @ 10:49AM|#

Into the filter you go, doucebag!

|4.18.07 @ 11:06AM|#

Since I see "ridiculous" spelled "ridiculous" all the time now I suspect it will not be long before that become an accepted spelling with an entry in Websters.

Isaac,

Maybe I have cat-scratch fever, but did you just say that you see "ridiculous" spelled "ridiculous"? I think that Webster's may already accept "both" versions of that spelling :)

|4.18.07 @ 11:07AM|#

We need a "where are they now" follow up to that video. 50/50 whether he's been promoted, or in prison.

|4.18.07 @ 11:11AM|#

Jack,

They spell it SOX because that was sort of the new progressive way to spell it because of Noah's efforts. It was the spelling not the name that was point. Relevent? Who asked you anyway.

Joe in Tampa|4.18.07 @ 11:13AM|#

Seriously, though, that's one tough bastard. I woulda hollered.

|4.18.07 @ 11:21AM|#

Who said guns can't be hilarious?

|4.18.07 @ 11:22AM|#

We need a "where are they now" follow up to that video. 50/50 whether he's been promoted, or in prison.

Last I heard, he was filing some bullshit lawsuit because of the embarrassment the video had caused him. Apparently it didn't shame him enough to do the honorable thing and put the next cap in his head.

Rhywun|4.18.07 @ 11:27AM|#

They spell it SOX because that was sort of the new progressive way to spell it because of Noah's efforts.

Sorry to be OT... but John I just can't buy this. I've read a lot about Webster and his reforms and none of them involved introducing an irregular "x" plural of nouns ending in "k".

Jack|4.18.07 @ 11:38AM|#

John, Noah Webster died in 1843 and the Red Sox weren't named as such until 1907. If you were right the workd "socks" wouldn't exist anymore, such a lasting effect he had.

|4.18.07 @ 11:57AM|#

"Into the filter you go, doucebag!"

Seconded.

Cheers, loser.

|4.18.07 @ 12:06PM|#

You have to give the guy some credit.

he shoots himself in the foot and still maintains his composure - I'd be curled up on the floor screaming for my mommy.

|4.18.07 @ 12:14PM|#

I am offended.

|4.18.07 @ 12:22PM|#

I see "ridiculous" spelled "ridiculous" all the time

Yeah, me too.

grylliade|4.18.07 @ 12:49PM|#

There have been numerous attempts to fix the English language's archiac and confusing spelling system

Not sure that any of the more radical reforms will get off the ground, and for good reason. For example, a more phonetic spelling would obscure the connection between "electric" and "electricity." Or think about the words "catastrophe" and "catastrophic"; every vowel changes from the first word to the second, because of a change in stress. Representing these vowel changes in writing would be a pain, for not much (if any) gain in clarity.

English spelling is a much better match for the language than is commonly believed; see here for an explanation. Which isn't to say it's perfect; some improvement at the margins would help, I think, much like Webster's reforms were small enough to gain ground.

|4.18.07 @ 1:01PM|#

Will Allen: to quote one of my favorite ever comments on this blog:

The Chuck Norris of spelling | August 22, 2006, 6:41pm | #
"she is just trying to loose that looser"

I will not say this again: the word "lose" is spelled with one (1) "o" in the middle. Same with "loser." "Loose" refers to your grip on the English language. "Lose" is what you do when you play Scrabble.

You have been warned.

|4.18.07 @ 1:21PM|#

"Why the love affair with the letter "x"? The formation of the modern baseball leagues coincides, more or less, with a broad movement to simplify English spelling. The father of the movement, Noah Webster, had pushed to create a "national language" a century earlier. Webster wanted to distinguish American English from British English by correcting irregular spellings and eliminating silent letters. Some of Webster's suggestions took-"jail" for "gaol"-while others haven't caught on-"groop" for "group."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Near the turn of the century, advocacy groups like the Spelling Simplification Board pushed for spelling reform with renewed vigor; they argued that millions of dollars were wasted on printing useless letters. The editor of the Chicago Tribune, Joseph Medill, supported the idea. Medill stripped final "e"s from words like "favorite" in the pages of his newspaper and even suggested more wholesale changes that would have made written English look something like e-mail spam. In 1906, Teddy Roosevelt ordered the government printer to adopt some simplified spellings-such as replacing the suffix "-ed" with "-t" at the end of many words-for official correspondence. Congress responded by passing a bill in support of standard orthography later that year.

By the first decade of the 1900s, "sox" was already a common way to shorten "socks." The "x" version of the word frequently appeared in advertisements for hosiery, for example. And in his 1921 tome The American Language, H.L. Mencken described "sox" as a "vigorous newcomer." "The White Sox are known to all Americans; the White Socks would seem strange," he wrote.

The spelling reform movement weakened over the course of the 20th century. But by the time "sox" fell out of fashion, the baseball nicknames were already entrenched in the sports pages and in the hearts of the teams' fans."

http://www.slate.com/id/2128744/

Jack, Rywyn, No I really don't just make shit up.

|4.18.07 @ 1:24PM|#

The Chuck Norriss of Spelling pronounces the silent e that follows long vowels.

The sound is imperceptible to the human ear, but it will kill any cockroach in a thousand yard radius.

|4.18.07 @ 1:25PM|#

Oh, crap, I misspelled his name.

*glances about in panic, but concludes there is no imminent danger and relaxes*

|4.18.07 @ 1:54PM|#

R C Dean | April 18, 2007, 12:22pm | #

I see "ridiculous" spelled "ridiculous" all the time

Yeah, me too.


D'OH!!!!

Even why I try I can't spell it wrong.

|4.18.07 @ 1:54PM|#

heh

|4.18.07 @ 2:04PM|#

Not sure that any of the more radical reforms will get off the ground, and for good reason. For example, a more phonetic spelling would obscure the connection between "electric" and "electricity." Or think about the words "catastrophe" and "catastrophic"; every vowel changes from the first word to the second, because of a change in stress.

I don't see those as deal-breakers, myself.

Thuh reel prahblumz wuud bee reegihnal dyuhlekts making vowil choyss kienduh trikee and the fahkt thaht ahl fuhnehtihk spehling uhproechez look uhglee az Hehl.

|4.18.07 @ 3:49PM|#

You have to give the guy some credit.

he shoots himself in the foot and still maintains his composure - I'd be curled up on the floor screaming for my mommy.

I have to agree. At the very least, I would have said the F-word.

thoreau|4.18.07 @ 3:52PM|#

I'm learning to love the filter again.

LarryA|4.18.07 @ 4:08PM|#

That is a classic, and it illustrates well the danger of guns - even trained professionals are at risk when handling them.

There are law enforcement officers out there who are experts with firearms. OTOH there are many who are trained only on the firearm they carry, seldom practice, and who have abysmal safety skills. The way this guy handles his Glock would get him immediately booted from any civilian shooting range.

Why are LEOs considered "experts" when it comes to firearms, and not when it comes to radios and automobiles, which they use far more frequently?

he shoots himself in the foot and still maintains his composure

Does that indicate he has some experience in the process?

Gray Ghost|4.18.07 @ 4:16PM|#

And sometimes there are experts who get complacent.

Very surprising to read of such a thing from Secret Service personnel.

|4.18.07 @ 4:37PM|#

Gray Ghost,
That just made my day.

|4.18.07 @ 5:58PM|#

will-

Whachu talkin' bout, Will(is)! Hypocracy rhymes with Democracy. :o)

My all-time internet beef is "tow the line"--

|4.18.07 @ 11:35PM|#

The best part is that the 'glock 40' isn't a real gun!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glock#Table_of_Glock_pistols