Another in our series about the importance of having broad media consumption habits.  In my experience, most Liberals read lots of Liberal news — though they think it is mainstream and balanced.  Conservatives, however, tend to consume the spectrum of news (it is impossible to avoid the Leftist news, but we also read conservative analysis).

I’m not trying to prove that the mainstream media is biased.  That is like shooting fish in a barrel.  I’m challenging people to broaden their horizons and to read both sides.

So here is today’s test: How much have your news sources told you about the “Fast and Furious” debacle?  And how much would you have heard about it had a Republican administration been behind it?

Operation Fast and Furious was the name of an illegal gun trafficking sting run by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) between 2009 and 2010 as part of the Project Gunrunner. The stated purpose of the sting was to permit otherwise-suspected straw purchasers to complete the weapon’s purchase and transit to Mexico, in order to build a bigger case against Mexican criminal organizations who were suspected of being the ultimate buyer.^[1] The operation started in the fall of 2009 and ended in late 2010 shortly after the death of Brian Terry, a US Border Patrol Agent and has since become the subject of controversy and a U.S. congressional investigation. During the operation, at least 2,000 guns were released and tracked by ATF agents into Mexico, many of which have been linked to at least 150 shootings. Of the 2,000 guns knowingly released by ATF agents, only 600 have been recovered by officials. The remaining 1,400 guns have not been recovered and possibly remain in the hands of drug gangs.

See The Obama Administration’s ‘Fast and Furious’ Stonewalling for lots more.

Update: Here’s a great list of questions from commenter Cylar:

– What did Eric Holder know, and when did he know it? Is he willing to testify under oath before Congress? Why does he still have his job? ATF ultimately answers to the Atty General – that’s Holder.
– Assuming the plan had worked as intended (guns traced to heads of cartels) exactly what was ATF planning to do about drug gangs operating on the soil of a foreign country?
– Why are so many of us suspicious that the endgame was not finding drug cartel leaders at all, but rather about building a phony case for additional gun control in the US (“Look all these guns walking across the border. Time to crack down on gun sales in border states.”)
– Why is DOJ stonewalling the Congressional investigation? What do they have to hide?
– What exactly do Rep Issa and Sen Grassely (the members of Congress who are leading the investigation) plan to do with their findings? Are there sufficient grounds to force Holder to step down?
– Why did it take the death of a Border Patrol agent to make ATF realize this was a bad idea?
– Who thought it would be a good idea to arm Mexican drug gangs in the first place?
– Why were ATF agents who protested this…ignored?
– Why were gun store owners who protested this…ignored?
– Can Obama be impeached if he refuses to fire Holder?