IJMC - BATF, Meet the FDA

NAFTA ain't got nothing on this one...although I still don't think it 
matches my most feared merger/trade agreement...the good ole joining of 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation with International Business Machines. 
Or F.B.I.B.M. for short. Scary, however you say it...               -dave







Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Reaches Trade Agreement with Food &
Drug Administration. 

WASHINGTON, DC--The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms and the Food &
Drug Administration reached a formal trade agreement Monday. Under the
terms of the deal, the ATF will provide the FDA with alcohol, tobacco and
firearms in exchange for equal value in food and drugs. 

"My administrative assistants and I were enjoying some of our food the
other day when it hit us," FDA Commissioner Michael Friedman said. "We
have tons of food lying around, and tons of drugs, but nothing to drink,
smoke or shoot. Then, someone--I think it was [deputy commissioner] Phil
[Royce]--suggested we call up those guys at the ATF across town and see
what we could get. Turns out, they were ready to deal." 

Said ATF Director John Magaw, "You work up a powerful hunger dealing with
all this alcohol and tobacco. So when Michael told me he had some food and
drugs to offer, I told him to come over and help himself to whatever he
liked, even the firearms." 

In the deal, the FDA received 345,000 bottles of Jack Daniel's, a
quarter-million cartons of Merit Ultra Lights and 27,000 guns, including
4,300 Smith & Wesson .38 snub-nosed revolvers, 2,500 Glock .380 ACP
pistols, and 1,850 Colt Anaconda .44 Magnums. 

In return, ATF officials were permitted to pick anything they liked from
the federal fridge and national drug stash. They took 190,000 packs of
Oscar Mayer hot dogs, 25,500 pints of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice
cream, 7,200 bags of Cheetos, a half-ton of marijuana, and 300,000 kilos
of pure, uncut Colombian cocaine. 

Insiders report that the exchange, performed late last night at ATF
headquarters, was "completely satisfactory to both sides." 

"I like a beer now and then, but I'm not much of a smoker," FDA inspector
Ed Walls said. "I'm more of a food-and-drugs type of guy.  But after I
picked out a Coors Light Party Pak, I started poking around and wound up
going home with a bunch of automatic rifles and this cool grenade
launcher." 

"This is a great day for both agencies," ATF Assistant Director Wilbur
Karros said. "I can't deny that some friction has always existed between
us, usually on issues of jurisdiction--who gets what contraband, is a
bottle of absinthe considered alcohol or drugs--things like that. But now
that we've gotten together, everyone can get all the stuff they want."