Bigger Man Than I

John Green, who had just lost his nine-year-old daughter; "in a free society we’re going to be subjected to people like this; I prefer this to the alternative."


I don't think I could have made that statement, if it were me, less than 24 hours after my loss.


All in all, the shooting is a drop in the bucket compared to "the alternative".  It takes centuries for the criminal use of firearms by individual actors to catch up with "the alternative".  Centuries.  Centuries with the caveat that governments will not do any non-war killing while mere murderers catch up.  Suggested Reading.


Even war kills fewer people than "the alternative".  It takes decades of total war to catch up.  Total war, like World War Two not like what we are doing in Afghanistan.


I am a gun owner, I am OK with a goal of zero gun deaths.  It's an unattainable ideal.  The genie is well and truly out of the bottle.


I am not OK with being punished for the actions of others.


Liberty and freedom have warts.  There are some unpleasant and unpalatable side effects.  They are, on the whole, far more bearable than totalitarianism.  I'd rather have warts than lesions!

Positive Defense

Something I would like to see added to our legal system is:

Questioning the constitutionality of a law is a positive defense.

No judge should be able to dismiss this defense for any reason and it goes to the jury to decide if the defendant's lawyer has argued it well enough.

Will it take an amendment to get this or just co-opt enough judges?

That UK citizen who's been living here for decades and now wants a carry permit.

Self defense is a natural right.  It's independent of your nationality and local government.

I think that anyone here legally should be able to own a gun and carry it.

What I have a problem with is the guy getting to live here forever without joining up!

You clearly like it better here, become one of us!  Don't want to be an American?  Leave.

I think it's time to abolish "permanent alien".  Don't want them, don't need them.

The shooting... An incoherent ramble.

Edit:  I am not happy with this post.  It didn't really gel.  I should delete it, but I don't want to get into the habit of having a memory hole.

I don't know who Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) is.


I don't live in her district.


I hope she makes a full recovery.


She should not have been shot.


The thoughts I have reading some of the stories about this are not about her or the shooter.


Fox News has quoted John Lewis (D-GA) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) about how this is all very familiar to them; referring to racial violence and homophobia respectively.


Except it's not familiar from those perspectives.  Ms Pelosi is closer to the mark, Mr Lewis is 180˚ off.


Pima county's sheriff is closest to why this happened.  I got a more complete quote, he's wrong.


Mr Lewis, what direction was civil rights violence going in 1965 when you were beaten near to death?  That wasn't a constituent, that was a deputy.  It was state and local governments denying your civil rights and becoming violent when you demanded them.


Ms Pelosi, the murderer of Mayor Moscone and supervisor Milk was, apparently, not motivated by homophobia but rather just mundane and petty revenge of a relatively small slight.


What they are right about is the level of anger is because of civil rights being denied.  Property rights are civil rights.  Taxes are a concession of a small amount of property to further the common welfare via government.  Promoting the needs of those who have conceded nothing over those who have and demanding ever more from them is a civil rights issue; and those constituents have a right to be angry about it.  If their rights are continually and systematically ignored they will eventually have the right to revolt, even violently.  We're not there yet, but I can see it coming if something doesn't change soon.


The crazies are the ones who will start first.  I think that's what we saw here.  His writings and posts (if it's the same person) show that he's definitely unhappy with his representative.  What his rambling doesn't show me is that he made a considered decision based on having no other recourse to secure his rights.


But his actions don't have anything to do with the building anger and resentment in the more general populace.


The gun people are winning now, but we understand the desperate feeling of nothing we do or say seems to matter.


Things I keep hearing about from my less political friends is about the government wasting literally tons of money, illegal immigration, property rights, gas prices and taxes.  They don't like that people are paying negative taxes (getting a tax "return" when they've paid zero income tax).  They don't like that the norm for welfare is serial and multi-generational.  They don't like illegal immigrants are colonizing where they have large numbers; one gets the impression that if they were here illegally and working hard on becoming just like us we wouldn't care (but they aren't).  Kelo scared a lot of people; especially in neighborhoods like mine with a lot of empty rental properties.  Energy prices are pissing a lot of people off especially since we've been sitting on undeveloped reserves for decades.  Taxes are bothersome since so much is increasing in price that the government taking a larger percentage means we have to lower our standards of living; while watching the non-payers get an increasing amount of aid.


This anger would be abated somewhat if the mass media had not picked A side.  If there was an even mix of biased news sources, we could see both sides and come to something of an informed opinion on matters.  What we have now is biased, biased in one direction and obviously so.


I didn't say this would make sense at the beginning.  But I needed to let some of it out.  If I got it all wrong, please comment briefly.  If your comment is longer than this post, link me to your blog...

Rosecrans Military Cemetery.

I think the best way to put how to deal with the crosses there:

This is ours, not yours.  We paid for it, we own it, we will decide what is done with it.  No outsiders need apply.

I do notice that the people most worked up about it are not veterans.  You made your decision to have no voice in the matter a long time ago, live with it.  We live without the fallen, some of us live in pain of a less complete sacrifice.

If we decide those crosses no longer do honor to our comrades, we will remove them.  Until that day, you get to tolerate something that is offensive to you in the same way we tolerate so many things offensive to us.

It is not yours, you did not pay for it, you do not own even a tiny part of it, you have no say about it.  Kindly shut up.

The Irrelevancy of the Constitution

Something to remember about the Constitution is that the powers wielded by Congress, the President and the courts are given them by said document.

If it no longer limits those powers, then it no longer grants any either.

Quote of the Day

"All the government has to offer is what they take from you."

Obligations

Ammo for sale was kind enough to send me a box of .45 ACP for evaluation.

I've been entirely too busy with the holidays and #1 Son being home from school to hit the range.

Test is coming, soon.  I promise!

Timing

I don't have it.

I am getting so damn sick of the bills being monthly and the checks being bi-weekly.

With one crisis after another and the money only lining up with the due dates occasionally it gets stressful.

Another thing I am sick of is "due on receipt".  It's not really.  They have a real date that it must be paid by or extra charges will happen.  They have a real date where if it's not paid they will shut off service.

Why can't they just tell me what those dates are?  It would mean a much more orderly progression of things.

For-ex: Payday is friday.  This morning the internet was off.  I had planned on paying them Friday, when there is definitely enough money.  But they got paid today, when I am not sure if there's enough money.

Reasons the M1911A1 does not suck...

The lanyard loop and a partially extended magazine can be used as a bottle opener!

Can your plastic fantastic do that?

Edit: I totally forgot to tip my hat to Tam about this.

Fair Trade

This is a retread of a post from my now defunct LiveJournal


I was reading Bill Whittle the other day and he hit on a simple truth; Fair trade is simply giving something that someone else wants for something you want.  As long as you both get what you want, there is no problem.

If someone asks for more than I am willing to trade for something they have, again no problem.  I don't get what I want because they don't get what they want.

If I offer far more than they would have asked, once again no problem.  We are both getting what we want, they are just getting more than they expected.

If I offer far less than I expect to get the item for, and they accept, no problem.  We both get what we want, I am just getting more than expected.

If I pay far more for something than the previous or next guy, no problem.  There is nothing that says that value is absolute.  And a seller who cranks up the price because I belong to a group I am member of is telling me that they do not want my business.

Problems surface when I demand the item for less than the seller is willing to part with it, or the seller demands more than I am willing to pay and we are forced to make the sale anyway.

Imagine gasoline being $5.75 a gallon and having to buy 30 gallons a week regardless of how much you use.
This is great for the seller if the market value of a gallon of gas is less than $5.75, especially if very few customers buy 30 gallons of gas a week.
This is great for the buyer if the market value of a gallon of gas is more than $5.75 and they use 30 gallons a week.
It is better than ideal if market value of a gallon is more than $5.75 and you use less than 30 gallons, and you can sell your surplus.
It is ideal if the market value is $5.75 and they use 30 gallons a week anyway.
It is neutral if the market value is $5.75 and they use more than 30 gallons a week.
It is less than ideal if market value of a gallon is $5.75 and you use less than 30 gallons, but  you can sell your surplus.
It is less than ideal for the seller if the market value is more than $5.75 a gallon and many customers use more than 30 gallons a week.
It sucks for the seller if the market value is more than $5.75 a gallon, with many customers using more than 30 gallons a week and customers can sell their excesses to each other.
This sucks for the buyer if market value is less than $5.75 and they use less than 30 gallons a week regardless of being able to sell the excess.
This sucks for the buyer regardless of market value if they use less than 30 gallons a week and are not allowed to sell the excess, especially if they use far less than 30 gallons a week.
This sucks for the seller if the market value of a gallon is more than $5.75 and most customers use 30 gallons per week.

And there are other combinations and permutations I have not listed.

Now, if you enter into an agreement to buy 30 gallons a week at $5.75 a gallon for the next year, you have agreed to spend $8,790 and take delivery of 1,560 gallons of gas regardless of whether you can use or store that much (we'll assume that you can afford to spend $172.50 a week).  The person selling the gas has agreed to give you 1,560 gallons of gas for $8,790.  In this arraingement, you are hoping the price of a gallon goes higher than $5.75, and the seller is hoping the price falls below $5.75 because $5.75 is what is going to be spent for this transaction.  If the price goes higher, you can sell your gas for a profit, if it goes lower the seller makes a profit selling to you.  Welcome to the commodities market!

Now, imagine that gas sells for $5.75, but it's only $3.00 at the pump, with the government paying the seller $2.75 on every gallon.  This is a subsidy.  $3 a gallon?  What a deal!  Except, where does the government get $2.75 a gallon?  Your taxes, of course.  This is great if you pay fewer taxes than $2.75 times the gallons of gas you buy.  This sucks if  you pay more taxes than $2.75 times the gallons of gas you buy.  Notice that I said that "gas sells for" and not "gas costs"?  There are several commodities in the US where the price per unit is fixed and the government makes up the difference if the market value is below the fix point, corn for example.  The government pays the difference between the market value of corn and $2.50 a bushel.  So, even if corn is $0.01 a bushel, it sells at $2.50, with the government paying the farmer $2.49 and the buyer paying $0.01.  Why doesn't the buyer have to pay $2.50?  Because if he did, he would buy from overseas where it's still $0.01!  Why not just charge a tarriff on the imported corn?  Because the farmer here can't live on the fair market value his crop produces, so a tarriff would drive him out of business and we'd be buying imported corn anyway.  The question here is: Is it worth it to keep US farmers farming?

Isn't economics fun?

A sticky wicket

Everyone KNOWS the American Civil War was about slavery.  Right?

Kinda.

Slavery was a component, but it had a lot more to do with the northern states telling the southern states what they were going to do about slavery than the actual slavery itself.

Maneuvering about how new territories were to decide whether slavery would be legal there or not had a lot to do with it as well.  There was a real concern that the new territories would become states and then simply outvote the slave states on the matter.  Massachusetts splitting Maine off as its own state just to get (prevent the slave states from getting one up really) more abolition votes reinforced the position.

Pressure was maintained on the issue until the southern states felt they had literally nothing to lose and everything to gain by leaving.  They felt they had no options besides the path taken to have any chance at all at deciding their own fate.

If only the thing that we were talking about wasn't the horrible institution of chattel slavery.

But there's also things like messing with the price of cotton through tariffs and export restrictions.

Things like Texas that had only just left Mexico over the very matter of self-determination.

Things like Florida having quite recently being Spain and not liking the return of the dictatorial air from afar.

The war wasn't really about slavery to the everyday soldier until the emancipation proclamation.  To the Union it was about preserving the union; to the Confederates it was about deciding how (and by whom) they would be governed at a national level.

Slavery was dying on its own too.  Advances in agricultural technology were making it obsolete.  The Jim Crow version of slavery (sharecropping) didn't survive the technological advances either.  Brazil is a good proof of how slavery died in western civilization.

While we're talking about how evil slavery is, we should also consider the working conditions of an immigrant worker in a factory in, say, Pittsburg or New York City.  Some of those bog-Irish might have considered a slave's "lifestyle" to be a step up.

Rejoice?

New made, relatively modern, .45 Colt double actions.

S&W lists their Model 25 in blue and stainless.

Ruger lists a version of their Redhawk for it too.

Why no Anaconda, Colt?

Some odd things.

Fractions are more precise and concise than the decimal representation of them much of the time.

Digital gauges are easier to read quickly, but analog gauges give a better sense of rate-change.  This is why we have electronic gauges that show a needle on a LCD display.  Both are only as accurate as the sensor reading the condition they are measuring.

First post of the new year.

And the first post of the second decade of the 21st century!

Contracts:  If the contract is more complicated than:

Party A will supply X currency to Party B for Y product or service to be delivered in Z time-frame.

Someone is trying to screw someone.

Really.

Most of what's in a contract is there because of people trying to get out of paying or delivering.  The only people who benefit from that are lawyers, not the parties to the contract at all.

The M1911 debate

I had a long, impassioned, researched and linked post about how the M-1911A1 doesn't suck all written and ready to post.  It's still in drafts as a matter of fact.

I am not going to post it.

It will not change anyone's mind on the matter.

The original thread that was posted is clearly an attempt to stir things up by making people angry.  A troll.  We should not feed the blue trolls as well as the red.

Translated from the original German, I am sure.

Manditory DUI check-point.  Hat-Tip: Jay G.

For your own good, of course.

Fuck your rights, this is for safety.

I am willing to bet that that more than two thirds of the people who will be busted in such a checkpoint will be illegally operating a vehicle without a license from a prior DUI charge.  Fix that problem first and I will consider your new fascist check points.

The next, gigantic problem we have with DUI is thanks to groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  Do you know why the old legal standard was a blood alcohol content of 0.010?  Because that was the BAC where most people's reaction speed and judgement become impaired.

MADD's campaign was to get harsh about punishing people caught legally drunk.  That part worked.  The number of people caught DUI went way down.  The drunk drivers did not get craftier about avoiding the police, unless you count them getting a designated driver, calling a cab or letting it get out of their system before driving.

A busy-body advocate's worst nightmare is their program succeeding; so MADD demanded that BAC be reduced to 0.008.  Lo and behold! more people got busted with DUI again!  Just like before, people changed their habits and arrests dropped back to where they were prior to the change.

MADD has advocated that we now change BAC to 0.005.  Fortunately this has not yet flown; but they are out there trying to find validity.  The only thing that shows they are right is numerous arrests for DUI; they need that to promote their new prohibition.

At present, people who are between 0.008 and 0.010 are hard to spot.  Most busts in this realm are from the officer noticing the smell of alcohol after pulling the driver over for a different primary offense, like speeding or a light out.  Remember what I said about impairment starting at 0.010?

To get more busts, they have to pull more people over who are not obviously impaired.  Enter the DUI check-point.

These are not new around here (Tampa area) the judge on hand is the new part.  What they also do when they ask you to blow is enquire about guns, drugs or other things and then decide if you are acting twitchy enough to search your car.  This is all excuse upon excuse to disregard my 4th and 5th amendment enumerated rights.  Apparently, to a modern fascist, driving on a road on a particular day at a particular time is probable cause.  I do not agree that since everyone is treated the same here that it is not a violation of individual rights, it's just a serial violation of them.

Try it this way [white robe on] "As long as we treat ALL [CENSORED] this way, it's OK?" [white robe off]

Still racist, isn't it?

When will it be time to slit throats?

On Not Selling Guns to Californians

There are a few companies that don't sell firearms to Californian customers.

This upsets quite a few people, mostly Californians.

I don't think the boycott is doing anything to help the situation, but I understand the "let them sink" feeling.

What would have an effect would be a refusal to sell to government agencies in California.  Imagine if Glock refused to sell to Californian police agencies unless they would allow sales to normal citizens of the same guns.

Might just change some things.

Same goes for NY(f)C or Massachusetts.

XM Radio

My car came with a free sample of XM when I bought it.

I liked it enough to keep the service for almost three years.

In October, I decided that it was too much money for a luxury item and called to have it cancelled.  The cheery girl on the phone said "no problem" and it would be taken care of.

Just about this time, my bank sent a new debit card.  They'd decided to change from Visa to Master Card.

I had read on the Corvette Forum that the only way to get XM to stop charging a card was to get a new number, so my cancellation became an experiment.

Lo and behold!  I start getting letters and emails telling me that they were unable to process my account information because the (old) card number was being rejected.

So I called back and reminded them I had cancelled.  "We don't have a record of that call..." of course you don't.  No record of the call in October, November and I'm willing to bet December when I call, again, in January.

Every time I call they remind me I owe them for the months after the cancellation I they didn't record.  This is a classic, "not my problem when you screw up".  I reaffirmed that I am not going to be held liable for their error and will not be mailing them a check.

Someday there will be a class action suit over their business practices.  I will gladly join in that suit and collect whatever small crumb is left after the lawyers are paid.

You're darn tootin' I'm angry!

Two years in a row, the registration for my car has gone up 50%.
Every year my car insurance goes up 10%.
Every year my house insurance goes up 10-15%.
Gasoline has gone up 30% in the last year.
Bread has gone up 29% in the last year.
Hamburger has gone up 22% in the last year.

Explain to me where we get "less than 2% annual inflation" from that?

The household income sure as heck isn't going up as fast as the bills and almost all of them increasing from government mandate rather than market pressure.

Semi-Auto Versus Revolver for the Beginner

Jay G has been asked about what would be a good first gun.

One of his commenters has stated the new shooter should get a revolver, because it's simpler and the 1911 is too complicated for a novice.

The 1911 is just fine for a first gun.  I watched over 200 people who'd never fired a gun before learn to disassemble, assemble, fire and clean a 1911 in less than a week.

It was called basic training (OSUT to be nitpicky)

If we'd just offer to TEACH the new people asking about semi-autos instead of dispensing "a semi-auto is too complicated for you, kid," from our Ivory Towers™ we'd have a lot more shooters.

There is nothing about the 1911 that is so complicated that a novice cannot get a functional level of skill in an afternoon.

I am not pulling this out of my rectal cavity either.  There's a reason that the police's scores improved dramatically when the change-over from wheel-guns to autos started in the '80s.  A single action semi is much easier to shoot well than a double action, making the initial shots more likely to be successful giving an more immediate reward to our novice shooter encouraging them to continue shooting rather than saying, "this is too hard," and quitting.  Leaving their "simple" revolver to gather dust in a drawer someplace.

I've taught lots of people how to shoot.  Not a single one has been overwhelmed by the complexity of the extra controls on an auto as compared to a revolver.

Most of the people I've taught to shoot I've taken to the range and let them fire a few rounds from every type I have.  Revolvers and automatics.  None of my students, save one, bought a revolver (and she later changed over to an auto when she found one she could operate; I mentioned her here).

I've watched others teaching their friends and families to shoot as well.  All but a couple of my "students" are still shooting.  A sad majority of the people taught by others are not.

Why?

Forcing the pupil to buy a gun that doesn't suit them is the number one reason; and the number one wrong gun is a snub-nosed revolver.

Why is that a wrong gun?  Double action is harder to shoot well with, short sight radii are harder to shoot well with, and lighter guns recoil more unpleasantly.  This is compounded by the super light .357's that are available.  I believe Jay calls his the "snubbie from hell".  The snubbie I carry from time to time is a S&W 640, hammerless and stainless.  It's unpleasant to fire full power loads with, but it's still more pleasant than the alloy 642 with normal .38 Special loads.

I will not take the position that a revolver is never the right gun.  A snubbie is not always the wrong gun.  I carry one!  I have just found that most people can readily learn an automatic and quickly become proficient with one, even a 1911.  Truth be told, not one of my pupils has ever bought a 1911 because they find John Browning's masterpiece to be "too damn heavy".

My recommendation to the new (handgun) shooter is:

0. Decide what you want the gun to do for you.  You may be in love with a .44 Mag that fits 1 through 3, but it's not a good choice for conceal carry under most conditions.
1. Find a gun that fits your hand.
2. Find a model of that gun chambered for "at least" .380 ACP.
3. Make sure you are comfortable firing it in the selected chambering and are comfortable with the controls.  More than once I've had the student go for a 9mm over a .380 because locked breeches have lighter springs than blow-back; making them easier to manipulate.
4. Get to the range and practice!  Pretty soon you will not be a new shooter.

Nerf!

We have Nerf® weapons!

Mine is a mag-fed pump action modular design.

Harvey's (wife's nickname, long story) is BELT FED!  We've only managed to lose one foam dart so far.

The interesting thing about mine is the instructions include a bit on how to work iron sights.  The vernier sights are, um, optimistic.  I can crank it up so far that it looks like I am launching a grenade, and it doesn't increase the range over direct fire more than a foot.

Gun toys are the bestest!

A week late to the bandwagon, but hey...

Every Question and Answer Session on an Internet Gun Forum Part 1

Every Question and Answer Session on an Internet Gun Forum Part 2

Every Question and Answer Session on an Internet Gun Forum Part 3

SWAT Sniper

Internet Gun Transaction: Typical Type: 1 Each

History made amusing.

The audio can be a bit weak, but it's worth a watch.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Christmas Eve!

Not "Holiday's Eve"!

We don't say happy holidays for MLK Day, Groundhog Day, Valentines Day, President's Day, St Patrick's Day, April Fool's Day, Earth (spit) Day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Father's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween,  Veteran's Day or Thanksgiving.

Unless we mean Christmas and New Years when we say "Happy Holidays!"  But I don't think we do.

Oh, but it's teh evol Xtians!  OK, we can't say Christmas because 76% of the nation is Christian, 3.9% has a different religion, 15% have no religion and 5.2% refuse to say.  Kids, this is not like saying 'CENSORED' or 'CENSORED' or 'CENSORED' or 'CENSORED'.  Merry Christmas has not ever been used as an insult or slur by a Christian.  They are merely wishing you well, why do you resent it so?  Does it burn?  No.  Are you worried that being wished a merry Christmas will somehow compromise your belief that there is no Christian God?  If so, how weak is your faith?

But I say that Christmas is as religious in the US as St Patrick's or St Valentine's days.  It's not about when Jesus was born (which probably wasn't in December because that's not when the Romans did the get back to your home village for census and tax reasons); it's about family and friends and getting together to strengthen and renew those bonds.

So Merry Christmas!

From an Atheist married to a Pagan no less!

What makes a "good" 1911.

I am not going to compare brands.

We're going to assume for the sake of discussion that quality is moot.  You've chosen a brand that you like and trust.

What features are must have?

What got me to thinking about this was a link to Kimber's Desert Warrior.  It's real similar to Springfield Armory's Full-Size MC Operator.  It's got a railed dust cover, ambidextrous safety, extended grip safety, skeletonized hammer, extended trigger and more visible sights.  Everything you could need or want, right?

All I want over an issue USGI M1911A1 is sights that are easier to see.  Honest.

I know that this is a contentious issue.  But what do you like and why?  You don't get to tell someone else they are wrong; just state your preference.

Missed the point

I don't think I made my point clearly about regulatory agencies.

What they are doing is legislating, all are part of the executive branch.  That's not the executive branch's job; that's the legislative branch's job.  You know, Congress?

WMD

Remember when "WMD" meant real weapons of mass destruction like nuclear, biological and chemical?

I hear a 40mm grenade LAUNCHER now qualifies (don't even need 40mm grenades for it).

A thought

I read that the Department of Homeland Security will begin to start protecting us from glow bull warmering.

Just taking it on themselves to start regulating without a law to enforce.

I see this a great deal with government agencies.

It's called mission creep in some circles.

What we have is Congress not doing their jobs and pawning it off on the agency tasked with enforcing the laws.  They make regulations that are supposed to have the effect of enforcing the law.

My favorite example is BATFE and there are oh so many examples.

Let's start with the form 4473.  Where is the law that says you have to fill this thing out?  There isn't one.  What it is for is to keep prohibited people from buying guns.  The law about that says who cannot own a gun, and you answer Y-E-S or N-O to each of the disqualifying  things.

Not that a felon would lie or anything.  Thanks to the Brady Act, we have NICS.  NICS checks to see if you were being honest with your answers.  Why do we still have the form?

If we are going to have such a thing as a NICS, we should just call them up, give them our name  and address and it should give a GO/NO-GO for the sale.  No need for a paper record at all to satisfy the law.

Next is anything having to do with the National Firearms Act (NFA).  The law says I have to pay a tax to buy or make something regulated by the NFA.  But there's no law requiring the extensive background check.  It should be send in the $200, pass NICS and collect my gun.

There's lots more.

The real solution is to end regulatory agencies altogether.

Short Barrels

Three of the AR projects I have require short barrels.

The XM177E2 is finished and has its tax stamp.  11.5" barrel with a 4.5" moderator on it, so it's actually just 5/8" shorter than 16" overall.

Kaylee (mentioned earlier) and Cheyenne (wife's retroish gun) will both be needing 14.5" pencil barrels.

Kaylee is going to be a clone of an IDF gun and Cheyenne is based on the carbine carried by SSG Barnes in "Platoon"

This is all just for looks.  A 16" barrel looks just a little too long, especially in pencil weights.

Cheyenne will have some "farbs".  The gun from "Platoon" is a Philippine R653P.  It should be gray anodizing; not black and shouldn't have the brass deflector.

Kaylee might have farbs, but with the way the IDF mixes and matches parts; I don't think you'd ever know.  There's a lot of choices for barrels, the IDF uses 14.5" pencil profile, 14.5" M4 profile and has been known to cut down an M16A1 barrel to 13" and reprofile it for a carbine gas system.

All for looks...

The overall lengths are not shortened enough to really make them all that much more handy.  The weight removed is nearly negligible.  It definitely reduces muzzle velocity.  Seems like a losing proposition.  But they will look right.  Proper proportions and all.

Perhaps in the future a 9mm AR SBR will have to be done!  At least a 10" barrel in 9mm is an improvement over how most 9mm's are.

A swing and a miss!

Gov Christie Commutes Brian Aitken's Sentence

While it's great that Mr Aitken is out of jail, he's still a felon with a commutation.

Pardon is the word you were looking for Gov Christie.

Especially since the judge appears to have instructed the jury to ignore the law.

Gang oft aglave

I had intended to hit the range and test a box of .45 ACP ammo from the nice people at Ammo For Sale today.

Someone committed suicide in one of the stalls at the range I am a member of.  They are closed today to allow things to be investigated.

I got a new driver's license today instead.

I am now Real ID compliant!  Yippie, skippy.  I also notice it seems to take more documentation to get an operator's license in Florida than to be elected to the presidency.  I needed the old license, a birth certificate, Social Security card, and two proofs of residency (bank statement and voter registration card).  I am now legal to drive for eight more years.  I remember when I had a choice between a 2 year and 4 year license, now they only choice is 8.

Slave reparations.

It's a touchy subject.

Especially so since approximately 360,000 men paid the fullest price to end slavery.

In my mind the former slaves owe them for the gift of freedom.  From what I read, it was appreciated by everyone who'd actually been a slave.

Are there any still alive?

What we are talking about when we are talking about slave reparations are really Jim Crow reparations!

The injustice of slavery was made good by the sacrifices of the Civil War.  Paid in full.

Jim Crow started after the war.  Those laws are why we have a 14th and 15th amendments.

What you need to ask yourself is, what party passed all those laws and have they made amends?  Have they even apologized?  Didn't they honor an unrepentant Klansman when he died AFTER DECADES OF BEING IN OFFICE?

Or did they blame someone else?

This is why I am angry about the idea.  It wasn't me who harmed the descendants of slaves.  I did not vote for or support the people who did and do.  But it will sure as hell be me who's going to be paying for it, isn't it?  I don't like blame shifting.  I don't like the innocent being punished.  I don't believe that punishing me for the sins of my ancestors is just, for the same reason that enslaving someone because their ancestors were slaves is unjust.

I also don't like the precedent.  If this flies, how long before we have woman's reparations?  Gay reparations?  Irish reparations?  Indian?  Jewish?  Mormon?  The guilty got away and imposing an injustice on the innocent is nothing more than a new injustice.  Two wrongs do not make a right.

EDIT:

I am a firm believer in the premise that if you are going to punish me for something I have not done; I have nothing to lose by doing the thing I have been punished for.  I have to wonder how many racists are so because they'd been treated so.  The phenomenon is real, I've known several people who didn't care about homosexuals until they'd been punished for "gay bashing"; they sure as hell care now, and not in a pro-gay way.

If you are out to punish someone for injustice, make certain you get the guilty.  Punishing the innocent just gets you resentment and breeds more of what you are trying to stop.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy: the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.

Hypocrite: a person who indulges in hypocrisy.

I am extremely touchy about being accused of being a hypocrite.  The reason, I think, stems from failing to live up to the standards I set for myself for so long.  My behavior for a long time is what I would consider to be immoral today.  Breaking those habits was not easy and I failed a great deal.

I am not sure I was a hypocrite because I believed in the morality I espoused and recognized my failing as being wrong; and I tried to make amends when I fell short.  But my actions were not in accord with my beliefs.

I am a better person today than I was then.

Teaching Gurls Ta Shoot

Since I am the person all of my friends know as "the gun guy" it's fallen to me to teach many of them how to shoot; nearly always a handgun.

I like to take my student out with one of my guns first.  If they're having some fun and want to keep going the next stop is a gun show.  Then I have them handle every single gun in the place.  I figure if they buy one that doesn't fit, they will not shoot it and then never get any good at it.

I try to insist that they pick at least a .380 ACP.  I don't think that .25 ACP or .32 ACP have enough zip to be counted on.  So far it's been .38 Special, 9x19mm, .357 SIG and .40 S&W.  Only twice have they picked a gun I would have bought for myself.

So far all but one has picked an auto, and she's a special case.  The very first handgun I ever fired was an auto, my dad's Bauer .25.  In basic training we trained on the M1911A1 and the M9.  I figure if a recruit can learn auto without trouble, than it's within the reach of most anyone.

The only time I've recommended a snubbie revolver; the woman in question has nerve damage in her "strong" hand and literally cannot work the slide on an auto.  Her good hand is her weak side, so we had to teach her to shoot with her off-hand from day one.  There's damage to her shoulder so we had to get her as light a gun as possible too.  We ended up with a S&W 642; alloy frame hammerless.  The DAO trigger was very trying for her and the recoil from standard .38 was just about all she could take.  But she put a lot of effort into it and became a fair shot after that.  She later discovered that she can work a tip-up barrel Beretta Tomcat in .32 ACP and since it's lighter and has less recoil, that's what she carries now.

So far everyone has succeeded in learning.  I am not teaching tactical shooting, just basic gun-handling and marksmanship.  Two of my students have gone on to get their carry permits.  Only one has stopped shooting.  I consider that success; more shooters are better than fewer.

Name that party!

What was the party affiliation of the US President who raised an army and fought a war that ended chattel, race based, slavery?

What was the party affiliation of the US President who sent armed troops to ensure that black children could attend a previously all white school?

What was the dominate party in the former Confederate states that passed the so-called "Jim Crow" laws?

Exercise!

Today is Bill of Rights Day!

Get thee hence and exercise your enumerated rights!

Print a hand bill.  Worship your God or Gods or not.

Buy, own or carry a firearm.

Kick a soldier out of your house, if you want to.

Lock the cops out of your house.

Don't talk to lawyers or judges.

Depend on the opinion of your peers, with a free lawyer.

Depend on the opinion of your peers over big money, more than $20!

Get out of jail, cheap.  Receive the same sentence as anyone else (likely for trusting your peers and using a free lawyer).

Do something not mentioned here.

Twice, but let your state government do it too.

PS: I miss you Mom.

Catastrophic, Anthropomorphic, Global Climate Change

First, the closest star is a main sequence variable; its output will vary.  Literally by definition.

Second, because of our proximity to this star, the climate will ever be in flux.

Third, that means that while the changes may, indeed, be catastrophic, they are very unlikely to be anthropomorphic.

I've said it for years.

I note that the coldest winter I can recall since I moved to the Gunshine State is occurring right after the sun made almost no sunspots for better than a year.

Either that or what recycling and carbon crediting we did worked beyond our wildest imaginations.

I'm still betting on the sun.

On being a car guy...

The funniest thing I can hear about a car is "parts are no longer available" when talking about a common, popular car.

Especially wear items.

Perhaps Ford stopped stocking them, but Autozone has them.  Betcha, betcha.  Nine times out of ten they are identical quality and cheaper too.

I'm a hot-rodder.  Parts abound!  Of course, you have to take the time to learn about your car, find out what other lines used the same part, become buddies with the local junk yard, make contact with a club or forum about your car, etc...

A good example would be the front wheel hubs on an '88 Fiero.  If you go to a GM dealer, discontinued.  Places like Autozone don't carry them.  If you are lucky, you can find a decent set at a salvage yard.  But nothing new, right?  Wrong.  If you join the Fiero Forum and complain about not being able to find new hubs, you will be directed at The Fiero Store and they will be happy to sell you new ones they contracted to be made.

The Pontiac Fiero was not a high volume production car.  The last year of production, 1988, has many items that are unique to it.  Luckily there's a cult following.

But some cars, like a Ford Crown Victoria or Chevy Malibu were fleet queens.  There were thousands upon thousands made.  Anything that's a cop car or taxi has amazing parts support from the aftermarket.

The aftermarket routinely generates better parts than OEM too.  Front steering components on my dear B-Body are in this realm.  Moog mades a "problem solver" line that lasts as long as GM claimed theirs did.

So, if you love your car, don't give up on her!  Learn how to fix it, learn where to get parts, buy some tools, and get wrenching!  You'll save tons of cash in the long run too.

And yet, nobody was killed.

The FAA lost track of 132k aircraft registrations and life has been normal.   Makes me wonder if the registration was at all needed!