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Machinations

Marxists, Politics

Looks like the Socialists are starting the process of ditching Biden, via the whole “illegal classified documents route” (as opposed to just handing it over to the Clintons for an accident / suicide):

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union that President Joe Biden bore “ultimate responsibility” for the classified material found at his home and office.
“Let’s be honest about it — when that information is found. It diminishes the stature of any person in possession of them. It’s not supposed to happen. Whether it was the fault of a staffer or an attorney, it makes no difference. The elected official bears ultimate responsibility.”

Yeah;  slime him, have his disciples quit on him, leave him isolated, start the process of anointing his successor (TBD, but most likely a sitting Democrat Governor).

Textbook political assassination.

Minor Leagues

Drive Time, Gratuitous Chick Pics

As Loyal Readers know, when it comes to auto racing I’m a devotee of Formula 1, with only the occasional branch line into Le Mans and WEC.

Therefore I have been unaware of the kind of driver in the “lesser” racing formats, and have therefore missed a couple of good ones.

First up, let’s look at Lindsey Brewer:

Then we have Toni Breidinger:


  

Finally, the “old lady” (b. 1989) of this genre, Shannon McIntosh:

 

I need to stop being so closed-minded about this racing thing, and broaden my horizons a little, so to speak.

Manufacturing

Entertainment, History

Am I the last man to discover the excellent War Factories series on the Eeeewww Choob?

If you haven’t watched it, kiss your weekend goodbye, as I did last weekend.

You can thank me later.

There’s also the sulky-looking and acerbic Alexandra Churchill to be seen occasionally.  She really, really hates the Nazis from the 1940s — and who can blame her?

Oh, and she’s definitely not related to WSC:

 

If this is the New Breed of Lady Historians, bring it on.

Rifle Conundrum

Boomershoot

So having taken care of my carry gun problem, I turn now to the Boomershoot 2023 ULD situation.  Unfortunately, this leads me to another fork in the road.

But first, let me take care of the easy stuff.

Rifle type (bench vs. hunting):  Almost everyone said they had the “hunting” thing taken care of.  What they wanted was a bench-type rifle.  Check.

Caliber:  a vast majority of ticket holders wanted the thing in .308 Win, and almost nobody wanted .30-06 or 6.5 Creedmoor.  Also check.

Readers who recall my experiences with the Howa HCR 1500 from last year may recall that I loved the rifle.  (Cliff Notes:  more accurate than anyone (let alone I) could shoot it, outstanding trigger — just about the perfect rifle at that price point, or indeed at almost any price point.)

So just for the hell of it, I looked at doing the Howa again, and found this situation:

And here’s where the problem comes in.  The two rifles pictures have the same silky bolt action, the same astounding trigger, and the same hammer-forged heavy barrel — in other words, mechanically they are identical.

Where they differ, of course, is in the stock setup — the Hogue is free-floated but not “chassis” based, whereas the Oryx is a true bench rifle.  (As pictured, the Hogue weighs in at about 8lbs, whereas the Oryx weighs just over 10lbs — the latter being irrelevant as it’s being fired from a bench, and heavier weight is actually a positive attribute.)

That $270 price difference, however, sticks in my craw.  (Oh, and the Hogue is available immediately, but the Oryx is on backorder at five different outlets, where I’ve put myself on a notification list, just in case.)

What say you, O My Readers?