Tag: Stupid people

Double Whammy

Anti-Gun Nannies, Patriotism

I know it was just a coincidence, but these two headlines came one after the other at Townhall.com last Thursday, and the combination thereof has pissed me off mightily, for two different reasons.

Here’s the first:

Dem Congresswoman: Musk Can’t Be Trusted Because He’s an Immigrant

…because he’s only been here for 22 years, you see, so naturally his patriotism must be suspect.

Well fuck you all to death, Congresswoman Kapur.  Like Elon Musk, I’m a naturalized U.S. citizen (since 1990, i.e. 34 years ago), and I was living here for four years before that.  That’s nearly five decades, you fucking socialist sow, and I’ll tell you what:  I’ll put my (and Elon’s) patriotism ahead of yours, for one, any day of the week.

You see, Musk and I have a lot in common.  We were both born into the same racially-stricken society.  He left to get away from it, while I (briefly) struggled against it — by lawful means, of course — but left because I could see no solution to the problem that would not involve pain and bloodshed.  We both arrived in this country legally, and both made our respective ways as productive, law-abiding citizens (he a lot more successfully than I, but that’s the way it goes).  What we came to was the promise of America, where everyone was equal under the law, and had the freedom to seek the happiness and success that would probably have been denied to us in our country of birth.  Our story, or its foundation, is no different from millions of others, and what the country has come to mean is a place which has absolutely replaced any allegiance to another, and instilled in us a lasting gratitude for the opportunities we were able to grasp.  Our patriotism is not one that we were born into, but one we chose — and in all fairness, it may run still deeper in us than in many native-born Americans.  We were not changed by the “magic dirt” of the United States;  we found that magic for ourselves, and I bitterly resent your belittlement of our patriotism.

Then there’s this little slur (behind a paywall,sorry,  but the headline says it all):

Violence Policy Center Tries to Paint Citizens Carrying Concealed as Threat

Fuck me, another country heard from.

Listen, assholes:  I am a gun owner who carries a gun, and I can say categorically that the only person who could ever be “threatened” by my gun is someone who wants to do me or mine harm.  In other words, it would be a reaction to a threat, and not a threat to others.

I came from a country where not everyone was “allowed” to own a gun, because there was absolutely no Second (or First, or any other) Amendment.  And guess who was denied that right?  Yeah, Black people.  That’s how oppression was maintained, and it was one I fled as rapidly as Elon Musk did.  And the only way my right to own a gun (or carry;  the two are indistinguishable) might ever be a “threat” is to those who would deny me that right.  Or to threaten me with violence, in any form, whether felonious or State-inspired.

That’s it.  End of sentence, end of statement, end of story.  Leave me alone, and all will be well.  The alternative is your choice.

These people — both groups (and there is considerable overlap between the two) — make me fucking sick, projecting their fears and their prejudices onto me and others like me.  I won’t stand for it, and I will fully exercise my First Amendment right to make statements like the above.

Fuck you, all of you.

Touching History

History

When we used to travel with the kids back in the early 2000s, I was always keen on exposing them to history and its various artefacts.  One time the Son&Heir commented on the age of a church in, I think, Salzburg, noting that the date of its build was something like 1124 AD;  whereupon I pointed out  that this was one of the benefits of knowing a foreign language, in that the church had been rebuilt (or else renovated) in 1124 AD, but its original completion date was some time earlier, around 980 AD.  He was duly impressed by its age, less so by my familiarity with German (that came later).

Another example is when we took them to Dachau, where they saw at first hand evidence of the disgusting atrocities inflicted on the prisoners by the Nazis, and after we’d finished walking around, we told the kids this:  “We brought you here so that when sometime in the future people might say this never happened, you will know the truth of it.”

Touching history.

But that’s not what I really wanted to talk about today.  There’s another kind of “touching history” which is a lot more common, and that involves rubbing up against fame.

In its most innocent form, this includes modern customs like taking photos of oneself with someone famous (“selfies”), getting the autograph of some “celebrity”, or holding out one’s hand to the celebrity as they pass by for a “high five” or “fist bump”.  When I  see this nonsense taking place, it reminds me of nothing so much as the New Testament story of people saying to Jesus, “Only let me touch your garment and I shall be healed” — as though simply being in the presence of a person of greater distinction will somehow boost the stature or wellbeing of the supplicant.

What really annoys me is when the request is refused and the exchange turns nasty, like the “celebrity” is somehow “too good” to grant so small a wish.  Well, yes;  except that said request is often just the latest of many thousands that the hapless celebrity has had thrown at them, and, well, enough is enough.

I encountered such an occasion once, back when I was somewhat more well-known than I am today.  In my travels I met up with a Reader for a cup of coffee in his home town, which was all very pleasant.  Afterwards, he told me he had a gun to show me — and of course I never turn down that kind of opportunity.  As it happened, it was an M1 Garand, and from its serial number I guessed its date of manufacture at about 1942 or ’43.  (Lucky guess:  1943, as the owner told me proudly.)  But that wasn’t its value.  Its value lay in its appearance;  not to put to fine a point on it, the rifle looked as though it had just left the factory the day before, and it hadn’t been reconditioned, either.  It was in absolute pristine condition, and I confess to having to wipe a small stream of drool from my mouth.

Then the guy pulled out a Sharpie and asked me to autograph its stock.

Look;  it’s not like I was Carlos Hathcock or Jeff Cooper, or even (especially) the WWII vet to whom it had first been issued.  I was, and am, just an ordinary guy who writes a blog about guns, and in no way did I feel that my signature should desecrate that extraordinary rifle.  It’s not like my autograph would enhance its value, after all — in fact, it would more than likely halve its collector appeal.

So I refused to sign the rifle;  and I will never forget the look of disappointment — followed by actual anger — on the guy’s face, and our meeting ended on a sour note.

There’s another kind of touching history, of course, and this is the expensive kind.  Modern history is replete with examples of things becoming extraordinarily valuable simply because of an item’s provenance.  You’ve all seen them:  Paul Newman’s wristwatch (Breitling? Rolex?  I forget), Steve McQueen’s E-type Jag, and the latest example, this Fender Telecaster once owned by glam rocker Marc Bolan and thereafter by Mike Oldfied, who played it on Tubular Bells.  Now let’s be honest;  a 1960 Telecaster has a great deal of intrinsic value all by itself — it’s probably worth at least five or six grand, simply because of its rarity, and they were somewhat better made than those manufactured after the CBS sellout of the 1970s (less so today, though).  But somehow, its value has been transformed by its provenance and it’s now worth close to $40 grand?

Let’s not even talk about the Ferrari 250 LM which, having won the 24-Hour Le Mans race back in 1960 or whenever, recently sold for over $60 million at auction.  I mean, really?

It’s not like you’re going to drive that thing around on the street, anyway;  your insurance company will have a collective heart attack just upon hearing about it, and there would be mass suicides if it was totaled on L.A.’s 405 or Dallas’s Central Expressway by some unlicensed Mexican driving a gardener’s truck.  (And, as Ex-Drummer Knob puts it, all those old Ferraris are total pigs to drive, regardless of how pretty they look, and he knows what he’s talking about*.)

I know, I know;  a lot of “collector appeal” is driven by ego, and if you can afford to indulge yourself, be my guest.  I know too that a lot of “collectibles” are regarded simply as investments, and once again, if you’re prepared to put up with the risk, be my guest too.

But I can’t help feeling that a lot of “provenance” value is driven by possessiveness — that childish attitude of “I have it, and you don’t”.  And as Russell Crowe’s character in A Good Year  asked his boss (the owner of an original Van Gogh, who kept it locked away in a vault because of its incredible value):  “How often do you look at it?”

It’s little better than showing off your selfie with Lewis Hamilton to your buddies:  “I stood next to him, and you didn’t.”

That’s some pretty pointless validation of yourself there, isn’t it?

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Quote Of The Day

Bureaucracy, QOTD

“25 million individuals over age 100 remain in the Social Security database even though there are fewer than 100,000 people aged 100 or older alive in the U.S. today.” — DOGE

Let’s hear it for Gummint efficiency.  And if it’s not inefficiency… then it’s fucking fraud, and the recipients of said fraudulent payouts need to go to jail.

And while we’re there, the people responsible for checking for and preventing such anomalies should be fired.

Okay, Congressman

Anti-Gun Nannies, Resistance

Here’s an interesting take:

Congressman Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) reminded the country last week why the Second Amendment is so vital to the United States.

The former Long Beach mayor called on the Democratic Party to “bring actual weapons” in the “fight for democracy.”

So you’ll bring your “actual” weapons to fight for democracy — what you call democracy, at any rate.

Challenge accepted.  Be White, and make the first move.  We’ll see how this plays out.

Are they really this stupid?

Boo Fucking Hoo

Trumpism

Fact:  she wasn’t an employee of USAID, as represented by 60 Minutes, but an employee of an outside contractor for USAID.  A speechwriter, to be precise.

Yes, and while we’re there, let’s consider the plight of people affected by Biden’s ending of the Keystone pipeline project.  Actual workers, not flunkies working in a tangential industry.

Fuck you.  Fuck all of you.

New Same As Old

Military, The Gun Thing

I see that the U.S. Army’s new rifle is having some problems.

Okay, the XM7 per se  isn’t having problems, but its bells-‘n-whistles sighting system is.

The fiscal 2024 report on the Army’s Next-Generation Squad Weapon program from the Pentagon’s Director, Operational Test and Evaluation published last week indicates that the XM157 Fire Control smart scope that’s intended to augment the program’s XM7 Next Generation Rifle and XM250 Next Generation Automatic Rifle received negative ratings from soldiers during testing last year.
“The XM7 with mounted XM157 demonstrated a low probability of completing one 72-hour wartime mission without incurring a critical failure.”

On the positive side, the XM7 rifle itself, and its new ammo (6.8x51mm) was very much liked.  That’s good.  But a rifle without sights is useless (except at very close range).  But why isn’t the “Fire Control” system working?  I mean:

A 1-8×30 variable magnification direct view optic built by Vortex Optics subsidiary Sheltered Wings, the XM157 incorporates advanced technologies such as a laser rangefinder, aiming lasers, environmental sensors, ballistic solver, compass and a digital display overlay, all of which are designed to “increase the probability of hit and decrease the time to engage”.
The XM157 also features wireless connectivity that will purportedly allow it to integrate with heads-up displays like the Army’s current Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular, or ENVG-B, and future Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, do-it-all goggles, allowing soldiers to survey the battlefield from cover using a live video feed from their weapon optic.

I’m just amazed there isn’t a coffee-making capability included.

Ah yes, the old “advanced technologies” bugaboo.  The more technologies involved, the greater the number of potential failure points.

Now I’m not suggesting that we go back to iron aperture sights (as good as they are), and by the way, I see that the XM7 has no provision for any kind of backup sights (which pleaseth me not).

I’m all for giving our boys the best gear possible to kill assholes I mean our country’s enemies.  But the shit’s gotta work, FFS.

So what’s the Army doing about it?

Despite the documented issues detailed in the DOT&E report, the Army is still plowing ahead with the system’s development. Indeed, the service released a sources sought notice in late January for “novel technologies or ongoing research that would be beneficial for the XM157 system as a module and/or software that provides enhanced capability.” 

Yeah, so instead of scaling back the complexity until we get something that works perfectly, and building it back up from that base, let’s make the system still more complicated than the (non-working) thing already is.  That’s a proven recipe for success, of course.

We were always drilled that there are three ways to do things:  the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way.

I’ll leave it to you to decide what’s happening here.