Shooting Steel.

I shot my second Pima Pistol Club Steelworker's match today, and did fairly well. They haven't got the scores posted to the web yet (don't know if they will, either) but I finished third in the Stock pistol class - and I was shooting my single-stack Kimber Classic with 8-round magazines. My total time for the five stages was a tick over 175 seconds, which was a good distance behind second place, but that guy was shooting a Browning Hi-Power, using Europellets and magazines with capacities as high as 17 rounds. He didn't change mags much!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my performance today, though I really, really need to work on my speed at controlled pairs.

UPDATE - 4/28: Will has some constructive criticism.

Range Report:

Back from the Elsy Pearson rifle range outside of Casa Grande. First, I want to say something about the range itself. The city of Casa Grande has done a very nice job improving the range; raising the berms, providing covered shooting positions on the shorter bays, adding benches on the 50 yard range, and putting up fencing around the facility. My only complaint is that the fencing prevents vehicles from driving down the long (250 yard) bay. This makes toting out my 32-lb. 9"x12"x1" steel AR-500 plates a no-go anymore. Needless to say, they didn't make the trip this time.

The range is (currently) unattended - there are no rangemasters, so shooters are on their own recognizance. This is a mixed blessing because as we all know sometimes shooters are our own worst enemies. Rangemasters can sometimes resemble Eric "RESPECT MAH AUTHORITAH!" Cartman, or other shooters on the range can sometimes be unsafe. (Yes, we admit it.) But today (as has been my past experience there) everyone was polite and safe.

The other downside of the range, since it's unattended, is that it has no target stands and no restroom facilities other than "I'm going to step around this berm here..." The latter wasn't much of an issue today, but I don't have an actual target stand. I bought one of those cheap-ass "stick it in the ground" cardboard supports, but apparently the designer of this wonder of engineering has never heard of caliche. I had a little trouble setting up suitable target for a bit.

After getting unpacked and setting up the chronograph, I fired five rounds, cleaned, fired five more and cleaned again. Then I fired ten rounds through the chrono. While I was doing this I was getting the scope on target by aiming at rocks. This rifle is heavy enough that even shooting 175 grain rounds I could generally see the bullet impact downrange. Not always, but more often than not. Because the scope base has 20 MOA built into it, I had the elevation of the scope cranked all the way down. Good thing, too. I only brought it up about 1-½ turns to get it close at 200 yards. Windage was very close out of the box, so the scope mount is true to the bore.

The chronograph, a Chrony Beta Master, did not retain the information for my load which was 43.5 grains of Varget under the Sierra 175 grain MatchKing in a Lapua case touched off by a CCI BR-2 Large Rifle Benchrest primer. (Use at your own risk - I'm not responsible if this load blows up your gun!) To the best of my memory, the average velocity was about 2660 fps with an extreme spread of 75fps and a standard deviation of about 25fps, which is at best fair for a long-range load. I need to get the standard deviation down into the low teens or better.

Still, how'd it shoot?

Well, here are two sample groups from when I was getting the scope onto paper:

That was my second 5-shot group. This was my third one:

That's at 200 yards. Winds were light, but occasionally gusty. I won't blame any of those shots on wind. (Dammit.)

The interesting thing about the Leupold Tactical Milling Reticle in this scope is that at 14X there is an exactly ½ mill space in the center of the crosshairs. The orange target dots are 1" in diameter, so they subtend ½ mill at 200 yards (or close enough not to be able to tell the difference.) I tried my damnedest to keep that tiny orange dot in the dead center of the reticle. Seems to work!

I spent the rest of my 50 rounds busting rocks and then plinking the steel targets located up on the side of the mountain that is the ultimate backstop at the Casa Grande range. I need to get a laser rangefinder next, because I estimate the plates I was shooting at were at about 600 yards. I hit 'em a few times, too! (I will blame wind - and range estimation - for the misses there.)

I had to remount the scope when I got home. Unfortunately at 14X the eye relief was too short for me to shoot comfortably, so I loosened the mount screws and shifted it back two notches on the base. That ought to work much better now, but I'm going to have to re-zero the scope. (*Damn!* Work, work, work, that's all this hobby is!)

Next up on the agenda is to load another 50 of the 175SMKs over a bit lighter powder charge, and 50 of the Lapua 155 grain Scenar hollowpoints that are just as long as the SMKs. The primers on the first fifty flattened a tiny bit, but there was significant primer cup flow into the firing pin hole of bolt face. I think that load is just a bit hot for this rifle.

I also ran 100 rounds of my new .45ACP load through my Kimber Classic and Eclipse. I'm using the Ranier Ballistics 200 grain hollowpoint over 7.0 grains of Unique touched off with WLP primers. (Same warning - use this load data at your own risk!) The cases are mostly WCC once-fired match brass. Feed, function, and accuracy were on par with the (much more expensive) Speer 200 grain Gold Dot, so this is going to be my match ammo from now on. Now I need to load a couple hundred of them so I can shoot in the Pima Pistol Steelworker's match tomorrow morning.

Finally, I still have to scrub the Remington barrel squeaky clean and treat it with Ultra Bore Coat before my next outing. I'm not much of a believer in "breaking in" a barrel, but I did want to get some rounds out of the rifle before treating it. Right now it's definitely a sub-MOA gun. I want it to stay that way.

UPDATE: Here's a shot of fired vs. unfired primers.

Pressure, no?

Off to the Range!.

Report to follow.

Bathroom Cleansers Cause Suicide.

We must ban them, for the chillllldren!

Japan teenager commits gas suicide, 120 evacuated

TOKYO — About 120 people were evacuated from their apartments in western Japan after a 14-year-old girl killed herself by producing and inhaling poisonous hydrogen sulphide gas, the local fire department said on Thursday.

The increasing use of such poisonous gas to commit suicide has received much media attention in Japan in recent months, after websites showed methods of creating the gas with bathroom cleansers.

At least 40 such cases of suicides have taken place this year, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported last week, citing the Japan Suicide Prevention Association.

Almost 90 people, including the girl's mother who had been out at the time, went to hospital in Konan City on Wednesday night after the apartment "smelled like rotten eggs" from the hydrogen sulphide that the girl made, the local fire department said.

A note saying "poisonous gas being produced" was posted on the door of the girl's apartment, and police found a bathroom cleanser container in the apartment that may have been used for making the gas, the fire department said.

Japan has the second highest suicide rate in the Group of Eight nations after Russia, a World Health Organization report showed.

The annual number of suicides has been above 30,000 for nine years in a row, police figures showed last year.

Boy, it's a good thing they don't have any guns! The entire population of Japan would be dead inside a year!

The G8 nations are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The WHO report the piece refers to is probably this one (PDF file) from 2004 which gives rates per 100,000 population for males and females separately according to the latest (available at the time) data.

For males the G8 rankings are as follows:

Russia: 69.3 (2002)
Japan: 35.2 (2000)
France: 26.1 (2001)
Germany: 20.4 (2001)
Canada: 18.4 (2000)
United States: 17.1 (2000)
United Kingdom: 11.8 (1999)
Italy: 10.9 (2000)

For females:

Japan: 13.4
Russia: 11.9
France: 9.4
Germany: 7.4
Canada: 5.2
United States: 4.0
Italy: 3.5
United Kingdom: 3.3

Wait... We have all those guns. Almost one for every man, woman, and child in the country! Guns cause suicide! I read that all the time!

Why aren't we all dead?

(Or are we being lied to?)

Memeage.

Just for the hell of it, I thought I'd do this meme even though no one (to my knowledge) tagged me with it:

1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
2. Find page 123.
3. Find the first five sentences.
4. Post the next three sentences.

Now, I'm not going to post a picture of my reloading/blogging/websurfing area (it looks like the aftermath of a tornado), but bear in mind I've got books on just about every horizontal surface to my left and right - and one is a 7' tall bookshelf with six shelves. But it just so happens that I have a book on my computer desk (under a pile of stuff) so that's the one I'm pulling.

Here we go:

I am really, sir, the English public schoolboy. That's an eighteenth-century product. What with the love of truth that - God help me! - they rammed into me at Clifton and the belief Arnold forced upon Rugby that the vilest of sins - the vilest of all sins - is to peach to the head master!

That's a portion of an excerpt from Tom Brown's School Days taken by James Bowman for his book Honor: A History in the chapter "Honor Between the Wars."

Now I'm supposed to tag five others, but... meh.

Now (Finally) I Get to See if it Shoots

As promised, pictures of the Remington 700 5R with the Leupold on it, and an extra, added bonus:

As always, click for full size.

The rings are Burris Xtreme Tactical low mounts. Everybody I tried was out of stock on the medium height rings, but when the scope came in, I set it on the 20MOA mount and the objective bell cleared the barrel, so low rings would work perfectly - and those were in stock! Kudos to OpticsPlanet.com who not only had them, but had them for less than Midway and shipped UPS ground at no extra charge. The rings and that spirit level both showed up today.

The spirit level is courtesy of Ninth Stage, who offered me one of my choice of sizes back when I bought the rifle. After I ordered the Leupold I emailed him and asked if the offer was still open, and he sent me not one, but two - I now have a 1" version I think I'll put on the scope on my XP-100 pistol! They're very nice. He still has a few left, so if you'd like to buy one I'm sure he'll make you a good deal.

So the plan now is to make a trip to the range on Saturday to try out the Remington with my 175 grain Matchking load and zero the scope, and also to make sure my new 200 grain hollowpoint Rainier Ballistic .45ACP loads feed, function, and hit what I aim at in preparation for Sunday's Pima Pistol Steelworker's match.

Ohboyohboyohboy!

(This is a gunblog, after all! It can't be all politics, all the time.)

Quote of the Day.

Much like Eric Cartman, my hatred for hippies cannot become more intense without physically manifesting itself as a glowing orb which would follow me around occasionally bellowing things like “BRING ME THE HEAD OF ED BEGLEY JUNIOR!” or “MARTIN SHEEN MUST BE PUNISHED IN THE FLAMES OF A THOUSAND POUNDS OF STYROFOAM!” - Stingray from Atomic Nerds post Earth Day: Of COURSE it Pisses Me Off

I Cannot Argue With this Logic...

...and I don't even drink beer!

From a friend in Europe:
"We in Denmark cannot figure out why you are even bothering to hold an
election.

"On one side, you have a bitch who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, and a
lawyer who is married to a bitch who is a lawyer.

"On the other side, you have a true war hero married to a woman with a huge
chest who owns a beer distributorship.

"Is there a contest here?"

Shamelessly stolen from Firehand at Irons in the Fire.

Suddenly my painful duty come November is somehow less painful!

Quote of the Day.

If everyone understood science, and the scientific method, even reasonably well, there would be no such thing as liberalism. - Og in a comment at Tam's

OK, Who's Telling the Truth Here?

Regarding Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, the Ben Stein documentary that I referred to below, we have two conflicting stories. One, as apparently told by the documentary, is that Richard Sternberg, a staff scientist at the National Institutes of Health and (former) editor of Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington was responsible for the publishing of a "a pro-intelligent design article" by one Stephen C. Meyer. Meyer is referred to as "a proponent of intelligent design" by NPR, but as "director and Senior Fellow of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute" by the Institute itself.

It appears that the film, according to this site "claims that Sternberg was 'terrorized' and that 'his life was nearly ruined'...." Further: “The paper ignited a firestorm of controversy merely because it suggested intelligent design might be able to explain how life began.”

NPR reports:

Sternberg says his colleagues and supervisors at the Smithsonian were furious. He says -- and an independent report backs him up -- that colleagues accused him of fraud, saying they did not believe the Meyer article was really peer reviewed. It was.

Eventually, Sternberg filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which protects federal employees from reprisals. The office launched an investigation. Ultimately, it could not take action, because Sternberg is not an employee of the Smithsonian.

But Sternberg says before closing the case, the special counsel, James McVay, called him with an update. "As he related to me, 'the Smithsonian Institution's reaction to your publishing the Meyer article was far worse than you imagined,'" Sternberg says.

McVay declined an interview. But in a letter to Sternberg, he wrote that officials at the Smithsonian worked with the National Center for Science Education -- a group that opposes intelligent design -- and outlined "a strategy to have you investigated and discredited." Retaliation came in many forms, the letter said. They took away his master key and access to research materials. They spread rumors that Sternberg was not really a scientist. He has two Ph.D.'s in biology -- from Binghamton University and Florida International University. In short, McVay found a hostile work environment based on religious and political discrimination.

After repeated calls and e-mails to the Smithsonian, a spokesman told NPR, "We have no public comment, and we won't have one in the future."

The anti-Expelled site has a different take:

Expelled doesn't even get the paper's subject right. The paper was not about how life began; it was about the Cambrian Explosion, which occurred about three billion years later. The greater error is claiming that the discussion of ID generated the controversy. There was an understandable outcry from members of the Biological Society of Washington over the embarrassing publication of what they recognized as poorly-written, inaccurate science in their journal. The argument presented in the Meyer paper had previously been reviewed and rejected by scientists. Seeing this shoddy science in their journal indeed "ignited a firestorm", but not for the reasons given in Expelled. For more on why the paper was bad science, see the review published on the Panda's Thumb blog and the review in the Palaeontological Society Newsletter.

The first question asked by BSW members was "how did this paper ever get published?" According to the Council of the Biological Society of Washington, Sternberg failed to follow proper procedure in publishing the paper: "Contrary to typical editorial practices, the paper was published without review by any associate editor; Sternberg handled the entire review process. The Council, which includes officers, elected councilors, and past presidents, and the associate editors would have deemed the paper inappropriate for the pages of the Proceedings because the subject matter represents such a significant departure from the nearly purely systematic content for which this journal has been known throughout its 122-year history." The BSW withdrew the paper in embarrassment, emphasizing that the paper was substandard science. It commented that the society endorsed "a resolution on ID published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2002/1106id2.shtml), which observes that there is no credible scientific evidence supporting ID as a testable hypothesis to explain the origin of organic diversity. Accordingly, the Meyer paper does not meet the scientific standards of the Proceedings."

Though Sternberg claimed that he was the best qualified to handle the review process, science blogger Ed Brayton notes that this is not the case: (Quote omitted)

The fact that Sternberg published the Meyer paper in his second-to-last scheduled issue as editor, and that he didn’t follow normal procedure, suggests that he knew that his actions and the paper would be seen as objectionable by his fellow scientists.

It continues:

The Claim: “In October, as the OSC complaint recounts, [Sternberg’s supervisor] Mr. Coddington told Mr. Sternberg to give up his office and turn in his keys to the departmental floor, thus denying him access to the specimen collections he needs.” (Wall Street Journal editorial, linked from Expelled website)

That is correct per the WSJ piece.

But it's apparently not true:

The Facts

According to Coddington in a January 2005 communication, “Well prior to the publication of the Meyer article and my awareness of it, I asked him and another Research Associate to move as part of a larger and unavoidable reorganization of space involving 17 people and 20 offices. He agreed. I offered both individuals new, identical, standard Research Associate work spaces. The other accepted, but Dr. von Sternberg declined and instead requested space in an entirely different part of the Museum, which I provided, and which he currently occupies.”

The Smithsonian wrote a letter to the Wall Street Journal, observing, “Dr. Sternberg’s characterization of his work conditions and treatment at the Smithsonian is incorrect. He was never denied office space, keys or access to the collections.”

In a January 30, 2006, letter responding to Sternberg’s concerns, Smithsonian Deputy Secretary & Chief Operating Officer Sheila Burke explained:

“As you know, as part of an effort to enhance security at the Museum, all researchers were asked to return their keys in 2004, and were issued coded identification badges to provide access to non-public areas. The badge you were issued, which provides general access to doors and elevators, is still operative. If you have any problems gaining access to conduct your research, however please contact the Security office at NMNH. In accordance with NMNH policy, please return your old keys as soon as possible to your sponsor, Dr. Vari.”

In short, Sternberg has turned two bits of bureaucratic minutiae affecting an entire division of the museum – a switch from keys to ID badges and a routine shuffling of office space – into a conspiracy to undermine him personally.

There's more, and I suggest you follow the leads, but the way it appears to me is that Richard Sternberg pulled a fast one - for whatever reason - and it resulted in a firestorm of criticism that he has since blown out of proportion - with the willing assistance of the Discovery Institute.

And this isn't one-sided, either. Watch this YouTube video of what happens when you oppose support of Intelligent Design:



You can bet that didn't turn up in Expelled.

Quote of the Day.

From Van der Leun:

(T)he Internet makes it drop-dead easy to find at least 30 things that really piss you off before your first cup of coffee cools. I don't care where you're coming from, this axiom (15 Minutes Internet = 30 Things That Frost Your Cookies) is universal.

Here's One I Hadn't Heard Before.

Via email from a family friend:

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said, 'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.'

The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?'

'Oh, I don't know,' said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?' and he smiles.

'OK,' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass - yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?'

The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.'

To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?'

How Did I Miss This?.(Quote of the Day)

Via Ninth Stage, from James Likeks, February 20:

On the radio today Medved and Hewitt both asked Obama supporters to call and say why they were supporting their man. Specifics, please. The replies were rather indistinct. He would end the division and bring us together by encouraging us all to talk about common problems, after which we would compromise. He will give us hope by giving us hope: for many, the appeal has the magical perfect logic of a tautology. It's a nice dream. But compromise is impossible when you have a fundamental differences about the proper way to solve a problem. I believe we can achieve a fair society by taking away your house and giving it to someone else. I disagree. It is my house. Then let us agree to give away half of your house. Compromise! But that is not a compromise. You have taken half my house. We have compromised on your behalf with those who would have taken it all. Let us not return to the politics of division. There are strangers living in my spare bedroom. Then we have truly come together. Look, this isn't a matter on which we can compromise, because we have conflicting premises. You're pretending matter and anti-matter have the same relationship as Coke and Pepsi. They don't.

If he wins, I do look forward to dissenting; since it’s been established as the highest form of patriotism, I expect my arguments will be met with grave respect. Shhhh! He’s dissenting.

RTWT.

I've GOT to Work on My Split Times...

I shot my second Tucson Action Shooters Club pistol match this morning. Again, I didn't come in last - just eleventh out of thirteen shooters. I had only one malfunction - me, not seating a magazine properly - that cost me about ten seconds to fix, and possibly one position on the final score sheet.

I don't miss much at all, but my biggest problem is my split-times - the time between shots when putting two on the same target. I really need to practice getting that second shot off, and accurately, fast. I watch a lot of the guys "spray-n-pray," and it works for them, but most of them are using double-stack magazines with ten or more rounds. I'm shooting 8-round single-stack. I can't afford to miss, or I'll be wasting time reloading.

However, if you'll note: Larry M. James and I (who finished 10^th 8^th and 11^th respectively) took second in the team events. I'm pretty happy about that.

30 Years Sounds About Right...

...with no parole.

Men Steal Bullet Parts Intended For Iraq, Afghanistan From Army

A couple of Lake City Ammunition Plant employees learned the hard way that it's never a good idea to steal from the Army.

They face serious jail time accused of stealing thousands of pounds of copper parts used to make bullets.

Charles Dale Osborn from Odessa and Timothy Duane Langebin from Independence face serious federal charges. They're accused of stealing more than 16,000 pounds of copper and selling it to a salvage company in Moberly.

Dave Fusselman said he wasn't sure why the two men were bringing the pieces to his Moberly, Missouri salvage company every three or four weeks. He could have looked the other way, but instead he called police.

"They never suspected someone out here would take down their plate and watch them," Fusselman said.

The US Attorney's office said the two Lake City Army Ammunition Plant employees were stealing bullet cups used to make 7.62 millimeter rounds for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It's not very often that someone dares to interrupt the flow of ammunition to the troops," John Cowles, Asst. US Attorney said.

Cowles said the stolen copper would have made 1.5 million rounds of ammo, about two weeks worth of production at the plant. The suspects made more than $45,000 from selling it but now they face sabotage of war materials charges, which could mean as much as 30 years in federal prison.

"It's very unique," Cowles said. "I've never been involved with anything that had to do with such a direct impact against United States Armed Forces when they are conducting combat operations somewhere."

"Those guys weren't dumb so much as they came across the wrong operation," Fusselman said.

Knowing now where the copper came from, Fusselman hopes the plant evaluates security.

"It's amazing that many loads of copper came out and there's no system in place to show they were coming up short," he said.

Fusselman said he was concerned he'd have to pay back the Army for the copper but he got a letter from the US Attorney saying he could keep it. The plant felt it could be damaged and couldn't make bullets out of it and the US Attorney said he should be rewarded for doing the right thing.

1: Kudos to the plant owner for speaking up.

2: WTF is wrong with the Lake City arsenal that they didn't notice 16,000 lbs of missing copper jacket cups? (Rhetorical question. Yes, I know the answer - "Government.")

3: Kudos to the Justice Dept. for not gigging the guy who fingered the thieves. Damned straight he should be rewarded.

4: I don't know if I'm more impressed that 16,000 lbs of jacket cups are needed to make 1.5 million rounds or that it only takes the plant about two weeks to crank out that many!

Story h/t to Gandalf23.

Quote of the Day.

From George F. Will:

Barack Obama may be exactly what his supporters suppose him to be. Not, however, for reasons most Americans will celebrate.

Obama may be the fulfillment of modern liberalism. Explaining why many working-class voters are "bitter," he said they "cling" to guns, religion and "antipathy to people who aren't like them" because of "frustrations." His implication was that their primitivism, superstition and bigotry are balm for resentments they feel because of America's grinding injustice.

By so speaking, Obama does fulfill liberalism's transformation since Franklin Roosevelt. What had been under FDR a celebration of America and the values of its working people has become a doctrine of condescension toward those people and the supposedly coarse and vulgar country that pleases them.

Not the QotD, but do read the whole thing.

This is the QotD:

I was appalled at last night's debate and it further proves my point that we may not deserve someone like Barack Obama. One would think that that the first 45 minutes would cover important issues like the economy, Iraq, health care, and education. The four topics discussed?

-whether or not Obama is an elitist vis a vis his comments in San Francisco
-Reverend Wright
-William Ayers
-Flag pins.

If these are the issues that people want to focus on, our country is doomed. There is no other way to put it. I am hoping that voters in 2008 are smarter than that.

Discriminating

Remember when that word meant "discerning," or "judicious?" Whereas now it means "bigoted" or "prejudiced."

Well, I'm guilty of prejudice.

There are two documentary films out, or coming out, that I find interesting for different reasons. One I want to see. I've prejudged it, and judiciously discerned that it's worth some of my time. The other, I don't. I've prejudged it, and judiciously discerned that it's not worth my time or my dime.

The one I want to see, and am willing to spend some of my hard-earned money on, is Indoctrinate-U by Evan Coyne Maloney. Regular readers of TSM will understand why.

The one I'm going to skip is Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed by and with Ben Stein. You know, I like Ben Stein, but I think as he gets older he's getting further and further "out there." This movie pretty much settles it for me - I can't take him seriously any longer.

UPDATE, 4/20: WRT Expelled, quoth Professor Reynolds,

I hate writing about this stuff because -- pardon me while I speak plainly -- the people on both sides of this issue are assholes. I mean, even by the low standards of Internet discussion. I'm getting email calling me a "theocon shill" for mentioning Stein, and email telling me I'll burn in hell for calling Intelligent Design "pernicious twaddle." Frankly, the rabid atheists and the rabid creationists seem an awful lot alike, and no proper hell could be truly hellish without the both of them yammering away at each other. Feh.

Er, "amen"? I mean, I'm not getting the "fanmail" he is, but I certainly understand his position.

More Right-Wing Language Manipulation.

It's getting to be all-Markadelphia-all-the-time around here (and that sh!#'s going to cease, soon) but here's his latest comment on my previous post, which - once again - requires a response:

Alright, so I guess I am little perplexed here.

Surprise, surprise.

When you first posted on my blog, Kevin, it was in regards to the Zumbo affair. You assured me that the large majority of gun owners were not Nazis and that Zumbo was out of line for calling people who owned AKs terrorists.

They are not, and he was. But you skipped over the part where he called for a ban.

You also have assured me that gun owners , especially the ones that read and post here, are fighting for their individual rights. You have accused liberals of being fascists, insisting and demanding that their way is the "right" way, forcing people to think and believe their truth and that you are not like that.

And here we have the redefinition of terms.

Markadelphia's "fascist" point is brought up by the recent discussion of Jonah Goldberg's current bestseller Liberal Fascism, wherein Mr. Goldberg points out the philosophical underpinnings of the modern Liberal/Progressive movement, and that those underpinnings share - in remarkable lockstep - the same basic philosophic principles of actual fascism. Problem is, there's no real agreed-upon definition for the word "fascism," because it's been abused to the point throughout the last seventy-plus years that it has simply become synonymous with "bad." Mr. Goldberg presents his own definition, going back to Mussolini, which I think is an accurate one:

Fascism is a religion of the state. It assumes the organic unity of the body politic and longs for a national leader attuned to the will of the people. It is totalitarian in that it views everything as political and holds that any action by the state is justified to achieve the common good. It takes responsibility for all aspects of life, including our health and well-being, and seeks to impose uniformity of thought and action, whether by force or through regulation and social pressure. Everything, including the economy and religion, must be aligned with its objectives. Any rival identity is part of the "problem" and therefore is defined as the enemy.

Apparently Markadelphia's understanding of the word "fascism" is limited to the last sentence of that definition.

He is, as usual, in error.

I listened to Schoenke on the radio today and he made it pretty clear that he is the enemy of NRA and gun bloggers like yourself. I have read the things that have been said about him, including the Confederate Yankee blog, and I have to say I see a pattern developing here that doesn't jibe with what you have told me. I'm afraid I'm having trouble seeing any allowance for individuality at all. Instead, I see a group of people saying basically the same thing:

Think like us..exactly like us..ANY wavering and....you are against us, are our enemy, and do not support 2nd amendment rights.

Correct me if I am wrong (Glad to.) but isn't this the very thing that you accuse liberals of doing?

If the reaction occurred with just the Zumbo thing...well...he did call decent people terrorists...but now Schoenke? Who will be next?

Here's the difference for you, Markadelphia:

Mr. Schoenke and his compatriots want to use the government ("the state") to take any action that they deem necessary to achieve "the common good." You know: "The last law didn't help, but the philosophy cannot be wrong. Do it again, only HARDER!"

I, and those like me here, want the government to do only that which it is chartered to do, and part of that charter is to protect and defend the pre-existing right to arms. As you note, Mr. Schoenke has declared us his enemy, because we don't want state power used against us in his quest to achieve that which they believe is "good." We oppose his objectives. It just so happens that we all believe (largely) the same thing - that the state should not do what he wants it to do. Some of us (David Codrea comes immediately to mind) are far more militant than others, but what we all share is a common understanding of what our form of government is not supposed to have the power to do. It's the niggling details on which we disagree. But David is not my enemy, nor am I his.

None of us want to use the government to "impose uniformity of thought and action." Ray Schoenke does, and his excuse is the achievement of "the common good" according to his beliefs.

So which of us fits the definition of "fascist" better?

Re-read Mr. Goldberg's definition of "fascism." Read up on the history of Mussolini prior to WWII.

Then think very hard about your support for Barack Obama in conjunction with the sentence,

"It assumes the organic unity of the body politic and longs for a national leader attuned to the will of the people."

I would ask: "Recognize yourself?" but I know that question would be futile.

I'm Not Fast Enough...

In comments to my previous post, Markadelphia proffers his "proof" that Barack (middle name shall not be mentioned) Obama is not anti-gun:

And now comes the comment that you all have been waiting for...demanding that I give you..I have to admit that even I was shocked when I heard this just a few short minutes ago driving home....

http://www.huntersandshooters.co...d=212& Itemid=70

Read and weep, folks. Could this group be part of the "millions" who were offended as Kevin says? And what could this piece of legislation be that Mr. Schoenke is talking about?

http://www.senate.gov/legislativ...on=2& vote=00202

So, could it be true? Did the "gun grabber" Obama actually vote in favor of gun rights? Are their some gun owners that favor Obama? Well, Unix and Ed asked for proof that Obama was not a gun grabber. There's your proof, fellas.

According to Schoenke, he thinks the latest furor is "a bunch of nonsense." He also went on to say that Senator Obama is a "firm supporter of 2nd amendment rights."

Oh, but wait...according to other gun advocacy groups (and I am CERTAIN everyone here ) the American Hunters and Shooters Association aren't a "real" gun advocacy group. They are anti-gun. Odd, because their web site sure looks like they enjoy guns quite a bit.

And you believe everything you see - as long as it matches what you expect to see. We've been all through this, ad nauseam, in the comment threads.

So, there you have it, folks. A group of gun owners who weren't offended by Obama's comments, have endoresed him, and actually listed key legislation that he voted for in favor of 2nd amendment rights. Shocking...appalling....whatever will you do?

As I've mentioned before, one of the "problems" with the growing gunblogging community is getting something posted before someone else does it first - and better.

I give you Confederate Yankee's take. Please, go read.

Mark, don't bother.

I Don't Know Why, But This Still Astounds Me...

First, I discover that in July of last year, Senator Obama asked a crowd of Iowans:

"Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?” the senator said. "I mean, they're charging a lot of money for this stuff."

The New York Times helpfully informs its "hip, urban" audience:

The state of Iowa, for all of its vast food production, does not have a Whole Foods, a leading natural and organic foods market. The closest? Omaha, Minneapolis or Kansas City.

Mr. Obama, perhaps sensing a lack of reaction from the crowd, moved along to the next topic. After all, he never claimed to be a farming expert.

Just a guess, but I'm willing to bet most Iowa farmers are more familiar with iceberg lettuce than arugula, and most non-farming Iowans shop at the local Fareway which probably doesn't carry arugula. The NYT covers his faux pas with its glib "He never claimed to be a farming expert" line, but what he illustrated was that he had absolutely no feel for (and I'll capitalize) Middle America.

And he still doesn't.

Nor is he alone in this, apparently obviously.

I was also not aware that his latest "guns and God, xenophobia and bigotry" gaffe was reported by none other than his acolytes at The Huffington Post by someone who supports him and who paid $2,300 to see him at that posh Hollywood mansion appearance that was otherwise closed to the media. Not only that, but the piece written by Mayhill Fowler was submitted for editorial review! And Ariana Huffington herself, while on David Geffen's palatial yacht in Tahiti (probably eating arugula in her salads), gave it the go-ahead!

I am reminded of Bernard Goldberg's analysis of Eric Enberg's CBS Evening News "Reality Check" piece from the 1996 campaign of then-candidate Steve Forbes' "Flat Tax" proposal. The piece was so biased that it drove Goldberg to write an editorial on it that was published in the Wall Street Journal. That op-ed cost Goldberg his job at CBS, and his book Bias grew out of his experience. In Bias he wrote:

Jerry Kelly from Enterprise, Alabama, spotted the bias in the Enberg report. Jerry Kelly spotted the wise guy and the one-sidedness. And Jerry Kelly is a general building contractor, not a newsman.

Who didn't find anything wrong with Enberg's piece?

First off, Enberg didn't.

His producer in Washington didn't.

The Evening News senior producer in Washington didn't.

Jeff Fager, the executive producer of the CBS Evening News in New York didn't.

His team of senior producers in New York didn't.

Andrew Heyward, the CBS News president and Harvard Phi Beta Kappa, didn't.

And finally, Dan Rather, the anchorman and managing editor of the CBS Evening News didn't.

Not one of them spotted anything wrong with a story that no one should have let on the air in the first place.

Here, nobody saw anything wrong with what Obama said, in Hollywood, on Millionaire's Row, at a $2,300-a-ticket fundraiser.

Mayhill Fowler didn't.

Marc Cooper, editorial coordinator for Huffington Post didn't.

Amanda Michel, another HuffPo editorial layer didn't.

Editor Roy Sekoff didn't.

Ariana Huffington herself didn't.

But millions of Middle Americans did, and they're not newspeople or politicians.

This was not a story dug up by Obama's opposition, this was a story released by his supporters - none of whom recognized the bomb that Obama had built and that they were dropping.

And what is apparently worse is the report that Obama's "aides tell reporters he is privately bewildered that anybody took offense" - thus his "If I worded things in a way that made people offended..." non-apology.

What's worse than that? Apparently a big chunk of the country thinks his characterization of rural America is correct, not just the "hip, urban" crowd and those who ride around on 425-foot yachts or pay $2,300 to see candidates in the multi-million dollar mansions of their most fervent supporters.

I said in a comment that I predict no matter who wins the Democrat nomination, the Presidential race is going to be the nastiest, dirtiest election this nation has seen since Andrew Jackson ran. Commenter Bilgeman, however, may have the right of it:

We can survive a Jackson campaign.

I'd be more worried about a repeat of the 1860 election.

The Great Divide between the Left and the Right in this country just keeps getting wider, and nowhere is that better illustrated than here.