(no subject)
*sigh* Seems I'm doing little but arguing in these posts lately. Still, that's suppoesd to be what these things are for.
Mom and Dad came up for this past Saturday, to look at joining some place called the "Fleet Reverve Club." Nice enough place, but seldom have I seen such an example of "money attracts money." Way, WAY too snooty of a place for me to enjoy all that much, but they're willing to give it a shot. I don't see them lasting more than a year, two at the outside, before Dad gets fed up with them, their superior attitudes, and their five-page list of things you can't do.
Well in any case, they brought me up what mail I've gotten in the last couple of weeks, one of which being my latest American Rifleman. I made the choice to read through the articles, getting progressively more and more irked at some of the stuff that's being done. There's this new organization calling itself the "American Hunters and Shooters Association." Sounds benign, right? No, it's the latest front for anti-gun movements, as election season gets closer. They promote themselves as shooters and hunters, though most of them hate anything resembling a privately-owned firearm. According to them, they formed their own organization, because "the extreme positions the NRA has taken in the past, that it's turned off a large number of gun owners...the positions the NRA was forcing everyone to take was really hurting hunters and shooters like myself." So said AHSA XO Bob Ricker, despite the fact that he has been a well-known (and well-paid) anti-gun lobbyist in the past. The same goes for members like Mr. Rosenthal who, despite founding the Massachusetts-based "Stop Handgun Violence," describes himself as a gun owner and a shooter.
Even that wasn't enough to really get my goat, since that's par for the course for such groups: if you can't beat 'em, disguise yourself. No, what really got me was the quote from a former ATF agent:
"If it wasn't for criminals, there wouldn't be a gun industry in this country."
***We won't go into why I so mistrust the ATF, but should any of you be so inclined, try reading John Ross's Unintended Consequences. The ending never happened, and the main character is fictitious, but every one of those government acts, and major historical events (Ruby Ridge, Waco, etc.) all actually happened.***
Yes indeed sir, if it wasn't for criminals, we wouldn't have any reason to buy guns to defend ourselves. And if it wasn't for your completely skewed statement, people might actually believe that. Now, thanks to people like you, and a media that is eager to jump all over any story involving a shooting, because it gives them fodder for their talk shows, and ensures that people will watch, because they just have to see what sort of evil, horrible person would do such a thing. Then out comes the history (we shall use a teen shooting in this example): this was a horribly misunderstood child who was teased a lot at school, was a member of all these satanic online groups, and, despite the fact that the parents so cleverly locked said gun up in a closet that might keep a five-year-old out (for about ten minutes), they managed to go on a "killing spree," wounding several and killing one or two. Then everyone proceeds to have a hissy fit, and blames the gun manufacturers, because while it would make sense to fix the blame on the negligent parents (which is why it so rarely happens), the gun manufacturers have more money.
(from another former ATF official): "Also troubling is the NRA's attempt to protect the gun industry from lawsuits that could help shut down gun dealers."
Well, perhaps we should sue Ford, Mitsubishi, General Motors, and the Department of Transportation when someone gets killed in a car crash. They make the cars and set the regulations, but they can't make people follow them, and punishment for something so severe usually only happens too late. But no, the people who make and sell the guns are the bad people. Sure, if a dealer continues to come up short, or can't account for all his merchandise, shut him down. He's too irresponsible to be dealing. But don't go after the manufacturers.
***interesting thought: if the economy is so bad now, what would it be like without a gun industry? I guarantee that the manufacturing, sales, repairs, and accessories for firearms makes up a respectable portion of the GNP. Think about that.***
Well, now that that's out of my system, I'll go on to say that I had a decent first week of classes. Russian is fun, though learning the alphabet is a class in itself. Some characters look like Roman latters, but are pronounced like others (B is pronounced V, H is like N, and so on). I think it's actually worse than Asian languages; there, you have characters that may mean entire phrases, but at least there you're dealing with an entirely foreign system. This is worse because you're so tempted to pronounce English-looking letters in an English manner. Still, it is interesting. Statistics is going to be monstrously boring, but it IS math. At least it's my last one.
Oh, and before I forget, what weekends do people want to hit the Renn Faire? The Columbus Day weekend is a long weekend that I can take, so I'd be home from Saturday morning until Monday night, if anyone's going to be in town. I'm busy the following two weekends (duty and other stuff), but just drop me a line and we'll try to make plans.
Until next time!
Mom and Dad came up for this past Saturday, to look at joining some place called the "Fleet Reverve Club." Nice enough place, but seldom have I seen such an example of "money attracts money." Way, WAY too snooty of a place for me to enjoy all that much, but they're willing to give it a shot. I don't see them lasting more than a year, two at the outside, before Dad gets fed up with them, their superior attitudes, and their five-page list of things you can't do.
Well in any case, they brought me up what mail I've gotten in the last couple of weeks, one of which being my latest American Rifleman. I made the choice to read through the articles, getting progressively more and more irked at some of the stuff that's being done. There's this new organization calling itself the "American Hunters and Shooters Association." Sounds benign, right? No, it's the latest front for anti-gun movements, as election season gets closer. They promote themselves as shooters and hunters, though most of them hate anything resembling a privately-owned firearm. According to them, they formed their own organization, because "the extreme positions the NRA has taken in the past, that it's turned off a large number of gun owners...the positions the NRA was forcing everyone to take was really hurting hunters and shooters like myself." So said AHSA XO Bob Ricker, despite the fact that he has been a well-known (and well-paid) anti-gun lobbyist in the past. The same goes for members like Mr. Rosenthal who, despite founding the Massachusetts-based "Stop Handgun Violence," describes himself as a gun owner and a shooter.
Even that wasn't enough to really get my goat, since that's par for the course for such groups: if you can't beat 'em, disguise yourself. No, what really got me was the quote from a former ATF agent:
"If it wasn't for criminals, there wouldn't be a gun industry in this country."
***We won't go into why I so mistrust the ATF, but should any of you be so inclined, try reading John Ross's Unintended Consequences. The ending never happened, and the main character is fictitious, but every one of those government acts, and major historical events (Ruby Ridge, Waco, etc.) all actually happened.***
Yes indeed sir, if it wasn't for criminals, we wouldn't have any reason to buy guns to defend ourselves. And if it wasn't for your completely skewed statement, people might actually believe that. Now, thanks to people like you, and a media that is eager to jump all over any story involving a shooting, because it gives them fodder for their talk shows, and ensures that people will watch, because they just have to see what sort of evil, horrible person would do such a thing. Then out comes the history (we shall use a teen shooting in this example): this was a horribly misunderstood child who was teased a lot at school, was a member of all these satanic online groups, and, despite the fact that the parents so cleverly locked said gun up in a closet that might keep a five-year-old out (for about ten minutes), they managed to go on a "killing spree," wounding several and killing one or two. Then everyone proceeds to have a hissy fit, and blames the gun manufacturers, because while it would make sense to fix the blame on the negligent parents (which is why it so rarely happens), the gun manufacturers have more money.
(from another former ATF official): "Also troubling is the NRA's attempt to protect the gun industry from lawsuits that could help shut down gun dealers."
Well, perhaps we should sue Ford, Mitsubishi, General Motors, and the Department of Transportation when someone gets killed in a car crash. They make the cars and set the regulations, but they can't make people follow them, and punishment for something so severe usually only happens too late. But no, the people who make and sell the guns are the bad people. Sure, if a dealer continues to come up short, or can't account for all his merchandise, shut him down. He's too irresponsible to be dealing. But don't go after the manufacturers.
***interesting thought: if the economy is so bad now, what would it be like without a gun industry? I guarantee that the manufacturing, sales, repairs, and accessories for firearms makes up a respectable portion of the GNP. Think about that.***
Well, now that that's out of my system, I'll go on to say that I had a decent first week of classes. Russian is fun, though learning the alphabet is a class in itself. Some characters look like Roman latters, but are pronounced like others (B is pronounced V, H is like N, and so on). I think it's actually worse than Asian languages; there, you have characters that may mean entire phrases, but at least there you're dealing with an entirely foreign system. This is worse because you're so tempted to pronounce English-looking letters in an English manner. Still, it is interesting. Statistics is going to be monstrously boring, but it IS math. At least it's my last one.
Oh, and before I forget, what weekends do people want to hit the Renn Faire? The Columbus Day weekend is a long weekend that I can take, so I'd be home from Saturday morning until Monday night, if anyone's going to be in town. I'm busy the following two weekends (duty and other stuff), but just drop me a line and we'll try to make plans.
Until next time!