Friday, June 22, 2018

And Teachers Weep...

























From elsewhere on the Internet, some of the pointed questioning of Grand Inquisitor Special Prosecutor lackluster lawyer partisan lackwit Robert Mueller by retiring Rep. Gowdy (R-SC) was the topic under consideration, which brought the following witheringly brilliant riposte from the bleachers:
"Gowdy talks a great talk, but has he put anyone in jail yet?"

Normally, I would be loathe to shine the flashlight of disapproval on one person for saying stupid things on the Internet, because I'd never get anything else done, but would that this was the sole time I've read the exact sentiment somewhere or other on the web. So it seems to be a far more widespread problem that just one random brainfart.

Rep. Gowdy can defend himself on the merits of the situation, but as to the fundamental issue under discussion, allow me to undertake a brief explanation, along that line of inquiry.

"By some unfathomable oversight, the Founders seem to have neglected to give any Executive authority to any member of the Legislative branch, which, incredible as it may seem to you in the 21st century, also includes Rep. Gowdy.
(I know, right?)

So not only has Gowdy not put anyone in jail while in Congress, but neither has any member of Congress in the recorded history of the institution, while a member of it, going back to the founding of the republic.

As your social studies teacher may very well have told you at some point in the misty ages past, "You will see this material again."

Hopefully, that clears up any confusion on this vital matter.

If, mayhap, you can ascertain the whereabouts of MIA AG Jeffie Sessions, that answer might prove far more germane to your interests, and come nearer to solving the mystery to which you allude."
There are 535 Senators and Congressmen currently serving. There have been, in the nation's history thus far, 12,244 in total. The number of people put in jail while in office by all of them combined, to date, stands at exactly 0. Zero. Nada. Niente. Nulyevoi. Bupkus.

If any part of this is in any way news to you, you have two choices:

1) return your high school diploma to the issuing institution and demand a full tuition refund.

2a) at your next decennial reunion, punch your former social studies instructor in the mouth if they neglected to cover this topic, or
2b) grovel obsequiously, and beat yourself with a bundle of stout rods about the head and shoulders, and humbly beg forgiveness for sleeping through or failing in their class.

If this applies, take appropriate action, by all means.

I will also double down, by sharing an observation delivered to Vodkapundit himself, Steve Green, via one paratrooper SFC Thomas Teal, to him as part of attendance in the class of '87 of the Missouri Military Academy, with the distilled wisdom of a career in the military, when he suggested ever so gently to him,
"Son, don't be stupid on purpose."

Words to live by, boys and girls.

And because we care, this PSA:

Never forget America's M.I.A.s.
 

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aesop, OT but I'm an AK guy who wants to join the AR brigade. I have $1k to spend on the rifle and don't want to build one myself. What would you recommend?

Aesop said...

You'll get 8M opinions, and almost all of them will be right, but for quick & easy, I'd say get a S&W M&P Sport II (the one with the forward assist).
It's virtually an out-of-the-box M4gery, i.e. it's close enough to the issue military M4 carbine as not to make a difference for you, and what it doesn't have (burst capability) you don't need anyways.
You can build a better AR, but you'd spend more, and you have to actually build it, which as noted, you don't want to futz with doing.

The MSRP on one is around $550; spend the difference on a good optic.
ACOGs actually will run more than the price of the rifle, so save up until you can get something of that quality, or an EOTech, etc.

If the other $450 is burning a hole in your pocket now, spend the other $450 on ammunition, take the rifle to the range, and learn how to shoot and hit with it out to 300-500m, with the iron sights. Kids with GEDs do it every week at MCRD.
Doing an Appleseed weekend is a good way to do it, with supervision, if you'd prefer that route.

I covered the details of basic rifle marksmanship last month under "Basic Training", so start there.

When you can budget for it, get the optic, and sight it in as well.
It'll give you BZO hits on most everything from 0-300m if you can read wind. And at near ranges (<150m) it's point-and-hit: once your quality optic is sighted in, anything that close under the dot in the middle is going to be a hit unless you're having a seizure or riding a horse at the gallop when you squeeze the trigger.

Being able to hit with irons or putting an optic on it gets you a 100m range improvement over the average knucklehead with an AK and little skill.

Learn how to quickly take it apart and put it back together, and what it takes in terms of user maintenance, cleaning, and lubrication to make it run properly, and you'll have little to regret about the purchase.
You can always upgrade bits and pieces afterwards, because the AR platform is the ultimate Lego rifle: you can add and subtract stuff in a couple of minutes to make it into just about whatever you want.

And besides at least 1 mil-spec cleaning kit for it, get one of the field rifle emergency kits, with a spare set of the pins and springs easiest to lose. That way if you drop something, the rifle can be brought back to functionality in a minimum of time.

My 2¢, YMMV.
Take a peek at Hickok45's YouTube video on them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNj3uHJV5io

After you've played with it, you may decide it's a great rifle to apply the two-is-one-and one-is-none rule, and get a second one. (Depending on your retailer, you could almost do that with your $1K right off.) For the price, you'll find it hard to beat, and ARs are like potato chips: it's hard to stop at one.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, I know I need a solid optic and was looking at a stag or colt 6920, but good to know the Smith is good enough to free up extra budget for stacking ammo and pmags.

Aesop said...

'zackly.

The Stags are great. I had a couple different ones once, but circumstances caused it to be one of the rare pieces in the toy closet that I bought, sold, and didn't replace. Someday I'll probably rectify that; I want my old 'A2 clone model back.

But last I looked, probably at the upper end of your $$ range.

Anonymous said...

Appreciate your knowledge. In my line of work I interact with SF guys semi weekly and always solicit their input. I keep hearing Larue/KAC/ETC but 2k$+ is a no go if I want to amass a nice stash + milspec glass. Thanks again for the input. Loving your bootcamp stuff btw.

Anonymous said...

On this topic I have purchased S&W ARs for my daughters in law. The model I bought lists at $650,so out the door a hair over 7 in my locale (tax, background fee). I just bought Federal M855 on clips in cans $175 per 420 rounds.I had wanted Stags, particularly since one is a southpaw, but Stag appears to be having some difficulties. I was able to buy a spare lefty BCG from them for Brides carbine. I'll make necessity a virtue for DiL since she's a newbie and teach her on standard gear.
Aesop you may be proud but unsurprised that you, like Remus at one point have been banned from my fed work machine under the familiar "Hate and racism" label. Dunno how long that's gonna take to rectify IF such is possible
Keep up the good work!
Boat Guy

Aesop said...

I was banned for "hate & racism"?
By the Feds website monitor weenies?!

Man, that's flippin' AWESOME!

I've gotta get a sticky or something to commemorate that award.
"I'd like to thank the members of the Academy for this award..."

Geez, it almost got...dusty in here, for a minute.

Anonymous said...

You're in rare and righteous-thinking company shipmate. Not like our stasi would censor any one of the real racist asshole s out there on the left. I should try a little experiment next week to see just how many sites I CAN get to who meet the real criteria.
BG

Anonymous said...

A note; Pametto State Armory is offering 1000 rounds of American Eagle M855 with 10 30-round PMags for $350. Deal's good until 12 EST on 26 June
BG