Tam relays a story about how she became obsessive compulsive about checking that guns were empty. I don’t have any war stories to tell in this area, and hope I never do. It would seem that people who handle guns enough invariably have these stories, but the consistent pattern I’ve noticed is that the redundancy built into the rules has worked in every case where I knew one of the actors. Remember that you have to break two rules for someone to get shot. It’s like RAID, for gunnies.
Month: August 2011
New Shooter
Be Thankful We’re Not a Parliamentary Democracy
See this article from Canada, detailing why their gun rights community faces an uphill battle:
Then there’s the fact that Canada’s got a parliamentary form of government. In the U.S. the NRA can focus its attention on individual legislators, winning them over one by one.
In Canada, representatives have to vote with their party, or else they get kicked out of the party and can’t run in the next election. For Bernardo, that means instead of exerting all his power on one legislator at a time, he has to convince a whole party that his policies make sense.
Our systems has many flaws, but it’s easier for the determined to make a difference, even if they are determined minority. That’s not true in other systems, where political parties tend to dominate the political environment. We tend to think that’s the case here, but it’s not compared to other systems.
It’s also interesting the role campaign finance laws play, but I note Canada’s also apply to how much candidates can spend on elections. I would note that NRA’s model could work even under these limits, since NRA’s political power is more derived from electoral muscle than it’s ability to donate money to favored candidates, and communicate through independent expenditures.
Full Auto Explained
Thanks to John Richardson for this video, showing why the hysteria about full-auto fire is mostly just that:
Of course, the only thing this convinces our opponents of, is that semi-automatic firearms ought to be equally banned. Keep in mind this guy knows what he’s doing with a full-auto as well. An amateur is going to spray more wildly, and waste a lot more ammunition.
If I had to go against a gun wielding madman, I’d almost want him to waste all his ammunition firing on full-auto. Unless the guy brought a belt-fed machine gun and a while lot of ammo, he’s going to be empty with not much to show for it pretty quickly, and there’s only so much you can carry. Worst fear? Shotgun wielding madman. You’re probably not getting up from that, if hit.
Correcting the Historical Record
While I remain appalled that Michelle Bachmann is being taken seriously, Clayton Cramer offers a defense of some of her history claims that are worth reading. Watching the media, talking heads, and Bachmann go back and forth is kind of like watching drunk people fight.
Call the Maintenance Guy
The free ice cream machine is once again not serving freely. Back to interview preparation mode. I have a third round phone interview with a prospective employer tomorrow evening. Second round interview was a bear. This company is notoriously difficult to get into, and it’s not an interview you can just waltz in and impress them. They will likely not be impressed because the guy interviewing you is likely an order of magnitude better than you are.
I’ve spent quite a lot of time on this one employer, and it’s a long shot to get the job, but it’s a career making job. If I did get in, there’s essentially no where else I couldn’t go in this field. It’s also a chance to be around top people in the field. Generally speaking, I want to be the dumbest guy in the workplace, because that means I have things I can learn from the smarter folks. I’ve been places I’m the smartest guy, and that might be a bit self-satisfying in a way, but it’s a dead end for learning anything.
My only fear is, with all I’ve put into getting this job, if it doesn’t pan out, I only have one other prospect I really like, another I kind of like, but aren’t real sure about, and a third that would only be a paycheck to pay the mortgage while I look for something better. All three of my other prospects I have not heard from in a while, though I’m discovering that doesn’t necessarily convey a lack of interest. Everyone seems to be moving at glacial speed on hiring these days.
Down the Memory Hole
Looks like American Defensive Enterprises are taking their embarrassing videos offline. I guess some attention from the big guns was more than they wanted to deal with. Sorry if you didn’t have a chance to see them first.
UPDATE: Thanks to reader David, and Bitter, we have a few more links:
Here’s one of their instructors. Here’s another. You can see yet another one here.
Where Do These People Find Me?
That’s a whole lot of crazy right there. You could bottle that as crazy concentrate right now. No need for a vacuum evaporator, or any special processing. Blog long enough, eventually you’ll think you’ve heard it all, and then someone will come along and prove you wrong.
ADE’s Qualifications: Turkish Oil Wrestling, Biochemistry, and Alluring Moustaches
After posting the last bit about this American Defense Enterprises video appearing over at Tam’s, I decided to do a little digging through ADE’s videos on their YouTube channel. I have become enlightened to some of the qualifications of their staff:
Did you catch the Turkish Oil Wrestling bit? I would certainly never want to train with anyone who didn’t have experience with cage match, or who did not draw me in with the allure of his mustache. Also check out their promotional DVD, where we are introduced to yet another instructor, who notes, “My other day job is as a research scientist. I have a PhD in biochemistry.” It’s vitally important than when you find yourself stalked by a gang of angry ninjas, you be capable of knowing just what the bullets are going to do to his telomeres.
There are many people who are NRA certified instructors who have day jobs. I don’t want to disparage those many folks who do a great job of providing basic pistol instruction, but who don’t do it full time professionally. But when you’re claiming to offer advanced tactical training, up to the level received by special forces, most of which, by the way, is completely inapplicable to civilian self-defense, you better be able to back it up. This is more evidence ADE are selling snake oil.
UPDATE: Problem with scheduling posts… John Richardson beat me to it. Go check out what he found as well.
A Whole Lot of Stupid
Tam has a promotional video up from ADE training academy that has to be seen to be believed. Go watch, and be horrified. I’m wondering who these outfits are marketing to. Is the market for training of counterstrike kiddies turned gun owner growing faster than the common wisdom of the shooting community can reach them? Tam notes:
It is only a matter of time until some chiropodist at a weekend SWAT fantasy camp gets his kidneys blown out his navel by the Bushhamster of the stranger behind him in the stack preparing to practice breaching and clearing, and somebody like 20/20 or 60 Minutes is going to have a frickin’ field day with it.
Scary thought. Papa Delta Brave has more.