Mayor

So, someone sent ricin letters to Bloomie for his low level staffer to get killed.  And the letters referenced his anti-gun view

The conspiracy theories are thinking he sent them to himself, somehow, to elicit sympathy and draw more attention to his cause.  I don't know about that.  Some psycho, I'm sure.  Can't really contain psychotics with our current mental health regime that errs on the side of liberty for the mentally troubled souls out there that may be a danger to themselves or others.  And that part of the real problem, cracking that nut.  I like the whole freedom thing, and the State likes the whole "cheaper to not have to run State Asylums" thing, but then you get spree shooters that shoulda been in a booby hatch for 10 years already.

But no, I don't think he sent them to himself.  It's not a conspiracy.  He'll use the incident to his advantage, but not too much, I bet.  If you want conspiracy, this storyline just feels like it has Bloombergs catspaw prints all over it.

Don't send him ricin.  He sends himself proverbial ricin every day just for being a tyrant.  Would you rather have much more charismatic head of opposition?  He beclowns himself and his causes just by existing, and that's a drag on his money and power.  You really want to hurt him?  Catch him in a photograph drinking from a big gulp or dumping salt on his meal, or any other hypocrisy. 



Do you think he will call for a background check on all letters?  Castor bean ban?  At least castor beans aren't a human right.

Euphemisms

When I first started getting into guns and started this blog 6 or so years ago, I, of course, found like minded people at work to discuss said hobby around the watercooler in our cube farm.  Now, one of the guys, co-workers, is a bit of a ass, and has no inside voice.  EVERYTHING IS AT TOP VOLUME with that guy.  And it's a big office with a politically diverse workforce where we work cheek to jowl.  I didn't want some shrinking violet hoplophobe to get on the blower with HR and go, "Is this Human Resources?  I think T-Bolt and The Mouth are gonna get a buncha guns and shoot up the office!  Please alert the constabulary post haste."

So I managed to impress upon The Mouth and other, quieter, gun enthusiasts that maybe we should discuss the hobby in euphemisms.  What to use?  Well, at gun shows, they sell guns.  They ALSO sell beef jerky.  So, let's go with that theme.  "I'm going to the store to pick up my new beef jerky maker.  The M1A model dehydrator with a Leupold accessory." or, "I'm going to Hap Baker to consume some serious beef jerk this weekend, and to see if my beef jerky maker is working properly." or "have you seen the price of strip steak, even at WalMart, since December?!!" or "How can the gummint ban my beef jerky maker for being too high capacity?  What if the situation calls for lots of beef jerky" or "I'm going to the Northcoast Beef Jerky Enthusiast Jubilee on Labor Day but first the National Beef Jerk Association convention is in Pittsburg this spring."

See?

Generally, anyone interested in beef jerk that overhears our conversation would not be against firearm.  People that are anti-gun have little interest in beef jerky and ignore us.

That was then.  Now sensibilities are a bit more inflamed.  But no matter.  My new boss is a HUGE gun nut that commutes from Rural Pennsylvania, and everyone knows.  He talks about guns in the office all the time and has no idea I have more than a passing interest.  He is also quite amiable.  His pleasant demeanor takes any heat off of me.  So he's the canary in the coal mine.  If trouble comes from his talk he will be my tell tale to keep gun chat more on the down low.   

You all have canaries in your respective coal mines, right?  That's the dude in your office that is a screw up.  The one that comes in late, takes long lunches, and leaves early.  The one that gets fingered first when its time for layoffs.  You have to figure out who your canary is.  If you can't... well...  it's like poker.  If you sit down to play poker and don't know who the pigeon at the table is, the pigeon is you.  Keep your resume polished.

NPR and their ilk

Heard a story on NPR on the SEAL sniper Chris Kyle that was murdered back in February.

Have you notice that they, and other liberals, LOVE to wallow in PTSD.  They turn their empathy up to condescending levels.   It's when a miltary person becomes 'good' to them.  When they are back from the wars and probably suffering (leftists always assume universal shell shock and conflate its effects) and there is no chance they would go back to their warrior ways. 

They almost seem gleeful in these stories, "PTSD case goes tragic."

When a conservative statesman dies, the left LOVES that guy.  "Why can't the Republicans we have to deal with now be more like him?"  But the vitriol directed at the passed politician is as bad or worse than the bile they spew at serving politicians.  Same goes for military folks.  The only good warrior is a discharged with PTSD one, to them. 

Am I reading too much into this?

---

Another observation.

When times are good, they cling onto any bad economic news as the final trip wire to Hoovervilles and soup lines and general strikes.  Like they are looking forward to economic calamity, as long as they can blame it on a Republican.  It's Great Depression porn.  When times are good, the GOP seems to want to keep them good.  When the economy goes sour they don't want it STAY there.  They want to return to the Gilded Age as quickly as possible.  It's like the Left can only root against America.

It's like a monday, on tuesday

And I got nothing.

I guess I should email Nancy.  See if I can go to the Kids Shoot.  See if it's doable for a day trip.

Apparently the answer to "what caliber for children?" is .22lr.

It's Electric

Boogie woogie woogie.

I finally got around to reading some Phillip K Dick.  I had 2 anthologies to choose from in my pile, it was PKD or Dashiell Hammett.  I've read some/most of Hammett before, so this is a re-read, so the druggie won the proverbial coin toss.

I chose poorly.


I've read The Man in the High Castle and am halfway through Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep.  The first is an alternate history where the Axis won WWII and is set in Japanese administered San Francisco, around 1960.  The Nazis have just landed a man on Mars.  The second book is Blade Runner, with Harrison Ford being more of a whinger.

Don't get me wrong, I like them ok.  I just think I'd have enjoyed Hammett re-reads more.  Dick is all about reality bending, religion, the spirit of inanimate objects, and drugs and it is just not really my cuppa tea.  Not that the man couldn't turn a phrase.  That part of the writing is superb.  His overarching theme doesn't make me want to seek out more titles, but I will finish the four I have.  Eventually.  After the Electric Sheep I am switching to The Thin Man. 

As for their personal lives, Hammett was a Red and a Dick was a proto Hippy-dippy.  I overlook such foibles in art as long as the work isn't used too much to espouse their erroneous, and political, thinking.  At least too much.  I'm looking at YOU, Steinbeck.  Damn commie.

Gun content... The losing side's buried their rifles to hide them from the Japanese in preparation for the upcoming uprising against the tyrant Tojos.  Which didn't happen.  A huge ennui settled on the defeated US.  How did we lose?  FDR was assassinated in Miami in this timeline in 1933, and everything follows from there with weak presidents that don't prepare for the coming conflagration.

Memorial Day

I haven't lost sight of the meaning of the 'day off from work' I get tomorrow.  But still... I do love all the war movies on Turner Classic Movies, commercial free.

And I got a Roku box, so this is the last hurrah for cable TV.  I am dialing back to internet only.  I'm tired of them yanking my chain with the higher billing amount for TV they reintroduce every 10 months until I call in and squawk. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go watch some more of those old war movies with a WWII veteran 3 houses down.

Terror

Given the political rhetoric of the left, and which side control the executive branch, I guess it's a small favor that this list isn't chockablock with Tea Partiers and NRA members and Koch brothers.  Since they are often referred to as terrorists.

Some realistic integrity in one section of the DOJ to have actual, you know, real terrorists on the list rather than people like Piers Morgan thinks are terrorists.

"Oh no!  There's been a terrist bombing in Boston!  Probably the Tea Party or some Gun Nut..."

No.  And at least the FBI doesn't think that.

Got a horrific shooting or attack?  The safe way to bet is that the perp is a Muslim, or Crazy, or a Democrat, or a combination of the 3.

Upcoming Anniversary

We're coming up on a golden anniversary, November 23rd, 1963. 

What's that?  The premiere of the very first episode of Doctor Who?  Why yes.  That is important, but something firearm related happened that day, too.

The president was assassinated by a communist that bought his gun through a mail order catalog.  The first push then really got momentum.  More high profile assassinations and Charles Whitman followed in the next 5 years, and we end up with the Gun Control Act of 1968.  It would take the NRA another 9 years to catch up to this shift.  Now that I'm getting older, this span of time doesn't seem as long as it once did.  Blink of an eye.

I wonder if Gun Magazine will keep up with putting their 50 year old issues on line.  I'd like to see if there is a shift in their editorial content and letters to the editor back then.  Plus, I love reading old stuff like that.

Since 1963, these big time news events involved what kinds of weapons?  Less that mediocre scoped furren surplus rifle, a plethora of firearm but mostly a scoped hunting rifle, a scoped hunting rifle, a .22 pistol... in 1981 another .22 pistol.  What did the legislation actually ban in 1968?  Just the cheaper .22 pistols. 

Also, the gun rights arguments of February 1963 are the exact same ones we use today.  Gun restrictions don't stop criminals and do disarm the law abiding, it is our sacred right explained in the 2nd, current gun laws are inept and contradictory, not enough is done to prosecute criminal use.

Portlandia

Still no fluoridation, so they are safe from communist infiltration.  Dunno about preverts.

Women seek my power, too, and seek the Life Essence. I don't avoid women, JayG, but, I do deny them my essence.

Dammit

Shooting at my local range yesterday.  I wonder how long it will be closed?  I'm guessing suicide, but this sort of thing is never good.

"Arundel County police are investigating a shooting Wednesday morning at a target range in Severn.  Justin Mulcahy, police spokesman, said officers received a report of a shooting about 10:11 a.m at the On Target indoor range in the 2600 block of Route 175."

Reputable Stripped Lowers

I am going to get one in the near term.  Stripped lower.  To have.  Because after October I can no have.  DPMS and Essential and RockRiver are reputable names.  Any others?  Any brands to avoid?

I don't imaging local store will have any.  So I may have to go the online route and get the transfer. 

I know the ones from forged billets pretty much come from a short handful of places and then are branded by various shops.  I'm not worried about service after the sale, I just want it to be in spec.

Oh, and I wouldn't be doing this if Maryland hadn't passed restrictions.  So Thanks, O'Malley.  This may be my last gun 'purchase,' ever.

Snoop

Snoop Dogg is lending a hand to the Brady's and is apparently all for gun control.  Hmm.  A youngish celebrity for gun control but all for getting the gov't out of his hair for some of his personal recrational activities?  Whatcha bet he is a prohibitted person, so if he can't own a gun he's all for no one owning a gun?

Yup.  Several felony convictions.  That's rational, at least.  I couldn't see any felon being for private ownership of firearms. 

Well, Monday Again...

And I got nuthin.  Creative blog juices don't flow on the weekends, I guess.  So I end up making a hash of it here with the stream of consciousness...

Been thinking of the nomenclature of various magazine reloads.  Tactical Reload, Combat Reload, Stress Reload, Ammo Retention Reload, Sport Reload, Standard Reload...  I sound like Bubba Gump and his shrimp recipes.  Bah!

There are only two types of mag reload.  In social situations you reload because you Want To, or you reload because you Have To.  The first is leisurely, and you don't often drop you mag in the dirt.   The second is OHMYGOD OHMYGOD and who cares where the empty mag goes.

THAT'S DANGEROUS

Saw this on Forgotten Weapons and had to post it.  1930's LAPD




Love that font.

vote

Do you live in Maryland?  Do you know how your representatives voted on the Gun Ban bill the Governore signed this week?

Here is a voter resource to look em up.

Mine all vote Yay.  Boo.

Schadenfreude

Governor O'Malley signed the newest Gun Ban this week.  Here is an article about "he might be smiling now, but..."

Beretta, of course, is disappointed and is seriously looking to move to a more friendly state.  Beretta did lobby on the people's behalf against these tyrants, but there is only so much they can do.   “The law that finally passed went from being atrocious to simply being bad”

So O'Malley has that going against him.

The suspected philanderer O'Malley has more than that to worry about.  Wait until the mood of the country comes out in 2014.  He wants to be president so bad he can taste it.  And the mood of the country against gun banners will make swimming against that torrent look like gentle babbling brook that we saw in the 90s backlash against anti-civil rights pols.

And I am going to enjoy his comeuppance.  The last Marylander elected to a high spot in an administration was Spiro Agnew...  

Let's make gun control today look like supporting Jim Crow segregation after 1965.   It's a civil right, more important the gay marriage, more important that Roe v Wade.  A civil right to defend your personal self with the best means available.

19,000

The Connecticut governor seems to think that is guns disappeared then 19,000 people would be saved from committing suicide.

Really?  He doesn't think some subset of that 19,000 might find alternate means?  And didn't the nearby state of Vermont just pass a law saying that suicide is sorta the business of the suicidee and not the business of the State?  Whatcha bet it won't be long before Connecticut passes a similar measure.

Governor, when you argue and persuade, it'd be nice if you made more rational sense.

Rule #2

Rule #2 is essentially "Don't muzzle anything precious with your gun"

But when you put a gun in a holster is magically becomes something else.  It can be pointed at anything.  Rule #2 no longer applies.

Normally this is fine.  It actually is something else.  It is a holstered gun.  Assuming you have a good holster, it's triggerguard is completely protected and with a modern firearm in good condition it cannot go off once it is in the holster. 

People get cavalier with the holstered gatt.  I was thinking... should we?

AR range report

I took my AR to the range, finally.  The purpose?  Function check it, as I assembled the lower myself and modded the upper a bit, and to sight it in.

First of all, I took it to Clark Brothers.  You have to buy their ammo, generally, to shoot at their free range.  So I didn't bring my own (or much of my own)  They had .41 colt, but no .38 or .45 ACP.  They were out of .22.  They had over a dozen boxes of 5.56 .  Cool!  I'll get 4.  Nope, restricted to one per customer, but they were forgiving of using your own ammo from home.  Dang!

Well, the first thing I found out is that I should have marked the gas block better.  I musta lined it up poorly.  The AR is a single shot (Maryland, if they knew, would be ecstatic...)  The gases in my gas operated rifle are not operating.  Well, shucks.  I don't even know how to adjust that to be sure I am doing it right.  Any help?

The EOTech was shooting low and right at 25 yards.  I figure zeroed at 25 means zeroed at 250, and shooting high at 100.  It took MAJOR adjustment to get that sight dialed in.  Full turns of the dials adjusted with a tool made for the job.  A Jefferson nickel.  I got that done, one shot at a time.  a few rounds out at 100 to confirm I am way high out there, but still pretty centerline, vertically.  Good.  So, solve my problem with the gas cycle and I have a carbine that works as advertised.  No other flaws noticed.

Luckily, I had some .38 and some loaded .45 mags.  I thought my new snubbie had a better trigger than my current snubbie, but now I can't tell the difference.  Good.  I want them to be twins.

The new 70s era Colt Commander surprised me.  It shot VERY well.  I am very happy with that. 

Rationality

For decades the pro-civil rights community has been honing their arguments, and getting good at it as there are some really smart people doing in backed up by interested, principled, regular people that absorb the lessons.  We win at it, quite simply.  It has gotten to the point that anti-gun people resort to what is termed 'reasoned discourse' when they try to grasp at counter points.  They shut down debate on online forums, delete comments, take their ball and go home.

Yay.

But losing the argument doesn't stop them.  Mostly, their side is all emotions.  And irrefutable truth doesn't make a dent on their emotions.  "Stop with your facts, it will not change how I feel." If we can put a dent into shutting THAT down, we will truly win.

How?  How do we counter their fear based emotional policy position?

The other side is thinking the same thing, and fortunately they are more clueless as to their root problem. 

My personal preference is for the NRA to push through a universal background check bill.  A reform of the 1968 GCA.  Get rid of the interstate sale prohibitions, get rid of form 4473 as NICS obviates the need for that 45 year old system, and dump the serial number tracking on private sales.  But require the buyer (and maybe the seller) to be NICS checked.  "MBtGE from VA is selling to TBolt in MD one rifle (pistol, shotgun, other).  Both pass NICS so the sale can proceed.  This check is valid for the remainder of the month (quarter)."  A valid CCW license would suffice for the check.   Done.  Plenty of oppurtunity for ATF to run sting ops and arrest illegal sellers or buyers.  Mandate a reasonable NICS fee.

"So, that rational solution doesn't fight the irrational anti's, TBolt" you say.  No, but it takes that tactic out of their quiver.  And it's reasonable.  Just a thought.  Pass a pro-gun bill and call it gun control the whole time.

Then we work on the other sides' emotions in some way I haven't figured out.

Parks and Rec

Some people told me that Parks and Recreation was the best thing on TV right now.  It is not.

Unless I misheard them and they said something else besides 'best'.

That is all.

Espanol

Why didn't anyone tell me of the existence of this thing?

You all know about my obscession -- and also hesitation to do anything about -- pistol caliber carbines!

What's spanish for "does it come with a left handed bolt?"

Minutes Away

The police aren't obligated to protect you, according to long court precedent.

And that is obvious in Trenton NJ with long response times to 911 'intruder inside the house!' calls.  Trenton is trying hard to become the next Detroit.  The difference is the much more liberalized firearm laws Michigan compared to New Jersey.  People in Detroit arm themselves legally for their own self-defense.

That would be a novel court challenge.  Some are calling for suing business owners for not taking responsibity for you after posting their property a Gun-Free zone, it would also be an idea to challenge the precedent for police not protecting individual in dire need since state laws makes taking measures for your own personal safety problematic. 

If you are disarmed by the state the state should take up the burden of defending you and should be sued for failing to effectively.

Sticky legal wicket, but a thought. 

Confiscate

Remember this when they claim they aren't talking about confiscating your Constitutional protected property.

“We needed a bill that was going to confiscate, confiscate, confiscate.”
“They [gun owners] want to keep the guns out of the hands of the bad guys, but they don’t have any regulations to do it.”
“They don’t care about the bad guys.  All they want to do is have their little guns and do whatever they want with them.”

Krep onna Crackah!

Price per round of 9mm versus 7.62x51 is approaching parity.  Holeee...  They both seem to be about a buck a round.

"You should get an M&P 9, T-Bolt.  All the cool kids are, and the ammo is so much cheaper to practice with."

Dodged a proverbial bullet, there.

Now I am regretting buying .22 firearms in the past.

Fantastic

Chuck Shumer describes the Defense Distributed 3D printed gun as a "stomach churning" development.  He is soiling his britches because it may be undetectable. 

Well, that isn't the point of the thing.  The point of the thing is that we won't be disarmed and the latest technology makes it harder for Chuck to get his right-violating way.

If 3D printers used some sort of sintered powder or plastic/ceramic matrice that then burned away in a kiln leaving a steel 'printing' behind, and the cost of such a printer and makeshift kiln was comparable to the kind that use ABS plastic, and especially if the result was a superior metal pistol/receiver frame, then I'd be prepared to bet that Defense Distributed would have preferred to go that route. 

Give it time, I'm sure such a thing will come along.

Another alternative was a comparably priced home turnkey CNC machine that could carve out an AR lower from a billet.  The prices on those come down all the time, too.

Do you think Shumer would have a problem with a $4000 CNC machine that could make a lower or 1911 frame?  You bet he would.  He be just as stomach churned.  Good. 

Oh no, rain again...

I can't afford this.

Finally

I got a range day scheduled for this coming weekend.  Finally test out the new AR.  I feel much shame in not getting to the range more.  Archie has been taking up a lot of my time.

Shoot Outs

There are plenty of videos out there but the latest one was seen on Uncle.  It was removed, but you may have seen it.  Try this link.

There are vids others out there.

This is one of the things about dash cams on cop cars.  You can see and analyze a shootout and look for applications for CCW emergencies.

Now, the cop/bad-guy dynamic isn't going to be there.  It will be predator-chooses-unoptimal-victim from the predators point of view.  But bear with me.

What is usually in common with all these videos?

Biggest thing is the adrenalin dump all around.  Lots of emotion.  Lots of loss of fine motor skills.  Tunnel vision.  Lots of shots.  And lots of misses.  Imminent death can draw your full attention.

What did you expect shootout to be like you see out of Hollywood?

The other thing is...  movement.  A shooter (cop or badguy) might freeze in place if they are behind cover, but if not they tend to shift around like a boxer.  Instinctively, as I am assuming the bad guys don't take pistol classes that tell them to get off the X.

Remember the side steps the bad guy takes in the Uncle video, if you caught it?  Sadly, against right handed shooters, this is the 'wrong' way.  Tactical error on the bad guy.  He wants to move the other way because right handers will shoot low and left.  But in a car stop, he really can't side step to his left.  The car blocks him.  Moving is better than not moving, certainly.  And for all we know both cops were lefties.

We don't know all the details for this particular shooting.  The female cop was injured, the bad guy got dead, if I had to guess.  Specific details...  The bad guy had a gun in his hand the whole time, from exit of his vehicle to after he was no longer moving.  The bad guy has a rifle.  Looks like it may be an AK type with no shoulder stock or none unfolded (good for the cops, as he wasn't aiming).  30 seconds.  From the first shot to the last.  Not a lot of time.  Bad guys seems unhinged, and may have shouted "kill me!"  No way to tell. 

With all that missing going on, and the amped up bad guy and cops, LOTS of rounds were fired and lots were needed it seems.  Tends to happen with pistols.  Again, unlike Hollywood, the bad guys don't crumple up every time after one hit.  So, what if you have a 5 shot snubbie?  Well you can't go into a shootout with the same mindset/tactics, clearly.  Shoot and get the flock out of there.  Forcing yourself to not panic would be useful, and not empty your 5 shots, but who can ensure that going in?  Still probably a good idea to try that.  Lots of movement and movement to cover when your 5 shot .38 is going against 15 9mm or, in this case, maybe 30 7.62mm. 

Let's see if this stays...

Gun Debate

To have a rational conversation about gun the anti-gunners have to accept a condition before the discussion starts.  Anti-gunners are the bad guys trying to restrict an individual right.  Just as if they were insisting that police no longer need probable cause or that they wanted to institute a $200 tax in order to vote or wanted to return to segregation by race.

Concede that point from the start, then we can talk.

"the reason we can’t have a rational gun debate is because the anti-gun side pre-supposes that their pro-gun opponents must first accept that guns are bad in order to have a discussion about guns in the first place. Before we even start the conversation, we’re the bad guys and we have to admit it. Without accepting that guns are bad and supplicating themselves to the anti-gunner, the pro-gunner can’t get a word in edgewise, and is quickly reduced to being called a murderer, or a low, immoral and horrible human being."

We are not, generally, horrible human beings.  But the anti-gun side has insisted we are for decades.  I might accept they are not the bad guys, and are debating from a position of good faith, but only after they sit in the corner on it for a few decades, starting now.   When their arguments are absent eliminationistic rhetoric for a score or more years 

(golly that's a good essay.  RTWT.)

Ugh

Why are the weekends and monday the hardest to fill?

Metro

I have never heard Mark Levin talk on guns, but I don't catch his show very often.  I assumed he was a metrocon.  I'm glad to see he is not.

Well, not now.  He bought his first gun 18 months ago.  Now he has 3.  Joined the NRA.  Good on ya, Mr. Levin.

Spring

I have it on good authority from MANY current and former members of the United States Marine Corp that 'BLOOD MAKES THE GRASS GROW.'  But lately I have the sneaking suspicion that it's all this godamrain!

Intriguing

I used to have a thing about the search for a perfect pistol caliber carbine.

What I wanted was a new, souped up, Marlin Camp Carbine essentially.  7 rounds of .45 ACP out of a 16 inch barrel with 1911 mags.  But I entertained other ideas.

Then I relaxed and just went with an AR.  Figure that's close enough.  The gun show I bought the upper for the AR at I saw my first Marlin .45 in the wild and the price wasn't shabby.  And I put it down.

Not that I don't still have a soft spot for the genre.  Like this.  An M1 Carbine in 9mm.  Cool!

I need to get that AR rolled out and tested, this reminds me.  Better call MBtGE see if he wants to hit the range.

And in one month I am getting another stripped lower.  Just cuz Maryland.  80% lowers next year.  So there.

You know we are still allowed to buy HBAR's after the ban is in place?  So I get a tack driver full length varmint potter in a coupla years, and swap out the upper...  I guess if they catch me with a serial number bought after the ban with the wrong kind of upper on it, they can prove I violated the law of the State.   Sorta like mounting a short barrel upper on a lower with a stock before ATF says I can.  But with 2 pre-ban lowers I can pretty much do whatever they want and how would they prove it?  I guess if someone comes out with a new round in a couple years that no upper exists for now...

Boston SWAT

What happened in Boston was what SWAT was invented for!  No simple drug warrants and whatnot.  Totally justified!*

[*Yes, justified.  ONE SWAT team.  For emergencies like that.  It should be the only time you see those guys.  In a really bad situation like after the Marathon you might wanna borrow the team from Providence as a standby and have them in town.  The other 4 SWAT teams in New England should probably get a phone call.  In case.  But not do anything.  Let Andy Taylor do his police job.]

Mayday

Fuggin' Commies.

You know why I joined the Navy?  To fly in P3s  like OldNFO did.  Why?

Well, I was nearsighted.  But in a P3 there was the chance I could claw my way into the mission commander slot.  That way, if I sank a Soviet boomer, it would all be on me.  My responsibility for killing some 300 commie sailors.  But that wasn't the important part.  The important part is I would be denying to the enemy the nukes on his boat and his ability to kill 30 million odd American civilian noncombatants.

I thought that was a good ratio.  1 : 100,000.

But then the Communists up and imploded before I could get my wings, and what was the point, then?  My tenure in the Navy was thus cut short.

As for the young idealistic Progressives marching on Mayday in the US today, well:  "Sod off, Swampy!"  Damn Soap-Dodgers.  Hippy-bashing should never go out of style.  They are worse than damn Nazis.  And Nazis should all be Linden Tree ornaments.