Saturday, March 5, 2022

Even a Woke DA in NY can't make a case against President Trump.

This Bragg dude may have just earned his life. The rest of the prosecutors need the death penalty when the time comes.










Banal and non-nuclear, but interesting: VIDEO: "What Would A World War Look Like Today?"

COMMENT (slightly edited here): The possible decline in tech levels after the first few weeks of the war is reminiscent of the 'I don't know about WW3, but WW4 will be sticks and stones" line. Not quite THAT level, but a similar concept with a much more plausible conclusion.





Friday, March 4, 2022

THE DAILY FUDD: E180: "Even experts can be dumbasses -- C&Rsenal host and Mae can't see the obvious on Colt 1902: USE TWO FINGERS! (VIDEO)."



These two lament the 28-POUND TRIGGER PULL on the Colt 1902 "Philippine" .45 revolver. But I've seen vids of other similar arms (maybe even this model) where two fingers were used. They don't even think of it.

Go to 25:00 point for start of this discussion, followed by Mae's range vid. Then Mae enters studio at 38:14 point.

Also, she's tactically wrong about still taking the 1902 over the SAA (46:47 point). In the context of her failure to comprehend, even a single-action would be better.




THE DAILY FUDD: E179: "Militia fudd: Federalist 29 & 46 lesson from WW2 -- Mark Feldon video: "Volkssturm - Hitler's Last Ditch Civilian Army."

COMMENTThe video points out the point Alexander Hamilton made in Federalist 29 about civilian militias: It's impossible to have the whole of the civilian population trained and disciplined for military action:

"The project of disciplining all the militia of the United States is as futile as it would be injurious, if it were capable of being carried into execution. A tolerable expertness in military movements is a business that requires time and practice. It is not a day, or even a week, that will suffice for the attainment of it. To oblige the great body of the yeomanry, and of the other classes of the citizens, to be under arms for the purpose of going through military exercises and evolutions, as often as might be necessary to acquire the degree of perfection which would entitle them to the character of a well-regulated militia, would be a real grievance to the people, and a serious public inconvenience and loss. It would form an annual deduction from the productive labor of the country, to an amount which, calculating upon the present numbers of the people, would not fall far short of the whole expense of the civil establishments of all the States. To attempt a thing which would abridge the mass of labor and industry to so considerable an extent, would be unwise: and the experiment, if made, could not succeed, because it would not long be endured. Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped; and in order to see that this be not neglected, it will be necessary to assemble them once or twice in the course of a year."
Much of the answer to this would be to have these armed civilians acting in supportive roles--logistically as drivers and such; tactically as set-position fire support rather than affirmatively assaulting ("sturm-ing"). American civilians would have to learn to set aside having watched too many "A-Team" reruns and accept a subdued role.
Furthermore, James Madison noted the role of local--that is, STATE--governments in making the general militia--the armed citizenry--effective. Referring to a resistance against domestic tyranny, but militarily applicable to resisting foreign invasion, he said in Federalist 46:

"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."

Currently, the American Second Amendment facilitates civilians having arms, but there is a lack of coordination in this--e,g., too many calibers and weapon types--and too few people recognize the role the Founding Fathers saw for State GOVERNMENT in the 2A civilian Militia. Americans would need to subordinate personal preferences and learn to accept authority and direction. 2A is a private right, and people have a right to private self-defense. But in the true militia context, it's about the community. The individual would, as in the uniformed military, have to be subordinated.

REPLY FROM @wayne antoniazzi: All of the above you mentioned led to the American Milita Act of 1793, mostly written by Baron von Steuben and signed into law by President George Washington. Steuben took as inspiration the Swiss model and saw no reason it couldn't work here.
Briefly, it spells out recruiting, training, organization, and the arms meant to be carried by militamen who were to be the whole of able-bodied men (with certain exceptions) from the ages of (I think, I'd have to check again) 18 to 48. The arms were to be of the same configuration and caliber of the US Army's. It also made provision for artillery and cavalry units.
A very well thought-out program, however it was never really enforced.
Also, remember Hamilton's argument wasn't so much against a citizen militia as it was FOR a strong professional standing army, which many in the Constitutional Convention and subsequent Congress were very suspicious of.

MY REPLY: @wayne antoniazzi  Yet too many 2A supporters won't even consider government involvement in anything 2A. They talk of it referring to PRIVATE militias and a PRIVATE resistance to federal tyranny.
John Adams, on the other hand, explained:
"To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of towns, countries or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution, and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a dissolution of the government. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws."
---John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of the United States 475 (1787-1788)

----

 @wayne antoniazzi  And yes, Hamilton's statement was an "in addition to," not "instead of." He recognizes general armament of the citizenry and nation several times.

Thursday, March 3, 2022

THE DAILY FUDD: E178: "The flipside of fudd: A lesson from 'Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man' -- Stick to the (more) standard calibers."

"Harley" has a 6-round Ruger Super Blackhawk in .454 Casull, while "Marlboro" has an 8+1-round Desert Eagle in .44 Magnum. The scene certainly demonstrates the tactical superiority of an automatic over a revolver--certainly a single-action rod-eject--but the humorous line at the beginning upholds a TDF position of sticking to more common calibers. While .44 doesn't make top-seller lists, it's far more common than .454 Casull. And in the semi-dystopic future of this much-underrated movie, that means 2020 Ammo Crunch-type prices for ammo. Harley should know to fire .45 Long Colt!

  • Marlboro You know, that gun costs about two dollars every time you fire it. That's two bucks a bullet.

    Harley Davidson Well how many'd I hit?

    Marlboro You spent twelve dollars and didn't hit a goddamn thing. I nailed one and it cost about four and a quarter.




Backstory:

"The Greatest Opening Movie - Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man"




"Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (4/12) Movie CLIP - Marlboro's Birthday Present (1991) HD"



And of course, just for fun, that great ending every geek dreamed of somehow being able to pull off, but knew we--ur, they, I mean--couldn't.


 
Movie fan video to "Ride With Me."




ARTICLE: JOHN RATCLIFFE AND CLIFF SIMS -- "Fear Of Donald Trump Kept Putin From Invading Ukraine. Here’s How Trump Pulled It Off."



A recent Harvard-Harris poll found that 62 percent of Americans believe that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if Donald Trump were still in the Oval Office. As former senior intelligence officials under President Trump, we agree with that view.

Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 when George W. Bush was president. Russia took Crimea in 2014 when Barack Obama was president. Russia has now invaded Ukraine with Joe Biden as president. However, when Donald Trump was president, Russia did not seize territory from any of its neighbors.

...

So how did Trump succeed in containing Putin while the Russian autocrat has run wild with others in the White House? Why was he so successful at spreading peace elsewhere? We believe the long answer begins with these ten ways that Donald Trump projected American strength and kept the bad guys in check:

  1. Rebuilt the American Military
  2. Crusaded for American Energy Dominance
  3. Set the Tone by Launching Surgical Missile Strikes in Syria in Early 2017
  4. Developed Strong Relationships with Middle Eastern Nations Based on Mutual Interests
  5. Was Ruthless with the Taliban While Winding Down the Afghanistan War
  6. Crushed the ISIS Caliphate
  7. Demonstrated a Consistent Willingness to Take out the Bad Guys 
  8. Stood Up to China 
  9. Strategically Used Unpredictability as an Asset in Foreign Affairs 
  10. Advanced Tough Russia Policies and Provided Lethal Aid to Ukraine while Maintaining an Open Dialogue
...

Vladimir Putin’s appetite for expansion did not wane during the four years Trump was in office, and the world was not just miraculously a safer place. Bad actors like Putin simply knew that they had to restrain themselves or deal with the consequences. In nearly every way possible, President Biden has weakened the United States and our allies and empowered Putin. As a result, Russia is on the march, even as the Ukrainian people have inspired the world with their courage and resilience. And in the wings, America’s greatest threat – Xi Jinping’s China – waits, and watches.

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

MOUT, or "Urban Warfare": The real wave of the military future -- With Ukraine discussion in this context, and American civilian considerations.

COMMENT: Ground combat is going more and more urban. Rural areas are too vulnerable to air/artillery/missile attack. As much as I love some W40K, the Korps of Krieg is not the future of warfare.





And every urban environment has its subterranean dimension:






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UKRAINE SITUATION:


But then there's this (from 22 FEB 2022):


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FOR AMERICAN CIVILIANS (CANADIANS MIGHT APPRECIATE THIS, TOO):