The Department of Defense announced that it has chosen a replacement for the M4 rifle currently issued to soldiers in the Army and Marines. In April, the Sig Sauer company was awarded a $20 million contract to supply the Army with its new combat rifle, the XM5.
Lucian, I don’t know if I shared this with you. Earlier this month I trotted along to an airport ‘Support Group’ for the local downtown airport here in Greenville, SC. Having been in the Air Force for four years (1963-‘67), a fan of Aviation all my life, and a flight instructor in the civilian world for ten years (2007-2017), I had entertained the thought of getting involved again, and possibly re-entering the aviation arena by dusting off my old credentials, getting re-certified as a flight instructor and taking on a gig Part Time. I always enjoyed flight instruction, and with about 2400 hours as a pilot and 1500 as an instructor, I got pretty good at it.
I had been to the previous month’s meeting of the group in April and already had got the vibe that this was not a group that was going to be necessarily a good fit for me. Why is that? Well….without going too deeply into it, think about it. South Carolina. General Aviation: a bastion of mostly male, older, White, ‘Conservative’ Americans. That first meeting, as a ‘New Guy’ in the room, I laid low and just made some mental notes: everyone in the room (the Runway Cafe) was White. Mostly male. There were quite a few framed photos on the wall, as is typical of these places. Planes, of course, some military signed by various and sundry pilots, Awards for this and that, artwork, American flags, etc. and significantly, I thought, an empty space in a prominent place on the wall which would have been natural for a significant framed piece to be hung. Obviously, something had been in that space, I could tell by the contrast of that clean empty rectangle to the surroundings, but it was now empty. I wondered if it had been an Official Photo of the former president. Had it been deemed possibly inappropriate to have it there after he was no longer in office? And, had none of the club’s officers find it in themselves to put up a photo of his successor? Or…was that just my imagination on fire? I wanted to ask, but….decided not to, figuring it would only invite trouble.
Anyway, in the course of that first meeting there was as part of the evening’s program, a meal (for $15), which I had already decided I did not want, being as I am pretty strict about what and when I eat, so I did not partake of that. However, before THAT got underway, there was a prayer offered up. Yes. “To our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ….for our Freedoms…to fly and live in this great country…….” Now, I’m wondering if anyone in the room found that somewhat odd. Or, was I the only one to feel, “Hey!” Don’t you think a prayer like this is just a tad bit hard to take for any Jewish pilots who might be here…or Sikhs…or Bahai….or Hindu….or Buddhists….or…(God forbid!)….those who identify as Muslims? If they want to observe some kind of Gratitude before a meal, why not just suggest a moment of Silence, instead of making this grand assumption that “We’re all ‘good Christians’ here, amirite, boys?” Obviously, those who are outside this club, would not feel this is a welcoming place for them. Instead of a meal, I grabbed a beer, talked to a few of the Senior potentates in this little ensemble (of about 30 or so in the room, I would say) handed them my business card which showed my flight instructor status and explained that I was thinking about getting back into it. The four men I passed my card along to all promised to get in touch with me. None did.
Now it’s earlier this month. The same deal. All white….older….White Christian…mostly male…but the throng is bigger. There’s a buzz about tonight’s speaker. He’s a pilot for what is called ‘the Doomsday Aircraft.’ His call sign is ‘The Mayor.’ Again the meal. But first the prayer to “Our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Again I was not eating. I grabbed a beer. After the meal, up comes this Naval aviator. Boy, is he ever stoked to be here to tell about this wonderful thing he’s involved with. Flying this specially constructed Boeing 707 that has been re-engineered for this specific purpose. No, they did not take old mothballed 707’s that had been retired many moons ago, sitting out shrink-wrapped in the desert sun at Davis Monthan AFB in southern Arizona. Boeing, under contract with the government, made this plane from the original specs in a specially designed facility, upgraded with new engines and with all the latest whizz-bang technology you can imagine, from special coatings and paint and shielding to withstand Electo Magnetic Pulses, and lasers, and nuclear ☢️ blasts and all the other delightful ways that humans have designed to kill everything that flies and satellites and destroying the internet, and everything else you can think of. There is also an antenna on board that can be unspooled from the tail and through some hairy derring-do of our hero, “the Mayor” and his fellow pilots of this ‘Doomsday Aircraft’ that mighty 707 can be put into a series of High Speed Stall Maneuvers (consuming 24,000 lbs of fuel per hour!) that will allow that antenna to fly out in a certain way so that it will be mostly hanging DOWN from the aircraft vertically, not just trailing it behind - all the better to send out that signal to our glorious fleet of nuclear submarines stationed in oceans all over the world to launch their Trident missiles, plus whatever Titan Minuteman missiles might be left if they haven’t already been ‘compromised’ by a ‘First Strike’ by ‘our enemies.’ Are you with me here? You may be wondering how much this aircraft costs. Try 760 million dollars. For one plane. And….they have 16 of them! Plus all the crews to fly them, and those who are tasked to maintain them….and all the associated folks that are necessary to support this noble effort…blah, blah, blah. The total cost of this ‘Doomsday Aircraft’ program amounts to 20% of the Navy’s entire budget. Ours is, as you know, the world’s largest navy by far with all it’s nuclear carriers, subs, aircraft, guided missile cruisers, and so on, and this one program amounts to 20% of the whole Navy budget. Well, this guy had our group at the airport practically creaming in their jeans at this little road show. Wow!!!! It was like a tRump rally. Nothing made any sense except that this was total madness and that all these good ol’ Southern boys just couldn’t wait to be like Slim Pickens in the 1964 Stanley Kubrick film, “Doctor Strangelove.” They so wanted to be the one to ride that nuclear bomb down to the target, take off their MAGA hat and shout “Wa-HOOOOOO!!!!!” before the detonation blasted them to Kingdom Come and Home with The Lawd Gawd a’Mighty! And then I raised my hand. “Yes?” I told him that he seemed to be having a good old time up there, what with flying the plane that is going to show the world just why America is so great and all, but had he ever given a thought to what happens after. “What do you mean?” Like….I mean, the planet is now a radioactive cinder that is unsuitable for Life for the next 10,000 years or so….at least life as we know it. So…uh….where are you going to land?” Suddenly, the room was not quite so friendly. The three others at the table I had been sitting out now didn’t seem to know me. Narrowed and angry eyes were aimed at me from every direction in the room. I wondered if maybe that second beer might have been the one that loosened my tongue. Ah….fuck it. This whole shit-show is a complete and utter waste and a folly. To believe that this is going to “Save America” from “our enemies” which, since WW2 has been growing incrementally every time we have bullied or invaded or screwed with some other country to further our own interests, is sheer insanity.
As someone far sager than me observed “You don’t achieve Peace by spending all your time and energy working to wage war. You achieve Peace by working for Peace”. (Or words to that effect. It’s late and I’m not going to Google it.). When I left I was clearly the most hated man in the room. Possibly in all of Greenville. Hell…in the whole ‘Palmetto state!’ I thought I oughta get to my car and get the Hell outa Dodge before they organized a posse to tackle me in the parking lot, string me up and hang me from the flagpole out in front of the restaurant as a sign of any other would-be ‘trouble-makers’ who dared invade their little club. No, I don’t think I’ll be going back.
This is what we’re up against in this country, Lucian. So-called White Christian Nationalist ‘Patriots’ who think anyone unlike them who is not inclined to think that coming up with the most effective and efficient way of killing human beings is a wonderful thing, is somehow a ‘traitor’ and obviously ‘hates America.’ Our country is in deep trouble, and I am not optimistic for the future. This new gun you speak of that will soon be appearing in neighborhoods all over America “…..just as sure as shootin’!” is yet another reason for me to believe that, despite being in the majority, we are doomed.
Paul I live in SC and get it. Lots of Ford 150s rolling around with Trump, Confederate Battle Flag and "Don't Tread on Me" flags . Trumpism has stripped the too thin veneer of latent Southern red neck racism from this place and they yahoos are free to let their worst instincts as human beings serve as their "political statements." I love the weather here but am still in wonder at how many supposedly educated people could be so damn dumb and fixated on turning back the clock. oh, we also were ground central for resistance to vaccines and masks. At one point I was thinking the problem might solve itself but no glory yet.
A couple of months ago I visited the local Museum and Library of the Confederacy right here in Greenville. Have you ever been there? It is actually a pretty interesting repository of some rather stunning historical artifacts from that awful conflict. Then, there is the uh…..”Gift Shop,” which contains, among other things, the most unabashed pro-Lost Cause b.s. you could imagine. It’s like the war just ended last week and they can’t get over how them damned Yankee bastids ever rolled over these glorious Southern heroes fightin’ for ARE RAHTS TO LIVE FREE AN’ DETERMINE ARE OWNED DESTINEE! You would get the idea that Slavery was never even part of the conversation. My son (age 25) and brother were with me, and after about 30’ my son said he had to get out of there. It was just too much. The thing that pushed him over the edge was overhearing a conversation by two older White guys in the office. There was a reference to “….them fu*kin’ Jews” and that was enough for him. That’s it in a nutshell. As Trump famously said, he identified as “a White Christian Nationalist.” (Of course, he’s no Christian, but remember who he’s playing to. They all buy that line of shit…hook, line, and Lite Beer.) That’s what these red necks want: a country that has only White Folks in it, and an Official State Religion, and woe betide anyone who doesn’t fit in. I should add that since moving here (from AZ last December) I have taken to long walks through the neighborhoods here with my dog, “Leo.” It seems that the friendliest people along our rambles are almost exclusively the Black folks. Sadly, I don’t seem to have much in common with the people I look like - me being an older White guy myself.
Paul, if you ever get to Charleston where I live be sure to visit the National Park Service HQ where the tour boats leave for Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The exhibit in the HQ does a marvelous job of explaining the real roots of the Confederacy as in the South' agrarian economy depending upon cheap/free labor and the rich planters had to stop that from happening; hence the Secessionist Movement. What one concludes after reading all the historically based information is the Civil War was all about a small group of wealthy planters and agricultural brokers instigating a war to protect not so much their "way of life" as is commonly said but their wealth and profits. Over the course of the war nearly a half million poor Southern boys died for a myth which is kept alive and well today with statues and celebrations of a true Lost Cause.
Paul this was a fascinating inside look. I would have been most unwelcome at that meeting/rally, so I appreciate your description. As it is now, even before the latest and deadliest killing machine hits the streets, I am using the pandemic as my excuse to do all my shopping online or curbside. In reality, I don't feel safe anymore inside grocery stores, churches, theaters, restaurants, and the like.
Thank you, Paul Nadas, for taking me into a world where I could never in a million years have gained admittance on my own. I can't say I'm "happy" to have had such a clear glimpse of it, but I am most definitely better off.
Thank you, Susanna. It is indeed disturbing. However, I should add that as a flight instructor I had my share of this kind of ignorant bigotry on a regular basis in the state I got my first job at, West Virginia. Curiously, WV was formed when it separated from the rest of Virginia and entered the Union as a “Northern” state. My job took me deep into ‘Coal Country’ (southern WV) and here the locals have a history of distrusting “outsiders” and a perception that anyone not from their particular ‘tribe’ is suspect. It got really ugly sometimes, and I eventually severed several relationships by telling racist students they needed to find another instructor. That I was done with them. You should have seen the time I was confronted by a hostile pilot who flew business jets for some well-heeled clients. He called me out in front of a gaggle of his like-minded yokels with, “Hey, Paul! Is it true what Mike done tol’ me? That you voted for that nigger?” (This would have been after the 2008 election). I was in my car, and about to leave the airport having finished my work for the day. I could see the ‘Peanut Gallery’ in the hangar all grinning and clearly enjoying what they were sure was going to be a lot of ‘fun.’ I entertained the idea of stepping out of the car and getting into it with him ‘Mano-a-Mano.’ However, I managed to restrain myself and just looked the guy in the eye and told him, “Yeah, that’s right.” Now, he’s looking around and clearly enjoying himself. “How come?” “Because…..” said I, “he was the best damn nigger on the ticket!” Started my car and rolled out. That state, by the way went for tRump by 68% in 2016, the most of any state in the country, and I’m sure is convinced that their guy won in 2020 as well, ECKCEPT THEM EVIL DEMON RATS DONE STOLED ARE LECTION WITHE THEYRE LIES!!!!!! The last time I visited that airport, it was the Official HQ of the WV “Oath Keepers” and an armed escort in milita uniform was on the scene shadowing me whenever I dropped by. Very creepy. This on the grounds of a public airport that takes federal funds for maintenance and upkeep. Go figure.
Clinton Holeman, he did not. How could he? I should say that I added a lot more that evening, for example citing the Russian colonel (Stanislav Petrov) who defied protocol and procedures by acting on his gut and instincts that the nuclear attack by the US that his subordinates at the remote Radar Installation he was in charge of that night assured him was underway was not factually correct. The film (“The Man Who Saved the World” Documentary/Drama 2014) is well worth watching, if you haven’t seen it. By the way, when Petrov came to the US he was ignored by American officials but was awarded a plaque in an embarrassingly low-key setting by none other than the actor, Kevin Costner in a cluttered Manhattan office. (Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro also appear in the film as themselves.). I doubt that the Navy pilot or anyone else in that room had seen the film. Also, if you are hip to “The Fog of War” (Robert McNamara interview & file footage: 2003) and other interviews (e.g. that of Noam Chomsky, you will already know that the world came very close to WW3 in October of 1962. That is the problem with these nuclear weapons and the folks who are in charge of them. Each iteration of the weapon - supposedly to make a “surprise attack” less likely - only assures the opposite. That is, that at some point somebody in the higher echelons realizes that “the only Good Defense against “our enemies” is a Great Offense” & then….Game On! It is the same with these damned battlefield rifles. Each one is designed to render all previous versions Obsolete. As if.
It is. I know that when his book came out, it caused quite a huge collective cry of dismay among Viet Nam war vets. (Note: I am one myself, but hadn’t read his book. I was, however, aware of the controversy.). That is, he KNEW the war was unwinnable, but kept advocating for more troops to be sent over to participate in the conflict. That is unconscionable, and clearly the film/documentary showed that this shameless act took its toll on his psyche. I have the same problem with the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Condi Rice/Paul Wolfowitz claque in the “W” administration. All of them are Guilty of War Crimes with their pushing the War against Iraq in 2003, knowing that this claim of Saddam and “weapons of mass destruction” was bullshit. Even Colin Powell, who was then Secretary of State got drawn into this sham. I had admired him so much and believed he could well have become this country’s first Black president. His capitulation to the Bush/Cheney crowd and agreeing to sell the Lie to the UN was unforgivable, in my book. He could have salvaged his reputation and, possibly, derailed the unjustified and Illegal attack by refusing to do it, resigning from the administration, and giving a press conference to make public his strong opposition to this rush to War, fabricated as it was, and based on phony “evidence.”
The problem isn’t the military having these weapons, its the civilians! Problem is that the gun mfgrs make WAY more profit selling assault rifles to Rambo wannabes. WAY more. Plus all the new ammo, bc the old .223/.556 won’t be adequate anymore. And, once again all the wannabes will buy tons of new ammo. 😡‼️
But part of the trouble *is* the military having these weapons. I skidded to a halt at "Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team." WTF kind of mind comes up with a name like that and thinks it's normal? Not to mention -- the line between "the military" and "the civilians" is porous at best. The right-wing militias include current and former military, and current and former law enforcement. There were plenty of them among the insurrectionists that invaded the Capitol on 1/6/21.
1. I believe our military should have the very best weapons we can provide them with. Admittedly, I have skin in this game. One of my sons is an Army Infantryman, a Grunt - and very proud of it. And he is not a macho wannabe kind of person - he likes being where he is - and apparently he’s very good at it. He is on the pointy end of the stick.
While the title of the department is a tad insensitive, the objective of our military is, in the event of a war, to kill as many of the enemy soldiers as possible, while minimizing our losses. Almost everything the Army does is with that in mind. And I believe it should be - there are, alas, too many Putlers out there, ask the Ukrainians and their neighbors.
There were about 50 active duty military involved in the January 6 sedition - they are, rightly, being prosecuted. Additionally, the Army is working at rooting out those kinds of extremists - or at least paying lip service to it.
Again, the main job of our military is to kill the enemy, and I would like for them to have the absolute best equipment for the job.
2. Civilians simply do not need any sort of assault weapon - auto or semi auto. Case closed.
3. Civilian militias do indeed have some ex-military in them. I have some knowledge of militias -there are 5+ within a 25 mile radius of my house. Some are just the usual wannbes, but there area couple who are flat out scary. Something needs to be done and quickly. Much for another article!
But… they are civilians, and shouldn’t have military/tactical weapons - period!
One other issue. My son ends up buying his own equipment because a good deal he is provided by the Army is inferior to what he can buy in the civilian marketplace.
Well, Mo Brooks must be decidedly giddy to know that there will soon be a more lethal weapon of mass murder "to help ensure that we, the citizenry, always have the right to take back our government should it become dictatorial."
But why wasn't he saying this when a wannabe dictator tried to quash the results of a free and fair presidential election?
Wealth. Power. Immunity under the law. Laws that do not protect, except for those seeking more wealth. And power.
Why do weapons manufacturers do this? Because they can. Wealth and power - in Congress, in the board room, in the marketplace - accrue from their irredeemable efforts. They do it because they can. And there is no recourse for any citizen harmed by their actions.
Can we just make a distinction between military grade weapons and civilian firearms? Auto-loading weapons were developed for soldiers. Detachable magazines were developed for soldiers. Modifying a military weapon to require one trigger pull per shot isn't sufficient. It remains too rapid-fire, too suitable for slaughter. As some wag once said, if you need a 30-shot weapon to defend against armed intruders, why not just get out of the drug business?
GOD ALMIGHTY!! I regurgitated as my stomach is in knots! This Lt. colonel or whatever the hell he is, sounds like he’s skipping and clapping his fins like a trained seal when telling of yet another deadly weapon. Is that all that men think about, other than sex? How to compete with or against others, using the highest powered ammunition in the world? This is how these sub-humans get their rocks off! Another travesty waiting to happen and billions of dollars not going towards education and feeding families.
Sig Sauer is a German company, guess how many German citizens can buy any semi-automatic rifles or hand guns in Germany. I have been to Germany many times over many years and have never seen a German gun store.
Lucian, do we know for a fact that our replies and conversations here are private? Unable to be hacked, or monitored by someone other than you? I find myself holding back because I don't trust that Someone Else is not watching. This is the only online "forum" in which I participate.
Lucian, I don’t know if I shared this with you. Earlier this month I trotted along to an airport ‘Support Group’ for the local downtown airport here in Greenville, SC. Having been in the Air Force for four years (1963-‘67), a fan of Aviation all my life, and a flight instructor in the civilian world for ten years (2007-2017), I had entertained the thought of getting involved again, and possibly re-entering the aviation arena by dusting off my old credentials, getting re-certified as a flight instructor and taking on a gig Part Time. I always enjoyed flight instruction, and with about 2400 hours as a pilot and 1500 as an instructor, I got pretty good at it.
I had been to the previous month’s meeting of the group in April and already had got the vibe that this was not a group that was going to be necessarily a good fit for me. Why is that? Well….without going too deeply into it, think about it. South Carolina. General Aviation: a bastion of mostly male, older, White, ‘Conservative’ Americans. That first meeting, as a ‘New Guy’ in the room, I laid low and just made some mental notes: everyone in the room (the Runway Cafe) was White. Mostly male. There were quite a few framed photos on the wall, as is typical of these places. Planes, of course, some military signed by various and sundry pilots, Awards for this and that, artwork, American flags, etc. and significantly, I thought, an empty space in a prominent place on the wall which would have been natural for a significant framed piece to be hung. Obviously, something had been in that space, I could tell by the contrast of that clean empty rectangle to the surroundings, but it was now empty. I wondered if it had been an Official Photo of the former president. Had it been deemed possibly inappropriate to have it there after he was no longer in office? And, had none of the club’s officers find it in themselves to put up a photo of his successor? Or…was that just my imagination on fire? I wanted to ask, but….decided not to, figuring it would only invite trouble.
Anyway, in the course of that first meeting there was as part of the evening’s program, a meal (for $15), which I had already decided I did not want, being as I am pretty strict about what and when I eat, so I did not partake of that. However, before THAT got underway, there was a prayer offered up. Yes. “To our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ….for our Freedoms…to fly and live in this great country…….” Now, I’m wondering if anyone in the room found that somewhat odd. Or, was I the only one to feel, “Hey!” Don’t you think a prayer like this is just a tad bit hard to take for any Jewish pilots who might be here…or Sikhs…or Bahai….or Hindu….or Buddhists….or…(God forbid!)….those who identify as Muslims? If they want to observe some kind of Gratitude before a meal, why not just suggest a moment of Silence, instead of making this grand assumption that “We’re all ‘good Christians’ here, amirite, boys?” Obviously, those who are outside this club, would not feel this is a welcoming place for them. Instead of a meal, I grabbed a beer, talked to a few of the Senior potentates in this little ensemble (of about 30 or so in the room, I would say) handed them my business card which showed my flight instructor status and explained that I was thinking about getting back into it. The four men I passed my card along to all promised to get in touch with me. None did.
Now it’s earlier this month. The same deal. All white….older….White Christian…mostly male…but the throng is bigger. There’s a buzz about tonight’s speaker. He’s a pilot for what is called ‘the Doomsday Aircraft.’ His call sign is ‘The Mayor.’ Again the meal. But first the prayer to “Our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Again I was not eating. I grabbed a beer. After the meal, up comes this Naval aviator. Boy, is he ever stoked to be here to tell about this wonderful thing he’s involved with. Flying this specially constructed Boeing 707 that has been re-engineered for this specific purpose. No, they did not take old mothballed 707’s that had been retired many moons ago, sitting out shrink-wrapped in the desert sun at Davis Monthan AFB in southern Arizona. Boeing, under contract with the government, made this plane from the original specs in a specially designed facility, upgraded with new engines and with all the latest whizz-bang technology you can imagine, from special coatings and paint and shielding to withstand Electo Magnetic Pulses, and lasers, and nuclear ☢️ blasts and all the other delightful ways that humans have designed to kill everything that flies and satellites and destroying the internet, and everything else you can think of. There is also an antenna on board that can be unspooled from the tail and through some hairy derring-do of our hero, “the Mayor” and his fellow pilots of this ‘Doomsday Aircraft’ that mighty 707 can be put into a series of High Speed Stall Maneuvers (consuming 24,000 lbs of fuel per hour!) that will allow that antenna to fly out in a certain way so that it will be mostly hanging DOWN from the aircraft vertically, not just trailing it behind - all the better to send out that signal to our glorious fleet of nuclear submarines stationed in oceans all over the world to launch their Trident missiles, plus whatever Titan Minuteman missiles might be left if they haven’t already been ‘compromised’ by a ‘First Strike’ by ‘our enemies.’ Are you with me here? You may be wondering how much this aircraft costs. Try 760 million dollars. For one plane. And….they have 16 of them! Plus all the crews to fly them, and those who are tasked to maintain them….and all the associated folks that are necessary to support this noble effort…blah, blah, blah. The total cost of this ‘Doomsday Aircraft’ program amounts to 20% of the Navy’s entire budget. Ours is, as you know, the world’s largest navy by far with all it’s nuclear carriers, subs, aircraft, guided missile cruisers, and so on, and this one program amounts to 20% of the whole Navy budget. Well, this guy had our group at the airport practically creaming in their jeans at this little road show. Wow!!!! It was like a tRump rally. Nothing made any sense except that this was total madness and that all these good ol’ Southern boys just couldn’t wait to be like Slim Pickens in the 1964 Stanley Kubrick film, “Doctor Strangelove.” They so wanted to be the one to ride that nuclear bomb down to the target, take off their MAGA hat and shout “Wa-HOOOOOO!!!!!” before the detonation blasted them to Kingdom Come and Home with The Lawd Gawd a’Mighty! And then I raised my hand. “Yes?” I told him that he seemed to be having a good old time up there, what with flying the plane that is going to show the world just why America is so great and all, but had he ever given a thought to what happens after. “What do you mean?” Like….I mean, the planet is now a radioactive cinder that is unsuitable for Life for the next 10,000 years or so….at least life as we know it. So…uh….where are you going to land?” Suddenly, the room was not quite so friendly. The three others at the table I had been sitting out now didn’t seem to know me. Narrowed and angry eyes were aimed at me from every direction in the room. I wondered if maybe that second beer might have been the one that loosened my tongue. Ah….fuck it. This whole shit-show is a complete and utter waste and a folly. To believe that this is going to “Save America” from “our enemies” which, since WW2 has been growing incrementally every time we have bullied or invaded or screwed with some other country to further our own interests, is sheer insanity.
As someone far sager than me observed “You don’t achieve Peace by spending all your time and energy working to wage war. You achieve Peace by working for Peace”. (Or words to that effect. It’s late and I’m not going to Google it.). When I left I was clearly the most hated man in the room. Possibly in all of Greenville. Hell…in the whole ‘Palmetto state!’ I thought I oughta get to my car and get the Hell outa Dodge before they organized a posse to tackle me in the parking lot, string me up and hang me from the flagpole out in front of the restaurant as a sign of any other would-be ‘trouble-makers’ who dared invade their little club. No, I don’t think I’ll be going back.
This is what we’re up against in this country, Lucian. So-called White Christian Nationalist ‘Patriots’ who think anyone unlike them who is not inclined to think that coming up with the most effective and efficient way of killing human beings is a wonderful thing, is somehow a ‘traitor’ and obviously ‘hates America.’ Our country is in deep trouble, and I am not optimistic for the future. This new gun you speak of that will soon be appearing in neighborhoods all over America “…..just as sure as shootin’!” is yet another reason for me to believe that, despite being in the majority, we are doomed.
Paul I live in SC and get it. Lots of Ford 150s rolling around with Trump, Confederate Battle Flag and "Don't Tread on Me" flags . Trumpism has stripped the too thin veneer of latent Southern red neck racism from this place and they yahoos are free to let their worst instincts as human beings serve as their "political statements." I love the weather here but am still in wonder at how many supposedly educated people could be so damn dumb and fixated on turning back the clock. oh, we also were ground central for resistance to vaccines and masks. At one point I was thinking the problem might solve itself but no glory yet.
A couple of months ago I visited the local Museum and Library of the Confederacy right here in Greenville. Have you ever been there? It is actually a pretty interesting repository of some rather stunning historical artifacts from that awful conflict. Then, there is the uh…..”Gift Shop,” which contains, among other things, the most unabashed pro-Lost Cause b.s. you could imagine. It’s like the war just ended last week and they can’t get over how them damned Yankee bastids ever rolled over these glorious Southern heroes fightin’ for ARE RAHTS TO LIVE FREE AN’ DETERMINE ARE OWNED DESTINEE! You would get the idea that Slavery was never even part of the conversation. My son (age 25) and brother were with me, and after about 30’ my son said he had to get out of there. It was just too much. The thing that pushed him over the edge was overhearing a conversation by two older White guys in the office. There was a reference to “….them fu*kin’ Jews” and that was enough for him. That’s it in a nutshell. As Trump famously said, he identified as “a White Christian Nationalist.” (Of course, he’s no Christian, but remember who he’s playing to. They all buy that line of shit…hook, line, and Lite Beer.) That’s what these red necks want: a country that has only White Folks in it, and an Official State Religion, and woe betide anyone who doesn’t fit in. I should add that since moving here (from AZ last December) I have taken to long walks through the neighborhoods here with my dog, “Leo.” It seems that the friendliest people along our rambles are almost exclusively the Black folks. Sadly, I don’t seem to have much in common with the people I look like - me being an older White guy myself.
Paul, if you ever get to Charleston where I live be sure to visit the National Park Service HQ where the tour boats leave for Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The exhibit in the HQ does a marvelous job of explaining the real roots of the Confederacy as in the South' agrarian economy depending upon cheap/free labor and the rich planters had to stop that from happening; hence the Secessionist Movement. What one concludes after reading all the historically based information is the Civil War was all about a small group of wealthy planters and agricultural brokers instigating a war to protect not so much their "way of life" as is commonly said but their wealth and profits. Over the course of the war nearly a half million poor Southern boys died for a myth which is kept alive and well today with statues and celebrations of a true Lost Cause.
Thanks, Robert. I will definitely keep that in mind whenever I might get down your way. :-)
Paul this was a fascinating inside look. I would have been most unwelcome at that meeting/rally, so I appreciate your description. As it is now, even before the latest and deadliest killing machine hits the streets, I am using the pandemic as my excuse to do all my shopping online or curbside. In reality, I don't feel safe anymore inside grocery stores, churches, theaters, restaurants, and the like.
Thank you, Ellen. I too am wary of being ‘Out & About.’ Security in public situations is a casualty of all this gun mayhem.
Thank you, Paul Nadas, for taking me into a world where I could never in a million years have gained admittance on my own. I can't say I'm "happy" to have had such a clear glimpse of it, but I am most definitely better off.
Thank you, Susanna. It is indeed disturbing. However, I should add that as a flight instructor I had my share of this kind of ignorant bigotry on a regular basis in the state I got my first job at, West Virginia. Curiously, WV was formed when it separated from the rest of Virginia and entered the Union as a “Northern” state. My job took me deep into ‘Coal Country’ (southern WV) and here the locals have a history of distrusting “outsiders” and a perception that anyone not from their particular ‘tribe’ is suspect. It got really ugly sometimes, and I eventually severed several relationships by telling racist students they needed to find another instructor. That I was done with them. You should have seen the time I was confronted by a hostile pilot who flew business jets for some well-heeled clients. He called me out in front of a gaggle of his like-minded yokels with, “Hey, Paul! Is it true what Mike done tol’ me? That you voted for that nigger?” (This would have been after the 2008 election). I was in my car, and about to leave the airport having finished my work for the day. I could see the ‘Peanut Gallery’ in the hangar all grinning and clearly enjoying what they were sure was going to be a lot of ‘fun.’ I entertained the idea of stepping out of the car and getting into it with him ‘Mano-a-Mano.’ However, I managed to restrain myself and just looked the guy in the eye and told him, “Yeah, that’s right.” Now, he’s looking around and clearly enjoying himself. “How come?” “Because…..” said I, “he was the best damn nigger on the ticket!” Started my car and rolled out. That state, by the way went for tRump by 68% in 2016, the most of any state in the country, and I’m sure is convinced that their guy won in 2020 as well, ECKCEPT THEM EVIL DEMON RATS DONE STOLED ARE LECTION WITHE THEYRE LIES!!!!!! The last time I visited that airport, it was the Official HQ of the WV “Oath Keepers” and an armed escort in milita uniform was on the scene shadowing me whenever I dropped by. Very creepy. This on the grounds of a public airport that takes federal funds for maintenance and upkeep. Go figure.
Did he answer your question? Assuming not, but??
Clinton Holeman, he did not. How could he? I should say that I added a lot more that evening, for example citing the Russian colonel (Stanislav Petrov) who defied protocol and procedures by acting on his gut and instincts that the nuclear attack by the US that his subordinates at the remote Radar Installation he was in charge of that night assured him was underway was not factually correct. The film (“The Man Who Saved the World” Documentary/Drama 2014) is well worth watching, if you haven’t seen it. By the way, when Petrov came to the US he was ignored by American officials but was awarded a plaque in an embarrassingly low-key setting by none other than the actor, Kevin Costner in a cluttered Manhattan office. (Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro also appear in the film as themselves.). I doubt that the Navy pilot or anyone else in that room had seen the film. Also, if you are hip to “The Fog of War” (Robert McNamara interview & file footage: 2003) and other interviews (e.g. that of Noam Chomsky, you will already know that the world came very close to WW3 in October of 1962. That is the problem with these nuclear weapons and the folks who are in charge of them. Each iteration of the weapon - supposedly to make a “surprise attack” less likely - only assures the opposite. That is, that at some point somebody in the higher echelons realizes that “the only Good Defense against “our enemies” is a Great Offense” & then….Game On! It is the same with these damned battlefield rifles. Each one is designed to render all previous versions Obsolete. As if.
God help us.
The "Fog of War" is compelling and necessary for anyone wanting to understand recent history and current affairs.
It is. I know that when his book came out, it caused quite a huge collective cry of dismay among Viet Nam war vets. (Note: I am one myself, but hadn’t read his book. I was, however, aware of the controversy.). That is, he KNEW the war was unwinnable, but kept advocating for more troops to be sent over to participate in the conflict. That is unconscionable, and clearly the film/documentary showed that this shameless act took its toll on his psyche. I have the same problem with the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Condi Rice/Paul Wolfowitz claque in the “W” administration. All of them are Guilty of War Crimes with their pushing the War against Iraq in 2003, knowing that this claim of Saddam and “weapons of mass destruction” was bullshit. Even Colin Powell, who was then Secretary of State got drawn into this sham. I had admired him so much and believed he could well have become this country’s first Black president. His capitulation to the Bush/Cheney crowd and agreeing to sell the Lie to the UN was unforgivable, in my book. He could have salvaged his reputation and, possibly, derailed the unjustified and Illegal attack by refusing to do it, resigning from the administration, and giving a press conference to make public his strong opposition to this rush to War, fabricated as it was, and based on phony “evidence.”
No fog allowed when a cop making $50-90K/year hesitating to stop a shooting..............for an hour !!!
The problem isn’t the military having these weapons, its the civilians! Problem is that the gun mfgrs make WAY more profit selling assault rifles to Rambo wannabes. WAY more. Plus all the new ammo, bc the old .223/.556 won’t be adequate anymore. And, once again all the wannabes will buy tons of new ammo. 😡‼️
Very true Clint
But part of the trouble *is* the military having these weapons. I skidded to a halt at "Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team." WTF kind of mind comes up with a name like that and thinks it's normal? Not to mention -- the line between "the military" and "the civilians" is porous at best. The right-wing militias include current and former military, and current and former law enforcement. There were plenty of them among the insurrectionists that invaded the Capitol on 1/6/21.
There are multiple issues here.
1. The military weapons
2. Civilian weapons - at large
3. Civilian militias and their weapons
1. I believe our military should have the very best weapons we can provide them with. Admittedly, I have skin in this game. One of my sons is an Army Infantryman, a Grunt - and very proud of it. And he is not a macho wannabe kind of person - he likes being where he is - and apparently he’s very good at it. He is on the pointy end of the stick.
While the title of the department is a tad insensitive, the objective of our military is, in the event of a war, to kill as many of the enemy soldiers as possible, while minimizing our losses. Almost everything the Army does is with that in mind. And I believe it should be - there are, alas, too many Putlers out there, ask the Ukrainians and their neighbors.
There were about 50 active duty military involved in the January 6 sedition - they are, rightly, being prosecuted. Additionally, the Army is working at rooting out those kinds of extremists - or at least paying lip service to it.
Again, the main job of our military is to kill the enemy, and I would like for them to have the absolute best equipment for the job.
2. Civilians simply do not need any sort of assault weapon - auto or semi auto. Case closed.
3. Civilian militias do indeed have some ex-military in them. I have some knowledge of militias -there are 5+ within a 25 mile radius of my house. Some are just the usual wannbes, but there area couple who are flat out scary. Something needs to be done and quickly. Much for another article!
But… they are civilians, and shouldn’t have military/tactical weapons - period!
One other issue. My son ends up buying his own equipment because a good deal he is provided by the Army is inferior to what he can buy in the civilian marketplace.
A longstanding situation, as I understsnd it.
Well, Mo Brooks must be decidedly giddy to know that there will soon be a more lethal weapon of mass murder "to help ensure that we, the citizenry, always have the right to take back our government should it become dictatorial."
But why wasn't he saying this when a wannabe dictator tried to quash the results of a free and fair presidential election?
Wealth. Power. Immunity under the law. Laws that do not protect, except for those seeking more wealth. And power.
Why do weapons manufacturers do this? Because they can. Wealth and power - in Congress, in the board room, in the marketplace - accrue from their irredeemable efforts. They do it because they can. And there is no recourse for any citizen harmed by their actions.
Sick to my stomach…again.
VOTE. THEM. OUT.
when that image of that gun came on my screen i got a cold cold feeling.
and as i read further of its touted killing power my blood ran cold.
i knew what you were going to say, that soon that weapon or copy would be in the hands of more evilly efficient, more grossly productive killers.
i could see drooling gun fetishists lusting to get their clammy hands on one as soon as they could.
so even more than before we MUST get in place laws that will keep this better killing machine away from them.
Obscene, immoral, and indefensible greed
An even better weapon for the insane to commit suicide by murdering innocents followed by their demise.
I have no words . . . . .
Oh, I have many, many words. But most are socially unacceptable....
Can we just make a distinction between military grade weapons and civilian firearms? Auto-loading weapons were developed for soldiers. Detachable magazines were developed for soldiers. Modifying a military weapon to require one trigger pull per shot isn't sufficient. It remains too rapid-fire, too suitable for slaughter. As some wag once said, if you need a 30-shot weapon to defend against armed intruders, why not just get out of the drug business?
here in america, if you don't understand something, just shoot at it--that's what the cowboys and the other action heroes do, isn't it?
We need to find a way to keep this stuff off the civilian market... somehow, some way. And soon.
GOD ALMIGHTY!! I regurgitated as my stomach is in knots! This Lt. colonel or whatever the hell he is, sounds like he’s skipping and clapping his fins like a trained seal when telling of yet another deadly weapon. Is that all that men think about, other than sex? How to compete with or against others, using the highest powered ammunition in the world? This is how these sub-humans get their rocks off! Another travesty waiting to happen and billions of dollars not going towards education and feeding families.
Sig Sauer is a German company, guess how many German citizens can buy any semi-automatic rifles or hand guns in Germany. I have been to Germany many times over many years and have never seen a German gun store.
Lucian, do we know for a fact that our replies and conversations here are private? Unable to be hacked, or monitored by someone other than you? I find myself holding back because I don't trust that Someone Else is not watching. This is the only online "forum" in which I participate.
Your brief respnse would be appreciated.
It's private, only paid subscribers can comment or access the comments.
Thank you.