Why pacifism is crap doctrine

Every once in a while, even bet wetting liberals stumble on the truth. Found this cartoon in my e-mail this morning, and realized that this is why pacifism and isolationism don't work and will get you a beat down. Basically, there are people in the world that aren't down with it. Because of that, when it comes to what Clauswitz called "friction", they don't back down. Friction means somebody's gonna lose. I don't agree with it being me, mine or us.

I don't know the artist's politics, so I don't know if he's a bed wetting liberal or an arch conservative. The cartoon is illustrative, though.

A rough weekend.

I haven't felt a whole lot like blogging these last couple days. Found out that a couple of good dudes, one a soldier, one a contractor, were killed over the weekend. One was Javahed, a Lightfighter forum plank owner. He helped shape the community there with his sense of humor and expert information on a variety of matters. The other was one of our regulars at ATS, SSG Shane Angell of 3rd batt, 5th SFG. My friend M4 Guru posted this on LF:

Official word from our CoC after all notifications had occured.


quote:
It is with a heavy heart and deep sense of loss that I report to you we have lost a fellow 3rd Battalion Soldier. SSG Shane Angell, 26, ODA 5*** died of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident at approximately 3:30 PM, 11 SEP 2009 on Hwy 100 (Franklin Road) about six miles east of Russellville, KY. Shane is survived by his wife, Ashley, daughter Skylie, Mother and Father, SGM (Ret) Glenn Angell, 3rd Battalion, 5th SFG(A). I ask that you keep the entire Angell family in your thoughts and prayers
__________________


Shane was a good guy with a lot of potential. We had just returned from OIF which adds to the tragedy.

It's one thing to lose one in the line of duty. It sucks bad, but chances are those that did it will get paid back. When it happens after a deployment, it just goes to show how fragile life really is. Prayers out for the family. This is the part of my job, both with the company and as an admin on the forum, that I can really do without.

More "My Job Does Not Suck" Ernest Langdon

So I'm at work today, talking about guns and shooting with Jimmy and Matt, and a guy comes in and looks around the store a bit. I treat him like everybody else, asking if he needs any help or is after something particular. We're not very good at the high pressure sales here.

I go on to help a couple other people, sell some parts kits and a Glock 19 (always a fine choice), and once I'm clear Matt says, "Hey Haji, this is Earnest Langdon", and introduces me to The Man. We kept the poor guy in the store for at least an hour (and probably more), talking about guns, shooting, equipment...all that interests me and keeps me working here.

We even got a lesson in things to work on to get better, which was very in depth and supremely helpful. I hope I can put it into action. I wish he was still doing classes regularly, because he knows so much about shooting and all that goes into it, such as neural networks, physiology, and where speed really comes from. On top of all that, he's a hell of nice guy. Why did he stay and talk so long? Because most of our competitors here don't shoot. In contrast, that's pretty much all we do or think about when we're not here.

That was a fun weekend!

Three days off is a great thing. I feel much more rested and ready to get back at it, and had the most fun in a weekend than I've had in a while.

Friday was uneventful, and Saturday broke bright and sunny. I went to the range for a couple hours, and did some work with the timer-AKA the Devil Box, AKA the Brain Scrambler-and some longer distance shooting than I typically do. Overall, I was quite pleased with the results. I went home and did more relaxing than anything else; I also spent the weekend trying to kick the cold symptoms that didn't quite get to full power, but also wouldn't go away.

I had to hit Wally World that evening and replenish my stocks of meds. I hardly ever take medication of any sort, so even small containers go past their expiration date sooner than I use them up. I tossed a bunch of expired stuff and replaced it with another $30 or so of new stuff. New, full potency meds seem to have helped a heck of a lot.

Saturday, I met Joe and Gene at the shop, and we proceeded first to Sonic, then on to an IDPA club match at Rattlesnake Ridge. Joe and Gene had never shot an IDPA style match before, and really seemed to enjoy it. I had a blast with them there. My friend Alan finished first, Matt got fourth and I took fifth, out of about 10. I'm not trying to make finishing in the middle a habit, but I did it again. I shot my MnP because my Glock hasn't been working as I want it to.

My G17 is having some sight issues that I can't quite figure out just yet. I put the Sevigny Competition Fiber Optic sights (FO only on the front) from Warren Tactical on it right before I shot the last match, where I was disappointed with my accuracy, as I dropped at least a point on every stage. Holding dead on the bull at ten yards, I get these very pleasing, small groups that end up in one slightly ragged hole...about an inch to the left of my point of aim. I found that the front sight blade is slighly tilted to the left, but it appears that somebody either lost or took home the front sight wrench from work. I'm going to remove and re-attach the front sight and see what I can find out from there. None of my other guns have done that, so I'm hoping it's a simple anomaly that I can get fixed up quick. I may contact Warren and see what's up. I can run that G17 just a little faster than I can my MnP, and the MnP has a non-IDPA legal CTC grip on it. For a club match, they don't much care as long as it's turned off, but sanctioned IDPA matches are more strict about exacting adherence to the rule book.

I went to bed a little later than I should have, but I fell asleep on the couch for a while yesterday evening, too. Fighting the cold was apparently not finished, as it put me out after I went to the evening Church service. I took a couple Simply Sleep in order to sack out undisturbed, and it worked well. I didn't wake up until after 9:30, which is a lot later than I usually do. Did some chores, did some research on the Intardweb, and went to see Halloween II with Matt this afternoon. It was OK, but very predictable. Not really Rob Zombie's best work, but it didn't suck, either. At any rate, it was fun to get away and watch a movie for the first time in several weeks.

I got some good rest, had a lot of fun, and still haven't beaten this cold completely. I'm gonna go to bed soon!