November 2008 – LonelyMachines

The Shield: Life goes on

It’s been seven years, and well, the finale wasn’t what I expected.

Of course, I’d be disappointed if it was.

That said, it was phenomenal. Loose ends were tied up, while many threads were left open, presumably to imply that, after all that has happened tonight, life in Farmington will still be going on tomorrow.

I suppose the most jarring aspect of this episode was the amount of space and silence employed. It’s rare for this show to breathe, but there were several moments of that here. In fact, there are several minutes of it.

For a show like this, a minute is an eternity.

Ordnance

Post-election Feeding Frenzy

Enough, people. This is just getting silly.

I was at work the other day, and a twitchy fortyish guy in a Polo shirt walked over to me, brandishing an AK-47.

“Can you show me how to work this?”

“First off, watch the muzzle! Is there something wrong with it?”

“No, I just don’t know how to use it. Can you show me?”

At this point, I was tempted to say, “no…for that you need the proper mindset and a great deal of training, neither of which you’re going to get in five minutes.”

Instead, I gave him a quick run-down, making damn sure he didn’t load the thing. It was obvious he had never handled a gun before in his life. I asked him why he’d chosen that particular gun. His response was, “because Obama’s going to take it away.”

That’s not a reason, gang.

Civil Rights

2008: the Day After

Well, the bulls have been slaughtered and the Coronation looms in two months, but the world doesn’t look too different today. Of course, you wouldn’t know that living in the gun culture.

There’s an atmosphere of sweaty desperation and paranoia running wild that I just don’t get. Yes, the gains we’ve been making will probably stall for the next two years. What I don’t see happening is us losing any significant ground.

So let’s all take a deep breath and look at the situation.

Civil Rights

We get the government we deserve.

As of midnight, Obama has 338 votes to McCain’s 155. It’s over. McCain has conceded, and Obama is giving his acceptance speech.

Don’t bitch at me about it; I don’t want to hear it. Most of you didn’t bother to show up in 2006 when the Republicans lost control of the Legislative branch. Now it’s in the bag. The next two years will be worse than the entire Clinton administration for the country.

I won’t go into what Obama will do. We already know that. The only thing that will minimize the damage will be for the Republicans to take back the Legislature in 2010. For that we need another Newt Gingrich, one that will stick to his guns this time.

I don’t have too much faith in even that, though.

Ordnance

CZ P-01

I’m not completely bereft of those newfangled automatics the young people prefer, it’s just that I’ve found very few that truly sing to me. Sig Sauers certainly do, and a few years back, I came upon a dark horse in the CZ-75.