Proof Of Association

After wading through all sorts of stuff explaining the concept of “the power of association”, Scott Pinsker says the following:

By joining the MAGA train, RFK Jr. is helping Trump craft a narrative where The Donald is open-minded and forgiving of his former rivals. It shows he’s capable of attracting independents, moderates, liberals, practically anyone — hell, even a Kennedy joined Trump!

Yeah.  I’ll believe that about Trump when he offers Ron DeSantis a Cabinet position — and I mean a serious post like State or Commerce.

The biggest mistake Trump made — in both election campaigns — was his dismissive attitude towards the best state governor in the United States.  Regardless of his personal feelings, though, there’s no denying that in his own state, DeSantis has achieved more MAGA-type reform than anyone else.  Perhaps more even than Trump himself at the national level.

And by leaving DeSantis out of his future Administration plans, Trump will be doing the country, and himself, a grave disservice.

Trump is good for only four more years;  DeSantis will be good for more than a decade after that, if not longer.

When Simple Becomes A Fetish

I stumbled on these two little doodads while scraping the bottom of Teh Intarwebz.

Frozen Ball  and High Pressure espresso.

Just to make a small (okay, tiny) cup of overpriced coffee that’s too strong to actually drink and in the case of the first, lukewarm to boot.

Marketing at its finest.

In similar news, the other day I saw a new Corvette getting smoked from light to light (over a long block, too) by a Honda Civic R.  True story.  $85k Murkin V8 smoked by some $45k Jap rice rocket.

Also, my $400 Tissot manual wind watch keeps time as well as a $5,800 Grand Seiko over 24 hours.

Oh yeah, and the other day at the range I saw a $650 Springfield Operator shoot more accurately than a $3,000 HK Mod 23 — and I mean a LOT more accurately.  Same shooter (not me), different gun, same .45 ACP ammo.

There’s a lot of overpriced marketing-driven bullshit out there, folks.  Feel free to add your examples in Comments.

Class, Explained

Some pleb has a go at the British class system — a system regarded with bemusement by most Murkins — and while we have few parallels with the Brits, the one we do regrettably share is the propensity of the well-to-do middle class to be involved in stupid shit like the Green movement and (lately) the Free Palestine demonstrations.

It’s a fairly lengthy viewing, but funny as hell — and from what I’ve seen of the system, fairly accurate.

Most telling, though, is the description of the rigidity of the thing:  the “bucket of crabs” analogy is very appropriate.

And we have shared the dolorous effects of the “outsourcing” of manufacturing and the jobs therein to foreign countries;  the only difference being that our corporations did it without any help from government.

Same Again

I’ve spoken before of the spectacle that is London’s Notting Hill Carnival (read it first), and apparently this year it’s not too different:

Police have arrested at least 330 people in connection with incidents at the Notting Hill Carnival, the Met said tonight – with three people including a 32-year-old mother left fighting for their lives.

Five people were stabbed today, taking the total across the two days to eight [last year it was nine — K], while three people sustained slash wounds and one incident was said to have involved a corrosive substance.

Nothing says “I Haz My Culture” like tossing acid in someone’s face.  As for the rest, same ol’, same ol’.  As the rozzers say:

‘We are tired of saying the same words every year’.

Pass.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Mauser HSc (.32 ACP/7.65mm Browning)

The HSc was Mauser’s answer to Walther’s PP model in the same chambering, and it’s a pretty little thing, made very much in the Art Deco style of the time:

Like many of the .32 ACP guns, I’ve actually owned one of these, and while it’s a joy to shoot — far nicer than the PP, by the way, which can cut your hand up — it’s not really a “pocket” pistol like its many competitors, in that it’s surprisingly heavy despite its diminutive size.  (Carried in a pants pocket, it’ll make your trousers sag alarmingly — ask me how I know this — which is not true of the others.)

I’ve spoken before of my fondness for the .32 ACP cartridge, and it should be known that I’ve owned a large number of guns thus chambered, and fired almost all of them.

I once owned a Mauser HSc, and I very much regret selling it (but not the Walther), because it was a peach to shoot:  accurate, smooth and in my hands, absolutely reliable without a single stoppage (despite that semi-rimmed design, which can cause feeding problems, I never experienced any with the HSc).  Other people think so too, as whenever one appears at Collectors Firearms, for example, it seldom lasts long before being gobbled up.

The biggest problem with owning the HSc (like many of its cousins) is that the magazines are made of unobtanium, and if you can find one, it’s going to put a big hole in your wallet.  Upon reflection, however, I don’t happen to think that it’s a problem because a .32 ACP pistol isn’t going to be your primary carry piece anyway.

But every time you take it to the range, you’ll remember why you enjoy shooting it so much.  And that is not something you can say about many guns.