January 16, 2005

"...And the sand-castle virtues are all swept away in

    the tidal destruction

    the moral melee.

    The elastic retreat rings the close of play as the last

    wave uncovers the newfangled way.

    But your new shoes are worn at the heels and

    your suntan does rapidly peel and

    your wise men don't know how it feels

    To be thick as a brick..."

 

                    - Partial lyrics from the song

                      "Thick As A Brick", by the

                      group Jethro Tull

 

 

 

To All,

    Perhaps firearms activists are going to be instrumental in discovering a new scientific principle. It seems that when one puts Legacy Media personnel in close proximity to upper level law enforcement managers, all cerebral activity in these two groups ceases for demonstrably long periods of time:

 

 

The Downside of Europhilia:

     Much has been made of the preferences that "blue state" Kulturfuhrers have for things European. From "fine" German automobiles (not so much lately, if "Car and Driver" readers are to be believed) to French wines (Go Gundlach Bundschu) and Derradist philosophy, it is apparent that modern "swells" would rather that America would be more like the EU.

 

     But perhaps the limits of that worldview will be tested in the near future. It seems that FN Herstal is marketing it's diminutive "5-7" handgun here in the good Ole' US of A. And it also seems that anti-gunners among certain police and media organizations are beginning to notice.

 

     For those who are unfamiliar with the "5-7", imagine a standard polymer frame, less than 4" of barrel, and combine it with the usual features of FN's pistols. Power it up with a short bottleneck cartridge shooting .223 bullets to 2100-2300 fps at the muzzle, and one gets the general idea about a pistol with the general performance envelope of a .22 Hornet.

 

    What is more interesting, the "5-7" was designed as being the personal firearms substitute for Euro-army support troops. Rather than issue truck drivers, mechanics, and cooks with "cumbersome" battle rifles, more "cost-effective" pistols were to be issued eventually (Sort of makes one wonder about the outcome of the Battle of Bastogne if the US Army of 1944 had opted for a similar concept.).

 

     But as with most modern products in the global economy, European manufacturers want a crack at markets in the USA. (After all, every pistol successfully sold in the US helps subsidize the overhead costs of FN on their military side. And everyone knows how much the Europeans want to pay for their own defense.). While it initially may be a hard sell to gun owners long on the theology of larger calibers when using pistols for self-defense, no one person can predict what the free market will decide in the long run.

 

     This, in turn, leads us to the what appears to be the initial reaction by anti-gunners in the Legacy Media. In a story and video piece done by Scott Weinberger at WNBC in New York, Weinberger raises the alarm about the 5-7's ability to penetrate police body armor. He even has had officers from the Trumbull, Connecticut, Police Department conduct an "informal" firing test between the 5-7 and a .45 ACP ( Short version of results- the 5.56 x 28mm pistol round penetrated a vest of unknown designation, while a .45 ACP round fired at the same vest did not penetrate. No procedures for distance, mounting, chronographing of the rounds, or other controls were reported.). Of course, Weinberger reports that law enforcement personnel it contacted are advocating a ban of the 5-7 and it's 5.56 x 28 mm caliber.

 

    Firearms activists know, on the other hand, that quite a large variety of "civilian legal" handgun and rifle ammunition will penetrate body armor up through ratings of Level III and IV. And since patrol officers are not as likely to want to ride around all day wearing trauma plates (much like what our troops are doing today in Iraq), nor will police budgets take the cost hit to even afford Level IV systems that are proof against rifle rounds, various police sources are likely to oppose FN's pistol. As such, the Weinberger report appears to be yet another attempt to scare the public into banning guns and ammunition. And the inordinate focus on the bullet itself by the article and the law enforcement officials quoted, may be an indication that anti-gun forces are going to focus for now on banning ammunition, rather than the politically losing issue of banning guns.

 

     Now, this attempt to scare the public about the FN pistol has many unknowns to it. Will attempts to ban the 5-7 over it's penetration statistics look like "illegal" trade controls to the WTO, especially when a number of other US-made pistols could do the same thing? Will anti-gunners in the Blue States attempt to sue FN Herstal over it's "marketing practices", thus attempting to take a chunk of change out of Euro-wallets like they intend with domestic manufacturers? Or will anti-gunners finally find the bullet that they can use to convince a certain New York judge that it should be banned because of it's ability to penetrate police body armor? Only time will allow all of these to be resolved.

 

    On the other hand, it is crystal clear that reporters such as Weinberger, and certain law enforcement managers, are ignorant of ballistics, firearms performance, and the individual right to keep and bear arms. Attempting to ban firearms and ammunition over the ability to penetrate "armor" is as old as the modern gun control movement itself. As such, elucidation from the firearms rights community seems to be called for. Otherwise, the downside potential may be immeasurable.

 

Story may be found at:

http://www.wnbc.com/news/4075959/detail.html

 

    Scott Weinberger can be contacted at:

    scott.weinberger@nbcuni.com

 

    The Trumbull Connecticut Police Department

    can be contacted at:

 

    Chief Thomas Kiely

    Police Headquarters

    158 Edison Road,

    Trumbull, CT  06611

    203-261-3665

 

    or  police@trumbull-ct.org

 

    

 

Kickboxer V- Talk Radio vs. Left Wing Radio:

     It is a common point of discussion, not to mention derision, that "right wing" talk radio dominates the ether these days in it's effect on the public. Liberals bemoan that there is nothing like it for Lefty viewpoints, and as such it constitutes an unfair advantage politically.

 

    Of course, right wing powerhouses such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and the rest respond with a one-two combination of pointing out that a) The Left Wing dominates in newsprint and television (less one wounded newsreader over at the Black Eye Network); and b ) a challenge to Lefties to "...come on in, the water's fine..." approach which only feeds the talk radio market with the controversies that sustain it.

 

     But one thing that seem to be generally omitted is the issue of NPR, or National Public Radio. It is not that NPR does not provide the "publicly funded" yellow (some say red) journalism that one and all have come to associate it with all these years (After all, what can one expect from the likes of Nina Totenberg, of the High-Tech Lynching of Clarence Thomas fame, or Juan Williams of the Fox News Panel fame.). It is that NPR, and all the little NPR's in the form of donor-sponsored Left Wing Radio, make it difficult for commercially sponsored Left Wing shows to "make it" in an otherwise "Smithian" world.

 

    Face it, the Left's listener-ship has become "accustomed" (some would say spoiled) by having a venue with a noted absence of commercial advertising. In reality, commercial advertising conflicts with the Left's economic worldview, a constant reminder that capitalism has triumphed over socialism and communism. It has triumphed to the point that the Liberally well-off are willing to pocket up enough change to keep a station here, and a station there, on the air so that they can have a safe place to turn the radio dial to.

 

    On the other hand, such a situation effectively kills commercial competition in the Left Wing Radio Market. Shows and Networks that have their costs covered by a combination of contributions, sponsorships, and taxpayer subsidy make it next to impossible for commercial-only Left Wing Radio to compete. Subsidized costs also mean subsidized compensation, which in turn draws celebrity Lefties to those networks rather than the more uncertain economics of any commercial station (Yet further confirmation that Left Wingers and Marxists have read Adam Smith). This lends to the inability of a commercially viable Left wing show to compete.

 

    Now, this situation has other predicates as well. What provider of goods and services, that is generally wanted by any radio demographic, is going to want to have themselves represented solely by a commercial that "appeals" to the Left Wing radio audience? Can Annheiser Busch make an environmentally-sensitive beer, even if the politically correct commercial to sell it can be derived? Or how does GM advertise any of it's vehicles, even the hydrogen-powered Freedom Car concept, when the Left will continue to criticize it for not shutting down internal combustion production lines first? In essence, any hardcore commercial marketing campaign that caters to the Left runs the risk of alienating other market demographics, given the broad reach of radio itself.

 

     No, in reality, it only works the other way around. It is only through commercial approaches that appreciate the capitalistic approach that even more capitalism (read income) can be engendered. Those corporations looking for write-offs can safely select some NPR-style venues through sponsorship only through the current tax system, in the way that it overlooks that capitalism is taking place by the corporation pursuing it's interests. ( If tax simplification ever takes place under the Bush Administration, or some future one, then one of the first casualties will more likely be Left Wing radio, who will be cut off from one of it's mainstay sources of support.). As such, it is hard to ever see that Left Wing Radio will ever be able to compete effectively in the commercial market. And if the Political Left does not learn to give up the subsidies-cum-training wheels that come with each and every "publicly-funded" station, then they most likely will be forced to face the current status quo for a long time to come.

 

     Of course, they may not have the courage to ride that bike. Also, it does benefit the Right that NPR ostensibly cuts the legs out from underneath Janine Garofalo and Air Amerika. As such, it will take the introduction of some other, more external factor, before it can be seen whether Left Wing Radio will ever become a force in politics.