They are there simply to enforce obedience.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Raleigh
If the police show up to break up an "unauthorized protest" because of the threat to public health, and they aren't wearing masks, then their concern is not about public health.
They are there simply to enforce obedience.
They are there simply to enforce obedience.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
What round should the Army use?
What round should the Army use in rifles and light machine guns? That is the real question, isn't it?
The 5.56x45 (.2230 is light and accurate over its 400 meter effective range. The current 62 grain round isn't terrible effective, however. And it is so over pressured that it breaks weapons, or at least wears them out much more quickly than is normally acceptable. We would be better off going back to the 55 grain round, and redesigning the gas systems on the carbines. They simply weren't designed for the sort of abuse we're giving them.
What is the problem that recommends switching rounds? Afghanistan and, to a lesser degree, Iraq. The average range of an engagement is under 50 meters, or over 500. At close range, any round can be effective. At long range, the .223 just doesn't cut it. Of course, neither does the 7.62x39 - that's why our enemies like to set up ambushes with mines, medium and heavy machine guns, and RPGs. So, we started giving one trooper per platoon, eventually per squad, an M14 or similar rifle, in caliber 7.62x51 (.308). This rifle/caliber has the oomph to reach out and touch someone. But it's heavy, and now we have squads carrying multiple types of ammunition. That's what we've been trying to avoid.
Oh, and the rest of the world is finally discovering that body armor is a thing.
So, the quest for "the little round that could." We need a round (and rifle/LMG combo to fire it) that is light, lethal, accurate to 800 meters, useful in automatic weapons, and penetrates rigid body armor at useful distances.
So, the Army created a bullet. It's 6.8mm in diameter, because reasons. It is allegedly between 130 and 145 grains in mass. They need this bullet to be fired from an infantry carbine with a 12" barrel at a speed of at least 3,300 feet per second. Faster is better. And it needs to be able to hit a man sized target at 800 meters, with the built in sights. And it needs to be useful in room clearing.
A competition is under way, with three companies in the running. None of them have what I would call decent entries, although some of the details of each are interesting.
Here's what I would do. We already have the proper rifle and round for this task. They are both over 70 years old, and proven to work. The rifle is the AR-10. The round is the .243. No, the .243 isn't 6.8mm, but it will do all the jobs the Army wants done. The 6.8mm bullet is most likely just something some idiot dreamed up, like the green and black tip 5.56 bullets that suck so badly. (What, you think I'm still bitter after all these years? Yes. Yes, I am.)
You need a light machine gun? You know, the Russians developed an entire series of light and medium machine guns, all of which are better than anything in our inventory, while being both lighter and cheaper. Or we could have some young genius beef up the Stoner 63 system.
You really need that 6.8mm bullet? Put it in a .270 Ackley Improved cartridge. We've had those for a long, long time. Of course, the Army would never do anything this sensible.
Of course, most of this is moot. Troops can't hit targets that far away. They can barely hit enemies at 300 meters, much less 600. So keep the .223, keep the M16/M4, and drop the M249 SAW for a cosmetically updated Stoner 63. But go back to the 55 grain round that worked, and didn't destroy gas systems. What we really need to do is accelerate the roll out of the Karl Gustav recolless rifles. They can hit targets out to a kilometer, and have useful warheads to take out everybody near where they hit. The enemy lights up a patrol with RPGs, we respond with Gustavs.
Oh, and for crying out loud, spend the extra few bucks and get the better, lighter, newer models (Gustav M4). Why are we buying weapons (Gustav M3) that were outdated a decade ago? I mean, the Slovaks have the M4s, why can't we play with them?
The 5.56x45 (.2230 is light and accurate over its 400 meter effective range. The current 62 grain round isn't terrible effective, however. And it is so over pressured that it breaks weapons, or at least wears them out much more quickly than is normally acceptable. We would be better off going back to the 55 grain round, and redesigning the gas systems on the carbines. They simply weren't designed for the sort of abuse we're giving them.
What is the problem that recommends switching rounds? Afghanistan and, to a lesser degree, Iraq. The average range of an engagement is under 50 meters, or over 500. At close range, any round can be effective. At long range, the .223 just doesn't cut it. Of course, neither does the 7.62x39 - that's why our enemies like to set up ambushes with mines, medium and heavy machine guns, and RPGs. So, we started giving one trooper per platoon, eventually per squad, an M14 or similar rifle, in caliber 7.62x51 (.308). This rifle/caliber has the oomph to reach out and touch someone. But it's heavy, and now we have squads carrying multiple types of ammunition. That's what we've been trying to avoid.
Oh, and the rest of the world is finally discovering that body armor is a thing.
So, the quest for "the little round that could." We need a round (and rifle/LMG combo to fire it) that is light, lethal, accurate to 800 meters, useful in automatic weapons, and penetrates rigid body armor at useful distances.
So, the Army created a bullet. It's 6.8mm in diameter, because reasons. It is allegedly between 130 and 145 grains in mass. They need this bullet to be fired from an infantry carbine with a 12" barrel at a speed of at least 3,300 feet per second. Faster is better. And it needs to be able to hit a man sized target at 800 meters, with the built in sights. And it needs to be useful in room clearing.
A competition is under way, with three companies in the running. None of them have what I would call decent entries, although some of the details of each are interesting.
Here's what I would do. We already have the proper rifle and round for this task. They are both over 70 years old, and proven to work. The rifle is the AR-10. The round is the .243. No, the .243 isn't 6.8mm, but it will do all the jobs the Army wants done. The 6.8mm bullet is most likely just something some idiot dreamed up, like the green and black tip 5.56 bullets that suck so badly. (What, you think I'm still bitter after all these years? Yes. Yes, I am.)
You need a light machine gun? You know, the Russians developed an entire series of light and medium machine guns, all of which are better than anything in our inventory, while being both lighter and cheaper. Or we could have some young genius beef up the Stoner 63 system.
You really need that 6.8mm bullet? Put it in a .270 Ackley Improved cartridge. We've had those for a long, long time. Of course, the Army would never do anything this sensible.
Of course, most of this is moot. Troops can't hit targets that far away. They can barely hit enemies at 300 meters, much less 600. So keep the .223, keep the M16/M4, and drop the M249 SAW for a cosmetically updated Stoner 63. But go back to the 55 grain round that worked, and didn't destroy gas systems. What we really need to do is accelerate the roll out of the Karl Gustav recolless rifles. They can hit targets out to a kilometer, and have useful warheads to take out everybody near where they hit. The enemy lights up a patrol with RPGs, we respond with Gustavs.
Oh, and for crying out loud, spend the extra few bucks and get the better, lighter, newer models (Gustav M4). Why are we buying weapons (Gustav M3) that were outdated a decade ago? I mean, the Slovaks have the M4s, why can't we play with them?
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Saturday, April 4, 2020
COVID-19
The COVID family of viruses is better known as the common cold. COVID-19 is not going away. It's already mutating into different forms.
Two weeks after the isolation orders end, the infections will spike again. No matter when that happens - next week, next month, next year. You can't out wait this thing. Meanwhile, it's slowly spreading through mandatory activities, like getting food from the store.
We should be sending the kids out to play with the infected, just like with chicken pox. Just keep them away from grandma afterwards.
We could lose 10,000,000 people this year (in addition to the 3 million who usually die), and somehow the 320 million grieving survivors would find the strength to carry on.
We lost 10,000,000 jobs in the last two weeks. That's ten million families who now don't have money to pay the rent or buy food.
How many families are the politicians willing to starve to maybe save a few, mostly elderly people? (By the way, 90% of those who end up on respirators due to this virus die anyways.)
Friday, March 27, 2020
I had a dream
I had a dream last night. It was a series of nightmares, all connected. In the first, children were captured by monsters who came out at night. These children were taken to a magical campus of beautiful buildings and made to serve The Elders. Those who failed to serve were killed and eaten. Those who simply wore out... disappeared. Those who served to adulthood were released, broken in spirit and in mind. Those few psychotics who reveled in destruction or informed on the other children were captured, tamed, and introduced to The Elders as servants and Elders in training. But most of all, The Elders taught the children to OBEY.
Then I dreamed of a benevolent group of Counselors, who ran a training camp. At the camp, The Counselors taught the children how to run, how to hide, how to be quiet when the monsters prowled. They taught well and thoroughly that the children were to never fight the monsters, as that would only make the monsters more angry and violent. (As it truly did, of course.) They taught the children to seek the shelter of kindly Counselors, who the monsters usually avoided. (Except when they didn't, of course.) They taught the children to be silent, lest the monsters come for them. But most of all, The Counselors taught the children to FEAR.
Then I dreamed of men (and a single, exceptional woman) who attacked the monsters, killing one of them, driving them back into the shadows of the night for a time. They saved a few children from being taken that night. But that was all they did. For, you see, they were the survivors of both training camps, and they had been taught Fear and Obedience.
And then I dreamed of an avenging angel, with awesome powers and confidence. He didn't kill the monsters, he erased them. Then he walked up to the campus, opened the gates, and told the children to flee or fight. And then, with a few (so very few) of the braver boys at his side, he burned it all right down to the ground. He showed no mercy at all to The Elders and their minions. He smiled not at their torment, but at the destruction of the Obedience School.
And then he went to the training camp, opened the gates, and told the children to flee or fight. And then, with a few (so very few) of the braver boys at his side, he burned it all right down to the ground. He showed no mercy at all to The Counselors and their minions. He smiled not at their anguish, but at the destruction of the Fear Factory.
And then he led the children away from that terrible land, away from the memories of Fear and Obedience and Monsters, of Elders and Counselors (so like each other), into a land of sunshine, laughter, love, and earnest hard living. And there the girls grew up to be women, and the boys grew up to be men. And they raised their children together as families, and told them stories of the wicked Counselors and Elders, and taught them to never forget to be brave. For saviors come but rarely, thus each must do his duty to destroy all monsters, both fair and foul, and to shun the systems and machines that spawn and perpetuate them.
When I awoke, I was struck with a vision. We live not just in Orwell's 1984, but also in Wells' The Time Machine. The Morlocks and the Eloi are two halves of the same system of oppression, fear, and obedience, each perpetuating the other. The only choices offered inside the system are false, and serve to perpetuate the system. After all, one must fear and respect the power of Big Brother, or love Big Brother. The only salvation is to burn the entire system down, relocate, and start over from first principles. Freedom comes from not from destroying Big Brother, but from walking away from the very concept of Big Brother. Killing Bog Brother is necessary simply because Big Brother is a jealous and petty god, who will brook neither disobedience nor nonconformity. Free Men are neither Eloi nor Morlocks.
To truly be a man, a whole man, a righteous man, a free man, one must fight to destroy all the monsters, both fair and foul.
Then I dreamed of a benevolent group of Counselors, who ran a training camp. At the camp, The Counselors taught the children how to run, how to hide, how to be quiet when the monsters prowled. They taught well and thoroughly that the children were to never fight the monsters, as that would only make the monsters more angry and violent. (As it truly did, of course.) They taught the children to seek the shelter of kindly Counselors, who the monsters usually avoided. (Except when they didn't, of course.) They taught the children to be silent, lest the monsters come for them. But most of all, The Counselors taught the children to FEAR.
Then I dreamed of men (and a single, exceptional woman) who attacked the monsters, killing one of them, driving them back into the shadows of the night for a time. They saved a few children from being taken that night. But that was all they did. For, you see, they were the survivors of both training camps, and they had been taught Fear and Obedience.
And then I dreamed of an avenging angel, with awesome powers and confidence. He didn't kill the monsters, he erased them. Then he walked up to the campus, opened the gates, and told the children to flee or fight. And then, with a few (so very few) of the braver boys at his side, he burned it all right down to the ground. He showed no mercy at all to The Elders and their minions. He smiled not at their torment, but at the destruction of the Obedience School.
And then he went to the training camp, opened the gates, and told the children to flee or fight. And then, with a few (so very few) of the braver boys at his side, he burned it all right down to the ground. He showed no mercy at all to The Counselors and their minions. He smiled not at their anguish, but at the destruction of the Fear Factory.
And then he led the children away from that terrible land, away from the memories of Fear and Obedience and Monsters, of Elders and Counselors (so like each other), into a land of sunshine, laughter, love, and earnest hard living. And there the girls grew up to be women, and the boys grew up to be men. And they raised their children together as families, and told them stories of the wicked Counselors and Elders, and taught them to never forget to be brave. For saviors come but rarely, thus each must do his duty to destroy all monsters, both fair and foul, and to shun the systems and machines that spawn and perpetuate them.
When I awoke, I was struck with a vision. We live not just in Orwell's 1984, but also in Wells' The Time Machine. The Morlocks and the Eloi are two halves of the same system of oppression, fear, and obedience, each perpetuating the other. The only choices offered inside the system are false, and serve to perpetuate the system. After all, one must fear and respect the power of Big Brother, or love Big Brother. The only salvation is to burn the entire system down, relocate, and start over from first principles. Freedom comes from not from destroying Big Brother, but from walking away from the very concept of Big Brother. Killing Bog Brother is necessary simply because Big Brother is a jealous and petty god, who will brook neither disobedience nor nonconformity. Free Men are neither Eloi nor Morlocks.
To truly be a man, a whole man, a righteous man, a free man, one must fight to destroy all the monsters, both fair and foul.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Civilizational Triage
This one is for Aesop. You are reading him, right?
In emergency medicine, you triage the casualties. It is called triage because you separate out the casualties into three groups.
Your first task is to evaluate each casualty and separate them into their appropriate groups. Some of the walking wounded can be drafted to assist. Some of the dying will die while you do this.
Then you provide immediate first aid to the severely injured, who desperately need it, but will also benefit from it. You arrange evacuation from the scene to a location that can provide better care for them.
Once that is done, you provide first aid to the walking wounded. That's all most of them will need.
Once that is done, you provide palliative support to the dying. Comfort them, as you would wish to be comforted.
Why do you do this? Because resources, especially time, are limited. You can't do everything. If you try to save everyone, you will end up saving no one.
A pandemic, if it is truly a global epidemic, is a civilizational threat. In the face of such a threat, we must act to preserve not individual lives, but civilization itself. The future belongs to the young and healthy. Old, sick people will be missed, but are not required. Infants will be grieved, but can be replaced.
Yes, I am a hard man. I've already been through three wars, and seen genocide up close. I don't care about your or anyone else's feelings. I just want my nation, my people, to survive and thrive, and am willing to do what is necessary to achieve that.
In emergency medicine, you triage the casualties. It is called triage because you separate out the casualties into three groups.
- Those who will probably recover with or without care. (AKA the walking wounded.)
- Those who will probably recover if given prompt medical care.
- Those who will probably die even with prompt medical care.
Your first task is to evaluate each casualty and separate them into their appropriate groups. Some of the walking wounded can be drafted to assist. Some of the dying will die while you do this.
Then you provide immediate first aid to the severely injured, who desperately need it, but will also benefit from it. You arrange evacuation from the scene to a location that can provide better care for them.
Once that is done, you provide first aid to the walking wounded. That's all most of them will need.
Once that is done, you provide palliative support to the dying. Comfort them, as you would wish to be comforted.
Why do you do this? Because resources, especially time, are limited. You can't do everything. If you try to save everyone, you will end up saving no one.
A pandemic, if it is truly a global epidemic, is a civilizational threat. In the face of such a threat, we must act to preserve not individual lives, but civilization itself. The future belongs to the young and healthy. Old, sick people will be missed, but are not required. Infants will be grieved, but can be replaced.
Yes, I am a hard man. I've already been through three wars, and seen genocide up close. I don't care about your or anyone else's feelings. I just want my nation, my people, to survive and thrive, and am willing to do what is necessary to achieve that.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Weakest Plague Ever
I'm pretty sure my wife, son and I just had the Kung Flu. We live on the outskirts of Middle Of Nowhere, Midwestia. I thought we were having a very mild case of spring allergies after a series of warm days started everything greening up. It wasn't until we all had mildly sore throats for a few hours on day 3 (of 5 total) that we started to suspect something was up.
No, we haven't been tested. We're not going to waste the hospital's time.
No, we haven't been tested. We're not going to waste the hospital's time.
As plagues go, this one is remarkably… lame. 17% of those massively exposed contract it. (And that was in the ideal environment of a cruise ship packed with mostly older people.) Of the 17% who contracted the disease, half experienced no symptoms. Of the 17%, only 1.2% died – and they were old people with preexisting conditions. So, a plague that causes a few old people to pass on a little more quickly than they maybe would have.
No wonder the politicians are screaming and running about with their hair on fire. They care nothing about the nation being invaded by terns of millions of self propelled, self propagating invaders, but let a few of their generation get sick and die, and suddenly the sky is falling and something must be done!
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