Exactly.

Well, except that it would hardly be Uncle Sam who wants this, wouldn't it?  Personally, I find the fella behind the sign to be far more authoritative.

Other than that, it's just about perfect.  :-)

H/T Wendy McElroy.

No good deed shall go unpunished.

Article.

Summary:  Random acts of anthrophilic anarchy in New Hampshire disrupt the ch'i of Master's local enforcement apparatus, which goes into convulsions over not being able to "do its job".

It's like hugophobia all over again.

Awesome. 

That is all.

The most interesting part isn't the rant.

But the rant, itself, does have some pretty choice moments.  Jon Stewart roasts the current Administration over...well, several things.  Article here, segment here:



It would be easy enough to skewer Stewart over his default worldview, which is that, despite all evidence of history and follow-the-incentive common sense, that "we" can actually vote effective restraint into institutions that have plenary, monopoly power over our lives.

Sure, Jon.  You go right ahead and show us how that works.

What I found more interesting than that, though--even beyond the unmistakable ire-of-the-betrayed vibe he gives off so strongly here--was that Stewart seemed to be most visibly irritated not by, you know, the actual abuses of power in re Benghazi, IRS oopsies, and the AP document seizure...so much as the idea that these bits of executive-bureaucratic malfeasance were indicators of simple incompetence.

You know:  as if the current Administration, in permitting these blunders to be observed by the little people, is not helping in the ongoing deception campaign to keep said little people clamoring to keep getting it more and harder.

(I was kinda hoping he'd point out the irony that here, at last, is a case in which the Administration really is getting a little more serious about its transparency.)

Ready for another failure, are we?

Hey, look:  thugs will be thugs.

The Department of Defense Trade Controls has “requested” Defense Distributed to remove files associated with its Wiki Weapon Project, an announcement posted on the DEFCAD website today announced.

“#DEFCAD has gone dark at the request of the Department of Defense Trade Controls,” the page announces. “Take it up with the Secretary of State.”

“DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls,” a banner at the top of the site explains. “Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.”

This development is occurring mere days after the announcement that a complete working 3-D printed firearm, the Liberator, had successfully been built, and follows speculation from earlier today when a “temporarily unavailable” message appeared when trying to access the downloadable files.

No surprise here--this was inevitable at some point--and with all the tools, time and (other people's) wealth at their disposal, chances are they'll succeed in making their example of Cody Wilson and DEFCAD.  No doubt there will be the usual share of jingoistic chest-thumping at the brave and nobly-embiggened takedown of (yet another) uppity peasant.

Yes, Leviathan, it's true:  you truly can crush and destroy whatever individual you like, with your laws, your courts, and your enforcers.  Fret not;  your ability, opportunity and nearly frothing willingness to do this is not in question.  And your propaganda machine, as always, will perform yeoman service in persuading the credulous of your absolute moral authority to do so.

But after all this time, you still haven't got it, have you?  Jeez, it's not like we haven't been here before, throughout human history, and the result is always the same:  you will fail to prevent what you seek to prevent.  Oh, you may well "successfully" destroy people's lives trying, but you can't stop the little people sharing information, no matter how hard you try.  As just one example:  remember the printing press?  You tried to stop that one too, dincha? 

You will fail.

You will fail because you don't understand your adversary.  You don't understand what motivates him.  You have no idea why he resists you.  You think you do, but you don't.  Throughout human history people have always found ways to avoid and resist your ridiculous attempts to control, control, control;  those aggravating plebes do it even when they know that the consequence of being discovered or caught is their own certain death, and yet you still proceed with the same strategies of ban!  confiscate!  destroy!  suppress!  punish!, as though after failing a thousand times they will suddenly work like magic on the thousand-and-first.  As Butler Shaffer is fond of saying, "this time for sure!"

You can even go here, and get everything you need to know about why you will fail now as you have always failed before, spelled out compactly but completely, and still you won't get it.

You will fail.

So, you've chosen Cody Wilson and DEFCAD as your next target.  Since you're going to lose, after you're done destroying him, this seems like a particularly vile and senseless thing to do, but hell, nobody does vile and senseless like you do, so what's new?

Enjoy your "success", while it lasts.  It won't, long.


__________________
Hat tip to David Codrea.

Clint Smith on pistol malfunction clearances.

This is absolutely the finest demonstration of pistol malfunction clearances I have ever seen.  Entirely beyond the content itself, you can also watch a master instructor at work, developing his concept linearly, clearly, and completely.  It's simply outstanding.

Most of the mechanics and philosophy come from Jeff Cooper's Modern Technique (not all--and some of the refinements really do seem like improvements), but I'm not sure that even Cooper ever did it this well.  :-)

Clint Smith on the Four Rules

Ya gotta love master instructor Clint Smith.  I've long suspected, from reading others' accounts over quite a few years now, that he is the sort of personality that can get really aggravating, and certainly it would seem that I would have several profound disagreements with him on some pretty important items.

But...for the reasons that people go to him, I'm not sure there's anyone better operating today.  And that comes through loud and clear in what you can find of his work on YouTube.

I've written out The Four Rules before, as taught by Jeff Cooper...but I just don't have this kind of style to go with it:

 
Duly bookmarked, to share with others.

Jeff Cooper: the compressed surprise break

For anyone who doesn't yet know about this component of what Jeff Cooper brought to pistolcraft, here is a YouTube (bless YouTube, for all its faults) of the great man himself explaining the concept.

As with so much of Cooper's work, you get everything you need to know about the subject at hand, but there are dozens of other little plugs and lessons in there too.

I miss having him around--if for no other reason than to serve as a human inspiration for personal greatness.