How About A Nerf Gun Instead?
Sitting at home all week in covid quarantine gave me plenty of time to read In between naps. Newspapers, magazines that were piling up, books…I even read BOOKS! I’m so far behind with books that my compelling reading has been Bill Browder’s Red Notice (2015) followed by Freezing Order (2022). Back to back. Thanks to my sister for recommending them. If you want the inside scoop on Money Laundering, Murder and Putin, look no further. Not fiction and terrifying.
But this morning, while reading my morning digital news, I came across this gem from one of my favorite young opinion writers in the WaPo. When I say young, it’s because I’m OLD. She’s my daughters’ age, middle 30s with a wicked wit. I don’t know about you, but when GOP legislators started showing up at work with AR-15 lapel pins, it about did me in. Now they’ve totally jumped the shark. Congress critters Barry Moore (Aladambama,), Andrew Clyde (GA gun shop owner), Lauren Boebert (COrazy) and the inimitable shapeshifter George Santos have banded together to sponsor Bill HR 1095 making an AR 15 the National Gun of the United States. I have no more words for this insanity. I think I’ll knit today. Reality is too much.
I was (blissfully) unaware of the AR-5 lapel pins. Now a bill to make the AR-15 the national gun. I don’t expect it will go far, but still. I thought when Trump lost I would be able to pay attention to the news again without wanting to hide in my closet, but every day the Republicans unleash new insanity. I’m still trying to come to grips with Kevin McCarthy giving the Jan. 6 tapes to Tucker Carlson, who, I have no doubt, will forward on to the Russians. Putin must be doing an endless happy dance at the gifts the Republicans deliver to him every day.
1And if we don’t force women to carry babies to term we’ll run out of elementary students to shoot.
2These brainless yawhoos are wearing their “support your local mass murderer” pins. These are exactly the people HRC called deplorables. I still see more deplorables around here with assault rifle decals plastered across their big truck rear windows next to the NRA and flag decals.
3Boebert, Santos, etc are already National Embarressments, even without their stupid proposal(s).
4I’m only surprised that my local congress-idiot didn’t also sign on to the bill.
The troll in me wants to raise a ruckus claiming that the Winchester Model 1873 (“the gun that won the West”) should instead get the honor. Then through a different sock-puppet account start arguing that the Model 1876 is better; for a while it was a standard issue to the Texas Rangers. Then stir up the old vets by advocating for the M14 and resurrect the old arguments about how the M16 (the AR15’s military version) has light-weight rounds that can be deflected by twigs, and Real Men would only use weapons .30 caliber or over.
Maybe it could divert the Idiot’s Party from attacking LGBT folks and public education, and get them sniping at each other over which gun is more historic.
5What? Not the Kalashnikov? The AK-47. Aren’t these the people who would rather be Russians than Democrats?
6AR-15 rifles are manufactured by Colt, who was bought by a Czech company. I can only imagine some Russian oligarch owning that company and getting a laugh at all of us being killed by their rifles. Perhaps our goober-headed representatives should think about that!
7The Surly Professor @5, My first thought was the Winchester 1894, probably the most numerous of all lever action rifles [~7million, or even of all rifles]. It was primarily a hunting gun, which the ammosexuals claim for the AR, but also saw military use.
As far as baiting some of us with ‘M-14s’, my first mil trainer was the M-1 Garand [but began shooting around 6yo with BB/pellets, then .22s by 8yo, and targets with both M-1s around 14yo]. Got to play with BARs and M-2/60s later too.
However I still want a homeplace Oerlikon 20 and/or Bofors 40 though [that’s the real ‘Real Man’ cutoff]…might be a tad too heavy for the boat though.
Yeah, the M-16 is lacking in some qualities, imo, fwiw.
RA @6, You got it. AK-47/M/74s are a much better fit with those traitorous sonuvabitches.
8Am I the only one thinking that there is a vast conspiracy of “dumbass” where every member of the conspiracy waits until it’s “their day” to unleash some kind of krazy krap to divert attention from whatever their malevalent little brain pans have hatched up this time. I don’t understand why some enterprising person isn’t marketing the “SQUIRREL-O-MATIC” that can be set to release a new diversion every day to keep the literate occupied. Pretty sure our Governor has a SOM Lite.
9AR-15 National Weapon, The Bible – National Book ——— Both Kill .
10I’m believe the musket gets the honors, since it won the Revolutionary War against the British.
11Opinionated Hussy – can’t be a musket. Muskets are muzzleloaders and none of the clowns advocating for the AR are smart enough or coordinated enough to figure out how to load one. Besides, it’s a single shot weapon. Can’t have that. How’s a “fine, upstanding, law-abiding” conservative white boy gonna shoot up an elementary school if he has to stop after every shot to go through the loading process? Why, he probably won’t be able to kill more than one or two first graders in that circumstance. /s
12Shower Cap (whose blog you should be reading) responded, “We should have an official national cancer, too. I propose lung, any dissenters?”
https://showercapblog.com/who-would-get-custody-of-the-space-lasers/
13I read the Browder duo; I have to admit I couldn’t finish the second one–too much menace. It scares me to death. It’s still on my nightstand, waiting for me to get brave again.
14Gads!!! What other “national” items do we have? Trees, flowers, fish, dogs, cats, classic car, where the bleep does it end? Maybe with the national spitball?
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