There were many excellent quotes, usually courtesy of Scalia, but this emerged as one of my favorites:

JUSTICE SCALIA: Is that what you are asserting here, that the States have to allow firearms?
MR. FELDMAN: No.
JUSTICE SCALIA: Is that –
MR. FELDMAN: I — I didn’t think I was.
JUSTICE SCALIA: I didn’t think so, either, so why did your last argument make any sense?

The transcript of the oral arguments is up:

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/08-1521.pdf

I just got some awesomely constructive commentary over on my Appleseed review, from one “Sam Adams”:

Every organization needs constructive criticism, Appleseed included.

However…

I was there, and Laurel… you were not a particularly good shooter. Have you ever considered sticking with the plan and learning something rather than attempting to impress us how you know everything… about everything?

If you want to learn how to shoot, Appleseed is a great program. I attend annually to keep my skills up. I have been told by men I trust that this is possibly the best civilian run program available today from ANY organization, including NRA. I have attended along active duty military. You know what… those who treat the program with their own self-inflated egos see it as a waste of time. Just like you, they learn nothing. But those who take things seriously, those who PAY ATTENTION and follow instruction and work hard… they become riflemen, and better shooters.

It’s like computers… garbage in, garbage out.

Until you can outshoot the instructors and many of the participants, you should probably keep it to yourself. I’m not quite sure what your agenda is, but regarding Appleseed, you are 100% wrong.

Thank you, sir! May I have another?

Mr. Adams’ comment came after several comments from individuals affiliated with Appleseed, which were all courteous, respectful, and encouraging. I’m not sure if he neglected to read what they had to say before weighing in, but I’m confident his attitude is not representative of the organization as a whole. And I know, I know, I shouldn’t feed the trolls.

I just find it funny, is all, because I actually have a post half-written: reflections on my Appleseed reflections, if you will. In it, I talk about how I told The Inconvenience that I’ve come to the conclusion that Appleseed teaches some things that are fundamental marksmanship and applicable across the board, and it teaches other things that could be considered one particular style/brand of marksmanship, and those aren’t necessarily up my alley or the best style for my chosen rifle platform.

On that note, I offer a quote from the Jan. 2010 issue of SWAT, sent my way by a friend. The topic is charging handle manipulations on the M16/AR-16 platform:

“A secondary issue was that the marksmanship instructors were still locked onto the loop sling, and that immobilized the non-dominant arm. In other words a technique that was useful for marksmanship, but seldom if ever used in actual fighting, took precedence over a Tactic, Technique, or Procedure (TTP) used for fighting.”

Now, lest I be accused of attempting to impress y’all with my answers to life, the universe, and everything, I’ll point out that I sent that quote on to The Inconvenience with the commentary that I felt dumb for not being able to pinpoint that the above was part of my problem. I knew something felt “off” about my manipulations with the loop sling, but didn’t quite put my finger on it. Well, that’s part of it. Because I’m not an expert on military marksmanship, I don’t know when the transition to primarily hasty sling work came, but it sounds from the above quote like it had a little something to do with the M16. Huh. Go fig.

Anyway, I digress – back to that post I was writing. I went on to say that I can see myself attending another Appleseed in the future. Why? Because – just because something isn’t my primary preference doesn’t mean it can’t be in my repertoire. I probably will take a 10/22 or something similar next time, because I’ll be able to reinforce the fundamentals just as well with one, and I’m probably not going to enhance my relationship with my AR-15 under Appleseed conditions. I compared it to if I were to try something like cowboy action shooting – something fun to do outside of my main set of skills/preferences. (I realize some people do all cowboy action, all the time, but that’s not what it would be if I did it.)

And, because I think there is a competitive element to Appleseed, it would be fun to “win” that competition – qualifying as a rifleman. I’ll yoink a quote directly out of my draft:

The Appleseed Program has given me my first taste of goal-oriented marksmanship – shooting for a prize, if you will. And that is one thing I think they’re very good at: Introducing the idea of shooting at a certain level, for a certain reward, without introducing a multi-shooter competition. So, while I have complaints about the possible effect of the tempo of instruction on confidence levels, I do think giving people a plain but challenging goal to work toward, with both a tangible and symbolic reward at the end, is a good thing.

I wonder if Mr. Adams would have me withhold my praise, as well, since I’m not outshooting the instructors yet?

Last but not least, I want to address the main reason I bothered to give this my time: My “agenda.”

My agenda is not to stroke the egos of any person, company, or organization. It is not to favorably review products or services because they give me a shout-out, link back, or freebie. It’s not to parrot a party line. Conversely, my agenda is not to tear down anyone in the gun culture or serve as a poor ambassador for such.

My agenda is honesty. I failed at that during the last election cycle, when I pretty much kept my mouth shut about Sarah Palin. I was (am) disappointed in Sarah Palin, and I was (am) pretty mad about it. I didn’t talk about it, because I didn’t want anything I said to be perceived as some sort of backdoor promotion or endorsement of Obama. I felt rather icky over the whole thing, like I’d become an unwitting pawn. It reminded me a little too much of my College Republican days, and man – if ever I’ve seen a nasty organization, it’s that one.

I faced many of the same emotions after attending the Appleseed – I wanted to give an honest account of my experience, but I didn’t want it to be seen as attacking an organization I very much approve of in theory. I wrote about four drafts of my review, trying as hard as I could to include constructive criticism of some of the methods without attacking the intent of the group. I would have thought that was clear when I began with, “Let me reiterate that I very much like the concept of the Appleseed Project. I like that they’re getting folks out to the range.” – but apparently it was not.

I asked The Inconvenience if I should even say anything, because I didn’t want to be seen as attacking a sacred cow. He shrugged and said, “Of course you should – you’re a blogger. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the same thing as a journalist, and if you’re going to do this thing you have a responsibility to call it like you see it.”

So, to Sam Adams and anyone else questioning my “agenda”: That’s it. Sorry it’s not very exciting. I’m not a secret agent Brady-loving gun-grabbing interloper, trying to take y’all down from the inside. I’m not a plant for a rival organization trying to get more business for a competing rifle clinic. I’m certainly not poised to start my own rifle clinic, and if you’ll refer to the end of my Appleseed review, I very specifically state that I’d much rather help refine Appleseed than fragment the movement.

To those Appleseed instructors and participants who commented respectfully on my review, thank you. Your words helped me better understand the role of Appleseed and why you do things the way you do. They also helped me reframe my perceptions/expectations, and I really do think I’ll be back eventually. I still think there are things that can be done to improve the program, especially as it grows – and, even more so, as the instructor corps grows. One idea that occurred to me (sorry if I’m behind the curve on this one, it’s kind of a no-brainer) is that more one-on-one instruction/assistance could probably do quite a bit to offset some of the tempo challenges. I know that the one-on-one help I was getting from a female instructor (who was really fantastic) was the best I’ve had out of my two Appleseed experiences. It wasn’t so much the information she was imparting as her overall demeanor and helpful reminders. So, I’m keeping my own volunteer potential in mind, and maybe I’ll be joining those orange hats in the future.

In closing, a note to Mr. Adams: I’ve never claimed to be an expert shooter. I didn’t hit the range on Sunday and shoot rifleman on my own time. I have far to go, and am infinitely fortunate to be surrounded by knowledgeable people who can help me improve. I mean, having a Marine for a husband and a NRA/Utah instructor for a dear friend is almost an unfair advantage, right? Anyway, I think I’m pretty honest about my efforts to improve my knowledge and skills, or at least I try to be. I will never claim a malfunction where there wasn’t one, or be the first to blame my equipment when it’s my skills that are lacking. All that said: I’m not sure where you were at on the line, or when you had the opportunity to scrutinize my targets, but: Was it before or after I managed to shoot my rear sight loose, then completely off? Just sayin’.

The Inconvenience attended a lecture at the lawsmithery** today. The presenter asked for examples of ways in which minorities have been targeted by the legal system. Nobody volunteered anything. The Inconvenience finally raised his hand and said, “How about how firearms restrictions largely began with restricting the rights of blacks to carry, impeding their ability to defend themselves in a time when they were frequently targeted as victims of racial violence?”

*collective liberal blink-blink-stare*

Apparently, the lecturer replied, “Uh, I, uh, have never heard of that. Um, anyone else?”

Really? Two PhDs and lecturing on race issues, and you don’t know minorities were the first victims of gun control? Academia fail.

**Jargon note: The Inconvenience insists he’s studying to become a lawsmith, not a lawyer. Thus, the law school is the lawsmithery. And the law library is the lawbrary.

The Inconvenience, The Girl Child and I made an appearance at the local GOP event last night. Ken Roberts and a spokesman for Vaughn Ward were in attendance to talk about the upcoming primary for the 1st District Congressional seat – currently held by Walt Minnick, D.

Ward’s spokesman was a guy probably not much older than myself. While he was in a bit of a difficult position, speaking on behalf of his candidate while the other was present in the flesh, he was also using a playbook a little too reminiscent of my College Republican days. I hate, hate, HATE that brand of politicking.

I’ve met Ken before, as he’s the uncle of a good friend. I like him. He’s shifted libertarian since I first knew of him, and I think it is genuine. He is going to have a hell of a campaign ahead of him. Ward has already been endorsed by John McCain and people connected to Sarah Palin. He’s also a USMC vet.

I’m getting a bad vibe off the Ward campaign. It feels entirely too DC. I don’t want to elect someone savvy in beltway politics to represent Idaho – I want to elect an Idahoan.

Anyway, The Inconvenience kinda stole the show when he let them have it with both barrels during the Q&A. He told the candidates he didn’t want a leader, he wanted to be left alone. He criticized members of the local GOP for giving us a bad time about open carrying at a party function. He laid into the Republican city councilmen – one of whom was in attendance! – for being cowardly private-business disrespecting “little Obamas” for voting for the smoking ban in Moscow. He said at least he openly knows Pelosi and Obama and company are his enemies – they don’t pretend otherwise, like the Republicans. He received several rounds of applause, a nasty look from that councilman (Walter Steed, if you’re keeping score) and many thanks and handshakes afterward. It was rather motivational.

Other highlights of the evening were connecting with several women who would like to learn how to shoot from another woman, so I guess I’m their gal. Also, Ken Roberts said we could quote him on swearing if he’d been governor when grey wolves were introduced into Idaho back in ‘95, he would have called up the National Guard to shoot them all as they came out of the cages.

So. Anyone who advocates using the National Guard in defiance of the FedGov is generally gonna get a big +10 in my book.

Anyway, it was an enlightening event, and I’m glad we attended. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Frankly, I’m not even sure the GOP deserves the seat – Minnick has served us well thus far. My only concern is that he might move left if the Dems lose their wide majority, so he doesn’t have the luxury of casting Idaho-friendly votes anymore. I’m not 100% convinced of his loyalties or convictions.

Passed the house. Minnick voted against it – I called to say thanks, but they’ve left the office for the weekend and his mailbox is full.

For all you climate-change types who are so very principled and so committed to saving the earth that you want the government to enforce your POV at the point of a gun, you have given up buying anything and everything from China, right?

*crickets*

U.S. Army soldiers from Ft. Rucker patrol the downtown area of Samson, Alabama after a shooting spree March 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Mark Wallheiser

Around here, we consider this to be a rather large problem.

§ 1385. Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus

Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

That picture is potentially one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen as a citizen of the United States. What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, are uniformed members of the United States Army patrolling your streets in vests marked POLICE.

Let that sink in for a minute. And then get used to it, because I think it’s only the beginning.

Everyone – from the officer who issued this blatantly illegal order on down to the guys you see above – should be run up on charges. They all took an oath, and “just following orders” is unacceptable.

Just a reminder to make sure your links/blogrolls/etc. are pointed at politicsgunsandbeer.com. My old domain – politicsgunsandbeer.com – is going to stop redirecting in a couple of days, and I don’t want to lose y’all in the void.

All is well in north Idaho – I’ll try to get a substantive post up soon!

It might have something to do with the fact I fed her my “I Voted” sticker.

Well, I made it to California. The shit has not yet hit the fan.

Egress back to Free America is scheduled for early Sunday.

Posting/email replies/etc. will be limited until then – though my folks actually have a decent wireless connection out here in the sticks, their computer’s fan runs constantly and gives me a god-awful headache.