It's the classic Abbot & Costello sketch Who's on First... Shakespeareified.
I found this last year, believe it or not, but (obviously) never got around to posting it until know.
I apologize for the bad image quality at the end, but it's been like that ever since I found it.
Oh, and if you're not familiar with the sketch, here's the original version:
Watch This Video from CNN.
Long story short, David Olofson lent his twenty-year old AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle, to another man, who fired roughly 800 rounds (apparently without cleaning it) when the weapon malfunctioned, causing the weapon to fire a three-round burst before jamming. The guns owner's house was raided by the ATF (who didn't find any illegal weapons) and he was convicted of transferring an illegal machine gun.
Okay, this makes zero sense to me. The ATF acknowledges that the weapon malfunctioned, no illegal weapons were discovered in the guys house, he's an Army Reservist, husband, and father, with no criminal record to speak of, yet the government won't say why they chose to go after him.
What's even more disturbing is the precedent this ruling sets. The type of malfunction that happened, called a slam-fire, is not uncommon. It can happen a number of ways; the hammer or firing pin can fail to lock back after firing, the trigger sear can fail to re-engage, or the firing pin can simply stick in the extended position. It happens on all kinds of weapons, not just AR-15s, which by the way are notoriously unreliable if not kept absolutely clean. Some older semi-auto shotguns will slam-fire regularly. M1911-style pistols can slam-fire if they're not properly maintained. My friend has even had it happen several times on an old M1 Garand, a WWII-era rifle. Basically, what this means now is anyone who has a firearm malfunction and slam-fire can be tried and easily convicted of a major felony, thereby losing many of their basic freedoms (can't vote, can't serve in the armed forces or work for the government in any capacity, can't own guns, etc.)
Even the radically anti-gun CNN finds this disturbing. (Yes, Bill Tucker is pro-second amendment, but the CNN high-ups wouldn't let the story run if they didn't agree. Trust me on this; I've spent five years in journalism, I know how the system works.) I don't know why the government chose to pursue this ridiculous case, but I feel that it is gross misuse of power and a sham of justice, and that the presiding judge on this case should be disbarred and the victim's record should be immediately expunged.
UPDATE:
A federal judge just sentenced David Olofson to 30 months in jail. 30 months! All because his gun malfunctioned?!?!?! WTF? This is sick and wrong, people. Sick and wrong. Something needs to be done. That judge should immediately be disbarred, and Mr. Olofson should be pardoned and have his record expunged immediately if not sooner!
Anyone remember this reaction?
The guy got 30 months in jail because his gun malfunctioned!
To all those serving and who have served in our Armed Forces, thank you for defending our country and for keeping us, and the world, free from tyranny and oppression.
To those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, to those who have willingly laid down their lives in defense of that freedom, thank you. Thank you for sacrificing your todays for our tomorrows. Thank you for giving up everything so that people you never knew and probably would never have met could live in a country that can truly be called free.
Freedom is not, has never been, nor shall it ever be, free. It is paid for by the blood and innocence of the men and women of our Armed Forces, by men and women who are willing to give up everything for the land that they love.
1,316,888 have paid that price so far.
Thank a Veteran.
O-kay... Barack Obama claims that he's visited 57 States, still has one more to go, but he can't visit Alaska or Hawaii.
Now, I've really tried to keep politics and political bashing out of my blog, but come on! This is sheer idiocy! And please don't tell me he misspoke. First, he had to stop and think about how many states he had visited. Second, if he had really misspoken , he should have been at least competent enough to immediately correct himself.
Regardless of my political views, I really don't think that we should elect someone to lead the country if they don't even know how many stars are on the Flag.
This video is of a test conducted by H&K for a new SOCOM requirement, pitting their new HK416 assault rifle against the Colt M4A1, which is standard-issue for the majority of our front-line soldiers.
The video's in German, but you really don't need to understand what they're saying to get the point. Pay particular attention to what happens 1:30 into the clip.
The Army Ordinace Department says that the M4A1 is the best, most reliable rifle in the world, and that there is no need to adopt a new weapon. After seeing what happened to the one in the video, I say that's bullcrap. How about you?
Yeah, I gave the blog a new name. Quite frankly, I was getting tired of *Insert Title Here* as the title, and truth be told, my original plan was to have *Insert Title Here* be a temporary title until I came up with something better. Only took me 20 months to get around to it...
By the way, does anyone know how to get the title centered?
