Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Is Starbucks listening?

The cup of plain old Starbucks I got at Barnes & Noble is much better than the last cup of plain old Starbucks coffee I had back on Starbucks Appreciation Day.  Coffee may vary by location perhaps?

Wisconsin and Constitutional Carry?

Right now we can't.  At all.  But it seems like things may be changing.  Last month at the state Republican convention they (narrowly) voted to strike obtain permits to from their stance on 2nd Amendment issues.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Republican Party of Wisconsin, in caucus assembled, urges the Wisconsin Legislature to adopt legislation to permitting law‐abiding citizens without a felony record or a record of serious mental problems to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons;
This is a huge reversal from previous years where they simply had no stance towards 2A issues.

Another ray of hope in the overall debate is Gov. Doyle's announcement not too long ago that he will not be seeking re-election this fall.  The State Legislature has previously passed "shall issue" style legislation twice in the past, only to be vetoed by Doyle, followed by barely failing to override.  Combined with a nation wide swing towards conservative and Tea Party candidates for numerous offices, things are looking quite hopeful for it this time around.

But what is truly ridiculous, in an awesome way, is in the striking of those three words.  What that means is the official goal of the State Republican Party in regards to Concealed Carry is Vermont/Alaska/Arizona type carry.  If it were to happen, that would mean a switch straight from no carry to unrestricted carry! (Assuming the current School Zone case goes our way and the vehicle restrictions follow.)  Yesterday's Supreme Court announcement just seems to further support the cause.

It'll probably be a year yet before we see any real developments, and it almost all depends on how things go in November, but it's good to see things swinging this direction.  If you live in Wisconsin, it's definitely time to start doing your research and really pay attention to state level elections this time around.  We're a hair away from becoming the 49th state to allow our citizens the ability to truly and completely defend ourselves, now's the time!

Slipped right by me...

I noticed it the other day, intended to say something about it, and completely forgot, but it looks like SOCOM is less than impressed by their SCAR Mk-16s.  It sounds like a lot of "what can it do that an M4 can't?" as they are retaining the Mk-17s (the 7.62 version.)  I can see the ambidextrous safety and brown finish not really balancing out the loss of compatibility with "the Big Army" and other parent services.  Apparently there are also a fair number of guys who simply prefer the M4 for their 5.56 platform (I can't argue.)

I don't know why, but I've never quite warmed up to the SCAR.  I think it's a partially due to mediocre experiences with FN built M16s throughout my military service, although I have no complaints as far as quality goes for their belt feds.  Just some truly crappy M16A2s (functioned ok, fit and finish was garbage) and some meh A4s (see reverse of earlier, had a bunch with sub-par gas rings that had cycling issues.  Was quickly fixed, but should never have happened.)  I haven't had the chance to fire a SCAR, but I've handled one and it just didn't really excite me either.  Granted a lot of that was muddied by knowing what the price tag said too.  I have a feeling that if I ever play with an ACR it'll be a similar experience.

Overall, I can see where they are coming from.  My personal AR carbine has ambidextrous controls (all but mag release anyway) and is a good mix of colors, and could be tan in a matter of minutes if I felt the need.  I have yet to have an issue with the DI system (granted I'm running a mid-length system.)  The only real advantage I can see with the SCAR is that you can fold it, a wish that's left over from my days of being in a mechanized unit and having a full length M16.  I can easily see the decision that the benefits do not outweigh the price and loss of compatibility.