Cooper QotD

Members of the old Gunsite family will be interested to learn that one of their number, Dr. Peter Goldman, late of Springfield, Massachusetts, has now pulled up stakes and emigrated to one of the country suburbs of Cape Town. The Countess and I know that country fairly well, and we agree that it is one of the most desirable places in the world in which to settle. It marvelously combines a beautiful rural lifestyle with all the necessary appointments of a big city. In Cape Town there are magnificent hospitals, great libraries, a symphony orchestra, and a ballet troop. In the countryside, the fruits and vegetables are outstanding and contribute to some of the finest wines in the world. The precipitous skyline in all directions is a never ending delight to the eye. There is marvelous deep−sea fishing in False Bay, and medium game is available in
profusion at a couple of hours drive.

The drawback, of course, is political. We simply do not know what sort of a constitution will define life in South Africa in the immediately forthcoming years. When you see, however, what is being done to the United States' Constitution in Washington even as you read this, it might lead you to consider taking your chance in South Africa.

The only other American expatriate I know who lives in South Africa is Peter Hawthaway Capstick. He may not be a Gunsite family member, but he certainly qualifies for honorary status.

We wish good fortune to all concerned, and we expect to be visiting with him down that way in less than a year's time. - Jeff Cooper

Contrast

Robb at Sharp as a Marble has this interesting comparison, reproduced here:




Lots of good comments there a well.

Go. Read.

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Cooper QotD

Note that Para−Ordnance is now promoting a "slimline", version of their double−column 45s. The effort to slimline a double column frame would seem discouraging, but slimlining per se is an excellent idea, as we have developed it at Gunsite. The only thing wrong with the 1911 pistol is that it is just too big for some hands. The only thing it really needs is a smaller butt, as with some entertainers we could name. - Jeff Cooper

The muscle-memory is strong in this one

Breda seems not to have suffered any loss of accuracy during the big ammo shortage!

I'd hate to try to mug her, especially if she's got some coffee in her hand!

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Another 'authorized' journalist*

h/t WND - Headline at the UK Telegraph is about polygamy in TX:

Court case sheds light on Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, where it is alleged that bigamy and sexual abuse of girls, some as young as 12, are widespread. [emphasis added]

I know that marrying off 12 year olds is pretty distasteful, but probably should not be illegal. My faith is what it is, and those folks' faith is what it is .... who am I (or the state) to judge?

But 22 paragraphs later, you find this admission:

The church also practices "placement marriage" - with the church leader, who has the status of prophet, assigning females to husbands. Traditionally, this has involved marrying off girls as young as 12, although the church stated last year that it would end the practice of child brides.

So you allege the church members of doing something, that later in the article you admit they've stopped doing already?

Seems like someone has an agenda now, doesn't it?!

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*h/t David

Cooper QotD

It may not be exactly couth to open this commentary on a personal note, but the situation seems to call for it. I discover, to my disgust, that certain squalid fictionalizers have started circulating rumors about my health, for reasons that escape me. However, to set the matter at rest, I had a full physical in March of `93 and seemed to disappoint the examiners a bit when they could find nothing wrong with me, apart from a cataract in my left eye. I have now been told, by various rumors, that I have had a stroke, that I have meningitis, and that I have a terminal cancer. All these people need is a voodoo doll to stick pins in.

[There is nothing physical whatsoever to interfere with my continued performance of duty as I have done it for the past seventeen years. The issue in this private war is not physical nor economic nor professional rather it is moral. Time will tell.] - Jeff Cooper

Obligatory - Accidental firearms death rate

I saw the following here, here, and here, so I figgered it was kinda important.

Howard Nemerov, the Austin Gun Rights Examiner, has a column about a curious statistic; namely, that accidental firearms deaths have declined steadily since 1984, even as the number of firearms has grown:



But ... but ... but ... Brady Campaign says that's unpossible!

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I guess the gauntlet's been thrown

The Watertown, NY newspaper has this bombshell:

It is in this spirit that I am writing to let you know I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same.

So, it's to be party betrayal?!

I don't know how Scozzafava would have represented; conservative or liberal. A good friend has told me that NYC politics are liberal, then you have the rest of the state, and NY-23 is a solid Republican district.

But a woman who received a Margaret Sanger award? You've got to be shitting me!

Now the only way those party chairmen who selected this horrible candidate can save face is to chalk it up to Dede's Revenge.

Either way, those chairmen should resign as soon as the election is over. They either selected a candidate who is so far left that the Democrat is closer to her than Hoffman, or they selected a candidate who has no loyalty to the party she's been a part of all her life.

If the knives aren't out now, the Republicans can pack it in.

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A good way to spend an afternoon

h/t Ace - Something that goes boom!



Wonder how he does his load development?

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Cooper QotD

"The dead take with them to the grave only that which they have given away."
Anonymous
Jeff Cooper

New meme

I saw this on Weer'd Beards blog a couple of days ago, and found this little bit about fans of the 1911 pistol:

"Of course the 1911 is an outdated design. It came from an era when weapons were designed to win fights, not to avoid product liability lawsuits. It came from an era where it was the norm to learn how your weapon operated and to practice that operation until it became second nature, not to design the piece to the lowest common denominator. It came from an era in which our country tried to supply its fighting men with the best tools possible, unlike today, when our fighting men and women are issued hardware that was adopted because of international deal-making or the fact that the factory is in some well-connected congressman's district. Yes, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the 1911 IS an outdated design... and that's exactly what I love about it."
-Rosco S. Benson.

And I think Mr Benson is exactly right. Weer'd is worth a look-see ....

Go. Look. Read

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Priorities

Stolen from Ace, this interesting piece on who the administration believes needs the H1N1 vaccine first:

To govern is to make choices and under the administration of Barack Obama, the choice is in favor of detained terrorists over the Americans those terrorists would like to kill.

And these are the dumasses who are going to run health care?! I wish I was this smart!

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