Get A Grip

I caught a little teasing for blogging the James Bond Gun. One reader suggested the Bersa Thunder .380 as an alternative, at about half the price. I don't think so. The Bersa is half an inch larger in every dimension — length, height, and most importantly, width. It's 1.44 inches versus the Walther's 0.98.

I'm serious about small hands. The average man's hand measures 190 mm from wrist to fingertip. Mine measures 178 mm. The standard devation is 10 mm. That puts me in the 11th percentile. Nine out of ten men have larger hands than me. Four out of ten women do.

It's not just a matter of comfort, it's a matter of safety.

To shoot safely, the hand must be positioned so the thumb crotch (the web between the thumb and index finger) is on the center of the backstrap (the rear of the handle) and the distal pad of the index finger (the pad beyond the last knuckle) is on the centerline of the trigger.

I can do that with the Walther. I can't with a .45.

The Current Fantasy

I went to the Medford Rifle and Pistol Club's Semi-Annual Fall Gun Show for two reasons. First I wanted to look at all the rifles and see if any of them were even half as beautiful as the one I own. None were. Second I wanted to look at all the pistols and see if there was anything that really fit my small hands. There was.

On a table in the back corner in amongst the used 45s there was a small black pistol that looked oddly familiar. I picked it up and wrapped my fingers around it. It fit. I hefted it. Not bad for an all metal gun. I put on my glasses and looked at the slider. "Carl Walther Model PP Cal. 7.65 mm." I wasn't familiar with that one.

When I got home I looked it up. Oh yes.

"Walther PPK. 7.65 mm., with a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window. Takes a Brausch silencer with very little reduction in muzzle velocity. The American CIA swear by them." — Major Boothroyd to James Bond, in Dr. No.

That Walther. They've gone in and out of style over the years but Smith & Wesson wound up with the license and they're still making them, with improvements, at their Houlton, Maine plant. The little beauty above goes for just under $500 with two clips. And there's a $50 rebate until the first of the year.

www.waltheramerica.com (Except their server's down right now.)

Economic Freedoms

If the Obama administration nationalizes the mortgage, automotive, and health industries, and the tax burden becomes intolerable, where can we go? Isn't the United States the last, best hope? The freest nation on earth?

Well, not exactly. The Heritage Foundation each year ranks the countries of the world on the basis of ten economic freedoms. And the United States, although ranking fairly well, is not always at the top of the list.

Of course economic freedom is only half the bargain—you need political freedom as well, and a basic respect for human rights. But there's a link between the two, and without economic freedoms, political freedom may only mean the right to complain about a bad situation.

Herewith are the top ten countries in terms of each of the ten economic freedoms.

Property Rights
The ability of individuals to accumulate private property, secured by law.

1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Ireland
4. Australia
5. United States
6. New Zealand
7. Canada
8. Chile
9. Switzerland
10. United Kingdom

This is also the overall ranking. That is, the top ten countries tied in terms of secure property rights, and so the secondary sort — by overall ranking — dominated.

Trade Freedom
The absence of tariff and non-tarff barriers that affect imports and exports.

1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Croatia
4. Namibia
5. Switzerland
6. Canada
7. United States
8. Turkey
9. Taiwan
10. Israel

Labor Freedom
The ability of workers and businesses to interact without restriction by the state.

1. Denmark
2. Georgia
3. Singapore
4. Australia
5. Uganda
6. Hong Kong
7. United States
8. Nigeria
9. Chile
10. Thailand

Financial Freedom
Banking security as well as independence from government control.

1. Hong Kong
2. Ireland
3. Australia
4. United Kingdom
5. Denmark
6. Netherlands
7. Bahrain
8. United States
9. New Zealand
10. Canada

Business Freedom
The ability to create, operate, and close an enterprise quickly and easily.

1. New Zealand
2. Denmark
3. Singapore
4. Canada
5. Finland
6. Sweden
7. Iceland
8. Belgium
9. Ireland
10. United States

Investment Freedom
The free flow of capital, especially foreign capital.

1. Hong Kong
2. Ireland
3. United Kingdom
4. Denmark
5. Estonia
6. Netherlands
7. Luxembourg
8. Belgium
9. Singapore
10. Australia
11. United States

In this and the following lists we had to expand the ranks to include the United States.

Monetary Freedom
Combines a measure of price stability with an assessment of price controls.

1. Japan
2. Singapore
3. Finland
4. Hong Kong
5. Netherlands
6. Denmark
7. Niger
8. Peru
9. Macedonia
10. Cyprus
    ...
15. United States

Freedom from Corruption
The absence of governmental corruption in the business environment.

1. Finland
2. New Zealand
3. Iceland
4. Denmark
5. Singapore
6. Sweden
7. Switzerland
8. Norway
9. Netherlands
10. Australia
    ...
20. United States

This and the next go hand-in-hand. The larger the government, the more opportunity for corruption.

Government Size
All government expenditures, including consumption and transfers.

1. Burma
2. Guatemala
3. Chad
4. Cambodia
5. Singapore
6. Cameroon
7. Haiti
8. Bangladesh
9. Hong Kong
10. Laos
    ...
110. United States

Interesting that a military dictatorship ranks highest here. If size of government is your sole criteria you could worse than place the opposition under house arrest. Very efficient.

Fiscal Freedom
The tax burden in terms of the top tax rate and the overall tax as a portion of GDP.

1. Kuwait
2. United Arab Emirates
3. Qatar
4. Saudi Arabia
5. Bahrain
6. Oman
7. Paraguay
8. Bahamas
9. Kyrgyz Republic
10. Hong Kong
    ...
117. United States

A large government requires a heavy tax burden, unless you belong to an oil cartel.

Thanksgiving

"Thanksgiving on the Farm" by John Clymer, November 26, 1955.

Things are fairly quiet this year. The war, in Iraq at least, is pretty much over. The seemingly interminable presidential campaign has terminated, too, with surprisingly little strife. The Democrats won and they deserve it. A black man was given the nation's worst job. He reportedly looks forward to it.

Here on the farm we finally got siding on the house, a dining room porch, and a koi pond. Rocky the horse moved on to greener pastures--literally; he's enjoying a retirement in Brookings where the winters are warmer if somewhat damp. The kids are doing pretty well in school. Marielle came home with the top math score of the entire eighth grade. In fact her teacher said it was the highest score he'd ever seen on the statewide tests.

I'm personally thankful to be working again for Activant, the biggest software company you've never heard of, that I work from home, and that I work direct—no middleman. In contracting that's known as the big time. We expect to prosper, for the next ten months at least.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Ammo Day (Late)

Well I missed Ammo Day this year—just too broke. But the check finally showed up on Monday just in time to take advantage of Bi-Mart's $2 off sale. Combine that with Remington's annual Load Up On Savings rebates ($5 per box) and the price of 7mm-08s just went down to $14.97/20.

Can't beat that with a stick.

Some day, I know, I'm going to seriously have to look into reloading. But in addition to, say, $500 worth of equipment, you have to consider the components, starting with the brass itself. Just glancing through my Midway USA catalog I see that 7mm-08 brass goes for about 34¢ apiece. Bullets 17¢, primer 3¢, and powder 17¢. Right there you have 71¢ per cartirdge—four cents less than I just paid.

Oh, I know you can re-use the brass. Take that out of the equation and you can reload for maybe 37¢ each. When I have enough brass stockpiled I'll consider it. Until then I'll buy ready mades.

Desolate Wilderness and The Fair Land

The Wall Street Journal continues today a tradition begun in 1961 of publishing each Thanksgiving two articles, the first an extract from Nathaniel Morton's journal written about 1620, and the second an editorial written by Vermont Royster in 1949.

From the first:

Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wilde beasts and wilde men? and what multitudes of them there were, they then knew not: for which way soever they turned their eyes (save upward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in respect of any outward object; for summer being ended, all things stand in appearance with a weatherbeaten face, and the whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hew.

And, in 1949:

But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere -- in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.

We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.

It has been my tradition each Thanksgiving since about 1987 to read these.

Strange things happen when you read the same words each year for twenty years. Some times they seem the same old words. Other times, they seem entirely new. The text doesn't change but the reader does.

Who Killed Vince Foster?

• Did Roosevelt have advance warning?
• Did Oswald act alone?
• Is Obama a natural born citizen?

Why do you ask, paisano? It is not for you to know.

Broke Into The Wrong G-D Rec Room

Mark Steyn:

On Friday I had the honor of addressing the Federalist Society in Washington on the matter of my free-speech travails up north. And, in response to a question on whether the Canadian "Human Rights" Commission were surprised that I'd pushed back against them, I quoted that great line from the Kevin Bacon film Tremors when the giant mutated killer worms attack Michael Gross and Reba McEntire's well-armed basement and wind up blasted to smithereens: "Looks like they picked the wrong rec room to break into."

If you haven't seen Tremors, you should. It's a classic. And the Rec Room Scene, of course, is on YouTube.

Another Key Appointment

Dave Burge reporting from Washington.

Ending weeks of speculation and rumors, President-Elect Barack Obama today named Bill Clinton to join his incoming administration as President of the United States, where he will head the federal government's executive branch.

"I am pleased that Bill Clinton has agreed to come out of retirement to head up this crucial post in my administration," said Obama. "He brings a lifetime of previous executive experience as Governor of Arkansas and President of the United States, and has worked closely with most of the members of my Cabinet."

Clinton said he was "excited and honored" by the appointment, and would work "day and night" to defeat all the key policy objectives proposed by Mr. Obama during the campaign.

"I am gratified that the President-Elect has entrusted me with this important responsibility," said Clinton. "I'm looking forward to getting back behind, and under, the Oval Office desk...

Well Alright Then