Reader AmEx sent news of the know-nothing Big Government crowd at work: Bullet tax proposal in hunt for solution to Chicago gun crime. Call for a levy of nickel for each bullet and $25 for each firearm sold in the city [1]. I predict that their tax scheme will be counterproductive. Note that the tax would apply only to the 40 FFL [2] holders inside Chicago City limits. Who in their right mind would pay 8 cents per round for .22 rimfire ammo, when they are accustomed to paying 3 cents? Obviously, people will take their business elsewhere–namely to gun shows outside of Chicago and to Internet vendors. So, instead of raising revenue they will choke off a revenue stream. Eventually, all statist politicians will be hoisted by their own petards.
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A subject familiar to SurvivalBlog readers, but worth reading: Martial Arts For The Survivalist [3]
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F.G. sent us an interesting clip of a recent Hind helicopter shoot-down in the Syrian Civil War [4]. [JWR’s Comment: The spinning uncontrolled descent is probably indicative of a tail rotor power failure or a dead pilot. Then the big fireball in mid-air appears to be a secondary explosion of onboard ammunition stores. By the way, the rebels are all shouting “Allahu Ahkbar”, but to be more accurate, they should be shouting “ZSU-23 Ahkbar” or better yet, “Mytishchi [5] Ahkbar,” since they designed and built that big lead slinger.]
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Speaking of ZSU-23 cannons, see the documentary: Front Lines of the Libyan Revolution [6]