Head space.
This is one of the lamest gun puns I’ve ever done. I regret nothing.
Some of you emailed and pinged me about the FTF-COMICS.FR project. I was emailed by a great homie a few months back, and totally gave permission on it. C’est une bonne idee, in my opinion. Gun control is a hot topic in France right now. Better to get me some readers!
Some of you reading this might even be from France. Allo, mes amis! Sound off in the comments if you like – Mel and I speak passable French, and would love to hear from you.
For anyone who makes jokes about “surrender monkeys”, remember this: America would not exist if not for the French. Period. They were the mightiest war machine in the world, once upon a time. Also, I think their women are gorgeous. The ones I’ve met, anyhoo.
Poor Mick. He just can’t catch a break, can he? First he gets it from Tom, then he gets it from Alex.
Miscommunication may be the staple of romantic comedies, but (1) as a poly person, most of those kinds of miscommunication make me roll my eyes, and (2) the other major driver of romantic comedy plots is one or both parties engaging in behavior that would get someone slapped with a restraining order in real life.
actually the “surrender monkeys” have been showing considerably larger testicular fortitude that us..did you hear their embassy in Libya got attacked? they politely mailed what was left of the attackers back to their relatives in several small boxes. the Foreign Legion is not a group of people to mess with. they do throw a hell of a party though…don’t ask me how I know that.
It was the Soviets that mailed pieces of relatives of senior Hesbolah members after three of their diplomats were kidnapped in Beirut.
*than our leadership*. Fixed that for you.
Yeah, and once the Italians ruled the known world, and their armies knew no equal. But things change. We live in the here and now, not in the summer of past glories.
Why are the roads in France lined with trees? So the German army can march in the shade. 🙂
It was the Vichy French that surrendered. The French Resistance fought every step of the way. Many American pilots and GI’s owe their existence to the French Resistance.
Besides, nowadays, the US seems to be doing a fair bit of surrendering itself.
Ruling out anything even recent, the fact that The United States of America would not exist at all if the French hadn’t stepped in to mess with the British during that little colonial conflict is something rather conveniently forgotten. After all, what’s helping people found their nation compared to coming in late to the party once or twice, helping to get the ball rolling after the initial push was already stopped and then claiming credit as if it was only that effort that did anything?
Yes, the French monarchy is the reason we exist as a nation. The truth is, the French had and still have an extremely effective miltiary when utilized properly. The majority of their failures are in the political arena, and there is only so much a military can do (short of launching a coup) when the politicians won’t let you win. When the French have a strong leader they are a force to reckoned (see: french nobility, Napoleon, De Gaulle)
… buddy, your history is in a bit of… well, it sounds like you don’t know what you’re talking about. Let’s ignore for a second the millions of dollars of ammo and vehicles supplied and move straight to that whole “The initial push was stopped”. The only thing stopping the “initial Push” was the English Channel.
After pulling out of Vietnam, the Americans kind of lost the right to joke about the French military prowess.
Not to start a big thing but; 1. The French actually started the Viet Nam ball rolling. 2. The US military didn’t lose as much as the US government and Peace protesters ham-strung them.
Um. Not really. Militarily-speaking, the US did more than fine. It was the *political* situation that was out of control. From Administration micro-management to culture clashes to national discord, the military was basically crippled by their own civilian masters.
As for the French in Vietnam, I can can only say that the average soldier was as good as any – But their leadership was less-than-stellar.
That’s a coping mechanism argument we have been making for decades. Frankly, it’s a cop-out. Yes, our politicians sucked ass and greatly mismanaged the war, but even if we were led by competent geniuses we still likely would have gotten our asses kicked.
We started a land war in Asia. That’s one of those general rules of warfare, “don’t so this, you will lose.” We did that. We lost.
Blaming our government for Vietnam is the political version of calling a woman a lesbian when she shoots you down after you hit on her in a bar. Yes, we inherited the war with the French, and yes, our government failed to allow some pretty basic things like bombing the supply lines from China to Vietnam, but in the end these people were willing to use sharpened sticks to fight off a space-age superpower. That kind of dedication is impossible to beat unless you go full-on genocidal.
That’s a standard “We suck” trope, and it doesn’t match the facts on the ground. And the “Land war in Asia” line is frankly BS as well.
Military to military, we kicked ass everywhere we went. The TET offensive? Military disaster for the Viet Cong – they were destroyed as a combat force. They never again managed to present any serious threat – It was NVA after that point. OTOH, the TET Offensive was a *political* bonanza – they managed to grab headlines, and an unspohisticated public and political structure was shocked by what they saw – And made assumptions based upon that.
Air war? We got some shocks, but even those didn’t stop the numbers in our favor. And much of the problems the air war had were again caused by *political* decisions.
Westmoreland was a general incompetent at his level, I agree, but that didn’t stop the lower echelons from doing their job (where permitted) and doing it very well.
At every level, so far as *military* operations went, we outclassed, and out-klilled, the Viet Cong & NVA. On the other hand, *political* decisions prevented the most effective use of the military.
I was about to ask whether he considered the Tet offensive a victory or a defeat. That’s pretty much the litmus test.
“After pulling out of Lebanon, the Americans kind of lost the right to joke about the French military prowess.”
Fixed it for you.
Any discussion of the French military needs a link to Chris Hernandez’s post about fighting with French Marines in Afghanistan.
chrishernandezauthor.com/2013/07/09/working-with-the-french-army/
TL/DR version – French are surprisingly ballsy and know how to party.
Their navy is pretty sharp, too.
France Beats England.
England Beats Germany.
Germany Beats France.
It’s like some sick twisted game of Pirate/Ninja/Cowboy over there….
rock/paper/scissors/lizard/Spock
So who do we put in to cover the Lizard/Spock bits?
What about Australia? It beat the Germans and Japanese, helped the French but was created by the brits.
With the exception of “helped the French”, that describes the US in general as well..
Mick just hit the same trap I’ve hit a number of times. A modern guy basically has two options: 1) Try to pay attention to your significant-other’s feelings and get called a woman, or 2) Ignore them and get called an insensitive asshole. (See also: holding a door for a woman.) That said, in this particular case, I think he did jump to the emotional interpretation of Alex’s words a little too quickly for somebody who works in a gun shop.
For those that dis the French …. it should be remembered that they have a long history with shooting sports including taking home a couple of medals at the last Olympics
I don’t care if the Foreign Legion is a bunch of badasses, the FAMAS still looks strange to me.
Was feeling ‘meh’ at lunch. So I spent my lunch hour at TargetMaster, drooling over some particularly nice rifles. I’m basically a paper-puncher, and I don’t care much for the ergonomics of the AR platform, but I saw a flyer for Ruger’s new SR-762.
It made me drool a *lot.*
They also had an example of Ruger’s Gunsite Scout Rifle and not one, but *two* examples of the M1A (civilianized M-14; a personal favorite), including a composite-stocked one with a National Match barrel.
I may have to buy my wife something nice.
I wonder how she’d feel about a marinized Mossberg 500?
Yes, get her a Mossberg Mariner 500, the SS version. Best shotgun I ever owned.
590 or go home. Also pics please.
They don’t let folks take pics in TargetMaster, so far as I’m aware. But I’ll link you some websites. :p
590, pft. I watched my wife* put a drunken Bos’un’s Mate on the deck – out cold – with the butt of a 500. Plenty good enough for me!
This is what I’d use to bribe my wife:
http://www.mossberg.com/product/shotguns-pump-action-500-special-purpose-jic-mariner/52340
Ruger SR-762:
http://www.ruger.com/products/sr762/index.html
M1A, Composite stock, National Match barrel:
http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/default.aspx?item=MA9226
Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle:
http://www.ruger.com/products/gunsiteScoutRifle/models.html
*Not yet my wife at that point. But that’s when I decided I really needed to get to know her better!
They look pretty good, though i’d rather have the M1A over the ruger SR762. That mossberg package almost looks like they want you to have it in a life boat or bury it.
Agreed on the M1A. Like I said – I don’t care for the ergonomics of the AR platform all that much. The M1A, though… Mmmm… 🙂
The Mossberg package – I dunno what that’s all about; they offer similar packages for many of their shotguns. For the Mariner variant, the tube makes good sense – Whilst the weapon *is* navalized, extra protection from moisture is always prudent.
Miscommunication…
Ah yes. Years & years ago, I inadvertently put a premature end to a promising relationship, by wishing a guy a nice life.
I meant it literally; I honestly didn’t know it was a “piss-off!” saying.
He looked startled, and of course I never saw him again. Didn’t understand why, until a couple of years later, when I realized.. what I’d said.
:-/
Ugh, the New Yorker. What a friggin rag!
Did anyone read the related article about the navy yard? It actually said that pro gun rights beliefs are “irrational”.
That, and protection against tyranny is ” right for sedition”
Sheesh!
The French are a noble people with a strong military history. They indeed helped us win our Revolution, and we reneged on our promise to help with theirs.
Just keep in mind that there’s the French, and Parisians. Even during the French Revolution, most of the country was doing their level best to ignore Paris. Most French in the countryside are wonderful, generous people. Parisians tend to be the ones living up to the worst stereotypes.
Some of my ancestors were from Languedoc. 😛
Reneged my ass. Our debt was to the crown, not to the Revolutionary Government.
My point exactly. The crown asked us for help, and we said “hell no.”
“All myths have a basis in fact.”
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokefrenchmilitaryhistory.htm
Ouch.
There’s some deliberate and needless snark in there, and missing some key facts, but overall, generally accurate. WWI analysis ought to give most credit, frankly, to the English who sacrificed a generation to keep Germany from being their neighbor across the channel.
Also missing: France’s intervention in Mexico: Another defeat, this time by Mexicans. But at least the FFL got a nice battle cry at the Battle of Camarón; the moral and historical equivalent of “Remember the Alamo!”
You should probably check out the truth. http://www.militaryfactory.com/battles/french_military_victories.asp
I see a lot of credit given for ‘victories’ wherein they were present, whilst not always seriously contributing. I also see a lot of victories in wars which were ultimately lost – Often disastrously. Example: The retreat from Moscow wiped out pretty much every victory up to the capture of Moscow. What benefits a nation if it (briefly) captures a city, only to lose an army – And ultimately a war?
As I noted further up-thread; The French soldier is as good as any. Their leadership? Not so much.
It’s still fairly more accurate than the “analysis” given by a common crude joke. You are right however, the administration and the leadership that is and was in command of our military has always been terrible.
*sigh* I admit freely I am Mick in that regard.
Ya know, if Mick wears boots, he only has to shave halfway ;-p
I feel like this bit loses something if you recognized what headspace meant the minute you read it. Ah the life of a firearms enthusiast tis a sad neurotic one. Also why has she suddenly found out that her pistol has headspace problems know? Did she buy a new one? Please say yes! isnt headspace technically a manufacturing problem not a mechanical one?
Je ne regrette rien. Yes, we all know the significance of that song.
Vive l’Algérie française, you old Francophile…
‎http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non,_je_ne_regrette_rien
Hi from France. Been following FTF from day one. ;3
People who make jokes about the French surrendering don’t know history, and don’t realize that France pretty much lost an entire generation to World War I because they just would. not. surrender.
Well, that, and the fact that their leadership spent the early days of the war (and the military buildup preceding it) insisting that Elan would overcome entrenched machineguns.
The French soldier is a courages creature – served by often execrable leadership.