Petzal: Why Life is Now More Complicated

As a kid in the 1950s, I was taught that the Democratic Party was the repository of all human evil, and in the ensuing half-century I haven’t seen a lot to make me change that point of view. However, this past week, a pair of Democratic senators have done shooters a great service. To wit:

About two weeks ago, the Department of Defense decreed that surplus military ammo would no longer be sold to the public. Instead, said the DoD, it would be “mutilated,” presumably chopped up and sold for scrap. It’s difficult to see what purpose this would serve from the government’s point of view, but for shooters who handload military calibers and for people who re-manufacture ammo, it would be a catastrophe.

Then, on March 17, Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus of Montana, Democrats both, sent a FAX to the DoD stating that this would not be such a good idea, and since Senator Baucus is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the DoD locked its heels together and listened. On the evening of the same day, Baucus and Tester received a reply that the decision had been reversed and mutilation was no longer an option.

So, swallowing my bile, I give thanks to these two Senators, and wonder: Where were the Republicans, who are supposedly our staunchest allies, while this was going on?

Mssrs. Baucus and Tester are not enough to make me forget about Senators Schumer, Kennedy, Feinstein, former Senators Biden and Clinton, and a long and dismal list that stretches back to the 60s, but it does complicate matters.