March Meeting:
Destination Moon Movie and Discussion
Our next meeting on
Saturday, March 24, will be a discussion and viewing of the movie Destination
Moon. The movie is based on the Robert Heinlein novel Rocket Ship
Galileo, first published in 1947. After watching the movie, GO member
Bob Greene will briefly discuss the prolific writer’s book as well as
the movie.
In Destination Moon,
U.S. astronauts travel to the moon and establish a base, trying to beat a
Russian expedition. Conflict arises when they realize there may not be
enough fuel to return to Earth. The movie, made in 1950, was directed by
Irving Pichel and stars John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, Dick
Wesson, and Erin O’Brien-Moore as Emily Cargraves.
Join us for the evening on
Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m., at the home of Joy & Jeff Kiviat. Of
course, we’ll have plenty of movie snacks. Call (314) 469-2723 for
directions.
***Please note the
meeting date change: it is on the 24th this month, not the 17th.
The Nature of Guns
by Jeff Kiviat
At our last meeting, we had
an illuminating and entertaining presentation on firearms by Rich
Aldridge. Rich brought along a number of weapons (handguns and rifles) and
rounds (none of them live) for use in the demonstration. Among the weapons
demonstrated by Rich were a British Enfield, an MA1 (M14), an Argentine
Mauser and a Winchester. He also had two photos from his days in Vietnam.
Some of us had difficulty identifying him in the photos, as he was
somewhat younger and had a blackened face.
The dominant theme of the
presentation was that the assault weapons bans have been senseless. He
demonstrated this vividly by showing us weapons that were acceptable under
the bans, and pointing out that they differed in only trivial ways from
banned weapons. He also noted that fully automatic weapons were not very
accurate, due to recoil problems. Thus, the bans might be pushing people
to use more accurate weapons.
Some of the issues
discussed included: the difference between a revolver and a pistol, the
difference between a round and a bullet, the meaning of
“caliber,” how the destructive power of a bullet is tested
(using ballistic gelatin), and why a .357 magnum is more powerful than a
.38 revolver.
The most interesting fact
of the evening: bullet-proof vests were designed to stop handgun rounds,
not rifle rounds. The most humorous moment of the evening: when asked what
he meant by effectiveness, Rich responded, “Getting people to quit
shooting back at you.” This last one was a good example of Rich’s
ability to cut through the bull and get to the essence of an issue.
Quotable Quotes
“I like Dagny, the main
character in Atlas Shrugged. There was a passage in the book that
said the hallmark of a second-rater is resentment for somebody else’s
accomplishment. And Dagny was a first-rater. She was courageous and true
to herself, and she understood the value of being free to make money. She
valued the freedom to succeed and fail, and I think that’s really
important.”
–Gina Kurre, ABC 30
news anchor, responding to the question, “Who is your favorite character
from a book?” in the Riverfront Times’ Street Talk column,
February 28, 2001.
“We didn’t give that
sorry bastard a dime.”
–Harold King, the
lawyer for, and speaking on behalf of, Art and Doug Borel, who received
presidential pardons from Bill Clinton. The brothers were convicted of
rolling back odometers on used cars in 1991 at their shop in Little Rock.
While thankful for the pardons, they want to distance themselves from
Clinton’s pay-for-pardons controversy. From the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, March 4, 2001
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