24 October 2021
Colorado
Mind-dump, sans edit

Normally I will not focus on little fish like Baldwin, but this time it's important. Baldwin represents everything unAmerican. Baldwin has openly called for his political enemies be locked up without trial. Not just locked up, but tossed into dungeons (paraphrasing) for especially harsh treatment. Without trial.

Let's face it, a lot of US Citizens are just not American. Baldwin wants our Constitution ripped apart and burned. Wildly anti-gun and characterizes us as stupid, criminal, reckless, for demanding we stick to the Constitution -- the same one will stick to attempt to see he receives a fair trial for the crime of killing a woman and shooting another.

Let's be clear: based on what I have seen so far, we don't even KNOW that it was 'accidental.' The media on whole knows so little about firearms that nearly all of them are calling it an 'accidental' 'misfire.'

This was NOT a misfire. A misfire goes "click" and nothing happens. Like the gun version of a dud. If this were a misfire, nobody would have heard about it.

At very best, this was a negligent homicide. At best. There was no accident. If they were following safety protocol that I was taught with my BB gun, nobody would be hurt.

If Alec Baldwin followed the safety rules my grandfather taught me while hunting, nothing would have happened:

1) Treat all guns as loaded. I will not even point a toy gun at someone. I don't even point my finger at someone as if I have a pistol. If someone finds me pointing a gun that them, he better stop and take directions. Which likely will include lay flat on the ground. Don't even think about it.

2) Keep muzzle pointed in safe direction. Always.

3) Keep your booger finger off the bang switch until you intend to fire

4) Know your target and beyond. Keeping in mind that bullets go through people all the time and often exit with enough energy to kill another person.

If Alec Baldwin pointed a load gun and someone and pulled the trigger on the lady, that was at very best a negligent homicide.

Whoever holds the gun is solely responsible for the status. If Jerry Miculek clears a pistol right in front of me, and hands it to me saying, "Here Michael, this weapon is clear." I will still check it again. Period. "You don't trust me?" Sorry, that's just my policy and I follow this policy without variance.

Do you remember when I was on that satellite phone interview in Sangin and there was a firefight on? (Happened more than once). Sangin was the most dangerous district out of nearly 400 districts in Afghanistan. All those movies you saw about Afghanistan...Sangin was worse, and practically no correspondents would go out there. I was on the sat phone one night from Sangin and BANG! A British Soldier cleaning his weapon shot a buddy, who was horribly wounded. Permanently. I don't know if he ultimately survived.

I could tell you tons of such stories. BANG. Oops.

In the US military, if you negligently fire a weapon, killing someone, you will be charged with murder. If you negligently fire a round causing no injury at all, and you are in a special operations unit, there is a good chance you will be kicked out of the unit. Would you trust a pilot who forgets to drop landing gear?

Some people say there is ZERO excuse for a negligent discharge, but after tons of combat I disagree. There were times when we were out for days in missions and tons of firefights. (I only as correspondent). The men and women would be exhausted. Not eating or sleeping well. Limping from pain. Uniforms ripped. If a Soldier in such condition cracked off a round, it was still not okay, but no way I would report it.

Which might be an ethical dilemma for some, but not for me. When your mental state is degraded, stuff happens that is still inexcusable but there are extenuating circumstances.

When a Soldier hardly has slept for several days, he's been in numerous firefights, hungry, uniform ripped, covered in dried blood, blood under his fingernails, his boots, he's limping in pain, he cracks off a round that snaps by your head and says, "SHIT! Sorry about that!" Just let it rest. Some stuff needs to stay on the battlefield to be swept away into the winds.

Even if he shot someone, would you hang a Soldier like this? I would not. It is what it is. Real war. Let it go.

But what of Alec Baldwin? Does he have extenuating circumstances? Was he drunk on alcohol or drugs? Was he up all the night before partying? I got no idea. But I bet he was not a cop fighting for his life while a violent suspect was trying to get his gun.

Did Baldwin the virtue-signaler stand up for Kyle?

What we know: Alec Baldwin was holding a weapon that was pointed at humans. Either the bang switch got tripped -- probably by his finger -- or, as a producer of the film, he was responsible for the conditions that created this circumstance. If the weapon was faulty. That's his fault as producer. If the armorer was an idiot, doesn't matter.

Officer Tatum nails it: