We’re having so much civilized fun in Augusta right now I had almost forgotten about the outside world. I also forgot that only 18 months ago I had not heard of Jordan Spieth. Spieth it seems forgot all about the winds that have held all but four (4!) men under par this week. Masters magic, majestic and memorable.

Anyway, this morning as I glanced around the internets, two stories caught my eye.  That’s how my mind works – I like piecing together seemingly unrelated items of information. Many organizational thanks to Matt Drudge.

Things must be a bit slow in Boston this weekend. The Globe, having run out of real news, decided to run a lampoon front page featuring the horrors of Trumpzilla:

Boston Globe, April 10, 2016.

The main fake story concerns Trump’s pet issue of illegal immigration. It’s a pet because Americans are growing sick of the related problems; they’re tired out from five decades of betrayal from Washington by everyone from Ted Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to Marco Foamio. A byline says “riots continue”. There would be riots. There will be riots. There are riots now. We grow tired of riotous behavior and other criminality.

Perhaps that thought subconsciously attracted me to another headline story: the volunteer militia is growing. An IndyStar reporter sites a “study” by the Southern Poverty Communism Center (talk about a lampoon) which shows (without mentioning numbers) volunteer militia ranks have grown by 37% in the past two years. The Star maintains neutrality; the Southern Commie Loons are mortified; I am relieved.

I also have numbers – estimates from the Census. Based on my reading of the following graph, I estimate the strength of the militia, unorganized, at around 30 – 40 million men. That makes it the largest armed force in the world.

Census.gov.

I draw my estimate from that left side (male) segment from just below age 20 to just above age 40. That provides the elementary math strength of the combined State militias. Georgia law holds: “the unorganized militia shall consist of all able-bodied male residents of the state between the ages of 17 and 45 who are not serving in any force of the organized militia…” O.C.G.A. 38-2-3(d)(2006). All states have similar laws with slight age variances.

This estimate excludes men serving in the Imperial military and those few thousands actually serving in the organized state militias. Think of it as the reserve militia force. Perhaps you are a member. I am. Thank you for your service.

We many men are the militia contemplated in the Constitution. The same militia which stood guard over the old Republic until the 20th Century (with the terrible exception of 1861-1865). The “well regulated militia” of Second Amendment lore.

In truth, the militia is almost completely unregulated – so as to be defined as “unorganized”. That is a legal problem brought about by a century of socialism. Demographically and obesity-wise, the group is terribly unfit. That would be a product of processed foods and television. Still, we are exceedingly well armed – a failure of the Commies to institute that final plank of the Manifesto. That single failure will be lethally critical. When the riots begin in full we will be ready. Hell, some of us are looking forward to it.

In the meanwhile the sun in up on a near perfect day in Augusta. The winds should be dying down a bit. Good luck to Spieth and company. We’ve got one more terrific day of suspended reality!

Golf Channel.