Sunday, June 15, 2025

CWP, 15 June MMXXV Anno Domini

 

Rhia (left) graduated with an M.D. from UC San Diego
 
Greetings Sheepdogs, 
 
     "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."  
-- Thomas Jefferson
 
Table of Contents:  
  Prevention
     Mindset 
         Situational Awareness
     Safety
     Training 
          Psychology
     Practice 
  Intervention 
     Strategy
     Tactics
     Techniques 
  Postvention
     Aftermath
     Medical
     Survival
  Education
     Legal
     Instruction
     Gear
Cryptology
Signals Intelligence
Intelligence
Religion and Politics
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Prevention *****     *****     *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.  
 
Table of sections:  
     Mindset 
     Safety
     Training 
          Psychology
     Practice 
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Mindset and Attitude --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct way to think.  
 
     "I do not carry a pistol so that I may impose my will on others.  
I carry a pistol so that others may not impose their will on me."  
-- Tom Givens
 
"The Key!" by John Farnam
Excerpts:  
     "Guns, privately and anonymously- acquired, owed, kept, and born by individual 
sovereign citizens is The Key to both personal and national security!"  
     "Privately-owned and kept guns will and do dissuade evil-doers the way nothing 
else can, far better even than police and standing armies."  
 
     "Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
 
"The Realities of One-Handed Fighting
Forget the sound of one hand clapping; what’s the efficiency of one-hand defense?"
by Jeff Gonzales
 
     "There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men." -- Robert A. Heinlein
 
     If you are an operator, you are never intoxicated.  It's not a matter of law, 
it's a matter of competence.  If you are intoxicated, there is an excellent chance 
that you will shoot the wrong person.  Because when you are intoxicated, you 
won't care.  Intoxication impairs judgment.  
 
     "Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist.  
Children already know that dragons exist.  
Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."  
-- G.K. Chesterton
 
     “My grandfather, a cop and blooded gunfighter, was present one night when 
I was a small child and had a nightmare.  My parents, of course, were dedicated 
to calming me down and included the old canard of "there's no such thing as monsters" 
in their assurances.  My grandfather later sat me down and told me there were indeed 
monsters in the world.  "What makes 'em scary," he told me, "is they look like 
everyone else.  But if you keep your eye on 'em and be on your guard . . . sooner or later, 
you'll see the mask slip." ”  
-- Jay Winton
 
"TRADITION UNHAMPERED BY PROGRESS" 
     If Motobu or Itosu were teleported to 2025, and had a chance to see what we have 
today, would their Karate still be the same as it was in 1900?  Would they insist on 
training in Gi or would they opt for modern clothing?  Would you see sai and sticks 
on their walls, or would they be fascinated by Glocks and AR-15s?  Would they still 
insist on lifting stones and eating rice, or would they adopt modern weight lifting 
and diets?  I wonder.  
     Are you training to be a better warrior, or only to preserve the past?  
-- Gabriel Suarez
 
     "An unarmed man can only flee from evil and 
evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -- Jeff Cooper
 
     You cannot predict the actions of the bad guy, because he doesn't think the way you 
think.  He is not civilized.  He is not socialized.  He probably has never had a father 
figure in his life.  He is probably intoxicated with drugs and alcohol (including nicotine, 
never let anyone tell you that nicotine is harmless, look up the word nicotine in the 
dictionary and read it carefully).  
     If you've never been addicted, you don't understand addiction.  The addict initially 
chooses to take the drugs, an act of volition.  He is chasing a euphoric feeling.  That 
feeling gets harder and harder to achieve with time, as his body builds up a tolerance 
to the drugs.  Eventually, he can no longer achieve the euphoric state.  But, by then 
he is addicted and must continue to use the drug to avoid the sickness that comes 
with withdrawal from the drug.  The pain of withdrawal will drive him to steal to get 
the money to buy his drugs.  And he will lie to himself, telling himself that he is okay.  
And in his mind everything is okay, until it obviously isn't.  But hitting rock bottom 
is different for every addict, and many never do.  They die long before hitting 
rock bottom and realizing that they need help.  So, they never ask for help.  
But, they do hurt a lot of people on the way.  Don't be one of those who gets hurt.  
There is no nobility in that.  
     All humans are creations of God.  But, not all humans are children of God.  
Humans have free will.  They can choose to turn away from God, as many do.  
Your duty is to recognize them and avoid them, so they don't hurt you and your 
loved ones.  If you don't take the training to recognize them, you will end up 
defending yourself and your loved ones against the criminal predators.  If you 
don't take the training and practice, you're going to have a real hard time in the 
fight.  But, that is your choice, as everything in life is.  
 
     ‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a 
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.  
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”  
– William Aprill
 
"The Practical Guide to Concealed Carry" by Tom McHale
Excerpt:  
     You will win 100 percent of the fights in which you don’t participate. 
     Yes, it’s that simple. Yes, you can learn skills and take action to reduce 
the odds of becoming a participant in a fight.  No, there’s no guarantee; 
no matter how good you are at avoidance, you still might be caught up in 
a violent encounter.  
     It’s all about the odds.  Hopefully, most of us don’t plug 19 extension 
cords into the same outlet and run an open flame fire pit in the TV room.  
Sure, actions like this may not immediately set your house on fire.  
However, by doing “less than safe” things, you have certainly increased 
the odds of a fire, haven’t you?  
     There’s an old hardware store saying.  The wise shop owner tells their 
fresh new employee, “No one ever wants to buy a 1/4-inch drill bit.  They 
want to buy a 1/4-inch hole.”  
     That concept applies to concealed carry, too.  No rational person wants 
to shoot another human in self-defense.  
     They wish not to die should they ever face an unavoidable violent 
encounter that threatens their life.  
     It’s a critical distinction.  
     These ideas may sound trite, but when you start reading cases about 
unfortunate armed citizens whose lives have been ruined even though 
they did the “right” thing in trying to protect their loved ones, you’ll 
appreciate the reality.  
     If you decide to carry a gun for self-protection, it’s your mission and 
responsibility to do everything in your power to avoid using it.  
 
     "Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
 
"3 Questions To Stay Alive" by Tiger McKee, 2020 A.D.
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
     Your mind has to be right before acting.  
 
     "The line between everyday life and sudden violence is thinner than most realize."  
-- Tim Larkin
 
     Totally based in reality.  
"Mindset, Tactics, Skill, and Gear… and learning them."  
by Garry Marr
reposted on Bulletn Point with bigger pictures, 
Excerpt:  
     "Saying the words “harm my children and mama bear will come out” has 
zero effect on the truth of the matter.  One could argue, that if you have to say 
those words, it’s a lie.  Mama Bear isn’t a teddy bear until her cubs are in 
danger.  She’s a fucking bear!  Do you know why people don’t “poke the bear” 
when the cubs aren’t around?  Because she’s still a fucking bear. 24/7, she 
lives the life of a bear."  
     "Like most things that are easy, it doesn’t pay the same dividends as the 
stuff that is hard.  I don’t care how accurately you shoot or how quickly you 
can draw, shoot, or reload.  There are simple tactics that negate all of those.  
These tactics are available.  You, the consumer, can find places to consume 
them.  But you may have to look around more.  You may need to travel further, 
and you may have to pay higher tuition.  But that’s because the culture of 
ignoring tactics to focus on skill has left a landscape where it is easier to 
find skill-based learning opportunities."  
     "When we talk about gear, the random gun guy thinks the difference in 
magazine capacity or caliber will be a determining factor.  But we have to 
falsely assume that just about everything else is identical.  
     That. Just. Doesn’t. Happen."  
     "Good Tactics can negate any skill discrepancy."  
     "Tactics trump skills."  [Always. -- Jon Low]  
     "But if you are a 14-year-old kid, raised in a violent barrio with a Phillips 
head screwdriver in hand; you could easily end up lifting a chrome plated 
1911 out of a tooled leather holster that had previously been covered with 
a 5.11 vest, off of your recently expired, easy mark.  Shit gear, shit skills, 
a conquering mindset, and solid tactics will give that kid a 100% win ratio.  
He doesn’t even know what his draw time or his best group is."  
---
Tremis Dynamics blog, 
 
     "Firearms are second only to the constitution in importance, 
they are the people's liberty's teeth." -- George Washington
 
     Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, Escape 
 
     “Happiness is the by-product of achievement” -- Jeff Cooper
 
"Limiting Assumptions" by Mike Seeklander
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qwkojkseeafvpi7nvtf2q/Best-of-2104.pdf?e=2
 
     "Be so focused on watering your grass that 
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
     "Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."  
-- Greg Shaffer
 
     "Your gunfights will always be anomalies.  
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.  
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."  
-- Greg Ellifritz
 
     “You need to have the capacity for danger.  You need to be ‘dangerous’.  
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.  
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.  
     There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.  
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”  
-- Jordan Peterson 
 
     ‷If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think, 
‶I'm at a disadvantage″,  
I have news for you:  you are.  
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.  
     The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.  
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender -- 
all the factors that untrained people think make the difference when it comes to violence -- 
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.‴  
-- Tim Larkin
 
     "Have your affairs in order."  
-- John Hearne
 
*************************************************************************
 
Rarely seen in daylight, but always there.
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Situational Awareness --------------------------------
How to avoid being taken by surprise.  
 
     "Many people don't realize that your awareness skills 
are more important than your marksmanship skills.  
Well, you can't shoot something you don't know is there, 
or don't know it needs to be shot!" -- Tom Givens
 
"Situational Awareness and the Civilian Use of Force"
Excerpt:  
     "We have also talked about retaliation, and how real that is.  
If the suspet survives, or has family members who seek retaliation, 
it can be a real concern not only for you, but for your family as well."  
 
     "Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head 
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."  
-- John Hearne
---
     Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness  
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you.  (White)  
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing.  (Yellow)  
ALERT - to a POTENTIAL threat and taking action to avoid the threat.  (Orange)  
ALARM - by a REAL threat and taking action to escape the threat, 
     which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack.  (Red)  
COMBAT - front sight, press.  Shooting to STOP the attack.  (Black)  
 
"Back to Basics with Jeff Gonzales Episode 2: Situational Awareness"
     Transcript below the video, if you'd prefer to read it.  
 
"VIDEO: Don West & Andrew Branca – Escalation of Force"
---
     It is critically important that you have the reputation of being a good guy and have 
no criminal record.  Start NOW on achieving both of these goals.  Yes, as a matter 
of fact, it is possible to have criminal records expunged; arrest records are pretty 
easy (it's usually about $800 in legal fees), pardons from the governor or president 
are possible.  You may apply to the U.S. Department of Justice to have your voting 
rights and 2nd Amendment rights restored.  
     About your reputation.  Well, you might have to move to a new state and start over.  
But, it may be worth doing.  Government bureaucrats are grossly incompetent.  
A lot of bad records won't follow you from state to state.  Look at all the doctors and 
lawyers convicted of malpractice who move over state lines and go on as if nothing 
happened.  
 
     "An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle, 
but never for being taken by surprise." 
-- Jeff Cooper
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Safety --------------------------------
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.  
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.  
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.  
 
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety  
RULE I:  ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.  
RULE II:  NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING 
                  THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.  
RULE III:  KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER 
                   UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.  
RULE IV:  BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.  
---
RULE V:  Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
 
"Gun Range Employee Almost Gets Shot!" by The Shooter's Mindset
Hat tip to Tom Givens.  
---
     This is what happens when the person does not know the safety rules.  
If he knew them, this is what happens when the person doesn't obey the rules.  
 
     "Gut feelings are guardian angels."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
"Critical Incidents!" by John Farnam
---
Greg Ellifritz says -- 
     John Farnam’s commentary about last week’s terrorist attack in Colorado. 
The attacker used Molotov cocktails and a flame thrower. 
     Most of my friends carry weapons and medical gear. 
Do you have fire extinguishers in your house and car as well? 
Your tourniquet will be of little use to someone who is on fire 
after having been soaked in a flammable liquid.  
     I started carrying fire extinguishers in my car about 10 years 
ago after I saw rioters using fire during their activities.  
The two extinguishers linked below are smaller than a standard 
fire extinguisher, but still work well.  
     I soaked a police uniform shirt in gasoline and set it on fire 
in a backyard fire pit.  Both of these extinguishers put out the 
flames quickly.  You probably should have a few of these 
(or other extinguishers) on hand.  
     Fire extinguishers suggested by Greg Ellifritz, 
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
"Weekend Knowledge Dump, 6 June 2025" by Greg Ellifritz
 
     "Safety is something that happens between your ears, 
not something you hold in your hands."  
-- Jeff Cooper
 
"Tactical Kindness" by Kirk Wachenheimer
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
Excerpt:  
     "One of the best ways to build that skillset is to take a standup comedy class, 
join a toastmasters group, or take a customer service job, or volunteer opportunity 
for a few hours a week.  Soft skills save lives!  
 
     "It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."  
-- Claude Werner
 
"Defensive Communication" by Kirk Wachenheimer
 
     "You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
"The Psychology of Deterring Attackers–Part I
An Interview with William Aprill"
Interview by Gila Hayes
"The Psychology of Deterring Attackers–Part 2
An Interview with William Aprill"
Interview by Gila Hayes
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
 
"Mass Rioting!" by John Farnam
 
     John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:  
Don’t go to stupid places.  
Don’t associate with stupid people.  
Don’t do stupid things.  
Have a “normal” appearance.  
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).  
Don’t fail the attitude test.  
 
*************************************************************************
 
In case you didn't know, before Donald Trump opened the country club Mar-a-Lago,
all of the country clubs in the area refused to accept Negros and Jews.
Mar-a-Lago has never discriminated, except for Jeffrey Edward Epstein,
because Trump thought he was a scum bag.
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.  
 
     You need training because:  
You don't know what you don't know.  
Much of what you know is false.  
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.  
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
 
"Taking A Training Class Sooner!"
by Mike Seeklander
Excerpt:  
     "So the other day not long ago at an event where I taught a class, 
I overheard one of my students taking to another shooter.  The shooter 
was expressing their interest in taking a class, but made a specific 
point to say that they would not consider one until they had a year or 
more of practicing and learning the basics.  Seems reasonable right?  
Get the basics down and then spend your hard earned money on a class.
     NO!
I cringe when I hear people share that thought process."  
     "the sooner you can take a class, the less likely you will be to ingrain 
bad habits that are VERY difficult to fix later."
---
     My father would always send me to take lessons immediately upon my showing 
interest in a sport.  Otherwise, you practice the wrong things, the wrong way and 
engrain all kinds of bad habits.  No, as a matter of fact, the technique is not obvious.  
No, you are not necessarily doing it correctly, just because it feels natural and 
comfortable. -- Jon Low
 
     "Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and 
at extremely close ranges.  Realistically, you may not have the time or the 
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your draw stroke."  
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
 
The Home Defense Show Podcast by Skip Coryell and Sara
"What do the martial arts and gunfighting have in common?"
Excerpt:  
     "I've been in a lot of gunfights and they were never determined by who 
could shoot faster.  They were all determined by who could think faster." -- Gabe Suarez
     "Physical fitness is a huge part [of self-defense]." -- Gabe Suarez
     "A healthy fit person fights better and is harder to kill." -- Gabe Suarez
     Kata?  Just as a boxer will have a well defined and practiced series of moves, 
so should a gunfighter, that he triggers upon a cue (opening or opportunity).  
Not just side step off the X (the place you were) upon drawing the pistol.  
---
The Home Defense Show on Rumble.com
 
     "There are three different areas, or disciplines, in which the armed person must train.  
These are mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship.  Each is equally important, and 
you must be at least competent in all three areas."  
-- Tom Givens
 
     If you're spending a shit load of money to buy a pistol (or other equipment), that 
is money you're not spending on training.  
     You can't afford the training?  Ask the instructor to let you help out during the class.  
You can play gopher, paste targets, help with moving props, etc. and still learn a lot 
if you keep your ears open and your mouth shut.  
 
     "In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats, 
by developing as many known skills as possible."  
-- Jeff Gonzales
 
     John Farnam's classes are worth the money just for the history part of the lectures.  
(At least that's true from my perspective.)  
     This past weekend, June 7th and 8th of 2025 A.D., 5 assistant instructors and I 
helped John Farnam give an Urban Rifle class in Cross Plains, TN.  There were 2 
students in the class (originally 3, but one dropped out due to a medical condition).  
There were 5 assistant instructors, 2 of whom were disabled due to medical conditions 
and so observed and commented, 3 of the assistant instructors were actually geared 
up to give demonstrations, I just pasted targets and ran errands.  
     Most of the students and assistant instructors were running suppressors on their 
rifles.  They still made a lot of noise.  I think you should wear ear protection even 
when all rifles are suppressed.  Reality ain't like in the movies.  
---
     Farnam recommends AR-15 platforms in 223 caliber and pistols in 9mm.  
Because you must be able to get ammunition and spare parts, and you must be 
able to fix your equipment.  
     The modern AR-15 platforms will hold 2 minutes from the factory.  During WWII, 
the standard was 6 minutes.  So things are much better today.  
     Iron sights makes your pistol a 20 meter gun.  Optics makes your pistol a 30 meter 
gun.  
     Can you perceive a threat at 75 meters?  If not, you've got no business shooting it.  
So your rifle is a 75 meter gun.  
     Older rifles had a sight-line 1 centimeter above the bore-line.  Modern rifles have 
a sight-line 6 cm above the bore-line.  Why?  Because modern rifles are capable of 
a higher rates of fire.  [Not that you should exercise a high rate of fire, automatic fire 
in self-defense is criminal stupidity. -- Jon Low].  So the barrels heat up and you 
get mirage (optical distortion) when sighting over the barrel.  So the designers moved 
the sights further away from the hot barrel.  
     The AR-15 platform with 30 round magazines is best.  You may use the magazine 
as a monopod.  
     Zero (point of impact is exactly the same as your point of aim) your rifle at 40 
meters.  This zero will cause your rifle to also be zeroed at 240 meters.  The advantage 
of this zero is that all points of impact will be within 6 cm of your point of aim from 
ranges of 0 to 260 meters.  Which is optimal for our purposes.  
     A lethal hit from your rifle will be from neck to navel within 2.5 inches from the 
center line (spine).  
     When in close, you must aim high to compensate for the displacement of your 
sights above your bore.  Also when shooting over cover.  So on a facing target, the 
2 meter hostage shot requires you to aim at the middle of the eye brows.  If you 
don't practice this, under stress you'll be shooting at the center of the cranio-ocular 
cavity and hitting teeth or jaw bone.  
     Study to learn the difference between "brandishing" and "defensive display" in 
the jurisdiction in which you live.  
     Study to understand "manifest intent", as opposed to jeopardy or intent.  Your 
ability, or your attorney's ability, to articulate this may be the difference between 
going home and spending the rest of your life in a penitentiary.  
     Your articulation of the threat must be fact based, not what you thought, what 
actually happened.  The bad guy's verbalizations, posture, etc.  
     You must understand preclusion (form of the word "preclude") and be able 
to articulate why your were not able to disengage and separate.  Because the 
prosecutor will want to know.  
     Learn Andrew Branca's 5 elements of self-defense:  
Innocence
Imminence
Proportionality
Avoidance
Reasonableness
https://lawofselfdefense.com/foundations-the-5-elements-of-self-defense-law/
     How do you avoid the lethal force confrontation?  
Don't be there.  Get out of there.  
     John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:  
Don’t go to stupid places.  
Don’t associate with stupid people.  
Don’t do stupid things.  
Have a “normal” appearance.  
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).  
Don’t fail the attitude test.  
     When carrying, you must be able to blow a 0.0.  
     Our goals are:  
To die of old age and 
not spend time in a penitentiary.  
     In 29 of 30 confrontations the threat will run away when you present your pistol.  
(You win without firing a shot.  A much better outcome.)  
But if he chooses to attack and you are armed with a pistol, it would be best to 
shoot him in the navel (because it is the center of mass of the body and therefore 
moves the least) and then 3 more shots up the center line to his neck.  If the 
assailant chooses to run away after you shoot him, he will bleed out within 
30 meters.  
     If presenting your weapon doesn't convince the threat to leave and there is time, 
a verbal challenge may be in order.  
"Police!  Don't move."  
"Put your weapon down."  
Because this is what police say.  (Impersonating a police officer?  This is not the 
time to be worrrying about that sort of thing.  A competent attorney will take care 
of any misunderstandings.)
     Point at the threat's navel to keep your field of view clear, so you can see his 
hands.  
     If armed with a rifle, fire 2 rounds and then MOVE.  The higher speed of the 
rifle bullets should give us the neural shock to cause the assailant to stop the attack.  
     The purpose of a body shot is to lower the assailant's blood pressure.  At about 
80 mm of Hg a person will feel light headed.  
     After shooting a person, you can expect a minimum of 5 seconds for the assailant 
to react to being shot, probably more like 20 to 30 seconds.  We are in reality, not 
movies or TV.  
     Rifle bullets will travel at about 3000 feet per second.  Neural shock occurs when
the bullet enters the body at about 2200 feet per second.  Neural shock causes a 
paralytic effect.  
     Suggested things to say to the responding officers (in order):  
"Thank God you're here."  
"I'm the one who called you."  
"They attempted to murder us."  
"We feared for our lives."  
"We will testify against them."  
"I will cooperate after I speak to my attorney."  
     Always carry a tactical flashlight (bright enough to blind an assailant).  
TSA will allow you to board the plane with your flashlight.  You minor 
children can carry such flashlights without problems.  
     The most dangerout places are driveways and parking lots.  
     "Sorry, Sir.  I can't help you."  While shining light in his face to blind him 
and moving away quickly.  
     Light on while stationary.  Light off and move.  
     Grease the cam raceway in your bolt carrier group.  
     Clean your bore after your live fire session to avoid suspicion of your 
weapon being used in a recent crime.  
     Carry with muzzle down, always.  If your rifle is grabbed, fall back, point at 
assailant, and fire.  
     In combat, if your are 80% confident, take the shot.  If you wait to be 100% 
confident, you will never take the shot.  If you can't get to 80%, drop to a lower 
more stable position, brace against a support, or advance to make the target 
larger.  
     There were many positions demonstrated.  I refrain from mentioning details 
as I think you have to see them and practice them to understand them.  
     It is up to you to teach the next generation.  As Ronald Reagan said, we are 
only one generation away . . . 
---
     Things I [Jon Low] noted during that class and feel obliged to comment on -- 
     Head up and erect.  Shoulders down and relaxed.  Bring the rifle up to your 
aiming eye.  
DO NOT move your head down to the rifle!  That is not what your neck is for.  
DO NOT bring the rifle stock up by hunching your shoulder.  
     Move the butt of the rifle up so that the toe of the stock rests against your 
clavicle close to your neck.  That is CORRECT.  Learn and understand what is 
correct, so that you can strive to achieve correct form / posture.  That will allow 
you to hit your target every time, on demand under stress.  
     The reason John Wick looks cool and you look like a goof, is because of your 
posture, which is body language.  The vast majority of communication is 
non-verbal body language.  If you can convince the bad guy that you are a 
competent operator via your body language, you won't have to shoot him.  
That's a big win for you.  
     Tense muscles are slow muscles.  Relaxed muscles are fast muscles.  It's hard 
to get your fast twitch muscles to respond when the muscle group is tense.  
     So practice in the mirror (with an unloaded rifle).  You will see your shoulders 
hunched up.  You will see your head down and leaning over to the side.  But 
because you can see it and no one else is there to embarrass you, you will 
automatically correct your bizarre posture.  Your coach could tell you hundreds 
of times, but you won't believe him.  That is human nature.  So you must practice 
in the mirror to see it yourself.  
     You should want your head erect.  Your inner ear is in your head.  If you tilt 
your head, your inner ear will tell all of the muscles in your body to right your 
tilted body.  That will cause all kinds of physiological problems and you will 
miss your target.  [Most of balance is visual cuing, looking at horizon lines, 
corners where the walls meet, etc.  But when you are concentrating on the target 
and your sights, you will lose all the visual cuing, and your inner ear balance 
will be essential for accurate shots.]  
     "But I can't get my eye behind the sight unless I tilt my head!"  
     That is FALSE.  You can cant the rifle.  Or you can mount the sights to the 
side of the rifle instead of directly over the top of the rifle.  If you can't get this 
to work, ask me, and I will help you.  
-- Stuff I [Jon Low] learned by attending coaches classes at the Olympic Training 
Center in Colorado Springs, CO.  All kinds of interesting things are going on at 
that facility.  It's not just Olympic sports.  
---
     Older gun powders (carbon, sulphur, potasium nitrate mixture) exploded.  
That means there was a supersonic detonation shock wave.  Modern propellents
(nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose mixtures), burn rapidly.  That means there is no 
supersonic detonation shock wave.  
---
     I was trained by 1st Brigade Service Support Group (of the 1st Marine 
Expeditionary Brigade) as a battalion armorer and served as a battalion armorer 
with 1st Radio Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.  So I sort of know what 
I'm talking about when I say, light firing pin strikes on your primers is NOT okay.  
I had other assistant instructors telling me that the AR-15 rifles have a floating 
firing pins, so it's not unusual for the firing pin to hit the primer when the 
cartridge is chambered.  This is FALSE!  If the firing pin is hitting the primer 
when the trigger is not pressed, you've got a big fucking problem with the rifle.  
     And as we saw in the class, the rifle will fire without a trigger press.  
No, blown out primers was not the problem.  The blown out primers were a 
symptom of the problem.  But I'm old, so nobody listens to me.  
 
     “Train, Practice, Compete 
are the key elements in the development of humans.”  
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
 
"Confidence Killers
Increase your skills by building a positive feedback loop."
by Steve Tarani
 
     "To . . . not prepare is the greatest of crimes; 
to be prepared beforehand for any contingency is the greatest virtue."  
-- Sun Tzu
 
"70+ Concealed Carry Mistakes and How to Avoid Them [Update]"
by Jacob Paulsen
 
     “The secret of success is this. 
Train like it means everything when it means nothing – 
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.” 
-- Lofty Wiseman
 
"Cold Ranges Are Unsafe:  A Critical Discussion"
by Zach Bush
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
     Bulletn Points blog, 
---
"Sarah Brady loves cold ranges." by Garry Marr
Excerpt:  
     "The purpose of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is to have an armed populace.  
A jackboot in a red hat who demands you be unarmed is directly opposite to that 
belief.  I hear you saying right now, 
“But for new people who don't know what they are doing, it makes sense.”  
No, it doesn’t.  Is that the message you want to tell somebody just starting down 
the path?  That having a loaded gun is too dangerous, and you are best served by 
being disarmed?  I’ve heard that before.  It’s the rallying cry of the Civilian 
Disarmament regime."  
 
     "Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.  
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."  
-- Tiger McKee
 
"Mental Toughness 101 – Thoughts On Improving The Mind"
by Mike Seeklander
Excerpt:  
     "The “miss” (a mistake) in our sport happens at high speed, within the 
subconscious level of thought processes (usually), and can’t be controlled 
(most of the time), even though you may know you are making the error.  
Why can’t it be controlled?  Likely, because you have trained yourselves 
to make the error."  
 
     “If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm, 
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
 
     "If you’re not measuring your training, 
what you’re doing is called playing."
-- Chris Sajnog
 
     "In order to measure, we must be able to quantify."  
-- Aaron Cowan
 
     "When you're training to protect yourself and others, speed always comes last.  
In the more than twenty-five years I've been training people in self-protection, 
I've never heard from someone who used self-protection tools in the field and 
felt like they suffered from a lack of speed at the moment of truth.  In fact, I 
usually hear the opposite:  it's much more common to suffer from a lack of 
accuracy or force." -- Tim Larkin
 
     "A mistake that makes you humble is better 
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
     “Training deals not with an object, 
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”  
--Bruce Lee
 
     "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always 
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."  
-- Richard Henry Lee
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
 
     “It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”  
-- Miyamota Mushashi  
 
     "We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution 
was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists."  
-- Patrick Henry
 
*************************************************************************
 
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Psychology --------------------------------
 
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D.                         Wednesday, June 4th, 2025
"Going the distance."
     I don't particularly enjoy exercising, but I respect the advantages it confers upon me:  
improved mood, heightened clarity, better energy.  However, the activity itself is one 
that I generally tolerate passing through.  This is especially true of running.  When I run, 
I spend most of my time doing math in my head to distract myself from the experience.  
I try to calculate, say, the percentage of ground already covered or the duration yet to 
endure.  
     And the habit of doing so has taught me two valuable lessons.  First, it has instructed 
me in the importance of creating small, achievable goals.  Breaking a long run into 
shorter legs helps keep me focused and engaged.  In fact, I've learned I only ever have 
to run half the distance, and then half the remaining length, and then half again, etc., 
until the run completes itself.  
     And second, it has taught me the usefulness of overestimating my total workout.  
By steeling myself for a longer run, I experience relief when it ends sooner (as opposed 
to frustration when it doesn't).  Most games in life at least include the possibility of 
overtime.  Expecting things to conclude on schedule is functionally asking to be annoyed.  
This isn't about running.  
     This week's behavioral experiment:  
     Break a larger project into a series of smaller goals.  
Complete the first of those goals today.  
Warmly, 
Orion
  
     "Perception vs. Perspective" by Andrew Bustamante
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
     Attending classes and conferences is required for growth.  
Stagnation is complacency.  Complacency kills.  
 
     "The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; 
because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force 
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, 
raised in the United States."  
-- Noah Webster
 
TFALAC’s 2025 Annual Event
Saturday, September 6, 2025
Farm Bureau Expo Center at the 
James E. Ward Agricultural Center on the 
Wilson County Fairgrounds. 
945 East Baddour Parkway
Lebanon, Tennessee 37087
 
Zoom conferences at 
09:00 Central Time
Saturday mornings
Click on link 
"Guest Link to Sheepdog Coffee"
to download the Zoom link.  
JUNE 7: Brink Fidler
JUNE 14: Ed Monk
JUNE 21: Paul Lake
JUNE 28: Ron Lugo & Rick Hunt
 
40th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference!  Free.  
Sept. 26 - 28 in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the 
Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek.  
 
Gun Owners of America annual meeting, free of charge
Knoxville Convention Center, Knoxville, TN
9 - 10 August 2025 A.D.  
---
GOA Defend Her High Caliber Brunch, $15
Sunday, August 10th at 11:00 AM
The Marriott Ballroom in Knoxville, TN.  
 
7th Annual Security Operations Summit (SOS.25)!  
July 24-26, 2025 San Antonio, TX
Cornerstone Church
 
Bullets & Bibles Conference, $750  
Friday, September 12, 2025 – Sunday, September 14, 2025
Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS.  
For more information about lodging (free lodging in the dorms) on site or 
meals (3 meals a day included in registration fee) or 
if you have any questions regarding the event, 
contact our Bullets & Bibles Conference Coordinator, 
Vonda Copeland 
director@fhftc.org
or call 785-293-2449.  
 
Guardian Conference, $800
September 19th - 21st, 2025 in Oklahoma City
 
Rangemaster Tactical Conference, $639
TacCon26 is scheduled for 
March 27-29, 2026 at 
the Dallas Pistol Club in Carrollton, Texas
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
     Attending classes and conferences is required to avoid teaching 
obsolete material, and to ensure you are teaching best practices.  
 
"Advanced Defensive Handgun" by John Farnam
08-09 November 2025
Nashville, TN (well, actually a bit north in Cross Plains, TN)
Venue:  Deer Hollow Fire Arms Training
 
"Women’s Concealed Carry Holster Class"
by Shannon Carr Pable
Cherokee Gun Club
Sunday, July 13, 2025 A.D. 
10:00am -4:00pm est
1700 Candler Rd, Gainesville, GA, United States, Georgia
(770) 531-9493
Cherokeegunclub.org
 
Applied Defensive Handgun Skills - Oklahoma
Date: June 14-15, 2025. 8:00am - 5:00pm
Facility: Mead Hall Range (35 miles from Will Rogers Airport Oklahoma City.)
Location: 35.40871880149046, -97.07185625546859 
(In Google Maps input "Mead Hall Range")
 
West Coast Armory North, John Holschen
11714 Airport Rd Everett WA, 98204
425-265-7143
rangemaster@westcoastarmorynorth.com
 
Law of Self Defense, live online class upcoming dates 
September 27, 2025
 
TFI Academy (Keith Tyler) 
 
Training in Context (Tatiana Whitlock)
 
Active Response Training (Greg Ellifritz)
 
Modern Warriors
 
     Rangemaster Certified Instructors
     Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
 
Dustin Salomon
 
KR Training
 
Kari Grayson
 
Citizens Safety Academy
 
Carry Trainer, Mickey Schuch
 
Paladin Training, Inc.
 
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
     Virginia Private Firearms Training (for private lessons), John Murphy
 
Defensive Training International, John Farnam
     Quips, 
 
Rangemaster, Tom Givens
     Newsletter, 
 
Trident Concepts, Jeff Gonzales
 
Apache Solutions, Tim Kelly
 
Harris Combative Strategies, Randy Harris
 
Mead Hall Range & Tactics
 
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
 
Mike Seeklander 
 
     ‟Training is NOT an event, but a process. 
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”  
-- Claude Werner
 
*************************************************************************
 
If you've ever lived in South Carolina, you know that the gators will
float with just their nostrils and eyes above the surface of the water,
and can move very quickly to attack things on the shore of the ponds
scattered about the residential areas.

*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Practice --------------------------------
How to get proficient at that task.  
 
     "Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
     "There is no glory in practice, but without practice there is no glory."  
-- Jeff Gonzales
 
     "Failure is evidence that someone tried to do something."  
-- Ingersoll
 
     "You have to be lucky to win.  And the more you practice, the luckier you get."  
-- Col. Lones Wigger
 
     Why practice?  
    “To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are 
figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very 
special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents.  What a tragedy 
if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could 
have been their finest hour.”  
-- Winston Churchill
 
     ‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time, 
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″  
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
 
     "People rust faster than equipment."  
-- John Hearne
 
     ‟Be careful what you practice.  
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced, 
no matter how ridiculous.”  
-- ‶Shooting in Self-Defense″ by Sara Ahrens 
 
     "Shoot as much as you want but if you start to get shaky, 
it’s time to go home."  
-- Duaine Zeitz
 
     "Your speed doesn't matter.  Forward is forward."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
     "Practice your shooting by doing exactly the same thing, 
exactly the same way, every time, until it is completely automatic."  
-- Duaine Zeitz
 
     “Willingness is a state of mind.  Readiness is a statement of fact!”  
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
     Everyone wants to win.  Few are willing to put in the practice to ensure their win.  
 
     "Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Intervention *****     *****     *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.  
 
Table of sections:  
     Strategy
     Tactics
     Techniques 
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Strategy --------------------------------
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it, 
which tools to use, which tactics to use, 
which always includes walking away.  
 
     "Never let fear decide your fate." -- Nicola Cavanis
 
     “How do you win a gunfight?  
Don't be there.”  
-- John Farnam
 
     "You win gunfights by not getting shot."  
-- John Holschen
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Tactics --------------------------------
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.  
 
     "Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
 
"Nashville Officers Forced To Act When Hostage Taker Snaps"
by Active Self Protection
     If the suspect takes a hostage and doesn't surrender when the cops tell him to surrender, 
the cops are going to shoot the suspect.  The hostage taker created the situation and got 
his comeuppance.  
     Yes, of course the family of the hostage taker will sue.  And in Davidson County, 
they will probably win a large judgment.  It's hard to be a cop in Nashville, that's why 
they are grossly understaffed.  It's effectively impossible to find a jury pool that will 
vote for the cops.  Remember Officer Andrew Delke of the Nashville, Tennessee 
police department?  I couldn't help but notice that every public restroom that I have 
been in recently has a recruiting advertisement for the Nashville Police Department.  
What does that tell you?  (No, I have not checked the women's restrooms.)  
 
     "Real fights are short." -- Bruce Lee
 
     Good guy attacked by two bad guys.  
Hat tip to Gabe Suarez.  
     The weapon mounted light doesn't seem to be necessary for identification 
in the given lighting condition.  But the blinding effect was good.  
 
     "You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."  
-- Phillip Groff
 
"Police officer was unintentionally shot and killed by fellow officer during chase"
by WLS via CNN Newsource
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
     Stephen's comment -- 
     "Reported elsewhere, Rivera was serving on a tactical unit, where one would 
expect a higher level of training to function in the potentially confusing environment 
of a gunfight.  This serves as a tragic reminder for private citizens – who lack the 
identification of a uniform – to avoid getting embroiled in police operations."   
-- Stephen P. Wenger
 
     "The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
 
"How to Survive a Home Invasion" by Randall Chaney
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
Excerpt:  
     Speed, Aggression, Surprise
 
     “People shoot you because they see you.  
They see you because you let them.  
Don’t let them see you.”  
-- Clint Smith
 
     "Without discrimination, 
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."  
-- Paul Howe
 
     “Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”  
-- Chuck Haggard
 
     “When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark; 
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”  
-- Stephen P. Wenger
 
     "Be stronger than your strongest excuse."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
     ‟Fear is an instinct.  Courage is a choice.”  
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
 
     "Having a gun is important.  
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."  
-- Greg Ellifritz
 
     "You brought a gun to the fight.  That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.  
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it.  Think about that before intervening 
in other folks’ problems.  When is the last time you practiced your in-hand 
weapon retention skills?"  
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
     ". . . if the assailant has a gun, it may actually be the easiest 
gun for you to access, if you know how to take it from him."  
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
     When was last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?  
Have you taken a class to learn such techniques?   
 
     “You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol 
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”  
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, 
(1920 – 2006 A.D.) 
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Techniques --------------------------------
     Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics, 
especially when disabled or under stress.  
 
     "Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided at all costs 
and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."  
-- Massad Ayoob
 
"Under-Fire Reload Tactics" by Mike Boyle
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
 
     “What’s the number one reason for reloading?  
Missing the target!”  
-- Claude Werner
 
From email from Tim Larkin -- 
     I need you to watch something.  It's security footage of a man surviving 
a 2-on-1 armed attack.  But what makes this footage important isn't just that 
he survived . . .  It's HOW he survived.  Because he instinctively did 
something that goes against everything most "self-defense experts" teach.  
When faced with an armed attacker, most people are taught to focus on 
the weapon.  
To grab it.  
To twist it away.  
To "disarm" the threat.  
     But that's exactly how you get killed.  This survivor did something different.  
Something so simple - yet so powerful - it completely disrupted the attack.  
"The Critical Movement That Saved This Life" by Tim Larkin
Pay special attention to the 0:38 mark.
     It's a perfect example of why the "common wisdom" about surviving violence 
is dangerously wrong.  This is the same principle I've been teaching for decades:  
     When violence is real . . . pure physics beats fancy techniques every time.  
Everything else is just theory.  
Stay Safe, 
Tim Larkin
 
     "It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!" 
-- Bruce Lee
 
     "Grip first, then press."  
--  Mike Seeklander
 
     "Use only that which works, 
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee 
 
     "Denn jedes Mal, wenn was geht, ist Platz für Neues.
Und wenn es gestern nicht sein soll, dann klappt es heut 🦋"  
-- Nicola Cavanis
     There are many techniques for doing any given task.  
Search and experiment until you find one that works for you.  
 
     "The foundations of your grip are established 
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."  
-- Tanner Denton
 
     "Why are the little things called little things?  
They are everything."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
     "Train and practice so that you can stay in your rational mind, 
and force your enemy into his emotional mind.  The emotional 
mind makes bad judgments which will allow you to win."  
-- John Hearne
 
     "Those motivated by a desire to improve their 
gunfighting skills as opposed to a quest for trophies, 
must be willing to bleed ego on the match results 
to avoid shedding blood in combat."  
-- Andy Stanford
 
*************************************************************************
 
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Postvention *****     *****     *****
     Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.  
     Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.  
     Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.  
 
Table of contents:  
     Aftermath
     Medical
     Survival
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Aftermath --------------------------------
     You must be alive to have these problems:  criminal and civil liability.  
 
     “Your understanding and consent are not required 
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones, 
and destroy all you hold dear.” 
-- William Aprill 
 
     In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address, 
 
"Self-Defense and the Law:  Know What to Say to the Police After a Good Shoot"
by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
 
     In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".  
Or, the link is, 
Read this before you buy insurance.  You need to make an informed decision.  
The various policies are drastically different.  
     "You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob  
 
     “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, 
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Medical --------------------------------
 
     "If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
 
2 day TECC (Tactical Emergency Casualty Care) Course.  
June 20-21, 2025
Longhollow Church 
Hendersonville, TN
Course will run from approximately 8 AM to 5 PM both days and 
you must attend both full days. 
You will leave the course with a 4 year certification through the NAEMT. 
The link to register is:  
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Best, 
Tracey Mendenhall | VP of Operations
(Life Saving Ninja)
DEFEND SYSTEMS
www.defendsystems.com
(615) 480-7758
     If you can't make the above class, you can check below for the next class.  
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
 
     “Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”  
-- Thomas Jefferson
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Survival --------------------------------
 
     "Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."  
-- Greg Shaffer
 
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. -- 
"Rest before you quit."                                       Wednesday, June 4th, 2025
     Many years ago, while solo hiking a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail, 
I found myself in a precarious situation.  After spending a dazzling summer's 
day climbing an icy Forester Pass, I came down with an advanced case of 
snow blindness.  I had broken by sunglasses a few days before, and my eyes 
soaked up all that reflected UV light without protection.  For those who 
don't know, snow blindness is essentially a sunburn on your retina.  It feels 
like there are two handfuls of burning-hot sand behind your eyeballs.  
It was – as should go without saying – extremely painful.  
     The next morning, I could barely open my eyes – and daylight seemed 
to increase the temperature of the sand tenfold.  So I tied a bandana in front 
of my face and – through the veil of the cloth – slowly began to make my 
way up and over the mountains that formed the eastern wall of King's Canyon.  
From there, I could make my way down to the highway on the desert floor 
and hitchhike back to civilization.  I ended up in a charming little town called 
Lone Pine, where I spent the day in the darkest room available.  
     When I called my dad to tell him what had happened, he urged me to give 
up the hike and come home.  It was too dangerous for me to be tramping 
around the wilderness by myself.  And while he may have had a point, I had 
made a commitment to myself to see the thing through to the end.  I told him 
I would rather die than quit, which – I'm sure – did little to allay his concerns.  
     It turns out that snow blindness – while intensely painful – isn't permanently 
debilitating.  In fact, I was back on the trail after just one night at the hostel, 
new sunglasses in tow.  And while I looked hideous – the whites of my eyes 
were completely red for at least a week – I was no worse for wear.  
The experience taught me that – sometimes – I don't need to quit.  I just need 
to rest.  This isn't about snow blindness.  
     This week's behavioral experiment:  
     Where in your life do you feel ready to quit?  
See what happens if you take a break instead.  
Warmly,
Orion
 
     "Survival is not based solely on technique.  Survivability may hinge on the use 
of the correct technique appropriate to the environment you are fighting in.  
     Oh, and yes, marksmanship is always valuable."  
-- Clint Smith
 
     "If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit. 
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained. 
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     ***** Education *****     *****     *****
 
Table of contents:  
     Legal
     Instruction
     Gear
 
*************************************************************************
 
     "You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons 
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
 
"Best Of The Blog - 2014
A COMPILATION OF CRITICAL INFORMATION"
by Michael R. Seeklander
 
Women for Gun Rights
 
"The Practical Guide to Concealed Carry" by Tom McHale
Excerpt:  
     You may have heard it before.  A seemingly innocuous comment by someone 
who has not (yet) embraced the reality that the world can be a dangerous place. 
 
     “Why would anyone need to carry a gun in a coffee shop?"
  
     Sounds innocent enough, right?  The problem is that the perspective is all wrong.  
As a legally armed citizen, you don’t want your gun or any other to become a factor 
in a coffee shop visit.  You have no intention of using your gun in a coffee shop or 
anywhere else, for that matter.  So what’s the problem?
  
     The problem is this.  Whether or not you “need” a gun in a coffee shop is not 
your decision.  That decision is made by one person and one person only — someone 
who intends to inflict harm.  If you got to choose where and when people committed 
crimes and whether you’d even be present, we’d have a chronic shortage of victims.  
Who in their right mind would go to a place where they knew a crime would occur?
  
     Sure, you can stack the odds in your favor by not going to places where crime is a 
higher probability.  You can decide not to wander dark alleys with a stack of $20 bills 
hanging out of your back pocket.  You’ll certainly reduce your chances of becoming 
the next armed robbery statistic.  But if some creep out there decides to rob the local 
coffee shop, and you happen to be there, you’re now involved, like it or not.  And 
therein lies your choice.  You can recognize that while some places have a lower 
likelihood of criminal activity, you don’t get to decide whether there will be a 
criminal encounter.  That’s up to the other guy.
  
     The point here isn’t to “prove” you need a gun in a coffee shop, figuratively 
speaking.  The point is this.
  
     You don’t get to decide where you do or don’t need a gun.
  
     The criminal is solely responsible for that decision.  Sure, logic says you shouldn’t 
need a gun at the grocery store or playground, but criminals don’t adhere to your 
definition of logic. 
 Your choices are simple.  You can play the odds by frequenting 
places where “no one would possibly need a gun” and hope for the best.  That’s your 
call.  You can also choose to prepare, knowing that you don’t get to pick the battlefield.  
     
There are two things under your control that will help improve your odds of going 
through life without becoming a statistic, and neither of them is simply “having a gun.”  

Training
     
If nothing else, this book will reinforce the importance of learning.  Not just a 
one-time study reading this or any other resource on the topic of self-defense and 
concealed carry, but a lifelong commitment to maintaining a risk-reduction lifestyle. 
 
     As we will discuss, buying and carrying a gun means virtually nothing.  Without 
training in a host of areas, only part involving gun handling, you’ll have significant 
gaps in your personal and family protection strategy. 
 
     So, we’re going to encourage you to go out and get credible and professional 
hands-on training.  Carrying a gun is an enormous responsibility, and it’s up to you 
to treat that commensurate with its potential for life and death consequences. 
 
     When you take a personal defense training class, I hope it scares you.  A good 
class should make you realize how much you don’t know.  That’s the right starting 
point for your concealed carry journey. 
 
Planning

     Good planning leads to success, and the best way to start your planning journey 
is to embrace reality ruthlessly. 
 
     We’ll discuss strategies for living a more “switched-on” and observant lifestyle 
in more detail, but for now, consider your daily routines, potential problems, and 
what you would do about them.
  
     We would all respond to an emergency in a fantasy world by rising to the occasion 
and doing something heroic to save the day.  But we only tend to succeed at things 
we’ve already done before.  Humans rarely “rise to the occasion” but rather fall back 
to their lowest level of training and preparation.  The chaos of a life-and-death 
encounter isn’t the time or place to figure out a defensive strategy.  
     Sheer desperation rarely makes up for lack of preparation.  

     I’m not suggesting you go through life as a twitching and paranoid jumble of nerves.  
In realistic and rational terms, I suggest you think about things that could go wrong 
and what your response would be. 
 
     When I was in school, CPR training was part of the curriculum.  While I’ve yet to 
use that particular skill, I’m confident I know enough about it to take positive and 
helpful action if the need ever arises.  If I never had that class, would I have the 
vaguest idea of what to do if someone clutched their chest and fell to the ground?
  
     As you read this book, consider scenarios that might apply to your life.  What would 
you do if you were in a convenience store and the guy in front of you pulled a gun and 
demanded money from the cashier?  How about if you were walking down the street 
and gunfire between two individuals erupted nearby?  What if you’re in a restaurant, 
and someone presents a gun and starts making threats? 
 
     Making decisions in advance about possible events might save your life.  Suppose 
you’ve already thought about bolting through a restaurant kitchen and out the back 
door during an emergency.  In that case, you’re far more likely to overcome social 
and embarrassment inertia should such an occasion ever arise.  By considering such 
things in advance, you’ll be far more likely to respond in a decisive manner.  
     Case Study: Self-Defense Isn’t Just About You

     Marquel White, 26, and his 2-year-old daughter had just left a Fayetteville, NC, 
Food Lion store when Richard Bradley confronted them.  According to reports, 
Bradley started cussing and yelling at White as White walked to his car.  When White 
attempted to get into his car with his daughter, Bradley drew and swung what 
appeared to be a knife.  White drew his concealed firearm and shot White, ending the 
altercation with a non-fatal wound to the stomach.  Police later found a knife and 
sheath on the scene. 
     Lessons
     Cases like these bring up difficult questions.  Self-defense encounters don’t 
happen at convenient times and places; you may have family members or children 
with you.  How would you balance protecting your child while fending off an attacker 
in a situation like this?  
-- Tom McHale
     Subscribe to Tom's newsletter, 
 
Active Self Protection, John Correia
 
"My Gun Culture" by Tom McHale
  
Quips, John Farnam
 
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
Weekend Knowledge Dump, 13 June 2025 A.D.
 
The Tactical Professor, Claude Werner 
 
Rangemaster Newsletter, Tom Givens
 
American Handgunner Magazine
 
Tactical Science
 
International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors 
 
Alien Gear blog
 
Shooting Classes Blog
 
     "Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Legal --------------------------------
 
    “Is there no virtue among us?  If there is not, we are without hope!  
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.  
To think that any government, in any form, will insure liberty and happiness 
for a dishonorable population represents the height of self-deception.”  
-- James Madison, 1788
 
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., et al., Petitioners
v.
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Jun 05 2025
Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED 
Kagan, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.  
Thomas, J., and Jackson, J., filed concurring opinions.  
     Opinion, 
---
     Washington Post propaganda piece.  
"U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejects Mexico's law suit against U.S. arms makers"
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.  
Excerpt:  (because the article is behind a paywall) 
     The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously blocked the Mexican government 
from proceeding with an unusual lawsuit that sought to hold major U.S. firearms 
manufacturers accountable for gun violence in that country.  The justices reversed 
an appeals court ruling, saying Mexico had failed to show a close enough connection 
between guns made in the United States and drug cartel violence.  
     “Mexico’s complaint does not plausibly allege” that the gun manufacturers “aided 
and abetted gun dealers’ unlawful sales of firearms to Mexican traffickers,” 
Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court.  
     The court’s decision comes at a time of strained relations between the two 
countries as President Donald Trump has imposed a variety of tariffs on Mexican goods.  
U.S. and Mexican officials are in agreement that Mexico’s drug cartels obtain most of 
their firepower from the United States, as most American weapons seized in Mexico 
originate in either Arizona or Texas. Strict gun laws across the southern border make 
it extremely difficult for Mexican citizens to purchase a firearm. At least two-thirds 
of the roughly 30,000 weapons seized in Mexico and sent for tracing each year were 
sourced from the United States, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 
and Explosives.  Just as Trump has taken aim at Mexican drug cartels and illegal 
immigration, saying they contribute to crime in the United States, Mexico alleges that 
U.S. firearms manufacturers know their guns are trafficked into Mexico.  In its lawsuit, 
Mexico said manufacturers intentionally target the Mexican market, including the 
cartels, with design, marketing and distribution decisions.  Among the guns mentioned 
in court:  a special-edition Colt handgun known as the Super El Jefe pistol and the 
Emiliano Zapata 1911 pistol, engraved with the Mexican revolutionary’s 
pronouncement:  “It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.”  
     The firearms manufacturers, led by Smith & Wesson Brands, urged the 
Supreme Court to apply broad protections from liability for the industry that 
were passed by Congress two decades ago to protect Second Amendment gun rights.  
The companies said the alleged connection to the harm in Mexico is too tenuous 
and that Mexico had not shown the firearms industry is complicit with illicit sellers, 
smugglers or cartels.  A U.S. district judge in Massachusetts dismissed Mexico’s 
lawsuit in 2022, finding that the companies were shielded from liability by a federal 
law that broadly protects gunmakers from civil lawsuits filed by people injured by 
their firearms.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit reversed the judge’s 
decision based on a narrow exception to the law, which allows suits against a 
gunmaker that knowingly violates state or federal statutes.  The appeals court said 
Mexico had sufficiently alleged that the companies have been “aiding and abetting” 
the illegal trafficking of guns by supplying dealers known to sell guns that cross 
the border.  A unanimous three-judge panel said it was “foreseeable that Mexican 
drug cartels — armed with defendants’ weapons — would use those weapons to 
commit violent crimes” that caused the Mexican government to incur costs.  
---
     Comment by Stephen P. Wenger -- 
     If you detect some bias, note the source – WaPo.  List members may recall that 
Mexico chooses which guns to submit to F Troop for tracing, meaning that it's 
unlikely that military weapons that obviously originated in other countries will be 
submitted for tracing by F Troop as may also be the case for US-made firearms that 
Mexican authorities know were purloined from their own military and police 
armories.  Color me skeptical that the number of guns purchased in Arizona and 
Texas for illicit transport to Mexico are a significant factor in the profits of the large 
corporations sued.  And those Mexican-themed 1911 pistols – whether produced 
directly by Colt or by smaller, specialty companies – are, as noted, special-editions 
[low-production] that, if they cross the border, serve more as “barbecue guns” for 
cartel leaders than as weapons of terror by their underlings.  List members may also 
recall that SIG was notably absent from the list of defendants, most likely because 
the Mexican government buys true assault rifles from SIG for some of its troops.  
Mexico may have better luck with a separate lawsuit against five firearm dealers 
in Arizona.  
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
     Just about all weapons used by the Mexican cartels are Sig Sauers.  
They go from Sig Sauer in the U.S. to the Mexican government to the cartels.  
It's a direct pipeline.  They don't even bother taking the guns out of the shipping 
crates.  The cartel shipping and receiving agents are opening the original crates 
from Sig Sauer.  
     The Mexican government is projecting; accusing the U.S. gun makers of doing 
what they are doing.  
     Why was the U.S. Supreme Court decision unanimous?  Why was the written 
decision assigned to Justice Elena Kagan?  Do you understand?  
-- Jonathan D. Low
SSgt. U.S. Marine Corps, retired
MOS 0231 (Intelligence)
 
     John Murphy gives advice.  
 
     "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. 
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Instruction --------------------------------
 
     "Remember, 
the students who require the extra effort 
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
 
*************************************************************************
 
----- Instructors -----
 
     “The student’s purpose is to expand their body of knowledge and social network.  
The instructor’s purpose is to help the student achieve the student’s goals.”  
-- Amy Schwartz 
 
     Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:  
"We are not God's gift to our students.  
Our students are God's gift to us."  
 
     “Qui docet, discet.”  (Who teaches, learns.)  
-- American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
 
     “He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”  
-- Richard Henry Dana
 
     "Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith
 
     Be careful what you teach.  
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do, 
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
 
     "You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."  
-- John Hearne
 
     “The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.  
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”  
-- Robert John Meehan
 
     "You don't have to memorize formulae.  
Because you can always derive them from first principles."  
-- Sven Hartman
     [So teach principles, not formulae.]  
 
     "Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it."  
-- Henry Ford 
 
     "The limited time you spend with students may be the only training they ever receive!"  
-- John Farnam
 
*************************************************************************
 
----- Students -----
 
     "It's better to be wrong than to be vague."  
-- Freeman Dyson
[If you are wrong, the instructor can correct you.  If you are vague, no one can help you.]  
 
     "Failure is an indication that someone tried to do something."  
-- Ingersoll
 
     "Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
     "Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material.  
It is totally normal that the first time you see this stuff, you find 
it confusing.  You find it difficult to understand.  So, confusion 
should not discourage you.  It does not represent any intellectual 
failing on your part.  Rather, keep in mind that it represents an 
opportunity to get even smarter."  
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science and other 
stuff at Stanford University
 
     "Try.  
     Try again.  
     Try once more.  
     Try differently.  
     Try again tomorrow.  
     Try and ask for help.  
     Try find someone who's done it.  
     Try to fix the problem.  
     Keep trying until you succeed."
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
*************************************************************************
 
----- Andragogy -----
 
     ‟An instructor should not expect any learning to 
take place the first time new information is presented.”  
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
 
*************************************************************************
 
------------------------------ Gear --------------------------------
And the safe storage thereof.  
 
     “Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
 
"Don’t Trust Yourself" by SLG
 
Otto ear protection.  
$493.96  You get what you pay for.  
 
     If you're legally prohibited from possessing a firearm, then shooting pepper balls 
makes sense.  If you can legally carry a firearm, shooting pepper balls is wrong on 
many levels.  
     Tactically, they are ineffective, worse than Tasers (which are also ineffective in 
real world combat conditions, self-defense is combat; not to mention Task Overload 
Confusion [take Chuck Haggard's class]).  
     Legally, a prosecutor can charge you with using a lethal weapon.  Just because 
they are advertised as being non-lethal doesn't mean anything.  Remember, depending 
on how it is used, a pillow can be a lethal weapon.  Put it over a person's face and 
hold until the person is dead.  
     Many documented cases of pepper spray being a deadly weapon.  Use it in 
committing a robbery and see how the prosecutor charges.  
     The wind won't blow the pepper balls back in your face initially.  But what about 
after they shatter on some target or hard surface?  
     The pepper balls don't have enough speed to cause injury?  What if they hit an eye?  
What if they get into the target's mouth?  Choking death?  What if they hit a child or 
baby?  
     The point is they cause the same liability as a pistol without the benefit of 
effectiveness.  
 
"Six Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Gun" by Robyn Sandoval
 
"Are We in the Golden Age of Affordable Handguns?" by Tom McHale
     Manufacturing technology is driving down the price of guns.  
Now that the patents have expired, everyone is cloning the Glock.  
Everyone has been cloning the M-16 / AR-15 / M-14 platform and they 
keep getting better.  And less expensive.  
 
Grag A Gun
     Company of Donald Trump Jr., Omeed Malik, and Marc Nemat (CEO).  
The Wal Mart of gun stores.  
     $15 for shipping, no matter how much ammo you buy.  
     Smith and Wesson Shield Plus Optics Ready 30 Super Carry 3.1" Barrel 
16-Round Thumb Safety for $300.  
 
     EvenG1 smart glasses.  
     Better than a teleprompter.  
 
"Seeing Inside a Suppressed Gun Barrel! Outlier’s BackDraft Technology"
by Ballistic High-Speed
 
"Why You Should Consider A Rear Sight Forward Setup" by Langdon Tactical
 
"Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Bought my First Handgun."
"So You Just Bought a Gun - Now What?"
by Kirk Wachenheimer
 
"Don’t Do These Things with Your 1911!" by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
 
"Carry Optics" by Dave Spaulding
 
     I've had a lot of students get stabbed by staples when handling targets and backers.  
So, for the last few years I've been using spray on adhesive.  I find that 3M 90 to be 
the best.  Ya, it's more expensive.  You get what you pay for in this world.  
 
Magtech M193 Ammunition Recall:  
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.  
Magtech is recalling three (3) lots of 5.56 x 45mm Ball M193 
(M193 is the original 5.56mm NATO round with the 55 gr. FMJ bullet.)
centerfire ammunition.
Symbol: 556A
Lot Number: CBC546/24
Lot Number: CBC591/24
Lot Number: CBC601/24
WARNING: Magtech has determined that the above lots of 5.56 x 45mm 
ammunition may contain incorrect powder charges.  Ammunition with incorrect 
powder charges may cause firearm damage, render it inoperable, and expose the 
shooter and bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury or death.  
DO NOT USE Magtech 5.56 x 45mm Ball M193 SYMBOL 556A WITH 
LOT NUMBER CBC546/24, CBC591/24, or CBC601/24.  
The ammunition Lot Number and Symbol are printed on the top flap of the 
50-round box.  To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, 
check the Symbol and Lot Number.  If the Symbol is 556A and the 
Lot Number is CBC546/24, CBC591/24, or CBC601/24, immediately 
discontinue use and contact Magtech at 763-235-4000.  Magtech will arrange 
for the return shipment of your ammunition, and upon receipt, will send you 
replacement ammunition at no cost to you.  This notice applies only to 
Symbol 556A with Lot Number CBC546/24, CBC591/24, or CBC601/24.  
Other Symbols or Lot Numbers are not subject to this recall. If you have any 
questions concerning this 5.56x45mm centerfire ammunition recall or if you 
are unsure whether you possess any ammunition covered by this recall, 
please call 763-235-4000, or write to 
Magtech 
Attn: Recall
9100 Wyoming Ave N #515 
Brooklyn Park, MN
or visit our website at www.magtechammunition.com.  
We apologize for the inconvenience. 
-- Stephen P. Wenger
 
     “Your car is not a holster.” 
-- Pat Rogers
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Cryptology  *****     *****     *****
 
     Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR, 
International Traffic in Arms Regulations.  That means cryptosystems are 
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  Never let the 
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to 
include home made cryptosystems, to include sharing cryptosystems with 
others.  
 
     "Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, 
and preserve order in the world as well as property.  
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use." 
-- Thomas Paine
 
"How to Integrate with an AX? The Surprising Power of Planimeters – 
Visually Explained!" by Mathologer
     I am old enough to have actually used such devices in the real world.  
 
     "Never memorize anything.  Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."  
-- Norman Christ
 
"What Atheists Miss About Jesus - John Lennox" by Alex O'Connor
Hat tip to Sidney Ontai.  
     John Lennox is a Northern Irish mathematician, philosopher of science, and 
Christian apologist known for his work defending Christianity through reason 
and science.  Born in 1943, he is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the 
University of Oxford and a Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science 
at Green Templeton College.  Lennox holds degrees in mathematics from 
Cambridge (MA, PhD) and Oxford (DPhil), as well as a DSc for his work in 
algebra and group theory.  
     [No, this article is not mistakenly in the Cryptology section. -- Jon Low]  
 
     "Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."  
-- Donald Knuth
 
     "Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.  
Life is not easy for any of us.  But what of that?  
We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.  
We must believe that we are gifted for something, 
and that this thing must be attained."  
-- Marie Curie
 
     "Premature optimization is the root of all evil."  
-- Donald Knuth
 
     "You don't need to memorize theorems, 
because you can always derive them from first principles."  
-- Sven Hartman
 
     "All that we don't know is astonishing.  
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."  
-- Philip Roth
 
     "Handbook of Applied Cryptography" 
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone
     "Computer Security and the Internet:  
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin", Second Edition
by Paul C. van Oorschot
ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
     "An Introduction to Error Correcting Codes with Applications"
by Scott A. Vanstone , Paul C. Oorschot
     Research and Publications (P. Van Oorschot)
     Alfred J. Menezes
     Scott A. Vanstone
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Signals Intelligence, 
                                            Ground Electronic Warfare, 
                                            Cyber Security, 
                                       (sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too)  *****     *****     *****
 
     "A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, 
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain 
a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, 
which would include their own government."  
--George Washington
     [Fighting the government means killing law enforcement officers.  
Because, for their salary and pension, they will enforce unconstitutional laws, 
including murdering citizens (Bryan Malinowski, Samuel Weaver, Vicki Weaver, 
the 75 Branch Dividians [including 25 children] burned to death in their home by 
government agents, and many many others).  That's why you swore to uphold and 
defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.  In case you 
didn't understand what you were swearing.  The time will come, and you will 
either honor your oath, or not.  In such things, there is no in-between. -- Jon Low]  
 
"DoD S-band needed for Golden Dome, 
border defense threatened by spectrum auction plans: CSIS"
Selling off the low S-band "is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea," 
Tom Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project, told Breaking Defense today.
by Theresa Hitchens and Carley Welch
     Never underestimate the stupidity of your U.S. Congress.  
Do you Ham operators understand?  
 
"Crypto-Gram, June 15, 2025" by Bruce Schneier
"Fifty Years of Mathematical Cryptanalysis (1937-1987)"
Notice what's missing.  Just about everything.  Very useful.  
 
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at 
 
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
 
2600
 
     ‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.  
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.  
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”  
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense" 
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Intelligence  *****     *****     *****
 
     "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, 
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution 
 
     Great success this morning!  13 June 2025 A.D.  
     The Telegraph
     If you're going to name names, always cite open source.  As the Gunner would say, 
what's unclassified or classified at one level might be classified at a difference level 
depending on the confidence of the information.  Don't get jammed up because you 
used the wrong adjective or made the statement of fact, as opposed to an allegation.  
     Global Recaps
     1440
     Daily Wire
"Israel strikes Iran's nuclear and military sites, and kills its top generals" by WRAL
 
‘No human hands’: NGA circulates AI-generated intel, director says
NGA puts a "template" on the products that "literally acknowledges . . .  
what you are looking at has not been touched by human hands,” 
said Director Frank Whitworth. 
“It's important [for] combat commanders and the Secretary and the 
President that they have that knowledge.”
by Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
     Never underestimate the stupidity of deep state bureaucrats.  
They do not understand that Artificial Intelligence (in its present state) 
hallucinates.  And they do not understand what that means.  
AI hallucinations are not a "mistake", not an "error", not "unintentional"; 
they are completely intentional.  The resulting "intelligence" is correct 
in the AI's world view.  Which I hope is not your world view.  
 
     Restoring pride to our Navy:  
The USS Harvey Milk, a John Lewis-class oiler, will be renamed.  
It's an unusual move given that ships in the Navy are traditionally 
not renamed.  Nevertheless, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered 
the ship, named after a homosexual predatory pedophile, be renamed 
in the interest of restoring a "warrior ethos" to the U.S. military.  As 
recently as 2023, the USS Chancellorsville and USNS Maury were 
renamed after Congress established a commission to eliminate names 
with ties to the Confederacy.  Other Lewis-class oilers named for civil 
rights leaders and activists are also being eyed for renaming.  The new 
name of the USS Harvey Milk will be announced at a later time.  
     "Hegseth Orders Navy to Strip Name of Gay Rights Icon Harvey Milk from Ship"
by Konstantin Toropin
 
     Army smashes 2025 recruiting goal:  
With still four months to go in the fiscal year, the U.S. Army has exceeded its 
recruitment goal for the year, with 61,000 future soldiers having enlisted thus far.  
That number is over 50% higher than this time last year.  This comes following 
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's efforts to eliminate woke policies within the 
military, including the removal of gender dysphoric troops from the force, and to 
restore a "warrior" culture.  Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll praised U.S. Army 
recruiters for their hard work to meet the FY25 recruitment goal and thanked 
Donald Trump and Hegseth "for their decisive leadership and support in 
equipping, training and supporting these future soldiers as they face a world of 
global uncertainty and complex threats."
     "Recruitment surges in ‘warrior’ culture" by Ben Wolfgang
---
     When I was a recruiter in the Marine Corps in 1981 - 1982, we got credit for 
the recruit when he graduated from Recruit Training Depot in San Diego or 
Parris Island.  The Army recruiters got credit for the recruit when he signed the 
enlistment document.  What's wrong with that picture?  
     We had to recruit at least fixed number from each of 4 IQ ranges.  Did not matter 
what their high school class ranking was, nor what their grade point average was.  
The Army recruiters, not so much.  
     We tried hard to get the Marine recruits to accept an MOS (military occupational 
specialty) that would give them good job prospects when they got out in 4 to 6 years.  
But all the recruits wanted infantry (as did my son).  The Army recruiters had a hard 
time getting any of their recruits to go into infantry, they all wanted the computer jobs.  
(So the recruiters would do open contracts, letting the ASVAB scores and the needs 
of the service determine the MOS, and they would all end up in infantry).  
[The recruit needs a pretty high IQ to get into the infantry.  There are a lot of jobs for 
rocks.  Infantry requires intelligence.  You don't want a dumbass detonating a mortar 
and killing the team.]  
 
ON THIS DAY (June 4th) in 1781, a rider alerted the Patriots that the British were 
coming, but his name wasn't Paul Revere.  It was Jack Jouett, and he warned 
Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson and others, including Patrick Henry and 
Richard Henry Lee, to flee Charlottesville before the Redcoats arrived.  The 
Patriots had already fled Richmond to escape the traitor Benedict Arnold and 
his marauding troops, but this alert saved them from calamity.  
 
 
     "Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
 
The Dispatch
 
"StrategyPage"
 
"The Merge"
 
Breaking Defense
 
Intrigue
 
1440
 
 
29155
 
Global Recaps
 
Timber Sycamore
 
Ground News
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Religion and Politics   *****     *****     *****
 
     "I hate it when I'm trying to eat a salad and 
it falls in the trash and I have to eat a taco instead."  
-- Nicola Cavanis
 
     The speaker is confusing the protesters with facts.  Facts they cannot accept because 
they are so entrenched in their world view.  
"Israeli Muslim STUNS Protestors With Facts They Can't Answer"
by Aryeh Weinstein
 
"The plow horse: how marriage uses men" by  Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
 
"Some men need marriage:  be all that you can be" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D. 
vertiginous = apt to change quickly; unstable:
 
"Fred Reed Discusses the War on Drugs" by Docent
     Primary source, 
"Drugs, a Misunderstood Industry" by Fred Reed
Unfortunately, Fred ended his blog postings on March 14, 2025.  
 
     Live within your means.  
     Just say no.  
 
"Southern Poverty Law Center Wagging the FBI Dog" by Docent
---
     The SPLC asked to interview me after I escorted a Goyim Defense League 
(NAZI, National Socialist) thug off the Gordon Jewish Community Center 
(of Nashville, TN) facility at gun point.  I declined under the advice of my 
attorney, Andrew Branca.  
 
     Speaking the truth is going to cost you.  
     Because the vast majority of persons on this planet deny truth, 
because it is obnoxious to their world view, especially their political 
view.  Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei was shown the 
instruments of torture to get him to shut up.  He is famous and 
known to us because of his papers that were published posthumously.  
 
"Delusional women: understanding female entitlement" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
 
"Our Survey Shows Why the Recent Public Health Survey Claiming 
18 million American Adults Present at Mass Shootings is So Ridiculous.  
Number Shot Given by the Survey is Off by at least 71 Times!"  
by The Crime Prevention Research Center
 
"Political Biases in the FBI’s Crime Data"
by The Crime Prevention Research Center
 
"Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 
31 Cases During January 2025"
by The Crime Prevention Research Center
 
"Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 
23 Cases During December 2024"
by The Crime Prevention Research Center
 
"Police Fitness Tests Have Reached A New Low" by Matt Walsh
     The large urban centers, Democrat controlled cities, have implemented policies to 
ensure the demise of their police departments.  Who does this help?  Who does this 
hurt?  
 
"Australia’s New Knife Ban Proves Gun Control Was Just the Beginning"
by Colion Noir
 
     "The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
 
*************************************************************************

     "History teaches us that history teaches us nothing." -- James Bachmann  
 
"The Case of the One Cut Stop" by Bendigo Strange
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.  
 
     In case you don't understand the difference between our political parties.  
 
Dave Spaulding and Bri Coelho talk about stuff.  
 
     A spy movie out of Canada.  
"Julianna V.: Secret Agent | Pascale Hutton | Full Movie (Intelligence)" by classictv
     Do you understand?  
 
"I did: why women are mean to men who like them" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
     "No one can see your fucking potential.  It is completely invisible to the outside 
world."  
     "Who you are, where your talents lie, and what you can and cannot do."  
 
"I DON'T play GAMES": understanding what this really means
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D
 
"Men's dating DOUBLE-BIND: how to flip the script" 
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D
 
     An unfortunate reality.  
 
    “You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you are capable of great violence.  
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.  
Important distinction.”  
-- Stef Starkgaryen 
 
Semper Fidelis, 
Jonathan D. Low
Email:  Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio:  KI4SDN
 
Nicola Cavanis