Saturday, July 23, 2022

CWP, 23 July MMXXII Anno Domini

 Hi Sheepdogs,
 
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----- Safety -----  (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.  
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.)
 
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety  
RULE I:  ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.  
RULE II:  NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING 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.  
 
"Arkansas boy, 8, is accidentally shot and killed by his brother, 5:
Sheriff says tragedy 'could have been avoided' " by Ruth Bashinsky
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11017665/Arkansas-boy-8-accidentally-shot-killed-brother-5.html
     "Again, the best way to secure a firearm that is kept in a state of readiness is to holster it on
your person." -- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
     [This not a "tragic accident".  It is negligence.  It is not accidental. -- Jon Low]
 
     All mass murders occur in gun-free-zones because only law-abiding-citizens obey the law.  
The criminals don't.  So, gun-free-zones create unarmed victims for armed criminal to prey
upon.  This is actually obvious to any thinking person.  
---
" 'Hero' armed citizen in mall stopped shooter: Police chief " by MELISSA GAFFNEY
https://6abc.com/hero-armed-citizen-in-mall-stopped-shooter-police-chief/12057770/
---
     "Reported elsewhere: “Police say the 22-year-old (good guy) from Bartholomew County
had a legal gun permit.  However, according to mall policy, the man should not have been
carrying his handgun in the mall in the first place.  The Simon Property Group, which owns
the mall, states in its code of conduct that no weapons are allowed at their shopping centers.  
The policy was last updated in April 2020.  The property group has worked with Greenwood
police for several planned security technology upgrades after recent incidents at the mall,
including two in which employees were held at gunpoint in the parking lot.  These upgrades
include license plate readers installed at mall entrances.”  In Indiana, such “no weapons”
postings lack the force of law.  It remains to be seen whether Simon Property Group bans the
hero from the mall for violating it code of conduct.  Bartholomew County borders Greenwood's
Johnson County, to the southeast."  
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
     Wenger's comment is referencing the following article,
" 'Good Samaritan' Who Killed Mall Shooter Broke Property Rules Against Guns "
by Emma Mayer
https://www.newsweek.com/good-samaritan-who-killed-mall-shooter-broke-property-rules-against-guns-1725586
Hat tip to Mark at Practical Eschatology,
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/
---
     Well this article says that the good guy did not have a permit, but rather was carrying under
Indiana’s Constitutional Carry Law.
"22-Year-Old That Stopped Mass Shooting Was Carrying Under
Indiana’s Constitutional Carry Law" by Luke McCoy
https://www.usacarry.com/22-year-old-stopped-mass-shooting-indiana-constitutional-carry/
     Mass media get raises and promotions for scoops (first to report event), not for accuracy.  
---
"Greenwood Park Mall Shooting Destroys Gun Control Narrative
Exercising Constitutional Carry" by Colion Noir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I_6TPWcFu0
---
     Liberals create gun-free-zones intentionally, with malice aforethought.  
No, liberals are not misguided or misinformed.  Sorry, that's just reality.  
Never go into a gun-free-zone.  Never send your children into a gun-free-zone.  
Yes, it is that simple.  
     Prays took 50 years to lessen the baby murders induced by Roe v. Wade.  So prayer isn't
practical if you want zero casualties.  God works in His mysterious ways (often very slowly).  
We operators work in practical effective ways (from threat to termination is often on the order
of 2 seconds).  Never confuse the two.  Because that would be an act of criminal stupidity and
superstition.  You can be religious without being superstitious.  
     Superstition is not belief in things that you think are false.  Superstition is belief in things
that you know are true, that are false.  BIG DIFFERENCE!  Discovering your superstitions
requires questioning facts that you know are true.  An impossible task for any ideologue.  Do
you understand why?  Discovering your superstitions requires meta thinking; thinking about
your thinking.  No, that does not require a high IQ.  It requires introspection, which is
independent of IQ.  
     This is not the same as the Queen choosing to believe six impossible things before breakfast.  
-- "Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There"
by Charles Dodgson, AKA Lewis Carroll
CHAPTER V.  Wool and Water  (I can't give you a line number or page number, because my
digital copy does not have page numbers, and reformats the text according to the window
size.)
[Ya, I know I spent way too much time in the Psychology Department at Columbia.  I was
supposed to be a Chemical Engineer.  My only excuse is that Psych was full of hot chicks.]  
---
"Loitering!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/loitering/
 
"A Late Night Knock At Your Door" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/
---
     "Sorry, I can't help you."  Always a good thing to say.  Sure beats getting kidnapped,
tortured, and murdered.  Oh, do you think I'm paranoid, pessimistic, or always viewing the
dark side of humanity?  No, not at all.  I just live in the real world.  As in, "What do you do
in the real world?"  
 
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:  
Don't go to stupid places.  
Don't do stupid things.  
Don't hang out with stupid people.  
Be in bed by 10 PM.  Your own bed.  
Don't look like a freak.  
Don't fail the attitude test.  
 
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
 
     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
 
"Be Trained or Be Chained." by James Keating
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8oYoDXW0U
     Use tools.  That's the secret.  
 
"Talisman or tool against danger: how do you tell?" by Annette
https://onherown.life/talisman-or-tool-against-danger-how-do-you-tell/
     If the tool does everything it’s supposed to do, will it work?  
     Are you able to access the tool and use it correctly?  
     Have you thought through the practical and legal downsides of the tool?  
 
     "Good people find out the hard way that their gun is worthless in a fight until it's actually in
their hands.
     This is a critical aspect of shooting that most shooters completely ignore, pay lip service to,
or do incorrectly."  
-- Mike Ox
 
     "What if you don’t have your firearm accessible to you when violence strikes?  Or if the
firearm doesn’t work?  Or if the threat takes the firearm away from you?"  
-- Tim Larkin
     You must have hand-to-hand combat skills.  This is not sport or art as you would learn in
a sports training facility or a martial arts facility.  Sorry, that's just reality.  
     What happens to police who kill the suspects?  They get prosecuted.  Derek Chauvin for
example.  So, police defensive tactics instructors don't teach techniques that will kill; they are
all pain compliance techniques.  That doesn't work for you, because pain does not work.  
Self-defense is combat.  You must immediately stop the attack.  That means the enemy must
be incapacitated or dead, NOW.  A fatal wound that takes 10 seconds to kill him gives him 10
seconds to shoot you.  How many rounds can you shoot in 10 seconds?  Probably 40 or more.  
Especially if you don't care.  Criminals don't care.  
 
     "You have a moral duty to defend the innocent.  You don't have to defend yourself.  
That's up to you." -- Steven N. Gosney

     You do have a duty to defend the innocent.  That's a sheepdog.  
 
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."  
-- Tom Givens
 
*************************************************************************
     "Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
 
----- Training (figuring out the correct tasks to learn) -----
 
     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)
 
     I know this is too late notice, but you might want to attend this in the future.  
Faith Based Security Network
Security Operations Summit 2022, $179
https://fbsnamerica.com/sos/
WHEN
Thursday, July 28, 2022 at 7:00 AM CDT
-to-
Saturday, July 30, 2022 at 1:00 PM CDT
WHERE
Evangel University
1111 N. Glenstone Ave.
Spence Chapel
Springfield, MO 65802
DETAILS
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event
 
"Take training from different instructors.  
We are all wrong about something."  
-- John Farnam
 
"Visual perception delay and its effect on shooting" by Mike Ox
https://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/visual-perception-delay-and-its-effect-on-shooting/law-enforcement-defense-security
Excerpt:  
     "During that delay, the attacker has plenty of time to drop his weapon, turn
and — depending on the situation — start moving away.  All the while, the shooter
is seeing what happened earlier — which was the attacker facing him and posing
a threat."  
     At Front Sight, we were taught, 2 rounds into the center of mass and then assess.  Which
meant to bring the pistol to a low ready position so you could see the assailant and look at
what's going on.  One could argue that that wastes time.  One could argue that it prevents an
excessive use of force.  One could argue . . .
 
“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
 
"Mindset, Gunhandling, and Marksmanship are the 3 disciplines you need to know."  
-- Tom Givens
 
Care enough to continue your training.
 
Using the IDPA or IPSC match as tactical training --
     "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 real blood in combat." -- Andy Stanford
     What does this mean?  
     When we shoot the match, we will go very slowly to ensure we positively identify
every shoot-target and every no-shoot-target. We will not be racing to win the game.  
It is common for the Safety Officer to inform the shooter that he failed to engage
several targets, because he just ran past them without seeing them.  Moving faster than
you can see.  Moving faster than you can think.  
     We will stay back away from corners, windows, and doors, because we
understand that there is someone hiding behind the corner who will grab our pistol.  
     We will shoot at the first part of the enemy that comes into view, because we
can do so without exposing our bodies.  We can always get the A-zone hit later as
we come around the corner.  We understand that whoever gets the first hit will
usually win the gunfight.  
     We will not muzzle no-shoot-targets.  We will not sweep across no-shoot-targets
when transitioning from one shoot-target to another shoot-target.  Because
unlike the other competitors, we are not playing a game.  We are training for combat.  
Shooting the no-shoot target is shooting faster than you can think.  
     Do not do "walk throughs".  Do not choreograph the scenario.  Shoot the
targets as they come into view.  Do not count rounds.  Do not plan your reloads.  
Shoot until empty, then reload.  Planning a scenario is a training scar.  Combat is
surprising.  
     Remember, we are training for civilian concealed carry for self-defense.  
We are not playing the game.  
 
     Think about the training required for this.  
Email from Mike Ox and David Morris --
     A murderer, armed with a carbine came out of the bathroom in a food court in the
Greenwood Park Mall [Indiana] shortly before closing and shot 5 people, killing 3.  
     But the spree was interrupted by a 22 year old concealed carrier named Elisjsha Dicken who
began engaging the threat from 40+ yards away and hit him with 8/10 shots fired, stopping the
threat.
     The whole thing was caught on camera and the amount of time that passed between when
the shooter exited the bathroom, shot 5 people, and was shot 8 times was 15 seconds.  
     [40+ yards is significant.  Most pistol ranges don't go past 25 yards.
The total was 15 seconds.  Dicken's 8 shots that hit were in just a few seconds.  
Under the stress of being shot at by a bad guy with a rifle.  Think about that.  
-- Jon Low]
---
     Tom Given's comments.  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rangemaster/permalink/10158683089330924/
---
 " ‘True American Hero’ stopped Greenwood Park Mall shooting within seconds"
by Jacob Burbrink
https://fox59.com/greenwood-park-mall-shooting/true-american-hero-stopped-greenwood-park-mall-shooting-within-seconds/
 
     Training is changing behaviors.  Education is learning stuff.  Don't confuse the two.  
Physical skills require physical training.  We what our children to have sex education.  
We don't want our children to have sex training.  
     In a state mandated class, we are educating, not training.  
     Having a sub-second presentation from holster to first shot on target is great.  But useless
if you've got a 2 minute decision making process.  
 
     Last Saturday, I shot a USPSA match in Chapel Hill, TN.  It was a 103 degrees in the shade.  
I drank 3.5 liters of water without urinating over the 5 stages.  (I had hydrated starting the night
before the match.  I'm not stupid.)  A gentleman made the comment that those who showed up
to shoot today were different from those who chose not to.  They all looked like military types
or high level competitors preparing for the big match in September.  
     I'm 63 years old.  Everyone else in my squad was in their early to mid 20's.  They're coming
up to me saying,
     "Is this your first time?"  
     "No, I've been shooting these matches since before you were born."
     I could feel them thinking, "Wow!  You've been shooting these matches for decades and
you still suck."  
     I didn't need to defend myself, as another gentleman explained to them that I was shooting
in a tactically correct manner, not racing to win the game.  I kind of wish he hadn't.  Because
now everyone was watching me when I shot.  Yes, I crack under match pressure.  
 
     A couple of hours ago, I finished a Low Light Outlaw match at the Glock Store in Nashville,
TN.  I used my EDC (every day carry) gear (including a hand held flashlight).
     Strobe lights are distracting.  Use your hand or hat brim to block the strobe lights.  
     The guys using night vision goggles could not distinguish colors.  They couldn't tell the
difference between the brown shoot-targets and the white no-shoot-targets.  That's a real
problem.  
     My marksmanship ability in low light is degraded.  Because I don't practice low light
shooting enough.  An operator must know how low light affects their ability to hit at given
distances and adjust accordingly.  If you can group in a 12 inch circle at 25 yards that's
fine.  If you know that you can group within a 30 inch circle at 25 yards in low light conditions.  
That's fine.  You can charge in to get the group size needed.  But if you don't know what your
group size is at 25 yards in low light, that's a real problem.  
     There was a house clearing scenario in which the mission was to rescue the baby.  There was
a recording playing of a baby screaming and crying.  I knew it wasn't real, but it was still very
disturbing.  The "baby" wasn't a life size doll as I had expected.  It was a 3D cardboard "baby"
that weighed what you would expect a baby of that size to weigh, and clearly labeled "BABY".  
I went slowly and carefully, and accomplished the mission.  Others shot the baby.  Others
could not find the baby, complaining that it was buried under the blanket or the pillows.  I was
thinking, "That's stupid."  You just keep searching until you find the baby.  Never give up.  But,
they were pissed that they were taking so long that they would get a bad score on the stage.  
 
Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
 
*************************************************************************
----- Practice (how to get good at that task) -----
 
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
 
"Using Negative Targets" by Claude Werner
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2022/07/15/using-negative-targets/
     Because in combat you won't see where you hit the enemy.  Because in combat you might
not see any reaction from the enemy.  I could go on, but you get the idea.  
 
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
 
"Perfect Practice
Improving your shooting starts with understanding that you have room to improve."  
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/perfect-practice/
     Yes, training scars are easy to develop.  As in the cited case, you might not even notice it.  
 
"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
 
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it, which tactics to use) -----
 
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
 
     Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
 
"The Defense Of Others" by Marty Hayes
https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/the-defense-of-others
Excerpt:  
     "In the case of a robbery in a store, bank or otherwise, my personal tactic is to get behind
cover or leave.  Unless I’ve seen bloodshed, then and only then am I likely to get involved.  
You should be making these decisions ahead of time.  Being in the middle of a life-threatening
event is a bad time to be making decisions that should’ve been made long before.  You’ve
decided to arm yourself; with that decision comes the responsibility to not go blindly through
life without having studied, trained and practiced until the decision making in circumstances
like these won’t be the major issue."  
 
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
 
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics (tasks that you should strive to be able to do in support of your strategy) -----
 
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
 
     My father told me that any problem that can be solved with money is not a real problem.  
The real problems in life are those you cannot solve with money.  They require time and
thought and effort and sacrifice.  
     Moving faster than you can see is a problem.  Out running your head lights?  Turn on your
high beams.  Out running your GPS?  Slow down.  Running past the shoot-target because you
didn't see it?  Slow down.  Slowing down takes training and practice, which are expensive in
terms of time and effort.  But, you can afford it.  
     Moving faster than you can think is a problem.  But, you can fix this by slowing down, or
speeding up your thinking which takes training and practice.  
     Shooting faster than you can think is a real problem.  You can't bring the bullet back.  
But, you can fix this by slowing down your shooting, or speeding up your thinking which
takes training and practice.  (Repeating drills without competent feedback won't work.  You
need expert coaching.  You don't know what you are doing wrong.  If you did, you would
have corrected it.  You aren't better because YOU think you're doing it correctly.  Understand
that; and you've taken your first step toward improvement.)  
     Paying big bucks for training that you don't understand, internalize, and implement in your
practice is a WASTE OF MONEY!  
 
"Armed Self-Defense: Should You Retreat?
The law is important here, but today we're talking tactics . . . " by Jim WIlson
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/armed-self-defense-should-you-retreat/
Excerpt:  
     "Your defensive firearm isn't a "magic wand," and there is no way to know offhand what
your attacker may or may not have up his own sleeve."  
     "Even if you are completely justified in your actions, you might face prosecution from an
anti-gun legal system.  And, even if exonerated by the legal system, you could face horribly
expensive civil suits."  
     "For the armed citizen, the defensive firearm should serve as an exit ticket.  You should be
determined to get away from the trouble as quickly as possible."  
     [Retreat is a tactical maneuver.  Retreat is not surrender.  Retreat is not pussy.  If retreat is not
in your repertoire, your repertoire is deficient.  Just as in IPSC or IDPA matches, you should be
able to retreat with complete muzzle control and trigger finger discipline.  If you violate any of
the safety rules while retreating, you don't know how to retreat.  Yes, as a matter of fact, it is a
learned skill which must be practiced.  
     This past Saturday, I shot a USPSA match in which a gentleman was disqualified for a safety
violation; facing up range with his pistol.  He didn't know how to retreat.  He could easily have
shot one of the other competitors.  Please take this seriously. -- Jon Low]
 
Police say 'Good Samaritan' prevented further loss of life in Indiana mall shooting:  
'Tactically sound'
Police said Dicken's actions were 'nothing short of heroic'
https://www.foxnews.com/us/police-say-good-samaritan-prevented-further-loss-life-indiana-mall-shooting-tactically-sound
Excerpt:  
     "Many more people would have died last night if not for the responsible armed citizen,"
Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said during a press conference Monday.
     The Good Samaritan, who was identified as Elisjsha Dicken, engaged the gunman within
two minutes of the start of the shooting Sunday at Greenwood Park Mall.  Police said Dicken
approached the gunman from a distance and fired 10 rounds of ammunition at him, striking
and killing him before he could retreat to a nearby bathroom.
     "His actions were nothing short of heroic," Ison said.  "He engaged the gunman from quite
a distance with a handgun.  He was very proficient in that, very tactically sound.  And as he
moved to close in on the suspect, he was also motioning for people to exit behind him."  
     . . . did not have any police or military background . . .
---
"Police laud actions of man who killed Indiana mall attacker
“Many more people would have died last night if not for a responsible armed citizen,”
Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said"
By Arleigh Rodgers and Rick Callahan
https://www.police1.com/active-shooter/articles/police-laud-actions-of-man-who-killed-indiana-mall-attacker-1kuEt4LqnK8DroHi/
---
     "The bathroom to which the murderer sought retreat is reported to be where he had waited
for an hour, staging his attack and where he had stashed an additional rifle, which is described
as having been “broken down” and in a backpack.  I can only guess that he may have used at
least part of that hour to reassemble one of the rifles that he'd also carried in into the mall in
the backpack.  One source identifies the rifle used in the shootings as a
SIG M400 – a SIG AR-variant that should “break down” and reassemble with two pins.  
However, SIG also offers a pistol version, with an 11.5” barrel, that has an overall length of
27 inches without separating the upper an lower receivers."  
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
 
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
 
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics) -----
 
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
 
"3 Tips for One-Handed Shooting with World Champion Mike Seeklander"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M72U49rA8A
     I found this very useful.  
     The bio below the video says he was a Marine Intel Specialist, just as we are.  
 
"When One Is Enough
Two hands are better than one, unless . . . " by Clint Smith
https://gunsmagazine.com/discover/when-one-is-enough/
Excerpt:  
     "Probably training to shoot the handgun one handed with either hand in case of injury is
wise.  Do not forget it may not be about injury, it may be simply because your hands are
occupied with a grandchild."  
 
"The Pros & Cons Of Speed Strips" by Doug E.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/07/06/pros-cons-speed-strips-revolvers/
     Because you may have students who show up with revolvers.  
 
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Instruction *****     *****     *****

Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:  
"We are not God's gift to our students.  
Our students are God's gift to us."  
 
----- Instructors -----
 
"Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
 
     I'm presently teaching a group of women (young as 23) and men (young as 20) who will
be operating in countries where the government is not able to enforce anything.  So the whole
section of "Law of Self-Defense" as practiced in the U.S. is deleted from the curriculum.  But,
I still teach "keep a low profile", "stay out of trouble", because as Claude Werner says, it's
easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble.  
     Training examples:  
     We're driving along minding our own business in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  The cops pull us
over and ask for money.  One of the Marines surreptitiously draws his pistol to shoot the
corrupt cops.  (If we had shot the corrupt cops and driven away there would have been no
repercussions.  We were certainly never going to say anything to anyone.)  But, I gave the
cops some money and we drove off.  Better outcome on many levels.  
     We're driving along minding our own business in the desert north of Saudi Arabia.  We
hit a check point and the SANG (Saudi Arabian National Guard) tells our driver, WO Leslie
Binns, to get out.  At the time it was illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia.  She refuses
and tells them to let us through.  The SANG point their rifles at her.  We bail out of the
vehicle and point our rifles at the SANG.  The SANG back off.  Not a good outcome, but not
terrible.  What could have been done better?  The senior enlisted should have advised the
ranking officer that she should not drive the vehicle.  Somebody has to know what's going on
in country and have situational awareness.  What country are we in?  What are the customs
and norms in this country?  Etc.  [Amazing how these war stories get better with age.]  
     I was kind of amazed that only the law section had to be removed.  Everything else stayed
the same.  The 4 safety rules apply in combat.  All of the techniques apply in combat.  
     Of course, the rules of engagement are what they are.  
     At one point a young man said, "That's not how we do it in [name of a type of unit]."  
Before the gentleman could continue, a young lady said gently and firmly, "Chief, we are here
to learn."  Everyone was wearing civilian clothing and there were no introductions (Operational
security, I guess.).  I later found out that the lady was a Lt. Cmd.  I think she was senior in the
room.  
     In Instructor Development courses, we are taught how to deal with disruptive students (those
who want to argue or teach the class).  Rather than dealing with the disruptive student, maybe
it's better to let the senior deal with the disruptive student.  Even in a civilian class there is some
Alpha (Alpha, not bully) whom you could approach before the start of class and ask her to step
in by saying, "Sir, we are here to learn, not teach the class."  Gently, but not sweetly.  
 
     Instructors, cut your fingernails.  Long fingernails are bad.  Long dirty fingernails are worse.  
Push your cuticles back.  Cuticles overgrowing your fingernails is just bad grooming.  
     We were taught that when the Drill Instructor inspects his platoon, he is inspected 30 times.  
 
     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
 
----- Andragogy -----
 
     An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.  
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
 
"Criticism ≠ Teaching" by Rory
https://chirontraining.blogspot.com/2017/07/criticism-teaching.html
Excerpt:  
     "Quick note on explaining.  I find it very useful to explain the underlying physiology or
physics that make something work.  If the principles are true, they apply everywhere and if
the student understands the principles, he or she can adapt them under stress.  That said,
the principles work.  They have visible effects.  
     If you have to explain that something worked when it clearly didn't, you're wrong.  You
aren't explaining, you're attempting to brainwash."  
 
     Ingredients for learning:  emotion and imagery.  Story telling. 
 
1)  Excellence, not perfection.  
2)  Train to retain.  
3)  Be yourself - best version.  
 
     When you get in front of your class, you have to prepare them to listen.  In order to do this,
you have to bring their emotional temperature down.  Their emotional temperature is high
because they have never done this before.  Everything is new to them.  Some of them are
scared.  It doesn't matter that there is nothing to be afraid of.  Any threat, real or irrational must
be allayed before learning can happen.  You can do this with introductions, greetings, questions,
etc.  How you show up.  Your intention.  
-- Scott Mann
 
     Your student will struggle.  It's a biological thing.  It's necessary for learning.  Don't try to
avoid it.  Don't let your student avoid it.  
-- Scott Mann
 
     Narratives are effective teaching and learning tools.  Tell relevant stories.  (Not irrelevant war
stories.)  Story gives meaning to what you're teaching, provides context to what you're teaching,
emotional connection, engages long term memory (Power Point engages working memory,
which is short term memory.).  
-- Scott Mann
 
     "The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.  
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."  
-- Robert John Meehan
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Education *****     *****     *****
 
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
 
"Tim Larkin PROT3CT: #30 John Nettles - You Need To Be Your Own First Responder"
Interview of John Nettles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICBfRcivYUg
     The corruption and lack of leadership in Ukraine is heartbreaking.  
     The German army has gone so woke, it's presently hollow.  
     Never seen a woke person run to the fight.  
     When they changed their name from "Department of War" to "Department of Defense" it
started falling apart.  
     Our people are still trying to get out of Afghanistan, today 15 July 2022.  It's heartbreaking.  
     Experience allows you to do the mission smart, so you don't get your guys killed.  Bravo!  
 
     Education is learning stuff.  Training is changing behaviors.  Physical skills require physical
training.  We want our children to have sex education.  We don't want our children to have
sex training.  
 
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
 
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath -----  (You have to be alive to have these problems:  criminal and civil liability.)
 
“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
 
     In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the direct address
https://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/never-talk-to-police.html
 
     In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".  
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
 
“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
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Legal *****     *****     *****
 
     "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
 
"Louisiana adopts Constitutional Carry Light for Veterans and those in the Military"
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/07/louisiana-adopts-constitutional-carry-light-for-veterans-and-those-in-the-military-keeping-track-of-states-moving-to-right-to-carry/
     I guess my VA card would work to qualify me an a veteran.  
 
"Completely Unexpected - Court Finds This Gun Law is Unconstitutional"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp7fwWnLj-8
18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) (the prohibition on the possession of firearms and ammunition by a
person who is addicted to or an unlawful user of a controlled substance)
     "UNITED STATES v. MORALES-LOPEZ"
https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20220705616
 
"Charges Dropped Against Bodega Worker!  Law and Politics Explained!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO-mCfQ-ZUw
 
"Sheriff suggests residents tell ATF agents conducting warrantless,
surprise gun inspections to leave" by Kerry Picket
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jul/22/sheriff-suggests-residents-tell-atf-agents-conduct/
Excerpt:  
     "Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer, in a press statement, said that [ATF] agents are
“making surprise home visits of persons who have purchased two or more firearms at one time."  
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA.
 
     "If you carry a gun, so you're hard to kill, know the law, so you're hard to convict."  
     Free infographic on the 5 elements of self-defense.  
https://LawOfSefDefense.com/elements/
     Free one hour webinar, every Wednesday at 13:00 Central Time, register at,
https://www.hardtoconvict.com/
     "Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/freebook/
The book is free of charge.  Just pay shipping, so you don't have to drive to Colorado
to pick it up.  
     Law of Self Defense YouTube.com channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/Lawofselfdefense/videos
     "Educate yourself.  So, you don't spend the rest of your life in a cage."  
 
"Home Defense" Done Wrong! by Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBmIZGBBD7A
Georgia homeowner acts in what he THINKS is lawful "home defense,"
but actually commits a ton of crimes in the process -- as well as making tactically
poor decisions.  
 
"How to choose a good lawyer for a self-defense case with Massad Ayoob - Critical Mas Ep 34"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kafrXrYLu4g
     Talking to the prosecutors with your attorney.  I did that with my attorney in New Jersey.  
Once the prosecutor understood what was going on, and how the police had lied to the
prosecutor, the prosecutor dropped all charges.  So, from first hand experience, I know Mas
speaks the truth.  
 
"LAPD Stops Enforcement of California’s ‘High Capacity’ Magazine Ban"
by TTAG Contributor
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/breaking-lapd-stops-enforcement-of-californias-high-capacity-magazine-ban/
 
"Guard Lawfully Shoots with Unlawful Gun: Is That a Crime?" by Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z9ItSFSFss
     The bad guy was a convicted felon.  How did he have a pistol?  That's illegal.  Oh right,
criminals don't obey the law.  Gun laws only affect law abiding citizens.  
     The good guy's carry permit had expired two weeks before the incident.  The
contemporaneous unlawful act of carrying without a permit has to undermine one of the 5
elements of self-defense.  
     Never talk to the police!  You can easily talk yourself into a conviction when completely
innocent.  
 
    “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
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Hardware (which includes you) *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************
 
"I would like to see every woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they know how to handle babies."  
-- Annie Oakley
 
----- Gear -----
 
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
 
     Your pistol must be ambidextrous.  
 
"FACTORY PDP PARTS NOW AVAILABLE!
Walther's First Time Releasing All Schematic Parts!"
https://waltherarms.com/parts-pdp/
     Looks like you can buy the parts and assemble a Walther PDP.  
 
     Gabe Suarez sent out an email advocating holsterless carry in certain situations.  I think the
idea is completely absurd.  I think the circumstances that he describes are absurd.  
     Modern pistols don't have thumb safeties because the holster is the safety.  Rifles and
shotguns don't have holsters.  You wear them slung across your chest or slung over your
shoulder.  So there is nothing to protect the trigger, so they have manual safeties.  The holster
protects the trigger.  So not carrying your pistol in a holster is criminal stupidity.  
     You should always carry your pistol in a holster.  Your holster should always be securely
attached to your belt at 3 o'clock for a right hander and at 9 o'clock for a left hander, or some
where close to that.  Carrying your pistol in any other position has severe disadvantages.  If
you don't understand why, please take a class that will teach you about different carry positions.  
     If you are muzzling your legs when drawing or holstering from a seated position, you are
violating Safety Rule II.  (appendix carry)
     If you are muzzling your arm when drawing or holstering, you are violating Safety Rule II.  
(shoulder holster carry)
     If you are sweeping the area around you when drawing or holstering, you are violating
Safety Rule II.  (cross draw and shoulder holster carry)
     If you can't access your pistol when seated or when lying on your back, you've got a real
problem.  (small of the back carry)
     If you have to go into an awkward position to access your pistol, you've got a real problem.  
(ankle carry, inside the thigh carry, etc.)
     Don't be stupid.  ALWAYS carry in a holster attached to your belt at the point of your
firing side hip.  
 
"10 Best .45 ACP Pistols (That Aren’t 1911s)" by Kat Ainsworth Stevens
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-45-acp-pistols/
     Wow!  A Walther PPQ .45 ACP for $349 at Guns.com.  The article says that the PPQ has an
ambidextrous mag release.  That is false.  The mag release is reversible, not ambidextrous.  
Of those reviewed in the article, only the XDM / XD, H&K 45 USP Tactical, and
FNX-45 Tactical are ambidextrous.
     The article claims that the Glock 21 at $439 (from Guns.com) is the most reliable.  So, why
would you pay $1000+ for something else?   
     The article reviews the Springfield Armory XDM, but the XD is just as good and cheaper.  
     A double action has a long heavy trigger press which makes accurate shooting more difficult,
requiring more training for a given level of competency.  A DA/SA requires training to master
two different trigger presses.  Consistency is accuracy.  So every trigger press must be identical.  
     Revolvers are too difficult to reload, take too long to reload, and require reloading too often.  
     So, in my opinion, the reasonable cost effective 45 Auto pistols are:  
(in order of my preference)
Springfield Armory XD (not listed in the article)  Recommended by Louis Awerbuck.
Smith and Wesson M&P (Not listed in the article.  The one in the article is a single stack.)
Glock 21 at $439 from Guns.com  (The grip is really big.)
Walther PPQ for $349 at Guns.com.  
 
     For years Sprinfield Armory has been including a "holster", magazine pouch, and magazine
loading tool with their XD pistols.  Which I think in principle is a good idea.  (The holster is
worthless.  But, what do you expect for free?)  
     I am pleased to see that SAR USA is also including:  2 mags, mag pouch, holster, weapon
mounted light, and magazine loading tool with their pistols.  
     I think it is essential to have complete weapons systems where all of the components were
designed to work together (or at least have been tested and work together).  
 
     For AR-15 dry practice, wedge a penny in the magazine to hold the follower down.  
Hat tip to Matt Robertson
 
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
 
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
 
"Fear is an instinct.  Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
 
"The Best Self-Defense Caliber: Ballistics, Informed Opinions, and Conclusions"
by Ben Findley (a deep dive into terminal ballistics)
https://www.usacarry.com/best-self-defense-caliber/
Excerpts:  
     "A lighter handgun will increase felt and actual recoil!  Recoil movement does not enhance
accuracy.  So smaller and lighter is not always better for survive-ability, but does help with
concealing the gun."  
     "Dr. Peter Rhee et al from the University of Arizona, Division of Trauma Surgery, says that
most experienced trauma surgeons will testify that what part of the body is hit by the bullet is
more important than the caliber and size of the bullet, in a 2016 study.  That handgun caliber
probably does not matter.  Dr. Rhee says that a smaller bullet and caliber can deliver more
precision and accuracy, but that trauma specialists found that fatal or exiting gunshot wounds
were misinterpreted 52% of the time.  So it seems that you cannot tell the difference between
calibers when a bullet enters the body.  Evidence shows that no commonly-used handgun
caliber round has the power to cause an immediate cessation of hostile actions, unless the
central nervous system is interrupted.  What matters most is what the bullet hits when it enters
the body.  Shot placement is “king.” "  
     "Fundamentals of shooting matter more than bullet caliber"  
     "Psychological stops are just as Important as physical stops"  
     "Sadly, there is about a 12 percent chance that an attacker will NOT stop when hit by a
round of any caliber"  [The NRA teaches in the Personal Protection class that 90% of the time
the bad guy will flee when you produce your pistol.  That means 10% of the time, you're going
to have to shoot, otherwise the bad guy will take your gun and kill you and others with it.  Even
when you shoot the bad guy, there is only a 88% chance that the bad guy will stop.  12% of the
time you have to keep shooting until he stops. -- Jon Low]
     "Most can shoot a 9mm caliber round quicker than most other calibers, since it has less
recoil for better control, sights are off target for less time, and most can shoot 9mm caliber
easier with one hand"  
 
"The Importance of Basic Pistol Maintenance" by Walt Rauch
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/featured_handguns_hg_cleanrecord_200911/138336
     "Striker-fired guns must have their striker channel clean and dry, with no oil in them;
otherwise gunk can and does retard the striker blow on the cartridge primer."  
     ". . . a well-maintained, clean and properly lubed handgun is the true badge of someone
serious about personal self-defense."  
 

 
     "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
(capitalization as in the original document, militia refers to YOU)
 
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Personal Security, Medical, Survival, etc. *****     *****     *****
 
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
 
     Do the gloves in your trauma kit fit your hands?  
     Large freezer zip lock bags will work as gloves and chest seals.  Carry a few.  Or carry all
your stuff inside one.  
     Wound packing cube for practicing wound packing.  
     Practice with your equipment.  
 
"Range Medicine Training Course" by Mountain Man Medical, $2.00
https://www.mountainmanmedical.com/product/range-medicine-training-course/
Hat tip to Jacob S. Paulsen.
     Can't go wrong for $2.  So, it's really, "Are you willing to invest the time."  
 
"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
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     *****  War Stories, History, Politics, and such   *****     *****     *****
 
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
 
     Attorney General of Missouri wrote a letter to Director of the FBI Christopher Wray.
https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2022-7-13-ltr-fbi.pdf
     The FBI's actions should scare you.  Yes, this is also happening in Tennessee.  
A Tennessee sheriff spoke to me off the record.  The FBI was offering him all kinds of
goodies.  
 
     Good guys use guns to protect life all the time.  
"Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 24 Cases During April 2022"
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/07/defensive-gun-uses-by-people-legally-carrying-guns-24-cases-during-april-2022/
"Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 32 Cases During May 2022"
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/07/defensive-gun-uses-by-people-legally-carrying-guns-32-cases-during-may-2022/
 
"This is why people are buying a record number of guns: GOP lawmaker" by FOX Business
Interview with New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfI79E6GZVs
 
"Utopia!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/utopia-3/
     In fact, questioning an AI (artificial intelligence) decision has become a crime in itself!
 
"Norwegian feminist faces jail time in Norway for 'stating the obvious' " by Tucker Carlson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mopMFfMlwvE
     Men can't be lesbians.  Men can't be mothers.  
     Talking about biology is illegal in Norway.  
 
"An Orthodox Jewish gun club takes aim at NY Gov. Hochul’s new gun control package"
by Jacob Henry
https://www.jta.org/2022/07/21/ny/an-orthodox-jewish-gun-club-takes-aim-at-hochuls-new-gun-control-package
     "Are Orthodox Jews more appreciative of the RKBA [Right to Keep and Bear Arms] because 
they have a better grasp of the Bible than their Reform and Conservative counterparts?"
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
     [I work as armed security at the Gordon Jewish Community Center (GJCC) in Nashville, TN,
because the Department of Homeland Security allocated funds to protect soft terrorist targets.  
(You've got to have something to do when you retire, otherwise you die.)  The Jews here are so
anti-gun liberal that they refused to auction the Defensive Pistol training certificate that I had
donated to their annual fund raiser. -- Jon Low]  
 
     The stupid are among us.  
"VP 40 In the News" by the Tactical Professor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2022/07/19/vp-40-in-the-news/
Primary source,
"Troopers Respond to Accidental Firearm Discharge at Garfield Twp. Restaurant"
https://www.9and10news.com/2022/07/12/troopers-respond-to-accidental-firearm-discharge-at-garfield-twp-restaurant/pic/1488411/
     Negligent discharge, not accidental discharge.  He should have left the pistol in his holster.  
Oh right, he didn't have a holster.  He should have left the pistol in his pocket.  When out and
about, don't touch your pistol unless you're going to use it.  
     H&K VP40 is an expensive pistol to get taken as evidence.  
     One of the truly ambidextrous pistols.  
 
     "There are now 75 Soros-backed DA's overseeing half of America's 50 most populous cities.  
They represent an astounding one-in-five Americans, and their jurisdiction accounts for more
than 40% of our nation's murders."  
-- Wayne LaPierre
 
     SmashWords / Draft2Digital report that my book,
"Defensive Pistolcraft"
ISBN: 9781311454133
last month sold
Apple        133
Barnes & Noble     4
Scribd        1
which I found kind of interesting.  If you would like a copy of the latest version, send me an
email.  
     I'm surprised that my book is widely acquired in countries with strict gun control laws.  
I assume it means that there are in fact a lot of small arms in these countries and that militias,
gun clubs, and individuals are desperate for training (and perhaps realize that the vast majority
of stuff on the internet is nonsense).  
     While a lot of the good pistol training books that actually give detailed "How To" instruction
are listed on the various book web sites, a lot of them are out of print and unavailable.  So, if
you want to get your work distributed it has to be digital.  There are many digital formats.  The
more exotic, the less likely your audience will able to read it.  A low level PDF format is
probably the best.  While a TXT format can be read by more computers world wide, can't
embed photographs or graphics easily.  If your PDF file has so many layers or is so complicated
that it requires a sophisticated (expensive) version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, you're asking for
trouble (remember Obama's birth certificate).  
 
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thomas Jefferson
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Cryptology *****     *****     *****
 
"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
[Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law.  
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
 
"A new vulnerability in Intel and AMD CPUs lets hackers steal encryption keys
Hertzbleed attack targets power-conservation feature found on virtually all modern CPUs."
by Dan Goodin
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/06/researchers-exploit-new-intel-and-amd-cpu-flaw-to-steal-encryption-keys/
 
"Symbiote Deep-Dive: Analysis of a New, Nearly-Impossible-to-Detect Linux Threat"
by Joakim Kennedy and The BlackBerry Threat Research & Intelligence Team
https://www.intezer.com/blog/research/new-linux-threat-symbiote/
     This is deep and a real problem.  I know the Assembly Language code is hard to read,
it's CPU specific.  
[Decades ago when I went in to interview with Pheonix, they asked me if I had read the IBM
BIOS.  I said yes, because I had.  They ended the interview, because they couldn't hire anyone
who had any knowledge of a competing BIOS. -- Jon Low ]
---
"Hijack Execution Flow:  Dynamic Linker Hijacking"
https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1574/006/
 
"DUELING OVER DUAL_EC_DRBG:
THE CONSEQUENCES OF CORRUPTING A CRYPTOGRAPHIC
STANDARDIZATION PROCESS"
by Nadiya Kostyuk and Susan Landau
https://harvardnsj.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/06/Vol13Iss2_Kostyuk-Landau_Dual-EC-DRGB.pdf
     Yes, that Susan Landau.  
     "The NSA subverted the standardization process of the NIST with regards to cryptographic
standards." -- Bruce Schneier
 
     The idiots who use cryptocurrencies (currency speculation according to Dave Ramsey) and
trust blockchain are the same idiots who force their employees to change their passwords
every month (good passwords never become stale, bad passwords don't improve with replacement 
by other bad passwords) and force their subordinates to create passwords that are impossible to 
memorize, hence forcing the user to write the password down somewhere.  They are completely 
ignorant of cryptology.  Bruce Schneier has several rants on his blog.  
Schneier on Security (his newsletter is worth subscribing to)
https://www.schneier.com/
such as
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2022/06/on-the-dangers-of-cryptocurrencies-and-the-uselessness-of-blockchain.html
 
"NIST Announces First Four Quantum-Resistant Cryptographic Algorithms"
by Bruce Schneier
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2022/07/nist-announces-first-four-quantum-resistant-cryptographic-algorithms.html
 
Hat tip to John Harris.  
     Those battery powered high speed grinders will cut through things much faster than
anything else, and won't burn things inside the container as the acetylene torch will.  
So, if you're looking to get the cash cassettes out of an ATM, cut the side out with a high
speed grinder.  
     "Oh, wait, you're actually talking about U.S. Mail boxes and ballot drop boxes."  
     Of course not.  One would be a Federal crime.  The other would be a crime against
Democrats.  In case you didn't see the movie "2000 Mules".  
“2000 MULES” DOCUMENTARY by DINESH D’SOUZA
https://node-1.2000mules.com/
     Low tech attacks are always much easier than crypto attacks.  Human engineering is always
much easier than low tech attacks.  Think for a minute and you'll devise several ways to get
the employee / subordinate to hand you the money / information / good and services.  No
violence, no coercion, no threats, no extortion, no blackmail; those are Spy vs. Spy techniques.  
Remember "Mad Magazine".  Extra credit if you can get the employee / subordinate to think
he was being loyal to his organization / a whistle blower / a patriot.  The bureaucratic alphabet
soup agencies are far less competent than you.  
     Remember the Cap'n Crunch whistle rings?  No, Cap'n Crunch is not the Kellogg's
Company, it's The Quaker Oats Company.  (Kellogg's is totally woke and anti-gun.  I don't buy
Pop Tarts anymore.  And I love Pop Tarts.  Vote with your dollars.  It's the most effective vote
you have.)  I was an operator with AT&T back when pay phones took coins.  Oh ya, I know
all the tricks.  Paper clip between the telephone microphone and the ground of the phone,
usually the lock because it was not painted; to simulated coins being deposited in the phone.  
The whistle created a tone at 2600 Hertz.  Which would trick the phone systems.  Why do you
think the Marine Corps MOS (military occupational specialty) for Signals Intelligence is 2600? 
(You ever been to to a 2600 meeting?) 
I connected to phone systems and phones all over the world from the AT&T facility in
Honolulu, HI.  Every wonder why so many intel sites are in Hawaii?  Where did the enemy
place Edward Snowden?  In the tunnels at Kunia.  Accident?  No.  
     Never forget the good times.  The enemy will attempt to re-write history.  So, you must
remember.  
 
     A Marine buddy recently got his Technical HAM radio license.  I wrote to him. --  
Congratulations, sir! 
Make sure to join ARRL,
https://www.arrl.org/
Check out their books and reviews.
Check out the small hand held units.  The big rigs that require you to string up
antennas are great for home, but can't move.
     Make sure you can plug it into your car system, if you've got an antenna on
your car (I think you should, but maybe that's too high profile for your lifestyle). 
But, if you're going to get a license plate that says you're a HAM or a member
of the local emergency network . . . you might not be worried about such things. 
     Make sure you can plug it into your computer.  I mean a lap top computer. 
Plugging it into your cell phone means the malicious apps on your cell phone
now have access to your radio system.  (Yes, I'm paranoid.  But, that doesn't
mean I'm mistaken.)  Now you can send and receive machine Morse and other
codings.  There is a program to do ITA2 that you can run on your computer. 
We used to use ITA2 for transmission of classified stuff via the teletype
machines in the comm centers.  Yup, we had such in 1981 at 1st Radio Bn.
Kaneohe MCAS.
     I got the Tech license decades ago when there was a Morse code requirement. 
Then I left it for a long time.  Just a few years ago, I got the General license. 
Some Marine Corps buddies wanted to form a network.  We all got these small
hand held units.  But technology changes so fast, I hate to recommend anything
by brand name or model. 
     If you're using directional antennas (Yagi et al), know that pointing a null
of your antenna at the jamming source is more effective than pointing your main
lobe at the friendly source. 
Semper Fidelis,
Spaceman
---
      Tractor Supply doesn't sell tractors.  ARRL doesn't sell radios.
My grandfather loved to play with his shortwave radio.  He had antennas strung all over his
property in Wailuku, Maui.  There are great advantages to being in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean.  All kinds of signals would bounce (ionosphere, ocean surface, satellites, etc.).  You can
do all kinds of things by listening, recording, decoding, analyzing (traffic analysis, et al), etc.  
You don't have to transmit.  
     Do you need a license to buy drugs? guns? make babies?  Of course not.  Information
wants to be free!  You can easily build your own radio transmitter and receiver.  You can
easily buy any radio.  
     Don't like what the radio station is spewing?  Jam it.  Too lazy?  You can buy Russian
jammers on the open market (not the black market).  Though when I was in Signals Intelligence
we never jammed.  We would ask the commanders not to attack the enemy radio sites, not to
jam the enemy radio transmissions.  We loved to listen.  (Hey, some people like to watch.  
Snipers, satellites, etc.)  
     Of course, you've got to find the:  
1)  frequency (frequency hopping, spread spectrum, etc.),
you've got to find the
2)  modulation (Amplitude Modulation (AM), Frequency Modulation (FM),
Phase Modulation (PM), Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Frequency Shift Keying (FSK), and
Phase Shift Keying (PSK), Double-Sideband Full Carrier (DSBFC),  Double Sideband
Suppressed Carrier (DSBSC), Single Sideband Suppressed Carrier (SSBSC) aka Single Side
Band (SSB mode), etc. because there are a lot more),
you've got to find a
3)  linguist for which ever language and dialect they are speaking,
or you've got to find the
4)  coding for which ever coding they are using (Morse code, etc.),
or you've got to find the
5) crypto key for which every crypto system they are using.  The cryptosystems are all known.  
It's just a matter of finding the key.  Can't find it?  No problem.  Record the transmission.  We'll
find the key later.  Hey, that's what super computers are for.  Brute force may take more than
the age of the universe, but we don't brute force anything.  
-- Jon Low
 
     "Premature optimization is the root of all evil."  
-- Donald Knuth
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Intelligence   *****     *****     *****
 
“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.)
 
"Download Full Robb Elementary Investigative Committee Report" by Docent
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/2022/07/download-full-robb-elementary.html
     The bad guy had good intel (knew which classroom door had a defective lock and so went
directly to it without trying any of the other doors) and inside help (knew that an exterior door
would be open for him at a certain time, that's why he was in such a rush to get to the school,
that's why he crashed his truck).
Primary source,
"HOUSE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE
ON THE ROBB ELEMENTARY SHOOTING
TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
INTERIM REPORT 2022"
https://house.texas.gov/_media/pdf/committees/reports/87interim/Robb-Elementary-Investigative-Committee-Report.pdf
---
"Texas state police launch internal review of Uvalde response
The announcement appeared to widen the fallout of an 80-page report released over the
weekend by the Texas House" by Jake Bleiberg and Paul J. Weber
https://www.police1.com/investigations/articles/texas-state-police-launch-internal-review-of-uvalde-response-FRx3cNIpLUmgoS8K/
 
Dyalog '22 will be held in Olhão, Portugal, from 9th-13th October (inclusive)
https://www.dyalog.com/user-meetings/dyalog22.htm
 
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
 
*************************************************************************
 
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email:  Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio:  KI4SDN
     "Staff, why do you sign your posts with your real name?"  
     Because an English professor, David Yerkes, Columbia University, English Department,
told me that if I don't sign it, it's just graffito.  

Thursday, July 14, 2022

CWP, 14 July MMXXII Anno Domini

 Hi Sheepdogs,
     If you believe in the God given duty to self-defense and defense of those for whom 
you responsible, you need to watch this to understand who your enemies are and what 
they are doing.  
"Tucker Carlson: You can no longer fight back"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDbg7zwbxDc
     Officers can be forgiven for losing a battle.  They can never be forgiven for being taken
by surprise.  Prepare.  Don't be taken by surprise.  
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Software *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************
 
----- Safety -----  (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.  
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.)
 
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety  
RULE I:  ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.  
RULE II:  NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING 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.  
 
"Ed Monk Exclusive on IFC Warrior Wednesday EP 29"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2byxgbORxZk
 
"Anatomy of a Carjacking and Murder" by the Tactical Professor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2022/07/12/anatomy-of-a-carjacking-and-murder/
Excerpt:  
     "Lock your doors and take the keys with you whenever you leave your vehicle.  Tire
maintenance always puts you in a head down posture.  Do your best to maintain your
awareness of the area around you.  Cars that pull up next to mine always give me the willies
from the old days.  At an air pump, it’s common and almost always benign but obviously not
100% safe."  
 
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:  
Don't go to stupid places.  
Don't do stupid things.  
Don't hang out with stupid people.  
Be in bed by 10 PM.  Your own bed.  
Don't look like a freak.  
Don't fail the attitude test.  
 
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
 
     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
 
"Gabe White lecture on mindset:
"If not me, then who?" at his Pistol Shooting Solutions class"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW5VoLk8aYQ
     Hat tip to Gabe New.  
Excerpts:  
     If not me, then who?
     Who dares wins.  
     The audacity of will and skill.  
     Mindset is a by product of superior preparation.  
[I took a class from Gabe White at Tac Con.  He does have the fire in the belly. -- Jon Low]
 
"In Self Defense - Episode 103: Craig Douglas PT.2"
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/36396
Excerpt:  
     "I think you can show a guy you are armed without drawing it.  I think you can draw it and
not point it at him.  I think you can draw it, point it at him and not shoot him.  And then I think
you can draw and fire, right?  And those are all things that are again, little taps on the brakes
that keep you hopefully from having to fire." -- Craig Douglas
     "If I point a gun at someone, I'm most assuredly comfortable with shooting them, I've just
chosen for the moment not to." -- Craig Douglas
     "Is there a difference between immediately assaultive and expressively violent?  Yeah.  Most
assuredly.  People in low-income neighborhoods and ghettos all around the country, routinely
point guns at each other expressively and not a shot is fired.  Now, unless you have
experienced that and understand that, you don't know.  Now, can somebody fire a shot in a
heartbeat?  Most assuredly.  Here's the point though:  the point is to hone their social literacy
and get them to understand there are probably even greater slices of gray beyond just, shoot,
don't shoot.  Gun in hand, gun in use." -- Craig Douglas
 
"Consistency in Concealed Carry"
An Interview with Tom Givens
Interview by Gila Hayes
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/tom-givens-on-consistency-in-concealed-carry
Excerpt:  
     "It is just a tool that I need to carry around.  I have a spare tire in my vehicle.  I have a fire
extinguisher in my vehicle, and I have a first aid kit in my vehicle.  It is all the same mentality.  
Whatever comes up, I have got the tools to deal with it."  
-- Tom Givens
     "I have people tell me all the time, “I am smarter than that, I would know where the gun is.”  
Yeah, they have not had to access it under any real stress.  Stress makes you a lot dumber."  
-- Tom Givens
[Real stress is when you piss on yourself, shit on yourself, shake uncontolably, suffer tunnel
vision, suffer auditory exclusion, suffer false memories, suffer temporary amnesia, etc.  
The people Tom is referring to don't know what they are talking about because they have never
suffered "real stress".  
-- Jon Low]
Givens:  I can laugh at anybody.  I laugh at myself!  I have been carrying a gun for so long that
if I went out without it and I got murdered, I could never look anyone in the eye again.  
eJournal:  [Laughing] No, you probably wouldn’t be looking anyone in the eye.  
Givens:  I would have to have a closed casket funeral because I would be so embarrassed.  
 
     Use tools.  You're human, right?  You want to stay at the top of the food chain, right?  
You have to train and practice with your tools.  Using tools is not instinctive.  There is nothing
natural about tool use.  As my father would often tell me, "That's not the proper tool.  Use the
correct tool for the job."
 
     “As long as we can both get out of the car, just let them have it.  
I have insurance and the car isn’t worth either of our lives anyway.”  
– my [Claude Werner] instructions about potential carjacking to a
former girlfriend who lived in a sketchy area.  
 
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."  
-- Tom Givens
 
*************************************************************************
     "Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
 
----- Training (figuring out the correct tasks to learn) -----
 
     "This is an enormous problem in the training industry.  People take all their training from a
single instructor (either out of a sense of loyalty or because the instructor’s cult of personality)
and fail to learn new or different ways of doing things."  
-- Greg Ellifritz
 
"Trigger Management" by Lee Weams
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trigger-management-tickets-227860164887
Sat, August 20, 2022
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT
Royal Range USA
7741 HIGHWAY 70 SOUTH
Nashville, TN 37221
$225.00 + $21.94 Sales Tax = $249.94
 
"Essential Pistol" by Lee Weems
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/essential-pistol-tickets-227865139767
Sun, August 21, 2022
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT
Royal Range USA
7741 HIGHWAY 70 SOUTH
Nashville, TN 37221
$225.00 + $21.94 Sales Tax = $249.94
 
     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)
 
Active Self Protection National Conference 2022
Sept. 23-25, 2022
Outside of Manhattan, KS
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2022/
Registration
https://fhftc.org/bullets-bibles-conference-registration-form/
$600
 
     I'm going to the Guardian Conference
https://guardianconference.com/
(because Tac Con sold out in a couple of days, literally).  
Instructors include:  
- Mickey Schuch
- Chuck Haggard
- AJ Zito
- Riley Bowman
- Wayne Dobbs
- Todd Fossey
- Brian McLaughlin
- Samuel Middlebrook
- Andrew Branca
- Bryan Eastridge
- Matt Little
- Melody Lauer
- More to Come
 
"Street Encounter Skills and Tactics" by FPF Training
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkL2g0uY2GSduhVBwzGL2ROyN-TSdDGLq
 
Tim Larkin on Rumble.com
https://rumble.com/search/video?q=tim%20larkin
Firearms & Self Protection Part 1 - Tim Larkin (interview of Bill Rapier)
https://rumble.com/vrdbmq-firearms-and-self-protection-part-1-target-focus-training-tim-larkin-awaren.html
     We have better soldiers than anywhere else in the world because we have mentally and
physically challenging organized sports in our schools.  
     We teach:  
1)  Heightened awareness.
2)  Firearms safety.
3)  Being 100% certain that when you pull the trigger the gun goes bang.  
4)  Clean draw stroke from concealment.  
5)  One hand only blade deployment and shooting, with either hand.  
6)  Weapons retention.  
7)  Shooting while grappling.  
     You need tools.  Spending 2 hours teaching a 75 year old grandma to shoot will make her
a problem for the home invader.  No matter how much Ju-Jitsu you teach her, she's not going
to be much of a problem for the home invader.  
Firearms & Self Protection Part 2 - Tim Larkin (interview of Bill Rapier)
https://rumble.com/vs3fp8-firearms-and-self-protection-part-2-target-focus-training-tim-larkin-awaren.html
     To progress, you need deliberate training with feedback.  Otherwise, you end up mastering
mediocrity.  
     Correct blade geometry.  A fighting knife is a thrusting knife, not a slashing knife.  
     Aiming protocol, from near to far:  
1)  contact to grabbing distance - natural point of aim shot (no sights, you're in too close),
2)  grabbing distance to just out of grabbing distance - back plating (you're covering the target
with the back plate of your pistol, no sights, you shoot before you fully extend your arms),
3)  outside of grabbing distance but close enough for confidence - frontsight focus,
4)  too far for confidence - frontsight-backsight-frontsight-target-frontsight (to ensure sight
alignment is correct, to positively identify the target).  
     Keep going.  Complete the drill.  Never stop.  You don't get a do over.  Stopping is a training
scar.  
Firearms & Self Protection Part 3 - Tim Larkin (interview of Bill Rapier)
https://rumble.com/vs7nfg-firearms-and-self-protection-part-3-target-focus-training-tim-larkin-awaren.html
     Personal willingness.  Are you willing to shoot?  You have to think it through beforehand.  
Otherwise, you will hesitate during the incident, which leads to regret.  
     You have to have physical fitness.  You have to have the correct equipment.  You have to
be able to draw and holster safely.  You have to be muzzle aware.  You have to be trigger
finger aware.  
     Bill Rapier recommends you always have a light on your pistol (weapons mounted light).  
[I disagree.  There is a dangerous proclivity to search with the weapon mounted light.  A
violation of Safety RULE II:  
NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
-- Jon Low]  
     The window of the red dot sight was so fogged up, I couldn't see my iron sights through
it.  Other times there was so much water that I saw 5 dots instead of one dot.   [And yet he
still recommends red dot sights? -- Jon Low]
     When you use a red dot sight, you eliminate sight alignment and front sight focus.  
[I disagree.  
     If you don't keep the red dot in the center of the window, the dot is not exactly at the point
of impact.  If don't keep the dot in the window, you can't aim.  So that's the same as sight
alignment.  
     If the dot is not in the window, where do you have to look to get the dot into the window?  
You have to look at the pistol.  Focusing on the pistol is the same as focusing on the front sight,
because they are at the same distance from your eye.   
     You're only going to get the dot in the window automatically on the first try, if you're
shooting in pristine range conditions.  From awkward positions, you might not to see your
dot.  You're going to have to search for it and move it into your window.  
-- Jon Low]
American Tactical Shooting Instruction, LLC
https://www.amtacshooting.com/
 
From an email from Patrick Kilchermann --
     We must never forget:
The enormous differences between a green Private First Class and a seasoned Navy SEAL
have very little to do with the amount of gun or shooting training the two have had.  It also
has very, very little to do with physical strength.  
     And yet, all too often I meet people who are stuck in that sort of mental loop:  
"once I can afford good pistol training . . . if only I attend enough shooting courses . . .
next year I'll be training with . . . "
     Consider this:
When a soldier or marine walks out of basic training, approximately $36,000 have been spent
to get him to that point.  That's college and recruitment bonuses, that's food and lodging and
gear, and that's pay for him and his share of all his instructors and teachers.  But if that same
man walks out of SEAL Qualification Training 2.5 years later, over $500,000 will have been
spent on him.  And he already knew how to shoot fast and accurately going in.  
     Yes, we must become comfortable and proficient with our bodies and weapons.  Those
skills will always require a little upkeep.  But essentially, we can look at those skills as boxes
that we can check, so that we can move on . . . so that we can move on to building our minds.  
-- Patrick Kilchermann
 
"Take training from different instructors.  
We are all wrong about something."  
-- John Farnam
 
     The point of aim for maximum damage to the cardiovascular system:  
the intersection of the line between the armpits and the vertical center-line
(i.e., the upper chest). -- Andy Stanford, "Surgical Speed Shooting"
 
“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
 
     Monster Hunter recommended some web sites for good information (as opposed to internet
nonsense).  But, it took a bit of searching on the given web sites to find the training articles and
videos.  If I couldn't find them, I did not list them.  So, here they are:  
     Langdon Tactical
Pistol Skills Series
https://langdontactical.com/pistol-skills-series
     Lucky Gunner
Start Shooting Better
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/category/start-shooting-better/
Shooting 101
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/category/shooting-101/
     Active Self Protection
Their videos are on their YouTube.com channel,
https://www.youtube.com/c/ActiveSelfProtection
not their web site.  
https://activeselfprotection.com/
     Tim Herron
Videos are on the YouTube.com channel,
https://www.youtube.com/c/TimHerronShooting/videos
not the web site.  
https://www.timherronshooting.com/
I took a class from him at Tac Con.  A purely civilian perspective.  
      Pat McNamara
Videos are on the YouTube.com channel,
https://www.youtube.com/user/patannamac1/videos
not the web site.  
https://www.tmacsinc.com/
     Shiv Works
Videos are on the YouTube.com channel,
https://www.youtube.com/user/ShivWorks/videos
not the web site.  
https://shivworks.com/
 
Care enough to continue your training.
 
2022 Thunderstick Summit (sold out within an hour of posting) $700
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2022-thunderstick-summit-tickets-362536304847?fbclid=IwAR3Oqxx6svExKfxt0EyXq-QSU7WLHTJlMjI6qHs9_yaxtRqBTrASN2ETUik
     All of the current disciples of the Gospel of the Gauge will be teaching together in Dallas
in September at the first Thunderstick Summit.  This is a unique opportunity to get an in-depth
education on the defensive shotgun from several trainers at one time.  
     Classroom and range instruction will be conducted by Tom Givens, Erick Gelhaus,
Steve Fisher, Rob Haught, and Darryl Bolke.  Event size is limited.  Better register very soon if
you want to attend.  (The event was sold out within an hour of the FaceBook.com posting.)
     The classroom and range facility are first rate.  Excellent hotels and numerous restaurants
are 10 minutes away.
     [The event was sold out within an hour of announcement?  I wonder how many slots
they had?  $700 is not bad for a three day class.  But, it is rather specialized.]
 
     Claude Werner, in his report on the Surgical Speed Shooting Summit, said
"It’s likely that neither measurement process in shooting is related to the
observer effect in quantum mechanics."
https://www.patreon.com/posts/surgical-speed-68524365
---
     I responded, "I disagree. . . . I can assure you that many physicists believe that a conscious
observer (as opposed to an unconscious observer such as a measuring instrument) affects the
outcome of every experiment at every scale.  The difference in outcome may be masked by
error at the macroscopic level, but it is still there.  Just as one cannot measure the conservation
of momentum (in the person-Earth system) when one jumps on the Earth's surface, but still
believes in conservation of momentum; so it is with our belief that a conscious observer affects
the outcome of every experiment.  
     Physics is a religion as any other.  And has many denominations.  
     I will refrain from wasting your time with a detailed explanation."  
---
Claude said, "A detailed explanation would not be a waste of my time.  From someone who
has some real knowledge of the phenomenon it would be quite interesting."  
---
Jon Low will now waste everyone's time by giving an explanation.  
Hi Claude,
     The Theory of Quantum Mechanics, referred to as QM in the following text,
states that every system (ill-defined term at best) exists in multiple states simultaneously
(not a single determined state), and that each state has a theoretically determined
probability.  [Some systems have a finite number of states.  Some systems have
an infinite number of states. The state might refer to the particle's position in space.]  
The probability of being in each state can be calculated using the Schrodinger
Wave Equation, referred to as SWE in the following text, (which sort of corresponds to
the experimentally determined probability within experimental error).  And that when
a measurement is made on the system, the SWE "collapses" to one of the possible states
with probability determined by the SWE.  
[Herr Doktor Professor Albert Einstein did not believe in QM.  Remember,
physics is a religion with many denominations.]  
     There is a thing called "the observer effect".  This refers to the thing
(instrument, but not necessarily an instrument) that you are using to measure
the object, affecting the experiment.  For instance, in order to measure an object,
you have to see the object, so you have to shine a light on the object.  By shining
a light on the object, you are hitting the object with photons.  The photons,
bouncing off of the object, change the momentum of the object.  
This is not what we are talking about.  
     There is a thing called "the conscious observer effect", referred to as X in
the following text.  X is a theory in the realm of QM, but also in the realm of
Theoretical Physics and the realm of philosophy, that says that a
"conscious observer" (as opposed to an inanimate measuring instrument) causes
the SWE to collapse, which means to appear to be in one of the possible states.  
X does not say what the SWE collapses to.  So, X does not allow the scientist
to predict which state the system ends up in, only that the system is no longer
simultaneously in multiple probabilistic states.  
     An individual photon or electron can behave as a particle or as a wave,
depending on the experiment.  But, for any given experiment, you only get one
of the two behaviors.  When you set up an experiment where you can
know or predict the path of the particle, you get particle behavior (a probabilistic
scatter pattern, not a diffraction pattern in the two slit experiment [the SWE
has collapsed] ).  When you set up an experiment where you don't know or
can't know, even after the experiment, the path that the particle took, you get
wave behavior (a diffraction pattern in the two slit experiment, indicating that
two waves were interfering with each other (even if there is only one "particle"
in the experiment), superimposing and canceling [the SWE never collapsed] ).  
So your knowledge or lack thereof affects the experimental result.  
     If my explanation has been coherent, this behavior should strike you as bizarre.  
How can the particle know whether or not it is being observed by a consciousness?  
How can the particle choose which slit to go through?  How can the particle go
through both slits simultaneously?)  
     "Well, it's a different experiment, so of course we get different results."  
     Well, no, it's the same experiment.  The only difference is whether or not
the observer is conscious, or an inanimate machine (measuring instrument).  
     Note that the SWE is not derived from anything.  Schrodinger just wrote it
because it fit observations.  So, it works to describe or predict phenomena,
but nobody has a cogent theory as to why.  There is no well defined theoretical
derivation of the Schrodinger Wave Equation from first principles.  
     As opposed to the Theory of Thermodynamics.  All of the laws of
Thermodynamics are derived from first principles.  I know.  I actually
did the derivations as an undergraduate.  That was in Prof. Sven Hartmann's
thermodynamics class.  Sven Hartmann (1932-2021).  Ya, he just died last year.  
Columbia University, Physics Department.  
     Actually, the SWE does not directly give us the probabilities of being in a
particular state.  The square of the amplitude of the SWE at a particular time
and place [because the SWE, for any given particle, extends through all time
and space] is the probability of being at that location at that time.  
Note that the amplitude of the SWE at any given time and place is a
Complex (having Real and Imaginary vector components) valued vector,
assuming we are operating in 3 space dimensions and 1 time dimension.  
So the probability of being in a particular state is the square of the magnitude
of the vector given by the SWE.  In higher dimensional spaces, it gets much
worse.  We can't just scale up using higher dimension vectors.  We are forced
to use higher rank tensors to model the behavior.  But, you don't have to
believe that there exist higher dimensions.  Such a belief is a different
denomination of the religion of physics.  
     If I had had more time, I would have written less.  If you have questions,
I would be happy to try to answer.  
Cheers,
Jon
[The email was edited and proofread before publication in the blog posting.]
---
     Of course, I [Jon Low] may be wrong.  I often am.  Ya, I know the explanation was sloppy,
but you get the idea.  (I hope.)  My proofreader, Yurij Baransky, was a classmate and fellow
physicist at Columbia University.  His comment was that the foregoing explanation was good
enough for government work, and that my comments on SWE not being derived from first
principles was superfluous.  He recommends,
"Through Two Doors at Once:
The Elegant Experiment That Captures the Enigma of Our Quantum Reality"
by Anil Ananthaswamy
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1101986093
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1101986097
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079KTT95K
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dutton (August 7, 2018)
     Of course, all mistakes are mine.  
 
Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
 
*************************************************************************
----- Practice (how to get good at that task) -----
 
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
 
"Gun Skills: Next-Level Dry Practice" by Ron Norton
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/gun-skills-next-level-dry-practice/
 
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
 
"The Top 5 Missed Shots in Handgun Shooting" by the Tactical Professor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2022/07/07/the-top-5-missed-shots-in-handgun-shooting/
Excerpt:  
     "If you can’t be bothered to expend fifteen minutes a week in dry practice, two extra
magazines on your person are most likely meaningless."  
 
"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
 
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it, which tactics to use) -----
 
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
 
     Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
As a civilian carrying concealed for self-defense, your mission is to escape the bad situation.  
Or, to afford your loved ones the ability to escape.  Your tools are used to escape.  
     You are not there to apprehend, mete out justice, exact revenge, or anything like that.  
     Get your mission straight in your mind.  "Get out NOW!"  
---
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
---
"Anytime you get involved in a fight, there is a chance you will get injured and die.  Or, get
convicted and spend the rest of your life in a cage with dangerous unpleasant people."  
"If you are innocent, there is a 10% chance that you'll be convicted.  That's just the noise
in the justice system."  
-- Andrew Branca
---
     Oh yes, lots of innocent people get convicted.  That why the Innocence Project has gotten
so many people released from prison.  And they have a huge backlog of cases.  My state
Senator Mark Pody has worked on such cases to get innocent persons released from prison.  
Never for an instance think that there is any justice in our legal system.  You get as much
justice as you can afford.  That's why you have to have a self-defense insurance policy.  
 
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
 
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics (tasks that you should strive to be able to do in support of your strategy) -----
 
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
 
"Make Use of Cover by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/make-use-of-cover/
Excerpt:  
     "It is an excellent idea to incorporate the use of cover into the dry practice that one does at
home.  It also helps the armed citizen identify useful cover in his own home.  Setting up dry
practice sessions in different parts of the home, different rooms with different furniture, gives
one a better perspective on the available cover and the defensive techniques that can defeat a
home invasion."  
 
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
 
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics) -----
 
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
 
"The Handheld Light as an Impact Weapon" by Salvatore
https://reflexhandgun.com/2022/06/28/the-handheld-light-as-an-impact-weapon/
 
     A lady sent me an email requesting handgun instruction.  
"I have decided I want to learn how to shoot a handgun."
"This is something I think God is telling me to do."
And I thought to myself, that's an excellent reason for wanting to learn to shoot a pistol.  
So, I asked her if she were right or left handed, and asked her to stop by my apartment
in Nashville to try out several pistols so we could find one that fits her hand.  
     I am presently getting equipment together for her.  I always try everything together to
ensure it works, before giving it to a student.  (The following was done dry.  No live ammo
in the room.)  I set up the gear left handed with the pistol at nine o'clock and I attempted to
draw the pistol with my right hand:  
0)  if I fumble the pistol, I will let if fall to the ground without attempting to catch it.  I will
then establish a proper grip and pick it up off the ground.  (This may be the fastest.)  
1)  by reaching around the front, thumb pointing forward, palm outboard (Yes, as a matter
of fact, many people can do this.  It's just a matter of stretching and practice.)  *establishing a
high tight grip before pulling the pistol out of the holster*.  
2)  by reaching around the back, *establishing a high tight grip before pulling the pistol out
of the holster*.  
3)  by reaching around the front, pulling the pistol partially out of the holster, rotating the pistol
around while still in the holster, and establishing a proper grip.  (As taught at FLETC.)  
4)  by reaching around the front, pulling the pistol out of the holster and inserting it inside my
belt in front of my navel, rotating it around, and establishing a high tight grip.  
5)  by reaching around the front, pulling the pistol out and trapping it between my knees,
and then establishing a correct grip.  (Prevents mobility, but it's good to know more than
one technique.  Just in case.)  
     I believe it is necessary to know these techniques because one may be disabled before the
incident or become disabled during the incident.  I know very few instructors teach these
techniques, as they are difficult and dangerous.  But, I do NOT believe these techniques
to be advanced techniques.  I believe they are basic essential techniques.  
     Yes, they are difficult at first.  You may not be able to do them at first.  It takes stretching
and practice, and perhaps months of practice.  It may require a change of equipment.  
You CAN do these techniques.  
Positive talk -> positive thought -> positive talk -> positive thought -> . . .
     You may be required to execute such a technique in combat.  Is that enough motivation
for you?  
     This guy was shaking my hand and would not let go.  Then he was crushing my hand.  
He thought it was real funny.  Until I drew my pistol with my left hand an pointed it at him.  
Oh ya, there are all kinds of nasty people in this world.  
 
"The surreptitious draw is a real thing" by Rich Grassi
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/7ec5e722-b999-4007-9cfe-23d82b4399d8
Excerpt:  
     ". . . it’s not the individual technique applied over-and-over that saves the day.  
It’s the thinking behind the technique."  
---
"Tom Knight and the Lisp Machine" from "Some AI Koans" from the "Jargon Files"
http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/koans.html
     A novice was trying to fix a broken Lisp machine by turning the power off and on.
     Knight, seeing what the student was doing, spoke sternly:  
“You cannot fix a machine by just power-cycling it with no
understanding of what is going wrong.”
Knight turned the machine off and on.
     The machine worked.
---
     Among the issues that I had with keyboard commandos, back when I participated in a few
online forums, was the significance of the Kydex “click” or “clack.”  “No one's gonna notice
it in the middle of a gunfight,” some proclaimed.  Fine but what about when you realize that
the threat level has risen in a venue such as a business that is being robbed and you want gun
in hand without announcing yourself as a target?  Rich adds in a photo caption,
“. . . A slow pressure could minimize the distinctive sound of the draw, but be quick to the hit
should that become necessary . . .”  Another option, for those who prefer the rigidity and the
impermeability to sweat of Kydex are Silent Thunder, leather-lined Kydex holsters from
Garrett Industries.  Another disagreement I had in forums was over the risks of reholstering a
pistol with a short-stroke trigger and no thumb safety in an AIWB holster.  “Not an issue,”
I was assured by the range-oriented commandos, “most people are in too much hurry to
reholster anyway.”  What if you need to reholster – surreptitiously or not, while seated?  
Some list members will recall the case of a police firearms instructor in Massachusetts, who
bled out after shooting himself while holstering or reholstering a S&W Shield in an AIWB
holster while driving to work.  To make matters worse, that model had the optional thumb
safety but it had not been engaged.
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
 
     When you bite, you must bite with the intention of breaking bone.  Yes, you can.  
 
"Engaging high angle active shooters at distance.  Can you?  Should you?" by Mike Ox
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/engaging-high-angle-active-shooters-at-distance-can-you-should-you/
[When shooting uphill or downhill, your point of impact will be high relative to the point of
impact when shooting horizontally.  Because the acceleration of gravity is not perpendicular
to the velocity.  Bullet drop maximizes when shooting horizontally.  At any other angle the
bullet drop is less.  So, what Mike is saying is true. -- Jon Low]
 
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Instruction *****     *****     *****

Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:  
"We are not God's gift to our students.  
Our students are God's gift to us."  
 
----- Instructors -----
 
"Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
 
     If you can do one-on-one classes, please try it.  You will find it satisfying.  Because you
can pay attention to the student's details.  "Attention to detail" was one of the principles
constantly repeated in Marine Corps recruit training.  
 
     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
 
----- Andragogy -----
 
     An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.  
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
 
     "The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.  
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."  
-- Robert John Meehan
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Education *****     *****     *****
 
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
 
     Analysis of Robb Elementary School incident.  
"Cowardice and lack of training are not the same — THERE IS NO EXCUSE"
by The FieldCraft Survival Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_f6lvwVyfE
     The significance of this video is that the narrator puts the timeline and videos together so
that it is in context.  
Primary sources:  
     "Hallway footage obtained in Uvalde school shooting" by KVUE"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3poHE3nOb8
     "State officials provided a timeline of the massacre and have corrected crucial details
amid public demands for information on how authorities handled the situation."  
by Reese Oxner, Carla Astudillo and Eric Neugeboren
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/27/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-timeline/
     "Robb Elementary School Attack Response Assessment and Recommendations"
by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training
https://alerrt.org/r/31
Excerpts:  (paraphrased)
     Morbidly obese persons are not operators.  They are a liability.  
     "Everybody wants to be an operator until it's time to do operator shit.  Not one of these
guys is doing his job."  
---
     The cops waiting around outside the classrooms allowed the wounded children to bleed
out and die.  An adult will bleed out in 3 minutes.  A child will bleed out in less time.  You
have to kill the bad guy immediately in order to allow the EMTs to come forward to
render medical aid.  Waiting around outside is WRONG!  Always has been, always will be.  
     In the Marine Corps, we were taught not to render medical aid to our wounded.  Our
mission was to push forward and kill the enemy.  That would allow the Corpsmen to advance
to take care of the wounded.  That is the only tactic that makes sense.  
 
"New report details missed chances to stop Uvalde shooting"
by Paul J. Weber and Jake Bleiberg
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/report-details-missed-chances-stop-uvalde-shooting-86325716
Excerpts:  
Among their findings:  
    It appeared that no officer waiting in the hallway during the shooting ever tested to see if the
door to the classroom was locked.  The head of Texas' state police agency has also faulted
officers on the scene for not checking the doors.  
    The officers had “weapons (including rifles), body armor (which may or may not have been
rated to stop rifle rounds), training, and backup.  The victims in the classrooms had none of
these things."  
    When officers finally entered the classroom at 12:50 p.m. – more than an hour after the
shooting began – they were no better equipped to confront the gunman than they had been
up to that point.  
    "Effective incident command" never appears to have been established among the multiple
law enforcement agencies that responded to the shooting . . .   
---
     Despite all this, the nation's two largest teachers unions – and biggest lobbyists – continue
to oppose allowing teachers who'd like to do so to work armed, relying instead on
“the professionals” to respond to events such as this one. -- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
 
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
 
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath -----  (You have to be alive to have these problems:  criminal and civil liability.)
 
“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
 
     In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the direct address
https://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/never-talk-to-police.html
 
     In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".  
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
 
“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
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Legal *****     *****     *****
 
     "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
 
"How the Supreme Court Just Boxed in the EPA, and What That Means for the ATF"
by William Kirk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96HBNyZFwOM
Citations are given under the video.  This is significant.  
 
"Bodega Breakdown: Murder 2 or Self-Defense?" by Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFKqvPirpAQ
     Long form legal analysis of the Bodega stabbing.  
     You don't have to be correct.  You only have to be reasonable.  
     New York state has a duty to retreat.  
     The prosecution has to dis-prove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.  They have the
burden of persuasion.  Persuading the jury, beyond a reasonable doubt.  But, before the
prosecution has to do that, the defense has to produce enough evidence to convince the court
that self-defense is a reasonable legal theory in this case.  The burden of production.  
 
Law of Self Defense on Rumble
https://rumble.com/c/lawofselfdefense
 
     "If you carry a gun, so you're hard to kill, know the law, so you're hard to convict."  
     Free infographic on the 5 elements of self-defense.  
https://LawOfSefDefense.com/elements/
     Free one hour webinar, every Wednesday at 13:00 Central Time, register at,
https://www.hardtoconvict.com/
     "Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/freebook/
The book is free of charge.  Just pay shipping, so you don't have to drive to Colorado
to pick it up.  
     "Educate yourself.  So, you don't spend the rest of your life in a cage."  
 
"LIVE! Auto Parts Store Pew-Pew: Self-Defense or a Violent Crime?" by Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2tCLXyHtFc
Excerpt:  
      "Your attorney is not going to parachute in.  It may be a long time before your attorney
shows up.  Maybe 30 days.  Or as long as it takes to your arraignment."  
 
    “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
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Hardware (which includes you) *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************
 
"I would like to see every woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they know how to handle babies."  
-- Annie Oakley
 
"Arthritis Tips: How to Load & Unload Semi-Autos" by Dr. Joseph Logar, PT, DPT
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/arthritis-tips-how-to-load-unload-semi-autos/
 
----- Gear -----
 
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
 
"SSS Summit Course of Fire Initial Impressions" by Claude Werner
https://www.patreon.com/posts/sss-summit-of-68242994
Excerpt:  
     "Conventional iron sights gave the best performance overall."  
     "Although it won’t be a popular view, I think unless a person is willing to be trained and
commit serious practice time to using a Red Dot Sight, it’s counterproductive in the context
of the Armed Citizen."  
[Please take Claude seriously.  He knows what he's talking about. -- Jon Low]
 
      I have heard instructors recommend putting skateboard surface material or the material
that contractors put on slippery surfaces to prevent slipping on the grip of your pistol.  
I think this is a bad idea.  It has been my experience that students tear the skin on their hands
with such aggressive friction material.  
     I would recommend a thin friction surface such as bicycle handle bar tape.  
For a thicker friction surface, I would recommend the tape used for tennis racquet handles.  
 
     Here's an event you might be interested in,
National Association Sporting Goods Wholesalers
October 26-28, 2022
2022 NASGW Expo
Kansas City, MO
https://nasgwexpo.org/
 
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
 
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
 
"Fear is an instinct.  Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
 
"5.56mm Twist Rate Chart" by Eric
https://www.ammoman.com/blog/5-56-twist-rate-chart/
     No mention of muzzle speed (muzzle velocity).  Strange.  The bullet's spin in revolutions
per second is a function of bullet speed.  
 
"Gel Test: Remington High Terminal Performance 9mm JHP" by GunSpothttps://www.thearmorylife.com/gel-test-remington-high-terminal-performance-9mm-jhp/
     Internal ballistics is the study of the bullet's state from primer ignition to the muzzle.  
External ballistics is the study of the bullet's trajectory from muzzle to target.  Terminal ballistics
is the study of the bullet's behavior in the target.  
 
"Gun Safety: Squib Loads" by NRA Staff
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/gun-safety-squib-loads/
     Well, I don't think a gunsmith is needed.  Unload and field strip the pistol or swing the
cylinder out of a revolver.  Place a wooden rod or cleaning rod in the barrel against the bullet,
while holding the barrel and rod in place, bang the rod against the ground or a table top.  The
contact method, as we were taught in Boy Scouts.  
 
     "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
(capitalization as in the original document, militia refers to YOU)
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Personal Security, Medical, Survival, etc. *****     *****     *****
 
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
 
"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
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     *****  War Stories, History, Politics, and such   *****     *****     *****
 
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
 
"History!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/history-2/
Excerpt:  
     "We must not delude ourselves into thinking that current leadership of the Democrat Party,
and a large percentage of elected Democrats, are not Communists.  And like Communists
everywhere, their goal is absolute control and power, period!"  
-- John Farnam
 
"Tucker Carlson: Why are they so angry?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGxp64MeQ6A
     This is why it is so important to have local militias and local Sheriffs.  FBI agents value
their pensions above their oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution.  Zero FBI agents
have resigned or refused to obey orders to attack political opponents of the Biden
administration.  
 
"IRS Buys Full Auto P90 Tactical Rifles!! What Are They Preparing For?!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VysoYRR8yrA
 
"Left-Wing Minister Wants to Confiscate Guns Owned by Members of Right-Wing AfD
(Alternative für Deutschland)"
by Paul Joseph Watson
https://summit.news/2022/07/08/left-wing-minister-wants-to-confiscate-guns-owned-by-members-of-right-wing-afd/
Excerpt:  
     "Maier, who belongs to the Social Democrat Party (SPD), has tasked his employees with
establishing a working group on “Weapons and Extremists” to move forward on the issue."  
---
     Let us remember that NAZI stands for National Socialist Party.  It is always the socialists
who want to disarm you.  They go by different names in different countries, but they are
all basically communists. -- Jon Low
---
     "More recently, I am reminded of legislation in New York that requires applicants for
unrestricted pistol permits to grant authorities access to social-media accounts for the
preceding three years.  How soon before Bruen-affected states start checking permit
applications against voter registrations?" -- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
 
     "I'm in favor of God, guns, and oil." -- Donald Trump, 9 July 2022 A.D. in Achorage, AK
No, I wasn't there.  I watched the live stream on Rumble.com.  
 
     "Quit calling it 'gun control'.  It's civilian disarmament." -- Kevin Sorbo
     Quit calling it 'abortion'.  It's baby murder.  
     Quit calling it 'gay rights'.  It's perverted sex crime.  
     Quit calling it 'trans rights'.  Men have no right to compete in women's sports.
Or use women's bathrooms.  
     I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  They are all euphemisms for evil.  


 
     When I worked for G4S Security (recently bought out by Allied) all of their horror stories
were about their officers shooting or Tasing people who didn't need to be shot or Tased.  So,
G4S was perfectly happy to hire people who would never shoot bad guys.  (Gabe Suarez
tells of a police chief that he worked for who said that officers would never get in trouble
for not shooting.  Sort of like the Uvalde, TX police who just let the kids get killed in Robb
Elementary School.)  
     Since working for the Jewish community: community centers, synagogues, and such;
we try to recruit people who will shoot bad guys, as opposed to running away or freezing or
surrendering.  
     The best predictor of future performance is past performance.  
     There is a security school that gives a lot of classes in the area.  I asked their boss to send us
people to interview, as we are always looking for security officers.  I told the boss that we need
people who will actually shoot when necessary.  He has sent us zero persons.  A lot of people
take the classes to get the credentials, not to do the work.  They all think they are going to be
managers; make the big money.  
     In Tennessee, anyone with a clean record who sits through a 16 hour class, passes the
written test, can hit the side of a barn, and pays $105 will get a Tennessee Armed Guard license.  
There is no mindset screening.  There is no question on the test such as, "Would you be willing
to use lethal force in self-defense or the defense of others?" or "Would you be willing to go
hands on with someone to prevent them from stealing property that you were responsible for?"
     "What's the point, Staff?"  
     You have to interview carefully.  Check their background and military or law enforcement
experience.  Some credentials don't mean shit.  
     The kind of hand-to-hand combat Marines are taught will kill immediately.  The kind of
hand-to-hand defensive tactics that police are taught will not kill.  BIG DIFFERENCE.  
MMA fighters, have training scars from all of the rules that they must obey while competing.  
They won't automatically gouge eyes, bite, grab hair, break joints, etc.  That's a real problem.  
Because the bad guy will.  Whoever disables the other guy first, wins.  
 
     Another entry for my list of credentials for good rules of engagement just popped into
my mind.  (Sometimes my memory hides things from me.  Sometimes I get memories which
come of themselves. -- paraphrased from "Dune" by Frank Herbert)  When I was between
jobs and living in South Carolina, I applied for a job at the maximum security prison (they
also have the state's death row) in Ridgeville, SC.  During the job interview, they informed me
that it was the guard's duty to shoot to kill any prisoner attempting to escape.  They explained
to me that the prisoner putting his fingers through the wire fence was breaching the perimeter
and that lethal force was required at that point.  They asked me if I would be willing to shoot
escaping prisoners in the back.  I said, yes.  
 
"Some in Congress want to know why ATF is choking the 2nd Amendment supply chain"
https://tennesseefirearms.com/2022/07/some-in-congress-want-to-know-why-atf-is-choking-the-2nd-amendment-supply-chain/
 
"New beard policy growing on Santa Fe police officers" by Robert Nott
https://www.police1.com/police-administration/articles/new-beard-policy-growing-on-santa-fe-police-officers-2Uska2pCMn5MOd1g/
     I always wondered about operators wearing beards.  Can't get the gas-mask to seal with a
beard.  We never wore beards in the Marine Corps.  The enemy has strict religious rules against
shaving, so they all wore beards.  A guy wearing a mask is a criminal.  (Says Col. Jeff Copper.)  
A guy wearing a beard is an enemy.  Maybe they didn't get the memo.  
---
     When I was studying psychology as an undergraduate, I read peer reviewed journal articles
that indicated that children's reaction to clean shaven persons was in general good, while their
reaction to bearded persons was bad.  This is cross cultural.  Political correctness does not
change instinctive human reactions.  That's why children cry when their parents force them
to sit on Santa's lap for pictures.  
     "Well that's just because a clean shaven man looks more like a woman."  
     Doesn't matter why.  Truth is truth.  
     "You're feeding the 'toxic masculinity' narrative."  
     Doesn't matter.  Truth is truth.  That's why Marines are clean shaven.  They must be able
to seal their gas masks and they would like to get the good will and cooperation of the locals.  
The Santa Fe police department is engaging in criminal stupidity in a desperate attempt to
reduce turn over in personnel.  
 
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thomas Jefferson
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Cryptology stuff   *****     *****     *****
 
"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
[Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law.  
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
 
"Connected sums of real projective plane and torus or Klein bottle." by Jos Leys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBbDvKq4JqE
     This is geometry and topology, not that silly formalized symbol manipulation that they
teach in the "universities".  
     Visual proof that the connected sum of a real projective plane (represented here as a
Moebius strip, but remember that gluing a disc to the border of a Moebius strip produces
a real projective plane) and a torus, and the connected sum of a real projective plane and
a Klein bottle, are homeomorphic.  
 
"Hyperchaotic 4D attractor"
Differential equations by Safieddine Bouali.  Graphics by Jos Leys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT0wIbLatOY
     Do you see how you can use chaotic functions for pseudorandom number generation?  
 
"Dimensions 8 German" by Jos Leys (auf Deutsch)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sMC8w5ljC8
     It is always interesting to see computer graphics of something that you had visualized
especially when they coincide.  I remember studying such forms to model electro-magnetic
fields (force and potential lines) as they were distorted by the space being dragged by rotating
masses.  Good times.  Back when my mind worked.  
 
Coffin Problems (Murderous Problems, Jewish Problems, Killer Problems):  
Easy to state.  (Low information content?  Low entropy?)  
Reasonable solutions.  (Low computational complexity?  Easy to verify correct solution?)  
Hard to solve.  (One-way problem?  NP Complete?)
     Do you see how such problems can be used in secure protocols?  
---
"Simple Math Problems To Fool The Best" by GoldPlatedGoof
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db3CwFh7qng
---
"Entrance Examinations to the Mekh-mat" by A. Shen
http://www.3038.org/press/shen.pdf
---
"Main list of math "coffin" problems" by Tanya Khovanova
https://www.tanyakhovanova.com/Coffins/coffinsmain.html
Home page,
https://www.tanyakhovanova.com/
---
"Jewish Problems" by Tanya Khovanova and Alexey Radul
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1110.1556.pdf
---
"Mekh-mat entrance examination problems" by Ilan Vardi
https://www.lix.polytechnique.fr/Labo/Ilan.Vardi/mekh-mat.html
 
"The “So What?” of the NIST Quantum Resistant Cryptographic Algorithms Announcement"
by Bob Gourley
https://www.oodaloop.com/archive/2022/07/08/the-so-what-of-the-nist-quantum-resistant-cryptographic-algorithms-announcement/
 
Dear Jon,
     It isn't just a code book.  The Mirror Visitor is sold as juvenile fiction for little girls,
but it's all about cryptologic warfare.  And it goes deep into several types of [mathematical]
inversions.  How did it ever get past the government / intelligence censors?  Yes, I read it
in the French.  
Ciao,
Clare
---
Dear Clare,
     Yes, just as "Harry Potter" is all about magic in the wizarding world, while it is the most
anti-government, pro-gun series of book in my memory; so the "Mirror Visitor" is about
things that it is not about at all.  Did you notice that Eulalia Gonde is trained in cryptanalysis
by the military?  The author just couldn't resist making it clear what she was doing, to anyone
who cared to notice.  The English translation says it explicitly.  I guess the translator had her
biases and agenda too.  The English translation transcribes many French phrases without
translation.  I was taught that that is always best when you can't translate it.  Let the reader
figure it out without misleading him.  
Cheers,
Jon
 
     "Premature optimization is the root of all evil."  
-- Donald Knuth
 
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     *****     *****     *****  Intel stuff   *****     *****     *****
 
“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.)
 
"Mind Bending Strategy" by GoldPlatedGoof
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW6SNqzEpwc
     The political strategies of Lyndon B. Johnson.  
     The real question is, how did LBJ get his intel in the first place to be able to execute as
he did?  The same way Thomas Jefferson got his intel.  
 
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
 
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     ". . . , nuke the site from orbit.  It's the only way to be sure."  
-- Corporal (E-4) Hicks, Colonial Marine, in the movie "Aliens"
(It was a military operation and he was the highest ranking at the time.)
 
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email:  Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio:  KI4SDN