Happy 246th Birthday, American!
". . . with no apology, we Operators joyfully/proudly celebrate life, all of Western
Civilization, and this blessed nation in particular, on this Independence Day!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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.
There are many surveys of convicted violent offenders (which is of course biased because
the ones smart enough to avoid conviction are not represented) that indicate what the violent
offender is looking for and avoiding in his victim selection process. I will give you my
recommendations, having reviewed several of these studies.
MAINTAIN AN ERECT POSTURE, in particular, a high chest as your ballet instructor
would say. This does not mean that you are puffing your chest out, as many birds do in
mating rituals, but rather that you are not slouching.
CASUALLY LOOK AROUND. Be curious as to what is going on around you. Which is
the opposite of being focused on your phone.
When you are out and about, NEVER WEAR EAR PHONES of any kind. Being deaf to
your environment is much worse than being blind. Blind persons pay attention to what they
hear. Deaf persons are constantly looking around. Able bodied persons who intentionally
block their hearing of their environment are wearing a sign that says, "MUG ME!" "RAPE ME!"
Able bodied persons who blind themselves by focusing on their phones have walked into
traffic to be killed, and groups of young men that were obviously thugs to be gang raped.
Tim Larkin says that in his study, 100% of the women who were attacked by strangers were
wearing ear phones at the time of the attack.
Liberals will scream, "Don't blame the victim. It's not her fault." Because libs don't
believe in taking responsibility for anything. But the truth is that victim behavior will produce
victim results. So, it is very much the victim's fault for executing behaviors that directly
caused the criminal predator to select her. Ignorance is no excuse. And never has been.
And even if ignorance were an acceptable excuse, it wouldn't stop the attack.
If you can see any part of your car in your left or right rear view mirrors, you have blind
spots back to your left or right. Blind spots are not areas that you know that you can't see.
Blind spots are areas that you don't know that you can't see. Adjust your mirrors so that you
can't see any part of your car. Now you have a much better chance of seeing the cars that used
to be in your blind spots outside of your peripheral vision. If you wear glasses, your peripheral
vision does not extend beyond the edges of your glasses. You may think it does, but it's so out
of focus that it really doesn't.
When driving in reverse, twist around and look through your rear window. No, you can't
use your rear view mirror (the image is left-right inverted). No, you can't use your rear view
camera (the image may or may not be left-right inverted, depending on who last fiddled with
the controls). No, you won't be able to instantly tell and you won't be able to adjust to it
before you crash into something (because the car turned left, even though I turned right).
Smart persons learn from their mistakes. Wise persons learn from the mistakes of others.
Please learn from my mistakes.
Operating in a high stress situation is entirely different from a low stress situation. No,
driving with your kids screaming in the back seat is not high stress. Being showered with
glass from your windows being blown out in a foreign country with a bunch of American
women screaming in the back seats is high stress.
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
"Cooper’s Color Code | You’re Doing it Wrong" by Aaron Haskins
https://www.breachbangclear.com/cooper-color-code/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
If you pay attention and follow the incident from yellow through red, you won't be surprised.
You won't be shocked. You'll be prepared and ready to act.
"Louis Awerbuck: Interview With a Madman" by Robert Boatman
https://louisawerbuckinterviewwithamadman.blogspot.com/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"A class of fourteen-year-old females will turn out amazing pistol shooters. They don’t
have an ego, they haven’t got the prior mistakes, so they don’t know how to miss."
"If I’d wanted to make money in my life, I would have done something else. Because you
can’t do this job right and make a fortune out of it. If you make money your priority, or ego
your priority, you’ve got a problem. And there’s lot of that, it’s become rampant in this game
in the last ten years."
"You look at instructor resumes, and they’ve taken all the classes, but what have they done?
They’ve taken everybody else’s lesson plans and put them into a program of their own and
they’re teaching it like a parrot."
"War has always been the solution. War has always solved all the problems. You reduce
the number of mouths to feed. Everybody’s got a job. Instincts are reinvigorated. That’s why
there’s continuous war. When man lit the first fire and figured out how flame works, he said,
Now who can we go burn?"
"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)
"Picking A Jiu-jitsu School" by Scott Ferguson
https://southgeorgiajiujitsu.com/2022/05/07/picking-a-jiu-jitsu-school/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Yes, this directly applies to picking a gun-school / self-defense school.
Ask for the mission statement or purpose of the school. When asked, I say that my
purpose is to teach "civilian concealed carry for self-defense". The instructor should be
able to give you a succinct statement, because he has thought about it previously.
Ask for a copy of the instructor's insurance policy. He should be carrying about 2 million
dollars of general liability insurance and about 1 million dollars of professional liability
insurance. Concealed Coalition requires that of their instructors and I only teach lecture
courses for them.
Ask for the instructor's resume, curriculum vitae, or training record.
Ask for the contact information of former students, so that you can ask the students about
the classes that they took. Unless I know the author, I would not trust any after action report
published on a web site. (Ya, I know that the instructor is only going to give you the contact
information of happy students. But, it's still useful, if you prepare intelligent questions to ask.)
The instructor will either give you these things or he won't. There is no in-between.
"Take training from different instructors.
We are all wrong about something."
-- John Farnam
"Training Disciplines" by Tom Givens
Rangemaster Newsletter July 2022
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022-07_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
Excerpt:
". . . mindset, gun-handling, and marksmanship."
“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
I told my friend, stop wasting your money buying guns. Spend your money on training.
He was showing me his new S&W M&P from the S&W Custom Shop. That is, he would
have, but he couldn't get it out of his Safariland retention holster. He was fumbling with
it for several minutes. You have to push a hood forward, then you have to pull back on a
tab with your thumb, then you have to twist the pistol (roll as opposed to pitch or yaw)
to get the pistol out of the holster.
What a pity. Beautiful metallic blue magazine extensions that added 5 rounds to the 17
round mag for a total of 22 round in each mag. All kinds of neat work on the pistol to make
it more reliable and accurate. A top of the line red dot sight was on the slide. A flashlight
was mounted to the bottom of the dust cover. (So it was a very specialized holster to fit
this pistol with accoutrements.)
But, he couldn't get it out of his holster in time to save his life or anyone else's.
You don't even have to spend money. Just spend some time dry practicing your presentation
from your holster.
You think I'm making up this story to make a point? Sorry, this is reality. And I bet you
know such a person. Do him a favor and talk to him. You might be saving his life.
Care enough to continue your training.
Reston Group Training.
https://restongrouptraining.com/
Check out the video at the bottom of the web page. (A few hours ago, they moved the
video to the top of the web page. You have to click on the right most of the four little circles
at the bottom of the picture at the top of the web page.)
You're on your own. Nobody is going to rescue you. Not even your partner.
[Detective Reston is being kind in his description of the incident by saying that his partner
slowed down to make better radio communication. The official report says that his partner
was so out of shape that he could not keep up with the foot pursuit. So, Reston had to take
care of business by himself.]
You get up and go to the range to make yourself better. You do it for your family.
You do it for your community.
What a fantastic attitude. What great self discipline.
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
"We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom alone men ought to be obedient.
He reigns in heaven . . . and from the rising to the setting sun, may His kingdom come."
-- Samuel Adams, 2 July 1776 A.D.
". . . with no apology, we Operators joyfully/proudly celebrate life, all of Western
Civilization, and this blessed nation in particular, on this Independence Day!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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.
There are many surveys of convicted violent offenders (which is of course biased because
the ones smart enough to avoid conviction are not represented) that indicate what the violent
offender is looking for and avoiding in his victim selection process. I will give you my
recommendations, having reviewed several of these studies.
MAINTAIN AN ERECT POSTURE, in particular, a high chest as your ballet instructor
would say. This does not mean that you are puffing your chest out, as many birds do in
mating rituals, but rather that you are not slouching.
CASUALLY LOOK AROUND. Be curious as to what is going on around you. Which is
the opposite of being focused on your phone.
When you are out and about, NEVER WEAR EAR PHONES of any kind. Being deaf to
your environment is much worse than being blind. Blind persons pay attention to what they
hear. Deaf persons are constantly looking around. Able bodied persons who intentionally
block their hearing of their environment are wearing a sign that says, "MUG ME!" "RAPE ME!"
Able bodied persons who blind themselves by focusing on their phones have walked into
traffic to be killed, and groups of young men that were obviously thugs to be gang raped.
Tim Larkin says that in his study, 100% of the women who were attacked by strangers were
wearing ear phones at the time of the attack.
Liberals will scream, "Don't blame the victim. It's not her fault." Because libs don't
believe in taking responsibility for anything. But the truth is that victim behavior will produce
victim results. So, it is very much the victim's fault for executing behaviors that directly
caused the criminal predator to select her. Ignorance is no excuse. And never has been.
And even if ignorance were an acceptable excuse, it wouldn't stop the attack.
If you can see any part of your car in your left or right rear view mirrors, you have blind
spots back to your left or right. Blind spots are not areas that you know that you can't see.
Blind spots are areas that you don't know that you can't see. Adjust your mirrors so that you
can't see any part of your car. Now you have a much better chance of seeing the cars that used
to be in your blind spots outside of your peripheral vision. If you wear glasses, your peripheral
vision does not extend beyond the edges of your glasses. You may think it does, but it's so out
of focus that it really doesn't.
When driving in reverse, twist around and look through your rear window. No, you can't
use your rear view mirror (the image is left-right inverted). No, you can't use your rear view
camera (the image may or may not be left-right inverted, depending on who last fiddled with
the controls). No, you won't be able to instantly tell and you won't be able to adjust to it
before you crash into something (because the car turned left, even though I turned right).
Smart persons learn from their mistakes. Wise persons learn from the mistakes of others.
Please learn from my mistakes.
Operating in a high stress situation is entirely different from a low stress situation. No,
driving with your kids screaming in the back seat is not high stress. Being showered with
glass from your windows being blown out in a foreign country with a bunch of American
women screaming in the back seats is high stress.
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
"Cooper’s Color Code | You’re Doing it Wrong" by Aaron Haskins
https://www.breachbangclear.com/cooper-color-code/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
If you pay attention and follow the incident from yellow through red, you won't be surprised.
You won't be shocked. You'll be prepared and ready to act.
"Louis Awerbuck: Interview With a Madman" by Robert Boatman
https://louisawerbuckinterviewwithamadman.blogspot.com/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"A class of fourteen-year-old females will turn out amazing pistol shooters. They don’t
have an ego, they haven’t got the prior mistakes, so they don’t know how to miss."
"If I’d wanted to make money in my life, I would have done something else. Because you
can’t do this job right and make a fortune out of it. If you make money your priority, or ego
your priority, you’ve got a problem. And there’s lot of that, it’s become rampant in this game
in the last ten years."
"You look at instructor resumes, and they’ve taken all the classes, but what have they done?
They’ve taken everybody else’s lesson plans and put them into a program of their own and
they’re teaching it like a parrot."
"War has always been the solution. War has always solved all the problems. You reduce
the number of mouths to feed. Everybody’s got a job. Instincts are reinvigorated. That’s why
there’s continuous war. When man lit the first fire and figured out how flame works, he said,
Now who can we go burn?"
"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)
"Picking A Jiu-jitsu School" by Scott Ferguson
https://southgeorgiajiujitsu.com/2022/05/07/picking-a-jiu-jitsu-school/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Yes, this directly applies to picking a gun-school / self-defense school.
Ask for the mission statement or purpose of the school. When asked, I say that my
purpose is to teach "civilian concealed carry for self-defense". The instructor should be
able to give you a succinct statement, because he has thought about it previously.
Ask for a copy of the instructor's insurance policy. He should be carrying about 2 million
dollars of general liability insurance and about 1 million dollars of professional liability
insurance. Concealed Coalition requires that of their instructors and I only teach lecture
courses for them.
Ask for the instructor's resume, curriculum vitae, or training record.
Ask for the contact information of former students, so that you can ask the students about
the classes that they took. Unless I know the author, I would not trust any after action report
published on a web site. (Ya, I know that the instructor is only going to give you the contact
information of happy students. But, it's still useful, if you prepare intelligent questions to ask.)
The instructor will either give you these things or he won't. There is no in-between.
"Take training from different instructors.
We are all wrong about something."
-- John Farnam
"Training Disciplines" by Tom Givens
Rangemaster Newsletter July 2022
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022-07_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
Excerpt:
". . . mindset, gun-handling, and marksmanship."
“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
I told my friend, stop wasting your money buying guns. Spend your money on training.
He was showing me his new S&W M&P from the S&W Custom Shop. That is, he would
have, but he couldn't get it out of his Safariland retention holster. He was fumbling with
it for several minutes. You have to push a hood forward, then you have to pull back on a
tab with your thumb, then you have to twist the pistol (roll as opposed to pitch or yaw)
to get the pistol out of the holster.
What a pity. Beautiful metallic blue magazine extensions that added 5 rounds to the 17
round mag for a total of 22 round in each mag. All kinds of neat work on the pistol to make
it more reliable and accurate. A top of the line red dot sight was on the slide. A flashlight
was mounted to the bottom of the dust cover. (So it was a very specialized holster to fit
this pistol with accoutrements.)
But, he couldn't get it out of his holster in time to save his life or anyone else's.
You don't even have to spend money. Just spend some time dry practicing your presentation
from your holster.
You think I'm making up this story to make a point? Sorry, this is reality. And I bet you
know such a person. Do him a favor and talk to him. You might be saving his life.
Care enough to continue your training.
Reston Group Training.
https://restongrouptraining.com/
Check out the video at the bottom of the web page. (A few hours ago, they moved the
video to the top of the web page. You have to click on the right most of the four little circles
at the bottom of the picture at the top of the web page.)
You're on your own. Nobody is going to rescue you. Not even your partner.
[Detective Reston is being kind in his description of the incident by saying that his partner
slowed down to make better radio communication. The official report says that his partner
was so out of shape that he could not keep up with the foot pursuit. So, Reston had to take
care of business by himself.]
You get up and go to the range to make yourself better. You do it for your family.
You do it for your community.
What a fantastic attitude. What great self discipline.
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
"We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom alone men ought to be obedient.
He reigns in heaven . . . and from the rising to the setting sun, may His kingdom come."
-- Samuel Adams, 2 July 1776 A.D.
It is hard to get context and hence meaning from a single sentence. Practice is not
just the deliberate intentional repetition to perfect an art form. It is also as defined in
the American Heritage Dictionary,
https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=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
"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
"I am a most unworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and
they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my
whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous presence."
-- Christopher Columbus
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
"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
"I am a most unworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and
they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my
whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous presence."
-- Christopher Columbus
You may not think prayer is a strategy, but it has been used by leaders throughout history.
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
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
"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
"In Self Defense - Episode 102: Craig Douglas PT. 1"
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/36344
Sound track and written transcript (so you don't have to listen to them drone on).
Excerpt:
". . . I know how many people I shot in my career. I have no idea how many people I
almost shot but chose not to. I have no idea how many people I talked out of shooting me
on drug deals. I know the potency and power of a well-placed word, and it's as potent and
powerful as a well-placed shot. And I think if one chooses to carry and take the responsibility
of carrying a gun in public space, then the onus is even greater that people have parity in those
other skills, like good language, good verbal agility, good social literacy, and hand-to-hand
skills, if necessary."
"And it's not even being aggressive verbally, Shawn, it's being assertive verbally."
"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
Literally hundreds of people in the U.S. shoot themselves or others unintentionally every
year. Literally thousands of people in the U.S. have negligent discharges every year. And
here I am only talking about documented / reported incidents. Of course, if a person does
something stupid and there are no witnesses (or all the witnesses are dead) the person is
not going to tell anyone. So how do you, the mentally competent armed citizen, avoid
negligent discharges? and prevent them from being committed by others? By knowing and
believing safety RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
That takes care of ignorance. Now you know, so you can't claim ignorance.
Carelessness is more difficult to handle. Complacency, intoxication, et al cause carelessness.
If you have to tell someone not to drink alcohol or take drugs while handling guns, your
audience is in the lower tail of the IQ (intelligence quotient, a ranking based on various tests
that describes a person's relative ability to manipulate abstract objects) distribution. But, God
given rights apply to all. So you must teach them to be careful and pay attention. Explain to
the low IQ person, that they can be competent by following the safety rules. They don't have
to be smart, sophisticated, etc.
The real problem child is the high IQ person. People who are smart and know it, are much
worse than women who are pretty and know it. Smart people are, generally speaking, arrogant.
They think they know everything. "Those who think they know everything, irritate those of us
who do." (Are you laughing?) So you must explain to the high IQ person that being smart
does not make them safe or competent. Rather, conscientiousness makes one competent and
safe. And conscientiousness is not correlated to IQ. They should understand that.
In my classes, I ask the students to pretend there is a guy approaching them and to
command him to stop by saying "STOP!". Many persons cannot do that. Physically cannot
put on their big boy pants, and use their command voice to tell some scum bag to stop.
So, I ask them, if you can't tell the bad guy to stop, do you really think you can point a gun at
him? It's not a rhetorical question.
Do whatever you have to do to get your student to scream at the bad guy, "STOP!"
Explain the scenario in graphic detail if necessary. Explain the consequences of not being
assertive. This is a big psychological step for those who have never encountered impolite
persons. You think I'm joking. I'm not.
Modern police departments won't recruit anyone with a criminal record, especially a violent
record. So, if the prospective recruit got into a fist fight in high school, guess what? So what
kind of person ends up in the police academy? As Ralph Morz says, "These guys have never
even been in a shoving match." The Metro Nashville Police Academy is presently graduating
100% of each class. That's how desperate they are for warm bodies.
I was standing in line at a Wendy's restaurant to get a hamburger. A lady in front of me
in line was texting on her phone completely oblivious to her surroundings. Three guys, also
in line, were closing on her, but unsure of the situation, they started making comments to her.
"Hey, don't arrest me." At which point I noticed the Nashville Police badge on her belt.
So, I swept my jacket back and established a grip on my pistol. The three saw me and left.
The lady police officer never noticed anything.
"Tactical Revolver Reloads: The Speed Strip" by Grant Cunningham
https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/tactical-revolver-reloads-the-speed-strip
If you're going to call yourself an instructor, you need to know how to teach revolvers.
Jordan Peterson says, when you give a lecture, you need to know 10 times as much as
you are presenting. That includes all the revolver stuff that you may never mention in
this lecture. Because, some day, you will have a student show up to your class with a revolver.
Turning that student away is wrong, on many levels. Replacing the student's gear with a
semi-auto is wrong. You have to be able to teach revolvers, because they are prevalent.
When the NRA Carry Guard training program (which used none of the hundred thousand
NRA Instructors) came out, they prohibited revolvers from their classes. The program almost
immediately failed. Stupidity has consequences.
"So,You Want to be an Instructor?" by Tom Givens
Rangemaster Newsletter July 2022
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022-07_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
Excerpt:
"The first, or entry level class from every school/instructor is where the real meat is."
"You don’t have to be a world champion to teach, but you should be able to
demonstrate anything you tell your students they should be able to do."
". . . attend training conferences, such as Tac Con, the ILEETA conference,
the A Girl and a Gun Conference, our annual Instructor Conference, and others."
[I have attended instructor development classes from Tom Givens, John Farnam, Ignatius
Piazza, and others. I would say, the Instructor Development class from every school is
where the meat is. -- Jon Low]
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
"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 righthand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
If your church does not have a Proprietary Security Organization document filed with the
state Department of Insurance and Commerce, you can be sued individually. As opposed to
only the church being sued. (The wording may be different in your state, but you get the
idea.) Yes, as a matter of fact, this is a very big deal. It's the difference between you being
a hero, and the homeless guy in the street committing suicide because he can't take care of
his family.
“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
"New Hampshire governor signs law restricting federal gun control" by Christian Wade
https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/new-hampshire-governor-signs-law-restricting-federal-gun-control/article_9376d7c3-cba0-5c64-9675-716818ee910f.html
"Ninth Circuit Panel Sends California "Assault Weapons" Ban Challenge Back to District Court,
so the District Court can reconsider it in light of the Supreme Court's new Bruen precedent."
by Eugene Volokh
https://reason.com/volokh/2022/06/28/ninth-circuit-panel-sends-california-assault-weapons-ban-challenge-back-to-district-court/
Excerpt:
The district court's judgment is vacated, and this case is remanded to the district court for
further proceedings consistent with the United States Supreme Court's decision in
New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. ____ (2022).
The parties shall bear their own attorney's fees, costs, and expenses. This order constitutes
the mandate of this court.
VACATED AND REMANDED.
"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."
“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
"TEDxPioneerValley - Sue Barry - Fixing My Gaze"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCCtphdXhq8
Hat tip to Mike Ox.
Hearing loss is permanent and cumulative.
As is losing your eyes.
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Armed & Styled On Using Handheld and Weapons Lights" at PracticalEschatology.com
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/2022/06/armed-styled-on-using-handheld-and.html
"What the heck is candela? Lumens? Photonic Barriers?? Why should YOU care?"
"Handheld and Weapon Mounted Light Tactics with John Johnston"
Press on, release off. Anything other than that is WRONG!
Never search with a weapon mounted light. Violates safety rule RULE II:
NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
Weapon mounted light conversation:
https://ballisticradio.com/2021/06/01/handgun-wmls-are-not-necessary-season-8-episode-344/
Stage your flashlight in your hand ahead of time. (Ya, that forces you to perform a one
handed draw; so practice it. -- Jon Low)
Excerpt:
"If you're hearing about 'managing unknown contacts' for the first time in this video,
then there are more important things for you to learn than flashlights."
---
Armed and Styled web site
https://www.armedandstyled.net/
"Armed and Styled" YouTube.com channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr4V3j2Znf-ZlJ-bnENaQZg
Armed and Styled, blog
https://www.armedandstyled.net/archive
---
Citizens Defense Research
https://www.citizensdefenseresearch.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CitizensDefenseResearch/
---
Agile Training & Consulting, Chuck Haggard
https://agiletactical.com/
---
Shiv Works, Craig Douglas
https://shivworks.com/
---
Centrifuge Training, LLC
https://centrifugetraining.com/
---
Ballistic Radio
https://ballisticradio.com
A reader responds to my last blog posting concerning my Glock 21 --
In regard to your comment about the finger grooves on the Glocks, I believe that they
were included to score additional points on the ATF's calculation of whether a firearm meets
the "sporting purposes" test used to determine if a handgun can be imported under the
1968 Gun Control Act. Apparently finger grooves (and thumb rests which were introduced
on Glocks at the same time) are considered a feature of target pistols. I'm not certain why
Glock felt they needed them with the Gen 3 pistols when they hadn't used them before,
but I suspect it is because Glock started coming out with the smaller Glock 26 and similar
sized handguns and probably risked running afoul of the ATF regulations without such
grooves, and probably decided to add them to the whole line so they looked the same.
Even though Glock has gotten rid of the finger grooves on their most recent models,
they still have retained some form of thumb rest.
The whole thing is stupid, but that pretty much describes gun control laws in general.
--Mark of Practical Eschatology
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/
"Why A Holster?" by Clint Smith
https://americanhandgunner.com/gear/why-a-holster/
Excerpt:
"Carrying a handgun for personal defense will require a behavior and dress code
modification on your part. Accept it, work with it and get on with it. The fact is, being armed
is far more important and comforting than any issues about clothing and personal comfort."
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
"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
Due to the NYT paywall, I [Stephen P. Wenger] am linking an article that excerpts the op-ed.
Both the excerpt in the article and the article itself are longer than my excerpt of them.
"New York Times opinion editor wants a gun" by Tom Knighton
https://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2022/06/30/new-york-times-gun-n59920
Excerpt:
Then There's This via NYT: The New York Times isn’t exactly a right-leaning publication.
On its pages through the years, the official line seems to have been that guns are bad and have
no place in our society. Granted, they can’t do much beyond pontificate about how they know
better than the rest of us, but they do that in spades. So imagine my surprise when I saw a
headline, written by the New York Times opinion editor, about why she wants a gun.
“I lived in New York for a decade without fearing for my personal safety. But in recent
months, I have been terrified. In May, I filed for and received a temporary order of protection
against a former partner. More than five million American women alive today have reported
being threatened with a gun, shot or shot at by an intimate partner, and more than half of the
perpetrators of mass shootings in the past decade shot a family member, intimate partner or
former intimate partner as part of their rampage. Every month, 70 women on average are shot
and killed by an intimate partner. But states like mine make it legally cumbersome to defend
yourself with a legally purchased handgun. If my life is ever in danger, I want to be able to
protect myself with a gun. And now, thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision in New York
State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, I am one step closer to carrying one . . . ”
"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
". . . with no apology, we Operators joyfully/proudly celebrate life, all of Western
Civilization, and this blessed nation in particular, on this Independence Day!"
-- John Farnam
"Live From The Field" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/live-from-the-field-5/
"How Often Do Citizens Use Guns to Stop Violence?" by James D. Agresti
but the narrator identifies herself as Amanda Reed Shiek
https://www.justfactsdaily.com/how-often-do-citizens-use-guns-to-stop-violence/
Hat tip to Ignatius Piazza.
All cited studies are hyperlinked in highlighted underlined words.
One of the results of the studies is that the pistol is by far the most effective self-defense
tool. Its users suffering the least injury and death.
"How changing gun regulations has reduced Brazil's murder rate" by Tucker Carlson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpKG8PODdg4
---
Excerpt from CrimeResearch.org because the Wall Street Journal article is behind a pay
wall.
"In the Wall Street Journal: More Legal Guns Reduced Crime in Brazil"
https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-legal-gun-control-regulation-reduce-violent-crime-shooting-murder-brazil-semi-automatic-permit-supremep-court-new-york-decision-11656268995
"Biden to award gun control activist Gabby Giffords,
Trump critic Khizr Khan with Medal of Freedom" by Jeff Mordock
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jul/1/biden-medal-freedom-giffords-trump-critic-khan/
It seems ironic but not coincidental that Brandon could give a Medal of Freedom to
someone dedicated to the infringement of what SCOTUS just reasserted as a specifically
enumerated constitutional right.
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
"USA Archery Introduces Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access
Strategic Plan and Advisory Council" by (no one had the guts to put thier name on this article)
https://www.usarchery.org/news/usa-archery-introduces-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-access-strategic-plan-and-advisory-council
https://www.usarchery.org/about/diversity-equity-inclusion-and-access
In case you can't read the double talk, they are saying that USA Archery will not longer
be a meritocracy. In this case, the best scores will not mean you make the team.
When I read all the rule changes, I did not shoot the 2022 Tennessee Outdoor Archery
Championships last week. I had already paid. But, I had better things to do than support a
woke fest.
I once gave up my paid spot on an Arizona team (Duel in the Desert at the Olympic Training
Center in California) to allow a junior to take my place and shoot the tournament. I shot the
tournament by paying my own way. Which is fine, and not at all the same as slots being
reserved for persons based on things other than their match scores in the qualifying matches.
Making the U.S.A. Shooting teams is also very political.
"Harvard Student Condemns Anti-Americanism in Senior Speech" by Julie Hartman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hk3A5SaIXA
Hat tip to Pastor Jim Bachmann
"Julie Hartman ‘22 - May 3, 2022 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)" sound track only
https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/julie-hartman-22-may-3-2022-morning-prayers-senior-talks
Excerpt:
“Americans are the freest, most privileged people on earth. Yet many of us are ashamed
to show any, even the tiniest, trace of national pride. Why? Because we Americans of recent
generations have been swaddled in prosperity and security, and in consequence have become
ungrateful for the blessings we enjoy . . . This nation saved the world from global catastrophe
three times in the 20th century. This nation has grown to treat racial, ethnic, and religious
minorities with a quality and respect compared to other places and times on earth. This is the
nation where people are not constrained by their gender, religion, or class, but can work to
achieve a better life.
We view these things [blessings] to be our birthright . . . but they are not. They exist only
because past generations have sacrificed to secure and maintain them. And to our discredit
we have used these blessings, not to strengthen our country, but to tear it down. We have
remained cringingly silent in the face of corrosive ideas, woke culture, that has corrupted our
institutions and severed the bonds that hold our country together.
The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting that the sole purpose of the
American Revolution was to preserve slavery! And we remain silent . . . The American
Medical Association has stated that the US should remove gender from birth certificates.
And we remain silent. Howard Zinn, author of the most widely-read history text in American
public schools said that America has done ‘more bad than good.’ And we remain silent.
A huge percentage of the donations to the BLM organizers have been spent on compensation
and benefits, including several extravagant real estate purchases and questionable consulting
contracts. And we remain silent. On this campus we often hear how oppressive America is.
Just outside of this church there was a sign for Israeli Apartheid Week on an upside down,
faded American flag with painted bullet holes in it. And we remain silent.
We must not lie to ourselves or to one another by denying that a large reason we remain
silent is that we see personal and professional advantages in doing so.”
When Julie finished her speech (you guessed it) the audience was silent.
At one point she added, “The people who excoriate religion live in a society where their
freedoms are based on teachings in the Bible . . . What a litany of dishonesty. We are using
our privilege to undermine the very system that has given us that privilege.”
Liberals are smart. Darwin's theory of evolution has not removed them from the gene
pool. They know that criminals don't obey laws. So when they tell you that they want gun
control laws to reduce criminal violence, they are lying.
The truth is that they want gun control laws to criminalized your behavior, so they can
arrest, prosecute, imprison, and disenfranchise you. If you can't vote, they win. If you
don't keep and bear arms for fear of arrest and prosecution, they win.
What can you do? Vote. Donate money to pro-gun candidates. Work on the campaign
of pro-gun candidates. Donate to pro-gun organizations that file pro-gun law suits.
Otherwise, you'll be fighting in the war to determine the Constitutional right to murder unborn
babies, the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, the Constitutional right to choose and
change your sex at will, and many others.
Consider,
American Revolutionary War,
Cherokee–American Wars,
Northwest Indian War,
Quasi-War,
First Barbary War,
Tecumseh's War,
War of 1812,
Creek War,
Second Barbary War,
First Seminole War,
Arikara War,
Winnebago War,
Black Hawk War,
Texas Revolution,
Second Seminole War,
Aroostook War,
Mexican–American War,
Cayuse War,
Apache Wars,
Bleeding Kansas,
Puget Sound War,
Rogue River Wars,
Third Seminole War,
Yakima War,
Second Opium War,
Utah War,
Navajo Wars,
Pig War,
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry,
First and Second Cortina War,
Paiute War,
War of Northern Aggression,
Yavapai Wars,
Dakota War of 1862,
Colorado War,
Snake War,
Powder River War,
Red Cloud's War,
Comanche Campaign,
United States expedition to Korea,
Modoc War,
Red River War,
Las Cuevas War,
Great Sioux War of 1876,
Buffalo Hunters' War
Nez Perce War,
Bannock War,
Cheyenne War,
Sheepeater Indian War,
Victorio's War,
White River War,
Crow War,
Pine Ridge Campaign,
Garza War,
Yaqui Wars,
Second Samoan Civil War,
Spanish–American War,
Philippine–American War,
Moro Rebellion,
Boxer Rebellion,
Crazy Snake's War,
Mexican Border War,
Little Race War,
United States occupation of Nicaragua,
Bluff War,
United States occupation of Veracruz,
United States occupation of Haiti,
United States occupation of the Dominican Republic,
World War I,
Russian Civil War,
Posey War,
World War II, (my grandfather's war, my uncles' war)
Korean War, (my father's war)
Vietnam War,
Laotian Civil War,
Lebanon crisis,
Bay of Pigs Invasion,
Dominican Civil War,
Cambodian Civil War,
Multinational intervention in Lebanon,
United States invasion of Grenada,
Bombing of Libya, (Reagan had balls)
Tanker War,
United States invasion of Panama,
Gulf War, (Desert Shield, Desert Storm, good times)
Iraqi No-Fly Zone Enforcement Operations,
First U.S. Intervention in the Somali Civil War,
Bosnian War and Croatian War, (Wes Thompson's war, a Marine Corps buddy)
Intervention in Haiti,
Kosovo War,
War in Afghanistan, (my son's war)
American intervention in Yemen,
Iraq War, (my war, Operation Iraqi Freedom et al)
American intervention in the War in North-West Pakistan,
Second U.S. Intervention in the Somali Civil War,
Operation Ocean Shield, (my daughter's war)
International intervention in Libya,
Operation Observant Compass,
American-led intervention in Iraq,
American-led intervention in Syria,
American intervention in Libya,
. . .
May the Global War On Terrorism never end. (got to get that GWOT ribbon)
What's another war?
You'll be fighting in the war to determine the Constitutional right to homosexuality and a host
of other perverted sex crimes, the Constitutional right to murder unborn babies, the
Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, the Constitutional right to change the sex of children,
and many others. You know I'm not being facetious.
We always end up fighting for what we believe in. The question is, do you believe in it
enough to fight for it? Or, will you sit it out.
Only 10% of the population fought in the American Revolutionary War. The other 90%
didn't care enough to take sides. Or to take up arms. A sign of their times.
Today less than 1% of our population has ever served in the Armed Forces. Of those,
less than 10% have served in combat arms. (A sign of our times.) They might take sides and
fight. At least they know how to. [It's really useful to have senior field grade officers and
general grade officers on your side. You every try to plan the logistics for a brigade sized unit?
It's a specialized skill. Then again, guerrilla wars have been won. They have been fought
without any of the participants having attended (much less graduated from) war college.]
But, what of the other 90% of the population? The sheep who go along to get along.
Can you rouse them? Can anything rouse them? If roused to action, can they fight? Can
they fight effectively? Even in a guerrilla operation? There's a big difference between
destroying an enemy facility with Molotov cocktails and getting everyone killed in the attempt.
But the difference is hard to see beforehand if you have no experience or skill in such things.
---
"War has always been the solution. War has always solved all the problems. You reduce
the number of mouths to feed. Everybody’s got a job. Instincts are reinvigorated. That’s why
there’s continuous war. When man lit the first fire and figured out how flame works, he said,
Now who can we go burn?"
-- Louis Awerbuck
---
About half of the eligible voters in the U.S. register to vote. About half of the registered
voters vote. How many of them do you think do any research before voting? Exit polls
indicate 1%, at least in Hawaii. Admittedly not a good sample.
I have spoken to many friends and co-workers who have told me that they vote Democrat
because their family has always voted Democrat. I have never heard that sentiment voiced
by those who vote Republican. Another sign of our times?
I've been a member of Front Sight since 1995 when they were holding classes in
Bakersfield, CA at a rented range (We would shoot the empty helium and oxygen gas tanks
hanging from a beam. Like playing the xylophone with your pistol.). They started the
company at some time in 1995. So, I've been getting Dr. Piazza's emails regularly since then.
If you're a member, you know what I'm talking about. In Dr. Piazza's last email, he says that
Front Sight filed for bankruptcy in part so that he could purge the membership rolls of
disloyal members. I find that disturbing. I wonder what criteria he is using to distinguish
loyal from disloyal members. He doesn't say.
I try not to read all the web sites and news articles that comment on Front Sight.
It's worse than reading the web sites that comment on the NRA. Front Sight is orders of
magnitude larger than most gun schools. The NRA is orders of magnitude larger than
the other 2nd Amendment organizations. The enemy always goes after the biggest fish.
It sets an example to the rest of the fish.
In the Marine Corps, everything was attributed to leadership. Absolutely everything.
Well, United Parcel Service is off my Christmas list.
"BREAKING: UPS Cuts Off Gun Parts Retailers for Selling ‘Ghost Guns,’
Threatens to Seize and Destroy In-Transit Packages"
by TTAG Contributor
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/breaking-ups-cuts-off-gun-retailers-for-selling-ghost-guns-threatens-to-seize-and-destroys-in-transit-packages/
"Sweden Makes Suppressors License Free" by Eric B.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/07/01/sweden-makes-suppressors-license-free/
"Terrorism: Buy guns, defend yourselves, Zamfara govt tells residents"
by Abubakar Ahmadu Maishanu
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/539237-terrorism-buy-guns-defend-yourselves-zamfara-govt-tells-residents.html
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA.
Excerpt:
"The Zamfara State Government has asked residents of the state to ‘obtain guns to defend
themselves against terrorists attacking defenceless civilians in the state for the past few years.
The Zamfara government stated this in a statement by Ibrahim Dosara, the state’s commissioner
for information, according to Daily Trust. Mr Dosara said the Zamfara government has also
“directed the state commissioner of police to issue (gun) licenses” to people who are qualified
and willing to use the guns. While Zamfara has by the statement formalised the advice to its
residents to carry guns, the governor of the state is not the first to issue such advisory.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina had earlier called on
residents of his state to arm themselves against the gunmen in the state."
[As in some other African nations, much of what is typically reported as “tribal warfare”
has actually had a major religious component. In this case, the “bandits” appear to be Muslim
Fulani nomadic herders preying on Christian Hausa farmers. As I recall, Nigeria was one
nation where UN “peacekeeper” forces conducted a program of civilian disarmament – a
strategy that, invariably, seems to have greater effect on the victim factions than on those
preying on them.
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA]
"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]
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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.)
“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
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
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
"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
"In Self Defense - Episode 102: Craig Douglas PT. 1"
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/36344
Sound track and written transcript (so you don't have to listen to them drone on).
Excerpt:
". . . I know how many people I shot in my career. I have no idea how many people I
almost shot but chose not to. I have no idea how many people I talked out of shooting me
on drug deals. I know the potency and power of a well-placed word, and it's as potent and
powerful as a well-placed shot. And I think if one chooses to carry and take the responsibility
of carrying a gun in public space, then the onus is even greater that people have parity in those
other skills, like good language, good verbal agility, good social literacy, and hand-to-hand
skills, if necessary."
"And it's not even being aggressive verbally, Shawn, it's being assertive verbally."
"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
Literally hundreds of people in the U.S. shoot themselves or others unintentionally every
year. Literally thousands of people in the U.S. have negligent discharges every year. And
here I am only talking about documented / reported incidents. Of course, if a person does
something stupid and there are no witnesses (or all the witnesses are dead) the person is
not going to tell anyone. So how do you, the mentally competent armed citizen, avoid
negligent discharges? and prevent them from being committed by others? By knowing and
believing safety RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
That takes care of ignorance. Now you know, so you can't claim ignorance.
Carelessness is more difficult to handle. Complacency, intoxication, et al cause carelessness.
If you have to tell someone not to drink alcohol or take drugs while handling guns, your
audience is in the lower tail of the IQ (intelligence quotient, a ranking based on various tests
that describes a person's relative ability to manipulate abstract objects) distribution. But, God
given rights apply to all. So you must teach them to be careful and pay attention. Explain to
the low IQ person, that they can be competent by following the safety rules. They don't have
to be smart, sophisticated, etc.
The real problem child is the high IQ person. People who are smart and know it, are much
worse than women who are pretty and know it. Smart people are, generally speaking, arrogant.
They think they know everything. "Those who think they know everything, irritate those of us
who do." (Are you laughing?) So you must explain to the high IQ person that being smart
does not make them safe or competent. Rather, conscientiousness makes one competent and
safe. And conscientiousness is not correlated to IQ. They should understand that.
In my classes, I ask the students to pretend there is a guy approaching them and to
command him to stop by saying "STOP!". Many persons cannot do that. Physically cannot
put on their big boy pants, and use their command voice to tell some scum bag to stop.
So, I ask them, if you can't tell the bad guy to stop, do you really think you can point a gun at
him? It's not a rhetorical question.
Do whatever you have to do to get your student to scream at the bad guy, "STOP!"
Explain the scenario in graphic detail if necessary. Explain the consequences of not being
assertive. This is a big psychological step for those who have never encountered impolite
persons. You think I'm joking. I'm not.
Modern police departments won't recruit anyone with a criminal record, especially a violent
record. So, if the prospective recruit got into a fist fight in high school, guess what? So what
kind of person ends up in the police academy? As Ralph Morz says, "These guys have never
even been in a shoving match." The Metro Nashville Police Academy is presently graduating
100% of each class. That's how desperate they are for warm bodies.
I was standing in line at a Wendy's restaurant to get a hamburger. A lady in front of me
in line was texting on her phone completely oblivious to her surroundings. Three guys, also
in line, were closing on her, but unsure of the situation, they started making comments to her.
"Hey, don't arrest me." At which point I noticed the Nashville Police badge on her belt.
So, I swept my jacket back and established a grip on my pistol. The three saw me and left.
The lady police officer never noticed anything.
"Tactical Revolver Reloads: The Speed Strip" by Grant Cunningham
https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/tactical-revolver-reloads-the-speed-strip
If you're going to call yourself an instructor, you need to know how to teach revolvers.
Jordan Peterson says, when you give a lecture, you need to know 10 times as much as
you are presenting. That includes all the revolver stuff that you may never mention in
this lecture. Because, some day, you will have a student show up to your class with a revolver.
Turning that student away is wrong, on many levels. Replacing the student's gear with a
semi-auto is wrong. You have to be able to teach revolvers, because they are prevalent.
When the NRA Carry Guard training program (which used none of the hundred thousand
NRA Instructors) came out, they prohibited revolvers from their classes. The program almost
immediately failed. Stupidity has consequences.
"So,You Want to be an Instructor?" by Tom Givens
Rangemaster Newsletter July 2022
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022-07_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
Excerpt:
"The first, or entry level class from every school/instructor is where the real meat is."
"You don’t have to be a world champion to teach, but you should be able to
demonstrate anything you tell your students they should be able to do."
". . . attend training conferences, such as Tac Con, the ILEETA conference,
the A Girl and a Gun Conference, our annual Instructor Conference, and others."
[I have attended instructor development classes from Tom Givens, John Farnam, Ignatius
Piazza, and others. I would say, the Instructor Development class from every school is
where the meat is. -- Jon Low]
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
"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 righthand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
If your church does not have a Proprietary Security Organization document filed with the
state Department of Insurance and Commerce, you can be sued individually. As opposed to
only the church being sued. (The wording may be different in your state, but you get the
idea.) Yes, as a matter of fact, this is a very big deal. It's the difference between you being
a hero, and the homeless guy in the street committing suicide because he can't take care of
his family.
“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
"New Hampshire governor signs law restricting federal gun control" by Christian Wade
https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/new-hampshire-governor-signs-law-restricting-federal-gun-control/article_9376d7c3-cba0-5c64-9675-716818ee910f.html
"Ninth Circuit Panel Sends California "Assault Weapons" Ban Challenge Back to District Court,
so the District Court can reconsider it in light of the Supreme Court's new Bruen precedent."
by Eugene Volokh
https://reason.com/volokh/2022/06/28/ninth-circuit-panel-sends-california-assault-weapons-ban-challenge-back-to-district-court/
Excerpt:
The district court's judgment is vacated, and this case is remanded to the district court for
further proceedings consistent with the United States Supreme Court's decision in
New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. ____ (2022).
The parties shall bear their own attorney's fees, costs, and expenses. This order constitutes
the mandate of this court.
VACATED AND REMANDED.
"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."
“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
"TEDxPioneerValley - Sue Barry - Fixing My Gaze"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCCtphdXhq8
Hat tip to Mike Ox.
Hearing loss is permanent and cumulative.
As is losing your eyes.
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Armed & Styled On Using Handheld and Weapons Lights" at PracticalEschatology.com
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/2022/06/armed-styled-on-using-handheld-and.html
"What the heck is candela? Lumens? Photonic Barriers?? Why should YOU care?"
"Handheld and Weapon Mounted Light Tactics with John Johnston"
Press on, release off. Anything other than that is WRONG!
Never search with a weapon mounted light. Violates safety rule RULE II:
NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
Weapon mounted light conversation:
https://ballisticradio.com/2021/06/01/handgun-wmls-are-not-necessary-season-8-episode-344/
Stage your flashlight in your hand ahead of time. (Ya, that forces you to perform a one
handed draw; so practice it. -- Jon Low)
Excerpt:
"If you're hearing about 'managing unknown contacts' for the first time in this video,
then there are more important things for you to learn than flashlights."
---
Armed and Styled web site
https://www.armedandstyled.net/
"Armed and Styled" YouTube.com channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr4V3j2Znf-ZlJ-bnENaQZg
Armed and Styled, blog
https://www.armedandstyled.net/archive
---
Citizens Defense Research
https://www.citizensdefenseresearch.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CitizensDefenseResearch/
---
Agile Training & Consulting, Chuck Haggard
https://agiletactical.com/
---
Shiv Works, Craig Douglas
https://shivworks.com/
---
Centrifuge Training, LLC
https://centrifugetraining.com/
---
Ballistic Radio
https://ballisticradio.com
A reader responds to my last blog posting concerning my Glock 21 --
In regard to your comment about the finger grooves on the Glocks, I believe that they
were included to score additional points on the ATF's calculation of whether a firearm meets
the "sporting purposes" test used to determine if a handgun can be imported under the
1968 Gun Control Act. Apparently finger grooves (and thumb rests which were introduced
on Glocks at the same time) are considered a feature of target pistols. I'm not certain why
Glock felt they needed them with the Gen 3 pistols when they hadn't used them before,
but I suspect it is because Glock started coming out with the smaller Glock 26 and similar
sized handguns and probably risked running afoul of the ATF regulations without such
grooves, and probably decided to add them to the whole line so they looked the same.
Even though Glock has gotten rid of the finger grooves on their most recent models,
they still have retained some form of thumb rest.
The whole thing is stupid, but that pretty much describes gun control laws in general.
--Mark of Practical Eschatology
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/
"Why A Holster?" by Clint Smith
https://americanhandgunner.com/gear/why-a-holster/
Excerpt:
"Carrying a handgun for personal defense will require a behavior and dress code
modification on your part. Accept it, work with it and get on with it. The fact is, being armed
is far more important and comforting than any issues about clothing and personal comfort."
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
"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
Due to the NYT paywall, I [Stephen P. Wenger] am linking an article that excerpts the op-ed.
Both the excerpt in the article and the article itself are longer than my excerpt of them.
"New York Times opinion editor wants a gun" by Tom Knighton
https://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2022/06/30/new-york-times-gun-n59920
Excerpt:
Then There's This via NYT: The New York Times isn’t exactly a right-leaning publication.
On its pages through the years, the official line seems to have been that guns are bad and have
no place in our society. Granted, they can’t do much beyond pontificate about how they know
better than the rest of us, but they do that in spades. So imagine my surprise when I saw a
headline, written by the New York Times opinion editor, about why she wants a gun.
“I lived in New York for a decade without fearing for my personal safety. But in recent
months, I have been terrified. In May, I filed for and received a temporary order of protection
against a former partner. More than five million American women alive today have reported
being threatened with a gun, shot or shot at by an intimate partner, and more than half of the
perpetrators of mass shootings in the past decade shot a family member, intimate partner or
former intimate partner as part of their rampage. Every month, 70 women on average are shot
and killed by an intimate partner. But states like mine make it legally cumbersome to defend
yourself with a legally purchased handgun. If my life is ever in danger, I want to be able to
protect myself with a gun. And now, thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision in New York
State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, I am one step closer to carrying one . . . ”
"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
". . . with no apology, we Operators joyfully/proudly celebrate life, all of Western
Civilization, and this blessed nation in particular, on this Independence Day!"
-- John Farnam
"Live From The Field" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/live-from-the-field-5/
"How Often Do Citizens Use Guns to Stop Violence?" by James D. Agresti
but the narrator identifies herself as Amanda Reed Shiek
https://www.justfactsdaily.com/how-often-do-citizens-use-guns-to-stop-violence/
Hat tip to Ignatius Piazza.
All cited studies are hyperlinked in highlighted underlined words.
One of the results of the studies is that the pistol is by far the most effective self-defense
tool. Its users suffering the least injury and death.
"How changing gun regulations has reduced Brazil's murder rate" by Tucker Carlson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpKG8PODdg4
---
Excerpt from CrimeResearch.org because the Wall Street Journal article is behind a pay
wall.
"In the Wall Street Journal: More Legal Guns Reduced Crime in Brazil"
https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-legal-gun-control-regulation-reduce-violent-crime-shooting-murder-brazil-semi-automatic-permit-supremep-court-new-york-decision-11656268995
"Biden to award gun control activist Gabby Giffords,
Trump critic Khizr Khan with Medal of Freedom" by Jeff Mordock
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jul/1/biden-medal-freedom-giffords-trump-critic-khan/
It seems ironic but not coincidental that Brandon could give a Medal of Freedom to
someone dedicated to the infringement of what SCOTUS just reasserted as a specifically
enumerated constitutional right.
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
"USA Archery Introduces Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access
Strategic Plan and Advisory Council" by (no one had the guts to put thier name on this article)
https://www.usarchery.org/news/usa-archery-introduces-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-access-strategic-plan-and-advisory-council
https://www.usarchery.org/about/diversity-equity-inclusion-and-access
In case you can't read the double talk, they are saying that USA Archery will not longer
be a meritocracy. In this case, the best scores will not mean you make the team.
When I read all the rule changes, I did not shoot the 2022 Tennessee Outdoor Archery
Championships last week. I had already paid. But, I had better things to do than support a
woke fest.
I once gave up my paid spot on an Arizona team (Duel in the Desert at the Olympic Training
Center in California) to allow a junior to take my place and shoot the tournament. I shot the
tournament by paying my own way. Which is fine, and not at all the same as slots being
reserved for persons based on things other than their match scores in the qualifying matches.
Making the U.S.A. Shooting teams is also very political.
"Harvard Student Condemns Anti-Americanism in Senior Speech" by Julie Hartman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hk3A5SaIXA
Hat tip to Pastor Jim Bachmann
"Julie Hartman ‘22 - May 3, 2022 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)" sound track only
https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/julie-hartman-22-may-3-2022-morning-prayers-senior-talks
Excerpt:
“Americans are the freest, most privileged people on earth. Yet many of us are ashamed
to show any, even the tiniest, trace of national pride. Why? Because we Americans of recent
generations have been swaddled in prosperity and security, and in consequence have become
ungrateful for the blessings we enjoy . . . This nation saved the world from global catastrophe
three times in the 20th century. This nation has grown to treat racial, ethnic, and religious
minorities with a quality and respect compared to other places and times on earth. This is the
nation where people are not constrained by their gender, religion, or class, but can work to
achieve a better life.
We view these things [blessings] to be our birthright . . . but they are not. They exist only
because past generations have sacrificed to secure and maintain them. And to our discredit
we have used these blessings, not to strengthen our country, but to tear it down. We have
remained cringingly silent in the face of corrosive ideas, woke culture, that has corrupted our
institutions and severed the bonds that hold our country together.
The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting that the sole purpose of the
American Revolution was to preserve slavery! And we remain silent . . . The American
Medical Association has stated that the US should remove gender from birth certificates.
And we remain silent. Howard Zinn, author of the most widely-read history text in American
public schools said that America has done ‘more bad than good.’ And we remain silent.
A huge percentage of the donations to the BLM organizers have been spent on compensation
and benefits, including several extravagant real estate purchases and questionable consulting
contracts. And we remain silent. On this campus we often hear how oppressive America is.
Just outside of this church there was a sign for Israeli Apartheid Week on an upside down,
faded American flag with painted bullet holes in it. And we remain silent.
We must not lie to ourselves or to one another by denying that a large reason we remain
silent is that we see personal and professional advantages in doing so.”
When Julie finished her speech (you guessed it) the audience was silent.
At one point she added, “The people who excoriate religion live in a society where their
freedoms are based on teachings in the Bible . . . What a litany of dishonesty. We are using
our privilege to undermine the very system that has given us that privilege.”
Liberals are smart. Darwin's theory of evolution has not removed them from the gene
pool. They know that criminals don't obey laws. So when they tell you that they want gun
control laws to reduce criminal violence, they are lying.
The truth is that they want gun control laws to criminalized your behavior, so they can
arrest, prosecute, imprison, and disenfranchise you. If you can't vote, they win. If you
don't keep and bear arms for fear of arrest and prosecution, they win.
What can you do? Vote. Donate money to pro-gun candidates. Work on the campaign
of pro-gun candidates. Donate to pro-gun organizations that file pro-gun law suits.
Otherwise, you'll be fighting in the war to determine the Constitutional right to murder unborn
babies, the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, the Constitutional right to choose and
change your sex at will, and many others.
Consider,
American Revolutionary War,
Cherokee–American Wars,
Northwest Indian War,
Quasi-War,
First Barbary War,
Tecumseh's War,
War of 1812,
Creek War,
Second Barbary War,
First Seminole War,
Arikara War,
Winnebago War,
Black Hawk War,
Texas Revolution,
Second Seminole War,
Aroostook War,
Mexican–American War,
Cayuse War,
Apache Wars,
Bleeding Kansas,
Puget Sound War,
Rogue River Wars,
Third Seminole War,
Yakima War,
Second Opium War,
Utah War,
Navajo Wars,
Pig War,
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry,
First and Second Cortina War,
Paiute War,
War of Northern Aggression,
Yavapai Wars,
Dakota War of 1862,
Colorado War,
Snake War,
Powder River War,
Red Cloud's War,
Comanche Campaign,
United States expedition to Korea,
Modoc War,
Red River War,
Las Cuevas War,
Great Sioux War of 1876,
Buffalo Hunters' War
Nez Perce War,
Bannock War,
Cheyenne War,
Sheepeater Indian War,
Victorio's War,
White River War,
Crow War,
Pine Ridge Campaign,
Garza War,
Yaqui Wars,
Second Samoan Civil War,
Spanish–American War,
Philippine–American War,
Moro Rebellion,
Boxer Rebellion,
Crazy Snake's War,
Mexican Border War,
Little Race War,
United States occupation of Nicaragua,
Bluff War,
United States occupation of Veracruz,
United States occupation of Haiti,
United States occupation of the Dominican Republic,
World War I,
Russian Civil War,
Posey War,
World War II, (my grandfather's war, my uncles' war)
Korean War, (my father's war)
Vietnam War,
Laotian Civil War,
Lebanon crisis,
Bay of Pigs Invasion,
Dominican Civil War,
Cambodian Civil War,
Multinational intervention in Lebanon,
United States invasion of Grenada,
Bombing of Libya, (Reagan had balls)
Tanker War,
United States invasion of Panama,
Gulf War, (Desert Shield, Desert Storm, good times)
Iraqi No-Fly Zone Enforcement Operations,
First U.S. Intervention in the Somali Civil War,
Bosnian War and Croatian War, (Wes Thompson's war, a Marine Corps buddy)
Intervention in Haiti,
Kosovo War,
War in Afghanistan, (my son's war)
American intervention in Yemen,
Iraq War, (my war, Operation Iraqi Freedom et al)
American intervention in the War in North-West Pakistan,
Second U.S. Intervention in the Somali Civil War,
Operation Ocean Shield, (my daughter's war)
International intervention in Libya,
Operation Observant Compass,
American-led intervention in Iraq,
American-led intervention in Syria,
American intervention in Libya,
. . .
May the Global War On Terrorism never end. (got to get that GWOT ribbon)
What's another war?
You'll be fighting in the war to determine the Constitutional right to homosexuality and a host
of other perverted sex crimes, the Constitutional right to murder unborn babies, the
Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, the Constitutional right to change the sex of children,
and many others. You know I'm not being facetious.
We always end up fighting for what we believe in. The question is, do you believe in it
enough to fight for it? Or, will you sit it out.
Only 10% of the population fought in the American Revolutionary War. The other 90%
didn't care enough to take sides. Or to take up arms. A sign of their times.
Today less than 1% of our population has ever served in the Armed Forces. Of those,
less than 10% have served in combat arms. (A sign of our times.) They might take sides and
fight. At least they know how to. [It's really useful to have senior field grade officers and
general grade officers on your side. You every try to plan the logistics for a brigade sized unit?
It's a specialized skill. Then again, guerrilla wars have been won. They have been fought
without any of the participants having attended (much less graduated from) war college.]
But, what of the other 90% of the population? The sheep who go along to get along.
Can you rouse them? Can anything rouse them? If roused to action, can they fight? Can
they fight effectively? Even in a guerrilla operation? There's a big difference between
destroying an enemy facility with Molotov cocktails and getting everyone killed in the attempt.
But the difference is hard to see beforehand if you have no experience or skill in such things.
---
"War has always been the solution. War has always solved all the problems. You reduce
the number of mouths to feed. Everybody’s got a job. Instincts are reinvigorated. That’s why
there’s continuous war. When man lit the first fire and figured out how flame works, he said,
Now who can we go burn?"
-- Louis Awerbuck
---
About half of the eligible voters in the U.S. register to vote. About half of the registered
voters vote. How many of them do you think do any research before voting? Exit polls
indicate 1%, at least in Hawaii. Admittedly not a good sample.
I have spoken to many friends and co-workers who have told me that they vote Democrat
because their family has always voted Democrat. I have never heard that sentiment voiced
by those who vote Republican. Another sign of our times?
I've been a member of Front Sight since 1995 when they were holding classes in
Bakersfield, CA at a rented range (We would shoot the empty helium and oxygen gas tanks
hanging from a beam. Like playing the xylophone with your pistol.). They started the
company at some time in 1995. So, I've been getting Dr. Piazza's emails regularly since then.
If you're a member, you know what I'm talking about. In Dr. Piazza's last email, he says that
Front Sight filed for bankruptcy in part so that he could purge the membership rolls of
disloyal members. I find that disturbing. I wonder what criteria he is using to distinguish
loyal from disloyal members. He doesn't say.
I try not to read all the web sites and news articles that comment on Front Sight.
It's worse than reading the web sites that comment on the NRA. Front Sight is orders of
magnitude larger than most gun schools. The NRA is orders of magnitude larger than
the other 2nd Amendment organizations. The enemy always goes after the biggest fish.
It sets an example to the rest of the fish.
In the Marine Corps, everything was attributed to leadership. Absolutely everything.
Well, United Parcel Service is off my Christmas list.
"BREAKING: UPS Cuts Off Gun Parts Retailers for Selling ‘Ghost Guns,’
Threatens to Seize and Destroy In-Transit Packages"
by TTAG Contributor
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/breaking-ups-cuts-off-gun-retailers-for-selling-ghost-guns-threatens-to-seize-and-destroys-in-transit-packages/
"Sweden Makes Suppressors License Free" by Eric B.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/07/01/sweden-makes-suppressors-license-free/
"Terrorism: Buy guns, defend yourselves, Zamfara govt tells residents"
by Abubakar Ahmadu Maishanu
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/539237-terrorism-buy-guns-defend-yourselves-zamfara-govt-tells-residents.html
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA.
Excerpt:
"The Zamfara State Government has asked residents of the state to ‘obtain guns to defend
themselves against terrorists attacking defenceless civilians in the state for the past few years.
The Zamfara government stated this in a statement by Ibrahim Dosara, the state’s commissioner
for information, according to Daily Trust. Mr Dosara said the Zamfara government has also
“directed the state commissioner of police to issue (gun) licenses” to people who are qualified
and willing to use the guns. While Zamfara has by the statement formalised the advice to its
residents to carry guns, the governor of the state is not the first to issue such advisory.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina had earlier called on
residents of his state to arm themselves against the gunmen in the state."
[As in some other African nations, much of what is typically reported as “tribal warfare”
has actually had a major religious component. In this case, the “bandits” appear to be Muslim
Fulani nomadic herders preying on Christian Hausa farmers. As I recall, Nigeria was one
nation where UN “peacekeeper” forces conducted a program of civilian disarmament – a
strategy that, invariably, seems to have greater effect on the victim factions than on those
preying on them.
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA]
"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]
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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.)
“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
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