Family ranch on Maui.
Greetings Sheepdogs,
World War I Memorial
National Park Service
---
"If you’re in Washington DC, fence off some time to visit the
National World War I Memorial—it was completed 2 months ago.
That’s not a typo, and yes, there’s a crazy-long story as to why it
took so long to happen.
Just don’t look for it where the rest of the war memorials
are — this one is by the White House."
-- The Merge
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution
was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists."
-- Patrick Henry
[The British were the domestic government at the time.]
Happy Birthday Marines.
No tanks. No snipers. No Marines who refused to go along with Obama's
diversity program. No Marines who refused to take the COVID drugs.
My son had the presence of mind to not re-enlist when they started putting
women in his infantry unit. I continued to serve until they kicked me out.
"Jeff Cooper: The Man Behind The 'Modern Technique' "
by Finn Aagaard
Hat tip to Tom Givens.
Table of Contents:
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Practice
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset -----
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
From an email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D., Wednesday, November 6th, 2024 --
"The joys of tidying up."
One of my favorite times of day is the ten minutes I spend every morning tidying up.
I usually do this while my breakfast is (mostly) cooking itself, which provides the
perfect time-bounded opportunity to scurry about the house to complete this pleasant
chore. It's just so satisfying to watch the previous night's disarray slowly give over to
organization and order. Everything in its right place.
Our living environment is a reflection of our consciousness. Disorder without is
very often an indication of disorder within. However, the relationship here is
bidirectional. And this is fortunate, as a little clutter is much easier to sort through
than the detritus of our pasts. If you're feeling stuck or out of sorts, one of the easiest
ways to bring a little more clarity into your thinking is to clean and organize your
living space.
I've found this is especially true if you're struggling with depression. In this state,
even the most basic tasks can seem overwhelming – which can keep people
immobilized in despair. It's important to combat this feeling by chaining sequences
of small wins. Start with what is immediately on hand and acknowledge your effort.
Laundry is great for this: there are always clothes to be cleaned. And I've found
that – even if I do nothing else all day – I somehow feel accomplished if I'm able to
finish a load.
Warmly,
Orion
‷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
From an email from Active Self Protection --
"Burnout and A Bottle Of Water" by Ross Hick
When a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer (Aviation Survival Technician, in the obfuscated,
clinical parlance of government jobs) goes hands on with a victim in the water, they come
up from underneath and behind in a grappling maneuver more reminiscent of someone
about to steal your lunch money than hoist you to safety. Obviously, this is to keep from
being drowned by a panicking victim, but to a casual observer it can seem unkind or oddly
counter to what they picture “help” looking like. But just as zip-ties are to hostage rescue
and handcuffs are to Narcan, precautions in high-risk environments are usually earned in
blood.
I’ve spent the last 16 years working with violent felons, the seriously mentally ill,
and sex offenders (to name a few), but I was given ZERO advice by my department on
how to handle any of that. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve had plenty of defensive tactics,
firearms, Taser, crisis intervention, and countless hours in shoot houses and Simunitions
force-on-force. They gave me a steady supply of nitrile gloves and body armor. But not
once in my career did anyone suggest how to wade through the emotional equivalent of
a sewer every day and still come home to my family smelling like someone they wanted
to hug. “Get a hobby,” I was told. “Take some time off.” It was like being handed a
bottle of water in a forest fire.
So I volunteered for all the assignments, did all the training, did even more training
outside of work, and pursued hobbies. My bosses loved it; I was that guy who believed
that the key to survival was just being tougher and working harder, and I almost never
took vacation. Then one day a drunk guy stepped out in front of my work car and ended
up through my windshield. It seemed relatively minor compared to some of what I’d
been through, but I suddenly realized that my emotional health was a muscle I’d been
stacking more weight on without a single real recovery day. My vacations weren’t
relaxing; they were obligations with different stress. Some of my hobbies were good
physical outlets, but they weren’t places I could talk about things openly. So I turned
inwards, burned all my sick time, drank too much, and stopped finding fulfillment in
any aspect of my life for a while. When I came back to work, I found myself no longer
interested in the thrills and adrenaline and close calls. I felt like a failure and lost.
At first I blamed my employer. After some therapy and a lot of reflection, I came
to realize that no employer was ever going to stop me from working too hard until it
was far too late. Name me a high-risk job you can walk away from for a year without
losing certifications, clearances, seniority, respect, or having management at least stick
you in a penalty box so they can eye you suspiciously while the stigma of being
“unable to hack it,” wears off. All of those actions make perfect sense to protect the
organization, just as the legal disclaimer that, “threats of harm to yourself or others
will need to be reported to HR and legal,” at the start of every class on burnout and
suicide prevention does. But when we get to the section on suicide and the advice is
to, “reach out,” the silence and nervous glances around the room are inevitable.
Protecting the organization is almost always at the expense of helping the people inside it.
The harshest jobs will devour anyone if given enough time, and stepping away at
the right moment becomes a vital skill nobody really talks about. The same principle
applies to family, politics, and self-defense. Stepping away from the chaos is necessary
to even have a clear view of what your priorities should be and where you’re headed,
even if it feels selfish or looks unkind to the people on the receiving end. We talk
about avoiding stupid places, people, and things often in the self-defense world, but
what if those are where we earn a paycheck or who we eat Thanksgiving dinner with?
Knowing when to set boundaries and enforce them by leaving is a far more practical
skill most of the time, in my experience. Avoidance can feel a lot like cowardice or
failure on the surface, but lying to yourself and getting people hurt isn’t brave.
Ultimately, the harsh truth is that avoiding burnout comes down to us. It takes being
vulnerable more than all the hobbies and vacations and therapy sessions combined.
We need a level of honesty with ourselves and each other that only happens in an
environment that’s safe enough to talk about our worst fears, and sometimes that’s not
where you’d expect it. Identifying when you’re not in that environment, cultivating it
yourself, and being brave enough to take advantage of it are vital skills to survival.
Don’t be afraid to look in unconventional places, outside your organization or family.
You’d be surprised how often a group of chosen family around a campfire can become
an unexpected cathartic experience. And finally, give yourself some grace this holiday
season and don’t forget to plan some downtime for recovery from all the stuff that
work thinks is time off.
I’ll see you around the campfire.
-- Ross Hick
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Why Weapons Don't Matter" by Tim Larkin
Takeaways:
The principles of combat remain constant regardless of tools.
Tools are only effective if actively used against an opponent.
Many people change their approach when a weapon is introduced, often to their detriment.
Violence should only be used when devoid of choice; otherwise, it can lead to dangerous outcomes.
A tool does not provide protection; it can increase trauma instead.
Understanding the intent behind a weapon is crucial for self-defense.
Young individuals may impulsively engage in violence, which can have serious consequences.
Always consider escape options when faced with a threat.
The lessons learned from violent encounters can be misleading.
Training should focus on maintaining functional responses in the presence of weapons.
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"Defense Does Not Exist" by Suarez Tactics
There is only attack and counter-attack.
Avoid the attack and immediately counter-attack.
Accuracy is primary, not speed. Speed comes from smoothness. Smoothness
comes from many smooth repetitions. Anyone with a modicum of training and practice
has sufficient speed. What the winners have is good judgement / timing. Timing
(when to attack) requires thinking. Speed does not require thinking.
The pre-emptive strike is legal, justifiable, and necessary to avoid getting injured / killed.
The purpose of self-defense is to PREVENT the attack. If you fail to prevent the attack,
the purpose of self-defense is to STOP the attack.
The condition of the bad guy is incidental to your purpose of preventing or stopping
the attack. If the bad guy ends up dead, that was his choice by forcing you to stop him.
He would still be alive, if he hadn't attacked you. He gave you no choice in the matter.
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
"Musician Jay Allen Becomes Gun Owner After Being Robbed At Gunpoint"
by Darwin Nercesian
"It's unclear whether Allen has taken any formal training with his new pistol.
Tennessee waived the requirement of a carry permit – previously required for
both open and discreet carry – back in 2021. I take particular note of Allen's
past assumption that a muscular build would discourage two-legged predators.
I recall some L.A. TV footage, back in the 1990's, of a buff gym rat being beaten
and robbed by a smaller, single assailant as he made a withdrawal from an ATM.
Street-smart criminals pay more attention to body language than they do to body
build. Things such as upright posture and relaxed scanning of the environment
are more likely than a muscular build or tattoos to influence their victim-selection
process."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"Thoughts On Sport Shooting vs Gunfighting" by Gabe Suarez (Suarez Tactics)
Training scars.
Rules in sport. No rules in combat.
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
***** Situational Awareness *****
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT - to a POTENTIAL threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM - by a REAL threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack. (Red)
COMBAT - front sight, press. Shooting to STOP the attack. (Black)
*************************************************************************
----- Safety -----
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
---
RULE V: Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
"At Stossel TV: The FBI and Media Don’t Tell You How Many Lives Guns SAVE.
Elon Musk Tweeted out the Video!"
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
"Unintentional Discharge and You . . ." by Trident Concepts
Excerpt:
“. . . there are two types of people in the industry,
"those who've had ND's and those who will." ”
[That is completely false. Obeying the safety rules will prevent negligent discharges.
Obeying the safety rules will guarantee that you NEVER have a negligent discharge.
-- Jon Low]
“If you handle loaded firearms, you are not immune from negligent discharges.”
[Completely FALSE! That's like saying, "Every man is a potential rapist, because
he has a penis." Utter nonsense.
-- Jon Low]
---
People who have had negligent discharges in front of witnesses say this stupid shit,
to try to convince you that they are not ignorant and careless. Because negligent
discharges are caused by ignorance and carelessness. It's possible to go through a lifetime
of handling loaded firearms on a regular basis without a negligent discharge. Just obey
the safety rules. It is that simple. (Simple, not easy. You have to pay attention.
You have to be conscientious. You cannot be complacent. Complacency kills.)
There is no such thing as an accidental discharge, it is a negligent discharge.
There is no such thing as an unintentional discharge, it is a negligent discharge.
---
The manual of arms that he describes for single action pistols with a thumb safety
is wrong. You will need to fire with one hand, so it does not make sense to keep the
safety on until your two hands come together to grip the pistol, nor does it make sense
to activate the safety when only one hand is gripping the pistol.
The correct manual of arms is to defeat the safety when the pistol comes out of
the holster and to activate the safety immediately before inserting the pistol into
the holster. That's why modern pistols don't have thumb safeties. The holster is the
safety.
Thumb safeties on pistols is old technology. Well over a century.
Manual safeties are mechanical devices that can fail. We never trust
a mechanical safety.
John Farnam says the primary cause of negligent discharges is unnecessary gun handling.
---
"Horror as School Firearms Officer Accidentally Discharges Gun in Corridor"
by Alyce Collins
---
Comment by Stephen P. Wenger --
Perhaps the safety wasn't on because it was a pistol on which the primary mechanical
safety is built into the trigger. Some list members may recall that the broad term
“accidental discharge” was largely replaced by “negligent discharge” at the instigation
of Glock, the first manufacturer to market such pistols. Many of us still use the term
“accidental discharge” for one that results from a mechanical defect, including a broken
or worn part or even defective design. In 2015, in response to a surge in negligent
discharges with LASD's transition from the DA/SA Beretta 92F that used a
hammer-dropping safety lever to the Smith & Wesson M&P without the optional
thumb safety, the Los Angeles County Office of the Inspector General issued a report
that used the term “unintentional discharge.” Some people have adopted that term,
at least in some cases, if only to discourage frivolous lawsuits and prosecutions in
less severe cases. In this case, it sounds as though there may not have been a
legitimate need for the officer to “reposition” the pistol in the holster. We may never
learn whether the trigger was activated by his finger or an obstruction inside the holster.
-- Stephen P. Wenger
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
----- Training -----
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
I teach a lot of techniques in my classes. I don't expect anyone to master anything during
the class. Russel Tanji says, it takes about 2000 repetitions to achieve automaticity. Rather,
I expect the student to go home and practice to master the techniques. If I've done my job,
the students leave the class with an understanding of what the technique is supposed to do,
how to do it, and why to do it.
I explain to students that if they practice the technique, they will become comfortable
executing it, and hence develop confidence in executing it. Confidence will allow them
to execute it when needed. It will be in their repertoire.
If they do not practice to the point of confidence, they won't attempt to use it. It won't
be in the repertoire.
Two thousand repetitions can easily be achieved with deliberate diligent practice in a
year of chronological time. Probably much less if the student is internally motivated and
self-disciplined.
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
"Understanding Vision, Cognition, and Response:
The Complexities of Reaction Time in the Real World"
by Sec∅nd St∅ic
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Richard Henry Lee
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"Situational Pistolcraft" by Dave Spaulding
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"Speed of recognition is what we should be working on."
"Being “adaptive” is the “ABILITY to change as necessary.”
Being adaptive is what wins gunfights."
"Shooting can certainly be successful without mindset, but fighting cannot."
" Paul Howe addressed it quite succinctly when he wrote,
“Reference shooting on the move. It is a skill many shooters aspire to learn and
spend a great deal of time and effort trying to master. I have never had to use it
in combat. When moving at a careful hurry, I stopped, planted and made my shots.
When bullets were flying, I was sprinting from cover to cover moving too fast to
shoot. I did not find an in between.” "
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
"Standards are tools for liability control, administrative control, and training system
feedback; they should never be viewed nor utilized as a training objective."
-- Dustin P. Salomon, "Building Shooters", 2016.
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
“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
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their
gunfighting skills as opposed to a quest for trophies,
must be willing to bleed ego on the match results
to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
"Train and practice so that you can stay in your rational mind,
and force your enemy into his emotional mind. The emotional
mind makes bad judgments which will allow you to win."
-- John Hearne
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
------------------------------ Classes and Conferences --------------------------------
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
The Ten Principles of Teaching in the Rangemaster Tradition
1. Self-awareness
2. Contextual grounding
3. Sighted fire
4. Logical progression
5. Broad application
6. Demystification of violence
7. Reluctant willingness
8. Effective assessment
9. Respect for students
10. Lifelong learning
"Defensive Concepts for Low Light Environments, $212.83
A thorough look at the typical low light civilian defensive encounters
from managing unknown contacts to engaging with precision gunfire."
by Harris Combative Strategies (Randy Harris)
Saturday, November 23 · 4 - 11pm EST
The Ridge Dayton TN
11534 US HWY 27 Dayton, TN 37321
John Hearne's
Newsletter for November 2024
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified
$495.00
Bullets & Bibles Conference
(The registration should be at this web site after the first of the new year.)
Friday, September ???, 2025 – Sunday, September ???, 2025
(Probably the last weekend in September.)
Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS
For more information about lodging on site or
if you have any questions regarding the event,
contact our Bullets & Bibles Conference Coordinator,
Vonda Copeland
director@fhftc.org
or call 785-293-2449.
"Crime & Criminals: Risks & Mitigations 2024" by John Hearne
Monday, December 30, 2024
7 - 9pm CST
Location: Online
Other classes by John Hearne,
Kari Grayson
Citizens Safety Academy
Carry Trainer
Paladin Training, Inc.
Training schedule --
Course descriptions --
FPF Training
Defensive Training International
Rangemaster
Trident Concepts
Mead Hall Range & Tactics
Apache Solutions
Harris Combative Strategies
PATRIOT TRAINING
SIG SAUER Academy
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
I'm planning attend this, as it is a short drive from my home.
Annual Rangemaster Instructor Conference, $ 495
Sat, Dec 6, 2025,
Sun, Dec 7, 2025,
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST
Royal Range, 7741 Highway 70 South, Nashville, TN, USA
*************************************************************************
----- Practice -----
How to get proficient at that task.
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
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
‟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
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, Escape
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy -----
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which always includes walking away.
“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.)
"Street Tax?" by John Farnam
Your behavior proceeds directly from your beliefs.
"Have your affairs in order."
-- John Hearne
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"Having a gun is important. But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics -----
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"Lethal Dangers in Extreme Close Quarters" by Mike Boyle
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before intervening
in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced your in-hand weapon
retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
". . . if the assailant has a gun, it may actually be the easiest gun for you to access,
if you know how to take it from him."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
When was last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?
Have you taken a class to know such techniques?
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
“What’s the number one reason for reloading? Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques -----
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"What You Need to Know About Shooting From Retention with Massad Ayoob"
The meat starts at 13:42
Just don't put a compensator on your self-defense pistol. How simple.
If you're running a compensator on your carry pistol, you're wrong.
Yes, always pull your elbow all the way back in the close contact position.
"How to Spot Armed Suspects" by Sgt. Jeffrey Kleinsmith
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
You can use these techniques to avoid being spotted as carrying.
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"THE COVERT DRAW" by Suarez Tactics
Sleight of hand, distraction, misdirection is so important.
Learn it. Learn to use it (practice). Ask a magician to teach you.
(I suppose you could read a book, but that's not as effective.)
It's timing, not speed.
Inattentional blindness. If he is concentrating on something,
he won't see you draw your pistol.
---
"10 Levels of Sleight of Hand: Palming Cards" by Daniel Roy
---
"Magician Reviews Sleight of Hand and Visual Tricks In Movies & TV" by Vanity Fair
(Ben Seidman)
As Seidman says, there are hundreds of ways to do any trick. Do you lack the dexterity?
Use another technique. Do you lack the flexibility? Use another technique. Do you lack
the range of motion? Use another technique. It is highly unlikely that you will be fighting
a person who previously worked as a pit boss or manager in a casino.
With a little practice, you can shoot enemy in the head before he realizes you're playing him.
---
"Penn Jillette (Penn & Teller) Reviews Magic Tricks from Movies & TV" by Vanity Fair
"Never do anything more dangerous than sitting in your livingroom." -- Houdini
---
"MAGIC TUTORIAL : Learn The INVISIBLE PALM Routine (Intermediate)"
by Alex Pandrea
As Pandrea says, there are a lot of different versions [of the trick].
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
"Concealed Carry Corner: Speed Versus Accuracy" by Matt E
"Recoil Management and You - A Deep Dive into the Thumbs Forward Grip"
by TheHumbleMarksman
[The title is a misnomer. It's not necessarily a "thumbs forward grip". -- Jon Low]
Yong Lee
Eric Grauffel
Hwansik Kim
Ron Avery
[Never use a fixture in your home as a target. Tape a target up on the wall. When you're
finished with your dry practice, take the target down.
This avoids the temptation to point in on the "target" when you are not in dry practice
mode.
-- Jon Low]
"Point-Less Shooting" by Clint Smith
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Mental Bandwidth And Marksmanship
The road to mastery is a journey of identifying and tackling one’s weakest links."
by Steve Tarani
Excerpt:
“Once we learn what causes the result we desire,
we can then focus our efforts to doing that one thing repeatedly
until it no longer requires conscious effort.”
-- Grandmaster Travis McCamish
“Our only conscious effort when shooting a pistol should be to create,
recognize and maintain alignment.”
[This was a competition class. Our only conscious effort would be to
maintain situational awareness, as the situation would be changing constantly.
-- Jon Low]
"Mastery lies in knowing what to practice, what to delegate to the subconscious,
and where to channel conscious effort. By building a foundation of subconsciously
managed skills, bandwidth remains open for the complexities and challenges that
call for immediate, attentive focus."
Just because you are right-handed does not mean you are a right-handed
shooter.
My boss, Shane, at ATM Solutions (an armored car company,
I put cash in the ATMs and such) was right-handed, but shot left-handed,
because he was a more competent, more accurate left-handed shooter.
I had a student, Sheri, who was right-handed, who on the hostage rescue
drill struggled to get a hit in the cranio-ocular cavity when shooting
right-handed. But when she went around the left sight of the barrier,
shooting left-handed, she was able to hit with confidence, first time,
every time. Shooting is different from other activities, especially because
we know the implications.
"Pat McNamara on Dealing With D-Bags and When to Draw Your Weapon"
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
Rachel Harper
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of contents:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath -----
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
“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, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
CCW Safe policy for veterans.
*************************************************************************
----- Medical -----
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
*************************************************************************
----- Survival -----
How much muscle should you have?
Simple at home test for inadequate muscularity or excessive adiposity
(not enough muscle, too much fat).
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
"Living Legends | Interview with Tom Givens [2024]"
by Daniel Reedy
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Quips
Active Response Training
The Tactical Professor
Rangemaster Newsletter
ConcealedCarry.com articles
Concealed Carry Corner
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- 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
"Tough Decisions!" by John Farnam
"Gun Law Database" by U.S. Law Shield
"Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 28 Cases During July 2024"
"Build A Reciprocity Map:" by Concealed Carry Inc.
Sometimes we win. Even if it takes a long time.
"Colorado district attorney removed from office after disbarment" by 9NEWS
"Concealed Carry Laws in America" by CCW Safe
You only have rights that you can enforce. Are you willing to shoot the law
enforcement officers to enforce your rights? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
110,000 U.S. citizens arrested and placed into concentration camps. Under a
Democrat administration. Didn't your teachers tell you in history class?
They lost their homes because they couldn't work, so they couldn't pay their
mortgages. They had a word for babies fathered by prison guards. Hey, they
controled the food. You do whatever you have to to get your meals. Oh, is that not
in your history textbooks? I guess you would have had to have talked to a lady
that survived the camps. You can imagine the rest.
My father always told me not to fight the police. Cooperate, tell it to the
judge, and the judge will make it right. (Dad was a judge.) But, that's not true.
The judges are just as corrupt as the cops. The judges will always side with the
cops. Will always side with the government.
If you shoot a cop, you must be willing to go all the way. Which means going
underground to avoid the government, or overthrowing the government. Do you
have the resources to do either? Do you have a plan?
Oh, yes, it's been done before, Athens, TN.
You can't rely on a pardon from a governor or a president. They may take sides
against you.
Of course, you could do it in such a way that you are never suspected, which
would be best. Credible deniability would be better. Hiding behind a law would
be good (protecting classified documents, sovereign immunity, self-defense,
actually there is a long list if you're willing to do the research). Many government
operations are covert with credible deniability. Why not yours?
In my memory, there have been no successful prosecutions of real
competent vigilantes. Are they competent? Or, is the government incompetent?
In a chess game there are two well defined players. In the real world,
there are lots of players, known and hidden, deeply vested and casual,
full time, part time, sometime, wealthy, poor but dedicated, etc.
Maybe this should have been in the Intel section.
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
(free book, just pay for shipping so you don't have to go to Colorado to pick it up)
"11 Crooked Cops Busted by 1 Video | Police Chief Resigns | Officer Indicted"
by The Civil Right Lawyer (John H. Bryan)
The prosecuting attorney says you have the right to resist police who are unlawfully
in your house. The police entered the house without a warrant.
Police beat a citizen. Other police stood by and watched without intervening, and
then lied in sworn testimony when asked about the incident.
Mr. Bryan asks you to help. Only citizens demanding transparency and accountability
can cause prosecutors to convene grand juries and seek indictments.
"Traffic Stops: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"
Not to mention civil forfeiture, where the police steal money from drivers.
Not to mention false speeding tickets, where police extort money from drivers.
This list could go on for pages, just like the documents cited.
"What Happens When Someone Is Denied Gun Based on Long-Ago Criminal Case,
and the Underlying Court Records are Missing?"
by Eugene Volokh
---
Comment by Stephen P. Wenger --
In the years prior to constitutional carry, I had a student in an Arizona CWP course
who had previously cleared several background checks get denied when he applied
for the CWP. NCIC or NICS reportedly showed a felony arrest with no disposition
in a California county where he had never lived and the DPS CWP Unit told him
that it was his responsibility to prove that he'd never been convicted. When he
contacted the county he was told that they no longer kept such records on paper and
that the arrest was too old to have been transferred to their computer. At that time,
DPS did not mail fingerprint cards to the FBI – a process now replaced by electronic
submission – until the applicant had cleared initial screening on NCIC, ACIC and
NICS. I advised him to resubmit his application and ask DPS to submit his
fingerprints, to prove that it was not he who'd been arrested, but this was about the
time that I was leaving Douglas and I never heard the outcome.
More recently, I had a local acquaintance first get denied a transfer by NICS,
then a CWP by DPS, over a pair of arrests that had allegedly occurred in his nearby
hometown while he was away, on active duty in the Navy. Thankfully, the PD for
that municipality was willing to document that they had no record of such arrests
[which had been entered into a computer maliciously] and he was issued his CWP.
-- Stephen P. Wenger
“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
*************************************************************************
----- 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."
"The limited time you spend with students may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
----- Instructors -----
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
Watch your students carefully. You should detect fatigue in your students before it
becomes a problem. Ask the student to sit down, drink something, eat something,
take a bathroom break, etc. No need to say, "You look fatigued."
I always bring some folding chairs and place them behind the line. So the tired
student has a place to rest, but still be close enough to hear the lectures and coaching.
The student may want to tough it out. Don't let them. This is a civilian class,
not a selection process.
Tired, fatigued students are dangerous. Recognize it and take precautions.
I was in a class at Front Sight (Nevada desert), when a dehydrated student
started firing down range without command. Two of the instructors had to grab
his arms and escort him off the range. The student was so dehydrated that he
didn't know where he was.
Recognize the signs and act immediately to prevent any incidents.
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
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
The test of whether or not you understand a thing is whether or you can explain it
to someone else familiar with the field. The test of whether or not you have a deep
understanding of a thing is your ability or inability to explain it to a layman.
-- Prof. Norman Christ.
----- Students -----
I know training can be difficult. Let me share some words of encouragement that
my teacher told me, that I believe apply to all training regimens.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material. It is totally normal
that the first time you see this stuff, you find it confusing. You find it difficult to
understand. So, confusion should not discourage you. It does not represent any
intellectual failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an opportunity
to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science
and other stuff at Stanford University
A student was so tense that she was literally trembling while attempting to shoot.
May I suggest a technique for relaxing one's muscles that I learned
from a trainer while attending a coaches course at the Olympic Training
Center in Colorado Springs, CO? This technique takes a long time.
You would not do this in combat (or competition). You would do this in training so
that you would not need to do this in combat (or competition).
Muscle tonus is the tension in the muscles when at rest while awake.
This exercise is to reduce muscle tonus on a permanent (long term,
default) basis, as is preferred in shooting sports such as archery, riflery,
and pistol shooting.
Lay flat on your back on the floor (if you do it in bed, you might
fall asleep before completed, because you would be too comfortable).
If you are uncomfortable to the point of pain, stack a couple of pillows
under your knees to cause some bend, put a pillow under each heel.
If you can avoid pillows under your head, that would be best.
Starting with your toes and working to your abdominal muscles,
tighten each muscle, one at a time, as tight as you can, then release the
tension. You might need to get a diagram of all of the muscle groups
in the human body, so you don't miss any.
Starting at your finger tips and working to your shoulders, tighten
and release each muscle, one at a time.
Starting at your lower back and working to the top of your head
(muscles in your scalp), tighten and release each muscle, one at a time.
Rest for a minimum of 15 minutes. If you fall asleep, that's okay.
Repeat daily.
Initially, it may take you several hours to hit every muscle group.
But with practice and daily repetition, you'll get it down to about half
and hour. Initially, you will find it exhausting, and may not be able
to finish. That's okay, try again tomorrow. With deliberate dedicated
practice you will be able to do it easily. At some point you will have
an epiphany and understand what you are doing. It's not something
that I can be easily explained in human language. But it's not mystical
either. It's just that you figure it out on your own.
You get control of your muscles and elevate kinesthetic awareness.
And you will be able to relax your muscles in stressful situations.
---
A student told me that he was having difficulty holding the pistol up while
shooting. (The lead in the bullets is very heavy and supplies most of the weight.)
May I suggest an exercise for upper body strength that pertains to
our situation?
Heels shoulder width apart. Slight bend in the knees, definitely not locked.
Forward bend at the hips, not the waist.
[You are leaning backwards to balance the weight of the pistol at the end of
your arms. That is wrong. The way to correctly balance the weight of the pistol
is to move your hips backwards, as if sitting down. Now to prevent yourself
form falling backwards, you will lean forward from the hips, not the waist.
You will lean forward enough to feel the weight on your toes and balls of your
feet. You should feel your heels coming off the ground, or just lightly touching
the ground. Your back will be straight or even arched throwing your chest out.]
Hold a soup can in each hand. Arms extended. Relax, let the arms hand
down.
Slowly. Using a shoulder rotation only, bring the soup cans up to eye level.
Pause. Relax. If any muscles start quivering, move to the next position.
Using shoulder rotation only, bring the soup cans directly over your head.
Pause. Relax. If any muscles start quivering, move to the next position.
Using a shoulder rotation only, bring the soup cans down to eye level.
Pause. Relax. If any muscles start quivering, move to the next position.
Relax, let the arms hand down.
If two soup cans is too much strain, use one soup can. No, you don't have
to buy expensive dumb bells. Soup cans work just fine.
Fifteen reps a day.
Today, a student's undershirt was fouling his draw and holstering. Tucking the
undershirt in down his pants was not sufficient to solve the problem.
You must have a fairly tight fitting undershirt. You must tuck it into your underwear,
not just into your pants, so that the elastic waistband of your underwear will hold the
undershirt down.
Or, you can use elastic stays that clip onto your socks and undershirt. They pull your
socks up and pull your undershirt down. Keeping everything tight and preventing your
undershirt from fouling your draw or holstering.
Today, we practiced with our gloves on. Can't control your pistol? Better get thinner
gloves.
Without gloves, your hands will get cold and numb. No trigger control with numb
hands.
When we shoot in training and practice, you must have neck protection
(the hot brass will go down the front of your shirt and burn you), you must
have eye protection including a hat that will prevent hot brass from getting
caught between your glasses and eye balls (it will burn you).
If you don't undercut and slim your trigger guard where it contacts your
middle finger, you will get Glock Knuckle. A huge painful callous will
develop. If you let your wife, girlfriend, etc. get this, she will never shoot
with you again, because it hurts too much.
"Staff, I've been shooting all my life. I've never suffered anything like
that."
That's because your idea of shooting is less than a box of fifty rounds
once a year or so. We will be shooting 1000 rounds over a few days.
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague." -- Prof. Freeman Dyson
If you are wrong, the instructor can correct you.
If you are vague, no one can help you.
----- Andragogy -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
That is why you must prime the pumps. You must tell the students to read your book
or your hand outs before the start of class. Email is easy and free.
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
----- Gear -----
And the safe storage thereof.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Ballistics for Dummies: A Beginner’s Guide to Bullet Flight"
by Scott Witner
Hat tip to Docent.
I replaced all of my Springfield Armory, Ruger, and Glock magazine springs with
Wolff springs. Not only are my pistols more reliable, they sing. No joke. When I
tap my magazines the springs sing like a tuning fork. I thought it was quite amazing.
High quality spring steel is different from cheap springs.
"Concealed Carry Corner: Inside The Waistband Holster Rundown" by Matt E
---
"Concealed Carry Corner: Range Guns Vs Carry Guns" by Matt E
---
"Concealed Carry Corner: Carrying In A System" by Matt E
"Trigger Pull Weight for a Handgun" by Larry Vickers
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"As a general rule, a serious use pistol should have a trigger no lighter than 4 pounds
and ideally no more than 6 pounds."
"Average shooters will generally shoot a pistol with the same trigger pull weight
from shot to shot better than a double action/single action pistol that has a long and
relatively heavy first trigger pull, followed by lighter and shorter trigger pull for each
subsequent shot." [Absolute truth. There is no excuse for using a DA/SA pistol.
-- Jon Low]
"The danger to innocent bystanders increases dramatically, and the very thing that was
meant to make the pistol safer (heavy trigger pull) actually increases the danger to the
public that Law Enforcement officers are sworn to protect."
[Law enforcement officers swear to enforce the laws. I don't know of any law
enforcement organization that has an oath that includes protecting anyone. In fact,
the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled (or allowed rulings to stand), several times, that
government law enforcement has no duty to protect anyone. If the police car has
painted on its side "To Serve and Protect", it's just propaganda. They are "law enforcement".
They are not "citizen protection". That's why you can't sue them for failing to protect you.
Oh, yes, there have been many such cases. The law is clear. All such cases are dismissed
because there is no statutory law or case law requiring law enforcement officers to
protect anyone.
The purpose of law enforcement officers is to enforce the laws that the government
enacts: traffic tickets to generate funds for the government, civil forfeitures to generate
funds for the law enforcement organizations, etc.
If you're going to thrive in our society, it's important to separate reality from fantasy.
-- Jon Low]
"Issues with Magwells on Carry Guns" by Geauga Firearms Academy
Inability to pull a magazine out of the magazine well is a real problem.
I cut the front bottom of my Glock grips to allow access to the magazine,
so I can pull the magazines out.
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Galco Holsters
I like and use their stuff.
Alien Gear Holsters
I like and use their stuff.
Craft Holsters
I like and use their stuff.
Falco Holsters
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
"How Much Does a Handgun Cost?" by Sam.S
OfficerStore.com has lots and lots of police-trade-in Glocks and S&W M&Ps in stock
for around $350.
This would be funny, if it weren't true.
Tips for newbies.
"Don’t carry guns in your car."
-- Greg Ellifritz
*************************************************************************
Danyela D'Angelo
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems, to include sharing cryptosystems with
others.
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
"CodeBlocks Environment" by MDC IT Learner
I use Code Blocks. I think it's great. (Free of charge.)
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Life is not easy for any of us.
But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"You don't need to memorize theorems,
because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
Above the head of my bed, I have a chess board set up. I was studying a game,
W.R. Morry vs. H. Golombek in 1963 at the
Northern Open Tournament at Whitby (United Kingdom, I assume).
It's a Sicilian Defense. And I remembered why I stopped playing chess after high
school. The combinatorial explosion in the middle game would hurt my head.
I spent several hours down a 27 move rabbit hole. When I stepped back and looked,
realizing that only half of the moves were predictable given the opponent's assumed
moves, the absurdity struck me. In a real game, my analysis would go off the rails
at the second half of the first move of the line. (Even if my opponent was not trying
to take me out of book.)
Of course, I am operating at the wrong level. Grand Masters look at patterns,
not moves. Golombek says to make a plan and then stick to the plan. Do not be
distracted by tactical opportunities.
Opportunity fire should be reserved for the battle field.
"Spin in Quantum Mechanics" by Looking Glass Universe
(Mithuna Yoganathan, Ph.D. in theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge)
The Stern-Gerlach experiment. Quantum mechanical spin is either UP or DOWN,
no in-between.
"The spin of a neutron about its symmetry axis is conceptually meaningless."
-- Emilio G. Segre
(The author of "Nuclei And Particles:
An Introduction To Nuclear And Subnuclear Physics",
the textbook we used in my under grad physics class.)
Do you see how you can use this?
Electrons are not spread out like balls. Take a chemistry class to understand the
electron probability density functions, and their shapes in the various orbitals.
Linearly independent, not orthogonal. (I know she's young.) It's a probability thing,
not a geometry thing.
The 3 rules of quantum mechanics:
1. Superposition Rule
2. Born Rule
3. Measurement Collapse Rule
Nicely done, Mithuna. Yes, I can pronounce her name correctly.
---
"College level Quantum Mechanics (zero prerequisites)" by Looking Glass Universe
"Looking Glass Universe"
NGC 4993
"How fast is gravity?" by Fermilab
144 million light years? How do you know that? (No, I'm serious. You don't.
Astrophysicist assume the expansion and red-shift of the universe. Big assumption.)
But the 2 second time delay is significant. Unfortunately, the narrator just
discounts it. Ah, science at Firmilab.
A small difference in speed multiplied by large time and distance would be detected
as 2 seconds. Yes, nature did help us out. Whose theory does this coincide with?
"Why the world NEEDS Kolmogorov Arnold Networks" by ThatMathThing (Joel Rosenfeld)
Source documents cited below video.
An extremely dense GNU/Linux tutorial.
"100+ Linux Things you Need to Know" by Fireship
"Joe Rogan - Eric Weinstein Explains Gauge Symmetry"
Hopf fibration.
"Eric Weinstein Explains Octonion Numbers to Joe Rogan"
The Real numbers, modeled by a one dimensional number space (line).
(basis 1) Open, the result of √(-1) is not in the Real numbers.
The Complex numbers, modeled by a two dimensional number space (plane).
(basis 1 and i) Closed, the result of any of the binary operations is in the
Complex numbers. Commutative and associative.
The Quaternion numbers, modeled by a four dimensional number space.
(basis 1, i, j, and k) Not commutative, for some A and B, A×B ≠ B × A.
Still associative, for all A, B, and C, (A×B)×C = A×(B×C).
The Octonion numbers, modeled by an eight dimensional number space.
(basis 1, i, j, k, m, n, q, and r) Not commutative, for some A and B, A×B ≠ B × A.
Not associative, for some A, B, and C, (A×B)×C ≠ A×(B×C).
It's not a mystery. Weinstein is just being dramatic.
Weinstein is wrong. Other number systems beyond the octonions exist and are
well defined. If you believe in the string theory that has 23 dimensions, you must
believe in the 23 dimensional number system that describes things in that theory.
Never kid yourself. Physics is a religion with a lot of denominations.
Mathematics on the other hand is a branch of philosophy, which is pure thought.
No experimentation. No connection to the real world. It's a tool we use to model
things. Imputing anything in the real world to mathematics is wrong.
---
In high school physics, we use the basis i, j, and k in a three dimensional space
because that's what we live in, and the multiplication of i, j, and k correspond to
rotations in 3-dimensional space. Which are not commutative.
"What's the next freak identity?
A new deep connection with Sophie Germain primes"
by Mathologer
His mention of cryptology is very quick as he doesn't want to get this video flagged
by the wrong types.
Sophie Germain primes are of the form, for a given prime P, there exists a prime
equal to 2P + 1.
Are there an infinite number of Sophie Germain primes? Are there an infinite
number of Twin primes?
"The Man Who Understood Entropy." by Quantverse
May I offer you some random bits? (not pseudo-random) [If you understand
this stuff, you can run rings around your enemies. Don't let political correctness
get you killed. Don't let wokeness get you killed. You can always resign. You
can always freelance. Lance Corporals freelance.]
Octal, digits 0 to 7,
5605301664636061072546425043154741040
Icosal, digits 0 to B,
60718924065A02B252B01820198A6B67585698
Dodekal, digits 0 to K (no letter I, too easily confused with the number 1),
KFEDHA815CDAED43K0629DGA74J544EHH1J
Hexal, digits 0 to 5,
020003511115305
Tetral, digits 0 to 3,
3242331123231422
And now for an irreducible polynomial of degree 34
over the Galois Field of characteristic 2,
X³⁴ + X²⁷ + X³ + X + 1, which has the properties that it's primitive,
roots are linearly dependent, and the roots of the reciprocal are linearly independent.
From my professors Peterson and Weldon at the University of Hawaii,
"Error-Correcting Codes" 2nd Edition.
You may tap the linear feedback shift register at 34, 27, 3, and 1; or 34, 33, 31, and 7.
Only Knuth can find 2 tap LFSRs. (Ya, I know, G. J. Mitchell and D. P. Moore found
it, but neglected to publish.)
My professor, Shu Lin, at the Electrical Engineering Department of the University
of Hawaii also wrote a book that you might find interested,
"Error Control Coding: Fundamentals and Applications" with his colleague
Prof. Daniel J. Castello, Jr.
I was looking through my book, "The Theory of Error-Correcting Codes" by
F.J. MacWilliams and N.J.A. Sloane. Inside I found a photo of Neil (Sloane)
and me smiling on his front porch, dated 9 September 2004 A.D. He signed my
copy of his book,
To Jonathan Low
Welcome to the Eparty!
From the oldest living North-Holland author
with best wishes
Neil Sloane
Sept 9 2004
He showed me a graphic of points on a sphere. Their distribution was such that they
were all repelling each other, as if electrons on a conducting shell. Are you familiar
with the math?
Ah, those were the days. No one to impress. No deadlines to meet. No budgets
to work within. We were all independent free-lancers. Working for love. Driven by
curiosity. All internal motivation.
The number line is fine. But it's not the only model. Imagine an infinite dimensional
lattice where each dimension delineates a prime and its powers. At the origin is the
multiplicative identity, 1. It is a half space, we do not consider the negative powers of the
primes. All the primes lie on the hyper hemisphere of radius 1. All of the composite
integers with two prime factors lie on the hyper hemisphere of radius √2. We are in a
unique factorization domain. Do you see it? The product of twin primes must lie on
the sphere of radius √2. Are there an infinite number of Twin Primes?
Consider the number line. Imagine a sine wave starting from the origin and adjust
its frequency so that it cross the number line at the iᵗʰ prime and multiples of that prime.
Yes, as the Sieve of Eratosthenes. Make a similar sine wave for each prime. The
amplitude does not matter, unless you're into art. Map these sine waves onto the hyper
hemi-ball described above. What do you notice? Are there an infinite number of
Twin Primes?
[The zero, origin, of the number line gets mapped to the other hyper hemisphere, that
we chose to ignore, of radius ∞ .]
Sometimes the literature search is difficult.
S. N. Bernstein, "Sur les équations du calcul des variations",
Annales Scientifiques de l'École Normale Supérieure,
Volume 29, Pages 431 to 485, 1912 A.D.
---
Let x be an independent variable.
Let u be a function of x, as in u(x).
Let u' mean the derivative of the function u(x) with respect to the variable x.
Let u'' mean the second derivative of function u(x) with respect to the variable x.
Let v = u'.
The subscript, as in Fᵤ , means the partial derivative of the function F with
respect to the variable u.
If the functions F, Fᵤ , and Fᵥ are continuous on every finite point (x, u)
for any finite u', and if there exists a constant k > 0 and functions
α = α(x, u) ≥ 0
and
β = β(x, u) ≥ 0
(which are bounded in every finite region of the plane)
such that
Fᵤ(x, u, u') > k
and
| F(x, u, u') | ≤ α (u')² + β,
then one and only one integral curve of the equation
u'' = F(x, u, u')
passes through any two points (s, S) and (t, T) with different abscissas (s ≠ t).
---
Izrail’ Moiseevich Gel’fand and Sergei Vasil’evich Fomin had translated from
the French to Russian ("Variasionnoe Ischisleine"). Richard A. Silverman
translated from the Russian to English ("Calculus of Variations"). You might
want to go back to the original for context. I wasn't able to figure out what the
bound was. Maybe it's just < ∞ ?
Caveat emptor.
*************************************************************************
Alicia Self
*************************************************************************
***** Signals Intelligence and Ground Electronic Warfare, Cyber Security,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) *****
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
Signals Intelligence and Ground Electronic Warfare for the civilian.
"Leveraging Tech for Better Personal Safety"
An Interview with Felicia King
Interview by Gila Hayes
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
--George Washington
Concerning passwords --
"NIST Recommends Some Common-Sense Password Rules" by Bruce Schneier
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/09/nist-recommends-some-common-sense-password-rules.html
Cited document,
Excerpt:
The following requirements apply to passwords:
1. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL require passwords to be a minimum of eight characters
in length and SHOULD require passwords to be a minimum of 15 characters in length.
2. Verifiers and CSPs SHOULD permit a maximum password length of at least 64 characters.
3. Verifiers and CSPs SHOULD accept all printing ASCII [RFC20] characters and the
space character in passwords.
4. Verifiers and CSPs SHOULD accept Unicode [ISO/ISC 10646] characters in passwords.
Each Unicode code point SHALL be counted as a single character when evaluating
password length.
5. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL NOT impose other composition rules (e.g., requiring
mixtures of different character types) for passwords.
6. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL NOT require users to change passwords periodically.
However, verifiers SHALL force a change if there is evidence of compromise of the
authenticator.
7. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL NOT permit the subscriber to store a hint that is
accessible to an unauthenticated claimant.
8. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL NOT prompt subscribers to use knowledge-based
authentication (KBA) (e.g., “What was the name of your first pet?”) or security
questions when choosing passwords.
9. Verifiers SHALL verify the entire submitted password (i.e., not truncate it).
---
Hooray.
---
[Notice that many persons who left comments do not understand cryptology,
no training, no education. Forcing users to use particular characters or characters
from particular subsets, does not increase complexity (they don't understand
what is), it just makes remembering the password more difficult for humans,
which forces the human user to use some method to remember the password.
All such methods are insecure.
The purpose of passwords is "something you know" that no one else knows,
that is not recorded anywhere else, in any form.
Persons who force you to change your password every so often are not just
ignorant, they are stupid. Beware.
Good passwords never go stale. Bad passwords are not mitigated by regular
changing.
-- Jon Low]
---
The goodness of your password is the space from which it is draw and the
probability distribution of you picking a particular password from that space.
The higher the dimension of the space, the better. The more elements in the
space, the better.
The base is the number of characters in your space.
The exponent is the number of characters in your password.
So your password should be as long as possible. Because the difficulty of
breaking your password increases exponentially with the length of your
password.
Do not use words that appear in any dictionary.
A method you could use would be to take your favorite Bible verse (that you
have memorized) as your pass phrase. Take the first letter of each word (including
capitalization) as the first part of your password. Append to this the second part
of your password, which would be created as follows:
1. Choose a number (phone number, social security number, dates of births of several
persons known to you, etc.)
2. Hold down the shift key.
3. Type in your number using the keys on the top row of your keyboard.
4. Release the shift key.
Never write your password down anywhere, ever. Never use software to
store your password.
You want to avoid attacks on your computer systems? Don't use proprietary software.
It is that simple. Not easy, simple. You may have to purge all the bureaucrats in the
hierarchy above you. Follow Trumps lead.
Cheers,
Jon
"The Shocking Ease of Cracking Windows 11 Passwords" by Enderman
Enerman's web site,
"Linux Removes Russian Maintainers" by Mental Outlaw
Do you understand?
From James Dunnigan --
"Information Warfare: Hunt For The Russian Cyberwarrior"
November 13, 2024: the United States continues to hunt down and prosecute
Russian hackers that were responsible for Cyber War attacks on Ukraine just
before the Russians invaded in 2022. Five suspects are members of the Russian
military and in Russia. The United States has offered a $60 million reward for
those who make possible the arrest of the Russian hackers. This is the largest
reward the United States has ever offered. These rewards work and the Americans
keep quiet about who received an award and how the U.S. often arranged to have
the award winners and their families relocated and sometimes put in a form of the
U.S. witness protection program. [Or, it could be that the awards are never paid.
And loose ends are simply tied off. -- Jon Low]
The Russian cyber-attacks on Ukraine were known as Whisper Gate and were
carried out by the Russian GRU military intelligence organization. The GRU, in
one form or another, has been around for 300 years. Espionage and dirty tricks
are a long Russian tradition. [As if they are particular to Russia. -- Jon Low]
The GRU Cyber War offensive on the eve of the Ukraine invasion was directed
against NATO supporters of Ukraine, including the United States. This triggered
an aggressive and ongoing American response. This appears to have encouraged
the GRU to try harder and the Cyber War goes on.
Since 2022 the Ukrainian GRU has been fighting back at the Russian Cyber War
efforts and had some success damaging Russian Cyber War assets and stealing
Russian government and military data. In July 2024 Ukraine carried out a surprise
electronic attack on Russian internet access. This was accomplished by using the
largest DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack ever. The attack disrupted all
major Russian internet systems, including financial institutions, government networks
and internet-based communications. This included messaging apps and social
networks.
These attacks are usually carried out by first using a computer virus, often
delivered as an email attachment that installs a secret Trojan horse type program
that allows someone else to take over that computer remotely and turn it into a
zombie for spamming, stealing, monitoring, or DDOS attacks to shut down
another site. There are millions of zombie PCs out there and these can be rented,
either for spamming or launching DDOS attacks. You can equip a web site to
resist, or even brush off, a DDOS attack but the Ukrainian attack was so massive
and well planned that Russian DDoS defenses were of no use.
It took about three weeks to get the Russian internet back to normal, although
some systems were so heavily damaged that it took months to get them running
again. Major commercial, government and military systems were damaged or
offline for weeks while repairs were made. The Ukrainian attacks were so massive,
hitting internet targets throughout Russia, that there were not enough Russian
internet engineers to repair all that damage immediately. That meant systems that
were not critical were offline for weeks or months.
Russians feared the Ukrainians would launch a similar attack before all the
damage from the first one was repaired. Russia has long been a leader in such
attacks, but the Ukrainians prepared for that before the Russian 2022 invasion
and upgraded their internet defenses. Russia was not as well prepared and was
vulnerable. Some Russian internet engineers warned their government of the
vulnerability but not enough was done.
Attacks like these are more common now but have been for over two decades.
One example occurred in 2011 there was an odd incident in South Korea, where
a widely distributed computer game appeared to be infected with malware. What
caught the attention of South Korean military intelligence was the fact that the
malware was hidden in every copy of this game and, at one point, many of the
100,000 infected PCs tried to shut down the air traffic control system at a major
South Korean airport.
Further investigation revealed that the airport attack was part of a growing
Cyber War campaign by North Korea against government and military websites
in South Korea. One of the most disruptive North Korean Cyber War weapons
was DDOS attacks. You can equip a website to resist, or even brush off, a DDOS
attack and some of those attacks are prepared. But others were not. The South
Korean airport was disrupted for several hours. The Russians suffered even
greater damage in 2024.
North Korea has launched DDOS attacks and attempted to hack into South
Korean networks for over twenty years. This is a continuing problem for
South Korea and Japan, which have had to construct large scale internet defenses
to provide some protection from further North Korea attacks via the internet.
Most North Korean attacks are for financial gain. North Korea is perpetually
broke and always in need of more cash. North Korean hackers have turned
many foreign internet systems they have hacked into their own private ATMs.
-- James Dunnigan
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
*************************************************************************
Suzie Bennett
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Gathering, Analyzing, Disseminating
"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
"The Untold Ethics at CIA: How Morals Get Twisted in the Field" by Andrew Bustamante
Morally flexible.
"How US election might impact stalled Saudi-Israeli normalization, arms sales to Gulf"
"Regardless of whether Harris or Trump wins this year’s presidential election,
I don’t expect Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel at any point in the
foreseeable future," said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, a US-based
consulting firm. [Cafiero is an idiot. Trump has demonstrated what he can and will do. -- Jon Low]
by Agnes Helou
"North Korea Soldiers Declare WAR on Russian Troops" by Business Basics
Iranian troops operating the drones for the Russians.
No training.
Can't fuel a missile without detonating it? First test flight in April 2022. Followed
by 4 failures?
"Ragnorok Part XIII -- Russia Willing to Negotiate and a North Korean Mind Virus"
by Docent
"Cartel War Explodes Threatening to Spill into America" by Task & Purpose
Thank God Trump won. Claudia Sheinbaum is going to need shepherding.
We've found lots of radios west of San Diego. If you're setting up networks for
the Cartel de Sinoloa, you need to step back and look at the big picture. In
particular, look behind you.
From the Economist -- (I would take the Economist with a grain of salt. They endorsed
Harris for President. Though they were realistic enough not to predict her winning.)
"In some areas of military strength, China has surpassed America
The modernisation of the PLA is proceeding at an extraordinary pace"
by (No author cited. What does that tell you?)
As he prepares for a second term, Donald Trump will receive the same simple message
from all 18 of America’s intelligence agencies: Russia may be causing mayhem in Europe,
but only China has the wherewithal to mount a global challenge. “Beijing is accelerating
the development of key capabilities,” said the coordinating body for American spooks
last year. Those capabilities, it added, are ones that China “believes the People’s Liberation
Army (PLA) needs to confront the United States in a large-scale, sustained conflict”.
The PLA is still far from being ready for war with America. China’s official aim is to
“modernise” its armed forces by 2035 and make them world-class by 2049. But the PLA
has already undergone an extraordinary transformation, from an ill-equipped outfit two
decades ago to a regional power today. The old image of China’s armed forces focusing on
quantity over quality is outdated. In recent years China has improved the effectiveness of
its arms to such an extent that, in some areas, it has already matched or surpassed America.
Any analysis of China’s advantages has to begin with its navy—called the
People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It is not just the world’s largest, but also has the
newest vessels. Around 70% of Chinese warships were launched after 2010, compared
with a quarter of America’s, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS), a think-tank. When it comes to design and material quality, many Chinese ships
are comparable to America’s, says the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.
American warships tend to be larger and better armed, but China is catching up.
One important measure of naval power is the number of vertical launch system (VLS) cells,
or advanced missile launchers. CSIS estimates that in 2004 American ships, on average,
had 222 VLS cells for each Chinese one. But the ratio will soon tip in the PLAN’s favour.
China is also innovating. America has nothing like the hybrid propulsion systems in
China’s Zhou-class submarines, says Tom Shugart, a retired American naval officer. He also
points to a Chinese amphibious assault ship under construction, called the Type 076, which
will be the world’s largest and the only one with a catapult to launch drones.
China’s air force, called the PLAAF, is on a similar trajectory. Its most advanced
warplanes are probably not as state-of-the-art or stealthy as America’s. But having once
struggled to develop high quality jet engines, China now produces models that are near
the caliber of those from NATO countries, says Brendan Mulvaney of the China Aerospace
Studies Institute, a U.S. Air Force thinktank. China is also thought to churn out stealth
fighters faster than America does. And the weapons carried by Chinese aircraft have
improved dramatically. China is often ahead in areas where America has failed to invest,
says John Culver, a former CIA man [notice how the Economist neglects to give his rank
or title -- Jon Low]. He points to the range, speed, sensors and antijamming capabilities
of Chinese air-to-air and anti-ship missiles. The most striking progress by China has come
in the area of hypersonic missiles, which fly and maneuver at more than five times the
speed of sound. Such weapons have forced countries to rethink their defences. Earlier
this year Jeffrey McCormick of America’s National Air and Space Intelligence Centre told
Congress that China had the world’s leading hypersonic arsenal. America is testing faster
and more accurate missiles, says Mr. Mulvaney. But China has already deployed multiple
hypersonic-weapon systems.
With other arms that rely on newer technologies it is often difficult to judge who is ahead,
not least because they are rarely tested in public. But the Australian Strategic Policy Institute,
another think tank, publishes an annual critical technology tracker measuring high impact
research across countries. Its survey in 2024 found that China ranked top in six out of seven
crucial defence related areas: advanced aircraft engines, drones and collaborative robots,
hypersonic detection and tracking, advanced robotics, autonomous systems and space-launch
systems. America was ahead only in small satellites. Such rankings are contested and fail to
capture the secret research done on all sides. Moreover, combat effectiveness is not just the
sum of individual weapons and technologies. The failure of Russia’s initial invasion of
Ukraine in 2022 was at odds with many Western assessments of Russian military prowess,
which did not account for intangible factors. China’s armed forces have their own problems,
such as corruption, inadequate logistics and poor integration between the army, navy and
air force. China also lacks combat experience, having not fought a war in decades. But that
is scant consolation for those watching the PLA’s progress over the past two decades.
Few peacetime precedents exist for the speed and scale of China’s military
modernisation. It has done it while barely breaking a fiscal sweat, spending less than 2% of
its GDP on the armed forces, compared with more than 3% in America. “We are in a race
for military technological superiority with a capable pacing challenge,” said Frank Kendall,
the U.S. Air Force secretary, in April. “Our cushion is gone. We are out of time.”
“North Korea is now, in effect, waging war in Europe.
North Korean soldiers are attempting to kill our people on European soil.”
— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Hat tip to the Merge.
From the Merge -- They Said It
“Frankly, I would be comfortable with the Department of the Air Force taking on
the … defense of air bases as an organic mission, if the needed resources — human
and financial, etc. — were made available.”
— Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall
This is a Pandora’s box about roles and missions dating back almost 100 years.
Remember during GWOT when the Air Force often drew ire about not caring
enough about Close Air Support for the Army? At the same time, the Army divested
most of its air defense systems to protect the Air Force in-kind . . . and no one batted
an eye.
Time for that courageous conversation?
[The Air Force doesn't consider it their responsibility to defend their bases? -- Jon Low]
[When I was in Artillery Forward Observer school at Schofield Barracks,
we learned to call artillery (including mortars), naval gun fire (missiles), and
air strikes. The U.S. Army instructors told us to always call Marine Corps
pilots for the air strikes if possible. The Marine pilots would fly low and inverted
to positively identify the target, and then make their strike at low altitudes. While
the Air Force pilots would drop their bombs from high altitudes to avoid getting
shot down. Usually scattering their bombs, and killing friendlies, especially forward
observers.
So it's not that the Air Force pilots don't care. They care about the wrong things.
If they lose their aircraft, that's the end of their career.
-- Jon Low]
"Globalstar soars on Apple’s $1.7 billion satellite investment"
by Jason Rainbow
Excerpt:
"MDA has also declined to comment on whether Globalstar/Apple
is behind a contract it teased last year for 36 non-geostationary satellites."
"MDA gets $131 million from mystery NGSO constellation customer"
by Jason Rainbow
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
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***** ***** ***** After Thoughts, Politics, and such ***** ***** *****
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Richard Henry Lee
Signer, Declaration of Independence
"How do you spend your time?" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
Wednesday, November 13th, 2024
One of my all-time favorite books is Norton Juster's "The Phantom Tollbooth".
[Read to your kids. -- Jon Low]
After crossing over into The Lands Beyond, Milo and his companions must
undertake a perilous journey to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason.
As they climb the Mountains of Ignorance on their way to the captives' floating
castle, they must outwit a number of monstrous demons – none more dangerous
than the Terrible Trivium.
Unlike the other demons, the Terrible Trivium is not terrifying or grotesque.
In fact, he's rather pleasant to look at and speaks in a soothing voice. With his
courteous manner, he succeeds in charming the companions into undertaking a
number of tedious and inane tasks. Milo, for example, agrees to move a pile of
sand from one location to another using just a pair of tweezers. When the heroes
finally see through the Trivium's tricks, the demon confesses: “If you only do the
easy and useless jobs, you'll never have to worry about the important ones which
are so difficult. You just won't have the time.”
Most people spend their lives under the Trivium's spell. They devote years to
that which truly does not matter. A paycheck is poor recompense for meaningless
busywork. Distraction and anesthesia neither comfort the mind nor relax the body.
When the unconscious rebels against the vacuity of their lives, they treat their
distress and discomfort with holidays and medication – but nothing seems to work.
Do not be like most people. Learn to recognize the Trivium in your own life and
you too can resist his nefarious enchantment.
Warmly,
Orion
"Joe Rogan Experience #2219 - Donald Trump"
"Joe Rogan Experience #2223 - Elon Musk"
Every tax on business is a hidden sales tax.
Denying truth is a real problem.
The algorithms create your reality.
What you believe depends on what you choose to consume.
Not an accident.
What hump?
Blind spots are not areas that you know you can't see. Blind spots are areas you don't
know that you can't see.
Superstitions are not things that you know are false. Superstitions are things that
you know are true, that are false.
Do you understand?
Propaganda (that you might not have seen, because it was targeted to those who
don't know any better). Isabel Brown gives an excellent detailed explanation.
"The WEIRDEST Election Ad Ever . . . " by Isabel Brown
[It's not a coincidence that conservative Christian girls are cute.
Ya, you must read the ingredients on products that you buy. Or,
do the research to find out what's in them. -- Jon Low]
"Elites Just Told Us How They'll SILENCE US!" by Isabel Brown
"Our 1st Amendment stands as a major block to just hammer it out of existence."
-- John Kerry
[The pronoun "it" refers to opposing voices in social media.]
"3D Gun Printing Down Under |
Breonna Taylor LEO Conviction | [This is the important one. -- Jon Low]
Man Punished After Finding Gun"
by ARFCOM News
Cited documents:
Search Warrant,
Detective Hankison convicted,
Detective Kelly Goodlett accepts plea agreement,
What happened to the other police officers? Oh, they were just following orders.
They didn't know anything about the false warrant. Once the shooting started, they
just joined in. Once anyone starts shooting at cops, it's a free fire zone, don't you know.
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- (Mary) Flannery O'Connor
The three things women look for in a man.
Signaling future resources. (Doesn't have to be rich now, but must show potential.)
Intelligence. (As displayed by a sense of humor.)
Kindness. (Being a good person.)
Why do bad things happen to good people.
It never gets old.
The genii (plural of genius) in the Nashville political leadership are putting
"traffic calming" speed bumps all over the place. An unintended consequence
is that emergency vehicles are being slowed, and damaged. Large heavy firetrucks
and ambulances have been breaking axles going over these large plastic speed
bumps. They are placed so that it is physically impossible to drive around them.
You won't hear about it on any "news" broadcast. I wonder why?
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword;
because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense,
raised in the United States."
-- Noah Webster
Elon Musk on education.
" 'FINAL HUMILIATION':
California suffers major blow to soft-on-crime prosecutors"
by Fox Business
Charlie Kirk, yes indeed.
"5 Steps To Know She’s The One" by Nick Freitas
Marrying a non-crazy person is not an accident. Pay attention to:
Shared values
Shared Goals & Expectations
Shared Interests
Effective Communication
Attractiveness
"21 Casualties In ANOTHER Invisible Mass Shooting . . .
Gun Controllers & Media COMPLETELY Silent . . . "
by Langley Outdoor Academy
“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction.”
-- Stef Starkgaryen
"Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains + Push It [Voodoo Music Experience 2002]"
"Pool Made Simple – The BREAK SHOT … 8-ball, 9-ball, and 10-ball Strategy"
by DrDaveBilliards
How the stock market works.
Socialism.
Based girl mocks insane leftist women.
Three rules for money.
How Trump operates.
War of assassins, killing high value targets (aristocracy);
as opposed to war that kills hundreds of thousands of peasants and proletariats.
That's why the peasants and proletariats voted for Trump. At least those who
understood this difference.
I have worked for every U.S. President since Ronald Reagan. Providing truth.
Not intelligence to the best of our ability. Truth. Intelligence that has been verified
in person on the ground by my colleagues and objectively analyzed. Only three of
those Presidents have sent me a thank you letter: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush,
and Donald Trump.
[I also received a thank you letter from Colin Powell, when he was Secretary of
State, on his 4-star general letterhead.]
My mother told me that there are two types of people in this world: those who
write thank you letters and those who don't.
From an email from the Merge --
The original birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps — July 11, 1798 — was recognized
for 123 years until 1921, when it was changed to November 10th 1775, to coincide with
the creation of the Continental Marines (vs. the 1798 creation of the US Marine Corps).
OBTW, the first formal Birthday Ball took place in Philadelphia in 1925, meaning
next year will be both the 250th birthday of the Marine Corps and the 100th anniversary
of the Birthday Ball. It’ll be a wild party.
From the Wall Street Journal --
"Trump Draft Executive Order Would Create Board to Purge [Flag Officers, O-8 and O-9]"
by Vivian Salama, Nancy A. Youssef, and Lara Seligman
The Trump transition team is considering a draft executive order that establishes
a “warrior board” of retired senior military personnel with the power to review
three-star and four-star officers and to recommend removals of any deemed unfit
for leadership. If Donald Trump approves the order, it could fast-track the removal
of generals and admirals found to be “lacking in requisite leadership qualities,”
according to a draft of the order reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. But it could
also createa chilling effect on top military officers, given the president-elect’s past
vow to fire “woke generals,” referring to officers seen as promoting diversity in the
ranks at the expense of military readiness. As commander in chief, Trump can fire
any officer at will, but an outside board whose members he appoints would bypass
the Pentagon’s regular promotion system, signaling across the military that he
intends to purge a number of generals and admirals. The draft order says it aims
to establish a review that focuses “on leadership capability, strategic readiness, and
commitment to military excellence.” The draft doesn’t specify what officers need
to do or present to show if they meet those standards. The draft order originated
with one of several outside policy groups collaborating with the transition team, and
is one of numerous executive orders under review by Trump’s team, a transition
official said. The warrior board would be made up of retired generals and
noncommissioned officers, who would send their recommendations to the president.
Those identified for removal would be retired at their current rank within 30 days.
Karoline Leavitt, the Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, declined to comment
on this draft executive order, but said “the American people re-electedPresident Trump
by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on
the campaign trail. He will deliver.” The establishment of the board would be in line
with Trump’s calls for purging what he views as failed generals, including those
involved in the chaotic 2021withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to people
familiar with the policy discussions. Trump has said he would ask all generals
involved in the withdrawal to resign by “noon on Inauguration Day.”
The president-elect previewed the move during a campaign event in October,
telling an audience that he would create a task force to monitor the “woke generals”
and get rid of diversity training in the military. “They’re gone,” Trump said of
those generals, without naming specific officers. One feared potential target of
Trump’s threatened purge could be Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr., the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to two defense officials. During the 2020
George Floyd protests, Brown spoke about the impact that movement had on him
and what it was like to rise through the military ranks as a Black fighter pilot.
The executive order, which has been reviewed by the president-elect’s transition
team, may be presented to Trump when he takes office, and its implementation
depends on whether he chooses to sign it in its current form, according to a person
familiar with its drafting. On Tuesday, Trump announced his intention to
nominate Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host, to be his next
Secretary of Defense. If confirmed by the Senate, Hegseth could be key in
implementing the findings of the Warrior Board’s review. The Trump team
wants to do major reforms at the Defense Department, particularly around the
size of the joint staff, according to a person with knowledge of the transition.
“It’s gotten way too big,” this person said. “Trump also expects that many of
the generals, the three- and four-star generals that have been underperforming
will basically be retired.” The draft executive order cites as precedent for the
move Gen. George C.Marshall’s creation of a “plucking board” in 1940, led by
retired general officers, to review the files of senior serving military officers and
“remove from line promotion any officer for reasons deemed good and sufficient.”
The goal ofMarshall’s board was to make room to promote promising junior
officers. But some former officials believe the incoming Trump administration
is looking to politicize the military. “Do they start wearing MAGA hats in
formation to signal who’s where?” asked one former senior Pentagon official.
“The potential for this to go wrong is infinite.” The president has the power to
fire generals but rarely does so for political reasons. President Harry Truman
fired Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur for publicly challenging the administration’s
Asia security strategy. President Barack Obama fired Army
Gen. Stanley McChrystal as his Afghanistan commander after the military leader’s
subordinates were quoted as criticizing the administration in a magazine article.
U.S. troops take an oath of office to the Constitution and vow to not follow any
illegal order, and Congress must approve the promotion of general officers.
But establishing a board separate from the current process, which uses serving
officers, could undermine the idea that generals refrain from sharing their political
views within the Pentagon. It could also potentially prompt officers not to speak
out against orders they believe are illegal, says Eric Carpenter,professor of military
law at Florida International University College of Law. “This looks like an
administration getting ready to purge anyone who will not be a yes man,” said
Carpenter, a former Army lawyer. “If you are looking to fire officers who might
say no because of the law or their ethics, you set up a system with completely
arbitrary standards, so you can fire anyone you want.” In the early days of his
presidency, Trump openly expressed admiration formilitary generals and promoted
a number of them to his administration. Ret. Marine Gen. Jim Mattis served as
his first defense secretary. Ret. Marine Gen.John Kelly was his chief of staff and
Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster served as national security adviser. But relations
between Trump and the generals quickly soured. By the end of his term, all three
of those officers publicly criticized him and described him as a threat to national
security. The president-elect also had a particularly fraught relationship with
Ret. Army Gen. Mark Milley, whom Trump nominated to serve as his chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the final two years of his first administration.
Milley told journalist Bob Woodward in his latest book that Trump is “a total fascist.”
Trump has called Milley a “loser.”
"Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far"
by THOMAS BEAUMONT
"Sofi Tukker "Drinkee" || Baeble Music"
May I recommend "Vann Go"? They provide extremely high quality portable toilets
for your event. They come on trailers that have extending mechnaical legs to stabilize
them. They are heated for the cold weather and air conditioned for the hot weather.
Very nice and roomy.
Lisa Baker, CEO
(615) 398-2574 ext. 202
Lisa@GoVannGo.com
"Voyager 1 Switches to Backup Transmitter to Phone Home"
by The Silicon Graybeard
Hat tip to Docent.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
Valentina Turisini
