Greetings Sheepdogs,
“A good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits
contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp
your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should
endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous.”
— George Washington (1790)
Table of Contents:
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Gear
Cryptology
Signals Intelligence
Intelligence
Religion and Politics
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
To all Democrats and RINOs.
Hat tip to Van Evans.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
“To those who have fought for it,
freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.”
― P. McCree Thornton
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Mindset and Attitude --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"If you look through history, it's never the good guys who are in favor of censorship."
—Rep. Jim Jordan
"Five Harsh Truths About Gunfights" by Travis Pike
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
Victim mentality
Do you see the attitude?
“My grandfather, a cop and blooded gunfighter, was present one night when
I was a small child and had a nightmare. My parents, of course, were dedicated
to calming me down and included the old canard of "there's no such thing as monsters"
in their assurances. My grandfather later sat me down and told me there were indeed
monsters in the world. "What makes 'em scary," he told me, "is they look like
everyone else. But if you keep your eye on 'em and be on your guard . . . sooner
or later, you'll see the mask slip." ”
-- Jay Winton
"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist.
Children already know that dragons exist.
Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."
-- G.K. Chesterton
"Liberty Doll's Origin Story |
Obama Voting Feminist To Ron Paul Libertarian"
by Chrissie Mayr
Oh, people change.
‟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
"As a fat, self-indulgent middle class raised their children to be sheep
Enemies raised theirs to be wolves!"
-- Jeff Brunken
"Our Civilization in Peril!" by John Farnam
"I do not carry a pistol so that I may impose my will on others.
I carry a pistol so that others may not impose their will on me."
-- Tom Givens
"Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
"The line between everyday life and sudden violence is thinner than most realize."
-- Tim Larkin
"Firearms are second only to the constitution in importance,
they are the people's liberty's teeth." -- George Washington
"Be so focused on watering your grass that
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
‷If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
‶I'm at a disadvantage″,
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender --
all the factors that untrained people think make the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.‴
-- Tim Larkin
"Have your affairs in order."
-- John Hearne
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil and
evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -- Jeff Cooper
---
Some persons, after fleeing, don't report the crime to the police.
Too embarrassed, perhaps.
Not reporting the crime is doing the next victim a grave disservice.
It's the primary reason serial rapists exist. The previous victims
didn't report the crime. So the police didn't know to look for the guy.
"Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
The Warrior's Prayer
Dear God,
Please give us discernment to distinguish
friend from foe from innocent bystanders.
Give us clear vision so our aim is true.
Give us calm so we execute correctly.
Give us spiritual maturity so that we stop the attack
without excessive force, without revenge.
Amen
"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
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Situational Awareness --------------------------------
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
"Many people don't realize that your awareness skills
are more important than your marksmanship skills.
Well, you can't shoot something you don't know is there,
or don't know it needs to be shot!" -- Tom Givens
"Situational Awareness" by Cris Cunningham
"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)
[Terms at the beginning of the line are the NRA terms.
Terms at the end of the line are Col. Cooper's terms.]
"An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle,
but never for being taken by surprise."
-- Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Safety --------------------------------
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
"Carry Safety" by Rich Grassi
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger
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
"Preparing for Home Defense" by Docent
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
"I don't see my bodyguards."
If you could recognize them, the bad guys would be able to recognize them.
That would be a sign of incompetence. Your executive protection detail would
lose the element of surprise. They would be the first ones to be killed in any
criminal scenario.
"The President has visible body guards."
Yours is a different situation. Hopefully, we can get you to your appointments
and home without anyone recognizing you. Visible security officers would call
unwanted attention to you.
"Ali (Alina Maratovna Kabaeva) has body guards. They don't hide. I don't
think there are any bodyguards."
If you believe that, you should fire me and hire someone else.
"You'd love to get out of this job."
This is not a job for me. I'm just doing your husband a favor.
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Protection!" by John Farnam
EDP = emotionally disturbed person.
"Tren de Aragua for example, far from a rag-tag group of illegal-immigrant
street thugs, is in reality a well-organized branch of the Venezuelan Army,
sent here (actually welcomed here by the JRB Administration) to “do business”."
"A false path will always be tensely, angrily, violently defended by those
it has deceived, because who are so easily deceived are ever too arrogant to repent.”
-- Instructional axiom
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
When I guarded the Akiva Elementary School, I would remove the wooden blocks
and such that were propping the doors open, lock the doors, turn the props into the
office, and ask the principal to tell the teachers not to prop the doors open. I would
remind her that the bad guy got into the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX
through a door that a teacher had left propped open. Resulting in lots of dead persons.
She told me that she does tell the teachers, but they still prop the doors open,
because it is inconvenient to key in the combination to open the doors.
Stop, and think about that. Some people cannot be taught, because they do not
believe (that it will ever happen here). Things like that only happen in other places.
That's why belief is so important. People will automatically do the right thing if
they believe there is a threat. If you can't get them to believe that the threat exists,
you will not be able to change their behavior, because it conflicts with their beliefs.
Sorry, that's just reality.
"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
"Personal Defense In Rural America
The needs of a city dweller and the needs of a country person can be wildly different."
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
Excerpt:
"I’ve often said that our country is alive and well in rural America.
And I think that the main reason is that rural folks take a greater hand
in preserving their own safety and those of their neighbors."
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.
"Gut feelings are guardian angels."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Safety is something that happens between your ears,
not something you hold in your hands."
-- Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
"Gun violence" is a propaganda term.
Because guns do not cause violence.
Guns do not contribute to violence.
Good guys use guns to prevent criminal violence.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
"Train Hard -- Easy War"
Motto of the 269th Military Police Company
Tennessee Army National Guard
"Blaine Police Department in Minnesota Innovates Officer Training
with Advanced NURO® System"
by Cynthia Yi
Congratulations Dustin! (Dustin Salomon)
---
Blaine Police Department Facebook.com post --
---
"Blaine Police First to Adopt De-Escalation-Based Firearms Training"
---
"Revolutionizing Police Training:
Mount Juliet, TN Pioneers Advanced Firearms Techniques"
Congratulations Dustin Salomon!
Training schedule,
"Most folks would be much better off if they invested extra cash in
practice ammo and training than another firearm."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"3 LIES Your Firearms Instructor Sold You At a Ridiculous Price"
by Kinetic Concepts
"Reality is different from training." No, this is not obvious to a lot of instructors.
Many of whom have never been in combat. It's not that they don't know what they
are talking about, it's just that they have no experience of what they are talking about.
"They are not scanning behind them because they don't need to." Well, they don't
need to, because they are in training, so they know that they don't need to. Not because
they wouldn't need to in combat. [Looking around is actually an essential combat skill.]
"Failure to stop, head shot." The narrator is correct. Determining a failure to stop
in realistic time frames is not reasonable. That's why some police departments (e.g.
Alexandria, Virginia) teach their officers to shoot the suspect to the ground.
[If you've ever participated in video simulator training, you've probably noticed that
the participant often shoots over the bad guy, because the bad guy goes to ground when
shot.]
---
I found the comments following this video to be worth reading.
There are a lot of "range theatrics" taught in many schools.
"I did as I was taught, so I wouldn't get yelled at by the instructors."
. . .
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)
"Lead semi-finals | Koper 2025" by International Federation of Sport Climbing
Physical fitness is important for survival and combat. Climbing is an excellent
exercise.
"I'm too heavy to climb." There are firefighters much heavier than you who
regularly climb the ladders to get into the buildings.
"I'm too fat to climb." Well, that is a problem you need to fix.
"I'm not smart enough to figure out how to climb." You are WRONG. More
importantly, you are engaging in negative talk which causes negative thought,
which causes negative talk in a vicious negative feedback loop. You are inherently
good at climbing. You just lack the training and practice to demonstrate your
inherent ability. So get training and practice. You will reap great dividends.
"I don't have the body for climbing." You are WRONG. Which is a self image
problem. Because there are people missing limbs who enjoy and are very good
at climbing.
Climbing is a natural human endeavor. Children love to do it. You love to
do it. Overcome your inhibitions.
Yes, it is risky. All life is risky. Intelligent controlled risk is good for you.
A risk free life is not a life worth living.
Everyone dies. Not everyone lives.
"Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and
at extremely close ranges. Realistically, you may not have the time or the
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your drawstroke."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
"There are three different areas, or disciplines,
in which the armed person must train.
These are mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship.
Each is equally important, and you must be at least
competent in all three areas."
-- Tom Givens
"How to choose the right “live fire training” concealed carry course" by Caleb Lee
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"The Fallacy of Losing Fine Motor Skills in High-Stress Tactical Situations"
by Terry B.
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
“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
"3 Lessons From Concealed Carry Renewal Classes"
by Jacob Paulsen
1. Get a shot timer and use it. Record your times and scores in your journal.
The one thing all world class athletes have in common is that they keep highly
detailed journals. That data allows them to apply the scientific method to
force improvement in performance. Ya, you may need a coach if you don't
know what you're doing.
2. Get a first aid kit and take a Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course.
3. Dry practice. [If it's boring, you're doing it WRONG! If it's not free,
you're doing something wrong. It should be fun and engaging, better than
watching "cheap entertainment" on YouTube (Greg's comment)]
"If you’re not measuring your training,
what you’re doing is called playing."
-- Chris Sajnog
"In order to measure, we must be able to quantify."
-- Aaron Cowan
[I guess that means you better get that timer and start scoring your targets.
And then recording your times and scores in your journal. The one thing all
world-class athletes have in common is that they keep a highly detailed
journal. The data that they collect allows them to apply the scientific method
to force improvement in performance. (Ya, you may need a coach if you don't
know what you're doing. Ya, I know coaches are expensive. How much are
the lives of your loved ones worth?)
-- Jon Low]
"Maximum Effort
Push yourself to next level of marksmanship."
by Steve Tarani
Excerpt:
". . . be sure to differentiate between process and technique. The shooting process
is what you are doing, any technique is how you are doing it. The mind stays process
focused whereas the body executes technique."
---
As Tiffany Johnson says, "Speed is the outcome, cadence is the process (to achieve
that outcome)."
[Cadence for one shot per second: one thousand one, one thousand two,
one thousand three, one thousand four, . . .
Cadence for two shots per second: one and, two and, three and, . . .
Cadence for four shots per second: one, two, three, four, five, . . .
]
"When you're training to protect yourself and others, speed always comes last.
In the more than twenty-five years I've been training people in self-protection,
I've never heard from someone who used self-protection tools in the field and
felt like they suffered from a lack of speed at the moment of truth. In fact, I
usually hear the opposite: it's much more common to suffer from a lack of
accuracy or force." -- Tim Larkin
---
[If you're shooting an IDPA match or a USPSA match in a tactically correct
manner, you're going to come in dead last. Well, you'll place in front of the
DNF (did not fire) guys who failed to show up. Because tactically correct is
slow. Because thinking takes time.
All the gamers are shooting much faster than they can think. Because they
have choreographed the stage and rehearsed the stage in their mind. They
have adjusted their magazines to run out of ammo when they want to, to
allow them to do their mag changes between sets of targets, etc. They are not
making any decisions when they run the stage. Hick's Law says that without
decisions the automatic motor operations are going to go very fast.
Of course, you should have cleaned the stage. No safety violations. No
muzzling of any no-shoot targets. No crowding cover. Etc.
Tactically correct means you are thinking your way through the stage,
not racing through the stage.
-- Jon Low]
"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
I attended an Appleseed rifle clinic. I highly recommend them.
"Manchester, TN 25M Rifle AAR - August 30-31, 2025" by the Appleseed staff
Project Appleseed,
Project Appleseed Programs,
Find an event near you,
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
"Defensive Pistol" by Jonathan D. Low
ISBN: 9781311454133
Last updated on 12 August 2025 A.D.
Draft2Digital does the formatting. It's beyond my control.
If you would like the original in PDF format send me an email at,
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
"Having a gun is important.
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Psychology --------------------------------
"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
Yes, this is in the training section for good reason.
"Ask her out: the two bridges" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
Orion explains why Lord of the Rings is really about Sam (Samwise Gamgee) and
Rosie (Rose Cotton). [The only happy story arc (lived happily ever after). Everyone
else ends up as a displaced refugee. Okay, not everyone.]
Challenge is an acquired taste.
Do risky things. Don't be a coward.
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for growth.
Stagnation is complacency. Complacency kills. Even worse, it will kill your students.
"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
Bullets & Bibles
(the 2025 Active Self Protection National Conference)
After a hot exhausting day of training, we're sitting around the
campfire and a beautiful 20 year old girl brings me a cup of whiskey.
I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
It was very good to see children and babies at the conference.
Something one would never see at other conferences.
It was very good to see so many women at the conference,
as students, instructors, staff, volunteers, etc. Big difference from other
conferences. (And I know that other conferences have made concerted
efforts to increase female attendance.)
Boldly, unapologetically Christian. Morning devotionals lead by
Pastor John Correia. Yes, that John Correia (he was a Baptist minister for 15 years).
Prayer and hymns before dinner.
Bullets & Bibles 2026 registration
$650 if you register now.
CCW LawlawPalooza
Silver Lakes in Norco, CA on
Saturday, September 13th, 2025
Ya, I know this is late notice, but they gave me late notice on September 9th.
The Guardian Conference
September 19th - 21st, 2025 in Oklahoma City
Combatives Association Summit, $899.00
October 24 - 26, 2025
D'Iberville, Mississippi
Register at
Rangemaster Tactical Conference, $639
TacCon26 is scheduled for
March 27-29, 2026
at the Dallas Pistol Club in Carrollton, Texas
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required to avoid teaching
obsolete material, and to ensure you are teaching best practices.
"DTI Teaching Women to Shoot" by Vicki Farnam
$825.00
21-22 February 2026 A.D. (Sat-Sun) at the
Thorp Creek Firearms Training Center in
Hollister, MO (just south of Branson, MO)
Vicki Farnam is the Head Instructor.
Lee Weems
Massad Ayoob Group
Blog
West Coast Armory North
Law of Self Defense, Andrew Branca
live online class upcoming dates
September 27, 2025
Active Response Training (Greg Ellifritz)
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Dustin Salomon
KR Training
Kari Grayson
Citizens Safety Academy
Carry Trainer, Mickey Schuch
Paladin Training, Inc.
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
Virginia Private Firearms Training (for private lessons), John Murphy
Defensive Training International, John Farnam
Rangemaster, Tom Givens
Trident Concepts, Jeff Gonzales
Apache Solutions, Tim Kelly
Harris Combative Strategies, Randy Harris
Mead Hall Range & Tactics
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
Classes,
Mike Seeklander
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Practice --------------------------------
How to get proficient at that task.
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Home defense -Clint Smith (thunder Ranch)" by Colonel Dave
"Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"The Ultimate Guide to Safe Dry Fire Practice" by Jacob Paulsen
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"You have to be lucky to win. And the more you practice, the luckier you get."
-- Col. Lones Wigger
Muscle . . . “Memory?”
by Vladimir Vaval
Excerpt:
"I learned early on that shooting is a perishable skill, if left unpracticed,
the previously learned skills begin to fail. Your firearm is a tool. The only
way you’ll get really good is if you train with it constantly."
Why practice?
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are
figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very
special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy
if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could
have been their finest hour.”
-- Winston Churchill
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
"Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"There is no glory in practice, but without practice there is no glory."
-- Jeff Gonzales
‟Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous.”
-- Sara Ahrens, ‶Shooting in Self-Defense″
"Your speed doesn't matter. Forward is forward."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Practice your shooting by doing exactly the same thing,
exactly the same way, every time, until it is completely automatic."
-- Duaine Zeitz
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Strategy --------------------------------
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it.
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"Five Parking Lot Precautions" by Greg Ellifritz
Target Detection --
A human can't detect movement slower than 1 MOA per second.
-- Appleseed training
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
"Never let fear decide your fate."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Tactics --------------------------------
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
"THE COUNTER AMBUSH . . . AND THE S&W SHIELD X"
by Sherman House
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
I too worked as an armed guard for a company that transported money between
banks and put money into ATMs, ATM Solutions. That is where I learned about
the State licensed armed guards and the
Armored Car Industry Reciprocity Act (ACIRA) of 1993,
amended several times thereafter.
Some jurisdictions won't recognize the law enforcement credentials of other jurisdictions.
But, ACIRA requires every state to recognized the Armed Guard license of every other state.
The cops should leave you alone. If not, eventually an FBI agent will threaten to arrest
the policeman for violating federal law if the policeman doesn't release you.
Some cops are not as legally educated as others.
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
Half a century ago, when I was in Boy Scouts (no girls, no homosexuals),
they taught us trailing, tracking, and stalking. If you see the game or enemy
looking in your direction, you freeze, until they look away.
Last month at the Appleseed rifle clinic, they taught us that a human can't
perceive motion slower than 1 MOA (Minute of Angle) per second.
So detection of non-moving targets is difficult.
Yes, the Boy Scouts of America taught us how to stalk humans.
If you are relying on the legislature, courts, or police to protect you from stalkers,
you are in a state of self deception. No piece of paper (order of protection, restraining
order, etc.) will prevent the stalker from attacking you. Because criminals don't obey
the law, by definition. It's nice to have those pieces of paper (you can use them at
trial when the Soros prosecutor prosecutes you for acting in self-defense), but to think
that they protect you is foolish. It's like a rape whistle. The Range Master (chief
instructor of a class, as opposed to us Line Coaches) told about rape whistles in a
lecture at Front Sight. A hospital had issued them to the female staff with instructions
to blow the whistle if attacked. You know what happened. I don't have to give you
the details.
Don't believe stupid advice. Stupid people die badly.
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
"Running with a Gun" by Becky Yackley
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
"Safe or Safer: The Mitigation Zone Revisited"
byVon Kliem, JD, LL.M
If you must approach a person in a car, the safest directions of approach.
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"Be stronger than your strongest excuse."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before intervening
in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced your in-hand
weapon retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
". . . if the assailant has a gun, it may actually be the easiest
gun for you to access, if you know how to take it from him."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
When was last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?
Have you taken a class to learn such techniques?
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC,
(1920 – 2006 A.D.)
". . . only shoot as fast as you can assess, and . . . assess after each shot,
both of which we should be training to do all the time anyway."
-- Ralph Mroz, "Street Focused Handgun Training"
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
"Real fights are short." -- Bruce Lee
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided at all costs
and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Techniques --------------------------------
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
---
[Push with the firing-side hand and pull with the support-side hand.
Your support-side bicep should be bulging, because you're pulling so hard.
That will stabilize your pistol and minimize muzzle flip.
Ya, you can't really do that with an isosceles platform. But, you're using
the Chapman modification of the Weaver platform, right?
-- Jon Low]
---
At this past weekend's Bullets & Bibles, several of the instructors were teaching,
"Support side thumb pointing forward." In order to point one's support side thumb
forward, one has to bend one's wrist. I was repeatedly told that this was the "correct"
way and that all of the top instructors teach this technique.
This is false. This is why you must attend many different conferences / schools.
Diversity of opinion only becomes evident when you expose yourself to a diversity
of instructors.
Tom Givens teaches thumbs up, not thumbs forward. John Farnam teaches thumbs
up, not thumbs forward. The list is quite long, but you get the idea.
Why? Because the straight wrist gives you a much stronger grip than a bent wrist.
And grip strength is essential for stability / accuracy. A stronger grip makes it harder
for the bad guy to take your pistol from you.
You don't believe me? Go to your physical therapist and ask to use the grip strength
gauge. With a straight wrist, grip. With a bent wrist (as used in a thumbs forward grip),
grip.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Joint Breaks:
Destroy The Knee - Target Focus Training - Tim Larkin - Awareness - Self Protection"
by Tim Larkin
"Denn jedes Mal, wenn was geht, ist Platz für Neues.
Und wenn es gestern nicht sein soll, dann klappt es heut 🦋"
-- Nicola Cavanis
There are many techniques for doing any given task.
Search and experiment until you find one that works for you.
"Attacking The Eye - Tim Larkin - Target Focus Training -
Self Protection - Self Defense Techniques"
by Tim Larkin
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
[As we were taught in the Marine Corps, attention to detail.]
"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
[If you're shooting an IDPA match or a USPSA match in a tactically correct
manner, you're going to come in dead last. Well, you'll place in front of the
DNF (did not fire) guys who failed to show up. Because tactically correct is
slow. Because thinking takes time.
All the gamers are shooting much faster than they can think. Because they
have choreographed the stage and rehearsed the stage in their mind. They
have adjusted their magazines to run out of ammo when they want to, to
allow them to do their mag changes between sets of targets, etc. They are not
making any decisions when they run the stage. Hick's Law says that without
decisions the automatic motor operations are going to go very fast.
Of course, you should have cleaned the stage. No safety violations. No
muzzling of any no-shoot targets. No crowding cover. Etc.
Tactically correct means you are thinking your way through the stage,
not racing through the stage.
-- Jon Low]
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
"Presentation Perfection: Mastering The Draw Stroke" by Richard A. Mann
“What’s the number one reason for reloading?
Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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.
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
“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, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Medical --------------------------------
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
Hi Sabrina (a paramedic with whom I work),
I thought you might be interested in this web site,
and this first aid kit,
The company is in Tennessee.
Cheers,
Jon
"Introduction to Trauma Medicine – A Critical Element of Responsible Gun Ownership"
by Jacob Paulsen
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
Tracey Mendenhall | VP of Operations
(Life Saving Ninja)
DEFEND SYSTEMS
www.defendsystems.com
(615) 480-7758
"Opinion: They Were Paid to Kill Us –
Hospitals, COVID and the Dirty Money Trail in Illinois"
by Janelle Powell
A practicing nurse here in Tennessee told me that at her hospital they received
$65,000 in state and federal money for every COVID-19 diagnosis. So everyone
was dying of COVID-19, everyone was sick from COVID-19.
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Survival --------------------------------
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Survival is not based solely on technique. Survivability may hinge on the use
of the correct technique appropriate to the environment you are fighting in.
Oh, and yes, marksmanship is always valuable."
-- Clint Smith
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
Long necks and pick up trucks.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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
"Guns & Warriors: DTI Quips, Volume 2" by John S Farnam
Check out News2A.com.
"Teaching Gun Safety in Schools" by Brian Mark Weber
"It’s likely that “gun violence” is Washington Post speak."
Oh, most definitely. "Gun violence" is a propaganda term. Guns do not cause
violence nor do they contribute to violence. Guns are tools, just like automobiles
(found in every family) and knives (found in every kitchen). The "gun violence"
is an association of the liberal mindset, a psychological disorder.
"A Sit Down with Kerry Sloan. We the Female." by Washington Gun Law
Hat tip to J. Robert Forbus.
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
Rangemaster Newsletter, Tom Givens
Active Self Protection, John Correia
"My Gun Culture" by Tom McHale
Quips, John Farnam
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
The Tactical Professor, Claude Werner
American Handgunner Magazine
Tactical Science
International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors
Alien Gear blog
Shooting Classes Blog
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Legal --------------------------------
“Is there no virtue among us? If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form, will insure liberty and happiness
for a dishonorable population represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
"Potential changes to Tennessee gun laws" by WKRN News 2
---
"Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Governor Bill Lee have appealed
the trial court ruling declaring unconstitutional two gun control laws"
by Tennessee Firearms Association
Proof that Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Governor Bill Lee
are anti-gun RINOs. So sad.
---
"Hughes’ Court rejects request by [Governor] Lee and [Attorney General] Skrmetti
to continue enforcing unconstitutional laws" by Tennessee Firearms Association
. . . motto on the Seal of the Tennessee Judiciary — fiat justitia ruat coelum,
[a] Latin phrase that … means, ‘Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.’
Tennessee Supreme Court Issues Statement on Commitment to Equal Justice,
Tennessee Courts (June 25, 2020).
"Cops Shoot Doctor In His Own Home | No Warrant" by Liberty Doll
"Joe Rogan Schools Guest On the Second Amendment!" by Broken Bad
As a matter of fact, lots of car crashes happen every day.
Andrew Branca says, you have a 10% probability of getting convicted even if you are
innocent. He says, that's just the noise in the system. Here is an example of such,
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/man-freed-nearly-three-decades-055921246.html
Twenty-seven years in prison on a false conviction for murder.
I suspect the probability of a false conviction varies with race and venue.
And, of course, the amount of money spent on the defense. That's why it is so
important to have lots of money for your defense, which means an insurance policy.
With adequate funding, you can prevent the prosecuting attorney from charging you,
you can get the charges dismissed if they have already been filed, you can get a
diversion program. There are all kinds of ways to avoid a conviction. (Yes, I know
from experience.) But they require money, sophistication, intelligence, and political
power. A real insurance policy will ensure you can buy those things. Oh, yes, they
are all for sale. (You want the law firm that has a former governor as a partner in
the firm. He's not going to let one of his associates lose your case, because he has
a reputation to protect. People pay the big bucks to get his law firm, because they
know he can force a win.) ["Force a win" is a chess term. It means skill, technique,
intelligence, sophistication; not corruption or cheating.]
It doesn't matter what the insurance premium is. All that matters is whether or not
the insurance company pays, in full, up front, when you file a claim. Some do, some don't.
Do your research. Due diligence.
Yes, if you send me an email, I will give you my opinion on insurance companies.
But why would you believe me?
Andrew Branca describes a case.
"Canadian Police: BE THE BEST VICTIM?! |
Why America MUST NEVER Comply | Part 1"
by Andrew Branca
Andrew says he's moving out of Colorado. Good move.
Any state that would legalize drugs, baby murder, sexual perversion, et al;
and criminalize guns is not some place I'd live.
"BREAKING NOW: ATF NUKES Gun Control Talking Points FROM ORBIT |
When The ATF Calls Out Your BS..." by Langley Outdoors Academy
Warning shots.
"National Watchdog Group Questions Sedona Police Department’s Warning Shot Policy"
Excerpt:
"A.R.S. §13-3107, also known as Shannon’s Law, which could classify the use of warning shots as a class 6 felony."
---
While peace-officer standards are not binding on private citizens, “warning shots”
may be inferred as assumptions that the shooter knew that he was not justified to
shoot the presumed assailant, may send bullets or shot pellets in a dangerous direction
and, particularly with revolvers, may waste rounds that could prove crucial should
the assailant interpret them as a reluctance of the defender to shoot him.
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
There is no safe direction to fire a warning shot. Any shot into the air will come
down with sufficient speed to kill. Any shot into the ground will ricochet off the
concrete sidewalk, asphalt pavement, or a rock in the ground. Which could injure
or kill you.
Elimination of Florida's ban on open carry. [Sort of]
Tom Givens's post (correcting / clarifying the above post) --
"Florida attorney general declares open carry of guns ‘law of the state’"
by Gary Fineout
Excerpt:
Uthmeier, a Republican appointed to the job earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis
who is running for the post in 2026, sent out a “guidance” memo Monday to law
enforcement agencies and local prosecutors asserting the 1st District Court of Appeal
ruling is in effect statewide.
Compare to what Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Governor Bill Lee are
doing in Tennessee. Proof positive that Lee and Skrmetti are RINOS.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other."
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Instruction --------------------------------
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Instructors -----
"A false path will always be tensely, angrily, violently defended by those
it has deceived, because who are so easily deceived are ever too arrogant to repent.”
-- Instructional axiom
"The Fallacy of Losing Fine Motor Skills in High-Stress Tactical Situations"
by Terry B.
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
“The student’s purpose is to expand their body of knowledge and social network.
The instructor’s purpose is to help the student achieve the student’s goals.”
-- Amy Schwartz
If you're teaching beginners, it makes sense to show them the "correct" way to do things.
Because they don't know a correct way of doing it.
If you're teaching experienced competent persons, it makes sense not to change things
to fit your perception of what is "correct". Better to ask the student why he is doing it that
way, and to suggest other ways that he may experiment with (perhaps later after the class
on his own time). If you force him to change during the class, it may cause all kinds of
problems.
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
“Qui docet, discet.” (Who teaches, learns.)
-- American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
"You don't have to memorize formulae.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
[So teach principles, not formulae.]
"Your curriculum needs to be recent, relevant, and realistic."
-- Austin Killmer
"The limited time you spend with students may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
----- Students -----
"A false path will always be tensely, angrily, violently defended by those
it has deceived, because who are so easily deceived are ever too arrogant to repent.”
-- Instructional axiom
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material.
It is totally normal that the first time you see this stuff, you find
it confusing. You find it difficult to understand. So, confusion
should not discourage you. It does not represent any intellectual
failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an
opportunity to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science and other
stuff at Stanford University
"Try.
Try again.
Try once more.
Try differently.
Try again tomorrow.
Try and ask for help.
Try find someone who's done it.
Try to fix the problem.
Keep trying until you succeed."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague."
-- Freeman Dyson
[If you are wrong, the instructor can correct you.
If you are vague, no one can help you.]
"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it."
-- Henry Ford
*************************************************************************
----- Andragogy -----
"Eight Seconds And Dropping?
Why Short Attention Spans May Be More About Motivation"
by The Conversation
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
In A Nutshell
Microsoft once reported that attention spans had dropped from 12 seconds to 8,
but experts say the story is far more complex.
Attention isn’t one thing: there are multiple forms, including scanning attention
(like a goalkeeper surveying the field), sustained attention (listening to a lecture),
divided attention, and alternating attention.
Soccer research shows scanning for about 10 seconds gives players an edge,
while lectures suggest memory peaks at 15–30 minutes, not the first few minutes.
Motivation is a critical driver: people with ADHD may struggle in class but
can focus on games for hours because they’re more engaging.
Instead of worrying about shrinking attention spans, the key may be designing
tasks that spark motivation, interest, and emotional investment.
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to
take place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
*************************************************************************
Beware of liberal logic, because it is not.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Gear --------------------------------
And the safe storage thereof.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Dispelling Myths and Fallacies About Pistol Optics" by Helene Cavalli
"THIGH HOLSTERS FOR WOMEN: The Best Holster for Skirts and Dresses"
by Natalie
"My Channel is Named in a Federal Sig Lawsuit" by Liberty Doll
Sig P320 documents.
"There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
"Everyone is making an FRT (Forced Reset Trigger) for EVERYTHING!"
by TN Tactical
A forced reset trigger for a Glock. Cool!
Consider the politics of this whole thing.
"Fitting your glock" by Ben Stoeger
"I need my support hand to make contact with the pistol."
Shifting your grip to access the mag release is a good thing. If you can release the
magazine without shifting your grip, you can release it unintentionally during combat.
All kinds of strange things happen in combat. Remember Murphy's Law.
Hey, if the grip is too small for you, get a pistol with a larger grip. Try a Glock 21.
Wrap hockey stick tape around the grip.
"You can change the trigger position." Yes, you must do this to fit the length of
your trigger finger. To neglect this is WRONG! Some gunsmiths won't do this
trigger job because they don't know how to do it, or they fear the liability.
Some gun store clerks will tell you that it can't be done, because they want to sell
you what they have in stock.
"Shock absorbing back strap." Cool!
---
Kiral Defense
Michigan, USA
"What Ruger Doesn’t Want You to Know About the 10/22"
by Guns You Can't Live Without
"How To Make Gunpowder" by CuriosityShow
Hat tip to Michael Mendenhall.
Freedom Munitions 45 ACP Ammo- 200 Gr Round Nose (RN), 50 rounds, Remanufactured
$0.3082 Per Round
Hidden Hybrid Holsters
Friend of Gun Owners of America.
Give them your email address for 10% off.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems, to include sharing cryptosystems with
others.
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
"Maths has finally discovered a self-righting tetrahedron!" by Stand-up Maths
No mono-stable simplexes up to dimension 8. Stop and think about that.
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"6 Puzzles To Test Your Brain Power" by MindYourDecisions
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"Exploration & Epiphany | Guest video by Paul Dancstep" by 3Blue1Brown
The thought process is the important thing.
Prof. Dale Myers and I spent lots of time devising terminology / notation / labeling.
Because that is how you take control of the problem. Language is your tool to
understand the problem.
". . . it's impossible to ask this question until we have used our labeling system
to define [the terms used in the question] . . ."
Do you see how this answers your question?
This is group theory. Can you associate the terms in the video with terms in
group theory?
At 35:50 - Epiphany,
sort of like the Riemann integral vs. the Lebesgue integral.
f(x) = 1 when x is irrational, and f(x) = 0 when x is rational.
f(x) is not Riemann integrable. f(x) is Lebesgue integrable.
"A fundamentally different kind of question."
As Richard Feynman said, genius is not succeeding in doing the calculation,
genius is in asking the question.
Burnside's lemma
[Notice the German subtitles (Hoch Deutsch). German has many dialects.
Bavarian is incomprehensible to most non-Bavarian Germans.]
"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
"You don't need to memorize theorems,
because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"All that we don't know is astonishing.
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."
-- Philip Roth
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography"
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone
"Computer Security and the Internet:
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin", Second Edition
by Paul C. van Oorschot
ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
"An Introduction to Error Correcting Codes with Applications"
by Scott A. Vanstone , Paul C. Oorschot
Research and Publications (P. Van Oorschot)
Alfred J. Menezes
Scott A. Vanstone
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Signals Intelligence,
Ground Electronic Warfare,
Cyber Security,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) ***** ***** *****
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
--George Washington
"EXCLUSIVE: Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear steps down
In an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense, outgoing SDA Director Derek Tournear
said the agency's three biggest technological successes have been proving the viability of
space-based Link 16; missile tracking from LEO; and low-cost laser links."
by Theresa Hitchens
May I invite your attention to these downloaded photos of Ene Kallas?
from Instagram.com with file name,
469583519_902673475265269_4347990041232174355_n.jpg
Dimensions: 1080 X 1350 pixels
Size: 267 kilobytes
and from Threads.com with file name,
469726382_1255360299033913_73296948996254694_n.jpg
Dimensions: 1080 X 1350 pixels
Size: 266 kilobytes
Could a human recognize the difference? How is the extra (or missing) kilobyte
being used? Or what's causing the difference in size? Was that sloppy?
It is important to remember that we are not the only ones playing. This is not
a game of chess with two sides, not even Chinese checkers with up to 6 players
all jumping their marbles to get from their source to destination. There are
many countries and even within a given country there are many factions. And then
there are the factions not associated with any nation state. (Edward Snowden is
still alive and well, living on Consulate Row in Moscow, Russia.) [No, they don't
need a lot of money or resource support. They only need intelligence, and that's
genetic. All the schools and training in the world can't change a spook's IQ.
Birds of a feather flock together (Old Crows). Persons will join a cause they
believe in. Computers are cheap, communication / internet is free.
And hackers will hack. As Clinton's Chief Science Officer said,
"The most expensive part of the spacecraft has zero volume and zero weight."
All hail the software, not the software engineers.]
Police say, "Your mission is to get home. And if you're a good cop, your
mission is to ensure your partner gets home."
In the cyber warfare game, your mission should be "Don't be identified."
You think you work for the powerful nation state? No one is immune from
assassination. If the enemy can't get to you, they will target your loved ones.
You can deny it all you want. But they are still dead, and it is still your fault.
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
When I went to Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Operation Iraqi Freedom,
the cover was working for Lockheed Martin Middle East Systems. Our offices in
the high rise office building didn't have any signs on the doors. We were not listed
in the building's directory. Because the terrorists / enemy can't attack you if they
don't know you exist. If we had worked out of the U.S. Embassy, we would have
been know before we arrived. Embassies are full of spies. [You've got to be pretty
sophisticated to be using things like Recognized Presence. And recognizing the
presence of entities by the absence of markers is beyond the ability of most
spooks.] Of course, it's hard to hide. I was assigned to the Royal Saudi
Air Force (RSAF), computer security division as a non-combatant advisor.
So it wasn't long before the CIA field officer at the U.S. Embassy told me,
"The enemy knows of your presence. Take precautions." And soon after,
the enemy attacked our compounds: Vinnell, Al Hambra, and Jadawel.
We recovered some weapons and traced them back to a SANG (Saudi Arabian
National Guard) armory. They were not stolen. Not surprising, as 19 of the
September 11th attackers were Saudi subjects (as opposed to citizens;
K.S.A. is an absolute monarchy).
So be careful. The enemy knows of your presence. Take precautions.
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, Constitution of the United States of America
Rules of combat
"Never Again: Seven AfD Polticians Have Died In Past Two Weeks" by Docent
The socialists / communists in Germany are assassinating the conservative
candidates / politicians. Don't for an instant think that it could never happen here.
Because it has (Charlie Kirk).
(JFK was a life member of the NRA. LBJ was a radical communist.)
Only our constant vigilance and competent work can prevent the assassinations here
in the U.S.A. (The Secret Service has proved their incompetence.)
---
"The last few days you woke up thinking there might be news [of Trump's death].
Just saying. . . . There will be news sometime, just so you know."
—Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
"Protection!" by John Farnam
EDP = emotionally disturbed person.
"Tren de Aragua for example, far from a rag-tag group of illegal-immigrant
street thugs, is in reality a well-organized branch of the Venezuelan Army,
sent here (actually welcomed here by the JRB Administration) to “do business”."
"A false path will always be tensely, angrily, violently defended by those
it has deceived, because who are so easily deceived are ever too arrogant to repent.”
-- Instructional axiom
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Sons of Liberty [One of the best intel organizations in history, and still active.]
The Dispatch
Strategy Page
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
29155
Global Recaps
Timber Sycamore
Ground News
*************************************************************************
René Descartes is famous for saying, "I think therefore I am." His logical proof of existence.
When I was in high school, there was a joke going around the math department,
René Descartes walks into a restaurant. The waitress asks him if he would like a glass of water.
He replies, "I think not." and disappears.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Religion and Politics ***** ***** *****
“War is not the best engine for us to resort to;
nature has given us one in our commerce, which if properly managed,
will be a better instrument for obliging the interested nations of Europe
to treat us with justice.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1797)
"So Typical!" by John Farnam
Dear Jonathan:
I have long shown that mass murderers openly state in their manifestos and
diaries that they choose targets where victims are disarmed—“gun-free zones.”
Yet the media consistently ignores this fact. After the Minneapolis mass murder,
Congressman Thomas Massie and I published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
While reporters speculated about why the attacker targeted the school, the answer
was clear: like so many other mass murderers, this murderer deliberately chose a
place where his victims could not fight back.
Despite this, the media refuses to treat the killers’ motives as newsworthy.
By publishing a piece in the nation’s most widely read op-ed pages, the Wall Street Journal,
we aimed to break through the silence and expose how the media shields the public from
the truth.
If people understood that these killers specifically seek out gun-free zones,
that 92% of mass public shootings happen in such places, and that armed civilians
often stop attacks before they escalate, the entire gun control debate would
shift—and likely end.
https://crimeresearch.org/2025/08/the-shooter-claims-that-he-would-only-target-a-gun-free-zone-because-the-victims-are-defenseless-thats-why-i-and-many-others-like-schools-so-much/
-- Crime Prevention Research Center
358 S 700 E, Ste B, B409, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
johnrlott@crimeresearch.org
(484) 802-5373
"BREAKING NOW:
ANOTHER INVISIBLE Mass Shooting That The Media Is Hiding | I Wonder Why..."
by Langley Outdoors Academy
"These are just bad people." Referring to the politicians who resist increasing
police presence in high crime zones and resist federal assistance to arrest and
remove criminals from their streets.
"Pope calls for civilian disarmament - doesn't mention a word about criminals"
by Legally Armed America
"Pandemic" is a propaganda term.
"Bill Clinton on Illegal Immigration at 1995 State of the Union"
by Congressman French Hill
In case you don't understand socialism.
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
*************************************************************************
"History teaches us that history teaches us nothing." -- James Bachmann
Rest in peace John Holschen. Condolences to Martha.
Rest in peace Charlie Kirk. Condolences to Erika.
"Nietzsche Predicted This, He Was Right" by Jordan B. Peterson
"A sin for which one can never be forgiven."
“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
***************************** Begin Psychology ***********************
"The Minneapolis church shooter embraced transgender ideology.
He hated Christians. He hated Israel. He hated Donald Trump.
All of those things would be supported by a majority of the DNC
(Democrat National Committee) delegates."
—Gary Bauer
"When you 'affirm' mental illness instead of treating it, people get hurt."
—Sen. Jim Banks
"Politics has no solution for evil. No legislation solves spiritual problems."
—Erick Erickson
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. --
"Unfinished business."
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025
Have you ever heard of those doomsday cults that preach the end is nigh?
Well, on some level, they're right. We are at the end of time. We are always
at the end of time. Think about it. This moment is the oldest the universe has
ever been. And since time only unfolds in one direction, we constantly exist
at its terminus – like a ray infinitely extending from its point of origin.
This was not lost on Kierkegaard, who reminds us – in his excellent
Purity of Heart Is To Will One Thing – that some actions are always appropriate,
given this ontological reality. That is, if we perpetually exist at the end of time,
it will never not be appropriate to repent: to unburden our souls of anything
that weighs upon them.
Do you need to say something that can no longer remain unsaid? Do you
have to do something that can no longer remain undone? If so, now is the time.
You live on the last day in an unbroken succession of days. Does recognition
of this fact motivate you to do anything? Consider doing that.
This week's behavioral experiment:
Consider what can no longer be left undone. Do that.
Warmly,
Orion
Email from Orion --
"The seed of gratitude."
Wednesday, September 10th, 2025
I've spent a significant portion of my life in the backcountry, and I've learned a
great deal from my time there. Since most days in the wilderness are spent trading
one discomfort for another, it's the perfect opportunity to cultivate gratitude for the
easy and comfortable life that we all enjoy in the frontcountry by comparison.
It's good to sleep on the ground in order to be grateful for a bed. It's good to eat
cold rations in order to appreciate a hot meal. It's good to get dirty in order to
luxuriate in a hot shower. The more we go without, the more satisfying these small
comforts become.
However, backpacking has also taught me how little comfort we actually need.
After getting dirty, a shower feels amazing – but you don't need more than one.
After eating cold rations, a hot dinner sounds wonderful – but you won't eat two.
The backcountry has made me realize – simultaneously – how much little comforts
matter, and how little most comforts do.
This week's behavioral experiment:
Don't consume any processed sugar for a week. Notice how you feel.
Warmly,
Orion
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. --
"The paths of meaning."
Wednesday, September 17th, 2025
Viktor Frankl's work on meaning has long been celebrated – and justifiably so.
However, while you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who openly disagrees
with his ideas, much of the ideological rhetoric these days indicates that people
are ready to dispense with his theories, when convenient.
Frankl was an Austrian psychologist who was imprisoned for three years in Nazi
concentration camps. According to his seminal work, Man's Search for Meaning,
there are three ways that people can create meaning in their lives – and that meaning
is as essential to human survival as food and water. These ways are
(a) through creation,
(b) through experience, and
(c) through one's attitude toward unavoidable suffering. Therefore, he contends,
the decision to create meaning – or not – fundamentally resides in the free choice
of the individual.
And this makes sense given the third option. That is, if one pathway to meaning
lies in our response to unavoidable suffering, then there is literally nothing that
others can do to us that can prevent the creation of that meaning. And this is a real
blessing – as the other two pathways aren't always available to us. Frankl's legacy
is a heartfelt reminder of the ultimate, irrevocable responsibility of the individual.
This week's behavioral experiment:
What is one part of your life where you can suffer with greater dignity?
Lean into that.
Warmly,
Orion
***************************** End Psychology ************************
"I hate it when I'm trying to eat a salad and
it falls in the trash and I have to eat a taco instead."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“We can and must write in a language which sows among the masses hate,
revulsion, and scorn toward those who disagree with us.”
-- Vladimir Lenin
"Communization!" by John Farnam
“My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism”
-- Karl Marx
In case you don't understand President Trump, Bill Maher attempts to explain.
"Mr. Maher Goes to Washington | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)"
"Being a pro shooter isn't a thing" by Ben Stoeger
Ah, yes, reality.
"Charlotte light rail murder gets national attention"
by Nick Craig
Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old from Ukraine, was the only white person on the train.
After being stabbed several times in the neck, none of the other passengers helped her.
None of them attempted to stop the bleeding. None of them called 911. They just
walked away, leaving her to die. That is the behavior of city folk. (Remember Kitty
Genovese.)
As all the instructors say, "You're on your own!" You must maintain situational
awareness (GET OFF YOUR PHONE! Get the earphones out of your ears! You
can't hear the emotionally disturbed person talking to himself.).
She should have been standing with her back to a wall or door. No, that behavior
is not paranoid. Better to be alive and have people think you are paranoid, than to
be dead.
"Declining to sit in front of a black male displaying signs of being an emotionally
disturbed person is racist." Yes, it is. The reason police, and humans in general,
profile is because it works to keep them alive. Being racist is not bad when used for
survival. None of the other people in the train would sit near him. Were they racist?
Yes (negros are racist against other negros all the time, Chris Rock has a stand up
comedy routine about blacks fearing niggers and it is completely true), and it allowed
them to avoid getting stabbed to death. Executing stupid behaviors to avoid appearing
racist has fatal results.
As I write this, I am having dinner in Bar-B-Cuties with 4 black gentlemen (one
of whom claims to be 99 years old) and one black lady. None of them would have
sat anywhere near the murderer. Group of 5 elderly blacks talking congenially, no threat.
Single military age black male talking to himself, THREAT! It's not racism, it's common
sense.
"Murbah Swamp Beer | Finalist of Tropfest Australia 2002" by TROPFEST
Ya, the accent is strong, but you can handle it.
---
We got this amusing story from our tour guide at Murbah, Australia.
It's illegal to sell beer on Good Friday there. On Good Friday 2003 a semi
crashed and dumped 40,000 bottles of beer into the Tweed River.
I'd recommend your turn on close captions unless you're a Crocodile Dundee junkie.
Like the random wise ass commenter on the "Charge of Beersheba" YouTube video
said, you can count on Aussies to charge anything with beer in the name.
-- Sidney Ontai
Text message from Erika Kirk --
Jon:
I refuse to let the movement Charlie built die.
It will only grow - stronger, bolder, louder. Join me:
---
Hi Erika,
Please accept my condolences.
Please call me if you need anything.
Cheers,
Jon
---
Let us expand our scope to include Mrs. Kirk and her children. High orbit.
She has her own security. I am clearinghouse.
---
Charlie Kirk was assassinated because he was converting liberals to conservatives
on college campuses all over our country. He did it with speech, with thought.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
Physically fit is sexy.
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