Isabella Erickson
Greetings Sheepdogs,
Ask God for guidance and discernment.
We are making progress! Yeah, SecWar Pete Hegseth! Yeah POTUS
Donald Trump!
Carry on military bases.
"Don't have a gun? Buy one.
Don't know How to use it? Learn.
Don't believe in guns? Get ready to hide behind someone who does."
-- Charlie Daniels
Table of Contents:
Software --
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Hardware --
Gear
Intelligence --
Signals Intelligence
Cryptology
This and That --
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
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I love dressage.
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***** ***** ***** 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
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------------------------------ Mindset and Attitude --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
"Gunfight Myths" by James Williams
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
"Expert Erick Gelhaus Explains How to Master a Pistol with Red Dots"
by Aimpoint USA (Richard Nance)
---
They cover way more than Red Dots.
Taser success rate 52%. Makes me wonder what they consider a success.
Because my experience is 0% in the real world.
Both eyes open, occluded optic, only works if your eyes are aligned correctly.
That means both eyes focused at infinity (what you have to do) and
no physiological or psychological misalignment (what God has done, because
the problem may be genetic or beyond your control).
Zero the pistol with sandbag on tripod in standing position at 15 yards.
Because on a bench and table causes the shooter to assume a position that
is not the same as their combat shooting position. [I will add that to my
Defensive Pistol class. -- Jon Low]
You must shoot in different adverse weather conditions, because you don't
want to be thinking "What do I do now?" when something goes wrong with
the red dot in combat. They describe all kinds of things that can go wrong.
Must have at least a front iron sight on the pistol to check that the red dot
has not changed zero. Because if the red dot goes out of zero, it will still look
correct as viewed through the window. It's not obvious as it is with iron sights.
And as Nance points out, the red dot may go out of zero intermittently, giving
you a tight group with unexplained fliers. Because it's electronic,
not mechanical with no moving parts.
“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
"No one is coming to save you:
you are the one you are waiting for"
by Orion Taraban
Radical accountability. Assume it!
“The Man in the Arena”
by Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), 26th President of the United States
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how
the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have
done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who
does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at
the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and
who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
neither know victory nor defeat.”
"Gabe White: The Draw of the Art" by Mark Jacobs
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
“The oldest philosophical realization is that everything has a right to continue
its existence. Whatever you think about it, you need to be alive to exert your
other rights,” [Gabe White] said.
". . . I never wanted to go longer than eight hours since the last time I drew
a pistol, aimed at a tiny target, and pressed the trigger well, at speed."
Gabe White,
Course Description, (note that he only offers one class)
---
I think it's important to teach one class, as opposed to many different classes.
So you can focus all of your attention on it. Honing it to perfection.
"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
"Defense of a Third Person Incident" by tacticalprofessor (Claude Werner)
Excerpt:
"Being a successful defender doesn’t mean you have to be a Delta Force sniper
but you do need to know where your bullets are likely to go. Meghan Brown’s
incident is a good example of having patience and making a good decision."
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
It's really important to understand what's going on around you. Otherwise,
you will get blindsided.
“My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism.”
-- Karl Marx
"The Only Way They Have Ever Worked!" by John Farnam
“It is a mistake is to assume that politicians who came to power through
institutions cannot destroy those very institutions, even when that is exactly
what they have announced they will do!”
-- Timothy Snyder
"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
Gabe's opinion --
I don't agree with all of them, but it's worth thinking about.
If you don't understand, ASK! Because you need to understand.
‷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
"Armed, Trained & Responsible: The Forgotten Half Of American Gun Culture"
by Alex Ooley
Excerpt:
"It’s not enough to merely own guns,
you need to know how to use them,
and how to use them responsibly."
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil and
evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -- Jeff Cooper
"I would like to take your Defensive Pistol course, but I'm a student in college.
I don't have the time. Perhaps in a couple of years."
You have to be alive to do college.
My father told me to get my degree as soon as possible, because you will have
more time to use it (to make money, to attract a mate, etc.). I took my children to get
self-defense training (4-day course) with pistols when they turned 14 years of age.
Because if they don't survive, all your plans are for naught.
"Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
"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
‟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.
It is high time for society to stop worrying about the criminal,
and to let the criminal start worrying about society.
And by "society" I mean you.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
"Be so focused on watering your grass that
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."
-- Nicola Cavanis
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
"The line between everyday life and sudden violence is thinner than most realize."
-- Tim Larkin
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
"Never believe anything you read or hear.
To figure out what’s best for you,
experiment until you have no doubt."
-- Brian Enos
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------------------------------ Situational Awareness --------------------------------
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
Zugzwang is a thing. But with situational awareness, you can avoid it.
“Head on a Swivel” is Stupid Advice
by Greg Ellifritz
Excerpt:
"We assume all anomalies will obviously stand out. It doesn’t work that way."
"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
"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)
---
The colors are meaningless, requiring a level of indirection.
So you should use meaningful words instead. So the student doesn't
have to decode the meaning of the color. Using insider jargon is WRONG!
---
"Jargon Does not Equal Expertise"
-- Rick Billington
"An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle,
but never for being taken by surprise."
-- Jeff Cooper
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------------------------------ Safety --------------------------------
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
Video of pistol firing when the magazine is tapped.
by Ben Stoeger
Another uncommanded discharge.
"Gut feelings are guardian angels."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Biden Secret Service agent shoots himself in the butt - but you'd be in jail!"
by Legally Armed America
NEVER draw your pistol unless you need to use your pistol.
NEVER use your weapon mounted light to search for things in the dark.
"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
---
When was the last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?
Have you taken a class to learn such techniques?
-- Jon Low
---
". . . 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
Email from Joe Shahoud --
I just watched a guy break into a house in 12 seconds.
He didn't pick the lock. Didn't kick down the door. Didn't even try.
He walked up to the front door, smashed the little glass window next to it,
and reached inside to unlock the deadbolt. All that money spent on fancy locks?
Useless. See, most people think about securing their doors. They buy expensive
deadbolts. They use longer screws. They do all sorts of stuff to make their door
harder to break down. But they completely ignore the glass.
And here's the thing . . . thousands of homes have glass right next to their
front door. Side lights. Glass inserts. Windows within arm's reach of the lock.
It's like putting a steel door on a paper wall.
So what's the solution? Security film.
It's a clear film that goes on your windows and makes them nearly impossible
to break through quickly. Even if someone hits it with a hammer, it holds
together.
I had this stuff installed on my house after doing some research.
Found out 3M makes the best stuff. Got it done by a local company called
Mr. Tint. Now my glass windows are actually secure.
If you've got glass near your door (and most people do), you might want
to look into this. Especially if you have one of those smart locks that unlocks
from the inside. Because what's the point of a smart lock if someone can just
reach through broken glass to unlock it? Not very smart, right?
All this said, of course it's a no-brainer to have a deadbolt without a
thumb turn knob if you can. This way there's nothing to unlock if they
break the glass.
Talk soon,
Joe "your locks are only as strong as your glass" Shahoud
P.S. If you're in South Carolina, call Mr. Tint at 803-599-2985.
Tell them I sent you (even though they don't know me from Adam,
but you can tell them anyway :).
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.
"Campus Security?" by John Farnam
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
This is why you are not safe, and never will be safe.
"Crazed homeless man accused of slaughtering Iryna Zarutska
on train found incompetent to stand trial"
by Chris Nesi
---
After being arrested 14 times, the murderer was released without bail
to kill Iryna Zarutska. This was intentional, because the liberals know
that the people will not attempt to lynch the judge, rather they will demand
more government protections in the form of gun-control, knife-control,
speech-control, etc. Big win for the liberals.
"Safety is something that happens between your ears,
not something you hold in your hands."
-- Jeff Cooper
"Moment teen shooter opens fire in school yard before stalking corridors
during shotgun rampage that left 16 injured in Turkey"
by Taryn Kaur Pedler
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
"[Governor Hasan Sildak] . . . confirmed that the attacker had no prior
criminal record and that the school had previously been classified as safe
by police."
[I guess the bad guy didn't get the memo that the school was "safe".
Or maybe the bad guy didn't know that the school was a gun-free-zone.
NEVER send your children into a gun-free-zone. Because the purpose
of gun-free-zones is to create unarmed victims for armed criminal to
prey upon.
-- Jon Low]
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
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
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------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
"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
Care enough to continue your training.
Anna Cramling
My Answer To "Why You're Not Improving at Chess"
by Anna Cramling
Yes, as a matter of fact, this applies directly to your firearms and self-defense
training.
You're not improving because:
1. "You're memorizing things without understanding why you're doing those things."
It's easy to memorize techniques and tactics. It's much harder to plan, because
planning requires thinking. And,
"Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it." -- Henry Ford
2. "Too focused on your own plans and not considering what the opponent is doing."
What is the opponent's plan? What is the opponent going to do?
Your mugger might be a drugged loser from the slums. But that doesn't mean
he's not street smart and educated. The fact that he has survived to attack you,
means that he is street smart. His education has been in the U.S. prison system.
The system provides excellent training for criminals.
3. "Stop playing Bullet and Blizt." What she means is, stop striving for speed.
"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
So if you're spending your limited resources on achieving the sub-second first
shot on target, you're WRONG! (If it comes as a natural by-product of your
training, that's okay.)
4. "Not studying the endgame." Not knowing what's going to happen in the
aftermath. Not having sufficient medical insurance for you and your loved ones.
Because, you and your loved ones might get hurt. Not having sufficient legal
insurance. Because you will be criminally prosecuted and civilly sued. Not
having loved ones or professional counselors that you can talk to talk to, and
call on for help. They are not going to magically appear. You have to prepare
them.
[I'm not a hypocrite. I study endgames. I know how to force a mate with a
knight and bishop against a lone king. And can sometimes do it in 33 moves.
Yes, as a matter of fact, I have read "Basic Chess Endings" by Reuben Fine.
Cover to cover.]
When Anna says you will reach endgames, she is effectively saying, you
will survive the gunfights. So you better be prepared for what comes next.
You must win what comes next.
5. "You don't analyze what you've done." If you don't analyze, you can't improve.
If you don't keep a journal, you won't have the data, so you won't have anything
to analyze. Ya, others can tell you what you've done, but video would be better.
Record your times. Record your scores. Record your penalties. You need the
data to do an analysis.
We don't have computer chess engines to tell us what we are doing right or
wrong. We still need coaches. Sometimes friends and colleagues can act as
coaches. But remember, you get what you pay for in this world.
"Never believe anything you read or hear.
To figure out what’s best for you,
experiment until you have no doubt."
-- Brian Enos
"The Way is in Training Podcast Appearance"
by Greg Ellifritz and Matthew Little
Excerpt:
"We aren't giving people the training to stop shooting when it's appropriate to
stop shooting."
The "Chuck" mentioned is Chuck Haggard.
You must have down time to rest and recuperate, clear gear, repair gear, etc.
Nobody is coming to help you.
Being able to talk anybody out of anything is an invaluable skill set.
Be nostalgic, without missing it. [I was reminiscing about sleeping in a sleeping
bag in the cold with ice forming around me. It's good to have such memories,
such experiences. But I don't miss it. I don't miss the Marine Corps at all. -- Jon Low]
"Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi, translator Stephen F. Kaufman
ISBN-10 : 0804835209
ISBN-13 : 978-0804835206
Greg's classes,
Greg isn't going to be around much longer. So take a class while you can.
Matt's classes,
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
"Turning it around: how to start winning in life" by Orion Taraban
Yes, this applies directly to your training. Your failure to progress. Your apathy.
Your failure 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)
"Innocence in Self-Defense Law Explained" by Terry Pittman
---
The author's "Escalation of Force:" example is flawed. A punch by Jim could easily
be construed as deadly force. So the the display of a knife by Joe would not necessarily
be an escalation of force. Of course, Jim shooting Joe would not be self-defense, since
Jim started the fight by punching Joe. So Jim could not claim self-defense.
The author claiming that there is a first fight, and then a second fight in the same
incident is a little bizarre. I don't think the author has a solid grasp of the concepts.
For there to have been a second fight, one of the participants must have disengaged
and communicated his desire not to fight anymore. He probably would have had to
have attempted to leave the scene (run away) to convey to the other guy that he didn't
want to fight anymore.
The author cites Andrew Branca, which is nice. But one must always be careful
when regurgitating the teachings of others.
Ansatz is a thing. And the better your training, the better your guesses / estimates.
"5 Critical Lessons on Tactical Anatomy Every Armed Citizen Needs to Understand"
by Jacob S. Paulsen
---
My recommendations:
To the front of the head - the center of the triangle defined by the eyes and nose
(cranial-ocular). Because the eyes are soft and the bone behind the eyes is thin,
and the nose is soft cartilage and there is no hard bone behind the nose.
To the side of the head - ear hole (external auditory meatus) or the neck (carotid artery,
vagus nerve, spinal column).
To the back of the head - spinal column at the base of the skull.
The skull is the hardest strongest bone in the body. It is unlikely that you will penetrate
it with pistol bullets. So you must shoot through an existing hole.
To the front of the torso - the center of the triangle defined by the nipples and notch
at the top of the sternum (high thoracic). Or you can think of it as the intersection of the
center line of the body and the line connecting the armpits.
To the side of the torso - the armpit (which means your bullet may need to penetrate
the upper arm, that's why your self-defense ammo is +P and designed to defeat barriers).
To the back of the torso - the spinal column between the shoulder blades.
If the bad guy is wearing body armor and helmet with ballistic face shield,
consider the neck below the helmet / face shield and above the body armor,
the inboard side of the arms (brachial arteries), inboard side of the thighs (femoral arteries).
From below, consider inside the jaw and up into the brain, or inside the pelvic girdle
and up into the torso.
If you know what to aim for, you will aim carefully for that target. If you don't know,
you'll be spraying and praying. Because you won't be able to figure it out during combat,
no matter how good your medical training. I recognize and appreciate your medical
school, internship, residency, and post grad work. But you still need to think about your
targets ahead of time, decide, and practice (visualize, dry practice). Otherwise, you
won't be able to execute under stress.
"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
"Don’t shoot BEFORE the threat is imminent." by Shawn Vincent
A review of several cases and an explanation of why the jury decided as they did.
---
It is sometimes really hard to tell when the threat is imminent. -- Jon Low
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"There are a lot of machinations and effort that go into developing scoring
metrics and performance standards for shooting. While some are certainly
better than others, the reality is that none of them are good because they all
completely ignore the factors that matter most during real gunfights, such as
situational awareness and decision-making.
The use of pre-known, and pre-defined sequences (regardless of form or
attached standards) as the basis of performance measurement is a foundationally
flawed approach to measuring these types of skills. As long as we retain this
model, the industry will systemically keep spinning its wheels in the mud with
little to show for it." -- Dustin Salomon
"The Future is Non-Linear" by Dustin Salomon
Excerpts:
"Measurement systems that seek to score shooters based on a balance of
speed and accuracy cannot measure what matters in combat."
". . . emphasis in order of priority on the development of:
• situational awareness
• agility
• accuracy
• speed"
---
"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 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
[That means using a shot timer to get your times, and then recording your times
in your journal. Which means keeping a highly detailed journal. Also, score all
of your targets and record all scores in your journal. No, you can't just throw
your target away and claim that it doesn't count. It counts. It is empirical truth
(data).
-- Jon Low]
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
The female friend appears in several scenes in "Scarpetta", Season 1, Episode 5.
Pacific West Academy
Recommended by a Marine Corps buddy, who is the star's bodyguard / chauffeur.
He recommends the 45 day course for $16,000. The school accepts the G.I. Bill.
Training and all kinds of certificates with no out of pocket expense. They even
provide lodging. I've always gone to training on my own dime, on my own time.
This is the first I've heard of firearms, driving, and medical training that accepts
GI Bill money. As you might imagine, there is a long waiting list, so apply now.
Ya, it's in Los Angeles. But you can tolerate that for a month. Hell, you did
boot camp for 3 months. There are no Drill Instructors screaming at you in this
training.
"Having a gun is important.
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
Anna Cramling
There's a happy smile.
"Bye Bye" by Anna Cramling
English is not her first language, so she confuses time (as on the clock) with
tempi (number of moves to accomplish a task). This difference should also be
clear in your mind.
9:27 / 15:29 "And this is the critical moment of the game . . . "
She describes her psychological problem that prevented her from winning. She
is young. It is critically important that you train and practice to get through such
psychological problems in combat. Because for us it is much more important.
9:52 / 15:29 to 10:29 / 15:29 "But then I started freaking out . . ."
As Jeff Cooper says in his "Principles of Personal Defense",
Principle 5: Coolness -- (Please reread this chapter.)
You have the book because you downloaded it from the Foundation (free of charge) or
bought the Kindle version, right? If not, check the Tactical Professor's web site.
"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
“… sincerely dead” by John Farnam
Excerpts:
"In many cases, the “fatally-wounded” threat crumples to the ground,
only to reanimate and jump back to his feet several seconds later!"
[This is because when standing the head is above the body, so it takes pressure
to pump blood up to the head. But when the body is lying down, the head is
lower relative to the rest of the body. Hence, blood flows to the brain and the
body regains consciousness. (Thanks to Greg Ellifritz.) -- Jon Low]
"There is a good chance he is not nearly as “dead” as you think, . . ."
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Shoot sooner, not faster."
-- Matt Little
“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
"Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and
at extremely close ranges. Realistically, you may not have the time or the
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your draw stroke."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
“The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns,
we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise,
they will win and decent people will loose.”
-- James Earl Jones
"Proper training ingrains the proper responses.
Repetition is the mother of all skill. With skill comes confidence.
With confidence comes the ability to think under pressure and
make sound tactical decisions."
-- Tom Givens
“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.)
[Mindset, training, and practice make you armed. -- Jon Low]
Simple is faster. Simple is more reliable. So, simple is better.
"Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
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------------------------------ Psychology --------------------------------
"Be stronger than your strongest excuse."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Why Every Long-Range Shooter Is Wrong About Barrel Twist,
Earth Spin, and Math (with Ryan Cleckner and Rich Nance)"
by Aimpoint USA
Excerpt:
"Having a better lawyer is important." [In the context of people think that
if you're guilty you will be convicted, and if you are innocent you will be acquitted.
But that's not true. -- Jon Low]
"A revolver is a gun that powers the ammunition. Where a semi-auto is
ammunition that powers the gun." -- Jerry Miculek
---
Ryan Cleckner,
"Long Range Shooting Handbook: The Beginner’s Guide to Precision Rifle."
"Advanced Long Range Shooting: The Next Step in Precision Rifle Shooting"
---
"Best Concealed Carry Insurance [2026]: Reviewed by a Lawyer!"
by Ryan Cleckner
---
FFL Safe
Free FFL software for FFL's. [FFL = Federal Firearms Licensee]
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
"Tactical Conference 2026 – I" by tacticalprofessor (Claude Werner)
Excerpt:
"Visual cues are rather different than an audio cue such as a shot timer."
"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
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for growth.
There is nothing worse than teaching obsolete shit. Because your
students don't know any better.
"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
Security Operations Summit 2026, $150.00
July 23-25, 2026 A.D.
With hands-on pre-event options on Wednesday, July 22nd!
Southeast Christian Church
920 Blankenbaker Parkway
Louisville, KY 40243
Bullets & Bibles 2026 (The registration fee is a tax deductible charitable donation).
Friday, August 21, 2026 A.D. – Sunday, August 23, 2026 A.D.
Hosted at Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS.
Food and lodging included in registration price.
To register,
If you have already pre-registered,
The Guardian Conference, $800
September 18th - 20th, 2026 A.D.
in Oklahoma City, OK.
Gun Rights Policy Conference, Second Amendment Foundation, $25
September 25–27, 2026 A.D.
in Dallas at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport hotel.
Click on the link to book a hotel room for $159.00 per night.
Rangemaster Tactical Conference
(registration is open, unlike previous years, it has not sold out in hours)
Friday-Sunday, April 2-4, 2027 A.D.
Dallas Pistol Club; Carrollton, TX
*************************************************************************
Bella Ash
Grad U.C. Santa Barbra 2025
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required to avoid teaching
obsolete material, and to ensure you are teaching best practices.
Save yourself the expense of round trip air fare to Arizona, hotel, rental car, and
eating at restaurants.
Gunsite – 250 Defensive Pistol, $2,135
Royal Range, Nashville, Tennessee
Monday, May 25, 2026 - Friday, May 29, 2026
or
Monday, August 24, 2026 - Friday, August 28, 2026
Duration: 5 Days
Prerequisite: None
Ammunition: 1000 rounds ball (ball means copper jacketed round nose bullets)
available for purchase on-site.
The student will also have to purchase approximately 1 box of Simunitions
from Royal Range for the indoor simulators.
[I plan on taking my grand kids when they turn 13. -- Jon Low]
Protective Pistolcraft Instructor, 5 Days, $ 1350
Mon, Nov 2, 2026 – Fri, Nov 6, 2026, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST
Last Resort Firearms Training, 4220 Gravel Pit Road, White Hall, AR, USA
This is the 3-day Firearms Instructor Development Course and
the 2-day Advanced Firearms Instructor Course given in 5 days.
Taught by Tom Givens, Tiffany Johnson, Aqil Qadir, and John Hearne.
No prerequisites. Includes a night shoot and much more.
Tom is retiring at the end of 2026.
ConcealedCarry.com (Jacob S. Paulsen et al)
Project Appleseed
Agile Training and Consulting
Gunsite Academy
Lee Weems
Massad Ayoob Group
West Coast Armory North
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
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, Bill Armstrong
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
Mike Seeklander
Claude Werner, The Tactical Professor
Tatiana Whitlock - Training in Context
NRA Instructors and their classes.
‟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
Orion's take on the levels of competence that we studied in our shooting classes.
"The process of becoming." by Orion Taraban, Psy.D. Wednesday, April 1st, 2026
We are always in the process of becoming who we are, and the process of
becoming who we are, always progresses through four distinct phases. We all
start in the first phase:
unconscious incompetence. At this stage, we just are – and we do not know
the extent of our ignorance or our ineptitude.
However, this doesn't last long. When we experience sufficient pain,
we are brought into the second phase, namely:
conscious incompetence. We are now (painfully) aware of the extent to which
we fall short with respect to what life demands of us.
Once we accept this reality, we can do something about it – which is the
beginning of the third phase:
conscious competence. We are now doing what life demands, but it requires
a great deal of effort, discipline, and vigilance. Both execution and maintenance
are exhausting.
However, when we persist long enough, we arrive at the fourth phase:
unconscious competence. At this point, our competence has become so
ingrained that is now just a part of who we are, and it can't not manifest
in our behavior. This is how everything works in life.
This week's behavioral experiment:
Where are you prepared to transition from conscious incompetence to
conscious competence? Execute.
Warmly,
Orion
"Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Turn Practice Into Performance: A Practical Guide to Shot Timers"
by Matt Robertson
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"You can, and should, apply par time ladders to nearly any shooting skill
during dry fire."
---
The author recommends some pretty high end timers. At a lower price point,
you might consider,
Competition Electronics, Pocket Pro Shot Timer, $139.99, Made in USA.
"You have to be lucky to win. And the more you practice, the luckier you get."
-- Col. Lones Wigger
"Your practice is producing rehearsal actors, not competitors.
The drill that feels perfect is the one you should be most suspicious of."
by Sam Elsner
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"Skill doesn’t live in your head. It lives in the relationship between you and
the environment you’re actually performing in. And the moment you try to
separate the two — to clean the drill, to remove the pressure, to make the
conditions safe — you destroy the very thing you’re trying to build."
"If your athletes are great in practice but fall apart in games, you don’t have
a mental skills problem. You don’t need a sports psychologist. You need a
different practice design."
"Gibson’s central argument: you don’t learn by downloading information
into your head. You learn by becoming better at reading what your environment
is offering you."
"You are building the skill of doing the drill. And the drill does not exist
in the real game."
"Most people believe skill is stored in your head. You learn the pattern.
You store the pattern. Under pressure, you retrieve the pattern and execute it.
That is the model. Schools teach it. Coaches teach it. Corporate trainers
teach it.
Gibson said no. "Skill is not stored. It is coupled." Perception and action
are one loop, not two events. You perceive and in the same motion you act.
There is no thinking in the middle."
"The best performers don’t repeat the same movement.
They solve the same problem with a different movement every single time."
"Not a technique you learn in a tutorial. A perceptual skill you develop
through sustained contact with the real environment."
"Stop practicing in controlled conditions and then being surprised
when the skill disappears in uncontrolled ones."
"One: Make your practice representative.
Two: Use the constraints-led approach.
Three: Enter the real game before you’re ready."
Why practice?
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing,
unique to them and fitted to their talents.
What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or
unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
-- Winston Churchill
“ The "Dreaded Dry-Fire" Training Talk ”
by Steve Tarani
Excerpt:
"Talk to the best shooters in the world—Grand Masters, national champions,
professional instructors—and you will hear the same story: the majority of their
skill development did not happen on the range with ammunition. It happened in
living rooms, garages, basements and hotel rooms."
"What’s actually being built is a neuromuscular pathway—a refined
communication loop between the brain and the hands. Each clean repetition
strengthens that pathway. Each sloppy repetition damages it."
"Dry fire allows skills to be fully isolated."
"Elite shooters spend a surprising amount of time working on single isolated
elements this way. They don’t try to fix everything at once. They focus on one
component until it becomes reliable. Locate, isolate and eliminate one problem
at a time before plugging it back into the full skill set."
"Convenience matters. If dry fire requires effort to begin, it won’t survive
the demands of daily life."
"Repetition without mental engagement is wasted time."
"The moment dry fire becomes casual, learning stops.
Challenge keeps the brain engaged."
---
Visualization is imagining a thing in detail; with your eyes closed, you can see the
serrations and scratches on your front sight, you can smell the gun oil on your pistol,
you can feel the checkering digging into your palms, you block out all environmental
noises because you are so focused on what you are doing, etc.
You should visualize 10 shots for every dry practice shot you execute.
You should dry practice 10 shots for every live cartridge you expend.
Such will drastically improve your skill and drastically reduce your
cost for ammunition, travel time to the range, range fees, and gas for travel to the range.
WIN!
With disciplined deliberate dry practice, you will eventually achieve an epiphany.
Many students have described it to me. I pray you achieve it.
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"12 Of The Most Effective Shooting Exercises You Can Do Nearly Anywhere"
by Tim Herron Shooting
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
"Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Your speed [in mastering the art and science of your discipline] doesn't matter.
Forward is forward."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Strategy --------------------------------
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it.
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
The first and second link give examples of why it is very expensive to come to
the aid of strangers.
"Gun & Prepping News #75" by Docent
---
Many cops have been involved in incidents where you rescue the female from
getting beaten by the male, and either the female refuses to testify or the female
testifies that you were the aggressor, attacking her boyfriend / husband, and that
you started the fight. It happened to my cousin who was a Honolulu Police
Department officer. It happened to me when I worked for the Provost Marshal's
Office in Jacksonville, NC.
I'm going to say the truth out loud. She likes getting beaten. That's why she
stays with him. (When he beats her, he is paying attention to her. If that's the
only way she can get attention . . . That's why some kids "act out". They want
the attention. They don't mind getting spanked.) I've attended a lot of classes
and lectures, where they teach us that domestic abuse is complicated and she can't
leave him for all kinds of reasons. I call bullshit. (Ya, I know I've never been
in that situation. I've never walked in her shoes.)
Domestic abuse increases with time. It never decreases. So she either leaves,
or she gets beaten to death. Sorry, that's just reality.
I know it's not just guys abusing gals. When I lived in California, I knew a
lady, Meital Hochberg, who counseled women who beat their boyfriends / husbands.
The court would order them to attend Tal's counseling sessions. Tal did not have
any success. It was all very sad.
Abusers and victims intentionally find each other and form relationships.
People do not "fall in love" they dig their way into it. The red flags are precisely
why she chooses to stay with that guy. There is nothing wrong with blaming the
victim, if the victim is to blame.
"No women deserves to be beaten." If he didn't beat her, she would leave him
and find a guy who would beat her. Then he will eventually kill her or she will
kill him to prevent her death.
I know I'm not explaining it very well. If William Aprill were alive,
he could do a much better job.
"Never let fear decide your fate."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Tactics --------------------------------
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
Sometimes you must close with the enemy and destroy him with fire and close combat.
"Real fights are short." -- Bruce Lee
Maneuver –
Why you should never attempt to clear your house.
Even if you are intimately familiar with your house,
you can still get ambushed.
How to do it, if you must. You hear glass breaking in the middle of the night
and your daughter screaming from her bedroom down the hall. Getting yourself
killed doesn’t help anyone. You must get down the hall quickly and in condition
to apply accurate fire. And not shoot your daughter.
Do you have vision? Are you wearing your glasses?
Do you have light? Are you carrying your flashlight? Do you have a weapon
mounted light? [You're not going to search with your WML, right? That's a great
way to shoot your daughter. Actually, yes, there are documented cases.] Yes, you
know where the light switches are. Is turning on the lights tactically sound?
Will it light the bad guy and not you? Will it backlight you? Will you see
movement in a mirror and shoot it in your high stress situation?
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
". . . one of the first principles we want to apply for using cover is to create
distance between our body and the objects we are using for protection. This
reduces the danger of being injured by fragmentation and debris."
"Another advantage of having distance from cover is that it widens your
field of view, allowing you to see more of the threat environment."
"If possible, you always want to work around the side of an object, which
exposes less of your body to the threat, as opposed to working over the top, which
presents the threat with a full view of your head."
-- Tiger McKee
When Mr. McKee says fragmentation, he is referring to spalling. When the
bullet hits one side of the barrier, it may cause fragments of the barrier to blow off
the other side (even if the bullet does not penetrate the barrier). This is common
with armor plates.
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
[This is reality. That's why you immediately dive for cover. Force-on-Force where
the enemy is standing in front of you is not reality. It is far more likely that you will be
looking around, trying to find the bad guy. Sorry, sometimes truth sucks.
-- Jon Low]
When shooting from cover, shoot at whatever first becomes visible to you,
e.g., a foot, an elbow, etc. The idea is to shoot the enemy without exposing
yourself. You don't need to get a center of mass shot. Shooting his elbow or foot
may be enough to make him stop the attack. You win fights by minimizing your
injury. What happens to the enemy is incidental to your purpose of stopping the
attack. (Thanks to John Holschen.)
Keep your trigger finger in the register position and the pistol pulled into the
close contact position when moving through any structure or outdoors in dense
forest, or anywhere the enemy may be hiding around a corner.
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
Corners –
Slice the pie. Lead with your eye (which means you must lean way over).
Pull your gun into the close contact position, so the first thing the enemy could
see would be your eye.
Don’t play pee-ka-boo with the enemy around a corner. You’ll get ambushed.
Shoot the first part of the enemy that comes into view. Hitting his arm or foot may
be enough to cause him to flee and minimizes your exposure. If you can see
enough of the enemy to get a center of mass torso shot, he can see too much of
you.
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
Stay away from walls. Bullets do not ricochet off walls as light reflects off a
mirror. Most of the momentum perpendicular to the wall will be absorbed by the
wall or the bullet. So, bullets tend to skim along the walls.
Stay away from corners and windows. The enemy is hiding around the corner
or under the windowsill, and will grab you or your pistol as soon as he can, always
a good assumption.
“No possible rapidity of fire can atone for
habitual carelessness of aim with the first shot.”
-- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States,
"The Wilderness Hunter", 1893
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Techniques --------------------------------
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"I can always do nothing more consistently than I can do something."
-- Ben Stoeger
"Trigger vs Grip - What Actually Controls Your Accuracy? | Ron Avery"
by Tactical Performance Center
Tactical Performance Center
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
[Otherwise, you will be increasing grip pressure as you increase trigger pressure. -- Jon Low]
"VIDEO: Individual Movement Techniques" by Docent
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Teaching the Draw" by Greybeard Actual (Matt Little)
---
Just as you index by touching to determine where the pistol is, so it is essential
to touch the trigger with your trigger finger before starting to press the trigger, to
determine where the trigger is. Your grip won't be exactly the same every time,
especially under the stress of combat, when you are presenting from an awkward
position. So you must determine where the trigger is relative to your grip.
Moving the support-side hand quickly is just like running coaches telling their
athletes to "pump your arms and your legs will follow."
"Support-side hand floating around" is wrong. If you don't index your support-
side hand, you won't know where it is, and it will end up in front of your muzzle,
and you will shoot your support-side hand. I know that sounds crazy, but it happens
all the time. So you must do something with your support-side hand that will ensure
its position. Usually holding your concealment garment up in your armpit.
I disagree with Matt. I think you must have your grip completed before you
punch your pistol out to the target. A complete grip is strong for weapon retention
purposes. An incomplete grip is weak and vulnerable to a gun grab by the enemy.
Your shoulders will not tense and rise if your practice keeping them down and relaxed.
As with most things in life, it's just a matter of practice.
"Whatever you leave alone is perfect." -- Brian Enos
"A Crash Course in Real World Self-Defense"
by Eric Flynn
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"The Dangerous Divide in the Shooting World" by Tenicor (with Matt Pranka)
Competition vs. Tactical.
"In my strategy the footwork does not change.
I always walk as I usually do in the street."
-- Miyamoto Musashi
Deep truths.
"Can You Reset The Trigger Faster Than The Gun Cycles?" by Jacob Paulsen
Excerpt:
". . . understanding the difference between active and passive recoil management."
---
I think resetting the trigger during recoil is a bad habit to develop. I think the
shooter needs to keep the trigger trapped to the rear throughout the follow through.
Resetting the trigger only after the second sight movie is obtained. Because follow
through is essential for getting accurate shots. Resetting the trigger is not.
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"The secret is applying extreme force with the pinkies and
working your way up the rest of the digits."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
"Never believe anything you read or hear.
To figure out what’s best for you,
experiment until you have no doubt."
-- Brian Enos
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
". . . 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"
“What’s the number one reason for reloading?
Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
"Hegseth Replaces Woke Ivy League Military Fellowships
The secretary of war is ensuring that those who educate and facilitate
our military leaders don’t hold a dangerously anti-American ideology."
by Thomas Gallatin
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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 Sections:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Aftermath --------------------------------
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
"Tactical Anatomy: The Stark Realities Of Armed-Self Defense" by Docent
Primary source,
"Primer: The Stark Realities of Armed Self-Defense" by James Williams
“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
"Best Concealed Carry Insurance [2026]: Reviewed by a Lawyer!"
by Ryan Cleckner
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
"Top Self Defense Insurance Programs: A Detailed Comparison"
by ConcealedCarry.com
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
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Medical --------------------------------
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
"The King and Queen of Handgun Stopping Power" by James Williams
Excerpts:
“Shot placement is king; adequate penetration is queen; everything else
is angels dancing on the heads of pins” and it was regarding handgun usage
specifically.
"Handgun bullets stop by drilling holes in critical anatomic structures.
The amount of kinetic energy they impart to the target organism is a fraction
of the kinetic energy of a rifle bullet. As a consequence, your only hope of
stopping a criminal attacker with your handgun is to place your bullet(s)
precisely into the vital target anatomy of said attacker."
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
From email from The Mountain Man Medical Team --
🌱 Spring Is the Perfect Time to Audit Your Med Kit
You change the batteries in your smoke detectors, deep clean the garage, and
swap out the winter gear — your trauma kit deserves the same spring attention.
It's easy to set it and forget it, but a kit you haven't checked in a year may not
be the kit you're counting on when it matters.
Here's a quick audit checklist:
Check expiration dates on hemostatic gauze, chest seals, and any medications.
Inspect tourniquets — look for cracked windlass rods, frayed webbing,
or stiff buckles. Replace any components that were used for training or practice.
Verify packaging seals are intact on sterile items.
Make sure every kit in your rotation is fully stocked — range bag, vehicle, home.
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
Tracey Mendenhall | VP of Operations
(Life Saving Ninja)
DEFEND SYSTEMS
(615) 480-7758
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Survival --------------------------------
"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
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
‟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
"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
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
--Benjamin Franklin
*************************************************************************
Celine Bethmann
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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
"Gun & Prepping News #76" by Docent
Two Pillars Training, Newsletter for April 2026
John has interesting things to say about aftermarket grips and red dot sights.
And pictures from Tac Con 2026.
Defensive Gun Uses (Hey, it takes time to compile the data.)
February 2025
March 2025
April 2025
May 2025
June 2025
Gun Digest has some useful videos.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gun University
"Defensive Use of Firearms" by Stephen P. Wenger
Get on his emailing list for his newsletter,
Greg Ellifritz's reading list,
American Rifleman and American Hunter are now online free of charge.
Practical Eschatology
2nd Amendment News & Articles
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
YouTube.com channel
Blog posts,
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
*************************************************************************
Yup, that's important.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Legal --------------------------------
We are making progress! Yeah, SecWar Pete Hegseth! Yeah POTUS
Donald Trump!
Carry on military bases.
"New Rule!" by John Farnam
“When you will not fight when you can easily win, without bloodshed,
and when you still will not fight when victory is sure and not too costly,
you may well come to the moment when you will have no choice but to
fight with the odds against you, and you have only a small chance of survival.
There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no
hope of victory, simply because it is better to perish as warriors than to
live as slaves.”
-- Winston Churchill
In the last newsletter Greg warned you not to trust eye witness identification
of suspects. And I pointed out an article on the fallibility of fingerprint analysis.
"You've Been Lied to About DNA Evidence" by Be Smart
Trusting DNA evidence is WRONG. Trusting police is WRONG.
Trusting prosecutors is WRONG.
You must hire your own private investigators and expert witnesses.
Which means you must have the money to do so. Which means you
must have a self-defense insurance policy from a company that will
actually pay in full up front.
Even if your public defender has the money to hire private investigators
and expert witnesses, he doesn't have the time to do so. He is working on
200 cases besides yours. He is hoping that you will accept a plea bargain so
that he can move on, because he is exhausted.
“Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore,
be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not
to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean
everything or nothing at pleasure.”
— Thomas Jefferson (1823)
"Gun Sale Ban Hidden in SAVE Act?" by Liberty Doll
Gun Law Database
"Build A Reciprocity Map:" by Concealed Carry, Inc.
"Firearms are second only to the constitution in importance,
they are the people's liberty's teeth." -- George Washington
"HUGE BREAKING NEWS! MASSIVE 8-1 SUPREME COURT VICTORY
JUST RELEASED!"
by The Four Boxes Diner
“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
"DOJ & Pam Bondi Sued Over National Park Gun Ban!"
by Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News
"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
"Russell Brand Just Made One of the Strongest Second Amendment Arguments"
by Colion Noir
"Canada Says They Will Send Police Door To Door After Failed Gun Buy Back"
by Colion Noir
Take heed of what is happening up north.
"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
"BREAKING GREAT NEWS!
DYSTOPIAN VIRGINIA GUN CONTROL BACKFIRES MASSIVELY!"
by The Four Boxes Diner
"USPS Moves to Allow Mailing of Handguns" by Jake Fogleman
This guy was falsely convicted and spent 37 years in prison.
This is why you must have a powerful, politicly connected, attorney, which
takes big money, which takes an insurance policy that actually pays in full
up front. [USCCA refused to pay for Kayla Giles, and Alan W. Colie.]
As Andrew Branca says, even if you are completely justified, completely
innocent, there is a 10% chance that you will be convicted; that's just the
noise in the system.
The competent attorney can get the charges dismissed before trial.
(My attorneys have done this twice. Once at the state level in New Jersey
and once at the federal level on Fort Dix.)
You don't want to go to trial. Trial is a huge expense. Trial is psychologically
traumatic for you and your family.
The chances of your conviction being overturned on appeal are extremely
low. On appeal, the assumption is that you are guilty. The prosecutor has
already shown that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If you think a jury will treat you fairly in a liberal jurisdiction, you're delusional.
"OSD 371: While you were shooting, the Fifth Circuit studied the blade
Now that’s a knife."
Email from Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
On Friday [3 April 2006], the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld
Maine’s 2024 law requiring a three-day waiting period after a federal
background check to obtain a gun as constitutional. In a 24-page decision,
the federal appeals court in Boston reversed last year’s decision by Maine’s
chief federal judge that blocked enforcement of the law on Second Amendment
grounds. The appeals court decided the law is “a burden on, but not an
infringement of, the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.”
The Tenth Circuit recently overturned a seven-day waiting period in
New Mexico so a split between circuits potentially opens the door for a ruling
from SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States).
For reference,
The First Circuit covers the states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire
and Rhode Island, as well as Puerto Rico.
The Second Circuit covers Connecticut, New York and Vermont.
The Tenth Circuit covers the states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah
and Wyoming.
Cited article,
"Federal appeals court upholds Maine’s three-day waiting period to buy a gun"
by Phil Hirschkorn
United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit, ruling
"SCOTUS Turns Away Challenge to Carry Ban on Public Transportation"
by Cam Edwards
Hat tip to Jacob Paulsen.
*************************************************************************
Anna Cramling
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Instruction --------------------------------
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Instructors -----
Precision of language is precision of thought.
If your lectures are full of "um", "ah", "like", "you know", "does that make sense?",
and other such filler words, it would be better for you to write your lecture and read
it to your students.
Reading your lectures to your students is not bad or wrong. Massad Ayoob
plays DVD recordings of his lectures to his students in his classes. And then takes
questions. That way he can enter the DVD into evidence at trial and claim that
that is exactly what he taught.
If you want to give live lectures, you must do it well. If you can't do it well,
take a speech class. Attend Toastmasters and present lectures. Learn the skill
and practice.
Your job as an instructor is to communicate. Bad speech prevents communication.
If you have a speech impediment, you can overcome it. Eventually, no one will
even notice it. Have you taken a class from John Murphy?
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
A student cut her hand on the forward facing edge of the on-off switch of her weapon
mounted light (WML), TLR-1 HL Streamlight, mounted on her Glock pistol.
So, I took my knife and shaved off the sharp edges (it's soft plastic). [She unloaded
her pistol, removed the light, and handed it to me.]
It's not enough to tell the students that all sharp edges need to be removed from
all of their equipment. You, the instructor, must check all of the student's equipment.
Otherwise, you will get incidents like this. Yes, I know it takes time. But it avoids
student injuries.
"A false path will always be tensely, angrily, violently defended
by those it has deceived, because those who are so easily deceived
are ever too arrogant to repent.”
-- Instructional axiom
"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
[Don't teach scenario specific techniques. Rather, teach principles and allow your
students to execute based on principles. -- Jon Low]
"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
“The student’s purpose is to expand their body of knowledge and social network.
The instructor’s purpose is to help the student achieve the student’s goals.”
-- Amy Schwartz
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
“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
“Qui docet, discet.” (Who teaches, learns.)
-- American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
************************************************************************
----- Students -----
“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
"Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it."
-- Henry Ford
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material.
It is totally normal that the first time you see this stuff, you find
it confusing. You find it difficult to understand. So, confusion
should not discourage you. It does not represent any intellectual
failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an
opportunity to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science and other
stuff at Stanford University
"Try.
Try again.
Try once more.
Try differently.
Try again tomorrow.
Try and ask for help.
Try find someone who's done it.
Try to fix the problem.
Keep trying until you succeed."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
----- Andragogy (as opposed to pedagogy) -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to
take place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
[So you must prime your students with readings or videos before the start of the class.
John Murphy has a video series on YouTube.com that he asks his prospective students
to view before coming to class.
-- Jon Low]
"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
Bella Ash
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Gear --------------------------------
And the safe storage thereof.
"Sights = The Weakest Link" by Greg Ellifritz
---
Greg recommends that you check the sights after any event that may have caused
the sight to move. The Springfield Armory XD's (and many others) have machined
marks in the pistol's dove tails that allow you to see that the sights are between the
marks. If your pistol doesn't have such marks, create such marks with a center punch
and a hammer, or if you want it pretty, have a machinist cut the marks for you.
The whole barrel and action of this rifle reciprocate. That's a huge a mount of mass.
So the recoil is very low. And the cycle time is very long.
"This .308 DMR Has NO Recoil (And It's Real)" by Ninja In Flannel
Olympus Arms, Vulcan Rifle – Standard, $5,475.00
I've got a Turkish CETME, roller delayed action, and the recoil is comparable.
And CETME's are cheap.
"The Springfield XD- A Polemic" by Greg Ellifritz
---
I have carried Springfield XD's chambered in 45 ACP for many years,
mainly because the late Louis Awerbuck recommended them. I did the
modifications that Greg's article mentions, and many more, to get the pistols
to fit my had.
Though I have never had any problems with the XD's (probably because
I regularly clean them and do preventative maintenance), I have decided to
change my EDC (everyday carry) to the Glock 21. Because my experience
is that the Glocks are more reliable (fewer malfunctions) and durable (parts,
e.g. the mag springs, last longer before needing to be replaced).
(Wayne Dobbs has told me to switch to 9mm, as it would allow me to
increase my accuracy. But, I just can't do it. I have a real psychological
problem.)
The purpose of a high capacity magazine is NOT to let you shoot more;
it is to let you reload less.
-- Tom Givens
"How Much Ammo Should I Carry--Another Data Point" by Docent
Citing the article,
Excerpt:
Dr. Roberts wrote, “Looked at in aggregate over a multi-year period,
the data breaks down like this:
Approximately 1/3 of the time only one shot was needed to stop the threat.
In another 1/3 of cases, 2–9 shots were required.
Unfortunately, 10+ shots were necessary to stop the criminal aggressor
in the final 1/3 of violent encounters.”
---
Five shots will not stop five aggressors, because cops only hit their intended
target 15% to 20% of the time. Do you think you can do better under the stress
of combat? That means you will need to fire 5 rounds to get one hit. So, if you
have 5 aggressors, you will need to fire 25 shots to get one hit on each aggressor.
Do you have a 25 round magazine in your pistol? If not, better carry more
magazines.
Pistol ammunition is ballistically deficient compared to rifle or shotgun ammo.
So you will probably need two rounds in a vital area to stop the attack of one
assailant. That means you will need to fire 50 rounds to stop the attack of the
5 aggressors.
How many rounds will you waste before you realize that the bad guy is
wearing body armor? How many rounds will it take to stop an intoxicated
assailant who is immune to pain?
When I look at the cops around Nashville, I see 5 or 6 extra magazines on
their belts or vests. Every magazine is holding 17 rounds. That's 102 rounds.
When I was in the Marine Corps, our standard load out was 1 mag in the
rifle and 6 mags in the two belt pouches. That's 210 rounds.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
"6 Things You Learn From…
Using a Pistol Red Dot Sight"
by Tom McHale
Excerpt:
Waking up every day determined to learn something new
is a great way to go through life.
"There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
"The forgotten details of the Slide Lock-With Bennett" by CarryTrainer
---
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Innovative revolver speed loader.
I asked Tom Givens and Greg Ellifritz, but neither had see one of these
and didn't know where to get one. If you know, please let me know.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Best Duty Holster Ever? Blade-Tech Valor Review (2 Months On Duty)"
by Geauga Firearms Academy
The holster will accept the pistol with or without a optic sight, and with or
without a weapon mounted light, without you having to make any adjustment
to the holster. Stop and think about that.
"Parts Common Between CZ P09 & CZ 75" by Suarez Tactics
"Downloadable - Printable Targets" by ConcealedCarry.com
(Each prints on a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper)
"Bundeswehr’s New Pistol - The CZ P13" by Eric B
They also come in 45 ACP,
MSRP (manufacture's suggested retail price) $549
I had a Walther PDP. I bought it at Music City Pawn on Nolensville Pike in
Nashville, TN. I paid ~$500. I would never pay $1400 for a new one, when
there are perfectly functional reliable pistols on the market for ~$500 new in the box.
"Glock's New Steel 15-round Magazines for the 43X and 48" by Docent
Clean before initial use. Clean after every use. If carried and not used,
clean monthly. (Your body is a warm moist environment conducive to rust. Your
clothes have lots of lint. If you ever cleaned your drier lint trap, you would know
this.) The high-tech finish on the exterior of your modern pistol may not rust, but
the small springs in your trigger will. The lint will foul your trigger mechanism.
Cleaning your pistol –
Field strip your pistol. Disassembly beyond field stripping should be done by an
armorer or gunsmith.
There is nothing wrong with using your dishwasher, an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner,
or soaking the field stripped pistol in a bucket of WD-40 overnight as an initial
cleaning step. But that's not enough. You must follow the steps below to clean your
pistol.
Spray everything down with something that will dissolve the carbon. WD40 works
fine and is relatively cheap.
Take a real stiff brush and scrub all surfaces. (Including outside surfaces. The
pistol is covered with your perspiration and dead skin.) A toothbrush designed for
humans is too soft. The brushes that come in military cleaning kits are good. The
brushes sold in golf shops for cleaning the face of golf clubs are good. The brush
needs to be very stiff and able to get into tiny nooks and crannies. Use pipe cleaners
(the real stiff bristly kind that you buy in the smoke shops, not fuzzy sticks from
Hobby Lobby), and Q-tips as needed. (Don't be moving the dirt around by using a
dirty Q-tip.)
Get a bronze bore brush (Brownells sells an Extra Tough bore brush that creates
a lot more friction and hence significantly reduces the number of strokes needed to
clean a bore.) and bore solvent (Hoppes No. 9 or some other bore solvent), dip the
brush in the solvent and run the brush through the bore 20 times. (All the way
forward and all the way back counts as one stroke.) After brushing the bore, run a
couple of clean patches through the bore. (Avoid cloth with lint. Coffee filters
work fine and have no lint.) Look down the bore with a light at the other end.
The bore should be glassy smooth and shiny. If not, repeat the process until the
bore is glassy smooth and shiny. You’ve got to get the copper and lead out of your
barrel. There is enough heat and pressure during firing to cause the copper jacket
residue or lead bullet residue to chemically bond to the interior of the barrel.
A nylon bore brush is too soft. A steel bore brush is too hard. (It will scratch your
bore.) If you see rough spots or rough lines parallel to the rifling, get out the bore
brush and bore solvent and do another 20 strokes. (Don't get impatient and use a
steel tool to scrape the fouling out. You will regret the scratches you cause.
Fouling will build up in the scratches you made, which will be very difficult to
clean the next time. How would I know this?)
Lubricate with a light coat of oil, especially the rails of the slide, springs, and
trigger mechanism. The operative word is light. After cleaning and lubricating,
you might want to blow the excess lubricant out with compressed air, so you don’t
spray lubricant everywhere when you fire the pistol. Or it may be sufficient to
wipe everything down with a clean dry rag.
“Rust is neglect.” – Kimber owner's manual
Oiled surfaces should appear shiny, not wet.
If the recoil spring feels soft, replace it. If you’re not getting deep firing pin
impressions on your primers, replace the striker spring.
---
Cleaning your magazines –
Disassemble your magazines. Get magazines with removable base plates to allow
easy cleaning of the interior. If the base plate won’t come off, you can trap the
spring (by compressing the spring and sticking a paper clip through the magazine
sideways) and pull the follower out, and then pull the spring out.
Get stainless steel magazines. They won’t rust.
Clean and lubricate the interior of the magazine, the spring, and the follower.
Brass has a low coefficient of static friction, but steel (Wolf or Tul ammo) and
aluminum (Blazer and Federal ammo) have much higher coefficients. So, the
inside of the magazine must be clean and lubricated to allow the ammunition to
feed reliably. (Yes, as a matter of fact, ammo will get stuck in your magazine
if it is dirty enough, especially with double stack magazines.)
---
You are your most important piece of gear.
Flossing your teeth correctly is mechanically cleaning the plaque off your
teeth below the gum line. Failure to do this daily will allow the plaque to turn
into tartar / calculus, which will destroy your teeth (and stink like hell).
Brushing your teeth correctly with toothpaste (that does not contain saccharin
or other carcinogens) will mechanically and chemically clean the surfaces of
your teeth. This will prevent tooth decay, cavities, and allow you to outlive
your teeth.
Mouth wash is for chemically attacking the enemy biologics in your mouth.
Your mouth is a warm moist environment, conducive the the growth of all kinds
of enemy biologics. Kill them ruthlessly. Your lover will appreciate it.
Please do similarly for your pistol. Your pistol cannot talk to you, and so
cannot tell you how much she appreciates the loving care you show her.
---
Storage –
Store firearms and ammunition separately to deny a burglar a complete system.
Lock up all firearms and ammunition when you’re not using them, just as you
would lock your car or house in a high crime area. Firearms must be secured
against unauthorized persons.
Security by obscurity is cryptologically wrong. Hiding your guns will not work.
Children are curious and will search, often more efficiently than police (who are
often bored and irritated when forced to search). So, the firearms must be locked
in secure containers, closets, or safes. For long term storage a coat of oil or grease
would be appropriate. The military uses Cosmoline.
I have Glock steel sights with tritium glow in the dark vials inserted in them
on all of my carry pistols. I do not use red dot sights.
Red dot sights make my weapon system more complicated. ALWAYS strive
for simplicity. Simple is more reliable. Simple is easier to maintain. Simple is
less vulnerable to damage in combat. Simple is better.
Using iron sights is cheaper, giving me more money to spend on training,
ammunition, and such. I know my purpose, and my purpose drives my
equipment selection.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Should You Carry A Reload for Your Everyday Carry?
More rounds is always a good thing."
by James Tarr
Excerpt:
"The odds that a private citizen will need to reload their gun in a
fight are the same as someone needing a gun to defend themselves.
It’s low, but never zero."
Ammo sources:
Unlimited Ammo
Target Sports USA
GunMag Warehouse
SGAmmo
True Shot Ammo
The Mag Shack
If you know of any others, let me know.
*************************************************************************
Caleigh Haetten
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source. There is always some conspiracy theorists who has said
what you want to say. Quote him. Everyone will understand.
"𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐏 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍’𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐔𝐙 𝐁𝐘 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 —
𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄"
by James E. Thorne, @DrJStrategy on X.com
More evidence that Trump is playing chess while Euro-trash play checkers.
"SEAL Team 6 Rescues Downed F-15 WSO After Intense Firefight with IRGC"
by Ward Carroll and Jack Murphy
Hat tip to Sidney Ontai.
Easter Miracle (Happy Easter!)
RumInt is rumor intelligence. But the messenger must be considered.
Ward Carroll wouldn't be talking about stuff unless he thought it was credible,
which indicates he thinks the source is reliable.
---
"How Special Forces Actually Rescued the Pilot" by Cappy Army
"Former CENTCOM Commander's Deep Intel on Ending the Iran War"
by Ward Carroll and Retired U.S. Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie
Hat tip to Sidney Ontai.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Institute for the Study of war
The Dispatch
Strategy Page
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
29155
Global Recaps
Timber Sycamore
Ground News
Soldier Systems
"Ella Langley, Koe Wetzel - That's Why We Fight"
*************************************************************************
Caleigh Haetten
***** ***** ***** Signals Intelligence,
Ground Electronic Warfare,
Cyber Warfare,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
"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
Wow! A zero click prompt injection in Claude Chrome extension.
"cybersecurity is about to get weird" by Cyb3rMaddy
It all runs from an invisible frame in background. So the user never sees anything.
"5 Low-Cost Tools to Get Started In Signals Intelligence"
by Civil Defense Engineer
Real world communications, as opposed to classroom stuff.
Civil Defense Engineer
Signal Identification Guide
United States Frequency Allocation Chart
Other countries do their own thing.
---
This brings back memories. 1st Rag Bag (Radio Battalion) at
Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station in Kailua, HI. [No, really,
1st Radio Battalion, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Fleet Marine
Force Pacific used to be in Hawaii.] Remember that?
Remember Cynthia Grey? Rosie? Victoria Rubnich? I still stay
in contact with Wes Thompson. [I even ran into some of the scum
bags in South Carolina.] I still remember the guys that died.
Remember the huge SCIF's we had to hold the equipment
that he holds in his hands? It's fun to reminisce. No I don't miss it.
"Congress Built the Backdoor That Got Hacked Then Banned Your Router"
by Sam Bent
Sam speaks truth about the TSA. Grossly incompetent. When I worked for a
small Marine Corps Reserve unit in New Jersey, we tested security at the Newark
airport. We put a roll of masking tape on the conveyor belt, put a dummy hand
grenade in the roll, and watched it get through security.
---
"The U.S. Just Banned Almost EVERY Router . . . " by SavvyNik
Security theater.
Please keep up with Soldier Systems. They have all kinds of stuff on
Electronic Warfare, Cyber Warfare, Signals Intelligence, and such.
"Secret CIA Tech Revealed" by Docent
Cited article,
" The secret, never-before-used CIA tool that helped find airman downed in Iran:
‘If your heart is beating, we will find you’ "
by Steven Nelson
---
"quantum magnetometry"? Color me skeptical.
I think it is more likely that humans helped the Americans and the Americans are
simply trying to protect their sources from retaliation. "Sensitive Sources and Methods".
Internet monitoring. Orb,
Free! Sometimes you get a lot more than you pay for.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
Soldier Systems
"Ella Langley - Dandelion"
*************************************************************************
Karina Valéshna
Studied at Національний університет "Одеська юридична академія" Class of 2021
Studied at НУ "ОЮА" (ОНЮА) Class of 2019
Went to Гимназия №4 Черновцы
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
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.
"Floating point math is hard. Really, really hard." by Tales of Weird Stuff
(A+B)+C may be not equal A+(B+C).
Remember, we were taught to never compare with equality?
if (A == B)
may not be equivalent to
if (A-B == 0)
Rather,
if ( (A - B) < ErrorTolerance )
Ya, I know if you don't use this stuff all the time, you forget.
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
"There Is Something Faster Than Light" by Veritasium
But the "thing" is not a physical object nor is it information. It's just an abstract
concept.
If you stand on the Earth and shine a laser on the Moon, there will be a spot
of light on the Moon. If you twitch, you can easily get that spot of light to move
across the surface of the Moon at greater than the speed of light. So "something",
the spot of light, is moving faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. But what
has actually moved faster than the speed of light? Nothing.
I'm sure you have considered the phase velocity and the group velocity of a
wave form. Same thing. So the title is just click bait.
No information is moving faster than the speed of light, so there is no violation
of causality. This is just "entertainment" for those with superficial physics knowledge.
"The Man Who Accidentally Discovered Antimatter" by Veritasium
"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
"Can 8,000 Bouncy Springs Hide Secret Messages? (Tutte's Theorem)"
by aiyopasta
---
aiyopasta
---
HOW TO DRAW A GRAPH
By W. T. TUTTE
"You don't have to memorize theorems.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"Inverse Transform Sampling |
How a computer can choose random numbers from a given distribution."
by aiyopasta
"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
Twin Prime Conjecture
"It's Obviously True. Nobody Can Prove It." by Derivia
"Bounded gaps between primes" by Yitang Zhang
Terrance Tao's Polymath 8,
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"5 proofs every math major should know" by Dr. Trefor Bazett
0:00 Euclid's Proof of infinitely many primes
1:44 Root 2 is irrational
3:53 The harmonic series diverges
5:24 Cantor's Diagonal Argument
8:48 Euler's Formula
"All that we don't know is astonishing.
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."
-- Philip Roth
From "Handbook of Applied Cryptography", by A. Menezes, P. van Oorschot, and
S. Vanstone, CRC Press, 1996. Chapter 10 "Identification and Entity Authentication",
Section 10.4 "Customized and zero-knowledge identification protocols".
This section considers protocols specifically designed to achieve identification,
which use asymmetric techniques but do not rely on digital signatures or public-key
encryption, and which avoid use of block ciphers, sequence numbers, and timestamps.
They are similar in some regards to the challenge-response protocols of §10.3,
but are based on the ideas of interactive proof systems and zero-knowledge proofs
(see §10.4.1), employing random numbers not only as challenges, but also as
commitments to prevent cheating.
Passwords are weak authentication.
Challenge-response identification is strong authentication.
Encryption avoided: many Zero Knowledge techniques avoid use of explicit
encryption algorithms. This may offer political advantages (e.g., with respect to
export controls).
---
Not in "Handbook of Applied Cryptography", Hamiltonian cycles in graphs.
Alice will prove to Bob that Alice knows a cycle through graph G. (A path
through G that hits every node once and only once, and ends at the starting
node.)
Alice chooses a large natural number N. N will be the number of nodes
in the graph G. Alice labels the nodes and constructs a cycle through G by
specifying the edges of the cycle. Then she randomly adds edges to the graph
so that each node is connected to approximately half of the other nodes (this
can be refined). [Ya, we're using random numbers, but we're not transmitting
them.] She then publishes graph G.
[Usually as the upper-right triangle of an N x N table, if the edges have no
direction (so the table entries are connected or not connected).
If it's a directed graph, the entire N x N table is published
(with entries x→y, x←y, x↔y, or not connected). The reason you must
publish the entire N x N table is that from node x the directionality of the
edge may not appear to be the same as the directionality when viewed from
node y. x may not have a state variable indicating "received from node ?".
Because it doesn't care where the packet came from. It just looks at the
packet and pushes it along the appropriate edge.
Ya, I know I'm conflating. It's a psychological problem, as speeding
or using 45 ACP.]
So G is public information. She keeps the cycle secret.
Protocol -- (Cut and choose)
1. Alice randomly relabels the graph G to create graph H and transmits
graph H to Bob. (Cut)
2. Bob either
a) asks for the relabeling that converts H to G, or
b) asks for the cycle through H.
(Choose)
3. Alice responds to Bob's request.
4. Bob tests to see that
a) the relabeling actually converts H to G, or
b) the sequence of nodes actually is a cycle through H.
If failure, Bob will play along for the specified number of iterations
of the protocol, so as not to let Alice now that she failed at a particular
iteration of the protocol.
Regardless of success or failure, Bob requests the next graph H.
5. Repeat until Bob is satisfied that Alice knows a cycle through G.
Which would be the specified number of iterations of the protocol.
If Alice fails to satisfy the protocol, she is connected to a honey pot.
Pooh Bear loves honey.
The underlying assumption is that finding a cycle through a graph
(not sparse, not dense) is a hard problem.
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"Parity of permutations, impossible puzzles and the magical determinant"
by Mathologer
In case you're not familiar with the terminology that is used in describing
crypto algorithms.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS)
"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
*************************************************************************
Ella Langley
*************************************************************************
*************************** This and That **********************************
"Ella Langley - weren't for the wind"
The purpose of war is not to die for your country.
The purpose of war is to ensure that the other guy dies for his country.
— George S. Patton
In case you don't understand why we initiated war with Iran.
From the Patriot Post --
Kid Rock and Pete Hegseth clear Apache pilots:
The pilots who hovered off the balcony of entertainer Kid Rock's home over
the weekend were briefly suspended as an investigation into the incident was
announced. However, shortly thereafter, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth
thanked Kid Rock and announced that there would be no investigation or
suspension and to "Carry on, patriots." Kid Rock greeted the helicopters
with fist pumps and salutes, and later told local news that he thought the pilots
would be all right because "my buddy's commander-in-chief." He also noted
that this was not the first time Apaches had flown over his home, and that he
had spoken to some of the pilots out of Fort Campbell at a Thanksgiving
celebration last year, where he told them they were "always welcome."
DC safer because of Trump:
A strange thing happened after President Trump addressed Washington, DC's
high crime by sending in the National Guard last year: It dropped. The District
has seen major crimes fall by over 50%. Homicides are down 61%, vehicle
thefts are down 53%, and robberies are down 45%. Over 11,000 arrests have
been made, including gang members, drug addicts, and murderers. And 142
homeless encampments have been cleaned out. Trump's insistence on
enforcing the law has not only made DC a much safer city but also a cleaner,
more attractive place, where refuse and graffiti are being removed. Furthermore,
the wait time to obtain a concealed carry permit has been reduced from four
months to one day. This is what genuine progress looks like.
"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
"Researching GUNS At ASU" by Active Self Protection Extra
Go Sun Devils!
"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
I love conspiracy theories, because they usually turn out to be true.
"America Had No Income Tax Until 1913 —
This Is How Government Got Paid Before That"
by Erased Evidence and Forgotten Age
"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
Nala Knight
That's a happy smile, I think?
*************************************************************************
************* Psychology **************************************
Truth and good news for men.
"The diamond mine: men are the prize" by Orion Taraban
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. --
"The greatest problem." Wednesday, April 8th, 2026
My working definition of intelligence is the general ability to solve problems.
People are intelligent in direct proportion to the difficulty and complexity of the
problems they can solve.
This is why you can tell how intelligent a person is by observing how satisfying
his life is. I don't believe in the myth of the tortured genius: a brilliant man in the
midst of a dysfunctional life. At best, this is the consequence of his prioritizing
lesser problems over greater problems, which is not very smart. At worst, it is a
delusional cope to protect his ego.
The greatest problem that most of us will ever have to solve is that of our own
happiness and fulfillment. This is the problem to which your intelligence is most
appropriately applied. Everything else is academic and arbitrary.
This week's behavioral experiment:
What is one problem obstructing your happiness and fulfillment? Work on solving it.
Warmly,
Orion
************* End of Psychology section*********************************
*************************************************************************
"Ella Langley - Choosin' Texas"
A colleague bodyguards her. Travels with her when she goes on tour.
Accompanies her when she goes shopping. Etc. Because when you're famous,
and especially when you're a pretty female, the wackos come out of the woodwork.
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
Serving in the U.S. Armed Forces is not the same as serving in the armed forces
of other countries. I served for 34 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. In that time,
we never ran short of food, water, or ammo. NEVER. I have friends in the
Israeli Defense Force who tell stories of running out of water, food, and ammo.
And I know it happens regularly in the SANG (Saudi Arabian National Guard).
Because we had to give them water.
You get really spoiled being an American. Be careful.
"Did the New York Times Accidentally Discover Gun Culture 3.0? (Light Over Heat #152)"
by Light Over Heat with Professor David Yamane
Citation to New York Times article,
"In Texas, an Unyielding Gun Culture Jumps Off YouTube and Into Politics"
by Charles Homans and Thomas Gibbons-Neff
Citation to David Yamane's article,
"Gun Culture 2.0: The Evolution and Contours of Defensive Gun Ownership in America"
by David Yamane
“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
Now that my dental problems have been repaired (extractions, implants, bridges,
etc.), I can type fast again (120 words per minute). I hadn't realize that my dental
problems were slowing my typing (though I did notice that my typing was slow).
But now that I am typing fast again, it's obvious. Will wonders never cease?
"Ella Langley (feat. Riley Green) - you look like you love me"
"Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - A Get Started Guide"
by Classic_DM
Hat tip to Docent.
In the description below the video are links to all the books in PDF files.
Ah, brings back memories.
I write this newsletter for me. It forces me to organize my thoughts and make them
concrete. A thought is vague and innocuous. Writing makes the thought concrete.
When communicating with others, your speech must reflect clearly articulated thoughts.
As the instructions to authors in the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory states,
"Your writing must be crystal clear."
If you expect your student to understand you, your teaching must be crystal clear.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
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