Weekend Reading -- A New Weekend Knowledge Dump

Greg Ellifritz has posted a new Weekend Knowledge Dump at his Active Response Training blog. Before I discuss some of his links, I want to say "thank you" to him for including a link to my recent post on the myth of poisoned and booby-trapped Halloween candy. 

    If you don't know, each week Greg collects a number of links to articles and videos on the topics of self-defense and prepping that is well worth going through. Some of the ones that caught my attention this week:

• The new Range Master news letter. What caught my attention from this most recent newsletter is a piece on people who explain why they don't need to learn anything by invoking the phrase: "Hell, I grew up around guns." Unfortunately, exposure to something does not translate to skill and good habits. I can honestly say that I grew up around sewing machines (and still live around sewing machines as my wife both embroiders and quilts) and I don't even know how to thread one. 
• An article from Mike Boyle with suggestions and techniques for defending yourself with a handgun at extreme close quarters (the infamous "bad breath" distance where you are in contact or almost in contact with an aggressor). As he notes, "When danger is but a step or two away, we all recognize that snapping into that preferred two-hand shooting stance is not going to work."
  
• A gun digest article on the importance of carrying your self-defense pistol with a loaded chamber. There are still a lot of people that argue in favor of the "Israeli carry" who rarely have a cogent argument for such a method other than "the Israelis do it so it must be good." The technique is not actually Israeli and is derived from out-dated military practices developed for minimally trained troops who couldn't be trusted to empty the chamber before cleaning or turning in a weapon. As Greg mentions, if you feel uncomfortable with carrying a semi-auto pistol with a loaded chamber, you should probably get more training or consider using a revolver. As another article in Greg's list, from Revolver Guy, notes: "For very low-skilled users, [revolvers] are probably one of – if not THE – safest option."
  
• For my Idaho readers, now that the BLM fire protection order has expired for this year and shooters can once again use steel targets on BLM land, you might find the article on "Rotating Steel Targets: Benefits and Options" to be useful.
• Greg has linked to an article that goes over 6 cases where open-carry led to less than desirable outcomes. 

And there is more. Be sure to check it out. 

The Enrichment Report #8

 A selection of articles showcasing the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion:

• "Orlando Halloween shooting leaves two dead and six injured and causes terrified costume-clad revelers to flee for their lives - as police arrest 17-year-old suspect"--Daily Mail. 

    A 17-year-old suspect, Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, has been arrested after gunshots were heard in two different locations and he was tackled by police, according to police Chief Eric Smith.

    Edgar was previously arrested for grand theft in 2023. 

• More: "Shocking moment Orlando shooter callously opens fire on crowd - before being brought down by hero cop"--Daily Mail. 
• "Dodgers World Series celebrations descend into chaos in LA with shops looted and fireworks thrown at cops"--Daily Mail.
  
• "Migrant 'raped five-year-old girl in Long Island after being cut loose at the border'"--Daily Mail. 

    Wilson Castillo Diaz, 26, of Westbury, is accused of raping the young victim at an undisclosed location on October 16, according to Nassau County Police.

    Diaz, who illegally crossed the US border near Rio Grande, Texas in April 2014, was arrested by US Border Patrol agents and then released.

• Libs of TikTok: "Luis Renan Bonilla-Alfaro, an illegal from Honduras, was arrested in Louisiana after he admitted to r*ping multiple children as young as 4-YEARS-OLD."
• "Alarming number of illegal aliens suspected of looting after Florida hurricanes"--Blaze Media. Of 45 people arrested in one particular local for looting, 41 were illegal immigrants.
• "Illegal Carrying Virulent Drug Resistant TB May Have Infected Hundreds"--AND Magazine. 

    In July 2024 a Chinese national who arrived at the border and attempted entry illegally was detained by federal authorities and placed in detention. Medical screening of the individual subsequently showed that they had an extremely virulent drug-resistant form of TB. Despite that, the feds put the individual into general population in a detention facility. The individual in question was then moved to at least two other facilities where again they were put in general population. It is estimated that this individual came into contact with 200 persons in total.

    The federal government now proposes to release this individual and put them on the street where they can infect thousands. Louisiana is suing to prevent the federal government from conducting what amounts to a biological weapons attack on the American people.  Washington is fighting back.

• "More than 3 million border crossers from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela"--Just The News. 

Of the 14 million illegal border crossers reported under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 3 million are from four countries whose citizens were granted expanded entry through a parole program created by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV).

• More: "The Biden Administration’s Humanitarian Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans: An Overview"--American Immigration Council. 
• More: "Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole for Noncitizens Outside the United States"--U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
  
• More: "Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans"--U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

DHS has announced processes through which nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and their immediate family members, may request to come to the United States in a safe and orderly way. Qualified beneficiaries who are outside the United States and lack U.S. entry documents may be considered, on a case-by-case basis, for advanced authorization to travel and a temporary period of parole for up to two years for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

• "In Canada, you’re not allowed to become a doctor if you’re a white guy…"--Revolver News. The article reports that Canada's newest medical school is not only reserving 75% of its seats for POC and LGBT+, but in order to accomplish this will accept such incoming students with GPAs as low as 3.3. By comparison, the University of Toronto's Medical School's average incoming GPA is 3.95. 
• "REVEALED: Child Killer Who Sparked Riots *IS* Islamist Terrorist, Govt Hid Info From Public."--The National Pulse. You may remember this incident which occurred in late July. The UK authorities were quick to cover up the facts of this case and it only leaked out slowly over time that the perpetrator, Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, was the child of Rwandan immigrants. Now it has been revealed that not only was he Muslim, but he was a terrorist: "He not only possessed jihadist terrorism instructions [an al-Qaeda instruction manual] but also tried to procure the deadly nerve agent ricin." 
• "Chicago Attacker Shouts ‘Allahu Akbar!’ Before Shooting Jewish Man."--The National Pulse. 
• More: "Hate crime, terrorism charges filed in Chicago shooting of Jewish man walking to synagogue"--ABC 7. Per the article, "Sidi Mohammed Abdullahi, 22, already faces 14 felony counts, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and attempted murder of a police officer, after allegedly shooting a Jewish man walking to synagogue Saturday morning," but authorities have now added hate crime and terrorism charges.
  
• "Tren de Aragua, 'associates' busted 517 times in NYC so far in 2024 as NYPD says over 200 gang members could be in city: report"--The Post Millennial. 
• "Suspected Venezuelan gang members accused of murder in Texas"--News Nation.
• "Armed Venezuelan Gangs Steal Oil, Copper Wire, Assault Workers at Texas Oil Field"--Gateway Pundit.
  
• "Illegal Migrant MS-13 Member Arrested for Double Murder in Virginia"--Breitbart. "'The suspect is a known MS-13 gang member and was not in our country legally,' said a statement from Loudon County’s sheriff, Mike Chapman, ..."
  
• "Overrun By Haitian Migrants, These Alabama Towns Could Be The Next Springfield"--Daily Wire. And, of course, follow the money:

    The Schultes say they were surprised to discover the home their Haitian friend Pierre-Marc was living in was owned by a city councilman, Chris Seibert, who owns 87 properties in Limestone County.

    The migrants in the house said they were paying $2,000 per month to stay in the 1,216-square-foot home, but were recently told their rent would be reduced to $1,500 per month in December, according to a text message viewed by The Daily Wire. Brenda, a lifelong resident of Athens who lived in the home for over 10 years until October 2023, told The Daily Wire that she paid just $325 to rent the home. 

• "Small midwestern town 'overwhelmed' by 3,000 African migrants living tax-free"--Daily Mail. The town is Lockland, OH, and the complaint is that Mauritanians have doubled the population in the last year; the complaint is that since they can't (legally) work, they don't pay taxes to pay for the services which they are sucking up.
  
• "18-year-old charged with murder in fatal stabbing of Manor Senior High student"--CBS Austin. Killer is Mac Brown Mbah Mbanwei.
  
• "Iowa resident dies from Ebola-like virus that causes sufferers to bleed from their eyeballs as CDC issues warning"--Daily Mail. "The patient had returned to the U.S. from West Africa earlier this month bringing the disease know as Lassa Fever, rarely seen in the U.S., back with them, health officials said."
• "Minnesota church pastor, father of 5 Beau Shroyer killed in ‘act of violence’ after relocating family in Africa for ‘long-term’ missionary work"--The New York Post. The missionary was killed in Angola. I wasn't sure whether to include it here or as an "evolution in action" post.
• "Criminals are looting millions from ATMs in Europe. Here’s why Germany is a prime target"--CNN. Blowing up ATMs to get the cash. Germany is a particular target because Germans have mostly stuck to using cash for purchases, so there are a larger number of ATMs in Germany than other European countries. 
• "Crisis in Portugal as riots spread with Lisbon looking like a war zone"--Express. At the time of the article, Oct. 24, "Lisbon [had] entered its third evening of riots on Wednesday following the shooting of a Cape Verdean man by authorities."
  
• "Ohio Democrat caught in leaked audio saying entire border should be opened: 'I don't give a s**t who comes in'"--Daily Mail. 
  

    In a leaked recording, Kevin Oyakawa, an operative working for Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Emilia Sykes, was heard discussing what has prevented Sykes from discussing her position on immigration.

    'Open the f****** border, I don't give a s*** who the f**** comes in here,' Oyakawa said in the recording, as reported by Ohio.news.

I am always impressed by large and varied vocabulary employed by Democrats.

And This Is Why We Need The Death Penalty

Dustin Caudill, "who killed his mother and brother when he was 15 has," the Daily Mail reports, "killed two more people just four months after finishing his sentence, police say."