Exploring practical methods for preparing for the end times, including analysis of end time scripture and prophecy, current events, prepping and self-defense.
"THOT" is an acronym for "that ho [i.e., whore] over there," and is often used to describe the narcissistic, preening women that dress, well, like whores in public and social media posts. But THOTs sure don't like it when someone points out to them their inappropriate dress. Case in point, from the New York Post: "Shopper says she was shamed by grocery store worker for her outfit — and left feeling ‘belittled’."
Taila Batiste was doing a grocery shop when she claims a member of staff started shaming her because of her outfit.
The New South Wales woman, 26, was “shocked” when a staff member allegedly claimed her outfit, which consisted of an oversized sweater and pink gym shorts, was inappropriate to wear grocery shopping.
There is a photograph in the article apparently showing the woman posing in the outfit she whore wore grocery shopping; the gym shorts are so form fitting she might as well have just used body paint. Of course, she couldn't let incident slide (is she sure her real name isn't Karen?) and complained to the manager, adding: “(I hope she is) harshly reprimanded so she doesn’t do it to the next person.”
It is because of these attention whores that Kylee Griswold, writing at The Federalist, argues that we, as a society, need to "Bring Back Slut Shaming." She writes:
Public shaming would go a long way in phasing out all kinds of social ills. People should be made to feel stupid for masking outdoors or chomping popcorn with their mouths open during quiet movie scenes (or loud ones). You should feel the weight of a thousand disapproving eyeballs when you take your shoes off on an airplane or go to the grocery store in buffalo-plaid pajama bottoms and Crocs.
But it’s not just things people do wear that deserve scorn. It’s also things they don’t. It’s time to bring back slut shaming.
Before the feminists freak, I’m not talking about menacing strippers or blaming rape victims, so take a cleansing breath. I’m talking about normalizing the societal discouragement of looking like a hoe [sic] at work, at play, and online.
We’ve all seen it: a boob threatening to launch out of athleisure wear or a pair of asscheeks popping out of some daisy dukes to bid passersby g’day. There’s no such thing as underwear anymore because anything can be outerwear. Rachel Green’s mortifying nightie looks downright puritanical next to the average Instagram post and workout OOTD.
As one X user, Megha, rightly observed, hoes “think they can just go wherever and sexually assault our eyes with zero consequences.” Bingo — and not just our eyes but the eyes of our husbands, dads, and kids. So let’s introduce them to some social consequences, shall we?
As a woman, though, Griswold's concern isn't so much that everyone is being sexually assaulted, but that it disadvantages women, generally, in the sexual market place. She noted that "[w]hen women perpetually give away the goods under the guise of 'empowerment,' they give away the real sexual power of women everywhere — and make no mistake, women have sexual power men just don’t. Thanks to unlimited supply, value is in freefall." She further explains:
For societal slut shaming to work, we need to know who and what it’s for. It’s not to shame women for being sexy. Hello, that’s kind of a biological hazard. It’s also not to meet one act of inappropriateness with another. A young lady who shows up to church in a crop top shouldn’t leave believing her shirt length matters more than her soul. Rather, it’s to help reestablish the good societal expectation that while women are sexy, we’re not sex objects. And we should be expected to act accordingly.
In Isaiah 3, it discusses the THOTs that inhabited Jerusalem in those days, with the Lord warning that there would come a day when the whole mess would be brought down, including the THOTs: "And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty." (Isaiah 3:24). So there are worse things than social shaming.
Concealed carry inside a vehicle: problems or issues that can arise, as well as a quick pro v. cons of different methods of carry. Greg Ellifritz notes that his favorite method for carrying when driving long distances is using a fanny pack.
Lockpicking as a skill for preppers.
An author that has switched to carrying a J-frame snub nosed revolver discusses some basic tenets of self-defense particularly applicable to the J-frame, but frankly should be applied no matter what type of defensive pistol you use.
Michael Seeklander argues that lack of trigger control is not what is making you miss--he contends, instead, that "if you are gripping the gun hard and increasing the pressure in the controlling fingers while you pull the trigger, you will be moving the gun. Switch that to gripping and THEN pulling (while maintaining the pressure) and you will fix your issue. The main reason is that you would not have much movement left in the control hand fingers if they are already clamped down on the grip."
Some advice for surviving a panicked crowd.
Testing contact shots on ballistic gel. The author's conclusion is that if you are using contact shots thinking it will dramatically increase damage, you may be disappointed. Of course, then there are people like me who thought contact shots were to make sure you didn't miss your target.
Some philosophy on the conflict in us between our lived lives and our unlived lives (essentially, our unrealized potential). This is significant to modern men, since most men want some form of adventure and daring do which isn't met by working 8, 9, 10 or more hours per day in a cubical farm or office.
"Firearms Vs. Shotguns"--Shooting Illustrated. The author tests the difference in recoil control (by measuring the time between shots) and patterning between a Mossberg Shockwave "firearm" and a standard Mossberg 590 shotgun. Recovery after a shot took about 1.5 seconds longer with the Shockwave. The shot patterns were very different, but that was because he was shooting 8 pellet FliteControl 00 from the shotgun and a low recoil round from the Shockwave. When he tried the FliteControl rounds from the Shockwave, "it delivered very similar results at that distance to the full-sized shotgun." He also discusses what he finds useful about the Shockwave: that it provides discrete shotgun-like capabilities outside the home.
Related: "Mossberg Shockwave 590S"--Guns Magazine. This is the model designed to shoot the shorty shotgun shells.
Related: "Gimmick To Game-Changer: Cheek Shooting with the Mossberg Shockwave"--David Faubion, Firearm News. Discussing the techniques developed by Rhett Neumayer of Demonstrated Concepts to turn the Shockwave into a serious fighting firearm. It will also take a couple pieces of gear to make it work: a strap to go on the Raptor grip (which Neumayer sells) and a red-dot sight.
"Federal Feud! HST vs Punch Ammo"--Ammo-to-Go. These are not just two different packaging of the same bullet, but two different bullet designs. Boiling down the article (and several videos I've seen on the topic), the HST is intended for law enforcement and to pass all elements of the FBI standards for handgun ammunition including penetration of hard barriers and windshield glass. The Punch is intended for the civilian defender, so it emphasizes expansion and penetration against softer targets over hard barrier penetration. I would note that the article is from 2023 and, apparently, both rounds featured nickel plated brass at that time; but the Punch now ships with just plain brass cases--at least in the 9mm version I find locally.
Now that we live in a post-handgun-stopping power world, I’ve opened my eyes to a variety of cartridges that have fallen out of favor or never been taken seriously for self-defense. A handgun projectile does one type of damage, direct contact with flesh, and admittedly, a larger bullet can create more damage, but it isn’t needed to win the fight. I don’t want to completely rehash any caliber debates. I want to share my findings and information that I feel is valuable. Today’s cartridge of choice is the .32 ACP.
I wouldn't say that we live in a "post-handgun-stopping power world" but that we have a better understanding of ballistics and (generally) better bullet designs that can allow us to do with smaller calibers what used to require a caliber that starts with 4. Nevertheless, better bullet designs can only go so far, and apparently they are still a bridge too far for the .32 ACP, at least in a pocket pistol. The author recommends hot loads like Fiocchi 73 grain FMJs unless you are carrying the Beretta 3032, as the pressure exceeds the manufacturers recommendations and could crack the frame.
Related: "Powering Down"--Massad Ayoob. The author presents his arguments against going too small: i.e., .22, .32 or .380.
Related: "Straight Talk: Snub Not the Snub-Nose"--Sheriff Jim Wilson. Key part: "I think it is still one of the most practical defensive handguns, especially for deep concealment." And:
In the past, I have called the modern snub-nose revolver an “Always Gun” because it is virtually always on me and properly concealed. I have an older Colt Detective Special as well as a smaller Model 442 Smith & Wesson. Each take turns with such duties, both in .38 Spl. When loaded with standard-velocity loads, they do all that I expect from the small revolvers and both are about as reliable as any man-made object. They are my always guns.
Related: "Bersa’s Thunder Plus .380 – “Everyman’s” PPK?"--The Truth About Guns. The author notes a certain similarity between the Bersa and the PPK, but that is probably because back in the 1980s, Bersa's pistols were pretty much copies of the PPK/S. The Bersa Thunder is a somewhat larger handgun with a magazine capacity of 15-rounds which puts into the same category as the Beretta 84 or 80X pistols--what I think of as full sized for a .380 round.
Some firearm history: "Remington Six-Guns" (Part 1) (Part 2) by John Taffin. Part 1 covers the percussion cap era--basically through 1863 models. Part 2 covers the post Civil War cartridge conversion models. It seems there should have been a part 3 covering the 1875 model, but I could not locate one.
"Handguns: Fully Charged Battery"--Shooting Illustrated. "Battery" is one of those words that has been around so long, it has collected a multitude of meanings. But the ones that concern us are "any large group or series of related things" and "a group or series of similar articles, machines, parts, etc." In this regard, the author notes that a person may build up and use a variety of handguns for different situations and threat levels. For instance, for most of his limited errands and walking about in his neighborhood, a snubby revolver or pocket pistol work fine. But back when people were getting keyed up before the election, he opted to carry a compact 9mm because it offered more firepower. But he also keeps a larger pistol with red-dot sight and weapon light for home defense or if he is planning on going to a large, crowded venue with dim lighting. And he keeps a lightweight revolver for carrying in coat pockets in the winter.
So, there’s the difference between a rotation and a battery of specialized and appropriate tools. In the former, you’re changing your carry gun at random to match your mood or your socks or whatever. While it’s a free country and you can do that if you want, it’s not a thing I’d advise.
The assault, consisting of “20 to 30 bicyclists” between the ages of 16 and 18, started after the victim got out of his car to confront some of them after they “struck and kicked” his vehicle on Saturday in central LA, the Los Angeles Police Department shared in a press release Monday.
"The Cheapskate Contrarian’s Guide to Prepping – Fitness"--Jerking The Trigger. This appears to be the first of a series (fingers crossed) of posts from the author on prepping. As the title suggests, the author has tips on getting fit (including building strength) without spending money on expensive equipment.
Skeeter crawled from the timber as far as he dared and stood, hoping he would not be spotted. The sentry’s back was still toward him. Skeeter threw the knife with a high trajectory, aiming about three feet above the sentry’s head. The knife turned silently over and over in its long, downhill pinwheel flight. The sentry dropped without a peep face down in the snow.
Considering the distance thrown—later measured at 87 feet—it was probably the longest successful throw in battle in the annals of knife throwing.
In the same way that we use an American-style toilet, a Roman user would sit down, take care of business, and watch number two float blissfully away down the sewer system. But instead of reaching for a roll of toilet paper, an ancient Roman would often grab a tersorium (or, in my technical terms, a “toilet brush for your butt”). A tersorium is an ingenious little device made by attaching a natural sponge (from the Mediterranean Sea, of course) to the end of a stick. Our ancient Roman would simply wipe him- or herself, rinse the tersorium in whatever was available (running water and/or a bucket of vinegar or salt water), and leave it for the next person to use. That’s right, it was a shared butt cleaner. (And of course, there were other means of wiping as well, such as the use of abrasive ceramic discs called pessoi.)
To get immediate relief for a runny nose, Dr. Ren suggests first blowing your nose gently to clear excess mucus. Then apply a warm compress to the outside of your nose to help loosen mucus. Finally, use an over-the-counter (OTC) nasal spray or oral medication that’s meant for relieving congestion—we’ve got some specific recommendations for those below.
The medication recommendations vary according to whether the runny nose is the result of a viral infection or allergies. For those not wanting to use medicines, the article also suggests a saline nasal spray, nasal irrigation system, or simply increasing the humidity to help.
A fairly short video from Space Weather News (fka Suspicious Observers) showing how the Earth would reorient if there was a 90 degree crustal displacement, and which directions the tides would flow.
A new survey of wealthy Americans by Charles Schwab found that almost half of boomers wanted 'to enjoy my money for myself while I'm still alive.'
Warren Buffett has also famously said he is not giving all his money to his children. But rather than wanting to spend it himself, he simply wants his kids - who are 66, 70 and 71 - to give it away to good causes as they have enough money anyway.
Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are famed for benefiting from great social mobility when house prices were low and labor conditions strong.
By contrast, only 11 percent of Gen X-ers and 15 percent of millennials said they too wanted to hold on to their own money during their lifetime.
Both groups were in fact more than twice as likely to choose to share their wealth while alive compared to the Boomers.
The article tries to soften this bit of news by suggesting that "Boomers listed rising healthcare costs and longer lifespans as reasons to keep hold of their assets." Perhaps. But this is a topic that Vox Day has written about extensively and he notes many sources suggesting more selfish reasons.
For instance, in "The Unrepentant Evil of the Boomers," Day quotes extensively from an article about a Boomer couple that not only intends on spending all their money before they die, but are helping other Boomer couples do the same. Day comments:
I don’t call them selfish. I call them a wicked generation that will deservedly burn in Hell as their descendants curse their memory. Remember, the Boomers collectively received the largest inheritance in human history from their parents, and the majority of them are going to leave their children and grandchildren with literally less than nothing, with nothing but their debts.
As a whole, this is an ungodly attitude and a grave sin: "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." 1 Tim. 5:8.
Which brings me to the topic of "Ordo Amoris," or rightly ordered love. That is, there is a proper hierarchy of love. We owe our greatest love to God (this is the greatest commandment), while other loves fall lower. For instance, your love for your spouse should be greater than your love of pizza. In an article at the Reformed Classicist, it relates:
In his Summa theologiae, Thomas Aquinas answered the question, “Whether we ought to do good to those rather who are more closely united to us?” along these lines. The reasoning in the affirmative is this:
“Now the order of nature is such that every natural agent pours forth its activity first and most of all on the things which are nearest to it … Therefore we ought to be most beneficent towards those who are most closely connected with us.”
Aquinas then went on to describe how we must begin with a right love of God, moving to a proper love of self, and even that “the affection of our charity [should] be more intense towards those to whom we ought to behave with greater kindness” (II-II, Q. 26, Art. 6).
For Aquinas this entails that we should love our own families more than the families of others (II-II, Q. 26, Art. 8), as well as our fellow countrymen more than those of other countries: “for some neighbors are connected with us by their natural origin, a connection which cannot be severed, since that origin makes them to be what they are” (II-II, Q. 26, Art. 7).
Thus, our greatest love must be for God, then our self, spouse and close family, and gradually outward through other kith and kin, to our neighbors, countrymen, and, finally, to those outside those circles. Liberals balk at this, of course, arguing that Christ taught us to love all people. But as Michael Clary responds:
Every Christian would agree that Jesus taught us to love our enemies, but Jesus did not teach that we must love our enemy in exactly the same way and to exactly the same degree. Progressives can’t grasp the most basic idea that we can truly love two different people while also loving one more than the other.
Anyabwile’s comments are driven by his political commitment to supporting Democrat policies on immigration, but I’ll bet my paycheck that he has a lock on his front door. Doesn’t he want to welcome the sojourner and stranger into his house? Would he be willing to starve his own children in order to feed a stranger’s child?
Progressives live in a fantasy world of abstractions and ideals that simply have no bearing on reality. This is why you can always count on progressives to make foolish and unrealistic claims while simultaneously claiming the moral high ground. The progressive attitude is “judge us by our intentions, not our outcomes.” And Anyabwile’s social media virtue signal is as hypocritical as it is absurd. False humility may look righteous and pious, but it’s still false.
Only liberals can stomach this much hypocrisy. From the New York Post: "Massive stretch of Amazon rainforest destroyed for upcoming COP30 climate summit’s 4-lane highway: ‘This is a loss’." The article relates that "[t]ens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest are being cleared and paved over to build a new four-lane highway for, of all things, the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil," which is the 30th Annual U.N. climate conference, being held in Belém, Brazil, this year. It is expected to attract 50,000 attendees. This just screams "reduce you carbon footprint," doesn't it.
"Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silv boasted that this year’s event will be 'a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon.'" Obviously.
Remember when Republicans were vilified for not approving Democrat budgets and forcing government shutdowns. What's good for the goose, should be good for gander: "Government shutdown likely after Schumer says Senate Dems will block GOP funding bill." The Dems know the traditional media will suddenly discover that shutting down the government to protest a spending bill is the height of patriotism, but the traditional media becomes more irrelevant every day. Trump, however, will be able to paint all the inconvenience this causes as being the fault of Democrats.
The New York Post reports that "USAID staffers ordered to shred, burn classified documents as agency dismantled by Trump: official." The Post reports that "[r]emaining staffers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have been ordered to start burning and shredding classified records as the Trump administration forges ahead with dismantling the agency, an internal directive shows."
In a Tuesday email to staffers, USAID acting executive director Erica Carr called for an “all day” effort to help destroy sensitive agency documents at the all-but-shuttered headquarters in Washington, DC.
“Thank you for your assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents,” began the email, which bore an USAID logo.
“Shred as many documents first,” the email continued, adding that staffers should stuff remaining classified material into designated “burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.”
Staffers were also told to write “secret” on the burn bags with a marker.
The email did not elaborate on why the documents should be destroyed.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recently revealed that the Biden-era EPA passed through $20 billion in “gold bars,” or grants, to leftist groups. The Abrams-linked Power Forward Communities received $2 billion as part of these grants, a sum amounting to “20 million times the organization’s reported revenue,” according to the EPA.
“Stacey Abrams’ Power Forward Communities received $2 BILLION to be a pass through entity for Biden EPA’s $20 billion ‘gold bar’ scheme,” Zeldin wrote in an X post in mid-February. “They reported just $100 in total revenue after their founding in late 2023.”
Abrams — a Democrat who infamously lost two Georgia gubernatorial runs — took to MSNBC in early March to claim that there was nothing nefarious about Power Forward Communities receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer funds.
“In 2023 and 2024, I led a program called Revitalizing Desoto,” she told the network, explaining that she worked to help those in South Georgia replace their inefficient appliances with more energy-efficient models.
But the question is how many people received appliances, at what cost per appliance provided, and what were the criteria. The latter is certainly questionable: "Steve Milloy, who served on President Donald Trump’s first-term EPA transition team, described the Abrams-linked 'grift' as a 'vote buying' ploy akin to the Obama-era 'Obama phones.'"
"Shockingly, roughly 20 billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA. This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history and it was purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rushed job with reduced oversight. Even further. This pot of $20 billion was awarded to just eight entities that were then responsible for doling out your money to NGOs and others at their discretion, with far less transparency. Just under $7 billion was sent to one entity called the Climate United Fund."
Also, as the new EPA Director, Lee Zeldin described in a Fox News interview:
These NGOs [such as Abrams] were created for the first time, many of them just to get this money. And their pass-throughs...So the EPA entered into this account control agreement with these entities, Treasury enters into a financial agent agreement with the bank, and they design it to tie the EPA's hands behind their back -to tie the federal government's hands behind its back. So when the money goes through the NGOs to subgrantees, many of them also pass-throughs, we don't know where it's going. We don't have the proper amount of oversight. And, as you pointed out, it's going to people in the Obama and Biden administrations, it's going to donors. It's not going directly...to remediate that environmental issue...deliver that clean air...'
Zeldin also told the New York Post: "Of the eight pass-through entities that received funding from the pot of $20 billion in tax dollars, various recipients have shown very little qualification to handle a single dollar, let alone several billions of dollars." For instance, Abrams' NGO only had a $100 in revenue before it received a $2 billion grant.
In only a few weeks’ time, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has uncovered truly outrageous misuse of taxpayer funds. From subsidizing electric vehicles in Vietnam to commissioning a “transgender comic book” in Peru to bankrolling infrastructure projects in Egypt, the career bureaucrats over at USAID have gone on quite the bender with taxpayer dollars over the years. But this prodigal spending only represents the tip of the iceberg.
The transgressions against the American people don’t stop with merely using their hard-earned money to enrich their NGO allies and spread the gospel of wokeism to the four corners of the Earth under the guise of life-saving aid. They extend to siphoning public money to their allies, mounting multiple systematic campaigns of intimidation and censorship against conservatives for expressing their political beliefs, meddling in congressional legislation, and trying to utterly destroy a sitting president.
When they’re not busy squandering our tax dollars, they’re failing at their basic duties. Look no further than the federal response to Hurricane Helene last year or to the East Palestine train derailment in 2023. None of our governmental agencies work better now than they did 10 years ago, except perhaps in facilitating corruption. Few, if any, of the guilty officials ever face consequences for their betrayals of this nation. In fact, they’re often rewarded.
The modern administrative state has become so corrupt and unaccountable to the people that it makes the patronage system (otherwise known as the spoils system) that characterized 19th-century American politics look good by comparison.
As the article goes on to discuss, at least under the patronage system, elections actually mattered.
Back in 2022, during the early days of the “bird flu” pandemic, I wondered if the H5N1 strain of bird flu was a gain-of-function creation.
The reason for it was two-fold. One was the high kill ratio. While a new virus might have a high infection fatality rate, 100% fatality would only likely be achieved if the virus genetics were rearranged to target a host species.
The second reason was that the Chinese were reportedly experimenting with the H5N1 strain. Since 2019, we have all enjoyed the novel coronavirus they generated in their Wuhan labs.
While I may have been right about the gain-of-function (GOF), I was wrong about the laboratory. It turns out this frankenvirus might be a joint American and Dutch creation.
And, as with China, poor biosafety practices may have been a contributing factor.
The article goes on to cite a study that "suggests that this strain may have emerged from gain-of-function research conducted at two specific facilities: the USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) in Athens, Georgia, and the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands."
But while the impact of lockdown policies is still being studied, new research paints a troubling picture of the immense collateral damage inflicted by them.
The measures increased poverty and wealth disparities, spurred a dramatic rise in adolescent anxiety and depression, contributed to a surge in fatal drug overdoses, and led to devastating learning losses in schoolchildren, who have yet to recover, according to scientific studies. As of last spring, the average American student remained half a grade behind pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading, according to a recent report card on pandemic learning loss.
What’s more, months of unrelenting seclusion caused many people to sever social connections, with lasting consequences to mental and physical health. Both volunteering at nonprofits and church attendance, two measures of social engagement, declined and have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, the nation’s surgeon general warned of an "epidemic of loneliness and isolation" — brought on, in part, by lockdown measures that isolated people.
And that’s not counting the other costs in lost livelihoods, shuttered businesses, and the anguish of seeing relatives die alone without being able to say goodbye.
“The lockdowns were never really effective, and the confusion around them sowed a great deal of public distrust in government,” said Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota.
David Canterbury latest in his video series on the top 5 survival guns goes over the Stevens 301 single barrel shotgun. Remember that he using the term "survival gun" to refer to firearms suitable for short term wilderness survival, although he believes that the Stevens 301 would also work as a long term sustainment firearm due to its ability to use caliber converters and even be used as a muzzle loader with the appropriate insert.
"‘Moderate’ Democrats Tell Candidates: Don’t Talk About Migration"--Breitbart. It is not a position change: according to the article, Democrat strategists now just want to expand legal immigration (which will undoubtedly include some sort of amnesty just as it always has before).
"Why would I, an outcast white male, fight Starmer’s deluded war?" by Frederick Edward at Conservative Woman. As the UK considers committing troops to the Ukraine debacle, at least one person raises the question of why should white males, which are at best second class citizens in the UK, go die or be maimed for a country that hates them. An excerpt:
MEN account for 88.3 per cent of personnel in Britain’s regular forces. Overall, whites (or, at least, those who do not ‘self-identify as belonging to a minority ethnic group’, in the modern parlance) account for 88.8 per cent of all employed across the Army, Navy and Air Force. As such, it is what many a leftist would condescendingly describe as ‘pale and male’.
Recently, we have learned that this same group is now at a newfound disadvantage. Sentencing guidelines coming into force on April 1 codified a two-tiered approach, with judges encouraged to give those of ‘an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community’ and the transgendered leniency when determining whether or not they should receive a custodial sentence.
... A large plurality of our population supports the regime and its program of pillage and ethnic replacement with fanatic zeal, enthusiastic converts to a novel creed that itself evolved step by oh-so-logical step from the spiritual and civil religions of our fathers to a malign heresy that holds as a moral imperative the dispossession and extermination of the posterity of those very fathers. So far, most of the populace has resisted the suicide cult’s blandishments, but for all that they dislike it, they remain morally disarmed before the cult’s linguistic assaults, shrinking in fear from every invocation of the magical words ‘racist’, ‘fascist’, ‘nazi’, ‘white supremacist’, which Westmen have been trained to believe the worst possible things, and which evils the evil suicide cult claims – and believes itself – to be fighting against.
Vox Day comments: "But there is no reason to give up hope, however irrational it might seem. The Chinese persisted and got their country back after centuries of foreign rule. The Spanish endured five centuries of foreign rule before expelling all the Muslims and Jews from their country."
"Government Advisor Warns UK is Heading For Civil War"--Modernity. Professor David Betz has warned that the UK government has destroyed its legitimacy "as a result of successive governments’ open border policy and their inability to protect children from grooming gangs, in addition to a two-tier justice system presided over by a highly-politicised judiciary." Also:
Betz explains that highly-heterogenous societies (those comprised of many different social, cultural and ethnic groups) in which there is no single dominant cohort are not especially prone to civil war. That is because no group has enough power or status to co-ordinate a widespread revolt. Similarly, highly-homogenous, or ‘unfactionated’, societies are not particularly vulnerable on account of the fact that it is generally easy to arrive at consensus positions. The danger area, Betz asserts, is in the middle – societies that are becoming more heterogenous and in which a previously dominant social majority fears that it is losing its place. In such societies, a nativist sentiment manifests in a narrative of what Betz calls ‘downgrading’ and ‘displacement’ – the most powerful causes of civil conflict. Throw in long-term structural economic decline and the apparent inability of the government to offer ‘bread and circuses’, and the sense of dispossession deepens.
He also addressed the phenomenon of ‘asymmetric multiculturalism’ in which ‘in-group preference, ethnic pride, and group solidarity – notably in voting – are acceptable for all groups except whites, for whom such things are considered to represent supremacist attitudes that are anathematic to social order’. This ‘provides an argument for revolt on the part of the white majority (or large minority) that is rooted in stirring language of justice’.
There is a traditional Christian doctrine, Ordo Amoris or Ordered Loves, that prioritizes the objects of an individual’s loves. It begins with one’s own family, then one’s neighbors, one’s community, the state, the nation and then those beyond the nation. ...
But, as Dr. Steve Turley and Rod Martin explore in a well-spent 20 minute video discussion, the Left has focused a great part of its resources for a century on reversing the traditional Ordo Amoris.
Among the many destructive results they focus on are seen in the growing hate among younger Americans who view this nation as inherently evil from its founding, to say nothing of the insistence that America is obligated to open its borders to all comers and then give them preference over citizens.
Tail wagging the dog: "Israel Wants Next U.S. Aid Package to Span 25 Years"--Information Liberation. It seems Israel feels it might get caught between a resurgent nativism on the right that will weaken support for Israel and the large number on the Left that hate Israel because of the Palestinian issue.
The Israel Lobby wants the next multibillion dollar US aid package for the Jewish state to "span 25 years, rather than 10" in order to "insulate the relationship against future US political vagaries and uncertainties."
We should be able to audit Israel to see how the money is being spent.
Federal immigration authorities arrested a Palestinian activist Saturday who played a prominent role in Columbia University's protests against Israel, a significant escalation in the Trump administration's pledge to detain and deport student activists.
Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia until this past December, was inside his university-owned apartment Saturday night when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered and took him into custody, his attorney, Amy Greer, told The Associated Press.
Greer said she spoke by phone with one of the ICE agents during the arrest, who said they were acting on State Department orders to revoke Khalil's student visa. Informed by the attorney that Khalil was in the United States as a permanent resident with a green card, the agent said they were revoking that instead, according to the lawyer.
Wikipedia's article on "Acquired Homosexuality" begins:
Acquired homosexuality is the discredited idea that homosexuality can be spread, either through sexual "seduction" or "recruitment" by homosexuals or through exposure to media depictions.
Au contraire! As I explain in my book on human genetics, twin and adoption researchers have long credited some version of this “discredited” idea. While almost all studies find that genetics matters, virtually none asserts that the heritability of sexual orientation is even close to 100%. Ergo, homosexuality must, to some extent, be “acquired.” While that hardly implies that any specific mechanism - such "recruitment" or "media depictions" - works, the idea that homosexuality can be spread is the unheralded scientific consensus.
Recently, however, the evidence in favor of acquired homosexuality has become overwhelming. ...
The rest of the article looks at polling data that indicates that the numbers of people identifying as LGBT has exploded recently, and blames this on the media and recruitment.
"The Full Story of the FAA's Hiring Scandal"--Tracing Woodgrains. At one time the FAA had two means of making sure that they had qualified air traffic controllers: they had instituted a collegiate training initiative (CTI), partnering with certain colleges to provide a program for training aspiring air traffic controllers; and they used an aptitude test that was very good at screening out those that would be good air traffic controllers and those that would not. But, of course, there was a significant disparity between the number of white people hired versus black (or other minority) groups. Consequently, starting with the Obama Administration, the FAA essentially eliminated any advantage for those that went through CTI programs, and started fudging with test scores in order to accept more minority applicants. Unfortunately, the author is an example of "everyone is a conservative" when it comes to his or her specialty and does not seem to understand that what happened with the FAA is just a microcosm of what has happened all across society.
India’s politics are in an uproar after President Donald Trump brusquely repatriated a tiny share of the almost 1 million Indian migrants who have illegally sneaked into American communities.
The uproar complicates fast-track trade negotiations where major business groups are pushing Trump to accept more Indian white-collar H-1B migrants in a swap for Indian acceptance of more U.S. exports. For example, India is removing tariffs that reduce motorcycle sales by the investor-owned and troubled Harley-Davidson company.
Trump’s first repatriation flight to India on February 4 carried 104 illegal migrants who were shackled to their seats as they were flown back home in a military cargo aircraft. The videos of the drop-off caused much TV drama and outrage among Indian nationalists.
India has become an expansionist power. But rather than send armies overseas, it using immigration. That's not to say that the armies might not come, but for now it using soft power. The danger it poses probably rivals China and may exceed it. After all, India's population continues to grow while China's is collapsing.
The other day I linked to a couple of videos from David Canterbury on the topic of survival guns. Here is another one (apparently the second in the series), this time covering the TPS Arms Scout, one of the over-under combination guns that was intended as a survival rifle for pilots. The particular model being used by Canterbury is one in .357 Magnum over a .410 barrel, but according to the video, they also make models that are .22 LR over .410, .22 Magnum over .410, and one with both barrels shooting .410 shotgun shells.
Also, apparently due to comments, he clarifies that by "survival gun" he does not mean a weapon intended to be used as a homestead rifle or long term sustainment rifle, but something that can easily be stowed in a vehicle, aircraft, or backpack to use in an emergency situation for taking small game. He also makes clear that the weapons featured are ones selected for his location--essentially Eastern woodlands--and that different weapons or setups may be more appropriate to other settings.
The gist of these articles, however, is that much of what we hear or
read about "stopping-power" is incorrect. Game, animal or human, dies
from shock due to blood loss or destruction of a vital organ. A mortal
wound does not necessarily instantly incapacitate the target.
Sage Dynamics has a couple vital anatomy targets you can download and print for practice.
"Lawyers also noted that sales of his 2021 memoir 'Beautiful Things' also plunged — from 3,200 copies over six months in mid-2023, to just 1,100 copies in the following six months." Yet, for such pitiful performance, he purportedly received an advance of up to $2 million.
In the Daily Mail article, "Revealed: The 36 companies who are responsible for HALF the world's carbon emissions," it notes that "[t]he top five polluters alone - Saudi Aramco, Coal India, CHN Energy, National Iranian Oil Co., and Jinneng Group - produced 7.4 billion tonnes of CO2" which is "equivalent to 17.4 per cent of all global emissions." CHN Energy and Jinneng Group are both Chinese energy firms. This is why it is foolish for the West to engage in the carbon emission tomfoolery: we are not the ones polluting the planet. And it is a fool's errand for Western countries to suffer declining economies and skyrocketing energy costs in the vain hope of making a difference to someone else's problem. And those that argue that Westerners need to do more is nothing more than a Chinese or Indian stooge or useful idiot.
First up, David Canterbury has started a small series of videos evaluating survival guns. The first video reviews the Henry AR-7 take down survival rifle, while the second video goes over Ruger's take down 10/22, both the standard version and a custom version Canterbury has put together:
Relying
on a narrow set of thinking tools is like wearing a mental
straitjacket. Your cognitive range of motion is limited. When your set
of mental models is limited, so is your potential for finding a
solution. In order to unleash your full potential, you have to collect a
range of mental models. You have to build out your decision making
toolbox. Thus, the secret to great thinking is to learn and employ a
variety of mental models.
I
see or hear a lot of people that seem to focus on a particular mental
model: for instance, in self-defense, focusing on deploying and using a
weapon while ignoring other tactics or techniques to deal with an
confrontation or even avoid one altogether; or in prepping, the classic
dispute between "bug-out" versus "bug-in" as if one will always work.
The author suggests even looking outside the particular "silo" in which
you are working. As an example of this, Greg Ellifritz recently
published a post entitled "A Tactical Guy Goes to Relationship School."
The class was apparently aimed at people in or wanting to be in a
romantic relationship, and used breathing techniques, eye contact, and
"energy projection," to make the other person like you. But, as he
discovered, the techniques work outside the context of romance: he had
people open up to him on the street, and even had a crazy homeless
person suddenly become lucid and wish him a good evening. Thus, there is
a potential for applying these principles in everyday life or even the
self-defense field.
Speaking of mental models, "Gunfight Myths"--Tactical Anatomy Systems. The author lists out the 13 most common gunfight myths he has heard and then discusses why they are so dangerous:
We could go on and on about why all of the above myths (and many more) are unrealistic and lead to a false sense of security.
But why, exactly, is belief in Gunfight Myths so dangerous?
Because believing in myths sets us up for unrealistic expectations. Unrealistic expectations, when countered by hard, cold reality, lead to cognitive dissonance. And cognitive dissonance in a life-or-death situation leads to Brain Freeze and a Death Spiral.
The author summarizes the death spiral, but recommends that you read Training At The Speed of LIfe by author and police trainer Ken Murray which goes into more detail about the death spiral.
"Mec-Gar’s New Steel Glock Mags – More Rounds, Same Size | IWA 2025"--The Firearm Blog. Per the article and looking at Mec-Gar's website, it appears that they are releasing metal bodied magazines that, because of the thinner body, they can squeeze an additional round into. The two offerings on hand are an 18-round flush fit magazine for the Glock 17, and an 18-round extended magazine for the Glock 19. The MSRP is $29 for both models. The article indicates that a 16-round flush fit magazine for the Glock 19 is in the works, and possibly a magazine for the 43X. Although the article does not address this issue, we've seen with aftermarket metal body magazines for the Glock 43X and 48 models that the cut out for the magazine catch will damage the plastic magazine release/catch that comes standard on Glock pistols, requiring a switch to a metal catch. Maybe not a big deal, but it still is going to take money and time. Also, while we've seen that metal magazines for the 43X/48 allow for a significant increase in capacity (from 10 to 15), that these are only giving a 1-round boost for the flush-fit models doesn't seem that impressive.
A detailed history and technical look at this cartridge: "The Short, Happy Life Of The .40 Smith & Wesson"--American Rifleman. I've long argued that the .40 S&W only gained the popularity it did among civilian shooters because of the Assault Weapon Ban and it limiting magazines to 10-rounds. The author of this article seems to agree:
In the first few years of actual service, the .40 S&W ammo and guns did very well. Glock actually got its pistols on the market before S&W, and the remainder of the makers quickly followed suit. Nobody seemed to view the new cartridge as a hunting or match shooting cartridge, although it was accurate enough for either mission. This was a police-service or personal-defense cartridge, designed to halt criminal assaults. In those first few years of the Forty, I watched closely as possible to its effect in police shootings. Obviously, the cartridge was very effective, and there was little complaint about a lack of stopping power. And there was another factor that helped the .40 S&W fix its place in the hierarchy of latter day preferences.
It was the 1994 ban on so-called "assault weapons," a poorly conceived and written piece of legislation that had several undesirable results for defensive shooters. For this discussion, the most important aspect of that ban included setting a maximum capacity of just 10 rounds for all newly made magazines. That was for any newly produced pistol magazine, no matter what the chambering. Those who clung to the idea of purchasing new 9 mm pistols on the basis of their capacity lost the argument in that they were statutorily limited to 10+1. They could have a 10+1 .40 S&W just as easy as the same size gun in 9 mm. Down-range, on-the- target performance favored the bigger bullet. For tens of thousands of civilian handgunners the 10 unhappy years of the 1994 ban destroyed the capacity argument for 9 mm semi-autos. It also drove the price of second-market, pre-ban, higher-capacity magazines to stupid levels.
Over the past few years I have reviewed and tested military look-alike airguns that felt like the real deal. I've fired a BB gun at full auto--laying waste to cans in my big backyard--without disturbing my neighbors one bit. I have also tested silenced air rifles that are capable of knocking squirrels out of trees at 70 yards. GAMO makes a number of break-barrel guns that are used for small game hunting, and also for controlling invasive iguanas in Florida. They are so accurate that they can be safely used in suburban areas in the right hands.
There are also large-caliber air rifles that will down big game. I tested a few such guns that will send a .35 caliber pellet through a sheet of plywood without an issue at 50 yards! They are real tackdrivers, too: There are now air rifles on the market that are so accurate that they punch one hole with multiple shots when firing at the range.
When a firearm is discharged, it creates an intense burst of high-pressure gases that follow the projectile out of the barrel. Traditional suppressors attempt to trap and slowly release these gases through a series of baffles and chambers. Flow-through technology, however, takes a fundamentally different approach.
Instead of purely containing the gases, it creates carefully engineered paths that direct and manage gas flow. I’ve observed that this approach is particularly effective at reducing both back pressure and the dreaded “gas face” that many shooters experience with modern sporting rifles and conventional suppressors.
I don't know if it based on a Tesla valve, it the description certainly reminds me of that invention.
A look at the future of weapon optics: "Insane Thermal Reflex Sight - and It's German: The Vected TRS"--The Firearm Blog. It overlays a thermal outline onto the window with the reticle. I know this has been done when combining thermal and night vision, but this is with what appears to otherwise be a standard red dot sight picture. The purpose is to "allow[ ] users to quickly acquire targets in low light, darkness, or through smoke and camouflage."
"Discover The Coated Lead Advantage"--Shooting Sports USA. An article about the Hi-Tek polymer coating for cast lead bullets, such as used in the Syntech and CCI's clean .22 LR lines of ammunition. For the hand loader, the advantage is that you get prices that are nearly as cheap as plain cast lead, but you don't have to worry about lubing bullets and it reduces lead fouling. The article indicates that while lead bullets are generally discouraged for Glock pistols (those with the polygonal rifling, anyway) the coated bullets apparently work fine. Unfortunately, I can't speak from experience: while I bought some a couple years ago for loading .44 Magnum, I haven't actually ever gotten around to loading and shooting any. The author adds this tip for hand loaders:
Coated bullets load in the same manner as lead, but there are two things to watch for. First, make certain that the belling die puts enough flare into the case mouth to avoid scraping the coating from the bullet when it’s being seated. Second, don’t over crimp as that can also remove the coating. A moderate taper crimp works best for me with either semi-automatic or revolver. If the coating is compromised, smoke and some leading can occur.
He also notes that you shouldn't use them for velocities higher than 1,250 fps.
"What are langets on a polearm for?"--Arms & Armor. Langets are the strip of metal you sometimes see on the shafts of polearms just below the head. While most people (including myself) believe that they were used to keep the shaft from being cut by another bladed weapon, like a sword, they were actually to reinforce the shaft of longer pole arms so the shaft won't break from the force of using it.
"‘Pretty’ doomsday prepper shares extreme survival skills: ‘End of the world basics’"--New York Post. Looks like someone using their pretty face to garner attention in a crowded market. I haven't watched her YouTube videos so I can't comment on how solid is her advice. But it is a rare article about prepping in the main stream media, so I thought I would include it.
What with the Chinese and Europeans making noises about war with the U.S., this might be useful: "How I’m Prepping for War"--Organic Prepper. Daisy writes:
A friend of mine has been researching shortages from WW2, and that’s a great place to start. In America, we faced the rationing of things such as food, shoes, metal, paper, and rubber. The priority was given to the soldiers, and whatever was left over was divvied up by civilians. I’m not sure we will have the exact same shortages this time, as war, like many other things, has moved into the digital age, but soldiers will still need food, shoes, rubber things like tires, and metal for manufacturing vehicles and weapons.
What with things being digital, a wise person might also look into things that require motherboards and circuits – computers, other devices, and vehicles.
It’s important to note that the Defense Production Act is already in place to force our factories to produce what is needed for national defense and prioritize national defense customers over civilians.
We don’t know if this conflict will all be fought overseas or if it will creep onto our shores. In my opinion, it’s best to prepare for the worst case scenario and hope that it doesn’t happen.
Here’s where I’m putting my money right now as far as preps are concerned.
The general areas she is concerned with are: food, medicine, ammo, precious metals, communications, and some miscellaneous items, all discussed in more detail in her article.
For those looking at storing food, this is a resource you might find useful: "Food Storage Calculator"--Family Survival Planning. You enter the number of people in your family in their respective age groups (basically adults and children) and it shows how much of different basic food items you would need for a one-year store of food and water.
In a similar vein, Option Gray has a "Prepper & Emergency Survival: A Comprehensive Checklist" which, as the title implies, provides a detailed list of items or categories of items to consider for prepping and long term survival.
If you really want to cut weight, focus on the big four—your tent, sleep system (i.e. your sleeping bag and pad), shoes, and backpack.
Select ultralight versions of every item to save the most weight. Think lightweight sleeping pads and bags, and frameless packs, which can be several pounds lighter than their heftier counterparts. After all, a three-pound tent will cancel out any weight savings you’ll scrounge by sawing the handle off your toothbrush.
Also, keep in mind that ultra-luxe gear tends to be heavier and bulky. Brown says she once saw a backpacker ditch full-size pillows and twin-sized sleeping pads with integrated foot pumps only after a few days on the trail. You don’t want to have to do that.
Next, consider what you put on your feet. According to Brown, many people start a long hike with heavy-duty hiking boots, but only a few days into the trip, most are ready to swap them for lightweight trail runners like those from Altra or Hoka. It might not seem like it to more inexperienced hikers, but after a few days on rugged terrain, heavy footwear starts to feel like they are slowing you down.
Finally, move on to swap smaller gear for lighter alternatives. Trade in your Nalgene for a disposable SmartWater bottle or a collapsible water bottle. Consider going stove-less in warmer months to save yourself from carrying fuel canisters. Instead, pack ready-to-eat meals like tortillas or tuna, and foods you can cold-soak, like noodles or couscous. Just a few smart swaps like these could save you ounces or pounds instead of grams.
"Assembling a Stealth Prepper Group" (Part 1) (Part 2) by Prepper Doc at the Survival Blog. Just some tips on setting up a prepper group and becoming an asset to your group, and some other miscellaneous tips. He recommends taking some independent study courses offered by FEMA and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) both for the knowledge and being able to network with the people that will be in charge after a disaster and other like-minded individuals that might be interested in forming a group.
Trump is imposing tariffs pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) because of Canada's, Mexico's and China's role in killing Americans and facilitating the flow of illegal aliens into the United States. I have not seen any legal justification offered for the decisions of Canada, Mexico or China.
I can't find where I read it the other day, but I came across a comment about how we are watching the old ideology-based paradigm of the Cold War (and, I would add, globalism) coming to an end, to be replaced with an approach to diplomacy and trade based around self-interest. If you watched President Trump's State of the Union address last night, you saw it front and center: tariffs to punish those countries undermining the United States or taking advantage of the United States; regaining control of the Panama Canal to prevent it from falling under China's control; prying Greenland away from Europe; the Realpolitik moment the President revealed that Zelenskyy of Ukraine had reversed course and (seemingly) is now willing to accede to Trump's plan to end the Ukraine War.
It bears repeating that those who are invested in the old system are going to fight tooth and nail against these changes. Not because they believe in spreading democracy, but because they enjoy the money and power that came with the old order. And that is what the old order had degenerated to: a means to scam the American taxpayer, as the following from Stephen Green about the cuts to USAID illustrates (emphasis added):
... Reuters reported today that Nicholas Enrich, USAID's acting assistant administrator for global health, released a seven-page letter complaining that "political leadership" — the Trump administration — "had made it impossible to deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance around the world."
* * *
Oh, spare me the sob stories. Of the $4 billion earmarked for Haiti, almost half of it never went much farther than the D.C. beltway. More than half went to "other." About 2% went to Haitian firms. Six houses were built.
There's a case to be made that charitable people like us should help feed the hungry and provide disaster relief to those who can't afford it. But USAID ain't it.
How did we get here?
Ostensibly created as an international development agency (it's right there in the name), USAID quickly morphed (some would say it was from the start) into an off-the-books intelligence operation and, from there, into a multibillion-dollar slush fund for the well-connected whose finances were already very highly developed.
To call the relationship between USAID — i.e., your tax dollars — and the Democrat-Media Complex "incestuous" would be an insult to people with only two grandparents.
Ezekiel 28 is a lesson in hubris. In it, the King of Tyre is compared to Lucifer, who fell because of his overweening pride, comparing himself to God in power and authority. A modern equivalent has just happened with the forced retirement of James Dennehy, the head of the FBI's New York Field Office. He emailed his staff: "Late Friday, I was informed that I needed to put my retirement papers in today, which I just did. I was not given a reason for this decision." Is he really that stupid and disingenuous? As the Instapundit post notes, "Dennehy had previously told his office to 'dig in' after Trump was elected," and he withheld thousands of pages of Epstein documents from the Attorney General after she had requested all Epstein related materials, publicly embarrassing her last week when she had promised to release the full Epstein file but had nothing new to provide.
We should expect a lot more of this doomsaying for the rest of Trump's term. But the Democrats and the administrative state created this situation. As John Wilder points out in his latest post, Trump came into his first term intending to use a fiscal scalpel to cut out waste. But the Democrats came back at him multiple impeachment attempts, baseless criminal and civil suits, and finally tried to kill him. So this time, he has come with an axe to take to the administrative state. John goes on:
A century of rot, non-American ideologues and secrets are being sliced away. There will be chaos, as we find that, “Oh, no, we really needed to have air traffic controllers” and as this necessarily blunt instrument hacks through some good things to save the whole.
It’s ugly. It’s necessary. And it might just be enough.
But Trump's purpose is not to cut off Social Security benefits to retirees or the disabled. He is here to try and save the country before it slides into a fiscal collapse.
If you've taken a basic Econ 101 course or read a foundational book on economics, you know that the primary argument for free trade between countries is premised on David Ricardo's Theory of Comparative Advantage which, essentially, states that countries can benefit from trading with each other by focusing on producing things for which they have a lower opportunity cost (i.e., in which they have a comparative advantage) while buying from other countries those goods that the other country can produce for a lower opportunity cost, even if the that other country is not as efficient overall at making those products. The classic example is that if Britain has a comparative advantage compared to France in producing wool, but France has a comparative advantage compared to Britain in making wine, then Britain is better off buying its wine from France rather than attempting to produce its own, and France is better off buying its wool from Britain rather than attempting to produce its own.
This is the basic argument as to why the United States was better off shipping its manufacturing to third world countries if that third world country could produce the goods for a lower overall cost, even if they weren't as efficient as American manufacturers. Because the cost of labor is generally higher in the U.S. than these third world countries, and nations like China don't care about certain costs that U.S. manufacturers have to bear--like worker safety, pollution mitigation, etc.--the consequence was always going to be a net loss of American jobs.
In any event, Vox Day decided to test out the DeepSeek AI by having it identify flaws with the Theory of Comparative Advantage, which he reports in his article, "The Intrinsic Flaws of Free Trade." He begins:
I asked Deepseek to share what it thought of what has, for more than two centuries, served as the conceptual foundation of the free trade policy that has served as a quasi-religion for the Western elite of the post-WWII era. And while I knew it was a fundamentally flawed theory, so much so that economist Joseph Schumpeter once described its question-begging formulation as “the Ricardian vice”, I was still a little surprised to see how completely it was demolished by the pattern recognition of the Chinese AI system.
Although the article goes into more detail on each point, the major flaws identified are: (1) simplistic assumptions; (2) the model's static nature; (3) unrealistic assumptions as to mobility and employment; (4) neglect of real world costs and barriers to trade; (5) it ignores social impacts; (6) it fails to recognize external costs (e.g., pollution); (7) it ignores services and costs of trade; and (8) it ignores social and political factors. Read the whole thing.
