Article: Is Your Church A Sitting Duck?

From Shooting News Weekly: "Hope Isn’t a Plan: Is Your Church a Sitting Duck?" My church is. But I'm old enough to remember when churches didn't need church security teams. John Wilder touches on that era in his piece, "How To Break A Society, Part I." He begins:

    Picture this:  I leave my keys in the truck overnight.  Windows down.  Wallet on the dash.  Next morning?  Still there.  Nothing missing, though a cat might have explored an empty burger wrapper.  No viral TikTok™ of some “youth” doing donuts in my F-150®.

    Absurd?  No.

    And not because Big Brother has cameras up the backside of every squirrel, but because back in the day people just didn’t do that crap.  The neighbors would have known who did it.  Moms would have heard about it at church, and the father of the kid would have heard about it from his boss.

    Shame, accountability, and consequences work better than ankle monitors.

    That was the power of societal norms.  Invisible fences made of “What will people think?”  And the Founding Fathers knew it.  They told us so.

    Benjamin Franklin walked out of the Constitutional Convention and some lady asked what they’d given us. “A republic,” he said, “if you can keep it.” Not “if the government keeps it for you.” Not “if we pass enough laws.” If you can keep it.

    John Adams was even blunter in 1798: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

    They weren’t kidding.    

But liberals felt stifled and had to tear the whole thing down. Read the whole thing. 

The Daily Mail's Reporting On The Cartel Violence In Mexico

This appears to be a link with periodic updates. In the past, it was not uncommon to have a cartel leader killed and for the cartel to splinter, increasing the violence as the splinter groups fought one another and other cartels for control. 

Step-By-Step Reloading By Tom McHale

Tom McHale is a professional gun writer, author of a multitude of articles on all aspects of shooting, as well as several books including The Practical Guide To Reloading Ammunition. I came across a series of detailed articles on reloading at American Handgunner magazine (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) but it only covered collecting the brass, preparing the brass, and the resizing the case and expanding the case mouth. In trying to find additional parts of that series, I came across the series of articles on the steps to reloading that he had written for Guns America. 

Part 1: Want to Reload Your Own Ammo? Basic Questions to Consider

Part 2: The Reloading Process

Part 3: The Gear You’ll Need and What It’ll Cost You

Part 4: Brass Cleaning and Preparation to Load

Part 5: Brass Resizing

Part 6: Trimming Cartridge Cases

Part 7: Repriming the Cartridge Case

Part 8: Powder, Propellants, and Pressure

Part 9: All About Primers

Part 10: Projectiles: Materials, Weights, and Styles

Part 11: Seating and Crimping Bullets

Part 12: To Crimp or not to Crimp

Part 13: Final Inspection and Packaging Tips

Civilization Continues To Retreat

In the recent past, Western civilization had strong enough influence so that even if a country wasn't directly under Western rule the native culture would have submitted to Western influence. But with Western civilization in full retreat, the native cultures are reasserting themselves. I hope the Leftist feel proud about what they have done. From Breitbart: "Taliban OKs Slavery, Domestic Violence in Updated Criminal Code."

    Taliban “supreme leader” Hibatullah Akhundzada recently approved a novel criminal code, multiple outlets reported this week, that dramatically expands the legal ability for men to physically abuse women and children and provides for the creation of a formal “slave” class in the country.

[snip]

    According to the Times of India, the latest affront to human rights from the Taliban is the publication of a 90-page criminal code, issued as an edict recently, likely in late January. No evidence suggests any public participation in the drafting of the code or legislative debate by certified lawmakers prior to its imposition.

    Citing the British outlet The Independent, the Indian newspaper noted that the code includes the creation of “free” and “slave” categories of Afghanis and different legal punishments for criminals in each category. While it does not explicitly list all women in the country as “slaves,” certain provisions in the criminal code for women appear to treat them as separate from free citizens.

    The code reportedly states explicitly that men can beat women and children in their homes, but only if they do not break their bones or cause extreme bodily harm. The code also effectively strips women of the right to accuse men of extreme physical abuse, as it both requires and bans women from showing the parts of their bodies harmed.

    “They [women] are required to prove they have suffered serious bodily harm by showing their wounds to the judge, while at the same time being required to remain fully covered,” the Independent explained. “They are also required to be accompanied to the court by their husband or male chaperone (mahram) — even though the majority of offenders in such cases are the husbands themselves.”

In the not so distant future, we may see similar before and after pictures of Berlin, Paris, or London. And it will largely be because of what were called, when I was younger, "bleeding heart liberals" who bought the Leftist lies about all cultures being equal and suffered from pathological altruism. 

Related: 

Serpentza discusses the trajectory of South Africa after black/communist rule:

VIDEO: "Decolonization in Action - They Ruined my Country!"
serpentza (29 min.)

An Epstein In The Making

From Breitbart: "Senior Class President Charged with 300 Felonies for Allegedly Running Sextortion Scheme in Pennsylvania High School." 

    Zachariah Abraham Meyers, an 18-year-old senior at the local high school in Peters Township, a semi-rural town of 23,000 residents 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, faces 304 charges ranging from sexual exploitation of and sexual abuse of children to unlawful contact with minors and wiretap law violations, local news outlets reported over the weekend. 

[snip]

    Police accuse Meyers of targeting fellow students ranging from ages 14-17 at Peters Township High School across multiple social media platforms, including Snapchat and TikTok. Some 1,200 students in grades 9-12 attend the school.

    In one case, authorities allege that Meyers, who is listed as a varsity member of the school’s volleyball team, directed a juvenile to have sexual intercourse with two adult men, record video inside a gym locker room, and then send those videos to an account. 

Gun & Prepping News #69

Just some gun and prepping related links that I thought interesting or useful:

• Owning a gun--still hundreds of times safer than owning a swimming pool: "Accidental Shooting Statistics"--Ammo Land. Quick highlights:

• In 2024, 1% (438) of all firearm-related deaths (41,656) were due to accidental shootings.
• 30% (438) of the 1,457 unintentional firearm-related injuries in 2024 were fatal.
• There is an average of 114 accidental gun deaths among children and adolescents annually.
• Accidental shootings account for 0.004% of all injuries leading to hospital visits.

• "Does the ‘3-3-3 Rule’ Hold Up for Civilian Self-Defense?"--Guns America. The 3-3-3 rule--that gun fights happen within 3 feet, in 3 seconds, with 3 rounds being fired--is drawn from an FBI study of shooting incidents involving police officers. For the civilian it appears that the average is closer to 9 feet, in 6 seconds, with 4 shots fired.
• "Home Invasion! Grab The Defensive Rifle- Dead Trigger….What The Hell Do You Do Now??"--Shooting Performance. The answer is in the sub-title: "The Why’s and How’s of Transitioning to a Secondary Weapon." From the lede:

What the heck is a dead trigger?  Let’s define that term first:  Anytime you pull the trigger and expect it to go bang, and it doesn’t, that is a dead trigger.  If you are in a situation like the one described in the title of this article, it really doesn’t matter why the rifle didn’t go bang, just that you have a response when it does.  The article that follows discusses your options. 

The reasons for a dead trigger might be something simple like the rifle wasn't made ready in the first instance or ran out of ammo, but could also be due to some sort of malfunction. The article discusses why a weapon transition to a handgun is preferable at short combat distances to trying to troubleshoot the rifle; how to perform a weapon transition; getting the rifle back into action; and suggestions as to (safely) training for a dead trigger.

• "Your Mind is Your Weapon: Mastering Situational Awareness"--Taurus USA.  The author begins:

    The most important lesson I learned and taught as a firearms instructor for the CIA is that your mind is your primary weapon. Weapons evolve, systems come and go, but your ability to assess and respond to a threat ultimately determines your survival. A well-made firearm can be a powerful equalizer, but effectiveness depends on strategy and restraint – knowing  when to reveal your strengths and when to keep them concealed.

    Carrying a concealed weapon is not just about having the right firearm; it’s about being able to transition instantly from a passive state to full combat readiness. Success in a critical moment relies on both mental awareness and physical capability. The way you carry, conceal and present your firearm when a threat arises is determined by your training and skill. Simply owning a good gun is never enough. 

Good tips for learning and maintaining situational awareness and understanding when a threat arises. Be sure to check it out. 

• For those using firearms with manual safeties: "The Mechanical Safety:  Use it or take the gamble."--Paul Howe. He begins:

While training with more and more law enforcement agencies, I have found that a potentially dangerous practice has been implemented into their SOP’s. This being the ignoring of the weapon manual safety. Many tactical teams are moving from the Last Covered and Concealed (LCC) position to the breach point in a linear formation with a straight finger and the weapon on fire. Further, they conduct a great deal of interior movement and room clearing with the weapon on fire and a straight finger. 

The rest of the article goes over why you need to use the safety, the dangers to not using safeties, and why he thinks law enforcement got away from training to use safeties. 

• Some firearms history: "StG 45(M): The Last Sturmgewehr"--The Armory Life.  This used a roller delayed blowback action and is the predecessor to the CETME Model C and, subsequently, the HK-91 and all subsequent roller delayed firearms manufactured by HK. This is a long and detailed article, but worth your time. 
• "Your First Suppressor: A Short(ish) Guide for First-Time Buyers"--The Truth About Guns. A look at some suppressors for ARs, 9mm, and rimfire weapons.
• Of course, you'll want some ammo to go with that new suppressor: "Pairing Your Suppressor With The Right Subsonic Ammo"--The Truth About Guns. Some suggestions on subsonic ammo in 9mm, .300 BLK, .22 LR, .45 ACP, .45-70, and .458 SOCOM.
• Speaking of handgun ammo: "Brink’s U.S. Selects Liberty Ammunition for Executive Protection"--The Truth About Guns. Specifically, the 9mm Spike load which the article describes as "55-grain, all-copper projectile features an integral spike design that enables deep penetration through barriers while creating a permanent wound channel—critical capabilities when threats may involve vehicle glass, heavy clothing, or intermediate obstacles." The round is supposed to have 1,900 feet per second muzzle velocity giving 441 foot-pounds of energy on target. 
• And some more on ammo: "Here’s Why the .223 Remington Is the Most Underrated Deer Cartridge"--Outdoor Life. By "deer" the author is probably meaning whitetail.  An excerpt:

The .223 is inherently accurate, ammo is affordable, and modern purpose-built bullets have elevated its effectiveness even further. The key here is that the .223 is fun and affordable to shoot. So deer hunters preparing for the season have no excuse to not practice shooting from field positions.

As far as the ammo to use for hunting, the author recommends "heavier tipped, lead-core bullets that offer dramatic expansion that is controlled by a thicker jacket. These offer the expansion that causes larger wound cavities but will often penetrate deeply enough to pass through a deer entirely," specifically mentioning the 69-grain Sierra GameKing. However, he notes that "[q]uality bullets in the 69- to 80-grain range are more than capable of" providing the necessary 10 to 12 inches of penetration needed to take whitetail deer.

• Related:  "Best 223 for Deer Hunting: Taking Down Whitetails with 22-Caliber Bullets"--Ammo Land.

• And for the deadliest game: "223/5.56 Duty/Defense Ammunition Selection"--Tactical Anatomy. After discussion of the failures of different types of ammunition and why, even with rifles, penetration is king, the author concludes:

    The clear answer is that for general patrol/defensive rifle duty, we want a round that both expands well and penetrates deeply, while maintaining reliable functionality and accuracy. This is the ideal.

    That being said, and no disrespect intended to any of the runners-up, my personal and professional 5.56 ammunition choices based on the recommendations of true experts like Dr. Roberts–and my own experience on live animals and tissue simulants–tend to run along the lines of Federal TRU 55/62gr bonded, Black Hills/Nosler Partition 65 gr, and Winchester JSP 64 gr. These rounds will defeat intermediate barriers and will penetrate deeply through tissue, and will work accurately in barrels from 1:7 through 1:10. All of these rounds have an excellent record in OIS’s over many, many years, and as such I have no reservation in recommending them. 

• And if you want something for hunting that is light recoiling but believe that .223 is too small or under powered, there is this: "Best 243 Ammo for Deer & Other Hunts"--The Shooter's Log. 
• "CCW Range Bag Essentials: What You Need to Train With Your Carry Pistol"--Ammo Land. The author selected the Propper Bail Out Bag to carry his stuff, and then describes what he carries and where he stows it in the bag. (BTW, it is $9 dollars less to order from Propper over Amazon, but Amazon offers "free" shipping--so it might be a wash when all is said and done).
• And once you get to the range: "Five Drills for Beginners at the Range"--Ammo Land. The author, Travis Pike, explains:

    A drill is a shooting exercise that prescribes nearly every element of your shooting. It describes your distance, your accuracy standards, the time you have to accomplish the drill, how many rounds are fired, and more. Most importantly, it has a time and accuracy standard.

    A time and accuracy standard gives you a goal to meet. If you can’t meet these goals, you’ll be able to identify your weaknesses and, hopefully, improve your shooting skills continually. Shooters should never dive too deep or too fast. Attempting the FAST Drill as a new shooter can be a recipe for disaster. 

• "Daniel Defense H9 9mm: The Hudson Concept, Perfected"--The Truth About Guns.  The Hudson pistol was one that featured a very low bore axis by lowering the recoil spring assembly so it was ahead of the trigger guard. The original design and execution had issues. But according to this review, Daniel Defense has cleaned it up and has a workable pistol. MSRP is $999 but the street price is higher--closer to $1,300, the author writes.
• "Securing Backyard Fences"--Active Response Training.  Greg Ellifritz writes:

    In my police days, it was very common to see heroin addicts cruising around wealthy residential neighborhoods looking for places to burglarize in the daytime when most residents were at work.

    Their most common MO was to find an attractive house and then knock on the door. If someone answers, they play it off by pretending that they are looking for someone.

[snip]

    If they didn’t get an answer, they would go around to the back of the house where fewer people could see them,  They would then break in to the house via a back door or window.

    I never saw one of those burglaries happen to a residence with a locked back fence. 

• "Locked Down. Rounded Up. Warehoused. The Rise of America’s Concentration Camps"--SHTF Plan. From the article:

    In 2021, amid a global pandemic, warnings that the federal government might repurpose warehouses into detention facilities on American soil were dismissed as speculative, alarmist, or even conspiratorial.

    Five years later, what was speculation is a blueprint for locking up whoever the government chooses to target.

    According to investigative reports, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are actively purchasing warehouses, factories, and industrial buildings across the country for use as detention centers—often with little public notice, minimal oversight, and virtually no accountability. 

We saw this happen in Australia to those who refused to take the vax, and many elites here in the United States expressed a wish that those who refused the vax be rounded up and imprisoned, so this seems likely if there is a real pandemic. 

• "Wheat Grinders 101"--Blue Collar Prepping. While you can use whole wheat corns, they will be more useful ground into flour as you need it (wheat can store for decades, but flour only for months). This article discusses the three basic types of grinders--manual, electric, and hybrid--as well as some advice on accessories and using the grinders. 
• "Power Outage? What Size Generator for a Freezer (And How Long to Run It)"--Modern Survival Blog. From the article:

Most chest freezers use 80–150 running watts, but need 600–1,200 starting watts for a brief moment when the compressor turns on. A 1,000-watt generator or larger is usually enough to run a freezer. If running both a refrigerator and freezer, a 2,000-watt inverter generator provides comfortable capacity.

And:

 You don’t need to run a generator continuously. A full chest freezer can stay frozen 24–48 hours without power. During an outage, many people run a generator about 1 hour every 8–12 hours to maintain safe freezer temperatures. Use a thermometer and keep food below 32°F (0°C).

The goal is to cool the freezer back down before food temperatures rise above freezing.

• "All Tied Up: Basic Survival Camping Knots"--Gat Daily.  It goes over the following:

• Basic Knot Lingo
• Square Knot (Reef Knot)
• Bowline Knot
• Jam Knot (Canadian Jam Knot)
• Clove Hitch 

More importantly, and unlike many other articles or books on knots, it also tells you what each knot can be used for.

•  And from Survival Blog: "More Inflation Ahead: At Best, Plan on Semi-Retirement." Congress has spent so much of the Social Security Trust Fund as a backstop to its other profligate spending that there is not nearly enough money coming in to maintain current payouts. So the government will likely resort to inflating itself out of debt, devaluing personal savings and investments. Consequently, Rawles warns:

... Inflation will deeply degrade the purchasing power of savings, annuities, stocks, mutual funds, CDs, bonds, ETFs, pension funds, and Social Security payments. Even the best contrarian hedge fund won’t fully protect you when the dollar itself is wiped out. Day-to-day living will soon become very expensive. So, at best, we need to plan on semi-retirement in the latter decades of our lives.  ... 

I suspect that if it weren't for the massive fraud of which we are barely scratching the surface, there would probably be plenty of money for Social Security. But when some elderly immigrant steps of the boat and immediately races to the Social Security office, it becomes unsustainable. 

• "Build a brick rocket stove for emergency water purification"--Survival Common Sense. 
• But you need to use the right materials: "Build a brick rocket stove: Is it safe to use concrete blocks?"--Survival Common Sense. The short answer is that you will probably be okay using concrete blocks, but they will probably erode over time. So, to make something that will last long term, use the firebricks.
• "The Ultimate First Aid Supplies List: Be Ready for Anything"--More Than Just Surviving.  This is not about a first aid kit for traveling or hiking, but something at home intended to handle a larger variety of problems. The author comments:

This list is broken down into two major sections: medications to stock, and situation specific kits you would ideally keep in your home. Both these sections then have particular subsections in them, though because it’s only two main sections, we’ve decided to just number these subsections straight through as though they were in just one group. If you’ve got a little bit of everything from each of the subsections, I’d say you’re pretty set. Certainly pick and choose what you feel is best to have for your own peace of mind at home. As I said, I know not everyone will want to keep everything here in stock (though I will be aiming for hitting as many items on this list personally), I just wanted to make sure this list was as comprehensive as possible so that in case you’re redoing your traveling first aid kit, or your at home first aid kit, you can look over this list and know you probably haven’t missed much if you’ve got all you want off of this behemoth. 

The list includes not just what to buy but what it is used for. 

• "Tucker Carlson stunned as ex-Bush official reveals US has doomsday bunkers for elites"--Daily Mail. This 2025 article relates:

    A former Bush administration official has made a shocking claim that the US government is secretly preparing for a mass extinction event on Earth. 

    Catherine Austin Fitts, who was the US Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Housing, joined Tucker Carlson on his podcast this week, saying she found $21 trillion in unaccounted funds was diverted to covert projects between 1998 and 2015.

    'One of the things I've looked at in the process of looking at where all this money is going is the underground base, city infrastructure and transportation system that's been built,' Fitts said.

It's interesting speculation, but the more likely explanation is that the missing money went to fraudulent payouts. 

The Great Replacement: 8% Of Nicaragua Invaded U.S. Under Biden

 From Fox News: "DHS says 8% of Nicaragua's entire population illegally entered US under Biden." The population of Nicaragua was approximately 6.6 million in 2020, meaning approximately 528,000 came to the U.S. ... that we know of. DHS says that, additionally, 7% of Cuba, 6% of Haiti, and 5% of Honduras came to the U.S. during the same time period. Cuba population in 2020 was approximately 11.2 million; that of Haiti was also around 11.2 million; and Honduras' population was 10.1 million. That means some 784,000 came into the U.S. from Cuba; 672,000 from Haiti; and 505,000 from Honduras. The total from just these four countries alone, then, was roughly 2.5 million people ... that we know of. That is more than the entire population of the state of Nebraska. 

    Comparing this to other countries, this number of people would be 3.6% of the total population of the UK,  3.6% of the population of France, and 2.9% of Germany. This is equal to 42% of the population of Denmark or roughly half of the population of Finland! In just 4 years from just 4 countries. 

Trump's Other Options Under The IEEPA

As I noted earlier this morning, the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs that the President had enacted pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), holding that the IEEPA did not authorize the President to enact tariffs. It is important to realize that, as one article put it, "[t]he court did not say the president lacks authority to impose tariffs. It said this law doesn’t authorize these tariffs." But, as I mentioned in my earlier post, the President has authority to enact tariffs under other laws. For instance, Pres. Trump has already imposed a new 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which "unilaterally impose up to 15% tariffs to remedy balance-of-payments issues or prevent 'imminent and significant' depreciation of the dollar." Moreover, "Section 301 of the 1974 law allows Greer to impose tariffs on countries with economic policies that are discriminatory against the US or in violation of trade agreements." So even though the Supreme Court's ruling eliminated the global 10% tariff that had been imposed under the IEEPA, it is already back up under another law. And authorization for tariffs shows up under other laws, according to the article:

    Other options available to the administration, but not cited at the press conference, include Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows tariffs to regulate imports on national security grounds following investigations by the Commerce Department, though duties are meant to apply only to individual economic sectors rather than entire countries; and Section 338 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 50% if he finds “as a fact” that countries have imposed unreasonable charges, restrictions or otherwise discriminated against US imports. 

    Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, another option, allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 50% above existing tariff rates on products that threaten “serious injury” to US manufacturers following an investigation by the US International Trade Commission. 

    And the elimination of the fentanyl-specific tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico may give rise to something more draconian than a simple tariff. Breitbart notes, for instance (bold in original):

    Here’s the thing the trade establishment doesn’t want to think about: IEEPA doesn’t just let the president regulate imports. It lets him prohibit them. And it lets him issue licenses as exceptions to that prohibition. Those aren’t implied powers or creative readings. They’re right there in the text of the law: the president may “prevent or prohibit” importation and may act “by means of instructions, licenses, or otherwise.”

    That language points to a mechanism that could reshape the global trade landscape even if every tariff the administration has imposed gets struck down. 

The author envisions a system whereby "Treasury offers to sell Import Authorization Certificates directly to the governments of countries running bilateral trade surpluses with the United States. The purchase price equals a percentage — 20 to 50 percent — of the country’s prior-year bilateral surplus. The foreign government pays Treasury. That’s the transaction. There is no ambiguity about who is writing the check." 

    The real question is why previous presidents did not use these powers to prevent the offshoring of American manufacturing.  

Weekend Reading #44

Longer and more involved reading:

• Jon Low has a new Defensive Pistolcraft newsletter.  He includes some thoughts from John Murphy on how dealing with terrorists is different from other criminal threats:

     "Get this straight in your head.  Terrorists are not criminals out to support their drug habit, or a drunken bully looking to throw you a beat down.  This isn’t a parking lot dispute, a road rage incident or a conflict you can solve with de-escalation.  These are ideologically committed killers determined to use violence to achieve global religious/political change.  Killing as many as they can to maximize the terror impact of their acts is their goal.  Do NOT underestimate these people.  Take careful note not of just the mass beheadings that were once in vogue overseas, but the artful way they were staged and recorded, with high production values throughout.  That is highly evolved messaging leveraging modern technology with ancient terror tactics.  More recent attacks from various evil parties have even been “livestreamed” to an eager international audience.  Remember that dying for their cause is considered the ultimate reward.  They won’t be dissuaded and they won’t be bargained with.  They will be heavily armed and adequately trained for their task, which is to slaughter unarmed innocents to further undermine governmental authority.  Unlike your typical criminal crew, a few shots won’t send them into flight.  They’re on a mission."  

     "So, with that in mind, the rules change.  Back shoot them without hesitation or warning.  The cheaper the shot, the better.  To ensure there’s not a threat from behind as you move past their bodies, “anchor” shoot them through the brain and from a position of advantage.  While these methods of engagement are illegal and inappropriate for a criminal encounter and would likely see you charged with murder in that context, I suspect a citizen acting this way against a terrorist threat will be given a pass.  (Differentiating between the two, at that time could be difficult.  Choose wisely.)  This will essentially be participating in no notice infantry combat in your hometown."   

While he suspects that a citizen acting this way against a terrorist threat will be given a pass, I have my reservations--particularly if this were to occur in a Democrat controlled jurisdiction. To them, you would not be killing a terrorist, but an ally. Moving on, commenting on an article encouraging women to take responsibility for their safety, Jon adds:

     In the real world, no one is coming to your rescue, not the bystanders, not the police, not even your friends and relatives who are with you.  I know this is a horrid depressing thought, but it's true.  Accept it and prepare accordingly.  Because gouging the bad guy's eyes is not something that you will do automatically, unless you have practiced, a lot.  The highly trained will not gouge and pull their hand out.  Rather, they will drive their fingers through the eyes into the brain, curl their fingers to grab the cheek bones from the inside, and drive the bad guy's head to the ground, hard in order to crack the skull.  As Tim Larkin says, the ground is your best impact weapon, and it is always available, and gravity is always helping you.   

Jon has a lot more, so be sure to check out his newsletter. 

• Greg Ellifritz at Active Response Training has a new Weekend Knowledge Dump. His linkage includes, but is not limited to, cover and concealment around vehicles, examining your target to try and analyze shooting errors, levels of eye contact (and what they mean),  info on the AK and shooting one, advantages and disadvantages to having a weapon mounted light on a concealed carry pistol, and advice as to concealed carry belts. I'm glad that the author mentions that is possible to have too stiff of a belt. Given my experience with several gun belts with the stiffened cores, I've gone back to just wearing a good leather belt. 

    And special mention goes to the video "Crazy Oakland Pawn Shop Gunfight Caught on Camera" where a group of thugs is admitted through a locking security door, then tried to rob the place. When the owners of the pawn shop got weapons and start shooting, the criminals turned to hightail it out of the place ... but couldn't because the security door had locked behind them. Consequently, they feel obliged to enter into a gun battle with the owners of the pawn shop in which at least one of the owners is wounded. During the gun battle, the criminals found at least one weapon that the pawnshop owners had stashed, fully loaded, in the event of a break in. I think that the primary lesson here is that sometimes it is better to give criminals an opportunity to flee than risk a prolonged fight.

• "A Polar Bear Tried to Eat My Neighbor — and Other Close Calls With Nanuq in Alaska’s High Arctic"--Outdoor Life. 

During the time we called Alaska’s North Slope home, from 1990 to 1997, Native hunters killed approximately 110 polar bears annually in Alaska, with most being taken in the dark winter months. Male polar bears are active throughout the winter, unlike pregnant females that seek dens to enter their deep winter sleep and give birth. That year in Point Lay, the pack ice created an open lead very near shore. Seals hauled out on the edges of the open water. During winter in the Arctic, where there are seals, polar bears will be nearby. 

• "A City Cast in Concrete, Trapped Under Unbearable Heat"--The MIT Press Reader.  How rapid urbanization and loss of green space turned Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, into an unbearable heat island.

In a collaboration between Rajarata University of Sri Lanka and the University of Tsukuba in Japan, researchers used LANDSAT data to examine surface temperatures in Colombo at different moments during the decades-long process of rapid urbanization. Using temperature measurements from 1997, 2007, and 2017, the study tells the story of a cooler city by the sea, and how it went from a pleasant 25–27°C (77-80.6°F) to a staggering 31°C (87.8°F), or more. The heat maps created by the authors for 1997 are dominated by calming hues of green, but by 2017, a sprawling fungus of red heat spreads its tendrils in every direction. The old-timers weren’t just being nostalgic; in their time, it would indeed have been much, much cooler. 

• "Most normal matter in the universe isn’t found in planets, stars or galaxies – an astronomer explains where it’s distributed"--The Conversation. 

In the new study, published in June 2025, a team of astronomers from Caltech and the Harvard Center for Astrophysics studied 69 fast radio bursts using an array of 110 radio telescopes in California. The team found that 76% of the universe’s normal matter lies in the space between galaxies, with another 15% in galaxy halos – the area surrounding the visible stars in a galaxy – and the remaining 9% in stars and cold gas within galaxies.

Turning Elections Into Existential Threats

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the Obama Regime, has laid out the Democrats' plan for when they return to power, and it can be summed up in one word: revenge. 

    Rice made it clear that any company in any industry that accommodated the Trump administration is going to feel the wrath of the Democrats. Big tech, media, universities, law firms — all of them.  "There will be an accountability agenda," she warned.

    She got specific. Companies, she said, should already be preparing for investigations to come. "They better preserve their documents. They better be ready for subpoenas. If they've done something wrong, they'll be held accountable."

    She offered a small olive branch to those who stayed on the “right” side of things: "If they haven't broken the law, good for them. If they've done the right things, good for them. That also will be noted and remembered."

    But the bottom line was unmistakable. "This is not going to be an instance of, you know, forgive and forget… the damage that these people are doing is too severe to the American people and to our national interest," Rice said.

 This is a big step down the road to civil war.