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. 

SCOTUS Sides With Deep State On Tariffs

One of the most effective tools Trump has used in negotiating with foreign powers--including returning jobs to the U.S.--has been the imposition of tariffs. But, as NBC reports, "Supreme Court strikes down most of Trump's tariffs in a major blow to the president." The ruling only struck down the tariffs imposed by Trump pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), with the majority holding that the IEEPA did not grant the power to impose tariffs. However, tariffs under other laws have been allowed to stand. Of course, now everyone that paid the tariffs wants their money back and who knows how that is going to impact the treasury. There are, however, plenty of other statutes under which the President could impose tariffs. 

Aliens and Trolling

Last week, Barack Obama stated that aliens (the extraterrestrial kind) were real and then, within a day or two, walked back his comment by suggesting that it was statistically likely they existed given the size of the universe. Trump then interjected himself into the issue by suggesting that Obama had broken secrecy laws. From the New York Post:

    “He gave classified information, he’s not supposed to be doing that,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

    “I don’t know if they’re real or not, but I can tell you he gave classified information.”

    “He made a big mistake,” Trump went on. “He took it out of classified information. No, I don’t have an opinion on it. I never talk about it. A lot of people do. A lot of people believe it.” 

 [snip]

    Trump has claimed that presidents have the power to declassify anything and suggested he could spare Obama by exercising that power.

    “I may get him out of trouble by declassifying,” Trump said. 

 And, true to his word, Trump ordered the disclosure of files on UFOs and UAPs:

“Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social.

I wouldn't expect much in the way of bombshell evidence. If there were aliens and we had some of their technology or dealings with them, it will be withheld or redacted on national security grounds; and if there aren't aliens but the reports might reveal secret projects or methods of monitoring aircraft (or submersible craft) those will also be withheld or redacted on national security grounds. In any event, what we get will be a sanitized version of incidents just like Project Bluebook, except updated. For instance, they might admit that sightings of mysterious "triangular" UFOs were actually stealth aircraft prior to the existence of those aircraft being publicly acknowledged.  

    Today's Anonymous Conservative news brief has more about this issue, including comments from other officials, if you are interested.  

Not As Sexy As Guns But Just As Important

If you are a student of history, you are likely aware that until fairly recently, most wartime casualties were caused by dysentery due to poor hygiene and waste management. The same issues will show up after a major disaster if infrastructure is not timely restored. The recent sewage spill in D.C. is just an example of what could happen if infrastructure were destroyed due to a disaster or war. The D.C. area was fortunate that this occurred during an extreme cold snap because the ice on the Potomac River slowed the spread of the spill. It would have been a much different situation in summer.

    In "Sanitation: The Often Overlooked Necessity" from The Prepper Journal, the author explains:

    ... Without proper sanitation, a person who has food, water and a secure shelter can still perish.

    There are a number of aspects for proper sanitation that any prepper needs to consider. The simplest items for something like a Bug Out Bag can include hand sanitizing liquid, bleach wipes, water purification pills and an instant use purifier like a LifeStraw.

    Benzalconium wipes that aren’t expired are guaranteed to kill many severe viruses that average household disinfectants can’t touch, so having a supply of those for cuts is going to give you an edge that alcohol swabs can’t provide. A roll of toilet paper is also a must and for ladies, a supply of feminine hygiene products, in case that time coincides with the end times. 

But the article goes beyond bugging out:

    A simple bucket can become your best friend in a survival scenario. Using a toilet without being able to flush can lead to serious health concerns, especially if multiple people are using it. As it fills, the amount of germs becoming airborne increases. This is not safe at all. Having a plan can change that.

    Using a bucket gives you the opportunity to throw your waste in an area outside of your shelter. Rather than using the bucket itself, it is far better to keep a box of garbage bags available to line the bucket. It will make disposal easier and prevent accidental spills. A bucket filled with garbage bags, soap and toilet paper rolls is easy to tuck away in a closet and it will make a drastic difference in your ability to maintain sanitary conditions.

There's more, so be sure to read the whole thing.

Diversity is a Strength: Potomac Sewage Spill

As you probably already know, about 243.5 million gallons of raw sewage have poured into the Potomac since a January 19 sewer line rupture, according to DC Water, the utility in charge of the line. 

    I know others are pointing out DC Water's commitment to diversity, equity and "inclusion" but I thought I would throw this in from DC Water's website, bragging: "At DC Water, we just don’t 'do' diversity. Our mission is to reflect diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our how the Authority conducts its business." And a couple articles about how committed DC Water was to DEI:

• "DC Water’s CEO Oversaw $520 Million In DEI Contracts — And The Biggest Sewage Spill In US History"--Daily Caller. DC Water CEO David Gadis came to DC Water after serving "as executive vice president of Veolia North America and CEO of Veolia Water Indianapolis — the utility’s first black CEO and the first black executive to lead a major Indianapolis utility, according to his bio." And what did he do there? Apparently oversaw the coverup of high lead levels in the water for Flint, Michigan, according to the article. 
• "Watch: DC Water Manager Admitted Deciding Agency Had Too Many Whites - DEI Fixed That But Also Covered DC in 240 Million Gallons of Raw Sewage"--Western Journal.  Gadis is now blaming the spill on aging infrastructure, but back in 2022--four years after he was put in charge of the utility--his primary concern was that there were not enough POC and women in management positions, a situation he was working to change. 

Vehicular and Gun Attack on White Family--The Rest of the Story

Perusing Western Rifle Shooter's Association this morning, I came across a citation to a post from Tactical Hermit about an incident in Michigan where a black man had run down a family with his car and then shot and killed a three year old. The Tactical Hermit described the incident as "unreported" and that seems to be largely true. We know if the races had been reversed, every major media outlet would have been screaming to high heaven about it and armies of talking heads would have been discussing "systemic racism" and the like. But coverage seems to be limited to local reporting or relegated to the figurative back pages of national outlets if reported at all.

    CBS News - Detroit reported yesterday:

    A 21-year-old Delta Township, Michigan, man is accused of killing a child and injuring three adults after he hit a family with his vehicle who was out for a walk and then fired a weapon, authorities said.   

    On Tuesday, Alexander Lamar Banks Jr. was charged with homicide, four counts of felony firearm, three counts of assault with intent to murder, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent and possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle. 

    Eaton County deputies say that a family was out for a walk around 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 near Green Meadows and Farmstead Lane in Delta Township when a vehicle struck the family. The driver then got out of his vehicle and fired numerous shots toward them, according to authorities. A bystander who tried to help was also attacked and seriously injured, deputies said. 

    A suspect was located by deputies and taken into custody with the help of the Michigan State Police. 

    A 3-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene, deputies said. 

    A 72-year-old woman was taken to an area hospital, where she was listed in critical condition, authorities said. A 37-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman were also hospitalized.    

No description of the offender or motive. WILX-10 News has more details in its article, also from yesterday, entitled: "Delta Twp. shooting suspect told police he attacked family because he received threats online, court records say." Don't let the headline mislead you--Banks did not receive any threats from his victims. Instead, he supposedly received anonymous instructions that he had to kill someone to save his family; he is, consequently, undergoing a competency evaluation. The article also has more information about the attack:

    Police have reviewed doorbell footage from a neighbor’s home that shows Banks in a gray sedan intentionally driving into the family before getting out with a 12-gauge shotgun and opening fire, according to the probable cause affidavit.

    The document says Banks was seen running from the car and taking the shotgun out of a backpack. He then returned to the backpack and reloaded the gun and began firing again.

    He also began punching the girl’s parents and grabbed the mother by her hair “and began pulling it as if he was trying to break her neck,” according to the affidavit.

    Banks then allegedly hit the 72-year-old woman with a shotgun, according to the documents. A sheriff’s deputy found a 12-gauge shotgun in the front yard and multiple spent shotgun shells were found at the scene.

[snip]

    The affidavit says Banks admitted to police that he tried to intentionally hit the family. He told investigators that he had been receiving threats online telling him “he had to kill someone to save his family,” the affidavit says.

    He told police he filled a backpack with shotgun shells the day before the attack and took the shotgun from his father’s room and hid it in the garage. Then on Friday, he “took the backpack and shotgun and left the house in his father’s car,” the affidavit says.

    “He drove around the block in his neighborhood a couple times and saw a family walking down the street. Banks Jr. advised that he crashed into the family, intentionally trying to strike the male,” the document reads. “Banks Jr. advised that he got out of the vehicle, grabbed the shotgun, and began shooting at the family he just crashed into. He then began beating a male with the shotgun and then an older female who came running towards him. Banks Jr. said he dropped the shotgun and fled on foot.” 

E-Book: LDS Preparedness Manual

Prepping involves a lot of self-education on a wide variety of topics. The prepper often needs to be a true Renaissance Man or Woman. I have books on specific topics, but it also helps to have books that collect together a multitude of prepping topics to show how things fit together or remind you of items that you may have overlooked or not thought about.  

    One of these "generalist" prepping books is the the LDS Preparedness Manual (PDF) (Version 8.0 - 2012). I've linked to this book before, but to an earlier version. This 2012 edition is the latest version. It is also available through Amazon or from the publisher if you would prefer a bound version. Of you can print the PDF and put it in a 3-ring binder for easy reference.  

    I would note that although this volume indicates is the second volume ("Handbook 2") of a set: the first volume was intended for leaders of a church ward or stake (similar to a parish and diocese, respectively) whereas the second volume--the one linked to above--is for individuals and families. However, comparing the table of contents between the two, it appears that Handbook 1 and Handbook 2 cover many of the same topics.

    And speaking of topics, the Handbook 2 covers various topics:

• Why prepare?
• Mental and spiritual preparedness.
• Food storage--what to store and how to cook it (this is by far the bulk of the book)
• 72-Hour Kits and Bug-Out Kits
• Evacuation
• Communication
• Financial topics
• Storing medicines and what medicines to store.
• Defense.
• Heating, cooking and lighting.
• Clothing.
• Emergency shelter.
• Sanitation.
• Testing your preparations.
• Special considerations for babies and children.
• Articles and preparations for pandemics.
• Prepare for terrorist/nuclear attacks.
• Miscellaneous articles on various topics.  

At 500 pages, it is able to cover a lot of topics fairly well, and some topics to a great depth. For instance, the food storage section runs from page 44 to page 157 by itself. The article on "A High-Mobility 72 Hour Kit" is one of the best and most detailed explanations of what to pack and why for bugging out and organizing it in a easy way by layers: (1) your clothes and what to carry on your person; (2) a sling bag and its contents; (3) a small backpack (something the size of an assault pack) and what to carry in it; (4) individual weapons and tools; and (5) tools for your vehicle. And there is a detailed checklist of items to take for bugging out as well as things to do before you bug out. For staying at home, there is a detailed list of items to have on hand for everything from clothing to communications, important documents to entertainment and educational supplies, medicines, kitchen supplies, and more. 

    In such an expansive volume, there are a few sections that are a bit weak. Being a gun-guy and interested in self-defense, I tend to check out the articles or chapters pertaining to such topics. In this case I felt the two articles on defense and defensive firearms were underwhelming. The article on "Defense" was obviously written by someone that either (a) didn't know much about the topic or (b) didn't believe it appropriate to share useful information to the general public. The article on selecting preparedness firearms was better, but reminded me of Tappan's book on survival guns by recommending too many firearms for too many individual tasks. 

    The intended audience are member of the LDS Church and consequently there are references to scripture and teachings of past Church authorities. But the vast majority of the book is going to be useful to anyone interested in prepping. Certainly, it appears to be a valuable resource for anyone getting into prepping and has a lot of articles and checklists that would be useful to the experienced prepper.