The New American Based International Order

 Instapundit linked to X post from 10Δ of which it is worth taking note. He begins:

    3 weeks ago I argued the US goal in Iran is to seize the global oil spigot. Venezuela in January -> Iran in February. 

    Neutralize every supply channel outside the dollar system within 90 days. Achieve a compliant successor government and complete energy dominance.
    
    The oil thesis was the obvious layer. However, when you zoom out & view the last four years as a single sequence rather than isolated geopolitical events, the architecture of the grander US plan becomes visible.

He goes on to point out that the Ukraine War, destruction of the Nordstream pipeline, Syria, and Venezuela, all acted to cut off streams of oil and gas that lay outside the control of the United States. And now...

    If Iran falls & a successor government is installed that the US controls or influences (the Delcy model described weeks ago) then roughly 40 to 45 million barrels per day of global production out of 103 million is effectively under US control. OPEC becomes irrelevant because the US coalition is now the marginal producer. Now add the gas dimension & it goes beyond oil. 

    This war is solidifying the petrodollar system as it evolves into a hybrid petro/LNG-dollar. The old system was built on Saudi crude priced in USD. The new system is built on American crude plus American gas from the Gulf Coast, with no alternative supplier of comparable scale. The dependency is deeper because LNG infrastructure requires long term contracts & regasification terminals that lock buyers into supply relationships for decades. Europe & the Pacific allies (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc.) cannot pivot away as there is nowhere left to pivot to. They're now locked into the US energy system.

And its now just Europe and the Pacific. China and Russia are likewise boxed in. He concludes:

    Israel & the [Gulf Cooperation Council countries] are absorbing the kinetic cost of a conflict whose primary beneficiary, counter to the mainstream narrative, is actually America (First). Qatar offline for 5 years reprices the entire global gas market in favor of US exporters for the remainder of the decade. The Gulf states face years of rebuilding. Europe faces its 2nd energy crisis in four years. 

    Sure, the average American might face temporary moderate inflation & higher gas prices. But if you are the architect of the US empire & you view the rise of China & Chinese ASI as an existential winner takes all scenario, the collateral damage is acceptable cost.

    Whoever controls the energy corridors controls the monetary system. Whoever controls the monetary system & the energy supply simultaneously controls the compute infrastructure that determines which civilization builds ASI first.

    The US is seizing all 3.    

A New Front Opened In the Iran War--In The U.S.

• "Brother, sister indicted in alleged IED plot at Florida Air Force base tied to Iran war; 1 suspect in China"--Fox News. A pair of Chinese siblings have been indicted for planting an IED at the Florida CENTCOM base. 

    The FBI said Alen Zheng, who is believed to have planted the device, is currently in China. He is facing charges of attempted damage to government property by fire or explosion, unlawful making of a destructive device and possession of an unregistered destructive device, which carry a potential sentence of up to 40 years in prison.

    FBI Tampa also arrested his sister, Ann Mary Zheng, who is charged with accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence, facing up to 30 years in prison.

 [snip]

 The pair's mother, who admitted to authorities that her son confessed to the plot, is currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody pending deportation for a visa overstay, but has not been criminally charged as of Thursday afternoon.

•  "No Biggie, Just Drone Swarms Shutting Down Our Nuclear Strike Command"--PJ Media.  

    “In the early hours of Operation Epic Fury last month, a deployed [flyaway kit of counter-UAS technologies] successfully detected and defeated sUAS [drones] operating over a strategic U.S. installation,” NORTHCOM chief Gen. Gregory M. Guillot reported to Congress last week.

    But 10 days later on March 9, Barksdale [Air Force Base] implemented a “shelter-in-place” order after another drone incursion, 2nd Bomb Wing spokesman Capt. Hunter Rininger confirmed last week that “multiple unauthorized incursions” have happened since.

    “Between March 9-15, 2026, BAFB Security Forces observed multiple waves of 12-15 drones operating over sensitive areas of the installation, including the flight line, with aircraft displaying non-commercial signal characteristics, long-range control links and resistance to jamming,” a confidential briefing obtained by ABC News said. “After reaching multiple points across the installation, the drones dispersed across sensitive locations on the base.”

    The same briefing claimed that the drones were far more sophisticated than anything consumers can buy off the shelf. 

[snip] 

    According to ABC News, later incursions "lasted around four hours each day and the drones used varied routes of ingress and deliberate maneuvering within restricted airspace," and Barksdale had to suspend [B-52] operations against Iran. It's safe to assume that Barksdale's defenses in some way failed.

Jeff Cooper's Defensive Pistolcraft Videos

I don't know if you have seen this, but a YouTube channel calling itself the Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation has published a couple videos that are from a 1987 video tape series called "Defensive Pistolcraft" which was split into 4 volumes.  Each of the YouTube videos is about an hour and 48 minutes long. I haven't had time to watch them yet (they were only posted a couple days ago) but it looks like the first video has Volumes 1 & 2 and the second video has Volumes 3 & 4.  

 VIDEO: "Jeff Cooper's Defensive Pistolcraft Tape Series - Disk 1"
Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation (1 hr. 47 min.) 

 

 VIDEO: "Jeff Cooper's Defensive Pistolcraft Tape Series - Disk 2"
Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation (1 hr. 49 min.)

The Truck Gun

I recently was looking for articles discussing rifles for preppers and my search turned up several articles on "truck guns." Perhaps it shows my age, but in my lexicon a truck gun was a rifle that was carried--generally by ranchers or farmers--to deal with predators or other nuisance animals, or put down an injured animal. Because of its nature--riding in the gun rack in the back window of a truck for extended periods of time--and risk of it being stolen, it generally would not have been a particularly expensive weapon. Of course during hunting season, when I was kid at least, you would see shotguns or rifles show up in truck gun racks as well, but that was for purpose of transportation and not because the firearm resided in the truck. 

    In our culturally enriched, more urban world, the truck gun concept has reemerged, but in the role of self-defense. Although I came across one author that went with a traditional bolt action rifle, the weapon of choice seems to be a personal defense weapon (PDW)--typically a short-barrel rifle, rifle caliber pistol with a brace, or pistol caliber carbine--no different from those recommended for carrying in a day pack or gym bag. The goal isn't to have a long distance weapon but something offering more firepower--both in terms of the power of the individual round as well as higher magazine capacity--than a concealed carry pistol. 

    I can certainly see the allure. Years ago, there was a news story of some poor soul who had the misfortune to bump his SUV or Minivan--I can't remember which--into the motorcycle of a member of a large troop of motorcyclists that had jammed around the man's vehicle. They pursued him and eventually forced him to stop, got him out of the vehicle and beat him badly. One of the attackers was an off-duty cop. I thought of the limited capacity and power of my concealed carry pistol and considered how wonderful it would be to have something more powerful and with greater magazine capacity like an AR pistol to have in the vehicle. The issue is trying to both carry such a weapon in a low-key manner and be able to easily access it from the driver's seat. 

    The other issue is that old maxim: your car is not a holster. The spread of "shall-issue" and "Constitutional carry" laws have largely killed off the back window gun rack. But you still need to secure the weapon to keep it from being stolen. Yes, you can put locking storage into some vehicles that might be sufficiently secure; but if you don't have that option, you don't want to leave a weapon in your car. In that case, the "truck gun" turns into a "backpack gun" so you can move it into and out of the vehicle. 

    Anyway, just some of my thoughts on the idea of a truck gun. Here are a few articles where a couple authors describe what they did and some of their reasoning:

• "Vehicle Based Weapons – The Thinking Behind Truck Guns"--The Firearm Blog. After discussing the concept and describing his setup, the author concludes:

Truck guns are not a one-stop solution for every situation, but rather another tool at your disposal. If you have a vehicle-based engagement it’s going to still be faster to draw your pistol for those engagements. A truck gun can be a huge benefit and force multiplier in certain situations. These could be in an active shooter event or a situation where there are multiple threats coming after you. Like everything else in life, truck guns aren’t a solution for every situation, but rather is another tool you have at your disposal. ... 

• "Truck Guns, Part 1: From Stagecoaches to Tacomas"--The Firearm Blog. This article covers the general concept, the trade-offs you face with a shorter barrel, and what you want in a truck gun both as to the weapon and accessories.
• "Truck Guns, Part 2: The Stoner Legacy"--The Firearm Blog. This delves into AR-style platforms for use as a modern "truck gun". 
• "Truck Guns Part 3: Defense Fueled by Vodka"--The Firearm Blog.  This one delves into the AK platform and options for the modern "truck gun".

Wilder: Double Debt Bombs

In his piece, "The Double Debt Mountain of 2026," John Wilder discusses the problem of growing consumer debt coupled with growing government debt. An excerpt:

    Total credit card debt hit a record $1.28 trillion in 2025, up $44 billion in just three months.  That’s not a blip:  that’s paying for groceries on credit cards and only paying the minimum monthly payment.  Delinquencies on household debt overall jumped to 4.8 percent, led by the kids.  For people under 39, the transition into serious delinquency on credit cards is nearly double the national average.

    Surveys show 56 percent of Gen Z are forced to use cards just to make ends meet because prices keep climbing.  Sixty-six percent of Millennials say they rely on plastic to get through the month.  Thirty-five percent of Millennials are carrying more than $10,000 in card debt.

    Credit card debt, the gateway drug of insolvency.  Sure, payday lenders and “buy here, pay here” car places are the crack cocaine and meth of debt, but it all starts somewhere.

    Gen Z is running around $3,500 in average balances, while Millennials are pushing $7,000.  They’re not buying yachts or avocado toast, they’re financing groceries, gas, and rent.   

This is why, for most of history, usury was illegal. 

Evolution In Action -- Car Roof Twerking Fool Has Died

From the New York Post: "Half-naked twerking Texas spring breaker hurled from Jeep in viral video has died." 22-year old Michael Brown had been filmed twerking on the roof of a Jeep last week when the Jeep was involved in a collision. Brown may have thought it was funny to flaunt the law, but the laws of physics will not be mocked. "Brown was thrown from the vehicle when the alleged drunk driver of the SUV, Riley Rhoades, smashed into a Tesla during the chaotic joyride," and suffered a catastrophic brain injury. It has now been revealed he died last Friday from his injuries. 

First There Was Cocaine Bear, Now...

 ... there is cocaine shark! From the New York Times: "Cocaine-fueled sharks are on the prowl in the Caribbean — scientists blame partying tourists." 

    To see whether these marine marauders were under the influence, the team had reportedly analyzed blood samples from 85 specimens around Eleuthera, one of the Bahamas’ most remote islands. The subjects were drug-tested for both legal and illegal substances.

    Of the samples, a shocking 28 sharks spanning three species tested positive for drugs, the most common of which was caffeine. This was followed by acetaminophen and diclofenac, the active ingredients in the popular painkillers Tylenol and Voltaren.

    Meanwhile, two of the animals tested positive for cocaine, which researchers attributed to them chomping on drug packets that fell into the water.

    “They bite things to investigate and end up exposed,” study author Natascha Wosnick of the Federal University of Paraná in Brazil, told Science News.

    This reportedly marked the first time cocaine had been detected in sharks in the Bahamas — trace amounts had previously been found in sharks in Brazil — and the first instance of the critters testing positive for caffeine anywhere on Earth.    

I see movie potential here.  

Shocking: Funds for Ukraine May Have Been Diverted To Biden Campaign

PJ Media reports: "In 2022, U.S. spy agencies discovered Ukrainian officials were plotting to divert hundreds of millions in American taxpayer cash meant for clean energy projects to Joe Biden's 2024 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee." The article continues:

    “Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently learned of the intercepts and has asked the U.S. Agency for International Development officials to scour for records to see if the plot actually was carried out and whether a criminal referral should be made to the FBI,” Just the News reports. “Gabbard's team has not found substantive evidence the intercepted allegations were thoroughly investigated during the Biden administration, and the communications are not believed to be tied to Russian disinformation efforts, officials said.”

    Gee, I wonder why the Biden administration didn’t investigate the funneling of millions of dollars to the Biden campaign?

    "The Ukrainian Government and unspecified U.S. Government personnel, through USAID in Kyiv, reportedly developed a plan that would provide hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund an infrastructure project for Ukraine that would be used as a cover to send approximately 90% of funds allocated to the DNC to fund Joe Biden’s reelection campaign,” the report reads.

VIDEOS: Walking Up And Downhill

Warmer weather means that its getting time to be heading back into the mountains and forest. And, to me, that means hiking. 

The first video below offers advice on climbing slopes to make it easier and demonstrates the same, including proper placement of the foot relative to your knee and using a zig-zagging path. Of course, what goes up must come down, so he finished the video with some advice on walking down the hill (specifically keeping your knees slightly bent to better absorb force as you walk downhill). 

The second video goes into more detail into walking down a slope and what to not do and how to correctly take your steps. And thinking about it, I realize that I often do incorrect things when descending a slop, such as side-stepping. He recommends that you always face the direction you are moving, which may require a zig-zag path.   

The importance of all this is to reduce strain on different parts and components of your body in order to avoid injury.  

 VIDEO: "Walk up hills without getting tired"
The Map Reading Company (7 min.)

 VIDEO: "How To Walk Downhill"
The Map Reading Company (7 min.)

Skyfall Mars Mission

Skyfall is a proposed NASA mission to Mars that would carry and deploy three helicopters to scout the surface in preparation for possible future manned missions. 

    The Skyfall helicopters will carry cameras and ground-penetrating radar to scout a future landing site, to understand the slopes and hazards for human-scale landers," Steve Sinacore, the program executive for NASA's Space Reactors Office, said during the briefing.

    "They will also map and characterize the subsurface water ice to find out where the water ice deposits are, along with the size, depth and other important characteristics," he added.   

But that isn't all that is exciting about the mission. The spacecraft carrying the helicopters to Mars--the SR-1 Freedom--will make use of nuclear electric propulsion (NEP). Specifically, it will use a nuclear reactor to generate electricity which will then power electric thrusters. 

If goes according to plan, the mission will launch in December 2028 and arrive at Mars about a year later. And that might not be the end of the line for SR-1 Freedom; NASA may decide to keep flying the spacecraft out into the solar system after it deploys the Skyfall choppers, according to Sinacore. The mission architecture, like much of NASA's exploration portfolio, is not yet finalized.