Gun & Preppings News #90

 Some links that may be of interest: 

• "Pistols in America Across 250 Years"--Guns & Ammo. With the quote of the day: "Free men own guns, and there’s perhaps no better symbol than a handgun to distinguish an American from another person living elsewhere in the world."
• "Reducing Violent Crime Isn’t Complicated, You Just Have to Want to Do It"--Shooting News Weekly. The author mentions the general points: "Governments must make crime riskier by increasing arrests and convictions, imposing longer prison sentences, and allowing law-abiding citizens to defend themselves." But he also points out:

Nor is it a coincidence that the record influx of illegal immigrants during the Biden administration coincided with a sharp increase in violent crime. It is equally unsurprising that crime has fallen as deportations have increased. Deportation records show that 70 percent of illegal immigrants deported during the Trump administration had either criminal convictions or pending criminal charges in the United States. Even those who avoid arrest understand that any contact with law enforcement could lead to deportation, giving them a strong incentive to stay off the police’s radar and avoid committing additional crimes.

• "Holding Zero: A Case Study of Your Scope's Nemesis"--Rifleshooter Magazine. The author notes:

The inability to get a rifle sighted in can come from several sources. Your rifle could have a problem. Or it just may not like the loads you’re feeding it. It could—(shocking thought!)—even be you, the shooter, that’s inconsistent. However, scope and scope mounting-system issues are frequently the culprit, and that’s what we’re here to explore in this article. 

And:

    Good bases and rings do hold quality scopes precisely in place. Not just for a while, but as hundreds, even thousands of shots create mini earthquakes.

    However, some scopes just won’t hold zero, and some bases and rings just won’t hold tight. Usually, that’s because they’re either cheap (let’s call it what it is), or they’ve been improperly mounted. Either is extremely frustrating. Both must be resolved before the rifle can perform properly.

    What causes scopes, scope rings, or bases to come loose? There are a variety of possibilities, but the most common ones are recoil—when a scope is mounted improperly—and vibration. As in, vibration in the belly of an airplane, or the rifle case mounted to your ATV, or behind the seat of your pickup. 

• And on the topic of precision shooting: "AR-15 Precision Long Range Shooting Basics"--AR Build Junkie.  An interview of Former Army Ranger sniper team leader, Ryan Cleckner, who is also the author of Long Range Shooting Handbook. There are also links to a few videos on long range shooting. And for those interested into getting into precision shooting with an AR, Cleckner says: "With long-range ARs, I would only worry about the barrel and the trigger.  Even if you have a budget AR and you just want to upgrade some parts and you put a decent quality barrel on it and a nice trigger, you are going to be fine." He has some more advice on upgrading an AR, so be sure to read the whole thing.

• Something that may be of interest to those of you with military surplus rifles: "Barrel Harmonics: How Shooting With a Bayonet Attached Affects Accuracy"--Shooting News Weekly. The author explains:

    Any person with knowledge and experience shooting precision rifles — or just shooting rifles precisely — knows that when a shot is fired, the barrel flexes and then returns to its original state in a fraction of a second. That’s called “barrel harmonics.” There are plenty of super slo-mo videos online that demonstrate this. 

    During a precision rifle course our instructor had us deliberately take shots with our bolt-action precision rifles and then stick them through a section of chainlink fence with the barrels purposely resting on the fence to see if our point of impact changed. Spoiler alert, the impacts were off dramatically. Our ½-size steel silhouette targets were around 200 yards away if memory serves. 

He then tested the shift caused by mounting bayonets on an AR15 and an AK style rifle: specifically, a Springfield Armory SA-16 (a semi-auto clone of the M16A2) and a Century Arms BFT-556 (a 5.56mm AK 74 style rifle). With the bayonet mounted, the SA-16 went from a 0.68 inch 5-shot group at 25 meters to 2.3 inches; and the group printed about 3 inches above point of aim. The BFT-556 had a 2.36 inch group at 25 yards without the bayonet; and, according to the author, the group size showed only a 0.5 inch different with the bayonet mounted, and the group only moved 1.5 inches higher. The author concludes:

    When we do our rifle ballistics math and extrapolate how a one-inch group at 100 yards translates to 2 inches at 200, etc., a 3-inch rise in impact between 25 and 50 yards translates to 6 inches of rise at 100 and a full 12 inches at 200. Being 12 inches off at 200 yards could definitely translate to missed targets.

    To be fair, we wouldn’t likely fix bayonets if we knew we were engaging targets beyond 100 yards. The cold steel of a bayonet is intended for up close and personal work. In a close quarters battle environment like the jungle or a MOUT situation, we expect targets to easily be inside of 100 yards.

    It’s safe to say that adding bayonets to fighting rifles negatively affects accuracy in longer distance shooting. However, for CQB situations, having a chunk of lethal steel affixed to the end of your barrel wouldn’t have such a negative effect on accuracy as to preclude its use. Just be sure to take it off — or take it into account — before engaging anything at greater distances.  

• "Unbreakable? Not Quite: Common AK Failure Points"--The Firearm Blog. Not surprisingly, these include the extractor claw and spring, fire control group springs, recoil springs, firing pin issues, bolt wear, rivet problems, cracked trunnions, gas block wear, ejector wear, and corrosion. I will comment from experience that there are many nooks and crannies where water can collect in an AK which are hard to reach with a rag to absorb the water. I would recommend that when returning from the field using an air compressor and/or hair dryer to blow out the water and dry the weapon. 
• "A Reliable, Affordable AR-Style Shotgun: The Tokarev TT-12 PRO"--Shooting Wire. What caught my attention about this was the author's assertion that this shotgun was reliable. Oh, and the price: an MSRP of $399, but the author claims that the street price is running about $250. 
• "Concealed Carry Corner: Concealing On A Motorcycle"--The Firearm Blog.  An excerpt:

The big difference between carrying in a regular car and a motorcycle is the fact that you're exposed to the outside world and elements while on a motorcycle, so there aren't many places to just outright hide your handgun. Not only do you have to worry about keeping your handgun concealed, but you also have to keep in mind that moving around and leaning on your bike can cause different strain on your holster than what's typically normal for carrying concealed. When going at highway speed, it's common for shirts to ride up in the wind without a heavier vest to keep things in place. It's important to think about where your handgun is positioned and if there's a chance of it being exposed at higher speeds when on the highway. 

•  "Pocket Pistols Are Dead: Here's Why You're Wrong"--Handguns Magazine. The author notes:

As we have laid out, you have 4 extremely general categories of pistols to choose from for CCW. So, if you’re choosing one of the extremes in a pocket pistol, how is it relevant in 2026? Maybe your occupation doesn’t allow for a pistol on your waist - not necessarily in a legal sense - but potentially because you are in a trade like carpentry, plumbing, etc., where your waist already has a toolbelt taking up all of the real estate around your waist. So, you need to resort to more creative methods of carry like your pocket.

He also explains:

    The primary scenarios where a pocket pistol may be a good application for you would be formal attire, hot weather, or extenuating circumstances at your job. We have already painted the picture for your job. You might have a carpentry belt around your waist, work in an office where a hip-carried firearm could be accidentally brandished, or other instances that demand your pistol should reside in your pocket.

    Another opportunity to pocket carry is while donning a suit and tie. Professional wear is often tight-fitting and doesn’t take into account the possibility for concealed carry. So, if you force it, it can be tremendously uncomfortable as well as open the door for scaring your co-workers or friends who have delicate sensibilities.

    Finally, there are the oppressively hot times in the summer where you’re only wearing a thin T-shirt and shorts. This type of clothing gives you a cooling factor in hotter temps but doesn’t lend itself well to carrying a firearm.

• Speaking of pocket pistols: "Phlster Introduces Enigma Micro For Pocket Pistols"--The Firearm Blog.
• "Big Woods Bucks x Henry Repeating Arms Long Ranger Big Woods Carbine"--The Firearm Blog.  Henry has produced an 18.5" barrel version of their .308 Long Ranger lever action rifle intended for hunting in dense woods. It still uses a 4-round detachable box magazine. 
• Since these are a type of insurrection, I believe it is a topic to which preppers should pay attention: "The Scourge of Teen Takeovers"--City Journal.  Key point:

    Police officers, district attorneys, and sheriffs offer a different explanation for the teen takeovers: they are the consequence of a decades-long demonization of the criminal-justice system.

    Asked how the Chicago Police Department would have responded to a stampede on the Magnificent Mile before that demonization took hold, a recently retired officer with over 30 years on the force replied: “We would have cleared the streets, arrested those breaking windows, looting stores, and assaulting passersby. We would have used pepper spray, fists, and batons to restore order—all of which we did during the Bulls riots [in 1992], the Democratic National Convention in 1996, NATO, and other localized disturbances that didn’t make the news.”

    But then, he says, “the bottom fell out. Officers were cast as the enemy by eight years of Obama.” After the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, followed by those of Laquan McDonald in Chicago that same year and of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015, “we were cleaning spit off our windshields on a daily basis. We were physically attacked more during those years than at any other point in our careers.” Officers feared being sued for lawful tactics that make for bad optics.

    The cops disengaged. “We drove by the dope sellers on the corner, asked no questions of the juveniles who were clearly up to no good, and ignored the cars running stop signs and weaving through traffic.” Better just to do your eight hours and go home.

    Another retired Chicago cop recalls asking his commanders in 2010 when mobs were storming downtown: Can we make arrests? He was told: just hold the line and move them around. Even were the officers to engage, the chance that the average detained teen would face serious consequences was already low.

    In the 1990s and early 2000s, officers had a protective attitude toward business; they took responsibility for the well-being of shopkeepers and their customers, says a Chicago sergeant still on the job. “It’s different now.”

    And then, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd died while restrained by a Minneapolis officer. The country’s elites proclaimed that systemic racism had killed Floyd. Politicians and business leaders rushed to explain the ensuing firebombing of police cars and stations, the attempted murder of police officers, and the destruction of businesses as an understandable, even justifiable, reaction to police oppression.

    The post-Floyd race-riot era is largely coterminous with the Covid era: lockdowns began in late March 2020, and the riots erupted at the end of May. That overlap has allowed policing skeptics to attribute the crime spike that began in 2020 to Covid rather than to de-policing and de-prosecution. Those same skeptics now apply the argument to teen takeovers as well.

    The rest of the world again provides a useful benchmark. Other countries did not experience a comparable surge in crime beginning in 2020, just as they did not experience a wave of teen takeovers. The United States experienced both because police and prosecutors shied away further from imposing consequences on antisocial behavior.

    The juvenile-justice system was similarly emasculated in the twenty-first century, for much the same reason as the adult system: to avoid disparate impact. The Obama administration sued school districts for disparities in school-discipline rates between black students and white students. Suspensions and expulsions plummeted. Rather than being punished, insubordinate pupils were directed to “peace circles” and other forms of restorative justice.

    Outside the school bureaucracy, cities and states loosened their already-permissive rules for holding juveniles accountable for crimes. From 2008, when Barack Obama was first elected president, through 2021, the rate at which black male juveniles received final dispositions for violent offenses fell 67 percent, according to the National Center for Juvenile Justice. It is unlikely that this decline in adjudications reflected a 67 percent drop in violent crime among black juveniles, given victimization data and the reports of police officers. Instead, budding criminals were increasingly kept out of the juvenile system altogether, whether their misconduct occurred in schools or on the streets. Those who did enter the system encountered increasingly permissive rules.

VIDEO: Could The UK Stop Argentina From Invading The Falklands

I was in high school when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in the 1980s. At that time, Argentina was able to quickly take the largely undefended islands--the UK had no permanent military presence there--but the UK was able to assemble a military task force that was able to defeat Argentina at sea, achieve air superiority, and land troops who were able to recapture the islands.

The situation is different today. The British keep a small wing of fighters and some infantry on the islands, as well as an air defense system. And both countries can no longer deploy the air or navel assets they were able to in the 1980s. Thus, Mark Felton does not believe that Argentina currently is able to take the Falkland Islands; but neither could the UK send a taskforce to stop them. 

But Argentina is looking at increasing its military capabilities while the UK continues to let its military erode away. 

My take away from this video, though, was not primarily the current capabilities of the two sides, but the impoverishment of both the UK and Argentina in that they could no longer afford the militaries that they had in the 1980s. But the same holds true of most nations and their militaries. 

VIDEO: "Will Argentina Invade the Falklands? And Can Britain Stop Them?"
Mark Felton Productions (19 min.)

The National Security Threat Posed By UFOs

The UFO files released by the government demonstrate something that can circumvent our air defense systems and enter "secure" air space with ease. Moreover, because of institutional reluctance to report UFOs, Cappy warns that a foreign adversary mimicking a UFO would be ignored by air defense.  

 VIDEO: "The Pentagon’s New UFO Files Are Terrifying"
Cappy Army (23 min.)

Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Traced To Lettuce From Mexico

The New York Post reports that the Cyclosporiasis outbreak has been traced to products distributed by Taylor Farms:

    Taylor Farms, which is based in Salinas and has a facility in central Mexico, was identified as a possible source of tainted iceberg lettuce connected to the summer outbreak of cyclosporiasis, The Washington Post reported, citing two individuals with knowledge of the investigation.

    Taylor Farms, described on its website as a leading producer of salad kits, vegetable trays, cheese packs and other snack items, also supplies iceberg lettuce to Taco Bell — which investigators have linked to the diarrhea outbreak.

    A statement from California Department of Public Health noted that a federal investigation into the outbreak involves shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Taylor Farms emphasized that although the lettuce was sourced from a single "independent farm" in Mexico, it is recalling all of its iceberg lettuce products sourced from the region. 

Trump's Address About Election Integrity And Implications

Being bedridden after my heart attack, I was pretty much stuck watching television, so I was able to catch most of Trump's speech yesterday evening. The speech started out like a mini-State of the Union, touting various accomplishments, before moving on to the substance and primary point: the 2020 election was hacked by foreign powers and he has the evidence to back it up. Town Hall sums up the salient points:

    The documents highlight major areas of concern. Starting in 2020, Beijing carried out the largest-ever compromise of election data. Some 220 million American voters' files were meddled with by Chinese intelligence services. China signed a data exploitation unit for this project. 

   Members of the Deep State within the IC worked to suppress and downplay the scope and impact of China’s election interference. U.S. spy agencies discovered that the voter data breach in 18 states was bought, stolen, or hacked by China. That breach was kept hidden; Trump, who was still president at the time, was not informed, nor was Congress. The line was that the 2020 election was the most secure in history. 

   CIA reported in mid-2018 that the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy was to leverage all domestic and foreign elements opposed to Trump. In mid-2019, China’s approach was to undermine domestic confidence during the first Trump presidency. The Chinese government aimed to identify anti-Trump reporters and pay them large sums of money to produce stories that cast Trump in a negative light.

    The FBI obtained raw intelligence indicating that China’s activities included efforts to produce illegal ballots for Joe Biden. These were kept out of the presidential briefing. One analyst admitted to intentionally downplaying Chinese election activities. Another official stated she was running a shadow government to keep intelligence on China’s election interference away from the media and the White House. Numerous burn bags have been found. 

    Americans were lied to about the security of our election systems, including voting machines. They’re highly susceptible to attack. Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and non-state actors have the ability to compromise our election infrastructure. 

    Michigan police raided a Democrat GOTV organization and were so concerned they contacted the FBI in Detroit. The documents state that canvassers signed voter registration forms in other people’s names, registered nonexistent individuals, and got paid based on the number of applications they produced. The FBI believed crimes were committed, but the Biden DOJ slow-walked and suppressed the case. 

    Trump also said they’re releasing a report from the Department of Homeland Security, where they found 270,000 noncitizens are enrolled to vote in our elections. The real number is likely higher since blue states refused to turn over their voter rolls. 

 You can view the documents here.

     Just looking at the bare bone facts and accusations above, there are two main conclusions that can be taken away from this:

1. Our foreign adversaries have hacked our elections and probably altered the outcome of the 2020 election; and,
2. The intelligence community knew of this and not only did nothing, but concealed the fact from the President and the public. 

But there is more to it than that. You probably remember the 50 intelligence officials that signed the letter saying that the Hunter Biden laptop was fake. This shows that, in at least that one incident, the intelligence community actively intervened to influence the outcome of the election. We also know that they were trying to cover up what exactly went on based on the numerous burn bags that have been found which hadn't been destroyed. We can only assume that these represent only a small number of the total amount of documents and things earmarked for destruction. 

    But there is no reason to assume that it stopped with the intelligence community simply sitting back to let China do this. What comes up again and again, whether discussing the information released by Snowden about domestic spying, how the Russia dossier was arranged, and even the gain of function research carried out by Fauci, is that our government agencies often use cut-outs to do what they are not otherwise allowed to do. 

    For instance, the Five Eyes program is used to allow intelligence agencies to avoid laws prohibiting domestic spying by simply allowing a foreign intelligence agency to do the spying for them. Thus, if the NSA wants to spy on an American citizen, they simply have British or Canadian intelligence do the spying for them. 

    And we know that Fauci was doing gain of function research he was prohibited by law from doing by backdooring it through a Chinese biolab and award of contracts or grants to private companies. 

    My point with this is that we need to consider whether the intelligence community did not just bury foreign interference with U.S. elections, but actually solicited and/or directed that interference for their own ends. 

Weekend Reading #65

 Some lengthier reading for the weekend:

•  First up is Jon Low's most recent Defensive Pistolcraft newsletter. A few things that stuck out:
• Jon has linked to a 3-part series of articles by Matt Thornton entitled "The ABC’s of keeping our daughters safe." I liked this quote: "When it comes to the majority of problematic violence, masculinity is never the problem – a lack of masculine fathers in the home, is." His recipe for keeping his daughters safe is raising daughters that are (i) confident, (ii) assertive, and (iii) have mature intelligence. He goes on to explain:

Assertiveness requires confidence, and confidence in girls comes from a safe, stable, loving, connected, family environment. Where as sons need boundaries to keep in line, daughters need boundaries just to feel safe. Young girls who grow up without that feeling of safety, the kind of safety that a strong father maintains, are less likely to develop the trust and connection required to tell an adult when someone is trying to harm them. They become vulnerable to sexual predators and character-disordered creeps. They become more likely to be picked out as targets, and less likely to fight back. They become victims.

Note that leftism and feminism, if followed, creates women that will be victims. On that same note, Jon relates the following story (which he titles "Scared Bunny"):

     You need training because it will change your personality, your attitude, and of course, your behavior.  Especially, if you display scared bunny behavior.  

     Scared Bunny hears knocking on her door at 21:00.  What would you do?  Typically, you would not open your door.  You would ask, "Who is there?  What can I do for you?"  And go from there.  

     Scared Bunny does not answer the door.  She fears a home invasion.  So she calls the police.  As you might imagine, this leads to a horrible chain of events.  

     The neighbor was only trying to deliver mail that had been mistakenly delivered to his apartment.  The police charge the neighbor based on Scared Bunny's complaint.  So, the neighbor has to hire an attorney.  Huge expense.  The process is the punishment.  

     Scared Bunny complains to her friend (another resident of the apartment complex) and asks him to talk to the neighbor.  The friend thanks the neighbor for delivering the mail and tells the neighbor that in the future he may leave the mail on the welcome mat.  

     Scared Bunny calls the apartment manager to complain.  And runs her mouth (always a dangerous activity).  Mentioning that she had asked her friend, who is a firearms instructor to tell the neighbor not to bother her.  

     The apartment manager writes a letter, based on Scared Bunny's statements, telling the friend not to confront, intimidate, and threaten other residents.  And of course, that his lease is being terminated.  So he has to hire an attorney to handle the landlord-tenant action.  

     All of Scared Bunny's girlfriends tell her that she was right and that she behaved correctly.  Because Scared Bunny only associates with other Scared Bunnies.  

    Get training.  Don't be a Scared Bunny.  

The lesson here is to not unnecessarily interact with or help liberal women--they are crazy. 

• Another article Jon links to is: "He Had a Gun and Still Lost His Home Invasion Gunfight"
  by Jacob Paulsen. The gist of the story is that the dead victim had a gun, but not on him. He had to go find a gun in an upstairs bedroom. Although the victim got to his weapon and even exchanged fire with the attacker, he probably was shot trying to get his weapon. I've heard similar incidents, including one author describing a home defender shot in the back and killed as the defender was trying to open his gun safe to get to his weapon. Paulsen has a few recommendations:

• Carry on your body, even at home.
• Train for the attacker who doesn't flee.
• Know your cover. Stage it in advance.
• Have a plan for your family and the phone, not just the trigger.

•  Jon links to an article indicating that a judge is allowing a lawsuit to go ahead against the ATF for the death of Bryan Malinowski. Jon offers some thoughts about Malinowski's murder and the ATF. And, on a related note, Jon makes the following observation:

      This is why there is any support at all for "defund the police".  (Yes, it is crazy, but the effect has a cause.)  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5-uz39pAGVs  The process is the punishment and police (not the prosecutors, not the courts) initiate it.  This is why people are willing to kill cops to avoid arrest.  They know the result of being arrested:  loss of job, loss of children, loss of home, loss of reputation, etc.  And they are willing to take the risk because the probability of getting caught for the crime is about 50% (nation wide average, much lower in large cities).   

     Police alienate the good citizens by abusing their arrest powers.  False arrests directly cause protests and riots against police abuse of power under color of law.  

•  There is a lot more, so be sure to check it out, but I would leave it with this: Jon has links to a few videos addressing security and your cell phone, including a short video showing how Volkswagon spoofed the cell phones of the audience in a movie theater; how the FBI finds your real IP address even if using TOR or a VPN (and offering some solutions). I would also note the following article from PC Magazine: "A Hacker's Arrest Reveals Microsoft Can Track Users Via a Windows Device ID." From the article:

    The arrest of a teenage hacker has revealed that Microsoft can track a Windows PC and its online activity through a “Global Device ID" that seems to have no easy opt-out, sparking fears about potential surveillance. 

    Last week, the US announced it had extradited 19-year-old Peter Stokes from Europe for allegedly being a member of the notorious hacking group Scattered Spider. But the case stands out because Microsoft played a key role in linking Stokes to the suspected hacking crimes, according to an unsealed criminal complaint. 

    Stokes allegedly hacked an unnamed luxury jewelry retailer in May 2025 while using a VPN. The 39-page criminal complaint shows the FBI used Microsoft records to discover that his IP address was associated with a Microsoft device identifier known as Global Device ID (GDID). 

• Next up is Greg Ellifritz's Weekend Knowledge Dump at his Active Response Training blog.  The first thing that caught my attention was this warning from Greg (bold added): "An industry insider informed me that both Federal and Winchester will be raising their ammunition prices six percent starting August first." Moving on to the links and articles that I found the most interesting or useful:
• An article discussing different defensive shotguns and offering some advice on selecting one. Contrary to many such articles in the past, the quality control issues with Remington has led the author to recommend against the Remington 870 unless you get an older, used model.
• An article about the possibility of brain injury due to repeated, long term exposure of overpressure from using firearms. For instance, the article notes, "Twenty (20) rounds from an M4 exceed the daily recommended maximum exposure." The primary concern is shooting inside shoot houses or indoor shooting ranges; the article notes that, for instance: "Shooting outdoors cuts those waves in half. While the use of a suppressor cuts it by 70%." Large shooting glasses or goggles can also reduce pressure peaks, as well as hanging wool blankets (or tapestries?) inside the shoot house.
• An article from the CP Journal on examining the collective mood of people in a particular business or locale and using that to gauge safety.
• An article on "How to Overcome 'Condition One' Anxiety," or the anxiety that comes from carrying a weapon with a round chambered. I think the article sort of misses the point. The anxiety comes from either (i) the person carrying the weapon lacks confidence that the weapon will not go off of its own accord; or (ii) the person carrying the weapon lacks confidence that they won't do something stupid and accidentally discharge the weapon. Certainly training plays some role in overcoming this anxiety, and a good holster is always advisable, but mostly it comes from practice whether shooting the weapon, dry firing the weapon, or actually handling and carrying the weapon around. 
• A good article on astigmatism and using red dot sites. The author has some suggestions--one being as easy as focusing on the target and not the dot--but also acknowledges that a red dot simply won't work for some people, and so you may need to try something different like a prism sight.
• And, finally, "The Scourge of Teen Takeovers" from City Journal. Forget about the bleeding heart liberal slop about disadvantaged teens, food insecurity, and so on. It is the result of policy decisions by Democrats:

    Police officers, district attorneys, and sheriffs offer a different explanation for the teen takeovers: they are the consequence of a decades-long demonization of the criminal-justice system.

    Asked how the Chicago Police Department would have responded to a stampede on the Magnificent Mile before that demonization took hold, a recently retired officer with over 30 years on the force replied: “We would have cleared the streets, arrested those breaking windows, looting stores, and assaulting passersby. We would have used pepper spray, fists, and batons to restore order—all of which we did during the Bulls riots [in 1992], the Democratic National Convention in 1996, NATO, and other localized disturbances that didn’t make the news.”

    But then, he says, “the bottom fell out. Officers were cast as the enemy by eight years of Obama.” After the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, followed by those of Laquan McDonald in Chicago that same year and of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015, “we were cleaning spit off our windshields on a daily basis. We were physically attacked more during those years than at any other point in our careers.” Officers feared being sued for lawful tactics that make for bad optics.

    The cops disengaged. “We drove by the dope sellers on the corner, asked no questions of the juveniles who were clearly up to no good, and ignored the cars running stop signs and weaving through traffic.” Better just to do your eight hours and go home.

    Another retired Chicago cop recalls asking his commanders in 2010 when mobs were storming downtown: Can we make arrests? He was told: just hold the line and move them around. Even were the officers to engage, the chance that the average detained teen would face serious consequences was already low.

    In the 1990s and early 2000s, officers had a protective attitude toward business; they took responsibility for the well-being of shopkeepers and their customers, says a Chicago sergeant still on the job. “It’s different now.”

    And then, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd died while restrained by a Minneapolis officer. The country’s elites proclaimed that systemic racism had killed Floyd. Politicians and business leaders rushed to explain the ensuing firebombing of police cars and stations, the attempted murder of police officers, and the destruction of businesses as an understandable, even justifiable, reaction to police oppression.

    The post-Floyd race-riot era is largely coterminous with the Covid era: lockdowns began in late March 2020, and the riots erupted at the end of May. That overlap has allowed policing skeptics to attribute the crime spike that began in 2020 to Covid rather than to de-policing and de-prosecution. Those same skeptics now apply the argument to teen takeovers as well.

    The rest of the world again provides a useful benchmark. Other countries did not experience a comparable surge in crime beginning in 2020, just as they did not experience a wave of teen takeovers. The United States experienced both because police and prosecutors shied away further from imposing consequences on antisocial behavior.

• Finally, check out John Wilder's recent piece: "Sam Colt Made Men Equal. A.I. Won’t Even Try." He notes that historically new developments in technology initially acted as equalizers, but eventually led to an accumulation of wealth and power in those best able to take advantage of the technology. One of his examples:

    Personal computers and the early internet followed suit.  A motivated individual could reach a global audience or start a business with almost nothing but time and ingenuity.

    Barriers collapsed.

    Then the platforms that captured attention and data became trillion-dollar businesses that could control commerce and shut off channels to those with controversial opinions.

    Technology does not care about fairness.

    It amplifies existing differences in talent, effort, discipline, and capital allocation.  It lowers some barriers and erects new ones built around mastery of the new tools themselves.

AI, he argues, will have the same results.

VIDEO: The Cyclosporiasis Outbreak

You probably have already seen numerous news stories and articles about the cyclosporiasis outbreak that is most notable for causing "explosive" diarrhea. The current focus is on it possibly spreading via leafy or uncooked vegetables. For instance, the Independent recently reported "Taco Bell now under investigation over outbreak of parasite that causes ‘explosive diarrhea,’ report says," noted that "several Taco Bell locations in Michigan last week warned customers that the restaurants were 'currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall.'" It also explains:

    Exposure to the Cyclospora parasite leads to cyclosporiasis, an infection with symptoms including “watery diarrhea” and “explosive bowel movements,” as well as fatigue, stomach cramps, bloating, nausea, vomiting and a low-grade fever. It is rarely life-threatening. Cases have spiked over the past week in several states including Michigan, Illinois, Virginia, Ohio, and New York. 

[snip]

    Cyclospora is transmitted when people consume food or water contaminated with fecal matter, according to the CDC. While cyclosporiasis cases are reported year-round, they are most common from May 1 through August 31. Past outbreaks have been linked to raspberries, basil, cilantro and salad mixes.

    “Most people with healthy immune systems will eventually recover from cyclosporiasis without treatment,” the CDC website states. “However, if not treated, you may be sick for anywhere from a few days to a month or longer.”

    Symptoms may take two weeks or longer to appear, and some people remain asymptomatic — factors that can make the source of an outbreak difficult to pinpoint.     

 But it isn't just any fecal matter that spreads the parasite, but human feces. 

    The video below addresses the implications that Cyclospora only comes from human feces as well as offering some steps to take to prevent an infection. It is not enough to wash contaminated vegetables; and the parasite does not appear to be affected by freezing. Rather, the only way to make contaminated food safe to eat is by cooking the food. 

VIDEO: "This Parasite Spreads Through Human Poop (How to Stay Safe)"
Neal K. Shah (21 min.)

This Has Been My Last Couple Days ...

... so posting will be light or non-existent the next several days.

 VIDEO: "Mr. Mike's Least-Loved Bedtime Tales" - Lisa

Not-The-Bee: Transgender American Discovers The Grass Isn't Greener Over There

 Not-The-Bee reports: "Transgender American regrets fleeing to the Netherlands because all the Muslim migrants want to kill him." As the article sums up, "This transgender dude applied for asylum because he was afraid of mean Orange Man Donald Trump, but he got assigned to the Ter Apel registration center along with all the Middle Easterners and Africans." And now he fears for his life. 

Black Historian Says Telling Truth, Documenting Facts Is Racist

 From the New York Post: "Historian says it’s racist to question her — after book about slavery pulled from shelves over inaccuracies." The so-called historian is Kerri Greenidge,  whose 2022 book “The Grimkes,” which was lauded by critics and won the American Historical Association’s Joan Kelly Memorial Prize, which lacks evidence to support many of its claims, as well as containing factual errors and missing key end notes. Her response was to play the race card:

“I am heartbroken that a field I have given my life to can treat me this way,” she told the outlet. “The attack on Black women academics is real.”   

That is hamster brain thinking: the problem isn't the fake "research" but that people are being mean. But the trouble isn't just with that one book. 

    Now another one of Greenidge’s books, “Black Radical,” which also had praise heaped upon it, is now being given a closer look.

    The 2019 biography about journalist and civil rights activist William Monroe Trotter also received a glowing review by the New York Times and won the Mark Lynton History Prize, awarded by Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation of Journalism at Harvard University.

    Historian and author Stephen Fox, who wrote a biography about Trotter in 1970, said many of Greenidge’s sources cited in the book didn’t match the material when he checked after the book was published.

    Then when he heard about the controversy bubbling up over “The Grimkes” he started questioning her rigor even more.

    “I started to think maybe it wasn’t just sloppy,” he told the outlet. “I think it’s something deeper.”