An Outsider's View of Prepper Fiction

     I recently came across an article reviewing prepper fiction. The article, "Ready for the End: Works of prepper fiction reveal a dark truth about American virtues" by Rebecca Onion at Slate, is not so much a review of a single book but a review of the whole genre of prepper fiction, which the author distinguishes from the larger body of apocalyptic fiction. In fact, the piece is primarily about the differences between the two styles.

     For instance, the author notes that one feature that distinguishes prepper fiction from the broader apocalyptic fiction are lists--details of what is being stored or carried, and why. "Apocalyptic stories," she writes, "sacrifice some details of characters’ survival tactics on the altar of narrative. But in prepper tales, lists are inevitable." Onion goes on:

The lists are a point of complaint for some reviewers online, but the authors of these books know that they’re writing something that’s a cross between a novel, a shopping list, a survival manual, and a field guide; this is a wholly experimental form, and the results can be awkward. After a while, though, I relaxed into it. Like a high school junior struggling through Moby-Dick’s whaling chapters, the new reader has to realize that prepper fiction’s blend of description and plot is meant to make the minute details of a supercomplex material phenomenon more visible. Those lists soothed me, since they spoke a language I—a cook, a sometime backpacker, and a committed cataloger of household goods—found easy to understand.

She also notes two of the common character types in the novels--the prepper and the sheeple.

But am I a prepper? Or one of the sheeple? In the books, the difference between these two kinds of people really matters. If you’re mapping the tropes of prepper fiction against contemporary American politics, here’s where things take a right turn. Even as these books revel in the virtues of self-reliance, they graphically condemn the uselessness of other people who refuse to help themselves. Inevitably, after a catastrophic event, a prepared protagonist encounters people who just cannot believe that their water isn’t going to come back on or that the government isn’t going to come to bring them their refrigerated insulin. 

These sheeple are unreasonable, fussy, picky, and stupid. Are there really people who still can’t understand that grocery stores don’t fill up by magic? In these books, they are legion. 

     However, the biggest difference that the author sees between apocalyptic literature generally, and prepper fiction specifically, is that the protagonists in the prepper literature begin the book already willing (and able) to use deadly force to protect themselves and their families. The author writes:

The latter [i.e., prepper fiction] starts where the former [apocalyptic fiction] only ever ends up. Books such as Edan Lepucki’s California or a television series such as The Walking Dead gradually point toward a set of dark realizations—you can rely on no one but yourself and your family and a carefully chosen group of likeminded allies; other people will try to take what you have, perhaps violently; you may compromise many of your ideals in defending what you have. Apocalyptic stories, in other words, make slow meals of discord and disillusionment. Prepper fiction, by contrast, takes this dynamic for granted, starting with the cynicism instead of landing there: People’s evil tendencies can only be mitigated by small alliances, like those between family members or comrades in military service.

Onion seems both drawn to and repulsed by characters that are willing to kill to protect themselves or their kin.

     While I understand why she makes the distinction, it is a necessary starting point both from the perspective of the story. A standard apocalyptic story is not so much a story of the actual disaster that changes the world, but a story of how the characters change in response. For instance, in certain stories, such as 28 Days and The Walking Dead, the story opens with the disaster already in the past. The focus is how the characters are going to survive and how they change. Thus, in The Walking Dead (which title actually refers to the protagonists and other survivors, and not the zombies), the story assumes a Lord of the Flies decent into savagery, and explores the characters' slow loss of their humanity. Conversely, in something like Lucifer's Hammer or, to a lesser extent, in Rawles books, the story is about the preservation and rebuilding of civilization. The individual characters are less important than the process.

     The reason that prepper fiction does not focus on the evolution of the main protagonists, however, is that they--being preppers--have already mentally and physically prepared for what happens. To focus on a prepper transforming his outlook from a state of ignorant bliss to one of embracing principles of preparedness or survivalism would be to look at the character long before the disaster occurs; a transformation that is already complete by the time the disaster arrives. The story from that point forward is either a morality tale (a la, the ant and grasshopper) or a look at how the protagonists overcome the obstacles placed in his or her path. Turning to the original prepper story--that of Noah and the ark--we do not spend time on how Noah became a prophet and learned to listen to God's voice: that is already in the past. Rather, we focus on what he does and what happens to those that failed to heed Noah's warnings. 

    I will agree, however, that certain attitudes presented in certain books are somewhat repellent. For instance, I had previously reviewed one of the books specifically mentioned by Onion, A Distant Eden, and noted my disappointment at how ready the characters (who were supposedly Christian) were to kill others. The primary incident that bothered me in the book was where one of the main characters kills a small family that had (unknowingly as far as I could tell from the story) poached a deer. Although there was some minimal attempt to make the killing of the father an act of self-defense, the deaths of the mother and child were, to my mind, a perfect example of unrighteous judgment and cold blooded murder. To compound the lack of morals, the same character encountered another poacher, but didn't kill him because they discovered he was a Christian--all too reminiscent of Islamic terrorists sparing those that can recite a Muslim oath. 

     In any event, it is interesting to see that people outside the prepper movement are beginning to take note of prepper fiction.

Sorting Brass

It has been a rather rainy weekend, so I decided to get to sorting brass casings that I've picked up at the range. I've actually been pretty good during the past year with getting the brass I've collected sorted into at least the various calibers. (Plus, I've had enough previously sorted and cleaned that I haven't had to resort to the brass I've been picking up at the county range or in the desert). But I have a 5 gallon bucket pretty full of brass that I'd picked up over a period of several years prior.

I have certain things I want to accomplish when performing an initial sort of the brass. First, and foremost, is to separate the brass into its different calibers. But I also use the opportunity to provide an initial evaluation of the brass as to its physical condition and suitability for reloading (i.e., whether it is dented, filled with debris, or an unsuitable material such as steel or aluminum). Obviously, I try not to pick up steel casings or the aluminum "Blazer" casings while at the range, but occasionally one finds its way into the bag or bucket I am using.

For a long time, I did not pick up spent shell casings unless it was for a caliber that I used. However, about 10 years ago, I changed my practice so that I started picking up everything, since there was always the possibility that I might later acquire a firearm in a different caliber, or I could pass the spent casings to a friend or relative that also reloaded ammunition. With that it mind, it was interesting going through the bucket, because each "strata" represented a different season of shooting and provided some insight into what people have been shooting.

As mentioned, I don't gather steel casings. Thus, the Russian calibers are underrepresented: although there are plenty of steel casings from 7.62x54R and 7.62x39 to be seen at the county range or various popular shootings spots in the desert, it is rare to find spent brass for those calibers. Also, large rifle calibers, in general, are rare to find; probably because those shooters are more careful to pick up their spent brass.

The most numerous calibers represented are 9 mm and .223/5.56 mm, as would be expected. .45 ACP was consistently represented as well, but in much lower quantities. Interestingly, though, in digging through the bucket, it was at least a couple years back before I started coming across .40 S&W in any number. Either people shooting .40 S&W have become more diligent about picking up their shell casings, or it lost a lot of its popularity recently. Equally interesting, however, is that in the same layer without any .40 S&W, I came across a relatively large number of casings for .38 S&W. If you are not familiar with that cartridge, it is an obsolete caliber that was mostly replaced by .38 Special in the early 20th Century (with the exception of the British, which adopted it as the caliber for their military revolvers in the 1930's). The casing for .38 S&W is similar in size and length to the 9mm Luger, except for having a rim, of course. There were small quantities of .30-06 and .308 (7.62 NATO), 7.62x54R, and .300 Win. Magnum, and a small number of .380 ACP and other miscellaneous pistol calibers also represented.

Various 9 mm calibers: .380 ACP (aka 9 mm Kurz or 9x17 mm) on left; 9x18mm in middle; and 9 mm Luger (aka 9x19 mm or 9 mm Parabellum) on right.

Most of the time, it is fairly easy to sort for the specific calibers. Most of the casings will generally have the caliber as part of the head stamp. However, not all do, which may require a more careful examination.

One caliber, in particular, which can present some difficulty is the 9 mm Luger (also known as 9x19 mm and 9 mm Parabellum) because there are other calibers (the .380 ACP and Russian 9x18 mm) so close in size (see photograph above). If I have a casing that appears to be 9 mm Luger, but the caliber is not indicated on the head stamp, I will compare it against a known 9 mm casing before putting it into a container.

Some .40 S&W casings in various shape. 

On this initial sorting, I also consider the physical condition of the cases. The primary concern is whether the casing is dented or deformed. A common source of damage to a casing is during ejection, especially from a semi-automatic firearm. Some models are more likely to damage a casing, depending on force of the ejection and the specific mechanism of ejection. Other times, a casing may be dented or bent by someone stepping on it or a vehicle driving over it.

If a casing is too damaged, I will discard it. However, in many cases, deformities can be corrected during the reloading process. For instance, the photograph above shows three .40 S&W casings. The right-most is an intact casing, while the mouths of the casings on the left are slightly bent. This type of deformity can be corrected by the sizing and necking dies when reloading the cartridge.

A .308 shell casing. The striations on the outside of the casing show that this particular cartridge had been fired in a firearm using a fluted chamber, such as an HK 91. 

Even multiple deformations to the neck or mouth of a cartridge do not necessarily require a cartridge to be discarded so long as the sizing and necking dies can fit into the neck. For instance, the .308 casing above, despite the damage to the mouth and neck of the cartridge, is probably still a good candidate for reloading (at least for plinking ammunition).

A couple .223 shell casings with damaged mouths.

On the other hand, damage to the lip of a casing is more serious. I've seen instances where the dent is so sharp that a reloading die will actually catch on damaged portion and crumple or tear the neck of the casing. The photograph above shows two .223 (5.56) casings where the lip of the casing is bent in fairly sharply, and the left is actually curled down slightly. I would expect the casing on the left to be further damaged during the reloading process. The casing on the right might be salvageable, but not really worth the hassle. I will be discarding both.

Other types of damage

Although the photograph above is not very clear, it is focusing on other types of damage you might (going left to right) see to the neck, shoulder or body of a spent shell casing.

One defect that I sometimes see is a slight dent--almost a crease--running vertically along the neck of the cartridge. Such damage is going to weaken the case neck, possibly resulting in a ruptured neck, so discard it.

Sometimes there will be dings on the shoulder of the casing. If very slight, the case may be salvageable; but in many cases, such dings are sharp and distinct (such as the case striking a thin piece of metal), which probably would result in the metal being weakened. Unless such a ding is hardly more than a surface blemish, I believe it is better to play it safe and just discard the casing.

In other instances you may see dents or dings to the body of the casing. Although hard to see, the third casing from the right has been dented and slightly flattened on one side, probably from being stepped on or driven over by a vehicle. Throw it out!

The two cases on the far right have sharp dents to the middle of the cases, probably also from a rough extraction process, perhaps hitting the shell deflector on an AR style rifle. Again, there is the risk of the metal being weakened, so just throw it out.

Both these cases are marked .30-06. The left is a case that has been resized for a different caliber, while the right is a normal .30-06 case.

If that was not enough, you may also come across cases that have been deliberately reshaped for a different caliber or chambering. For instance, the photograph above shows two cases, each of which is headstamped as being .30-06 caliber. The one on the right is a correctly shaped .30-06, while the case on the left with the sharply defined shoulder has obviously been reformed for a different chambering: perhaps a wildcat or an obsolete cartridge based off of the .30-06 case. I don't know what caliber, though, so it, too, will go into the discard pile.

Some loaded ammunition I found.

Sometimes you will come across loaded ammunition, whether dropped by accident, ejected after a malfunction, or simply forgotten. I've come across single rounds, such as shown above, and even partial boxes that were left behind. I suppose it is up to you to decide whether you would chance using it. I, personally, would never use an unknown person's hand-loaded ammunition because I don't know if it is within normal specifications or limits for that cartridge. Since I cannot tell if the middle cartridge was a hand-load or not, I would not use it; I will probably pull the bullet, dump the powder, and reuse the case, though. The other two--the aluminum cased Blazer and the steel cased 5.45--would probably be safe to use. Nevertheless, out of caution, I will probably discard them as well.

The Road Goes Ever On...

October 28, 2016 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

Video: "What They're NOT Telling You About Sweden" by Paul Joseph Watson. Sweden is rapidly becoming an Islamic country.

Firearms/Self-Defense:

• TGIF: Another "Weekend Knowledge Dump" from Active Response Training.
• "No, Germans Didn’t Design the AK-47: Kalashnikov Conspiracy Theories and How to Refute Them, Part 1"--Nathaniel F. at The Firearms Blog.
• "Kalashnikov Conspiracy Theories and How to Refute Them, Part 2: Schmeisser vs. Mikhtim"--Nathaniel F. at The Firearms Blog.
• "'Why Didn’t He Design Anything Else?' Looking at Mikhail Kalashnikov’s Forgotten Firearms Portfolio"--Nathaniel F. at The Firearms Blog.
• An armed society is a polite society: "Road rage regret! Angry motorist screams at another driver - but slams on his brakes when he pulls out a HANDGUN"--Daily Mail. To summarize, the angry driver gets besides the videographer's car while on the highway (both cars are in motion), and starts screaming obscenities at the videographer. The videographer gives the middle-finger to the angry driver, who then tries to goad the videographer into a fight. The videographer then pulls out a handgun and points it at the angry driver, and the angry driver apparently slams on his breaks because his car disappears from sight. While effective, I would not recommend this method of dealing with an angry driver since it could result in a charge of aggravated assault or, at the least, brandishing a deadly weapon.

Election:

• The latest Rasmussen poll shows, of today, that the two candidates tied in a poll of likely voters, but that Trump leads 49% to 47% among voters who have already decided for whom they will vote (the difference are voters who will voting for a 3rd party candidate).
• The Primary Model, which model has successfully predicted each election since 1996, and, retrospectively, accurately predicted each presidential election since 1912 (except for Kennedy's 1960 win against Nixon), is 87%-99% certain that Trump will win. Rather than relying on polls, this method analyzes how well the candidates did during the primaries.
• Professor Allen Lichtman of American University, who has correctly predicted the outcome of every presidential election since 1984, has indicted that Trump will win.
• "Trump will win the election and is more popular than Obama in 2008, AI system finds"--CNBC. This system correctly predicted the last 3 presidential elections. From the article:

MogIA was developed by Sanjiv Rai, the founder of Indian start-up Genic.ai. It takes in 20 million data points from public platforms including Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in the U.S. and then analyzes the information to create predictions.

The AI system was created in 2004, so it has been getting smarter all the time. It had already correctly predicted the results of the Democrat and Republican Primaries.

• A crises of legitimacy:
• "Man Charged With Filing Fake Voter Registration Applications in Va."--NBC4 Washington.
• More from those Soros backed voting machines: "Maryland Trump Supporter: They Switched My Vote To Hillary"--Infowars. 
• "2 Investigators: Chicago Voters Cast Ballots From Beyond The Grave"--CBS Chicago.
• "Some Cities Want Their Immigrants to Vote"--Bloomberg. Including San Francisco.

Other Stuff:

• Never let a crisis (or tragedy) go to waste: "Leaked Clinton Email Following Shooting of Black Teen: 'This Is Great'"--The Truth About Guns. "... a newly leaked email from Hillary Clinton’s campaign reveals her staffers literally rejoicing that a black teenager was shot and killed because they could use his death to advance the cause of gun control."
• "Roosh On The Future of the K-shift"--Anonymous Conservative. Commenting on a Roosh post that we are at a point of no return, AC goes on to provide a warning to those who favor more direct action:

The one thing Roosh left out was that you should wait to do anything until amygdalae develop sufficiently and the nation is sufficiently K-ified. Those who will die quickest will be those who act early, while their localities are filled with rabbits. The key will be surviving until the nation is ready to act.

Going violent at the outset, even in self defense, will not be an optimal strategy. ...

Where this happens, we can clearly see how rabbits manipulate the entire machinery so that even Police officers see their lives ruined as they merely try to stay alive while protecting others. Even their own departmental machinery, manned by their fellow officers, is turned against them and used to treat them as a criminal. That is the entire plan, as it will play out for civilians. It is just beginning early now as rabbit instincts meet the early stages of resource restriction, and officers find themselves filling that role in the rabbit’s strategy. Notice how it appears to not be a logical strategy – grassroots rabbits actually think Police are murdering innocent blacks. That is how rabbitism infects cognition.

... Wait until it is just your average, run of the mill K-strategist conservative civilian who killed a savage on his way home from work. The destruction to his life will be total.

The key will be keeping your head down and avoiding the battle, until the entire nation is K-ified enough that everyone is motivated to band together, clean out the rabbits at the top, and begin the rebuilding.

Be inconspicuous, avoid conflict, stay away from dangerous areas, and know that the savages will be killing the low-level, grassroots rabbits at a far faster rate than the K-strategists. Also know that those intrepid souls who jump into the battle early will not last long. Be patient.

Sit by the river long enough, and enough dead rabbit bodies will float by that the nation can begin rebuilding.

• "Oregon case jury delivers blow to government in lands fight"--AP. "The Portland jury acquitted Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and five others of conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 300 miles southeast of Portland. The jury could not reach a verdict on a single count of theft for Ryan Bundy." However, when Bundy's attorney got a little too excited for calling for his client's immediate release from custody, and raised his arms in the air, he was tasered by U.S. Marshals. 
• "Rancher yearns for Trump wall on US-Mexico border"--Yahoo News. He's tired of smugglers and illegal aliens crossing his land.
• "Scientists say weird signals from space are ‘probably’ aliens"--NY Post. From the article:

The study, which appeared in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, analyzed the odd beams of light from 234 stars — a fraction of the 2.5 million that were observed.

The bizarre beacons led the paper’s authors, Ermanno F. Borra and Eric Trottier from Laval University in Quebec, to conclude that it’s “probably” aliens.

The authors believe that the odds for a naturalistic explanation is low:

“Although unlikely,” the study notes “there is also a possibility that the signals are due to highly peculiar chemical compositions in a small fraction of galactic halo stars.”

• A must read article: "Great Chain of Contempt: Intellectuals left and right have lost faith—and mercy."--F.H. Buckley at The American Conservative. The author discusses the social stratification of American society under modern progressives (both of the left and right), and observes that America now consists of two societies--the elite (who he terms "the Big Brains") and those who are not ("the Little Brains")--that, to quote Disraeli, "between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws."

One of the points I have a problem with in regard to many of these "elites v. commoners" articles is the tacit assumption or acceptance that the elite are, in fact, superior. We are, for the large part, no longer a nation of an intellectual elite whose position is due to merit--philosopher kings, if you will--ruling over "the great unwashed masses." There is plenty of evidence to indicate that not everyone admitted to Yale or Harvard are extraordinary, nor is it true that all (or even many) of those attending so-called "lesser institutions" (or pursuing other career paths) are mediocre. Rather, in most cases, the elites are mediocre men and women with patently obsolete or stupid ideas, lecturing to those that are their equals or their superiors when it comes to intelligence, education, or ability. The laws of science, mathematics, economics, and so on, do not change merely because they are delivered from a lectern at a state university instead of one at Harvard or Yale. The elites have no special monopoly on intelligence, education, understanding or ability, and we shouldn't pretend otherwise. 

This Says It All

From a CNBC news story about the presidential race:

Wall Street is heavily invested in a Clinton victory.

Securities and investment firms have poured nearly $65 million into her campaign coffers, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Goldman Sachs employees have donated $284,816 to Clinton and just $3,641 to Trump, who has received $716,407 from Wall Street.

October 26, 2016 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

Video: "Duke Suture Skills Course - Learn Best Suture Techniques" Tips from a plastic surgeon.

Self-Defense/Prepping:

• "5 Great Accessories for Your Bolt-Action Rifle"--Shooting Illustrated. Reviews are: the Blackhawk Urban Warfare Performance Ventilating Cheek Pad; Flatline Ops Covert Accu/Level; Timney Remington 700 2 Stage Black Trigger; Nikon Spot On Ballistic Wind Meter; and Rite in the Rain Pocket Top-Spiral Kit 946T-Kit (an all-weather spiral bound notebook). The Nikon Wind Meter looks interesting. It is $40, and hooks up to a mobile phone.
• "How To Launch a Boat By Yourself"--Outdoor Life. This is about how to launch a boat from a trailer backed into the water.
• "Spring Into Action: New Bogota Springs Entry Toolset in the ITS Store"--Imminent Threat Solutions. A small 3-piece lock pick set.
• "The Road Spike / Caltrop"--Neo-Survivalist. Making a caltrop from a single large carpenter's nail, and using a hacksaw and, according to the author, about 3 minutes of your time.
• "Mobile CB Base Station in a Bag: one of our user-friendly Comms Preps"--Security and Self-Reliance. The contents of the kit:

• Cobra 19 Ultra CB radio with microphone and power cord with 12V lighter plug… $4.00 (used)
• A Harbor Freight 1.5 watt 12V solar battery maintainer with 12V lighter plug… $10.00
• A 12V Sealed Lead Acid AGM (gel-cell) Rechargeable Alarm system battery..$12.74
• 12V clamp-on socket, adapted with spade connectors… $6.99
• 12V Plug adapted with spade connectors. Plug was scavenged from an old heated coffee cup… $0.00
• Two short bungee cords… about $1.00
• Custom made CB dipole antenna …. around $10.00.
• 40 feet of cord to suspend and tie out the antenna…. $1.00 (?)
• Padded Shoulder bag, this bag held some sort of medical device. It was purchased at a thrift store for 80 cents.
• Small camera pouch with belt loop… 10 cents at a garage sale.

The author then provides instructions on how to fit it all together and make the modifications for hooking the radio up to the battery, so read the whole thing.

• "Water supply and purification for emergencies"--Appropedia. The site, Appropedia, is a wiki for off-grid living and/or environmentally friendly living. This article is an overview of water supply, transportation, and purification. It links to many other other articles that go into more detail on the specifics.
• "REVIEW: The New Remington RP-9 and RP-45 Pistol"--The Firearms Blog. More details on Remington's latest offerings.

Other Stuff:

• "Protesters Block Upper Level of George Washington Bridge"--NBC New York. From the article:

The protest organization, Laundry Workers Center — which was using the hashtags #WeAreVisible and #SomosVisible on social media — was already planning a rally in Union Square Park Wednesday night. 

"We are a Grassroots Autonomous Movement campaigning for the right of every member of our communities to be visible, to be able to take part in the decision making process that affect our communities in our 'democratic' system, and for the ability to determine our destinies," the New York-based nonprofit said on its Facebook page. 

In other words, they are agitating for the right of non-citizens to vote in American elections.

• "Britain sends hundreds of soldiers and tanks to Russian border in biggest military deployment since Cold War"--Mirror. According to the article, a total of 800 troops, drones and tanks are moving to Estonia. So that would be, what, 20 tanks perhaps?
• "AT&T Is Spying on Americans for Profit, New Documents Reveal"--The Daily Beast. While other providers may have been providing information to authorities unwillingly, AT&T decided it could be a nice source of revenue, willingly providing information via its Hemisphere program to law enforcement (including local police departments) for a fee. What makes AT&T particularly attractive for this type of work is that they have kept all their meta-data on telephone calls going back to 2008--much longer than any other provider.
• "Anti-Trump Violence Sweeps the Nation"--LifeZette. Beyond the vandalism committed against anyone daring to show public support for Trump, there is this:

The videos, shot by ACORN slayer James O’Keefe’s group Project Veritas Action, show Foval on camera saying his agents “infiltrate” Trump events. “It doesn’t matter what the friggin’ legal and ethics people say, we need to win this motherf****er.” He adds, “we’re starting anarchy here.”

Creamer, previously convicted of felony bank fraud, has visited the Obama White House more than 300 times. In one of the videos, he says Hillary Clinton personally knows about the false flag operation. Her campaign “is fully in it,” Creamer confirms. “Hillary knows through the chain of command what’s going on.”

• "‘We Need to Clean This Up’: Clinton Aide’s Newly Public Email Shows Concern"--New York Times. From the article:

In a March 2015 interview, President Obama said that he had learned about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state “the same time everybody else learned it, through news reports.”

But that assertion concerned aides of Mrs. Clinton, who knew that the president himself had received emails from the private address, according to a hacked email made public on Tuesday by WikiLeaks.

“We need to clean this up — he has emails from her — they do not say state.gov,” Cheryl D. Mills, a top aide, wrote to John D. Podesta, another senior adviser, on March 7, 2015.

The Times try to spin it as harmless, completely ignoring that the fact that "between March 25-31, just a couple of weeks after Mills said 'we need to clean this up,' Bleachbit was used to wipe Hillary's private server clean."

• "WikiLeaks reveals fears and frustrations inside Clinton world"--Washington Post. My favorite part:

Several exchanges illustrate fears among some top advisers that Clinton and other aides were demonstrating the very traits that polls suggested made her vulnerable: a penchant for secrecy and a hesitancy to admit fault or error.

“We’ve taken on a lot of water that won’t be easy to pump out of the boat,” Podesta wrote to Tanden in September 2015, at a time when Clinton’s campaign feared that Vice President Biden was about to enter the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. “Most of that has to do with terrible decisions made pre-campaign, but a lot has to do with her instincts.”

Tanden responded, “Almost no one knows better [than] me that her instincts can be terrible.”

• "Ghost fleet: Explorers accidentally find a graveyard of more than 40 perfectly preserved ancient shipwrecks at the bottom of the Black Sea"--Daily Mail. "Ancient" may not be correct. The article indicates that the ships date from the Ottoman and Byzantine periods. Nevertheless, it should be a gold-mine of information.
• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "Study: Face Recognition Systems Threaten the Privacy of Millions."--The Intercept. Ever wonder why the driver's license bureau always wants you to take your glasses off when they take your photo? It isn't about glare. Unfortunately, facial recognition programs yield many false positives.

Something Happening To Clinton Campaign? (Updated)

Scott Adams famously endorsed Hillary Clinton solely for reasons of his own safety. He later withdraw his endorsement from Clinton, but refused to endorse Trump. Today, he has endorsed Trump and, moreover, is predicting with a 98% certainty that Trump will win by a landslide. His reasoning?

Today I put Trump’s odds of winning in a landslide back to 98%. Remember, I told you a few weeks ago that Trump couldn’t win unless “something changed.”  

Something just changed.

But what changed? Adams doesn't say, and a review of the mainstream news outlets, and even the larger conservative news outlets, are silent. Sure, there are additional emails from Wikileaks, but nothing stunning.

I'm wondering if what Adams thinks is a game changer are rumors that Eric Braverman, the former CEO of the Clinton Foundation, is seeking asylum from the Russians.

Update: I suppose it could be the Pedosta email showing that when Obama said he only learned of Hillary's use of a private server from the news reports, he had received emails from Hillary that were not from "state.gov" addresses. But it just doesn't seem enough to counter the trashing of Trump's reputation.

What We Have Lost

If you haven't read Albert Jay Nock's classic Our Enemy The State, I recommend that you read it. One of the more interesting portions of the book is a discussion of how the State accumulates power at the expense of personal liberty, with an example. Nock wrote:

It is unfortunately none too well understood that, just as the State has no money of its own, so it has no power of its own. All the power it has is what society gives it, plus what it confiscates from time to time on one pretext or another; there is no other source from which State power can be drawn. Therefore every assumption of State power, whether by gift or seizure, leaves society with so much less power; there is never, nor can there be, any strengthening of State power without a corresponding and roughly equivalent depletion of social power. 

Moreover, it follows that with any exercise of State power, not only the exercise of social power in the same direction, but the disposition to exercise it in that direction, tends to dwindle. Mayor Gaynor astonished the whole of New York when he pointed out to a correspondent who had been complaining about the inefficiency of the police, that any citizen has the right to arrest a malefactor and bring him before a magistrate. “The law of England and of this country,” he wrote, “has been very careful to confer no more right in that respect upon policemen and constables than it confers on every citizen.” State exercise of that right through a police force had gone on so steadily that not only were citizens indisposed to exercise it, but probably not one in ten thousand knew he had it.

That is where we stood in 1935 when Nock wrote his book.

Think of that while you read the article "Defending Innocent Life: A Perilous Choice At Best" at The Truth About Guns and the comments (particularly from those who believe the legal risk is too high to intervene and defend someone that is not a member of your family), and compare what will happen to you versus the suggested guidelines for handling an officer-involved shooting in "Lethal Aftermath – Are You a Second Class Citizen?" at Ammo Land. And I will add my own anecdote: in a conversation with an assistant city prosecutor several years ago, she indicated her belief that a person could not legally use force to expel a trespasser from his or her property, but was required to call the police. The point isn't whether she was correct or not, but that it shows the general attitude of many of those tasked with enforcing our laws.

October 24, 2016 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

Video: "Bow And Arrow Trick Shot Battle!! | DEVINSUPERTRAMP"

Just something fun to watch--nothing serious

Firearms/Self-Defense:

• In case you didn't already go and check it out: "Weekend Knowledge Dump- October 21, 2016"--Active Response Training. As always, a selection of self-defense and prepping related articles, plus a few just to make you think.
• "Pistol Malfunction Due To 'Stovepipe' Round"--Captain's Journal. An incident that occurred because a novice shooter was limp wristing the firearm. But, even after improving his grip, the problems cropped up again because the shooter simply lacked the forearm strength to keep a firm grip on the firearm.
• "Shooting Through Glass with Kyle Lamb"--Breach Bang Clear. A link to a video and some questions for Kyle Lamb. One of the questions had to do with three points regarding shooting through glass or automobiles. Lamb's response:

 1. One of the greatest myths when shooting around vehicles is that cars are poor cover. Smell the coffee; if it is the only piece of concealment you have near you, use it. 2. The front glass is extremely hard to shoot through effectively unless you use a bonded or solid bullet that doesn’t have a jacket that can be ripped from the bullet. Hornady GMX and Barnes TSX are examples of superb glass shooting projectiles. 3. “P”for plenty, when shooting through glass you must engage until the threat is neutralized.

• "Horrific moment a brave jeweller is shot DEAD as he tries to fight off an armed robber is captured on CCTV"--Daily Mail. Article and security camera footage of a jewelry store robbery in Brazil (which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world, yet still manages to have more than 60,000 homicides). Follow the link and watch the video. The fundamental problem, of course, is getting into a gun fight with nothing but your bare hands. But, beyond that, is the inability of the store owner/clerk to gain control of the weapon, even if it was merely to drive the robbers shooting hand and pistol into the ground. It was especially problematic given that there was a counter between the robber and the clerk when the clerk made his attempt.
• "Slow in practice means fast in combat"--Mike Ox. (H/t Defensive Pistolcraft). Some recommendations for improving your skills using techniques used by Olympic athletes. He notes, for instance:

Do fast shooters, throwers and musicians get fast by starting fast? Did they get faster by adding speed to sloppy form?

No. They developed and perfected their form at a much slower pace, and then speed came naturally. Ideally, they practiced at a speed that allowed them to do the same motion with perfect efficiency and form — exactlythe same way, every time — until it became automatic and required no conscious thought to do.

You might be thinking combat skills are different. They're not. In fact, the faster you intend to execute a given skill and the more stress you think you might be under when you execute it, the more critical it is that you practice slowly.

It's because of a principle called the Weber-Fechner law. Basically, as stimulus increases, the brain's ability to pick out details drops.

• "The 'Center Mass' Myth and Ending a Gunfight -Triggernometry"--Guns America. The author writes: " If you expect to win your gunfight, you have to make sure that you have effectively ended the threat of your attacker.  One, two or even several well placed “center mass” shots may not do what you think it will, and learning to recognize this before you gunfight may save your life." He goes on to cite some examples of center of mass shots that failed to stop the person hit, and notes that this principle applies even if using a rifle.
• "Does Gun Control Work?" (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)--American Conservative. This three part series examines conclusions reached by three different sets of researchers as the efficacy of gun control, particularly looking at whether the researchers used correct statistical analysis to support each of their conclusions. Although he notes some deficiencies in data (which is not necessarily the researcher's fault), he seems to find John Lott's research to be the most rigorous. The basic takeaway, however, is that most gun control measures don't work (some even increasing gun crimes), but that a thorough background check prior to purchase may actually work. My problem with the series is that the author, when faced with the obvious connection between crime and race just doesn't seem to see the connection. The background is that one of the research papers concluded that a permit-to-purchase program would reduce crime. However, Lott cast this into doubt by examining two states that had such a program: Missouri and Connecticut. Connecticut enacted such a program and saw essentially no changes to its gun related homicides. Missouri, on the other hand, repealed its permit-to-purchase law and saw gun related homicides increase. Hmm, what could be the difference between Connecticut and Missouri?

Other Stuff:

• Evolution in action: "Vasectomy Parties Are the New Trend for Couples Going 'Child-Free'"--PJ Media. From the article:

Vasectomy parties can be compared to baby showers, except instead, they celebrate the babies that will never be. Guests are invited to live it up "in a house with sharp furniture and exposed outlets.” They can plan on games such as The Price is Right "where they talk about what they can buy now that they’ve saved money by not having kids.” In lieu of suggesting baby names, party attendees can help name the new (not family) car or boat.

• "What is a Distributed Denial-of-Service Attack and How Did it Break Twitter?"--IEEE Spectrum. This article was inspired by the cyber attacks of this past Friday. The author writes:

On Friday, multiple distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attacks hit the Internet services company Dyn. The cyberattack prevented many users on the U.S. East Coast from navigating to the most popular websites of Dyn customers, which include Twitter, Reddit, and Netflix.

Dyn detected the first attack at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, and restored normal service about two hours later. Then at 11:52 a.m. ET, Dyn began investigating a second attack. By 2:00 p.m., the company said it was still working to resolve “several attacks” at once.

The interruptions inconvenienced many Internet users, and the daily operation of Internet giants in entertainment, e-commerce, and social media. There still aren’t many details available about Dyn’s predicament, and the company did not immediately respond to an interview request. But we do know from Dyn’s posts that the first two assaults on its network were DDoS attacts. Its customers’ outages again show that major Internet companies remain vulnerable to this common hacker scheme—one that has plagued networks since 2000.

A denial-of-service attack aims to slow or stop users from accessing content or services by impeding the ability of a network or server to respond to their requests. The word “distributed” means that hackers executed the Dyn attacks by infecting and controlling a large network of computers called a botnet, rather than running it from a single machine that they own.

Hackers can assemble a botnet by spreading malware, which is often done by prompting unsuspecting users to click a link or download a file. That malware can be programmed to periodically check with a host computer owned by hackers for further instructions. To launch an attack, the hackers, or bot-herders, send a message through this “command and control” channel, prompting infected computers to send many requests for a particular website, server, or service all at once. Some of the biggest botnets in history have boasted 2 million computers, capable of sending up to 74 billion spam emails a day.

The sudden onslaught of requests quickly gobbles up all the network's bandwidth, disk space, or processing power. That means real users can’t get their requests through because the system is too busy trying to respond to all the bots. In the worst cases, a DDoS can crash a system, taking it completely offline.

• We didn't start the fire: "Review: The Hell-Fire Clubs: Sex, Satanism and Secret Societies by Evelyn Lord"--Telegraph. The elite have always conducted themselves shamefully in secret:

The hell-fire clubs arose from a convergence of 18th-century trends: curiosity and reason; boisterous mockery and satire; and urban consumption, leisure and sociability. Their members were mostly young, male and moneyed, united by 'an enduring fascination with the forbidden fruit offered by the Devil, and a continuing flirtation with danger and the unknown'. Temptation led naturally to rampant hedonism; no appetite went unsated. Thumbing their noses (or worse) at church, state and civil society, they drank to excess, leered at pornography and egged each other on. The hell-raisers may not have been lovable, but they were certainly clubbable and they knew how to have a good time.

• Related: "How Debauched Was The Hellfire Club?"--The Daily Beast.

• At least it is not UFOs: "Could mysterious hexagonal clouds in Bermuda Triangle caused by 170mph 'air bombs' be behind centuries of bizarre disappearances?"--Mirror. "It is believed these deadly blasts of air that can flip over ships and bring planes crashing into the ocean could be behind the vanishing of at least 75 planes and hundreds of ships."
• "New Podesta Email Exposes Playbook For Rigging Polls Through 'Oversamples'"--Zero Hedge. From the article:

Now, for all of you out there who still aren't convinced that the polls are "adjusted", we present to you the following Podesta email, leaked earlier today, that conveniently spells out, in detail, exactly how to "manufacture" the desired data. The email starts out with a request for recommendations on "oversamples for polling" in order to "maximize what we get out of our media polling."

• "The 'impossible' fuel-free engine that may one day take humans to Mars in 10 WEEKS gets an upgrade: Patent reveals improved EmDrive design"--Daily Mail. The article reports that "[i]nventor Roger Shawyer has filed a patent for a new version of the machine, which includes a superconducting plate to make the thrust more powerful." Most of the article, however, discusses the various arguments over whether the drive produces an exhaust, including suggestions that its exhaust are simply photons in the microwave spectrum.
• "America’s Civilizational Paralysis"--Victor Davis Hanson at the Hoover Institute. He writes:

Mid-fifteenth-century Byzantium was facing endemic corruption, a radically declining birthrate and shrinking population, and the end of civic militarism—all the last-gasp symptoms of an irreversible decline. Its affluent ruling and religious orders and expansive government services could no longer be supported by disappearing agrarians and the overtaxed mercantile middle class. Returning to the values of the Emperor Justinian’s sixth-century empire that had once ensured a vibrant Byzantine culture of stability and prosperity throughout the old Roman east remained a nostalgic daydream. Given the hardship and sacrifice that would have been required to change the late Byzantine mindset, most residents of Constantinople plodded on to their rendezvous with oblivion in 1453.   

We seem to be reaching that point of stasis in postmodern America. Once simple and logical solutions to our fiscal and social problems are now seen as too radical even to discuss. Consider the $20-trillion national debt. Most Americans accept that current annual $500 billion budget deficits are not sustainable—but they also see them as less extreme than the recently more normal $1 trillion in annual red ink. Americans also accept that the Obama administration doubled the national debt on the expectation of permanent near-zero interest rates, which cannot continue. When interest rates return to more normal historical levels of 4-5% per annum, the costs of servicing the debt—along with unsustainable Social Security and Medicare entitlement costs—will begin to undermine the entire budget.

Count up current local, state and federal income taxes, payroll taxes, property and sales taxes, and new health care taxes, and it will be hard to find the necessary additional revenue from a strapped and overtaxed middle class, much less from the forty-seven percent of Americans who currently pay no federal income taxes. The Obama administration has tried to reduce the budget by issuing defense cuts and tax hikes—but it has refused to touch entitlement spending, where the real gains could be made. The result is more debt, even as, paradoxically, our military was weakened, taxes rose, revenue increased, and economic growth remained anemic at well below 2% per annum.

Illegal immigration poses a similar dilemma. No nation can remain stable when 10-20 million foreign nationals have crashed through what has become an open border and reside unlawfully in the United States—any more than a homeowner can have neighbors traipsing through and camping in his unfenced yard.

Likewise, there are few multiracial societies of the past that have avoided descending into destructive ethnic chauvinism and tribalism once assimilation and integration were replaced by salad-bowl identity politics. Common words and phrases such as “illegal alien” or “deportation” are now considered taboo, while “sanctuary city” is a euphemism for a neo-Confederate nullification of federal immigration laws by renegade states and municipalities.

Illegal immigration, like the deficits, must cease, but stopping it would be too politically incorrect and painful even to ponder. The mess in Europe—millions of indigent and illegal immigrants who have fled their own failed states to become dependent on the largess of their generous adopted countries, but without any desire to embrace their hosts’ culture—is apparently America’s future.

Race relations pose comparable paradoxes. Inner-city Chicago has turned into a war zone with over 500 murders so far this year alone. As tragic as occasional police shootings are of African-American suspects, they do not occur at an incidence higher than the percentage of African-Americans who come into contact with law enforcement or who commit violent crimes. Yet when an African-American officer, in a department overseen by an African-American police chief, shoots an uncompliant but armed African-American suspect, a full-scale urban riot ensues, well beyond the ability of police to control.

•  "The Past and Future of War"--William Lind at American Conservative. Lind explains the problem facing the United States:

A demilitarized military simply won’t fight. It will collapse at a touch, as so many militaries throughout history have. We may not have reached that point in the U.S., but we will do so soon if ideologically driven decisions such as putting women in combat arms are allowed to stand. Unless a military has an aggressively male culture, which is “uncomfortable for women,” it will not fight.

However, keeping women out of combat won't matter, he goes on to discuss, if the "men" are coddled, feminized weaklings lacking all necessary aggression.

A Review of Revelation -- Part 9 -- Armageddon

(Source)

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9] [Part 10] [Part 11] [Part 12]

     This is the continuation of my series reviewing Revelation as part of my reading of The Book of Revelation: Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass by G. Erik Brandt. In my last part (Part 8 -- A Call to Repentance), I set out some further thoughts on the four trumpets and discussion of two of the last three trumps or woes.

     As you may remember, the seventh seal opens with a period of silence in heaven describes as being about half an hour in length. While this may be an actual half-hour, Brandt believes that the “half-hour” represents the time in heaven, which we are told is a ratio of one thousand earth years to a day in heaven , or about 21 years, after which judgments will be released upon the earth and mankind. During this time, no angels are seen flying through heaven nor sounding their trumps. My personal belief is that this will be a period of time when heaven will be silent in the sense of God no longer striving with mankind. That is, while we personally can draw on the power of the Holy Spirit and have it with us as comforter, the Lord will largely withdraw his spirit from the world as a result of the rampant wickedness. Although the great wickedness has been growing for at least two centuries, we will see--are seeing--a sudden uptick in wickedness; or, as Habakkuk describes it: Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth." (Hab. 1:4).

     After the period of silence, the wrath of the Lord is poured upon the earth, and the angels begin to sound their trumpets. Even at this time, the Lord will allow a space or time for the wicked to repent. As Brandt points out:

History has shown that God’s warnings are timed and spaced to allow for “breathers”and more importantly, for repentance. Only when the probationary hour is completely exhausted, when the calls to change are rejected, and the patience of God would destroy justice, will the great cleansing calamities be sent to sweep the wicked from the earth.

However, there will come a time when the patience of the Lord will be done, and the time for repentance will pass. At that time, there will only be judgment.

     The last three trumps are also referred to as the three woes. The first of these (i.e., the fifth trumpet) was the release of a Satanic army from the abyss. The second of these is the release of an army of "two hundred thousand thousand" across the Euphrates, which will result in the death of a third of mankind. Nevertheless, even after all these tribulations:

... the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

(Rev. 9:20-21).

     In respect to this vast army, Brandt explains:

As with previous trumpets, the term “third part”designates that this woe also has limits (Rev. 9:18.) Despite such limitations placed by the Lord, destruction and loss of life will be massive. Unlike the smaller “wars and rumors of wars”spoken of in the scriptures (D&C 45:26; JS-M 1:23), this conflict will involve a “great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them . . . and nothing shall escape them”(Joel 2:2-3). The destination of this innumerable alliance of troops is the battlefield of Armageddon and eventually the city of Jerusalem.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that Armageddon* is not the end. Brandt notes that "[w]hile the war should not be understated, we must be careful about being too dramatic. True it will be massive and terrible, but it does not signify the end of the world; other events will follow Armageddon prior to the final destruction of the wicked."

     The invading army is described as coming from beyond the Euphrates (Joseph Smith indicated that the spiritual origin of this army is from the abyss, and therefore should probably be read as tying into the army of locust). According to Brandt:

[T]he reference to the Euphrates River also carries relevance. The Lord gave Abram and his posterity the land of Israel (Canaan) as an inheritance and designated its borders as Egypt in the south and the Chaldees (modern Iraq) on the northeastern frontier: “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates”(Gen. 15:18). Traditionally, Israel’s most formidable enemies lay to the north and eastward beyond the great Euphrates. While the demons themselves will come from the bottomless pit, many of Israel’s mortal enemies will march from the north and the east beyond the natural boundary of the Euphrates River."

I have seen others suggest another implication from this, which is that the source of the armies may indicate that Israel occupies or, at least, does not have anything to fear from the nations immediately surrounding it.

     To understand this battle, it is necessary to examine the writings of other prophets concerning the events, as well as other chapters within Revelation. As an initial matter:

The prophet Ezekiel names Gog and his allies as the primary participants among the nations who will gather for this great war. The entire list includes, “Gog of the land of Magog, the peoples from Meshech and Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah”(Ezek. 38:1-6; see also: Dan. 11:44-45). Ezekiel identifies the countries by their ancient names, but they represent modern people or kingdoms surrounding Israel.

Magog, Meshech, and Tubal have been designated by historians as the peoples north and east of the Black and Crimea seas—modern-day Russia and her neighbors. Persia is known today as Iran, but anciently its territory ran east to include much of western India and west into Asia Minor or modern Turkey. The lands from Ethiopia to Libya cover most of the northern and east coasts of Africa. The bands of Gomer refer to the descendants of a son of Japeth (one of Noah’s three sons). Gomer and his son Togarmah (Gen. 10:3) are considered to be the forebears of the many tribes or peoples that now inhabit modern Europe.

I would note, however, that some scholars rejected this interpretation. Jeffrey Goodman, Ph.D. has written, for instance, that:

The Assyrian Court records show dealings with Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and Togarmah (Ezekiel 38:3-6), the nations that stretched across ancient Asia Minor (modern Turkey) from west to east. From these records we also learn that the ancient nation of Gomer (Ezekiel 38:6), an enemy of the Assyrians invaded Asia Minor by coming down from an area around the northeast shore of the Black Sea. Archeologists know that the militant leader called "Gog" in Ezekiel 38/39 led a confederacy of these nations against invading Gomer.

He also points out that Magog referred to Lydia, not the Scythians. Lydia was an ancient kingdom that ruled the western half of Asia Minor. Thus, if we were to take the list of enemies literally, rather than an expansive list consisting of most of Eurasia, we are presented with a smaller group of nations that appears to be a Muslim crescent from Turkey through Iraq and Iran to the north and east of Israel, and then the Muslim nations of much of North Africa.

     Goodman also suggests, however, that rather than a literal interpretation, Ezekiel may be using Gog and Magog to represent the characteristics of the anti-Christ and his army. That is:

As referred to in Ezekiel 38-39, the historical Gog who was a "prince" of the nations of Magog, Meshech, and Tubal, serve as "historical types" of the "antichrist" and the multi-national confederacy over which the antichrist is to rule during the tribulation period. The Bible uses the historical leader Gog as a historical type of the antichrist to come in the exact same ways the Bible uses the historical King David as a type of Jesus' Second Coming (Ezekiel 34:23 and Ezekiel 37:22-24). Similarly, in Matthew 11:14 (also see Malachi 4:5) and Matthew 17:10-13 ("if you will receive it") Jesus in effect says that John is a historical type of Elijah. In other words, "Gog and Magog" (remember in Akkadian "Magog" means "the land of Gog") in their most basic meaning, are taken to be types or references to any "antichrist" and "the land of this antichrist;" just as I John 2:18, 22, 4:3, and II John 7 says "there are many antichrists." 

In that vein, Brandt notes that "[i]n other prophecies, Zechariah and Jeremiah both expand the alliance lists to include 'all nations.' The whole world will participate in one form or another in the great war (Zech. 14:2, Jer. 25:15-27)."**

     Brandt goes on to describe the anti-Christ, Gog:

Once the alliance is established, the military forces gathered together will “come like a storm . . . [or] like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee”(Ezek. 38:9). Joel described the battles and their terrible methods of war. “A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them”(Joel 2:3). His description brings to mind the horrors brought by Shiz, a powerful anti-Christ of the Jaredite civilization, who waged genocidal warfare. “And there went a fear of Shiz throughout all the land; yea, a cry went forth throughout the land. Who can stand before the army of Shiz? Behold, he sweepeth the earth before him!”(Ether 14:18). The legions marching under the banner of the destroyer, Abaddon or Apollyon, at Armageddon will be led by a despot comparable to the tyrant Shiz, of the Jaredite nation (Ether 15).

The reference to the Jaradite kings is apropos. Goodman indicates that Gog was a historical person called by the Greeks Gyges of Lydia. Historical records vary as to details, but all agree that Gyges seized the throne of Lydia by murdering the King and marrying the Queen. Varying accounts indicate that Gyges was assisted by the Queen or by the King's chief guard. In any event, his ascent to the throne appears to be the result of a secret conspiracy. After killing the King, a civil war erupted, which, according to the Wikipedia article, "only ended when Gyges sought to justify his ascendance to the throne by petitioning for the approval of the Oracle at Delphi." Gygas then engaged in a series of wars to expand his kingdom, eventually dying in battle.

     Although we are getting ahead of ourselves as to the narrative given in Revelation, the Satanic power underlying Gog's power and army cannot be forgotten. Brandt observes that:

Later in the Revelation, John sees the spirits of the devil, the anti-Christ, which he calls a “beast”(Rev 11:7), and a false prophet, who works mighty miracles to deceive the “kings of the earth”(Rev. 16:14). Many deceptions and machinations will no doubt be used to convince the world to assemble and use this formidable army. Blasphemies will spew from the mouths of the anti-Christ and the false prophet, who proclaim the world alliance will establish peace, order and security, and that the war is a moral necessity. Behind the scenes secret combinations will actively engage and influence the nations to unite together. Radical religious leaders will claim that their genocidal ends against their long time adversary, the Jews, are justified because God has sanctioned it.

However, greed will also play a part. Ezekiel makes clear that a significant factor for Gog's invasion will the be the desire to take a spoil from Israel. Although we cannot say whether this greed will be for the land itself, or something else (e.g., the giant natural gas fields claimed by Israel).

     The number of the army is generally thought to number 200 million because the translations often state the number as "200 thousand thousand." However, Brandt notes that the text actually reads "two myriads of myriads." He interprets this as symbolizing "an innumerable throng gathered to insure a war of annihilation." Thus, for instance, "[o]ther prophets who viewed the innumerable force, portray it as 'without number' (Joel 1:6), 'a great company, a mighty army, a dark cloud from the north' (Ezek. 38:15)." Brandt also reminds his readers that "Joel speaks of the great army that comes from the north, but large armies also come from the east and south," and that "[s]ome scholars argue that they will come in two waves."

    The invasion will ultimately fail. Brandt writes:

Despite the awesome size and capacity of Gog and his allies, their best laid plans are thwarted by two servants of God, two prophets “who are raised up to the Jewish nation”to prophecy and defend her against the numberless hosts (D&C 77:15). In the end, the grand army is defeated by the Lord who destroys the majority of the troops and severely cripples the sponsoring nations with a series of cataclysmic disasters (Ezek. 39:6). Armageddon becomes an incredibly destructive event for them. 

Both the wicked gentile army and the wicked Jews in Israel will be destroyed in the battle. However, we are told that even after all of this, the wicked inhabitants of the earth will still not repent, but will actually turn on each other. Brandt says of this: "The bloodletting begun on the figurative Mount Megiddo, now spreads among the wicked. Apollyon or Abaddon, the great destroyer, drives them into great conflict among themselves and the abomination of desolations spreads throughout most corners of the world." After these massive military failures, the conflicts will become more local and personal.

The great destruction and subsequent collapse of those who fought against God following the tremendous war throws all the world into strife and instability. In the ensuing chaos each nation, state, city, or township will seek every means to survive. But it will be for naught, for the evil works of the wicked in Babylon have come into “remembrance before God”(Rev. 16:19).

This, of course, brings to mind the many prophecies that the United States would collapse into a civil war.

     As I've noted several times before, these battles and wars will largely be instances of the wicked destroying the wicked in an orgy of violence that change the nature of men for nearly 1,000 years. Although we may need to fight in self-defense, I do not see anything indicating that the righteous will be part of the cleansing of the wicked by war. Rather, as Brandt notes:

Driven by the spirit of the devil, they are left to themselves to destroy each other by the most barbarous means. The third and final woe is the worst of all. It begins with desolating scourges and bloody conflicts and culminates in the fiery advent of [the] Lord. When the Lord comes in purifying fire, no unhallowed soul will escape.

- - - 

Notes:

* While John gives us the name of where this battle will occur, "[o]ther prophets affirm that nations of the world will assemble troops to battle against the Jews, in the land of Israel (Ezek. 38:8; Zech. 12:3, 14:2; D&C 133:35). This war marks only the beginning of the conflict. Eventually, the effects of the war will expand and sweep across the earth, culminating in great desolations among all the nations of the earth."

** In that regard, who is to say that the United States will not be part of the great alliance against Israel?

Ready for the Apocalypse?

Video: "Decision 2016: A Guide for Hillary & Trump Voters"--Black Pigeon Speaks

In the video I've linked to above, Black Pigeon pretty much lays out the importance of the outcome of this election. That is, whether or not you like Trump, a Hillary presidency will be the end of America as we know it. As Black Pigeon points out, this a referendum between globalism (represented by Hillary) and American nationalism (represented by Trump). If Hillary wins (and she probably will, given the forces backing her), she will permanently change the voting demographics through amnesty and massive immigration, so that conservatives will never be able to win another national election.

However, things will probably be much worse than what even the Black Pigeon foresees. Although the crook, Hillary, has painted Trump as a "monster," the Anonymous Conservative warns:

... Hillary is crooked, but where does her crookedness lead? What happens as she sells out our nation, increasing debt to $40 Trillion, and handing that money to her crooked cronies in return for cash handouts to her corrupt foundation and six figure paychecks for twenty minute speeches? 

If Hillary wins, the government collapses. The economic system collapses. The EBT system collapses. Social Security goes away. Healthcare collapses. Law and Order disappears as the Fedguv machine collapses and the savages go ape-shit over losing their freebies. Wars begin when we can’t pay back our national debt. Companies collapse as the banking system they need goes under. Too big to fail transitions to TOO BIG TO SAVE. And all of that will probably sweep all across the globe. 

It all comes down, and the United States is over. Apocalypse. The mother of all Apocalypses, created by an all powerful, evil cabal of establishment hacks. The kind of Apocalypse which only a Monster could have any chance of fixing before ITZ goes down. The kind of Apocalypse which we need a Monster to prevent. 

It will be a dark and dangerous time even if Trump should, somehow, win. Hillary is already laying the groundwork to blame a Trump win on the Russians, evidence of which will probably be provided by what we now know is a corrupted FBI. We can also expect that Black Lives Matter, CAIR and La Raza will work to increase civil unrest.

Sighting in a Handgun

A couple videos on sighting in a handgun:

Video: "How To Adjust Sights On A Hand Gun - How To Aim A Gun"--salbarajas

Video: "Sight Adjustment Basics"--hickok45

Video: "The battle for Mosul: Inside a town liberated from IS fighters"--Sky News

(Link)

I am providing this link because it reports on something that is largely ignored in the mainstream media: the deliberate destruction of Christian churches and religious sites by ISIS, including desecration of Christian graves.

The Threat to Religious Expression

Earlier this year, Hillary Clinton penned an op-ed for the Deseret News, a Salt Lake City, Utah, newspaper, in which she wrote:

I’m running for president to make sure our country continues to live up to our founding principles. Those timeless ideas teach us that we’re stronger together when we work in unison to solve our problems, no matter what we look like, where we come from or how we pray. 

That last one is important. As Americans, we hold fast to the belief that everyone has the right to worship however he or she sees fit.

Jane Robbins, writing at Town Hall in an article entitled "Make No Mistake: Religious Freedom Dies on Hillary’s Watch," provides some insight into Hillary Clinton's precise use of the phrase "right to worship." Robbins explains:

In the first place, notice that Clinton doesn’t promise to defend Americans’ First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. That would mean she believes people of faith have the right to live out that faith in both their personal and professional lives, which she manifestly doesn’t believe. Instead, she invokes the careful phrasing always used by the President and his apparatchiks: “everyone has the right to worship however he or she sees fit.” 

“Right to worship” is much narrower than “right to free exercise.” It means the right to attend church on Sunday and observe whatever quaint rituals take place inside the sanctuary, but outside in the cold light of day, all actions must conform to the government’s secular orthodoxy.

As I've noted before, Clinton's position follows that set out in the opinion on the case of Davis v. Beason, 133 U.S. 333 (1890), which reasoned that the government could prohibit from voting persons who engaged in certain religious based practices (in that case, it had to do with polygamy). The court there reasoned that: 

With man's relations to his Maker and the obligations he may think they impose, and the manner in which an expression shall be made by him of his belief on those subjects, no interference can be permitted, provided always the laws of society, designed to secure its peace and prosperity, and the morals of its people, are not interfered with. However free the exercise of religion may be, it must be subordinate to the criminal laws of the country, passed with reference to actions regarded by general consent as properly the subjects of punitive legislantion [sic].

I also noted that while the Supreme Court retreated somewhat from the specific holding in Davis, the basic principles discussed still hold true: you can, in your mind, and, perhaps, within a church building, believe as you wish, but the government can prohibit you from exercising your religion in the public sphere.

And it is not just me that is concerned about what a Clinton presidency will mean for religious freedom. Take a look at these recent articles:

• "Hillary Clinton is a threat to religious liberty"--by Marc A. Thiessen at the Washington Post. Thiessen notes:

In a speech not long before she launched her 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton made a stunning declaration of war on religious Americans. Speaking to the 2015 Women in the World Summit, Clinton declared that “deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”

Religious beliefs have to be changed? This is perhaps the most radical statement against religious liberty ever uttered by someone seeking the presidency. It is also deeply revealing. Clinton believes that, as president, it is her job not to respect the views of religious conservatives but to force them to change their beliefs and bend to her radical agenda favoring taxpayer-funded abortion on demand.

* * *

Trump’s behavior toward women is appalling, but the republic has survived with sexual miscreants in the Oval Office (see Clinton, William Jefferson and Kennedy, John Fitzgerald). If Clinton is elected, she could be the most consequential president in history in terms of reshaping the nation’s highest court. She will immediately get to pick a Supreme Court justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia. And if other justices retire — such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg (83), Anthony Kennedy (80) and Stephen Breyer (78) — she could select as many as four new justices. Does anyone imagine that Clinton and her team will pick justices who respect religious liberty? Not a chance.

• "Hillary Clinton Is No Champion of Religious Freedom"--The National Review. It quotes from Hillary's op-ed in the Deseret News, then goes on to note:

[Quoting Hillary:]“We hold fast to the belief that everyone has the right to worship however he or she sees fit,” she writes. “Americans know that democracy ceases to exist when a leader or ruling faction can impose a particular faith on everyone else.” 

These are important parts of robust religious freedom, to be sure. But they are not the only parts. Liberals such as Clinton are famous for claiming that religious liberty is flourishing because all Americans are free to go to church and worship however they’d like while attending their services. But actual religious freedom includes the ability to exercise one’s beliefs in the public square, not just inside a church building. Among other things, it means being free from government coercion into actions that violate one’s religious conscience. 

This is the reason that Clinton’s second statement is so flawed: No one claims that the U.S. government is forcing Americans to practice a particular, state-sponsored religion. The problem arises when the government disallows Americans from freely living out their faith in daily life because their doing so would purportedly infringe upon the “rights” of other citizens.

• "The Book-Burners"--Kevin D. Williamson at The National Review. From the article:

During the final presidential debate, Hillary Rodham Clinton declared herself a totalitarian. She did not use that word, of course, but that was the substance of her remarks. 

She began by arguing that the Supreme Court, and lesser federal courts, should be political partisans who take sides in disputes rather than adjudicate them according to the law. Many politicians — perhaps even most — believe that, or act in a way that suggests they do, but most of them feel at least the need to shamefacedly insist that judges are there to impartially apply the law. Not Mrs. Clinton. The Supreme Court that exists in her mind is the worst version of the highest judicial body, which is to say the American answer to Iran’s Guardian Council. The justices already wander into American-ayatollah territory too often, and it is only shame that constrains them. It is impossible to overstate the damage this is doing to our constitutional order, and to the legitimacy of the federal government itself.

• "Provokatsiya"--J. R. Nyquist. He writes:

Perusing Wikileaks emails from the Democratic Party, one glimpses the truth. It is not Trump who has actively subverted the Catholic Church, “buckling up and doubling down” in relation to “wet works” (i.e., assassinations) three days before the death of a Supreme Court justice. It is the Democrats themselves and Hillary’s fellows who have worked to change the American system into a socialist dictatorship; “conspiring” to make the American people “ignorant and compliant’; bemoaning Donald Trump’s campaign as the breakdown of that very compliance.

If we study Hillary Clinton’s life and background we will find that she was, in her younger days, a radical, a Marxist, a disciple of Saul Alinsky. There is no evidence that she changed her ideology. It is important, in our analysis, not to confuse publicly stated positions with privately held convictions. Hillary Clinton is not going to tell us her real thoughts. Such a confession would get her hanged instead of elected. Keeping this in mind as we examine her history, there is no evidence of a conversion to anti-communism or patriotism. All indications suggest that she remains what she was. According to former Clinton insider Larry Nichols, “We are at [watching] a velvet or silent coup. It’s been going on for years. There’s been a slow subtle takeover of our form of government, starting years and years ago, but it is coming to an end.”

• "Hillary, Soros and the political genocide of Christianity"--The Hill. The author writes:

Hillary Clinton seems to have a problem with religious liberty when it conflicts with her progressive goals.

During an April 2015 speech to the Women in the World Conference she said, “Deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed” for the sake of giving women access to “reproductive health care and safe childbirth.”

Translated, that means that Clinton, who believes that reproductive rights are a “fundamental human right”, would, through repeal of the Hyde Amendment, force all taxpayers to fund all abortions, even partial birth, that is, “day of birth” abortions regardless of our religious convictions.

Clinton is also willing to impose federal penalties, including denying tax-exempt status, in order to, as Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote, “stamp out every vestige of dissent” to a far-left agenda.

There is a deliberate and comprehensive anti-Christian plan being promoted by Hillary Clinton and funded by George Soros because they believe that Christian principles are an impediment to the implementation of their progressive policies.

In her now infamous “basket of deplorables” speech at a September 9th New York City Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) fundraiser, Clinton said, “You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic - you name it.”

The phrasing was no accident. Those “grossly generalistic” accusations are the basis of every leftist diatribe meant to demonize any individual or group that stands in opposition to their extremist policies.

As reported by Ken Klukowski, senior counsel with First Liberty Institute, the largest law firm in the United States exclusively dedicated to protecting religious liberty, Hillary’s words originate from a report issued by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights two days before Clinton’s anti-Christian screed. Chairman Martin Castro, an ally and supporter of Clinton and Obama, said in a statement accompanying the report, “The phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ … remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance.”

• "Christian Conservatives, Be Assured That President Hillary Clinton Will Declare War on You"--The Stream. From that article:

Do you want to facilitate this by helping to elect her to the highest office in the land? Do you want to be one of the people who helped empower her to be president?

This brings me to a major bill in California, SB 1146 which “would officially label private Christian colleges with Christian values, morality, and even dorm policies which conflict with the LGBT agenda as ‘discriminatory,’ and make the colleges liable to state (and federal) lawsuits as well as vicious attacks by activists. . . . The goal is to make Christian colleges surrender their belief systems and force the LGBT agenda onto every facet of education. California is the first state in the US to attempt this outrageous action. If it passes there, it will surely spread to other states.”

This is the exact kind of legislation that Hillary Clinton would promote and celebrate, fully backed by her handpicked Supreme Court justices.

This would also be harmony with her oft-quoted phrase that “gay rights are human rights,” and therefore any group or denomination or nation that opposes the goals of LGBT activism is guilty of opposing human rights. And let’s not forget the pressure Hillary Clinton put on African nations in her 2011 speech in which she made clear that nations across the continent would need to change their policies regarding homosexuality.

I don't know if Trump will prove any better at preserving religious freedom; I suspect that, at best, he will only delay the slide into religious persecution that is already upon us and will only become worse in the coming decades.

The question is how to respond to the persecution. As Christians, we are bound by the Golden Rule: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Matt. 7:12). Or, as it has otherwise been expressed: 

The Golden Rule or law of reciprocity is the principle of treating others as one would wish to be treated oneself. It is a maxim of altruism seen in many human religions and human cultures. The maxim may appear as either a positive or negative injunction governing conduct: 

One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself (positive or directive form). 

One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated (negative or prohibitive form). 

What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself (empathic or responsive form).

There is a corollary to the rule, however, which is that if you treat someone a certain way, you should expect (and, in fact, should allow) them to treat you in the same manner; or, vice versa, if they treat you in a certain manner, they have acceded to being treated in the same manner.