November 4, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Pathfinder Scout Hammock" (9 min.). 

Dave Canterbury gives a rundown on his new hammock.

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:

• ".300 Blackout vs. 9x39mm: Russia’s Subsonic Brute"--Nathaniel F. at The Firearms Blog. Fitch does a ballistic comparison between .300 Blackout (subsonic), .300 Blackout (supersonic), the Russian 9x39mm, and .45 ACP. As would be expected, the supersonic .300 Blackout came out on top for velocity, energy, and drop; and the .45 ACP was the worst in all categories. The 9x39 and subsonic .300 Blackout came out very similar, however. The key difference, however, is the terminal ballistics:

However, we need to also consider that these two rounds are firing very different bullets. The .300 Blackout fires a lead-cored BTHP (OTM). This is fine for knocking on steel targets, but is not a stellar performer against hard targets and barriers due to its soft core and thin jacket. In contrast, the 9x39mm fires a projectile containing a massive hardened steel core that by itself weighs as much as a .30-06 rifle bullet. This allows the 9x39mm to punch through barriers like steel and body armor that would defeat the .300 Blackout (although the Blackout itself does have a surprising degree effect on very light pistol body armors). The SP-6 projectile, for example, is rated to defeat GOST Class 3 armor, which is a Russian armor class in-between NIJ Level IIIA and Level III, which is rated to stop 7.62×39 M43 and 5.45×39 7N6. Also, it is reported to be able to defeat 8mm of RHA steel at 100 meters with enough energy to maintain a lethal wound track, something .300 Blackout OTMs certainly cannot do. 

• "Too many Walmart shoppers drew their own handguns during Colorado Walmart attack that police were unable to quickly identify the suspect on CCTV"--Daily Mail. Most of you probably heard about the shooting at a Thornton, Colorado, Walmart. The shooter, Scott Ostrem, entered the store and shot, apparently at random, three people before fleeing the scene. However, what the story does not report is that Ostrem apparently fled after he saw another armed person. In any event, although police claim that it took longer to review the surveillance video than it would have otherwise, and they had to bring in and question additional people, there is no statement of how great was the delay. 
• "Snubnose Revolver Tactics"--Guns & Ammo. The author offers an example where he used his off-duty snubnose, and then discusses some pros and cons of a revolver versus the semi-auto, and the DA/SA revolver versus the DAO. As to the latter, the author writes:

         While they are a minority in the tactical arena, some instructors prefer a revolver with an exposed hammer so it can be cocked in order to achieve a much lighter trigger pull. This affords the shooter considerably more accuracy because the lighter/shorter trigger pull is less apt to cause the shooter to inadvertently alter the orientation of the gun when firing. As an example of how much lighter the trigger pull is in single-action mode, my Taurus Model 605 has a trigger pull that is close to 11 pounds in double action, but just two pounds in single action.

        Either thumb may be used to cock the hammer on your snubbie, but using your off-hand enables you to maintain a solid shooting grip with your dominant hand. And since the motion of your off-hand thumb cocking the hammer is more horizontal in nature, it is less apt to obscure your sights than if you were to use the thumb of your shooting hand.

        When using a double-action/single-action revolver and a lighter trigger pull is not desired (as would be the case during the vast majority of lethal confrontations), the shooter simply pulls the trigger without cocking the hammer just as though he were firing a DAO revolver.

      Advocates of DA/SA snubbies prefer to have the option of firing in single-action mode. For instance, if the driver in the case related earlier had taken the female hostage, I would have much preferred to shoot my snubbie in single action mode. When lives depend on pinpoint accuracy, the light single-action trigger pull is a tremendous asset.

The author also notes that if you carry a revolver with an exposed hammer spur and are drawing from a pocket, cover the hammer spur with your thumb when drawing. I think this is good advice anytime you are drawing a revolver from concealment, even if from underneath a jacket. It does two things: it keeps the hammer spur from snagging, and your thumb is in position to either keep the hammer down, preventing an accidental discharge if you involuntarily squeeze the trigger as part of your draw stroke (I know, I know, never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire; but I also know that even experienced shooters do so), or, alternatively, allows you to cock your revolver and take advantage of the SA feature. When using a revolver with an exposed hammer, your thumb is a safety.

• "Home Invasion"--Guns & Ammo. The author has good advice on defending yourself against a home invasion: have a plan, some advice on movement and light/noise discipline, and use of choke points. He notes, for instance:

We see a lot of advice and instruction on how to move through our home while defending it. The worst mistake to make is to think that one or two people can effectively clear a home. They can’t. Unless the home is tiny, one or two people cannot maintain visual contact. Even if we thoroughly search a room, once we leave that room a threat can move in behind us and occupy it. While one or two people can search a home, it is extremely difficult and time consuming for them to secure a home.

However, this is dependent on the home. For instance, between an open floor plan in a single story and ranch-style layout, I feel confident that I could clear my house if necessary. He also makes a good point about weapons mounted lights:

 A weapon-mounted light allows us to retain the offensive regarding light. We can see what and when we want without letting everyone in the house know where we’re at by turning on a light. We should only use our light to identify potential targets, meaning that it will only be on for a second or two at a time. Do not use a light for navigation through your home. Leaving a weapon-mounted light on for periods longer than a second or two telegraphs our location while letting any threat remain hidden in the dark. This is worse than turning on every light in the house. Also, just because the light is mounted on your firearm doesn’t mean we have to point our gun at something to light it up. Even when pointed at the ground, a good light gives off enough illumination for administrative work.

Of course, you also want to prevent a home invasion--or, at least, slow them down--by reinforcing doors and limiting access to ground floor windows. 

         If I had one criticism of this article, though, is that it assumes a traditional burglary--someone entering the home at night while the family is asleep--rather than when people are still up and about. In the latter instance, one of the best defenses is to keep your doors locked when you are home; if everyone is inside the house, back door and patio doors should also be locked. In addition, keep a weapon on hand or within easy reach, and be prepared to retreat to a different room that can both barricaded and from which you can call police. 

Other Stuff:

• "Basques protest in support of Catalan independence as crisis in Spain grows: Thousands take to streets of Bilbao to condemn arrests and takeover amid fears of resurgence of terror there and rising support for separatism in other regions"--Daily Mail. 
• "Immigrant Population Hits Record High And Growing Too Fast"--The Lid. The authors note: "The cultures now sending migrants to our borders are not looking to integrate, they are simply looking to shift their culture from one end of the world to the other. And because they are coming in so fast we cannot vet them for intentions and their desire to become ‘Americans.'"
• Related: "A Foundation of Nonsense"--The Z Blog. The author discusses the fallacy of the "blank slate" which, nevertheless, underlies much of our social programs and thinking. For instance, the author notes:

         It’s how our rulers arrived at the idea of importing millions of foreigners. Those foreigners can be re-purposed into tax paying westerners, through education and enculturation, to pay the pensions of the native stock. Those Somali goatherds can be plopped down into Minnesota and over time, develop all of the habits of the average Minnesotan, just by emulation and proximity. Race laws are all based on the assumption that you can train people to stop noticing racial difference and therefore, end racism.

         Of course, science is putting the lie to the blank slate. Genetics is everyday filling out the truth of the human condition, which is that we are the result of our coding. The thousands of mating decisions, made by those who came before us, are what make us what we are as people. Everything from our height to our sense of humor is baked into our DNA. Our health outcomes and our life outcomes are the results of that coding. Not surprisingly, the closer our coding is to others, the greater the similarities.

          While no one is prepared to say free will is a lie, at least not publicly, no serious person accepts that we are infinitely malleable. The argument that you can change your personality is as nutty as saying you can make yourself taller or younger. This reality used to be a building block of Western thought, but was “discredited” by the blank slate theorists, but it is now being reestablished by genetics. In other words, one of the main building blocks of modern social democracy is about to crumble.

• "Highlights of the Findings of the U.S. Global Change Research Program Climate Science Special Report." This is a link to the executive summary. It indicates, in part: "This assessment concludes, based on extensive evidence, that it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence." A few things struck me: first, pushing forward human caused global warming to the mid-20th Century, rather than the beginning of the industrial age; no discussion that we came out of a mini-Ice Age in the mid-19th Century; and reliance on ground temperature readings (even though these are the readings that have been most criticized).

• Related: "What You Won’t Find in the New National Climate Assessment"--Watts Up With That. The basic gist is that the report is based on models which are exaggerated compared to actual operations.

• Related: "Global temperature continues to cool"--Watts Up With That. "Global effects of El Niño event seem to have passed, and we’ve cooled to a value just before the event, according to data from the UK Hadley Climate Centre."

• Don't know much about history: "Thousands of Palestinians protest on Balfour Declaration centenary"--AFP (via Yahoo). "In Ramallah signs called Balfour 'the promise of he who doesn't own to those who don't deserve' -- a common expression in Arabic for the Balfour Declaration." Apparently they don't know their history: the British gained possession of Palestine by defeating the Ottoman Empire. So, it was the promise of he who owned.
• Diversity is our strength: "Germany: Violence Spirals in Refugee Shelters"--Gatestone Institute. From the article: "Violent crime, including murder, rape and physical assault, is running rampant in German asylum shelters, according to a leaked intelligence report. German authorities, who appear powerless to stem the rising tide of violence, have justified their failure to inform the public about the scale of the problem by citing the privacy rights of the criminal offenders." Ironically, in light of we hear about diversity being a strength, "[e]xperts have long warned that the practice of housing migrants from different ethnic and religious backgrounds in tight accommodations is the ideal breeding ground for violence." Also, "[a]necdotal evidence, however, suggests that migrant-on-migrant crime is endemic across Germany."
• God, He's a pretty smart guy: "The Research Proves The No. 1 Social Justice Imperative Is Marriage"--The Federalist. From the article:

         Just 70 years ago, social mobility and protection from poverty were largely a factor of employment. Those who had full-time work of any kind were seldom poor. Fifty years ago, education marked the gulf separating the haves from the have-nots. For the last 20 years or more, though, marital status has increasingly become the central factor in whether our neighbors and their children rise above, remain, or descend into poverty. The research is astounding.

* * * 

         A consistent and irrefutable mountain of research has shown, reaching back to the 1970s and beyond, that marriage strongly boosts every important measure of well-being for children, women, and men. Pick any measure you can imagine: overall physical and mental health, income, savings, employment, educational success, general life contentment and happiness, sexual satisfaction, even recovery from serious disease, healthy diet and exercise. Married people rate markedly and consistently better in each of these, and so many more, compared to their single, divorced, and cohabiting peers. Thus, marriage is an essential active ingredient in improving one’s overall life prospects, regardless of class, race, or educational status.

          This is why it’s not merely one-parent versus two-parent families that makes the difference. The U.S. Census Bureau finds the poverty rate for children living with two unmarried cohabiting parents is similar to that of single-mother homes than to those living with their married mother and father. Married people, regardless of how much they have, tend to manage their money differently than divorced, single, and cohabiting people.

• Related: "Has Promoting Mother Absence Spawned Campus Crybabies?"--The Federalist. "Mental health problems are linked with family instability, as are reductions in the resources that can help alleviate them, such as church attendance and deeper, broader community relationships. Divorce and failure to marry before bearing children also harm nearby families that do not themselves experience these maladies. Private choices are in fact not private choices, after all. They hurt other people, inside and outside one’s family."

• "The Subversive Way Special K's New Marketing Campaign Hurts Women"--PJ Media. The author takes aim at a Special K ad campaign emphasizing young women participating in traditional male sports, writing:

        While I don’t want to take away from the athletic ability, hard work, and beauty of these young women, I simply cannot celebrate girls playing football. Not only do I refuse to celebrate it, I outright condemn it.

        First of all, why in the name of “equality” do women insist on invading man spaces? There is a camaraderie among boys that is necessary for their development as men, and this is fostered in all-boy sports. It’s a kind of initiation into manhood — something that must be done by men in a male-only environment. Injecting females into the mix dilutes the experience, robbing boys of training in masculinity and male bonding that they desperately need.

* * *

       Second, I find it ironic that in a time when we’re hearing a lot about domestic violence (especially by football players), sexual harassment, and sexual assault, we have no problem training and encouraging boys to plow down girls on a football field. It’s insane. If people are so concerned about “toxic masculinity,” then why are they injecting poison into masculine spheres at such a young age?

• Related: "It's Official: Men Are Treated Worse than Dogs"--PJ Media. 

• Related: "The Unreality Bubble"--Hawaiian Libertarian. One of his points:

        Of all the ones that gets to me the most, it is the men I am involved with who are simps and spineless sad sacks that put their women on a pedestal and treat her as the boss...and they assume that all other men are just like that too.

         No, I don't need permission from the "boss" to go boating, hunting, fishing, drinking, surfing, diving, hiking, training, working overtime, picking up a second shift or anything else for that matter. Are you married to your mommy?

• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "Discovery of a big void in Khufu’s Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons"--Nature. From the abstract: "Here we report the discovery of a large void (with a cross section similar to the Grand Gallery and a length of 30 m minimum) above the Grand Gallery, which constitutes the first major inner structure found in the Great Pyramid since the 19th century."