July 4, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Max Talk 024: Should Civilians Train Small Unit Tactics?"--MVT (21 min.)

• Regarding the MVT video: This video is a follow up on a prior video answering the question of whether the civilian can be light infantry. There are several issues percolating around in this this video, including: (1) should civilians be allowed to take classes or train in small unit tactics; (2) should civilians become trained in small unit tactics, i.e., is it helpful or useful; and (3) should you take such training. Max notes that there are a lot of military and police, and trainers, who do not believe that small unit tactics and training should be disseminated to civilians; but, as Max Velocity points out, that position is antithetical to American culture. The whole premise of the civilian militia--in the sense that the founders used the term--was that the citizen be trained and armed to assist in the defense of the nation. 

        Although Niccolò Machiavelli is best known for his work, The Prince, he was a proponent of republican forms of government. In his treatise on war, Machiavelli laid out various arguments why a republic, in order to safeguard its freedom, had to rely on citizen soldiery rather than a professional army or mercenaries. Primarily it had to do with both morale and issues of loyalty. Certainly, I think reasonable people would agree that a warrior elite is the hallmark of feudalism, or practically any form of government other than a republic. If we wanted to have kept a republic, our government would have been offering this training to all young men. 

• Somehow I missed it yesterday, but there was a new Woodpile Report posted. Remus has some good advice for the coming tribulation:

       Trust fund activists are the darlings of the media so, as in the '70s, they'll be portrayed as leading a huge populist movement. As always, behind the smoke and mirrors will be more smoke and mirrors. It's a mistake to underestimate them however.

       Arm yourself, they will. This advice comes from a reliable source:

Luke 22:36 - But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it and likewise his pack; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.

If you're in a city it's useful to know street mobs are deeply impressed by actual opposition. Said differently, they're cowards. During the 1992 Rodney King riot in Los Angeles, determined Korean-Americans successfully defended their businesses with not much gunfire .

        The goal isn't "knock 'em down dead at eight hundred yards" like in the movies, the goal is to convince the mob they're making a mistake. Putting one on the ground, writhing in pain with a blown kneecap, say, is the kind of publicity you just can't buy.

       A centerfire battle rifle is best, but a typical city block only runs a hundred and some yards, give or take a Starbucks. If all you have is a bunny gun nearly everything is in range. Even a shotgun with serious meat-getter loads covers a lot of it. ...

       Decide what you will absolutely-for-sure defend. Ally with capable, trustworthy and like-minded neighbors for mutual defense and let it go at that. But don't go looking for trouble. Again, if you're in a city, stay away from crowds, they're trouble by intent. What happens to the crowd happens to you. It's not as if you'll be consulted before it all goes bad. There's never a good reason to forfeit your own good judgment.

        ... Be alert. If the game is on, cities will get untenable. You may have to leave. This is something other than "unrest" with its roving mobs of opportunists, it's a catastrophic collapse of civil order by design.

• "The best defense is still not being there." Grant Cunningham offers some thoughts on "what if" scenarios and assuming that an armed confrontation will always lead to a gun fight. He also adds:

But you should also understand that [firearms] are an appropriate tool in a very small percentage of incidents. You should learn to be a gracious person, don’t do stupid things, don’t go to stupid places, and don’t associate with stupid people. You should learn how to politely defer to others and how read their body language. You should develop good habits, like not having your face buried in your smart phone’s screen when you’re in public areas. You should also learn how to stabilize a victim of severe trauma, how to do CPR, and the Heimlich Maneuver.

• "My Rounds Won't Chamber"--Mass Reloading. Even if you follow reloading directions exactly, you can still end up with ammunition that may not chamber. The author of this article notes that it generally is a combination of several factors: (1) variances in bullet diameters and case wall thickness, (2) case length, (3) insufficient belling (i.e., flaring of the case mouth) resulting in bullets being forced into place, and (4) bullet seating technique. Although this is generally a problem with semi-auto, I've also had issues with one of my revolvers if I didn't crimp the rim, and had the rim catch when trying to load the rounds into the cylinder. Like many others, I turned to the Lee Factory Crimping Die which not only can be used to put a nice crimp on ammunition that need them (such as revolver ammunition), but also essentially acts as a sizing die for fully loaded ammunition (such as 9 mm, which shouldn't be crimped because it headspaces on the rim of the cartridge, but can still benefit from the sizing provided by the Lee die). However, the author warns about a possible problem when using the Lee Factory Crimping Die on cartridges employing lead bullets:

When the nearly-completed round is forced into the die, the sizing ring squeezes any bulged or oversized rounds down to a dimension that will ensure that they chamber.  Sounds good, right? There's a possible drawback though when using the Factory Crimp Die on rounds loaded with lead bullets.  If a round loaded with a cast lead bullet is oversized because the case is thicker than normal, and the Factory Crimp Die squeezes it down to a smaller diameter, it will do so by reducing the diameter of the bullet inside the case.  Lead is much softer than brass, so the case thickness will remain the same while the bullet diameter is decreased.  If the diameter of the driving bands on the bullet (see Figure 5) are made smaller than the bore diameter, hot gases from powder combustion will escape along the sides of the bullet, causing gas-cutting of the bullet which will result in severe barrel leading. 

• "Weather Apps"--Blue Collar Prepping. A review of some apps for your smart phone that give you a more detailed look at weather and what is happening. 
• "So Long TNT, There's a New Explosive in Town"--Popular Mechanics. TNT is a popular high explosive for shells and bombs because not only is it stable and powerful, but it has a low melting point making it easy to mold into useful shapes. But, the manufacturing process produces toxins and chemical waste. "But new research out of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Army Research Laboratory has discovered a new chemical, bis-oxadiazole (C6H4N6O8), that has many of the advantages of TNT, is thought to be less toxic to produce, and makes a bigger bang." And it also has a low melting point so it can be poured into different shaped molds. Currently the research is looking at how to produce the substance in larger quantities and determine if it is more environmentally friendly.
• "Two Critical U.S. Dams at High Risk From Insider Cyber Threats"--IEEE Spectrum. From the article:

       The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, a part of the Interior Department, operates more than 600 of the some 100,000 dams in the United States, five of which are considered part of the national critical infrastructure. This means that the incapacitation or destruction of either the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona, the Shasta or Folsom Dams in California, the Hoover Dam in Nevada, or the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State would, in the Department of Homeland Security’s words, “have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.”

       The Interior Department’s Inspector General released a report (pdf) this week stating that two of the dams’ industrial control systems, while seeming secure from being attacked remotely, operate “at high risk from insider threats.” The report, which does not identify the two dams in question due to security concerns, lists a number of rudimentary cybersecurity practices that were not being followed. These included limiting system administrator access to the control systems and conducting rigorous background checks on individuals’ granted system privileges.

• From yesterday: "Nearly 30 Arrested After Chaos Ensues When Some ICE Protesters Clash With Police"--CBS Philly. But remember that it is the left that believes that conservatives will start a civil war.

• Related: "‘ABOLISH ICE’: VANDALS THROW BRICK THROUGH WINDOW OF GOP OFFICE, LEAVE GRAFFITI MESSAGE"--The Daily Caller. This was in Nebraska. 

• "Am I a Satanist? Are you? How Satanism is empowering the trans community"--Gender Analysis (h/t Anonymous Conservative). The author begins by making clear that although she has a satanic symbol tattooed on her chest, wears Satanic jewelery, and has used "Satana" as a name, she is not a Satanist but an atheist. She then criticizes some Christians for linking transgenderism to Satanism before explaining why transgendered people are drawn to Satanism. Yes, she/he/it is confused. In any event, she writes:

       ... When I asked my followers about the appeal of Satanic themes and aesthetics for them as trans people, my mentions erupted. There are so many more trans people who are into this than I expected, and their reasons for embracing the symbolism of Satan reflected some consistent motivations.

       Many of them were inspired toward Satanism by the hostility of mainstream and conservative Christianity against queer and trans people. To them, affiliating openly with Satanic ideas and images was affirming and empowering, a way of happily adopting the notion of being in wholesale opposition to a theology and culture that regards us as evil.

* * *

       The Satanic Temple in particular has made a name for itself as a progressive Satanist organization that enthusiastically welcomes queer and trans members. ... The Satanic Temple has taken a far more active role in the political sphere, challenging Christian privilege and normativity in the United States and its threats to the separation of church and state. 

• No. "Is God gender-neutral? Episcopal Church debates altering language in Book of Common Prayer to make it clear 'God is not male'"--Daily Mail. The article also notes that "[t]he proposed changes, which also include adding same-sex marriages to the liturgy, are being debated in Texas this week." Have they even read the Bible?
• "Study: Babies Who Resemble Fathers Are Healthier"--U.S. News. The reason:

Fathers with children who resemble them are more confident that the child is theirs and are more motivated to spend time with them, the research suggests. And the more time they spend together, the more attentive a parent can be to their child's health needs.