September 15, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around The Web

"Night Vision vs Camouflage: Does camo still work under infrared light?"--The Social Regressive (10-1/2 min.). The author tests various camouflaged using an infra-red illuminator and viewing it through a night vision scope. Some of the items did not reflect the I.R. light any more than they would visible light, but others reflected I.R. light almost as well as a reflective vest. For instance, ACU camo is highly reflective of the I.R. light. The polyester clothing seemed to be more likely to reflect the I.R. light than cotton. 

• "Skills Check: Low-Capacity Reloading Drills"--Shooting Illustrated. The author observes:

When dealing with a fixed—often low—capacity magazine, a good rule to follow is: Load what you shoot. In practice this means topping off the magazine as part of your post-shooting sequence. Whether hunting or fighting, it’s a good idea to get the gun back to full capacity, as you need to be prepared for whatever may happen next.

The author also describes 4 simple drills for practicing shooting and loading on the go.

• "HOW TO CLEAN A RIFLE SCOPE"--Gun Goals. A key warning: "Keep in mind when cleaning your rifle scope that you do not want to use any solvents or rags that have gun cleaning solvents on them. These solvents can really do some damage to the coatings on the lenses, and also can dissolve the O-ring that seals the tube and makes the scope waterproof."
• "Cognitive Load: How Does This Affect our Shot Process?"--Primary and Secondary. This article may state the obvious--that the more you have to think about things when taking a shot, the slower you will be. But the author relates research backing it up. Also:

One thing that can reduce cognitive load when dealing with multiple required tasks, is to improve your single task performance. Brown and Bennett (2002)pointed out that ‘practice on a task leads to a shift in cognitive processing such that the task uses fewer attentional resources as various components of performance… become automatized.’ (p. 86)

• "Review: Browning 1911-380"--Ballistics By The Inch Blog. Other than the sights, the author liked the weapon. But, he warns, "this is NOT a pocket pistol. Still, anyone who may be recoil shy but still wants an adequate self-defense round should check out the 1911-380. It is small enough to conceal well, and follow-up shots are very quick and easy to control."
• "Ammo Review: Precision One Ammunition 90gr HP .380 ACP"--The Truth About Guns. The author relates:

Wound channels were deep and wide for a .380. The permanent wounds began at about 2” in the gel and displayed a cavity about 5” long and about .5-.6” wide. Combined with the great-for-caliber penetration, the load was capable of delivering excellent wounding results.

Penetration averaged 13 inches, even through heavy clothing.

• "Product Review: Field Expedient e-Readers"--Blue Collar Prepping. I know that there is a line of thought in the prepping community that printed books are the only way to go because they aren't impacted by power outages, EMPs, etc. However, physical books take up a lot of room and weigh a lot; they aren't things that, in large numbers, can be taken with you when hunting, camping, or, heaven forbid, if you have to bug out. On the other hand, tablets or e-readers are handy and can store hundreds or thousands of books, but most are fairly fragile. The author of this article reviews a couple more durable options for an e-reader: the Nintendo 3DS XL, which apparently can store books on an SD card; and a cheap smart phone, the Huawei Union.
• "Atibal XP6 mirage 1-6x FFP review"--The Firearm Blog. This seems to be one of several new, lower-priced, first focal plane scopes. These are preferable when using a bullet drop compensator because you can use the BDC at any magnification--on most second focal plane scopes, you have to set the scope at maximum magnification to use the BDC.
• "PTSD"--West Hunter. From an evolutionary perspective, the author claims, PTSD should not exist. As he points out:

Human history and prehistory is crammed with all kind of mayhem and trauma: infant mortality, infanticide, genocidal fights with neighboring tribes.  You routinely lost family and routinely killed enemies. Childbirth hurts a lot.  What’s the adaptive strategy, in all of these situations? ? Get over it.

Moreover, according to the author, there isn't any real documentation of soldiers in the ancient world--or even into the 19th Century for that matter--suffering from PTSD. This all changed beginning with WWI, the first war where exploding ordinance first played a major role. The author continues:

I would guess that what actually happened was a combination of people finding a way to avoid getting killed, and brain damage due to nearby explosions. After experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus football and boxing, people are thinking seriously about those explosions as a cause of PTSD.

• "Revisiting the 10 Yard Zeroing Target"--Kit Badger. Getting a quick and dirty 50/200 yard zero for your AR at 10 yards. Link to the target you need and a video on how to use are in the article.
• "TK Custom Moon Clips and Moon Clip Tools"--Revolver Guy. A review of the moon clips, and tools to load, and unload, such clips.
• "Hawaii appeals decision to allow guns in public"--Star Advertiser. It's not an appeal, but a motion for reconsideration. To appeal, they would have to file a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court.  

"Dalai Lama: FAR RIGHT Nationalist & Tibetan Supremacist"--Black Pigeon Speaks (7-1/2 min.). The Dalai Lama recently said that Europe is for Europeans, and that refugees should be sent home to rebuild their own countries. BPS comments.

• "No, The Fourteenth Amendment Does Not Authorize Birthright Citizenship"--The Federalist. The author explains:

        ... The fact that this amendment did not authorize birthright citizenship as it exists today is demonstrated further by the fact that Native Americans did not gain U.S. citizenship en masse when this amendment passed, in 1868, but 56 years later, with an act of Congress.

        Regardless of whether we should have birthright citizenship today or not, it is clear that the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment did not intend individuals not subject to the full and complete jurisdiction of the United States to be included as citizens. It is hard to believe that they would have accepted our modern conception of “birthright citizenship,” in which any person, regardless of whether they are in the country legally, and regardless of their parents’ citizenship, can claim U.S. citizenship.

        It is clear that individuals within the territory of the United States, under a tourist or student visa, or who have crossed the border illegally, are not under the full and complete jurisdiction of the United States, but are still under the jurisdiction, at least in part, of a foreign nation.

• "Immigrants in the U.S. States with the Fastest-Growing Foreign-Born Populations"--Migration Policy. "The foreign-born share of the U.S. population is at its highest level since 1910, with the approximately 44 million immigrants living in the United States representing 13.5 percent of the overall population. With U.S. fertility rates at a historic low, the Census Bureau projects that net international migration will be the main driver behind U.S. population growth between 2027 and 2038."
• "1-in-7 US residents are immigrants, 44.5 million, most ever"--Washington Examiner. From the article:

An analysis of the data by the Center for Immigration Studies said that there are 44.5 million legal and illegal immigrants in the country, the highest ever in U.S. history, with the most from Latin America. 

Also:

“American continues to experience the largest wave of mass immigration in our history. The decline in Mexican immigrants has been entirely offset by immigration from the rest of the world. By 2027, the immigrant share will hit its highest level in U.S. history, and continue to rise,” said Steven Camarota, the Center's director of research and co-author of the report.

• "A Half Century of Amnesia"--Steve Sailor at Taki's Magazine. Remarking on an essay by Ezra Klein, entitled "White Threat In A Browning America," Sailor writes:

Klein goes on to recount various small-scale academic studies that found that when researchers point out to white people how fast they are being demographically overwhelmed, they worry about it. Whites who are made aware by researchers of just how precarious their children’s long-term political position will be are likely to favor more conservative policies. It’s almost as if citizens assume that the point of the United States is, as the Preamble to the Constitution states, to benefit “ourselves and our posterity.”

So here, then, is what we know: Even gentle, unconscious exposure to reminders that America is diversifying—and particularly to the idea that America is becoming a majority-minority nation—pushes whites toward more conservative policy opinions and more support of the Republican Party.

In other words, white people become a problem for Democrats when they are made aware of the fate Democrats are plotting for them and theirs.

• "A Most Expected Backlash"--American Spectator. The author notes: "You can’t insult a group of people repeatedly, aggressively, the way the Left in its mob mentality insists upon doing to the majority of America and not expect consequences. Those will come. And in its rampant enthusiasm the Left has apparently decided to take a swing at some 60-plus percent of the population — a decent chunk of which has heretofore been sympathetic to its policies."