September 24, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Why I Despise the M14..."--Small Arms Solutions (31 min.)

It was the best rifle for the Army's bureaucracy, requiring little innovation and keeping the Army's Springfield Armory busy.

• "Update: Fatal Grizzly Bear Attack on Mark Uptain, Bear Spray Failure, Throwing Glock"--AmmoLand. The facts continue to trickle out on this incident. We recently learned that the attacking bear had received a healthy dose of pepper spray--enough so that when the bear was tracked down, game officers could smell it--but some more details:

       The hunter, Corey Chubon, and Mark Uptain, the guide, had almost finished processing the 4×4 elk. Mark Uptain, the guide, was attacked first, as he was cutting off the elk's head.  The 250-pound sow grizzly gave no warning. She was first seen in an all-out charge downhill. As the bear mauled Uptain, Corey Chubon, the client, accessed a pistol at their packs, a few yards uphill from the elk.

       The pistol involved did not belong to Chubon, the bowhunter who had shot the 4×4 elk.  It belonged to Mark Uptain. Corey accessed the pistol, but could not get it to fire. As he was attacked, he tried to throw the pistol to Mark Uptain.

       The pistol never reached Mark. The pistol was a Glock....

Glocks are the epitome of the point and shoot pistol, so the author speculates that, like many guides, Uptain carried his pistol with an empty chamber and that was why Chubon couldn't get it to work.

•  "Classic Guns: French FAMAS Bullpup Rifle"--Shooting Illustrated. Yet for all of its positive points, France is replacing it with the HK 416F--an AR style rifle with a traditional lay out.
• I don't think that this was something bought by a straw-purchaser at a U.S. gun store and then smuggled across the border: "Mexican Army Seizes Cartel’s Belt-Fed Machine Gun, Grenades near U.S. Border"--Breitbart. 
• Time for common-sense doctor control? "Medical Malpractice Deaths over 500 Times Higher than Accidental Gun Deaths"--Breitbart. 
• True colors: "It’s Time to Ban Guns. Yes, All of Them" by Phoebe Maltz Bovy at The New Republic. Bovy argues that "It’s not about dividing society into 'good' and 'bad' gun owners. It’s about placing gun ownership itself in the 'bad' category." She never explains why gun ownership should be considered "bad," but I would expect that it is because she simply cannot stomach any hint of adversity, or perhaps she has a phobia about the goyim being armed. And in another fit of inadvertently telling the truth, she notes that guns laws are not governed by the Second Amendment, but by the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Second Amendment. This is a true statement. I've noted before that our Constitution can be amended by a majority vote of the Supreme Court--it is nice to see someone else acknowledge that, even if from the mouth of the enemy. In any event, watch out--she makes no exception for hunting or shooting sports. 
• Killing some sacred cows: "9mm vs 40 S&W vs 45 ACP & 'Stopping Power'"--Abe's Gun Cave. The author contends that kinetic energy doesn't matter, stopping power is a myth, and the difference in the size of the hole made by 9 mm. v. .40 S&W v. .45 ACP is too minimal to worry about. He backs up some of this from the FBI's findings that prompted the FBI to switch to the 9mm from the .40 S&W. I may be biased because of my dislike of the .40 S&W, but I thought it was a good article and is worth your time to read.

"Purpose & Existence"--Isaac Arthur (27 min.) 

One of the obvious implications of the post-second coming Millennium, as described in Revelation, is that we will be living in a post-scarcity society. Even absent the religious angle, futurists recognize that we are close to achieving the technology for such a society. So, if the struggle for existence is past, what do we do when we have too much time on our hands? In this video, Arthur looks at these issues and suggests that we will still be able to live meaningful lives. We Christians are so wrapped up with the Second Coming and its attendant disasters that we often forget to look beyond it to the coming Millennium. So it is worth while to look at this video for what life and meaning might be like in such a world.

• Word is that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is planning on resigning rather than being fired for his role in the ongoing "soft" coup d'etat. Speaking of which, PJ Media reports that a "New Movie Claims Google Handed the Popular Vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016." The article claims that, absent Google's interference with the 2016 election, the popular vote would have been a tie.

• Related: "Rod Rosenstein On His Way Out After Report He Considered Secretly Recording Trump"--The Federalist. 

• "The Perils of Our Liberal Hegemony"--The American Conservative. An argument that the current mess in much of the world is because of liberal progressives not in spite of. Main point: 

The core of the problem, writes Mearsheimer, was America’s post-Cold War resolve to remake the world in its own image. The predictable result has been chaos, bloodshed, an intractable refugee crisis besetting the Middle East and Europe, increased tensions among major powers, curtailment of civil liberties at home, and generally an “abysmal record of failure.”

• I thought there was something in the Bible about not being able to serve two masters .... "China's Catholic Church pledges loyalty to Party after Vatican deal"--Reuters. From the article: "China’s Catholic Church reaffirmed its loyalty to the country’s ruling Communist Party on Sunday, while welcoming a landmark deal struck with the Vatican on appointing new bishops." Also:

       China’s around 12 million Catholics have been split between an underground Church swearing loyalty to the Vatican and the state-supervised Catholic Patriotic Association.

       The Catholic Church in China said it would “persevere to walk a path suited to a socialist society, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.”

• Does her husband know? "BOMBSHELL: BLASEY-FORD’S HS YEARBOOKS BRAG OF DRUNKEN PROMISCUITY, ’54 SEX PARTNERS BEFORE COLLEGE’"--The Shad Olson Show. No wonder she can't remember when and where the alleged encounter with Brett Kavanaugh took place--she went to so many drunken parties and engaged in so many sexual escapades that they have all become a blur. (H/t Anonymous Conservative).
• "Spiegel Blasts Pope Francis"--Rod Dreher at The American Conservative. 
• The Church will be leaving the Boy Scouts at the end of 2019, leaving questions as to what will replace it. A new announcement from the Church regarding youth activities attempts to answer at least a couple questions about camping and outdoor activities:

Will camps and other outdoor activities be part of the new experience in 2020?

Yes. Camps and other outdoor activities will be an important part of gospel learning, building relationships, and strengthening faith in Jesus Christ. Children and youth may participate in Primary day camps, Young Women camps, Young Men camps, and high adventure activities. Local leaders, youth, and parents will identify and provide outdoor activities that invite spiritual experiences and meet the needs of their children and youth.

What other types of activities will be part of the new experience?

Activities will be based on needs rather than requirements. Weekday activities, outdoor adventures, and youth conferences will continue as a vital part of helping children and youth learn, develop friendships, serve, and strengthen faith in Jesus Christ.

Still vague, but at least it shows that there is some planning in the works.

• "Do Not Leave the Savior"--a talk by Elder Kevin W. Pearson. He offers and explains 6 points for spiritual survival: (1) Love and obey God first; (2) hold personal prayer; (3) seek learning by study and faith; (4) search the scripture daily; (5) focus on the big picture; and (6) trust in Christ. I was watching a video recently that delved into the origin of the word prayer, and, according to the video, it traced back to a Sumerian word that meant "to work for." Thus, if the video was correct, praying to God means "working for" God. So, our prayers are not just what we say when we are on our knees in the morning or evening, but our very words and actions, especially those in service to God.