Nobody Cares

Where to start with all of this derp?


How about this...


What women don't understand is this:
Nobody earns money for him. Nobody takes the risks on the job for him.  Nobody cares for his feelings on anything.  Nobody caters to his needs or wants in life but himself. A man is instantly looked at as someone who needs to "man up" - no help, no guidance, and people fighting against him every step of the way. 

Women, read Proverbs 31 and Ephesians 5: 22-24. Live them.  Emerge in your natural role and you'll be more content for it.  

Quick Optics

Inspired by  this post about the speed at which the ACOG can be deployed in close range combat, I offer this anecdote.

Back in the fall, I attended  Rifleman I at Valor Ridge.  One of the questions I struggled with prior to class was whether to run the AimPoint or the ACOG during class. Eventually, I decided on the ACOG.

During the close-range drills, I have no issues with ready ups, double taps, and stoppage drills. My times on these were the fastest in the class, without exception. Every other student was either running a variable power optic, or a red-dot. I was the only one "handicapped" with a fixed power scope.

As was mentioned in the article linked above, I did use the 700-yard hash mark for my aiming point up close. When we did drills at 7 yards, I used the 800 yard hash mark.

All that said, I need to get to the range and do some ready up some practice with both of them. Report forthcoming.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

This Guy writes about the deepest advice column question-and-answer I think I've ever seen.   Summary:
- Woman writes in, her daughter lives with her and owns a handgun.  Woman wants advice to get the daughter out.  
- Advice columnist repeats often-cited and more often debunked #FakeNews "statistics" about the dangers of gun ownership.

The only thing the daughter might be guilty of is purchasing a .40 caliber, instead of a 9mm. But that's not too bad a decision in the big picture. 

The Coming Scourging

If you prepare... be forewarned, you will likely be facing state actors with crew served weapons for some of the coming scourgung.  Plan accordingly.

Yes, some military and police will be patriots.  Yes, some will stay loyal to the tyranny. 

We know that after a catastrophic SHTF event many things will change including military and first responder roles. Some of these people will be good guys some will be bad guys. Like all people after an event, you have to decide what’s best for you, your family and your group.

No Free Lunch

About a year ago, a friend was taking a handgun class from a major training facility. He posted word on social media, asking if anyone else wanted to join him - the benefit being he had already paid for lodging.  There were a couple of interested responses. When they found out the cost of the class ($500), they were no longer interested. One even said, "oh, I thought it would be free."

Folks, you get what you pay for.  

Believe it or not, I have actually attended a free gun class. Although there was a semblance of a syllabus and structure, it was not run well at all.  The information was significantly less than one receives in a paid class.   And this class was 4 hours lecture, range for 20 minutes each. 

Which begs the question - what are you paying for in a paid class?

Instruction
A professional instructor will have a good syllabus, expertise in that field, ability, and a method to the teaching.  Additionally, while it's your first class, so you think it's all new, he has seen all of this dozens of times.

Syllabus
Yes, this is different from instruction.  The course framework has to fit together.  It has to teach a specific lesson from the ground up.  

Standardization
Lets take targets, for example (target stands and backers, too). Sure, you could have a "free" class and ask folks to bring their own.  You can even "reccomend" or "require" certain targets.  But rest assured, folks will buy and bring different targets. Or no targets at all - "I forgot!"

Suppose you have a handout.  You could send an electronic one to folks ahead of class and ask they print it and bring it.  And 1 out of 3 will actually do that.   And the other 2/3rds will ask "do you have an extra one, I forgot." (starting to see a trend?)

What about insurance? You could require everyone buy a per-use event liability. Again, a few would and most would "forget." And some would sign waivers saying they had personal health insurance and they actually don't.

Ancillary items - loaner guns, eye protection, ear protection, extra materials to make class go better.  All of these things a professional paid class will have that a free one just won't. 


So just remember - you get what you pay for and there's no free lunch. 

Steady Hold

Some myths just won't die.  Recently, the myth of the AR15 magazine monopod causing jams made it's way back into my life.   A former PMI discussed how using the magazine as a rest was strongly discouraged in the USMC.

This blog post shall serve as a reference for this topic.   Here are some links to articles debunking the myth:

 Guns & Ammo

 SWAT Magazine

 Art of The Rifle

 Recoil

The Recoil article has interviews with seven major gun trainers.  Of the seven, all except Paul Howe teach it... and Howe does not teach it for a different reason than you're thinking.  From the article:

"I teach high on the elbows for basic classes.  The why is important.  High elbows allow a shooter to fire slick (no gear), patrol gear/vest, Tac Gear/SWAT Gear and military gear.  In short it is one position that will accommodate all equipment.  I find that when I put ceramic plates on and a vest carrier, I cannot physically get my head low enough to see my sights when I put the magazine on the ground and shoot.  Add a helmet and it becomes even more complicated.

Next, I have never seen it cause a malfunction.  It may change your zero as your head and eye are in a different position as the position may require you to address the weapon differently."

All of the others teach magazine rest.  

Case closed. 

Is It Corrupt?

From Twitter -

Rifleman: "Ladies and gentlemen, all police departments have quotas.  None of them like calling it a 'quota'."

Reply: "Not all. Corrupt ones yes."

Rifleman: "Show me one that doesn't."

Reply: "The 2 I worked for and many others."

Rifleman: "Tweeted too early...
Show me one that doesn't and I'll show you one that hasn't been caught yet."

Reply: "Well chit. I should have collected my Grandfather click and Rolex when I retired. #WhoKnew 😂 "

Rifleman: "I'm in the same boat - I also used to work for a company that gave me a quota without any extra compensation.  Left for greener pastures years ago."


Some takeaways -
1. The entire exchange proves that they dislike the use of the word "quota."

2. The reply was a false dilemma logical fallacy. Every police department has expectations for every one of its employees. In the tradition of the  no true scotsman, the replier's logical fallacy would imply that some (most) police departments do not have job expectations for their officers. 

3. The final reply is an example of a circular reasoning logical fallacy. " I didn't receive any money from the tickets I wrote, therefore I was not corrupt." One does not have to be the final recipient of stolen goods in order to be guilty of theft.

Not Born That Way

Gay people and transgender folks  are not born that way, according to Johns Hopkins research. 

The rifleman still contends it's just a way to seek attention in most cases.  

Sad Times

My father-in-law passed away late last week.  Funeral is today.  My children have no living biological grandparents. 

Climate Hoax

Man made "Climate Change" is a hoax... #FakeNews if you will. 

Glacier National Park Quietly Removes Its “Gone By 2020” Signs.

Why were the signs removed?
From the article -
In recent years the National Park Service prominently featured brochures, signs and films which boldly proclaimed that all glaciers at GNP were melting away rapidly. 

But now officials at GNP seem to be scrambling to hide or replace their previous hysterical claims while avoiding any notice to the public that the claims were inaccurate. Teams from Lysander Spooner University visiting the Park each September have noted that GNP’s most famous glaciers such as the Grinnell Glacier and the Jackson Glacier appear to have been growing – not shrinking – since about 2010. (The Jackson Glacier—easily seen from the Going-To-The-Sun Highway—may have grown as much as 25% or more over the past decade.)


Key part -
"... GROWING - NOT SHRINKING..."

You won't see or hear of a retraction.  

For Thee, Not Me

Tennessee Republicans made sure “law enforcement” was exempted from the new distracted driving law.

We can argue the merits and lack thereof of this law by itself.  To exempt law enforcement is absolutely terrible.  Tyranny like this is why the second revolution is coming.  Are you ready?

Cost of Quotas

Ridgetop, TN has  dissolved its police department. It is widely speculated that the fact that the officials got caught in the middle of an illegal ticket quota is at the root of the action. 

 Another link.

Folks, all police departments have quotas.  And none of them like calling it that.  

Crime Basis

 Why Gun Ownership Rates Tell Us Little About Homicide Trends in America

What is the trend based on?
Culture based crime.

But amongst empirical criminologists the idea that legitimacy could explain macro-level variation in crime only gained some prominence in the late 1990s. In ‘Losing Legitimacy’ [Gary] LaFree (1998) argued that three key social institutions – family, economic, and political –motivate citizens to abide by the rules, participate in social control, and obey the law. When these social institutions are seen as unfair, useless, or corrupt, they lose legitimacy and subsequently the ability to maintain social control.

There is a lot more at the link.  You would do well to read it all and read it again. 

Trump & 2A

A few days ago, President Trump was asked about silencers (more correctly, suppressors). Trump indicated he doesn't like them and wants them banned. 

For all of the good Trump has done, he is not naturally a friend of the 2nd Amendment. He needs to take some cues from Donald Trump Jr.  on this.

However,  the main issue here is not Trump and his position on firearms. The issue is the BATFE. No one department should wield such power and authority. With the stroke of the pen, the ATF makes and dissolves laws - up to an including infringement of rights.  

Without the overreach of the ATF, no president's opinion would be of any concern.  

Good Advice

Old Farmer's Advice, as shared on social media:

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Words that soak into your ears are whispered... not yelled.
Meanness don't just happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about, ain't never gonna happen anyway.
Don't judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
Don't interfere with something' that ain't bothering you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every morning'.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
If you get to thinking' you're a person of some influence, try ordering' somebody else's dog around.
Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and enjoy the ride.
Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just shoot you!

Improvements

From this post,  How Did You Improve Your Rifle, please see my answers:

She started life as an M16A4 clone. BCM upper and Aero Precision lower.  

1. A Midwest Industries two-piece free float rail.  This one clamped onto the traditional barrel nut. 

2. A CMC single-stage trigger. 

3. A Strike Industries J-Comp, Gen 2. This for more muzzle control. 

She will shoot sub 1 MOA with good ammo and a scope. She is pretty fast - better than most. And she looks eerily reminiscent of a style that has gone by the wayside.  She has dang near replaced my primary rifle.   Almost.  Maybe. 

Final Tally

The #RamadanBombathon is over.  As expected, the Moslems really ran up the score on this one. In fact, the one killing by any other religion during this time was done in retaliation for Moslem attacks.

In Sri Lanka, Buddhists retaliated for the Easter bombings and other Islamic aggressions, and in so doing, they killed one Moslem. You know it takes a lot to get Buddhists to lash out with violence. Enough, as they say, is enough.

Islam is not a religion of peace. It is the #ReligionOfPieces .

Salary Discussions

This article -  30 Things To Never Give An Employer Until They Hire You came across my desk recently.  Yes, I've been asked for all 30 things at one point or another.  An interesting comment from the FB post -

"Seriously, I've worked in HR for over 25 years and have never asked potential employees any of this! However, I do realize that there are some unethical employers out there."

To which I'd say, "some?!?!"

Almost every prospective employer has asked for at least one thing from the list.  And many of these are Fortune 500 companies.  

The most common is probably "2. Information about your salary."

Many interviewers and hiring managers get really caught up in how much you make.  They want to find out, so they can offer you as little as possible - often your same or a slightly lower salary. These hiring influences will obsess over this until you give in.   It's nearly impossible to tell then you won't answer the question without getting yourself disqualified from the recruiting process.  

But there is a way - say this: "I've signed a non-disclosure which includes my salary. I'd love to tell you, but it's not worth the legal headache for me or you."

That shuts them up and shuts them off really fast.  

Fighting Karate

When Gichin Funakoshi brought karate from Okinawa to Mainland Japan, one of his top students early on was a man named Hironori Otsuka. Otsuka had trained in Jiu-Jitsu prior to taking up the study of karate. In fact, Otsuka had received the Menkyo Kaiden - a license of total transmission - in other words, mastery of the art.

Otsuka travel to Okinawa and learned from some of the top karate masters there. Later, Otsuka developed his own style of karate, called Wado-Ryu. The Kata he taught more closely resembled the Okinawan kata, than they did Funakoshi's kata. Also, Otsuka was a big proponent of sparring (Funakoshi despised sparring) and self defense techniques.

Simply put, Otsuka valued the martial aspect of karate. He focused on teaching his students most effective forms of self-defense.

In the 85 years since the founding of Wado-Ryu, our understanding of unarmed combat has grown exponentially. Otsuka was not afraid to change things in his time, for the sake of better self defense. We should not be, either.

Coming later this year, I will be refocusing on Karate. Correct Jiu-Jitsu techniques will be incorporated. The focus will be on self-defense.

Stay tuned.