Thursday, April 30, 2020

Thugs Will Be Thugs

On a social media post about the Wisconsin officers that arrested a dog groomer for failing to follow quarantine "orders," one actor posted the above meme and added the statement -
"Before you criticize these officer try to borrow their shoe and walk in it."


Reply of the day was sent by someone else -
"No thanks, I'm not fond of beating women, killing unarmed people, and ruining someone's life over a traffic ticket."


Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Good Instructors

One more entry on this topic.

Shooting Illustrated recently published an article to the exact same effect. Some of the interesting tidbits from that article:

- In addition to differences in personality and physical attributes, there is the difference in mission objective between the cop, the Soldier and the civilian. The police officer’s duty is to conduct investigations and enforce the law. Though, technically they may not have a duty to intercede, in practice they almost always do, keeping the peace, diffusing dangerous situations and arresting serious criminals even when that requires those criminals first be physically subdued.

Combat soldiers have an even more demanding mission: locate and engage the enemy, and kill, drive or take as prisoners as many as possible.

Both are in complete contrast to the “duty” of the armed citizen. While he or she may defend his or herself or intercede on behalf of the innocent if a crime is being committed in their presence, they can’t go out seeking “evil doers” to vanquish. They’re not Batman. Their job is avoidance and survival.



- The cop and the Soldier will also have a raft of legal protections when it’s all over. The armed citizen, though, will have to defend every decision they made and action they performed or deal with the liability.


- Having a wealth of knowledge about a subject isn’t enough. You have to possess the ability to effectively convey that knowledge to your audience.



These are almost the exact same points I made - just slightly different wording. I would suggest you read the whole article. 

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Police Are Not Typically Good Shooters

In reference to this post, there was a comment delivered that 90% of police can only shoot marginally well. A reader writes in and challenges that.

"I think that is a mistake. Every cop I know can shoot way better than your regular joe."

OK. I'll take this bait.

Let's work from the presumption that this is true, and the reader really believes it, and has no reason to mislead. Let's also work from the presumption that this is not hyperbole.

For the sake of clarity, let's use the old "1 - 10" scale. 1 is someone who has never handled a firearm, and 10 is Jerry Miculek. 90% of police would be a "3." While this is much better than the 1's and 2's out there, it is nowhere near what that sort of statement makes them out to be. Some of these police know this. Some do not.

With a sole exception, every firearms instructor I've taken a class from was at least a 7 on this scale within his/her discipline. So, even if pistol is not their thing, they are still in that "5" range - and that is many times better than the typical police officer. In a state the size of Tennessee, there may not be a handful of police / LEO that are a 5 or better in pistol shooting.

From the other side of the fence, I recently became NRA Pistol Instructor Certified (more on that later). Of 10 participants, only 3 of us shot well enough on the instructor shooting evaluation to pass on the first try. One more passed on their second try. Aside from myself, one of the other two who passed on the first try was a friend who has been to several of my classes.

Prior to that class, he had a low opinion of his shooting ability. Now, it is much improved. Honestly, with a pistol, he is a solid 6 or 7. And for the record, everyone in the room had substantial personal experience shooting. However, few had trained in classes prior.

Monday, April 27, 2020

Ms. Busybody

A series of messages sent through Eventbrite to my training school in regards to a medical class and a knife defense class:

This group called global vision is charging for this event and another one for which the Wilson county School board is free. I believe they should both be cancelled with refunds. Not an essential activity. Wilson county Police will be notified

This event is a non-essential one. It needs to be cancelled. This is a Hands-On activity which should not be held at this point in time. I will contact the Mount Juliet Police and government officials regarding this event.

I believe these events put on by global vision Church should be cancelled. Total disregard 4 the rules that aren't being implemented sometimes? It's poor judgement and the police should be notified.

Please cancel this class. Pandemic! Inappropriate. Local officials will be informed.

This class needs to be cancelled. HANDS ON activity not allowed during Pandemic! Totally inappropriate and the organization should be held responsible. Local officials will be informed.




My reply:
Ms. Busybody,

Thank you for reaching out to us.
With regards to your collective five emails from two different accounts concerning our events, you will be happy to know the following information.

Stop The Bleed went on without a hitch, and in complete compliance with Tennessee Executive Orders 17, 21, 22, 23, and 27 - particularly Addendum A, sections 2, 9, 20, 29, and 30. No police presence was to be had, and all voluntary participants maintained correct social distancing guidelines. I'm not sure why you don't want people to know how to stop catastrophic bleeding and potentially save lives. This is most certainly essential!

Way of the Blade is scheduled to be held on May 2 - two days after the Executive Orders expire. Again, for the sake of clarity, the reference is to Tennessee Executive Orders 17, 21, 22, 23, and 27. This order will expire at midnight, April 30, 2020. Had the order not expired, the event would still have been permissible under Addendum A, sections 20, 29, and 30; however, since the order will expire, the permissibility is irrelevant. Additionally, it is quite interesting that you presume to somehow know so much about the curriculum. Are you a martial arts expert? If so, we need to speak about your credentials and how you teach knife defenses. Regardless, it is also puzzling that you do not wish for people to know how to defend themselves from knife attacks. Again, this can potentially save lives!

As for references to Global Vision Bible Church putting on these events, nothing could be further from the truth. The church and Pastor Locke have been most kind to host some of our events - but they do not "put on" the events in any way, shape, or form. Aside from providing some space for the events, the church is not involved in these events.

Normally, I would invite a person making an inquiry to come attend a class. However, Patriot Training values liberty, and that would clearly be a point of contention. Therefore, please do not contact Patriot Training for any reason in the future. You have been fired as a prospective customer - you are not welcome at any of our events.

For future reference, if you feel the overwhelming need to report another person's Constitutionally guaranteed activity, please reference the enclosed picture. It has the correct phone number which will ensure that the appropriate authorities are notified.


Friday, April 24, 2020

COVID-19 Does Not Spread Exponentially

From Townhall:
(article reproduced here in it's entirety for posterity)

"Israeli Professor Shows Virus Follows Fixed Pattern"
Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel of Tel Aviv University, who also serves on the research and development advisory board for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, plotted the rates of new coronavirus infections of the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Italy, Israel, Switzerland, France, Germany, and Spain. The numbers told a shocking story: irrespective of whether the country quarantined like Israel, or went about business as usual like Sweden, coronavirus peaked and subsided in the exact same way. In the exact, same, way. His graphs show that all countries experienced seemingly identical coronavirus infection patterns, with the number of infected peaking in the sixth week and rapidly subsiding by the eighth week.

The Wuhan Virus follows its own pattern, he told Mako, an Israeli news agency. It is a fixed pattern that is not dependent on freedom or quarantine. “There is a decline in the number of infections even [in countries] without closures, and it is similar to the countries with closures,” he wrote in his paper.

“Is the coronavirus expansion exponential? The answer by the numbers is simple: no. Expansion begins exponentially but fades quickly after about eight weeks,” Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel concluded. The reason why coronavirus follows a fixed pattern is yet unknown. "I have no explanation,” he told Mako, “There are is kinds of speculation: maybe it's climate-related, maybe the virus has its own life cycle.”

But what about Italy and their staggering 12% mortality rate? “The health system in Italy has its own problems. It has nothing to do with coronavirus. In 2017 it also collapsed because of the flu,” Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel told the news agency. Indeed, Italy’s exceptionally high coronavirus mortality rate is eerily reminiscent of their unusually high flu mortality rates. Supportive of this theory, Germany, has low flu infection and mortality rates and similarly low coronavirus rates.

Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel concludes in his analysis summary paper that the data from the past 50 days indicates that the closure policies of the quarantine countries can be replaced by more moderate social distancing policies. The numbers simply do not support quarantine or economic closure.

On the reasonableness of Israel’s unprecedented quarantine and closure, he commented to the news agency, “I think it's mass hysteria. I have no other way to describe it. 4,500 people die each year from the flu in Israel because of complications, so close the country because of that? No. I don't see a reason to do it because of a lower-risk epidemic.”

While the American policies remain less restrictive than those of Israel, it is important to understand the origins of our own “mass hysteria” response. President Trump urged a strong coronavirus response after consulting with Dr. Fauci and his team, who relied on a British model predicting 2.2 million deaths in the United States and 500,000 deaths in the U.K. But that model was developed by Professor Neil Ferguson, who had a history of wildly overestimating death rates through his prediction models. Professor Ferguson was not known for his reliability, and his 2001 disease model was criticized as “not fit for purpose” after it predicted that up to 150,000 people could die in the U.K. from mad cow disease (177 deaths to date). Ferguson’s U.K. coronavirus deaths prediction is now down to 20,000 people, 4% of the original prediction.

Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel has mathematically shown us that coronavirus closures were a mistake. It's a tough reality. Americans lost their jobs and businesses went under because the United States, along with most first world nations, acted on the chilling predictions of a severely flawed model, a reading of Professor Ferguson’s tarot cards. Hindsight is 20/20, so we have to be realistic with our criticism. President Trump did not want 2.2 million Americans to die and did what he thought was necessary to save our lives, relying on a model his advisors told him was trustworthy. It's done. It happened. But it doesn't mean that he should continue the course.

It’s been one month since our country declared a national coronavirus emergency and life as we knew it had ceased. Americans have been growing agitated, unwilling to continue in this way, knowing something is wrong. Trump has sensed that his constituency is displeased with the authoritarian power grab by our Governors and has repeatedly stated that he wishes to reopen the country, but that he needs more information to make the right decision. Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel’s data analysis provides Trump with the assurance that he needs to reopen America.
Mr. President, please review Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel’s research and take bold steps to mitigate the damage to our economy. Now that we see the actual data, continuing the closure course is a greater error, a knowing error, one that can no longer be justified by good intentions.

It is time to end this madness! 

Thursday, April 23, 2020

COVID-19 Not Solved By Social Distancing

From Bloomberg (entire article copied and pasted here, in case it is changed or taken down),

"Sweden Says Controversial Virus Strategy Proving Effective"

Sweden’s unusual approach to fighting the coronavirus pandemic is starting to yield results, according to the country’s top epidemiologist.

Anders Tegnell, the architect behind Sweden’s relatively relaxed response to Covid-19, told local media the latest figures on infection rates and fatalities indicate the situation is starting to stabilize.

“We’re on a sort of plateau,” Tegnell told Swedish news agency TT.

Sweden has left its schools, gyms, cafes, bars and restaurants open throughout the spread of the pandemic. Instead, the government has urged citizens to act responsibly and follow social distancing guidelines.

The spread of Covid-19 across the globe is triggering different responses across national and even state borders, as authorities struggle to contain an outbreak about which much remains unknown.

It’s unclear which strategy will ultimately prove most effective, and even experts in Sweden warn it’s too early to draw conclusions. But given the huge economic damage caused by strict lockdowns, the Swedish approach has drawn considerable interest around the world.

Part of that approach relies on having access to one of the world’s best-functioning health-care systems. At no stage did Sweden see a real shortage of medical equipment or hospital capacity, and tents set up as emergency care facilities around the country have mostly remained empty.
Death Rates

As of Sunday, Sweden had reported 1,540 deaths tied to Covid-19, an increase of 29 from Saturday. That’s considerably more than in the rest of Scandinavia, but much less than in Italy, Spain and the U.K., both in absolute and relative terms.

Tegnell isn’t the only high-level official in Sweden to claim the country may be over the worst.
“The trend we have seen in recent days, with a more flat curve -- where we have many new cases, but not a daily increase -- is stabilizing,” Karin Tegmark Wisell, head of the microbiology department at Sweden’s Public Health Authority, said on Friday. “We are seeing the same pattern for patients in intensive care.”

Just two weeks ago, the picture was considerably bleaker, and Prime Minister Stefan Lofven suggested the government may need to review its approach amid the prospect of thousands of Swedish deaths. In particular, the failure to protect people in nursing homes has stood out as a clear weakness, which has contributed to higher death rates than in neighboring countries.

“The protection for people in elderly care should have been better,” Lofven said last week. “We need to look closer at what has gone wrong.”

Yet overall, Lofven’s strategy has won the approval of Swedes, and his personal popularity has soared.

“I have very high confidence in the Swedish authorities that manage this,” Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a phone interview. “It’s a hard balance to strike, but I have full confidence in the measures that Sweden has taken.”

Volvo, which was forced to halt production across Europe and furlough about 20,000 Swedish employees, will resume production at its Swedish plants on Monday.

“Our measures are all based on individuals taking responsibility, and that is also an important part of the Swedish model,” Samuelsson said.
The Economy

Sweden’s Covid-19 strategy may ultimately result in a smaller -- albeit historically deep -- economic contraction than the rest of Europe is now facing, according to HSBC Global Research economist James Pomeroy.

“While Sweden’s unwillingness to lock down the country could ultimately prove to be ill-judged, for now, if the infection curve flattens out soon, the economy could be better placed to rebound,” he said.

Pomeroy pointed to some Swedish characteristics that may be helping the country deal with the current crisis. More than half of Swedish households are single-person, making social distancing easier to carry out. More people work from home than anywhere else in Europe, and everyone has access to fast Internet, which helps large chunks of the workforce stay productive away from the office.

And while many other countries have introduced strict laws, including hefty fines if people are caught breaching newly minted social-distancing laws, Swedes appear to be following such guidelines without the need for legislation. Trips from Stockholm to Gotland -- a popular vacation destination -- dropped by 96% over the Easter weekend, according to data from the country’s largest mobile operator, Telia Company. And online service Citymapper’s statistics indicate an almost 75% drop in mobility in the capital.

Sweden also recently pushed back against the notion that there’s little to no social distancing going on.

“We don’t have a radically different view,” Foreign Minister Ann Linde said in an interview with Radio Sweden. “The government has made a series of decisions that affect the whole society. It’s a myth that life goes on as normal in Sweden.”

Bloomberg is not right-wing, nor is it even centrist. 

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

COVID-19 Fabrications

From Bloomberg -

New York City added thousands of people to its coronavirus death toll to account for victims who died in recent weeks without a confirmed diagnosis.

The article details that 3778 deaths were attributed to COVID-19 without diagnosis. 

#FakeNews is not even pretending any more. 


Tuesday, April 21, 2020

COVID-19 Thoughts

Seen shared by many on social media -
If you are terrified of the CoVID-19, then please... keep yourself quarantined until there's a vaccine or when the 'experts' say it is safe for you to reintegrate into society, but in the meantime - stop demanding that others live in the same identical fear that you chose to live under. 

#ReOpenAmerica


Monday, April 20, 2020

Tactical Thoughts

The military doesn't have a corner on the market when it comes to shooting.

Police don't have a corner on the market when it comes to shooting.

Many people think these entities are where you find expertise in firearms. Although the military and LEO teach shooting to their members, and often introduce a lot of people to guns, neither are a guarantee of good shooting. The best expertise is often found in the civilian world.

Credentials do not make a good shooter or a good instructor. Neither does combat experience, 20 years as a patrol cop, or victories in gun shooting contests.

And just like the military and police do not own the corner on shooting, they also do not have the corner on tactics.

If you find yourself in a situation where a former military guy is in charge, and he wants to storm into a room, remove yourself from the situation. Just because it worked once doesn't mean it is the best way to do things. Shoot the threat first, then move into the room.

You don't need to know 15 patrol formations and types. 2 or 3 will work for 99% of things people will ever do in a non-military environment.

Move, then shoot. Shooting on the move slows you down (making you an easier target) if you want to be accurate enough to hit; or is woefully inaccurate if you are moving fast enough to be a difficult target.

If you do not shoot and maneuver, you will be maneuvered upon and shot.

Always move cover to cover.

Always threat scan.

If there is a lull, and if your Battle Buddy can cover you, perform a tactical reload. Cover your battle buddy while he does the tactical reload.

A Rifleman knows his rifle, his zero, his ammunition, and his holdovers.

Standing, kneeling, and hasty prone are the most commonly used positions in a gunfight. Get good at them.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Neighbor Nazis


This is for those who turn in others for "defying stay at home orders."