RECCE ROOM

In the mid 1990's, I taught karate at the North River YMCA in Hixson, TN. At one point, I had a very interesting conversation with one of the students (sorry - I have long since forgotten his name). He was a smart kid - about 11 or 12 years old. We were talking before class one night, and he mentioned something he saw on TV: Student: "Yeah. I saw it on Boiwerhfosdfkjsdbakflbjalkasdnklf." Me: "You saw it on what?" Student: "Billerhfosdfkjsdbakflbjalkasdnklf." Me: "I'm sorry, didn't come through on the universal translator ." Student: (emphatically) "BillNyesdfkjsdbakflbjalkasdnklf." Me: (to his sister) "Do you know what he's trying to say?" Sister: "Nope." Class begins a bit later. Then ends. The student speaks to his mom when she picks them up. She comes over to me to translate... Student's Mom: "I think what [junior] was trying to say was Bill Nye the Science Guy." ...

Some people keep writing me, asking why I'm so hard on Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Simple - he is NOT conservative, and never has been! Romney is on record - verbally, as well as voting record - as espousing the same socialist agenda that President Obama has been pushing since taking office. Really: they have the same stance on: - Abortion - Gun control - TARP - Socialized healthcare - Tax increases - Stimulus package - Amnesty for illegal aliens - Time tables for withdrawal in war .

Mitt Romney is perfectly fine with his Secret Service bodyguards having guns (even if they lose them on a plane from time to time), he just doesn't want YOU to have guns ! .

I was looking at a liberal blog recently, and they scoffed at the fact that my wife owns a pink AR15. One of them said : "Please just go away. Forever." Sounded to me like "Please just die." No telling how frightened they were of a conservative woman and her scary "assault weapon." And after all, it is all those evil features that make it even scarier. So I figured I'd count up the evil features her gun has: - Bayonet lug. (We have no bayonet, but I've gotta have this because it makes liberals wet their pants) - Telescoping stock. - Pistol grip. - 30-round magazines ("high-capacity"). - Flash suppressor. - Muzzle device enabling the attachment of a muzzle grenade. Pants are being wet as we speak. .

When it comes to trying new food, I find myself constantly reminding my children that they cannot honestly say they do not like it unless they try it first. This past weekend, my son discovered (or rediscovered) he likes baklava. I found out I like bun-free hamburgers. Oh, and I already knew this, but anything cooked over an open flame trumps prepackaged food. .

So who has to twist words more to prove their point - liberals or Calvinists? Is there a difference? .

Let's look at the latest, greatest flip-flopper, Mitt Romney: Abortion: He was for abortion before he was against it. "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose." - Mitt Romney 2002 "I am a pro-life individual. I was a pro-life governor." - Mitt Romney 2012 Guns: He was for gun control before he was for gun liberty. "We do have tough gun control laws in Massachusetts. I support them..." - Mitt Romney 2002 "I have been pro-gun and continue to be pro-gun." - Mitt Romney 2012 Tax increases: He was for tax hikes for Socialized Health Care before he was against tax hikes. "It is not a tax hike. It is a fee, an assessment..." - Mitt Romney 2006 "Ours didn't raise taxes." - Mitt Romney 2012 Individual Mandate: He was for an individual mandate before he was against it .  Repeal of Obamacare: Mitt has said he will repeal it ... and he has said he will reform it . There is a big diffe...

A man jumped into a tiger pen. Look at the surprise on my face when I report that he was mauled. (sarcasm off) Again, predators will be predators. Idiots will be idiots. .

Seriously - it is called the Brick Testament . This is cool looking. .

An actress recently lost her agent, publicist, and lawyer all at the same time. These types of people are used to dealing with crazy stars but they all three escaped at the same time??? Wow. How crazy must she be acting? (either that, or the checks stopped clearing) .

Recently, I was forced to switch banks. My old bank was allowing criminals to make fraudulent charges on my wife's old (supposedly cancelled) check card number. When I demanded they deactivate the card number, the bank said they had done so, and said the criminals were "forced-placing" the charges onto the cards. I knew this was not true for two reasons: 1. Authorizations were appearing first. When charges are force-placed, there is no authorization granted. 2. If the card was deactivated, no further charges can be placed. Well, came to find out at the end of last week that yes, indeed, the bank (Bancorp South) had misplaced our card number along with a few hundred others. These cards had been destined to be deactivated, but that never happened. Listen to people, folks. Learn. .

I'm talking really rich people - not just the folks the Democrats call rich who are eeking out an upper-middle-class salary and living in the burbs. No, it's Forbes list of the top 10 richest Americans. Some interesting facts about this list: - 4 of the top 10 are Walton family members (Wal Mart). 2 more have the family name Koch. - If you confiscated the entire wealth of the top 400, you'd have enough money to balance the Federal budget this year and this year only. - One way to get on the list: be Steve Jobs' widow. - Another way to get on the list: Increase your wealth (2/3 of the top 400 did that in the past year). - Bloomberg (mayor of NYC) is on the list. - Newcomers earned their way on the list by providing great goods and services: Panda Express, Under Armour, 5-Hour Energy, and Twitter are the companies owned by some of the newcomers. - None of the top 10 look severely overweight. Work ethic must abound in all aspects of their life (though some m...

Seems as former NFL player Vince Young is now broke . A man who earned more than most will ever see has spent it all. And he is not even playing in the NFL anymore. Makes me think that the real score on his Wonderlic test was that 6 that he first got, and not the 16 that was later claimed. .

A few days ago, it leaked that (R) presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, indicated that nearly half of voters would not vote for him because they are dependent on the government and do not pay taxes. The obvious contrast is that Obama's big-government policies attract that sort of voter (which is true) while Romney's stated positions might favor more tax breaks for middle and higher income voters. Problem is, at his core, Romney is every bit a big-government man. The only difference is that he will have different companies benefit from free tax dollars than did Obama. Gary Johnson 2012 .

S. E. Cupp stated recently that the GOP is not doomed if Obama wins this year. The article draws comparison to 1996 - when Clinton was reelected. At that time, the Republican party was forced to change. It became more conservative and enjoyed a super-majority until 2006. By '06, the party had leaned back to the left quite a bit. We still aren't out of the woods on the leftist crap in the GOP. Don't believe me? Who is the (R) nominee for President??? .

Don't ask Bancorp South. I used to have a bank account with them, as well as a credit card I used for business trips. That changed recently. It started out when some bunghole in California guessed my wife's old check card number. This card (as well as one in my name) at the time were supposedly shut off in January of 2011 by the bank. Bancorp South issued us newer, more improved cards with new features, and these old cards were rendered useless... ...or so we thought... The thieves ran up a bunch of fraudulent charges. We contacted the bank, and the funds were restored . Then more fraudulent charges, even though we ordered the bank to completely shut off the card (since they obviously hadn't done that to begin with). The bank restored those. Then, this past weekend, we had another $1100 of bogus charges applied. The bank kept on making excuses as to how these thieves were making charges apply to a card that was shut down, but none of the excuses match with what o...

So my son is in a flag football league this fall. He loves every minute of it. I have watched a number of games, and made the following observations for age 8 and under flag football: Running game Ages 8 and under are best served by the running game. Thus far this season, I've only seen two running plays that were ineffective (net gain of 0 yards or worse). Every touchdown I've seen was scored on a running play. Passing game Kids aged 8 and under lack the strength, accuracy, and route running ability to make plays in the passing game. Thus far, I've seen exactly four passes caught. One of those was for an extra-point conversion. None for touchdowns. I've seen plenty of interceptions, though. Kicking game This league does not kick the ball. Odd & Ends Each team gets to start at the "20-yard line." They get 4 downs to make it to midfield. If they make it to midfield, then they get 4 more downs to score. There are no timeouts. 20-minute halves...

The problem with interpreting the Bible is the interpretation. The Bible was written to be read, not read into. Interpretations are, therefore, man's ideas with a pitiful attempt to back it up with scriptures. .

An interview with Romney on guns. The man even tried to make it seem positive about his signing into law a ban in Massachusetts. I just hear a politician telling someone what he thinks the voter wants to hear. Sounds just like what Obama was doing back in 2008. FBHO FWMR .

A student of mine made a special request for a blog post on the differences in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That is the topic of this post. Japanese Japanese Jiu-Jitsu (JJJ) has many styles and no single point of origin. It basically was refined through centuries of war. What worked on the battlefield was taught to the next generation. Eventually, it evolved into a standing system of self defense techniques designed to be used against an armed and armored opponent. Think Samurai of the late 19th Century. Of course, this is a broad generalization, and there were certainly styles of JJJ that specialized in other techniques or methodologies. Indeed, Jigoro Kano, founder of Judo, was a master of two schools of JJJ: the Kito-Ryu and the Tenjin Shinyo-Ryu. Later, Judo incorporated a lot from the Fusen Ryu (mostly groundwork), but these systems were the primary emphasis among all the styles of Jiu-Jitsu. To be sure, the old-fashioned methods used against armored samurai...

From the Examiner : There comes a point in almost every job when it is time to resign. The reasons vary, but usually can be lumped into one of a few broad categories: new job, unbearable working conditions, moving, and family/health circumstances. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind as you leave a company: Notice Traditionally, the mindset given by employers is that they want two-weeks of notice. Some employers will withhold benefits or PTO (Paid Time Off) payouts if a full two weeks notice is not given. In some states, payout is required regardless of length of notice. Some companies will walk an employee out the door within moments of a given notice. Usually, these are companies that handle sensitive client data. Usually, the employee is given opportunity to gather all personal belongings - either at that time, or at a later agreed-upon time. An employee needs to keep in mind how the company handles resignations when planning to hand in a notice. For example, if finances...

Here is a really interesting blog post about guns used in self defense. Some of my favorite quotes: The majority of incidents (52%) took place in the home. Next most common locale (32%) was in a business. Incidents took place in public places in 9% of reports and 7% occurred in or around vehicles. The most common initial crimes were armed robbery (32%), home invasion (30%), and burglary (18%). So home, work, or around your car will account for over 90% of the places you are likely to be attacked. Robbery, home invasion, or burglary will account for 80% of the attempted crimes. Reloading was required in only 3 incidents. One of those involved killing an escaped lion with a .32 caliber revolver, which was eventually successful after 13 shots. Hahahahahahahahahaha! The most common responses of criminals upon being shot were to flee immediately or expire. With few exceptions, criminals ceased their advances immediately upon being shot. More of them need to ...

Calvinism is not Biblical Doctrine. It's a human philosophy that appeals to proud-minded individuals. Calvin himself was not even a 5-point Calvinist, according to a number of sources. Most theological seminaries teach that he was, at most, a 3.5-point Calvinist. Google it and see for yourself. .

Saw this on Facebook, had to post. The Defender's Creed: I accept and understand that human predators exist. Criminal or terrorist, they take advantage of our civilized society to prey upon the weak. They represent evil and must be confronted and defeated. I believe that self-defense is a moral imperative, and that illegitimate force and illegal violence... must be met with righteous indignation and superior violence. I will not rely on others for the security of myself, my family and my community. I proudly proclaim that I run with a like-minded pack. I do not amble through life with the mind-numbed herd. I will train with my chosen weapons, maintain them and carry them in a condition of readiness at all times. I will be mentally prepared and physically equipped to effectively respond to an attack or emergency. I will constantly test myself against realistic standards to discover my strengths and weaknesses. I will turn weakness into strength. I will seek to le...

Back in 2007, my brother was laid off from his job. His income that year was in the mid-$30k range. He asked me for help getting a job. I offered some help: not only in job hunting strategies, but in salesmanship in general. Last year (2011), he earned over 4 times the amount of income he'd made in 2007. OK, good for him, you say (but you don't really mean it). Well, how about these apples: He helped 7 people in 2010 and 2011 make job moves that increased their respective incomes 25% or more. Yes, I had asked him to help others when I gave him the help. .

The embassy in Yemen was stormed yesterday and our ambassador killed . All this by people who were mad at a film about Islam. Couple of points, here, folks: 1. When the media depicts false, belittling, or otherwise unkind portrayals of Christianity, you never see this kind of response. 2. Islam is not a religion. It is a system of hate, with a few pretenses of having some sort of "god" so that they can hide behind claimed "faith." BTW - Islam is not the religion of peace...  Islam is the religion of piece.   As in, all that is left are pieces after they blow you up! .

Recoil magazine made a boo-boo. They published an article which contained, in part, the following: Like [sic] we mentioned before, the MP7A1 is unavailable to civilians and for good reason. We all know that’s technology no civvies should ever get to lay their hands on. This is a purpose-built weapon with no sporting applications to speak of. Guys, I hate to tell you this, but the words "sporting application" do not appear in the Second Amendment. The whole purpose of the 2A was to make sure that "civvies" have full access to the best arms and the same stuff that the ".mil" has. One more closet leftist mag I won't be buying. I encourage you do not, either. .

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney has admitted that he does not plan to repeal all parts of Obamacare. The parts he plans to repeal, he plans to replace. Tell me how this is better??? How long until he comes out of the closet and admits that he plans to ban guns, keep abortion, and otherwise show his leftist, statist roots??? By the way - I predicted as much when I made this meme. And here.  .

So when the Zombie Apocalypse starts, what kind of weaponry should you bring? Pistols are fine, but they are seriously underpowered. Blades are good, but they need sharpening and they are best used up close. Too close for comfort. You should have a pistol and a blade - one of each, at least - as backup. Ideally, though, one would have a long gun as a primary weapon. Indeed, rule #6 applies here. A long gun is immensely more powerful than a pistol. But does it really matter which you choose? Let's talk about that. Choice #1 - 12-gauge shotgun.  They come in many varieties, and really pack a punch. For the record, I cannot in good faith recommend any shotgun other than a 12 or 20 gauge: - The 10-gauge and 16-gauge are fine with respect to power, but ammo is not commonly found. - The 28-gauge and .410 are underpowered, and suffer from lack of available ammo. A self defense shotgun needs to be pump action or semi-automatic. Remove any tube inserts which limit the number...

The Federal Government is encouraging people to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. Already there, man. Already there. .

I watched a lot of the DNC last week. It was odd, and then I realized why. The term "democratic" as aname for the party is misleading. For posterity: A definition and explanation of democracy . A definition and explanation of socialism . A few main points that the Democratic party adheres to that are in direct opposition to true democracy: 1. Obamacare Democracy would have no place for a government mandate of insurance. In a true democracy, and in true democratic fashion, laws inhibit A) the government from infringing upon the people, and B) people from harming other people. Socialism, on the other hand, is dependent upon forcing "equality" on the public. This is done at the expense of the workforce and business. Hmmm... this makes Obamacare sound more like Socialism than democracy. 2. Abortion Democrats intentionally hide the truth on this. Abortion is the killing of a child. A person. In a democracy, one of the two acceptable types of laws are tho...

Where were you, 11 years ago today at this time? Have you forgotten what happened? Does it still burn in you? Never forget. .

I watched as much of the DNC as I did the RNC - about half of it or so. While I fundamentally disagree with the party platform over 90% of the time, I can also appreciate the fact that some do not. One thing that both parties should be able to agree on regardless is the truth. Stand on your record, your lack thereof, or on your principles, but do not lie about it. And don't gaffe about it. Vice President Joe Biden did just that. Of course, they put him on immediately prior to President Obama. This was a move that is contrary to traditional thinking. The VP or VP candidate usually is the keynote speaker the night before the President. I cannot remember there ever being a time that the VP spoke right before the President. It was designed that way to cover for poor Joe Biden and his tendency to say ridiculous things.A few of those from last week that stood out to me: Joe Biden said: Day after day, night after night, I sat beside him as he made one gutsy decision after the ...

Recently found out somebody who follows this blog has been battle blogging me without my knowledge. Wowza. Not surprisingly, this person has gone on record as saying: "I hate battle blogging. I hate that I ever got into it..." Hypocrite . I deleted my subscription to this person's musings (as well as several other liberal outlets I used to follow) several months ago, as there is nothing there that is either true, wholesome, or of any value. But, just for the entertainment value, I looked at it recently. Here are some answers to a few of this guy's delusions: Some real quotes for this person should be: "Hear me squeak." "It's not about Him, it's about me." "Lets see how far we can twist Scripture!" At this person, I am about to level the most vile condemnation my brain can summon: you fraud! You who claim Christianity, yet know nothing of it in your heart. I pray you come to Christ one day! I find it quite funny...

Archbishop Timothy Dolan gave the benediction at last week's Democratic National Convention (DNC). He slipped in some pro-life references in so doing. .

No, not the catchy tune by Skynyrd. 3 steps is all I need to disprove Calvinism - using deductive reasoning, and the scripture (untwisted): Step 1 - Calvinism depends on predestination. (Without predestination, the entire concept crumbles.) Step 2 - If God predestined those who would be saved, then by default, He predestined who would not be saved. (You cannot have one without the other) Step 3 - God wishes that none should perish, so He would not predestine a person to Hell. II Peter 3:9 The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives. .

Thieves stole my money - bank gave it back to me this week. I feel for the merchants who were scammed in all of this. .

The old joke goes like this: Q - Do you know the difference between God and President Obama? A - God knows He is not President Obama. Now we have proof. In the article , Obama is interviewed and defines sin as "anything that does not align with my (Obama's) values." To be fair, most Calvinists feel this way, as do most atheists, most homosexuals, and most abortionists (aka murderers). .

This Doctor calls modern wheat a "perfect, chronic poison." What's more - he's right. I've never seen anyone lose any appreciable amount of weight without either: a) eliminating wheat from their diet, or b) resorting to massive amounts of exercise. Why not just go moderate and cut the genetically modified wheat (including the so-called "whole grain" wheats) and enjoy a moderate amount of exercise with it? By the way, these folks are not fans of wheat, either. Want to get rid of Type-2 Diabetes? First step is cutting the wheat completely out of your diet. .

At my mother's funeral, I read Luke 10:25-27. There was more than a touch of irony, though. Follow me on this one: Luke 10:30-36 - (Jesus had just been asked "who is your neighbor?") Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to...

When you are in the martial arts field, you get to deal occasionally with know-it-alls. These are the types that say idiotic statements such as "I've never seen XYZ, but if I did, I'd know what it looks like." I had just such that sort come in for lessons back in 2005. A man and his 16-year-old son came in. The man wore an old Judo uniform (that was good!), as did his son. The man's belt had once been white, but was dyed green in a homespun fashion, and a bad one at that. Throughout class, he made sure to reiterate his opinion that he was no "white belt"  and surely would be worthy of a yellow or green (or whatever) belt. Funny: since my adult class rank system is White-Blue-Brown-Black and has been since I've been teaching. Also funny since he clearly had some experience in throws, but no experience in groundwork. I asked him about the four most basic movements: juji gatame (arm bar), ude garami (arm lock), hadaka jime (rear naked choke), and...

I read a Facebook meme some time ago that stated a Bible in shambles was usually a sign of a person whose life was not (in shambles). This is my mom's Bible: This was the first page I opened to:

Note: God most certainly predestinates events and certainly did predestine to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the World, so that the World, through Him, might be saved. However, God most certainly does not predestinate whom shall be saved. The notion that God determines whom shall be saved is called " unconditional election ," and is a false doctrine. Those who would teach it are, by definition, false prophets . To teach false doctrine is, by definition, heresy . The main, root problem: The root of the problem with Calvinistic thinking - specifically with the notion that God predetermines who goes to Heaven (and by default, whom goes to Hell) - is pride. These people feel a need to be better than other people in some way and have found no other way to be better. It is a warped way of thinking and it is founded in pride. In this series, I shall disprove the notion of the predestination of whom shall be saved. Plan of Salvation: Thought for this mo...

Something my brother relayed to me about his experience performing CPR on my mother: Her lips were not blue at all. Her cheeks were slightly blue - like they got when she was cold. As he did chest compressions, her cheeks flushed a more normal color. Note: This agrees completely with my CPR training (I am CPR certified and have been continuously since 2007). In fact, as compared to older CPR methodology, it is more important to do chest compressions than to do rescue breathing. We listened in class to a taped recording of a frantic woman saying: "why do my husband's eyes open when I push his chest, but he goes back to sleep when I breathe for him?" At first, my brother felt guilt that maybe he had not performed CPR correctly. However, in 2010, my mother had a pacemaker and a defibrillator implanted. The idea is if something happened, the defibrillator would work like an external one and hopefully shock the heart back into action. The EMS team discovered that t...

What's it like to have to pervert the Bible to accomplish your own objectives? What's it like to want the Bible to say something it simply does not say? What's it like to feel nothing when you twist the words into unintended meanings? What's it like to want to place your own agenda ahead of God's? What's it like to not really trust Him with being right? What's it like? .

How to clear a room. 5 tactical skills. Make yourself a better gunfighter. .

And I say that anyone who works for the .gov is subject to scrutiny for hypocrisy themselves. In fact, every government worker I've met, save one, have been huge hypocrites. .