RECCE ROOM

Senator Diane Feinstein has announced plans to introduce a bill in the Senate on Day 1 of session for 2013, the objective of which is to ban so-called "high capacity" magazines. I call these magazines "standard capacity" because they are generally the standard used for their respective firearms. Who came up with the arbitrary 10-rounds, anyways? And why??? Of course, news has already leaked of Feinstein's plan to put in place an even more stringent gun ban than was had in 1994. The two most notorious parts of this soon-to-be-introduced ban, in my opinion, are the targeting of specific gun models, and the "evil features" changes. Gun Models targeted: In addition to the models banned in the 1994 bill: AR15's AK47's TEC9's UZIs The proposed ban would also target: M1 Carbine SKS Mini 14 The SKS and M1 Carbine are rifles created over 70 years ago. To be sure, there are more recently manufactured models (though few under the ...

The other day, I saw a Car-B-Q: (actually, it was a dump truck)  You could see the smoke a half-mile away: The poor guy on the side of the road here is the man I presumed was driving the vehicle: The driver had to stand very far away because of the heat. I could feel the radiant heat inside my car.    This thing was on fire! Note: All pictures were taken when my vehicle was at a stand-still due to the traffic. .

Since the proposed gun ban is beyond unconstitutional, I urge you: Print this letter , sign it, and send to your Congressman and Senators. Directions for finding your representatives are linked at the bottom of the letter. .

Some Calvinists, who do not identify themselves as "Hyper-Calvinists," will tell you that God predestines who will be saved, but somehow that does not mean He predestines who will not be saved. Does that confuse you as much as it does me? Good thing God never said that. .

Why do I need an assault weapon? This article sums it up well . .

New people to jiu-jitsu will eventually start sparring. When they do, they often have herky-jerky movements that help nothing (also known as "spazzing"); they do not often have good hand, hip, or leg placement; and they invariably think they just came up with the newest end-all-be-all "stump" to your game. I spar with new folks the first few times, so they don't accidentally hurt other members of the class. This thought ( my thoughts in italics ) hits me almost every time I roll (spar) with a new person in jiu-jitsu class. You are inside my guard and grasp my wrists with your hands. *Nobody* has ever done that before . I'll give you a minute or two to figure out something positive to do. I'll even tell you as much. See, it is not so hard for me to get my hands out by making little "wax-on-wax-off" circles.  You grab my wrists again, with even more strength this time? I'll give you a moment to figure out something else, and I...

Who has a better choke? A (trained) man or a python? Question answered: Does it turn out like you thought it would? .

Not long after the shootings, Senator Feinstein said she would push for a gun ban in the US Senate. Now, there's word that China wants us to enact stricter gun laws, and pronto. Gee, they couldn't possibly have a dog in this fight, could they??? .

That is all. Now get off the computer and go back to being with family. If you have no family to be with, open the Bible, and read about the true Reason for the season. .

Recently, 20 children and 6 adults were sadly murdered by a madman with a gun. Of course, the liberals are all up in arms about gun control. Amongst the rhetoric, liberals either imply or outright state that the gun is either: A) the sole contributor to the crime, B) the only thing that makes it possible for the madman to kill so many, or C) some combination of A and B. Now, here is what they won't talk to you about in light of A, B, and C: a man with a knife killed 22 people in a mass murder spree. Once again, gun control did not stop a mass murder by a madman. Gun control only takes guns away from people who did not commit the crime. Criminals do not (by default) obey the law, so they will acquire the weapons (regardless of weapon type) and commit the crime irrespective of whatever law is in place. Therefore, it may be safely concluded that gun control as a concept is only adopted by one of three broad reaching groups of people: 1. Those who wish to rule subjects. ...

Looks like Senator Feinstein wishes to introduce an "assault weapons" ban in the Senate. President Obama has already said he would sign one into law (despite the fact that it would be unconstitutional). Our only hope is the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a firm majority. Let us pray those Republicans (and maybe some of the Democrats) vote in favor of the Constitution and the will of their constituents. Also, never mind that none of the recent shootings involved a so-called "semi-automatic assault weapon." Nor would a ban have prevented these people from stealing them (as they did in almost every case). .

Jiu-Jitsu is not the art of making someone tap out. It is the art of allowing them to be beaten in the method and manner they wish to be beaten. Many new students rely too much on strength and speed when sparring. It is only natural. Part of my job as an instructor is to teach them not to rely on that, as there is always someone larger / faster / stronger. Technique rules. To see a large, strong man finally give up on using his strength - particularly when rolling (sparring) with a youngster or woman - is to see one's teaching efforts finally take root. It is very reassuring when this happens. .

On Wednesday, December 19, I visited one of my favorite gun shops - Shooter's Depot . I visited at about 2:00 pm on my lunch break. At the moment I walked in, there were at least 9 people filling out form 4473 to buy guns. There were at least 20 other people looking at guns, ammo, and accessories. One could tell from the noise that the shooting range in the back was full, too. My friend, Amiee, who works at Shooter's Depot, told me that they had sold all 35 of their AR15's in only a couple of days after the President said he wanted to look into gun bans. So Thursday, December 20, as I drove back home, I passed by another good gun shop - the Outpost Armory near Murfreesboro, TN. This is one of the largest gun showrooms in the state, and they sell all types of guns and ammo, with a specialty in military-style guns. This was the parking lot - every space was filled: Here was the line at the "back" door: And here was the line at the front door: ...

Many Americans are up in arms about what the President is doing now that he has been reelected to a second term. Specifically, there are two main hot topics these days. Taxes (the so-called "fiscal cliff") and guns (the so-called "assault weapons ban"). I even saw one idiot say on Facebook: "Happy to say I voted for a red-blooded, gun loving American named Mitt Romney." The obvious, and erroneous, assumption here is that Romney would do something different on taxes and spending, and that he would preserve our Second Amendment rights. WRONG!!! Taxes President Obama wants to raise taxes on everybody. And he does not want to cut spending at all. To be fair, Obama has claimed to be willing to concede on a few, relatively small "spending cuts" - but they aren't really that much smaller than what Boehner wants . But "Billions" and "Trillions" are difficult for many people to make heads or tails of. So let's give...

Connecticut shooting. Things don't add up . So many different reports. I'll add to that list this item: At first, we were told the shootings happened with the handguns and that the Bushmaster was in the back of the car. Now we are told that the shootings happened with the Bushmaster. This video explains it What is the media hiding? What agenda are they trying to push? Why are they being so obvious? .

President Obama announced today that he is appointing Vice President Biden to lead a task force that will look into gun control measures "in an effort to curb violence." It won't work, even if new measures get passed and enacted. Connecticut has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, including a so-called "assault weapon" ban . It didn't stop the crazy man from executing innocent children. .

I saw this idea on a martial arts forum and decided to clean up the idea and post here: You do not learn martial arts. You PRACTICE martial arts. The martial arts are not a "bag of tricks that help you beat a superior foe." The martial arts are a training program that, if you follow, and train hard enough in, YOU will be the superior adversary. You will be harder to choke because many people will have choked you. You will be harder to hit because people will have hit you. You will get beaten so many times that you wont be afraid anymore. Simply "learning a trick" wont do it. Want to learn to defend? Go to a real dojo with lots of sparring/rolling. After the first 20 or so hours of rolling sessions (which is nothing special), you will still be mostly a novice, but you will also be a different person. The experts in your dojo will be "destroying" you, but you will be so much better compared to non-martial artists. Blood, sweat and tears are ...

Here is a decent video for an active shooter situation, like we sadly saw recently in CT. .

Yesterday, the church my family has been attending voted to receive an interim pastor. In the preceding sermon, the man made the following errors: 1. Spoke of how god predestined whom would be saved before he even made the world. I did not capitalize "god" nor "he" as this man was obviously referencing some god other than Jehova of the Bible. 2. Spoke in a negative connotation of "assault weapons." Not five minutes after that, he made denigrating comments about GLOCK by name (and not in a "I prefer a 1911 to a GLOCK" way). What I don't understand is why he didn't just go ahead and say he was "pro-choice" too. I mean, that is two of the major three things I value in life: God, guns, and life. This man does not speak of the same God as I believe in, he dislikes guns. I would be on to looking for another place to worship, but the kids really like it here.  Couple of bits of irony: - This interim pastor happens to be ...

So if you want to learn effective self defense, you should: 1. Give your attacker tobacco and wait 50 years. 2. Send your attacker to doctors. 3. Let him simply have a normal accident. 4. Give him a drink. 5. Let him drive a car. 6. Allow him to poison himself. 7. Allow him to OD on drugs. 8. Let him accidentally fall off of something. 9. Hit him with a baseball bat. 10. Shoot him. By the way - the firearm homicides also includes justifiable homicides as determined by the legal system. So not all of them were cold-blooded murders. A number were legitimate self defense actions! .

Calvinism is not Biblical Doctrine. It's a human philosophy that appeals to proud-minded individuals. Limited Atonement This is the heretical concept that God's salvation was for only the saved. Total refute: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." By the way, for the link above, I linked to the ESV. Normally, I do not use this translation, as it is not a true translation, but it is rather a translation conceived by Calvinists, for Calvinists, to push their false agenda. However, even they cannot lie enough to overturn this one verse, which just so happened to be the verse that the late Dr. Adrian Rogers used to refute predestination (see last month's post). "world" "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son..." Herein "the world" clearly means that God loves everyone. How could God love a person,...

Here is a good video on true field shooting positions. Several methods are shown, and the focus is on hunting, though most, if not all, would be appropriate for combat, provided cover and concealment concerns were also addressed by the shooter. .

Really good video by Roy Dean about the perspective on a simple arm lock from jiu-jitsu. . .

And no, I am not making reference to the pop song. I am talking about a short video by Steven Crowder in which he interviews self-describing Democrats, yet they embrace Republican (more correctly, conservative) ideas. Hmmmm... .

Recent interview with Howard Dean . Some of his quotes, and my thoughts: "The truth is, everybody needs to pay more taxes, not just the rich." So there we have it. Finally, a liberal who speaks liberals' collective thoughts out loud and honestly. They want more taxes on everyone. One problem: this fiscal cliff did not come about because we failed to tax enough. IT'S THE SPENDING, STUPID! "We are not going to get out of this deficit problem unless we raise taxes across the board... if we don't do that, then pressure is going to be on spending even more." And here is the truth about liberal though processes again - they worry most about cuts in spending. They do not want cuts in spending. They KNOW the problem is brought about by the spending. They do not think it is a problem, as they wish for us all to sacrifice our collective liberty for the sake of progressivism. Understand though, for all intents and purposes - progressivism = leftism = co...

BancorpSouth is acting like it is a bank. Fact is, they are simply clueless. I recently had to sever all ties with them. Previously , I had a checking account there, as well as a credit card I used for business expenses. Bancorp South forced my hand, and I was compelled to close my checking account with them earlier this year. Since then, I had discontinued using their credit card, as well. However, unbeknownst to me, a couple of charges had slipped over the cutoff date from October to the November statement. That wouldn't have been a problem except: THE IDIOTS AT BANCORP SOUTH NEVER SENT THE NOVEMBER STATEMENT! Therefore, I was forced to fire them. Why I terminated my relationships with BancorpSouth:   1)       For theft by way of complicity on the part of BancorpSouth Namely:   complete failure to shut off a check card based on issues stemming from fraudulent charges in August and September of 2012, despite being so ordered by the...

Have you ever wondered what would happen if there was a fire and ammunition was in its path? The folks at SAAMI did a battery of tests on ammunition in fires. They also crushed ammo, and dropped it. The point was to examine how dangerous ammunition can be when not chambered in a firearm. Link to video - it is about 25 minutes long. Conclusion: ammo is not very dangerous unless contained within a firearm. Also, it is very difficult to get ammo to ignite accidentally. .

I recently built a budget M16A2 clone. Total cost was $600. To be fair, I had an A2 upper sitting around. Not much else to say, so enjoy the pictures:

Calvinists are world-renown for their double-talk. That is to say, they will claim one thing that is in contradiction to the Bible, then try to rationalize it within Biblical "context." Clearly, these items just are not so. Part 1 - Limited Atonement This is the "L" in "TULIP." The heresy of TULIP is the fundamentals of Calvinism.  The concept is simple - Jesus' death is the price paid for sin He did not commit. Sin committed by those who would be saved by His grace. Atonement is, by definition, reparation for a wrong, injury, or sin. At question: for whose sins did Jesus die?  If you believe, as Calvinists do, that those that are to be saved were predestined for Salvation, then it is clear that the atonement for sin was strictly for those whom God predestined for salvation. This is clearly not in line with scripture. Calvinists will argue that Christ's atonement will not cover all sins, as all people will not be saved ("unlimite...

Not every member of the media is an incompetent leftist buffoon. I mean, sure, Bob Costas and Jason Whitlock recently proved themselves as such (OK - to be fair, Whitlock does that every time he puts pen to paper). However, Jen Engel is not an asinine idiot, and better: she proves as much in her recent article about freedom erosion. .

For today's review, I will take note of the movies The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid II . I had seen both of these many times as a kid. We had them both on tape. At the time, I liked the second one a bit better. Well, I watched both through entirely recently... probably the first time in fifteen or more years... and had some thoughts on them. The Karate Kid This movie is far better than the second. Now I know why it was nominated for several awards and the second was not. The acting was far better. The score was much better. The directing and production was better. The plot was far more original. I really wish learning the martial arts was as easy as Miyagi made it look! The Karate Kid II As a child, I liked this one a bit better. Had more fights. However, a few things turned me off to this one as an adult. 1. Miyagi turns into some sort of peacenik. Seriously, I can understand (and personally, I do adopt) an attitude of nonviolence, but Miyagi goes leftist in this mo...

Bob Costas went crazy at halftime of Sunday Night Football and outed himself as an anti-gunner. He read from an article by Jason Whitlock, who espoused the same rhetoric. Both are idiots. .

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. Errant Judgment: Why did God create us u...

This past weekend, I drove to Virginia to teach a Jiu-Jitsu seminar in Appomattox at John Kennedy Martial Arts. As is usual with my good friend, John, he invited several other schools to join in the fun. We trained for several hours Saturday, and had a picnic style lunch. There were nearly forty attendees, ranging in age from age 7 to 50+. My student, Sarah, helped to teach and demonstrate the movements, as well as helped to coach the folks as they practiced. Sarah is about a foot shorter and 90 pounds lighter than I am, so the visual image of seeing a smaller person performing the movement on a larger, stronger opponent is stunning. Sarah recounts to me that her favorite part is being approached by the mother of two young teenage girls who were in attendance (Megan and Allison - two really sweet girls). The mom told Sarah how much she inspired those girls to want to continue with the martial arts and train jiu-jitsu specifically. Sarah is also a mother of two (though they are n...