RECCE ROOM

Just for posterity, here are the words from John Correia: "One reminder on the Lindsay Clancy verdict: I know people have big feels. It’s okay to feel big feels. But you aren’t the jury. You might even have watched the trial, but you ALSO almost then certainly consumed a lot of content that the jury didn’t see, and there are reasons they didn’t see things. The whole system works to ostensibly give the jury as clean a look at the evidence as possible and then the prosecution and defense argue for how that evidence speaks. Those 12 jurors listened carefully to all 21 days of testimony. Those jurors made it through the entire selection process to be a representative group of the defendant’s peers. In my experience jurors, especially jurors in this high profile a case, do their best to be careful and thoughtful. They take their job seriously. They could not unanimously agree on a verdict. The judge and both sides argued for how long to let them continue and I am sure the judge tried h...

A reader writes in: “I have read your entries on wacky hiring practices, and it is good stuff. But one thing I would like to know is why companies put you through all these hoops just to offer a low-wage job?” It is a fair question. We have somehow reached a place where a company can offer $45,000 a year (just over half the current median household income) while requiring multiple interviews, assessments, personality tests, panel interviews, presentations, references, and perhaps an audience with the regional vice president. The hiring process says elite opportunity . The paycheck says we hope you already have a roommate . So why does this happen? Employer Self-Importance Companies frequently confuse the prestige of the organization with the value of the position. A large, successful, or well-known company may genuinely be a desirable place to work. But that does not automatically make every job within that organization desirable. Nevertheless, the hiring process often reflects the...

My friend, "Lefty," has discontinued his blog. This is sad. Rainy Day. Unless I am mistaken, he had that blog for 20+ years. 

  No. They should go to PRISON.  And, in case you do not understand the difference: Jails generally hold people awaiting trial or serving misdemeanor and other short sentences, while prisons generally hold people convicted of felonies and serving longer sentences. If the accusation would expose an innocent man to felony prosecution, then knowingly making a false accusation should itself be treated as a felony.

A few days ago, your author was minding his own business when the phone rang. Since I have a side business where phone calls from unfamiliar numbers occasionally turn into actual customers, I answered it. The caller launched into a fascinating story about how I had "signed for a jury summons and failed to appear." He claimed to be with my local Sheriff's Department. Having heard of this scam before, I started asking questions. "What's your name?" He gave me one. "Badge number?" He gave me one. Then I asked, "Which county Sheriff's Department is this? I forgot." Without hesitation, he replied: "Hazzard County." Yes. Really. For those who grew up watching The Dukes of Hazzard , you'll appreciate the irony. Hazzard County was a fictional county in Georgia. It doesn't exist. (There is a town named Hazard, Kentucky, but it's located in Perry County. There is no Hazzard County there, either.) I told the ca...

The Tennessee Legislature most often creates laws that go into effect on July 1. This is procedural, so there is time to have both the house and the senate vote, then the governor sign, then the governor signs, and the legislature has time to override the veto, if the governor vetoes the bill, and still have the law go into effect as soon as possible after all these things.  This post on social media highlights some of the laws that took effect earlier this week (Wednesday). Of course, my thoughts on the journalist's opinion or the law will be below each one in italics.  This stack of papers? All of the new laws (more than 200!) that went into effect today in Tennessee. Here are some highlights: A new immigration-related law will force cooperation between some local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. Good Getting a Tennessee driver's license will eventually require passing the written test in English. For the next three years, drivers can still take...

Most drivers know what the speedometer does. Most drivers know what the fuel gauge does. But one of the most useful instruments in your vehicle is often ignored entirely: the trip odometer. For those unfamiliar, the trip odometer is the mileage counter that can be reset to zero at any time. Unlike the main odometer, which records the vehicle's total lifetime mileage, the trip odometer allows you to measure mileage over a specific distance or period of time. Many vehicles have two trip odometers, in addition to the primary odometer.  While simple, it has a surprising number of practical uses. Measuring Distance The most obvious use is measuring the distance between two points. Want to know how far it is from your house to work? Reset the trip odometer when you leave and check it when you arrive. Want to know how far it is from your home to church, the grocery store, the gun range, or your favorite restaurant? The trip odometer will tell you. Calculating Fuel Economy Long before vehi...

Most drivers know that the fuel gauge tells you how much fuel is in the tank. What many drivers don't realize is that the fuel gauge usually tells you something else as well: Which side of the vehicle the fuel door is on. Take a look at your fuel gauge the next time you're in your vehicle. Chances are you'll see a small triangle or arrow near the fuel pump icon. That arrow points to the side of the vehicle where the fuel filler door is located. If the arrow points left, the fuel door is on the left side of the vehicle. If the arrow points right, like the one pictured above, the fuel door is on the right side of the vehicle. Simple. This feature is particularly useful when driving a rental car, a company vehicle, a recently purchased vehicle, or simply a vehicle you don't drive very often. I first learned this while working in the car rental industry. It saved time, prevented guesswork, and eliminated the awkward moment of pulling up to a fuel pump only to discover the f...

I was recently having a conversation with someone and asked how much fuel they had in their gas tank. They had an understandable amount of difficulty describing exactly where the needle was on the fuel gauge. That immediately brought back memories of my time in the car rental industry. I first learned this in my car rental days. This was a conversation I had hundreds of times with trainee employees and hundreds more with everyday customers, and people since. Once you know the system, it's simple. Until then, people often struggle to describe anything that isn't exactly full, three-quarters, half, one-quarter, or empty. To be fair, most people know those major reference points. The confusion starts when the needle falls somewhere in between. Fortunately, there is an easy solution. Here in America, we commonly think in quarters: 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and full. If you take the halfway point between each of those measurements, you get eighths. That gives us a complete set of reference poi...

Bolt CEO announces he let go the entire HR department for "creating problems that didn't exist." Many people agree with this position.  Some do not - mostly HR people. For example, I typically like this YouTuber's content... but he went off the rails on this one. He points back to HR being a buffer to prevent the company from getting sued, etc. Here's an idea: Employ one single employment attorney, and you completely cover that singular problem. For far less money, and with far more useful additional skills.  There are probably some broader issues overall with what the Bolt CEO did in the layoffs - I did not study the situation that closely to speak intelligently on that. But he got this part right.  "Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless." - Bruce Lee. 

This was posted online. Reposted here because it is good information on what should be trained primarily. -----   After meticulously viewing 1000s of OIS (Officer Involved Shootings) here’s what we continue to document:  We generally don’t see:  Braced kneeling, of any kind.  Shoulder transitions on rifle.  Slug select on 12ga.  Rifle to handgun transitions.  Multiple lethal threats.  Patrol rifle magnifiers being utilized.  Reloads with retention.  Shooting on the move, towards a threat.  Patrol rifle dot to iron sight transition.  Proactive prone engagement.  Shooting to trigger reset.  Transitions from handheld light to handgun WML.  Braced barricade work.  Patrol rifles / handguns being used through loopholes.  Auditory lethal cues.  Failure drills being needed.  We usually see:  Draw stroke under rapid reactive movement.  Muzzle orientations in confined spaces (door procedu...

Even Babylon Bee was having fun yesterday with the crying contraians Libertarians.  ---- Now, to the more realistic side, I saw this posted online. It is accurate: Massie is for everything you are... except when he isn't.  He's against raising the debt ceiling... Except when it's done by Joe Biden.  He wants to open up the Epstein Files....Except when Joe Biden is in office.  He wants to expose the child predators... Except after all the files are open.  He thinks everyone should have free speech rights.... Except the jooooos.  The only thing he wants to keep out of America is political money.... against him.  He thinks there's too much Money spent in politics.... Except when he spends twice as much as his opponent.  He's really for secure borders.... Except when it comes to paying for a wall or people to watch it.  He really supports republicans... Except when it's time to actually vote for some part of their agenda.  He's looking out ...

The Kentucky-4 primary concluded yesterday, and the results were overwhelming. Incumbent  contrarian  Republican Thomas Massie lost to newcomer Ed Gallrein, 55% to 45%. The AP immediately framed it as “another win for Trump.” The online  contrarians  Libertarian crowd is now pitching absolute hissy-fits over the result. This is why I will never vote Big-L Libertarian. I still hold a few small-l libertarian principles, but as a political movement, Libertarians need to grow up and stand for something - not just oppose the party in power. All the excuses I keep seeing for Massie’s loss completely miss the point. “Money.” “Establishment pressure.” “The Epstein files.” “He stood on principle.” None of that is why he lost. Nobody in Kentucky was sitting around saying, “I’m voting against Massie because his opponent has more money and will protect the Epstein list.” Massie lost because Republican voters eventually get tired of politicians who seem to break ranks precise...

Many people have asked my opinion about the Kentucky-4 primary: Thomas Massie vs. Ed Gallrein. And I have heard both sides of the argument. There are legitimate points on both sides. There are also legitimate concerns on both sides. On the Massie side: Pros: • Established “Republican” who claims conservative and libertarian philosophies. • Consistently positions himself against expanding federal power. • Has built a reputation as a political dissenter willing to oppose leadership. Cons: • Only seems to vote obstructionist against whomever currently has power. • Like so many Libertarians, he does not really seem to stand FOR anything as much as he stands AGAINST the majority. • He is exceptionally good at framing contrarianism as principle, and sugar-coating it into "Conservatism" or "Libertarianism." On the Gallrein side: Pros: • Never held political office. • Trump-backed. • Exemplary military record. Legitimate SEAL and Army Ranger, not some résumé-padding cospla...

In reference to this situation , today is the first business day at the end of the entire divorce in question. What is meant here is that all alimony and child support is paid. The then-minor child is now age 18, and has graduated high school (last Friday evening). This is important because according to Tennessee law, that satisfies the requirements to end the wealth redistribution alimony and child support.  People ask why so many posts about men's rights?  1. Men are people, too, and deserve basic human treatment.  2. Our system is HEAVILY skewed against the men.  3. There are not many people singing the song of men's rights, and we need more.  Here are the numbers behind it: This divorce was filed in 2012.  "Child Support" paid since then: $147,000 "Alimony" paid since then: $50,000 Total wealth redistribution: $197,000.  And that doesn't include the over $200,000 paid to the attorneys in this case!   Real Total: $397,000.  The man ...

Some time back, this class came to my attention. Specifically, see the wording here. "Unlike other local “Civilian Sniper” courses, this class is taught by instructors who have served in dedicated Army sniper roles, providing students with instruction grounded in professional sniper doctrine and practical field experience rather than recreational or theoretical approaches." Now, I have a rule of thumb. I do not disparage other firearms schools or instructors. It is not a good look, and frankly, any competent instructor could probably nitpick another instructor’s wording, methods, or marketing if they wanted to. To what end? That said, I got curious. So I searched. Guess what was the first entry in Google? Ghost Ring Tactical has a class called Civilian Sniper . I sincerely hope the entity from the first screenshot was not taking a swipe at Ghost Ring, because Ghost Ring is one of the best organizations in the industry. In fact, I am friends with one of their instructors, and ...

  Standing on that land, I realized something. My father didn’t just give me memories. He created the conditions for them. And now, whether my children ever connect to this farm the way I do or not… I carry that same responsibility. They will have their own places. Their own “farms,” whatever those may be. Places that mean something to them in ways I may never fully understand. And that’s okay. Because this isn’t about recreating the past. It’s about providing the present. One day, I hope I get to ask them the kinds of questions I’ve been forced to ask myself. I want to know what matters to them. What places shaped them. What memories stayed. Because the truth is, the things I remember from this farm… I am the only one who will ever remember them exactly this way. And maybe that’s reason enough to write them down. Not to preserve the land. But to preserve what it meant. This is the final post of a multi part series, reflections on the farm owned by my father and my gra...

  The farm is 18 acres, split into two main sections—east and west. At one point, even the town’s water tower stood on this land. Eventually, my father sold one acre to Madison County so they could officially own the ground beneath it. That’s how time works in places like this. Lines shift. Ownership changes in small ways. Pieces get carved out, repurposed, formalized. But the core remains. For decades, the same man has rented this land for pasture. He rented it from my grandfather. Then from my father. Now from me. Three generations of us. One continuous thread. The cows don’t know any of that. The land doesn’t care about names or titles. But there is something steady in that continuity. Something that says not everything resets when a life ends. Some things just… continue. Quietly. This is post seven of a multi part series, reflections on the farm owned by my father and my grandfather. This is written for me and my siblings. 

  There was a tree behind the house. Not directly between the house and the shed, but close—just offset enough to stand on its own. Maybe 8 or 10 feet in each direction from those structures. When I was a boy, my grandfather hung a tire swing from one of its branches. That tree felt big back then. It is massive now. More than 40 years have passed since I last swung from that tire. My grandfather has been gone since 1985. My father since 2018. The swing itself is long gone. But the tree remains. And it grew. Standing there today, looking at it, I didn’t just see a tree. I saw a connection. A living thing that existed then and still exists now. A witness to everything that has changed and everything that has been lost. It’s an old friend. One that doesn’t speak, but somehow still communicates. And for the first time in a long time, standing there… I felt it. This is post six of a multi part series, reflections on the farm owned by my father and my grandfather. This is writ...