From Churchill.

"Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result."

W. Churchill

10,000 Syrian refugees being settled in the US. And 10,000 is just "the floor", not "the ceiling"...

This from a gleeful mainstream outlet, MSN:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/first-syrians-arrive-in-us-under-surge-resettlement-program/ar-BBrqZmM?li=BBnb7Kz

An official states that 10,000 is the lowest number of people who will be brought here. They also say they'll be brought here at breakneck speed. The process usually takes between 18-24 months, but these refugees will be relocated in about three months.

How are we allowing this to happen after seeing Europe set ablaze? In a couple of years time, maybe less, Europeans will wish for the good old days of Bataclan and Molenbeek.

Do you see what happens to the women caught by even small groups or pairs of refugee men? There are thousands of military age males (MAM) in these refugee hordes, young and healthy enough to go anywhere in the Muslim world and make a life. But instead they are being shuffled to Europe and the US.

Do we care about the horrors our young women will be subjected to, like some have been in Europe? Do we not have the spine to intercede and stop the fires that are being set? This is self destructive behavior.

It's this type of behavior that is being accelerated in the nine months we have before a new President comes to office. Whoever that person is or whatever they do may have no effect, or if it's Hillary or Bernie, may have a negative. In both cases, the following by Bracken is again true:

"America is dead. Your community is your country. Act accordingly."

In praise of the AR-15 as a home defense weapon.

You can go online to any firearms based website or blog, ask any firearms "expert" or enthusiast, "what's the best option for a home defense weapon?" and you'll receive a huge array of responses. You'll get input on weapons, brands, ammo types and calibers, weapon accessories, state and federal laws, ballistic performance, physiological effects, psychological effects, etc. You'll even get some people recommending good attorneys to hire if you get into a shooting situation. The people you ask will morph into lawyers, cops, doctors, engineers, physicists, salesmen and Army Rangers right in front of your eyes, and all at the same time.

I'm not here to flood you with that and I'm not here to make your choice for you. I'm going to let you know what I choose and why it works for me. You can decide if it works for you. Obviously the best weapon for home defense is the weapon you have when the time comes for you to use it.

My personal choice is a Colt M4 Carbine chambered for 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition. I installed quad rails and put a government issue pop-up iron rear aperture sight on the flat top receiver. I installed a Streamlight TLR-1s flashlight (300 lumens) onto the left quad rail using a Magul mount. There is an EOTech XPS 2-2 Holographic Weapon Sight and an EOTech G33 swivel magnifier. I use Magpul 30 round PMags. I replaced the standard grip with a Blackhawk grip with finger grooves. I currently have my two home defense magazines loaded with Black Hills 77gr OTM ammunition.

My reason for choosing this weapon is that I prefer having a weapon that requires less "fine motor" skills and more "gross motor" skills to operate properly. When you're jarred awake by someone beating your door down at 0200, your fine motor skills aren't always going to be there ready to go. You'll still have your gross motor skills, and that's why I currently choose a long gun over a pistol. A pistol is a fine weapon for home defense, especially if you're skilled in pistol shooting, but it does require that you keep your fine motor skills with you through any amount of combat stress, which is easier said than done.

Some will ask about shotguns, and here's my only reason for choosing a rifle over a shotgun. I've got 30 rounds in my weapon while a shotgun likely has ammo in the single digits. I can also load up another 30 round magazine much fast than someone can load another handful of shotgun shells. A shotgun is a great option for home defense, but I have my own reasons for choosing the rifle.

I've personally used the Colt M4 Carbine to clear buildings in training situations and during a combat deployment. I've seen what the 5.56 NATO ammunition is capable of and trust me, it's ugly. I know there is always going to be some politics surrounding the decisions that are made by the higher ups, but we've been using 5.56 NATO since Vietnam. If it didn't do its job, it wouldn't still be in use by our military five decades later. Maybe it would have stuck around for a bit, but not for over fifty years. This round is more than adequate and I've seen it up close and personal.

I think the last complaint most people have is the possibility of over-penetration with this ammunition. But here is the point I make: ANY suitable self defense ammo is going to penetrate sheetrock like it's paper. Same for your home windows. Same for bedroom doors. No matter what you're shooting, you NEED to ensure that all family and friends are accounted for and preferably BEHIND your firing position. You can ensure this by strategically locating your bedroom between the common area of your home and the other bedrooms, if possible. It makes it easier to shoot an intruder if you have already secured your family in the bedrooms behind you. Again, any self defense ammo is going to penetrate the barriers in your home. I have personally witnessed a .25 caliber round negligently discharged inside a home, and it penetrated a bedroom door, two walls and then embedded itself into a third wall. This is why it's more important to have a weapon that will allow you to have the highest accuracy when fired repeatedly. The M4 Carbine provides that.

You obviously have to evaluate your own situation and obtain the weapon that best fits your needs and abilities. If your budget allows you to only purchase one weapon and you'd like to also carry it in your vehicle, then a pistol is surely more suitable than a long gun. If you like the idea of firing multiple projectiles at once,then you can get that in a shotgun. I've detailed my own choice and my reasons. What is your choice?

Chaos.

The race for the White House heats up every day that passes and all I can see for the future is chaos. I feel Ted Cruz is the only Constitutional Conservative in the race since Rand Paul dropped out. Donald Trump is a buffoon, but even worse he is the same type of statist we've been electing since Reagan's terms expired. Hillary is a Clinton, nothing more needs to be said. Bernie Sanders is a hardcore socialist, though I guess at least he's honest about it. The democrat party is one of socialist support anyway. I don't know who is going to win, if any of of those people at all. Maybe it could be someone else not yet named. 

Regardless, we may already be out of time. As bad as Obama has been, the real chaos may start in nine months. Our choices in the upcoming elections may be pointless, and if so, I'll leave you with something as stated by author and former Navy SEAL, Matt Bracken:

"America is dead. Your community is your country. Act accordingly."

More later.

Psalm 91

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High 
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, 
my God, in whom I trust." 
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare 
and from the deadly pestilence. 
4 He will cover you with his feathers, 
and under his wings you will find refuge; 
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 
5 You will not fear the terror of night, 
nor the arrow that flies by day, 
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, 
nor the plague that destroys at midday. 
7 A thousand may fall at your side, 
ten thousand at your right hand, 
but it will not come near you. 
8 You will only observe with your eyes 
and see the punishment of the wicked. 
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling- even the LORD, who is my refuge- 
10 then no harm will befall you, 
no disaster will come near your tent. 
11 For he will command his angels concerning you 
to guard you in all your ways; 
12 they will lift you up in their hands, 
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; 
you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; 
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; 
I will be with him in trouble, 
I will deliver him and honor him. 
16 With long life will I satisfy him 
and show him my salvation."

A prediction.

The republicans have said that they absolutely will not hold any confirmation hearings for Obama's recent SCOTUS nominee, Merrick Garland.

My prediction is that they absolutely will, possibly as soon as June or July.

Anarchism is not what they tell you it is.

"Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hard-headed realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we can not entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals and county commissioners."

-Edward Abbey

This still applies today.

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States."

Noah Webster, An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 1787

On politics, voting and the White House race.

Many people ask who I'll be voting for, but when they ask me that they aren't actually looking for a name. What they're truly asking is "are you a republican or a democrat?". People have closed their minds off to everything outside of republican or democrat. To them, there is nothing else. In fact, what the republicans and democrats actually DO matters little. There is only one thing that matters, and that is the letter R or D behind a politician's name. That politician doesn't have to do or say anything in particular to warrant the love or hate of the people on either side, as long as the people can easily identify the letter. Voting for the right party matters more than principles and more than convictions.

I used to vote that way as well. I would simply vote for whoever the party nominee was. The "lesser of the two evils" they said.

But I'm done voting for evil now, and I don't care if one side calls themselves republicans and the other calls themselves democrats.

Politics can be very complicated of course. So I've simplified it down for myself and made it easy. My political belief system is based on maximum freedom for the maximum number of people. My poltical beliefs are based on the letter of the US Constitution, a document written to protect us from the horrors of an oppressive, powerful, centralized government system. We all have natural, God given and inalienable rights. We all have the right to defend ourselves, to travel freely in our own country, to keep and do as we wish with our privately owned property. We have the right to be free from oppressive taxation and waste of our money. We have the right to be free from invasion of our privacy. These rights and many other liberties are our's to keep and no one's to infringe upon, especially a government of people just like us who see themselves above us.

The only candidates currently left in the 2016 US Presidential race who have any hope of winning the White House are Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

My beliefs on Trump are pretty simple, which is how I try to keep all political thought processes. He's donated many thousands (or even millions) of dollars to any cause or person he feels would have benefitted him the most at that time. Occasionally this includes republican polticians and "republican" causes, but most often the receipients of his money and support have been progressives and statists, democrats, neo-liberals and the like. A few examples include Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Rahm Emanuel, Chuck Schumer, Bill Deblasio, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Trump has also supported unconstitutional efforts, such as the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban. He's supported misuse of eminent domain, increased taxes and increased spending. He's been  pro-choice (AKA anti-life). He has little understanding of what the US Constitution is or what it is there for. He changes his positions with the political winds, which is why I do not trust him. Having the letter R after your name does not earn my vote by default, especially if that R used to be a D or an I.

I am well aware of how Trump is currently branding himself and my problem with it is that it is completely different from his entire history, including his history as recent as 2014. I do not trust the man one inch and there is not one single argument I've heard from anyone as to why I should trust him. When asked why I should trust him or vote for him given his history, his supporters always resort to something to the effect that he isn't Hillary Clinton. Sorry, but you can't simply say "I'm not Hillary" and earn my vote by default. No, you need to base your political positions on an originalist interpretation of the US Constitution. Funny that no one has EVER accused Donald Trump of being a Constitutionalist, isn't it?

I don't even need to say much about Hillary Clinton and her failures. The news media has given Hillary a full pardon for her "Russian reset", which turned out to be a total disaster. Our relations with Moscow haven't been this bad since the Cold War, and even now Vladimir Putin talks regularly about the strategic deterrent capabilities they posses. Her role in the Benghazi incident goes without saying, those the press is prepared to let her pass on that mistake as well simply because they've grown bored with the story. Still left is the FBI criminal investigation into the classified information Clinton stored on a personal server inside the basement of her private residence. Obviously this behavior is totally illegal and left US secrets wide open to be gleaned by any half-capable foreign actors. The most likely would be Chinese computer network exploitation experts. Her actions as Secretary of State alone (I could pile on her inappropriate actions during her time as First Lady and her dismal record as a senator) should at least disqualify her completely from ever stepping into public office again, and more likely should land her behind bars.

Bernie Sanders is a more appropriate punchline than an appropriate consideration for any office in a society that calls itself free. The man is an avowed socialist and his entire political platform can be summed up as such: "I'll give you the most free stuff". He's proposed raising taxes to a 90% rate and proposed that all schooling and all healthcare should be free. But if it's "free", then why the 90% tax rate? Because it's not free. He either doesn't understand this or he is lying. On many occasions he has shown himself to be a complete economic dunce, despite running his entire campaign virtually on his economic policies alone. One example is when he stated that student loans interest rates should be as low as home loan interest rates. If he had any understand of economics at all, he'd realize that home loan interest is lower because if you default on your home loan, the bank will get your home as repayment. But what will the repayment be on an education if you fail to pay the student loan? Can they repossess your brain? Can they take back the knowledge? Of course not. This is a simple economic principle that has totally escaped Sanders. His many years spent in Congress (first became member of Congress in 1991) have been a huge waste as well. Since 1991 he has failed to author a single bill that was ever passed into law.

Ted Cruz has been a thorn in the side of the so called "establishment" since he defeated David Dewhurst for the US Senate in Texas. His voting record reflects an originalist interpretation of the US Constitution and this has earned him many enemies on both sides of the aisle. While certainly not the perfect candidate (are there any?), his record of voting and the issues he supports represent the closest opportunity Americans have had since Ronald Reagan to vote for a candidate with strong Constitutional Conservative leanings. There is no other candidate left in this race (since Rand Paul has dropped out) that is widely described as a Constitutionalist by anyone who understands the meaning of the word.

I can no longer hold my nose while voting  and I will no longer simply settle for whoever is less evil than the rest. I do not have any use or value for made up

political parties. I will forever base my votes on which candidate holds a strict, originalist interpretation of the US Constitution and who's actions display this. If no candidate exists on the ballot, then I will be forced to write the name in myself. Surely many will chirp and screech about my failure to vote for their candidate is a de facto vote for the opponent, but I disagree. My vote does not belong to any one candidate by default. Failing to give it to that default candidate does not represent a theft of a vote from the default candidate. It is my vote until someone, a Constitutionalist, earns it. Having a certain letter after your name is not enough. Not being Hillary Clinton is not enough. Vowing to give away free stuff is not enough. I require a thorough understanding of the US Constitution, the importance of it and the will to abide by the constraints it contains.

There is one and only one candidate left in this race who fits that description and that is where my vote will go.

A truly simple guide to being an accurate pistol shooter.

I've had some people ask me to teach them how to shoot, but most who ask do not actually follow through on the plans to go shooting. Many people are intimidated simply by how complicated some pistol shooters make it sound. I'm going to try to explain this as simply as possible. Shooting a pistol accurately IS truly a simple thing. If it's being made to sound complicated, then it's probably not being explained properly.

There are four things to focus on when shooting a pistol. You need to focus on stance, grip, sight picture and trigger squeeze, in that order.

Stance: Get into a comfortable and well balanced stance. The most important thing to remember about stance is "nose over toes", which means basically "do not lean backwards". Many people go into their shooting stance looking like they're getting ready to do the limbo. Lean forward slightly at the waist and hips. Shooting a pistol is an aggressive action no matter what your target is. So be aggressive and lean into it a little. Nose over toes. Get comfortable and don't lean backward.

Grip: Wrap your shooting hand around the grip normally and place your trigger finger straight alongside the slide, being careful not to put it inside the trigger well until it's time to fire. Your thumb should be pointing forward, not up or down. Your non shooting hand needs to be wrapped around the other hand, letting each finger fall into the "spaces" or "grooves" between the fingers on your shooting hand. Your thumbs should lie together pointing forward toward the target's general direction. Hold onto the grip as tight as you can. It's that simple. The tighter the better. Tighter equals less movement during firing. Hold your arms straight out toward the target and let your elbows point a little outward rather than downward. This elbow position is recommended but not vital.

Sight Picture: Sight picture is very important to getting a good shot. The rear and front sights must be aligned on the exact spot of the target you want to hit. The pinpoint location of where you are aiming is referred to as the "point of aim" (POA). The spot where the fired bullet actually hits is referred to as the "point of impact" (POI). You need to have a good sight picture lined up, because if the POA and the POI are not in the same spot, the difference can indicate exactly what type of problem you are having with the other steps. Again, the front sight needs to be well aligned with the rear sight and then placed on the center of the target. Try to focus your eyes on the front sight above all else. This will normally cause your view of the target to become slightly fuzzy, as the eyes can only focus on one of the two objects that are at differing distances. It is alright for the target to look slightly fuzzy. This will not make it harder to aim the (clearly seen) front sight at the center of the target. Focusing on the front sight and keeping it clear in your view will help you keep it steady.

Trigger Squeeze: The trigger squeeze sequence is where you need to practice the most. Getting the other three steps right simply requires a bit of memory. The trigger squeeze is a technique that requires practice and patience. If you have a good sight picture, then you can easily diagnose a bad shot with the trigger technique you're using. Someone who "anticipates the shot" will often have a low POI compared to their POA. Someone who "pulls" on the trigger instead of properly rolling the trigger smoothly back will often have a POI that is to the right of the POA. These are very common mistakes and take a little practice to overcome. Even experienced shooters will often notice a low-right POI, and they know that they need to smooth out their trigger squeeze and stop anticipating their shot. As a shooter, you should allow the recoil of the pistol to "surprise" you. Obviously you will not be mentally surprised by it because you are purposely firing the pistol, but the recoil should be allowed to physically surprise you. Bracing against or pushing against the expected recoil is a natural reaction you need to practice yourself out of. It isn't difficult, but does require some practice.

Those are the four aspects of pistol shooting. It can really be as simple as that.