Articles by Herschel Smith

This depicts absolutely awful interactions between the police and innocent people.  The first cop was bad enough, having stopped the boy for following too closely to his (as he said) “marked car,” as if being marked as a LE car is any different than any other car.

The second cop in the video is a disaster.  He ends up giving conflicting orders to the man, and then not just muzzle flagging him, but unholstering his weapon and pointing it directly at the man while emotionally yelling and screaming.

I think it’s a fair assessment to say that PDs in America are mostly filled with under-educated, overly-emotional, mentally unstable bullies, criminals and sociopaths.  It is incredibly dangerous just to be in the vicinity of cops these days.  “You’re never in more danger than when the police are around, and no situation is so bad that it cannot be made worse by the presence of the police.”  Clearly, at least one of the cops is a danger to society.

Witness this horrible interaction where a family member calls the police because they fear their son was going to commit suicide.  York County, S.C., deputies fired fifty shots at him, hitting with nine (that’s horrible shooting, by the way).  The family should never have called police.  That’s like opening the jail cells and inviting the prisoners to come help you.

Now, watch this video of the sociopath and the father.  Here is the contact page for the Las Animas County Sheriffs Department.

Source.

A new law limiting concealed carry of guns in New Jersey suffered another defeat in federal court Tuesday as a judge ordered state officials not to enforce its tight restrictions pending a flurry of legal challenges from gun rights advocates.

The ruling means New Jerseyans with proper permits are free to concealed-carry handguns at beaches, public parks, bars and restaurants — places from where Gov. Phil Murphy and his Democratic allies in the state Legislature sought to ban firearms in an effort to curb gun violence.

The magnitude of this win should not be understated, especially given the strength of the ruling.  Based on what I heard, I find it unlikely that NJ will prevail even after discovery and arguments.

Here is the decision, all 235 pages of it.

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When the Defense Department surveyed troops in 2021 on their experiences in the workplace regarding gender, the findings revealed significant room for improvement ― particularly in the Marine Corps.

Now, the Corps is bringing on new staff members in the latest effort to address this cultural trend. The service revealed its plans in a briefing presented to the Pentagon’s Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services in March.

Because nothing says “America’s Strike Force” like spending resources and time on ensuring that equal numbers of men and women fight in war.

Honestly, the cancer has gone so deep at this point I highly doubt it can be excised, even by the best surgeon.

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In an interview with the Real America’s Voice program earlier in the year “The Water Cooler,” Trump was asked about his thoughts on why evangelical leaders expressed hesitance to support him in his bid to seek re-election.

“I don’t really care,” the former president replied during his interview with David Brody of the Trump-aligned right-wing news and opinion channel. “It’s a sign of disloyalty.”

This is all referring to Trump’s having recommended to “religious leaders” (whomever that is) that they jettison the high importance on right to life because Trump sees it as a losing issue.

We are not therefore to be governed by our parochial loyalties, nor by group dynamics, nor by peer pressure. All our churches, institutions, groups, races, nationalities, and allegiances must be subject to the prior government of the triune God and His law-word. Anything short of that is idolatry.  R. J. Rushdoony, Chalcedon Position Paper No. 62.

Men who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ should have no other loyalties than to Him, and Him alone.

I’m recently back from a business trip and professional conference in Idaho Falls.  At the end of the conference I decided to do a bit of hiking.  I headed up to the Tetons.  Here is one picture of a less snow covered area.

At least the path is worn well enough that it can be seen.  Everyone else turned around a short time after this photo was taken.  I kept going, and seemed to be the only one up there.  On up the trail I passed a really nice Asian dude who talked to me and recommended that I not move forward unless I had AllTrails on my phone.  We happened to have connectivity where we were at the time, and he assisted me in loading it up, downloading maps and getting the right trail (there were some trails with similar names).  Soon I lost connectivity.  It’s a good thing (and providential) that I ran into him.  This was the next scene a few miles further.  The trail had utterly disappeared.  Were it not for AllTrails, I would still be wandering in the Tetons.

The snow was five or six feet deep in places, and while I could make decent progress at times staying on top of the pack, I was “post holing” a lot.  A few times I fell into tree wells and had to claw my way out.  That’s an awful lot of work.  The Asian dude had not only trekking poles, but snow shoes as well.

Also, I’ll comment that with more unenlightened among us sometimes I often have wondered why a man doesn’t just “swim” out of snow (e.g., during an avalanche).  Yea, that’s impossible.  Put your leg into snow hip deep and it’s like cement.

The trail was the Taggart and Bradley Lake trail in the Tetons.  I wasn’t properly prepared for the hike.  I did make it, but not without a slog.  I didn’t pack my trekking poles because I didn’t want the additional space and weight in my luggage.  That was a profoundly stupid decision but I didn’t know at the time that the trails would be in this condition.  Going up there without snow shoes made it very difficult.

The second day I decided to do something a bit tamer and stay closer to Idaho Falls (within about an hour of the city).

The Idaho and Wyoming area is beautiful country for sure.  But the Northwest had a very deep snow pack this year.  Be prepared when you go into the bush.  I wasn’t.  I could have gotten into trouble in the Tetons.

Outdoor Life.

This is an extremely easy to use rock climbing harness that easily carries and supports hunters in a seated position after an arrested fall. The Black Diamond Zone is designed with the idea that users (climbers) are expected to fall in this harness. It is also designed for self-rescue, since rock climbers are often not easily accessible to rescuers. One of the reasons that full-body safety harnesses are recommended often for hunters is that it would be impossible for a hunter to fall out of a full-body harness if all the straps are fastened properly. Properly worn, the rock climbing harness provides almost as much security. Remember that rock climbers, unlike deer hunters, plan to fall and may be in unusual postures when they do so and count on these harnesses for survival.

Although the front attachment of the tether for rock harnesses could get in the way, the big advantage of this attachment point is that self-rescue becomes far easier after an arrested fall. Since this is a “sit” harness, hanging in these harnesses is much more comfortable than the full-body harness. Because you sit in this harness while suspended, unlike hanging in a full-body harness, the risk of suspension trauma is low.

He goes on to discuss traditional fall-arrest harnesses with a lanyard on the back of the system.  Don’t do that.

You’re incapable of self-rescue, and the system will cut the flow of blood to your legs, potentially causing loss of limbs.  Don’t be tethered to your back side.

Do it the right way.  Use rock climbing gear.  Dump the old, traditional ways of doing things.  All you need to purchase is the harness from Black Diamond, a legitimate carabiner, and a tree tether.  Replace the tree tether if it gets worn.

Source.

If the Church is to make a faithful difference in the evil scourge of unholy and deadly violence against humanity in America, it is vital that the Church turn to a different understanding of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and our faithful role as ambassadors of Christ in the world.

A starting point is a heart-felt and prayerful acknowledgement of the fact that people on all sides of the gun debate share an essential common ground. We all want peace, security, safety, and solidarity. The difference lies in the fundamental disagreement on the role guns play in this shared desire. To some, guns are the guarantee of this goal and to others, guns are the force that makes the goals unobtainable. Tragically, when differences of belief regarding the role guns play in our desire for peace, security, safety, and solidarity dominate the argument, the true goal is lost in our collective defense of passionate belief systems over guns. Ultimately, nothing is resolved because we refuse to speak from the perspective of our shared common ground as we, instead, angry and defiantly defend our own arrogantly passionate presumption of righteousness.

Now, here is R. J. Rushdoony on common ground.

Whether recognized or not, every argument, and every theological, philosophical, political, or any other exposition is based on a presupposition about man, God and society — about reality.  This presupposition rules and determines the conclusion; the effect is the result of the cause.  “The One and the Many: Studies in the Philosophy of Order and Ultimacy.”

The proper role of the church is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with a dying world, not to attempt solutions to social ills based on non-existent common ground.

There is no common ground because in the Christian world and life view, everything has a purpose and reason, God is providential over all, everything must redound to His glory, and must be under the umbrella of His law-word.  Finding common ground with the thinking of evil men is a fool’s errand.

This is remarkable video. It’s interesting how they both seem to go for the back, or perhaps the spine.

See this depressing video in full.  This idiot gets annoyed with people walking through the airport, yanks the dog around on its collar, and teaches the dog nothing in the process.

Let’s go over that again.  The collar is around the dog’s neck.  You can do neck damage by slinging the dog around by the collar.  It’s a stupid and doltish thing to do.  This agent is completely untrained and inexperienced in how to handle animals.

Next, there is no instruction going on with the dog.  The dog doesn’t know what the handler wants him to do.  He (or she) has no idea how to make the handler happy with his performance because there is no teaching going on.  This is frustrating for the dog because dogs are bred to make us happy.  That’s all he wants in life, in addition to basic sustenance.

There is no instruction going on because the handler doesn’t know how to instruct the dog.  He is a dolt.  Not only is he untrained, he hasn’t self trained either.  He has read no books (perhaps he doesn’t know how to read), he has spent no time in obedience training with his own dog (if he has one), or else he abuses his own dog, and he has never spent time around farm animals.

Punitive punishment for dogs must be very quick, very short, and basically used only once so the dog knows what’s not acceptable.  Everything after that must be positive reinforcement.  Everything.  That’s why I congratulate my dog every time he let’s me know he needs to go outside to defecate.  Every …single … time.  And I will do this until he passes away.

If you do not know how to give positive reinforcement to a dog, find a good, loving home for the dog and go back to washing cars, bagging groceries and being alone in the world.  You’re no good for man nor beast.

And by the way, here is a recapitulation of my counsel to cops who reflexively shoot dogs.  Go work on a farm.  Although it must be observed that this guy is a TSA agent, and therefore is probably more of an idiot that most cops.

Few things piss me off more than seeing cops abuse dogs.

Via WiscoDave.

This TSA agent is unfit to handle a dog. pic.twitter.com/WaQ6mt6FR9

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 8, 2023

David Codrea.

The complaint, embedded below is a treasure trove of examples from even before the Second Amendment was written, presenting photographic examples including:

• 1720 Flintlock Pistol with Stock
• 1750 Flintlock Pistols with Stocks
• 1760 Flintlock Grenade Launcher
• 1780 Flintlock Pistol w Stock
• 1760-1820 Flintlock Pistol Carbine with detachable stock
• 1790 Flintlock Blunderbuss Pistols – w detachable stocks (and bayonets)
• 1795 Flintlock Blunderbuss – 15” barrel

“Such weapons continued after the ratification era, through the incorporation of the Fourteenth Amendment,” the complaint continues, presenting further examples from 1820 through to the 1940s …

He uses the complaint brought by GOA attorney Stephen Stamboulieh, which we’ve linked before.

So if the Heller test is the law of the land, according to the Supreme Court, then “in common use” should completely disqualify SBRs from the NFA list, and the Bruen test for laws in place at the founding would certainly exclude SBRs (and pistol braces) from the NFA.