(Thanks to my barber for sending the information on this.)
On 3/21/09 in Oakland CA, a "routine" traffic stop resulted in the death of two motorcycle officers, two SWAT officers and the armed suspect. Another SWAT officer received gunshot wounds.
The shooter hit one motor officer in the head and the other in the neck with a 9mm pistol. He fled to a house where he used an alleged assault rifle in killing two SWAT officers and wounding another.
It does not surprise me that a street punk surprised two officers and murdered them with head shots. As I have said, practical weapons training for most police is generally inferior to that of many armed orcs.
The SWAT casualties did cause me to raise an eyebrow. Even if the orc had an assault rifle, a SWAT (special weapons and tactics) team would not be outgunned. That means that someone should review the tactics used.
I have no criticism for these brave officers. One will respond in the street as one has been trained.
Let's pray for the families of these officers. And pray that the surviving officers do not retreat further into the "us/them" mindset that too many police manifest toward the public in general today.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
My Apologies
Sorry, no post today. For the past couple of weeks I've been working on a marketing project that would involve e-copies of ten classic self-defense books. I will open the program to affiliates who will earn about $45-$50 per sale.
I'm hoping that some of my readers will become affiliates & promote the package.
I'm hoping that some of my readers will become affiliates & promote the package.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Confronting Gun Violence at Church
(Thanks to deolexrex for sending me this report)
"Confronting Gun Violence at Church: Practical Strategies to Protect Your Ministry" is a 22-page report prepared by Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. I like it enough to send a link to my own church's pastor & session. (Note: In Presbyterian Churches, the governing body of the local church -- composed of ruling elders -- is called the session.)
(Some have reported that the above link does not work. For that reason, I have uploaded the pdf file & you should be able to download it from here.)
The report does have some highly quotable material like this:
“Churches are really easy pickings if you think about it,” [Dale Annis, a church security director,] said. “You’ve got several hundred people, all in one place with their heads down and their eyes closed. I tell my security team to pray with their eyes open.”
I would have expected a white paper like this to dismiss entirely the option of an armed presence during the church service. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they saw armed security as a viable option.
Then I was unpleasantly brought back to the fantasies of corporate lawyerspeak and the fear of liability when the report said that law enforcement personnel or a contract security firm should be the only ones allowed to carry firearms in church.
Here is is the statement as it appears in the report:
If you decide that your church needs an armed security team, please allow weapons to be
carried only by active or retired law enforcement officers who receive regular weapons
training. As you can imagine, a person who may shoot accurately at a firing range or while
hunting might not perform as well when faced by a gunman threatening a congregation.
This is the politically correct type of verbiage that the Mutual Brotherhood hopes will keep them from getting sued. It flies in the face, however, of real-world facts.
For a glimpse at the bitter truth about the nationwide inadequacy of police firearms training, see my post entitled "FBI Report". Also, in "Christian Martialist as Sheepdog, 4" I cite a statistical analysis that shows the abysmal hit rate of law enforcement officers involved in shootings.
And from firsthand experience, I know that armed security receives less training than the police.
A church security ministry does not need "professional" help as much as it needs godly, motivated sheepdogs who will put in the training time on their own to master the tactics, weapons and mindset to keep the flock safe.
"Confronting Gun Violence at Church: Practical Strategies to Protect Your Ministry" is a 22-page report prepared by Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. I like it enough to send a link to my own church's pastor & session. (Note: In Presbyterian Churches, the governing body of the local church -- composed of ruling elders -- is called the session.)
(Some have reported that the above link does not work. For that reason, I have uploaded the pdf file & you should be able to download it from here.)
The report does have some highly quotable material like this:
“Churches are really easy pickings if you think about it,” [Dale Annis, a church security director,] said. “You’ve got several hundred people, all in one place with their heads down and their eyes closed. I tell my security team to pray with their eyes open.”
I would have expected a white paper like this to dismiss entirely the option of an armed presence during the church service. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they saw armed security as a viable option.
Then I was unpleasantly brought back to the fantasies of corporate lawyerspeak and the fear of liability when the report said that law enforcement personnel or a contract security firm should be the only ones allowed to carry firearms in church.
Here is is the statement as it appears in the report:
If you decide that your church needs an armed security team, please allow weapons to be
carried only by active or retired law enforcement officers who receive regular weapons
training. As you can imagine, a person who may shoot accurately at a firing range or while
hunting might not perform as well when faced by a gunman threatening a congregation.
This is the politically correct type of verbiage that the Mutual Brotherhood hopes will keep them from getting sued. It flies in the face, however, of real-world facts.
For a glimpse at the bitter truth about the nationwide inadequacy of police firearms training, see my post entitled "FBI Report". Also, in "Christian Martialist as Sheepdog, 4" I cite a statistical analysis that shows the abysmal hit rate of law enforcement officers involved in shootings.
And from firsthand experience, I know that armed security receives less training than the police.
A church security ministry does not need "professional" help as much as it needs godly, motivated sheepdogs who will put in the training time on their own to master the tactics, weapons and mindset to keep the flock safe.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Who Are the Good Guys?, 2
Continued from "Who Are the Good Guys?"
Like the great majority of Christians, I'd like to believe that the civil authority and all its representatives are the good guys. I'd like to believe that as long as I follow my King and do no harm to my neighbor, that I have nothing to fear from the police or the bureaucrats.
My experiences and those of others I have known tell me different. The actions of our civil government against people with politically incorrect views tell me different.
When I taught Government & Econ. on the high school level, I tried to lead the students into an awareness of these things through reading and discussing current events. One student asked how our government could make so many mistakes.
I replied, "You're operating under the assumption that the government is on our side. Suspend that assumption, and the answer will become more clear."
Please understand that I'm not saying that all soldiers, police officers or other civil servants are evil. Many are good people who do not understand the system they serve.
Ignorance, of course, does not provide an excuse for evil acts. Some years ago, for example, constables with shotguns and drawn sidearms raided a homeschooling family I know.
The fact that any of those men were good, churchgoing individuals did not mitigate the terror they inflicted on the family. The young child who first saw the armed group approach the house became hysterical, running and shouting, "They're going to kill us. They're going to kill us."
Of course everyone sees himself as one of the good guys. From the police officer who tricks a citizen into giving up his rights to the agent who makes an example of someone who expresses politically incorrect views, every abuser of authority sees himself as a good guy.
Christian Martialists, not only need to discern the good guys from the bad guys but more importantly need to know how to BE the good guys. Otherwise Christian Martialism will be just another self-interested faction.
To be continued.
Like the great majority of Christians, I'd like to believe that the civil authority and all its representatives are the good guys. I'd like to believe that as long as I follow my King and do no harm to my neighbor, that I have nothing to fear from the police or the bureaucrats.
My experiences and those of others I have known tell me different. The actions of our civil government against people with politically incorrect views tell me different.
When I taught Government & Econ. on the high school level, I tried to lead the students into an awareness of these things through reading and discussing current events. One student asked how our government could make so many mistakes.
I replied, "You're operating under the assumption that the government is on our side. Suspend that assumption, and the answer will become more clear."
Please understand that I'm not saying that all soldiers, police officers or other civil servants are evil. Many are good people who do not understand the system they serve.
Ignorance, of course, does not provide an excuse for evil acts. Some years ago, for example, constables with shotguns and drawn sidearms raided a homeschooling family I know.
The fact that any of those men were good, churchgoing individuals did not mitigate the terror they inflicted on the family. The young child who first saw the armed group approach the house became hysterical, running and shouting, "They're going to kill us. They're going to kill us."
Of course everyone sees himself as one of the good guys. From the police officer who tricks a citizen into giving up his rights to the agent who makes an example of someone who expresses politically incorrect views, every abuser of authority sees himself as a good guy.
Christian Martialists, not only need to discern the good guys from the bad guys but more importantly need to know how to BE the good guys. Otherwise Christian Martialism will be just another self-interested faction.
To be continued.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Who Are the Good Guys?
According to the Missouri State Police, if you oppose abortion, you may be a potential danger to law enforcement officers (see Profile of a Terrorist?). And don't think this nonsense is limited to just one state.
Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), which issued the report, is a fusion center. Although it operates as part of the state police, it is linked to the Justice Dept. & Homeland Security.
Many states have such centers. My state of South Carolina likewise has a fusion center which operates as part of SLED (State Law Enforcement Division). All of this raises a significant question.
Since the MIAC report was originally a secret that leaked out, is it unreasonable to wonder how many other state fusion centers have similar secret reports that target people with Biblical convictions as terrorists?
Almost from the moment the 9/11 terrorists were identified as Muslims, government & the Establishment media began a campaign to assure us that Islam is a peaceful religion. They have bent over backwards to avoid any profiling of young men of Middle-Eastern descent as potential terrorists.
On the other hand, officialdom continues to paint Christians with strong convictions as dangerous, inherently violent people. Establishment media programming tends to reinforce the image of Christians as violent, racist, child-abusing nut cases.
I have noticed that law enforcement TV shows increasingly show the heroes trampling on the rights of citizens. Of course we justify the hero's actions -- he needs to do this in order to catch the bad guys.
So, the good guys have to thwart the Bill of Rights in order to catch the bad guys? If the bad guys are bad guys because they break the law, what does that make the "good guys" who break the law to catch the "bad guys"?
Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys?
More on this another time.
Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), which issued the report, is a fusion center. Although it operates as part of the state police, it is linked to the Justice Dept. & Homeland Security.
Many states have such centers. My state of South Carolina likewise has a fusion center which operates as part of SLED (State Law Enforcement Division). All of this raises a significant question.
Since the MIAC report was originally a secret that leaked out, is it unreasonable to wonder how many other state fusion centers have similar secret reports that target people with Biblical convictions as terrorists?
Almost from the moment the 9/11 terrorists were identified as Muslims, government & the Establishment media began a campaign to assure us that Islam is a peaceful religion. They have bent over backwards to avoid any profiling of young men of Middle-Eastern descent as potential terrorists.
On the other hand, officialdom continues to paint Christians with strong convictions as dangerous, inherently violent people. Establishment media programming tends to reinforce the image of Christians as violent, racist, child-abusing nut cases.
I have noticed that law enforcement TV shows increasingly show the heroes trampling on the rights of citizens. Of course we justify the hero's actions -- he needs to do this in order to catch the bad guys.
So, the good guys have to thwart the Bill of Rights in order to catch the bad guys? If the bad guys are bad guys because they break the law, what does that make the "good guys" who break the law to catch the "bad guys"?
Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys?
More on this another time.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Profile of a Terrorist?
The Missouri State Police are concerned about militia groups and say militia members are terrorists. In order to help their law-enforcement personnel identify these violently dangerous terrorists, the Missouri Information Analysis Center has issued a report that includes profile material on these awful people.
Here are some of the red flags:
This is reminiscent of Attorney General Janet Reno's post-Waco warning to the FBI that people in possession of Bibles and copies of the US Constitution are possible terrorists. Very sad.
Here are some of the red flags:
- bumper stickers in support of Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin or Bob Barr or any third-party candidate;
- belief that the Federal Reserve System should be abolished;
- possession of material in opposition to abortion;
- opposition to the North American Union and/or the New World Order;
- possession of material in opposition to immigration
This is reminiscent of Attorney General Janet Reno's post-Waco warning to the FBI that people in possession of Bibles and copies of the US Constitution are possible terrorists. Very sad.
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