It has become all the rage.  That is, to partially defend Kyle’s actions as probable self defense, but then to raise the following stipulations.  First up, Leon Wolf writing at The Blaze.

Kyle Rittenhouse should not have been patrolling the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Tuesday night. Whatever failures might have existed on the part of state and local government (and there appear to have been many), the idea of a 17-year-old with a loaded rifle being dropped into that powder keg can only happen when some horribly bad judgment has occurred.

We’ll get to that in a minute.  Next up, Steven Hayward writing at Powerline.

Let’s stipulate starting out that Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, who has been arrested and charged with murder for shooting two people during the Kenosha riots two nights ago, should not have been present at the scene with a semi-auto rifle. That’s no place for a 17-year-old, even if he is a regular at the gun range. And resorting to vigilantism is a sure path to a breakdown in the rule of law and perhaps even open civil war.

Steven is massively naive.  He raises two points – his age, and the resort to “vigilantism.”  Let’s hold in abatement the issue of age for a moment.  As for vigilantism, surely he isn’t thinking clearly or perhaps hasn’t admitted the truth to himself.

We’ve discussed this many times before, but the police are committed to their salary and benefits.  They are under absolutely no legal obligation to defend life or property, or provide protection or safety for anyone.  We know this from Castle Rock v. Gonzales and Warren v. D.C.  They could wait until a murder has been fully and completely committed, while watching and eating doughnuts, and as long as they effect the arrest after the fact, most of them will have fully followed their department protocol.

The police are under the full control of the politicians, and the politicians are mostly Marxists.  Thus, holding the police back redounds to the destruction of property, unsafe environment for residents, and even the loss of family wealth when entire businesses have been burned to the ground.  Many families are not in a position to take a loss like that, regardless of the money Steven makes.

When left with no alternative, it’s obscene for Hayward to advocate the unrighteousness of defense of life and property.  Furthermore, to imply that the “breakdown in the rule of law” is the fault of hopeless and hapless residents lacks compassion, understanding, and good analysis.  And to say that this is what may lead to civil war is more ludicrous still.  Hayward must surely know that we are in an escalating civil war as we speak.  If he doesn’t, I would never hire him as my attorney.  He lacks even the basic skills to understand the current milieu or the signs of the times.

As for Leon Wolf, his appeal to the youthful age as a reason that Kyle shouldn’t have been there is equally ridiculous and even bigoted.  We send 18 year old men to fight our wars for us, and with approval, 17 year old men can do the same.

Let’s go one step further.  In the battle of King’s Mountain, the British forces were essentially all loyalist fighters with the exception of the commander.  This was to be General Cornwallis’ going-forward strategy for winning the campaign in the South.

Upon learning of the coming destruction, the “over-mountain men” left their homes in the area and also neighboring states to travel overnight, many nights, on horseback, to gather and fight the loyalists.

At the time of the battle, crops were being harvested and families couldn’t send the fathers.  Men had to be in the fields in order to prepare for the coming winter.  They did the only thing they could do, and entire families gathered in streets and sang hymns to their young fighters as they sent their sons riding off to war.

They won a decisive victory, destroying Cornwallis’ strategic plan.  What most people do not know about the “over-mountain men” is that the vast majority of them were under the age of 18.  You too can learn this if you study history, or perhaps come to the King’s Mountain military park and tour it, read the placards, and study the area.

But rather than hold older men accountable for their actions, like politicians and police, pundits are satisfied with turning on Kyle for being young and deciding to make a stand.

Back to Mr. Wolf.  The thing that has gone wrong in America for Kyle Rittenhouse to have to do this is that men are no longer men, that they have allowed a Marxist revolution to steal the country, and that no one has the stomach left for having and keeping liberty.  What has happened to the effete, cloistered, foppish, dainty men in America?  Good Lord.

Scott Walter writing at Capital Research Center.

Some conservatives have begun speculating the unrest in American cities—even as late as Monday night in Washington, DC, as “protestors” unsuccessfully worked to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson and set up an autonomous zone across the street from the White House—may in part be an attempt to affect the upcoming presidential election, with the chaos and violence intended to make it as difficult as possible for Donald Trump to win a second term.

Lending credence to this idea is the fact that at least one board member of Thousand Currents—the group fiscally sponsoring the most organized part of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, who have been involved in most of the activity surrounding the current unrest—tried the same thing almost 40 years ago during Ronald Reagan’s reelection campaign. And it landed her in federal prison for 16 years.

If there were any question whether Black Lives Matter has ideological ties to the Communist terrorists of the 1960s, the story of Susan Rosenberg [archived here] should put that issue to bed.

Rosenberg, who started out as a member of the 1960s revolutionary group Weather Underground, graduated into even more violent, and arguably successful, forms of terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s—including bombings at an FBI field office in Staten Island, the Navy Yard Officers’ Club in Washington, DC, and even the U.S. Capitol building, where she damaged a representation of the greatest of the Democrat defenders of slavery, John C. Calhoun. She currently serves as human and prisoner rights advocate and a vice chair of the board of directors of Thousand Currents.

As my colleague Robert Stilson explains here, BLM Global Network Foundation has been a fiscally sponsored project of Thousand Currents, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, since 2016.  That means the BLM group, which runs the BlackLivesMatter.com website, does not have its own IRS tax-exempt status but is operating as a “project” of an organization that does. In the case of 501(c)(3) fiscally sponsored projects, this allows tax-deductible donations to be made to the project.

When “Black Lives Matter” is used to refer to an organization, it typically means the BLM Global Network Foundation that traces its beginnings to “three radical Black organizers — Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi.” Cullors recently went viral online when she admitted that she and others in the group were “trained Marxists.”

This leads to confusion when people express their support for “Black Lives,” because they may not realize this organization is ideologically tied—to the point of having Rosenberg on the board of the central group—with trained Marxists with a history of extremism and violence. In fact, Rosenberg was a member of the May 19th Communist Organization (M19). It was, according to this NY Post article from January 2020, “the nation’s only woman-run terror group,” as recounted by William Rosenau in his book Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol.

And like all good communists, they hate Jesus because they want to be God.

It’s been said that the only good communist is dead communist.  I disagree.  There are no good communists, dead or alive.  They’re all in hell or headed that way.

Mark Joseph Stern writing at Slate.

This narrative transforms Rittenhouse from an unstable killer to a Second Amendment hero. And you need only accept a few fictions to buy into it. First, you must believe that the protesters chasing down Rittenhouse and attempting to wrest his gun away were not trying to prevent further bloodshed, but simply to brutalize him. Second, you must agree that even if these protesters were trying to confiscate Rittenhouse’s gun, they were wrong to do so, because they were the vicious lawbreakers and he was the vulnerable peacekeeper. Third, you must embrace a definition of self-defense so capacious that it allows a gunman to legally shoot a civilian dead when that civilian is trying to seize a weapon the gunman has used to kill someone. Or, as the New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie put it, “if someone is trying to stop you after you killed someone, you can continue shooting and killing in ‘self-defense.’ ”

In order to be a writer at Slate, you only have to be willing to hawk fiction like the three convicted criminals trying to kill Rittenhouse were only “attempting to wrest his gun away.”

Without even a scintilla of evidence, you have to be willing to publish information you know to be false, like they had no intention of brutalizing him.

Oh, and here’s the criminal in his own words.

Here is a potential assassin learning a lesson about self-defense, the Second Amendment, and what real courage looks like. pic.twitter.com/NhtaHSBJKI

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 27, 2020

Residents of Minneapolis exercising their version of reparations in their own way.

Ppl breaking windows while police look on from inside pic.twitter.com/SzCoSDFnte

— Andy Mannix (@AndrewMannix) August 27, 2020

More looting in downtown Minneapolis. They’ve now breached the Saks 5th Avenue store on 6th and Nicollet and people are making out with lots of goods. pic.twitter.com/tgUIyoIMvf

— Courtney Godfrey (@courtneygodfrey) August 27, 2020

Many shots fired in #Minneapolis just now pic.twitter.com/ghn46f1AIZ

— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) August 27, 2020

The 3 shot (2 killed) in #Kenosha, Wisc. at the BLM riot have been identified.

Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, was the first one killed. Video allegedly shows him chasing teen shooter & throwing something at him. Rosenbaum was a registered sex offender for a sex crime involving a minor. pic.twitter.com/up1VgDyrgZ

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 27, 2020

There’s a photo of the 17yo shooter being bashed over the head with a skateboard by the person he then shot and killed. This wreaks of self defense. Yet the msm labeled him as “white supremacist”, “vigilante”, “militia” etc. pic.twitter.com/1kSLBPct3W

— U. Skellgaard (@smspk) August 27, 2020

As a reader puts it to me, “All three people shot were felons, from child rapists (head shot), to multiple cases of assault.  Kyle shot the rapist in the head in self defense, then was forced to flee the mob. The rapist died.  Kyle tripped.  He was drop kicked in the face by someone that ran away.  Next a felon assaulted him with a skateboard, and tried to take his rifle. He was shot center mass and died.  Another Felon ran toward Kyle and pulled a pistol out. Kyle shot him in the arm and pretty much shredded it.”

“First one up was just out after 12 years for child rape…Mr. Shot in the heart was a convicted wife beater and dude with his arm blown open is a convicted burglar and was a felon in possession of a handgun when he got shot (trying to execute the 17year old).”

Yea, I won’t be shedding any tears for them.  Awful people.  But of course they’re associated with this activity, so they are awful people for doing that too.

See also AR-15.com.

Reddit/Firearms.

As you will certainly see on Twitter today, a feral mob of rioters decided to pick a fight with armed militia in Kenosha last night, and two of the scum ended up in body bags.

A brief overview of the events: rioters antagonized militia as they stood defending local businesses (note, the guy in this video in the red shirt is the one who is later shot in the head) from looting and burning. Somehow this escalated into rioters chasing a militia member through a parking lot. He turns and fires, striking a rioter in the head (identified by same belt, shorts, and moustache from prior video; he seems semi conscious but I strongly suspect he was the one who died this morning). The mob then chases the wrong guy (see 14:15) through the streets. He stumbles, the mob converges on him, and shots ring out. One rioter is struck in the stomach, collapses, and dies on the spot. Another rioter, Glock in hand and probably not more than seconds (edit: fractions of a second, see below, holy shit) from killing this guy, gets his upper arm blown off. As is very clear in this clip the guy initially fake surrenders, then as soon as the militia member lowers the gun, he tries to draw the Glock to shoot him. Militia member gets up and runs away.

This is the most complete collection of video Ive managed to find of the events.

Lessons learned:

• PRACTICE F****** OPSEC. The Twitter doxxing machine fired up immediately and already has the second militia member’s name, Facebook, and family information. I’m not posting it here because Im not contributing to the cycle, especially when Reddit – and unfortunately, a non-zero proportion of this sub – is full of communist subhumans. Hes only 17 years old. No one is out of bounds for them. Cover your fucking face. Wear indistinct clothing (this is a pointer that we can actually take from Antifa; the black bloc works; coordinate this with others, if possible). Do not talk to the camera. The guy filming might be nice, but the Twitter lynch mob will use it to kill you and your entire family after it’s posted there. The second militia member identifies himself by name on a stream.

• For the first time, someone has proved that for all the buildings its burned, all the statues its toppled, and all the people it has beaten, the mob is actually composed of a bunch of f****** pussies. If it’s not 10:1 odds in their favor against an unarmed victim, they want no part of it. The second gunfire starts, they scatter like roaches. Not a single person sticks around to start a protracted fight. It tickles my ears to hear the one rioter go from tough guy who is going to beat up or shoot that kid to big, crying baby once he gets his arm blown off. Fuck these people.

• Do not undertake these things alone. The militia were hanging together in a group, but somehow this second guy got separated. As stated before, the Antifa/BLM slime are not looking for a fair fight. They want to surround and overwhelm you. If you allow yourself to be isolated, your odds of being targeted and having to shed blood in self-defense go up exponentially.

• If you’re going to come and expose yourself to the possibility of getting in a gunfight, that means actually be prepared to be in a gunfight. Your fighting capabilities are the sum of your equipment, your body, and your mind. Water, medical equipment (especially tourniquets, chest seals, and gauze), ammunition, hearing protection (especially electronic protection a la Peltors), a good pair of shoes, pants (ideally with knee pads), plates if you can afford them. You should be in good physical shape and well-versed in your craft. If you can’t run 2 miles in under 15 minutes, you’re too slow. You do not want an attacker, imminently about to kill you and parade your body through the street, to be the first thing you ever fire a gun at. I also highly recommend training in combat sports. In addition to the skills this gives you in close combat, it trains a mindset. In a fight, the person who is less afraid of their opponent has a massive advantage. Go watch a street fight. Watch how stiff they are and how quickly they both want it to be over. Most people are terrified to be in a fight. You can very quickly overwhelm someone is in that “stiff” stage of experience with decisive, violent action. This is as true in a fist fight as it is in a gun fight. “Violence has a purpose, and aggression is a perfectly healthy emotion” is a phrase that was beaten into me in my career. It’s good advice that has stuck with me for years.

• credit u/ohtheyearwas1775 in comments. Slings are good pieces of equipment. Your weapon is literally your life. If the guy had fallen down and dropped his rifle, he would probably be in a coffin right now.

• credit u/8064hatch. Organization and planning matters. The second militia member was probably isolated because there was no firm plan in place and no distinct leader around. Communications are a big help. Signal is a free, end-to-end encrypted messaging app. If you’re defending a building, overlapping sectors of fire are important, as is a proper evacuation plan (your opponents are extremely fond of fire, that should enter your calculus before you barricade yourself inside).

• credit u/TehRoot. If you’re going to have medical equipment, you should probably… you know… know how to use it lol. That guy gets shot in the head and the immediate action plan was to put pressure on it. Pressure stops blood flow. All the bleeding was happening inside of that guy’s skull. Pressing skull fragments into his brain is not a winning strategy. Tourniquet limbs (with an actual fucking tourniquet, not your wound up T shirt), pack the junctions (armpits, groin), seal the (breathing) box. Don’t put a tourniquet on someone’s neck like a dumbass. Don’t pack shit in someone’s sucking chest wound unless you want to watch it get violently sucked into their diaphragm and kill them as they try to take a giant panic breath. If you’re carrying a piece of gear, you need to have rehearsed with it so you can engage with the actual realities of when and how to employ it.

• Realize that the government is not a strong ally. Probably doesn’t need to be said here, but I’ll say it anyway. Your local/state governments basically determine whether or not law enforcement exists in your area. Don’t believe even 1 second of the bullshit about how “they’re doing everything they can to stop the violence.” If this were white supremacists, tea partiers, or whatever demographic the left has chosen not to like that day who were out doing exactly what the BLM insurrectionists are out doing every night, there would be a full activation of your state’s National Guard and you would have an entire infantry battalion on your doorstep right now. Notice how – with zero exceptions – every single place that is having problems with violence is a democrat shithole. Convince me otherwise.

Those are not my observations and I cannot claim credit for them.  I am reposting them here.

So to append what this astute commenter said, let me add the following.  I too noticed not only with this event but the “proud boys” who confronted the Black Bloc in Portland that they became easily separated from the group.

It may be due to lack of planning, lack of training, no real leadership, no time in grade, or whatever.  The Black Bloc is like the Taliban.  They like attack only with a mass of force, i.e., in Afghanistan, they usually attacked COPs and outposts with battalion size forces or almost that size.  See the following posts: here, here, here, and here.

They don’t like the odds when they’re outnumbered.  They tend to scatter with any real resistance.  Don’t be found alone in direct confrontations.

Doxxing is a favorite tactic of the left.  The notion that someone would carry a weapon into the city of Kenosha and directly confront the Black Bloc is, to me, ridiculous.  Law enforcement is not on the side of those who would shut down the destruction and lawlessness.  The police follow the orders of the politicians, and the pols don’t want the destruction to be stopped.  They cannot arrest their voting constituency.

I suspect that the future of these sorts of confrontations will involve face and head cover, the use of cover and concealment, and the use of cover of night, as well as the use of “stand-off” tactics.

As always, these points are discussed merely as an academic exercise, for educational benefit, and for use for those who study warfare (specifically in TTP, or tactics, techniques and procedures).

The Gateway Pundit.

Black Lives Matter rioters in Charlotte marched down the street chanting “f-ck your Jesus” on Monday night.

The chant originally began as “cops killed Jesus,” but quickly took an anti-Christian turn.

The Queen City Nerve, a local paper covering the riot, tweeted that “Protesters chanting ‘Cops killed Jesus’ then ‘Fuck your Jesus’ to drown out the chants of Sam, who’s been walking alongside protesters yelling over them with ‘Jesus Saves’ as he’s done all four nights. He just got covered with silly string after this video.”

Lovely people, no?

I know Sam.  When I once worked in downtown Charlotte, I frequently walked by him on my 3 mile walks at lunch every day.  Everyone knows Sam.  I’ve spoken with him and shook hands with him and thanked him for his daily work preaching the Gospel, handing out tracts, and praying with people on the sidewalk.  He is actually supported by the Billy Graham association.  Other people avoided him, as if embarrassed.  I loved talking to him.

Sam is a good man.

And Jesus is God.  He was God from eternity, He is the second person of the trinity, He is God today, and He will always be God.

I’m sure Sam is fine, but he has laid up treasures for himself in heaven.  I’m sure God is fine too, but He is a jealous and righteous God, who will in no wise let the guilty go unpunished.

These rioters have blasphemed the name of the most high.  They are bound for hell.  Sam is bound for heaven.  One day.  After he sidewalk preaches some more, and wins the elect of God to salvation.