ClearedHot

Cuba could turn into the economic powerhouse of the Caribbean. I went to school with a lot of friends that came over during the Mariel Boat Lift....they flooded our schools when it happened. I've talked to many of them over the past few weeks including some who HATE Trump but are cheering what he did in Venezuela and potentially Cuba. Every single one of them can retire in the next few years but all have vowed to go back for a few years to help rebuild. So much potential and people don't realize how big Cuba is (55% the size of Florida).

New Mexico's turn to go full retard. Just one of the gems in SB17 seeks to ban ALL gas operated semi-automatic guns.

Trump's Foreign Policy is a big departure from President's past. He removed the criminal leading Venezuela, Iran is about to fall and, not getting much press is the full court press on Cuba. Not a fully named embargo but little oil is getting in and they likely have less than 30 days reserve on island. Interesting that Maduro's protection element was all Cuban and it is coming to light that there was a lot of fentanyl coming in through via and enabled by Cuba. Numerous Russian military transports have landed in Cuba the last three weeks...intel indicated Air Defense, attack drones and ECM assets. Would be interesting if he took, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba all off the table as threats in a single term.

It is hearing safe! Interesting video below - cliff notes he says 5.7MM has the following advantages - More rounds same space (some gun mags up to 24 rounds), less recoil, better penetration (including level 2 body armor which 9MM can't penetrate), longer range, better reliability issues because it doesn't use a feed ramp like most 9MM's. I won't be replacing all my 9MMs anytime soon but I am impressed. The biggest advantage I've seen is how light, small and quiet it is which makes it useful for home defense.

The situation gets more interesting by the day. Fat Amy in action - Iranian Drone Downed: U.S. forces shot down an Iranian Shahed surveillance drone on February 3 as it approached the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, currently deployed approximately 500 miles off the Iranian coast. According to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman. Also, Iran tried to board and Seize the Stena Imperative, a U.S. flagged tanker. This particular tanker is part of the U.S. Maritime Administration's Tanker Security Program (TSP). As a strategic asset, it provides military fuel transport The vessel is part of a fleet of 10 U.S.-flagged tankers designated to support Department of Defense (DoD) fuel requirements during contingencies, emergencies, or war. The GW left Norfolk today enroute to the Middle East.

FSU is circling the drain...and it doesn't look like they can afford to buy out Mike. Report: Florida State reports $437 million in athletics-related debt in 2025 Florida State University (FSU) reported $617 Million in total institutional debt for FY25, with a significant $437 million, or 71%, attributed to athletics, making it one of the most leveraged athletic departments in college sports. This surge, a 2,465% increase from 2020, is driven by massive, debt-financed stadium renovations and a new football facility.

No issues finding ammo....still a bit pricey. I have a lot of .223 and a LOT of 9MM and usually still to that but the feel of this gun was too good to pass up. Great truck gun.

Electronic Form 4 with a TS/SCI took 17 days...Guy with no clearance submitted same day, same shop, 9 days. Anyway, my new Spartac 5.7X28. Integrated suppressor, WICKED light even with a 32 round mag. Optics and foregrip on order.

You used to serve as a good counterpoint to the obviously conservative tone on this forum, but you’ve drifted into an ideologue spewing outright falsehoods...you can't admit a single fault with the actions on the left. Most people on here have been clear they disagree with plenty of what Trump says. That’s not in dispute. What is disconnected from reality is your insinuation that the “party of Trump” is poised to destroy or kill anyone who isn’t in lockstep with some imagined orthodoxy. Let’s talk about actual violence, not vibes. Which side burned entire city blocks, torched police stations, and caused billions in damage during the 2020 riots—riots that left dozens dead? Which side created “autonomous zones” enforced by armed mobs where people were shot and killed? Which side spent years firebombing courthouses and attacking federal buildings in places like Portland? Which side shot up a congressional baseball practice after being radicalized by partisan rhetoric? Which side regularly labels ICE agents “Nazis,” a term historically used to justify violence against them? Which side cheers assaults on political opponents as “punching Nazis” when the definition of “Nazi” seems to be “anyone who disagrees”? Which side shot Trump in the ear, nearly missing his brain stem? Then tried again on a golf course? Political violence is wrong—full stop. But pretending it’s some uniquely right-wing phenomenon while ignoring years of documented left-wing rioting, assaults, and intimidation isn’t principled. It’s willful blindness. If you want to criticize Trump or Republicans, fine. Plenty do, including people here. But rewriting recent history to paint one side as uniquely violent while memory-holing the other is exactly the kind of bad-faith argument you used to push back against. You can do better than that.

Fing unreal

I have not seen the video of him being shot (dealing with some family health issues), but this popped up on my phone while waiting in the hospital. Not saying the guy deserved to die but he is not the innocent angel the left is making him out to be. A week after spitting on an officer, damaging a vehicle and having a violent interaction with an ICE officers he decides to attend another protest with a gun and extra mags. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu6vogwcLt8

So glad I left Va.

Iran now flying DCA caps...Raptor likely chomping at their bits...

In short - judges must now use the test of "totality of the situation" rather than what happened in a split second decision.

Grasp at straws much? So addicted to your ideology you can't admit your prophet screwed up. New 9-0 SCOTUS ruling will impact many cases including what is currently happening in MN.

A LOT more assets have moved into place.

Interestingly, Alex Pretti, Renee Goode and Laken Riley would ALL be alive if not for Joe Biden's open border policy.

Xi has purged to the point of creating an echo chamber, no one dares push back, no one gives advice, they all just confirm his thoughts and he is convinced he must retake Taiwan.

I knew someone would remember! I was in great shape when I went through, 6'2" 220. That dude grabbed the towel around my neck, dead lifted me with his arms straight out and shook me like a rag dog.

Who would like to defend Fauci now?

We have a local manufacturer (Spartac Manufacturing....Any Old school SERE survivors remember the name Spartac? ). Their production facility is amazing and they now have a contract with the Secret Service. I picked something close to the picture below (still waiting on Form 4 to process after 15 days), will post pictures and report performance soon. The handling was amazing, perhaps the most balanced gun I've ever held. The suppressor is integrated so it is very compact (hence the Secret Service interest). Doing some research on 5.7x28, some interesting characteristics. One the good, you can carry 1400 rounds for the same weight and volume as 1000 5.56. 5.7x28 typically achieves much higher velocities (1,700-2400+ FPS) comapred to 9MM (950-1400 FPS), resulting in a flatter trajectory and better armor penetration. While 9mm relies on heavier bullets (115–147 gr) for higher energy transfer, the 5.7x28mm (40 gr) excels in speed and low recoil. Garand Thumb did an interesting video looking at 5.7x28.

Because it is a flying pile of Poo! There are so many issues but the ABM community has been abused for so long they jumped at the first girl without a mustache who paid attention to them. Wedgetail is 20 year old technology mounted on a 49 year old design. The 737 has been engineered to the max extent of its potential thus Wedgetail will have a 20 year old radar flying in the mid 30's. Epically dump for SOOO many reasons. Boeing underbid to get the sole-source, within 12 months they announced they were $400M over and needed help from the govt. The Boeing 737 line has a 10 year backlog and even using National Defense priority, they can't retool fast enough to make Wedgetails fast...our Allies are SCREWED...they are at the end of the line, even behind purchases by other airlines. South Korea is divesting their Wedgetails which should tell you something...you should see their performance on a hot summer day. I can talk about it now...my previous company submitted the same time as Boeing with a proposal to put a brand new radar on a Bombardier that would start at FL47 and step climb to FL51, 12+ hours of endurance (unrefueled), the same number of crew stations as Wedgetail...the detection physics alone moving from FL33 to FL47 are staggering. We submitted an 800 page package with 400 pages of engineering documentation from tests and other work we had done on the Bombardier platform. We received a reply ONE HOUR LATER - not technically viable, they sole-sourced to Boeing the following day. I'm sure they reviewed in depth our input. The system is not screwed, it is corrupt and broken and the ABM community is going to get EXACTLY what they deserve...warm poo.

So you are saying there is a chance....I used to think that it would never happen, I live in a nice place, very low crime, one or two murders a year that are almost always domestic...until six months ago when we had a home invasion robbery about a mile away. I would rather prepare for the worst and be wrong than have it happen and be unprepared so I invested a little time and effort to at least think about it. Also, as we posted in another thread my area has an increased awareness for retired SOF folks...there have been other indicators outside the memo released by SOCOM a few months back. Especially when we were still in Afghanistan and Iraq. We had individual crew dogs and their families get calls at home from overseas...the caller would state the name and address of said crew dog followed by a threat. I've gone back and forth on the shotgun...yes they hit hard but throwing 8 large pellets around the house has both good and bad consequences. The arrangement of my house puts my son's room on the opposite side of the house but inline with the interior exit to my room (I also have a door out to the pool deck). I have of all thinking a Beretta M-9 (I can hear the laughs), in a fingerprint lockbox under my bed. I can roll out of bed and open the box within .69 seconds. I have big hands and the M-9 is a big gun, so easy for me to grip. For some reason I can drive nails with that gun....drives me nuts but I am more accurate with that than any of my other pistols. Maybe all that USAF training paid off? My son is off in college now so with just my wife and I the calculus changes. From there I am five steps to my closet and a Beretta A300 which holds 9 in the tub and one in the chamber plus six in an attachment. The bandolier is mostly a joke, my wife bought it for me so I have it hanging with the A300. I will likely keep my new 5.7x28 with an integrated can in the hit bag if the ATF ever fixes the new system (14 days and counting). If I make to my office and my big safe then it is on like Donkey Kong.

There is another part of the response that in my opinion is more important than the impact on hearing....fine motor skills. "The fight-or-flight response significantly impairs fine motor skills by redirecting blood and resources to large muscles for immediate survival, reducing blood flow to extremities, and shifting cognitive focus from complex tasks (like writing or precise movements) to basic survival, leading to clumsiness, poor dexterity, and decreased accuracy in fine motor tasks like handwriting or detailed work, especially as heart rate increases." It WILL impact your accuracy...the best way to overcome is through training. Another reason I prefer a weapons with more ammunition.

My only concern with subs (which I have not yet tried), do they still have enough gun gas to reliably cycle the weapon. Break break - what are others using for home defense and why?