An Israeli couple has killed seven Hamas militants to save their children after the Hamas fighters came to their home. The woman and her husband were killed too.

Oleh Vyshniakov, Israel’s consul in Ukraine’s Western Region, shared the couple’s story. On his Facebook page.

Adar and Itay Berdychivsky from the Kfar Aza kibbutz both served in the Israeli army as officers and kept weapons at home.

When the militants approached their house, the couple hid their 10-months-old twins in mammad, a reinforced security room required in all new buildings by Israeli law, and returned to wait for the militants in the main house to distract their attention from their children.

I’m sorry the couple didn’t survive their encounter, but if you have to die then there’s probably no more noble way to die….fighting alongside your loved one to protect your other loved ones. Tragic and romantic at the same time. Its almost like the finale of “Mr and Mrs Smith” but with kids. Assuming, of course, this story is true. The first casualty of war and all that.

I’m glad to read that there were people in Israel who had weapons of their own and didn’t hesitate to use them. The overwhelming majority of news stories tend to promote the idea that all these people just meekly stood around like sheep waiting for a bullet in the back of the head. I hope its true.

It will now be easier for Israelis to carry firearms for self-defense in the wake of the worst terror attack in the nation’s history.

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir announced on Sunday he has ordered officials responsible for issuing gun licenses to broaden its standards. As the death toll inflicted by terror group Hamas grew to over 600, Ben-Gvir said he wants more Israelis to be able to legally arm themselves.

“Today I directed the Firearms Licensing Division to go on an emergency operation in order to allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves,” he posted, according to a Google translation. “The plan will take effect within 24 hours.”

You know, for a nation that makes historical persecution and genocide a very large part of their national identity, you’d think the Israeli’s would be a bit more strident about a gun in every home. Given their history of being at war with their neighbors almost continually since 1948, and the frequent border incursions by solo terrorists and small groups, it would seem that the .gov would be a bit more free with the boomsticks…especially since everyone has to have military training at some point.

But, as we’ve seen in Ukraine, governments attitude on arming the populace can change pretty quickly when that same governments existence is threatened.

The obligatory ‘behind every blade of grass’ story will be trundled out at any moment, I am sure.

How to lose: New Mexico governor issues order suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque

How to win: Sheriff in New Mexico’s most populous county rejects governor’s gun ban, calling it unconstitutional

Just because something is a law does not mean it is good, moral, ethical, or even a smart idea. All it means is that you have to obey it, whether you agree with it or not. Now, if you have a moral objection you can certainly have that opinon but you’re still obligated to follow that law. Which brings us to Heinlein’s great quote:

I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them.

The corollary to this is, of course, that you have to take responsibility for your actions. I break the law a dozen times a day…I cross against the light, I drive a couple miles over the speed limit, I store gasoline in a non-approved containers, etc, etc.

And when I do all those things I do them fully aware of their ‘outlaw’ status and with the full knowledge that there are consequences to my actions and I won’t dispute them at all. I know the ticket price for this particular ride, I am willing to pay it.

This little bit of ‘Irish democracy’ manifests itself all the time. We ignore the rules that we think are stupid, unnecessary, unconstitutional, or just plain bad. Sometimes we can get away with it…like when your AK doesn’t have enough American-made parts to acieve 922(r) compliance….and sometimes we can’t like when that homemade Sten gun goes brrrrrrrrrrrp and the neighbors call the cops.

If I lived in New Mexico, and I was authorized to carry a concealed weapon, I wouldn’t change a single thing about my behavior. I’d continue to be well-heeled and if caught I’d shrug and say “Youre right, I broke the law. Its a dumb law and I disagree with it, but I did it nonetheless.” I’d totally own that.

I’m curious to see how this plays out. It’ll be struck down, of course…no doubt there. But I wonder if the ripples will spread out to have a bigger effect. Stay tuned.

Before leaving, they “watched some YouTube videos” about “how to live off the grid,” a family member said.

A family member of two sisters and a teen whose bodies were discovered “fairly mummified” in a remote Colorado campsite earlier this month said their deaths should serve as a warning: living in the wilderness without proper experience can be deadly.

Look, I wanna run off inna woods and live in a cabin far away from the world as much as the next guy…but I’m not doing it in a tent, in the winter, in Colorado. Oh, sure, some people can do it, but those people did a bit more homework than watching a few YouTube videos.

When I go Galt and shut the door on humanity, it’ll be in a very well stocked, well fortified, well heated, well constructed little cabin. Believe me, living in a tent is no way to go when you don’t have to. Sure, plenty of hunting camps have wall tents in the winter. But shouldn’t we want better than a canvas house?

I’ll be interested in learning more about this as time goes by. If you see any articles with more info, please link in the comments.

It prohibits a person from teaching, training, or demonstrating to anyone else the use, application, or making of a firearm, explosive, or incendiary device capable of causing injury or death that will be used in or in furtherance of a civil disorder. It also bans a person from assembling with others for such training, instruction or practice.

There are, of course, exemptions for “legitimate law enforcement activity or lawful activity by Norwich University or any other educational institution where military science is taught. it also doesn’t apply to self-defense instruction or practice without the intent of causing a civil disorder; firearms instruction that is intended to teach the safe handling and use of firearms; and any lawful sports or activities like hunting, target shooting and firearms collection.”

Here’s the problem – there are no objective standards when it comes to these sorts of things. All .gov, or it’s busybody fellow travelers, have to do is determine that your activity falls under their prohibitive rubric and…presto…your weekend with your buddies preparing for the zombie apocalypse magically becomes an ‘insurgent training facility’. Watch your head as you duck into the squad car.

We see this sort of threat in the new licensing/registration schemes being promotes as ‘commonsense’ and ‘reasonable’ gun control ‘safety’ laws – establish a requirement and then make the fulfilling of that requirement impossible. For example: to get a firearms permit they may require you to have an approved (keyword) safety training course under your belt. And then they simply deem that no available safety course meets the standard. Since no safety course meets the standard, the permit requirement cannot be met…but thats not a denial of your rights…after all, we’re not saying you can’t have a gun, you just need the approved course certification. And its not our fault theres no qualifying course available.

So, whenever a law like this comes up always ask yourself – how would Hitler use this law to his advantage. Because if there’s even a 1% chance this law can be used heavy-handedly to strip someone of their rights, then its a law that needs to never hit the books. When your right to something is conditional upon another qualifier being met, be extremely cautious….the odds are good that qualifier will then be made unobtainable. A good example is the ‘instant background check’ for gun purchases. Shut the system down for ‘maintenance’ and no one (generally) gets their thundertoy. Or require a license but the license office is only open on the 32nd of each month. Or require that a potential purchase get a signed letter from his local police who may decide that, sorry, we only fill those forms out once a month…see ya in thirty days.

“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now, that’s the system, Mr. Rearden, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.” – Atlas Shrugged

Ugh…long week.

One of the more notable events this week was the Chinese taking an aerial tour of Montana, and our missile fields, with a rather large balloon.

The interesting thing about the Chinese is that they think long-term. In this country, and many Western ones, we make policy and plans that are, perhaps, one or two political terms in the future. For example, we have a four-year term for president, so a lot of plans are on a four or eight year timetable. The Chinese don’t limit themselves like that. They plan for fifty years, or more, out there.

This is most evident in their Belt And Road Initiative to create streamlined lines of travel for commerce (and, no doubt, military equipment) across a good chunk of Asia and into Europe.

Africa is a special case to the Chinese. They’ve been investing heavily in infrastructure projects…building massive airports in tiny countries that never see a 747 but will see plenty of Chinese military transports. Large swaths of land are leased or purchased by China for their ‘food security’ program. It’s only a matter of time before, at some point, they decide to ‘take Africa private’ and simply nudge out the local governments and install their own

Long before that happens, though, China will flex it’s biggest muscle – its economic one. When your economy is dependent on Chinese goods and Chinese debt purchases, you’ve gone from being equals to being beholding to a patron.

Of course, things might be different with the whole Russian situation these days. The Russians and the Chinese had a big dustup about 60 years ago in a case of ‘my Communism is better than your Communism’ and it looked like the two of them might start lobbing canned sunshine at each other.

The Russians kicking of a war in Europe would, no doubt, put a crimp in those Chinese plans for economic domination although I’ve no doubt they have various contingency plans to make such an event work for them.

And, of course, lets not forget these are the same folks that let loose a virus that killed a buncha people and they have yet to have their feet held to the fire about it.

So that ballon episode? Thats just a visible part of China’s plan to get its Peking ducks in a row for when it decides to really start applying the pressure to the international, and American, community.