A little disturbance in the Bay of Campeche showed up on the NHC's tropical map.

The post FN’s New ARKA: Revamping the SCAR for Military Tenders first appeared on Forgotten Weapons.

Bear spray proponents claim bear spray can be deployed faster than handguns, rifles or shotguns can. This is not obvious or certain.  The claim is simply made and assumed to be true. It is not true. The truth is all four systems can be reasonably fast *if* the users train and practice with the system. This correspondent believed handguns to be the fastest method. An experience trainer in Canada showed bear spray could be practically as fast as  holstered handguns.

A reasonably fast response is to access and use a defense against bears system in under two seconds. Very fast is to effectively utilize the system in a fraction of a second.

Holstered bear spray and handguns can be about the same speed. Rifles and shotguns, with a chambered cartridge, held at the ready, are faster. All four systems, when trained and practiced with, held at the ready, are very fast.  None of the four systems is fast if the user is not trained, has not practiced, and/or keeps the system in a location or state where it cannot be used quickly. 

All four systems can meet both standards with a little training and practice if good carrying/ holstering systems are used.  In practice, this is harder to do with long guns, because using both hands is nearly essential. Unless a person is dedicated as a guard, there are often times when at least one hand is occupied with other tasks. The temptation to set a long gun against a tree or wall, or inside a tent, or to sling it over the back is great. Bureaucracies may insist on carrying a long gun without a cartridge in the chamber. Handguns and
bear spray overcome this by being compact and light enough to use a holster. With about a half day's practice and training, the time to draw and use either system can be reliably reduced to under two seconds. 

This correspondent was skeptical about the potential speed of bear spray draw and use. The Internet was searched for actual data. Data became available from Dave Evert. Dave Evert spent 23 years teaching the Bear and Cougar Encounter Courses and 14 years of teaching the Western Canada Wilderness Handgun Course, both of which he developed. Dave taught hundreds of students to quick draw and employ bear spray in under two seconds. From Dave:

But having watched perhaps a few hundred employees doing this, I can say that some were able to pivot, draw, ready to spray in one second; more of them in 1.5 seconds and all of them within 2 seconds.  Some were phenomenal.

Dave emphasizes this requires a proper holster for the bear spray. His students practiced with inert training spray, a necessity for such practice. Dave insisted his students carry two canisters of bear spray in a specific cross draw configuration, because it gives redundancy and the potential to deter a persistent bear. Dave highly recommends a sharp fixed blade knife be carried opposite the bear spray (4-6 inch thick sharp blade, with a guard and non-slip handle) as a last line of defense.

The holsters for the bear spray are flap type, which require two hands to draw fast. One hand to retract the flap, the other to draw the spray. Dave is currently using a Kodiak holster https://kodiakcanada.com/collections/holsters/products/kodiak-adventure-bear-spray-holster. Dave says it is important for the holster not to be a tight fit, or it will take two hands to extract the bear spray.

Dave also recommends handguns as a bear defense. In Canada, bureaucratic burdens make obtaining a carry permit for animal defense in the wild extremely difficult. Few are able to navigate the system and obtain an Authority to Carry (ATC). The law has this provision for people whose work requires them to be in the wild. The law has been interpreted by the bureaucracy in such a way as to make it impractical for most people to comply.

Dave's experience with bear spray is the same experience firearms instructors have noted for decades. It take's an afternoon's  practice and training for novices to draw and hit a target at close range in under two seconds. With consistent practice, 1.5 seconds is achievable by most. Dedicated practice can bring the time to under a second. The same times can be achieved with long guns using tactical slings, if carried with a cartridge in the chamber. Practice is required, just as with handguns and with bear spray. In practice, it is important to keep your eyes on the target, not on the weapon in the holster.

Dave Evert had similar experiences with training for handguns. The choices were much reduced in Canada because the bureaucracy insisted on regulating both the choices of handguns and of holsters.  Dave, as his individual choice, prefers a chest holster for a handgun.

The Gunsight academy week long course fits into the "consistent practice" category for handguns.  The standard is to draw and shoot two rounds to the chest in 1.5 seconds at 5 yards. Draw and shoot 2 rounds to the chest in 2 seconds at 10 yards.  This is achieved by most students in a week long, intense course.

How much time a person has to react is seldom controlled by the actions of the bear or other animal. The limit is almost always situational awareness. Much of situational awareness is the willingness to accept the reality of dangerous situations and need to act rather than saying to yourself "this cannot be happening". Do not ignore warning signs.  Training helps people become more  aware of surroundings.

In defense against bears, where there is little danger of hitting other people, if you perceive a dangerous situation, draw your weapon. This will cut a second off of your reaction time. With all four weapons (if long guns are carried with a cartridge in the chamber) this means most people can employ them effectively in less than a second, if you practice just a bit. With consistent practice, this becomes "muscle memory" and the time becomes a fraction of a second. With your weapon in your hands and ready for use, this gives you precious fractions of a second to evaluate and choose the correct response.

Bear spray is much more affected by wind, temperature, and precipitation than firearms. Wind and very cold temperatures limit the effectiveness of bear spray by reducing the range from roughly 30 - 44 feet to 5-7 feet for most wind, except a wind from you toward the threat. Such is the result found by Tom Smith, in his paper on bear spray limitations. Tom Smith is a noted bear spray proponent, and author of the bear spray studies.   Firearms are effective to distances where a bear is not considered an immediate threat (beyond 100 feet), according to Stephen Herrero, in Bear Attacks Their Causes and Avoidance, p. 243:

 To give a bear a reasonable chance to stop and to give yourself reasonable safety, the person expert with firearms should perhaps wait until a charging grizzly is from 50 to 100 feet away or even closer. 

Stephen Herrero is also a co-author with Tom Smith of the original Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska paper.

Bear spray does not reach to 50 to 100 feet unless the wind is from you to the bear.  Tom Smith admitted the original bear spay study authored by him and Stephen Herrero showed bear spray is not particularly effective at stopping charging grizzly bears (interview with Wes Siler for Outside). Wes recently expanded on this with another article "Bear Spray is a Placebo". Wes was a bear spray enthusiast who changed his mind.

Recent research on the effectiveness of bear spray and firearms, using data collected by Smith and Herrero and Internet searches, has more than doubled the original sample of 72 incidents where bear spray was used. The expanded data set is now 231 incidents where bear spray was present , and 173-186 times when bear spray was used, depending on the way the incidents are scored in the statistical analysis in the paper. This is the most extensive data set collected on bear spray used against bears to date.

Of the 231 times bear spray was present, bears were successfully deterred 67.1% of the time. From page 122 of the paper, based on 155 successful uses:

• 67.1% of incidents where bear spray was present it was used successfully to deter the bear

When the firearm type was identified, the results were strikingly similar.

P. 13  When present, rifles successfully deterred bears in 68% (n = 156) of encounters, shotguns 72% (n = 28), and handguns 71% (n = 50) of the time.

When rifles were present bears were successfully deterred 68% of the time, based on 156 successful uses.

When shotguns were present bears were successfully deterred 72% of the time, based on 28 successful uses.

When handguns were present bears were successfully deterred 71% of the time, based on 50 successful uses.

This shows the mere presence of a weapon is not enough. It has to be available. The training and practice of the user is of high importance. The slight difference between weapon types indicate the problems of access is very similar. It is a problem of training and self discipline, not weapon type. The numbers above show: the opinion that bear spray is easier to use is not supported by the data. In the latest research, the author makes this clear, by inserting a caveat about bear spray. The current paper restates this from previous claims, p. 30, bold added:

In contrast to firearms, bear spray, when properly carried (i.e., holstered in an easily accessible location), is more readily deployed and requires less skill and accuracy than all firearm types, thus contributing to their higher overall success rate than that of firearms. (Smith & Herrero 2018, Smith et al. 2007, and Herrero & Higgins 1999).

The data does not support the claim. As shown above, sufficient speed and accuracy can be found with any of the systems given a few hours training and practice. Without the training, all systems fail due to human factors, not the limits of the weapons system. Speed of draw and deployment take about the same amount of training for both bear spray, handguns, and long guns if a cartridge is kept chambered in long guns. Extreme speed and accuracy are seldom required for firearms to successfully be deployed in defense against bears. Two seconds is almost always sufficient for the first shot. In the vast majority of the cases examined by this correspondent, the victims had more than two seconds of warning. They often claimed they had no time to react. Their actions demonstrated they had more than two seconds they did not use to draw their weapons or come to a ready state.

They failed because they did not have a weapon or they failed to deploy the weapon. In a few cases, there were weapon malfunctions. This can happen with all weapon systems. The data shows it happens a little more often with bear spray than with rifles, shotguns or handguns.  The total success percentages are all very close.

The major differences between handguns and bear spray becomes apparent in two ways. First, when success rates are compared where the systems are used, not just present. Second, in the number of fatalities.

This correspondent and colleagues have collected all the documented cases where handguns have actually been used in defense against bears.  If readers know of any others, we welcome the additions. The current number is 173 incidents in North America where only handguns were used. There were three failures for a 98% success rate and no fatalities. There were 39 incidents where people were injured, handguns were present and used. In 21 of those incidents, the injury occurred before the handgun was fired.

In the latest bear spray data, there are 175 incidents where bear spray was used  in North America. There were 17 incidents where bear spray failed when used. (P. 122). There were five incidents where there were fatalities.  There were 41 incidents where there were human injuries.  It is unknown how many injuries occurred before the bear spray was sprayed.

The criteria for failure in the bear spray studies is essentially the same as in our study about handguns. The major exception is this:  bears are killed with handguns, stopping their behavior. Bear spray does not kill bears.

The bear spray data collection for the latest paper ended in 2020. The handgun data collected by this correspondent and others has been updated to January
of 2025.

There have been five more people killed in four incidents where bear spray has been sprayed in defense against a bear between 2020 and 2025. The recent case where Anthony Pollio was killed by a bear in Glacier National Park, will likely make the total six more in North America, for a total of 12 worldwide, 11 in North America.

Fatalities are scrupulously investigated and reported. They avoid the problems of inherent selection bias. World wide, one incident has been documented where a .22 rimfire handgun was fired in defense against a polar bear. The person was killed by the bear. There will be others, but once in 130 years is not bad. While the numbers are small, the message is clear: Bear spray works about 90% of the time. Handguns work about 98% of the time. Bear spray is not faster to deploy or easier to use. All the methods take about the same time to learn to use effectively.  An afternoon's worth of training is effective. A minute a day of practice improves response time by a half second or more in a week or two. Do not practice with a loaded handgun outside of a safe place to shoot. Do not practice drawing an active can of bear spray. 

The chances of being killed by a bear while using bear spray are much higher than that of being killed by a bear while using a handgun. 

There have been three incidents where handguns alone were used in defense against a bear, and a person was wounded by gunfire. All three happened with 10mm Glock pistols. All three were self inflicted. All three said the injury from the handgun was less than the injury prevented by shooting the bear. 

©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch 

The Metro Nashville Police Department said the shooting occurred after a man walked in after store hours and asked for a haircut. After he was denied, he allegedly pulled up his shirt and flashed a gun at the employees. An employee then pulled out his own firearm and shot the man.

The man was shot in the arm and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

More Here 

According to court records, the man told officers he was attempting to break up with Swanson, and as he left her home, she attempted to hit him with her vehicle multiple times. He said these attempts continued as he walked into the Kroger parking lot, court records state.

More Here 

 I see that the Iranians managed to shoot down an Apache helicopter. The crew was rescued by an unmanned surface vessel.  That's cool.  That is verry cool.  The Iranians should not be patting themselves on the back.  The Apache is basically 1980s technology.  Oh, it's been upgraded, but it was designed to kill Soviet tanks in an Eastern Europe environment.

I've also been getting bits and pieces of the Karmelo Anthony trial.  From everything I've seen, Karmelo is guilty as hell. However, it appears that some of the melanin rich members of society want to make Karmelo the OJ Simpson or George Floyd mannequin of the year.  That is sad, because Karmelo is not a sympathetic character.  He's just another street thug who thinks he can get away with murder.

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The Florida legislature has passed a bill including tax holidays for firearms accessories, and hunting, fishing and camping supplies. Firearms silencers/suppressors are included as firearms accessories. If Governor DeSantis signs the bill, it will go into effect on July 1, 2026. The tax holidays for firearms accessories are for the entire year.

The Florida Legislature passed HB 7031E, as amended by the Conference Committee Report, YEAS 29 to NAYS 6, on May 29, 2026. The bill passed the House a couple of hours earlier 88 YEAS to 11 NAYS. The bill is a major taxation bill for Florida.  The bill includes Section 46 (Exemption for firearm accessories) and Section 47 (Hunting, fishing, and camping sales tax holiday). Section 46 starts on page 62 of the 66 page bill.

The firearm accessories are for pistols, rifles and shotguns which fire projectiles using an explosive charge.  According to the NRA, whether suppressors/silencers would be included in the bill was uncertain until the vote on May 29. An amendment had included them in the bill, but those tax holidays could have been stripped from the bill before the final vote.  They were not. If Governor DeThe items will be exempt from taxes in Chapter 212 of Florida statues, which are primarily sales taxes.

The tax holiday for firearms accessories are scheduled to start on 1 July, 2026 and to continue through an entire year to June 30, 2027.  The accessories include:

• Firearm Barrels.
• Firearm cases or range bags.
• Firearm charging handles.
• Firearm grips.
• Firearm handguards.
• Firearm holsters.
• Internal firearm parts and components.
• Firearm magazines or other ammunition feeding devices or carriers.
• Firearm muzzle devices.
• Firearm shooting mats, rests, or bipods.
• Firearm shooting chronographs.
• Firearm sights or optics.
• Firearm slides or cylinders.
• Firearm slings.
• Firearm stocks or braces.
• Firearm cleaning kits.
• Firearm suppressors or silencers.
• Firearm triggers.

Alert readers may find some parts of firearms which are not covered.

The Hunting, fishing and camping sales tax holiday is not so generous. It only lasts from September 1 through December 31 of 2026.  This tax holiday covers complete firearms as well as ammunition for firearms, bows, crossbows, arrows, bolts, quarrels, quivers, releases, sights or optics, and wristguards.

Fishing and camping supplies are included in the tax holiday, but limited in the price of the items covered.  The price listed is the maximum cost of the item to qualify for the tax holiday:

• Rods and reels: individually, $75, as a set $150.
• Tackle boxes or bags: $30.
• Bait or fishing tackle: individually, $5 or $10 if sold as a group.
• Camping supplies: $200 for a tent
• Sleeping bags, portable hammocks, camping stoves and collapsable camping chairs: $50 or less.
• Camping lanterns and flashlights: $30.

Sales tax in Florida is generally 6%, with up to 2% added by cities or counties. The tax holidays apply to the entire sales tax, not just the state portion of the sales tax.

The Florida tax bill has to be sent to Governor DeSantis for signature. Major tax bills are seldom vetoed.

©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch  

More Here

On June 9, 1628: The first deportation from what is now the United States: Thomas Morton was deported from Massachusetts. For the local Puritans, Morton’s behavior was just too much. He was a drunken womanizer who constructed a May Pole, organized orgies, and sold guns to Indians. — And on June 9, 1772: The first naval attack of Revolutionary War took place in Providence, Rhode Island. — A reminder: SurvivalBlog is now a weekly web blog, delivered Fresh Every Tuesday. — Today’s feature article is the conclusion of a guest piece by long-time SurvivalBlog reader “Tunnel Rabbit”, who makes his …

The post Preparedness Notes — June 9, 2026 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Considerations for Projectile Selection There are many different bullets and powders to choose from.  Given the very long throats of their chambers, we are mostly limited to heavier and flat based bullets.   Choosing the best projectiles for the antique Mausers will help us get the best all around results, quickly. For the purposes of hunting, I would like it to shoot no larger groups than 2 MOA with iron sights and that would limit my shoots to 250 yards if I had 20-20 or better vision and had the rifle on …

The post Modern Handloads for Antique 7mm Mauser Rifles – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

The 4 Patriots 72-Hour Survival Food Kit is misnamed. In terms of caloric requirements and nutritional value, it does not quite qualify as a 48-hour food kit. In terms of packaging, it would be best suited as a 24-hour food kit. The food is packaged conveniently for things like camping trips. But it is important to realize that the number of servings listed on each package is hopelessly optimistic. Double each serving size, and it will be just about right. Also make sure to take other foods to supplement the packaged courses. At the time of this writing, the kit …

The post 4Patriots 72-Hour Survival Food Kit, by Thomas Christianson appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

Today’s graphic is a map that shows the status of social media age verification legislation around the United States. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail image below is click-expandable.       — Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.

The post SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Economics & Investing Links of Interest At The Telegraph: Gold overtakes US bonds as world’s favourite investment. A Ron Paul interview: The Economic Implications of the Iran War — Phillip Patrick. Reported on June 6th: Over $1Trillion wiped out as chip selloff impacts Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron. Warren Buffett’s Successor, Greg Abel, Overhauled Berkshire Hathaway’s Portfolio and Has 61% of Its Assets Invested in Just 5 Stocks. At Zero Hedge: UK Conservatives Blast Labour North Sea Ban As ‘Utter …

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, more out-of-control AIs.. Anthropic Seeks Pause of AI Development First up, over at Yahoo News: Anthropic calls for pause of global AI development, The article begins: “Artificial intelligence …

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Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Several readers mentioned a recent interview of actor Josh Duhamel by Shawn Ryan.  At just after the 30-minute mark, Duhamel credits reading my novel Patriots for putting him on the preparedness path. o  o  o Peter Thiel’s Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D: Why Peter Thiel Is Decamping to the End …

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This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. Redoubt News Links: Avista agrees to framework to provide single business with power equal to half of all Spokane County customers. JWR’s Comments:  Huge industrial electrical power customers (read: data centers) tend to be given “sweetheart deals”, where the customer is offered rates below 6 cents per kilowatt hour. So, in effect, the residential customers end up subsidizing the cost of the local grid expansion. It is also …

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …

The post Editors’ Prepping Progress appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: It Used To Be Shunned As One Of The Seven Deadly Sins But Now, If We Fail To Endorse “Pride” We Are Shunned as “Homophobic”   Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

The post JWR’s Meme Of The Week: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

“Man’s cleverness is almost indefinite, and stretches like an elastic band, but human nature is like an iron ring. You can go round and round it, you can polish it highly, you can even flatten it a little on one side, whereby you will make it bulge out the other, but you will never, while the world endures and man is man, increase its total circumference.” – H. Rider Haggard (Sir Henry Rider Haggard) 1856-1925

The post The Editors’ Quote Of The Week: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

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 I had to go to the Courthouse this morning to take care of a little family business.  A quick stop at the Clerk's office thin across the hall to the Assessor.  First, I had to go through the security kiosk in the lobby.  Knowing the drill, I left everything I did not need in the car before I got to the steps of the Courthouse. That metal scanner is set so tight that I am surprised it did not detect the filling in my teeth

This is all theater.  They started this bullshit after 9/11 to make the unaware unconcerned.  Anyone with a smattering of operational knowledge knows that a routine security protocol is easy to bypass. Anyone with nefarious intent would find it easy to defeat.  Even a feeble septuagenarian such as I could cause mayhem.

Still, the security detail provides employment for a half-dozen people.  I suppose that is a god thing, even if the mission is kabuki.

By Dave Workman Sometime between now and the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hand down rulings on a pair of Second Amendment cases which could have considerable impact on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and those who use controlled substances. The cases are known as Wolford v. Lopez—which challenges […]

The post SCOTUS 2A Decisions on Horizon; More Cases Waiting in Wings appeared first on Liberty Park Press.

The post Romanian vz24 Sniper Rifles from World War Two first appeared on Forgotten Weapons.

The May, 2026 National Instant background Check System (NICS) numbers are in. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) adjusted background check numbers show expanding firearm sales as the number of total background checks done through NICS continues to drop. In May, the drop was almost 11 percent from May of 2025. From NSSF:

The May 2026 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,105,758 is an increase of 3.2 percent compared to the May 2025 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,071,685. For comparison, the unadjusted May 2026 FBI NICS figure of 1,780,230 reflects a 10.9 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 1,998,440 in May 2025.

The 2026 adjusted background check numbers are designed to be highly correlated to actual sales numbers. They are not the same because the NICS checks are used for multiple purposes. The adjusted numbers take out the checks done specifically for firearms permits and permit renewals. They do not adjust for multiple firearms sold with one NICS check, or for firearms sold without a separate NICS check such as those in states where possession of a permit is allowed to be substituted for a NICS check. Most private sales do not involve a NICS check.

The NSSF Report over the last 12 months shows consistent increases in the adjusted NICS checks in 2026 since January.  This is four months of increases in the adjusted NICS checks over the same four months in 2025. The NSSF has started to track NICS checks done for Form 1 and Form 4 applications to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) by month. There are very large increasin in these numbers since the $200 tax has been remove by the Trump administration. In April, the numbers were up 130%. In May of 2026, the numbers were up over 100%. From the NSSF:

• The May 2026 NFA figure of 146,551 is an increase of 100.4 percent compared to the May 2025 figure of 73,138.

The increase in numbers shows how much the exercise of Second Amendment rights has been infringed in previous years. Although the tax has been removed, there are still numerous infringements. People who wish to comply with the National Firearms Act (NFA) are required to submit fingerprints, photographs, and to wait for approval by the ATF before making or purchasing a piece of safety equipment such as a suppressor / silencer / gun muffler. They are required to go through the same procedure for short barreled rifles or short barreled shotguns. Several lawsuits are in progress challenging the constitutional validity of the continued bureaucratic infringements. Some states are moving to protect silencer/ suppressor owners.

Analysis: Firearms sales thrive during times of uncertainty. The constant attacks on President Trump in the old media probably aid in keeping firearm sales high. The conflicts being waged overseas in Ukraine and the Persian Gulf are likely contributors. Removing the $200 tax on NFA has helped. If current lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the continued infringements in the NFA succeed, there will be a boom in the sales of suppressors / silencers / gun mufflers and in the sale of short barreled shotguns and short barreled rifles. The Second Amendment is a very popular part of the Bill of Rights. The economy is doing pretty well. If peace is reached in the Middle East, prosperity is likely.

©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue took the victims to the hospital where one was pronounced dead. Police say the second victim was taken to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries.  

Officials say the incident began when the two men were involved in an altercation between the doorway of a hotel and a parking lot before gunfire erupted. 

Police say the victim with life-threatening injuries is also one of the suspects, and that the two men shot at each other. There is no threat to the public, police say.

More Here 

 6/7/26 Fortune article title:

‘The golden years are not golden’: Boomers are hoarding most of America’s wealth and power because they’re terrified of outliving their money

The arrogance of that title really steams me even the article quotes a number of Boomers refuting that title in part.

1. "Hoarding": like we are never going to spend it. For the most part, Boomers are not overwhelmingly rich. There are homeless Boomers and many barely making their rent or mortgage payments.  I am not one of them, but I know such. 

2. Power: does he mean we elected Trump? Or that we reliably show up to vote? Zoomers can fix this easily enough.

3 Where is our "hoarded wealth" going after we die? We are not taking it with us. We are going to leave it to our GenX children who Zoomers will again claim are hoarding. Much of my wealth is already spent on meals out and services overwhelmingly provided by younger people. 

4. Houses? Yes we bought houses for $106,000 in the 1980s on wages commensurate with those prices ($45,000 was my salary at the time). We paid interest rates that seem horrifying today. I refinanced a mortgage at 10.5% in 1989. We had a 18.5% car loan. (We had pretty good credit at the time.) Life was not easy back then.

5. We had limited capabilities because of technology. A few years ago, my son asked, "Hiw did you buy houses before the Internet." Slowly and carefully  .

BZoomers need to stop whining or Boomers might buy billion dollar yachts and sink them at sea to deny that wealth to the Zoomers.

Canis Ex Machina

It had been 40,000 years since the Great Collapse when our expedition reached HD56689 B. We knew that before the GC our ancestors had seeded B with our distant cousins. Would they still be recognizably human in culture. Other planets we had explored were still physically human with slight variations in size and color (two-meter adults on Rigel F with coal-black skin, one meter adults with interesting and sometimes beautiful primary color skin spotting on HD44449 C). These were startling, but we grew to see them as just interesting variants on the basic human pattern.

What we found too disheartening was civilizational drift. Some had gone cannibal; the sociologists recorded what they found. After losing a few sociologists to the pot, we decided this was a civilization best studied from drones and moved on. Others completely lost technological knowledge; they had reverted to hunter-gatherer societies with no apparent forward progress in 40,000 years to the state from which they had regressed.

HD56689 B was unique. We could see evidence of an advanced civilization: large cities; some strangely narrow, unpaved roads; what seemed to be something like very large bird roosts made of concrete. The population was clearly shrinking. We contacted the small remaining leadership. After a bit of struggle getting the AI Translators working with what seemed (t us) a very primitive language, we pieced together what happened.

Their ancestors separated from the mainstream of human technology by the GC had started insanely breeding the Earth-origin mammals to do the important jobs of machines. The swifferhound had a large fine haired tail. It was very small, about 500 grams. It would climb shelves and use its tail for dusting.

They bred the vacuum shepherd to inhale dirt and dust into outsized lungs, then exhale the contents outside. They had fairly short lifespans because of high lung cancer rates.

They bred a transport elephant with a very broad flat back on which enormous loads could be strapped to the mid-abdominal tusks. (Our biologists suspected some now lost to them gene editing played a part in that one.)

They bred bats to 40 meters long with commensurate wingspans that carried humans on transcontinental journeys from batplane roost to batplane roost. They consumed vast quantities of insects and birds on the way. This limited them to travel on the only settled continent and outlying islands.

Tractordogs operated the only agricultural machinery they had still produced. Combines were operated by their canine pilots through the fields.

It was both unsettling and impressive to see our mighty species operating almost without technology. So why was the civilization dying. Some centuries before, at what they now called Peak Animal Helper, an interspecies virus spread rapidly through all the mammals killing most of them in one generation. While survivors carried a gene for immunity, the generations of careful breeding made the survivors weak and less effective at their functions. As an example, chauffeur dogs sometimes intentionally crashed ground vehicles so that they could devour the occupants.

We tried to explain the concept of machines as less vulnerable helpers and dogs as companions, but I fear the concepts would not stick and future explorers would find empty cities here.

This whole concept was dreamed up by my wife as ww were returning from a star party in Payette. There has to be a better title for this. Maske suggestions!