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Full Disclosure: I intend to step on some toes today. I’ve been at this for years now. There are hundreds of these history columns in circulation. I read every word in the comments. The politically controversial topics always make for the most engaging discussions.
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Bottom Line Up Front
Antisemitism seems to be the only flavor of racism that yet remains politically acceptable these days. Point out anything good about the Confederacy (the Civil War was about more than just slavery), Apartheid-era South Africa (modern liberated South Africa seems pretty horrible today), or Hitler (he seemed to genuinely love his dog Blondi), and expect ritual evisceration by the anonymous keyboard commandos relentlessly patrolling the Internet. However, publicly advocate for a Holocaust redux by chanting “From the River to the Sea” or “Globalize the Intifada,” and folks like George Soros and David Rockefeller Jr will purportedly give you money.
It’s curious. I have never really understood why so many folks hate the Jews so. I’ve spent some time in Israel. It’s a secular state these days, but the Israeli people seemed industrious, responsible, and friendly. They produce some simply gorgeous women. Every square meter of that country was cultivated or otherwise put to some useful purpose. It was clean. Folks clearly took pride in their space.
Why then does the modern Israeli state find itself standing essentially alone amongst the community of nations? Much of the world seems to inexplicably revile them. A shockingly large percentage of the human species wants to see them exterminated. It’s weird, but why is that?
Origin Story
Had it not been for the Holocaust, there never could have been a modern state of Israel. The Jews were effectively scattered nearly 2,000 years ago. It is legitimately miraculous that they could retain their independent national identity across the centuries despite not having a homeland. However, it took the egregious nature of the Holocaust to galvanize the world into allowing the Israelis to establish their state. The day after they declared their independence in 1948, the surrounding nations banded together to obliterate them. They’ve been fighting ever since.
Everything changed in 1967. Besieged on all sides, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) utterly spanked the combined armed forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon. At the end of this 6-day conflict, Israel held the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza, and the West Bank of the Jordan River. This brought the Israelis control of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Arabs understandably call this war “The Setback.”
I’m not Jewish. The claims that Palestinians aren’t real, or that the indigenous peoples of this area were nomads without true attachment to the land, aren’t mine to adjudicate. I’m also not rendering an opinion on the legitimacy of Jewish settlements. Not my circus, not my monkeys. However, it’s been 77 years. During that time, the entire map of Eastern Europe was redrawn. Countless international borders have been reimagined. North and South Korea fought a bloody war. Vietnam did, too. None of that was perfect, but it eventually found its level. Why then have we not seen things calm down in the Holy Land?
Ample blood has been spilled by both sides. Nobody is innocent. However, there is a palpable bias in the media and the larger world against Israel. This manifests in countless little ways.
October 7
7 October 2023 began with 4,300 rockets launched into Israeli territory. Hamas and sundry Palestinian terrorist organizations followed this up with 6,000 fighters who crossed into Israel, murdering as they came. At the end of that one day, 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals had been killed. 251 were taken hostage. Between 20 and 50 hostages purportedly remain alive as of August 2025.
One out of every 8,300 Israelis died on October 7. Scaled up for our population, that is the equivalent of having somebody murder 41,000 Americans…in a single day. In response, the Israelis attacked Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and the terrorist theocracy of Iran. As in all wars, this spawned a great deal of collateral misery.
Gaza
I honestly don’t know what to believe. The media began screaming about famine and widespread starvation in Gaza before the end of 2023. That was nearly two years ago. Gaza has been leveled and looks hideous in the newsfeeds. However, the adults in the videos bear little similarity to Somali famine victims. They seem to retain a fair amount of meat on their bones. I’m not saying it’s great, but Google it for yourself if you’re curious.
Amidst widespread international outrage, such otherwise-reasonable nations as Australia, Canada, France, and the UK now stand poised to recognize Palestinian statehood in a collective snub against the state of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Donald Trump. It’s in the news every single day. American universities and major cities have been shut down due to the pro-Palestinian protests. Donning a keffiyeh and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans is cool in many circles. Meanwhile, in other news…
It All Depends on What Church You Go To
Nobody cares about Africans. Never have, never will. Bill Clinton tried back in 1993. That resulted in Blackhawk Down—a great movie, but a bit suckier for the folks who lived it. The world did indeed come together to rightfully crush Apartheid, but South Africa is ranked the 5th-most dangerous country on earth today.
The recent civil war in Sudan has claimed between 20,000 and 150,000 lives. Nobody is really sure, because nobody cares enough to figure it out. Regardless, those numbers certainly put the carnage in the same bracket as that of Gaza. And then there is Boko Haram.
The Devil Walks Among Us
Boko Haram translates to “Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad.” This merry mob of psychopaths hung out a shingle in 2002, and they have been bathing in blood ever since. Their stated mission is to establish an African caliphate by force. The resulting relentless conflict has displaced 2.3 million people. Their primary stomping ground is Nigeria.
Nigeria is a West African nation of some 230 million people. It is the most populous country in Africa, and the sixth-most populous country in the world. A true polyglot nation, there are some 525 languages in use there among dozens of different people groups. 50% of the population is Muslim, living mostly in the north. Between 46 and 48% of Nigerians are Christian, most commonly found in the south. And therein lies the problem. Christians want to be left alone to worship as they please. Radical Muslims want to exterminate all Christians.
A Typical Example
In July of 2014, members of Boko Haram captured a Nigerian Air Force officer named Umar Abubakar and aggressively interrogated him, asking why he served the state rather than Allah.
They displayed his ID card and chanted, “Allah has given us an unbeliever today!” Abubakar claimed to be a Muslim himself. Regardless, Boko Haram members shouted “Allah is Great!” and decapitated the poor guy before parading about town brandishing his freshly severed head.
This wasn’t an outlier. These maniacs cut folks’ heads off all the freaking time. Their real forte is churches. They hit places of Christian worship while services are being held and systematically slaughter the parishioners. That’s kind of their thing.
In the first half of 2022, these lunatics murdered more than 6,000 people. Unlike the carnage in Gaza, this is not collateral damage from formal military operations. This is maniacal mobs of goons with Kalashnikovs and machetes descending upon villages to murder the men, rape the women, and drag off any female captives young enough to seem interesting–all because their dark god told them to do so. Nobody is completely sure of the body count these days, but Wikipedia claims they have thus far killed 300,000 children. And the Israelis are the problem?
Will’s Solution
Nigerian Christians have grown justifiably weary of this. They are screaming for their government to provide security. I’m not convinced that’s a reasonable ask. Nigeria has 356,669 square miles of territory. The Nigerian Army can’t be everywhere at once, and Boko Haram is crafty.
I’m a committed evangelical Christian myself. I try to live my life according to Biblical precepts. Matthew 5:38-40 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.”
I read that to apply to the individual believer. To me, the passage is not a command to stand idly by while 300,000 kids are murdered. I am armed every time I darken the door at my church (and anywhere else, for that matter). I think the solution to the Nigerian conundrum is guns, lots and lots of guns.
Somebody needs to pony up about 20,000 AK rifles and distribute them among the Nigerian Christian population. Then a bunch of Special Forces types could sweep through the place to teach them the rudiments of weapons handling and basic security. If they ask nicely, Donald Trump might foot the bill. That might not stop the Boko Haram attacks, but it would sure make these monsters work a little harder for it.
READ MORE HERE: Alejo Garza Tamez: Always Respect an Old Man with a Gun
Ruminations
Screaming about Gaza is the very pinnacle of hypocrisy. The Israelis attacked Gaza after Hamas murdered 1,197 Israelis in a day. The IDF has been trying to get out of that godforsaken place ever since. Hamas could disband and release those last hostages, and the war would be over tomorrow. However, they won’t. The Hamas playbook is to kick the Israelis in the shins until they finally feel compelled to fight back, and then rush out to play the victim card for the international press. It is beyond my comprehension that the world cannot appreciate that. I don’t have a dog in that fight, but it just seems so blatantly obvious.
The Nigerians do not need foreign peacekeepers or gobs of international aid. They need a 2nd amendment. Nigeria currently has some ridiculously draconian gun laws. Hunting weapons are allowed but only to individuals who endure a suffocating licensing scheme. Handguns and military weapons are illegal. Despite this fact, the place is nonetheless awash in contraband guns. That’s where Boko Haram gets theirs. The Nigerian police force has misplaced 178,479 military-grade weapons, yet law-abiding civilians face a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison if they are caught with an illegal firearm. As is always the case, those stupid rules only apply to the good folks who choose to respect them. The terrorists couldn’t care less. See Newark or Chicago for some similar examples, a bit closer to home.
So, Israel invades Gaza in response to one of the most egregious terrorist attacks in modern history, and the world had a conniption over it. Putin has snuffed as many as 400,000 lives in his ill-conceived invasion of Ukraine, and activist college students aren’t making a peep about that. Boko Haram regularly empties Christian churches to behead the men, rape the women, and enslave the children, and the world literally cannot be bothered. There are lots of different ways to quantify insanity these days, but that seems like a pretty good one to me.
Addendum: I obviously wrote this a while ago. Since then, peace does seem to have sort-of broken out in Gaza. We have Donald Trump to thank for that. Those few hostages remaining alive have been repatriated, most of the IDF has gone home, and Hamas now occupies itself murdering any other Palestinians with whom they might have had a philosophical disagreement. Time will tell if the world allows this sordid cycle to continue…
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HOW TO STORE AMMO By WILL DABBS, MD
Ammunition is not cheap, so its proper storage is an important consideration for many people. Keeling your cartridges in good working condition relies a lot on how you store your ammunition. In this article, Dr. Will Dabbs offers a unique look at how to store ammo safely. His perspective as a firearms enthusiast, veteran and doctor at an ammunition plant all come together for a succinct look at the topic.
Not just everybody knows this, but there are actually two broad categories of American money in circulation. Regular money goes toward rent, gas, food and diapers. By contrast, gun money buys firearms, ammunition and accessories. These two types of money might look the same, but they are very, very different.
Similarly, there are also two fundamentally different kinds of ammunition on the market today. Blasting bullets are cheap bulk-packed, no-frills jacketed ball that you use for both recreation and training. Blasting bullets are frequently steel-cased and are built to be burned.
By contrast, defensive bullets are the good stuff. This is high-end, high-performance ammo that you stash away for use in your defensive firearms. Considering ammo of any sort is really expensive, it behooves us to invest a little forethought into how we maintain it. If you want your ammo stash to last, you need to store it properly. 
I always find it entertaining when news people breathlessly report that some miscreant was discovered to have a “stockpile of ammunition” upon his apprehension. A single brick of .22 shells is 500 rounds. Maintain enough ammo to properly feed a decent defensive handgun, a modern sporting rifle, a rimfire plinking gun, and a defensive shotgun and you will have your own ammo stockpile by any reasonable metric. Just embrace it.
Shelf Life: Chemistry is a Cruel Mistress
We live in a fallen world. The evidence of that is all around us. Leave most anything exposed to the humidity and elements and it will eventually corrode, rot or die. The technical term is entropy. This is the quantifiable state of disorder in any natural system. Everything about life from birth to the grave is actually one big exercise in pushing back against entropy. When it comes to ammunition, your primary enemies are heat and oxidation. 
I am the plant doctor for a sprawling ammunition plant in my little Southern town. They produce vast quantities of military ammo. I was amazed when first I started working there at the effort that went into designing ammunition for U.S. troops that would operate reliably through a wide range of temperatures and environmental conditions.
However, ammo is innately consumable. It is designed to be stored in a protected environment and then remain weather-resistant for a relatively brief period of time after issue. That makes baseline storage conditions very important.
Ammunition and Extreme Heat
Modern ammunition is quite heat-stable. 150 degrees F is a good safe upper limit for planning purposes. In all of recorded history, it has never gotten that hot on planet earth due to natural forces alone. However, your attic or the trunk of your car can indeed become fairly hellish, particularly in the summer down in the Deep South where I live.
Long term exposure to elevated temperatures can cause your ammunition to degrade. Don’t leave your ammo in such toasty places for long periods unnecessarily. Cool dry areas like a closet, underneath a cabinet, or inside the gun safe are better.
Moisture and Corrosion
Most metals react with oxygen to form oxides. Oxides can diminish structural strength and just make things nasty. Good old-fashioned rust is the most obvious example. This process requires both oxygen and an electrolyte. Oxygen is obviously a ubiquitous component of air. Water vapor condensing on the substrate is the most common electrolyte. 
The goal is simply to store your ammo away from moisture. That requires some kind of physical barrier plus initial desiccation, which is the removal of water.
A dehumidifier will work well in a safe where you expect to rotate through the ammo with some regularity. If you are going to store ammo long-term, you will want to put it in something that is sealed against the elements and make sure it is dry from the outset.
Tools to Store Your Ammo
I do love me some G.I. ammo cans. Those things are just awesome. They are rugged, inexpensive, versatile, and purpose-designed to store ammunition safely. They stack readily, and they look cool. All those pointy square corners combined with that minimalist retractable pressed steel handle make them ghastly to hump long distances, but normal people don’t have to do that very often. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
The 20mm, 30mm, and 40mm cans are all big, bulky, and voluminous. Cans used to transport 81mm mortars are frankly enormous. They are all made from pressed steel painted OD green and sport the same heavy steel latch and pivoting lid. The lids all have rubber gaskets that keep moisture at bay and are readily removable. If you have big stuff you need to store these are all good options, but they are bulky. Additionally, fill one of those boxes all the way up with small arms ammo and it will be too heavy to carry. The most common and practical ammo cans are the .30 and .50-caliber sort.
The military designation for the smaller .30-caliber can is M19A1. The larger .50-caliber variety is the M2A1. Uncle Sam issues combat-packed 5.56mm on stripper clips in the M2A1 .50-caliber can as well.
The PA108 is a bit larger than the M2A1 and is designed to carry linked 5.56mm SAW ammo. These are commonly called “Fat Fifties” as they are slightly larger than the .50-caliber cans. They all have their merits for civilians wishing to store their ammo safely.
Actual G.I. surplus ammo cans look cool because they have all that nifty stenciling on the outside. However, you can get essentially the same cans brand new from a variety of civilian sources. As of this writing, Amazon will sell you a fine M2A1 knockoff for twenty bucks. The .30-caliber version is $17. For another couple of dollars each they offer the same cans with lockable hasps. My local Walmart and Harbor Freight Tools offer them as well at comparable prices. Plastic versions are cheaper but not quite as durable.
Efficiently organizing and packing your ammo in the cans is half the fun. Before you seal them up, give the interior a quick going over with a blow dryer to make sure all the residual moisture is burned away.
Managing Moisture in Your Ammo Storage
If you plan on seriously long-term storage or if you live in a really humid place, you might want to pack a little desiccant in with your stash. These are the annoying little pouches that come stuffed into medicine bottles sporting the handy admonition, “Do Not Eat.”
They include chemicals that naturally absorb moisture and keep the surrounding material dry. These little silica gel packs can be had in the neighborhood of 50 for about $10. In a sealed container, they work great for pulling moisture out of the air to keep ammo dry.
Some chemical desiccants can be rejuvenated, most commonly via a brief stint in the oven. Others are actually electrically powered rechargeable modules that are energized via wall power. If you’re really cheap you can make your own out of kitty litter and socks or even baking soda. The details are available online.
Final Thoughts on How to Store Ammo
There are lots of other ways to store ammunition, but none are so efficient, effective, inexpensive, and cool as are plain old G.I. ammo cans in my opinion. Pack a thousand rounds of 5.56mm away sealed in a steel ammo can with a little desiccant in a cool dry place and that stuff will still run reliably for your great grandchildren.
Just like groceries, rotate your stock so you shoot the old stuff first and your “ammo stockpile” will outlive you.
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Turkish 8mm Mauser
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