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Sitting on the tailgate of my truck, I fire up the new Optimus Gemini II dual-burner camp stove in order to make some coffee and oatmeal to start the day. With a scenic backdrop of snowcapped mountains piercing a pale blue sky, I twist the knobs on the slim silver stove to get the heat settings just right. Moments later, I’ve got oatmeal simmering in one pot while my coffee water boils in a mug next to it. The new Optimus stove, which fits perfectly into my truck-camping regimen, is considered compact. The stove has two burners, making it a…
Toronto sure looks like a rough place these days. Not even by Canadian standards, but ours. Even the U.S. Consulate isn’t safe, as we found out last month.Yeah, that gun control is going just swimmingly, isn’t it? However, I apparently need to give the Toronto cops their due. They made two arrests in the incident, which is good. It’s everything else they announced about the arrests that has me scratching my head.Toronto police announced the arrests Thursday of a 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy in the second shooting at the U.S. Consulate in five…
After a long day in the sun paddling the Missouri River, I hopped off the canoe, walked along the sandbar, and began to set up my tent. As I unfolded the poles, I began to hear the clinking and clanking of knives chopping vegetables and metal spoons hitting the side of a mixing bowl. Soon, the crackle and smoke of fire began to spread over the campsite, and I got my first inkling that something tasty for dinner was on the way. I walked over to the fire with my camp chair in hand, and took a seat to watch…
Violent crime is down across the country, and that’s a very good thing. Our homicide rate hitting record lows is something that we should all be celebrating, and we’re on pace to see it even lower this year. Again, a very good thing. However, the only acceptable number of homicides is zero, and that means there’s always work to be done. We need to be realistic, though, which is why gun control is still a non-starter.But maybe the answer is to not let dangerous people walk around on our city streets? I’m just putting that…
Within the Air Force, officer ranks follow a clear-cut structure, divided into three categories: company grade, field grade, and general officers. Company grade officers range from O-1 to O-3. Climbing the ranks, next are field grade officers, in the O-4 to O-6 range, taking the helm of mid-level command. Finally, at the top of the hierarchy are general officers, O-7 and above, who oversee strategy. Air Force Company Grade Officer Ranks Second Lieutenant (O-1) The rank of second lieutenant is shown through a single gold bar. Proper forms of address include “second lieutenant” or “lieutenant.” Commissioned airmen sometimes may skip…
I got my first Swiss Army knife at a flea market when I was about 11 years old. I have no clue which model it was, but it had the basic tools we typically see nestled between those familiar red handle scales, such as a knife blade, can opener, bottle opener, and corkscrew. I beat the hell out of that knife for a few years. It whittled hundreds of sticks into sharp points. I used it to open cans of Dinty Moore or Chef Boyardee I’d brought to the campfire. It trimmed rope we used in countless forts in the…
Iowa’s always been pretty decent when it comes to gun laws, but the state has made a couple of major improvements over the past few years. In 2021, the state’s permitless carry law kicked in, and the following year voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that declares firearm ownership a fundamental individual right and mandating that courts apply “strict scrutiny” to any future gun control legislation. Those advances could be in danger, though, unless Iowa gun owners turn out in force this November. While Democrat candidates like Christina Bohannan and Josh Turek don’t…
The Department of Veterans Affairs began enrolling veterans in its first-ever clinical trial of therapy assisted by MDMA, or Ecstasy, in May 2026. The program targets treatment-resistant PTSD and alcohol use disorder. The announcement did not come with a major press rollout. But for veterans who have cycled through medication management, group therapy, prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy and residential programs — and are still struggling — it landed anyway. The trial is real, and it is a meaningful step. It is also, by design, small, tightly controlled, and years away from producing results. Veterans reading about it should understand…
Being a public servant of any kind can be kind of tricky. After all, you’re working for the government, and that can mean massive swings in what that government actually seeks to accomplish. It’s also important that those who work for the government do their best to keep their own opinions in check, at least while working in an official capacity. Everyone is welcome to their own opinions, but they’re not free to express them on the taxpayer’s dime. However, in Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners’ Cory Gaines argues that some public servants are…
A new law extends free TSA PreCheck to certain severely disabled veterans. Active-duty members have always had it free through their Defense Department ID. Gold Star families qualify, too. Here is a complete breakdown of who gets what and what each group needs to do. How to Get TSA PreCheck for Free TSA PreCheck, the program that lets travelers keep their shoes on, skip the regular security line, and move through a dedicated fast lane at more than 200 airports, costs $85 for a five-year membership through the standard civilian process. For a growing number of military-connected travelers, it costs…
The military produces entrepreneurs at rates higher than the general population: Veterans are 45 percent more likely to be self-employed than nonveterans, according to Small Business Administration data. What it produces less reliably is the business training and startup capital to turn that entrepreneurial drive into sustainable companies. Warrior Rising, a nonprofit supported by the SBA, has built a pipeline designed to address both gaps, and the grant funding at the end of that pipeline can reach $20,000. The VA has been highlighting Warrior Rising’s Warrior University program across its news channels this year as a resource for veteran and…
Let me tell you something about bug out bags: No one gets it exactly right the first time. If you think you can assemble a bug out bag once and then forget about it forever, you are gravely mistaken. There are bound to be a few crucial items missing. That’s why it’s important to regularly look over and update your bug out bag. Most preppers focus on the obvious stuff: a knife, fire starter, first aid kit. But it’s the overlooked items that tend to bite you when things go sideways. The difference between a good bug out bag and…
California isn’t the only state to have banned Glock handguns, but it was the first and the largest. While anti-gunners and their media buddies have termed them “DIY machine guns,” the truth is that the Glock isn’t anything of the sort. The auto sears, which are illegal under federal law and have been since the moment they were invented, are the machine guns. Still, anti-gun states don’t care, and with California, that lack of care impacts all of us. See, the problem isn’t just that residents in California are prohibited from buying the most popular…
Current and future transgender military service members have claimed a new victory after a court granted a motion for class certification as part of a legal battle that began in January 2025. The Federal District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday afternoon granted a motion for class certification in Talbott v. USA (formerly Talbott v. Trump), the ongoing legal challenge to the transgender military ban pushed by President Donald Trump and executed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The ruling for class certification allows plaintiffs to seek to extend protections won in Talbott v. Trump to all transgender service…
This article was originally published by George Ford Smith at The Mises Institute. It must be owned that Mr Locke, and other theoretical writers, have held, that “there remains still inherent in the people a supreme power to remove or alter the legislative, when they find the legislative act contrary to the trust reposed in them: for when such trust is abused, it is thereby forfeited, and devolves to those who gave it.” But however just this conclusion may be in theory, we cannot adopt it, nor argue from it, under any dispensation of government at present actually existing. .…
The Wolford decision comes immediately on the heels of Hemani, which is shortly after cases like Bruen. This particular court has come down heavily in favor of the right to keep and bear arms, particularly as an individual right and one that should not be relegated to second-class status. It’s a glorious thing to experience, especially after decades of absolute silence from the Supreme Court on gun rights. We had Heller and McDonald a while back, which suggested that things were changing, but then back to silence.Now, we’re seeing action, and almost all of it…
One of the most frustrating parts of the VA disability claims process has always been what happens when VA needs more information. The request arrives by mail. You respond by mail. The claim sits while the paper moves. The VA has now built a direct digital alternative, and if you have a pending claim, it is worth knowing about before the next request lands in your mailbox. The Claim Assist Portal, launched in March 2026, gives veterans a secure online way to respond when VA asks for additional evidence, documentation or clarification on a disability claim. Instead of printing, signing…
In 2023, Jason Aldean made waves with “Try That in a Small Town.” The song and accompanying video made it pretty clear that much of the lawlessness we see in American cities, particularly the political sort, such as riots, wouldn’t fly in small-town America. In fairness, it’s a good way to get your butt handed to you. Whether or not you’re left alive to learn from your mistakes would directly depend on how stupid you were.Of course, a lot of people on the left got very butthurt over it, claiming that the song was endorsing…
Base-building games have existed for the longest time, and there are many different kinds on the market that all deliver a slightly different experience. Some games opt for a top-down perspective and focus on a satisfying gameplay loop, while others lean the other way, using a first-person view that prioritizes immersion and a compelling world that players can truly get lost in. The latter is arguably better suited to a more engaging experience, where every component feels far more impactful, and those structures truly start to feel like the difference between dying and surviving through the night. Whatever the setting…
