December 13

1545 – The Council of Trent – the ‘Counter-Lutheran Reformation’ – begins

1577 –With 5 other ships, Francis Drake, aboard the Pelican, sets sail from Plymouth, England, on his round the world voyage.

1636 –By order of the Massachusetts Bay Colony General Court, the first militia regiments in North America are organized for colonial defense.

1769 – Dartmouth College is founded by the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, with a royal charter from King George III, on land donated by the New Hampshire Royal governor John Wentworth.

1862 – During the Civil War, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats Union General Ambrose Burnside at Fredericksburg, Virginia

1937 – During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the city of Nanking, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese. With Japanese troops beginning “The Rape of Nanking, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians.

1938 – The German NAZI government opens the Neuengamme concentration camp in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg.

1949 – The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

1960 – While Ras Täfäri Mäkonnän, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard seizes the capital and proclaims him deposed and his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, Emperor, but the coup is denounced by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and regular army and police forces end it.

1961 – Folk artist Anna Mary ‘Grandma’ Moses dies, age 101, at Hoosick Falls New York.

1962 – NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit.

1972 – Apollo astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the 3rd, final and to date, last human extra-vehicular activity on the moon.

1974 – North Vietnam launches an offensive against South Vietnam that will result in the collapse of the government.

1977 – Air Indiana Flight 216, a Douglas DC-3, crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing all 29 passengers and crew aboard, including the University of Evansville Indiana basketball team and support staff.

1983 – Martha Layne Collins is inaugurated as Kentucky’s 1st female governor

1994 – Flagship Airlines Flight 3379, a Jetstream 32 turboprop commuter plane, crashes while attempting to land at Raleigh–Durham International Airport, killing 13 of the 18 passengers and both pilots aboard.

2003 – Fugitive Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq by U.S. Army forces assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

True cost of charging an EV is equivalent to paying $17.33 a gallon of gas, per new report

In October, I wrote an essay on a “bombshell report” from a Texas think tank “which revealed that the actual cost of rechargeable cars and the E.V. industry is, in reality, much higher than they’re leading us to believe.”

The report is around 20-pages long, so I was only able to cover one of the explosive revelations—the average battery-powered car (E.V.) would cost “approximately $48,698 more to own over a 10-year period” were it not for the “staggering” handouts from the taxpayer via an extortionary and feckless government—but there were more.

Now, not only were the energy experts able to quantify the additional cost over time, but they were also able to put a dollar amount on the real cost of charging the vehicle, translated into price per gallon of gasoline. As you might guess, the price is astronomical, but that’s not the end of it; from an item published by the New York Post:

While EV advocates claim charging costs are equivalent to $1.21-per-gallon gasoline, the real amount is an order of magnitude more.

Including the charging equipment, subsidies from governments and utilities and other frequently excluded expenses, the true cost of charging an EV is equivalent to $17.33-per-gallon gasoline — but the EV owner pays less than 7% of that.

So if the E.V. owner pays less than 7% of that massively inflated cost to “fuel” a car, that means more than 93% of the financial burden falls on the taxpayer—as the NY Post authors also write:

This is socialism for the rich: a transfer of costs from higher net-worth individuals to middle- and lower-income taxpayers.

It’s the equivalent of levying taxes and fees on public-transportation users and those who walk or bicycle to work and using the money to reduce the price of gasoline.

At this stage, E.V.s, if forced to stand on their own, are an utter failure, and as I noted in my previous blog, bad ideas and inferior products only find security in a “free” market… rigorously controlled by big government fascists. If our market were truly free, an extremely expensive car that can spontaneously combust, only works in a limited temperature range, occasionally malfunctions and locks occupants inside before rolling backwards into bodies of water, and costs $17.33 per “gallon” to “fuel” up, would be dead on arrival—as it should be.

Law Enforcement Officers Are Part of “the People,” Not Above Them

Law enforcement amicus brief against Colorado magazine ban.

 

Two weeks ago, I filed an amicus brief in U.S. District Court in Colorado, in Gates v. Polis, a case challenging the Colorado legislature’s 2013 ban on magazines over 15 rounds. The brief was on behalf of Sheriffs and law enforcement training organizations: the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, the Colorado Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association, the Western States Sheriffs Association, 10 elected Colorado County Sheriffs, and the Independence Institute (where I work).

Some of the brief explains the practical mechanics of armed self-defense, and why bans on standard magazines do not impair mass shooters, but do endanger ordinary citizens, especially when attacked by multiple criminals. Another part of the brief shows that the key data created by some of the Colorado Attorney General’s expert witnesses is obviously false.

But in this post, I will focus on a more fundamental argument in the brief. The law enforcement amici reject the claim that arms universally recognized as appropriate for ordinary law enforcement officers should be banned for ordinary citizens. The claim is based on the pernicious idea that law enforcement officers are above the people, rather than part of the people. Here are some excerpts from the brief:

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Man fatally shot after allegedly trying to break into Essex home

ESSEX, Md. —
A man is dead after attempting to break into a home in Essex Saturday night. At around 9:45 pm, Baltimore County police responded to the 1000 block of Middlesex Road for reports of a shooting.

When officers arrived, they located an adult male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives believe the man who was shot was attempting to break into the resident’s home. The homeowner then fired his gun, hitting the suspect, police said.

A neighbor who asked to remain anonymous recalled the moment she heard gunshots in the area. “I have been living here for 56 years, and it has changed within five years. It’s gone straight down the hill,” the neighbor said.

Randolph Rice, a Maryland trial attorney, said the state does not have a “castle doctrine,” but there are laws for self-defense. “What the courts have established and what the legislature has established is that there is a self-defense with deadly force defense when it comes to your home,” Rice said.

He said the Maryland State’s Attorney will determine if the homeowner believed they were in danger and if the person was indeed breaking in.

“If the homeowner believed that somebody was coming in the house and posing that threat, maybe with another weapon or some other device, or maybe just knowing that this person was a dangerous individual that could or has caused harm in the past, then yes, the homeowner could use that deadly force to protect themselves,” Rice said.

Egypt Reportedly Has Mortal Fears About This Scenario Regarding Israel’s War With Hamas

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza isn’t going to end until the terror organization is destroyed or hobbled to the point where its impact on Gazan civilian life would be de minimis. No more can the strip be used to launch terror attacks against Israel. The IDF will remain in the strip, taking over its security responsibilities for the foreseeable future. And Israel might invade southern Lebanon to curb Hezbollah’s footprint so close to its northern border. Yet, neighboring Egypt has also been monitoring the situation. They deployed tanks to its border with the Gaza Strip, bolstering its presence near the long-closed Rafah border crossing.

The reason for its closure, which isn’t a new development, isn’t shocking: Egyptians don’t want Palestinian terrorists flooding into their country. That’s not just Cairo’s position. Every Arab nation knows the Palestinians are a problem, bringing nothing but trouble wherever they go. Reportedly, Arab nations have been quietly telling Israel that they hope their forces wipe out Hamas and that the IDF shouldn’t stop their campaign until the terror group is eliminated. For Egypt, being a neighboring state, they also don’t want millions of Palestinians pouring across the border. It’s an issue that Egyptians are warning Jerusalem could lead to a “rupture” in their relations (via Axios):

Egypt warned the U.S. and Israel that if Palestinian refugees flee into the Sinai as a result of the Israeli military operation in southern Gaza, it could create “a rupture” in relations between Egypt and Israel, according to four U.S. and Israeli officials.

Why it matters: The close relations between Egypt and Israel, especially between the military and intelligence services, have been critically important at several points in the war, including around the release of hostages.

Egypt sees the war in Gaza as a threat to its national security and wants to prevent Palestinian refugees from crossing the border into its territory.

As of 3 December, according to UNRWA, almost 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85 percent of the population, were estimated to be internally displaced.[…]

Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have been concerned since the early days of the war that Israel would push Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt — and not allow them to return after the war.

Israeli officials denied this both in private and in public and gave assurances to Egypt that any wounded Palestinian permitted to leave Gaza for medical treatment would be allowed to return to the enclave.[…]

Behind the scenes: Israeli officials say that over the last few weeks Egyptian officials, including in the military and in the intelligence service, told their counterparts in the IDF and the Shin Bet that they are highly concerned about the implications of an operation in southern Gaza for Egypt.

The Egyptians expressed anxiety that a crisis on their border with Gaza would result in thousands of Palestinian refugees crossing the border barrier and trying to find shelter in the Sinai, according to three Israeli officials.

One Israeli official said Egyptian officials told their Israeli counterparts they are concerned that militants from Gaza could also then escape into Egypt.

Egypt has already declared that they’re willing to sacrifice millions of its people to keep its border and nation safe against a flood of Palestinian refugees. Israel can’t upset the apple cart with Egypt, whose peace treaty they share is strategically important. It’s not just significant regarding inroads for peace in the region. It was a historic milestone. Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist. They won’t let this deteriorate; we should all hope they don’t.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”
– George Santayana

1-in-5 Young Americans Say Holocaust Was a Myth, Twice as Many Democrats as Republicans

A new poll sheds light on why so many college-aged Americans aren’t worried about expressing antisemitism: Twenty percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 believe the Holocaust is a myth.

Specifically, as The College Fix reports, the YouGov/The Economist poll shows eight percent of that age group “strongly agrees” that the World War II Nazi  Jewish genocide program is bogus, while 12 percent “tend to agree.”

Thirty percent neither agreed nor disagreed the Holocaust happened, The Hill reports.

In addition, twenty-three percent said the Holocaust “has been exaggerated,” and 28 percent believe Jews “wield too much power” in the U.S.

More blacks and Hispanics than whites agreed with the three statements, and the Holocaust “myth” results held steady across all education levels.

In comparison, no Americans over age 65 said the Holocaust is a myth, only two percent “tend to agree” it’s exaggerated, and six percent believe Jews have too much power.

“Why do some young Americans embrace such views?” The Economist asks.

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While it was developed for Naval boarding use (as unintended holes in ship hulls are a bad thing) and CQB practice on close range steel targets, I use ‘RRLP’ frangible for home defense in my AR. For everything else it’s modern jhp of one brand or the other.

Would You Trust Frangible Ammunition in Your EDC Gun?

Retired U.S. Army Airborne Ranger Paul Lemke founded the company now known as Inceptor Ammunition in 2012. Lemke’s goal was to create innovative frangible ammunition with a twist to differentiate their products from the then-current industry offerings.

The majority of frangible ammunition companies today use a sintered copper-tin combination in their bullets, but Inceptors are different. Theirs are made with a proprietary copper-polymer compound. The use of polymer as a binding agent is certainly unique and may well give the bullets something more thanks to its toughness and viscoelasticity.

According to Lemke, “Combining [our production] capabilities and know-how with the inherent advantages of injection molding has resulted in ammunition that is true revolutionary in a 140-year-old industry that has seen relatively little innovation in materials, design and manufacturing processes.”

That ammunition is offered in a variety of calibers including their new .223 Remington 35 grain ARX and 10mm 90 grain ARX. Other options include the usual ammunition suspects from 9mm 65 grain ARX to .45 ACP 118 grain ARX. There’s also a +P option for 9mm fans. (And, of course, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .380 ACP, and so on.)

Over the years I’ve used various calibers of Inceptor on paper, steel, and a variety of game and varmints. Last winter I dropped a mature Whitetail doe using their 10mm and used the same caliber on a badger. Feral hogs have also been fair game, right on up to a 225-pound boar with awesome cutters.

On paper, using the Ruger SR1911 10mm with a rest, I had a best five-shot group of 1.66” at 25 yards; with the Gen 5 GLOCK 17, Inceptor’s 65-grain 9mm rounds tore ragged single-hole five-shot groups shooting off-hand between 7 and 10 yards. Suffice to say, Inceptor’s line has become well worth the attention.

So, why am I here now? Because frangible ammunition is perhaps the least-understood and most ignored slice of the ammunition market. Ballistics have come a ridiculously long way over the years; the frangibles of today are not the frangibles of the past.

Bullets that fragment on impact with objects harder than themselves? That’s my idea of awesome. Don’t believe it? I’ve fired frangibles at AR500 steel plates from 18” away (not saying you should try that, but if you do, please be sure you’re wearing eyes and ears). That’s not an exercise I would ever repeat with standard FMJs or HPs.

It’s not only for steel and does far more than group well on paper. Inceptor is made for hunting and, yes, self-defense. In fact, the double-stack .45 ACP sitting beside me right at this moment is loaded with Inceptor Ammunition. It’s grown on me and earned its place through a lot of shots fired down-range.

Good enough for your EDC gun

 

Eat More Meat!

Total Meat Intake is Associated with Life Expectancy: A Cross-Sectional Data Analysis of 175 Contemporary Populations

Results

Worldwide, bivariate correlation analyses revealed that meat intake is positively correlated with life expectancies. This relationship remained significant when influences of caloric intake, urbanization, obesity, education and carbohydrate crops were statistically controlled. Stepwise linear regression selected meat intake, not carbohydrate crops, as one of the significant predictors of life expectancy. In contrast, carbohydrate crops showed weak and negative correlation with life expectancy.

 

 

 

December 12

1098 – After their success of taking and defending Antioch, forces of the First Crusade besiege the city of Ma’arra in modern Syria.

1787 – Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1862 – The City-Class ironclad USS Cairo strikes a Confederate naval mine and sinks on the Yazoo River.

1917 – Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town, Nebraska as a farm village for wayward boys

1937 – Japanese aircraft bomb and sink the U.S. gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze river in China

1941 – Jesús Villamor and 4 other Filipino pilots, flying Boeing P-26 ‘Peashooters‘ of the 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the United States Army Forces in the Far East Air Force, fend off 54 Japanese A6M Zero fighters raiding Batangas Field, Philippines.

1979 – An earthquake of 8.2 magnitude occurs just offshore from the border between Ecuador and Colombia, near the port city of Tumaco, with Columbia’s Nariño Department on its southern Pacific coast border, hardest hit.

1985 – Arrow Air Flight 1285, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8, crashes after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland, killing all 256 people on board, including 236 members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division returning from a peace keeping deployment in the Sanai.

2000 – In the case of Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court ends the legal question of which candidate won the election in Florida, finding for George Bush

2015 – The Paris Agreement relating to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted.

BLUF
Without a military leadership that understands the purpose of war, the next time we may not lose thousands, we could lose millions. And we could lose the United States of America.

THIS IS WHY AMERICA FORGOT HOW TO WIN

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stopped by the Reagan National Defense Forum to deliver an address titled, ‘A Time for American Leadership’. What leadership lessons did he have to offer?

“I learned a thing or two about urban warfare from my time fighting in Iraq and leading the campaign to defeat ISIS,” he told his audience. “Like Hamas, ISIS was deeply embedded in urban areas. And the international coalition against ISIS worked hard to protect civilians and create humanitarian corridors, even during the toughest battles. So the lesson is not that you can win in urban warfare by protecting civilians. The lesson is that you can only win in urban warfare by protecting civilians.”

He then went on to lecture that “we will continue to press Israel to protect civilians” and” that “protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative.”

Gen. Austin headed Central Command from 2013 to 2016. Obama officials blamed Austin for telling Obama that ISIS was “a flash in the pan” (while Austin’s people denied he said that.) Central Command’s intelligence failures against ISIS were so bad that they resulted in an investigation into whether intelligence had been falsified to make it look like we were winning.

By the fall of 2016, after 3 years of fighting, ISIS had only lost a third of its territory in Iraq and Syria. That was in large part because the Obama administration refused to allow the military to properly hammer ISIS. Under Trump, our hands were no longer tied and we hit ISIS hard.

Despite Austin’s claims that victory against ISIS came from protecting civilians allied with the Islamic terror group, the reality was just the opposite. Fussiness over civilian casualties during the Obama administration translated neither to victory nor civilian lives saved. On Austin’s watch, airstrikes against ISIS killed civilians, but that was always inevitable.

It’s impossible to take out Islamic terrorists whose entire operating model is to fight from behind and around civilians without civilian casualties. The choice is between a long grueling war, which Obama and Austin gave us, or a short devastating campaign, which Trump gave us.

What the Obama administration refused to understand in either Iraq or Afghanistan is that the leading cause of civilian deaths are the Islamic terrorists we are fighting. During the Holocaust, Jewish groups pleaded with the FDR administration to bomb concentration camps, despite the inevitable civilian casualties, because it would have stopped the killing. The Allied campaign hit Nazi-controlled territories hard, with little regard for civilian casualties, because only ending the war quickly would stop the killing. If we had fought WWII by today’s rules, we would still be fighting it and for that matter it’s not at all impossible that we would have long since lost it.

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Hawaii Resident Challenging ‘Suitable Person’ Criterion for Carry Permits

It’s been awhile since I’ve had to say aloha to new litigation in Hawaii. In our post NYSRPA v. Bruen world, there’s been all kinds of shenanigans that jurisdictions have been playing that keeps permitting systems “may issue.” There are also pre-Bruen standards that need to be revisited, as is the case here. Any subjective standard in an application scheme is de facto “may issue” criteria, and goes against Heller and NYSRPA v. Bruen. Resident of the Aloha State, Blake Day, was denied a permit to carry for allegedly being “not of ‘good moral character’ and/or ‘suitable.’”

Drawing details from the complaint that was filed on the 6th of December, 2023, Mr. Day’s alleged lack of “good moral character” and suitability arises from what the Hawaii County Chief of Police stated was “due to ‘recent violent conduct.’” The so-called “violent conduct” is in reference to an incident where Mr. Day was forced to defend himself – with non-lethal force – while executing his duties as a contractor for a bank. The conflict resulted in no criminal charges.

In January of 2023, the job Day was tasked with was cleaning up and securing a vacant property. “Mr. Day was led to believe (by his contact at Five Brothers) that the property had been foreclosed upon by Home Street Bank, the mortgagee identified on the Work Order.” The complaint states. It was further noted that Mr. Day believed the property was vacant based on the information he received from Five Brothers.

While Mr. Day was at the property, the owner of the property, Darren Rodrigues, Jr., who had in fact previously vacated the property, was alerted by a Ring doorbell camera that someone had entered the property.

Mr. Rodrigues called the police and then drove to the home.

Mr. Rodrigues aggressively entered the driveway at a high rate of speed. Mr. Rodrigues came to an abrupt stop directly behind Mr. Day’s vehicle which had also been parked in the driveway. Mr. Rodrigues’ vehicle blocked Mr. Day’s exit and Mr. Day could not leave.

Mr. Rodrigues quickly exited his vehicle and stood by the driver’s side door of the vehicle yelling obscenities and “what are you doing at my house?”

Mr. Rodrigues appeared to have something in his right hand and Mr. Day believed it was a weapon. Mr. Day used lawful non-lethal force, i.e., a pepper spray air gun, firing it several times in self-defense.

Mr. Rodrigues threw the object that was in his right hand, which Mr. Day learned to be a Coca-Cola can shortly after it struck Mr. Day in the face.

The complaint details that the police responded and “upon completion of the investigation, neither Mr. Day nor Mr.Rodrigues were arrested or booked. No charges were ever brought.”

In May of 2023, Day filed for a permit to carry through the County of Hawaii Police Department. In June, Day received a denial letter stating that he did not meet the suitability requirements in order to be issued a permit to carry. According to the complaint, Mr. Day suffers from no statutory state or federal disabilities which would create disqualifiers for him to own or carry a firearm.

This is the same issue we’ve been dealing with which Bruen struck down – subjectivity. While many will concede that jurisdictions that have “suitability” requirements like the County of Hawaii and New Jersey, they have been issuing permits to carry – mostly without issue. However there are also a whole slew of situations where they haven’t been, and the old guard needs to surrender their grip on civil liberties. Mr. Day unfortunately is being weighed against the subjective opinion of a government employee and not measured to an objective statutory standard.

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This is why our foreign and domestic enemies wanted a cease fire. They knew HAMAS was near collapse and the intel the IDF will gather is likely to implicate people and organizations that secretly supported them.

Netanyahu: It’s the ‘Beginning of the End’ for Hamas as Even More Terrorists Surrender, Give Vital Intel

More than 100 Hamas terrorists reportedly surrendered on Saturday in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Maybe “strip” was also the right word, since the IDF was making them strip to make sure that they didn’t have any weapons or bombs on their person. We reported on this before, but now even more terrorists surrendered Saturday, and what those people who raised the white flag are revealing is helping the IDF.

N12 News shared the clip of the men standing in line across a rubble-strewn street in Jabaliya as IDF soldiers trained automatic weapons on them and ordered them to drop their own weapons across the street. One of the men gingerly crossed the street, his automatic weapon held over his head, before dumping into a pile of seized arms.

“In Shejaiya and Jabaliya, terrorists who surrendered handed over weapons and equipment,” said IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari Saturday, the Times of Israel reported, adding that many of the men told Israeli forces that Hamas leadership underground “does not care about the public in Gaza who are above ground.”

Hagari said that interrogations of the captured operatives already provided valuable intelligence for the Israeli military and “aids us in operational activities.”

Sounds like the Hamas members have had enough, especially of their leaders, particularly if they’re providing intel to the Israelis.

Now, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, has called on the rest of the terrorists to surrender. 

“The war is still ongoing but it is the beginning of the end of Hamas,” Netanyahu said as he urged the terrorist group’s fighters not to sacrifice themselves for their leader Yahya Sinwar.

“I say to the Hamas terrorists: It’s over. Don’t die for Sinwar. Surrender – now!”

“In the past few days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to our forces. They are laying down their weapons and turning themselves in to our heroic soldiers.” Netanyahu said.

Meanwhile there are reports that Sinwar has fled south to Khan Younis. Sounds just like the coward he is.

Some continued to flip out that the people were being held in their underwear by the IDF.

Warning for graphic language

But the IDF has to make sure that they don’t have any weapons. Notice they are taking prisoners, unlike Hamas who just rapes and slaughters civilians. This is real, and so is the war that Hamas started. Treating them with safety isn’t a war crime, unlike what Hamas did. Hamas is outgunned and outsmarted, and they’re going to find out it wasn’t a good idea to open up this can of worms by attacking Israel.

People upset about conditions in Gaza should be calling on Hamas to surrender because once they are gone, things will get immeasurably better for everyone. Calling for a ceasefire, as many on the left are doing, only saves the terrorists from being wiped out. What they’re doing is helping Hamas, not the people of Gaza.

But it may be too late for the leftists to save them. It’s the beginning of the end and it’s only going to get worse for Hamas.

Word to the wise; What the ‘big time’ crims use always filters down to the lesser jackals.

Suspected Foreign Gangs Breaking Into American Homes, Multi-Antenna Device and Advanced Tactics Points to Chilling Reality

President Joe Biden’s immigration crisis is hitting home in an all-new way.

For border state residents, of course, the long, national nightmare has been ongoing since before Biden took office. More recently, Democratic-run cities like New York and Chicago have felt the pain.

Now, upscale homes in what used to be considered safe neighborhoods are getting a taste, too. And one dangerous piece of technology is playing a role.

According to WXYZ-TV, Detroit-area law enforcement agencies have formed a task force to crack down on a sophisticated group of thieves that has been targeting high-end homes across the country, but especially in Oakland County, Michigan.

Oakland County, just north of Detroit’s Wayne County in the southeast corner of the state, has been the scene of high-profile home robberies by a suspected international crime organization that appears to be drawing members mainly from the South American country of Chile.

What makes the group particularly dangerous is its practice of using jamming devices to incapacitate security systems and cellular phone communications in the target homes.

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December 11

1602 – A surprise attack by forces under the command of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of the House of Savoy, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva.

1719  – 1st recorded display of Aurora Borealis in the New England American colonies

1815 – The Senate creates a select committee on finance and a uniform national currency, witch is the predecessor of the United States Senate Committee on Finance.

1816 – Indiana becomes the 19th U.S. state.

1868 – During the Paraguayan War of the Triple Alliance, Brazilian forces troops defeat Paraguayan near the Avay river in Paraguay.

1901 – Guglielmo Marconi transmits the first transatlantic radio signal from Poldhu, Cornwall, England to Saint John’s, Newfoundland.

1913 – More than 2 years after it was stolen from the Louvre, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is recovered in Florence, Italy.

1934 – Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, takes his last drink and enters treatment for the final time.

1941 – As allies under the Tripartite Pact, Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. The U.S. returns the favor and declares war on them.
Attacking Wake Island, the Imperial Japanese Navy suffers its first losses when U.S. Marine Battery L fires on, and sinks the destroyer Hayate and Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-211  sink the destroyer Kisaragi .

1948 – The United Nations passes General Assembly Resolution 194, creating a Conciliation Commission to mediate and end to the Arab-Israeli War.

1951 – Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement from baseball

1961  – President Kennedy provides US military helicopters & crews to aid South Vietnam.

1972 – The Apollo 17 Lunar Module Challenger, piloted by Mission Commander Eugene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, lands on the Moon in the Taurus–Littrow valley.

1990 – Heavy fog along a stretch of Interstate 75 in Southeastern Tennessee near Calhoun, causes multiple vehicle collisions resulting in a total of 12 people killed and 42 being injured.

2008 – Bernard Madoff is arrested and charged with securities fraud in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

2017 – A pipe bomb partially detonates in the New York City Subway, in the Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal. 4 people are injured, including the perpetrator, a moslem immigrant from Bangladesh,  who is later tried and sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 30 years.

2020 – The Food and Drug Administration issues an Emergency Use Authorization on the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved by the agency.

2022 – U.S. authorities announce that the Libyan man accused of making the bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103, Abu Agila Mas’ud, is now in U.S. custody