What did she say!?!?

Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) looks mighty good for a woman who has to be at least 148 years old.
My take on her age is based on a statement the Congresswoman made today while objecting to impending spending reductions relating to sequestration in which she characterized herself as "a freed slave." Slavery as a legal institution ended in the U.S. in 1865 at the end of the Civil War. Here is what Ms. Jackson Lee said, in context (HT Rush Limbaugh):
"We are at the bone almost. And sequester that is across-the-board cuts will literally destroy us and put us in a recession.
I don't want to hear the fact that the president is divisive. The President is leading and he has led well. The American people are listening. When are our friends on the other side of the aisle going to listen? I want to challenge this body to be the kind of "Lincolness attitude."
As yesterday was the official birthday of President Lincoln, February 12, and although it was a tragic time in our history, I can assure you that it shows the greatest promise of America when people could come together and do something great. I STAND HERE AS A FREED SLAVE because this Congress came together."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2988720/posts

Now I have been asking myself for most of my adult life, how in the world do people this dumb get elected? Then I realize that we DO in fact have a government by the people. Look at the people who elect these clowns and you will have your answer.

People like this:

Now, I'm not genius, nor do I play one on T.V. (Although I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once..... several years ago) My initial reaction was that this HAD to be a joke. Sadly, it's not. Education in this country is becoming non-existent. The public school system is more about indoctrination. Anti-bullying campaigns, scaring our children with global warming propaganda, teaching our kids that Obama is Jesus Christ, and the class on "My Two Mommies.  (The list goes on) This schedule leave little time for reading, writing, and arithmetic. And don't get me started on History. It terrifies me what these kids are being taught about very significant historical events.

Now back to Congresswoman (I use that term loosely) Lee and the debate of sequestration.

Let's not lose sight of what sequestration REALLY means. There are no spending CUTS. NONE. It is all tied to baseline accounting. All it means is that we won't increase spending quite as much, quite as fast. In other words, over the next 10 years we'll only spend 43.8 Trillion instead of 44.7 Trillion. A savings of 900 Billion Dollars. Or in .gov speak, a ROUNDING ERROR. Sheesh.

Oh, and we really need to do something about all this slavery that is still going on. However, that's quite a Cinderella Story there Ms Lee, from slave to Congresswoman, all in the 21st Century. Maybe there is hope for us yet, eh?

Post Disaster Tactics

Perusing some of the other sites for defense and survival information, something that I have noticed is that not many people talk about specific tactics. We all assume that we will be cut off from aid. Probably in small groups, so why not take advantage of the tactics developed for just this situation.

I have relied heavily on sniper tactics, since, I believe they suit my purposes the best. I don't really worry about being able to deliver precision fire to a specific target at long range. That would not be my purpose. Although as a long range precision shooter I practice, and am proficient in the skill. That is not what I see as being the best utilization of small unit sniper tactics in a disaster situation. What I am talking about is concealment, observation, and situational awareness. We'll tackle these one at a time, and show how they are effective as a defensive strategy.

Concealment

This should be obvious. In a disaster situation, it may not be in your best interest to stand out. There are hoards of people that will be desperate, and hungry, looking for any resource they can find. Many will not take no for an answer. The first step to avoiding this problem is not to look like you are any better off than they are. This is one of the reasons that I'm not a huge advocate for having a large back-up generator for my home. Noise and lights attract predators. I keep a small generator for very limited use. As long as I can keep batteries charged, and communications working, I don't need to have major electronics. Solar power may even be a better option. No noise, no fuel to store, as long as the sun is shining, it's working.

Next is vehicles. In a disaster situation, I'm going to make sure my vehicle is as protected as I can make it. So if you can, get parked in the garage. If not, find a place to keep it where it is least likely to be stolen or vandalized. That may sound petty right now, but I may need that vehicle. Maybe not initially, but the situation may change to the point that I have to evacuate, and a good vehicle will be the best option to facilitate that.

Finally, your person. Stay away from camouflage, anything that screams military or preparedness. At least in the early phases. This may very well make you a target. If you have to be out, maybe wearing your old work clothes. You know that set we all have, the pants with the mystery grease stain, and the jacket that isn't quite the right color anymore. Maybe not shave. While you don't want to jeopardize your health anything you can do to make yourself look like you are suffering just as bad as every other poor bastard out there. 

The point of course is to blend in. Anything you can do to make yourself look like and insignificant nothing, is going to lessen your chances of being targeted by opportunistic bad guys.

Observation

Again, this is a very obvious concept. During a disaster, you should be watching everyone, and everything. Both to anticipate danger, and also to spot opportunities when they arise. Unfortunately, good observation skills are not easy to develop. They take time, and practice. More so today than ever. Next time you're at the mall, just put your back to a wall somewhere and look around. How many people are completely oblivious to anything but their phone. I would almost bet someone bumps right into you within a couple of minutes too.  The common description is sheep, but I think it's closer to a bunch of ostriches. No one walks around with their head up, paying attention to what's around them.

Train yourself what to look for. Start now. Pay attention to the little details in your neighborhood. Look for anything that might be out of place. Play games with your kids. K.I.M.S. (Keep in Memory System) Games are great. They work so well in fact that they are used by the U.S. Military in many of their training courses.
Commit to being more observant. Go on hikes and see how many animals you can spot and identify. Anything you can do to train yourself to be a better observer.

Situational Awareness

If you have maintained good concealment, keeping yourself safe, and you have been observing the area around you, you are way ahead. Combining this with whatever news you are able to receive from the outside will give you much broader situational awareness. It is this awareness, knowing what is going on from micro to macro levels that will give you the information you need to safely and confidently make your next move.

It is very hard to make decisions with limited knowledge, but in a disaster, this will become the norm. You have to avoid indecision at all costs. Having good situational awareness will go a long way in this regard. You won't feel overwhelmed by uncertainty. You'll have information to act on. This will greatly increase your odds of surviving in a disaster situation.

Reinventing the Shotgun

Like everyone I have struggled in the last couple months to secure anything resembling gun parts. Ammo being top on that list. Thankfully I had a reasonable stock when the apocalypse happened. So I can at least keep shooting, so long as I conserve. One thing I have noticed is the availability of shotgun parts and ammo. Which has led me to take a new look at my good old 870, and retrieve it from it's dark corner in the safe.

I acquired this particular shotgun a few years back when the Highway Patrol traded them in for AR-15's. So I think I paid $100 for it.  At the time, (and even still today) I really wasn't a shotgun guy. I prefer rifles, particularly long range precision pieces. But with current events, I think honing my shotgun skills will keep me shooting, and ammo is still on the shelves.

I started with a good cleaning. From there I decided if this was to become a "real" go to gun, it needed some upgrades. I took off the old Speedfeed and installed a new Knoxx stock. Suddenly the length of pull was perfect, and the ergonomics felt right. Next I added a Magazine Extention. Now I'm packing 7 rounds! Ok, this is shaping up to be a much better defensive gun. Finally I replaced the forend with one that has an integrated light. Night work covered. My last upgrade will be to mount a red dot sight. I'm looking at an Aimpoint. But haven't decided yet.

But what to put through it? This is the magic of a shotgun. The variety of ammo that you can put through the same gun is astounding! Slugs, birdshot, buckshot, sabot, even less lethal options. I have tried to get a good variety of ammo for different situations. My current self defense set-up is as follows:
First round is a rubber slug. After that, 2 rounds of #7 birdshot. I chose this because at close range it is a still a powerful round, but is less likely to result in over-penetration. After that the other 4 rounds in the magazine are 3" magnum buckshot. On the side saddle I have 2ea. #9 birdshot, 2ea. slugs, and 2ea. 00 buckshot. Seems to me to be a pretty diverse load for home defense.  Your mileage may vary.

Currently I am looking for a good shotgun course, and will update when I find the right one. So there you have it. From out of the darkest corner of the gun safe, a new defensive gun emerges as probably the new standard next to my nightstand.

FIRE!!!!

I have been having an ongoing conversation with some friends about Bug Out Bags. We want to do some camping trips this year using only our Go Bags. This will give us a better idea of what we need, and what we don't. I like to travel as light as possible. The less I have to carry, the better. I hate being overburdened. I always figured in a disaster, I'll have enough to deal with. I don't want a pack the weighs more than I do.

For this reason I'm a big proponent of skills over stuff. I believe very firmly that if you have the skills, you can do without a lot of stuff. Yes, nifty tools and modern technology make things super easy, but they also break, or get lost, or weigh a ton. Plus, disasters never seem to happen when you have access to all your goodies.

I was perusing the web and came across an article about making fire by primitive methods. This is definitely a skill that I want to have in my toolbox. The idea of being able to use whatever is handy to make a fire is far more appealing than just carrying more matches.

I plan on learning at least three ways to do this. I go camping enough that my new camping game is this:
Every time we go, I'm going to try to start a fire using a new method. I'll make it a competition with my friends. The first one to do it doesn't have to cook, or something.

Introduction

I'll start out by telling you who I am and what I'm about. I'm just like you. I have a normal job, the house, social life, all of that. But like many of you, I see the world differently. The rose colored glasses came off many years ago. I don't consider myself to be paranoid, but I don't want to rely on anyone to see me through. I want to take responsibility for myself, my family, and my way of life. The way I see it, that is the only way to preserve the life that I have made for myself.

I'm an outdoorsman. I shoot, hunt, fish, and camp. I also like the more extreme sports. Whitewater kayaking, mountaineering, and base jumping. I've spent enough time pursuing these pastimes to have gotten myself into trouble more than once. This has given me valuable experience through lack of good judgement.

I'm no expert, but I wanted a way to share my experience, my learning curve and the sources that I find that might help someone else to avoid the mistakes that I have made. I hope that I can help someone to learn some new skills, and we can all have a laugh now and then. But mostly I want to give one more resource for serious discussion of the world around us, and how to navigate it safely.