This came across my E-mail today, I have seen it before but never posted it here before. I think it is an instant classic.
"The Gun Is Civilization" by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)
>
> Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and
> force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either
> convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of
> force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories,
> without
> exception. Reason or force, that's it.
>
> In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact
> through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social
> interaction,
> and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal
> firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
>
> When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use
> reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat
> or
> employment of force.
>
> The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal
> footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing
> with
> a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a
> carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in
> physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a
> defender.
>
> There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force
> equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if
> all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for
> a
> [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the
> mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by
> legislative fiat--it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential
> marks are
> armed.
>
> People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the
> young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a
> civilized
> society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in
> a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.
>
> Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that
> otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in
> several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the
> physically
> superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.
>
> People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute
> lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of
> it
> with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force
> easier
> works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker.
> If
> both are armed, the field is level.
>
> The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an
> octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't
> work as
> well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.
>
> When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but
> because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I
> cannot
> be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but
> because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of
> those who
> would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would
> do so by force. It removes force from the equation... and that's why
> carrying a gun is a civilized act.
>
> By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret.)
Prepology: Simple definition, the art of survival and being in control of your future to the extent that you can! Life comes at us in both a predictable and un-predictable way and while you can shape it to some extent with the decisions that you make we are still just rolling the dice in the big game of life so lets put the odds in your favor. Oscar.... Your comments, stories or experiences are welcome.
After America, There Is No Place To Go
This is a story I read a while ago and I am not sure why the date is what it is but the information is what it is, many have said that there a lot of parallel signs that point to the here and now, that pesky history.
After America, There Is No Place To Go
By Kitty Werthmann
11-3-10
What I am about to tell you is something you've probably never heard or will ever read in history books.
I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide - 98% of the vote.. I've never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.
In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates.
Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn't want to work; there simply weren't any jobs. My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people - about 30 daily.
The Communist Party and the National Socialist Party were fighting each other. Blocks and blocks of cities like Vienna , Linz , and Graz were destroyed. The people became desperate and petitioned the government to let them decide what kind of government they wanted.
We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany , where Hitler had been in power since 1933. We had been told that they didn't have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living. Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group -- Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone was happy.. We wanted the same way of life in Austria .. We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back. Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler.
We were overjoyed, and for three days we danced in the streets and had candlelight parades. The new government opened up big field kitchens and everyone was fed.
After the election, German officials were appointed, and like a miracle, we suddenly had law and order. Three or four weeks later, everyone was employed. The government made sure that a lot of work was created through the Public Work Service.
Hitler decided we should have equal rights for women. Before this, it was a custom that married Austrian women did not work outside the home. An able-bodied husband would be looked down on if he couldn't support his family. Many women in the teaching profession were elated that they could retain the jobs they previously had been required to give up for marriage.
Hitler Targets Education - Eliminates Religious Instruction for Children
Our education was nationalized. I attended a very good public school. The population was predominantly Catholic, so we had religion in our schools. The day we elected Hitler (March 13, 1938), I walked into my schoolroom to find the crucifix replaced by Hitler's picture hanging next to a Nazi flag. Our teacher, a very devout woman, stood up and told the class we wouldn't pray or have religion anymore. Instead, we sang "Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles," and had physical education
Sunday became National Youth Day with compulsory attendance. Parents were not pleased about the sudden change in curriculum. They were told that if they did not send us, they would receive a stiff letter of warning the first time. The second time they would be fined the equivalent of $300, and the third time they would be subject to jail. The first two hours consisted of political indoctrination The rest of the day we had sports. As time went along, we loved it. Oh, we had so much fun and got our sports equipment free. We would go home and gleefully tell our parents about the wonderful time we had.
My mother was very unhappy. When the next term started, she took me out of public school and put me in a convent. I told her she couldn't do that and she told me that someday when I grew up, I would be grateful. There was a very good curriculum, but hardly any fun - no sports, and no political indoctrination. I hated it at first but felt I could tolerate it. Every once in a while, on holidays, I went home. I would go back to my old friends and ask what was going on and what they were doing. Their loose lifestyle was very alarming to me. They lived without religion. By that time unwed mothers were glorified for having a baby for Hitler. It seemed strange to me that our society changed so suddenly. As time went along, I realized what a great deed my mother did so that I wasn't exposed to that kind of humanistic philosophy.
Equal Rights Hits Home
In 1939, the war started and a food bank was established. All food was rationed and could only be purchased using food stamps. At the same time, a full-employment law was passed which meant if you didn't work, you didn't get a ration card, and if you didn't have a card, you starved to death. Women who stayed home to raise their families didn't have any marketable skills and often had to take jobs more suited for men.
Soon after this, the draft was implemented. It was compulsory for young people, male and female, to give one year to the labor corps. During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys. They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps. After the labor corps, they were not discharged but were used in the front lines. When I go back to Austria to visit my family and friends, most of these women are emotional cripples because they just were not equipped to handle the horrors of combat. Three months before I turned 18, I was severely injured in an air raid attack. I nearly had a leg amputated, so I was spared having to go into the labor corps and into military service.
Hitler Restructured The Family Through Daycare
When the mothers had to go out into the work force, the government immediately established child care centers. You could take your children ages 4 weeks to school age and leave them there around-the-clock, 7 days a week, under the total care of the government.. The state raised a whole generation of children.. There were no motherly women to take care of the children, just people highly trained in child psychology. By this time, no one talked about equal rights. We knew we had been had.
Health Care And Small Business Suffer
Under Government Controls
Before Hitler, we had very good medical care. Many American doctors trained at the University of Vienna .. After Hitler, health care was socialized, free for everyone. Doctors were salaried by the government. The problem was, since it was free, the people were going to the doctors for everything. When the good doctor arrived at his office at 8 a.m., 40 people were already waiting and, at the same time, the hospitals were full. If you needed elective surgery, you had to wait a year or two for your turn. There was no money for research as it was poured into socialized medicine. Research at the medical schools literally stopped, so the best doctors left Austria and emigrated to other countries.
As for healthcare, our tax rates went up to 80% of our income. Newlyweds immediately received a $1,000 loan from the government to establish a household. We had big programs for families. All day care and education were free. High schools were taken over by the government and college tuition was subsidized. Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing.
We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables. Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because people might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn't meet all the demands. Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control.
We had consumer protection. We were told how to shop and what to buy. Free enterprise was essentially abolished. We had a planning agency specially designed for farmers. The agents would go to the farms, count the live-stock, then tell the farmers what to produce, and how to produce it.
'Mercy Killing' Redefined
In 1944, I was a student teacher in a small village in the Alps . The villagers were surrounded by mountain passes which, in the winter, were closed off with snow, causing people to be isolated. So people intermarried and offspring were sometimes retarded. When I arrived, I was told there were 15 mentally retarded adults, but they were all useful and did good manual work. I knew one, named Vincent, very well. He was a janitor of the school. One day I looked out the window and saw Vincent and others getting into a van. I asked my superior where they were going. She said to an institution where the State Health Department would teach them a trade, and to read and write. The families were required to sign papers with a little clause that they could not visit for 6 months. They were told visits would interfere with the program and might cause homesickness.
As time passed, letters started to dribble back saying these people died a natural, merciful death. The villagers were not fooled. We suspected what was happening. Those people left in excellent physical health and all died within 6 months. We called this euthanasia.
The Final Steps - Gun Laws
Next came gun registration.. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long after-wards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily.
No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.
Totalitarianism didn't come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria ... Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath. Instead, we had creeping gradualism. Now, our only weapons were broom handles. The whole idea sounds almost unbelievable that the state, little by little eroded our freedom.
After World War II, Russian troops occupied Austria . Women were raped, preteen to elderly. The press never wrote about this either. When the Soviets left in 1955, they took everything that they could, dismantling whole factories in the process. They sawed down whole orchards of fruit, and what they couldn't destroy, they burned.. We called it The Burned Earth. Most of the population barricaded themselves in their houses. Women hid in their cellars for 6 weeks as the troops mobilized. Those who couldn't, paid the price. There is a monument in Vienna today, dedicated to those women who were massacred by the Russians.
This is an eye witness account. It's true...those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity.
America Truly is the Greatest Country in the World.
Don't Let Freedom Slip Away!
"After America , There is No Place to Go"
After America, There Is No Place To Go
By Kitty Werthmann
11-3-10
What I am about to tell you is something you've probably never heard or will ever read in history books.
I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide - 98% of the vote.. I've never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.
In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates.
Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn't want to work; there simply weren't any jobs. My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people - about 30 daily.
The Communist Party and the National Socialist Party were fighting each other. Blocks and blocks of cities like Vienna , Linz , and Graz were destroyed. The people became desperate and petitioned the government to let them decide what kind of government they wanted.
We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany , where Hitler had been in power since 1933. We had been told that they didn't have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living. Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group -- Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone was happy.. We wanted the same way of life in Austria .. We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back. Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler.
We were overjoyed, and for three days we danced in the streets and had candlelight parades. The new government opened up big field kitchens and everyone was fed.
After the election, German officials were appointed, and like a miracle, we suddenly had law and order. Three or four weeks later, everyone was employed. The government made sure that a lot of work was created through the Public Work Service.
Hitler decided we should have equal rights for women. Before this, it was a custom that married Austrian women did not work outside the home. An able-bodied husband would be looked down on if he couldn't support his family. Many women in the teaching profession were elated that they could retain the jobs they previously had been required to give up for marriage.
Hitler Targets Education - Eliminates Religious Instruction for Children
Our education was nationalized. I attended a very good public school. The population was predominantly Catholic, so we had religion in our schools. The day we elected Hitler (March 13, 1938), I walked into my schoolroom to find the crucifix replaced by Hitler's picture hanging next to a Nazi flag. Our teacher, a very devout woman, stood up and told the class we wouldn't pray or have religion anymore. Instead, we sang "Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles," and had physical education
Sunday became National Youth Day with compulsory attendance. Parents were not pleased about the sudden change in curriculum. They were told that if they did not send us, they would receive a stiff letter of warning the first time. The second time they would be fined the equivalent of $300, and the third time they would be subject to jail. The first two hours consisted of political indoctrination The rest of the day we had sports. As time went along, we loved it. Oh, we had so much fun and got our sports equipment free. We would go home and gleefully tell our parents about the wonderful time we had.
My mother was very unhappy. When the next term started, she took me out of public school and put me in a convent. I told her she couldn't do that and she told me that someday when I grew up, I would be grateful. There was a very good curriculum, but hardly any fun - no sports, and no political indoctrination. I hated it at first but felt I could tolerate it. Every once in a while, on holidays, I went home. I would go back to my old friends and ask what was going on and what they were doing. Their loose lifestyle was very alarming to me. They lived without religion. By that time unwed mothers were glorified for having a baby for Hitler. It seemed strange to me that our society changed so suddenly. As time went along, I realized what a great deed my mother did so that I wasn't exposed to that kind of humanistic philosophy.
Equal Rights Hits Home
In 1939, the war started and a food bank was established. All food was rationed and could only be purchased using food stamps. At the same time, a full-employment law was passed which meant if you didn't work, you didn't get a ration card, and if you didn't have a card, you starved to death. Women who stayed home to raise their families didn't have any marketable skills and often had to take jobs more suited for men.
Soon after this, the draft was implemented. It was compulsory for young people, male and female, to give one year to the labor corps. During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys. They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps. After the labor corps, they were not discharged but were used in the front lines. When I go back to Austria to visit my family and friends, most of these women are emotional cripples because they just were not equipped to handle the horrors of combat. Three months before I turned 18, I was severely injured in an air raid attack. I nearly had a leg amputated, so I was spared having to go into the labor corps and into military service.
Hitler Restructured The Family Through Daycare
When the mothers had to go out into the work force, the government immediately established child care centers. You could take your children ages 4 weeks to school age and leave them there around-the-clock, 7 days a week, under the total care of the government.. The state raised a whole generation of children.. There were no motherly women to take care of the children, just people highly trained in child psychology. By this time, no one talked about equal rights. We knew we had been had.
Health Care And Small Business Suffer
Under Government Controls
Before Hitler, we had very good medical care. Many American doctors trained at the University of Vienna .. After Hitler, health care was socialized, free for everyone. Doctors were salaried by the government. The problem was, since it was free, the people were going to the doctors for everything. When the good doctor arrived at his office at 8 a.m., 40 people were already waiting and, at the same time, the hospitals were full. If you needed elective surgery, you had to wait a year or two for your turn. There was no money for research as it was poured into socialized medicine. Research at the medical schools literally stopped, so the best doctors left Austria and emigrated to other countries.
As for healthcare, our tax rates went up to 80% of our income. Newlyweds immediately received a $1,000 loan from the government to establish a household. We had big programs for families. All day care and education were free. High schools were taken over by the government and college tuition was subsidized. Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing.
We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables. Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because people might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn't meet all the demands. Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control.
We had consumer protection. We were told how to shop and what to buy. Free enterprise was essentially abolished. We had a planning agency specially designed for farmers. The agents would go to the farms, count the live-stock, then tell the farmers what to produce, and how to produce it.
'Mercy Killing' Redefined
In 1944, I was a student teacher in a small village in the Alps . The villagers were surrounded by mountain passes which, in the winter, were closed off with snow, causing people to be isolated. So people intermarried and offspring were sometimes retarded. When I arrived, I was told there were 15 mentally retarded adults, but they were all useful and did good manual work. I knew one, named Vincent, very well. He was a janitor of the school. One day I looked out the window and saw Vincent and others getting into a van. I asked my superior where they were going. She said to an institution where the State Health Department would teach them a trade, and to read and write. The families were required to sign papers with a little clause that they could not visit for 6 months. They were told visits would interfere with the program and might cause homesickness.
As time passed, letters started to dribble back saying these people died a natural, merciful death. The villagers were not fooled. We suspected what was happening. Those people left in excellent physical health and all died within 6 months. We called this euthanasia.
The Final Steps - Gun Laws
Next came gun registration.. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long after-wards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily.
No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.
Totalitarianism didn't come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria ... Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath. Instead, we had creeping gradualism. Now, our only weapons were broom handles. The whole idea sounds almost unbelievable that the state, little by little eroded our freedom.
After World War II, Russian troops occupied Austria . Women were raped, preteen to elderly. The press never wrote about this either. When the Soviets left in 1955, they took everything that they could, dismantling whole factories in the process. They sawed down whole orchards of fruit, and what they couldn't destroy, they burned.. We called it The Burned Earth. Most of the population barricaded themselves in their houses. Women hid in their cellars for 6 weeks as the troops mobilized. Those who couldn't, paid the price. There is a monument in Vienna today, dedicated to those women who were massacred by the Russians.
This is an eye witness account. It's true...those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity.
America Truly is the Greatest Country in the World.
Don't Let Freedom Slip Away!
"After America , There is No Place to Go"
Here we go, From the airports to the trains now
OK ladies and gentlemen here comes more control for you, It has been suggested that the TSA style searches would be moving to other forms of transportation well it is happening. Commuters were searched earlier on PATCO trains between southern New Jersey and Philadelphia.
Don't anybody say whats next as you will only encourage TPTB but I have a warning for them, sooner or later someone is going to take exception to these NAZI style tactics and there is gonna be a small, short and deadly firefight. These people in charge better get themselves a copy of that document we call the CONSTITUTION and read it..
HERE IS THE NEWS STORY
Prepology
Don't anybody say whats next as you will only encourage TPTB but I have a warning for them, sooner or later someone is going to take exception to these NAZI style tactics and there is gonna be a small, short and deadly firefight. These people in charge better get themselves a copy of that document we call the CONSTITUTION and read it..
HERE IS THE NEWS STORY
Prepology
John Bolton thinking of a run for president?
Well John Bolton is certainly one person who I would not have ever thought would consider running. He is for sure on top of his foreign politics and we do need someone strong in that position, domestically I have no idea where he stands, but I would think he is wise enough to know how to pull in that kind of talent. Serious contender, who knows, this should be an interesting 2 years to see who comes out of the woodwork.
Here in the WND interview/ story on it
Prepology
Here in the WND interview/ story on it
Prepology
S.510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
OK folks it looks like the Senate is going to try and ram through the S.510 bill today. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE call you Senator and tell them do not vote for this. This bill is wrong on so many levels and it needs to be put down like the rabid dog it is as it is ripe for abuse. Here is one sampling that says it all:
"S.510 will significantly increase the power of the FDA, an agency which has stated on public record that the American people have no ''fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health" and "do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish".
For more information please see this website. http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/aa/aa-19nov2010-s510-senate-vote.htm
Our Government is in serious take and control mode, they have no idea on how to just sit back and let the American public be. Most of us here are adults and know right from wrong, we have tens of thousands of laws on the books, more so than anyone could ever know. Where does this stupidity stop?
Prepology
"S.510 will significantly increase the power of the FDA, an agency which has stated on public record that the American people have no ''fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health" and "do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish".
For more information please see this website. http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/aa/aa-19nov2010-s510-senate-vote.htm
Our Government is in serious take and control mode, they have no idea on how to just sit back and let the American public be. Most of us here are adults and know right from wrong, we have tens of thousands of laws on the books, more so than anyone could ever know. Where does this stupidity stop?
Prepology
Misc thoughts on the week
It would seem the state of this country, no strike that the state of the world is descending into stupidity and minor forms of anarchy, I believe we have a really good handle on going out of our way muck things up in the name of good for all. Some educated people here and in other countries all over the world who are in power think that we need some sort of babysitter to help guide us threw the game of life, yeah right.
Gobble Gobble
I had an interesting sunset here so I snapped a picture of it, NM is one of those places where if you do not like the weather just wait a little while.
Prepology
Feds Acknowledge CAIR = Hamas Supporter
"WASHINGTON – A federal judge has determined that the Justice Department provided "ample evidence" to designate the most prominent Muslim group in America as an unindicted terrorist co-conspirator".
Rest of the story here
No I don't believe it, it can't be true, CAIR the peace loving group that it is could not be evil terrorists........ OK back to reality and does this really surprise anyone at all, really.
Question, at what point do you do you have to reconsider your kindness being taken for weakness, Our fruit so to speak is rotting from the inside and here we are sitting behind our veil of political correctness and our tripping over ourselves to not appear insensitive to almost everyone.
Prepology
Rest of the story here
No I don't believe it, it can't be true, CAIR the peace loving group that it is could not be evil terrorists........ OK back to reality and does this really surprise anyone at all, really.
Question, at what point do you do you have to reconsider your kindness being taken for weakness, Our fruit so to speak is rotting from the inside and here we are sitting behind our veil of political correctness and our tripping over ourselves to not appear insensitive to almost everyone.
Prepology
Turkey week and some cabin
Links to earlier cabin updates
Prepology
P.S. No groping or strip searching were performed during this 8hr movement. Too bad TSA.
The next group to vote out
The following senator's from the Judiciary Committee who by the the way all voted, yes all of them to move forward with the COICA bill in the supposed theme of combating media piracy, hogwash. There are already several laws on the books with which people who illegally download or violate copyright laws can be prosecuted. This law if it goes into effect will be used for a different type of persecution, one that will go after the first amendment, pure, plain and simple. Now weather this bill ever passes who knows but it is important in that it is even on the radar and being brought up, little by little, piece by piece our rights are being attacked, squandered and minimized by elected officials who do not even have to follow the rules that they set for us, Who is to blame? well we only have to look in the mirror.
- Patrick J. Leahy -- Vermont
- Herb Kohl -- Wisconsin
- Jeff Sessions -- Alabama
- Dianne Feinstein -- California
- Orrin G. Hatch -- Utah
- Russ Feingold -- Wisconsin
- Chuck Grassley -- Iowa
- Arlen Specter -- Pennsylvania
- Jon Kyl -- Arizona
- Chuck Schumer -- New York
- Lindsey Graham -- South Carolina
- Dick Durbin -- Illinois
- John Cornyn -- Texas
- Benjamin L. Cardin -- Maryland
- Tom Coburn -- Oklahoma
- Sheldon Whitehouse -- Rhode Island
- Amy Klobuchar -- Minnesota
- Al Franken -- Minnesota
- Chris Coons -- Delaware
Facts and figures day
Some interesting numbers I looked up, it kind of puts some things into prospective like why we do not need the TSA thugs.
Murder
CVD
Now for the big one that seems to be such a worry for us and that we are tripping over ourselves to regulate.
Prepology
Flu
About 20,000 a yearMurder
About 15,000
CVD
Almost 1 million Americans die of CVD each year, which adds up to 42% of all deaths.
Smoking
Over 443,000 Americans, over 17 percent of all deaths die due smoking each year. Secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 of them.Burns
Burn injuries leave 60,000 people hospitalized each year in the United States, and over 5,000 people die from burn-related injuries. Falling
Here's a shocking fact: More people end up in U.S. emergency rooms because of fall-related injuries than from any other cause. Car accidents
Car Crash Stats: There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005. The financial cost of these crashes is more than 230 Billion dollars. 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people killed. About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States -- one death every 13 minutes.
Now for the big one that seems to be such a worry for us and that we are tripping over ourselves to regulate.
Flying
About 500 a year out of the millions that fly each day, it is still one of the safest ways to travel but one of the worst if you don't want to be molested sexually.Prepology
Log cabin, additional dirt work
Prepology
Food storage is important but do not for get water storage and filtration
Image via WikipediaIf you come to find yourself in a situation where you do not have water or where what water you have is contaminated you have a few options. First and foremost there should be no reason why you can not have some water stored in your home, water is cheap and can store for a very long time we also take it for granted too often. Many people will re-use 2 liter bottles, 5 gallon water cooler jugs or one of my favorites a 1gallon Arizona Iced tea jug because they are a heavy plastic. I know some people use old 1 gallon milk jugs but I try to stay away from them as they are very light weight and have a questionable cap.
The above option works well for a short term problem if you are at home and have a supply already in place ahead of time, there are other sources of water available in your home but that is a mini article itself. Now if you have the other problem of having water but it is contaminated or even if you think it is contaminated you have a few solutions to that problem as well. I am sure that every has at some point in time been under a " Boil Order" this is usually due to a pipe being broken underground during some type of construction. A boil order means that they want you to do just that, boil the water you will be using for internal consumption, cooking and cleaning. The amount of time to boil the water is up for debate and I have seen it stated that once it is boiling it is good and I have also seen it recommended to let it boil for 10 minutes, as for me I usually go 5 minutes and call it dead, dead for the micro-organisms that is. Do keep in mind though that this is hot boiling water, that will scald you so be careful. The one biggest issue wilt boiling water though is the fuel you need to do it with, if you are at home and the power or gas is on then you are OK. Other options you could use in a pinch are your outside gas grill or if you have electricity but your stove is gas and that is out you can use your microwave. Other option's would be if you had a wood burning stove or a fireplace, If you are camping then you have your campfire for a heat source for boiling.
Newer options have come to us to purify water in the form of high tech filters and ultraviolet sterilization pens. There are many more ways to sterilize water that are not mentioned here, punch up your favorite search engine and do a little research as there are many choices and sizes to pick from. Below are a few of the larger players in the field.
Katadyn
Katadyn Products - Katadyn Products Inc.
Water Purifier Portable Water Purification System - SteriPEN
The Berkey Water Store
Prepology
gettysburg address on this 147th anniversary
This speech by President Lincoln delivered on this day 147 years ago seems timeless in a few ways, remove the reference to the date and there are many lines in it that could be applied to today, both good and bad. I am a firm believer in that one should know their history and the history of other places and people because we really do repeat it with sometimes for the best but many times for the worst also.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Gettysburg address
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
By President Abraham Lincoln
Prepology
Glenn beck food storage links
Due to the amount of people now looking for these links I will post them below along with a few extra that seem to be hot at the moment. Most are from the show that aired today.
Glenn Becks site:
http://www.glennbeck.com/asamom.org
912superseniors.org
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/
http://thesurvivalmom.com/
Two other links that I will include that might be of interest to all the new people clicking through.
http://modernsurvivalonline.com/
http://www.survivalblog.com/
Also please take advantage of my blog list that is located on the left lower side of this blog.
Prepology
Glenn Becks site:
http://www.glennbeck.com/asamom.org
912superseniors.org
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/
http://thesurvivalmom.com/
Two other links that I will include that might be of interest to all the new people clicking through.
http://modernsurvivalonline.com/
http://www.survivalblog.com/
Also please take advantage of my blog list that is located on the left lower side of this blog.
Prepology
Cabin dirt update
Prepology
What's in your fuel tank?
I have suggested in the past about having a place to go to when staying at your home is not an option. Having options in place before a crisis can save valuable time and cut down on stress. I like to stress having at least 3 locations that you can use in times of need. Examples could be a short range location 2 to 3 miles away for a small emergency. For a small town emergency A location 40 to 60 miles away works, you do not want to walk this far do you? Now for the big one say a regional or in my case a western state emergency you could look at a couple of hundred miles to leave a crisis, doing so on less than a full tank of gas could be dicey in the very least and one of the last things you want to be doing is lining up at a gas station for gas you may or may not be able to get by the time you get to the pumps.
Make a plan, have options, don't run with the herd.
Prepology
Glenn Beck and food storage episode
Well love him or hate him Glenn Beck will be having a show today on Food storage, Special guest will be a fellow blogger, The survival mom. Why I will watch it, well I would rather listen to someone who does it and and is in the trenches versus a so called "expert"
*****Here is my link for the after show links for the sites Glenn Beck mentioned*****
Prepology
*****Here is my link for the after show links for the sites Glenn Beck mentioned*****
Prepology
Emergency Broadcast System Coming to Cell Phones
Oh this should be interesting either way, I can see it as a great help but also something that can be abused, good, Bad?
The Emergency Broadcast System is getting a modern-day upgrade -- moving from the television to the cell phone.
Today (Nov. 16), communications company Alcatel-Lucent announced the creation of the Broadcast Message Center (BMC), a feature that enables government agencies to send immediate alerts to mobile phones in the event of a state, local or national emergency.
The messages, similar to the warnings that periodically interrupt television broadcasts, will be sent via text message using the BMC, and will be geographically-targeted. For example, an alert pertaining to a road closure in a particular town will only be distributed to mobile phones in that area, while a significantly larger group of people will receive text warnings in the event of a city-specific or nationwide crisis.
The BMC will act as a "secure interface between the emergency management agency" and the mobile phone carrier, the press release said. Warnings will contact people in the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster, inclement weather, highway accident, business evacuation, school or campus emergency, Amber Alert and other crises.
Morgan Wright, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent, stressed the need for a messaging system that works with modern society.
"With the public increasingly relying on cell phones, it becomes mission critical for service providers to be able to share critical, time-sensitive information over these devices during times of crisis," Wright said.
The Broadcast Message Center has been tested already in San Diego and Tampa, and is currently in field trials with all the major mobile phone carriers, said Mark Hudson, Alcatel-Lucent spokesperson. Hudson told SecurityNewsDaily that the BMC is scheduled to be in operation by April 2012.
The Emergency Broadcast System is getting a modern-day upgrade -- moving from the television to the cell phone.
Today (Nov. 16), communications company Alcatel-Lucent announced the creation of the Broadcast Message Center (BMC), a feature that enables government agencies to send immediate alerts to mobile phones in the event of a state, local or national emergency.
The messages, similar to the warnings that periodically interrupt television broadcasts, will be sent via text message using the BMC, and will be geographically-targeted. For example, an alert pertaining to a road closure in a particular town will only be distributed to mobile phones in that area, while a significantly larger group of people will receive text warnings in the event of a city-specific or nationwide crisis.
The BMC will act as a "secure interface between the emergency management agency" and the mobile phone carrier, the press release said. Warnings will contact people in the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster, inclement weather, highway accident, business evacuation, school or campus emergency, Amber Alert and other crises.
Morgan Wright, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent, stressed the need for a messaging system that works with modern society.
"With the public increasingly relying on cell phones, it becomes mission critical for service providers to be able to share critical, time-sensitive information over these devices during times of crisis," Wright said.
The Broadcast Message Center has been tested already in San Diego and Tampa, and is currently in field trials with all the major mobile phone carriers, said Mark Hudson, Alcatel-Lucent spokesperson. Hudson told SecurityNewsDaily that the BMC is scheduled to be in operation by April 2012.
Senate votes cloture on S 510 ( The Food Safety Modernization Act )
By Rady Ananda
Food Freedom
“These provisions add personnel to detect, track and remove smuggled food and call for the development and implementation of strategies to stop food from being smuggled into the United States.”
Yeah this bill should be a good one, you only have to wonder what else is hidden in this bill that will restrict your freedom and a basic right of growing your own food. Control, control and more CONTROL.
Prepology
Also today
Food Freedom
“These provisions add personnel to detect, track and remove smuggled food and call for the development and implementation of strategies to stop food from being smuggled into the United States.”
Yeah this bill should be a good one, you only have to wonder what else is hidden in this bill that will restrict your freedom and a basic right of growing your own food. Control, control and more CONTROL.
Prepology
Also today
Stuck in my head
Sites to visit who are against the TSA
Sites to visit who are against the TSA
Below are a few sites that have plans with respect to the TSA plus a good amount of information about it all.
http://www.shutdowntheairports.com/
http://www.optoutday.com/
http://wewontfly.com/
http://dontscan.us/
http://www.shutdowntheairports.com/
http://www.optoutday.com/
http://wewontfly.com/
http://dontscan.us/
Stuck in my head
You know you have a problem when you wake up in the morning earlier than you want to because of a weird dream, not weird because I dream but because of the subject matter. The TSA.
Flag boy vindicated in a big way
Cody Alicea the 13 year old boy who was asked to remove old glory from his bike is quickly approaching national hero status as a flood of calls to the school and support for his cause have reversed the idiotic decision. In addition they are now also looking in to the people who objected to and also threatened the boy, well now is that not what should have happened in the first place. Where the hell are we going in this country. I only wish I could resurrect a hero from our past, I know how he would fix this BULL$&!&.
FOX 40 story here
FOX 40 story here
Link for the boy and the flag incident repaired
OK people China brought it to my attention that the link on the story about the 13 year old with the American Flag did not work, I screwed up, my bad. The link is now fixed and working. Sorry Folks, Thanks China.
Link to to original story
Prepology
Link to to original story
Prepology
Boy told to take American Flag off his Bicycle
School Makes Boy Take American Flag Off Bike
***Warning this story has irked a nerve in me and my bad language has come out, so graphic commentary on my part*** continue or not.
"if you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested."
For those who are interested in the latest TSA debacle with reference to JUNK here is the link to the guys website. I wonder where this is going to go.
Don't touch my junk
Prepology
Don't touch my junk
Prepology
What the He%$, are we this stupid
It seems that there is a whole lot of doom and gloom out on the web, nothing new right? I know that some people out there have a little faith in the recent elections that took place in which the R's made major advancements. Now while they did take back the house and closed the gap in the senate I do not believe it was because they are loved, but because the D's are just hated more at the moment and that includes a reflection on the current president and his policy's or lack of policy's depending on your views.
Perry calls Social Security bankrupt 'Ponzi scheme'
Quote from Gov. Rick Perry:
“I want people to be afraid not to talk about that Social Security is bankrupt and is a Ponzi scheme and if you've got a young 20-something-year-old, they know for a fact that they're not ever going to see that, So let's fix it.” Complete story here
Me, 20-something-year-old's don't think they will see social security!!! Hell I am pushing 40 and I KNOW I won't see it and there is no way you could convince me that I will. I wish there were a way to opt out or at least give me a private account of my own that I control and that the greedy Government doesn't have their hands in it but want in one hand and you know the rest. Oh well it is all a moot point because I think we will fall apart long before my retirement age.
Prepology
“I want people to be afraid not to talk about that Social Security is bankrupt and is a Ponzi scheme and if you've got a young 20-something-year-old, they know for a fact that they're not ever going to see that, So let's fix it.” Complete story here
Me, 20-something-year-old's don't think they will see social security!!! Hell I am pushing 40 and I KNOW I won't see it and there is no way you could convince me that I will. I wish there were a way to opt out or at least give me a private account of my own that I control and that the greedy Government doesn't have their hands in it but want in one hand and you know the rest. Oh well it is all a moot point because I think we will fall apart long before my retirement age.
Prepology
Prepology: Footing insulation and snow dusting
Well we also got our first snow/ hail/ dusting of the year, it is nice to look at but when you have outside work planned for the day it kinda changes your plans maybe. The ground is still a little warm so the snow did not really stick at all, as a matter of fact as I am writing this it has mostly melted away and will be nothing more that mud that we will track everywhere.
Prepology
******See the rest of the build here******
Prepology Oklahoma outdoes Arizona
I am in NM for a week so some progress on the Log Cabin should be made, I will post the updates as they come in.
I got this in an e-mail the other day, May we live in interesting times. I have a feeling now that the R's have won a significant amount of seats in the house and governor's seats that we will see a lot of states "filling their wild oats" so to speak.
Subject: Oklahoma outdoes Arizona
I got this in an e-mail the other day, May we live in interesting times. I have a feeling now that the R's have won a significant amount of seats in the house and governor's seats that we will see a lot of states "filling their wild oats" so to speak.
Subject: Oklahoma outdoes Arizona
|
Fifth American Killed in Mexican Border City
Published November 03, 2010
| Associated Press
Really? another kid killed just over the border in Mexico. I wonder what this is doing for tourism in Mexico? What is the economic impact as of late?
I have said it and I will say it again, if you do not have to go to the border much less Mexico why would you want to, especially in these areas that continue to have problems. Now not all border areas are under siege but that has been shown to change at any time. Bottom line, use your head, follow your gut and make decisions that make sense. SA up.
Prepology
Senate Dems warn GOP not to block legislation
From the Hill today:
The top three Senate Democrats said the onus was on the newly strengthened GOP conference to cooperate on legislation next year. Rest of the article here
Well I say good luck and this will be a challenge to the R's, I would be happy as hell if they did nothing at all but stop everything cold, stop the damage in it's tracks. The only thing I would like better is for a lot of the garbage that has been passed in the last two years to be repealed but I don't see that happening with the Senate and White House still in the D's hands. Buckle up as it should be an interesting ride.
Prepology
The top three Senate Democrats said the onus was on the newly strengthened GOP conference to cooperate on legislation next year. Rest of the article here
Well I say good luck and this will be a challenge to the R's, I would be happy as hell if they did nothing at all but stop everything cold, stop the damage in it's tracks. The only thing I would like better is for a lot of the garbage that has been passed in the last two years to be repealed but I don't see that happening with the Senate and White House still in the D's hands. Buckle up as it should be an interesting ride.
Prepology
Interesting article about us from Spiegel
A German take on how they see us, and I can agree with them in some respects, OUCH.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,726447,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,726447,00.html
Для русского
Для русского который спросил о рекламировать пожалуйста свяжитесь я через мою электронную почту о что вам нужно. electromechusa@yahoo.com
Presidential trip numbers
The president will soon start his trip overseas at our cost of $200 million a day sure we have that kind of money hanging around no problem. OH but wait there is more, He will be taking 3000 of his friends also. And while your at it he will also be ticking off environmentalists by using 40 planes.
Grand total for his little adventure 2 billion dollars.
Think of what that 2 billion dollars could go to here in the country, better yet think about how much better off we would be if we didn't have to give up the 2 Billion in the first place. I want a refund.
Prepology Home
Grand total for his little adventure 2 billion dollars.
Think of what that 2 billion dollars could go to here in the country, better yet think about how much better off we would be if we didn't have to give up the 2 Billion in the first place. I want a refund.
Prepology Home
Thoughts on the election
Well election wise it looks like the R's took quite a few house seats and not control the house, In addition it looks like they also took a bunch of Governor's houses and with redistricting coming up it should make things interesting. Now as for the Senate, The D's will retain control here but by a much smaller margin.
So what do I believe we will see in the future, well I have no idea for certain but I think we have still not seen or hit rock bottom yet. We have many, many changes that need to be implemented to save our country. I have said that this one election only will not magically change our direction overnight. I only think we will only change course when we the people decide to change it, we need control of our spending both in this country and on what we spend outside as well. We can not continue to spend more than we take in, it is just not sustainable and not fair to our future generations that will have to pay the price. To me major portions of the entitlement class will have to be reeled in or eliminated in order to gain control of this countries finances. We have many problems that need to be addressed, we must pull our heads out of the sand so to speak or face certain defeat.
Prepology
So what do I believe we will see in the future, well I have no idea for certain but I think we have still not seen or hit rock bottom yet. We have many, many changes that need to be implemented to save our country. I have said that this one election only will not magically change our direction overnight. I only think we will only change course when we the people decide to change it, we need control of our spending both in this country and on what we spend outside as well. We can not continue to spend more than we take in, it is just not sustainable and not fair to our future generations that will have to pay the price. To me major portions of the entitlement class will have to be reeled in or eliminated in order to gain control of this countries finances. We have many problems that need to be addressed, we must pull our heads out of the sand so to speak or face certain defeat.
Prepology
4 Americans killed in Mexican border city (Again)
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- Four U.S. citizens were shot to death in separate attacks in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexican authorities said Monday.
Rest of the story here (Fox News)
I have said it before and I will say it again, If you do not have any business going into Mexico DON'T.
It pains me to ever turn down any business but I recently did, I had the opportunity to go south for a series of inspections on some equipment, I had to say no, to me it is just not worth it. Be safe.
Prepology
Rest of the story here (Fox News)
I have said it before and I will say it again, If you do not have any business going into Mexico DON'T.
It pains me to ever turn down any business but I recently did, I had the opportunity to go south for a series of inspections on some equipment, I had to say no, to me it is just not worth it. Be safe.
Prepology
Europeans to pull out their funds on Dec 7
I came across this and pondered how it would go down in the US, Most likely if it was a planned event here there would be a "Bank Holiday" Think to yourself, how would it effect you?
This Blog is in German but there is a short explanation at the bottom of the article in English. ( short article )
http://alles-schallundrauch.blogspot.com/2010/10/stopbanque-aktion-auch-in-italien.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+SchallUndRauch+%28Schall+und+Rauch%29
This Blog is in German but there is a short explanation at the bottom of the article in English. ( short article )
http://alles-schallundrauch.blogspot.com/2010/10/stopbanque-aktion-auch-in-italien.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+SchallUndRauch+%28Schall+und+Rauch%29
Another funny
"An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.
Egg and die?
ATLANTA – Authorities say a driver enraged because a 17-year-old boy egged his Mercedes on Halloween fatally shot the prankster in the neck and throat as he tried to run away.
Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones says the driver confronted the teen and fired 10 shots at him around 8 p.m. Sunday. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office says the teen, Tivarus King, died as he was being taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.
Jones says officers dispatched to the scene in northwest Atlanta spotted a gold Mercedes driving by and detained the driver. She says the suspect is being questioned by homicide investigators but has not yet been charged.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101101/...xpY2VwcmFua3M-
Damn it sure isn't like I remember it being back in the day. Now you get shot, I will admit that it was pretty dumb to egg the car but is did not warrant an execution by firing squad. I would say the only lesson here is respect for other peoples property and a little common sense.
Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones says the driver confronted the teen and fired 10 shots at him around 8 p.m. Sunday. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office says the teen, Tivarus King, died as he was being taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.
Jones says officers dispatched to the scene in northwest Atlanta spotted a gold Mercedes driving by and detained the driver. She says the suspect is being questioned by homicide investigators but has not yet been charged.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101101/...xpY2VwcmFua3M-
Damn it sure isn't like I remember it being back in the day. Now you get shot, I will admit that it was pretty dumb to egg the car but is did not warrant an execution by firing squad. I would say the only lesson here is respect for other peoples property and a little common sense.
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