A Warning to the Left.

A warning for the left. As we start President Obama’s second term in office many people in this country are scared. For simplicity I call the factions left and right. No one term can accurately define the two sides. The left is scared of gun violence and the right is scared of the violence that will erupt without guns. The country is polarized into two camps. The left thinks because they won the Presidential election that they have a mandate to promote their causes disregarding the right. One of the things they are forgetting is there are about 310 million people in America. Only 118 million voted and of those Obama received only 3 million more votes than Romney. That’s only 2% more votes. That is nothing compared to the 310 million that live in this country. It’s practically a tie vote with two thirds of the country abstaining. Here’s the thing those 47% of conservative voters that voted against Obama, a large percentage absolutely disdain him, his policies and his goals. Every time he moves the country farther away from our founding principles he moves the country closer to the imaginary line in the sand that is the breaking point for many Americans. That line for each individual is in a different place, but for many the loss of America as we grew up in is pushing them closer to that line slowly every day. A sweeping gun control ban gutting the second amendment will be the final push across that line for many. They have watched our prosperity sold to the highest bidder, our children sold into debt slavery and finally our elected leaders want to disarm us, they won’t take any more. Gun owners feel just as strong about their constitutional rights as many people do about racism and equality in America. So if you push them too far and that line is crossed I want you to know what you are risking. If there is ever an uprising in America to restore the constitution, the gun owners will win. There are just so many more of us than anyone that wants to take our guns away. That is a simple fact. Even if we had to fight the entire military and every law enforcement agency in the country we would still win. That is not even taking into account that most of those people in the military and law enforcement take their oaths to support and defend the constitution very seriously. They did not swear to defend social engineering for a new America they will support a constitutional America. Secondly there are just way more of us than them. Again these are just simple facts, you can go look up the numbers of gun owners in the US to see if I am telling the truth. This is what should scare anyone that wants to take away any American’s God given rights, if there is an uprising the left will lose so much more than the right will. When those conservatives go to the capitol of the United States to put the country back in order, there will be changes. Fundamental American Conservative values will be the rule of law. Those causes that are so near and dear to your hearts will most likely be thrown on the scrapheap of history. These are just a few things I can think of that will probably not be allowed if this happens. ·        Unions will most likely be abolished or severely curtailed. ·        Gay marriage will be abolished. ·        Illegal aliens will be deported en mass anchor babies or not. ·         The media whose ownership has become more and more consolidated until only a few companies control the news, will be broken up and no one man or company will be allowed to control the news again. ·         Mandated health insurance will of course be abolished. ·        Tax refunds in excess of what a person paid in will end. ·        Affirmative action will cease. ·        Nuclear power and coal will gain favor and subsidizing alternative energy will end. ·        The EPA will lose much of its power. ·        The Department of Education will disappear. ·        Subsidized housing and many benefits for the poor will be eliminated. ·        Foreign Aid will end. ·        The United Nations will be asked to leave the country and the US will stop paying money to support it. ·        Abortion will become illegal. ·        Many current politicians may find themselves in a courtroom and explaining why they supported many unconstitutional measures and how they amassed fortunes so quickly in office. This is just a list I came up with in about twenty minutes. Do you really want to find out what 535 mad as hell conservative Congressmen and Senators will come up with once they regain control of America? Last but not least universal suffrage will become a thing of the past. It’s obvious that as long as the masses can vote for the guy that will give them the most pork barrel spending we will continue to have a country that can’t control its spending. So in my opinion most people will lose their right to vote. You will have to volunteer for the military or public works of some type to earn the right to vote, after all something not earned is not respected. Maybe you will have to be a land owner; perhaps you will have to pay to vote. Whatever it turns out to be, I don’t see us returning to the welfare state Congress has created. So ask yourself do you really want to push anyone across that line in the sand and force them to defend their rights? Is this battle for gun control worth risking everything I mentioned? Because I will tell you the gun owners of America are ready to take a stand. They have been pushed to far and many of them can see that line in the sand getting closer and they don’t want to step over it but they will if they think they are saving America for their children. They are law abiding people and want to stay that way, but they are done compromising. Please do not make them cross that line. (Disclaimer: I am not advocating violence in any shape or form, I am only explaining how many people feel and as a history major and fiction writer what the future might look like if we continue on our current course.)

I am a capitalist and need to keep the kids fed and the heat on just like everyone else.  If you are reading this editorial and finding yourself agreeing with most of it, you will probably enjoy my book "Wrath of the Dodo." So far everyone has liked it. My most often asked question is "When does the sequel come out? So follow the link below and order your signed copy. It is also available on Amazon for kindles.  Click her to order "Wrath of the Dodo." Click her to go to our website full of "Gun Stuff" for sale.

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Preventive first aid kits.

I’ve been selling “stuff” at gun shows for years. I have learned a lot about human behavior in that time. I am going to throw some percentages at you these are not scientific in any way; they are just to give you an idea of how people think.  It is very easy to talk someone into buying a firearm for their protection. If they are at a gun show already probably 99% have or will buy a gun for protection.  About 5% of the same people if offered some long term storage food for emergencies will buy it or say they have some food on hand. Of every single person that will walk by me at a gun show in a weekend only a couple will stop and look at a first aid kit. I have even had a guy state that he was required by law to have one in his business, and the price I had was really good, but he still wouldn’t buy one.

 First Aid is not sexy or fun, and it reminds us bad things can happen.  When I say first aid kit, I don’t mean one of those $9.99 sets of band aids you buy at the big box store on the spur of the moment. They are nice if your kid has a booboo, but what a person really needs is a first aid cabinet. I know right now you are imagining something that looks like a closet off the show ER. No when I say you should have a first aid kit, you should of course have the normal bandages, but you should have stuff for upset stomachs, bug bites and allergies. You should have preventative stuff as well, toothpaste, mouthwash, and soap. The idea is to avoid visiting the ER because you forgot to stock some $5 item that could have prevented a health problem. If you have ever made a trip to the drugstore at 3 am for anything, that item should be in your first aid kit.

            The last thing you want to have happen is to be waiting for treatment in a hospital after an emergency. At that point the hospital needs to be for the truly sick and injured, not for the person that forgot to stock some Benedryl and now needs a shot of epi. The second reason is hospitals are full of germs and you don’t want to get sicker. So post what things you think should be in your first aid kit.

Welcome to the Outpost!

  So you accidentally found my blog. Good! I thought it was important to have a place to talk about current events and how they could affect us. There are lots of sites that talk about survival and preparedness. I happen to be subscribed to many of them but as I look through them I see some things that bother me and that is what this Blog is here to address. I’m not here to talk about what rifle is the sexiest, and what knife you must absolutely have to survive. I want to talk to people about the less fun aspects of survival. Of course we are going to talk about the fun stuff too, but we need to know more about how to survive without modern conveniences and thrive.

  There are enough survival sites where it is beaten into your head that in an emergency your neighbor is now your worst enemy. There are enough sites telling you that if you aren’t a retired Army Ranger you are going to die, there are enough sites trying to sell you Acog rifle optics and tacticool accessories for your gun. Of course I am going to try and sell you my books I’m as capitalist as the next guy, but I am not going to try and convince you the world is ending tomorrow and unless you abuse your credit cards you and your family are going to die a slow painful death. This Blog is for Joe & Suzy Every Day and their family. What I want is that 30 days after an event you are able to say. “Well, it wasn’t fun, but we came through just fine”

Disasters can happen anywhere.

  Before I even start this post let me say that my deepest sympathies go out to the people of Japan in the following post I don’t want to take anything away from their problems as they are monumental and impossible for most people to comprehend. Pray for them.

  Another tragedy in another part of the world, in a lot of ways it is just another day for us. We watch the news of utter devastation and death by the thousands as we take a brief moment of our lives to feel sorry for the victims and then carry on with our routines. The earthquake in Japan is so far away it is hard to see how this affects us in any way. We watched as New Orleans drowned and pointed out that living below sea level is a bad idea. There are fires, mudslides, and earthquakes in California and we laugh at them for living in such dangerous places.

  In a lot of ways we aren’t wrong. It’s a really bad idea to live at or below sea level sooner or later the water is going to get you. If anyone around here built a house on top of a steep hill surrounded by dry brush and grass, we might feel bad for them personally, but honestly what did they think was going to happen? Fire likes to burn uphill and mud likes to go downhill.

 The sad part about a lot of the people in Japan that were killed wasn’t that they chose to build homes in a bad place, but that they were born in a country prone to earthquakes and therefore tsunamis. It’s pretty hard to choose where you’re born or at least that is what I have been led to believe.

 We see people in the U.S choosing to live in areas that are extremely dangerous. Some dangers can be mitigated. You can build buildings that are earthquake proof. Houses that can withstand hurricanes are not impossible to build, other disasters just aren’t survivable. Tsunamis and Lahars are not survivable without enough warning. Even then the property devastation is almost total.

  We have been lucky in the Americas our world is very young we have not learned all the dangers that await us.  I can name three disasters that we missed because of our young age.

1.      The New Madrid Fault: In 1812 the New Madrid Fault in the Mississippi Valley had an 8.0 seismic event. At the time there were very few people living in the area. The same quake today would most likely destroy Memphis and cause a disaster never seen in the interior of the United States.

    In my estimation this is the most dangerous fault in the US. This fault will effect almost every person in the US and Canada. The reason this fault is so problematic is its location. Many of our major interstates, highways, railways, gas, electrical, and oil pipelines transverse this area. If these major transportation arteries are severed the entire US will have shortages of food, fuel and power that will take months to fix. We have never had a disaster take out the heart of our country before, so the effects are unknown.

2.      Seattle, Washington Area: A lahar 600 years ago resulted in a mud slide that reached Tacoma. Scientists theorize that a lahar today would go farther and spread wider because of deforestation wiping out hundreds of square miles of populated area.

3.      Seattle, Washington / Portland, Oregon area: The cascadia subduction zone last erupted in 1700 AD: That earthquake off the coast of Oregon and Washington not only rocked the coast but sent tsunamis inland for miles. Records in Japan indicate that the tsunami reached them and destroyed lives and property even on the other side of the Pacific. I have personally seen the dead trees for miles inland along the highways to the coast from that earthquake. The large population in this area will lead to a death toll we have not seen in this country.

  America’s cities are untested by nature. Many old world cities like London, Paris, Moscow, and Berlin are in areas that are fairly immune to the ravages of disasters. Those cities that were built in dangerous areas can be found in places like the bottom of the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. It is very likely that Atlantis was one of these cities that fell to geographical forces.

  For those of us that live in the less dangerous areas we grow complacent. We shouldn’t do so; a house fire is as devastating to your family as any California wildfire. An exploding railcar will knock your house flat just like any hurricane will. Every single place has its hazards.

  What I want my readers to take away from this article is, be prepared! Make sure your home has enough bottled water for at least three days to a week. You should have a way to cook food if the power goes out, and a way to keep warm. If you like to camp a lot of these supplies are interchangeable. You don’t need to feel like you are some crazy survivalist. Just tell yourself you are getting ready to go camping. (You might find yourself camping in your front yard as you try and re-roof or rebuild your home.) Store some emergency supplies somewhere else. It could be your house that is destroyed.  A couple of Rubbermaid totes full of clothing and food will go a long ways in an emergency and doesn’t cost much.

  Imagine what those Japanese families would give to have some of the same stuff stored just a few miles inland, instead of having just the clothes on their backs.

  The more complicated our world becomes the more fragile it is. I would hate to have anyone I know suffer because they didn’t take the time to make the most minimal investments in emergency supplies.

  Be safe.

 Cranky Farmer

Cascadia Subduction Zone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_subduction_zone

Mt Rainer Lahar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rainier

New Madrid Fault

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone

 La Palma

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Palma#La_Palma_island

Welcome to the Ranch

“So do you come here often?” I know it’s a lame pickup line but it seems appropriate somehow to this post. I was looking through my stats of where people are coming from and wondering how the heck they found my blog. There are people from the Netherlands, South Korea, France, and Germany. I would like to welcome all of you and encourage you to leave a “polite” comment.

 I am happy that you found my blog and hopefully found something interesting to read while you are at Rancho Del Cranky. If you are lost and ended up here on accident blame it on your Tom-Tom GPS unit, it’s electronic and can take the abuse.  

 Otherwise leave a comment on my blog. Let us know where you’re from and maybe some little tidbit of information about yourself.

  Thanks for reading.

  

 Cranky Farmer