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It’s Always Time

SHTF

Over at American Thinker, Michael Devon asks the question:  “Is It Time To Start Prepping?”

As the title to this post suggests, preparing for disaster is always relevant.  For many people — people with any kind of brain, that is — this would not be a time to start prepping as much as it would be a time to take stock of one’s preparations, and either add to such, refine what you need, or address any shortcomings thereof.  Devon’s list is interesting:

Water sources and water filtration.  You will need a minimum of 2 gallons of drinking water per soul per day — For how long, is the question.  I would suggest that 2-3 weeks’ supply is pretty much all the water one can store easily (unless you have substantial property like a farm), or carry in a car.  For longer than that, filtration becomes more appropriate.  How good is your filtration system?
 

Shelter.  This should be located 1–2 hours’ travel time outside urban and suburban metros — Forget it.  In my case, it ain’t gonna happen.  If the S genuinely does hit the F, I will either shelter in place, or drive 15 minutes to Doc Russia’s little festung (we’ve discussed it, often, and I know exactly what I’ll need to bring so as not to be a burden on him but a benefit (added security, an extra gun or two for guard duty, and shall we say “an aggressive mindset” towards protection of mine and his).

Non-perishable food.  You will need 2,000 calories per soul per day with a healthy ratio of carbs, protein, and fat. — I have about two months’ supply for me and New Wife, maybe a month longer if we ration ourselves severely.  After that, it’ll be time to go shopping with an AK.  Of course, there are all the dried food packs (e.g. Mountain and MREs), but that’s your call:  I’ve never found any of them palatable.  I’d rather just have dozens of different energy bars as the last resort.

Prescription medications.  Talk to your doctor and somehow finagle a three-year supply of all your non-perishable meds.  Perishable meds are a more difficult issue to resolve. — Only one of my meds is perishable (glaucoma drops, which I keep in the fridge).  I have about two months’ worth of my meds (New Wife has less, need to do something about that), which I can likewise extend to maybe three by skipping every third day.  With sufficient warning (a day or two) Doc can write me all the Rx I need if I think I’ll need longer.  Also worth considering:  “general purpose” antibiotics like amoxicillin and ciproflaxin.

Personal hygiene supplies. — Covered.  Three months’ worth (at least) of soap, toilet paper, wipes, toothpaste, and so on.

Ten like-minded adults willing to work hard together and to defend the shelter and its souls.  — Nope, not interested in that big a group. There’d be four of us, although I’d really like it — as would Doc — if the Son&Heir could join us, suitably provisioned of course (that Eagle Scout thing, plus a deadly aim when it comes to boomsticks).

2A hardware.  Never come up empty. — I believe we have that part covered.
(I have some too, if necessary.  Also a few extra rounds of ammo.)

Comms.  Have multiple backup and power for all comm devices. — Ugh.  I need to get a couple decent Garmin walkie-talkies.  Batteries, I have about a six-month supply.

Electrical systems and chargers.  Solar-powered, and multiple redundancy is essential. — I need to check that my solar stuff is still in working condition.  Also my car’s power inverter.

Barter stuff.  Booze, tobacco products, OTC meds, instant coffee, batteries, Bic lighters.  Barter food. — Good point.  Note to self:  empty out liquor cabinet if decamping.  (The gin and single malt alone would get me whatever I want, for about six months.)  Passing thought:  I don’t smoke, nor do any of the folks in our little SHTF party.  Worth considering getting a carton or two of Marlboros as trade goods?  [/post-WWII Germany]

Metal tools.  Axes, knives, saws, etc. — Covered.  My SHTF bins have enough not only for me, but for Doc as well, if he needs any.

Home Depot stuff.  Lumber, screws, nails, tarps, rope, duct tape, glue, gloves, concrete, etc. — Concrete? LOL.  But I might need stuff like 2x4s and plywood (note:  talk to Doc).  All the other stuff I have in plenty.

Replacements:  clothes, shoes, boots, socks, undergarments, jackets, and hats. — Covered.  Included are things like serious rainwear, gloves (work and warmth), cold-weather gear and so on.

Shiny metals. — Errrr whut?  I have a couple steel mirrors for signaling, but that’s about it.

Transport.  Trucks, motorcycles, fuel, and spare parts. — Just enough to get me to Doc’s, but I always keep at least a half-tank of gas in the car.  Doc has more at his place.

My additions and suggestions:

First aid:  antibacterial stuff (ointments, disinfectants), bandages and so on.  You can go nuts with preparing a list of this stuff, so I tend to go with a simple checklist of what I’ve needed to have handy over the past ten years, and adding things like coagulants and such for more serious wounds.  Rule of thumb:  whatever you think you’d need for OTC meds, double that number.

Cooking: some kind of camp stove or grill with an adequate fuel supply, plus metal pots and pans (like Lodge) that won’t break.  Also cooking oil because butter is perishable.

Extra sugar, salt/pepper and spices.  Great barter goods if nothing else.  Also rice, cornmeal, pasta, cereals and similar starches.

Canned food of stuff you like to eat.  Don’t bother with the junk like asparagus, cream corn and pumpkin which make you barf just at the thought;  go heavy on your favorites e.g. in my case, corned beef hash, chicken and tuna.  Also:  evaporated milk and condensed milk.

Biltong (not jerky).  Two lbs of biltong, if properly rationed out, can keep you alive for a month all by itself.  (You are already making it, using Kim’s Sooper-Seekrit Recipe, aren’t you?)

Feel free to add or substitute as you wish.

Touring Option

Drive Time, Gratuitous Chick Pics

I was never a big fan of the 70s-era Maserati Ghibli, simply because at the time I was enthralled (and still am) by the much-smaller Dino 246 GT.

However:  times have moved on and changed, and so have I, a little bit here and there.  Now, the thrills of blatting away in a Dino at full throttle from light to light with a skinny blonde in the passenger seat have dimmed somewhat.

Now, what I think I would like is a bigger car, to accommodate the bigger Kim, and someone more akin to, say, Kelly Brook alongside me.


Rapid acceleration is okay, but not essential;  more important to me are things like sufficient torque and raw power that can push over hills and such towards my final destination.  Ditto the car.

Hence my interest in the Ghibli:  to wit, “a 4.7-liter, dry-sump V-8 that produces 330 horsepower, which is sufficient to move the big GT from zero to 60 MPH in a quick 6.4 seconds and reach a top speed of more than 150 mph.”

I know that a lot of today’s cars could do the same or better, with greater reliability and even better performance.  But what the hell:  I’m not a F1 driver, I’m not even a fast driver;  what I want is a reasonable facsimile of today’s performance, with a touch of history thrown in.

And with the top down (car and/or passenger), the thrill would be immense:

“Okay Kim, that’s enough, we get your point.”

Gunfights

Africa, Crime, Good Stuff, The Gun Thing

I remember listening to some comedy record or other a long time ago, which featured a radio interview (à la Bob Newhart) of a captured Confederate soldier just before Antietam.  When asked his opinion about Union soldiers being armed with the new Winchester repeating rifles, the Reb thought for a moment, and said laconically, in a deep Southron accent:  “Yeah?  Well that’s all well and good for you Yankees… but we know how to aim, boy.”)

I was reminded of that exchange when I read this report (sent to me by several Readers, thankee) concerning this little incident in Seffrica:

Heavily armed attacks on armored cars are so common in South Africa they are known as Cash-in-Transit heists (CIT).

“15 robbers armed with automatic rifles carried out a CIT heist in Hoedspruit, killing the Fidelity driver,“ reports YouTuber Willem Petzer.

According to police spokesman Colonel Matimba Maluleke, the suspects shot at the escort vehicle before disarming the guards (a driver and crew) of their official rifle and pistol. “Unfortunately the two guards were shot at and sustained injuries that resulted in the death of the driver. The suspects then pursued the armoured vehicle while shooting at it until it stopped. The driver of the armoured vehicle and his crew were allegedly ordered to disembark the vehicle, disarmed of two firearms and chased into the nearby bushes. The suspects used explosives to blast the vehicle and made off with an undisclosed amount of money,” Maluleke said.

All was seemingly going according to plan for our Robbin’ Hoods;  however, things went downhill for our choirboys soon thereafter:

“A community crime watch group, Hoedspruit Farmwatch, was alerted to the incident and went in pursuit of the robbers, putting obstacles on the road to prevent their escape. A shootout ensued,” Petzer writes. 

“The volunteers blocked the roads outside of Hoedspruit with boulders after they were alerted of the attack. A skirmish, lasting about 20 minutes, ensued at one of the blockades between the robbers [armed with AK-47s] and the farmers, who were armed with pistols. The farmers managed to kill 4 of the robbers and wound 3. No farmer was hurt. The other suspects fled into nearby bushes after the shootout on foot.”

Apparently, untrained criminals spraying bullets from their rifles are not a match for trained shooters with handguns.  But it gets better:

“The Hoedspruit farmwatch tracked them down using their dogs and arrested the rest of them, recovering all the money from the heist.”

One of the arrested suspects is a highly wanted Mozambican suspect who has been on the run for some time for a spate of crimes he committed in the Free State in 2022 including the murder of a police officer. The injured suspects were found in possession of suspected stolen money, a rifle and a pistol.

For background on the whole “neighborhood watch” thing, read the full report.

So to summarize:

Asshole criminals with AK-47s:  1
Trained Afrikaners with pistols:  4, plus 3 wounded and the rest captured.

I don’t know the full details, but the farmer’s dogs were likely a mixture of Boerboels and Ridgebacks.

Yeah, I’d pretty much give up, too.

We may now begin the

Pah

The Gun Thing

Saith some guy in a magazine:

Fudd [\’f∂d\] (noun): A term that was originally a derogatory word for gun owners who hunted but were dismissive of modern semi-auto “tactical” type firearms. It has evolved to refer to a shooter who is mired in the past and scornful of any technological innovation that occurred much after they learned how to shoot.

When confronted with any development newer than that, they retreat behind a stream of cliches such as “I don’t want my life to depend on batteries” or “It’ll give away your position,” like a squid behind a cloud of ink.

Hey, at least I’m not as bad as a couple of my Olde Tyme Readers, for whom this brass cartridge business is just a passing fad.

And I’m not mired in the past — although if given a choice between then and now, then gets it by a day’s march.  Hell, it only took me a few years to get used to using a scope (forced into the things, it should be said, by deteriorating eyesight), and it was only a question of time before I came round to that semi-auto business (in a rifle, that is).

The reason that I’m taking a while to get used to batteries in my scope is that if long experience has taught me anything, it’s that anything that can go wrong will, and at a time and circumstance which will always have dire consequences as a result thereof.  (For those interested in such things, I never tolerated batteries in my guitars, forget that shit.)

Not being a cop or soldier, and therefore unlikely to need to “clear” a house of bad people, I couldn’t care less about affixing a trillion-candlepower flashlight to my handgun or rifle.  I have such beasts scattered around me, but they’re purely for the purpose of blinding anyone I want to do that to, and then mostly to buy me time to draw my gun.

I do rather like these little red-dot laser thingies for revolvers, though:

…and at some point I’ll bother investigating the gadget for my bedside gun and my 1911.  Or not.

My needs are quite simple, gun-wise.  Crappy eyesight almost mandates that if I want to actually hit anything, I must use a red-dot sight (if not a laser), so at some point (again) I may pop one on my plinking guns:

(not that I actually own one of these cute little Buckmarks, but when I do get one, it’ll be thus accessorized).  Ditto on the 1911:

…although breaking up the classic John Moses Browning design with that carbuncle just gives me the shivers, it does.  Not to mention that I’ll need to get a couple replacement holsters that will accommodate such horrors.

In fact… (from Kenny)

…fukkit, I’ll just stick to what I’ve got.  #Fudd

“Change Of Orders”

Government Thugs, Homeschooling, Rights

Here’s a “connect the dots” moment.  I’ve mentioned this sad case before.  First, courtesy of Annie Holmquist, some background:

Would you be willing to risk arrest by the government in order to choose the best education for your child?

That’s the situation the Romeike family faced a number of years ago when they lived in Bissingen, Germany. They chose to homeschool their young grade school age children even though homeschooling was illegal in Germany. The reason? Their children were bullied and scared about the violence they were facing in their local state school.

That choice resulted in a visit from police, and soon three of their children, ages six to nine, were hauled off in a police vehicle and forced to attend the official state school. Recounting the 2006 incident, father Uwe Romeike told one media outlet that he “felt very helpless,” going on to note, “My children were crying, the police were shouting.”

Faced with hefty fines, the Romeikes fled Germany for America in 2008, seeking asylum. Settling in Tennessee, the family continued homeschooling while they fought for protection from their German persecutors. In 2014, the Department of Homeland Security allowed the family to stay in the U.S. “under order of supervision and indefinite deferred action status,” according to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association.

The family—which has now grown to include two more children and two in-laws since the trauma in Germany—has continued to dwell in the U.S. for over a decade, living peacefully and homeschooling their children.

Until now. 

Let the Government bastardy begin.

On Sept. 6, 2023, the Romeikes went in for their annual immigration visit and were shocked when they were told they had four weeks to get their passports in order and self-deport to Germany. “The family had no prior warning, and was offered no explanation, other than that there had been a ‘change of orders,’” a Home School Legal Defense Association media posting explained.

What could possibly have caused this “change in orders”?  Let us now connect the dots, with this little statement from the Biden Cabinet Secretary of Education:

“I don’t have too much respect for people that are misbehaving in public and acting like they know what’s right for kids.”

Seriously?

Here’s the thing.  Tennessee is a homeschool-friendly state — i.e. the state government has no problem with people homeschooling their kids.  But:  immigration is a federal issue.  So if the Dept. of Education drops a little whisper in the ear of INS, the federal government can step in and fuck with people like the hapless Romeike family, essentially making Tennessee’s jurisdiction meaningless.

There is, of course, another interesting aspect to all this.  Since arriving in the U.S., the Romeikes have had two more children — and according to U.S. law, the two kids are U.S. citizens (yeah, they’re “anchor babies”).  So can the federal government deport U.S. citizens when in fact neither they nor any of their family have broken any American laws?

I hope the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSDLA) climbs into this with might and main — because this is precisely the kind of matter that is in their remit.

Read all of Annie’s article, because The Naked Communist  is clearly fast becoming part of official U.S. government policy.

In the meantime, let us think about the proper treatment for an unelected gauleiter government official who thinks that parents don’t know what’s best for their kids, but the government does.

Just to make my own position clear on this issue:  if I were being put in a similar position when homeschooling my own kids, I’d be making that difficult decision about calling in the HSDLA, or just going to the guns.  My kids belong to me, not to the State, no matter what the State thinks.

Oh, and Annie:  welcome back to Intellectual Takeout.  You have been sorely missed.