The global consequences of American geopolitical and military weakness.

The US truly became an empire, even if it was unaware of it or unwilling to be one, at the moment of victory in WWII and not a single day before. The world was truly aflame during that war. We haven't seen an inferno even close to that since then, despite the potential for the Cold War to become the most devastating war in history. The Cold War stayed cold for a reason. That reason was NOT Russian power. It was American power. The world will not burn again until the lack of the American military and geopolitical power abroad provides a vacuum.

Our president and his administration is in the process of intentionally weakening the US influence around the world and the results of doing so are apparently going to be immediate. One thing is certain, Obama is the first president who intentionally and knowingly attempted to make the US weaker around the world. He is the first who actively sought to bring America DOWN to the level of the rest of the world. Russia and China have aggressively seized on this opportunity to expand their sphere of influence (SOI) during this time.

Once Russia and China make gains (economically, militarily, politically) in their SOI, it will be nearly impossible for those gains to be scaled back significantly without a collapse (think of the Soviet Union collapse). There will be many who look at the entire picture of this and say "Who cares? We have our own problems to deal with!" These are the people who do not have an understanding of how the world today is interconnected. These are the people who have no understanding of the end goals of Russia and China.

While we see the aggressive actions of our largest nation-bound enemies, we also see the rise of "terrorist armies" like ISIS. This hybridized (sometimes guerrilla, sometimes conventional) threat is fairly new in our lifetime when you look at some of the characteristics of ISIS. I say "fairly" new because it's basically AQ on steroids. Steroids and crack. Not much has been done to weaken this army as it stands in the Levant. There is no real coalition. There is no real stomach for commitment. There is little sense of urgency. Our leaders are afraid to do what is necessary. More weakness on the global stage when there is a great opportunity for strength.

We also see our smaller nation-bound enemies getting bolder and bolder. Iran has spread it's tentacles throughout the entire world. Iran is actively providing training, weapons, equipment and funding to operatives on every inhabited continent and they're doing it on a massive scale. North Korea (nK) is another example of a "small enemy" doing big things, but I'm not going to elaborate because I signed a Nondisclosure Agreement upon leaving the Army. Take my word or don't, but just because they are not a conventional threat to us (or really anyone beyond a roughly 45 day blitz against South Korea) does not mean they are not a threat at all. In my professional opinion, a large majority of nK's ability to pose a threat to us and our allies was gained in just the last 4-5 years.

Speaking of our allies, they are seeing our efforts to weaken ourselves and are losing confidence in us at light speed. Britain, Germany and France have begun jockeying for European leadership now that it actually matters. These allies are now preparing for a world in which they must go it alone if need be. I'd say these nations should have been ready for the day when the US wasn't able or willing to ride in to save them, but do not allow yourself to be fooled into thinking we don't benefit from having a group of allies at our back. They are not geopolitically weak and we benefit greatly from our allies knowing that we are strong. They see our weakness and it has already begun to have political and economic consequences.


I can continue on and on, discussing the implications of American weakness for our smaller allies, the deterioration of our friendship with Israel, the sham that is the Iranian negotiations, the Saudis and other Arab states launching military strikes against Islamic extremists without notifying us (they aren't obligated to do so, but the fact that they used to and now no longer do so is quite telling), South American countries officially shipping their poor, unhealthy and criminals to Mexico and Mexico actively facilitating their infiltration over the border, Russian and Chinese banks buying massive amounts of precious metals while they actively work to bring down the American economy, etc. These things are not guaranteed to be prevented by American geopolitical and military strength projected abroad, but when that strength is missing, those things are guaranteed to occur and we are guaranteed to pay a price for it at home.

Beginning your food stores.

In the near future I will begin stockpiling stored food to feed my family in the event of a disruption of the commercial supply lines. It goes without saying that one should be able to hunt, fish and gather food from nature in order to sustain your survival group long term. However, that is a different type of subject. For now I'll go over stored food and how I plan to build my "larder".

Stored food is a good means of knowing exactly how long you and your's will be able to eat before having to resupply or begin "living off the land". Many companies sell stored food buckets with a specific number of servings and will tell you how long certain size groups of people will be able to eat with that amount stored.

A good initial plan for someone who is beginning in their preparedness is to store prepackaged long-term storage food. Two well known companies who produce this type of food are "Mountain House" and "Wise." I only have experience with Mountain House, and their quality is at the top of the industry. Many companies produce these stored food in buckets that have packaged portions and meals. You can buy these buckets and calculate the amount of meals you have per person in your household per day. It's a good idea to store enough of these to last you family or survival group for between one and three months.

Of course, you'd like to have food for long than that, so store as much as you can. Eventually your group will need to be able to find, grow, hunt and fish for food. But in the event of a short-term emergency, this prepackaged food can be a life saver. In a long-term emergency, prepackaged good can allow you to have a backup supply in case you aren't able to produce food for a short time.

List of Lists - Websites

To complete my posts on the List of Lists, I'll leave you with a few websites you can use to meet like-minded people and discuss survival-related topics. These sites will teach you a lot and open your eyes to the need for a survival mindset.

www.SurvivalBlog.com

www.SurvivalistBoards.com

www.BushcraftUSA.com

www.FreeAmericanNational.blogspot.com

List of Lists - Water Filtration, Purification & Storage

The ability to filter and purify water for drinking and other uses is often overlooked because, frankly, it's a boring topic. However, it's possibly the most important. Storing enough water to last any significant period of time is also daunting in it's requirements. I recommend storing an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of one gallon per person per day. Let say you have three people in your family. You hope to last 30 days? That's 90 gallons for just one month. That's if you all plan to drink the minimum, bathe rarely and cook two or less meals per day. That's your minimum amount needed, but I recommend storing above that amount. As much as possible.

Portable filtration system

Purification tablets

Iodine tablets

Water bottles & canteens

Metal containers for boiling

Water jugs and storage barrels

Eventually that storage WILL run out. So it's imperative to be able to obtain water after the faucets stop and the storage runs out. Creating your own or buying a water catchment system (especially in areas of the country will predictable, reliable and regular rains) will generally solve the problem. Here are just two choices when you search on the internet for "water catchment systems":

http://www.arcsa.org/

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Water/Water.htm

I also highly recommend purchasing filtration systems from a company called Berkey. There are many places online to purchase the Berkey portable water filtration systems. Look through their options to find the right size for your family.

List of Lists - Vehicles

In a long term survival situation, vehicles are likely going to have a short life. Unless you have the ability to set up your own mechanic shop and stock several extra parts for every situation, your vehicle will probably become an immovable barricade at some point. In a short term situation, you can keep your vehicle operational. For the long term situation, the key is to find a balance between saving your vehicle use to prolong it's life and using it for times when you really need it. Having these items will extend it's usefulness as a rolling vehicle and delay that point at which it becomes a roadblock.

Antifreeze

Jacks and tire irons

Tire gauges

Tow chains, hooks and straps

Winch

Road flares, cones and warning triangles

Replacement headlights

Battery charger

Spare batteries

Jumper cables

Spare tires for each vehicle

Motor oil

Oil filters

Brake fluid

Transmission fluid

Power steering fluid

Seat belt cutter

List of Lists - Tools

Having tools at your BOL is obviously important. You're going to need to be able to handle all repair jobs that you may have normally called someone else to do. You'll need to acquire the knowledge you need to safely and effectively use these tools. Don't be afraid to buy extras. You'll notice I made everything on this list plural for that reason. Tools are made to take hard work, but they won't always be able to handle that forever.

Multitools

Various survival knives

Shovels

Hand shovels

Rakes

Hammers

Screwdrivers

Wrenches and sockets

Sharpening instruments for knives and edged tools

Axe & hatchets

Bolt cutters

Hand saws (hacksaws & blades)

Chains

Ropes

Work gloves

Machetes

Various nails & screws

In a survival situation, make sure to be extra careful using anything with an edge. Small cuts can result in infection and death when you have zero chance of getting medical care.

List of Lists - Tactical Living

I'm getting toward the end of our list of lists posts and today I'll go over the tactical living section. This section lists some items you'll need to live and operate in an environment that may not be as secure and comfortable as a secured home.

550 cord

Camouflage clothing & hats

Combat style boots

Cold weather clothing

Wet weather clothing

Mosquito nets

Sleeping bags

Red lense flashlights

Range cards and sector sketches

Topographical grid maps of the local area

Compass

Protractor

All weather dome tents

Camoflage netting

Binoculars

Ponchos

Waterproof tarps

Chem lights

Camelbaks

Pistol holsters and long gun cases

These items can also be very important once the S has HTF and you feel the need to do some recon and scouting of the area around your bug out location (BOL). Having a topographical grid map of you area along with a compass and protractor will allow you to move through or around terrain. The US military uses 1:25,000 or 1:10,000 scaled maps. I recommend going to a website such as www.mytopo.com and purchasing a map with your BOL close to the center of it. I also recommend buying topo maps for the surrounding areas. I will be acquiring one with my BOL and one map for each area surrounding it, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW. That will give me a large map board made of three rows of three maps with my BOL map at the center.

Excellent information on how to make a range card can be found here: http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/Leadersbook_information/Combat_Leaders_Guide/defend-range-card-prepara-2.shtml

Ideal basic firearms set.

Life has been busy lately as my lack of posting has shown, but I have several posts that are being worked on that will be posted within the week.

For now, I'll answer a question I've seen asked in many places. The question basically comes out to "What is a basic list of guns I need to cover all the bases I might come across?"

Well, here goes the best I can do. I'll list them off and then give a reason why the list covers 99% of what you'll come across.

Note: This list of firearm is not the basic survival load for someone who is just trying to be ready for most likely occurrence. I made that post back on November of 2013.

- Long range, scoped, bolt action rifle

- MBR (Main Battle Rifle)

- Rimfire rifle

- Centerfire handgun

- Rimfire handgun

- 12 gauge shotgun

The bolt action rifle will allow you to accurately engage any target at long distance, whether that target is a hunting target or a threat. The battle rifle has it's obvious uses at intermediate and short ranges. That includes target shooting, self defense and hunting. The rimfire rifle has a multitude of survival uses and in my post from November 2013, I go over it in detail. I also went over the survival uses of the centerfire handguns and the 12 gauge shotgun. The rimfire handgun can be useful in pest control and target practice. It's also great for training new shooters. These handguns can carry large amounts of ammunition and are great for carrying around while working on large acreage in case you come across any venomous snakes and you have no other choice but to fire.

These types of firearms should allow you to handle almost any situation that comes your way. I'll finish with some recommendations. I'm not being paid by these companies and these recommendations certainly are far from a complete list of quality weapons. There are many well made examples and I'd be sitting here typing for too long if I was to list them all.

Bolt action rifle - Remington Model 700, Ruger American, Mosin Nagant 91/30.

Battle rifle - Colt LE6920, M1A, Zastava AK-47 variant.

Rimfire rifle - Ruger 10/22, Savage Arms.

Centerfire handgun - Glock handguns, S&W Shield, Colt 1911, Beretta PX4 Storm.

Rimfire handgun - Walther P22, Ruger rimfire revolvers.

12 gauge shotgun - Mossberg 500, Remington 870, Benelli M4.

Social stimuli and the punishment for reacting incorrectly.

In today's politically correct society, the sheep mentality is a pervasive one that attempts to dictate how we behave and think. In the presence of certain social stimuli, behaving in any manner that does not mirror the mindless drones around you will earn you one of the many hateful labels that we are suppose to fear like the Black Death itself. The labels themselves are also a kind of social stimuli, and that stimuli also has a certain behavior pattern that is supposed to follow. Reacting differently to the abhorrent scarlet letter you are given will only solidify in the mind of the sheep just how ugly and dangerous to society you are.

Anytime the media trots out another daily edition of whatever typical social stimuli we are supposed to digest this time, our duty as citizens is apparently to observe it and behave appropriately. A recent example would be a local news story where a young girl wrote a letter to the executives at Dick's Sporting Goods with the complaint that their catalog featured no female models. The writer of the letter made sure to drop in the compulsory tag words. Words like "equality" for example. The writer actually pontificated about herself for over half of the letter and then went on a meaningless tangent for about a quarter of it, but those things don't matter. The purpose and quality was adequate for use by the media to serve as our daily dose of propaganda and training.

The sheep immediately began reacting the way their masters hoped, even using the expected "you go girl!" cliches. Lots of support was shown for the rude and sarcastic attitude of the letter and no one seemed to take issue with the writer asserting that because no females were in the catalog, that Dick's doesn't support women following their dreams. Also, no one mentioned the absurdity of the writer claiming that women would have an easier time breaking into women's sports if Dick's had featured women in their catalog.

My reaction to the news story was not similar to the reaction of the mindless drones in the comment section. As expected, this caused some people to regurgitate that ready-made label in a few different varieties. "Sexist". "Woman hater". The usual suspects. It was as predictable as anything can possibly be.

I'll just say that I actually don't dislike these people who attempted to control my behavior with their hateful labels. I don't have any negative feelings toward them personally because I know that they were reacting with absolutely no thought required. They were simply following the training their masters have given them. It was mental muscle memory for them. When one encounters a certain type of social stimuli, such as this letter I talked about or a gay marriage news story or an article about how evil guns and their owners are, you are required to pull from yourself a purely emotional, thoughtless, rigid response. Failing to do so, or rather, succeeding in doing anything but, will place you in a category that used to be reserved for people like Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden. They'll tell you that you're as dangerous to society as any terrorist and in the more extreme cases, they'll give you that label as well.

These labels are completely meaningless. Sexist used to mean thinking that one sex is inherently inferior to the other. Racist used to mean the same thing in regard to race. Homophobic is a fairly new word, and had it been in use for longer, it would have meant the same thing in regard to sexual orientation. But those labels don't mean those things anymore. In fact, they mean only one thing. They simply mean that you didn't react correctly to the social stimuli of the moment. The sheep will sometimes use the blanket label of "bigot" in cases where they've determined that your transgression either doesn't fit into the neat box of racism or sexism, or when you've reacted incorrectly in such a way that they're confident that you're equally as dangerous on the full range of social issues. Outing yourself as a Christian can easily get you labeled a bigot, for example. Especially by atheists.

The thing to remember about all this political correctness is that it is essentially an "end-around" to avoid 1st Amendment constraints. The Marxists who are working hard to transform America into a communist-socialist utopia can not technically control what we think and say. So in place of taking office in Congress and passing laws against the 1st Amendment, the powerful have trained and conditioned the masses to ostracize members of society who do not react correctly to the distributed stimuli. It has the same desired effect, which is to silence dissent toward a collectivist society, but it's much harder for the masses to notice.

Florida Concealed Weapons License and Stages of Awarness

I recently applied for a concealed weapons license in Florida. The process of applying is very simple, especially if you use the "fast track" process. Below, you'll see the site that has all of the information you'll need to obtain a Florida CWL.

http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Licensing/Concealed-Weapon-License

Carrying a concealed weapon gives you an edge in any violent encounter you may come across. Just be sure to always observe laws in your area, and use some version of the "deadly force continuum". There is no need to pull a weapon for a verbal altercation, for instance. Doing so can and probably will get you arrested.

When carrying (or even when not carrying) a useful mental tool is the Cooper color code system. The colors and what they stand for are as follows:

White - Oblivious to surroundings, unaware.
Yellow - Attentive, but relaxed.
Orange - Directed focus on potential threat situation.
Red - Direct focus on specific, active threat.

Keep in mind that you still need to be aware of surroundings even while your focus is narrowing in on a potential or direct threat.

Black is sometimes added to this scale. Some experts will use black to mean that you have frozen or blacked out, having become unable to respond effectively to the threat. Others will use black to represent when you actually engage or otherwise respond to the threat effectively. Regardless of what black means to you, or if you even add it to the code, understand that training and alertness will help you respond appropriately to any threat presented to you. Do your best to keep yourself "at yellow".