Paratus cards have arrived for this year. Time to pack the gifts and make ready. Only 3.5 weeks to go.
Author Archives: Commander Zero
Step one: turn public opinion against them
Every morning, one of the first things I do is hit the various newsfeeds. After all, you can’t be prepared against something if you don’t know its coming (or going on, for that matter).
Todays headlines as I woke up:
The Inside History of How Guns Are Marketed and Sold in America
Manufacturers of AR-style rifles would see 20% tax under proposed bill
‘It’s just insanity’: ATF now needs 2 weeks to perform a routine gun trace
Look, you and I both know that one of the very first steps towards ‘controlling’ a particular demographic is to create an atmosphere of animosity towards that demographic that the general public can get behind. Most notably, Hitler and the Jews. If he’d walked up to the podium and said “Today, we’re gonna wipe out the Jews” just out of the blue like that he probably would have not gotten very far. Instead, he creates a poisonous atmosphere for them (so to speak). He spends years telling the public how this group has misled them, bled them, is a threat to their values, etc, etc. He paints them as the threat for so long, and so intently, that after a few years people start thinking “Yeah, those people are a real threat to me. Someone should do something about it.” and the next thing you know the boxcars are steaming down the tracks.
An extreme example, yes. But it’s an accurate one: to oppress/marginalize/eradicate/control a particular segment of the population you need to get the broad public behind you. You do that by demonizing that particular group so that after a while the general public says “Yeah, those people have it coming.”
And these headlines? Thats what it looks like. I’m not saying they’re planning to throw gun owners into camps. What they are planning is to throw your gun rights (and your guns) into the shredder. Theyre fine with the people who own guns, its the guns themselves theyre after.
So, they load up the media with articles about AR-15’s being evil, ghost guns are everywhere, a national registry is needed, manufactures are profiting over dead children, no one needs a 30-round clipazine, etc, etc, etc. And they keep shoveling this stuff into the media outlets so that, after a while, the public can’t see things any other way….and thats when those ‘reasonable’ and ‘common sense’ bans and prohibitions start coming. Because, after all that indoctrination, how can anyone possibly disagree that all those evil black rifles rifles of color need to be taken out of the hands of those evil would-be insurrectionists and white supremacists.
But…you gotta start somewhere. And that starting place is by making out the guns and the gunowners to be out-of-touch racist anti-government social reprobates. Make the public believe theyre the bad guys and no one will speak up for them when the hammer comes down.
We saw this in the 90’s with the whole ‘militia/anti-government’ movement. Randy Weaver, for example, gets virtually no sympathy outside of our circles because even though his wife was gunned down for basically no reason, he was an evil ‘militia type’ who harbored ‘anti-government views’.
Make a particular group look bad and then you can do whatever you want to them without fear of the consequences. It’s a technique thats been around for thousands of years, the trick is to recognize it when it’s happening. We give it the benign name of ‘culture war’ but culture wars have a way of turning into real wars…or pogroms..or purges.
Watch the news, see how many pages of headlines you can scroll through before seeing yet another post about someone calling for AR-15’s to be banned, magazines to be limited, registries started, licensing mandated, etc. It’s not a coincidence.
You know what you need to do, get out your wallet and do it.
Wire cutters
These were on sale a ways back and although the new price is not as good as the old price, for ten bucks these are a very good deal. I tested these out on chain link and barbed wire fencing and the work beautifully. I keep a pair in my truck box in case I need to make an exit off the interstate where these is none. Link.
Now, objectively, you are better off with a set of bolt cutters since they will cut padlocks as well whereas these surplus cutters will not. However, for the money, these are a fine tool to keep in your BOV, truck, or wherever for when getting through some fencing may be all that stands between you and something unpleasant.
I bought three sets last time. I keep one in the vehicle at all times because you never know when you might need to suddenly create your own exit off the roadway.
Article – Hikers had no gear on cold Colorado trail because it’s ‘so hot in Texas,’ officials say
Idiots. It used to be that, in simpler times, natural selection would take care of this sort of problem and humanity, collectively, would be better off for it. Nowadays….well…
Because, of course, Texas and Colorado are climatically Identical, right?
Contrast this with some Japanese hikers who got caught out and survived ten days before being rescued, at which point they profusely apologized to rescuers for being such a burden.
Normally, I’ve no love for the Japanese but the contrast here is interesting.
Moral of the story is the same as always: you have to respect Mother Nature because she has absolutely no respect for you. Check the weather, take your Ten Essentials, tell someone where youre going, stick to your planned route, and if things look dicey…bail.
Augason at Winco II
One of the nice things about blogging for twenty years is that I can go back and check details that would otherwise be lost in time.
The Augason storage food I mentioned yesterday? The price on the potato shreds is the same as it was last year. Interestingly, though, the butter powder is $2.50 cheaper than it was last year.
Storage food is insurance. Certainly it’s a nice hedge against the day the zombies arrive, Xenu comes back, the Chinese invade, the race war starts, and the comet hits. But it’s also a comfort against job loss, economic troubles, and supply issues. In general, like all insurance, one of it’s great benefits is the peace of mind it offers.
We seldom see hunger in this country to the point that exists in other countries. (We’re the only country with obese poor people, so you know food isn’t exactly a problem for us.) But while as a nation we virtually never experience hunger, we can (and do) as individuals…we suffer individual setbacks like job losses, crippling injuries, etc. And while there may be miles of aisles of food at the Walmart, there may be none to be had by you. So….yes, a form of insurance.
Preaching to the choir, I know, but let’s be real….too many people emphasize the sexy gun stuff and under-emphasize the unsexy things like food. But your gonna eat a lot more often than you’re going to shoot things in most crises. So…yeah, lay back some .223 but spend at least as much in time, effort, and money on food as well.
Augason at Winco
Was up at Winco today and, to my surprise, they had a bunch of Augason Farms. Last time they had the Augason Farms stuff was about nine months ago.
Not a huge selection, but certainly some good items there to fill in the gaps if youre not quite ready for the upcoming apocalypse. An LMI buddy of mine dragged his feet last time in getting up there and wound up kicking himself about missing out on a couple things. I told him, repeatedly, to not dawdle and get up there….but, he didnt and ha spent the last nine months regretting it. I immediately let him know these were back and that he should take a lunch break from work and go pick up the cans he missed. I also told him that he should let me know if he couldnt get away and I’d do it for him…. Because thats what survivalist buddies do for each other.
I didn’t pick up anything because…well…I’m Commander Zero and I stocked up on this stuff a long time back. But, I’m tempted to pick up a couple cans of the vegetable stew to try with a couple cans of canned roast beef.
Paratus approaches!
I need mailing address confirmation for the following peeps:
RyanAesop- MattU
If you received a card/gift last year, and your address has changed, you need to let me know ASAP.
Tableware
‘Twas my birthday last weekend. I received a couple gifts…a nice BK&T camp knife, and a very expensive, very Japanese, mechanical pencil set. (In my line of work, mechanical pencils are far handier than the usual yellow #2 variety.)
As I was admiring my loot, I was reminded of an article I saw a while back about the gear that soldiers have carried throughout the centuries. This isn’t the same article, but it’s close to it. The original article, which I can’t find, noted that even in the most underequipped armies, across the span of time, there has been one piece of equipment that nearly all soldiers or combatants carried. Surprisingly, it’s not a knife. It’s a pice of ‘field gear’ that is about as innocuous and undeadly as you can get. But…every soldier since the Romans carries one in some form or another.
A spoon.
If you think about it, it makes sense. There’s nothing you can eat with a fork that you can’t eat with your hands. But a spoon…..a spoon makes soups and stews possible to eat. A spoon makes forkable food faster to eat. A spoon is pretty much the one eating utensil to have. Knife? You already have one on your belt or attached to the tip of your rifle. Fork? Anything forkable is fingerable. But a spoon is a completely different story.
Not content to let things lay after a couple thousand years of fine tuning, mankind tried the two-fer of the spork. While I appreciate the intent, I have found that, again, anything I can eat with a fork I can eat with my fingers. So why compromise the efficacy of my spoon?
Having said that, there is a certain appeal to the spork that is not a spork…the ‘reversible grip’ eating implement. This is what I use when I’m afield. Actually, thats not true. Because I’m an evil yuppie survivalist, I spent the extra coin and got the titanium version because titanium.
It actually rides in my pack when I’m traveling, along with a couple freeze dried meals, a canteen cup, esbit stove, and a bottle or two of water. Does the titanium version do anything the plastic version does not? Mostly no, but I like the notion of a tool that is wildly overbuilt for its intended purpose. Gotta say, it is delightfully lightweight, though.
And while I love imagining what sort of ‘load out’ I’ll need for Der Tag, the simple truth is that even in the best of times a man’s gotta eat… so even when the zombies are shamblin’ about, I’ll still probably be needing to eat more than I need to shoot. So, I give some thought to my eatin’ irons and think the reverse-grip sppon/fork combo is the way to go.
I know, I know…nothing sexy about a spoon. Hard to imagine a survivalist getting worked up over tableware when there’s guns and knives to get excited about. But…the amateurs talk tactics, the professionals talk logistics. And nothing is more logistical than figuring out how the hell youre gonna eat soup after the apocalypse when you don’t have a spoon.
Paratus approaches
Paratus is next month. If you received a Paratus card from me last year, you’re probably on track to get one this year. If your address has changed then you need to email a new mailing address. Didn’t get a card and want one? Then you need to interact with me more. Anyone who sends me a Christmas or birthday card? On the list. Patreon? On the list. Sends me a gift or just a supportive note? On the list. Intereacts with me in ‘real life’? On the list. Fellow blogger? Usually on the list.
Still haven’t finalized this years design but I’m working on it. Don’t forget, Paratus is the holiday about you, you deplorable, crazy, survivalist. Get together with your like-minded buddies and have a nice gift exchange and some range time. Are you the quiet type lives a secret life as a survivalist? Then use it as an excuse to by yourself that nice Icom or Glock you’ve been wanting.
And feel free to send me a card!
Youre not as alone as you think
I restocked on some household staples the other day and, as often happens, the guy hauling the cases of food from the ‘special order’ repository asks what I’m buying all this stuff for. And, as of late, I’m deadly honest with them…”I’m one of those crazy survivalist types. Stocking up against price increases and supply issues.” No lie, thats what I say.
And every single time, the other person has come back with something along the lines of “Yeah, I do that too. I just bought a couple cases of….”
Every. Single. Time.
So, mi amigos, don’t feel that you’re alone in this world as you push your shopping cart with 48 cans of tomatoes and 50-pound sacks of rice through the Kroeger. It is a virtual certainty that you are amongst your own kind and you don’t even recognize it.
As I pointed out to someone the other day, for the last thirty years I’ve been viewed as some sort of right-wing, anti-government, Montana survivalist….but lately I’m viewed more as a prophet.
As the world gets weirder and weirder, with dystopian tropes becoming tomorrow’s headlines, absolve yourself from any self-doubt or self-consciousness about what you’re doing in the name of resilience and being prepared. When your neighbor is selling his jet ski to pay the light bill, pulling his kids out of private school to afford to eat, and brown bagging his lunch to his new-job-at-a-lower-wage-because-thats-all-that-was-available, you can pat yourself on the back and take some pride in what you’ve done, and are still doing, to secure the safety of yourself and your loved ones.
Rock on with your bad self, fellow survivalist.