There is a difference between owning guns and knowing how to safely and effectively use them.

Preference : I am not an attorney or a law enforcement officer.  I'm not giving out legal advice.  I'm just a regular guy that's tired of all the macho posturing I see and hear by people that think simply owning a firearm automatically makes them able, qualified and justified to use them.

Let me begin by stating that I am a pro gun second amendment supporter.  I legally carry a gun most days and I fully understand the legal moral and ethical ramifications of any action or inaction involving a firearm. There is an old saying that "Every bullet you fire has a lawyer attached to it."  In other words, You are responsible for the outcome of your actions involving a firearm.

 
Do you know:

• When it's reasonable to use deadly force?

• When it's legal to use deadly force?

• The local, county,  state and federal laws regarding the use of deadly force?

• How to use your weapon in a safe and effective manner?

• Where will the bullet go should you miss your intended target or if the bullet passes through your target?

•  Is there a way to defuse the situation and egress?

How many times have you heard someone say "If you shoot someone, make sure that they're in your house or be sure to drag them inside"?  Just the fact that someone is in your home without your permission doesn't give you just cause to use deadly force.  As far as "dragging a body into the house", that's called tampering with evidence.

Are you familiar enough with your firearm(s) that you will be able to use it/them safely and effectively under the mental and emotional stress of a potentially violent confrontation?  The only way to be reasonably sure is to practice.  I don't mean once every year or two, but at least once every month or two.  Learn about the capabilities of your weapon of choice.  Learn about your strong and weak points.  If possible take a defense class. Take some lessons from a firearms trainer. Maybe instead of buying another gun, use the money to attend one of the many reputable schools for a weekend or even a week.

In summation:

• Read a book and take a handgun safety class.
• Go to a shooting range.  
• Join the NRA.  They offer firearms training and safety information and classes. The NRA-ILA are  also avid defenders of the second amendment.
• Become familiar with the safe handling and operation  of your gun(s).
• Learn the laws and know when to and when not to invoke deadly force.
• Practice as often as you can.
• The best potentially lethal confrontation is the one that never happens!

Not the government's to give!

Were did we go wrong? There was a time when we knew our neighbors and we would freely help each other. There was a time when the doors on our homes were left unlocked There was a time when a hand shake was a contract and we all took pride in our products and productivity. There was a time that the government did not feel compelled to protect us from our selves and we we were at liberty to succeed or fail according to our own abilities.

I'm not sure that we can find our way back to that aforementioned place. For too long we have been coddled by a government that has become like an overbearing over protective parent. Over time, we have sacrificed our liberty for the illusion of comfort and security by a government of our own making. The detrimental ramifications of our actions have become deeply woven into the fabric of our society.

Lets start with a few basic premises:

Government is a necessary institution. Like a lion it must be caged by inescapable set of boundaries. In the case of America, that cage is our constitution.

The constitution is as current and relevant today as it was the day it was written. It must be taken as a whole. The preamble sets the tone and the context for the articles and amendments. It also helps us to see the intent of its authors.

It is not the job of the American government to create a level playing field. We are all created equal, but we are not all the same. There are winners and losers. There are those who are more gifted intellectually than others. There are those who are more industrious than others. Some excel at sports, others at math. If a person works hard and wisely invests or saves their money, then it is their money. The government does dot have the right to confiscate a person's money and redistribute it to those with less. If a charitable person should choose to help others with their personal resources, then that is their personal choice. I am not saying that we should not pay taxes. Government infrastructure needs to be funded by reasonable taxation. This funding is to pay for the defense of the country and the protection of its citizens.

We have a right to defend ourselves. The second amendment is in the constitution for a reason. Okay at this point some of you are thinking "guns are dangerous" or "that is why we have police", well hear me out... We all have to struggle through security a the airports right? they take your fingernail clippers, they make you take your shoes off and x-ray your carry on luggage and make you walk through a metal detector. Here's an idea. Just imagine that there are a couple of gentlemen with box cutters and a plan to commandeer the plane and fly it into a building. Are you following me so far? Okay now lets suppose that everyone getting on the plain was given a weapon. Not a gun. That would be kind of silly in a pressurized airliner. Let say just for the sake of this discussion, a baseball bat. Were talking about a airplane with a few hundred people on it. Do you really think anyone on that airplane is going to misbehave? I don't think so. I know that sounds a bit extreme, but I'm trying to make a point here. There is strength in the hands of the people. If evil doers know that a large segment of the population is armed, they will be more hesitant to act out.

I live in a small town, a really small town with a population of under three thousand people. If you have a clean record you can apply to the county sheriff for a state wide permit to carry a concealed handgun. Over the last thirty five years a lot of the local folks have applied and obtained their permits. It is common knowledge that many people in the area are "packing heat". There is very little violent crime here. Gun related crime is pretty much the realm of the meth makers and the Mexican Mafia in the southern part of the county.

Foreign aid is specifically discussed in the writings of the framers of the constitution. They repeatedly warn us to not meddle in the affairs of other nations. They also warn us about the pitfalls of forming political alliances with other nations.

• Charity is NOT the job of our government!

• Foreign aid is not authorized by the constitution.

• The bailout of private enterprise is not authorized by the constitution.

• Free market means a free market. Not an artificially propped up or regulated market where a government or its regulatory agencies have their fingers in it.

Revisited - Are you prepared?

Okay so it may not be a nuclear explosion, but we all need to be prepared for calamity.  Earthquakes and tidal waves on the west coast, hurricanes on the east and south coasts forest fires, pandemics, E.M.P. or even war are all possible. Among other things, these events that can take our electrical grid down for extended periods. If the grid goes down, so does water and sewer service.  Even if you survive the initial event, what will you do next?  What if you were not able to go to the grocery store to get food or anything else for an extended period of time? Would you be able to feed yourself and your family?  Would you be able to comfortably survive? With out power many things that you take for granted would not be possible. What about your refrigerator, your freezer, washing machine and dryer. How about: ATM machines, cash registers, credit card processors, computers, the internet? Without power you couldn't even buy fuel for your vehicles.

Even FEMA recommends that you keep a 72 hour emergency kit. It should contain everything you need to eat, drink, sleep, keep warm or cool, take care of sanitation, medications and basic first aid for three days and nights.  After watching the news and seeing the government's response to disasters, I think three days is extremely optimistic.  In my opinion the starting point should be a months reserves of all essentials. There are other reasons to plan ahead and I'll go into some of them in future posts.

Here are a few things to think about and discuss with your family: 

• Make sure you have an ample safe supply of clean water.
• Learn first aid and CPR.
• Assemble a basic first aid kit for your home, car and office.
• Make an emergency contingency plan and rehears it with your family.
• Keep your fuel tank at least 1/2 full at all times.
• Assemble a "blackout kit" with flashlights, candles, lanterns, etc. Put it in a central location accessible to the whole family.

The list could go on, but you get the general idea.

Flood, riot, bomb, weather event, or war, if you survive the initial event, surviving the aftermath will be basically the same for all of them.  You are going to need food, water, shelter and sanitation.  A little planning now could save the lives of you and your loved ones.






Written, copyrighted and published by Steven Fritch. All rights reserved. 

Are we now the United Nations States of America?

So now the president is taking his marching orders from the UN?  It seems that the Obama administration feels that he needed to ask the state of Texas not to execute a murdering sack of meadow muffins because the UN has a problem with it. The dirtbag in question tortured, mutilated and murdered. WTF?

Sometimes we forget what's important..........

Just a few thoughts:

• The journey we make from cradle to grave is what we refer to as our lives. They have a beginning and they have an end. Our end can come at any time and in many ways. 

• The emotional preparation for the passing of a loved one is, to some extent, wasted effort. No matter how much you think are prepared, dealing with the event is unique to each person experiencing death and each survivor. The the sense of loss, the survivor's guilt and the loneliness are things that you can only experience at the proper place in time. This I have come to know from personal experience and the life experiences of those friends and family who surround me.

• The medical, personal, spiritual, philosophical and psychological needs of a terminally ill person out weigh most needs of those who care for them.  

•  The physical and mental comfort and well being of the dying are of utmost importance. 

The caregivers need the support of their family and friends almost unconditionally. They are most likely trying to care for their charge day and night on top of all the other things that are going on in their lives.  Things like trying to perform their day jobs, playing host and hostess, chef and room service to those who come to visit the person under their care.  How about: tying to maintain a safe and sanitary environment while dealing with and coordinating doctors, nurses, durable medical equipment providers, pharmacists, insurance companies, government agencies and Hospice. What about caring for and cleaning up after pets, doing the never ending stream of laundry generated by the person being cared for or even the caregiver's own laundry.

The family member caregiver does what they do out of personal commitment, duty to family or friends and most importantly out of love. 

Written, copyrighted and published by Steven Fritch. All rights reserved.

Ecozoom™ Versa model “Rocket Stove” Review

As a prepper and a self reliance buff, the Ecozoom™ Versa model stove turned out to be an excellent choice for our needs.  It emits very little light or smoke while producing a tremendous amount of heat.  It’s small, portable and sturdy as well.

Full disclosure:  We bought this stove unsolicited off of the Ecozoom web site after reading about is on another blog.  No one offered us or gave us anything to review this stove.

Shipping: We ordered the stove on Saturday and it was delivered on Tuesday. 

Price:  As of the date of this review: $128.00 including shipping.

Construction:  The stove is very well thought out in being designed primarily for use in third world countries.  Its outer shell is enameled metal with a heavy cast cooking surface.   The core of the stove is a single piece of ceramic made from lightweight extruded clay.  The stove feels solid and all parts are well fitted.   Above the fire box area there is a secondary combustion chamber to burn any volatile gasses not consumed in the fire box.  In the Ecozoom™ Versa model there is also a small door under the fire box that is used to control the air flow. 

Cooking:  I’ve been using this stove for about a month now to prepare many meals for my family and friends. I’ve also been using it for canning and blanching fruit and vegetables.  It is a pleasure to use.   Because of the excellent use of “rocket stove” technology, it burns very little fuel; it’s almost smoke free and leaves very little ash.  The heavy cast cooking surface is built for flat (like a frying pan  or dutch oven) or round bottomed cooking vessels (like a wok).  After cooking professionally for several years, I have discovered that most domestic kitchen stoves are not capable of reaching temperatures truly needed for things like stir frying and searing meat or even caramelizing onions properly.  I’m happy to say that this is not an issue with the Ecozoom™ Versa model stove.   

Fuel:  It takes a little practice to learn to control the heat level, but I was able to master it about half way through my first cooking session.  The biggest mistakes I made were; using too much fuel at one time and using a small hunk of pitch to start the fire. Too much wood qt once will cause smoke.  Pitch on the other hand burns with a lot of soot.  Hard woods (Oak & Madrone) seem to burn the most evenly.  Soft woods like (Pine & Fir) burn faster and cooler.  Three dry sticks up to about one inch in diameter and a foot long are about all I need to cook a meal for four people.   The Ecozoom™ Versa model is also designed to burn charcoal.  I’ve found that five to eight briquettes were enough to boil three gallons of water to cook corn and hold that boil for an hour!  You can use just about anything from corn cobs to cow pies for fuel in this stove.  We heat our home primarily with wood and as a byproduct of that there are a lot of splinters and small scraps of wood that build up around the chopping block.  This is now my main source for fuel for our rocket stove.  Branches from pruning and brush clearing are another excellent source of rocket stove fuel. 

All in all we are very satisfied with this stove.  It met or exceeded our expectations for a rocket stove.  As far as suggested changes or improvements, I really don’t have any!  I would recommend and have recommended this stove to friends family as well as other preppers in our community.

BTW: When you buy a stove, they send one to someone who needs one and can't afford it for free.

Written, copyrighted and published by Steven Fritch. All rights reserved.