Just received this email with a very pertinent question.
Dear Sir,
I just came across your blog by way of Xavier’s, and saw the mention of “Three Percenters,” which upon further reading I learned refers to the 3% said to have been the active resistance in the Revolution. I write because I have read about the three percent active resistance measure before in a different context, but I have not for the life of me been able to find it and was hoping you might know where I should look.
The quote I had read was from a military officer who was explaining the percentages necessary within a population necessary for the success of a guerrilla war/revolution. Those percentages broke down to three percent active resistance, 23% passive support, 50% neutral, (and maybe 25% active resistance?). If memory serves, the comments were in regards to some of the more recent wars (perhaps Vietnam) rather than the Revolution. It some number of years ago that I read it, before I had reached the point in my schooling to understand the necessity of keeping/identifying one’s sources for such a quote. As such, I have no idea what book it was in or the context or even if those numbers are the exact numbers given by the original source. As mentioned, I have searched the web for various combinations of words with no avail, and would greatly appreciate a source other than the “I read somewhere” that I could refer to when discussing these topics with
my friends.
Thank you greatly for any help,
Sincerely.
To which I replied:
Excellent question. I will find my original source (15 years old though it may be) and let you know, although I won't even begin looking until sometime after the first of the year when I finish with my novel. In the mean time, I can post your question on my blog and see if anyone else has a ready reference.
Mike
III
So, all you amateur Revolutionary historians out there, can you find a footnote for the man? If so, please post it here. Thanks.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
"Reverting back to training."
"It has been said that in times of uncertain crisis, a man will not rise to the occasion, but will instead revert back to his level of training."
Xavier has an OUTSTANDING post here.
Read, think, TRAIN.
Mike
III
Xavier has an OUTSTANDING post here.
Read, think, TRAIN.
Mike
III
Praxis: "Packaging is everything."-- Stripper clips, bandoleers, magazines, ammo cans and crates.
Next, we heft up our already over-laden packs and move along to the ASP (Ammo Supply Point) and draw ammunition. All I’m carrying is an M-16 and I don’t know how much ammo I’m supposed to carry or whether or not I’m expected to carry anything else, such as machinegun ammo or Claymore mines or flares or mortar shells or whatever, so I just take what the guy in charge of the ASP gives me: A single bandoleer of rifle ammo, no magazines. So…here I sit looking rather befuddled, I imagine. I’ve got a rifle and one, light canvas bandoleer with seven little pockets, inside of which is a small cardboard box of 20 rounds, but no magazine to load them into. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?
Somebody notices and asks, “Where’s your magazines?”
“I don’t have any.”
“Come here.”
He leads me back to the Sergeant in charge and barks an order to him. Give this guy three bandoleers and 22 magazines. He does, without comment. “Only load 18 rounds to a mag,” he says. (I already knew that. 20 will make it jam). “Put the magazines in the bandoleers and tie them around your waist or across your shoulders or something. Use the extra rounds to load your last mag and put it in your rifle.”
I do. It takes awhile as I don’t have a fast-loader (stripper clip guide) and put the rounds in one by one. Eventually, someone tosses one to me and I get it done. But, it’s disturbing to me because this is the first time I’ve ever loaded magazines when they will be used for killing someone and that fact weighs heavily on me. This **** is for real. This isn’t a training range at Ft. Polk or in Germany and these nice, bright, shiny bullets aren’t for target practice. --
December 3, 1970: My first day in the bush.
A lot of folks are coming to the realization that in the near future, they may have to use their firearms for more than toting to the range on a sunny Saturday and punching paper targets with them. Some of them, most in fact, will have never shouldered a weapon on the two-way firing range that is infantry combat. If and when they do, they will discover that Mae West was right, "Packaging is everything."
I have written on this subject before here and here among others. So for some of you what I am about to say is repetitious. Well, given the number of unintitiated newbies who will be flocking to this subject, repetition is warranted.
To begin with, let's talk about strippers. No, I'm not talking about buxom women who take off their clothes for money. I'm talking about ammunition stripper clips, defined as follows:
Clip: (n.) A device used to rapidly load a magazine. "Clip" is often used to refer to a magazine, but this is an improper use of the term. There are two kinds of clips: Stripper clips and en bloc clips.
Stripper clips hold 5 to 10 rounds of ammunition by their bases. To load the magazine, the clip is placed in a guide which is either a part of the gun, or a separate guide which slips onto the magazine. Weapons which may be loaded from stripper clips include the Lee-Enfield series of rifles, Mosin-Nagant Rifles, the M1903 Springfield, and the Mauser 1898. The Steyr-Hahn M1911 and Mauser "Broomhandle" semiautomatic pistols also use stripper clips. Stripper clips are also called "chargers." En bloc clips hold the cartridges together by their bases and their bodies; the clip and the rounds are inserted into the magazine as a unit. When the last round is loaded, the clip is automatically ejected from the magazine. Weapons loaded with en bloc clips include the Steyr-Mannlicher straight pull bolt action, the Mannlicher-Carcano rifles, and the US M1 Garand. (In the M1, the clip is ejected up after the last round is fired.) -- David S. Markowitz, A Glossary of Firearms Terminology
The en bloc clip was invented by Mannlicher in 1885. The "charger", or in modern gunnie parlance, the "stripper," was invented by Paul Mauser four years later. Prior to the removable box magazine, the stripper was the fastest way to load a repeating rifle. When packaged with other strippers in a simple cloth bandoleer, it also facilitated the distribution of ammo to troops at the point of contact. From the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution to the massacre of Durnford's Natal Native Horse cavalrymen by the Zulus at Isandlwana to the Jews of the Warsaw ghetto, ammunition availability has decided more than one battle. Even today, as fighting rages in Basra, Iraq, Malcolm Nance reports:
"Roggio continues to emphasize that Sadr's forces have taken heavy casualties, and more to the point is low on ammunition. He surveys the action not only in Basra, but in Baghdad and Nasiriyah and notes that the fighting has died down. One characteristic of militia forces is that they are not configured for sustained combat. They fight with ready-use ammo and some caches." -- Malcolm Nance, Comments on the campaign against Sadr, at Small Wars Journal.
But with the invention of the stripper clip/bandoleer combination, rifle ammunition could be packed in small, portable containers (originally of wood, then of steel and today of durable plastics), transported to troops and then easily distributed to riflemen on the line. Slung over an infantryman's shoulder, bandoleers of stripper clips constitute his ready reserve of ammunition. Indeed, if but one shooter is able to cross an enemy's field of fire to get into an advantageous firing position, his buddies can keep him shooting by tossing bandos (as the Aussies call them) across the danger space. Even the appearance of the box magazine has not made obsolete the use of stripper clips, because they are still used to load the magazines before, during and after combat by means of a stripper clip guide which fits over the back of the magazine.
Stripper clips are packaged in bandoleers. Originally a bandoleer was a belt with loops holding individual rounds worn across the chest, a la Pancho Villa. By World War I, however, the cloth bandoleer holding stripper-clipped rifle ammunition was a standard in all armies. These rounds were fed directly into the rifle by means of a guide machined into the receiver.
Originally designed to hold five round stripper clips (usually two to a pocket), with the advent of the fifteen round magazine of the M-1 Carbine (and later the thirty rounder of the full-auto M-2) the United States began putting ammo in 10 round stripper clips and merely upsized the bandoleer to accomodate it. This was carried over to the 5.56mm ammunition for the M-16 when it was adopted. The Russians likewise adopted a ten round clip for the SKS rifle.
The US carbine stripper clip had an integral guide manufactured onto it. The guide slips over the back of the magazine and holds the clip in place while the rifleman "strips" the clip by forcing the rounds down from the top and into the waiting box magazine below. Most stripper clipped ammo these days, however, have separate stripper clip guides (also called a "spoon") which are placed in one pocket of the bandoleer. A smart infantryman always has a spare in his pocket, so as to avoid the predicament of the Vietnam grunt in the quote above.
US 5.56mm bandoleers for the M-16/M-4 rifle/carbine are designed to accept loaded magazines after the pockets are emptied. The bandoleers discussed in the opening quote were of a 7-pocket design (20 rounds per pocket) and could be refilled with loaded 20 round magazines after the stripper clips had been used to fill them. Current 5.56mm bandoleers are of a four pocket (30 rounds per pocket) design with a string sewn into the cloth so that once the clips are removed, the string can be pulled, deepening the pocket to accomodate a fully-loaded 30 round magazine.
Both bandoleers can be reloaded with other calibers of ammunition on strippers, or even boxed. The seven pocket M-16 bandoleer, for example, makes a great tactical carrier for 12 gauge slugs and buckshot in 5 round boxes. If your ammo doesn't come in those convenient little carriers, scrounge some out of the trash can at the range.
In addition, SKS strippers fit very well in either the 7-pocket or the 4-pocket M-16 bandoleers, just use empty cardboard ammo boxes (that you can also scrounge at the range) for sleeves to hold the stripper clips upright and keep them from rattling in the bandoleer (you cut the end off the box so the strippers can be removed easily as you need them).
"The speed with which tactical forces forget the main lessons from their collected experience, particularly those pertaining to weapons usage, would be difficult to overstate." -- S.L.A. Marshall, Commentary on Infantry Operations and Weapons Usage in Korea, Winter of 1950-51, p. 15
The Soviets (or any of the other ComBloc countries) were unable to come up with a good stripper clip guide for loading the AK-47 in 7.62x39. They rectified that, however, with the adoption of the 5.45x39 round for the AK-74. A fifteen round system, it is easy and foolproof to load a mag using it. AK-74 strippers will also fit well in M-16 bandoleers, although the magazines do not.
Most suplus AK ammunition, whether in 7.62x39 or 5.45x39 comes in "tuna cans," usually two to a wooden crate. Earlier this year, a critic of one of my earlier pieces on this subject said that his 7.62x39 ammo was just fine in the original "tuna cans" it came in from China. "It'll never go bad," he insisted.
"And you'll never get a chance to use it in a hurry," I immediately countered.
Oh, no, he said, he could show me right then how fast someone who had practiced the Zen of Chinese Tuna Cans could just whip it open in half-an-instant. I challenged him to open the can with that cumbersome Chicom can opener in the dark while I fired rounds into the dirt beside him. He declined, but grudgingly admitted my point. Look folks, you can doubt my ancestry if you wish, but never doubt my footnotes. Here's another one that makes my (and Mae West's) point about packaging being everything, this time of Korean War vintage:
"There is a special hazard to infantry in night defense, revealed in a number of the company perimeter fights, which comes of taking loose ammunition into the ground to be defended. In these several examples the men thought that what they had at hand would be sufficient, but several spare boxes of grenades and of loose ammunition for the M1 were carried within the position just in case they might be needed. These companies were engaged throughout the night; before first light broke, the grenades and cartridges which the men were carrying were all but expended. It was then necessary to break open the loose stores. These were excellent combat companies and had so proved themselves in the fight up to that time. Yet such was the pressure of the dark and the enemy fire, and such the consequent nervous excitement, that the NCOs found they were unable to open the grenade boxes; after struggling vainly with them for many minutes, they at last dashed them on the rocks. Then the grenades spilled out over the hillside, and men had to crawl around, feeling for them in the dark.
The situation was even worse with the loose rifle ammunition. There were no spare clips and the firers had dropped their own without noting where they fell. It was necessary to feel around the rims of the foxholes in the darkness to retrieve the clips; by the time the clips had been gathered, nerve tension had so greatly increased that even the leaders found it almost impossible to make their own fingers respond to the seemingly simple task of clipping the cartridges. Said one NCO of this experience: 'Though I have had many nights in combat, this sweat of having to deal with loose ammunition in the dark was the most demoralizing experience I have known.' Troops are not supposed to take loose ammunition into an active position under any circumstance; the fact remains that they do. The supply situation and the lack of time for full precautions sometimes impose this extra burden on the infantry company. But any grenade case which is so secure that it baffles ordinary enterprise in the darkness is probably a little too secure for security." -- -- S.L.A. Marshall, Commentary on Infantry Operations and Weapons Usage in Korea, Winter of 1950-51, pp 13-14
"A little too secure for security." That sums up my argument against tuna cans precisely. Marshall also sums up the prosecution's case against the wrongly-named "battle packs" -- plastic sleeves containing cardboard boxes of surplus ammo. Do this test: find a room you can make totally black by flipping a light switch. Take one battle pack and place it and the requisite number of magazines on a table before you. Get your wife to flip off the light switch as she leaves the room. Now, try to open the battle pack, then the boxes of ammo and take the individual rounds and load the magazines while your wife bangs on the door, screaming at you to hurry up or you're both going to die. Try it. Really.
I think I already made my point about Isandlwana. OK, so once more, you are NOT tactically ready until your ammo is truly combat packed in stripper clips and bandoleers, ready to go.
The next step, is to take those bandoleers and to pack them in steel GI ammo cans and and then the cans into crates to facilitate storage, transportation and easy usage at the point of contact.
USGI ammo cans come in a variety of sizes. Because of weight considerations only the two smallest steel cans, the M19A1, or "thirty cal" can and the M2A1 "fifty cal" can are suitable for packing small arms ammunition in because of the very great weight that builds up when you use a SAW can or bigger.
We have found the "thirty cal" can to be the handiest. Back in the 90s when ComBloc wooden ammo crates were available from your local gunstore for the asking, you could take two M19A1 cans, repack them with bandoleered ammo of various kinds and place them laying down side by side, nestled in a wooden crate.
Cans are essential because they are waterproof, yet the GI can is easy to open or close, even in the dark. Crates are likewise essential when you accumulate enough ammo because carrying (or stacking) individual cans is inefficient and frankly, a pain in both the arms and the ass. For the larger M2A1 cans, you can either find an old surplus wirebound GI crate or make your own out of plywood, using rope for handles and old door hinges for the top.
Finally, if you end up having to transport them somehwhere on shank's mare, without benefit of the internal combustion engine, USGI M-1945 packboards or ALICE pack frames with cargo shelves are essential.
Caching is preferred of course, so you don't have to hump the extra weight when you are in extremis. In that case, we prefer the five gallon icing bucket (free) and a bead of silicone around the rubber gasket before you bury it.
Thus endeth the lesson. If you have any questions, attach them as comments to this post on sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com or forawrd by email to GeoregMason1776@aol.com.
Mike Vanderboegh
III
Somebody notices and asks, “Where’s your magazines?”
“I don’t have any.”
“Come here.”
He leads me back to the Sergeant in charge and barks an order to him. Give this guy three bandoleers and 22 magazines. He does, without comment. “Only load 18 rounds to a mag,” he says. (I already knew that. 20 will make it jam). “Put the magazines in the bandoleers and tie them around your waist or across your shoulders or something. Use the extra rounds to load your last mag and put it in your rifle.”
I do. It takes awhile as I don’t have a fast-loader (stripper clip guide) and put the rounds in one by one. Eventually, someone tosses one to me and I get it done. But, it’s disturbing to me because this is the first time I’ve ever loaded magazines when they will be used for killing someone and that fact weighs heavily on me. This **** is for real. This isn’t a training range at Ft. Polk or in Germany and these nice, bright, shiny bullets aren’t for target practice. --
December 3, 1970: My first day in the bush.
A lot of folks are coming to the realization that in the near future, they may have to use their firearms for more than toting to the range on a sunny Saturday and punching paper targets with them. Some of them, most in fact, will have never shouldered a weapon on the two-way firing range that is infantry combat. If and when they do, they will discover that Mae West was right, "Packaging is everything."
I have written on this subject before here and here among others. So for some of you what I am about to say is repetitious. Well, given the number of unintitiated newbies who will be flocking to this subject, repetition is warranted.
To begin with, let's talk about strippers. No, I'm not talking about buxom women who take off their clothes for money. I'm talking about ammunition stripper clips, defined as follows:
Clip: (n.) A device used to rapidly load a magazine. "Clip" is often used to refer to a magazine, but this is an improper use of the term. There are two kinds of clips: Stripper clips and en bloc clips.
Stripper clips hold 5 to 10 rounds of ammunition by their bases. To load the magazine, the clip is placed in a guide which is either a part of the gun, or a separate guide which slips onto the magazine. Weapons which may be loaded from stripper clips include the Lee-Enfield series of rifles, Mosin-Nagant Rifles, the M1903 Springfield, and the Mauser 1898. The Steyr-Hahn M1911 and Mauser "Broomhandle" semiautomatic pistols also use stripper clips. Stripper clips are also called "chargers." En bloc clips hold the cartridges together by their bases and their bodies; the clip and the rounds are inserted into the magazine as a unit. When the last round is loaded, the clip is automatically ejected from the magazine. Weapons loaded with en bloc clips include the Steyr-Mannlicher straight pull bolt action, the Mannlicher-Carcano rifles, and the US M1 Garand. (In the M1, the clip is ejected up after the last round is fired.) -- David S. Markowitz, A Glossary of Firearms Terminology
The en bloc clip was invented by Mannlicher in 1885. The "charger", or in modern gunnie parlance, the "stripper," was invented by Paul Mauser four years later. Prior to the removable box magazine, the stripper was the fastest way to load a repeating rifle. When packaged with other strippers in a simple cloth bandoleer, it also facilitated the distribution of ammo to troops at the point of contact. From the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution to the massacre of Durnford's Natal Native Horse cavalrymen by the Zulus at Isandlwana to the Jews of the Warsaw ghetto, ammunition availability has decided more than one battle. Even today, as fighting rages in Basra, Iraq, Malcolm Nance reports:
"Roggio continues to emphasize that Sadr's forces have taken heavy casualties, and more to the point is low on ammunition. He surveys the action not only in Basra, but in Baghdad and Nasiriyah and notes that the fighting has died down. One characteristic of militia forces is that they are not configured for sustained combat. They fight with ready-use ammo and some caches." -- Malcolm Nance, Comments on the campaign against Sadr, at Small Wars Journal.
But with the invention of the stripper clip/bandoleer combination, rifle ammunition could be packed in small, portable containers (originally of wood, then of steel and today of durable plastics), transported to troops and then easily distributed to riflemen on the line. Slung over an infantryman's shoulder, bandoleers of stripper clips constitute his ready reserve of ammunition. Indeed, if but one shooter is able to cross an enemy's field of fire to get into an advantageous firing position, his buddies can keep him shooting by tossing bandos (as the Aussies call them) across the danger space. Even the appearance of the box magazine has not made obsolete the use of stripper clips, because they are still used to load the magazines before, during and after combat by means of a stripper clip guide which fits over the back of the magazine.
Stripper clips are packaged in bandoleers. Originally a bandoleer was a belt with loops holding individual rounds worn across the chest, a la Pancho Villa. By World War I, however, the cloth bandoleer holding stripper-clipped rifle ammunition was a standard in all armies. These rounds were fed directly into the rifle by means of a guide machined into the receiver.
Originally designed to hold five round stripper clips (usually two to a pocket), with the advent of the fifteen round magazine of the M-1 Carbine (and later the thirty rounder of the full-auto M-2) the United States began putting ammo in 10 round stripper clips and merely upsized the bandoleer to accomodate it. This was carried over to the 5.56mm ammunition for the M-16 when it was adopted. The Russians likewise adopted a ten round clip for the SKS rifle.
The US carbine stripper clip had an integral guide manufactured onto it. The guide slips over the back of the magazine and holds the clip in place while the rifleman "strips" the clip by forcing the rounds down from the top and into the waiting box magazine below. Most stripper clipped ammo these days, however, have separate stripper clip guides (also called a "spoon") which are placed in one pocket of the bandoleer. A smart infantryman always has a spare in his pocket, so as to avoid the predicament of the Vietnam grunt in the quote above.
US 5.56mm bandoleers for the M-16/M-4 rifle/carbine are designed to accept loaded magazines after the pockets are emptied. The bandoleers discussed in the opening quote were of a 7-pocket design (20 rounds per pocket) and could be refilled with loaded 20 round magazines after the stripper clips had been used to fill them. Current 5.56mm bandoleers are of a four pocket (30 rounds per pocket) design with a string sewn into the cloth so that once the clips are removed, the string can be pulled, deepening the pocket to accomodate a fully-loaded 30 round magazine.
Both bandoleers can be reloaded with other calibers of ammunition on strippers, or even boxed. The seven pocket M-16 bandoleer, for example, makes a great tactical carrier for 12 gauge slugs and buckshot in 5 round boxes. If your ammo doesn't come in those convenient little carriers, scrounge some out of the trash can at the range.
In addition, SKS strippers fit very well in either the 7-pocket or the 4-pocket M-16 bandoleers, just use empty cardboard ammo boxes (that you can also scrounge at the range) for sleeves to hold the stripper clips upright and keep them from rattling in the bandoleer (you cut the end off the box so the strippers can be removed easily as you need them).
"The speed with which tactical forces forget the main lessons from their collected experience, particularly those pertaining to weapons usage, would be difficult to overstate." -- S.L.A. Marshall, Commentary on Infantry Operations and Weapons Usage in Korea, Winter of 1950-51, p. 15
The Soviets (or any of the other ComBloc countries) were unable to come up with a good stripper clip guide for loading the AK-47 in 7.62x39. They rectified that, however, with the adoption of the 5.45x39 round for the AK-74. A fifteen round system, it is easy and foolproof to load a mag using it. AK-74 strippers will also fit well in M-16 bandoleers, although the magazines do not.
Most suplus AK ammunition, whether in 7.62x39 or 5.45x39 comes in "tuna cans," usually two to a wooden crate. Earlier this year, a critic of one of my earlier pieces on this subject said that his 7.62x39 ammo was just fine in the original "tuna cans" it came in from China. "It'll never go bad," he insisted.
"And you'll never get a chance to use it in a hurry," I immediately countered.
Oh, no, he said, he could show me right then how fast someone who had practiced the Zen of Chinese Tuna Cans could just whip it open in half-an-instant. I challenged him to open the can with that cumbersome Chicom can opener in the dark while I fired rounds into the dirt beside him. He declined, but grudgingly admitted my point. Look folks, you can doubt my ancestry if you wish, but never doubt my footnotes. Here's another one that makes my (and Mae West's) point about packaging being everything, this time of Korean War vintage:
"There is a special hazard to infantry in night defense, revealed in a number of the company perimeter fights, which comes of taking loose ammunition into the ground to be defended. In these several examples the men thought that what they had at hand would be sufficient, but several spare boxes of grenades and of loose ammunition for the M1 were carried within the position just in case they might be needed. These companies were engaged throughout the night; before first light broke, the grenades and cartridges which the men were carrying were all but expended. It was then necessary to break open the loose stores. These were excellent combat companies and had so proved themselves in the fight up to that time. Yet such was the pressure of the dark and the enemy fire, and such the consequent nervous excitement, that the NCOs found they were unable to open the grenade boxes; after struggling vainly with them for many minutes, they at last dashed them on the rocks. Then the grenades spilled out over the hillside, and men had to crawl around, feeling for them in the dark.
The situation was even worse with the loose rifle ammunition. There were no spare clips and the firers had dropped their own without noting where they fell. It was necessary to feel around the rims of the foxholes in the darkness to retrieve the clips; by the time the clips had been gathered, nerve tension had so greatly increased that even the leaders found it almost impossible to make their own fingers respond to the seemingly simple task of clipping the cartridges. Said one NCO of this experience: 'Though I have had many nights in combat, this sweat of having to deal with loose ammunition in the dark was the most demoralizing experience I have known.' Troops are not supposed to take loose ammunition into an active position under any circumstance; the fact remains that they do. The supply situation and the lack of time for full precautions sometimes impose this extra burden on the infantry company. But any grenade case which is so secure that it baffles ordinary enterprise in the darkness is probably a little too secure for security." -- -- S.L.A. Marshall, Commentary on Infantry Operations and Weapons Usage in Korea, Winter of 1950-51, pp 13-14
"A little too secure for security." That sums up my argument against tuna cans precisely. Marshall also sums up the prosecution's case against the wrongly-named "battle packs" -- plastic sleeves containing cardboard boxes of surplus ammo. Do this test: find a room you can make totally black by flipping a light switch. Take one battle pack and place it and the requisite number of magazines on a table before you. Get your wife to flip off the light switch as she leaves the room. Now, try to open the battle pack, then the boxes of ammo and take the individual rounds and load the magazines while your wife bangs on the door, screaming at you to hurry up or you're both going to die. Try it. Really.
I think I already made my point about Isandlwana. OK, so once more, you are NOT tactically ready until your ammo is truly combat packed in stripper clips and bandoleers, ready to go.
The next step, is to take those bandoleers and to pack them in steel GI ammo cans and and then the cans into crates to facilitate storage, transportation and easy usage at the point of contact.
USGI ammo cans come in a variety of sizes. Because of weight considerations only the two smallest steel cans, the M19A1, or "thirty cal" can and the M2A1 "fifty cal" can are suitable for packing small arms ammunition in because of the very great weight that builds up when you use a SAW can or bigger.
We have found the "thirty cal" can to be the handiest. Back in the 90s when ComBloc wooden ammo crates were available from your local gunstore for the asking, you could take two M19A1 cans, repack them with bandoleered ammo of various kinds and place them laying down side by side, nestled in a wooden crate.
Cans are essential because they are waterproof, yet the GI can is easy to open or close, even in the dark. Crates are likewise essential when you accumulate enough ammo because carrying (or stacking) individual cans is inefficient and frankly, a pain in both the arms and the ass. For the larger M2A1 cans, you can either find an old surplus wirebound GI crate or make your own out of plywood, using rope for handles and old door hinges for the top.
Finally, if you end up having to transport them somehwhere on shank's mare, without benefit of the internal combustion engine, USGI M-1945 packboards or ALICE pack frames with cargo shelves are essential.
Caching is preferred of course, so you don't have to hump the extra weight when you are in extremis. In that case, we prefer the five gallon icing bucket (free) and a bead of silicone around the rubber gasket before you bury it.
Thus endeth the lesson. If you have any questions, attach them as comments to this post on sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com or forawrd by email to GeoregMason1776@aol.com.
Mike Vanderboegh
III
"The best of times."
Xavier, comments here about my piece on gun shows and other matters here..
"Wolfwood" then comments on Sipsey Street. He doesn't like me. No, not one bit. He calls me a "Wolverine" -- which, since I was born in Michigan, is both technically and philosophically correct. I've been called worse, especially by my ex-wife, who was and is a Buckeye. (For the uninitiated, a buckeye is a tree nut of no particular economic or social utility.)
My thanks to Chris Horton for drawing my attention to it.
"Wolfwood" then comments on Sipsey Street. He doesn't like me. No, not one bit. He calls me a "Wolverine" -- which, since I was born in Michigan, is both technically and philosophically correct. I've been called worse, especially by my ex-wife, who was and is a Buckeye. (For the uninitiated, a buckeye is a tree nut of no particular economic or social utility.)
My thanks to Chris Horton for drawing my attention to it.
"We fight an enemy who never sleeps."
"As our enemies work bit by bit to deconstruct, we must work bit by bit to REconstruct. Be mindful where we should be. Set goals. We fight an enemy that never sleeps. We must learn to sleep less." -- Mike H. at What McAuliffe Said
My thanks to David Codrea for drawing my attention to this piece.
Go, read, and most importantly, sleep less and prepare more. Get into the field in the Restoration War while the bullets aren't yet flying. If we are ready to fight it, maybe the other side won't show up for the ball.
Mike
III
My thanks to David Codrea for drawing my attention to this piece.
Go, read, and most importantly, sleep less and prepare more. Get into the field in the Restoration War while the bullets aren't yet flying. If we are ready to fight it, maybe the other side won't show up for the ball.
Mike
III
The "Shoe Intifadha": Playing with the Ayatollahs
Folks,
One of the web sites I keep in my favorites is the official Iranian Fars news agency, where this morning during my daily news sampling I found this:
Senior Cleric Hails Iraqi Shoe Thrower
TEHRAN (FNA)- Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati on Friday hailed Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi's recent shoe-tossing at the US President George W. Bush and said the "shoe Intifadha" should not be taken for granted.
"The shoe Intifadha in Iraq should not be overlooked easily. Well done to Iraqi journalist for throwing the shoes at the US President. His shoes should be kept in Iraq's political museum. The pair of shoes are more valuable than crowns, medals and signs," Ayatollah Jannati told large groups of Tehrani Friday prayers worshipers on Tehran University campus.
He suggested carrying shoes in all the anti-US demonstrations held in Iran and Iraq.
"The shoe hurling by Iraqi journalist had many messages which the world received them and Iraqi people too held demonstrations afterwards. People should support the Iraqi journalist," he added.
Well, personally I NEVER take a "shoe Intifadha" for granted (I ALWAYS carry extra shoes to EVERY anti-US demonstration I attend), but if he's only a "provisional Friday Prayers Leader," should we wait for the opinion of the guy who finally gets the job? I decided not to. At the bottom of every story on Fars is a little box to comment upon it. This was mine today:
This is all a just a Nike sales promotion. People who throw their shoes have to buy more. Once again, the Great Satan's infidels have snookered you.
I'll let y'all know if the Ayatollahs respond.
One of the web sites I keep in my favorites is the official Iranian Fars news agency, where this morning during my daily news sampling I found this:
Senior Cleric Hails Iraqi Shoe Thrower
TEHRAN (FNA)- Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati on Friday hailed Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi's recent shoe-tossing at the US President George W. Bush and said the "shoe Intifadha" should not be taken for granted.
"The shoe Intifadha in Iraq should not be overlooked easily. Well done to Iraqi journalist for throwing the shoes at the US President. His shoes should be kept in Iraq's political museum. The pair of shoes are more valuable than crowns, medals and signs," Ayatollah Jannati told large groups of Tehrani Friday prayers worshipers on Tehran University campus.
He suggested carrying shoes in all the anti-US demonstrations held in Iran and Iraq.
"The shoe hurling by Iraqi journalist had many messages which the world received them and Iraqi people too held demonstrations afterwards. People should support the Iraqi journalist," he added.
Well, personally I NEVER take a "shoe Intifadha" for granted (I ALWAYS carry extra shoes to EVERY anti-US demonstration I attend), but if he's only a "provisional Friday Prayers Leader," should we wait for the opinion of the guy who finally gets the job? I decided not to. At the bottom of every story on Fars is a little box to comment upon it. This was mine today:
This is all a just a Nike sales promotion. People who throw their shoes have to buy more. Once again, the Great Satan's infidels have snookered you.
I'll let y'all know if the Ayatollahs respond.
A Question for the 21st Century.
"pike bishop," in a comment to my latest Tom Teepen post over on Keep and Bear Arms, asks an old question, reformulated for the 21st Century:
"What if they threw a gun-grab and nobody came?"
You know, if we're ready for them, nobody will.
Mike
III
"What if they threw a gun-grab and nobody came?"
You know, if we're ready for them, nobody will.
Mike
III
Friday, December 19, 2008
"A Democracy By Any Other Name Is . . ." Tyranny.
Sam McKeen writes the following letter in the Klamath Falls, Oregon Herald and News:
A democracy by any other name is...
Thursday, December 18, 2008 10:15 PM PST
I wrote a harmless little letter about gun control and almost immediately James Farmer criticized my use of the word “democracy” and the same day a Web site user quoted part of my letter and then said that the Second Amendment is to protect us from a tyrannical government who will strip us of our rights and then kill us in our sleep.
As to Farmer, he’s right. We do not live in a democracy. Let’s call it a cantaloupe. Madison wouldn’t object. It means we have fair elections and then abide by the results.
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are thrown in to control the power of the people. A cantaloupe of the people by the people and for the people.
The Internet user presents a more serious problem. The Second Amendment was granted to us by a friendly government that stood with us, not over us, and, in order not to intimidate us, granted us the right to keep and bear arms. But let me tell that person what he’s dealing with — a nation that, after being crippled at Pearl Harbor and in less than five years, utterly defeated the five greatest navies on the entire planet, not to mention their armies and air forces. If that nation ever decided to oppose us, they would manufacture more assault weapons in 20 seconds than we could amass after 100 lifetimes of seeking them.
Friend, you are creating an enemy that does not exist. Love your country and be willing to die for it. Your cantaloupe will not let you down.
Sam McKeen
Klamath Falls
To which I replied to the paper's editor thusly:
Subject: A democracy by any other name is... tyranny.
Date: 12/19/2008 10:36:08 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: GeorgeMason1776
To: pbushey@heraldandnews.com
Dear Editor,
Sam McKeen writes "the Second Amendment was granted to us by a friendly government that stood with us, not over us, and, in order not to intimidate us, granted us the right to keep and bear arms."
Horse manure. The Founders would have thought that statement dangerously ludicrous. Governments, even friendly ones, do not "grant" us anything. The Constitution merely codifies our God-given, natural and inalienable rights, among them the right to arms to defend ourselves against tyrannical government.
"A democracy by any other name is . . ." The word the editorial headline writer was searching for is "tyranny." The Founders were extremely distrustful of "democracy" (rule of the people, rule of the mob, or majority rule). Absent the limits of a constitutional republic, democracy is three wolves and a sheep sitting down to vote on what, or who, to have for dinner. The rights of the sheep in a pure democracy are by no means respected.
This is why the Founders took such time and care to craft a Constitution for us. Now that Obama and the antigun Dems have achieved political supremacy by defeating the GOP and marginalizing the NRA, they will be tempted to seize more of our traditional liberty and heretofore legal property simply because they can. The Sam McKeens of the country do not realize that the GOP and the NRA protected them more than those hapless organizations protected us. And now, having by majority rule -- by "democracy" -- swept away firearms owners' ability to politically redress our grievances, what choice will they give us? Why, to submit to additional infringements or to resist.
They will find to their surprise that when democracy turns to tyranny, we of the armed citizenry still get to vote. We just won't use voting booths to register our complaints.
Mike Vanderboegh
PO Box 926
Pinson, AL 35126
GeorgeMason1776@aol.com
A democracy by any other name is...
Thursday, December 18, 2008 10:15 PM PST
I wrote a harmless little letter about gun control and almost immediately James Farmer criticized my use of the word “democracy” and the same day a Web site user quoted part of my letter and then said that the Second Amendment is to protect us from a tyrannical government who will strip us of our rights and then kill us in our sleep.
As to Farmer, he’s right. We do not live in a democracy. Let’s call it a cantaloupe. Madison wouldn’t object. It means we have fair elections and then abide by the results.
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are thrown in to control the power of the people. A cantaloupe of the people by the people and for the people.
The Internet user presents a more serious problem. The Second Amendment was granted to us by a friendly government that stood with us, not over us, and, in order not to intimidate us, granted us the right to keep and bear arms. But let me tell that person what he’s dealing with — a nation that, after being crippled at Pearl Harbor and in less than five years, utterly defeated the five greatest navies on the entire planet, not to mention their armies and air forces. If that nation ever decided to oppose us, they would manufacture more assault weapons in 20 seconds than we could amass after 100 lifetimes of seeking them.
Friend, you are creating an enemy that does not exist. Love your country and be willing to die for it. Your cantaloupe will not let you down.
Sam McKeen
Klamath Falls
To which I replied to the paper's editor thusly:
Subject: A democracy by any other name is... tyranny.
Date: 12/19/2008 10:36:08 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: GeorgeMason1776
To: pbushey@heraldandnews.com
Dear Editor,
Sam McKeen writes "the Second Amendment was granted to us by a friendly government that stood with us, not over us, and, in order not to intimidate us, granted us the right to keep and bear arms."
Horse manure. The Founders would have thought that statement dangerously ludicrous. Governments, even friendly ones, do not "grant" us anything. The Constitution merely codifies our God-given, natural and inalienable rights, among them the right to arms to defend ourselves against tyrannical government.
"A democracy by any other name is . . ." The word the editorial headline writer was searching for is "tyranny." The Founders were extremely distrustful of "democracy" (rule of the people, rule of the mob, or majority rule). Absent the limits of a constitutional republic, democracy is three wolves and a sheep sitting down to vote on what, or who, to have for dinner. The rights of the sheep in a pure democracy are by no means respected.
This is why the Founders took such time and care to craft a Constitution for us. Now that Obama and the antigun Dems have achieved political supremacy by defeating the GOP and marginalizing the NRA, they will be tempted to seize more of our traditional liberty and heretofore legal property simply because they can. The Sam McKeens of the country do not realize that the GOP and the NRA protected them more than those hapless organizations protected us. And now, having by majority rule -- by "democracy" -- swept away firearms owners' ability to politically redress our grievances, what choice will they give us? Why, to submit to additional infringements or to resist.
They will find to their surprise that when democracy turns to tyranny, we of the armed citizenry still get to vote. We just won't use voting booths to register our complaints.
Mike Vanderboegh
PO Box 926
Pinson, AL 35126
GeorgeMason1776@aol.com
"We're Bringing the War Back Home!": UAVs in "Peacekeeping."
We're bringing the war back home
Where it ought to have been before!
We'll kill all the bees
And spiders and flies
And we wont play in iceboxes lying on their sides
We'll wash our hands after wee-wee.
And if we're a girl, before!
And we'll march,march,march, et cetera!
'Til we never do march no more!
-- Firesign Theatre
I saw this article below at Strategy Page and was reminded of the scene in Farewell to the King where the British Colonel is explaining to the young officer about how that now that the Japanese are defeated, the returning colonialists are going to bring the rebellious tribesmen of the Borneo interior to heel by shelling them out of their villages. "There's a lot of 105mm shells sitting around after a war," he tells him.
And when our armed forces are all called dutifully home by the Lightworker, I guess we'll have these for "peacekeeping" at home. There's lots of UAVs sitting around after a war. Do take note, however, of the last two paragraphs.
Mike
III
U.S. UAVs Shifted To Peacekeeping Duty
December 19, 2008: The U.S. Army is taking some of its newly acquired expertise with battlefield UAVs, and applying it to peacekeeping operations. This won't be the first time. Back in the 1990s, UAVs were first used for peacekeeping operations, in the Balkans. Since then, several countries have taken UAVs along on peacekeeping missions.
With the rapid winding down of operations in Iraq, and the smaller buildup in Afghanistan, there are plenty of UAVs, and experienced U.S. Army operators, available for peacekeeping operations. Some are headed for Africa, where most of the UN peacekeeping operations are. Army UAVs consist largely of the 350 pound Shadow 200, and the five pound Raven. The latter can be handed over to foreign peacekeepers, who can be taught how to operate it in a few hours. A few U.S. troops can stick around to help with training and maintenance, but the peacekeepers themselves will quickly find the Raven useful for getting a better view of their immediate surroundings. The Shadow 200 requires more experienced operators, but can give peacekeeper commanders a good look at whatever is happening within 50 kilometers.
UAVs are very popular with peacekeepers because a large part of the job is keeping track of lots of people. This has to be done with innocent civilians, and armed groups of bad guys. The civilians and hostiles often have no way to communicate over long distances, so the UAV is a lot more efficient than manned aircraft for tracking everyone down. The U.S. also provides communications equipment that will enable the video feed from Shadow 200s to be shared with other locations on the ground, or in helicopters or aircraft.
While not operating in a war zone, peacekeeping UAVs do get shot at. Two years ago, a Belgium Hunter B UAV in Congo, supporting UN peacekeeping operations there, was lost when a single shot from an AK-47 brought it down. Examination of the wreckage showed that it was a lucky shot, which hit a key spar, that caused a wing to fold.
The guy firing the shot was just popping off, for no particular reason. He was a local thug, not a member of any of the militias the peacekeepers were there to deal with.
Where it ought to have been before!
We'll kill all the bees
And spiders and flies
And we wont play in iceboxes lying on their sides
We'll wash our hands after wee-wee.
And if we're a girl, before!
And we'll march,march,march, et cetera!
'Til we never do march no more!
-- Firesign Theatre
I saw this article below at Strategy Page and was reminded of the scene in Farewell to the King where the British Colonel is explaining to the young officer about how that now that the Japanese are defeated, the returning colonialists are going to bring the rebellious tribesmen of the Borneo interior to heel by shelling them out of their villages. "There's a lot of 105mm shells sitting around after a war," he tells him.
And when our armed forces are all called dutifully home by the Lightworker, I guess we'll have these for "peacekeeping" at home. There's lots of UAVs sitting around after a war. Do take note, however, of the last two paragraphs.
Mike
III
U.S. UAVs Shifted To Peacekeeping Duty
December 19, 2008: The U.S. Army is taking some of its newly acquired expertise with battlefield UAVs, and applying it to peacekeeping operations. This won't be the first time. Back in the 1990s, UAVs were first used for peacekeeping operations, in the Balkans. Since then, several countries have taken UAVs along on peacekeeping missions.
With the rapid winding down of operations in Iraq, and the smaller buildup in Afghanistan, there are plenty of UAVs, and experienced U.S. Army operators, available for peacekeeping operations. Some are headed for Africa, where most of the UN peacekeeping operations are. Army UAVs consist largely of the 350 pound Shadow 200, and the five pound Raven. The latter can be handed over to foreign peacekeepers, who can be taught how to operate it in a few hours. A few U.S. troops can stick around to help with training and maintenance, but the peacekeepers themselves will quickly find the Raven useful for getting a better view of their immediate surroundings. The Shadow 200 requires more experienced operators, but can give peacekeeper commanders a good look at whatever is happening within 50 kilometers.
UAVs are very popular with peacekeepers because a large part of the job is keeping track of lots of people. This has to be done with innocent civilians, and armed groups of bad guys. The civilians and hostiles often have no way to communicate over long distances, so the UAV is a lot more efficient than manned aircraft for tracking everyone down. The U.S. also provides communications equipment that will enable the video feed from Shadow 200s to be shared with other locations on the ground, or in helicopters or aircraft.
While not operating in a war zone, peacekeeping UAVs do get shot at. Two years ago, a Belgium Hunter B UAV in Congo, supporting UN peacekeeping operations there, was lost when a single shot from an AK-47 brought it down. Examination of the wreckage showed that it was a lucky shot, which hit a key spar, that caused a wing to fold.
The guy firing the shot was just popping off, for no particular reason. He was a local thug, not a member of any of the militias the peacekeepers were there to deal with.
Going Postal (Clandestinely)
Folks,
The very real possibility that us law-abiding folks will soon be pushed into behavior that the new administration will make criminal has caused some Three Percenters to consider, at least as an intellectual exercise, how we may improvise, adapt and overcome the difficulties posed thereby.
Below I present some thought recently presented to me by a fellow thoroughly briefed on the workings of the United States Postal Service. For your edification and amusement only, of course.
Here ya go . . .
I have been trying to give some forethought (I know, I am awfully late coming to the party) on keeping communications anonymous (from the ah-thoritays, anyway). I am a postal employee, and some coworkers and I were discussing (purely on a theoretical basis you understand) ways to get a PO box without revealing out your true home address.
To rent a box you need two forms of ID. The list of acceptable ID includes a passport and lease. Your passport does not have an address on it and dead cheap legal software (or even freeware) will allow you to print up an official looking lease with whatever address you want on it.
Another option if you are actually moving is to rent a box by showing your passport and your old DL with your old address on it. Tell the clerk that you are in the process of moving (staying with friends, in a residence inn, whatever) and once you get your local address you will come in to update your information. 99.9% of clerks will happily process your application and never give it another thought. For the 0.1% who are anal-retentive enough to follow up, a simple fake lease with a local address on it will suffice.
Couple this ghost box with cheap flash memory cards and a decent steganography program along with some pre-arranged parameters (for example: the first number mentioned in the accompanying letter is the picture number to decode, the first letter of the first word of the first five sentences is the key) and you have yourself a moderately secure comm-net.
Naturally this is all purely an intellectual enterprise and I would never actually reccomend that anyone violate any federal, state or local laws, bureaucratic regulations or edicts.
The very real possibility that us law-abiding folks will soon be pushed into behavior that the new administration will make criminal has caused some Three Percenters to consider, at least as an intellectual exercise, how we may improvise, adapt and overcome the difficulties posed thereby.
Below I present some thought recently presented to me by a fellow thoroughly briefed on the workings of the United States Postal Service. For your edification and amusement only, of course.
Here ya go . . .
I have been trying to give some forethought (I know, I am awfully late coming to the party) on keeping communications anonymous (from the ah-thoritays, anyway). I am a postal employee, and some coworkers and I were discussing (purely on a theoretical basis you understand) ways to get a PO box without revealing out your true home address.
To rent a box you need two forms of ID. The list of acceptable ID includes a passport and lease. Your passport does not have an address on it and dead cheap legal software (or even freeware) will allow you to print up an official looking lease with whatever address you want on it.
Another option if you are actually moving is to rent a box by showing your passport and your old DL with your old address on it. Tell the clerk that you are in the process of moving (staying with friends, in a residence inn, whatever) and once you get your local address you will come in to update your information. 99.9% of clerks will happily process your application and never give it another thought. For the 0.1% who are anal-retentive enough to follow up, a simple fake lease with a local address on it will suffice.
Couple this ghost box with cheap flash memory cards and a decent steganography program along with some pre-arranged parameters (for example: the first number mentioned in the accompanying letter is the picture number to decode, the first letter of the first word of the first five sentences is the key) and you have yourself a moderately secure comm-net.
Naturally this is all purely an intellectual enterprise and I would never actually reccomend that anyone violate any federal, state or local laws, bureaucratic regulations or edicts.
The Dan Forrester Memorial Library
Folks,
For almost as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of the science fiction of Jerry Pournelle. His books with Larry Niven were always great and my favorite was Lucifer's Hammer, about what happens when a comet strikes the earth. My favorite character in that book is Dr. Dan Forrester, a meek and mild ex-astrophysicist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who saves the day when the Stronghold is attacked by a cannibal army.
Before leaving his indefensible home to journey toward the safety of Senator Jellison's ranch, Forrester goes through his extensive library, culling out books that he believes will be helpful in rebuilding a civilization. He stores them, suitably protected in zip lock bags, in his old septic tank.
Now, I have also been a fan of library sales, yard sales and thrift stores and over the past few years, I have accumulated a collection of books that may one day be useful, never paying more than a couple of bucks for them (more often, less than a dollar) and once, an old widow lady who was moving to a condo gave me some boxes of her husband's books (he had been a civil engineer).
After accumulating a number of these, I decided that they needed to be stored in a weatherproof fashion. Those of you who have read some of my stuff on caching know that I am a big fan (and diligent scrounger) of five gallon icing buckets from grocery store bakeries. Thus, it was natural for me to use these to begin storing my cheap book finds. I have dubbed these the Dan Forrester Memorial Library.
Mind you, this does not include any books that I have need of and refer to in my writing and research. Nor does it include my extensive collection of military field and tech manuals, which I have stored in big steel USGI 20mm ammo cans. If you see some gaps in my collecting, it is probably just because those topics are still on my book shelves in the library in my basement.
A friend of mine who visited the other day noted my DFML buckets and began reading the contents off the labels. He got all excited and said I should let my blog readers know about this cheap method of storing knowledge that might come in handy one day, if, as and when. So, here it is, the current holdings of the Dan Forrester Memorial Library. If this motivates some of y'all to go and do likewise, it certainly can't hurt if you do it on the cheap as I have -- free buckets and mostly fifty cent books.
Mike
III
Bucket # 1
Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers, Frederick S. Merritt, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill 1976
Tubular Steel Structures: Theory & Design, M.S. Troitsky, Arc Welding Foundation, 1982
Design of Welded Structures, O.W. Blodgett, Arc Welding Foundation, 1966
The Engineer's Handbook Illustrated, Arthur Liebers, Key Publishing, NY, 1968
Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual, EPA, 2002
Smoleys Parallel Tables of Logarithms & Squares for Engineers, Architects and Students, C.P. Smoley, 1965
Bucket # 2
Gear Cutting Practice: Methods of Producing Gears for Commercial Use Including Wartime Data Supplement, Fred Colvin & Frank Stanley, McGraw-Hill, 1943
Punches and Dies: Layout, Construction and Use Including Wartime Data Supplement, Frank Stanley, McGraw-Hill, 1943
Turning and Boring Practice, Modern Machine Tools and Methods Used in Representative Plants, Fred Colvin & Frank Stanley, McGraw-Hill, 1943
Jigs and Fixtures, Fred Colvin & Lucius Haas, McGraw-Hill, 1943
Steam Power Plants, Philip J. Potter, Ronald Press, 1949
The Home Mechanic's Handbook: Encyclopedia of Tools, Materials, Methods and Directions, Various Authors, D. Van Nostrand, 1945
Strength of Materials, Alfred Pourman, McGraw-Hill, 1937
Home Plumber's Bible, Ramesh Singhai, McGraw-Hill, 1978
Electric Motor Repair, Robert Rosenberg, 1946
Interior Electric Wiring and Estimating, Albert Uhl, Arthur Nelson and Carl Dunlap, American Technical Society, 1947
Electrical Wiring: Residential, William J. Whitney, Wiley and Sons, 1979
Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm and Industrial, H.P. Richter, McGraw-Hill, 1947
Bucket # 3
The Backyard Builder, Edited by John Warde, Rodale, 1985
Residential Carpentry, Mortimer P. Reed, Wiley & Sons, 1980
Essential of Drafting, James D. Bethune, Prentice Hall, 1977
The Homeowner's Book of Plumbing and Repair, K.W. Sessions, Wiley & Sons, 1978
Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery, Mildred Graves Ryan, Doubleday, 1979
The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia (3 volumes of 22 total)
Bucket # 4
The Timber Framing Book, Elliott and Wallas, Housesmith, 1977
Book of Bikes and Bicycling, Dick Teresi, Popular Mechanics, 1975
Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, 1976
Readers Digest Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills, 1981
Readers Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual, 1973
Reader's Digest Practical Problem Solver, 1992
Earl Proux's Yankee Home Hints, Yankee Books, 1993
Yankee Magazine's Make It Last by Earl Proux, Yankee Books, 1996
Whittlin', Whistles and Thingamajigs, Harlan G. Metcalfe, Castle, 1974
Bucket # 5
Basic Construction Techniques for Houses and Small Buildings Simply Explained, United States Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Dover Press, 1972
Tools and How To Use Them, Jackson and Day, Wings Books, 1992
The Homestead Builder, CP Dwyer, Lyons Press, 1872/1998
Carpenter's and Builder's Library: Millwork, Power Tools and Painting, John E. Ball, Audells, 1976
Carpenter's and Builder's Library: Tools, Steel Square, and Joinery, John E. Ball, Audells, 1978
Carpenter's and Builder's Library:Builder's Math, Plans and Specifications, John E. Ball, Audells, 1978
The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia (10 volumes of 22 total)
Bucket # 6
The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia (9 volumes of 22 total)
Architectural Drawings and Light Construction, Second Edition, Edward J. Muller, Prentice Hall, 1976
Freshwater Fishes, Lawrence Page and Brooks Burr, Peterson, 1991
Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs, George Petrides, Peterson, 1972
Bucket # 7
Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling, Charles F. Chapman, Hearst Press, 1966
McClane's Standard Fishing Encyclopedia and International Angling Guide, Editied by A.J. McClane, Holt-Rinehart, 1965
The Complete Book of Canoeing and Kayaking, Paul Fillingham, Drake, 1976
The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, John Rousmaniere, Simon & Shuster, 1989
Heat Engines: Steam, Gas, Steam Turbines and their Auxiliaries, J.R. Allen and J.A. Bursley, McGraw-Hill, 1910.
Architectural Graphic Standards, G.G. Ramsey and H.R. Sleeper, Wiley & Sons, 1962
The Metal Trades Handbook, R.G. Garby and B.J. Ashton, Jasper, 1985
Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians, J.L. Behler and F.W. King, Knopf, 1979
Bucket # 8
The Way Things Work, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Technology, Volume One, Simon & Schuster, 1967
The Way Things Work, Volume Two, Simon & Schuster, 1971
The New Way Things Work, David Macaulay, Houghton-Mifflin, 1998.
Logan's Medical and Scientific Abbreviations, Carolynn Logan & M. Katherine Price, Lippincott, 1987
Complete Book of Athletic Taping Techniques, J.V. Cerney, Parker, 1972
Basic Carpentry, John Capotosto, Reston, 1975
The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding, 12th Edition, Lincoln Electric Company, 1973
The Encyclopedia of Common Diseases, Prevention Magazine, 1976
What Herbs are all About: A Basic Primer Outlining the Practical Uses of Medicinal Plants, J.J. Challem & Renate Levin-Challem, Keats, 1980
Bucket # 9
English Bread and Yeast Cookery, Elizabeth David, Biscuit Books, 1977
The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies, Editors of Prevention Magazine, Rodale, 1990
Gardening for Food and Fun, USDA Yearbook, 1977
Grass, USDA Yearbook, 1948
Crockett's Victory Garden, James Crockett, Little-Brown, 1977
Complete Guide to Sewing, Reader's Digest, 1976
Advanced Home Gardening, Miranda Smith, Creative Homeowner Press, no date
Pastures for the South, George H. King, Creative, 1954
Fruits for the Home Garden, Ken & Pat Kraft, Morrow, 1968
The Best Gardening Ideas I Know, Robert Rodale, Rodale Press, 1974
The Best Gardening Ideas I Know, Robert Rodale, Rodale Press, 1978
Bucket # 10
The Wise Garden Encyclopedia: A Practical and Convenient Guide to Every Detail of Gardening Written for All Climates, Soils, Seasons and Methods, Ed. by E.L.D. Seymour, Grossett & Dunlap, 1970
Betty Crocker's Kitchen Gardens, Mary Mason Campbell, Scribners, 1971
Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health, D.C. Jarvis, M.D., Henry Holt, 1958
10,000 Garden Questions, Volume One, Ed. by F.F. Rockwell, Doubleday, 1959
How to Treat Yourself with Chinese Herbs, Dr. Hong-Yen Hsu, Keats, 1980
Ferns of Alabama by Blanche E. Dean, Southern University Press, 1969
Today's Herbal Health, Louise Tenney, Woodland, 1983
The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, Organic Gardening Magazine, Rodale Press, 1978
The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, Ed. by B.W. Ellis & F.M. Bradley, Rodale, 1992
An American Herbal: Using Plants for Healing, Nelson Coon, Rodale, 1979
Stalking the Good Life, Euell Gibbons, McKay, 1971
Earl Mindell's Herb Bible, E. Mindell, Fireside, 1992
Bucket # 11
Herb Gardening in the Five Seasons, A.G. Simmons, Dutton, 1964
The Alternative Pharmacy, Dr. L.P. Walker & E.H. Brown, J.D., Prentice-Hall, 1998
Herbs for Your Health, Steven Foster, Interweave Press, 1996
Rodales Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, Ed. by C. Kowalchik & W.H. Hylton, Rodale, 1987
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database 2002, 4th Edition, Therapeutic Research Faculty, 2002
Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants, Andrew Cevallier, DK Publishing, 1996
Southern Herb Growing, M. Hill & G. Barclay, Shearer, 1987
Herb Gardening in the South, Sol Meltzer, Gulf Publishing, 1977
The Complete German E Monographs -- Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines, Blumenthal, et. al., American Botanical Council, 1998
Herbs for Use and Delight, D.J. Foley, Herb Society of America, 1974
Bucket # 12
Magill's Medical Guide: Health and Illness, Five Volumes, Salem Press, 1995
Daffodils Are Dangerous: The Poisonous Plants in Your Garden, Hubert Creekmore, Walker, 1966
The Amateur's Guide to Caves and Caving, David R. McClurg, Stackpole, 1973
Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm & Industrial, H.R. Richter & W.C. Schwan, 13th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1984
Grey's Anatomy, Bounty Books, NY, 1977
Bucket # 13
Nurse's Reference Library: Emergencies, Springhouse Pub., 1985
Nurse's Reference Library: Diseases, Springhouse Pub., 1985
Nurse's Reference Library: Signs & Symptoms, Springhouse Pub., 1986
Nurse's Reference Library: Assessment, Springhouse Pub., 1984
Nurse's Reference Library: Procedures, Springhouse Pub., 1985
Locksmithing, Bill Phillips, McGraw-Hill, 2000
Dr. Chase's Combination Receipt Book, Dickerson, 1915
Bucket # 14
Dr. Chase's Family Physician, Farrier, Bee Keeper and Second Receipt Book, Chase Pub., 1881
The Merck Veterinary Manual, 4th Edition, Ed. by O.H. Siegmund, Merck, 1973
A Synopsis of Anesthesia, J. Alfred Lee & R.S. Atkinson, Williams & Wilkins, 1968
The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs and Biologicals, 12th Edition, Merck, 1996
Physician's Desk Reference, 60th Edition, Thomson, 2006
Bucket # 15
Wild Flowers: 364 Full Color Illustrations with Complete Descriptive Text, Homer D. House, MacMillan, 1967
A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America, Donald C. Peattie, Bonanza, 1963
Guide for All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning, FEMA, 1996
Design Modification Studies, Office of Civil Defense, DOD, 1968
Elevated Residential Structures, FEMA, 1984
Coastal Construction Manual, FEMA, 1986
Risks and Hazards, State By State, FEMA, 1980
The Progressive Farmers Do-It-Yourself Weather Book, Tim Campbell, Oxmoor House, 1979
The US Cavalry Horse, Gen. William H. Carter, Lyons Press reprint of 1895 original
Horses: Their Selection, Care and Handling, M.C. Self, Wilshire, 1971
The Art of Riding, LTC M.F. McTaggart, Bonanza, 1951
The Way Things Work, David Macaulay, Houghton-Mifflin, 1988
Practical Electricity, Robert G. Middleton, Audel, 1983
Bucket # 16
Basic Electricity, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Dover Press, 1970
Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, 1979
The Hunter's World, Charles F. Waterman, Ridge Press (no date)
Textiles, N. Hollen & J. Saddler, Collier-Macmillan, 1973
Residential Construction, William Ventolo, RECo, Chicago, 1979
Biology of Animals, Hichman, Roberts & Hickman, Times-Mirror, 1990
Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, Commander Benjamin Dutton, US Naval Institute, 1943
Book of Pregnancy and Child Care, P.S. Pasqnariello, M.D., Wiley, 1999
Complete Book of Breast Feeding, Marvin S. Eger, M.D. & Sally Olds, Workman, 1999
Fur Farming, A.R. Harding, Harding Press, Columbus, OH, 1909/1920
Route Survey and Design, 4th Edition, Carl F. Meyer, International Textbooks, 1969
Bucket # 17
Horticulture, R. Gordon Halfacre & John A. Bardle, McGraw-Hill, 1979
CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations, Frank Netter, CIBA, 1948
Food Animal Surgery, J.L. Noordsy, DVM, VM Publishing, 1978
Architectural Drawing & Light Construction, E.J. Muller & J.G. Fausett, Prentice Hall, 1973
The Carpenter's Manifesto: A Total Guide thet takes the Mystery out of Carpentry for Everybody, J. Erhlich & M. Mannheimer, Henry Holt, 1990
Manual of IV Medications, Lynn Phillips & M.A. Kuhn, Lippincott/Raven, 1999
Instrument Flying, Richard L. Taylor, MacMillan, 1972
Eddie Bauer Guide to Backpacking, Archie Satterfield & Eddie Bauer, Addison Wesley, 1983
Guide and Key to Alabama Trees, Donald E. Davis & Norman D. Davis, Kendall-Hunt, 1975
Muskrat Farming, James Edwards, Fur Farmers Publishing, 1928
Electrical Engineering Pocket Handbook, EASB, 1997
Basic Electricity, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Dover, 1970
Basic Electronics, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Dover, 1984
Training Your Dog, Joachim Volhard & Gail. T. Fisher, Howell, 1983
Bucket # 18
Principles of Electrical Engineering, Vincent Del Toro, Prentice-Hall, 1965
Structural Steel Design, Lynn S. Beedle, et.al., Ronald Press, 1964
Reinforced Concrete Fundamentals, Phil Ferguson, John Wiley, 1965
Manual of Steel Construction, 6th Edition, AISC, 1964
Elementary Structural Analysis, C.H. Norris & J.B. Wilbur, McGraw-Hill, 1960
Design of Concrete Structures, L.C. Urquhart & C.E. O'Rourke, McGraw-Hill, 1946
Concrete Pipe Handbook, H.F. Peckworth, ACPA, 1965
Principles of Fluid Mechanics, Salomon Ezkinazi, Allyn & Bacon, 1963
Manual of Steel Construction, 8th Edition, AISC, 1980
Structural Engineering, J.E. Kirkham, McGraw-Hill, 1933
Reinforced Concrete Design Handbook, Thor Germundsson, American Concrete Institute, 1955
Bucket # 19
Surveying Theory & Practice, R.E. Davis & F.S. Foote, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1953
Highway Engineering, L.J. Ritter & R.J. Paguette, Ronald Press, 1960
Engineering Mechanics, Vol. II Dynamics, Archie Higdon & W.B. Stiles, Prentice-Hll, 1962
Manual of Steel Construction, 8th Edition, AISC, 1980
Introductory Soil Mechanics & Foundations, G.A. Sowers & George F. Sowers, MacMillan, 1961
Hydrology for Engineers, R.K. Linsley, et.al., McGraw-Hill, 1958
Engineering Materials, Committee on Engineering Materials, Pitman Publications, 1958
Elementary Fluid Mechanics, J.K. Vennard, John Wiley, 1954
Route Surveying, Carl F. Meyer, International Textbooks, 1963
Koehler Merhod of Dog Training, William Koehler, Howell, 1983
Elementary Surveying, C.B. Breed & G.L. Hosmer, John Wiley, 1945
Higher Surveying, C.B. Breed & G.L. Hosmer, John Wiley, 1947
Complete Sport Parachuting Guide, Charles Shea-Simmonds, A.C. Black, 1986
Bucket # 20
Once An Eagle by Anton Myrer
The Yale Shakespeare, Shakespeare of Stratford
The Yale Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Poems
The Yale Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Sonnets
The Yale Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Yale Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well
The Yale Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
The Yale Shakespeare, As You Like It
The Yale Shakespeare, Coriolanus
The Yale Shakespeare, Cymbeline
The Yale Shakespeare, Hamlet
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Eighth
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Fifth
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Fourth, Part I
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Fourth, Part II
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Sixth, Part I
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Sixth, Part II
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Sixth, Part III
The Yale Shakespeare, Julius Ceasar
The Yale Shakespeare, King John
The Yale Shakespeare, King Lear
The Yale Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost
The Yale Shakespeare, Macbeth
The Yale Shakespeare, Measue for Measure
The Yale Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing
The Yale Shakespeare, Othello
The Yale Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre
The Yale Shakespeare, Richard the Second
The Yale Shakespeare, Richard the Third
The Yale Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
The Yale Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors
The Yale Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
The Yale Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Yale Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew
The Yale Shakespeare, The Tempest
The Yale Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Yale Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale
The Yale Shakespeare, Timon of Athens
The Yale Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus
The Yale Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida
Bucket # 21
Trout: The Trout Fisherman's Bible, Ray Bergman, Knopf, 1984
Successful Trout Fishing, Richard alden Knight, Dutton, 1968
Complete Beginner's Guide to Mountain Climbing, Howard E. Smith, Jr., Doubleday, 1977
Herbal Remedies for Women, Amanda m. Crawford, Prima, 1997
The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies, Prevention Magazine, Rodale, 1990
The Practical Botanist, Rick Imes, Firesdie, 1990
Salt Water Fly Fishing Handbook, Doubleday, 1973
Birds Worth Knowing, Neltje Blanchan, Doubleday, 1925
Natural Resource Conservation, Oliver S. Owen, MacMillan, 1975
Chemistry, Brown, LeMay & Bursten, Prentice-Hall, 2000
Introductory General Chemistry, Brinkley, MacMillan, 1938
Home Brewing Without Failures, H.E. Bravery, Gramercy, 1965
Country Wines and Cordials: Wild Plant & Herbal Recipes for Drinks Old and New, Wilma Paterson, Omega, 1983
Bucket # 22
Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Berkeley Paperbacks, 1968
The Unabridged Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens, Running Press, 1976
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, Ed. by Holliman and O'Clair, Norton, 1973
The Illustrated Treasury of the Brother's Grimm, Derrydale Books, 1988
Kipling: A Selection of His Stories and Poems, Volumers I & II
Literature, Edited by E.V. Roberts and H.E. Jacobs, Prentice Hall, 1995.
Bucket # 23
The Complete Guide to Jewelry Soldering, Sara M. Sanford, Lapidary Journal, 2004
Shortguts to a Perfect Sewing Pattern, Rusty Bensussen, Sterling Publishing, 1989
Step-By-Step Weaving, Nell Znamierowski, Golden Press, 1967
Second Stitches: Recycle as You Sew, Susan D. Parker, Chilton Press, 1993
Singer Sewing Reference Library: Clothing Care and Repair -- Extending the Life of Your Clothes, 1985
American Patchwork and Quilting, Ed. by G.M. Knox, Better Homes & Gardens, 1985
The New Candle Book, Gloria Nicol, Lorenz Books, 1995
The New Complete Walker: The Joys and Techniques of Hiking and Backpacking, Colin Fletcher, Knopf, 1974
The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Ed. by Robert Berkow, MD, Pocket Books, 1997
Hands in Clay: An Introduction to Ceramics, C.F. Speight & John Toki, Mayfield, 1995
The Complete Book of Sky Sports: A Basic Course in Parachuting, Soaring, Flying, Gyrocopter, Ballooning, Flying Power Planes, Linn Emrich, Collier, 1970
Encyclopedia of Furniture Making, Ernest Joyce, Barnes & Noble, 1987
A Guide to Field Identification of Trees of North America, C. Frank Brockman, Golden Press, 1968
Bucket # 24
The Collinridge Encyclopedia of Gardening, Arthur Hellyer, Chartwell, 1976
Orvis Fly Fishing Guidem Tom Rosenbauer, Lyons, 1984
Prentice Hall Illustrated Dictionary of Ecology and Plant Life, Martin Walters & Merilyn Holme, Prentice Hall, 1993
Practical Gardening Encyclopedia, Ed. by Roy Hay, Van Nostrand, 1977
Foolproof Planting: How to Successfully Start and Propagate More than 250 Vegetables, Flowers, Trees and Shrubs, Ed. by A.M. Halpin, Rodale Press, 1990
Gardening & Using Healing Herbs, Gaea and Shandor Weiss, Wings, 1999
The Organic Front, J.Rodale, Rodale Press, 1948
Dog Breeding -- Theory and Practice, Will Judy, Judy Publishing, 1958
Furniture Finishing, W.I. Fischman, Bobbs Merrill, 1978
Loaded for Bear: A Treasury of Great Hunting Stories, Ed. by Greenberg & Waugh, Bonanza, 1990
Home Repairs Made Easy, Ed. by D.D. Wolf, Delair Publishing, 1979
Bucket # 25
Organic Chemistry Study Guide and Solutions Manual, Susan McMurry, Fifth Edition, Brooks-Cole, 2000.
Standard handbook for Electrical Engineers, Fink & Beaty, Eleventh Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1978
Good Housekeeping Complete Book of Needlecraft, Vera P. Guild, Doubleday, 1959
Metal Techniques for Craftsmen: A Basic Manual on the Methods of Forming and Decorating Metals, Oppi Untracht, Doubleday, 1968
How to Supervise People, Alfred M. Cooper, McGraw-Hill, 1941
Whittling and Woodcarving, E.J. Tangerman, Dover, 1962
New Short Cuts to Construction Profits, Engineering News-Record, 1936
The Finely Fitted Yacht, Ferenc Mate, Volumes 1 & 2, Norton, 1979
Bucket # 26
Selected Works of Cicero, Walter J. Black, 1948
Selected Essays of Montaigne, Walter J. Black, 1948
Five Great Dialogues, Plato, Walter J. Black, 1948
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius, Walter J. Black, 1948
On Man in the Universe, Aristotle, Walter J. Black, 1948
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
On the Backs of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
By the Shores of Silver Lake, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
These Happy Golden Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
The First Four Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
Elizabethan Drama, Marlowe-Shakespeare, Harvard Classics, 1969
Reader's Digest Fun & Laughter, Reader's Digest, 1967
The World's Great Thinkers, 4 Volumes, Random House, 1972
Bucket # 27
The Tent Book, E.M. Hatton, Mifflin, 1979.
Singer Sewing Book, Mary Picken, Singer, 1951
Game Birds of North America, Leonard Rue III, Harper 1973
Encyclopedia of Comman Diseases, Prevention, 1976
Anthology of American Literature: Colonial through Romantic, Ed. bvy George McMichael, MacMillan, 1980
Wildlife Management on Your Land, Charles L. Cadieux, Stackpole, 1985
Find Fish Anywhere, Anytime, Joseph D. Bates & Mark Straub, North American Fishing Club, 1991
Freshwater Fishing Secrets, Jay M. Strangis, NAFC, 1990
How to Build Clocks and watches, Byron G. Wels, Vertex, 1971
Clock Repairing as a Hobby, Harold C. Kelly, Association Press, 1972.
Bucket # 28
Fundamentals of Machine Component Design, Robert Juvinhall & Kurt Marshek, Wiley, 1991
Organic Plant Protection, Ed. by R.B. Yepson, Jr., Rodale, 1976
Our Soils and Their Management, R.L. Donahue, R.H. Follett, R.W. Tulloch, Interstate, 1983
Weeds of the World: Biology and Control, Lawrence J. King, Leonard Hill, 1966
The Natural Formula Book for Home & Yard, Ed. by Dan Wallace, Rodale, 1982
Beneficial Insects, Lester Swan, Harper, 1964
Garden Friends and Foes, Richard Headstrom, Washburn, 1954
All About Apples, Alice Martin, Houghton Mifflin, 1976
Pruning Guide for Trees, Shrubs and Vines, Tom Stevenson, Luce, 1964
Plant Viruses and Virus Diseases, F.C. Bawden, Ronald Press, 1964
Bucket # 29
Hydroelectric Handbook, William Creager & Joel Justin, Wiley, 1950
Engineering for Dams, in Three Volumes, William Creager, Joel Justin & Julian Hinds, Wiley, 1945
Irrigation Engineering, Volume 1, Agricultural & Hydrological Phases, Ivan Houk, Wiley, 1951
An Introduction to American Forestry, S.W. Allen & G.W. Sharpe, McGraw-Hill, 1960
Sugar Cane Around the World: An Evaluation and Comparison of the Practices of Sugar Cane Cultivation, A.H. Rosenfeld, University of Chicage, 1955
A Guide to Good Wine, Allan Sichel, et.al, Murray's, London, 1971
Jerry Baker's Outdoor Garden answer Book, Jerry Baker, Grosset & Dunlap, 1976
For almost as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of the science fiction of Jerry Pournelle. His books with Larry Niven were always great and my favorite was Lucifer's Hammer, about what happens when a comet strikes the earth. My favorite character in that book is Dr. Dan Forrester, a meek and mild ex-astrophysicist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who saves the day when the Stronghold is attacked by a cannibal army.
Before leaving his indefensible home to journey toward the safety of Senator Jellison's ranch, Forrester goes through his extensive library, culling out books that he believes will be helpful in rebuilding a civilization. He stores them, suitably protected in zip lock bags, in his old septic tank.
Now, I have also been a fan of library sales, yard sales and thrift stores and over the past few years, I have accumulated a collection of books that may one day be useful, never paying more than a couple of bucks for them (more often, less than a dollar) and once, an old widow lady who was moving to a condo gave me some boxes of her husband's books (he had been a civil engineer).
After accumulating a number of these, I decided that they needed to be stored in a weatherproof fashion. Those of you who have read some of my stuff on caching know that I am a big fan (and diligent scrounger) of five gallon icing buckets from grocery store bakeries. Thus, it was natural for me to use these to begin storing my cheap book finds. I have dubbed these the Dan Forrester Memorial Library.
Mind you, this does not include any books that I have need of and refer to in my writing and research. Nor does it include my extensive collection of military field and tech manuals, which I have stored in big steel USGI 20mm ammo cans. If you see some gaps in my collecting, it is probably just because those topics are still on my book shelves in the library in my basement.
A friend of mine who visited the other day noted my DFML buckets and began reading the contents off the labels. He got all excited and said I should let my blog readers know about this cheap method of storing knowledge that might come in handy one day, if, as and when. So, here it is, the current holdings of the Dan Forrester Memorial Library. If this motivates some of y'all to go and do likewise, it certainly can't hurt if you do it on the cheap as I have -- free buckets and mostly fifty cent books.
Mike
III
Bucket # 1
Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers, Frederick S. Merritt, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill 1976
Tubular Steel Structures: Theory & Design, M.S. Troitsky, Arc Welding Foundation, 1982
Design of Welded Structures, O.W. Blodgett, Arc Welding Foundation, 1966
The Engineer's Handbook Illustrated, Arthur Liebers, Key Publishing, NY, 1968
Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual, EPA, 2002
Smoleys Parallel Tables of Logarithms & Squares for Engineers, Architects and Students, C.P. Smoley, 1965
Bucket # 2
Gear Cutting Practice: Methods of Producing Gears for Commercial Use Including Wartime Data Supplement, Fred Colvin & Frank Stanley, McGraw-Hill, 1943
Punches and Dies: Layout, Construction and Use Including Wartime Data Supplement, Frank Stanley, McGraw-Hill, 1943
Turning and Boring Practice, Modern Machine Tools and Methods Used in Representative Plants, Fred Colvin & Frank Stanley, McGraw-Hill, 1943
Jigs and Fixtures, Fred Colvin & Lucius Haas, McGraw-Hill, 1943
Steam Power Plants, Philip J. Potter, Ronald Press, 1949
The Home Mechanic's Handbook: Encyclopedia of Tools, Materials, Methods and Directions, Various Authors, D. Van Nostrand, 1945
Strength of Materials, Alfred Pourman, McGraw-Hill, 1937
Home Plumber's Bible, Ramesh Singhai, McGraw-Hill, 1978
Electric Motor Repair, Robert Rosenberg, 1946
Interior Electric Wiring and Estimating, Albert Uhl, Arthur Nelson and Carl Dunlap, American Technical Society, 1947
Electrical Wiring: Residential, William J. Whitney, Wiley and Sons, 1979
Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm and Industrial, H.P. Richter, McGraw-Hill, 1947
Bucket # 3
The Backyard Builder, Edited by John Warde, Rodale, 1985
Residential Carpentry, Mortimer P. Reed, Wiley & Sons, 1980
Essential of Drafting, James D. Bethune, Prentice Hall, 1977
The Homeowner's Book of Plumbing and Repair, K.W. Sessions, Wiley & Sons, 1978
Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery, Mildred Graves Ryan, Doubleday, 1979
The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia (3 volumes of 22 total)
Bucket # 4
The Timber Framing Book, Elliott and Wallas, Housesmith, 1977
Book of Bikes and Bicycling, Dick Teresi, Popular Mechanics, 1975
Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, 1976
Readers Digest Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills, 1981
Readers Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual, 1973
Reader's Digest Practical Problem Solver, 1992
Earl Proux's Yankee Home Hints, Yankee Books, 1993
Yankee Magazine's Make It Last by Earl Proux, Yankee Books, 1996
Whittlin', Whistles and Thingamajigs, Harlan G. Metcalfe, Castle, 1974
Bucket # 5
Basic Construction Techniques for Houses and Small Buildings Simply Explained, United States Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Dover Press, 1972
Tools and How To Use Them, Jackson and Day, Wings Books, 1992
The Homestead Builder, CP Dwyer, Lyons Press, 1872/1998
Carpenter's and Builder's Library: Millwork, Power Tools and Painting, John E. Ball, Audells, 1976
Carpenter's and Builder's Library: Tools, Steel Square, and Joinery, John E. Ball, Audells, 1978
Carpenter's and Builder's Library:Builder's Math, Plans and Specifications, John E. Ball, Audells, 1978
The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia (10 volumes of 22 total)
Bucket # 6
The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia (9 volumes of 22 total)
Architectural Drawings and Light Construction, Second Edition, Edward J. Muller, Prentice Hall, 1976
Freshwater Fishes, Lawrence Page and Brooks Burr, Peterson, 1991
Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs, George Petrides, Peterson, 1972
Bucket # 7
Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling, Charles F. Chapman, Hearst Press, 1966
McClane's Standard Fishing Encyclopedia and International Angling Guide, Editied by A.J. McClane, Holt-Rinehart, 1965
The Complete Book of Canoeing and Kayaking, Paul Fillingham, Drake, 1976
The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, John Rousmaniere, Simon & Shuster, 1989
Heat Engines: Steam, Gas, Steam Turbines and their Auxiliaries, J.R. Allen and J.A. Bursley, McGraw-Hill, 1910.
Architectural Graphic Standards, G.G. Ramsey and H.R. Sleeper, Wiley & Sons, 1962
The Metal Trades Handbook, R.G. Garby and B.J. Ashton, Jasper, 1985
Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians, J.L. Behler and F.W. King, Knopf, 1979
Bucket # 8
The Way Things Work, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Technology, Volume One, Simon & Schuster, 1967
The Way Things Work, Volume Two, Simon & Schuster, 1971
The New Way Things Work, David Macaulay, Houghton-Mifflin, 1998.
Logan's Medical and Scientific Abbreviations, Carolynn Logan & M. Katherine Price, Lippincott, 1987
Complete Book of Athletic Taping Techniques, J.V. Cerney, Parker, 1972
Basic Carpentry, John Capotosto, Reston, 1975
The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding, 12th Edition, Lincoln Electric Company, 1973
The Encyclopedia of Common Diseases, Prevention Magazine, 1976
What Herbs are all About: A Basic Primer Outlining the Practical Uses of Medicinal Plants, J.J. Challem & Renate Levin-Challem, Keats, 1980
Bucket # 9
English Bread and Yeast Cookery, Elizabeth David, Biscuit Books, 1977
The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies, Editors of Prevention Magazine, Rodale, 1990
Gardening for Food and Fun, USDA Yearbook, 1977
Grass, USDA Yearbook, 1948
Crockett's Victory Garden, James Crockett, Little-Brown, 1977
Complete Guide to Sewing, Reader's Digest, 1976
Advanced Home Gardening, Miranda Smith, Creative Homeowner Press, no date
Pastures for the South, George H. King, Creative, 1954
Fruits for the Home Garden, Ken & Pat Kraft, Morrow, 1968
The Best Gardening Ideas I Know, Robert Rodale, Rodale Press, 1974
The Best Gardening Ideas I Know, Robert Rodale, Rodale Press, 1978
Bucket # 10
The Wise Garden Encyclopedia: A Practical and Convenient Guide to Every Detail of Gardening Written for All Climates, Soils, Seasons and Methods, Ed. by E.L.D. Seymour, Grossett & Dunlap, 1970
Betty Crocker's Kitchen Gardens, Mary Mason Campbell, Scribners, 1971
Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health, D.C. Jarvis, M.D., Henry Holt, 1958
10,000 Garden Questions, Volume One, Ed. by F.F. Rockwell, Doubleday, 1959
How to Treat Yourself with Chinese Herbs, Dr. Hong-Yen Hsu, Keats, 1980
Ferns of Alabama by Blanche E. Dean, Southern University Press, 1969
Today's Herbal Health, Louise Tenney, Woodland, 1983
The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, Organic Gardening Magazine, Rodale Press, 1978
The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, Ed. by B.W. Ellis & F.M. Bradley, Rodale, 1992
An American Herbal: Using Plants for Healing, Nelson Coon, Rodale, 1979
Stalking the Good Life, Euell Gibbons, McKay, 1971
Earl Mindell's Herb Bible, E. Mindell, Fireside, 1992
Bucket # 11
Herb Gardening in the Five Seasons, A.G. Simmons, Dutton, 1964
The Alternative Pharmacy, Dr. L.P. Walker & E.H. Brown, J.D., Prentice-Hall, 1998
Herbs for Your Health, Steven Foster, Interweave Press, 1996
Rodales Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, Ed. by C. Kowalchik & W.H. Hylton, Rodale, 1987
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database 2002, 4th Edition, Therapeutic Research Faculty, 2002
Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants, Andrew Cevallier, DK Publishing, 1996
Southern Herb Growing, M. Hill & G. Barclay, Shearer, 1987
Herb Gardening in the South, Sol Meltzer, Gulf Publishing, 1977
The Complete German E Monographs -- Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines, Blumenthal, et. al., American Botanical Council, 1998
Herbs for Use and Delight, D.J. Foley, Herb Society of America, 1974
Bucket # 12
Magill's Medical Guide: Health and Illness, Five Volumes, Salem Press, 1995
Daffodils Are Dangerous: The Poisonous Plants in Your Garden, Hubert Creekmore, Walker, 1966
The Amateur's Guide to Caves and Caving, David R. McClurg, Stackpole, 1973
Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm & Industrial, H.R. Richter & W.C. Schwan, 13th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1984
Grey's Anatomy, Bounty Books, NY, 1977
Bucket # 13
Nurse's Reference Library: Emergencies, Springhouse Pub., 1985
Nurse's Reference Library: Diseases, Springhouse Pub., 1985
Nurse's Reference Library: Signs & Symptoms, Springhouse Pub., 1986
Nurse's Reference Library: Assessment, Springhouse Pub., 1984
Nurse's Reference Library: Procedures, Springhouse Pub., 1985
Locksmithing, Bill Phillips, McGraw-Hill, 2000
Dr. Chase's Combination Receipt Book, Dickerson, 1915
Bucket # 14
Dr. Chase's Family Physician, Farrier, Bee Keeper and Second Receipt Book, Chase Pub., 1881
The Merck Veterinary Manual, 4th Edition, Ed. by O.H. Siegmund, Merck, 1973
A Synopsis of Anesthesia, J. Alfred Lee & R.S. Atkinson, Williams & Wilkins, 1968
The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs and Biologicals, 12th Edition, Merck, 1996
Physician's Desk Reference, 60th Edition, Thomson, 2006
Bucket # 15
Wild Flowers: 364 Full Color Illustrations with Complete Descriptive Text, Homer D. House, MacMillan, 1967
A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America, Donald C. Peattie, Bonanza, 1963
Guide for All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning, FEMA, 1996
Design Modification Studies, Office of Civil Defense, DOD, 1968
Elevated Residential Structures, FEMA, 1984
Coastal Construction Manual, FEMA, 1986
Risks and Hazards, State By State, FEMA, 1980
The Progressive Farmers Do-It-Yourself Weather Book, Tim Campbell, Oxmoor House, 1979
The US Cavalry Horse, Gen. William H. Carter, Lyons Press reprint of 1895 original
Horses: Their Selection, Care and Handling, M.C. Self, Wilshire, 1971
The Art of Riding, LTC M.F. McTaggart, Bonanza, 1951
The Way Things Work, David Macaulay, Houghton-Mifflin, 1988
Practical Electricity, Robert G. Middleton, Audel, 1983
Bucket # 16
Basic Electricity, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Dover Press, 1970
Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, 1979
The Hunter's World, Charles F. Waterman, Ridge Press (no date)
Textiles, N. Hollen & J. Saddler, Collier-Macmillan, 1973
Residential Construction, William Ventolo, RECo, Chicago, 1979
Biology of Animals, Hichman, Roberts & Hickman, Times-Mirror, 1990
Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, Commander Benjamin Dutton, US Naval Institute, 1943
Book of Pregnancy and Child Care, P.S. Pasqnariello, M.D., Wiley, 1999
Complete Book of Breast Feeding, Marvin S. Eger, M.D. & Sally Olds, Workman, 1999
Fur Farming, A.R. Harding, Harding Press, Columbus, OH, 1909/1920
Route Survey and Design, 4th Edition, Carl F. Meyer, International Textbooks, 1969
Bucket # 17
Horticulture, R. Gordon Halfacre & John A. Bardle, McGraw-Hill, 1979
CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations, Frank Netter, CIBA, 1948
Food Animal Surgery, J.L. Noordsy, DVM, VM Publishing, 1978
Architectural Drawing & Light Construction, E.J. Muller & J.G. Fausett, Prentice Hall, 1973
The Carpenter's Manifesto: A Total Guide thet takes the Mystery out of Carpentry for Everybody, J. Erhlich & M. Mannheimer, Henry Holt, 1990
Manual of IV Medications, Lynn Phillips & M.A. Kuhn, Lippincott/Raven, 1999
Instrument Flying, Richard L. Taylor, MacMillan, 1972
Eddie Bauer Guide to Backpacking, Archie Satterfield & Eddie Bauer, Addison Wesley, 1983
Guide and Key to Alabama Trees, Donald E. Davis & Norman D. Davis, Kendall-Hunt, 1975
Muskrat Farming, James Edwards, Fur Farmers Publishing, 1928
Electrical Engineering Pocket Handbook, EASB, 1997
Basic Electricity, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Dover, 1970
Basic Electronics, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Dover, 1984
Training Your Dog, Joachim Volhard & Gail. T. Fisher, Howell, 1983
Bucket # 18
Principles of Electrical Engineering, Vincent Del Toro, Prentice-Hall, 1965
Structural Steel Design, Lynn S. Beedle, et.al., Ronald Press, 1964
Reinforced Concrete Fundamentals, Phil Ferguson, John Wiley, 1965
Manual of Steel Construction, 6th Edition, AISC, 1964
Elementary Structural Analysis, C.H. Norris & J.B. Wilbur, McGraw-Hill, 1960
Design of Concrete Structures, L.C. Urquhart & C.E. O'Rourke, McGraw-Hill, 1946
Concrete Pipe Handbook, H.F. Peckworth, ACPA, 1965
Principles of Fluid Mechanics, Salomon Ezkinazi, Allyn & Bacon, 1963
Manual of Steel Construction, 8th Edition, AISC, 1980
Structural Engineering, J.E. Kirkham, McGraw-Hill, 1933
Reinforced Concrete Design Handbook, Thor Germundsson, American Concrete Institute, 1955
Bucket # 19
Surveying Theory & Practice, R.E. Davis & F.S. Foote, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1953
Highway Engineering, L.J. Ritter & R.J. Paguette, Ronald Press, 1960
Engineering Mechanics, Vol. II Dynamics, Archie Higdon & W.B. Stiles, Prentice-Hll, 1962
Manual of Steel Construction, 8th Edition, AISC, 1980
Introductory Soil Mechanics & Foundations, G.A. Sowers & George F. Sowers, MacMillan, 1961
Hydrology for Engineers, R.K. Linsley, et.al., McGraw-Hill, 1958
Engineering Materials, Committee on Engineering Materials, Pitman Publications, 1958
Elementary Fluid Mechanics, J.K. Vennard, John Wiley, 1954
Route Surveying, Carl F. Meyer, International Textbooks, 1963
Koehler Merhod of Dog Training, William Koehler, Howell, 1983
Elementary Surveying, C.B. Breed & G.L. Hosmer, John Wiley, 1945
Higher Surveying, C.B. Breed & G.L. Hosmer, John Wiley, 1947
Complete Sport Parachuting Guide, Charles Shea-Simmonds, A.C. Black, 1986
Bucket # 20
Once An Eagle by Anton Myrer
The Yale Shakespeare, Shakespeare of Stratford
The Yale Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Poems
The Yale Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Sonnets
The Yale Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Yale Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well
The Yale Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
The Yale Shakespeare, As You Like It
The Yale Shakespeare, Coriolanus
The Yale Shakespeare, Cymbeline
The Yale Shakespeare, Hamlet
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Eighth
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Fifth
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Fourth, Part I
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Fourth, Part II
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Sixth, Part I
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Sixth, Part II
The Yale Shakespeare, Henry the Sixth, Part III
The Yale Shakespeare, Julius Ceasar
The Yale Shakespeare, King John
The Yale Shakespeare, King Lear
The Yale Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost
The Yale Shakespeare, Macbeth
The Yale Shakespeare, Measue for Measure
The Yale Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing
The Yale Shakespeare, Othello
The Yale Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre
The Yale Shakespeare, Richard the Second
The Yale Shakespeare, Richard the Third
The Yale Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
The Yale Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors
The Yale Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
The Yale Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Yale Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew
The Yale Shakespeare, The Tempest
The Yale Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Yale Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale
The Yale Shakespeare, Timon of Athens
The Yale Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus
The Yale Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida
Bucket # 21
Trout: The Trout Fisherman's Bible, Ray Bergman, Knopf, 1984
Successful Trout Fishing, Richard alden Knight, Dutton, 1968
Complete Beginner's Guide to Mountain Climbing, Howard E. Smith, Jr., Doubleday, 1977
Herbal Remedies for Women, Amanda m. Crawford, Prima, 1997
The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies, Prevention Magazine, Rodale, 1990
The Practical Botanist, Rick Imes, Firesdie, 1990
Salt Water Fly Fishing Handbook, Doubleday, 1973
Birds Worth Knowing, Neltje Blanchan, Doubleday, 1925
Natural Resource Conservation, Oliver S. Owen, MacMillan, 1975
Chemistry, Brown, LeMay & Bursten, Prentice-Hall, 2000
Introductory General Chemistry, Brinkley, MacMillan, 1938
Home Brewing Without Failures, H.E. Bravery, Gramercy, 1965
Country Wines and Cordials: Wild Plant & Herbal Recipes for Drinks Old and New, Wilma Paterson, Omega, 1983
Bucket # 22
Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Berkeley Paperbacks, 1968
The Unabridged Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens, Running Press, 1976
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, Ed. by Holliman and O'Clair, Norton, 1973
The Illustrated Treasury of the Brother's Grimm, Derrydale Books, 1988
Kipling: A Selection of His Stories and Poems, Volumers I & II
Literature, Edited by E.V. Roberts and H.E. Jacobs, Prentice Hall, 1995.
Bucket # 23
The Complete Guide to Jewelry Soldering, Sara M. Sanford, Lapidary Journal, 2004
Shortguts to a Perfect Sewing Pattern, Rusty Bensussen, Sterling Publishing, 1989
Step-By-Step Weaving, Nell Znamierowski, Golden Press, 1967
Second Stitches: Recycle as You Sew, Susan D. Parker, Chilton Press, 1993
Singer Sewing Reference Library: Clothing Care and Repair -- Extending the Life of Your Clothes, 1985
American Patchwork and Quilting, Ed. by G.M. Knox, Better Homes & Gardens, 1985
The New Candle Book, Gloria Nicol, Lorenz Books, 1995
The New Complete Walker: The Joys and Techniques of Hiking and Backpacking, Colin Fletcher, Knopf, 1974
The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Ed. by Robert Berkow, MD, Pocket Books, 1997
Hands in Clay: An Introduction to Ceramics, C.F. Speight & John Toki, Mayfield, 1995
The Complete Book of Sky Sports: A Basic Course in Parachuting, Soaring, Flying, Gyrocopter, Ballooning, Flying Power Planes, Linn Emrich, Collier, 1970
Encyclopedia of Furniture Making, Ernest Joyce, Barnes & Noble, 1987
A Guide to Field Identification of Trees of North America, C. Frank Brockman, Golden Press, 1968
Bucket # 24
The Collinridge Encyclopedia of Gardening, Arthur Hellyer, Chartwell, 1976
Orvis Fly Fishing Guidem Tom Rosenbauer, Lyons, 1984
Prentice Hall Illustrated Dictionary of Ecology and Plant Life, Martin Walters & Merilyn Holme, Prentice Hall, 1993
Practical Gardening Encyclopedia, Ed. by Roy Hay, Van Nostrand, 1977
Foolproof Planting: How to Successfully Start and Propagate More than 250 Vegetables, Flowers, Trees and Shrubs, Ed. by A.M. Halpin, Rodale Press, 1990
Gardening & Using Healing Herbs, Gaea and Shandor Weiss, Wings, 1999
The Organic Front, J.Rodale, Rodale Press, 1948
Dog Breeding -- Theory and Practice, Will Judy, Judy Publishing, 1958
Furniture Finishing, W.I. Fischman, Bobbs Merrill, 1978
Loaded for Bear: A Treasury of Great Hunting Stories, Ed. by Greenberg & Waugh, Bonanza, 1990
Home Repairs Made Easy, Ed. by D.D. Wolf, Delair Publishing, 1979
Bucket # 25
Organic Chemistry Study Guide and Solutions Manual, Susan McMurry, Fifth Edition, Brooks-Cole, 2000.
Standard handbook for Electrical Engineers, Fink & Beaty, Eleventh Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1978
Good Housekeeping Complete Book of Needlecraft, Vera P. Guild, Doubleday, 1959
Metal Techniques for Craftsmen: A Basic Manual on the Methods of Forming and Decorating Metals, Oppi Untracht, Doubleday, 1968
How to Supervise People, Alfred M. Cooper, McGraw-Hill, 1941
Whittling and Woodcarving, E.J. Tangerman, Dover, 1962
New Short Cuts to Construction Profits, Engineering News-Record, 1936
The Finely Fitted Yacht, Ferenc Mate, Volumes 1 & 2, Norton, 1979
Bucket # 26
Selected Works of Cicero, Walter J. Black, 1948
Selected Essays of Montaigne, Walter J. Black, 1948
Five Great Dialogues, Plato, Walter J. Black, 1948
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius, Walter J. Black, 1948
On Man in the Universe, Aristotle, Walter J. Black, 1948
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
On the Backs of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
By the Shores of Silver Lake, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
These Happy Golden Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
The First Four Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Row, 1981
Elizabethan Drama, Marlowe-Shakespeare, Harvard Classics, 1969
Reader's Digest Fun & Laughter, Reader's Digest, 1967
The World's Great Thinkers, 4 Volumes, Random House, 1972
Bucket # 27
The Tent Book, E.M. Hatton, Mifflin, 1979.
Singer Sewing Book, Mary Picken, Singer, 1951
Game Birds of North America, Leonard Rue III, Harper 1973
Encyclopedia of Comman Diseases, Prevention, 1976
Anthology of American Literature: Colonial through Romantic, Ed. bvy George McMichael, MacMillan, 1980
Wildlife Management on Your Land, Charles L. Cadieux, Stackpole, 1985
Find Fish Anywhere, Anytime, Joseph D. Bates & Mark Straub, North American Fishing Club, 1991
Freshwater Fishing Secrets, Jay M. Strangis, NAFC, 1990
How to Build Clocks and watches, Byron G. Wels, Vertex, 1971
Clock Repairing as a Hobby, Harold C. Kelly, Association Press, 1972.
Bucket # 28
Fundamentals of Machine Component Design, Robert Juvinhall & Kurt Marshek, Wiley, 1991
Organic Plant Protection, Ed. by R.B. Yepson, Jr., Rodale, 1976
Our Soils and Their Management, R.L. Donahue, R.H. Follett, R.W. Tulloch, Interstate, 1983
Weeds of the World: Biology and Control, Lawrence J. King, Leonard Hill, 1966
The Natural Formula Book for Home & Yard, Ed. by Dan Wallace, Rodale, 1982
Beneficial Insects, Lester Swan, Harper, 1964
Garden Friends and Foes, Richard Headstrom, Washburn, 1954
All About Apples, Alice Martin, Houghton Mifflin, 1976
Pruning Guide for Trees, Shrubs and Vines, Tom Stevenson, Luce, 1964
Plant Viruses and Virus Diseases, F.C. Bawden, Ronald Press, 1964
Bucket # 29
Hydroelectric Handbook, William Creager & Joel Justin, Wiley, 1950
Engineering for Dams, in Three Volumes, William Creager, Joel Justin & Julian Hinds, Wiley, 1945
Irrigation Engineering, Volume 1, Agricultural & Hydrological Phases, Ivan Houk, Wiley, 1951
An Introduction to American Forestry, S.W. Allen & G.W. Sharpe, McGraw-Hill, 1960
Sugar Cane Around the World: An Evaluation and Comparison of the Practices of Sugar Cane Cultivation, A.H. Rosenfeld, University of Chicage, 1955
A Guide to Good Wine, Allan Sichel, et.al, Murray's, London, 1971
Jerry Baker's Outdoor Garden answer Book, Jerry Baker, Grosset & Dunlap, 1976
Credible Deterrence & the Logistics of Liberty
First posted on War on Guns, 14 April 2007, this essay reads pretty well in light of the events of the past year and a half. It anything, the threats posed by the "microstamping" bills and the incoming Obama administration have made it even more true. Perhaps this is why a couple of my long-time readers urged me to repost it now that I have my own blog.
Credible Deterrence & the Logistics of Liberty
by Mike Vanderboegh
"The test of a good strategy is that it achieves its object without the necessity for battle. As Sun Tzu put it: 'What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy; next best is to disrupt his alliances; next best is to attack his army.'"
--General Rupert Smith, British Army, Ret'd, in The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World, Alfred Knopf, NY, 2007, pp. 13
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition."
-- Rudyard Kipling
What did the Founders intend with the Second Amendment? Liberals ignored, gunnies would all agree that their purpose was to codify the people's natural right to arms. As men who had been compelled to fight for independence by the British seizure of their arms, it was natural for them to ensure that the people of future generations be enabled to maintain the tools necessary to repel tyranny. But I think the Founders' purpose was not only to set up the preconditions to resist tyranny when it appeared, but also to deter it by providing future would-be tyrants with a credible deterrent that would discourage them from making the attempt to begin with. Others think so too. Here are two examples:
"The 'insurrectionist theory' label does not do justice to this aspect of the Second Amendment. True, the Second Amendment implicitly authorizes recourse to arms when less drastic means fail to attain or retain the proper ends of government identified in the Declaration. But the Amendment's greater value lies in the deterrent effect it would have, were it respected and enforced to the degree of its companion rights in the Bill of Rights. Although it implicitly authorizes rebellion-and explicitly provides the means of waging rebellion-the Amendment, if observed, should make rebellion less likely by making it less likely to be necessary. The Second Amendment should stand as a reminder to those who govern of the people's ultimate right to preserve or reestablish their rights by arms. One need not prophesy armed struggle by American citizens against their own government to propose that the citizenry's widespread ownership of firearms could safeguard liberty by deterring tyranny. The great value of the right is political, not military. This value lies not in the fact that the Amendment enables armed resistance, but that by enabling armed resistance it should make the conditions which would justify such resistance less likely to occur."
-- David Harmer, "Securing a free state: Why the Second Amendment Matters", Brigham Young University Law Review, 1998
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3736/is_199801/ai_n8765559/pg_1)
"Too many people wrongly assume that the purpose of revitalizing 'the Militia of the several States' (or, for that matter, of forming the kind of private citizens 'militia' that already exist in several States) is to fight new battles of Lexington and Concord. To the contrary: The goal must be, if at all possible, to deter usurpation and tyranny, so as to make actually fighting any battle here in America unnecessary. Deterrence is always the best defense. And preparedness makes deterrence credible."
- Dr. Edwin Vieira, Jr. "'The Militia Of The Several States' Guarantee The Right To Keep And Bear Arms", Aug 2005
(http://www.gunowners.org/opev06.htm)
Here we are then, back to Sun Tzu's dictum quoted at the outset. The exercise of the Second Amendment attacks the enemy-of-liberty's strategy at its source, between the tyrant's own ears, strangling the deadly idea of usurpation in its cradle before it can spring forth in murderous adulthood. Note well, I said "the exercise of the Second Amendment." The piece of paper alone guarantees nothing. We are not talking about law or morality or "emanations and penumbras" as one Supreme Court justice has divined. In the end, as with most other things in this world, American liberty is secured by the threat of naked force from the armed citizenry. Tyrants are nothing if not calculating, and the credible deterrence comes from the number of free men and free women opposed to their schemes, the character and number of the arms they hold, the level of proficiency they have achieved with those arms and their perceived will to use them. That, and one other thing, which we will get to in a minute.
But first, you must understand how tyrants think. Joseph Stalin, when informed after World War II that the Pope disapproved of Russian troops occupying Trieste, turned to his advisors and asked, “The Pope? The Pope? How many divisions does he have?” Dictators are unmoved by moral suasion. But you, gentle readers, have the argument that persuades dictators in your gun safes, closets and car trunks: millions upon millions of semi-automatic rifles of military utility-- those evil misnamed "assault rufles" that so frighten Chuck "the Schmuck" Shumer and the Brady Bunch. You have the power, ladies and gentlemen. The question is: Is the possession of rifles and the will to use them by themselves enough? No, it is not.
"Lieutenants study tactics, Generals study logistics." -- Military maxim.
"Then there is ammunition, for above all it is the bullet that kills. Skill is, of course, an essential element in dispatching that bullet effectively, but it is still the bullet that kills.... At the lower tactical levels of command one operates on the assumption that bullets are in continuous supply, but everyone is conscious that it is only an assumption. A rifleman can discharge all that he can carry in only a few minutes, and his commander must then either replace him or resupply him. It is therefore up to the commander to either strictly define or limit a soldier's task to the ammunition he carries, or else ensure that he is steadily replaced or resupplied. As you rise in command, you become increasingly concerned about the bullets rather than the rifles, and all other weapons, since they are the force being propelled and applied."
-- General Rupert Smith, British Army, Ret'd, in The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World, Alfred Knopf, NY, 2007, pp. 79-80
Or as General Walton Walker said in the early, desperate days of the Korean War, "We can win without food, we cannot win without ammunition." And ammunition supplies to the armed citizenry, as many of you have no doubt noticed, are becoming increasingly problematic. Hence this recent story:
Overseas wars causing ammo shortages
By UPI Staff
United Press International
April 9, 2007
SAN JOSE, Calif. (UPI) -- With wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, police departments in the United States are reporting a shortage of ammunition needed for firearms.
The San Jose (Calif.) Mercury-News reported that in addition to overseas conflicts, an unprecedented rise in the price of raw materials is also contributing to the shortage of ammunition. Also compounding the problem are longer delays in the shipment of ammo. Police across the United States said that ammunition shipments that once took 45 days are now taking as long as six months.
Many police departments are stepping up their ammo orders to hold them over during the long delays, the Mercury-News reported. "It has become a nightmare," said Sgt. Don Moore, San Jose police range master.
The U.S. military's increased use of firearms has been blamed for the shortage, but another factor, the Mercury-News reported, is the rise in the prices for ammo. Prices are said to have risen almost fourfold in the past 2 1/2 years, as demand for raw materials has surged in China and India.
(Source: http://www.gopusa.com/news/2007/april/0409_ammo_shortage.shtml)
Or this one, quoted in part, from the Fort Wayne, IN Journal Gazette:
Mon, Apr. 02, 2007
Bullet shortage tales spur police to load up
By Rebecca S. Green
The Journal Gazette
Some area law enforcement agencies have stocked up on ammunition in recent months after rumors of shortages and backorders caused by increased usage by military and law enforcement in the ongoing war on terror. Though Jeffersonville-based Kiesler Police Supply and Ammunition Co. sent a letter in February to law enforcement agencies in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, alerting them to a continued ammunition shortage, many local agencies are not worried about running out of bullets.
“We wish to advise every police and sheriff department or agency in our territory (whether or not you are a customer of Kiesler’s) that deliveries of duty and practice ammunition are horribly backordered,” the letter read.. . . Increased usage by the military and law enforcement, as well as a number of foreign manufacturers ceasing U.S. sales, has contributed to the backlog, which is “the worst shortage Kiesler’s has seen in its 35 years of being in business,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Journal Gazette.
The letter to police goes on to indicate that .223-caliber rounds, used in assault rifles such as the M-16, are backlogged until the end of 2007 or early 2008 for both training rounds and ammunition carried on duty. The M-16 and its descendants, such as the M-16A1 and others, have been the primary infantry rifle used by the U.S. military for more than 40 years, and are also used by a number of other countries. Officials from Kiesler declined to comment for this story but on Friday referred calls to ATK, a weapons system company. No correlation between the increased demands for ammunition by law enforcement agencies, particularly training ammunition, should be drawn to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Brian Grace, spokesman for weapons manufacturer ATK.
The company manufacturers a large amount of ammunition used in the civilian, law enforcement and military sectors, doing an estimated $1.3 billion in business in its Ammunition Systems Group and produces about 1.5 billion rounds of small-caliber ammunition annually. ATK’s law enforcement ammunition, both training and duty rounds, is manufactured at plants in Minnesota, while small-caliber rounds for military use are made in Missouri, according to the company’s Web site. Grace said ATK has ramped up production of training ammunition, as well as increased capacity at its plants, making bullets “24/7.” He said the move was driven 99 percent by demand, rather than by a shortage in supply. . . .
. . . Huntington police officer Dale Osborn has served as the department’s firearms instructor for the past decade. He said the .45-caliber is the hardest round to obtain, the only backlog for his department’s supplier, Precision Cartridge Inc. in Hobart. Officials at Precision told Huntington that some suppliers were slower because of an increase in the military’s need for bullets, Osborn said. Slightly cheaper than the rounds carried in officers’ weapons, training rounds make up the bulk of police departments’ ammunition purchases, unlike the more complicated duty ammunition, which expands after contact with a target.
Sgt. Chad Hill, public information officer at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, said his department has had such a hard time obtaining the .223 rounds needed for the M-16A1 military surplus rifles carried by the deputies they have had to buy the ammunition from the Czech Republic. . . .He said the department has also had difficulty getting training ammunition for the duty-issued .45-caliber handguns and 9 mm handguns used by the department. While the department has been told to expect an easier time buying bullets by August, there is no guarantee, Hill said.
(Source: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/17014131.htm)
We civilian shooters have experienced this lately in the soaring rise in prices, but more troubling was the drying up of entire classes of ammo we have come to depend on, which one observer called The Great Ammo Drought of '06.
"SayUncle (a blogger) mentioned the rising cost of 7.62x39mm ammo, and offered an explanation. While the order of a bazillion rounds of 7.62 for the Afghanis might mean the supply of commercial Wolf/Barnaul ammo remains scarce, it doesn't account for the fact that it has been scarce for almost a year now, and that the scarcity of imported Russkie 7.62x39 is not necessarily directly linked to the price of its domestic alternatives. . . .Thing is, the domestic companies never loaded all that much 7.62x39, since most shooters simply burned up cheap imported Wolf by the case. Then Venezuela bought 100,000 AK's and the ammo to feed them last summer, and that dried up the Russian ammo flow like somebody turned off a tap; the domestic production never really caught up to the increasing demand. If this Afghan contract happens, it'll be another long drought until we see more cheap imported ammo. 'Til then it's going to be brass-cased domestic stuff or nothing, and with metals prices and fuel costs both up, ammo is more expensive than ever. I've seen two or three price hikes from every manufacturer and distributor since last October, with some brands and calibers going up by as much as 20%. Of course, this affects all ammo, not just 7.62x39mm. Combine that with the shortage of Winchester .22 ammo caused by Winchester moving rimfire production to a new facility in Arkansas, and you have a recipe for scarcity and high prices all across the ammunition landscape. Hoard you some ammo today. :)"
(Source: http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2006/06/great-ammo-drought-of-06.html)
"Hoard you some ammo today." Not bad advice. For if we understand this vulnerability, so do our enemies. Says the Small Arms Survey, an adjunct of the United Nations' attempt to control the private use of arms world-wide (including your own, my dear friends):
"Ammunition: Weapons are only lethal when supplied with ammunition. The procurement of the correct type of ammunition for the available stockpiles of weapons is therefore a core concern for states, non-state armed groups, and individuals. While weapons are durable goods, which can be used for many years, ammunition is quickly depleted, and stocks must be replenished. As a consequence, intensive weapons use, such as in contexts of conflict or criminality, requires the maintenance of regular supply lines of ammunition. The oversight or disruption of such supply lines potentially represents an opportunity for controlling arms proliferation and limiting weapons misuse."
(Source: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/spotlight/ammunition/ammun.html)
Getting the picture now? You know Bill Clinton did this back in 1994, when the unintended consequences of the impending AWB boosted sales of Chinese semi-auto rifles and ammunition through the roof.
"In a sharp change of policy, President Bill Clinton declared Thursday that he was breaking the link between human rights and trade with China. The president's declaration came as he announced what U.S. officials had been signaling for days: that the White House believes China has made enough progress on human rights in the past year to retain most-favored-nation trade status, which means low U.S. tariffs on the $31 billion worth of goods it exports to the United States. . .
Nevertheless, Mr. Clinton took a series of steps designed to maintain at least some pressure on China: He ordered a ban on the importation of Chinese-made weapons and ammunition, but there was no explicit link to human rights. Cheap, Chinese infantry assault rifles are flooding the U.S. market and are increasingly being used in violent crimes. He announced his intention to enhance Radio Free Asia and Voice of America broadcasts into China and increase government support for private human rights groups."
(Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/1994/05/27/mfn_1.php)
Though couched in terms of "human rights", Clinton's real purpose was clear enough, even to human rights activists. Said Human Rights Watch Executive Director Sidney Jones at the time:
"'By any yardstick, the human rights situation in China has deteriorated in the last year,' . . .noting more than 100 political and religious activists have been arrested, compared with three dozen prisoners released.. . the decision left Clinton's administration 'looking vacillating and hypocritical while the Chinese leadership, by contrast, has emerged as hard-nosed, uncompromising and victorious.' The ban on arms and ammunition imports from the Peoples Liberation Army is good for 'gun control, not human rights pressure,' Jones said. 'The only big winner from this decision is the Chinese government.'"
(Source: http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/1994/5/27-4_2.html)
We frightened the Clintonistas with our purchases and so Bubba cut them off, though it was too late to stop the balance of power shifting more than a few degrees toward us, the armed citizenry. Millions of rifles and billions of rounds of ammunition flooded in and, as Clausewitz observed: "In military affairs, quantity has a quality all its own."
Of course the desire to disarm us by starving our ammunition supply is also alive and well in the proposals of liberal congresscritters over the past decade to require the banning of "armor piercing" and "cop killer" bullets and attempts to tax ammunition out of existence, or make it chemically "deactivated" after a certain period of time.
So our enemies know well how to mess with our power. The question is: What are we prepared to do about it?
Finding even semi-accurate "guess-timates" of how many rounds of ammunition are in private hands in this country is almost impossible. Anecdotal evidence suggests that after the Clintons departed the White House, many folks felt the pressure was off and have spent the past six years shooting up those billions of rounds of 7.62x39 at the range. Replacing them now is financially problematic for the average gunowner. Even absent continuing production diversions to hot wars like Iraq and Afghanistan (and potential troublemakers like Venezuela), the Chinese economy has driven up prices on all base metals and with them, the cost of the finished product that makes your rifles go "bang." The only "cheap" ammo (circa 12 cents per) to be had these days is Russian and Bulgarian military production 7N6 5.45x39. This is why the semi-auto AK-74 has acheived new significance in your gun shop's line of profitable guns to stock. When that 5.45 milsurp is exhausted, the price on 5.45 will also rise.
And this is absent any significant push in the market. Should the Clintons return to the White House, or there's another LA riot or Katrina disaster, the rush will be on and prices that are thought to be high now will be looked upon with fond nostalgia. Unless somebody nukes China, the market forces are going to continue to squeeze us, cutting down on our range time (also important to maintain credible deterrence) and threatening to make our rifles nothing more than expensive clubs.
So I guess I've told you all of this, in part at least, as an investment tip. Buy now. Buy a LOT. Start stocking up on everything from finished rounds to reloading equipment and components. It is the only way to maintain credible deterrence with our political enemies who seek to disarm us on the quiet. We all must turn our attention to the logistics of liberty, lest we lose the deterrence and are forced to fight.
And one other thing. We have always said amongst ourselves that any attempt at universal gun confiscation would be a causus belli-- the trip wire to overthrow the gun-grabbers and drive them from power. We said as much publicly, if indirectly, when we purchased those millions of rifles in the early 90s. It is time to get the message across that attacking the armed citizenry by indirect disarmament in the taxing or banning of ammunition is also a trip wire that potential tyrants need to be mindful of lest we make them a footnote to history.
Credible Deterrence & the Logistics of Liberty
by Mike Vanderboegh
"The test of a good strategy is that it achieves its object without the necessity for battle. As Sun Tzu put it: 'What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy; next best is to disrupt his alliances; next best is to attack his army.'"
--General Rupert Smith, British Army, Ret'd, in The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World, Alfred Knopf, NY, 2007, pp. 13
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition."
-- Rudyard Kipling
What did the Founders intend with the Second Amendment? Liberals ignored, gunnies would all agree that their purpose was to codify the people's natural right to arms. As men who had been compelled to fight for independence by the British seizure of their arms, it was natural for them to ensure that the people of future generations be enabled to maintain the tools necessary to repel tyranny. But I think the Founders' purpose was not only to set up the preconditions to resist tyranny when it appeared, but also to deter it by providing future would-be tyrants with a credible deterrent that would discourage them from making the attempt to begin with. Others think so too. Here are two examples:
"The 'insurrectionist theory' label does not do justice to this aspect of the Second Amendment. True, the Second Amendment implicitly authorizes recourse to arms when less drastic means fail to attain or retain the proper ends of government identified in the Declaration. But the Amendment's greater value lies in the deterrent effect it would have, were it respected and enforced to the degree of its companion rights in the Bill of Rights. Although it implicitly authorizes rebellion-and explicitly provides the means of waging rebellion-the Amendment, if observed, should make rebellion less likely by making it less likely to be necessary. The Second Amendment should stand as a reminder to those who govern of the people's ultimate right to preserve or reestablish their rights by arms. One need not prophesy armed struggle by American citizens against their own government to propose that the citizenry's widespread ownership of firearms could safeguard liberty by deterring tyranny. The great value of the right is political, not military. This value lies not in the fact that the Amendment enables armed resistance, but that by enabling armed resistance it should make the conditions which would justify such resistance less likely to occur."
-- David Harmer, "Securing a free state: Why the Second Amendment Matters", Brigham Young University Law Review, 1998
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3736/is_199801/ai_n8765559/pg_1)
"Too many people wrongly assume that the purpose of revitalizing 'the Militia of the several States' (or, for that matter, of forming the kind of private citizens 'militia' that already exist in several States) is to fight new battles of Lexington and Concord. To the contrary: The goal must be, if at all possible, to deter usurpation and tyranny, so as to make actually fighting any battle here in America unnecessary. Deterrence is always the best defense. And preparedness makes deterrence credible."
- Dr. Edwin Vieira, Jr. "'The Militia Of The Several States' Guarantee The Right To Keep And Bear Arms", Aug 2005
(http://www.gunowners.org/opev06.htm)
Here we are then, back to Sun Tzu's dictum quoted at the outset. The exercise of the Second Amendment attacks the enemy-of-liberty's strategy at its source, between the tyrant's own ears, strangling the deadly idea of usurpation in its cradle before it can spring forth in murderous adulthood. Note well, I said "the exercise of the Second Amendment." The piece of paper alone guarantees nothing. We are not talking about law or morality or "emanations and penumbras" as one Supreme Court justice has divined. In the end, as with most other things in this world, American liberty is secured by the threat of naked force from the armed citizenry. Tyrants are nothing if not calculating, and the credible deterrence comes from the number of free men and free women opposed to their schemes, the character and number of the arms they hold, the level of proficiency they have achieved with those arms and their perceived will to use them. That, and one other thing, which we will get to in a minute.
But first, you must understand how tyrants think. Joseph Stalin, when informed after World War II that the Pope disapproved of Russian troops occupying Trieste, turned to his advisors and asked, “The Pope? The Pope? How many divisions does he have?” Dictators are unmoved by moral suasion. But you, gentle readers, have the argument that persuades dictators in your gun safes, closets and car trunks: millions upon millions of semi-automatic rifles of military utility-- those evil misnamed "assault rufles" that so frighten Chuck "the Schmuck" Shumer and the Brady Bunch. You have the power, ladies and gentlemen. The question is: Is the possession of rifles and the will to use them by themselves enough? No, it is not.
"Lieutenants study tactics, Generals study logistics." -- Military maxim.
"Then there is ammunition, for above all it is the bullet that kills. Skill is, of course, an essential element in dispatching that bullet effectively, but it is still the bullet that kills.... At the lower tactical levels of command one operates on the assumption that bullets are in continuous supply, but everyone is conscious that it is only an assumption. A rifleman can discharge all that he can carry in only a few minutes, and his commander must then either replace him or resupply him. It is therefore up to the commander to either strictly define or limit a soldier's task to the ammunition he carries, or else ensure that he is steadily replaced or resupplied. As you rise in command, you become increasingly concerned about the bullets rather than the rifles, and all other weapons, since they are the force being propelled and applied."
-- General Rupert Smith, British Army, Ret'd, in The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World, Alfred Knopf, NY, 2007, pp. 79-80
Or as General Walton Walker said in the early, desperate days of the Korean War, "We can win without food, we cannot win without ammunition." And ammunition supplies to the armed citizenry, as many of you have no doubt noticed, are becoming increasingly problematic. Hence this recent story:
Overseas wars causing ammo shortages
By UPI Staff
United Press International
April 9, 2007
SAN JOSE, Calif. (UPI) -- With wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, police departments in the United States are reporting a shortage of ammunition needed for firearms.
The San Jose (Calif.) Mercury-News reported that in addition to overseas conflicts, an unprecedented rise in the price of raw materials is also contributing to the shortage of ammunition. Also compounding the problem are longer delays in the shipment of ammo. Police across the United States said that ammunition shipments that once took 45 days are now taking as long as six months.
Many police departments are stepping up their ammo orders to hold them over during the long delays, the Mercury-News reported. "It has become a nightmare," said Sgt. Don Moore, San Jose police range master.
The U.S. military's increased use of firearms has been blamed for the shortage, but another factor, the Mercury-News reported, is the rise in the prices for ammo. Prices are said to have risen almost fourfold in the past 2 1/2 years, as demand for raw materials has surged in China and India.
(Source: http://www.gopusa.com/news/2007/april/0409_ammo_shortage.shtml)
Or this one, quoted in part, from the Fort Wayne, IN Journal Gazette:
Mon, Apr. 02, 2007
Bullet shortage tales spur police to load up
By Rebecca S. Green
The Journal Gazette
Some area law enforcement agencies have stocked up on ammunition in recent months after rumors of shortages and backorders caused by increased usage by military and law enforcement in the ongoing war on terror. Though Jeffersonville-based Kiesler Police Supply and Ammunition Co. sent a letter in February to law enforcement agencies in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, alerting them to a continued ammunition shortage, many local agencies are not worried about running out of bullets.
“We wish to advise every police and sheriff department or agency in our territory (whether or not you are a customer of Kiesler’s) that deliveries of duty and practice ammunition are horribly backordered,” the letter read.. . . Increased usage by the military and law enforcement, as well as a number of foreign manufacturers ceasing U.S. sales, has contributed to the backlog, which is “the worst shortage Kiesler’s has seen in its 35 years of being in business,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Journal Gazette.
The letter to police goes on to indicate that .223-caliber rounds, used in assault rifles such as the M-16, are backlogged until the end of 2007 or early 2008 for both training rounds and ammunition carried on duty. The M-16 and its descendants, such as the M-16A1 and others, have been the primary infantry rifle used by the U.S. military for more than 40 years, and are also used by a number of other countries. Officials from Kiesler declined to comment for this story but on Friday referred calls to ATK, a weapons system company. No correlation between the increased demands for ammunition by law enforcement agencies, particularly training ammunition, should be drawn to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Brian Grace, spokesman for weapons manufacturer ATK.
The company manufacturers a large amount of ammunition used in the civilian, law enforcement and military sectors, doing an estimated $1.3 billion in business in its Ammunition Systems Group and produces about 1.5 billion rounds of small-caliber ammunition annually. ATK’s law enforcement ammunition, both training and duty rounds, is manufactured at plants in Minnesota, while small-caliber rounds for military use are made in Missouri, according to the company’s Web site. Grace said ATK has ramped up production of training ammunition, as well as increased capacity at its plants, making bullets “24/7.” He said the move was driven 99 percent by demand, rather than by a shortage in supply. . . .
. . . Huntington police officer Dale Osborn has served as the department’s firearms instructor for the past decade. He said the .45-caliber is the hardest round to obtain, the only backlog for his department’s supplier, Precision Cartridge Inc. in Hobart. Officials at Precision told Huntington that some suppliers were slower because of an increase in the military’s need for bullets, Osborn said. Slightly cheaper than the rounds carried in officers’ weapons, training rounds make up the bulk of police departments’ ammunition purchases, unlike the more complicated duty ammunition, which expands after contact with a target.
Sgt. Chad Hill, public information officer at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, said his department has had such a hard time obtaining the .223 rounds needed for the M-16A1 military surplus rifles carried by the deputies they have had to buy the ammunition from the Czech Republic. . . .He said the department has also had difficulty getting training ammunition for the duty-issued .45-caliber handguns and 9 mm handguns used by the department. While the department has been told to expect an easier time buying bullets by August, there is no guarantee, Hill said.
(Source: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/17014131.htm)
We civilian shooters have experienced this lately in the soaring rise in prices, but more troubling was the drying up of entire classes of ammo we have come to depend on, which one observer called The Great Ammo Drought of '06.
"SayUncle (a blogger) mentioned the rising cost of 7.62x39mm ammo, and offered an explanation. While the order of a bazillion rounds of 7.62 for the Afghanis might mean the supply of commercial Wolf/Barnaul ammo remains scarce, it doesn't account for the fact that it has been scarce for almost a year now, and that the scarcity of imported Russkie 7.62x39 is not necessarily directly linked to the price of its domestic alternatives. . . .Thing is, the domestic companies never loaded all that much 7.62x39, since most shooters simply burned up cheap imported Wolf by the case. Then Venezuela bought 100,000 AK's and the ammo to feed them last summer, and that dried up the Russian ammo flow like somebody turned off a tap; the domestic production never really caught up to the increasing demand. If this Afghan contract happens, it'll be another long drought until we see more cheap imported ammo. 'Til then it's going to be brass-cased domestic stuff or nothing, and with metals prices and fuel costs both up, ammo is more expensive than ever. I've seen two or three price hikes from every manufacturer and distributor since last October, with some brands and calibers going up by as much as 20%. Of course, this affects all ammo, not just 7.62x39mm. Combine that with the shortage of Winchester .22 ammo caused by Winchester moving rimfire production to a new facility in Arkansas, and you have a recipe for scarcity and high prices all across the ammunition landscape. Hoard you some ammo today. :)"
(Source: http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2006/06/great-ammo-drought-of-06.html)
"Hoard you some ammo today." Not bad advice. For if we understand this vulnerability, so do our enemies. Says the Small Arms Survey, an adjunct of the United Nations' attempt to control the private use of arms world-wide (including your own, my dear friends):
"Ammunition: Weapons are only lethal when supplied with ammunition. The procurement of the correct type of ammunition for the available stockpiles of weapons is therefore a core concern for states, non-state armed groups, and individuals. While weapons are durable goods, which can be used for many years, ammunition is quickly depleted, and stocks must be replenished. As a consequence, intensive weapons use, such as in contexts of conflict or criminality, requires the maintenance of regular supply lines of ammunition. The oversight or disruption of such supply lines potentially represents an opportunity for controlling arms proliferation and limiting weapons misuse."
(Source: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/spotlight/ammunition/ammun.html)
Getting the picture now? You know Bill Clinton did this back in 1994, when the unintended consequences of the impending AWB boosted sales of Chinese semi-auto rifles and ammunition through the roof.
"In a sharp change of policy, President Bill Clinton declared Thursday that he was breaking the link between human rights and trade with China. The president's declaration came as he announced what U.S. officials had been signaling for days: that the White House believes China has made enough progress on human rights in the past year to retain most-favored-nation trade status, which means low U.S. tariffs on the $31 billion worth of goods it exports to the United States. . .
Nevertheless, Mr. Clinton took a series of steps designed to maintain at least some pressure on China: He ordered a ban on the importation of Chinese-made weapons and ammunition, but there was no explicit link to human rights. Cheap, Chinese infantry assault rifles are flooding the U.S. market and are increasingly being used in violent crimes. He announced his intention to enhance Radio Free Asia and Voice of America broadcasts into China and increase government support for private human rights groups."
(Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/1994/05/27/mfn_1.php)
Though couched in terms of "human rights", Clinton's real purpose was clear enough, even to human rights activists. Said Human Rights Watch Executive Director Sidney Jones at the time:
"'By any yardstick, the human rights situation in China has deteriorated in the last year,' . . .noting more than 100 political and religious activists have been arrested, compared with three dozen prisoners released.. . the decision left Clinton's administration 'looking vacillating and hypocritical while the Chinese leadership, by contrast, has emerged as hard-nosed, uncompromising and victorious.' The ban on arms and ammunition imports from the Peoples Liberation Army is good for 'gun control, not human rights pressure,' Jones said. 'The only big winner from this decision is the Chinese government.'"
(Source: http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/1994/5/27-4_2.html)
We frightened the Clintonistas with our purchases and so Bubba cut them off, though it was too late to stop the balance of power shifting more than a few degrees toward us, the armed citizenry. Millions of rifles and billions of rounds of ammunition flooded in and, as Clausewitz observed: "In military affairs, quantity has a quality all its own."
Of course the desire to disarm us by starving our ammunition supply is also alive and well in the proposals of liberal congresscritters over the past decade to require the banning of "armor piercing" and "cop killer" bullets and attempts to tax ammunition out of existence, or make it chemically "deactivated" after a certain period of time.
So our enemies know well how to mess with our power. The question is: What are we prepared to do about it?
Finding even semi-accurate "guess-timates" of how many rounds of ammunition are in private hands in this country is almost impossible. Anecdotal evidence suggests that after the Clintons departed the White House, many folks felt the pressure was off and have spent the past six years shooting up those billions of rounds of 7.62x39 at the range. Replacing them now is financially problematic for the average gunowner. Even absent continuing production diversions to hot wars like Iraq and Afghanistan (and potential troublemakers like Venezuela), the Chinese economy has driven up prices on all base metals and with them, the cost of the finished product that makes your rifles go "bang." The only "cheap" ammo (circa 12 cents per) to be had these days is Russian and Bulgarian military production 7N6 5.45x39. This is why the semi-auto AK-74 has acheived new significance in your gun shop's line of profitable guns to stock. When that 5.45 milsurp is exhausted, the price on 5.45 will also rise.
And this is absent any significant push in the market. Should the Clintons return to the White House, or there's another LA riot or Katrina disaster, the rush will be on and prices that are thought to be high now will be looked upon with fond nostalgia. Unless somebody nukes China, the market forces are going to continue to squeeze us, cutting down on our range time (also important to maintain credible deterrence) and threatening to make our rifles nothing more than expensive clubs.
So I guess I've told you all of this, in part at least, as an investment tip. Buy now. Buy a LOT. Start stocking up on everything from finished rounds to reloading equipment and components. It is the only way to maintain credible deterrence with our political enemies who seek to disarm us on the quiet. We all must turn our attention to the logistics of liberty, lest we lose the deterrence and are forced to fight.
And one other thing. We have always said amongst ourselves that any attempt at universal gun confiscation would be a causus belli-- the trip wire to overthrow the gun-grabbers and drive them from power. We said as much publicly, if indirectly, when we purchased those millions of rifles in the early 90s. It is time to get the message across that attacking the armed citizenry by indirect disarmament in the taxing or banning of ammunition is also a trip wire that potential tyrants need to be mindful of lest we make them a footnote to history.
Teepen's Cognitively Dissonant Reply & Clintonian Rules
Well, folks, strangely enough, Tom Teepen took the time to write back, even if it was something of a form letter, I think. Here it is:
"Thank you for reading the NRA column and for your comments. A quick aside: I believe the 2nd Amendment refers to a right to bear arms -- not a right to bear every firearm, of whatever purpose or power, that someone can come up with and market." -- Tom Teepen
And so, of course, I wrote back:
re: Your cognitively dissonant reply & Clintonian Rules
Yeah, I got that. But you still haven't answered the question of what you will do when we start resisting your advocated seizures of our property and liberty with defensive violence. Own up to the unintended consequences of your own actions and don't extrapolate ours from your own cowardice. Just because YOU wouldn't resist an oppressive government doesn't mean we wouldn't. Surely you can admit THAT possibility?
What, then, will you do if after the first few dozen (hundred, thousand) of us are dead in your confiscation raids if the survivors decide to play by Bill Clinton's rules?
Mike Vanderboegh
If the boy writes back, I'll let you know, although I doubt it. That would require more thought along unpleasant lines than such people are comfortable with.
Mike
III
"Thank you for reading the NRA column and for your comments. A quick aside: I believe the 2nd Amendment refers to a right to bear arms -- not a right to bear every firearm, of whatever purpose or power, that someone can come up with and market." -- Tom Teepen
And so, of course, I wrote back:
re: Your cognitively dissonant reply & Clintonian Rules
Yeah, I got that. But you still haven't answered the question of what you will do when we start resisting your advocated seizures of our property and liberty with defensive violence. Own up to the unintended consequences of your own actions and don't extrapolate ours from your own cowardice. Just because YOU wouldn't resist an oppressive government doesn't mean we wouldn't. Surely you can admit THAT possibility?
What, then, will you do if after the first few dozen (hundred, thousand) of us are dead in your confiscation raids if the survivors decide to play by Bill Clinton's rules?
Mike Vanderboegh
If the boy writes back, I'll let you know, although I doubt it. That would require more thought along unpleasant lines than such people are comfortable with.
Mike
III
Thursday, December 18, 2008
"He doesn’t just seek to govern, he means to rule."
Folks,
Although I must confess I have paid little attention to it, the homosexual activists are up in arms about President-for-life Baby Doc Obama's invitation to Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at BHO's coronation, er, I mean inauguration. If interested, you may find details here and here.
Very busy doing other things at the moment, this was unworthy of my comment until Dr. Enigma forwarded me this link.
In an essay on the Nashville Post's blog, one "Kleinheider" writes under the headline "Explaining Obama Inaugural Invocation Rickroll."
So you were expecting a Unitarian Universalist? A woman from some enlightened liberal mainline denomination, perhaps?
For all those upset about Barack Obama picking evangelical pastor Rick Warren to do the inaugural invocation, I have two questions.
One, who exactly did you think we elected President of the United States?
And two, what about the election results leads you to believe that Barack Obama will be looking to satiate your every liberal longing?
First things first, Barack Obama is nothing if not a politician. He may have run as a revolutionary, fresh-faced change agent but he didn’t get where he is by being stupid or naive. He did not get where he is by kowtowing to some narrow liberal ideology. He got where he is by surveying the landscape looking for an in and then proceeding to do what was necessary to stay in.
Now this is a point I have made in private for some time. Like his fellow narcissist Adolf Hitler, Obama will use one interest group after another to get where he needs to go, like stepping from floating log to floating log to get to his destination (can we say 'destiny?'), on the other side. Hitler used the Brown shirts, then the businessmen, the Nationalists, the generals, all in their turn, each time leaving them thinking, "we've got him under our thumb." He did this all the way to Goetterdammerung.
But it is another statement further down the page that Dr. Enigma drew my attention to.
Obama is not a man looking to just get by politically. His 50 state strategy proved that. HE DOESN'T JUST SEEK TO GOVERN, HE MEANS TO RULE. (Emphasis supplied, MBV) To do that, he needs not only his base but the support of those who either did not or reluctantly pushed that button for him. He needs his opposition marginalized and declawed. This choice does all that symbolically while in real terms does nothing to change policy. It changes only perception.
Yes.
Exactly.
Rule.
There's that little four-letter word again, the one that first surfaced at the opening of the first debate when Jim Lehrer, talking head commissar of government television, asked the candidates how they would "rule."
"He doesn’t just seek to govern, he means to rule."
Well, that's nice to know.
But here's the deal. To rule ME he has to have my acquiescence. I not only refuse to give it, but I suggest that ole "Pastor Rick" take the subject of his invocation from "Blazing Saddles."
Reverend Johnson: "We will now read from Matthew, Mark, Luke..."
[stick of dynamite sails in through window]
Reverend Johnson: ... "and DUCK!"
Although I must confess I have paid little attention to it, the homosexual activists are up in arms about President-for-life Baby Doc Obama's invitation to Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at BHO's coronation, er, I mean inauguration. If interested, you may find details here and here.
Very busy doing other things at the moment, this was unworthy of my comment until Dr. Enigma forwarded me this link.
In an essay on the Nashville Post's blog, one "Kleinheider" writes under the headline "Explaining Obama Inaugural Invocation Rickroll."
So you were expecting a Unitarian Universalist? A woman from some enlightened liberal mainline denomination, perhaps?
For all those upset about Barack Obama picking evangelical pastor Rick Warren to do the inaugural invocation, I have two questions.
One, who exactly did you think we elected President of the United States?
And two, what about the election results leads you to believe that Barack Obama will be looking to satiate your every liberal longing?
First things first, Barack Obama is nothing if not a politician. He may have run as a revolutionary, fresh-faced change agent but he didn’t get where he is by being stupid or naive. He did not get where he is by kowtowing to some narrow liberal ideology. He got where he is by surveying the landscape looking for an in and then proceeding to do what was necessary to stay in.
Now this is a point I have made in private for some time. Like his fellow narcissist Adolf Hitler, Obama will use one interest group after another to get where he needs to go, like stepping from floating log to floating log to get to his destination (can we say 'destiny?'), on the other side. Hitler used the Brown shirts, then the businessmen, the Nationalists, the generals, all in their turn, each time leaving them thinking, "we've got him under our thumb." He did this all the way to Goetterdammerung.
But it is another statement further down the page that Dr. Enigma drew my attention to.
Obama is not a man looking to just get by politically. His 50 state strategy proved that. HE DOESN'T JUST SEEK TO GOVERN, HE MEANS TO RULE. (Emphasis supplied, MBV) To do that, he needs not only his base but the support of those who either did not or reluctantly pushed that button for him. He needs his opposition marginalized and declawed. This choice does all that symbolically while in real terms does nothing to change policy. It changes only perception.
Yes.
Exactly.
Rule.
There's that little four-letter word again, the one that first surfaced at the opening of the first debate when Jim Lehrer, talking head commissar of government television, asked the candidates how they would "rule."
"He doesn’t just seek to govern, he means to rule."
Well, that's nice to know.
But here's the deal. To rule ME he has to have my acquiescence. I not only refuse to give it, but I suggest that ole "Pastor Rick" take the subject of his invocation from "Blazing Saddles."
Reverend Johnson: "We will now read from Matthew, Mark, Luke..."
[stick of dynamite sails in through window]
Reverend Johnson: ... "and DUCK!"
Must reading at WRSA
Folks,
Go here and read these:
The Real Great Depression.
Charter 08.
When Johnny Comes Marching to YOUR Home.
Go here and read these:
The Real Great Depression.
Charter 08.
When Johnny Comes Marching to YOUR Home.
"We have munitions. We will not surrender."
Folks,
I received this (along with Pete at WRSA) via email. It is an interesting analysis of the Three Percenters vs. Pragmatist debate. My thanks to "Atlas Shrug" for sending it.
Mike
III
Mike and Peter,
In the interest of protecting my valuable and scarce time, I have largely stayed away from the recent "Prags vs. IIIpers" flame wars (aside from some initial posts and such with the initial MV vs. Knox squabble). Nonetheless, I've done some thinking on it at random moments. One such mental side road made me reflect on the contrasts, and this stereotypically distorted historical analogy came to mind. I thought I would share it with you two. Use it as you see fit, or just chuckle and set it aside.
--
Keep your powder dry,
K.
"III"
----------------
Prags vs. IIIpers, or,
French Army vs. French Foreign Legion?
Pull yourselves out of your comfortable paradigm as a Devout Gun Rights Activist and ponder this:
"If you were an opposing force, would you behave differently if you faced the French Army than you would facing the French Foreign Legion?"
Remember, the French Army suffers the dishonor of being reputed to surrender at nearly every opportunity. A subset of it, the French Foreign Legion, has quite a different reputation.
The men of The Legion are often there because they fit in nowhere else, have nothing left to lose, hold unbending beliefs, and seek those of like steeled minds as compatriots - and they fight correspondingly viciously.
They come from many places, yet share a common dedication. They are often "holders of extreme political beliefs" when compared to the standard French soldier.
They are different, and they are unbending.
If I were a gun grabber, why would I not think of the general RKBA movement as the French Army? Sure, they have lots of nice fancy arms. Some of them have even shot them (once or twice, at a target or a deer). Many of them talk a good game. Yet they are arguable more skilled at retreat than at offensive martial skills. A hollow army, or so it could seem to the casual observer based upon historical behavior.
Contrast that with the French Foreign Legion. Castaways in their own midst, loners from afar, philosophical brothers born of dissimilar mothers. Men who "know what they are about" one and all. What are their numbers? I have not done the research and truly don't know.
However, I will state that it is unlikely that at any one time they ever composed more than about.....three percent of the French Army. Yet they were and are known to exist. Forcefully.
In the current gun rights struggle, what is essential is to recognize that the existence of such a dedicated minority is factual. They are here and they will not go away. They are already marginalized, so there is little concern for good PR amongst them. They speak primarily with their actions, thus their presence is often overlooked. While the rest of the greater army may not like them, they must recognize their presence and utilize their reputation. As for the opposing forces, the wise recognize them, the foolish ignore them.
Thus, in the context of the current struggles surrounding the Second Amendment, were I the enemy, I'd push until I saw the white flag. That is, unless I recognized The Legion, then I'd push elsewhere in order to avoid a repeat of The Battle of Camaron (Mexico, 1863, see here.).
Similarly, were I in the pragmatist section of the RKBA movement, I would highlight the presence of the Legions, then go about my work and leave them alone. They aren't going to change, so don't waste valuable resources trying to force a metamorphosis. Like unyielding rocks in your garden, just work around them.
For these types, the IIIpers, The Legions, live by a different creed. Perhaps it is best summarized by the leader of the small band that won such fame in Mexico so long ago. When the commander of the vastly superior Mexican force demanded the surrender of the Legion's small band, their commander Captain Danjou simply replied:
"We have munitions. We will not surrender."
Capt. Danjou, we "III" salute you, sir!
I received this (along with Pete at WRSA) via email. It is an interesting analysis of the Three Percenters vs. Pragmatist debate. My thanks to "Atlas Shrug" for sending it.
Mike
III
Mike and Peter,
In the interest of protecting my valuable and scarce time, I have largely stayed away from the recent "Prags vs. IIIpers" flame wars (aside from some initial posts and such with the initial MV vs. Knox squabble). Nonetheless, I've done some thinking on it at random moments. One such mental side road made me reflect on the contrasts, and this stereotypically distorted historical analogy came to mind. I thought I would share it with you two. Use it as you see fit, or just chuckle and set it aside.
--
Keep your powder dry,
K.
"III"
----------------
Prags vs. IIIpers, or,
French Army vs. French Foreign Legion?
Pull yourselves out of your comfortable paradigm as a Devout Gun Rights Activist and ponder this:
"If you were an opposing force, would you behave differently if you faced the French Army than you would facing the French Foreign Legion?"
Remember, the French Army suffers the dishonor of being reputed to surrender at nearly every opportunity. A subset of it, the French Foreign Legion, has quite a different reputation.
The men of The Legion are often there because they fit in nowhere else, have nothing left to lose, hold unbending beliefs, and seek those of like steeled minds as compatriots - and they fight correspondingly viciously.
They come from many places, yet share a common dedication. They are often "holders of extreme political beliefs" when compared to the standard French soldier.
They are different, and they are unbending.
If I were a gun grabber, why would I not think of the general RKBA movement as the French Army? Sure, they have lots of nice fancy arms. Some of them have even shot them (once or twice, at a target or a deer). Many of them talk a good game. Yet they are arguable more skilled at retreat than at offensive martial skills. A hollow army, or so it could seem to the casual observer based upon historical behavior.
Contrast that with the French Foreign Legion. Castaways in their own midst, loners from afar, philosophical brothers born of dissimilar mothers. Men who "know what they are about" one and all. What are their numbers? I have not done the research and truly don't know.
However, I will state that it is unlikely that at any one time they ever composed more than about.....three percent of the French Army. Yet they were and are known to exist. Forcefully.
In the current gun rights struggle, what is essential is to recognize that the existence of such a dedicated minority is factual. They are here and they will not go away. They are already marginalized, so there is little concern for good PR amongst them. They speak primarily with their actions, thus their presence is often overlooked. While the rest of the greater army may not like them, they must recognize their presence and utilize their reputation. As for the opposing forces, the wise recognize them, the foolish ignore them.
Thus, in the context of the current struggles surrounding the Second Amendment, were I the enemy, I'd push until I saw the white flag. That is, unless I recognized The Legion, then I'd push elsewhere in order to avoid a repeat of The Battle of Camaron (Mexico, 1863, see here.).
Similarly, were I in the pragmatist section of the RKBA movement, I would highlight the presence of the Legions, then go about my work and leave them alone. They aren't going to change, so don't waste valuable resources trying to force a metamorphosis. Like unyielding rocks in your garden, just work around them.
For these types, the IIIpers, The Legions, live by a different creed. Perhaps it is best summarized by the leader of the small band that won such fame in Mexico so long ago. When the commander of the vastly superior Mexican force demanded the surrender of the Legion's small band, their commander Captain Danjou simply replied:
"We have munitions. We will not surrender."
Capt. Danjou, we "III" salute you, sir!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
"NRA losing its firepower"? Who's going to protect the gun grabbers now?
To: Tom Teepen, Cox Newspapers
Via Email: teepencolumn@earthlink.net
re: "NRA is losing its firepower," Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Found here.
"NRA losing its firepower"? Who's going to protect you now?
Dear Tom,
I've read your anti-firearm sermons for some years now, wherein you faithfully regurgitate the Brady Bunch's advocacy of citizen disarmament. Because of this, I understand the futility of arguing the point with you.
But since we have now passed through the looking glass with an anti-firearm president and a supportive absolute majority in Congress, where the old political verities no longer apply and you no longer have the NRA and GOP to protect you, let me explain the new rules of the game. As you say, "the NRA is losing its power." This should worry you. You say:
"(P)olling has found for some time that majorities -- often including most gun owners -- support a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases, limits on the number of firearms that can be bought at any one time, outlawing assault-style weapons, closing the loophole that lets buyers at gun shows duck background checks."
Uh huh. And if polling found majorities of the populace willing to strip you of your 1st Amendment right to pen anti-firearm rights bilge, would that mean anything? You would claim, and rightly so, that the Constitution codified your natural right of free speech. Let me clue you in Tom. We don't give a rodent's hindparts what kind of "majority opinion" you muster. We're done compromising our God given, inalienable right to arms.
I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that when you endorsed the Brady Campaign's craftily named lie called "the gun show loophole," you must not have looked beyond the Brady press release to understand the naked theft of liberty it truly represents. As Sarah Brady has said elsewhere, it means "universal background checks for EVERY gun sold in this country."
She says, "sold," but the bill will read "transferred," in order, they will say, "to prevent bartering." We will have to get the federal government's permission to give our grandpa's shotgun to our son. This represents the federal seizure of control over every firearm transfer. It also means de facto universal gun registration. Not even King George the Third was so grasping and the Founders shot at his troops for much less.
This is throwing to the wind the previous legal fig leaf used to justify regulating gun dealers, the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Now even the private, intrastate transfer of firearms will be under the federal boot.
In addition, you say with one breath that Obama will not confiscate anyone's arms and then in the next you pimp the confiscationist ban on semi-automatic rifles. You can't have it both ways. And with the NRA and the GOP swept aside, we no longer can count on political protection. If politics fails us, how then will we defend our traditional rights to property and liberty?
I'll tell you. Americans who consider their right to arms to be God given and inalienable will resist these bills if they become law, by armed civil disobedience if necessary. Is that what you had in mind?
You are right in one respect. The NRA and the GOP no longer stand in your confiscationist way. You've got us surrounded, you poor fools. Go ahead and pass these unconstitutional laws and watch what happens.
You'd better pray to whatever god you believe in that we don't adopt Bill Clinton's rules of war against the Serbians and consider it legitimate to target the press that supports the military effort of our opponent when the raiding parties you advocate come to our doors. Because even when democracy becomes tyranny, we still get to vote. We just won't use voting booths to send the message.
Mike Vanderboegh
PO Box 926
Pinson, AL 35126
GeorgeMason1776@aol.com
sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com
Via Email: teepencolumn@earthlink.net
re: "NRA is losing its firepower," Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Found here.
"NRA losing its firepower"? Who's going to protect you now?
Dear Tom,
I've read your anti-firearm sermons for some years now, wherein you faithfully regurgitate the Brady Bunch's advocacy of citizen disarmament. Because of this, I understand the futility of arguing the point with you.
But since we have now passed through the looking glass with an anti-firearm president and a supportive absolute majority in Congress, where the old political verities no longer apply and you no longer have the NRA and GOP to protect you, let me explain the new rules of the game. As you say, "the NRA is losing its power." This should worry you. You say:
"(P)olling has found for some time that majorities -- often including most gun owners -- support a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases, limits on the number of firearms that can be bought at any one time, outlawing assault-style weapons, closing the loophole that lets buyers at gun shows duck background checks."
Uh huh. And if polling found majorities of the populace willing to strip you of your 1st Amendment right to pen anti-firearm rights bilge, would that mean anything? You would claim, and rightly so, that the Constitution codified your natural right of free speech. Let me clue you in Tom. We don't give a rodent's hindparts what kind of "majority opinion" you muster. We're done compromising our God given, inalienable right to arms.
I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that when you endorsed the Brady Campaign's craftily named lie called "the gun show loophole," you must not have looked beyond the Brady press release to understand the naked theft of liberty it truly represents. As Sarah Brady has said elsewhere, it means "universal background checks for EVERY gun sold in this country."
She says, "sold," but the bill will read "transferred," in order, they will say, "to prevent bartering." We will have to get the federal government's permission to give our grandpa's shotgun to our son. This represents the federal seizure of control over every firearm transfer. It also means de facto universal gun registration. Not even King George the Third was so grasping and the Founders shot at his troops for much less.
This is throwing to the wind the previous legal fig leaf used to justify regulating gun dealers, the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Now even the private, intrastate transfer of firearms will be under the federal boot.
In addition, you say with one breath that Obama will not confiscate anyone's arms and then in the next you pimp the confiscationist ban on semi-automatic rifles. You can't have it both ways. And with the NRA and the GOP swept aside, we no longer can count on political protection. If politics fails us, how then will we defend our traditional rights to property and liberty?
I'll tell you. Americans who consider their right to arms to be God given and inalienable will resist these bills if they become law, by armed civil disobedience if necessary. Is that what you had in mind?
You are right in one respect. The NRA and the GOP no longer stand in your confiscationist way. You've got us surrounded, you poor fools. Go ahead and pass these unconstitutional laws and watch what happens.
You'd better pray to whatever god you believe in that we don't adopt Bill Clinton's rules of war against the Serbians and consider it legitimate to target the press that supports the military effort of our opponent when the raiding parties you advocate come to our doors. Because even when democracy becomes tyranny, we still get to vote. We just won't use voting booths to send the message.
Mike Vanderboegh
PO Box 926
Pinson, AL 35126
GeorgeMason1776@aol.com
sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com
"If its a firearm, we're taking it."
When the Nanny State cross-dresses in jackboots.
At the last gun show here in Birmingham, I had an interesting conversation with a machine gun collector about a new "assault weapons Ban," which of course is about semi-automatic rifles, not automatic weapons like his $20,000 Browning Automatic Rifle and his $15,000 Thompson SMG. He agreed that the next AWB would likely include confiscation for some class of weapons, if not evil semi-autos then fifty caliber rifles of all types. He even agreed with me that some of us "insane" (to use a comman Prag description) Three Percenters would resist and that the ATF would come for whomever they thought had a banned weapon.
But, he said, "they won't bother me because I'm legit," meaning that he had paid his transfer taxes, provided the ATF with a schematic of his home, submitted to inspections and all the usual inconveniences that go with complying with the National Firearms Act of 1934. I laughed in his face.
"Do you seriously think that if people are shooting at them in self defense over semi-auto rifle confiscation raids that they will leave your machine guns in your safe? They will come to you and say, 'We need to pick up your weapons for the duration of the emergency. You'll get them back someday, and if you don't I'm sure the government will reimburse you for them.'"
He looked slack-jawed at me, turning the idea over in his head. I interrupted his unpleasant thoughts. "Its all of us, or none us. They won't leave you alone. If you want to preserve your property and your liberty, you'll have to fight for it. Just. Like. Us." I drew out the last part, hitting hard on every word.
"But," he began and then fell silent.
"Think it through," I told him, "you'll see I'm right."
Last year, David Harsanyi wrote a book called "Nanny State" where he made the observation that the Nanny State, as grandmotherly as the name sounds, is really about control -- absolute control of the government over all individuals within its borders. And I would add, that when the Nanny State crossdresses in jackboots, you get the kind of control exhibited at Ruby Ridge and Waco.
Finding the guy with the jackboots.
I got to thinking after my conversation with the machine gun collector that the same principle certainly applied to the hunting rifles of those members of the gun-owning public we Three Percenters refer to as "Elmer Fudds" who are perfectly happy if semi-autos are banned and to the self-defense weapons of the Pragmatists, or "Prags," who think us crazy for believing that the time has come where the old political remedies no longer apply.
To test this theory, I went in search of an anti-gun cop, looking for one of David Codrea's "Only Ones" who believes that only the "authorities" should have firearms. I needed to find the guy with the jackboots.
Living here in Alabama, that took some doing. But after a few weeks and on my twenty-third try, I finally ran into a Birmingham police supervisor (middle management type) who told me frankly what he thought. I started out asking him how Birmingham was doing with the ICE project that is run in cooperation with the ATF, which is supposed to be targeted at getting firearms out of the hands of street criminals. He was frustrated he said about how little impact it had on the number of murders in Birmingham (which are up) but he liked and respected the ATF and its agents. He had wanted to join ATF when he was younger, he said, but he didn't.
Aha, I thought, now we're getting somewhere. "So, if you had the ability, would you pick up all the guns in private hands in the projects?" He eyed me suspiciously for a moment, but then relaxed. "I don't know about all of them, but most of them, yeah?" We talked for a bit about accidental deaths from firearms and how he thought someone who didn't store it properly ought to have his or her firearm confiscated for "their own good." The line at the Wal-Mart service counter was moving forward so I went for the $64,000 question.
"So, if the order came down to pickup all assault weapons, would you do it?" He looked off into the distance for a minute and, then said, as if to no one in particular, "Yeah, I would." And what about his fellow officers? Would they? Now he looked at me in the face. "Yeah, they would. Some of 'em wouldn't want to, but they'd obey orders rather than lose their jobs." I nodded. "But if it came to that, wouldn't you have to pick up all the guns?"
He nodded in agreement and then said, "Look, if we're in somebody's house confiscating illegal guns, if its a firearm we're taking it." And what if the guy didn't have the assault weapon they were looking for, what if he just had a shotgun or something? "At that point, I'm taking it until he can prove that he doesn't have an illegal weapon hidden somewhere."
Bad news for the Emma-Gees, the Fudds and the Prags.
So here we all are, on the verge of more "reasonable regulation" that will strip us all of liberty and the right to property -- legislation that us Three Percenters will disobey at the point of a firearm. The Emma-Gees (machine gun collectors), the Fudds and the Prags should understand at least this. The bell tolls for thee as much as for me. If you want to keep your property and your liberty you'd better be digging your foxhole along the line that we Three Percenters have marked out. Because if we lose, so do you. If we're forcibly disarmed, so will you be. And after that, you're just so much meat to be ordered about by tyrannical butchers.
The Prags are vociferous that politics will defend us. If they truly believe that, they'd better be politicking like a one-armed paperhanger in a windstorm. Because the windstorm is coming to their doors whether they like it or not.
At the last gun show here in Birmingham, I had an interesting conversation with a machine gun collector about a new "assault weapons Ban," which of course is about semi-automatic rifles, not automatic weapons like his $20,000 Browning Automatic Rifle and his $15,000 Thompson SMG. He agreed that the next AWB would likely include confiscation for some class of weapons, if not evil semi-autos then fifty caliber rifles of all types. He even agreed with me that some of us "insane" (to use a comman Prag description) Three Percenters would resist and that the ATF would come for whomever they thought had a banned weapon.
But, he said, "they won't bother me because I'm legit," meaning that he had paid his transfer taxes, provided the ATF with a schematic of his home, submitted to inspections and all the usual inconveniences that go with complying with the National Firearms Act of 1934. I laughed in his face.
"Do you seriously think that if people are shooting at them in self defense over semi-auto rifle confiscation raids that they will leave your machine guns in your safe? They will come to you and say, 'We need to pick up your weapons for the duration of the emergency. You'll get them back someday, and if you don't I'm sure the government will reimburse you for them.'"
He looked slack-jawed at me, turning the idea over in his head. I interrupted his unpleasant thoughts. "Its all of us, or none us. They won't leave you alone. If you want to preserve your property and your liberty, you'll have to fight for it. Just. Like. Us." I drew out the last part, hitting hard on every word.
"But," he began and then fell silent.
"Think it through," I told him, "you'll see I'm right."
Last year, David Harsanyi wrote a book called "Nanny State" where he made the observation that the Nanny State, as grandmotherly as the name sounds, is really about control -- absolute control of the government over all individuals within its borders. And I would add, that when the Nanny State crossdresses in jackboots, you get the kind of control exhibited at Ruby Ridge and Waco.
Finding the guy with the jackboots.
I got to thinking after my conversation with the machine gun collector that the same principle certainly applied to the hunting rifles of those members of the gun-owning public we Three Percenters refer to as "Elmer Fudds" who are perfectly happy if semi-autos are banned and to the self-defense weapons of the Pragmatists, or "Prags," who think us crazy for believing that the time has come where the old political remedies no longer apply.
To test this theory, I went in search of an anti-gun cop, looking for one of David Codrea's "Only Ones" who believes that only the "authorities" should have firearms. I needed to find the guy with the jackboots.
Living here in Alabama, that took some doing. But after a few weeks and on my twenty-third try, I finally ran into a Birmingham police supervisor (middle management type) who told me frankly what he thought. I started out asking him how Birmingham was doing with the ICE project that is run in cooperation with the ATF, which is supposed to be targeted at getting firearms out of the hands of street criminals. He was frustrated he said about how little impact it had on the number of murders in Birmingham (which are up) but he liked and respected the ATF and its agents. He had wanted to join ATF when he was younger, he said, but he didn't.
Aha, I thought, now we're getting somewhere. "So, if you had the ability, would you pick up all the guns in private hands in the projects?" He eyed me suspiciously for a moment, but then relaxed. "I don't know about all of them, but most of them, yeah?" We talked for a bit about accidental deaths from firearms and how he thought someone who didn't store it properly ought to have his or her firearm confiscated for "their own good." The line at the Wal-Mart service counter was moving forward so I went for the $64,000 question.
"So, if the order came down to pickup all assault weapons, would you do it?" He looked off into the distance for a minute and, then said, as if to no one in particular, "Yeah, I would." And what about his fellow officers? Would they? Now he looked at me in the face. "Yeah, they would. Some of 'em wouldn't want to, but they'd obey orders rather than lose their jobs." I nodded. "But if it came to that, wouldn't you have to pick up all the guns?"
He nodded in agreement and then said, "Look, if we're in somebody's house confiscating illegal guns, if its a firearm we're taking it." And what if the guy didn't have the assault weapon they were looking for, what if he just had a shotgun or something? "At that point, I'm taking it until he can prove that he doesn't have an illegal weapon hidden somewhere."
Bad news for the Emma-Gees, the Fudds and the Prags.
So here we all are, on the verge of more "reasonable regulation" that will strip us all of liberty and the right to property -- legislation that us Three Percenters will disobey at the point of a firearm. The Emma-Gees (machine gun collectors), the Fudds and the Prags should understand at least this. The bell tolls for thee as much as for me. If you want to keep your property and your liberty you'd better be digging your foxhole along the line that we Three Percenters have marked out. Because if we lose, so do you. If we're forcibly disarmed, so will you be. And after that, you're just so much meat to be ordered about by tyrannical butchers.
The Prags are vociferous that politics will defend us. If they truly believe that, they'd better be politicking like a one-armed paperhanger in a windstorm. Because the windstorm is coming to their doors whether they like it or not.
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