SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”.
The Nuclear Football in Beijing
I’m not completely familiar on how the infamous “nuclear football” works. For those more unfamiliar than I am, it is supposed to be a briefcase that has the nuclear launch codes. It goes where the president goes. President Trump’s recent visit to Beijing caused quite a dust-up when the president was allowed in the Great Hall of the People, but the person carrying the briefcase was not. After a short confrontation, the U.S. delegation proceeded to follow the president anyway on the instruction of Chief of Staff, John Kelly. One U.S. secret service agent apparently tackled a Chinese security officer when he placed a hand Kelly.
Gun Facts
John Cylc wrote a good article on The State of Guns in America using just facts – Not opinion. In the words of Rahm Emanuel, never let a good emergency go to waste. The progressive/liberals don’t even let the ink dry on the newspapers, let alone the mourning bury their loved ones before they politicize the mass shootings anymore. Their rhetoric is filled with emotional please for “common sense gun control”, whatever that means. They don’t hesitate to twist statistics or even make up their own if it furthers their goals. What else can we expect when we have created such victim rich (gun free) zones around America. Cylc puts the numbers in perspective and shows the true agenda.
Home in a Ghost Town
The end of copper mining left a log of ghost towns in Michigan, but not all of them are deserted. Michigan’s upper peninsula actually has some ghost towns that are not completely deserted. This article is an interesting history lesson on how boom towns spring up and collapse and the lives that are affected. It’s an interesting read. Thanks to Scott R. for the link.
More on Social Media
From the desk of Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large:
Inside The Two Years That Shook Facebook—And The World. If you must use social media, use adblockers, and never put personal info into your profile.
I make up a different birthday for every platform, cycling through the months of the year. Not even SurvivalBlog has my real birthdate. If someone has your name, birthdate, address and mother’s maiden name, they can easily manipulate access to all your accounts, including bank and credit card. Don’t list your address, your phone, or an outside email. Never take a “survey” or answer questions about your likes. At best, you will be deluged with ads. At worst, you may have your identity stolen. In between Zuckerberg and his enemies will use you as a pawn in their fight over media control.
Impact of Progressive Policies
Reader H.L. sent in this article on what happens when progressive/liberals run your city. A recent survey of the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit showed of the 153 blocks of downtown San Francisco, all were filled with trash, 41 blocks were dotted with needles and 96 blocks were sullied with piles of feces. The mix of used drug paraphernalia, trash and feces throughout the downtown area make it less than desirable to work in, let alone visit. This used to be a rich tourist attraction, now it’s just a homeless and drug abuser attraction. Note that this diseased condition exists right alongside schools and playgrounds.
Do Decent Physical Newspapers Still Exist?
Reader B.L. wrote in to ask the readership if they were aware of any physical newspapers that their family could subscribe to. Their household is trying to limit screen time and all of their local newspapers are questionable even for fish wrap or bird cage lining due to the left-leaning biases. Let them know in the comments if you have a good newspaper they can follow.
National Anthem Embarrassment
By now, I’m sure everyone has heard the National Anthem sung by Fergie at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. We are quite confident that Rosanne Barr has now been unseated as the singer of the worst possible rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. Fergie’s rendition was reminiscent of something that belonged in bedroom, much like Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Happy Birthday” and stands as an embarrassment to us all. While she claims it just didn’t have the effect she wanted it too, we are not sure what effect she was trying for. About the only thing worth watching during that rendition was the expressions on the players and the audience as they struggled to maintain their composure. I’d hate to leave you with that bad taste in your mouth. If you listened to that, you probably threw up a little. Here is how is should be sung – with honor.
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Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!
Thank you for including the link to Anthony Kearns’ singing of the National Anthem. It did indeed remove the foul taste from the Fergie rendition..
Just a minor clarification: the nuclear football contains the authorization codes that allow the President to authorize the pentagon to launch based on a particular response plan. He may authorize a limited tactical attack up to an all out “let slip the dogs of war”.
The book “Raven Rock” says the military aides carrying the football refer to the nuclear war options as Rare, Medium and Well Done.
I’m totally ok with tone-deaf Americans singing our National Anthem badly. We the People, y’know. But to deliberately butcher it?
My kids made me hear 30 seconds. Nausea.
My MX born, naturalized American wife was offended when some jerk came up with Nuestro Hymno, allegedly the Star-Spangled Banner translated into Spanish.
Fergie’s style was odd but what bothered me most was her pronounciation or elecution. It sounded like someone who didnn’t speak English. I’m not so familiar with all the stars and singers that I know what she usually sounds like but if this is it why would she be popular?
1) Hmmm. The Secret Service is not even light infantry.
What if the Chinese military had taken the football away from the military aide and used it to launch US ICBMs at Russia –thereby triggering a retaliatory attack on the USA by Russia?
2) My understanding is that there are MULTIPLE Footballs — otherwise, there would be no way for a Presidential successor/survivor to command US counterstrikes. But if Pence was busy trying to deal with a nuclear war with Russia he might not have time to wonder what happened in China. After a few hours it might not matter. And undamaged China could then take over the world.
Multiple footballs follow the Presidential succession line. And the President himself carries the cookie that in combination with the football can authorize a launch. If someone has the President and the football, game over.
Hmm. Maybe things were set up so that any nuclear launch order coming from Trump in China had to also be approved by an official here in the USA — where was Secretary of Defense James Mattis ?
My comment is about gun control. The Marxist/leftists want gun control more and more every time something happens in the way of a shooting, regardless of whether it is a school shooting, a self-defense shooting, a cop shooting a criminal, etc.
What is never discussed, especially in regards to the mass shootings at schools, or the relatively recent Las Vegas shooting, is the need for help for those with mental health problems.
The psychiatrists and psychologists have their hands tied by laws that the Marxist/leftists passed protecting the privacy of those with mental health disorders to such an extent that unless the person is sitting in their office fully armed saying, I’m going to leave here and start killing people, they cannot inform law enforcement of the situation. Just making a comment during a session with a psychiatrist or psychologist about hurting/shooting people is not enough to let them warn law enforcement that the person may very well be dangerous, and that law enforcement needs to make sure the person cannot buy firearms and that they have checked to see if they already have firearms.
That would go a long way to stopping these mass shootings.
Would some still slip through the cracks, yes, but at least it would be minimized.
More gun laws are not needed.
More laws concerning people with serious mental health issues that could lead to violence need to be passed to protect everyone including the person suffering from the mental health issue.
I have a friend who just retired as a psychologist who has told me all kinds of stories about clients she was deeply concerned about committing violent acts, but her hands were tied by the existing laws, and she could not inform law enforcement that they needed to be watching a particular person, and have them on the cannot buy list.
Could those laws be misused or abused by law enforcement? Yes, but if the laws were written so that they were more specific to included that the person is making statements about committing violence, perhaps those abuses could be minimized as well.
A lot of concerns, but it could be handled properly if we start getting better people in office.
Re: Gun facts
Trump signs memo recommending AG Sessions ban ‘bump stocks’ — devices that turn weapons into ‘machine guns’
President Donald Trump announced that he has recommended that Attorney General Jeff Sessions declare so-called bump stocks illegal.
Bump stocks are devices that render semi-automatic rifles capable of firing hundreds of rounds every minute.
Steven Paddock, the gunman who killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more last October in Las Vegas, had at least 12 rifles outfitted with bump stocks.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/20/trump-signs-a-memo-telling-attorney-general-sessions-to-ban-devices-that-turn-weapons-into-machine-guns.html
Re: the State of Guns in America, one fact is missing. Media and other gun control advocates parrot a statement from Wikipedia that an AR-15 can fire at a sustained rate of around 800 to 900 rounds per minute. That’s insane. TM’s provide a number about 1/10 of that. Perhaps someone could contact the author to add a corrrective statement on that. Better yet, if someone out there has Wikipedia edit privileges, perhaps the ‘source’ could be corrected.
Yep, a big difference between cyclic rate of fire and sustained rate of fire. With a semi auto you can do aimed fire at the rate of one to two rounds per second or a maximum of 60 rounds per minute, which includes at least one magazine change. A bump stock might increase that to 180-200 rpm, but you lose significantly in the accuracy department, and have to do multiple mag changes. No AR 15 that I am aware of can achieve the cyclic rate of fire for a minute, since you would need to eliminate magazine changes and go with a belt feed. I’ve fired M60s at cyclic for about 20 seconds, but the belts came in 250 rd lengths, so you had to change a belt pretty quickly.
About the newspaper … I’ve been looking this same thing forseveral years, and it is almost impossible to find any decent papers, even if the politics are reasonable simply because even if they are printed, you may have difficulty getting delivery. (Or the paper has only 8 pages.) The best I know of is the Wall Street Journal. I know people who get it daily in their mailboxes, same day delivery, in the center of Iowa. We need something like the old “Grit” and “Cappers.” weekly papers with both big news stories and features to rural readers (from a Constitutional/libertarian viewpoint, of course).
I just checked again. The Washington Times DOES have a hard copy subscription. They used to be just politics, but it looks as if they have expanded into other areas as well. Angle seems to be conservative and respectful of Christianity. Glad to see there is something!
You know not everyone on prescription meds tries to kill people. That being said, it is truly amazing how many of these mass shootings are done by people on prescription meds. I think it is virtually all of them in the past 20 or 30 years. I believe we will find that this Nikolas Cruz is also on prescription meds. Yet the leftists always want to blame the tool rather than the individual or the LEGAL drug pushers and suppliers.
I find it ironic that there is no Dram Shop Act that applies to pill pushing doctors and the pharmaceutical industry. If a bar owner can be held liable for the actions of a person they serve one-too-many drinks to, why can’t doctors and big pharma also be held liable for the results of the actions of those they give these truly evil drugs to.
Think about it, give it some thought.
If your family is Catholic, you could try The Remnant newspaper. Very intelligent, covers world issues, lots of good authors.
Thanks for the suggestion. I just looked at the website and WOW! Even if you aren’t Catholic, you will find many commonalities, such as the fact that The Remnant is on the SPLC’s “hate” list. I am not Catholic, but have watched a lot of EWTN over the years and have many good Catholic, conservative friends. I may subscribe just to support their stand in the world!
Anti-gun lobby does not let facts , truth or scrutiny of the entire picture interfere with their agenda.
Pharmaceutical companies are rarely held responsible because their lobbyists have bought our government . Unethical yet incredibly not illegal.
Teach your children to respect ,safely handle and enjoy shooting. They are the only hope to keep our rights and traditions alive. Some of my best memories are of shooting with my granddad.
The number of gun crimes perpetrators that are already known to the police and FBI should be our main concern. Students at Parkland school said on camera that they were not surprised Cruz was the shooter. They expected him to do something .
Thank you and keep up the good work.
I would like to encourage readers to take the 10 cent challenge. Well worth it.
I gave up a long time ago arguing gun control with liberals and wants and needs of ar’s and high capacity magazines with Elmer Fudd gun owners. The second amendment is clear enough for any one with brains and understand it ain’t about hunting ,bubba. The problem is it’s about something potentially uncomfortable or distasteful, protecting ourselves and loved ones from criminals and yes even a tyrinacall government. I thank our forefathers for putting in writing the rights that were given to us not by man but by god . Nuff Said
I am tired of our national anthem being “performed” by a supposedly better than average singer at sporting and other events. Yes, I realize the melody is not the easiest, but so what? We should ALL be singing it, lustily! For those with limited vocabularies, “lustily” has a different meaning than “lustfully.” Look it up.