When the Legends Die...

Does anyone remember the old movie, "When the Legends Die", with Richard Widmark?

I am reminded of that movie this morning when I received the very sad news of the passing of my friend, Corporal John Kinsel Sr. Corporal Kinsel was one of the last two living Navajo Code Talkers. He died peacefully in his sleep this morning, less than three months short of his 108th birthday.

John kept asking his son if it had snowed yet, and early this morning, the wind came howling, bringing his parents and both sides of his relatives that came for John and he took his final journey with the first snow that he had been waiting for. The moisture lifted his footprints. The Kinsel family uses traditional ways, in that the departed will let us humans know of their time to take their Spiritual journey.

Few men have lived like John Kinsel lived. To say he lived a full life would be a gross understatement. John was a hero in the purest sense of the word. If one wishes to explain to a young man what a real man is, tell him about Corporal John Kinsel Sr.

Amy and I have been beyond honored to have been friends with John and his son, Ron Kinsel for several years now. We have enjoyed visiting them in their home on numerous occasions. 

The Code Talkers service was a turning point for America in WWII and provided the edge that we needed to win the war.  Bear in mind that they did not have to do this and who would blame them if they refused. Truth is, they were eager to help and many, many volunteered.

After returning from the war, John built a small, one-room cabin near Lukachukai, AZ and raised his family there.

I have posted several times about our visits up there. The links below are two of the most notable. There are also more pictures in those links...

Hágoónee, Nizhónígo!

.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/thCowB8AVG6VuL73/

.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/mk6ZYGWmTo8yMZ32/

NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER!

This is very long, but it has a point to it. I hope I’m able to make it.

There was a video posted recently called “The Most Dangerous Enemy in a Civil War" in which a guy proceeded to tell us, in colorful language, how doomed we were in the event of a civil war. He claims that the average citizens would be going up against “battle-hardened MF'rs" with all the latest and greatest battle toys.

I agree with the guy to a certain extent, but he kind of gives me the impression that he’s a bit of a defeatist. He’s talking down a little bit to people that he figures don’t have the experience he claims to have and therefore, assumes that they have little chance.

I want to make a quick observation here. Regardless of the title of his video, he’s not necessarily talking about civil war. I explained this in detail several months ago. He’s likely referring to rebellion, or revolution during which citizens will be fighting one or more factions of some level of government, presumably the federal government. A true civil war is when 2 or more groups of civilians fight each other for control over or independence from, another group. Some faction of the state may also be involved.

Be that as it may, there are many cases throughout history where the underdog must not have seen his video and the opposite of his assumption took place.

Take the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, for instance. This battle was fought by some of the bravest men that ever lived. King Leonidas initially had 7000 soldiers that he pitted against a force over TWENTY TIMES bigger than his. I’ll shorten this very long, interesting story up quite a bit and tell you that before it was all over, Leonidas sent most of what was left of his troops home and kept 300 warriors with him. Final tally – 4000 Spartan casualties; 20,000 Persian army casualties. This was made possible by Leonidas’ soldiers having superior training and using a choke point in the terrain as a force multiplier. Unfortunately, Leonidas and all his men were eventually killed but the damage they inflicted to the opposition was monumental.

As a side note, there were many memorable quotes attributed to King Leonidas. Without a doubt, my 3 favorites were:

1. When Leonidas went off to fight the Battle of Thermopylae, his wife asked him, “What am I to do if you do not return?” He replied, “Marry a good man and have good children.” He didn’t tell her, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back.” He was a realist and knew very well that he may not return and wanted her to continue a happy, productive life.

2. This is is a very long quote and I don’t remember all of it but the most significant part went something like this, “…for me to die for Greece is better than to be the sole ruler over all the people there” or something like that. Fearless. He did not fear giving his life for his people and his country. He considered that outcome to be more honorable.

3. The last one of my favorites is one you should all know. When the Persian emissary delivered the message from his commander for Leonidas to lay down his arms, Leonidas simply said, “Molon Labe!”. Directly translated, that means “come take”, or “come and get them!”

I’m going to slip one more in here, just because I love it…

One of Leonidas’ soldiers was told by the enemy that there would be so many arrows headed their way that they would “darken the sun”. The soldier said, “All the better. Then we may fight our battle in the shade!”

Now, let’s look at the 1st American Revolution. The largest, most disciplined, well-funded military in the history of the world got their a$$e$ handed to them by a bunch of rag-tag farmers and other civilians with no formal training in the beginning and very little throughout the war. It’s interesting to note that an estimated 3% of the population of the colonies made up nearly the entire colonial fighting force. The Continental Army proved themselves in battle and after a couple years, other countries came to the aid of the about-to-be created, United States of America.

The colonists resisted fighting back even though some of their wives and daughters had been raped, homes had been taken over or destroyed and some of the colonists were even killed. But they resisted fighting back to a large degree. Finally, they had had enough. On 19 April, 1775, the Revolutionary War officially kicked off at Lexington and Concord. What started it? The Brits were rounding up guns and powder and farmers were having none of it.

Afghanistan, late 70’s. After 10 years of fighting, the technologically advanced Russians suffered some pretty heavy losses, primarily inflicted by people riding horses and shooting homemade guns.

 Gorbachev, with his butt in his hands, gave up trying to install communism in Afghanistan and went home in the late 80’s.

Let’s give another freedom fighter their due recognition… Israel. Israel has wanted nothing more than to be left alone to enjoy their way of life and the practice of their religion. For nearly 80 years, since Israel declared their independence, they have fiercely fought multiple larger countries that sought to destroy them, against what must have seemed like insurmountable odds at times. Israel is still there...

There are others but these were some of the most notable.

The point that I am trying to make here, is that in each of these cases, victory seemed distant and unlikely, considering the odds. But in each event, this minor detail did not deter the freedom fighters. They were fighting for their homes and countries and more importantly, their freedom. They had something to fight for. It was important enough to them that each man, in each case, fought with the savagery of multiple men, because losing was not in their vocabulary. It was unacceptable.

NEVER GIVE UP AND NEVER SURRENDER!

The video mentioned above is at the link below. Be advised that it contains unnecessary, vulgar language but makes a few interesting points…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cfJnylqNAoo&si=pI85XpBGagXCKgHM

8-hr Disaster Preparedness Seminar this month!

The next 8-hr Disaster Preparedness will be held at Vernon Community Park from 9am to 5pm on 31 May, 2024.

Virtually every conceivable topic related to emergency preparedness will be discussed. Please bring note-taking materials!

This seminar will provide valuable and detailed information on the following topics:

* Food storage

* Communication

* Storing fuel

* Stress management

* Medical concerns and solutions

* Defensive weapons

* Finding, storing and purifying water

* Chemical, biological and nuclear information

* Survival Communications

* Bartering and MUCH, MUCH MORE!!

Please bring a lunch! We will take a short break, then class will continue while you finish toir lunch. We're doing it this way so that we can finish up a little earlier and those who are traveling longer distances can get home earlier. We will also do a Q&A session during lunch.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AS SEATING IS LIMITED!

You can Venmo to: @Desertscout1

or Zelle to 76paragon@gmail.com 

or pay cash at the door.

The cost is $49 per person for the whole day! This class has been $125 for nearly 15 years but due to current events and the urgency that we feel at this time, we have dramatically reduced the price in an effort to encourage more people to attend.

The Park address is:

1567 ACR 3140

​VERNON, AZ

PATRIOT DAY...

Officially, Patriot Day is recognized every September 11th in memory of the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. While I certainly wouldn't dream of taking anything away from the nearly 3,000 people that perished as a result of that event, I have often wondered how, exactly, they determined that "Patriot Day" was a fitting name to commemorate it. In my mind, Patriot Day would more appropriately be recognized on 19 April, today.

First and foremost, my reasoning stems from the fact that it was on this day in 1775 that the Battle of Lexington and Concord ushered in American Revolution 1.0 and the fight for a new country's freedom from tyranny was on. 

For reasons known only to God, April 19th has also been the date of a significant number of other notable events...

* In AD 65, Gaius Piso's plot to kill the tyrant, Emperor Nero, who so richly deserved to die, was foiled by a freed slave that betrayed him.

* In 1506, the Lisbon Massacre began where accused Jews were slaughtered by Portuguese Catholics.

* On this day in 1608, O'Doherty's Rebellion began in Ireland.

* In 1782, John Adams convinced the Dutch government to recognize the newly formed United States of America as an independent government. The house that he had purchased there became the first American embassy.

* Considering the state of our Nation today and the current degradation of morality and social values, I found this one particularly interesting. On this day in 1927, Mae West was jailed for 10 days, convicted of "obscenity and corrupting the morals of youth" for her portrayal of a prostitute in a Broadway play. My, how times have changed!

* The first blood of the Civil War was shed during the Baltimore Riot of 1861. Anti-war Democrats and other Confederate sympathizers attacked state militia regiments on their way to Washington.

* 19 April 1942, the new Vichy Government, in an attempt to bring French insurgents in line with Nazi rule, Pierre Laval promised them protection from the Nazis.

* On this day in 1943, the largest uprising of Jews against their German oppressors began. This was known as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and lasted 4 weeks.

* Interestingly, on this day in 1960, students in South Korea staged a massive protest against the newly elected President, Syngman Rhee. The students claimed that the election was fraudulent and ultimately forced Rhee to resign. 

* You may remember, 1989 is when the gun turret exploded on the USS Iowa killing 47 sailors.

* 19 April 1993, the assault on the Branch Davidians, by numerous federal agencies, began. 

* 19 April 1995, marks the day of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

* The first Boston Marathon was run on this day in 1897. Coincidentally, it was also on this day in 2013 that the Boston Marathon bomber was taken onto custody.

There are many, many more interesting events that happened on this date, but most of these are significant to us in some way. 

So, now that we have established the significance of this day in history, let me tell you why I'm writing this today. I started to make a long Facebook post but decided that I would put it here and make it easier to share with non-Facebookers and for me to preserve it.

Late yesterday, it was announced that a major Chinese cyber attack was imminent and could affect many aspects of American lives. We have known of their potential capabilities and some of the mischief that they have created for many years, but now is different. Very, very different. With an election coming up and everything else in America being terribly unstable right now, I see this as a monumental, possibly insurmountable problem, posing a clear and present danger to the country and to the people.

Not only are we currently in danger of a very disruptive cyber attack, I think this could help clear the way for a major, physical terrorist attack, or multiple concerted attacks. I believe this to be inevitable and possibly imminent right now. The influx of 100's of thousands capable, military aged, foreign actors into this country over the last few years makes this even more probable.

I don't know how much more encouragement some of you need to get serious about your training and preparations for extended hard times, but if I were you, I would consider my choices of travel and expenditures of time, money and resources very, very carefully.

It can be argued that we are on the brink of Civil War 2.0 and/or another revolution and I agree that those are serious considerations, but this is about survival.

DAMMIT! What are you waiting on?
----------------

Chinese Cyber Attack

. 

In Liberty, Cope Reynolds (@Desertscout1) 

Colts and Kimbers are what you show your friends.  

GLOCKS are what you show your enemies!

Fire in the Sky...

OK, here's a little tidbit of information that most of you will choose ignore. Your choice, but I am driven to try and help people. I've been that way since I was big enough walk.

Those of you that have sat through my 8-hr Disaster Preparedness Seminar heard me tell you about the Carrington Event of 1859. That was when a massive CME struck earth and wreaked havoc with telegraph and electrical systems. NASA and professional astronomers have calculated that the next CME of that size or larger should happen in 2025. 

Well, it appears that either they have miscalculated or nature is not cooperating. They are now saying that it is more likely to occur in early 2024. It's already April so I guess it won't be THAT early in 2024. However, I do very much believe that it will happen at some point in the pretty near future.

Some folks will probably read this with some modicum of interest but when it comes to actually making any preparations for it, I'm not sure how many will put forth the effort. Again, your choice.

If/when this event happens, there is a strong possibility that many, if not all, electronic devices and components will be heavily damaged and cease to function. Potentially, this could mean that cars, airplanes, trains, computers, power plants, generators, cell phones, radios, microwaves, most flashlights, clocks, most wristwatches,... you get the idea. Not at all a good time to be traveling! 

 Since a phenomenon of this magnitude cannot be duplicated in a laboratory environment, we really don't know to what extent it will affect our lives. It could range from a minor inconvenience to putting us back in the 18th century and I'll also tell you this... if that happens, the effects could last literally for years. 

So, here's the deal, for whatever percentage of you that are still reading this...

You cannot save everything, and you cannot stop living your lives, but there is a lot you can do. You should already have 3 months to a year's worth of food put away. You should also have a fair amount of water and the means to obtain and purify more. 

You should have the means to defend yourself and your family. I promise you that there will be many, many people that will do absolutely nothing to prepare and they're going get hungry fast.

You will need medical supplies and the knowledge to use them.

And communication. You had better have a reliable means to communicate with family and friends and listen for reports from others. Being in a complete, communication black-out scares the ever-loving hell out of me. If you took my class, I told you a couple of ways to make Faraday protection containers. If you have not yet done that, I suggest you get off your Biden and get it done!

There are other potential calamities at our doorstep. Serious ones. If you dont believe that, and if you're not making some kind of plans to get you and your family through it, you are in for a very, very rude and possibly deadly awakening.

This video is one many that might help explain what I'm talking about.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=duf06SGYO1o&si=llM3zgZVsKcpB4LI

And here's another one...

.

https://youtu.be/FZQhJVc9wTo?si=Xox6sn0bXip8nOVW

Oh, It's Just a .22...

A discussion arose about the lowly .22 cartridge a week or so ago, so I thought I'd add to that a little and throw this in. This is the Gospel of .22 from the Book of Cope...

The .22 family of rimfire cartridges includes the Short, Long (all but obsolete) and Long Rifle, but does not include the .22 Magnum in my mind, which is in a class all by itself and is .001" larger in diameter. This little family of cartridges is grossly under-appreciated and misunderstood. Many, many inexperienced or semi-experienced shooters and, of course, the wannabes don't give this little gem NEARLY enough credit. The truth is, this little feller will do nearly anything you think you're big enough to do, within reason. For the most part, this article will stick pretty close to the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. 

Every warm-blooded species of animal in North America has been taken with the .22LR, including pronghorns, deer, elk, moose, and every species of bear that exists on the North American continent. It is also used for subsistance hunting by Natives across the fruited plain and into Alaska and Canada.

Disclaimer: I, by no means, consider the .22 a big game cartridge. I'm simply saying that it has been, and will undoubtedly continue, to be used in that role from time to time. 

Because of its diminutive size, many shooters treat it as a toy. "Oh, it's just a twenty-two",  they say. Just a twenty-two?

Well, read on...

Depending on the style of bullet, the .22's small diameter provides excellent penetration despite its modest velocity. Even at ridiculously long ranges, the .22 is a killer. Its not remotely difficult to make 1-shot kills on small game out to 200 yards or so with an accurate, scoped rifle. Much larger game can be taken humanely inside of maybe 125 yards, depending on the animal and bullet style.

How is that possible? Precise shot placement. Generally, there's no such thing as an inaccurate .22. If you can do your part and the gun is mechanically sound, even the cheapest, practically worn out .22 will usually shoot, and shoot well.

The first gun that I got to call my very own was a bolt-action, Montgomery Ward rifle, made by Mossberg. It cost $19.95 and I got it for my 9th birthday in 1965. I still have it today, and it is still a tackdriver. I haven't the foggiest notion how many thousands of rounds have been put through that thing, but I can tell you, it is many.

Back to the penetration thing...

Aside from the .22's uncanny ability to generally stack bullets on top of each other, its penetrating ability helps make it a stone-cold killer. This is evidenced by a VERY large hog that I once killed with a single shot from a .22 pistol; a 6⅞", Ruger MKII. Understand that the velocity of the bullet from that handgun barrel was probably in the vicinity of 1100 fps.

Penetration? Why, yes, thank you! Here's the specifics...

The hog was standing approximately 6-7 feet away, facing me. I carefully placed the bullet precisely between his eyes and slightly high. He dropped like his legs disappeared out from under him. Two kicks, and he stretched out and was gone. Attached are pictures of the live hog, well over 1000 pounds of him, and a couple of the skull. I took over 500 pounds of mostly deboned pork in the house later that day.

That tiny little bullet entered through what is probably the thickest, hardest part of the skull, went through about 5" of brain matter, and exited the rear of the skull, going into the spinal column. I have no idea how far it traveled after that.

So... let's go back to that "toy" comment. My cousin used to have a butcher shop in Farmington, NM and I've seen countless hogs, full grown steers and cows fall to a single .22 Short out behind that shop. I've lost track of the number of deer I have killed with a .22, each and every one with a single, well-placed shot. Of course, add to that innumerable coyotes, foxes, prairie dogs, ducks, grouse, rabbits, etc, etc, etc. Toy indeed!

Whatever you have now in your personal arsenal, it is not complete without at least one, good .22 rifle!

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...

Do You Get It Yet?

OK, there are still some out there that don't believe things are as bad as they really are. Some believe that it's bad and going to get worse, but have still taken little to no action to prepare themselves and their homes. Others don't want to think about it." I don't blame them, I don't either.

Well, here's the deal. A couple years ago, I wrote a piece that explains our situation very, very well. Please go read it here...

http://www.swsablog.com/2023/03/coming-events.html

That's all well and good but as per my prediction, and many others, the state of the Nation and, in fact, the entire world, is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Looking the other way will not make it go away.

Bank of America has just issued a stark warning about the condition of the U.S. dollar and the alarming increase in the U.S. debt, which is now increasing by ONE TRILLION DOLLARS EVERY 100 DAYS! That's nearly $4,000,000,000,000 a year! 😱

Moody's Investment Service just lowered their fiscal health prediction for the U.S. from stable to negative 3 months ago.

It's not going to be business as usual. There are many other contributing factors such as the massive influx of illegal aliens. The increase in the illegal alien population in Los Angeles has grown 242% in the last 5 years and some of those are from hostile countries. 

Non-U.S. citizens are being allowed to serve in government positions, particularly law enforcement (https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-illinois-police-officers-illegal-immigrants-law-1816306) which includes being able to obtain and carry firearms, in Illinois (HB3751) and Los Angeles and, I'm sure, a few other places.

All this on top of the fact that we are on the verge of a civil war and possibly a revolution. 

You have a limited amount of time to figure out how you and your family and friends are going deal with this. Use it wisely.

You Are Witness to History in the Making!

I was initially reluctant to make this article public. I did put it on one of my Facebook groups that is preparedness related and I sent it to many of my closest friends and family members but that is all. I figured some of them that are like-minded and already on-board, could still use a reminder and to a few others that I thought might need a little prodding. 

Today, I decided to go out on a limb and make it public.

I think it's interesting (and kind of sad) now that it's almost too late for a lot of people; that talk show hosts, celebrities, military strategists and other experts are warning about the exact things that some of us have been preaching about since the 90's. It's going to be awfully difficult (and expensive) to do everything that needs to be done at this late date.

I heard about the Yemeni attack on an American cargo ship on the news yesterday morning. Yesterday, literally as I was writing this, Iran attacked 2 American interests and one Israeli. Also, it was anoounced that Poland has revised their call to active duty procedures. And the list goes on...

It won't take many events like these to launch WW III.

Why did I name this article what I did? Well, the fact is, history is made every single day, but you are very likely going to be witness to a most significant historical event. What will almost certainly happen in the very, very near future has never happened before, in the history of mankind. I feel that the possibility is quite a bit better than 50/50.

We are likely to see both American Revolution 2.0 and Civil War 2.0 happen nearly simultaneously, right here in our country. What's the difference, some may ask?

A revolution is when a group of people (the governed) attempt to overthrow or fundamentally change the governing body that governs them. Revolutions are typically violent but they don't necessarily have to be.

A civil war is when 2 or more groups of people within one political subdivision (city, county, state, country) attempt to achieve control over the other group(s) or independence from another group. A civil war may also include one or more factions of the state. Civil wars, by their very nature, are always violent.

These two things happening together is quite significant, in and of itself, but the big kicker here is that we could also be participating in a world war at the same time and it could conceivably come to our shores. 

In the first two instances; normal, conservative Americans will be right in the middle of both. On the one hand, conservatives may be going head-to-head with progressives/liberals/communists. On the other, normal Americans may be forced to go head-to-head with the government, which would be particularly bad for everyone concerned. It is yet to be seen which side any or all of the left will choose in that one.

The greatest concern, is the likelihood of normal Americans having to fight a two or 3-front war on their own turf.

So, with all this being said, I'm going to say something that you have all heard me say before and will hear again. Check and double check ALL your preparations. Don't waste money on stupid crap that you don't need right now, at least not until you're comfortable that you have everything else in order. Make absolutely certain that you have the five, most important things addressed. Those are; food, water, defense, medical and communications.

Please don't take this lightly. There is a strong possibility that one or more of these events will happen this year, in addition to the serious concern of massive,  civil unrest as a result of the presidential election this fall. 

Crying and worrying about it won't prevent "it" from happening. 

JUST GET PREPARED!

Freedom vs. Liberty from an LDS Perspective

Sadly, "liberty" and "freedom" are just words to too many people. They are too often just catch words used in conversation that are, many times, used out of context and interchangeably without the knowledge of their true meaning or even the desire to know.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, these words have a particularly strong meaning to me, as it should to all Latter-day Saints (read Alma 12 through 24 in the Book of Mormon.) Virtually every president of our church and many of the other brethren have spoken on this topic repeatedly throughout the history of the Church. Freedom is mentioned 47 times in the Book of Mormon and liberty, 28 times. As Latter-day Saints, we should set the bar for others in the proper usage of these words by demonstrating our love and knowledge of these sacred principles every time we get the opportunity. 

OK, so the implication above is that the two words should not be used interchangeably, and I'm sure at least a few of you are wondering why. What's the difference?

Put simply, the liberty, or liberties that you enjoy are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Liberty allows you to think, act, speak, write and worship as you choose, within certain confines of the law.

Freedom, on the other hand, means unconfined. That you are free to do as you please, regardless of consequences. You are free to run red lights, drive 50 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, rob a bank, or take a deer out of season. However, you must understand that if you do these things and get caught, you are subject to lose both your freedom and certain liberties.

No, it's not nit-picking. It's a real thing, and it matters how you use those words.

I frequently hear people thank their Heavenly Father for their freedoms during a prayer. No. You don't have "freedoms." You have freedom... singular. But you have multiple liberties within the liberty granted by the founding documents.

Teach your children, friends, and neighbors the difference! We owe it to the Founders.

Incidentally, "freemen" is mentioned at least 8 times in the BoM. We were freemen long before we were Americans.