And so it begins...

So I never thought I would make a blog, but given my love of writing and my need for some sort of creative outlet, here we are. This blog is dedicated mostly to my Preparedness Initiative, and partly to fun things I happen to do and feel like writing about.

Disclaimer: If you don't like what you read, stop reading. I'm all for criticisms, disagreements, and discussion. I'm not for "You Suck", "You are a right wing nut job", "You are stupid for believing this", etc. 'Nuff said.

So what is "The Preparedness Initiative"? To put it as simple as possible, it's a mindset really. I will be prepared for whatever happens: War, an over reaching government, riots, food shortages, and so on. Am I crazy? Absolutely not. Do I want that to happen? Not really. But if it does happen, I WILL be ready.

Being ready is the first solution to a huge problem facing the American people today. Entirely to many people depend on the government for basic aspects of their existence. My goal is to rely on myself for my basic existence and no one else. To quote Ted Nugent: "I am a free man. Don't tread on me."

So how am I becoming self sufficient? Well first off, I made The Choice. It's a big step, but one I made and never looked back on. I am a Libertarian. I am for a small government. I believe in having unlimited rights and freedoms so long as they don't infringe on anyone else's. You don't wanna wear a helmet on your Harley? Fine by me, just don't expect my tax dollars to pay your hospital bill. You want to do heroin? Cool, just don't steal from, abuse, or neglect anyone and don't ask me to pay your medical bills and we are ok in my book. The government shouldn't legislate morality. I may not like it, but as long as it doesn't cause me any harm, more power to you.

After deciding that you are indeed a free man(or woman), you need to evaluate your position on things. I outlined some of mine in the paragraph above. There is obviously more, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. After you find out where you stand, watch Ted Nugent. Love him or hate him, the man speaks his mind, backs his facts up, and doesn't give a damn about what anyone else thinks. Embrace it. Start with this clip:

At this point, you need to learn the word "Non-Documentarian". If I have to explain it, you didn't make The Choice. Try again.

Now comes the fun part. Learn things! I can't tell you what you need to learn because I don't know what you already know how to do. But being that this is MY blog, I'll talk about what I am doing and learning and maybe that will guide you to what you need to do. At the moment, I'm learning several things. First and foremost is learning a skill. I'm currently going back to school to learn how to weld. I believe that everyone should learn a trade. College is over-rated.(I've been there, done that, graduated with a 3.4 in 4 years while working. I'm allowed to say it.) This economy does not lend itself it documents(i.e. college diplomas). This economy lends itself to doing. What can you do? Do you know a trade or defined skill? I didn't, and I was ashamed. I had absolutely nothing to barter with, nothing to use to produce anything. NOTHING. I found this unacceptable, after all, I have dreams of excellence. If the economy tanked, the government went AWOL, or we went to war, my business degree wasn't gonna mean a damn thing. But having a skill, on the other hand, is extremely useful.

Let me back track a minute. Before the learning, you need to be able to defend your gift of life and your property. Period. Buy a gun, and more importantly, learn how to use it effectively. Me and Brian have differing opinions(along with every other gun owner) as to which gun is the best for certain things, but at the end of the day, we(and I believe most other gun owners) agree on which criteria your guns should fit.
Purchase #1: A handgun. Me and Brian both made the mistake of buying a gun too large to conceal so that we would have firepower. After living with that choice for awhile, we learned that while decreased firepower has disadvantages, not taking your handgun with you is the biggest disadvantage. Buy something you WILL carry. I'm partial to .45acp, Brian is a firm believer in 9mm. But if you feel comfortable carrying a .380, a .22mag, or a .357mag, BUY THAT! Get a good holster, spend time at the range, and get comfortable. This is your everyday protection. Love it, cherish it, protect it.
Purchase #2: A bolt action rifle with a quality scope. There are tons of options on this one. I personally favor military surplus for the inexpensive ammo and inexpensive guns. My preference is Russian. The problem with that lies in the availability of ammo locally. Inexpensive in bulk online(1080 rounds for ~$150) but limited local supply. Brian favors US mil surplus in 7.62 NATO or .308. Not quite as cheap, but more accurate and more readily available. It's a personal choice. Also, don't get caught up in the MOA(minute of angle...1inch groups at 100 yards, 2inch groups at 200 yards, etc). For this purpose, all you need is Minute of Person. If you can shoot it accurately to 200 yards and hit a life size target, the gun is fine.
Purchase #3:  A combat weapon. Some sort of assault rifle. Brian prefers AR15's in .223(5.56 NATO). I'm partial to 7.62x39, such as an AK47 since ammo and guns are cheap(but you give up accuracy, while gaining some level of reliability to shoot ANY quality of ammo) or 5.45x39 Russian(such as a Saiga or an AK74). Again, either one will do. You are looking for high capacity, high rate of fire. Some would argue a combat ready 12 gauge would also be sufficient. I'm inclined to agree with the exception of effective range. The accuracy is tremendous IF you stay within the bounds of the weapon. Regardless, it needs multiple magazines, plenty of ammo, a light, a scope(Aimpoint or ACOG), and a sling.

At this point you can defend what is yours, and for the first entry, I think that is sufficient.

Stand strong, be prepared, and protect your rights!