![]()
Sun Tzu is a Chinese strategist who wrote “The Art of War”. He lived from 544 to 496 BC.
Now what do Sun Tzu and Jan Brewer have in common? He is one of those credited for the proverb – “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Arabs also claim credit for the proverb, but trail Sun Tzu in time.
Here, Jan Brewer has shown herself to be the enemy of Barack Obama at the airport in Mesa, Arizona. In turn, Jan Brewer has also shown herself to be the enemy of Hispanic people and Jan Brewer has already established herself as a spokesperson for the Conservative movement.
Combining the logic, Hispanic people should consider Barack Obama as their friend and will logically find an enemy in the Conservative movement.
Since Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, Conservatives will have a tough row to hoe in current and future political campaigns.
This is our Open Thread. Should Democrats consider Jan as a supporter in the 2012 campaign? Your comments please.
This is one of the many things I love about my fellow Critters: Thank you, Walt, for properly using the expression “a tough row to hoe.” I can’t count how many times I’ve heard people say “road,” which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
I’ve never read “The Art of War,” possibly because I’m not really a fan of war and don’t like to glamorize it. I’m a little disturbed by the way many people, especially people on the right, view every disagreement as a “war,” and try to adapt Sun-Tzu’s writings to their strategies to win the discussion. But verbal disagreements are not war, they are verbal disagreements. People haven’t literally died from a tongue-lashing in anywhere near the numbers they have from warfare.
Jan Brewer displayed an incredible amount of disrespect for the Office of the President of the United States by having her argument in public where people could see her gestures, even if they couldn’t hear her words. Yes, she is a citizen who has the same First Amendment rights as the rest of us, but she is also a public servant, and she should have had her argument with Obama privately, away from the cameras. Instead of coming off simply as a “concerned citizen” exercising her right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances” (as the Right likes to portray it), she came off as a Governor trying to publicly dress down the President. Politically, it was suicidal. And Obama doesn’t need her state to win re-election, so she really only hurt not only herself, but her constituents as well.
Thanks for the link to the online version of the book. Being that it’s 2500 years old, there should be no copyright issues, so I won’t have to pay for it.
My pet peeve is “Pre-owned”
If it’s pre-owned, then it is new.
My list goes on and on, but right near the top: tow the line.
Maybe if you’re deck crew on a brig, sure.
Wayne says, “I’ve never read “The Art of War,” possibly because I’m not really a fan of war and don’t like to glamorize it.”
Nothing in Sun Tzu glamorizes war; his purpose is to analyze it. But in doing so, what he actually accomplished was an analysis of strategic thinking in general. He was far more sophisticated than Von Clauswitz or Machiavelli.
Excellent post, Walt. In order to minimize the effect that the Hispanic communities in PA can have on the general election, the state Repubs split up the Hispanic communities and placed them in heavily conservative (Fundy) districts when they redistricted the state. This will dilute the Hispanic vote which means that the Hispanics from Pennsylvanian will NOT have representation in Washington, DC. On the other hand, the Fundies will be well represented by Joe Pitts (R). As far as I know, there isn’t a Democrat challenging Pitts at this time.
Any president can be made to look bad:
Good one.
They have several anti-Lincoln ads on that site. Check them out. The site was created by the same people who gave us FactCheck.org. It’s purpose is to do these fact-check things with a humorous slant.
Maybe Mitt Romney shouldn’t have released his taxes after all.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/27/watchdog-group-calls-for-federal-investigation-of-romneys-financial-disclosure/
I’m sure we’ll hear all about how he hired someone to fill out the forms, but I’m sure he still had to sign them himself.
If he had to sign them, then he owns them.
If he did break the law, I would love to see him prosecuted. And if there’s any validity to the allegations, you can be damn sure the “Anybody-But-Romney” crowd will push hard for his arrest. Then Romney will complain that they’re only doing it to stop him from becoming the nominee. Of course, he won’t acknowledge that if he really did break the law, he SHOULD be stopped from becoming the nominee.
I once had a hard copy of The Art of War, have had the cyber copy on my hard drive since I first ran across it several years ago. I don’t have it because I love war, far more because when I was writing a book on war Sun Tzu offered insights to the principled peacekeepers which they could use to counter the actions of the bad guy warmongers … and ultimately beat them at their own game. Obama lends the impression that he, too, is familiar with Sun Tzu’s writings and uses them appropriately both militarily as CiC, also as a means to help others make themselves look ridiculous. See Jan Brewer.
As for Jan Brewer, over several decades I watched her emerge as an AZ politician (got out of there less than six months before she became governor, thank all gods) and believe me, Brewer has never even HEARD of Sun Tzu much less read him! If she were to run across him she’d probably assume he was a stinky Maoist and have to chew up a Tums or two to settle her stomach at just the thought. In the “encounter” with Obama she did show her base one thing they’ll really love her for, though: she showed that she ain’t ascared o’ niggers, and the base will genuinely appreciate the finger-wagging photo with shouts of “Yeah! Yee Haw! Told ya she has a nice ass!”
Meanwhile, Obama is assured the Hispanic vote in AZ and probably plenty of other states as well, and who knows, with luck (and with help from GOoPer idiots like Brewer and her fellow comrades) maybe a few more Senate and House seats will tag along. As Sun Tzu put it,
I think the above advice is something that Obama takes to heart and follows. He definitely holds out bait to entice his enemy. The extension of the Bush tax cuts were well timed for him and the two month payroll tax break extension will also work well for him. The Repubs will have to make choice… do they raise taxes during an election year or do they give the President what he wants?
This actually is good advice. Obama allowed Brewer to look like a dupa wipe.
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
You had a valid reason for reading the book, frugal, but would you have ever read it had you not been writing a book about war? Thanks to Walt’s link, I can read it for free. I have started to read it, but not because I love war but because I am now curious as to why people quote it so much. I’m also curious to know if the thinking has become outdated by modern technology. I also want to see just how much it can be applied to non-military situations. People like to quote him, but are they inappropriately doing it out of context? The parts you quoted above, frugal, would absolutely apply to actual military warfare, but do they really apply to psychological warfare, or to social occasions? (Yes, in the Star Trek episode “Space Seed”, Khan told Kirk, “Social situations are merely warfare concealed.” He was banished to an uninhabited planet for his thinking.)
I first read it, Wayne (my hard copy edited by James Clavell) after I’d finished reading Clavell’s “Shogun” and “Noble House.” Sun Tzu was frequently referred to in N.H., and my curiosity got aroused.
As for those quotes, yes, I think they apply regardless of direction when the issue is war, or conflict of most any sort: as in “deception . . . baits to entice . . . Feign disorder . . . evade . . . irritate . . . no rest . . . Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected . . . crush him . ..” War indeed, also sounds a lot like the corporate world!
Wayne,
Sun Tzu’s book, “The Art of War,” could have just as easily be titled “The Art of Diplomacy.”
Add Hagakure to your list, along with Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings. Although both are nominally about Bushido, both have a much deeper context.
The translation is critical. The best translation out there is Ames, which is available in both woodpulp and Kindle:
Jan Brewer represents the “better off than others” who quail behind walls in their gated communities.
Insular and afraid, they are purely in a defensive mode, trying to hang on to their security.
Not a very sustainable strategy.
More cheery news from Arizona
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/28/arizona-judge-bars-candidate-from-seekling-office-because-of-english-proficiency/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29
LOL. The glaring typo in the headline. Too funny.
Yes, ironic.
In Senegal, the high court has determined that the president can run for a third term, while also narrowing the opponents:
How is the Arizona judge any different from these puppets?
I did not respect G.W. Bush in any way, shape, or form, but given the opportunity would never have wagged my finger in his face. No class Ms. Brewer.
She got exactly what she wanted. Classless buffoon.
I’m surprised Faux doesn’t have the clip on an endless loop, along with appropriate chyron.
Gov Brewer is projecting so hard that if you shoved a DVD up her ass and pointed her upwards, you could watch it on the moon.
Sir George Martin, Giles Martin (his son), and Dhani Harrison (who looks a LOT like his old man) listening to the mix of “Here Comes The Sun”. Suddenly Dhani opens the channel with the “lost solo guitar”. And now, with the master track in the background, you can hear how it sounds in music:
Sir George’s “you’re like your father” to Dhanni at the end is fairly poignant.
And he’s got his father’s smile.
That was lovely. Thanks for posting.
Uh oh, Maher’s making moves on Turtle’s woman…
It really wasn’t right that we the people lost so much of our investments while the people that gambled with our money made off like bandits.
“Some Pig”
ORIGINAL ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ ILLUSTRATIONS, 1952
Those are great! The mature Wilbur shows how much the ideal market hog has changed over the years, and not for the better in my opinion.
Terrific! I love that story and I like spiders. Spiders are welcomed in my house. Stink bugs are NOT welcomed in my house. Here’s hoping that the house spiders catch more stink bugs.
I’ve seen some garden spiders do an amazingly quick stink bug takedown.
I love this story.
An Indiana GOP lawmaker introduced a bill that would require drug testing of welfare recipients. A Democratic lawmaker amended the bill to require drug testing of lawmakers. The bill was withdrawn. The GOP lawmaker claims that he will reintroduce the bill but i would bet my second to last dollar that no bill requiring lawmakers to pee in a cup will ever see a vote much less pass.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/welfare-drug-testing-bill_n_1237333.html
Instead of working of job creation and finding funding for education, the Pennsylvania state Legislature instead declared 2012 “The year of the bible”.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/pennsylvania-legislature-declares-2012-year-of-the-bible-68115/
Why are these people bragging about the fact they haven’t progressed spiritually in almost 2,000 years? Every other aspect of mankind has been chugging right along, learning and growing, and they are stuck, not even realizing that the entire purpose behind their religion was to build a new path.
They can’t take their faces away from the book so they don’t see anything else. I let my state Legislator know that I was displeased with this show of support for one religion and that as a non-christian I was offended.
Well, okay then…
If only Bill Clinton hadn’t invented oral sex…
One of the best comments to this piece…
Well then I guess every time a member of the American middle class gets rectal cancer, we can blame it on Bush fucking them up the ass.
Bill Maher last night said something like: Obama the wimp sent Seal Team 2 to Somalia to rescue hostages and then systematically kill the pirates. And that’s what he was telling Jan Brewer.
Heh, Maher “stole” my joke from yesterday morning.
Maybe I was thinking of you and not Bill Maher. I can’t find the clip of him saying that yet so I can’t be sure…..
Shayne….if you read a reply this late, Maher used that joke at the every end of the show as part of his last ‘New Rules”
Gingrich: Romney Ad ‘Another Big Lie’
Pissing and moaning about a “big lie,” while telling a bigger lie.
That’s our Neut!
LMAO:
“…we support Orrin Hatch because it’s time for Utah to lead the change in Washington.”
http://www.orrinhatch.com/_blog/blog/post/A_Special_Message_From_Governor_Norm_Bangerter_And_Representative_Jim_Hansen/
Right, cuz Orrin Hatch is the only “outsider” in the race.
Oh god, they will seriously steal our Social Security money.
When Republicans win control of the Senate in 2012, Senator Hatch will become Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the most important committee in Congress. Over 50 percent of the national budget—and every federal tax increase—must pass through the Finance Committee.
Then we need to make sure the repiggies don’t take the Senate — or the House!
Somehow, “utah” and “change” don’t resonate together. Nor, come to think of it, does “hatch” and “change.” The entire point of the conservative movement is to resist change at every opportunity.
Attn. DOCTOR WHO Suoerfans:
A supercut of every adventure, from 1963′s “An Unearthly Child” to last month’s “The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe” Christmas special:
There are still 106 episodes missing from the BBC archives though.
That was awesome. Thanks, badmoodman!
Ezra Klein: “Just how rich is Mitt Romney? Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents…Then double that number.” usat.ly/xk5kfr
And that’s just the wealth that we know about.
USA Today
Looks awful RT @DonGonyea: Awaiting start of Gingrich Hispanic town hall in Orlando. Roughly 50 people here. Hundreds of empty chairs.
15 minutes ago
Now that is a big surprise///
@jmartpolitico
“Newt, compensating for small crowd, sez he’s scrapping stump speech so he can meet w folks individually, make them his personal ambassadors”
2 minutes ago
Newt, the grifter.
$1000 each to be a ‘personal ambassador.’
*snerk*
Newt’s history.
I’m counting on it.
Is public humiliation for Neut too much to hope for?
The internecine GOP war. On the one side, ladies and gentlemen, Ann Coulter, Matt Drudge, and Elliott Abrams. On the other, Sarah Palin, Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh.
Palin’s Facebook screed (below) is a classic of the backlash genre. For her, all mainstream media is the same – which means Rachel Maddow and National Review are now in cahoots. And she is trying to reframe the race as one between the Tea Party base and the Republican Establishment. Somehow, a former Speaker who called the Ryan plan “right-wing social engineering” and pioneered the individual healthcare mandate is now the Tea Party insurgent and darling?
In case you want to read some of Queen Esther’s blathering and her adoring sycophant followers:
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150516734848435
One of those Palin humpers just said the University of Idaho was a community college. Asshole!
One of my friends has a son at Caltech, in Pasadena. THE Caltech. A wingnut friend of hers thought it was a community college. These people hate smart people.
Their ignorance makes them feel safe and warm in this terrible world. Thinking too much is an abomination.
Shielded by their ignorance, the Tea Potty has no idea what Gingrich did while in Congress and will ignore the insanity of proposing to cut the federal debt by building a colony on the moon. Go with your gut!
Kewl…
Reich-wing Cuban diplomacy.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/01/23/136648_a137139/mcclatchy-cartoons-for-the-week.html
FIDEL CASTRO: REPUBLICAN PRIMARY IS ‘GREATEST COMPETITION OF IDIOCY THAT’S EVER BEEN’
apologies – I meant to tone down the all caps after cutting and pasting…I forgot.
No problem, Ebb. Some things are worth shouting.
How did Castro get into the conversation anyway? Oh, wait. Florida. Never mind.
A quote TOO good to bother checking. And it says everything about both Dole and Newt:
“Why do people take such an instant dislike to me?” asked a perplexed Gingrich, to whom Dole bluntly explained: “Because it saves them time.”
http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields/newt-rewrites-his-reagan-connection.html
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
I’ve spent a little effort reading Sun Tzu, including the best and most recent translation developed by a top-shelf Chinese scholar using the most recently discovered texts, and I don’t recall *EVER* seeing that phrase.
In point of fact, I don’t recall ever seeing anything in Sun Tzu — from *ANY* translator — that might by even the wildest stretch of the imagination, ever be confused with something so grotesquely blunt and crude.
Assigning that statement to Sun Tzu can only come from someone who had no meaningful contact with Sun Tzu’s thought. That claim is unqualified bullshit.
The proverb was never attributed to “The Art of War,” Instead, Sun Ztu is accredited as one source of the proverb. He also happens to be the author of the book.
What’s the deal with Reichwhiners’ disdain for copyrights? Mittens’ campaign released an ad that’s mostly a clip of Tom Brokaw announcing the results of the result of the vote in the ethics case against Newt. Of course, they didn’t bother to seek permission.
On a related note, why in Hell didn’t “Blitz” shoot down Newt’s insane assertion that he was never convicted of said ethics violations? I’ll give him some credit for calling Mittens on his anti-Newt ad but he allowed Newt’s assertion of innocence to go unchallenged. Personally, I would have told Newt to shut up and get off the stage until he learns to tell the truth.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/28/nbc-mitt-romney-tom-brokaw-ad_n_1239107.html
Oh, and it is Obama who is the Sun Tzu player — “The art of war is the art of deception.” “Best of all is to take the enemies territory intact.”
Everything he has done has exemplified a master poker player. This is not because he has won every hand he has played — which is altogether impossible — but because even when he wins his opponents think they’ve bested him. Only later do they discover that he captured all of their pieces — look at any of the many lists of Obama’s accomplishments in his first term.
Brewer is an ignorant, clueless putz who gives away everything before she’s even begu to move the pieces on the board.
I am not a student of Sun Tzu but I have reached some understanding by studying the works of his many students. The impressions that I get is of an intricate subtlety. Brewer is about as subtle as a steel chair to the face. For instance, anyone with the capability of understanding or implementing the teachings of Sun Tzu would not have been so clumsy as to set up interviews before the confrontation.
Indeed.
My analogy put the Hispanic voter in the role of Sun Tzu.
By the bye, this is good enough that I don’t want it to get lost in the reply above where I originally posted it. But this is hands down the finest translation of Sun Tzu available. It was generated by one of the single best scholars of Chinese and Sun Tzu out there, using the most recently discovered and oldest texts available, some few of which had never been discovered before. The woodpulp edition is akin to the Loeb Classics in that it gives the original text on one page and the translation on the opposing page. *THAT* is fucking scholarship!
And this is the version you want to own:
Thanks, Gary.
Just put it on my wish list. Every review is four or five stars but one, which claims that the author doesn’t understand anything.
So, apparently there are calls for John Boehner to resign as the SEC investigates the potential conflicts of interests surrounding his KeystoneXL-linked investments. I will allow for the possibility that there were no actual conflicts of interest, but I will not accept that this did not give the appearance of a conflict of interest, and public servants must avoid those, too
http://www.politicususa.com/en/john-boehner-resign
Neither of those will come to fruition. Boner’s ass will be saved by the Repugnant Kochsuxers! Money triumphs…ethics be damned – isn’t that the “Corporate as citizen” motto?
Maybe the urge to prosecute a Republican in an election year will be too irresistible for the Obama DoJ to pass up.
Newt at Floriday “rally” today:
photo/1
Ah, the perfect metaphor.
Certainly brought a smile to my face!
Crooks and Liars has been down part of the day. It’s back on line now.
For the first time in history the infield at the 24 Hours of Daytona is completely full of spectators. I’d say the economy is improving.
Another wonder on our very own planet.
Newt want’s to build a moon base. Well? We have learned two things in space exploration. The first is that it’s so freakin’ expensive that it requires multinational cooperation to even consider. The second is that most exploration can be done by robots. The second is true of exploring the deep sea while the first is not.
We can now build remotely operated deep sea submersibles with off the shelf parts and, the more we explore, the more wonders we find. While the entire abyssal biome is fascinating the deep sea vets, called “black smokers” in the trade, could be the most important discovery in the history of biology. These tiny pockets of life in a lightless world are a leading candidate for revealing the ultimate secret; how and where did this planet’s life originate. This is an environment that’s much closer to the primordial earth than any cold rock in space. Since they were first discover about 40 years ago they have rewritten the rules on what life is and where it can survive and/or flourish.
The old rules said that life couldn’t exist in such a place. That’s one of the things that kept us back from understanding how life originated. Now we know better. This is not life that follows the same old rules of terrestrial life. This is a veritable Hell of heat, pressure, extreme acidity, and only the most tenuous link to the sunlit world we live in. And yet? There they are. Places where one would think life can’t possibly exist yet they have a population density that makes a rainforest look like, well, a cold rock in space.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/28/black-smoker-vents-new-species_n_1199936.html
OMFG.
In doing a little research about this chain e-mail claiming that an economics professor failed all his students to teach them about socialism… I came across this little gem of a website. Commieblaster.com. Now mind you they don’t advocate any violence, so I guest they’ll just blast commies with a puff of air or something. They say “it’s time for a National Call to Action!” and that “Commies are Running Our Country and It’s Time to Get Rid of Them Now!”
But, the site isn’t part of any political party, it’s just a family venture. Some family.
But, this is very important. Did you know:
“This Administration has openly discussed their intent to rewrite the Constitution and to take away our freedoms. What would our founding fathers say and do about that?” — I wonder what they would say about Bush calling the constitution a goddamned piece of paper. And are any of you ware of when Obama said he was going to rewrite the constitution? (Oddly, the site doesn’t give a citation.)
“Obama now has his finger on the “button” of US nuclear weapons. Will he push it if he should? Will he push it when he shouldn’t? After studying this website, do you trust Obama to protect American and keep us safe?” — Well he did get public enemy #1. Bush didn’t spend too much time on him. So yes, I trust him.
Then there are these somewhat conflicting statements:
“We believe the United States of America stands for freedom and capitalism. We believe people should own their own wealth and that free enterprise is the best economic system ever developed by civilization as demonstrated by history.” — They should stop with freedom. Because it does. That much is enshrined in the constitution. As far as which economic system to use, the constitution doesn’t actually say. And of course they don’t give a citation showing that capitalism is the best in history. Based upon what criteria? Greed? Then, yes it is.
“We shall always reject any and all progressive or socialist forms of government, such as communism. We are fully dedicated to the complete elimination of anti-capitalist views and proposals in government, schools, media and society, because capitalism is the best way for the United States and the world to generate the vast global prosperity needed to spread freedom, solve global issues and eliminate socialism throughout the world.” — Okay, so to spread freedom, they want to trample on the freedom of those who disagree with them? And they call us the communists? Why do I also get the feeling this family could be related to the Tea Bagger who warned “keep your government hands of my Medicare.”
Ugh.
http://commieblaster.com/index.html
I might add, that it’s so completely over the top, I could almost take it for a spoof site, but I don’t really think it is.
This is how completely nuts some people are.
Is Victoria Jackson their patron saint? It sure sounds like her ravings.
You’d have to think she’s involved; as crazy as this site is.
Simply wow. Uncle Joe died before his time. Switch capitalism and communism around and you have a perfect late 40′s rant from Stalin.
The Right is on a complete Soviet rant. They have their patron saint (Lenin/Reagan) they are calling for purifying the nation, establishing a single party that has all the answers, purging the dissidents and malcontents and all in the name of establishing an economy run by a master entity…money.
Indeed. What gets me is that they do the very things they decry in others. The part about loving freedom, but wanting to eliminate all dissenting points of view.
zxbe, that chain email about the professor flunking his students was one of the two that my erstwhile friend sent me. I had Wayne post about it here a few weeks ago: http://tpzoo.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/sunday-roast-december-4th-spreading-ignorance-via-email/
Thanks Jane. I see that I didn’t comment at all that day. Don’t know where I would have been that would not have had me near a computer (and thus checking in on the zoo). I now see you guys covered it quite thoroughly. And came to the same conclusion that any rational human being comes to: it’s not a true story.
Of course, in my research, I was distracted then by the commieblaster site
“zxbe, that chain email about the professor flunking his students was one of the two that my erstwhile friend sent me.”
.
About a year ago I received that email from a friend whose boy friend had sent to her. I debunked the BS and told her to send to him, since I do have an ECON background. I also sent it to a friend who was head of the ECON dept at the college I attended. SNOPES also debunks it.
it is relly amazing that people believe that crap. Sheep with no research skill, or the desire to do any research
Glenn Back has inspired a reality tv show. Doomsday Preppers, on the National Geographic Channel, is about survivalists.
The funny part is that most “survivalists” haven’t a clue. They amass hordes of the stuff they think will be important but fail to realize that the key to survival in the wild is study, understanding, and adaptability. While they cower in their bunkers full of weapons I’ll be calmly fishing, trapping, collecting edible plants, and enjoying a peaceful night’s rest in a cave that, to the best of my knowledge, doesn’t appear on any map. It even has a spring in the back with some of the purist water I’ve ever tested.
Of course, that would require the collapse of civilization and, to be frank, that’s not likely to happen within my projected lifespan. So? I mostly just laugh at them for wasting their precious days and treasure collecting stuff that will probably prove useless when someone drops some napalm on them.
Survivalists don’t need to learn no steekin nature — they gots guns!
These doomsday bunkerbrains are little more than imperialists on a small scale. They want their own little kingdoms where they can eat, shoot guns at anything that moves out beyond the klieg lights and whack off.
They may survive for awhile, until they go stir crazy. Then they’ll come out, weak and pale, and want a helping hand to keep them from starving.
In the meantime, as you say, the rest of society will have endured, adapted and evolved.
Everyone else will know exactly where they are the whole time, and will leave them to rot.
Exactly. Plus most of them look like they couldn’t walk far enough to find food once they finish their precious MREs.
I once got into the subject of survival with a guy at a party and he seemed to be proud of the idea of, once the mushroom clouds dissipate, breaking into a sporting goods store to collect all the guns and ammo he would ever need. He wasn’t being an asshole about it so I didn’t bother asking him if he had any idea how many other people would have the same idea and would be willing to kill him for the arms they wanted.
That’s the key, pete.
Survivalist- and Ron Paul-types seemingly have no idea that they aren’t the only people in the world.
Me me, mine mine, me me, mine mine.
And yet? If they gazed in a mirror and took an honest inventory they would run, screaming, from the room.
This will be the greatest hazard, armed gangs of the past couple of generations who know not what to do with their hands other than send text messages, wrap hamburgers and operate microwave ovens. They will prey upon the haves, while the have nots still won’t have anything, but they will be alive.
Yep. Assuming that such a thing came to pass I would be about three miles from the nearest road so I don’t think I would have to worry much. The gangs would be moving into the cities in search of plunder, probably burning irreplaceable gasoline in the process, while I take a leisurely stroll to a place where I could live out my days in contentment if not comfort.
I have a sense they will be moving out from the cities. Rural communities will be more likely to have food.
I probably shouldn’t have said “cities”. Centers of population would be more accurate and, as you said, the gangs will seek sources of food but I’ve seen no sign that most of the likely suspects would be able to live off the land once their ammo gives out. Heck! Even if I was to be driven off from my favorite cave there’s still a few-thousand square miles of adjourning wilderness. Plus, since I have no intention of stockpiling much of anything they would find desirable, there’s a good chance that I could buy a peaceful coexistence with a hearty meal of fresh fish, game, and maybe some asparagus and/or seasonal berries. If I run into someone who would rather kill me for my couple-hundred yards of fish line than share my hearth? I think I will gladly venture into the great beyond.
If I’m still in Oregon I’ll go hang out near the fish hatchery, otherwise I know a few isolated cattle ranches in New Mexico with good cover. Then there’s always the county parks with lots of pudgy puppies…
“They may survive for awhile, until they go stir crazy.” Or run out of Slim Jims and Bud.
Which begs the question: how long could a person actually live on Slim Jims and Bud? My guess is that the toxins would kill them before they ran out.
They’ll die of diarrhea before the toxins do them in…
I’ve been in several distributors’ warehouses. A gang of “survivalists” would go through one of those like locusts, and the supply wouldn’t last a week. That’s assuming urban survivalists; the guys out in the woods are going to have to learn to brew their own. But wait! Where will they get their hops and malt?
There are going to be some strange brews… the corn fields of the Midwest will be hell.
The corn fields will only be Hell for a year. Modern breeds aren’t self-sustaining and the gangs will strip every kernel anyway. The best self-sustaining starch, here in Minnesota, would probably be wild rice.
I was just imaging fortified silos in Iowa, with the acrid smoke of corn cob fires wafting on the breeze. Bunch of rednecks trying to figure out how to make corn flakes while they get drunk on ‘shine.
Made that GMO corn.
Wow, there are some sick youths in Arizona. I would never have considered doing this to a picture of Bush.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2012/01/barack_obama_t-shirt_blasted_b.php
Notice Junior on the far left with the rifle barrel resting on his foot.
These are the juveniles I was referring to in my comment at 4:59.
I saw that yesterday. I can forgive the kids because, frankly, kids can be really stupid. The disturbing part is that the adult who took the picture and presumably provided the firearms is a freakin’ cop. I sincerely hope that his law enforcement career has ended and he spends some quality time with a number of Secret Service agents over the next couple years.
Speaking of observing nature…
I have breeding activity in my aquarium! One of my male Yellowtail Blue Damselfish has excavated a nest and is defending it against all comers. This excites me because Damselfish have been reared in captivity and I have resources to guide me. I have four now and have already set up my temporary tank in case I get free-swimming fry. My tank is big enough to support about ten adults and I could always sell off any “extras” to support my aquarium habit.
Here’s a picture:
http://reefrange.co.uk/images/ytdamsel.jpg
Those are beautiful fish!
I’m quite proud of them. They tend to be dull while in the store’s tanks but they positively glow in a healthy tank. Even the best pictures I’ve found don’t really do them justice. Up close they are iridescent. The drawback is that they have kinda a nasty temperament but that’s why I chose them. I have a percula clownfish (picture below) who thinks shes a shark or a grouper and she terrorizes anything without a bad attitude.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_E3P-Z4qQHY0/TILYM-qBgQI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/FK2LobIUflA/s1600/Percula%2BClown%2BFish.jpg
(NOTE: This picture also doesn’t do justice. Up close the white is actually an iridescent pearl that looks like it’s several inches deep.)
I suppose they lose their luster once they’re scaled.
(Sorry pete, just kidding…)
No problem. I’ve eaten a Hell of a lot more fish than I’ve raised and my current pets just aren’t big enough to even make decent appetizers. On the other hand, clownfish don’t have protruding scales. Their skin texture is between a trout and an eel.
Pretty!
Yes they are, Zooey. They also make better pets than most people realize. They will eat from my hand and, if I get too close during the course of tank maintenance, they try to drive me away with gentle pecks. I can pretty much tell time by their actions because they all go into “begging mode” around meal time.
The bunker bubbas will have to take these items into consideration.
That’s also why I just laugh at the crowd who think that a semiautomatic rifle or pistol will protect them from the “gubmint”. Any private citizen who actually amasses an arsenal that could challenge the powers that be will be eliminated in an airstrike.
The biggest and loudest soldier is the first to get shot.
Yep. That, and my taste for wild game, is why I’ve spent five decades practicing being small and quiet. I’ve never had the slightest desire to hunt humans but I’ll compare my skills to any man alive. Although, back in my duck hunting days, I used to take great pride in making myself and my boat so invisible that other hunters would start to set up within a few yards of me until i “broke cover” and asked them to move on. And, while turkey hunting, there were two occasions where I actually poked a deer with my shotgun before they knew I was there. If worse came to worst I could bag the occasional deer with a wooden spear.
I once made a mask out of a snapping turtle shell that I wore as I lay back in the marsh. I believe it worked well with regards to the ducks, and I sure freaked out anyone who happened to come across me out there. I didn’t have to ask them to move on!
I haven’t tried making a mask from a turtle shell but I’ve spent many hours weaving reeds into burlap, to conceal the boat, and an old canvas jacket and seal skin hat to conceal myself. I could kick back on a muskrat house and no one, whether man or beast, knew I was there until I decided to announce my presence. I was once in the swap when some idiot with a cigarette started a fire and a big buck took shelter on my camouflaged boat. It took quite an effort to force him on to the next muskrat house so I didn’t have to walk out.
I hunted ducks from a kayak, and the most memorable was the first time.
Early morning, opening day, first mallard… which flushed directly broadside.
I aimed, fired, and the recoil promptly flipped me over into the drink.
Speaking of snapping turtles…
I was fishing for trout and an unnoticed 32 pound snapping turtle swallowed my hook. I briefly entertained the though of just cutting the line but, having experienced the same thing with smaller turtles, I figured he had probably suffered a fatal wound. My efforts to dispatch him “quickly” consumed about a half a day and would have made for a very funny, and very sad, video.
I had just landed him and got him to latch on to a willow branch when another fisherman came along. I tossed him my keys and had him get my hatchet from my car. Game over.
That turtle made a delicious stew but i still feel kinda bad about removing the apex predator from that particular bit of stream. He had probably lived there for about as long as I had lived but there was a redeeming act to the whole drama. About five years after the epic battle I was fishing in the same hole when I saw another snapping turtle who wasn’t much smaller than the first one.
Circle of life.
Latest TPM Poll Average of Florida: Romney 40.4%, Gingrich 31%, Santorum 15.7%, Paul 8.2%
Cain endorsed Newt which was expected yet rather useless. Palin, if you read her recent comments and FB screed, is all but endorsing Newt. Why the delay? Well…..lots of GOP insiders said Newt alienated more of the GOP by saying Palin would have a prominent role in his administration. And what would that possibly be?
Newt has said that Palin would occupy an important position in his administration. I think she’s tired of Todd.
We’ve run out of “replies”, Raven.
My very first round, fired from a shotgun, downed the biggest mallard I ever shot. He was so old that he didn’t take on his summer plumage except for a few small green feathers on his head. He proved to be inedible. But?
Dad got a couple teal on the same day and I acquired my taste for wild ducks. Since then I have shot ducks and geese from every imaginable situation except for “punt guns”.
Allen West To Liberals: Get the Hell Out Of The U.S.
Former Reid spokesman Jim Manley responded via his own Twitter feed: “Me to allen west. You first asshole.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/28/allen-west-liberals-get-out-florida-primary-2012_n_1239247.html
“Liberal”= Anyone who isn’t a freakin’ Nazi.
17 Pictures Of Cats Sitting In Things
I bet y’all can guess which one is my favorite!
(14 of 19!)
hmm, some of those are very interesting!