The survival arguments, but why?

One thing stands clear within the firearms community, there is no shortage of opinions ranging from gear, weapons and tactics.
For years I engaged in the nonsense of the caliber argument, failing to see the answer straight before my eyes simply as a hunter.
Looking at the most successful hunters I learned that merely using a good bullet which expands within any reasonable caliber and being compitant and accurate with said round, would garner you a full freezer. Fail in any of those accords and you will have an empty freezer.
People who used the largest magnum calibers tended to flinch and to be afraid of their weapon, not something you want as a hunter nor in a shit hits the fan scenario. Their theory being that the increased power would compensate for their poor accuracy, I am here to say that shooting an animal with a ill placed shot will result in you huffing around in the mountains wishing it had been better placed.
A weapon which fits you best and you are comfortable with makes all the difference in the world, while nobody wants to be shot, I would far rather the person shooting at me not be familiar and be as incompetent as possible.
The solution to all the above is practice, practice know your weapon which in  the end brings confidence, knowing you will make the shot and comfort, being relaxed in making that shot, both = success.
Next we move on to the tactical scenario , and there is by no means any  shortage of opinions on what is best, so what is the answer?
Well today I was talking to a friend, someone whom I used to train with, a wonderful man, and one of the best long range shooters I have ever encountered. 
I was talking how I would like to get back into long range game, and he asked "do you really think in a SHTF scenario you would use it?
I dono, what is that scenario? Where will you be? what will you have? The answer is we really do not know so being astute in all skills be it CQB to long range certainly is a must.
What I do know is distance = safety in regards to accuracy, and certainly if one is applying himself in a hide the added benefit of not being seen certainly would help.
The best overall solution? The same I apply to travel in risky areas, do not make yourself a target, learn negotiation, barter and be smart.
The reality is regardless of how well armed and trained you are a mob will run your ass down and take over that house you are securing. You certainly no matter how good you believe you are will have the ability to take on an overwhelming force of trained aggressors, all you can do is possibly take some with you. Screw that, I am playing to win, come on in boys, have some vodka and let me cook you some fish! Oh no sorry to see you choking on that black powder ;)
Maybe IM getting old but the Idea of being Rambo becomes less appealing with each year and with more wisdom gained traveling I also learn that it probably is not so needed anyhow.
At one time I believed guns and ammo were a good thing to keep, and lots of them. If shit hits the fan money becomes usless so food, water, weapons and ammo are good for trade.
Hold on here, lets think about this for a minute, why the hell would I want to trade weapons to someone who may possibly use them against me?
Screw that, I want food, water, booze and titty magazines for trade, maybe a little Mary Jane, an attacker to lazy or stoned out of their mind would be optimal.

I will with that said continue to practice, mainly within firearms and of course I will always practice some martial arts as well since for me as a traveler that is the most likely weapon I will ever use, the one between my ears and hopefully nothing more ever again.

How those dirty wanderers influenced my life.

I grew up reading novels about hero cowboys, men of adventure who challenged the world and marched to their own drum.
I rode a horse, herded cattle, carried a pistol, sometimes a rifle and loved to camp in the wilderness lands where the spirits of old whisper upon the wind.
I believe in the old adage "ride hard shoot straight and speak the truth, and damn it, I have shoved my fist in more than one nose of those evil villains bringing a scourge upon someone innocent.
I guess I never really realized it but as I write this, I now realize that those readings influenced my desire to travel and my ability to push the fear of the unknown aside.
Maybe it helped me to want to be that new person, to see new things, and to trade with those indigenous people and share their customs.
As I write this I realize the lasting impact upon my life, Craving a strong history I believe that one of my favorite Authors Mr Louis L'Amore  more gave me some of that history by way of fiction.
His writings always brought forth someone willing to venture into the unkown, willing to see all things new. His book on medieval Europe peaked my interest and made me read about all those areas which Mathurin would travel, being a poet, a warrior and a physician what more could we model ourselves after?
For the past month I have been busy readying my steel horse, I have changed the filter, put on the Aluminum Saddlebags known to the motorcycle world as Paniers.
My steeds shoes are rubber and hopefully I will not throw any on the way, if I do, I carry spare in those water proof bags you missed out on.
My gear is not leather, nor wool, but rather textile which is waterproof and abrasian resistant, let us pray I never have to find out how well the later is.
My tent is loaded, my camping equipment washed, matches ready at hand to light that fire that will carry the hot ashes to the heavens.
A campus I will not carry, rather a GPS with all the maps of the US under my fingertips and all my trails shall be plotted, even into the abyss of the unknown.
Soon as with my Idols of my childhood I will sit under the open stars again, my head not resting against a saddle, like so many times of my youth, but rather against a nice modern inflated pillow.
Could be I am cheating a bit, but hell, the western saddle was technology in its time.

Travel music is also something which shall soon be my companion, an Ipod loaded with tunes to make my mind wander with the humming of my tires on the road adding to the strum of the guitar in my ear phones.
I really wanted to learn the Harmonica, but as it turns out I am incapable of learning a blow instrument, my cat had been horrified, now with him leaving this world only his spirit arches its back as I try to play.
I should have learned to play the guitar, I mean after all what could be more romantic than strumming a tune while gazing at those stars, what more could bring those savages to my favor?
The String Bass I played in highschool is to big to pack, and hell to be honest it has been so long my Rockabilly days are probably gone anyhow.

I hope that poor singing and a hearty appetite willing to eat nearly anything, my big smile and resemblence to Shrek will have to suffice & will win over their hearts, so please put down those torches and pitchforks!

So thank you Mr L'Amore, I loved your stories and have many of them, though they are all the same in some regards, they have molded me into the adventurous person I am today.

Celebrating a Terrorist, what gives?

People have asked me several times over the past few days what was so bad about Mandela? I guess they missed my link on him so here goes

We all know he went to prison, but most do not know why.
It seems in their mind he was a freedom fighter and went against the big bad regime. That would be true, but he sure had a roundabout way of getting there.
First off he orchestrated the Church Street Bombing, an event where he wanted to maximize civilian casualties, 19 Civilians would die.

He would become a leader in the African National Congress, A heroric patriotic group you hear. I guess if you think operating death camps in Angola is a good thing. Thats right, they terrorized villages, tortured and murdered people to "make them" go along with them. They along with Mandelas wife also had another way of coercing people, it was called necklacing, where they would put a tire around someones neck, fill it with gasoline and light it on fire.
Those people were anyone who were even suspected of talking to the government. Desmond TuTU would become famous for selflessly tossing himself on a victim and stopping the lynch mob.

Mandela would go on to Burn Farmers fields, encourage African Youth to Burn Farmers fields before he went off to the clink.

He wrote a book, where he showed no remorse for his past actions. He also never would separate himself from the African Congress which continued their terrorist ways while he was in prison and afterwards.

His refusal to distance himself from Militants has led to the slaughter of some 60k whites in south Africa, many of whom were farmers who have their throats slit.
Did he change after prison? Nah, a changed person is at least apologetic, he never was anything but arrogant, and i find it sad that the Western Media put a Terrorist on a Pedalstool.

We have a war on terrorism, I see the ra ra bullshit posts on here every day from the left, and the right.
I find it repugnant then that you would send your Brothers, Sons, fathers off to fight terrorists, who really are only people being victim to living in a certain land, and then put a single one on a pedalstool.

No freedom fighter bombs innocent people intentionally, that is what terrorists do, strike terror in the hearts of civilization.

You might not have wanted to hear this, but it needed to be said.