To Serve and Protect

The illusion that the police are there to serve and protect YOU is propelled by the media and Hollywood. Be it known that believing that police are there to protect you in any way is indeed an illusion. The fact of the matter is, the motto “to serve and protect” is not referencing everyday citizens. Instead it’s about protecting the STATE, although it is everyday citizens which foot the bill for the execution of such a philosophical stance.

The only time you can be assured of true protection is with a private contract between you and a security guard—from someone else other than yourself, that is. Such individuals would be required under contract to protect you. Should anything happen to you while they were under your employ you could hold them accountable. However, the police are government employees. This is exactly why there are so few law enforcement officers in relation to the crime in your area and the number of citizens to protect in your area. It’s not about protecting the citizens. It’s about protecting the state.

The release of thousands of inmates from California (and other) prisons reinforces this flawed thought process. The release has been ordered as a result of the best interest of the financial standing of the State of California, not the citizens of California. And yet it is the citizens who literally pay (through their taxes) for the legal representation of these criminals, the jury of citizens who are asked to make a fair judgment, the judge to oversee the case, the city employees who push the papers around for each criminal case, their care and well-being while incarcerated. Yes, this is like making the citizens pay dearly for a high-tech weapon, only to have it scrapped and released to wreak havoc on the same citizens who paid for it. Talk about “bait and switch!” Ultimately it will be the citizens who pay a heavy price for any recidivism of any of these convicted criminals. For centuries we’ve been paying our taxes gladly for such “services.” And yet we’re truly paying (in more ways than one) to be oppressed and overcome by such power and authority, regardless of the fact that it was free, law abiding citizens who bestowed such power.

Instead of relying on any government entity to protect you, why not invest in protecting yourself? Get a permit. Get a gun (or two, or three, or more). Get appropriate ammo—I don’t care how expensive it is. And then get trained with REAL unquestionable skills to use that firearm safely both physically and emotionally. For REAL self-defensive firearm skill, go to http://www.womenofcaliber.com/ for exclusive training for women, by women, or http://www.castledefense.com/ for those of you who don’t want to be outdone by the women in your life. ;)

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Do You Have Enough Ammo to Last You 4 Years?

3/18/09 Update: While we're ecstatic to hear that the NRA-ILA and a couple of good politicians have rectified this wrong, there's still merit to this particular blog below in showing just how vulnerable we are to the minds and wills of a select few.

I would suspect that there are very few readers who do. And that’s a huge problem with the latest twist in the government soap opera.

As you may know, Obama previously proposed as a Senator that ammunition would receive a 500% tax hike. He did so as a crafty way to essentially take away our guns. Obviously, without ammunition, gun owners had better get good at throwing our firearms at an assailant or using them as batons without ammo. You and I both know that with his penchant for taxing the American people worse than any president ever (even through the liability of his spending packages), he’s not likely to get past a deaf and moot Congress this proposal for a 500% tax hike on ammo. So what does he do? Nothing. He doesn’t have to do anything because his Secretary of State is interpreting a Department of Defense directive to favor this new administration’s distaste for guns. And it’s done without Congress having any say in it. As of June 11, 2008, the Department of Defense is to no longer allow the military to sell fired casings to ammunition remanufacturers until they have been “mutilated”, aka shredded into scrap brass.

Let’s break this down a little bit.

In order for you to shoot, you have to have ammo. Duh, right? Bear with me here. When you practice shooting, you will typically use remanufactured ammunition because it’s less expensive. For example, 1,000 rounds of 9mm ammo (115 grain) which is remanufactured costs $207, while new ammo, 9mm (115 grain) costs $269 at a bargain price. So the savings can be substantial. The key to the pricing advantage of remanufactured ammunition is that the remanufacturers are able to buy their once-fired casings primarily from the military. As you can imagine, the military uses a LOT of ammo and due to their rules they can only use new ammo. This makes them an ideal source from which to purchase used casings. However, now that the DOD has determined that they are only permitted to sell their ammo casings AFTER they have been shredded, this means a whole lot to your wallet.

1) Yes, the “remanufactured” ammo will be more expensive (as if the past year of price increases haven’t been bad enough.) The reason being is now there is an extra step in the process in order for the remanufacturers to have foundries turn the shredded brass (and other metals) into the casings they need. The reason why I put the “remanufactured” in quotation marks is that it’s doubtful to me that the new product should be called “remanufactured” as opposed to new since this additional process entails what new-ammo manufacturers have to do to produce their ammo.

2) Your tax dollars now pay for the shredding of the casings which the military will now perform on all of their casings prior to selling it.

3) The remanufactured ammo represents approximately 65-75% of the ammunition market among civilians AND law enforcement. Law enforcement regularly uses remanufactured ammo for their target practices. Thus, now law enforcement is paying a higher price either for the remanufactured ammo, or a higher price to buy new ammo. Guess whose tax dollars pay for that?

4) Due to the interpretation of this DOD directive, there are a great deal of ammunition remanufacturers who will have to lay off a sizeable portion of their employees. Hello, unemployment. Hello, extra foreclosures. Hello, extra bankruptcies.

5) This all presumes that since the casings are being shredded they will still be sold to the remanufacturers. This is doubtful as China is the largest buyer of such metals from us in its shredded condition. Don’t think for a second that they won’t get first crack at buying this shredded brass. After all, we owe them for buying up so much of our debt, right? This means that we may have put out of business ALL of the remanufacturers in the U.S. with this one strategic directive. If the remanufacturers go out of business, then we have the small number of new-ammo manufacturers to provide all the rest of us with ammo. And the military gets first shot in front of any buyer to obtain their ammo. Now think about this economically. You have what used to represent about a third of the ammo sales in the U.S. and now they are the primary source to handle nearly all of the ammo manufacturing. That’s called a serious supply-and-demand problem. If you talk to anyone who buys ammo, you will undoubtedly hear stories of empty shelves, and hard-to-find ammo. Are you starting to see why ammo is so hard to obtain now and why prices have increased substantially? Expect an even greater supply-and-demand imbalance as the dominos continue to fall, folks.

So why do I ask if you have enough ammo for 4 years? Because if you don’t, that situation is not likely to change unless this administration reigns-in how the directive is being interpreted, or an administration change occurs four years from now. It won’t matter how much money you have. You simply won’t be able to buy enough with the military standing in line in front of you. NOW some of you may know why I predicted that there would come a time when a bucket of ammo would be worth more than a bucket of gold…on so many levels. (see http://www.preparednesspro.wordpress.com/)

Clearly the economists who thought this one through are on the same team as those who are running Wall Street and are devoid of much in the form of patriotism or intellect.

See the link below the draft of this directive.
www.dla.mil/j-6/dlmso/Archives/JSACG/meetings/11Jun08/ADC_220_Small%20ArmsDefinition_DRAFT_JSACG_11June2008.doc

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

If a violent criminal has broken in to your home…who’s his first target?

There are a handful of common reasons why women do not proactively learn how to defend themselves either physically or with a firearm. But I have found that most of these reasons can be resolved with education. In today’s article I wanted to give my fellow women some useful food for thought.

Suppose you have a competent husband. He works out. He’s fit. He’s conscious of his surroundings, and perhaps he even is familiar with the proper use of a handgun for self-defense purposes. Let’s even add to the mix that you also have a few children as well who have been taught how to safely live in an environment aware of self-defense. Thus you may have a sense that all is well.

Now, let’s suppose that the unthinkable occurs and a violent criminal has broken into your home. And we’ll even assume that you “got lucky” and your husband is home when the invasion occurs. Who do you think a strategic criminal would target first in order to get his demands met? Your husband, because he’s the strongest threat? No. That would be an incorrect assumption. The criminal would go after you, the wife and mother, first because you are perceived as being the weakest yet the greatest asset. Think about it. What would your husband do in exchange for your life? What would your children do if “Mommy” was being threatened with unspeakable violence? In this instance, your lack of skill and knowledge is actually a dangerous liability to the rest of your family.

This situation could be significantly different if you merely appeared to be the weakest and yet were able to fully protect and defend yourself and your family.

That was a married woman example. Let’s play this out in a single mom situation. The criminal may go after you as you are perceived to be the only viable threat. Or the criminal could go after your children in order to manipulate your actions. Either way, your unquestionable will to protect your children is simply not enough to save them. You must back up that will with knowledge and skill. Otherwise you will still be a liability to your children or anyone else you love and care for.

So how do you defend yourself? While there are many defensive alternatives that can be considered, consider this. A firearm operated safely and with expertise is the ultimate equalizer between a woman and her would-be attacker. If an attacker is under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or rage the proverbial karate chop is not likely to save your life and to end the altercation. You need real stopping powers against such mind and body numbing substances in order to truly bring the altercation to stop and ensure you and your family’s safety.

In today’s society where criminal activity seems to know no bounds, it’s naïve of us women to think that someone else will save us. The police can’t stop every attack from ever happening. Our husbands or significant others won’t always be there to protect us. We will not be able to ward off an intruder solely by our motherly lioness instincts. These instincts may provide us with adrenaline and determination, but unless they are backed up with applicable and practical skill such instincts may only bring us more harm.

Here’s the good news. No, you do not need to train countless hours to have this kind of expertise. And no, you do not need to shrink from your femininity in order to be capable of protecting yourself. There is a proprietary technique available that will ensure that you hit only what you’re aiming at, and to do so expeditiously before the encounter escalates to an impossible situation.

For more information, go to http://www.womenofcaliber.com/

Here’s to your safety and peace.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.