Where Do Virginia Patriots Go After Richmond?
BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 9 months ago
I don’t really want to write this entry, it’s strong medicine. If you don’t want that medicine, stop reading now. It won’t hurt my feelings one bit.
As long as you’re here, pull up a hard back chair, grab a strong cup of coffee, and ponder what I’ve said. Before you pound the keyboard to reply in anger, read it again, and ponder what I’ve said again.
Richmond was by my estimation a huge success. Why I believe this will become apparent as we go along through this dose of medicine. I’ve seen no end to the cringe-worthy throwdowns at Virginians and other attendees to the rally for doing nothing of any use, failing to end the intent to infringe on our rights, and failing to tear down the fences and burn Richmond to the ground. Or some sort of worthless blather like that.
I warned (as did others) that this could be a setup for both false flag events and provocateurs, and while I feel certain that such things were planned, the event, the degree of control over it, and the attention to detail of the attendees made it a completely unfit atmosphere for such things.
I glad it went as well as it did. The event has its detractors, and the objections usually fit into one of the following categories: (a) We don’t get to vote our way out of this, (b) nothing good came of it, (c) the .gov now has face recognition for all attendees, as well as car plate numbers, and probably names, of most of the attendees (i.e., anonymity has been compromised). So let me address these items and then outline why I think we’re where we are and what comes next. I’ll have to do so in headings.
Anonymity
No thinking man can honestly object that attendees have lost anonymity. There was never any to be had, and even if there was, there cannot be in the future.
If you believe, after pounding the keyboard for years like you have, purchased guns and ammunition like you have, turned in tax forms like you have, and worked within the system like you have, that you have even one iota of anonymity left, you don’t understand how all of this works. The .gov is directly tied into trunks of the internet at key locations throughout the nation, and if you don’t think the right (or wrong) folks know what you’ve been writing or saying, you don’t understand the internet as it exists today.
I know it may make you feel better to use some sort of nom de guerre, like you’re really secret and hidden from direct view, and it may make you feel empowered to be a jerk behind the screen, but it’s all an illusion. It’s not real, and if you believe in it, you’re naive.
Moreover, the founders risked their lives, families, fortunes and honor to found a new country. If you don’t understand that, you don’t even understand what it means to be a patriot, much less are you in the game. If you’re not in the game yet, go ahead and keep pounding the keyboard like it means something, and stop reading this now. If you try to do any of the things I’ve suggested so far to press forward with the recovery of our heritage, like approaching your CLEO for a meeting about what it means to him to be a sanctuary county, and try to hide or conceal your name, please send me a note and tell me how that goes. Introduce yourself to your local Sheriff as “Brutus Maximus the keyboard warrior,” and then try to fisk his ideas on God-given rights. Tell me how long the meeting lasts. It will be nothing but a joke.
The things I’m saying about anonymity are directed at both military (esp. former SpecOps) and non-military, cops and politicians, professionals and blue collar workers. No one is exempt, and all of your commitment will be required to make it through what’s coming. If you want to pound the keyboard in angry reply to this, go ahead, but I’ll just laugh when I read your nom de guerre while I use my real name. You’re committed or not, but don’t be a pretender. Pretenders aren’t serious people.
Politics
There is no voting our way out of this. Well no, not at the moment. Not as the voting public is currently constituted. As a nation we lost our way a very long time ago.
We (Americans, and I point my finger particularly at the church and Christians) watched the soul-polluting garbage that comes from Hollywood; we sent children to public schools for indoctrination into communism; we allowed the communists to infiltrate the halls of academia and take control of the academy; we looked the other way when the communists infiltrated the seminaries to teach social justice and lies rather than the incarnation, justification and the doctrines of grace; we kept giving to the churches when they sent their money to those dens of the Satan; we trusted the FedGov when they said that the judiciary would be unbiased and they could be allowed to control the law schools and judicial nominees; we shrugged when corrupt politicians ensconced in that pit of vipers, Washington D.C.
We were too busy wearing the jerseys of our favorite thug who desecrated the Lord’s day sabbath, or hunting, or sleeping, or trying to make a fortune in business, to pay attention to the fact that Bolsheviks were increasingly running things. Virginians, in droves, stayed home on election day, and those who did show up lacked the world and life view necessary to vote intelligently.
Now they are paying the price for it. You see, politics is war. If you don’t understand that, your mind is empty and your ideas vapid. It may not be shooting (or it may be, if you refuse to dishonor your God-given rights and receive a visit from the local police for it), but it is war nonetheless. It is a war of ideas and world views, and while it may be at one end of the spectrum, it is still war. Politics is war. Always remember that. Loss of that war may mean the end of your wealth, honor, dignity, families, fortunes, and even lives.
I have a friend who was once interviewed for a position as a professor of philosophy. His team of interviewers asked him to outline the branches of philosophy, and he responded, “(1) Ontology / Metaphysics, (2) Epistemology, and (3) Ethics.” Then he added, “Sometimes ethics is called and categorized as politics.” His idiot team didn’t even know the categories themselves, but he got the job.
One student in a particular class complained about his instruction on the differences in world and life views, and he had the students re-seat and leave a row of chairs in the middle of the class empty. He then knocked over that entire row (like dominoes), and said, “That is the gulf between Christianity and paganism.” You’re one or the other, but not both, and choosing no side is not an option.
My friend got it. When God created us, He made us to take dominion of His creation, to claim it for His glory, in its entirety. That means the arts, sciences, government, business, engineering, and everything. Telling me that you don’t care about politics is the same thing as telling me that you don’t think God has anything to say about how men live together, and that you don’t care about ethics. We are in the very position we are because of our failure to engage ethics and politics, our failure to teach our children, our failure to hold fellow men accountable, our failure to hold our society accountable.
Thus, Hollywood promotes homosexuality, government steals from us, the public turns to the state as god, and 70 million babies have been murdered. Don’t believe for one second that the country can do this and avoid the wrath and judgment of the Almighty. You may (falsely) find yourself blameless in all of this. Yes, I too home schooled my children and taught them, read the Bible to them, and tried my best to hold my public officials accountable. But I could have done more. So could you. Either way, God’s judgment is not just personal, but corporate, and entire peoples get caught up in the entirety of His righteous judgment upon men and countries. I am a theonomist and Christian reconstructionist, and believe in having a Christian republic. We’ve come a long way from that, if we ever had it to begin with.
So don’t give me that tripe any more about how you care nothing for politics, while you go back to fondling your rifle. If that’s your attitude, you’ve done nothing but harm the cause, and your rifle won’t save you. No, we can’t vote our way out of this. Voting is the end of the process of teaching and training a people, not the beginning of it. Get the right order and get clear-headed about this thing.
What Richmond Accomplished
Richmond was a morale-booster for patriots. It showed that they can come together on fairly short notice and focus on and achieve unity of action. Whether it did anything to dissuade the communists from pursuing their goals isn’t the point. I couldn’t care any less about that. “Can a leopard change its spots?” What it did do is give patriots the moral high ground.
It took many years of deliberations, thousand upon thousands of letters, endless debates, and numerous local meetings to send word back to the continental congress, to achieve unity of action for the war of independence. What makes anyone think that recovery of the liberties we squandered will be any easier? But it gave the continental congress the moral high ground. That brought the people along with them.
The founders needed the moral high ground. Without it, and without unity of action, it would have been anarchy. Anarchy is bad. It means, in today’s parlance, Bosnia on steroids. No one wins. Your family won’t survive, you won’t survive, and if anything comes of it, the .gov will pick patriots off one by one.
The moral high ground for Virginians was attained on Monday. That’s good for the psyche of patriots, for the planning stages for going forward from here, and for implanting the knowledge that they’ve once again told the planners, “This is the last warning – we won’t live be these edicts.” To be sure, Virginians were asleep at the wheel, like a lot of us, but they are awake now, and they don’t need our bitching, griping, moaning and complaining about what they did or didn’t do. They need ideas. With that in mind, I’d like to propose a few starters to get the ball rolling. I’ll pose it in the form of questions / comments.
Practical Suggestions
Where are you going to shoot now? You know you need to engage in the shooting sports with your children, wife, colleagues and co-patriots, but you also know that the state is going after your ranges. Where do you go now? Do you have land? Do you know like-minded people who have land? Are you partnered with anyone who is like-minded?
Do you think it’s impressive to show up at the rally so fat that your tactical vests cannot even contain the fat rolls? Is that the image you want to present, and how intimidating do you think that is? Do you understand the bad optics of that sort of presentation? How useful would it have been to show up with 6% body fat, muscular, fit and trim, wearing kit that becomes you, carrying impressive weaponry (more on that in a moment)?
I was reading Tom Ricks some time ago (whom I dislike), and was reminded of something that happened in Mogadishu. History will show that the Marines were in Mogadishu before the Rangers / Delta. The warlords there saw the Marines, their unity of action, their intent, their heavy kit, and the desire for a fight, and told their people to stand down. Besides, if 20 Marines would have been killed, based on their history, they would have sent 20,000 to take their revenge. That’s just how they are.
I won’t go into too much detail, but having a son who was a Marine, I know the Corps to be almost sociopaths and literally paranoid, individually and institutionally. It’s incorrect to say that the Marines aren’t scared. They’re scared of everything, including (and most of all) that the institution won’t exist. The thing they are most scared of is their own NCOs. They fear them more than they do the enemy, whomever that is determined to be. Optics, optics, optics, optics, optics. It’s more important than you know.
I’m not claiming that the Marines were capable or trained to do the things that Delta was, that would be nonsense. I’m claiming that the warlords wanted nothing to do with people who hold bitter, eternal grudges (and pass those grudges down through their history) and present themselves as wanting to fight, and willing to stupidly sacrifice innumerable lives to recover reputation. It was only after the Marines left that the warlords took on U.S. troops.
You may disagree with the use of this as an example of optics, but I know many more from my son’s time in Fallujah. I know of battles they never had to fight because of presentation. He cleared many rooms and shot many rounds in Fallujah, but the Marines would rather avoid the fight and stand the enemy down with optics. Wrong presentation can have the effect of emboldening the enemy.
A point about weaponry (I said I would come back to this). I don’t mean any disrespect for readers and their financial capabilities, because God knows I’ve got my own issues. But my question for you is do you have a rack/budget AR-15, or have you saved your money to get a Daniel Defense, Rock River Arms, BCM or LaRue Tactical? There’s a difference, and you know it’s true. If you purchased a rack AR because that’s all you can afford, my respect goes out to you. If you did so because your wife wants to go to the beach this summer, it may be time to tell your wife that you’ve got other priorities at the moment. This is true especially if you live in Virginia. Do you have a sling, good optics, and a good tactical light for that rifle? Have you trained with it lately?
The most significant and immediate effect of the new communist laws will be on FFLs. Have you purchased all you need to purchase? What about ammunition? What are your plans for going out of state to make your procurement in the future? Have you considered the logistics of this thing? Do you know how to spot a poser who wants to arrest you as your cross the state lines back to Virginia with your ammunition, and how to avoid him? You know that ammunition is next in line if the communists have their way.
Are you meeting with like-minded patriots in your community? Do you even know who they are?
Have you made plans to sit with your CLEO and fisk his intentions concerning being a sanctuary county? Is he prepared to arrest agents of the state who come into the county to enforce state laws? Why is this important? Unity of action. You don’t need the CLEO as an enemy while you’re working to retain recognition of your rights. I don’t care how you feel about cops.
Have you made plans to sit with your county commissioners and fisk their intentions concerning being a sanctuary county? If either the CLEO or commissioner claims that it was merely a “symbolic act,” they need to be replaced via politics. Yes, you may have to engage in politics.
If your CLEO and commissioners don’t really intend to honor the sanctuary resolutions they passed, do you have any plans when agents of the state enter your county to enforce state laws?
Have you put on a ruck lately and climbed any mountains? You have plenty of good ones in your state. Make use of them. I include lots of photographs of hills I climb and trails I ride with my bike. Do you think it’s because I’m so narcissistic that I want you to look at me? I’m rarely if ever in those pictures. I’m trying to be an encouragement. If a 60-year old man with severe RA can lose the weight, add muscle and get into shape, you can do it. My oldest son had awful back surgery several years ago. He worked through the pain and his favorite exercise now is dead lift. It can be done. Do you spend time in the gym? Do you go backpacking regularly?
At some point in the future, you may need a fire for cooking and warmth, without being detected by silhouette. Have you practiced making a Dakota Fire Hole?
How capable are you of integrating into a team? If you’re like me, you don’t like taking orders from anyone because you’re smarter than they are. But the commenters over this and other web sites are so dis-aggregated and disagreeable that they couldn’t concur on the color of the grass. What makes you think that anyone will team with you to protect life and liberty if you’re that way?
What does your local preacher say about all of this? Is he focused on social justice, or does he understand the importance of God-given rights? You may need to find a new church, as he is teaching your family. Don’t forget the role that religious instruction played in the war of independence and the thousands of sermons preached about it. The English parliament knew that war as the “Presbyterian Rebellion.” For good reason.
Do you have proper control over your own family? Just how stable, educated and aware are your loved ones? If your family life isn’t stable, you are subject to red flag law home invasions. If you don’t have your family life in order, drop everything else, including guns, ammunition and politics, and tend to the spiritual life of your family.
Last, how spiritually squared away are you? I’m “preaching to the choir” here, because we can all do better. Your family life can’t be squared away if you’re not.
Conclusion
I won’t go on with the next-step practical tips, pointers and suggestions. I’m an idiot (as I’m sure most readers will agree), and I can come up with a number of things that may be helpful. Readers are smarter, and can add to this list. I don’t intend this to be a clearinghouse or repository for tips or next steps. The point is to get you thinking about this.
And the point is also that if you dislike what I said, that’s okay with me. Go back to your nom de guerre like it protects you, and pound your keyboard in anger like it’s going to change anything. But doing that is helping the communists along, and the patriots are the ones who need our help. The fact that they’re not perfect isn’t a reason to moan, bitch and complain. You aren’t perfect either. Just have compassion on your fellow patriots and be helpful for a change.
On January 22, 2020 at 11:20 pm, Frank Clarke said:
“…people who hold bitter, eternal grudges (and pass those grudges down through their history) and present themselves as wanting to fight, and willing to stupidly sacrifice innumerable lives to recover reputation.”
I read this and thought it a near-perfect summary of the Marine ethic. I have always considered the Marines to be “America’s Klingons”: chilling warriors for whom “duty, honor, country” are not mere words.
On January 23, 2020 at 12:05 am, Rick said:
Great article. The grace of God upon you.
‘squared away’ It seems that in many circles that term has fallen away. We’ve gotten soft.
On January 23, 2020 at 1:14 am, An American Patriot said:
Excellent and well stated! Agree with all points made.
I might add the importance of Patriots stocking a DEEP larder for their families and to sustain other Patriots and neighbors who may not have the financial means to do so. 24 months of food minimum. 60 months would be preferable. Preppers know the drill. Skip all non-critical expenses and luxury purchases to focus on storing and stocking as much non-perishable food, equipment and other essential items as you can. Scrimp now or starve later. An army must eat.
If you have ever asked yourself WHO will finance and feed the Patriot army, the answer is YOU.
On January 23, 2020 at 3:24 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
Re: “I’m not claiming that the Marines were capable or trained to do the things that Delta was, that would be nonsense. I’m claiming that the warlords wanted nothing to do with people who hold bitter, eternal grudges (and pass those grudges down through their history) and present themselves as wanting to fight, and willing to stupidly sacrifice innumerable lives to recover reputation. It was only after the Marines left that the warlords took on U.S. troops.”
Part of the reluctance to fight the Marine Corps by the warlords in Somalia may have to do with the long memories Muslims have in that part of the world. Many westerners are so focused on the present that last week might as well be last year, but the Muslims think in much longer terms. What happened centuries ago is still current to many of them.
Do you know why September 11th was selected as the day for the 2001 attacks? September 11th is a dark day in Islamic history, for it is on that day that Christian armies under Polish King Jan III Sobieski arrived and the Battle of Vienna was fought, which ultimately broke the Ottoman Siege and defeated the forces of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha.
Older readers may remember the 1972 Olympics and the attack by the Black September terrorist group upon the Israeli athletes. The jihadists named their group “Black September” for the same reason – their inherited bitterness of the loss at Vienna in 1683.
In his communiques to the U.S., Osama Bin Laden referred to U.S. forces as those of the “crusaders,” a pointed reference to Crusades which began nearly a millennium ago.
Perhaps the Somali warlords know of the fierce history of the Marine Corps fighting in North Africa in the Barbary Wars. Or maybe they just know the reputation the Corps has for accomplishing its missions no matter what the odds, no matter what the cost.
On January 23, 2020 at 6:23 am, Centurion_Cornelius said:
A good read; Thanks!
Advice from an old gray-head here: practice SUBSIDIARITY.
Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority.
First this begins with YOU. Square yourself away. Then spouse, family, neighbors, workplace. Etc., etc.
Or, as my Daddy would tell us boys: “Don’t go huntin’ for the big rack buck, if you don’t know how to track and bag a rabbit.”
On January 23, 2020 at 6:29 am, bogbeagle said:
If you’ve ‘taught and trained people, to be clear-headed’ … then what is the purpose of voting?
Surely, those people will all have arrived at the same conclusions, so there will be no dispute to be resolved at the Ballot Box.
Well, you might say that it’s because ‘some people have been ill-trained, and have been taught evil’. If that’s the case, why would you even contemplate abiding by a Democratic Decision?
“There’s more of them, than us … so I’m gonna go right ahead and do the wrong thing … because ‘Voting’.
When you think about it, it’s utterly insane to be guided by Democratic decisions. And, if you do insist upon remain wedded to Democracy, then you ought to give up those guns, right now! As I understand things, some 74% of Virginians approve of Red Flag laws and firearms’ confiscation. Well, that’s an overwhelming majority.
I don’t see how a faith in Democracy can co-exist with a belief in the ownership of Property. And, guns are no more than Property.
I guess it’s true that the great majority of gun-owners are totally cool with the Property of other men being confiscated, in the form of taxation.
After all, confiscation IS the basis of your Standing Army, amongst other things. So, if you are ‘serving’, then you’re just fine with the confiscation of Property.
At the very least, it’s hypocritical to resist confiscation when it’s Property for which YOU have a particular fondness; such as guns.
This, I believe is the fundamental problem … your Principles are all over the place.
On January 23, 2020 at 7:12 am, Wes Rhinier said:
Thank You for this one.
On January 23, 2020 at 7:23 am, Kaiserworks said:
All good points. Except you have not landed on the most pressing issue of out time. WHAT IS THE END GOAL? If you think that by following all your excellent points, that the system will be healed and restored, it will not nor can it ever be.
Conservatives, libertarians… Let’s just say the Right in this country can win any conflict against the controllers if it comes to that. We hold all the cards. Not only because we are heavily armed but because most of the folks that keep the lights on, water flowing and groceries stocked are from the ‘right’.
But for this all to come to a political or kenetic fight only to prop up the present system means we lose in the long run and possibly forever.
So while it is impossible for us to loose this fight, what of the other large segment of society living in the coastal hives? You going to put them in camps? Ankle brackets? Take away their vote? You going to maintain the largest government in the history of the planet and it’s Fiat currency, never ending wars against everything from drugs to terror?
Well I’m not fighting for that and neither should anyone else, anti-gun legislation be damned. There has to be an end goal. That goal needs to be permanent SEPARATION.
We need to go our own way and the left needs to go it’s own way.
On January 23, 2020 at 7:49 am, Paul Paskey said:
“Then he added, ‘Sometimes ethics is called and categorized as politics.’”
The Bible does not define politics. Your friend’s statement, however, may be a good and necessary conclusion. The following may give us a better working definition, at least one used adhered to by our enemies:
“Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.”
Mao Zedong
On January 23, 2020 at 8:13 am, Old Woodpecker said:
If you notice the liberals have never agonized over visualizing their “End Goal”, instead they simply destroy every facet of decent society a piece at a time. Like the native Americans before us, there is simply no place of spiritual or physical respite for conservatives to inhabit now. And, one final thought: never for a moment has the idea of Separation flickered in the minds of liberals. That is diametrically at odds with their nature, they want neither to be left alone, or to live and let live. They want you dead, gone, and forgotten. That is the separation they seek.
On January 23, 2020 at 8:42 am, WiscoDave said:
As for the nom de guerre, I fully realize that I am exposed to the “authorities” in all I do or say. I use it to protect my job, my wife’s job and my daughter’s job. There are those out there for whom “doxing” is a game. That is a game I’d rather not play. I need my income for my bullets and beans.
As you know, I am not hesitant to use my birth name in correspondence. As for public forums, I’ll continue to be “WiscoDave.”
On January 23, 2020 at 8:58 am, Ned2 said:
Good timing for this article; thank you.
We all need to start working together to achieve our common goals. We also may have to adopt some distasteful tactics in order to win, as what we’ve been doing for the last 80 years or more doesn’t seem to be working.
On January 23, 2020 at 8:59 am, JuneJ said:
Words of wisdom to be heeded not only by Virginians but by all in the other 49 states.
On January 23, 2020 at 9:02 am, Herschel Smith said:
@bog,
Where did I say that I had “faith” in the democratic” process? Quote me.
Where did I say that I was “wedded” to the democratic process? Quote me.
Or otherwise, you’re just making up things.
On January 23, 2020 at 9:13 am, ragman said:
Captain: thanks for this thought provoking article. I have done a bit of research on the topic of buying guns in another state. We know that it it perfectly legal to travel to another state and buy a rifle, mags, ammo, parts, &TC. However, if the communists in VA outlaw possession or purchase of “assault weapons” it seems likely that a VA resident will not be able to travel to North Carolina and buy said “assault weapon”. Why not? Because a FFL dealer must comply with the laws of the state of residency of the purchaser as well as the state where the dealer is physically located. This means no more “assault rifle” purchases by Virginians anywhere. If I’m wrong about this I have absolutely no problem with being corrected. In any case, time is running out for Virginians to purchase whatever firearms and accessories that they might desire.
On January 23, 2020 at 9:43 am, Berglander said:
In regards to anonymity; you’re right that the government likely knows who we all are. (though the incompetence that they show when suiciding Epstein makes me wonder) It’s not the government I’m necessarily worried about. It’s folks like the local Antifa chapter who may show up while I’m at work and intimidate/harm my family, livestock, and property, or dox me and mine to the our employers. It may be a fellow reader who I disagree with and decides to hold a grudge and screw me over.
We’re not-yet, as far as I know-at the point where government information is passing to fifth-columnists; and I’m not at the point where my kith and kin can build a fort and defend against all comers.
On January 23, 2020 at 9:43 am, Dirk Williams said:
Timely!, well thought out. Thank you Hershel, I’ve been struggling to define, understand objectives, and outcomes of Va, and their-practical application regarding down wind issues coming our way.
I no longer trust many, with good reason. Ever play the childhood game of ” telegraph” where one person whispers a secret into the ear of another and it goes from student to student. At the end of the human chain, the last person is asked to stand and repeat what they were told.
question, why the fuck are they teaching children to whisper ” secrets” to others who are not looped in.
Your govt fears you, fears us all. Will spend billions to contain status quo. Keep the MAN in charge. Hell of a racket.
Thanks again, Hershey, I hadn’t gotten to your place regarding observations.
Dirk
On January 23, 2020 at 10:04 am, not really anonymous said:
Just as in .mil, not every man is a trigger-puller. The fat guy may save your life by giving you his safe house. He may peel potatoes at the mess or be your get-away driver.
Of course, it is better to be fit, but everyone can help coming as they are… and make themselves and others better in the process.
On January 23, 2020 at 10:11 am, Simon Kenton said:
The Dakota hole is waaaaay too much labor.
An OD wool blanket wrapped around you teepee style and a hole dug about the size of a grapefruit and finger sized wood will keep you plenty warm in the coldest weather.
On January 23, 2020 at 10:18 am, Michael (from Utah) said:
Well written and said. Thank you.
It reminds me of how many areas of my life I’m falling short in and and I appreciate the “kick in the butt”. Thank you.
On January 23, 2020 at 10:21 am, Wes said:
Thank you for that. Pared down it is actually elegant in its simplicity as most good software solutions or (I suspect) engineering approaches should be. Probably one of the finest things I’ve read this year on a blog.
To the previous crop of doom-sayers I’d suggest not waiting around for every little area chapter of VCDL to be genuflecting & copy-furnishing you on results of every little thing they do as if they are trying to please a sanctioning government that they’ve destroyed all their Uranium to avoid “harsh words.” You’ll probably experience disappointment.
On January 23, 2020 at 10:23 am, Backwoods Farmer said:
Got sent here from Matt’s page. Good read. First time reader here. I’m probably a “young ‘un” compared to most of y’all as I’m in my mid 20s.
I would say that Nom De Guerre’s are not bad because we still need to work currently, and businesses are cutting you out of the economy if you have a single right wing view. I need to pay the bills, so thus I need to use a fake posting name.
Secondly I would say priority #1 for EVERYONE needs to be survival skills. Can you collect food? A starving patriot is useless to resist tyranny. There is nobody in America who can subsist 100% off of the wilderness when TSHTF. Game will be hunted to extinction quickly. You MUST learn to farm and MUST have a dry food stockpile.
I run a small farm where we produce enough food for multiple families via hundreds upon hundreds of chickens, plus a couple other four legged critters. My production styles are what most would call “hippy”, but in reality it’s the only way to feed livestock once the feed mills shut down in a SHTF scenario.
On January 23, 2020 at 10:36 am, Martel's Hammer said:
The left has had a 100 years “March through the institutions” the challenge is best to accelerate a swing of the pendulum back towards liberty and constitutional governance without a complete shit show. Unfortunately, that means doing the things we conservatives don’t like……meeting with elected officials, participating, protesting and actively withdrawing our consent. Jury nullification, petitions, protests…..all the stuff we find distasteful…..I suggest it is a better approach than the boogaloo. Deputize every citizen in the county…meet with the sheriff and Join or Die…..we have been here before, suck it up.
On January 23, 2020 at 11:08 am, George 1 said:
Great article and good comments. The very first point made that the event was a success can be verified by the fact that when no violence occurred the media totally ignored it.
On January 23, 2020 at 11:43 am, Comrade X said:
Excellent article and well made points.
Will be sending it to many in and outside of Virginia.
Thank you.
On January 23, 2020 at 12:09 pm, scott s. said:
WRT transferring firearms controlled by GCA68 as amended, it is a very complicated issue as the terms “person” and “residing in the state” is subject to determination. You can’t find a black-and-white listing of the actual legal requirements, though ATF will try to convince you that it is limited to physical persons with something like a state drivers license or ID card. But if you do any research, you find many opinions and court proceedings that touch on the question, and provide some guidance such as a “person” for GCA68 includes both physical persons and legal persons (such as a trust or partnership) and that residency is also a flexible term, with the possibility of short-term or permanent residency being equally acceptable (the typical example is college student at “out of state” school).
But in the end, regardless of the legal merits, you will have to convince an FFL to accept your 4473.
There’s always the option of firearms using loose black powder or cartridges not in production and manufactured in or before 1898 or replicas thereof. So grab your .45-70 Trapdoor or better .30-40 Krag or even 1894 Winchester in various chamberings (there’s even a number of short-barrel 1894s exempt from NFA requirements).
On January 23, 2020 at 12:10 pm, AZ Guy said:
This very well written and I agree with all of it. After having just been subjected to the crowd at the SHOT Show, I couldn’t agree more with your admonitions on improving physical fitness. I would add that now is the time to get any addictions beneath your heel as well – smoking, drinking, etc. “Run as if to win the race.”
On January 23, 2020 at 1:21 pm, Bill said:
This was fantastic, especially the discourse on “Politics.” There is no doubt that Christians have been negligent in embracing and learning their own religion, and because of that they have been asleep at the wheel.
On January 23, 2020 at 3:31 pm, 15Fixer said:
Well said, this post is a full-course meal that needs serious attention, and sober consideration. Thank you Sir!
On January 23, 2020 at 3:46 pm, Jim said:
On January 23, 2020 at 6:29 am, bogbeagle said:
“I don’t see how a faith in Democracy can co-exist with a belief in the ownership of Property. And, guns are no more than Property.”
But we are not a Democracy. We are a Republic. We have individual negative rights that existed before our Government existed. Our Representatives are elected Democratically, but we are not a democracy.
On January 23, 2020 at 4:38 pm, Red in OleVirginny said:
Very good article – thank you for putting your thoughts up for us .
Anonymity – I’m agreed they can see and find us. We can find them as well. Every group of Patriots that I’ve had the honor to train with – across the Piedmont, over Afton Mtn. and up and down the Valley- now has an Intel officer and several staff. They know the name, address and can visually identify their Va. Delegate and Va. Senator. The Virginia legislature is a part time job after all. These folks have to go home. Some are on our side.
Politics – 99% agree. No voting our way out of this. yet still I hope for a peaceful resolution. Not very optimistic.
We should all continue to build networks.
Best Regards and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Red in OleVirginny
On January 23, 2020 at 5:51 pm, Thomas Dowling said:
Even A Sales Tax on Guns is An Infringement!
On January 23, 2020 at 6:29 pm, Ron Bass said:
Great article. I became a full time activists the day after 911. My next door neighbor was in the Trade Center and never made it home. I had 2 street demonstration going on at the same time in different parts of the State. The demos were every Saturday from 8 to 10. The mission of the demos was to make the citizens aware of the dangers of open borders and non enforcement of our immigration laws. The locals were not awake and and did not respong. One demo lasted for a year, when the street leader quit and the other one lasted for 7 years until the street leader passed. Just a little back ground here and thats not even half of what went down. I’ll make one point related to this article. Yes politics is war. The left has been aggressively fighting this war on all fronts beginning in the early 60’s. If we decide to fight back we need to go on the playing field and generally speaking use the same tactics and tools they do. And one of those tools is Rules for Radicals. Any search engine will get it in seconds. Another obvious point in warfare is you do not do business with your enemy; it’s treason. Economic warfare is powerful and I have yet do see any one in Virginia mention it except for myself in two postings on the VCDL Face Book page.
Yes Captain this is War.
On January 23, 2020 at 7:46 pm, Boat Guy said:
I think your view of the Marine Corps is dated. The pogues have been in charge for a while and chickenshit is the order of the day.
On January 23, 2020 at 8:11 pm, brunop said:
Too tired to destroy the nonsense posted as bogbeagle’s “arguments”, or just feeling charitable?
Great article. Top Shelf breakdown of the current situation. Thanks for taking the time.
On January 23, 2020 at 8:35 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@brunup,
Tired.
@ Boat Guy,
Yea, you’re right. The reason my son didn’t extend to go to ‘Stan after his tour in Iraq was that he saw the changes (I won’t go into detail). He couldn’t train his boots the way he was trained by senior Marines. He wasn’t going to deploy with guys that weren’t trained.
On January 23, 2020 at 8:43 pm, Gator said:
I’m under no illusions about .govs ability to figure out who I am if they really want to. I do it anyways because I have a job I need to keep, and a wife and kids I don’t want harassed. If I were to meet most of the people who read or comment here regularly in person I wouldn’t care, but you never know who is lurking on these comment boards. For that reason, I’ll keep doing this.
I get what you are saying with regards to rifles, but there are good reasons to not show up to these parades with your best/favorite rifle. My best is thousands of dollars when you add it all up and has two tax stamps. I’m not risking the (admittedly slim) chance that thing gets confiscated or held by the cops based on some specious reasoning by the cops or me getting arrested under bogus charges, always a risk at such things. I have ‘rack grade’ weapons as well as nice ones and those rack grade weapons will do the job of being on display at a march just fine, and will work as intended if I need it. They function fine and I trust them or I wouldn’t own them anymore. Wouldn’t be my first choice if something happened, but if I thought that was even remotely likely I’m not going anywhere near that protest anyways. Plus, how many people from our opposition can tell the difference between a 3k BCM job and a 400$ PSA freedom build with a 120$ vortex red dot on it? It looks the same even to a lot of ‘gun people’.
On January 23, 2020 at 10:14 pm, BRVTVS said:
One thing I think most of us, myself included, need to work on is to stop funding our enemies. When companies actively contribute to the destruction of our liberties, we should shop elsewhere.
On January 23, 2020 at 11:33 pm, Donk said:
For the same reasons stated as others I will stick to Donk even though I too have communicated to you personally.
As far as getting squared away, amen. I have said things as a keyboard commando on this and other blogs of which I am ashamed. No more. Yahweh got my attention recently and told me to get squared away in many aspects of my life. I am committed to being obedient – in all things. This has had a profound influence on my worldview and what I am willing to accept in my life. Captain, as a man of God, many of your missives have influenced my change as well and I thank you for that.
On January 24, 2020 at 8:02 am, Bob M said:
I recently found this site and started to follow it. This was a great common sense post. Thanks Herschel. The comments are equally on point.
I live in the Raleigh area of NC, and have been keeping an eye/ear open to pick up any hints of the same kind of nonsense from our Dem. Governor Cooper (who, like Northam, supports live birth abortion) and our county Sheriff who is left leaning. So far its been quiet…too quiet as they say.
I have contacted both my state and federal legislators many times to weigh in on things like Red Flag laws and other 2A related issues and to offer my help working with their staffs to provide input as a rational law abiding gun owner. The results have been sadly predictable – either no response or a canned vague self promoting statement that said nothing. But I vote and also communicate with others about them.
About physical fitness..I agree we need to be as physically fit as we can, but as one commentor said, not everyone can backpack up a mountain or do field training. I am 65, disabled, with Parkinsonism and spinal disease and am working just to be able to get back to walking a couple of miles a few times a week. However, guys like me can still contribute and still have a job to do.
Last point – it is vitally important to know what your family is willing and able to do both now and as things deteriorate. All my kids and grandkids live within 25 mins, and although my wife and daughters-in-law prefer not to think about a SHTF situation -I would rather think about my grandkids just being kids too – my sons and I have had the difficult discussions and we have a basic plan. And we are careful about who we let into our circle of trust. The same things apply to our neighbors.
Most of all as Christians, we need to keep the right perspective -God has things under control no matter how much it seems the opposite.
On January 24, 2020 at 10:24 am, somedude said:
i did not see one picture or video of a tac vest, PC, web gear that had sweat or dirt…my thoughts of Virginia, why should i travel 1200 miles at a cost of min 1000 to support a state which voted the asshole in. seem like Virginia needs to clean up their own yard. I have seen the cell phone tracking after the Las Vegas shooting. the feebs knew every phone and tracked them as they exfiled that concert venue in real time. if you went into Richmond with an active cell phone congrats you are tracked and hacked.
On January 24, 2020 at 10:46 am, Herschel Smith said:
@somedude,
Great attitude. Very helpful.
On January 24, 2020 at 11:32 am, Sanders said:
Well, if you aren’t on some kind of watch list by now, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Good write up, Herschel.
On January 24, 2020 at 12:57 pm, Carl "Bear" Bussjaeger said:
My own take:
“The media, carefully watching for gratuitous violence to drive ratings and clicks, were forced to show peaceful assembly by a huge number of dedicated freedom lovers who tolerated even the leftie idiots trying to start shit. The media was tricked into showing gun owners as decent people who don’t start shit, but are ready — and equipped — to stop it.
“Success.”
https://bearbussjaeger.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/aesop-loses-his-shit/
On January 24, 2020 at 2:15 pm, NOG said:
Test. I made a post and it is missing.
On January 24, 2020 at 2:19 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@NOG,
Don’t know.