Posse Incitatus

First thing we do, we knock over Wal-Mart

The signs of impending doom are everywhere. Swine Flu in Mexico. ChiComs fleeing dollars and buying gold. And of course, the undead could spring up at any time.

Yet people still are acting as if the proper response to disaster is to loot. How many times has one heard this kind of plan:

“First thing we do, we go to Wal-Mart and rob the place. They have food, camping gear, guns and ammunition.”

Great idea. Like no one else will do the same thing.

As we saw with Hurricane Katrina, even the police joined in the fun. Gee, they have badges and are already well armed. Either they will stop the looting (because it is their job) or they will join in, in which case you still won’t get anything.

And then of course there’s the ammo shortage.

For those that aren’t aware, right now there is an ammunition shortage. If you want 9mm, .38 Special or .45 ACP (to name but a few) and you live in Lansing, you are out of luck. Wal-Mart doesn’t have any. Dunhams is out. Meijer is out. Classic Arms has some (expensive) stuff, but their limit is one box per customer per day. And, given their considerable firepower, I wouldn’t recommend trying to rob them, either.

So even if you are the first looter through the door (and you don’t get shot), you’re not going to get anything for your trouble.

No, the proper thing to do is have some on hand. The ammo shortage is expected to wind down as the hoarders get sated and the ammo producers add extra shifts.

When that happens, buy an extra box or two and set it aside. Do this each time you go shopping and in no time, you will have a healthy reserve.

Which brings us to the larger point about disasters: The worst thing that can happen is for society to come apart. Humans are social animals. We need each other to survive. Civilization is fragile, but also reparable. It can take huge disruptions and recover. In the event of a pandemic or zombie outbreak, the goal should be to keep as much of civilization intact as possible and one of the cornerstones of that order is respect for each other’s property.

Looting and hoarding will only speed the total collapse. Instead of knocking over Wal-Mart, you should be defending it – it and other stores with needed food and supplies. Help such civil authorities as are still functioning to distribute and protect these supplies. If there are no authorities, form one with your neighbors. The communities that did best during Katrina were the ones whose members banded together and offered mutual support.

The time to prepare for a disaster is when things are going well. By the time it crosses your mind that raiding the local big box retailer is a good idea, things have already slipped too far for it to do you much good.

White beats Green

Saturday was unexpectedly stormy in Lansing, but despite rain and a brief power outage, the Posse was not to be deterred from attending the Green and White Game. And what a game it was.

The papers have the usual breakdowns – points scored, the amazing accuracy of MSU’s twin QBs, the classic finish. What is left out is the role Coach Mark Dantonio played in the game.

For starters, brought the basketball team on board, demonstrating once again the vision he has of MSU athletics as a unified whole. This is exactly what we have needed, and it is a great way for the rising football team to draw upon the strength and winning attitude of the basketball team.

It should also put to final rest the ludicrous notion that Tom Izzo would ever think of leaving MSU. Where could he go that he could have this kind of energy and confidence? His next job will be retirement – maybe he’ll do color commentary, but he will not coach again after he leaves State. Not gonna happen.

Back to the game. What struck me the most was how Dantonio was using the game as a training exercise. He was intent, looking for weaknesses, and – when White celebrated it’s go ahead touchdown late in the game – he told the ref to throw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. Duly thrown.

Shortly afterward, Green was down by 7 points with two seconds on the clock. High drama. Steak dinners on the line. They scored! The game clock was at zero. The Green team celebrated.

And Dantonio had them flagged again. This time the penalty was imposed on the PAT (rather than on the kickoff, as previously). It made for a longer kick, but no matter, it split the uprights. Cheers all around.

This is the kind of coach we have. He is relentless. I found watching him as interesting as the QBs. At one point, Keith Nichol saw a defense he didn’t like and called a timeout. He headed to the sideline but Dantonio got to him first. He spoke to Nichol, gestured the field, and Nichol convened the huddle without sideline input. “Do it yourself,” was the message. “Let me see you call the play.”

Always testing. Dantonio, like Izzo, pushes and pushes. “Let’s see what you got.”

Dantonio understands motivation. This game could be nothing more than a feel-good pep rally. Instead, the player have something to play for: pride – and steak. They played hard, got into it, and it is that intensity that will make the difference – has already made the difference between the Mark Dantonio era and the John L. Buffoon era.

MSU is clearly on the upslope. It is being driven forward by two great coaches who seek nothing less than perfection.

The humble .22 - ideal for anti-zombie operations?

The Posse has given renewed thought of late to the (impending?) zombie apocalypse, specifically which firearm is best.

When we first visited the topic, discussion was vigorous and animated.

Since then, I've watched a lot more zombie movies, and even consulted the Zombie Survival Guide (while amusing in places,the book does have some serious deficiencies, particularly in the discussion of the AR-15).

Anyhow, after four years of review, I think that the ideal cartridge is the humble .22 long rifle.  Zombies tend not to use cover, to be slow moving and incapable of climbing ladders.  A tree-house perch with a couple 500-round boxes of .22 would pretty much see off even the most severe outbreak.

Remember, the head shot is key.  Yes, massive trauma can slow them down, but really what we need is something handy, easy to carry, and accurate.  At the same time, minimal recoil and noise is definately a plus.  Finally, you can carry thousands of rounds in a handbag, making ammo supply a breeze.

That fancy 9mm won't do much good if it runs out of bullets.

[Okay, so the movie f/x guys aren't going to be busting down my door any time soon.  Still, the ketchup/steak sauce combo looks almost real.  If you squint.  What I need is one of those cool prosthetic hands with bones sticking out of the wrist.  But I digress...]

Given the ongoing ammo shortage, this is not an idle consideration.  Happily, the .22 remains widely available.

If it comes down to pistol work, a light autoloader would be excellent for the head-shot plinking that this kind of operation would require.  Interoperability - being able to use the same caliber for rifle and pistol work - is a good thing.

Of course, if the zombies turn out to be hyperfast "28 Days Later" types, I revert to my earlier comments.

The inscrutable Rich Rod

The Posse is looking forward to the Green and White game next weekend.
We missed last year's game, but the year before (the first under
Dantonio, who revived the tradition) we had a great time. Hopefully the
weather will cooperate.

MSU has two talented quarterbacks vying for the starting spot: Kirk
Cousins and Keith Nichol. Cousins, you will recall, looked quite sharp
last year. His passes were crisp and on target. He kept his cool in
the pocket and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that he probably would
have done better than Brian Hoyer.

That being said, if Nichol is giving this guy a run for his money, we
will have a great team this fall.

Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, the QB drama has taken a very strange turn.
Apparently RichRod has recruited a Duke basketball player with a year
left of eligibility to take the helm. We think. It's all very vague.

Last year was the worst year in Michigan football history, partly a
product of RichRod's pathetic coaching, partly a function of his driving
off what talent his team had on hand when he took over.

Apparently the exodus hasn't stopped. Steven Threet, who carried the
load for most of last year - and got beaten to hell in the process - was
unceremoniously dumped as the starter and has transferred out. Instead,
a couple of new, bright-eyed freshmen are lined up for the job. Tate
Forcier appears to be the leading candidate for the job, though he's got
to be wondering why this Paulus fellow from Duke was brought on board.

Is RichRod trying to build depth? If so, why'd he throw Threet over the
side? Paulus already missed spring camp, so he'll be coming in at a
great disadvantage.

It is just interesting to contrast how Michigan, for all its traditions
and hype, is still scrambling to find people even though its new coach
is in his second year. MSU - whose football program has been in
disarray for years - managed to hold onto its veterans and build up
every year since Mark Dantonio took over.

I stand by my prediction, and if anything, this reinforces it. One
cannot build a team without trust and RichRod seems to be going out of
his way to undermine the players' confidence in him. It's going to be
an interesting season.

Wherein the Posse eats a steaming plate of crow

I have a heaping plate of crow before me. I shall do the honorable thing, and dig in.

The speed with which this administration has struggled to repeat every Democrat mistake has caught me completely by surprise.

Here we are in April and we’ve already combined the foreign policy of Jimmy Carter, the spending of LBJ and now the paranoia of Bill Clinton.

One of the curious inconsistencies of liberalism is the way it treats hostile regimes with such patience and deference whilst giving loyal Americans nothing but contempt.

It is quite simply impossible to imagine such a strongly-worded report being issued against the actual enemies of the United States – Cuba, Iran, North Korea or Al Qaeda and militant Islam.

I cannot even conceive of an Obama administration document calling on increased scrutiny towards Saudi-funded mosques or illegal border crossings from Mexico.

Yet courageous combat veterans? Why they are nut jobs just waiting to explode. Gotta watch ‘em carefully.

I wonder if the liberals who now run Homeland Security are aware that this kind of nonsense creates a self-fulfilling prophesy: By treating innocent citizens as terrorists, you encourage them to become criminals.

For the past seven years I’ve heard nothing but hysteria about how BusHitlerEnronCorp was creating a national security dictatorship. I guess blithering idiots like Andrew Sullivan are now doing a big “I told you so,” about this DHS memo, which is not only untrue, but utterly ludicrous.

After all, Wasn’t Barack Obama – the Law Professor, the Civil Libertarian, the Good Democrat – wasn’t he the one who was going to dismantle this police state? Sorry, you don’t get to the Nelson ‘ha-ha’ simply because your guy turns into a hypocrite.

All of this brings me to the inevitable feast of crow. I was wrong.

I honestly thought that a consensus of common sense had emerged about gun control even amongst the Democrats. I thought “Hey, if true liberals like Gov. Jennifer Granholm aren’t pushing this, it’s got to be a dead issue.”

Granholm, you will recall, was the state attorney general (and obvious governor-in-waiting) when Michigan passed its shall-issue law. She organized the opposition and even pledged to mount a ballot initiative to overturn it, but wavered in the face of public support.

When July 1, 2002 rolled around and gun violence actually dropped, the public literally reversed itself on the issue. That is, support for shall-issue went from 35 percent in favor and 55 percent opposed to 55 percent in favor and 35 percent opposed.

As governor, she signed a mourning dove hunting bill and then strengthened the Castle Doctrine. Again, if she thought there was anything to be gained from gun control, she would have pushed it here. She didn’t – and she’s not exactly a political genius.

But Obama seems to have completely missed the bright flashing billboard erected by Bill Clinton and Al Gore which reads “PUSH GUN CONTROL AND YOU WILL LOSE CONGRESS.”

I was complacent. I admit it. I had things to do, kids to spend time with, a wife I adore and basically Better Things To Do. With the kids being so small, getting time to go to the range was difficult. Firearms purchases fell below things like getting the plumbing fixed or buying a bike for the Junior Posse Members.

Now I see my folly. Friday, I went to the Novi Gun show and was amazed.

Prices are high. Michigan is in a deep trough, the worse economic funk since I was a wee lad and we don’t have Reagan to help pull us out of it. Yet gun prices are high, really high. There were a ton of people there for a Good Friday, and the NRA was doing brisk business.

The Posse therefore rededicates itself to more gun blogging – more advocacy, more common sense to refute the lies of the gun control crowd and more gun reviews.

Bring on the tax revolt

It is interesting to see the left's reaction to the widespread unease over our current government spending levels.

Normally, these folks get all excited about people "taking direct action" and "getting involved in the community."  Why, activists are a good thing - unless they're on the other side.

So the people who were all for the "million men" and "million moms" are now in a tizzy because a million taxpayers aren't so keen on being fleeced.

Ah, the irony.

The empty tomb

The Posse wishes a happy Easter to our readers.  Holy Week was particularly busy (and MSU's loss didn't do us any favors in terms of energy levels) but we hope to pick up the pace next week.

One thing that stood out in church this weekend was the number of seminarians sponsored by our diocese: it keeps going up.  We take this as a good sign.  While there is still a priest shortage, at least the numbers are moving in a positive direction.

Truly, a great blessing.

Mark Steyn meets the Veggie Tales

Mark Steyn has been talking about courage of late, particularly its apparent absence in the civil societies of both Canada and England.

His most recent - and harrowing – example is how a family literally burned to death in front of the police and horrified onlookers.

The police not only refused to help, but they prevented bystanders from attempting to render assistance.

This is an incredible situation, but it is in fact the inevitable outcome of a society where rules and order are more important than human lives.

Which brings me to Veggie Tales.

Some years ago Veggie Tales produced an Easter Carol dvd, which (you guessed it) uses Dickens’ Christmas Carol as a framework to discuss Easter. It’s quite funny and the kids love it, but it also makes a very good point by demonstrating what the world would be like without the hope of salvation that Easter brings.

In the alternate future shown to the Scrooge-like character, a masked bandit snatches a kid’s cup of pencils in broad daylight on a crowded street and runs away. A nearby policeman says a perfunctory “Stop, thief,” but when challenged, lets the criminal get away.

When Scrooge asks the spirit guide (actually an angel) why this is so, the angel explains that in a world without Easter (that is, without any hope of reward or afterlife), there’s no reason to show courage. If the policeman actually does his job, he could get hurt. Better to do nothing.

Which is exactly what is happening in the U.K.

Here is a country burdened by an ever-growing code of rules and regulations – and enforcers - but is not getting any safer. In fact it is getting less safe.

In Canada things aren’t much better. This piece by Steyn is wickedly funny – I particularly like his description of the Mounties showing up in their “superbutch combat gear” to watch the killer finish off his victim and start to eat him – and doing nothing but providing running commentary.

Like the bystanders, the cops decided it was easier not to get that involved.

I think the 9/11 attacks shocked America out of this passive “wait-for-the-experts” mentality, and the numerous accounts of aircraft and bus passengers attacking and subduing potential hijackers is proof of this.

Of course the U.K. had its own terror attacks, but the difference is that the U.K. no longer has faith to sustain it.

The Easter Carol is right: faith is what causes the cop to risk his life. Even if the cop is an atheist, American society as whole still lives by these words:

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

It’s hard to find that sentiment in the post-modern West. Both Canada and U.K. seem to be in the brink of banning the Bible as a hate crime. No wonder that those words are largely forgotten outside of the U.S.

I’ll leave to the evolutionary psychologists to argue whether physical courage is learned or inherited, but there is no argument that societies that demonstrate it survive and those that shun it are destroyed.

I think it is a mixture of both. In stressful situations, people do what comes naturally to them. If they have been conditioned to be alert, to look for an opening and to act quickly, they will do so.

If they have been conditioned to sit passively and wait for everything, than they will do that.

What makes police, firefighters and soldiers different from the rest of us? Training. They train to operate in stressful environments. If you ever read stories about how they survive harrowing situations, in nine out of ten cases they will say “I just fell back on my training.”

Merely being active in society is a form of training. We know (without really thinking about it) how to cross the street, pay for something in a store, etc. Most of parenting is really training your child to function in society.

In the U.S., we still train people to be brave. In Canada and the U.K., they don’t.

If you haven’t seen the Easter Carol, or know kids who would appreciate it, snag a copy (and hey, give the Posse some business). Pay close attention to the segment where there is no Easter. It’s already happening in the U.K. and Canada.

UPDATE:  Watched it again tonight.  Great DVD, edited the above since my memory was a little fuzzy.