21 October 2013

Make Your Own US Constitution Booklet


This gentleman did a helluva nice job with this site/project, please visit his site and make your's today...thank you.
You can download the free printable PDF file at ConstitutionBooklet.com. The Constitution booklet is made with 5 sheets of paper, a stapler, and scissors.

Free Printable Constitution Booklet Instructions

Fascinating Facts about the U.S. Constitution


From ConstitutionFacts.com 
Fascinating Facts about the U.S. Constitution...


The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world."

Of the spelling errors in the Constitution, “Pensylvania” above the signers’ names is probably the most glaring.

Thomas Jefferson did not sign the Constitution. He was in France during the Convention, where he served as the U.S. minister. John Adams was serving as the U.S. minister to Great Britain during the Constitutional Convention and did not attend either.

The Constitution was “penned” by Jacob Shallus, A Pennsylvania General Assembly clerk, for $30 ($726 today).

Since 1952, the Constitution has been on display in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Currently, all four pages are displayed behind protective glass framed with titanium. To preserve the parchment’s quality, the cases contain argon gas and are kept at 67 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of 40 percent.

Constitution Day is celebrated on September 17, the anniversary of the day the framers signed the document.

The Constitution does not set forth requirements for the right to vote. As a result, at the outset of the Union, only male property-owners could vote. African Americans were not considered citizens, and women were excluded from the electoral process. Native Americans were not given the right to vote until 1924.

James Madison, “the father of the Constitution,” was the first to arrive in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention. He arrived in February, three months before the convention began, bearing the blueprint for the new Constitution.

Of the forty-two delegates who attended most of the meetings, thirty-nine actually signed the Constitution. Edmund Randolph and George Mason of Virginia and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts refused to sign due in part due to the lack of a bill of rights.

When it came time for the states to ratify the Constitution, the lack of any bill of rights was the primary sticking point.

The Great Compromise saved the Constitutional Convention, and, probably, the Union. Authored by Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, it called for proportional representation in the House, and one representative per state in the Senate (this was later changed to two.) The compromise passed 5-to-4, with one state, Massachusetts, “divided.”

Patrick Henry was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, but declined, because he “smelt a rat.”

Because of his poor health, Benjamin Franklin needed help to sign the Constitution. As he did so, tears streamed down his face.

Gouverneur Morris was largely responsible for the “wording” of the Constitution, although there was a Committee of Style formed in September 1787.

The oldest person to sign the Constitution was Benjamin Franklin (81). The youngest was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey (26).

When the Constitution was signed, the United States’ population was 4 million. It is now more than 309 million. Philadelphia was the nation’s largest city, with 40,000 inhabitants.

A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give “thanks” for the new Constitution.

The first time the formal term “The United States of America” was used was in the Declaration of Independence.

It took one hundred days to actually “frame” the Constitution.

There was initially a question as to how to address the President. The Senate proposed that he be addressed as “His Highness the President of the United States of America and Protector of their Liberties.” Both the House of Representatives and the Senate compromised on the use of “President of the United States.”

James Wilson originally proposed the President be chosen by popular vote, but the delegates agreed (after 60 ballots) on a system known as the Electoral College. Although there have been 500 proposed amendments to change it, this “indirect” system of electing the president is still intact.

George Washington and James Madison were the only presidents who signed the Constitution.

In November of 1788 the Congress of the Confederation adjourned and left the United States without a central government until April 1789. That is when the first Congress under the new Constitution convened with its first quorum.

James Madison was the only delegate to attend every meeting. He took detailed notes of the various discussions and debates that took place during the convention. The journal that he kept during the Constitutional Convention was kept secret until after he died. It (along with other papers) was purchased by the government in 1837 at a price of $30,000 (that would be $629,000 today). The journal was published in 1840.

Although Benjamin Franklin’s mind remained active, his body was deteriorating. He was in constant pain because of gout and having a stone in his bladder, and he could barely walk. He would enter the convention hall in a sedan chair carried by four prisoners from the Walnut Street jail in Philadelphia.

As Benjamin Franklin left the Pennsylvania State House after the final meeting of the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, he was approached by the wife of the mayor of Philadelphia. She was curious as to what the new government would be. Franklin replied, “A republic, madam. If you can keep it.”

On March 24, 1788, a popular election was held in Rhode Island to determine the ratification status of the new Constitution. The vote was 237 in favor and 2,945 opposed!

The members of the first Congress of the United States included 54 who were delegates to the Constitutional Convention or delegates to the various state-ratifying conventions. The number also included 7 delegates who opposed ratification.

Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790, at the age of 84. The 20,000 mourners at his funeral on April 21, 1790, constituted the largest public gathering up to that time.

Vermont ratified the Constitution on January 10, 1791, even though it had not yet become a state.

The word “democracy” does not appear once in the Constitution.

There was a proposal at the Constitutional Convention to limit the standing army for the country to 5,000 men. George Washington sarcastically agreed with this proposal as long as a stipulation was added that no invading army could number more than 3,000 troops!

John Adams referred to the Constitution as “the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen” and George Washington wrote to the Marquis de Lafayette that “It (the Constitution) appears to me, then, little short of a miracle.”

The Pennsylvania State House (where the Constitutional Convention took place) was where George Washington was appointed the commander of the Continental Army in 1775 and where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. It was also where the Articles of Confederation were adopted as our first constitution in 1781.

Rhode Island was the only state not to send delegates to Philadelphia in 1787. At that time the state legislature was controlled by the agrarian party and was fearful that a stronger central government would demand that debts be paid in specie (hard money). It was the last state to ratify the Constitution on May 29, 1790 (over a year after President George Washington’s inauguration) by a vote of 34-32.

The delegates were involved in debates from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. six days a week with only a 10 day break during the duration of the convention

The Constitution contains 4,543 words, including the signatures and has four sheets, 28-3/4 inches by 23-5/8 inches each. It contains 7,591 words including the 27 amendments.

The Constitution was ratified by specially elected conventions beginning in December 1787. The order in which the thirteen states accepted the new constitution was Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island.

Daniel Webster (1782-1852), of Massachusetts, has been called the “Expounder of the Constitution”.

From 1804 to 1865 there were no amendments added to the Constitution until the end of the Civil War when the Thirteenth amendment was added that abolished slavery. This was the longest period in American history in which there were no changes to our Constitution.

The text of the Constitution was printed by John Dunlap and David Claypoole in Philadelphia to then be sent to the various state constitutional conventions for debate and discussion.

As evidence of its continued flexibility, the Constitution has only been changed seventeen times since 1791!

The main reason for the meeting in Philadelphia was to revise the Articles of Confederation. However, the delegates soon concluded that it would be necessary to write an entirely new Constitution. They agreed to conduct the meetings in secrecy by stationing guards at the door to the Pennsylvania state house. When one delegate dropped a convention document, Chairman George Washington replied, “I must entreat the gentlemen to be more careful, lest our transactions get into the newspapers and disturb the public repose.”

At the time of the Constitutional Convention Philadelphia was the most modern city in America and the largest city in North America. It had a population of 40,000 people, 7,000 street lamps, 33 churches, 10 newspapers, and a university.

The median age in America by the end of the 18th century was 16 years of age (today it is around 34 years of age), 19 of every 20 citizens lived on the land, and 70% of the land was worked by its owners (30% by tenants).

The national government spent $4.3 million during the first session of Congress from 1789-1791. During the last year that George Washington was President of the United States (1796-1797), the entire cost of running the federal government was $5,727,000.

The election of George Washington as the first President under the Constitution was not really “unanimous”. In actuality, two electors from Virginia and two electors from Maryland did not vote. New York was entitled to eight electoral votes but the state legislature could not decide how these electors would be chosen, so the state of New York officially did not vote for the President. The electoral vote in 1789 should have totaled 81 but only 69 votes were cast.

James Madison of Virginia was responsible for proposing the resolution to create the various Cabinet positions within the Executive Branch of our government and twelve amendments to the Constitution of which ten became the Bill of Rights.

Although the United States Treasury Department stopped distributing currency denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 in 1969, for all intents and purposes the production of each stopped after World War II. However, these notes are still legal tender and may be found on rare occasions in circulation. James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution” is on the $5,000 bill.

At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin observed the symbol of a half-sun on George Washington’s chair and remarked, “I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.”

Benjamin Franklin made a suggestion at the Constitutional Convention that the sessions be opened with a prayer. The delegates refused to accept the motion stating that there was not enough money to hire a chaplain.

Of the fifty-five delegates who attended the convention 34 were lawyers, 8 had signed the Declaration of Independence, and almost half were Revolutionary War veterans. The remaining members were planters, educators, ministers, physicians, financiers, judges and merchants. About a quarter of them were large land owners and all of them held some type of public office (39 were former Congressmen and 8 were present or past governors).

William Few of Georgia was the only member to represent the yeoman farmer class which comprised the majority of the population of the country. Nineteen of the members who were chosen to represent their state never attended a meeting.

Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania was known as the “Sage of the Constitutional Convention.” He was also the mediator at the convention and often counseled that “we are here to consult, not to contend”.

George Washington and James Madison were the only Presidents who signed the Constitution.

Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts was opposed to the office of vice president. “The close intimacy that must subsist between the President and Vice President makes it absolutely improper.” However, he put his feelings aside and became Vice President under James Madison!

When Paul Revere learned that Sam Adams and John Hancock were reluctant to offer their support for the Constitution during the ratification fight, he organized the Boston mechanics into a powerful force and worked behind the scenes for the successful approval by the Massachusetts convention.

The only other language used in various parts of the Constitution is Latin.

The term “others” is used in the Constitution to categorize ethnic minorities.

Four of the signers of the Constitution were born in Ireland.

John Tyler was the first Vice President to assume the responsibilities of the Presidency upon the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841. There was nothing in the Constitution that provided for the vice president to BECOME the president. Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution states that: “In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President...” The Article did not state that the vice president would BECOME the President! Tyler immediately began to refer to himself as the President with no actual Constitutional authority to do so, and every succeeding vice president in the same position did the same. It was not until the Twenty-Fifth Amendment was passed in 1967 that the vice president technically BECAME the president. This amendment legitimatized Tyler’s unconstitutional assumption!

During an event to celebrate the Constitution’s Sesquicentennial in 1937, Harry F. Wilhelm recited the entire document through the newly added 21st Amendment from memory. He then obtained a job in the Sesquicentennial mailroom!

20 October 2013

A Truly Outstanding Tool


One of the slickest, not to forget handiest, lil tools in the book it the old GI P-38 can opener. I've been using them since I was a kid and ALWAYS have on on me via my keychain. We keep them in the vehicles, kitchen drawer, and tool boxes and they get used...

Here are just some of the uses for the P-38...
  • can opener
  • all-purpose toothpick
  • fingernail cleaner
  • splinter remover
  • flat-head screwdriver – use one of the ends
  • phillips-head screwdriver – use one of the corners
  • bottle opener
  • box cutter
  • letter opener
  • chisel
  • stirrer
  • neck slasher (women used to carry to use in case of attack)
  • seam ripper
  • cut fishing line
  • open paint cans
  • window scraper
  • scrape around floor corners
  • digging
  • clean out groove on Tupperware lids
  • reach in and clean out small cracks
  • scrape around edge of boots
  • {in the field} gut fish
  • {in the field} scale fish
  • test for “doneness” when baking on a camp fire
  • prying items
  • strip wire
  • scrape pans in the field
  • lift key on flip top cans
  • barter
  • marking tool
  • deflating tires
  • measurement
  • striking flint
  • puncturing plastic coating
  • knocking on doors
  • Morse Code
  • write emergency messages
  • scratch an itch
  • save as a souvenir
  • rip off rank for on the spot promotion
  • carburetor repair tool
  • bee sting removal tool (scrape off w/ blade)
  • knife sharpener

GI Instructions...

For those of you unfamiliar with the P-38...

The Army's Best Invention
Story by Maj. Renita Foster
He was gone forever, the Soldier who inside of six months had spent every waking minute with me, living and fighting in the latest conflict. A man who gave a whole new meaning to the words friend and family. I wanted to leave something with him to connect us through eternity, something that would assure us both he would never be forgotten. Ever. So I slipped a P-38 can opener into his pants pocket just before they took him away. (memories of a Vietnam Veteran) 

FORT MONMOUTH, N.J. -- It was invented in just 30 days in the summer of 1942 by Maj. Thomas Dennehy at the Subsistence Research Laboratory in Chicago.

And never in its more than 60-year history has it ever been known to "break, rust, need sharpening or polishing," which is why many Soldiers past and present have come to regard the P-38 C-Ration can opener as one of the best Army inventions ever.

C-Rations (tin cans filled with a variety of meats and vegetables) have been replaced with Meals Ready To Eat (MREs) but the phenomena of the P-38 continues due to the countless other uses that Soldiers found for it.

"The P-38 is one of those tools you keep and never want to get rid of," military policeman Sgt. Scott Kiraly said. "I've had my P-38 since joining the Army and kept it because I can use it as a screwdriver, knife, anything!"

Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Steve Wilson believes it's the size of the P-38 that counts. 

"It's a perfect inch-and-a-half making it a great marking tool. Because it's small, it doesn't take up a lot of space and that's essential in Army life. The conveniently drilled hole in the top half means the P-38 can be put on a key ring or dog tags and go anywhere," he said.

According to Col. (Ret.) Paul Baerman, however, the most vital use of the P-38 is the very mission it was designed for.

"When we had C-rations it was your access to food, making it a priority," he said. "Then Soldiers discovered it was an extremely simple, lightweight multi-purpose tool. I think in warfare, the simpler something is and the easier access it has, the more you're going to use it. The P-38 had all of those things going for it." 

The P-38 acquired its infamous nomenclature from the 38 punctures around the C-ration can required for opening and the boast that it performed with the speed of the World War II P-38 fighter plane. 

"Soldiers just took to the P-38 naturally," said World War II veteran John Bandola. A master sergeant serving in the 30th Signal Construction Battalion in North Africa, Bandola began his acquaintance with the P-38 in 1943.

"The P-38 was our means for eating 90 percent of the time, but the next thing I knew we were using it for cleaning boots, fingernails, screwdrivers, you name it. And we all carried it on our dog tags or key rings," he said.

When Pfc. Martin Kuehl stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day over half-a-century ago with the Third Army's 457th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, he not only carried several pounds of equipment but a P-38 as well.

"I used it to open cans for dinner after that 'longest day'," said Kuehl. Six years later millions of the miniature can openers were distributed by the Army during the Korean War.

And while fighting on what Soldiers referred to as "Papasan Mountain" with the 24th Infantry Division, Jay Welsh discovered another vital use of the P-38 besides opening food cans.

"A clean weapon is your immediate priority because a dirty one is not going to work," said Welsh. "The P-38 was the ideal tool to field strip and clean the finer components of the M-1 rifle. I believe that two-piece hinged device saved my life. It assured me I had a rifle that would fire."

Ted Paquet was a 17-year-old seaman serving aboard the USS New Orleans amphibious assault ship during the Vietnam War. Its mission was to retrieve and transport Marines off the coast of Da Nang. On occasional evenings Soldiers gathered near Paquet's duty position in the fantail for simple pleasures like "cokes, cigarettes, conversation and C-rations." 

It was during one of these nightly sessions that Paquet became acquainted with the P-38 or "John Wayne" as it's affectionately referred to in the Navy.

"I think the reason I remember this incident so well is because one of the Marines and I got to talking about where we were from, and it turned out we'd gone to high school together and I'd even dated his sister," said Paquet. He came home to Pennsylvania after surviving 12 months of war. Yet civilian life didn't end his need for the P-38. 

While driving down Route 60, known as the Old Steubenville Pike with older brother Paul, another Vietnam veteran who served with the 7th Air Cavalry, car problems suddenly developed. "There were no tools in the car and almost simultaneously both of us reached for P-38s attached to our key rings," chuckled Paquet. "We used it to adjust the flow valve and the car worked perfectly."

Christmas of 1969 brought a truce in Vietnam. Paul Baerman was then a wounded first lieutenant, whose only desire was to be reunited with his platoon in time for the highly coveted holiday. His wish was granted and it remains one of the most memorable times in his military career.

"One of my Soldiers received one of those tacky evergreen foil trees," he said. "It didn't come with anything so we mounted it on top of a 50-caiber machine gun on an armored vehicle and decorated it with brass shells from ammunition, C-ration cans, and of course P-38s. They were a little dull, but that hole made it a perfect hanging ornament. So whenever I see that little can opener, I think of being there with them in 70-to-80 degree weather and singing carols around a P-38 decorated Christmas tree."

It's nostalgic memories such as Baerman's that best depict the sentimental attachment many Soldiers came to feel for the P-38. 

When John Bandola attached his first P-38 to his key ring it accompanied him to Anzio, Salerno, and northern Italy.

It was with him when World War II ended and it's with him now. "This P-38 is a symbol of my life back then," reminisced Bandola. "The Army, the training, my fellow Soldiers, all those incredible times we shared during a world war." 

Because the P-38 represents such a significant part of Bandola's life, he plans to leave it to his son and grandson. It's a desire his wife Dorothy understands perfectly. "Every time they look at that P-38, they'll see and remember him," she said quietly.

Vietnam veteran John Koehler grinned broadly, proclaiming the P-38 "ranks with your first girl and your first car." 

Koehler proudly admits he put his first P-38 on his dog tags 25 years ago and it's still there. "The P-38 was part of my youth when I was learning all about discipline, accomplishment, and self-worth as a Soldier with the 101st Airborne Division. And if someone wanted it, well, they'd have a better chance of seeing God!" he said.

Ted Paquet's P-38 is in a special box with his dog tags, a 50-caliber shell from the ship he served on, his Vietnam Service Medal, South Vietnamese money and a surrender leaflet from Desert Storm dutifully supplied by a veteran nephew. 

No one's allowed to touch the box and his wife has been given clear instructions to dust around it. "It'll be on my dresser until the day I die," swears Paquet.

According to Steve Wilson, attitudes of former veterans aren't hard to understand. "When you see a P-38 you've carried since the day you enlisted, it means a whole lot. It becomes a part of you. You remember field problems, German Reforgers, jumping at 3 a.m. in the morning and moving out in a convoy. A P-38 has you reliving all the adventures that came with soldiering in the Armed Forces. Yes, the P-38 opened cans but it did so much more. Any Soldier will tell you that," he said. 

There have been other inventions that Soldiers came to cherish, such as the steel helmet that proved ideal for washing, shaving, and cooking; the faithful, trustworthy jeep, guaranteed to go anywhere in any kind of weather and the TA-50 ammunition pouch for storing those personal items Soldiers just couldn't leave behind. 

Thomas Dennehy's P-38, however, remains the Army's finest creation.

As one of the "most perfectly designed tools in history," Dennehy counted on Soldier imagination to raise the P-38 to even greater heights than just opening cans. 

The P-38 was an item he knew a majority of service members would come to possess and share, and thus promote the kind of camaraderie and bonding all Soldiers need and depend on.

Perhaps that is what this patron saint of Army inventions had in mind all along.

Proof that is was around long before WWII...
From: Popular Mechanics
Issue: Apr, 1924
Posted in: House and Home
Time and Money-Saving Tools For Woman’s Workshop in Home (Apr, 1924)

What a prestigious engineering periodical said...

Elegant Simplicity
By Don Lancaster
From Midnight Engineering, January-February, 1994

One of the goals I have consistently sought out over the years is to develop designs and products which inherently possess an elegant simplicity. Like many truly great concepts, elegant simplicity can be hard to pin down. But you sure know it when you’ve got it.

One clue is when industry insiders end up shaking their heads in stunned disbelief.

Elegant simplicity combines the best of Schumacher’s “do more with less” and Buckminster Fuller’s “appropriate technology”. Yeah, Whole Earth Catalog stuff. It goes way on back to that ancient Ockham’s Razor principle of the most fundamentally direct explanation often ending up the most correct. Or Einstein’s “Always seek out the simplest possible solution – but none simpler".

Probably the best way we can get a handle on elegant simplicity is to look at several products and designs that clearly have it. Here are my selections for a few of the all time winners…
I consider the P-38 can opener to be by far the finest invention of the twentieth century. Bar none. Compared to the P-38, such utter frivolities as radio, television, autos, or aviation are not even in the same league. Yes, even Hostess Twinkies pale by comparison.

For sheer bang for the buck and inherent ergonomics, nothing can remotely compare. The P-38 opens cans. Any classic tin can, any time, any place. It runs forever. No batteries required. Fully portable. Self-protecting. Cost is zilch. No user manuals or tutorials.

Let’s see what we got here. Two tiny pieces of stamped steel. One is grooved for extra strength. The blade folds flat for storage or pops open for use. The first time you see one, you will swear that it couldn’t possibly work. But it sure does. The secret is “walking" around the folded rim present on all classic cans. Your thumb and forefinger form a double lever that pivots on that rim. With a surprising amount of force magnification. Probably many tons of pressure per square inch at the blade edge.

The elegant simplicity here is profound: ultra low cost and very small size. Perfectly matched to both the user and the job to be done. Use of the absolute minimum of force concentration to reliably carry out one well defined task. While a throwaway item intended for one time use, these last forever. A classic in every sense of the word.

Here's the P-38's big brother, the P-51 (center)...
Aside from being easier to use, that's the only difference...

You should have both stashed everywhere, I do, but, at least, have the P-38s...

Buy only American made openers, the el cheapo Asian crap is just that...crap. For literally a few cents more get the good ones.



14 October 2013

ICCF's Suggested Reading and Viewing


I will be posting links to various books, articles, and videos that you or I feel is in keeping with the intent of the forum. These I divided into the following five subjects; CQB, Survival, Pistol Shooting, Rifle Shooting, Strategy, Tactics & Irregular Training.

This is more difficult that it would first seem as everyone has a different perspective on what is and is not important. The perspective I always use is K.I.S.S. and that it is better to know several things very well than to have a bit of knowledge of many. I would like to thank some select members and staff for their assistance in compiling this list.

Remember, it is very difficult to learn simply from a book (and/or DVD) unless someone is present that has hand-on experience.

As well, there are quite a few papers on these subjects that are very good. Nonetheless, I have not listed those, as they are not books and are very category specific.

Here is what I came up with and I will be more than happy to clarify my choices if need be.

1) CQB
GET TOUGH by W.E. Fairbairn https://dc401.4shared.com/download/TO3u ... rbairn.pdf
USN SEABEE PHYSICAL FITNESS EXERCISES AND TESTS AND JUDO MANUAL - SEPTEMBER 1944 https://dc247.4shared.com/download/v3WD ... -_1944.pdf
KILL OR GET KILLED by Rex Applegate https://dc213.4shared.com/download/S6fe ... _Get_K.pdf
LETHAL UNARMED COMBAT by Malcolm Harris https://dc220.4shared.com/download/3cUM ... Harris.pdf
SELF DEFENSE by Wesley Brown https://dc193.4shared.com/download/6YN0 ... _Brown.pdf

2) SURVIVAL
SAS SURVIVAL GUIDE by John 'Lofty' Wiseman https://dc400.4shared.com/download/lNh0 ... -Guide.pdf
THE TEN BUSHCRAFT BOOKS by Richard Graves https://dc588.4shared.com/download/In8O ... Graves.pdf
OUTDOOR SURVIVAL SKILLS by Larry Dean Olsen http://www.abebooks.com/
THE COMPLETE OUTDOORSMAN'S HANDBOOK by J. J. Knapp must-have-survival-book-t220.html

3) PISTOL SHOOTING
SHOOTING TO LIVE by Fairbairn and Sykes https://dc253.4shared.com/download/6Kaj ... Pistol.pdf
KILL OR GET KILLED by Rex Applegate https://dc213.4shared.com/download/S6fe ... _Get_K.pdf
THE AUTOMATIC PISTOL by J B L Noel http://www.abebooks.com/
STRESSFIRE, VOL. 1 (GUNFIGHTING FOR POLICE: ADVANCED TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES) by Massad F. Ayoob http://www.abebooks.com/
BULLSEYES DON'T SHOOT BACK: THE COMPLETE TEXTBOOK OF POINT SHOOTING FOR CLOSE QUARTERS COMBAT by Rex Applegate; Michael Janich http://www.abebooks.com/
The Palestine Police Force Close Quarter Battle: Revolvers, Automatics, and Sub-Machine Guns by Leonard Hector Grant-Taylor http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-pal ... 1581606423

4) RIFLE SHOOTING
7-LESSON RIFLE SHOOTING COURSE by Jack O'Connor https://dc337.4shared.com/download/Ysy7 ... Course.pdf
KILL OR GET KILLED by Rex Applegate https://dc213.4shared.com/download/S6fe ... _Get_K.pdf
DA PAM 23-2 HITS COUNT 1959 https://dc317.4shared.com/download/3jAj ... t_1959.pdf
HOW TO SHOOT THE US ARMY M1 RIFLE by The Infantry Journal https://dc378.4shared.com/download/7c_N ... _M1_Ri.pdf
BECOMING A RIFLEMAN https://dc316.4shared.com/download/pKeR ... flemen.pdf
GET TOUGH’S MISSING RIFLE SECTION (From All-In Fighting) https://dc338.4shared.com/download/QJ__ ... ection.pdf
SNAP SHOOTING by USMC https://dc173.4shared.com/download/p4_A ... 4-USMC.pdf
The Palestine Police Force Close Quarter Battle: Revolvers, Automatics, and Sub-Machine Guns by Leonard Hector Grant-Taylor http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-pal ... 1581606423

5) STRATEGY
THE ART OF WAR BY SUN TZU translated by Samuel B. Griffith https://dc306.4shared.com/download/bwsa ... u_tran.pdf
MAO ZEDONG - ON GUERILLA WARFARE translated by Samuel B. Griffith https://dc308.4shared.com/download/sUWA ... _Warfa.pdf
FIGHTING IN THE STREETS - A MANUAL OF GUERILLA WARFARE by Urbano https://dc305.4shared.com/download/-8Md ... -_A_Ma.pdf

6) TACTICS & IRREGULAR and/or COMBINED TRAINING ET ALII
SCOUTING AND PATROLLING by Rex Applegate https://dc610.4shared.com/download/umNp ... -_Appl.pdf
TOTAL RESISTANCE by von Dach Bern https://dc317.4shared.com/download/ZYgV ... ach_Be.pdf
GUERRILLA WARFARE by Bert Levy https://dc312.4shared.com/download/T4Qv ... t_Levy.pdf
LIGHT INFANTRY TACTICS FOR SMALL TEAMS by Christopher E. Larsen https://dc301.4shared.com/download/dQFI ... or_Sma.pdf
BASIC BATTLE SKILLS – British Army https://dc461.4shared.com/download/rQKv ... tish_A.pdf
THE WWII SOE TRAINING MANUAL by Rigden https://dc308.4shared.com/download/hDbS ... nual_-.pdf
SHOOTING TO KILL by Elliot https://dc347.4shared.com/download/-HL4 ... Elliot.pdf
THE CLOSE-COMBAT FILES OF COLONEL REX APPLEGATE by Colonel Rex Applegate and Major Chuck Melson http://www.abebooks.com/
FM 21-75 SCOUTING PATROLLING AND SNIPING – 1944 https://dc305.4shared.com/download/HNDq ... ling_a.pdf

7) HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION
Constitution of the United States of America as Amended - Unratified Amendments - Analytical Index http://www.scribd.com/doc/167302962/Con ... ical-Index
Declaration of Independence http://www.scribd.com/doc/167306176/Dec ... uly-4-1776

This is by no means finished however; it is something to get you started…when I add to this list I will notify you all.

Questions???

Refer here: https://www.4shared.com/dir/fRtbytC1/ICCF.html

For great used books, try here http://www.abebooks.com/

13 October 2013

EDC Compass

I wanted an inexpensive, satisfactory, yet elementary compass to carry about on a daily basis. I'm not treking to the South Pole nor navigating the Siberian wastelands, I simply want to know where north is under any and all conditions. Therefore, I don't require an expensive, complex unit.

Upon doing the research and contacting a few true experts, I decided to try the Silva Forecaster 610 pictured above.

The "poop" as per Silva:

Direction and Temperature
The Forecaster combines an accurate compass and thermometer in a handy size.  Works as a key chain or zipper pull. Fixed dial with 5° graduations. Wind chill table on back.

Features

  • 5° graduations
  • Liquid-filled capsule
  • Non-magnetic brass ring
  • Alcohol based thermometer reads °F & °C
  • Wind chill chart imprint on back
  • Note:  Keys other than brass may interfere with the compass needle


I'm expecting my compasses in the mail shortly...more details to come.

I see no reason why a relatively accurate, somewhat compact compass cannot be produced at a reasonable price, say under $30...Realistically, of all the compasses sold in this country alone how many are used for true navigational purposes?

Personally, as long as I know where north is I've never been lost, even in the woods. Also, I am generally accurate in sensing where north is however, I am not perfect by any means and can get turned around just like anyone else. Ergo, my compass requirement.





09 October 2013

Maybe The Navy Yard Shooter Did Hear Voices?

From the WHITEOUT PRESS

October 6, 2013

Was Navy Yard Shooter telling the Truth about Voices?

October 6, 2013. When US intelligence employee Aaron Alexis opened fire at the Washington DC Naval Yard killing 12 a month ago, he had just spent weeks warning anyone who would listen that the US government was infiltrating his brain with voices and it was making him crazy. As unbelievable as it sounds, the military has had that exact weapon for decades.


A diagram of the US military's 'Voice-to-Skull Device'. Image courtesy of Wired.com.

Aaron Alexis was a 34 year-old employee of an intelligence corporation contracted by the US government for its spy operations. He was an electronics expert in the Navy where he had a number of impressive write-ups but was disciplined a number of times for instances of being late or temporarily AWOL. But nothing in Alexis’ past indicated he was either crazy or a serial killer. And while government experts have no explanation for his murderous Naval Yard rampage, Alexis has said all along that he does – the government was saturating his brain with silent subliminal messages.

The 30 days prior to the fatal rampage

An account by the Los Angeles Times two weeks after Aaron Alexis killed a dozen people in the DC Naval Yard traces his actions and conversations over the month prior to the incident in which he himself was killed by authorities after a 30-minute shootout. The most ominous discoveries are that over those 30 days, Alexis had repeatedly warned his friends and coworkers that he was being victimized by a secret government program to brainwash him.


With his family members insisting to national TV outlets that he had no history of mental illness or any use of pharmaceutical drugs, Aaron Alexis already stands out among all the other recent mass shooters who were taking various kinds of prescribed psychiatric drugs. Ironically, he had all the signs experts look for when diagnosing someone who’s mentally ill. But Alexis insisted he wasn’t crazy. He swore he was suddenly the target of a secret government mind control weapon.

A month before the mass shooting, Aaron Alexis told people that he was involved in a confrontation at a Virginia airport after he repeatedly heard travelers talking about him. CNN eventually tracked down those people in the Virginia airport and they turned out to be a regular family waiting for their own flight. Grandma was apparently laughing overly loud and Alexis assumed the family was laughing at him. After a verbal confrontation, airport security came over and warned him to stay in his seat until his own flight came, which he did.

Even though the incident at the airport isn’t all that uncommon when you think about it, he was obviously paranoid and already hearing voices at that point. But why was Aaron Alexis so paranoid now? A few days later while working inside a Rhode Island Naval facility, he again told various people that he was hearing voices. This time, Alexis proclaimed that it was the government’s doing and that the voices were being transmitted from as near as one room or floor away and passing through “the walls, floor and ceiling” of his Navy building.

A few days later, his warnings and complaints were so serious that a police report was actually filled out which documents his frantic assertions. Alexis told authorities that while attempting to sleep in his hotel room, the mysterious agents used “some sort of microwave machine" to invade his thoughts with their voices. The machine allegedly projected vibrations that passed through the ceiling of his room and right into his brain. He said the voices or messages were so powerful they were keeping him awake.

A week later and just two days before the deadly Naval Yard rampage, Aaron Alexis purchased a sawed-off shotgun from a gun store. Two days later, he brought that gun to work at the Naval Yard and killed 12 people. Did the voices tell him to do it? Or, as this author believes, did Aaron Alexis go to the intelligence facility intent on shooting the voices, or the government employees behind them.

Consider that Aaron Alexis had two gun-related criminal incidents in his recent past. In one instance, he was drinking at a bar and then shot out the tires of someone’s car. That would typically be chalked up to the old adage, ‘alcohol and guns don’t mix’. But it’s the second episode that is more curious. The second time Alexis discharged his firearm, he shot his own apartment ceiling. Considering that’s where he insisted the voices kept coming from, compliments of the government’s secret vibrating mind control device he swore they were using, it’s not out of the question that he tried to shoot the ceiling to stop the voices.

The secret government Voice-to-Skull weapon

Thanks to a sharp Whiteout Press reader, we were reminded that a decade and a half ago, the government was openly bragging about its weapon that perfected the art of mind penetration. It was called the Voice-to-Skull device and it converted a human voice into a silent microwave pulse. When aimed at a human or animal target, the pulse would enter the brain and be subliminally heard and understood.
The US military’s own website detailed and documented the device along with a wide array of other ‘non-lethal weapons’ in its archive of publicly accessible library of information. But a strange thing happened in 2008, which prompted a Wired.com article. The military quietly made the web page and Voice-to-Skull device disappear. All that remained of its existence was a cached version of the government’s web page on the computers of the Federation of American Scientists.
The Federation publicly asked why the military made the page and weapon disappear. The scientists then released a screen shot of the cached webpage which describes the Voice-to-Skull weapon as a:

‘Nonlethal weapon which includes (1) a neuro-electromagnetic device which uses microwave transmission of sound into the skull of persons or animals by way of pulse-modulated microwave radiation; and (2) a silent sound device which can transmit sound into the skull of person or animals. NOTE: The sound modulation may be voice or audio subliminal messages. One application of V2K is used as an electronic scarecrow to frighten birds in the vicinity of airports.’
The report from Wired also includes a schematic that dates back to March 2000. The diagram attempts to explain how the secret government mind control device works. So, was Aaron Alexis crazy? As far as his insistence that there’s a device that converts speech into silent microwaves and brain waves, he was one hundred percent right. So, could he also have been right that he was being victimized by government agents using that device on him for some reason?
Aaron Alexis - Criminal or Victim?

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Ken's Kognition....

While I'm no conspiracy theorist (I don't even have a foil hat liner!), nonetheless, I am beginning to wonder. I believe this regime of ours would stop at nothing to control us and, therefore, the world. If "they" are behind all the mass shootings, both here and abroad, it would serve two purposes very well:

1. To discredit civilian ownership of firearms to the point of a total ban and complete confiscation.

2. As an excuse for every federal, state, and local agency, department, and bureau to develop and maintain a paramilitary unit to eventually be used against us.

Remember...if, repeat, if "they" did it to him and others "they" will do it to you...





Thoughts On First Aid Kits


Of course, families and groups will tailor their kit(s) to meet their specific needs. This is simple a general outline and a thought provoker...
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First-aid kits: Stock supplies that can save lives

A well-stocked first-aid kit can help you respond effectively to common injuries and emergencies. Keep at least one first-aid kit in your home and one in your car. Store your kits in easy-to-retrieve locations that are out of the reach of young children. Children old enough to understand the purpose of the kits should know where they are stored.

You can purchase first-aid kits at many drugstores or assemble your own. Contents of a first-aid kit should include:

Basic supplies
  • Adhesive tape
  • Aluminum finger splints
  • Antibiotic ointment
  • Antiseptic solution or towelettes
  • Bandages, including a roll of elastic wrap (Ace, Coban, others) and bandage strips (Band-Aid, Curad, others) in assorted sizes
  • Instant cold packs
  • Cotton balls and cotton-tipped swabs
  • Disposable latex or synthetic gloves, at least two pair
  • Gauze pads and roller gauze in assorted sizes
  • Eye goggles
  • First-aid manual
  • Petroleum jelly or other lubricant
  • Plastic bags for the disposal of contaminated materials
  • Safety pins in assorted sizes
  • Save-A-Tooth storage device containing salt solution and a tavel case
  • Scissors, tweezers and a needle
  • Soap or instant hand sanitizer
  • Sterile eyewash, such as a saline solution
  • Thermometer
  • Triangular bandage
  • Turkey baster or other bulb suction device for flushing out wounds

Medications
  • Activated charcoal (use only if instructed by Poison Control Center)
  • Anti-diarrhea medication
  • Over-the-counter oral antihistamine (Benadryl, others)
  • Aspirin and nonaspirin pain relievers (never give aspirin to children)
  • Calamine lotion
  • Over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream
  • Personal medications
  • If prescribed by your doctor, drugs to treat an allergic attack, such as an auto-injector of epinephrine (EpiPen)
  • Syringe, medicine cup or spoon

Emergency items
  • Cell phone and recharger that utilizes the accessory plug in your car dash
  • Emergency phone numbers, including contact information for your family doctor and pediatrician, local emergency services, emergency road service providers and the regional Poison Control Center
  • Small, waterproof flashlight and extra batteries
  • Candles and matches for cold climates
  • Sunscreen
  • Mylar emergency blanket
Give your kit a checkup
Check your first-aid kits regularly, at least every three months, to be sure the flashlight batteries work and to replace supplies that may have expired.

In addition, take a first-aid course to prepare for a possible medical emergency. Be sure the course covers cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). Renew your CPR certification at least every two years.

Prepare children for medical emergencies in age-appropriate ways. The American Red Cross offers a number of helpful resources, including classes designed to help children understand and use first-aid techniques.

By Mayo Clinic Staff
Jan 16, 2006
© 1998-2006 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "Mayo Clinic Health Information," "Reliable information for a healthier life" and the triple-shield Mayo logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Awerbuck on Mindset

This applies to ALL fields of endeavor...if you want to survive you have to think with the proper ethos...


 

08 October 2013

Lensatic Compass Review

Compass Overview - Suunto, Silva, Brunton and USGI Lensatic Cammenga Compasses from the Crawling Road Outdoor Adventure Channel hosted by Craig R.

Craig is also on BushcraftUSA forums and has a store called The Crawling Road Store


"In this video I go over baseplate, prismatic, mirror and lensatic sighting compasses from Suunto, Brunton, Silva and Cammenga:

  • Suunto M-3DL
  • Suunto MC-2G
  • Silver Ranger (US Brand, not Swedish)
  • Brunton 54LU (Silva 54 Expedition)
  • Cammenga USGI Lensatic

All of these compasses have plusses and minuses. The baseplate versions are simplest and lightest with good enough accuracy for just about anything I've ever needed a compass to do. 

The prismatic sighting compass is a neat design that can give more accuracy but lacks declination adjustment. 

The mirror compasses are more feature packed with things like inclinometers. But honestly the mirror doesn't seem to add much to my own needs. However it is nice to have for first aid, hygiene purposes, etc. at times. 

The Cammenga lensastic is USGI milspec. It is accurate, but heavy and lacks features such as declination and a built in protractor. 

The Silva Ranger sold in the US and Canada today is not made by Silva of Sweden any longer, but another company. Don't waste your money on the US marketed Silva Ranger or any other US marketed Silva products. They are all junk. I demonstrate why in this video. 

I also had a chance to feel the new Brunton 15TDCL compass in a store. It felt like junk as well. I turned over the package and saw it is made in China. I would avoid this compass as well and just buy Suunto brand compasses which are all well made. 

I rate the Suunto M-3G and MC-2G with the global needle as the best compasses I've used. Of the two, I prefer the M-3G without the sighting mirror for the simplicty and reliability in all weather conditions. 

If you found this review helpful in selecting a compass, I'd appreciate you buying it through my Amazon store. It costs you nothing extra but helps support my work. Check under the Navigation section:

http://www.crawlingroad.com/store

Music is "Riverwalk" from iMovie."

07 October 2013

Car Seats and Placement

Do it right...

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Every hour, nearly 150 children between ages 0 and 19 are treated in emergency departments for injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes. More children ages 5 to 19 die from crash-related injuries than from any other type of injury.

The information on this most important video reads as follows:

"At Danville Fire Department we were training on auto extrication. We placed this infant seat in the front seat of a minivan to see the results of the airbag's force. This seat was placed as we have seen during car seat checks and out in the world. It is NOT placed or secured properly. We are CPST (car seat technicians) and realize that this is bad placement. However, the purpose of this video was to open the eyes of those that choose to allow their infant/child to ride in the front seat."


So remember, just having your child in a proper seat IS NOT ENOUGH. Proper placement counts as well.

It really sickens me that, in this day and age, I still see kids bouncing around in a moving vehicle. How incredibly irresponsible, foolish, and negligent can people be?

This is a criminal act. If you see this do not hesitate to call the police. You are not informing on someone, you are potentially saving the life of a child.
--------------------------------------------
From safercar.gov (I highly recommend perusing this site).

How to find the right car seat

Lt. Col. D'Eliscu's Ranger Combat Training

You'll see none other than Francois D'Eliscu instructing in this video...

Ranger Combat Training School Fort Shafter Territory Of Hawaii (1942)

Potential Rangers Undergo Training

Fort George G. Meade, MD.—Under the instruction of Major Francois D’Eliscu (above), numbers of American soldiers are undergoing training in preparation for Ranger attacks on our enemy. Here the Major charges over some of the trainees to harden them for future duty.
From back of print: Left to right: Eleanor Roosevelt, General Robert C. Richardson, Lieutenant Colonel Francois D'Eliscu, of the Ranger Training School, Oahu.

D'Eliscu wrote three books on the subject of H2H and PT, How to Prepare for Military Fitness, Hand to Hand Combat, and A Manual in the Organization and Conduct of a Conditioning Program for Physical and Military Fitness and for Combat Training.

Here's a review of  “How to Prepare for Military Fitness” in the Coast Artillery Journal May-June 1943

HOW TO PREPARE FOR MILITARY FITNESS. By Lieutenant Colonel Francois D'Eliscu. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 216 Pages; Illustrated. $1.96.

Without going into the question of whether there is too much or not enough emphasis being placed in the Army on physical fitness and personal combat, here is the book for officers interested in organizing programs of this type in their units.
Colonel D'Eliscu is the former head of the Ranger and Combat School, and what he doesn't know about physical conditioning and personal combat methods is a negligible quantity. He is no faddist-he opens his book with emphasis on the necessity for complete physical examinations before the start of a strenuous course, then goes into exercises that will toughen men for the still more strenuous program he outlines, and ends in a blaze of instruction in methods of combat (with illustrations) that should result in his students being able to take care of themselves in any circumstances.

Super-obstacle courses, tree fighting, savate, wartime wrestling, alertness exercises, elementary judo, rough and tumble games, aquatic testing-all these and more too, all well illustrated, and all reasonably expressed, omitting faddism. It is seldom we go so "all-out" in recommending a book, but this is it.