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There are some handy items that everyone should keep on hand at all times regardless of where they live or where they plan to go in case their plans call for “getting out of town” to deal with an emergency. If you are “getting out of town” these items should be already at the destination you’re headed or that you’ve provided room for transportation there.

At least one of the following items are a must. I recommend them both as a minimum. A roll of at least 4 mil preferably 6 mil plastic. The occurrences are endless as to what you can use this stuff for. The other item(s) are tarps. I can’t count the number of tarps I have on hand of various sizes. These can be used for ground cover, keeping firewood dry, or to make a shelter if need be. Great for catching rain water and funneling it into a bucket or a barrel. Use your imagination. Don’t be wasteful with plastic and treat it as though you may never be able to get it again. The truth is you might not.

Included with both of these items are a couple rolls (minimum) of duct tape and all kinds of rope. Let me explain something about duct tape and rope. Duct tape comes in various colors but more importantly, quality. Spend a bit extra money for the better quality duct tape. Your life might depend on it. You want it to stick and to not break apart or tear. You may have to use duct tape in extreme weather conditions.

With rope, the same thing. Avoid plastic ropes. Spend the money on good quality nylon rope. Strong, small diameter rope can be used for just about anything and doesn’t require a lot of space.

These items alone can be put to great use!

Let’s hear some ideas from readers about things these items can be used for that might really come in handy.

Note: Remember, you may be the only one properly prepared to deal with a crisis. Should the occasion arise, what you have others might want to take from you. Be prepared to defend yourself, your family and your property.

Tom Remington

Photo from fOTOGLIF

The people at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are claiming they are broke and are in need of funding, as much as doubling the current funding, according to Dr. Ken Elowe, Director of Resource Management for MDIFW.

You’ll get no argument from me that MDIFW is underfunded. What you will get are questions as to why and suggestions about the best way to deal with it. Let’s first address why the MDIFW is underfunded.

In the new issue of Maine Fish and Wildlife, MDIFW Commissioner Roland D. Martin, states that all the programs and responsibilities his department has to care for, brings back to the state of Maine some $2.4 billion annually. Maybe that amount could be more.

Dr. Elowe, in his article on who should fund MDIFW, also states that responsibilities to the department have grown out beyond fish and wildlife issues.

Over time, the Department’s mission has broadened significantly: It now manages whitewater rafting, registration of watercraft, snowmobiles, ATVs, hunter, trapper and recreational vehicle safety, conservation education, environmental permitting and other matters.

And that’s just scraping the surface. To this we should add search and rescue, law enforcement of recreational vehicles and all non game programs.

The major reason the MDIFW is underfunded is because it has been tasked to perform duties well beyond management of fish and wildlife. All of this has been done with essentially no additional funding. Presently the overwhelming majority of funding to MDIFW comes from license fees paid by hunters, fishers, trappers, and snowmobilers/ATVers.

I know of nobody who thinks MDIFW is properly funded. The problem now becomes what to do about it.

George Smith, Executive Director for the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, is promoting funding to come from general taxation. He is proposing that a percentage of the tax revenue be designated to the MDIFW. In all honesty I haven’t heard anybody else make a specific proposal that doesn’t involve using tax money to fund the current composition of the MDIFW and it’s ever expanding non game services.

While this proposal may seem functional on the surface, I have to wonder if most sportsmen, the one’s who will still be the major fund providers for the Department, understand that with such a move opens the door for non hunting, non fishing interests to demand more and more input into the decisions and direction the MDIFW should take. The majority of states that have followed this path have faced this problem and a problem it has become, with organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and PETA directly seeking or sponsoring their own representatives to fill seats on fish and game commissions. What could possibly be wrong with that?

I support increased funding for all the issues that Dr. Elowe lays out in his article. However, I don’t support them to be part of and funded by MDIFW. For regular readers, you know that I support a move that will put all non game programs into the Department of Conservation. Dr. Elowe says MDIFW doesn’t have enough biologists to cover everything. Fine, DOC, funded by taxpayer dollars, can hire their own wildlife biologists to take care of non game wildlife species. DOC can take care of environmental licensing, conservation education, etc. Law enforcement of snowmobiles and ATVs should be handled by state and local law enforcement as well as search and rescue.

This move would be unprecedented as the tendencies these days are to mash departments together believing money can be saved and programs run more efficiently. History has already shown us that that is not the case. As a matter of fact, the bigger the department the further away from the average sportsmen a sense of ownership becomes, resulting in a significant loss of interest. In other words, when sportsmen lose their voice, participation drops. The larger the department the more bureaucratic it becomes swelling the budget, resulting in depletion of programs. In other words, more of the same.

Conservationist or perhaps better labeled, environmentalists, have no business dictating to a fish and game department how to manage game for hunting, fishing and trapping opportunities. Funding fish and game with tax dollars will accomplish that with very negative results.

It’s easy for Commissioner Martin or Dr. Elowe to exclaim how their programs contribute $2.4 billion dollars annually to the Maine economy. Think how much bigger that amount would be if the programs were split up so that each one saw the attention it deserves and that would provide better opportunities. With a smaller MDIFW, they could get back to managing just fish and wildlife for the purpose of providing opportunities for hunters, trappers and fishermen, then I believe these resources could improve with the end result a better revenue stream for MDIFW.

With a better funded and more targeted Department of Conservation, similar results could be seen and achieving the wishes shared by Dr. Elowe. This can be done and the results impressive, in my opinion. Who has the chutzpah to try it?

The groups involved in examining how MDIFW should be funded are supposedly contacting other states that fund their departments with general taxation. I hope these groups understand that just because everybody else does it, doesn’t mean it’s the best. I’m confident that if they look at the issue with open minds, they will realize what I did several years ago.

Let’s properly fund the programs that need to be funded in Maine and not just throw money at it. Two lean, mean departments, each properly structured with sufficient funding could reverse a management trend that is seeing lousy results.

Tom Remington

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Humans naturally make waste. They also create waste. Facing a crisis where independent survival skills come into play, shouldn’t disregard the need to dispose of waste. Becoming slobs during a crisis only shows ignorance and doing such can create an extremely unhealthy situation.

Everybody’s situation will vary during a crisis. This depends on several things, like where you are holding up and what’s available around you to deal with issues. If you live in the city and remain in the city, burying your waste may not be an option. Using your toilet may not also be an option.

Many people don’t realize how the sewer systems work in their neighborhoods. Odds are pretty good that your system operates with the utilization of pumps. These pumps, that run on electricity, move the waste on to the processing plant. When electricity is shut down, the pumps stop working and waste backs up. Once again, depending on your specific circumstances, the existing piping system can only accommodate a certain amount of waste before it begins backing up. And that backing up could be right into your house.

This is the situation for me. Even though in a predicted weather crisis I fill my 6-gallon plastic jugs, I also fill my bathtub full of water. As I said, you can never have too much water. I could use this water to flush my toilet if my water has been shut off as well. I’m really more concerned about trying to find ways to plug up my lowest drains, i.e. bathtub or shower, to prevent back up of sewage.

There is, however, alternatives. What I do is keep a 5-gallon plastic pail on hand, with a cover, and a good supply of heavy plastic garbage bags. If conditions warrant, I can easily line the pail with an bag and use it as a toilet. If you wish, visit any WalMart or even an RV supply store and you can pick up a bottle of chemicals that will treat odor and begin processing the waste. Store this waste in sealed bags until you can later dispose of it properly. There are other options as well – chemical toilets, composting toilets, etc. These cost money and often you are left with the problem of finding a place to keep these for “just in case”.

Your refuse should be dealt with as well. Recall if you will the scene from downtown New Orleans after hurricane Katrina hit. Hundreds of people gathered waiting for “government” to come and show them how to walk across town and get help. These people stood in their own garbage, obviously just dropping it where they stood with little care of the consequences. Don’t be like this.

I would suggest that if you have a safe place to burn, burn whatever is burnable. You’ll be amazed at how little is left after you burn. (Be careful not to burn things that can explode or become toxic) Store the rest in sealed plastic bags and garbage cans that have lids that seal and lock. Store this away from you as far as is feasible and then later dispose of it properly.

If you live in the country, you may be afforded other options. If you are on a private sewer system of tank and drain field, as long as your private system doesn’t utilize any electric pumps, you can use it to dispose of human waste. You just need water. If you don’t have means to manually pump water from your well or get it from a nearby brook or pond, storing water ahead is a good idea.

Some people opt to own a gas powered generator. This can be convenient but remember that gasoline supplies may run out and that storing gas ahead presents a problem in that it does have a shelf life. For the short term survival, generators are handy.

If you can’t use your septic system, then use of the bucket and bag or another substitute will work fine. If you own enough land, you can dig a hole and bury all your waste. This is something that might be required if the crisis you are facing lasts longer than a week or so. Surely makes that old “one-holer” look pretty good.

We’ve learned that the basic needs for survival are food, water and shelter. These basics result in waste and you can make your situation more comfortable and healthier if you plan ahead so that you can adequately deal with the disposal of your waste.

Please leave your ideas and suggestions below.

Note: Remember, you may be the only one in your neighborhood to plan ahead. Those who didn’t might want what you have. Be prepared to defend yourself, your family and your property.

Tom Remington

The Idaho Firearms Freedom Act, having previously passed the Idaho House, has now passed the Idaho Senate and is on its way to the desk of Governor Butch Otter

Governor Otter is expected to sign the bill. When he does, that will make Idaho the sixth state to enact an FFA.

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

The other night I had a dream or I didn’t…I wasn’t sure it was a dream, in fact, I thought it was real. I was awakened at three in the morning, by what I thought was the sound of someone large, slowly shifting weight in my attic, as if he was trying to move across the floor, without making any more noise. Boards creaked like he, as well as I, were conscious of the sound, and he was trying to avoid making them…

I’m laying in bed, thinking, what on earth could someone be doing in my attic, and how could they have got in to begin with?

Had a cold chill cooling my fear, and making it manageable, even at three in the morning and coming out of a deep sleep. First thought is survival, second thought is stay cool, third thought is stay quiet. Then the thinking starts to slowly evaluate what is happening and what is going to happen, all at the same time. Thinking and evaluating every move.

I’m thinking it was all a mistake. Had to be. No one is going to get in my attic. No one would have any reason there. Quick replay on the story of someone living in someone’s attic without them knowing they were actually living there…..just a quick replay, no way that could be the case with me. Not unless I was deaf, dumb and blind, and not even then.

OK, then. No immediate threat. But it needs checking. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, I ease out of bed, without making any sounds. Thinking is clear. No threat. But the reassurance of the .38 stubby, with laser grips, and the ever-present, always charging, always by my bed, 100 lumen flashlight, gives a feeling of I’m going to check this out with confidence.

Next step is moving through the house. But, without noise….noise is your enemy. Noise gives away the enemy, not you. Careful is to have what you need in your hand without making noise. Super important in survival mode. Even to the semi-deaf, like me. Now, the slightest noise is amplified, remember that. Number one. Number two is moving without lights, flashlight is a give-away, only used when the moment is ready for it, only when the surprise is sprung. Having the many little low-light, night lights plugged in at strategic spots around the house, where I can move through the house without making give-away shadows. Perfect for me, too low a light level for someone not familiar with where they are, even with good night vision.

Aaaaagh! Damn the hinge I had forgotten to oil! Another job that needed doing. One that should have been done…OK. Checked out the outside, all possible entrances, all possible entries. Job done. Don’t even need to check the attic, it must have been the cat, making the sound, maybe me, as I shifted on the bed, in a half asleep state….the dog would have smelled anyone inside, the doors are all latched, and secure.

What did I learn? Readiness is what makes the difference. A good light, one I would pay a crazy price for, (according to some people) and a damn good gun with night sights is going to make a difference. Having them where you can get to it without making a sound, may be just as important. Having kids in the house makes a different situation, for then you need a safe that will open quietly and quickly. Survival always begins at home….taking care of yourself, and your family. If you’re prepared, your odds of surviving go up. Make your house ready as well.

By the way, the next day, I figured out how I can insulated my attic….it just took a different perspective. And I saw it in a whole new light (for some strange reason)….there are always reasons for everything, sometimes we don‘t see them until later. Stay aware!
Jes…

The Obama administration is announcing ahead of time an assault on Kandahar and they have said they hope by announcing it the Taliban and Al Qaida will run away in fear.

So why didn’t we announce to the Germans our invasion on D-Day?

Tom Remington

It’s everywhere!!!