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Sunday, September 3, 2017

GunBlog VarietyCast #159 - We Agree With Nancy Pelosi. Yes, We're As Surprised As You Are.


"Lickspittle" is an excellent pejorative that deserves more usage.
  • Beth taught a USCCA class in Connecticut this past weekend, where apparently the state wants to make it as difficult as possible for people to get CCW permits or firearms, with blocks at every turn! Where's reciprocity when you need it?!?!
  • What kind of person robs a bank and murders 2 tellers in the process? The story quotes the FBI report, but Sean reads the criminal record.
  • Barron is on assignment and will return soon.
  • Do you know a loved one's most important medical details when they need to be taken to the ER? Stuff that will be needed RIGHT THIS MOMENT? Miguel has some suggestions for us.
  • Our Main Topic is The End of Antifa. Their left wing allies are telling them to knock it off. It's a cynical Sister Souljah moment by the establishment.
  • Tiffany is on assignment and will return soon.
  • You survived the hurricane - now you have to survive the flooding. Erin gives prepping advice based on what she's seen in Houston.
  • Former Bloomberg lickspittle Mark Glaze goes out on his own, and now he’s out for blood! Weer’d looks at Glaze’s talking points through the ages.
  • And our Plug of the Week is for the Wondery podcast, "Tides of History."
Thank you for downloading, listening, and subscribing. You are subscribed, right? We are available on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, and Google Play Music!

Listen to the podcast here.
Read the show notes here.
Thanks to LuckyGunner and Remington for their sponsorship, and a special thanks to Firearms Policy Coalition for their support.

Blue Collar Prepping Transcript -
Flood Preps
Back in episode 51, when Tampa was flooded, I discussed what to do if your car was caught in floodwaters. Given the situation in Houston, it seems timely and relevant to discuss what to do if your home is flooded. The most important piece of advice I can give you is something that I’ve echoed many times before: If you know a disaster is coming and you have the ability to get out, do so.

I know the mayor of Houston told people not to evacuate, and I can sort of see his reasoning for it: the Houston interstate system is also its flood control system, with the water designed to follow the roads until it lets out into the Gulf - and the last time Houstonians evacuated, which was in 2005 for Hurricane Rita, the roads quickly became jammed because Houston is the 4th largest city in America. A combination of gridlock and a heatwave resulted in up to 118 deaths before the storm even arrived, as opposed to only 113 deaths caused by Rita itself.

So from a logistical point of view, I can see why Mayor Turner didn’t demand mandatory evacuation. But the key word there is “demand”; just because you don’t have to go doesn’t mean you shouldn't go. From my point of view, evacuation not being mandatory just means I have an easier time getting out of town! But let’s say you’ve decided not to evacuate for whatever reason. You’ve stockpiled food, water, batteries, and medical supplies, and your house made it through the storm in one piece - but now you have to deal with flooding.

Ideally, you live on high ground, which means your house isn’t flooded. But even if that’s the case, you are likely without power and running water, and you may need to leave your house to get supplies. If you aren’t on high ground, you definitely need to move so that you can get a warm, dry place to sleep, because floodwaters cause hypothermia, structural damage to houses, and disease with them. Your three biggest needs are waterproofing your preps, communication, and transport. 

Waterproofing is a subject that I discussed in its own segment in episode 29. I won’t repeat all of that here, just add that if you’re going to go to the trouble of making preps, you need to keep them dry and keep them from floating away. Having food in a waterproof box does you no good if that box has floated off in the floodwaters! So lash your preps your something strong. 

And I do mean strong. Two feet of water can pick up and move trucks, so don’t think that lashing your boxes to a 100 pound shelf is going to do you any good. I mean strong as in a structural support or part of the foundation.

Where you put them is also a bit of a gamble. You don’t want you preps on the ground floor if you’re expecting floods, so many preppers store theirs in the attic - which is great, except for the fact that hurricane-force winds have a distressing tendency to peel roofs off. 

The best advice I can give is to keep your preps with you wherever you shelter, so keep them portable, and have a variety of places where you can secure them. Make sure they are visible, with bright colors on the lids and sides, so you can find them if they are covered by dark water. 

Communication sounds difficult because the best kind in a situation like this is a HAM radio. Most people think this requires a lot of expensive gear and a large antenna, but they’re wrong. For the low price of around $25 you can get the Baofeng UV5RA, a handheld HAM radio that looks like a thick walkie-talkie. This means that they’re not only portable, but that you can also keep them in waterproof containers until needed. 

Best of all, not only can the Baofeng listen to FM and weather bands, but there are also local repeaters nearly everywhere. You can set your radio up to link into these repeaters, and the repeaters then send your signal out at a significantly stronger and more efficient range. This means that your inexpensive handheld 2-5 watts radio can communicate up to several hundred miles if you get into a linked repeater system.

The drawback to these is that you need a HAM license in order to broadcast on them. But from my point of view, if it’s a survival situation, you use what you have to call for help and to paraphrase Ellen Ripley from Aliens, “The FCC can bill me later.”

Transportation is where it gets expensive, because I’ve been told that the owner’s definition of “a boat” is “a hole in the water into which you throw money”. But if you have a fishing boat, a flat-bottom utility boat, or even a rowboat, you’re doing well -- assuming, of course, it didn’t get floated away.

If you don’t own a boat, the cheapest option would be to buy an inflatable raft of some kind and store it along with your preps. Right now, the best kind I can find is an Intex Excursion 5-person inflatable raft with oars for $115 on eBay.

If you go this route, make sure you have the following accessories with it:
  • A tow line for securing it
  • Life vests for everyone who will use it, including pets
  • Extra oars - if you have 5 people, then 4 should be paddling and 1 should be steering
  • Repair kits, in case debris in the water pokes a hole in it
  • Some way to get it and yourself out of the attic, such as a fire ax, if that’s where you keep the raft. 
A raised inflatable mattress, like the kind you get from Serta, can also serve as a makeshift cargo barge. The twin version is rated to support 250 pounds or more, and the queen size ought to be at least double that. A cargo net, or one made from paracord, would not only secure what’s on it but also give you tie-downs for towing and securing it. Check out the video in the show notes.

Stay strong and stay dry, Texas.

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