Category: Snohomish News

Preparation

Being Prepared
March 23, 2024
You’re thinking about preparing or being prepared. Maybe you’ve already started or have been preparing for years. Many in the general public think of us who believe that preparing for changes in our lives can be a crazy thing. Some imagine that anyone who does this must live in a remote cabin on a plot of land and off the grid (power, sewer, water).
Where you live can limit or govern how you prep but it doesn’t stop you from being prepared. Living in an apartment may hinder what you can stockpile or affect your direction in some ways, however it does not stop you from doing it.
Whether you’re just getting started or have been “prepping” for a while, you’ll need to understand what you are preparing yourself for. There are a lot of things you can prepare for. A natural disaster, such as a hurricane or earthquake. Civil unrest. A military or police action from another government, or maybe your own. A loss of a job, a fire in your house or a forest fire threatening your home. When I say home, that includes an apartment, condo, boat, RV or house. Wherever your domicile is.
No matter what threats you believe are coming, each takes a plan. Mike Glover in his book PREPARED does a pretty good job of describing situations that warrant your preparedness. It isn’t a Zombie Apocalypse, take over the government book and I suggest it to anyone who’s getting started or has been doing this for a while.
Most plans start with what are you going to need and for how long. If you are just preparing a bag for your home or car, what’s it for? Is the bag just to get you home or is it to get you somewhere further, safer or is it an escape bag meant for longer term survival. Each situation can have different planning, though there are going to be some basic things that overlap.
What to look for in the bag you’ve decided you need. Note: you do not need to have one type of bag. As I’ve said, many of the items in it are compatible with whatever bag you’re building. Start with the basics, then decide whether you have multiple instance of them or share them between bags.
Let’s get this out of the way. Don’t get hung up in “Military Grade” “Combat Gear” or “Tactical.” Most of those mean nothing except somebody is feeding off your inexperience and there are pitfalls to anything. For now, forget “Camo” “Tactical” crap and just focus on what you need to comfortably carry what you need for as long as you need it. The Gray Man is a description of someone who isn’t noticeable in the surroundings. Thinking along those lines are your best bet.
Lets talk about basic needs. Most experienced people will tell you that the water, food, fire, and shelter are the four most important aspects to your survival. I would add, first aid to that list. What about protection? Sure but the above are what you cannot compromise on. If you done any internet searches, everybody has an opinion on what you can’t do without.
You need to decide on where your supplies above are stored. For that you need to look at your exposure. If you work away from home, whether it ten miles of fifty miles a bag sitting at home isn’t going to give you much support. At least until you get there. At this point I will address different aspects of prep. We’ve talked about Go Bags, Get home bags, Escape bags etc. What about the whole concept of preparation. When I started this, I talked about public perception of preppers. A prepper on a property with acres or at least some space is probably going to be more inclined to “Bug-in.” Bug-out is not the only way to survive. If you belong to a group of like minded people, you may have decided as a group to bug-in. It may not be your house but it is a place chosen because it appears to be the safest place to do so. I encourage you to think not only of bugging out but where is the safest place for me, and my family or friends to be. I assure you that in virtually all cases, it isn’t running through the woods wearing camo. There are extremes from just a chemical explosion or leak which stops you from your usual drive home to a situation where there is no law WROL (World without the rule of law) and everything in between.
EDC
Every day carry is like it sounds. What are you going to have with you at all times, every day. This isn’t separate, it’s part of the system. You’re going to hear everyone’s opinion on what you should carry but your really going to need to make your own decision on what works for you. Here is my list of what I have within reach at most any instance. The first section can be stored in a fanny pack or similar pack.
• Knife. This doesn’t have to be scarry and “tactical,” it just needs to be practical. As a male, mine is a folding knife with a clip that resides in my back pocket. I see many where them in their front pocket. I don’t want it to scratch me every time I reach into my pocket.
• I always have a multi-tool on my belt. A simple one, either Leatherman or Gerber. It doesn’t need a bunch of attachments.
• Swiss Army Credit Card Multi-tool. Yes, you can buy this on Amazon but I don’t shop there. This resides in my wallet.
• Coleman First Aid Tin I buy these several at a time. I give them away, have one in every pack I own.
• Bic lighters. I know, it looks cool striking a fire stick or grinding a wood bow but in an emergency lighting a fire may be the lifesaver you or someone needs. I also include matches.
• Cash. ATM’s don’t always work and if there is no power, no credit cards.
• Small Flashlight. I primarily use Fenix Yes, they are expensive. They are bright and rugged and rechargeable. If you really want to get stealthy, get a red beam light but I don’t see much use for it off the battlefield. There are lots of makers of flashlights. Just choose one that is small enough to carry and is bright enough for your needs. I have several models, where it’s in a car, my home or a bag.
• Snacks. I usually carry a couple of “energy” bars. Something with nuts or a protein. In the short term it’s just to stop your stomach growl. For longer term, such as in a get home bag or go bag I pack Ready Hour Emergency Rations. They come packed in 2,400 calories rations. These come packed with 12 bars. If your EDC bag is a small pack or large enough, I would pack these in it. They are also 25 year stable.
• Charger & cords. I carry a Dark Energy charger (brick). It’s something that has actually come down in price since I bought my first one many years ago. There are many on the market. Just buy one that lasts.
• Paracord & Micro-cord. Just a few yards of each. You’d be surprised on what you can do with them
• Write in Rain pads. I buy the small 3×4 pads at REI. A 3 pack is $9 or so. You’re not going to write a book but you might want to jot something down. Use a mechanical pencil or fine Sharpie with them. You can use any small pad but you should have something.
These items are what I think you should have with you or close to you during the course of the day or night. Your specific needs may be different. Do you need to have some medication with you (in get home or go bag). You may work in an atmosphere that you cannot have knives and such. If so, can you just have a multitool or something similar.
Any of these will carry what I have described above.
Next Chapter will be Get-Home and Go-bags

Oh, it’s Election Time Again…….

Endorsements

“I’m plugged into various volunteer communities around Bothell beside Planning Commission”

There is little doubt what this person will bring to the table if elected to the Bothell City Council. Carston is listed in the Progressive Voters Guide and is guaranteed to live up to his reputation. He is another democrat plant in their goal to forever change Washington State into a Kalifornia north. He will encourage a woke agenda to the council and expansion of “inclusion” “equity” and all of the other buzz words of this generation. All you need to do is read his statement in the voter’s pamphlet.

Let’s keep far left agendas out of our Snohomish county cities. Vote no on Carston Curd.

Why I’m voting No on School Bonds and Measures

Teachers deserve good pay. For most I still believe it was a profession chosen because the person wanted to help children. However, the days of teachers being underpaid disappeared a long time ago. Nowadays most states have collective bargaining for all teachers and many for the entire staff. Washington belongs to that group. While every bond measure or ballot measure is sold on “helping the students or teachers” the sad part is that most of the moneys received are sucked into the administration. With few exceptions, school districts are op heavy with administrators, superintendents and other “specialists.”

Washington currently has a special election scheduled for most counties and for a majority of them, the election is about ballot measures and bonds related to further funding school districts. Many push the theory that seniors invariably vote against such measures because they have no kids in the system. From my research, this is false. Most like me believe our children deserve a good education and recognize that it takes support financially to do this. Though I looked at several of the measures from a couple of districts, I can only speak to the couple near me.

The measures talk about extending taxes from revenue received by the county in property taxes. This is a normal and common means of collection for school districts. These are based on a percentage of property taxes on buildings. There are several other methods that the districts receive funds and those are from fees collected during the development and permitting process. These are collected on a square foot bases or unit bases. Remember this is over and above the revenue received from property taxes. For instance, the North Shore School district receives close to $1,600 a unit for apartments built. They collect a little under $5,000 per home built. Other districts are similar. This information is never included in the explanatory area of ballot measures. This information is publicly available on the respective government sites.

Within your voter pamphlet each measure will have a pro and con with advocates or proponents speaking why you should vote to pass or defeat each measure.  In school measures the advocates most always try to influence the reader by saying how the money is needed in the classrooms and teachers are underpaid. I’ve reviewed the pay and benefits for a few of the districts and in my opinion, these kind of statements are patently untrue. In North Shore for instance, the advocates wrote that the teachers pay amounted to $52,000 per year. This figure comes from the school district site itself. What the proponents of the measure don’t say is the benefit package that all employees receive along with their employment. A first year teacher in elementary grades will receive slightly less than $120,000 in pay and benefits while principals and vice principals receive $164,000-$187,000. District level superintendents receive in the neighborhood of $230,000 or more depending on the district. All districts that I reviewed were under collective bargaining.

Well I’ve established that while school teachers and other employees are not under paid, many deserve good wages. It is for our kids. So why am I against these measures? It goes beyond pay or intent, especially now. I think the voter needs to look beyond all of the hyperbole of why you should vote yes but how has the previous moneys been spent. It’s pretty easy to say that these schools need repairs if you’ve visited any site. Looking at rooms in Northshore and Shoreline, it’s easy to say they need upgrades, including painting. The districts are required by law to publish annual budgets. Have they adhered to them? Why does it appear that much of the maintenance has been deferred and in many instances ignored. Remember most of the public schools were closed for over a year in this so called “pandemic.” While most staff continued to receive their pay and benefits, the campuses remained empty. They incurred lower utility costs and also other maintenance costs at a minimum. What did the school districts do with the savings, moreover what have the districts done with the moneys they’ve received throughout their existence? These are things that should able to be asked in public meetings but budget and bond proposals do not get on the calendar, nor in the publics attention.

You, your neighbors or relatives have been affected by this pandemic narrative yet the school districts and most public agencies thrive. Isn’t it time for them to be accountable?

 

The Editor

 

Gun bills in the legislature

I haven’t had the will or energy to post anything for some time but I thought this is important.

There are several bills currently in committee in our legislature and I haven’t heard a peep out of the GOP.

Local Elections are coming to a town near you

updated June 23, 2021
As I write this it is the beginning of June, 2021. We’re starting to see candidate and issue signs around our neighborhoods. Much the usual, many candidates make lofty statements about issues they are going to tackle but most of us know there is little a city councilman can do about “equity” or access to healthcare etc.

One of the candidates in a local election for the Bothell Washington city council has listed some pretty lofty issues he”s going to work on. Of course the solutions are weighted with simple empty platitudes. I decided to ask him “what do you mean?” I would have thought that since these were important goals for him and his campaign the answers should be pretty simple. So far I’ve heard nothing from him or his campaign.

I am or have reached out to other candidates for city council, as well as a few other elected positions locally. I will report or offer space to any who wish to make a statement including their goals or positions.

Another View

While the left media have portrayed the recent response to a BLM protest in Snohomish as drunken alt-right intimidation, I found this article in a local Paper. Written by the Mayor of Snohomish, Mayor John Kartak. I don’t suppose it’s going to get much press exposure outside of the journal. You can find it HERE

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