Kenosha

 

Seen at Joe's Place.

Not gonna lie, I am happy that the young man survived, and it sounds like the choir boys he took down deserved it and will only be missed by those with twisted taste in friends or causes, but that doesn't mean I am celebrating. 

Joe's got other links, too, including a statement by the lawyer representing the young shooter. 

You know, if even the New York Times admits that the video of events shows that these were legit self-defense shootings, you gotta wonder why he was so heavily charged... well, no, actually, it doesn't. 

Joe has something for that, too. 

Meanwhile, in comments to this post at Old NFO's blog...

...Not to mention some co-workers who should know better...

Not illegal for a 17 year old to "possess" an AR15 in either WI or IL. 

And if his mom drove him to Kenosha, it was for his job as a lifeguard. He stuck around when he got off duty to help clean up graffiti. He only geared up later when things started to get sporty again -- and gave one or two interviews, in which he emphasized his trauma kit over the rifle. 

LawDog also has a few thoughts, here, and shares another video here. 

UPDATE: The original video was banned by YouTube for terms of service violation,

Here's another one:

Stop The Bleed Month

May is Stop the Bleed Month. And May 23rd is National STOP THE BLEED Day.

(Yes, those seem to be "rival" web sites...)

Perhaps with that in mind, Tamara had a post yesterday (The largest window for error...) in which she linked to an article about gun safety vis à vis administrative gun handling, and said that, if you're going to carry a gun, you should have a "blow out kit" with you. (SayUncle linked, and, this being the Internet, predictably, derp ensured in comments.)

I've written about first aid and (especially) trauma care and training before, and on this very topic in The Clue Meter: Tourniquets Save Lives.

In that post I included some videos of how to apply a tourniquet, including one I reproduce here, how to apply a field expedient tourniquet:


As to which tourniquet to carry, the two standards seem to be the CAT (Gen 7+) and the SOF-T (Gen 4+); the advantages of one over the other seem be minor and due as much to personal preference of the professional you are speaking to, as well as to incremental improvements in one or the other. Similar tourniquets are likely to mimic the style or design, but use cheaper materials.

There is at least one "bargain" tourniquet that is essentially a long rubber band; in formal testing it was rated as better than nothing -- barely. (The sales pitch is cool, "Tighten until the diamonds are squares and the ovals are circles"; just doesn't seem to work as well in real application.)

Research:

• Efficacy of Pre-hospital Application of Tourniquets and Hemostatic Dressings to Control Traumatic External Hemorrhage. Opens a .pdf document from EMS.gov, a site at the National Institutes of Health.

GET TRAINING!

You need to take classes; even if you master applying a tourniquet by watching YouTube videos, there are other things you'll need to know. So where do you find such training? After all, you might not know a handy Ambulance Driver who happens to be conducting a class on the subject.

• BleedingControl.org has a Find A Class page.
• The Stop the Bleed Monthweb site does too: Find Training.
• As does the National STOP THE BLEED Day web site: Get Trained.
• FEMA also has some suggestions: Stop the Bleed | Homeland Security
• The Firearms Training Hub has a page listing Medical classes; among others, Dark Angel Medical has classes nationwide. Including one local to me next week...

If you're not comfortable buying  emergency medical/trauma care supplies off of Amazon -- and stories of counterfeit merchandise abound -- some reputable sources include:

• Chinook Medical Gear, Inc.
• Tactical Medical Solutions for Military and First Responders
• First Aid Kits | First Aid Supplies | MyMedic
• Adventure® Medical Kits

This is another item in the "Better to have it (and know how to use it!) but never need it, than to need it and not have it and/or not know how to use it" category.

I did not know that

Last weekend I took the Oregon ACES class, a somewhat intensive course for amateur radio operators in emergency response. Unlike most such training, this one has a fairly rigorous hands-on component. More about that later.

Of the things that I learned that stand out, an odd one is this:

Everyone knows the "Mayday" for emergencies. Fewer are aware that it is from the French m'aidez, "help me."

What I did not know was that there are two other "levels" of emergency calls:

In order of priority, mayday is the internationally recognized distress call that is used as preface in VHF radio transmissions only in situations in which there is an immediate danger of loss of life or the vessel itself. This includes when a boat is sinking, there’s a fire in the engine room, or someone on board is unconscious or experiencing a serious injury or illness.

Pan-pan is the international urgency signal that is used as a preface to a VHF transmission when the safety of a person or the boat is in serious jeopardy but no immediate danger exists, but it could escalate into a mayday situation. For example, pan-pan is used in situations in which the boat has a slow leak or the engines are disabled and the boat is drifting toward a rocky shore.

Sécurité is a safety signal used as a preface to announce a navigation safety message. This may be an approaching storm, a navigation light failure, a submerged log in a harbor entrance or military gunnery practice in the area.

Source.  Which has further information that is supposed to be included in a proper SOS message.

Hopefully, news you can't, and never can, use...

Pleasantly Surprised

So Mrs. Drang walked in the house and asked me "What did you order from Ukraine?"

I laughed and said "That's exactly how I thought this conversation would go."

Anyway. There have been reports of prowlers in the neighborhood, and I work midnights.  Suddenly, that 20 gauge old coach gun I'd bought her for Christmas all those years ago seemed like more than just a prop for the contemplated (but not acted upon) pursuit of Cowboy Action Shooting as a hobby.

The thing with a double barrel shotgun, of course, is that you only have two shots. Also, it is hard to maintain it in  a "cruiser ready" status, that is, shell in the magazine, but none chambered. On a pump action shotgun you load the magazine but have the slide all the way back...

I had a butt-mounted shell holder, but it was so loose on the 20 that it slid forward. Also, it's nylon and elastic, so looked "wrong".

Amazingly few leather shell holders for 20 gauges out there, until I found an outfit on Etsy, BronzeDog. Price was reasonable for all-leather, so I ordered one...

Buttstock Cartridge Holder Leather Buttstock Ammo Holder

...and that, of course, was when I discovered they're in Ukraine.

I placed the order on April 17th. They make to order, which means they started working on it when I placed the order.

We picked it up It arrived today, the 30th. {EDIT: The 30th being Monday, and the UPS store being closed on Sunday, it might have come in Saturday afternoon after we picked up mail.}

The lace locks in behind the swell of the pistol grip pretty firmly.
Photo ©2018 D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter

I need to pick up some more 20 gauge buckshot.
Photo ©2018 D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter

The cheekpad is a nice touch.Not too high.
Photo ©2018 D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter

The excess lace will be tucked in.
Photo ©2018 D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter

They do butt and belt mounted ammo holders for rifles and shotguns, and satchels for same for range or hunting blind use, and also do dog collars and the like.

Good, high-quality leather, and sturdy construction.  Recommended.

Read The Label

So, did you hear the one about the two women who set sail from Hawaii on a three hour week trip to Tahiti, and got rescued of Japan five months later?

Two women rescued after 5 months adrift in the Pacific - CNN

This being the 21st Century, the story started unraveling rather quickly.
Questions raised about sailors' story after months stranded at sea

The best analysis is found here: 19 REASONS THIS “SURVIVAL” STORY SMELLS FISHY – UNREASONABLY DANGEROUS ONION RINGS (h/t Insty.)

Aside from the fact that I may have to start reading the Unreasonable Dangerous Onion Rings blog just for the name, this is essentially a detailed fisking of the entire story. In this case, go ahead and read the comments. (Note: If you're going to click through to the Daily Mail's coverage, you might want to warn your spouse lest she look over your shoulder when you reach the part about how one of the principles in this story led a "Shades of Grey" lifestyle. AMHIK.)

Anyway.

What brought me here was that, out of curiosity, I looked up de-salinators on Amazon, because, 5 months at sea you'd obviously have to have one.

The search returned 29 hits, most of which are filters or purifiers, not de-salinators.

Removing bugs and contaminants from salt water doesn't do you much good if you still can't drink the water...

Anyway, two rules:

1. Always read the product description. 
2. Never read the comments. 

Exception to 2. above:

• Unless you still have questions about the product description.

I Ain't'nt Ded Yet

It's just, you know, so hot and humid here...

I confess, some of us have been kind of hoping that we'll see Hurricane Ruben* before the season is through...







And I already did this one, so sue me:
Which reminds me I still need to get a pic of me standing by an A1A sign...


*Alas, no.

Earworm, Have You Met Harvey? Edition

For my friends in Texas, those I've met, and those I've yet to meet.

Stay safe.

LIVE Satellite feed of Hurricane Harvey

In case the feed here goes down, it is at this link: Hurricane Harvey LIVE video from NASA Goes 16 satellite - YouTube


Edit to add: View of Hurricane Harvey from the International Space Station:

Tourniquets Save Lives

Lest it be lost in all the leftist blood-dancing over the attempted assassination of Representative Scalise, note that his comrades worked to save his life, including improvising a tourniquet.

Wow: Colleagues Rushed to Save Scalise’s Life - Cortney O'Brien

Since you can't count on having a veteran combat surgeon handy if and when the unthinkable happens, you should consider adding a trauma kit to your carry preparations.

PDF: Optimizing the use of Limb Tourniquets in Tactical Combat ...

tourniquets save lives at DuckDuckGo

Buy one, or more, and learn to use them.

I have a bunch of SOF-T Wide models, because group buy.

Tactical Medical Solutions | Training Resources


Here's one on improvising a tourniquet with a triangular bandage:

Another:


NOTE: It is highly recommended that you DO NOT limit your training on these essential items to watching a couple of YouTube videos, even if they are posted by an unimpeachable source.¹ 

In addition to TacMed, other good sources of equipment and information include Chinook Medical Gear, Inc and Imminent Threat Solutions.

Training is available through Insights Training: Tactical First Aid Training and Dark Angel Medical, among others.

Previously on The Cluemeter²:

• WSJ: "Tourniquet Use Urged in Public-Safety Push"
• Shooter Self-Care Class @ NRA AM2015 (Update)

1. Not that I consider myself unimpeachable on this sort of thing.
2. As I typed this I heard it in the voice of the announcer for the Adam West Batman series...

WSJ: "Tourniquet Use Urged in Public-Safety Push"

Tourniquet Use Urged in Public-Safety Push - WSJ

(To read a WSJ article without having to subscribe, Google the article title.)

Don't read the comments...

ADDITIONAL: How First Aid and Emergency Response Can Combat Terrorism - The Atlantic
That's the URL, but the title on the age is "Fighting Terrorism With Tourniquets", although there seems to be an alternate of "Fighting Terrorism With First Aid".
.

LATE UPDATE: That Atlantic aticle includes a link to a two-year-old WSJ item that is of related interest: Tourniquets Gain New Respect - WSJ

Also, if you do a Google search for the WSJ article by title, several other sources of the same article show up -- including a link to this blog post. I made the front page of Google!

Defensive Shotgun, FAS 10/17/2015

(EDIT: Because of my accidental posting of the first, partial draft of this yesterday, it shows up as a post from yesterday, which screws up the continuity of the blog, so I've changed the "Posted At" time.)

Last Saturday I took a Defensive Shotgun class from The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc.

I have mentioned a couple of times that I want to take such a class, but my local range does not offer it. So when I saw that FAS had a class scheduled, I checked my schedule and signed up.

Despite the name, the Firearms Academy of Seattle is in the thriving metropolis of Onalaska.

About 2 hours from Seattle, and one and a half from Portland, depending on traffic conditions...

Why? Well, it's a lot easier to build a range complex in the woods than in Seattle; the name wasn't changed because, well, the business was established, and who would go to the Firearms Academy of Onalaska?

Excellant review of the Westgate Mall attack

‘Close Your Eyes and Pretend to Be Dead’ | Foreign Policy

Far from a dramatic three-day standoff, the assault on the Westgate Mall lasted only a few hours, almost all of it taking place before Kenyan security forces even entered the building. When they finally did, it was only to shoot at one another before going on an armed looting spree that resulted in the collapse of the rear of the building, destroyed with a rocket-propelled grenade. And there were only four gunmen, all of whom were buried in the rubble, along with much of the forensic evidence.

During the roughly three-and-a-half hours that the killers were loose in the mall, there was virtually no organized government response. But while Kenyan officials prevaricated, an unlikely coalition of licensed civilian gun owners and brave, resourceful individual police officers took it upon themselves to mount a rescue effort. Pieced together over 10 months from more than three dozen interviews with survivors, first responders, security officers, and investigators, the following account brings their story to life for the first time since the horrific terrorist attack occurred exactly two years ago.

An attack on a crowded shopping mall is a nightmare scenario everyone with a piece of the counter-terrorism role, or just an interest in it, has sweated over. It's easy to say it'll go better "here" than it did "there", but however it goes, it's not going to be pretty.

And I am reconsidering the easy way we dismiss so many of the techniques learned in classes like I wrote about in "Urban Defensive Tactics" class, 12/14/14 as being "inappropriate for non-LEOS or military."

Still highly unlikely we'll ever use them. And the conventional wisdom is that, in a case like that, even a trained, armed citizen should hunker down and defend self and other citizens, not go hunting the bad guys, if for no reason than to avoid being confused for a bad guy by the first responders, but...

And another scenario skills learned in classes like the one described in Shooter Self-Care Class @ NRA AM2015 (Update) would be invaluable.

Also, had not heard that al-Shabab had launched another attack in Kenya, in spring of this year, on a University, where they killed even more.

More on the Cascadia Fault

Route Fifty - A Pacific Northwest Megaquake Will Test Government Response in Ways Katrina Never Did

While this article covers a lot of familiar ground, it also has some interesting new data, and a somewhat unique perspective.

I linked The Earthquake That Will Devastate the Pacific Northwest - The New Yorker when it was published; here is a follow-up: How to Stay Safe When the Big One Comes - The New Yorker. This one explains the dangers in more scientific terms, without  getting so technical that you need a PhD in Geology to explain it.

Also, note this key quote:

“You’re not overdue for an earthquake until you’re three standard deviations beyond the mean”—which, in the case of the full-margin Cascadia earthquake, means eight hundred years from now. (In the case of the “smaller” Cascadia earthquake, the magnitude 8.0 to 8.6 that would affect only the southern part of the zone, we’re currently one standard deviation beyond the mean.) That doesn’t mean that the quake won’t happen tomorrow; it just means we are not “overdue” in any meaningful sense. The odds I cite in the story are correct: there is a thirty-per-cent chance of the M8.0–8.6 Cascadia earthquake and a ten-per-cent chance of the M8.7–9.2 earthquake in the next fifty years.

And here is an OpEd from a recent Seatle Times about those two articles above: When disasters strike, poor, minority communities face greatest risks | The Seattle Times

Author is a social justice warrior scientist who can't help but see natural disasters in terms of people. Which is good. To a point. When you start denying that there is any such thing as a natural disaster, because the natural elements (wind, water, plate tectonics. etc.)  "interact with social environments to produce social outcomes", I think you're missing the point about preparedness.

For example, she bemoans the advice to bolt your home to it's foundation, because poor people live in apartments or rent, or own a home but can barely afford to live in Seattle, let alone make seismic upgrades.

Anyway. Related: Three Years After Japan’s Tsunami - The New Yorker

Not helping...

Anent my last post but one...

Amateur Repeaters Fall Victim to Washington Wildfires

Two Central Washington repeaters, owned and operated by the Lake Chelan Amateur Radio Club, have been destroyed by one of the wildfires raging in that state. The co-located machines, one on 2 meters and one on 6 meters, were sited on Slide Ridge near Manson, Washington, in Chelan County. On August 27, the First Creek Fire completely leveled the building housing the repeaters. Scorched antennas and support structures are still standing but are likely beyond repair. The club’s Roger Odorizzi, W7CH, said the repeaters had been offline for several days.
“We knew the fire had wiped out the power going to our site, but we hoped for the best, that our mountaintop building was possibly spared,” he said. “Now we have confirmation this was not the outcome.” Odorizzi said the area remains closed, and the club likely will not have access to it “for a long time.”
The club’s Ken Rau, K7YR, said the loss, in addition to the building, included the two repeaters, duplexers and antennas. The repeaters provided coverage in North Central Washington. Rau told ARRL that it’s unlikely that the building housing the repeaters would be replaced. It once housed radio and TV broadcast translators, most no longer in use. Topography is also a factor. “This is a mountain site — 4900 feet above mean sea level — with power lines that were installed on a very steep slope.”

Remember that old riddle, what runs faster uphill than down...?

Anyway. Not gonna be cheap. Also likely to have a major impact on plans  to have today's drill exercise the ability to have Western Washington EOCs communicate via Eastern Washington sites...

(If they hurry, the Lake Chelan Amateur radio club may be able to get in on Yaesu's deal on their new digital repeater, but they'll need someplace to put it/them...)

US Marines Military: "Send Me"

France train shooting: Americans overpower gunman - BBC News

US marine who prevented Moroccan terrorist's train shooting in France 'in critical condition' | Daily Mail Online

UPDATE/CORRECTION: No offense to the Oregon National Guard or US Air Force, but it turns out that, in fact, no personnel from what would normally be considered the (or a) "First Team" were involved.

Damned Cowboy Americans, even their support pukes have to ride to the rescue.

Not Enough

Senate Republican will roll out bill to arm troops at military facilities | TheHill

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) will introduce legislation allowing troops to carry guns on military facilities, in the wake of a shooting in Tennessee that left four Marines dead. 

Johnson's office said the Wisconsin Republican, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, will offer a proposal that would get rid of regulatory hurdles prohibiting troops from carrying firearms on military installations.

It's not going to be enough for Congress to "get rid of regulatory hurdles", they need to overcome the inertia of the Brass who are so risk-averse that the idea of a soldier having a gun under less than strictly controlled circumstances causes pants-shitting hysteria.

Speaking of Cascadia...

As I was in a two-month old post, here.

The New Yorker has just published an article about a Cascadia Subduction Zone quake in The Earthquake That Will Devastate Seattle - The New Yorker.

Note that the title of the article on the page is "The Really Big One", not "ZOMG THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11!"

OTOH, that may be what it takes to get anyone in the Center of the Universe to acknowledge that maybe bad things do happen outside of their little urban paradise. (Note that the author manages to work Hurricane Sandy in, even though it was a minor inconvenience to most denizens of the Eastern Megalopolis.)

Not a lot of science there. Vivid imagery, dumbed down so you can peruse it over your morning bagel or on the subway.

Still, if you need to explain to your family elsewhere why you think it's a good idea to maintain a month's supply of food, water, etc., it's not a bad article.

OTOH, if your family is the type that won't leave you alone until you return to the safety of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, you might want to steer clear...

Dodged a Bullet, and training for interesting times

Amateur Radio club meeting today; this was the annual elections. Managed to not get elected to anything. (Nominations had to be solidified in March, and I successfully argued that I had no guarantee that I'd be able to attend meetings due to impending changes in work schedules...)

Also, the presentation was an informational briefing on the impending Cascadia Rising exercise, scheduled for next summer. The scenario is that a Magnitude 9 earthquake occurs along the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Pacific Coast, epicenter off Oregon.

Part of the scenario is that pretty much the only means of communication will be radio.

Hope there are enough amateurs...

Document (.pdf) of the scenario is here: Cascadia Subduction Zone Catastrophic Earthquake and Tsunami Functional Exercise 2016 (Document will download!)

Washington RACES page on Cascadia Rising 2016 - WAEmcomm. Has a link to the above document, as well as the presentation we saw this evening.

The exercise will include governmental agencies at all levels, local, county, state and federal, as well as non-governmental agencies; Oregon and British Columbia are also participating.

"Urban Defensive Tactics" class, 12/14/14

In previous installments of "The Education of D.W. Drang" we saw him take an "Introduction to Handguns" class (One Step Back, Two Steps Forward?) and the same (local) range's "Progressive Handgun Skills" class (Another Step Forward). I've also shared some Soul-searching (Gringo Pistolero edition) with you and inflicted some related but Random thoughts on the subject of guns and gun design on you.

On Sunday 12/14/14 I took Federal Way Firearms Training's newest class, Urban Defense Tactics. FWFT conducts it's training at my Friendly Local Gun Store & Range, Federal Way Discount Guns. About a week before the class, we were notified that the course description had been updated to emphasize that we were encouraged to bring a rifle and/or shotgun to practice with, and also that a quality flashlight was highly suggested.

I also realized Saturday night that it suggested a good pair of knee pads, and I had neglected to get any; fortunately, the Big Blue Big Box home improvement store opens at 0800 on Sunday morning, so I was able to get a pair before class.

Instructing was Grif, retired King County Sheriff's Deputy and Law Enforcement Instructor. Janice, the manager of FWFT and the lead instructor of the Introduction to Handguns class I had taken, was assisting.  There were two other students.

While the Progressive class moved directly to the range after a short safety briefing, this class started out in the classroom and stayed there for an hour or two. Topics discussed in the classroom started out with a review of Revised Code of Washington (RCW) articles:

• RCW 9A.16.050: Homicide — By other person — When justifiable. and
• RCW 9A.16.060: Duress.

"Ooooh, The Weather Outside Is..."

Warnings for Seattle and Vicinity, Washington | Weather Underground

We have had both an Areal Flood Advisory, Areal Flood Watch (which is one message from NOAA, not two) all week, and a Flood Warning for the Snoqualmie River for the last day or two.

We also have a Record Report for yesterday, because the 58 degrees F that SEA hit yesterday was the highest on record for that date. Which is really going to help tonight and tomorrow, what with this Winter Weather Advisory:

Statement as of 2:47 PM PST on November 28, 2014

...Winter Weather Advisory in effect from 9 PM this evening to 11 am PST Saturday...

The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for snow...which is in effect from 9 PM this evening to 11 am PST Saturday.

* Some affected locations...the north Puget Sound region from a north Seattle to Poulsbo line up through about a Port Townsend to Arlington line. This includes south Whidbey Island and from Everett east to the Cascades.
* Timing...rain will continue in a Puget Sound convergence zone this evening. Rain will change to snow from about late evening Onward.
* Accumulations...1 to 3 inches.
* Main impact...roads will become slippery

Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that 1 to 3 inches of snow is possible.

Now, Schloss Drang is on the southern frontiers of Martin Luther King County, so there's a good chance that we will get no accumulation of snow at all, but the weather usually moves from south to north here, and  it's been a few years since we actually got much snow here, so it's possible that all that global warming will make tomorrow's "Fifth Saturday"amateur radio emergency response drill into a live event.