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Merry Christmas!

News You Need to Know

I watched one of the local SA news stations and they kept repeating "It's the news you need to know before you go to work.". I thought maybe I'd found something that would give me a quick overview of important things that was happening inthe world, nope. The story they repeated was about how 15 people "8 were college students" where arrested at the local senators office during a protest because they shut down the office last night. Why is that news "need to know.". Who gives a flip. No wonder why the news is dieing. Go to the Internet and read what is really going on in the world and decide what you need to know by the first sentence and headline.

Crazy Airport Security!

I just got back from Atlanta on a business trip. I was limited in time so I had to fly…which means dealing with security. I was only going for 2 days and wanted to go light and fast. I only took a carry-on so I had to strip everything. Dropped my knife, fingernail clippers, and everything else that looked like a weapon. I also had to go through my first aid kit and drop the scissors and needle. I can still take my flashlight and suggest everyone always carry a small powerful light on them as a utility and a weapon.

The funny thing was my lighter. I didn’t know if I could take it with me, so I asked the first TSA agent I saw. He said we are not currently enforcing that regulation right now. What? I had to ask him twice because I didn’t understand. TSA needs a little better people skills.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Off Road Fun!

I'm working for an oil company dropping off and picking up equipment to the oil fields and enjoying it. They pay me well and treat me better. I use one of their F250 trucks and love it. Just spent almost 15 miles on dirt roads. I enjoy the challenge of keeping the truck on the road at speed, and the fun of sliding around corners and through washouts.

Enjoy life whenever, and wherever you can!

Stay Safe,

Ben

Remington Under Fire?

What kind of horrible reporting was that? CNBC claims that a Remington Model 700 is unsafe. That the rifle will fire when the safety is moved to the “on” position. They claimed that this was a major issue. That it happens a lot. I’ve been around firearms my entire adult life and fired many Remington 700s and never even heard of this happening.

My heart goes out to the family CNBC had on camera that lost their little boy due to an accident. The mother went to unload the rifle and the rifle fired, shooting the little boy. I’ve trained many people that claim they don’t put their finger on the trigger, but I see it happen all the time on the range. Not just civilians, but also soldiers, Marines, and police officers. I’ve seen top-level shooters have a negligent discharge during a competition. People do put their fingers on the trigger without realizing it.

The report found one firearms trainer that would talk about the “problem” and two lawyers. They also had two grainy videos with military dressed people in them showing the malfunction. They played these two videos multiple times, and let the lawyers talk. With a file and a couple hours I can make almost any firearm fire when it’s not suppose to. So the videos don’t hold much water.

No one from Remington, or any other major brand would talk about it. This is a smart move. No smart trainer or firearms industry person would talk on camera to a major news outlet. A really good media relations person taught me a long time ago, that you may win the argument, but will never win the auditing. The media will cut and past your comments to say what ever they want the public to here.

CNBC used this by only showing you that they bought one rifle and talked to 10 different stores, and only had footage from a couple. They couldn’t even get sales people to say anything bad about the rifles off camera. I’m sure they bought more then one rifle and if they could have made the rifle malfunction in any way it would have been on the report.

One of the lawyers talked about a rifle that malfunctioned in court, but they didn’t have the actual court documents, only the lawyer talking about it. Again if this happened all the time, there would be lots more proof. CNBC wouldn’t have to repeat things in their one-hour report.

This seems like one of those things that you shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV. I do not have any problem or concern with the safety of a Remington 700. I’ve operated and trained with many people using a Remington and not had any problems. After watching the report, I still don’t have any concerns with the rifle and wouldn’t be worried about anyone carrying one around me.

From the opening monolog I knew there was no one on staff at CNBC that knew anything about firearms. The report walked out with a rifle and his finger on the trigger (I hope they had enough sense to have the rifle unloaded).

Always follow the four firearms safety rules:

1. Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
2. Never point the weapons at anything you don't intend to destroy.
3. Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend to fire.
4. Know your target and what lies beyond.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Surviving the Aftermath

After being a victim of a crime or violent encounter, your immediate problems are over, but some long-term items are starting. Here are a couple things to think about.

- Right after the encounter a police officer will want to know what happened. As you explain it, it will all come back to you; sites, sounds, smells, feelings, but the details will be fuzzy.

- As time goes by the details will start coming back and you’ll remember more and more of the details.

- You may relive the worst moments when you’re alone or when you sleep. When you are stressed it may come more often.

- The worst is, you may relive the encounter with worse and worse things happening in your mind.

- Everyone will want to know what happened and hear about it. Unless someone was there with you, they probably won’t understand.

- Everyone has a way to solve your problem, but most will not work.

Time is the one thing that heals all wounds. With time you can get through anything. Just keep in mind, you can do anything with enough time.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Surviving the Aftermath

After being a victim of a crime or violent encounter, your immediate problems are over, but some long-term items are starting. Here are a couple things to think about.

- Right after the encounter a police officer will want to know what happened. As you explain it, it will all come back to you; sites, sounds, smells, feelings, but the details will be fuzzy.

- As time goes by the details will start coming back and you’ll remember more and more of the details.

- You may relive the worst moments when you’re alone or when you sleep. When you are stressed it may come more often.

- The worst is, you may relive the encounter with worse and worse things happening in your mind.

- Everyone will want to know what happened and hear about it. Unless someone was there with you, they probably won’t understand.

- Everyone has a way to solve your problem, but most will not work.

Time is the one thing that heals all wounds. With time you can get through anything. Just keep in mind, you can do anything with enough time.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Speed of Light

How fast does technology have to be?

Today I was called to help a friend’s wife that was stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. The only problem was the spare was at home.

By the time I loaded my kid and was on the road, the plan had already changed. Someone else picked up the tire and I was to meet them at the truck to help change the tire. My friend’s wife is on crutches and her father picked up the tire and just had surgery and isn’t suppose to be lifting anything.

By the time I got there, they had someone else to help and already changed the tire. From the call to my arrival was about 30 minutes. My friend and his wife arranged all this with their cell phones.

Seems that you can get technology to work faster then AAA. Just blows my mind how fast things move in today’s world.

Ben

How's Your Memory?

September 11, 2001

Have you forgotten? What happened and where were you that day? What did you feel?

I was on my way to work in Orange County California, working for an armored car company. I was listening live when the second plane struck the second tower.

At work everyone was surrounding the single TV in disbelief and anger. Most of my coworkers were former military and law enforcement. We all knew it was a terrorist attack long before the media confirmed it. The boss reminded us we had a job to do.

I went to work. Everyone was scared and not sure what to do.

About noon my Marine Reserve Unit was put on stand by (I think every unit in the country was called up). I went home and packed, not having any idea where I would be sent. And then I waited.

I waited until 2002 to be activated and then ended up as part of the invasion force for Iraq in 2003.

It changed my life. Do you still remember how you felt that day?

Don’t forget, ever.

Processes

Today at Wal-Mart I had to deal with a process of getting a tire changed that took over an hour. A couple weeks ago I had a tire changed at a local shop and it took 10 minutes flat. The difference is their processes.

At the local shop I talked to the tire guy, told him what I wanted, he told me the price, I agreed and he did the work right away.

At Wal-Mart I had to wait and talk to a service writer who put all the info into a handheld computer with a stylus pen that took forever. He spent 15 minutes with the customer in from of me to write up an oil change. Then he spent 5 minutes grilling me for personal information to put into the computer.

Now the tire guy had to get the information from the computer then spend more time on the computer half way through changing the tire.

Newer and more advanced is not always better. In personal defense just because it’s the newest greatest thing doesn’t make it faster or more effective. Anything you do for self defense should be easy, fast, and work any place, any time.

KISS everything in life.

Stay safe,

Ben

Transitions

Transition is just another word for change, and no one really likes change. It’s hard, different, and takes work. As people we get into our lives and don’t want things to change. We just like our “groove.”

I’ve just started a new job and it’s a big adjustment. I went form working 70 hours a week to being on call. I just sit around waiting for the phone to ring. I got a lot of work done for the church and work done around the house, but I still feel lazy not working a “normal” job.

Here’s to change; may it be better then good.

Ben

Take Care of Yourself

Take care of yourself and others. Our government can't, and won't do it. Neither will the rest of the world. Look at what happened in New Orleans during Katrina. It's happening again in Haiti. Those people need our help, and if at all possible we should help the. Our government and the world's governments aren't going to do it, and can't.

The U.N. has pledged to give $10 million dollars in relief to Haiti. The text this number and give $10 has already raised over $35 million dollars. President Obama pledged $100 million, people have given over $150 million to the Red Cross alone to help in Haiti.

These are just the numbers we can keep track of. There is a lot of organizations that are just putting things together and sending it over. My sister does medical billing for a doctor's office in California. Her firm sent over

Law Enforcement Persistence

When I was 17 I worked as a soccer referee to earn money in high school. I witnessed child abuse on the field. A coach threw a 12 year-old player against a fence during a game, held him off the ground, and shouted at him. Then repeated it a couple times. I almost stopped the game, but second-guessed myself because there were parents around seeing the same thing, and no one did anything.

I found out that the coach was the player’s father, and decided to talk to a police officer friend of mine. I went to the local police station, told him what I saw and thought, he gave me a phone and number to call CPS. I called them, and a case officer said it wasn’t a big deal, but if I had names, addresses, phone numbers, school attended, and a lot of other info he’d look into it.

I went back and talked to my friend, and he was pissed. He made me call back. I got another officer. She was much more receptive. All I had was the father and players full names, and area the team was from. She asked me if I could get any other info, and I told her I would call her back.

The next day I found out what school they went to and that other players on the team said this was normal. I called the CPS Officer back, and she had already found the coach in the system and that this was an ongoing problem. He was coaching a small boy’s soccer team and abusing his son. I wondered if any of the other parents knew, or cared?

CPS spilled the beans on who called and I ended up having to write a report to the soccer league about what happened. Even got a threat from the coach to sue me through the league. Never heard anything else, but I hope the father got the help he needed and wasn’t a coach anymore.

Help when and where you can.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Defending Children

The 16 year-old mother who left a dead baby at a fire station a couple months ago is being tried as an adult (http://www.ksat.com/news/22188839/detail.html). The teen-age parents left it on the doorstep late at night wrung the bell and left. A fireman looked out the window and didn’t see anything. The baby wasn’t discovered until hours later, dead.

This entire story is sad, but my heart always lies with small children. There was a probation officer involved that found out the baby was being beaten by the father, but nothing was done. No one stepped in to help. The system failed, and will now pick up the pieces, as it always does.

The mother, a long time drug addict, didn’t know what to do. I challenge everyone out there to help when, and where they can. Ask questions if you think neglect or abuse is going on and report it. Be persistent and patient with law enforcement, they are overwhelmed with cases. Your questions or reports could save a child’s life. Imagine if someone would have stepped in for this baby.

If you suspect child abuse or neglect call CPS at 800-252-5400 or www.txabusehotline.org.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Danish Cartoonist Attacked, Again

The Danish Cartoonist who drew a cartoon of the Muslim Profit Mohammed with a bomb for a turban was attacked, again (http://abcnews.go.com/WN/muhammad-cartoonist-fled-panic-room-escape-intruder-ax/story?id=9465442). This time by a Somali man that has ties to different terrorist groups. The Somali man went after the Cartoonist with an axe at his home. The cartoonist ran to his panic room, locked the door, and called police. The police showed up and shot the attacker twice.

Two things of note in this case: 1) The cartoonist had a panic room to go to. 2) Everyone seems to be linked to Al Qaeda.

Good on the cartoonist for doing things right (he’s 74) and no one was hurt but the attacker/terrorist. The police shot the attacker twice while arresting him. He was charged with two counts of attempted murder, one on the cartoonist and one on a police officer.

Why is everyone linked to the terrorist group Al Qaeda? It’s like the 6 degrees of separation theory. Next the news will say local gangs have links to Al Qaeda. Not every terrorist group is linked to Al Qaeda.

Be like the cartoonist in this story. Prepare in advance and have a plan. It will help you stay alive.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm thinking about resolutions and decided not to do any this year. I'm going to set goals and reach them. Check out my buddy's thoughts, Cadillac Zak. I challenge you to make a goal, write it down, write down the steps to make it happen, and set a date to have it done.

Happy New Year,

Ben