Preparing for the Worst, so we can Achieve the Best

Aaron has a post up at Eternity Road today entitled Backlash in which he makes the case that The One has already made a profound mistake by sending union goons out to disrupt townhall meetings and tea parties, and then blaming it on "right wing extremists." The money quote:

The American people can put up with a lot, but we can’t accept that. Obama may be a smart individual. He may even be a “nice guy.” Whatever his personal qualities are, though, his actions bespeak a petty dictator, tired of the trappings of democracy, wishing we could move past the all the messy stuff and just do what he wants. This must end today. No one has ever told Obama “no.” The American people are now telling him “no,” and he is reacting like a spoiled child. Spoiled children, however, make mistakes out of immaturity, and Obama has made a serious mistake. He has sent his thugs out, and then taken to the national airwaves to denounce his own citizenry. We may have been prepared to negotiate before, but not now. This man must be defeated, and what remains of his agenda rejected completely and utterly.

I think he may be right, but we need to be prepared, and in this we need to be prepared to do more than just protest. I say this because I believe, that in order to avoid a thing, one must be prepared to have it happen. For example, it is common wisdom that in order to avoid war, we must be prepared to wage it successfully. An enemy only attacks if he senses weakness.

The Curmudgeon has a great post today on preparation entitled Heirs of Patrick Henry, Part 1: Preparation. After pointing to a number of sites detailing the what can only be described as a war on the people of the United States, he outlines his thoughts:

Here's your Curmudgeon's vision:

* Closed sessions of Congress to enact cap-and-trade, socialized medicine, and dramatic new taxes and tax increases (especially a Euro-style Value-Added Tax);

* Deployment of federal marshals against corporations and other organizations that resist the regime's new mandates;

* The accelerating use of force to suppress dissent against the Obamunist program;

* Federalization of the National Guard and the declaration of a "state of emergency" in selected regions;

* Federal seizure of infrastructural facilities such as municipal water and electrical power;

* Federal seizure of the Internet backbone and the cellular routing system;

* House arrest for well-known persons accused of "sedition" for their opposition to the program;

* Progressive deterioration of civil order.

Your Curmudgeon could be wrong. Indeed, he profoundly hopes that he is; what he's delineated above is no kin to the country he loves and would give his life to preserve. But it depicts the worst near-to-middle-term outcome he can imagine from the current political struggle.

But what if he is not wrong? To help with developing your own preparation plans, may I suggest two sites? Good, I know you will not be disappointed: The first is the Sipsey Street Irregulars and the other is the Western Rife Shooters. Both of these will give you some ideas about making your own preparations, based on what you perceive the risks might be.

Back in the 50s and early 60s, when they tried to convince us that nuclear Armageddon was just around the corner, many folks built bomb shelters. Maybe you don't want to go that far, but it never hurts to have a few weeks of rations on hand, now does it?