ISRA Thursday Bulletin – March 30, 2023

Richard Pearson 

​​​​​​Recent news stories have mentioned how people, particularly women, fear leaving their homes at night.  This is not particularly surprising considering what is happening in our state and the country. Soft-on-laws, soft-on-crime prosecutors, and soft-on-crime judges have made life tough for us all.  Police departments are demoralized, policemen are retiring early or quitting, and finding recruits is harder to find than hen’s teeth.   Those who call 911 must leave a message in some jurisdictions.

This leaves you with one person you can rely on – yourself.
That is why concealed carry permits are rising, and some states are passing constitutional carry or similar. It looks like Florida and Nebraska may be the next two states to get some form of permit-less carry.  Let’s face it.  If you are the intended victim of a crime, the only people present are you and your attacker or attackers.

Last weekend I had a visit from one of my former students, a woman who had been held captive for three days.  I will let your mind fill in the details.  I am proud to say that she has gone from victim to survivor.  She has now completed her 20th self-defense class, earned her instructor’s license, and will be assisting in classes under the watchful eye of an experienced instructor.   She brings with her actual first-hand knowledge of what it is like to live through such an ordeal.  She is now a top shot in her classes and consistently ranks in the top two. These are advanced classes, including force on force.

I am humbled to say I have helped many women. I remember several who shared their stories.  One had been beaten with a baseball bat and had her back broken in three places. She had been injured so badly that she could only use her revolver, but she could handle it very well. Although she sadly lost her life in a tragic car accident year later, she was never beaten again.

My point is that the situation is not getting any better. You need to prepare yourself.

Last weekend Mandi Ehler taught a Refuse to Be a Victim class at the ISRA Range.  This is a great non-shooting class that teaches awareness and avoidance. The best fight you will ever be in is the one that did not happen.  This Is not always possible, I know.  If bad goes to worse, you have to know how to fight back.

Getting your concealed carry license is important, but training beyond that is also necessary.

It is going to take years to straighten out this mess. We need to get started now.

Tidbits 

March 30, 1858
Hymen L. Lipmen patents the pencil with an eraser attached to one end. This man saved my life in grade school.

March 31, 1948
Congress passes the Marshall Plan.  The idea was drawn up by General George C. Marshall, who became Secretary of State.  The Marshall Plan gave economic aid to Western Europe to fight the growing communist threat.   President Truman signed the Marshall Plan on April 3, 1948.  The plan generously committed 5% of the United States’ gross domestic product at the time.  The Marshall plan also financed the CIA operations in Europe and an anti-communist insurgence in Ukraine.

April 1, 1582
April fool’s day. A tradition thought to date back to 1582 when France switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar.  Many people were confused as to what day it was.  People played jokes on each other. Hey, your shoelaces are untied.

April 1, 1945
Operation Iceberg begins.  We know it as the battle of Okinawa.  The American troops were led by Lt. General Simon Bolivar Buckner.   This battle turned out to be the bloodiest battle of the Pacific.  General Buckner was killed in action.  The Japanese commander, General Mitsuru Ushijima committed ritual suicide.  This is the only battle in WWII that both commanders died.

April 2, 1792
Congress passes the Coinage Act establishing the United States Mint.   Congress also
Established the value of United States coins.  There were several.  The Silver Dollar was to be made of 371 and 4/16s of pure silver or 416 grains of standard silver. Just for the record, there are 437.5 grains in a common ounce.  Silver is sold by the Troy ounce, which is different than what we think of as an ounce.  There are 12 Troy ounces to a pound, not 16 as in most things we buy.

April 3, 1860
The Pony Express is established.  A letter could go from St Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, or the other way around in 10 days. The fastest time recorded by the Pony Express was eight days. That packet carried like an inaugural Address. That is 225 miles a day on horseback across the plains and through mountains. Horses had to be changed every 10 to 15 miles.  An amazing feat for both horse and rider. The cost was $10 per half an ounce.  The maximum a rider could carry was 20 pounds. The telegraph doomed the Pony Express.  Nevertheless, it was an amazing piece of history.

April 4, 1790
Congress establishes the Revenue Cutter Service, the forerunner of the U. S. Coast Guard.

April 5, 1841
President William Henry Harrison dies after only 31 days in office. Vice President John Tyler become President.  Harrison had refused to dress warmly.  He caught a chill which turned into pneumonia.  John Tyler is the only President not recognized in Washington, D.C.  he died in Richmond, Virginia, in 1862 and was buried with a Confederate Flag.