Reading the article that Miss Traynham has written moved me to the point that I got sad, because I have been saying this to anyone who would listen for about 4 years. Keep in mind while I was drinking I cared for nothing else but drinking. It took 2 years of being sober to clear the cob webs, so I could actually think for myself. Which is why it took so long for me to understand this. If you don’t read anything else I have written or never return to this site I urge you to really read this article and think about it.
Archive for the ‘Life’ Category
Educating the Masses by Linda Brady Traynham
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
States of Awareness, the Cooper Color Codes
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Tom Givens has written a great situation awareness code. Most people walk around in condition White. Which is how we all should if we lived in a kind world. It’s sad that we should all be walking around condition yellow. Yellow is the condition which is a relaxed state of general alertness.
CONDITION WHITE-
White is the lowest level on the escalator. In Condition White one is unaware, not alert, oblivious. This state can be characterized as “daydreaming” or “preoccupied”. People in White tend to walk around with their heads down, as if watching their own feet. They do not notice the impending danger until it literally has them by the throat.
You see examples of this frequently. When was the last time you saw someone in traffic roll right up to a barricade or stalled vehicle, then expect you to stop and let them into your lane? They’re operating their vehicle in Condition White. When a motorist runs over a motorcyclist and kills him, what are the first words out of their mouth? “I didn’t see him.” They’re not lying. They were so inattentive and complacent that they did not notice a 200-pound man on a four hundred pound machine right in front of them. When this same guy runs past a stop sign and broadsides your car, killing your child, he will say, “I didn’t see it.”.
These same guys will be the victims of violent crime, because the criminal targets the inattentive, the complacent, the lazy, the distracted, the preoccupied. Why? Because the criminal wants to get to him, get what he wants from him, and get away from him, without being hurt or caught. Who would be the easiest person to do that to? Someone in Condition White. I’m sure you’ve seen or read about the Miranda card police officers carry. From it they read off a suspect’s rights before questioning him. Dedicated victims carry a similar card in their pockets. If they are still alive when the police arrive, they take this card out of their pockets and read from it, as follows:
” Geez, it all happened so fast.
He materialized right next to me.
I never saw him.”.
So, when would it be acceptable to be in Condition White? When in your own home, with the doors locked, the alarm system on, and your dog at your feet. Then, you can turn off your mind, if you wish, because you have sufficient layers of protection and warning to enable you to get up, get your gear, and get your head running. If you leave your home, you leave Condition White behind. The instant you leave your home, you escalate one level, to Condition Yellow.
CONDITION YELLOW-
This is a relaxed state of general alertness, with no specific focal point. You are not looking for anything or anyone in particular; you simply have your head up and your eyes open. You are alert and aware of your surroundings. You are difficult to surprise, therefore, you are difficult to harm. You do not expect to be attacked today. You simply recognize the possibility.
Here’s an excellent analogy. You are on a small naval patrol vessel in the middle of the Mediterranean. You are not at war with anyone today, so you do not expect to be attacked. You do, however, recognize the possibility, so you have your radar on twenty-four hours a day, making a continuous 360 degree sweep of the area, looking for potential problems. Suddenly, there is a blip on your radar screen. You cannot tell by looking at the small, greenish-yellow dot on the screen whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, so you ask a fighter plane to intercept the blip and check it out. If it is an Al Italia airliner a hundred miles off course, the fighter pilot will wave at it. If it’s a Libyan MIG headed toward your boat, he will shoot it down. He won’t know whether to wave or shoot until he first assesses the blip as a threat. This is exactly the same process you go through on the ground. When you leave home you turn on your radar, and it continually sweeps the area around you for potential hazards. When something catches your attention, you assess it. If it’s not a threat, dismiss it. If it is a threat, start getting ready mentally to deal with it.
Anything or anyone in your immediate vicinity that is unusual, out of place, or out of context, should be viewed as potentially dangerous, until you have had a chance to assess it. Someone who looks out of place, or someone engaged in activity that has no obvious legitimate purpose, should be looked over carefully. When your mental radar picks up on a blip, you immediately escalate one level on the scale, to Condition Orange.
CONDITION RED-
In Red, you are ready to fight! You may, or may not, actually be fighting, but you are MENTALLY PREPARED to fight. In many, or perhaps even most, circumstances where you have gone fully to Red, you will not actually physically do anything at all. The entire process of escalating from Yellow, to Orange, to Red, then de-escalating right back down the scale as the situation is resolved, occurs without any actual physical activity on your part. The key is that you were mentally prepared for a conflict, and thus could physically act if the situation demanded.
When you believe a threat is real, and you have escalated to Red, you are waiting on the Mental Trigger, which is a specific, pre-determined action on his part that will result in an immediate, positive, aggressive, defensive reaction from you. This is how you achieve the speed necessary to win. By having a “pre-made decision” already set up in your mind, you can move physically fast enough to deal with the problem. Without that pre-made decision, the precious time in which you could have acted was wasted on trying to decide what to do after he starts his attack.
The Mental Trigger will differ depending upon the circumstances. It could be, “If he swings that gun in my direction I will shoot him”, for instance. It could be, ” I have told him to stop, if he takes one more step toward me with that (knife/tire iron/screwdriver) in his hand, I’ll shoot him”. Whatever trigger is selected, it is a button that, once pushed, results in immediate action on your part.
Your main enemy is reaction time. If you are not aware of your surroundings, and fail to see the suspicious character, he may overwhelm you before you can marshal an effective defense. On the other hand, if you are thinking to yourself, “I may have to hurt that guy if he doesn’t wise up”; you’ve probably already won that fight, because you have a better understanding of what is transpiring than he does! The best fight is over before the loser fully understands what just happened. If you’re caught in Condition White, you will need five to six seconds to realize what is happening, get your wits together, and respond. You simply don’t have that much time.
There are a couple of mental tricks you can use in the early phases of your training to assist you in this. Remember that one of the three problems I mentioned earlier in this chapter will be actually “doing it”, actually employing lethal force when required. To help with this, each morning when you put your gun on, remind yourself, “I may have to use my gun today”. This plants in your subconscious mind (which drives 90% of your life) that there is a reason we wear these guns-we may actually need them to save our lives! When you pick up on that potential threat and escalate to Condition Orange, tell yourself, “I may have to shoot him today!”. Believe me, if you have internalized that a specific person is an actual threat to your life, but that you have the means to stop him if need be, it gets easier to mentally deal with the situation.
reposted from American Tactical Shooting Association
The color codes are pretty simple and easy to understand, which code do you walk around in?
More On A President That Should Not Be…More On The Obama Notre Dame Scandal
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009If only I could communicate as well as Heather has done here. As a Catholic I am offend that the school would offer an honorary doctorate, let alone ask him to speaking to the graduating class. While like most people I feel President Obama is a great public speaker, I do not feel that he should have been invited by the University
By Heather
Well I am a little uplifted in spirit today as at least some clergy in the Vatican are speaking up and not acting like acolytes to agent of of evil obama. Archbishop Burke’s words were excoriating One of the Vatican’s highest ranked clerics and a frequent critic of President Obama said Friday that Notre Dame is causing a “scandal” by giving the president an honorary degree and a platform to address graduates at its commencement next weekend.
‘The proposed granting of an honorary doctorate at Notre Dame University to our president, who is so aggressively advancing an anti-life and anti-family agenda, is rightly the source of the greatest scandal,” said Archbishop Raymond Burke, who is the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s highest court.
Please allow me to respectfully explain exactly what the Apostolic Sigatura is and its dogmatic structure within the Catholic Faith and why Archbishop Burke’s statement is so important. The full title is Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, it is is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church besides the Pope himself, who is the supreme ecclesiastical judge. In addition, it is an administrative office for matters pertaining to the judicial activity of the whole Church, that is what you are not hearing in the mainstream liberal left media, but you will hear it from me a humble servant and advocate for Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, my mission is to speak the truth as Jesus has revealed it to my conscience to do so.
A short biography of Archbishop Raymond Burke…After his ordination to the priesthood, he was first assigned as assistant rector of the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He also taught religion at Aquinas High School in La Crosse, where a new addition built in 1996–1997, the Bishop Burke Hall, was named in his honor. From 1980 to 1984, Burke studied canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received his licentiate and doctorate. He then returned to La Crosse and was named the Moderator of the Curia as well as the Vice Chancellor of the La Crosse Diocese. In 1989, Pope John Paul II assigned Burke to be the first American Defender of the Bond of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial court in the Catholic Church. Now let me elaborate on an important issue here, that being his intense study of Catholic Canon Law…. I guess you can say Catholic Canon Law is to Catholics what the U.S. Constitution is to America.
Having sufficed that, it is extremely significant that Archbishop Burke criticized false prophet obama because he is speaking for and being an advocate for Catholic Canon Law, to put it in it’s simplist form for those that openly defy Catholic Canon Law that or Catholics they are at great risk of ex communication. Excommunication can be either ferendae sententiae (declared as the sentence of an ecclesiastical court) or, far more commonly, latae sententiae (automatic, incurred at the moment the offensive act takes place). The point that I am trying to make is that if Obama were Catholic he would have been Ex Communicated for his blatant anti catholic public policies, voting record on abortion and partial birth abortion. or what I personally consider abortion to be infanticide! Now having stated that… it is in defiance to Catholic Canon Law that Notre Dame in allowing obama not only to speak but to receive an honary doctorate. The lame argument, that well, it’s good to debate and have polemic discourse contrary to, and defy Catholic Canon low is pure insanity! What moral good does it serve to debate Catholic Canon Law other than to “liberalize” it to suit the views of an evil man in the presidency… a man that is evil self serving and arrogant beyond belief! I see the evil obama is trying to do and I will reveal it here at tcu…obama is doing to same thing that satan would so and that is to create a great schism within the Catholic Faith, in other words create a “liberal catholic faith sepreatist movement to siphon off and decrease the Catholic population in the context that “liberal catholics” would practically have little in common with the True Conservative Catholics, a Kennedy style catholicism where you pick and choose tenets of the catholic faith to follow while ignoring others; that is a theory on my part but think it is a valid one. I would love to hear your opinions on this issue and encourage your comments on my post
My great friends here know where I stand here on this issue, I am totally opposed to obama, I see him as an agent for evil, no friend of Christians or Christianity. His policies his public record even certian parts of his private life that have been exposed are anti christian, being part of a racist church is anti christian, I say these satements without exception and without apology for I am following the moral dictates of my heart and conscience, I serve a higher authority in Christ Jesus…Amen! Permissum Deus Exsisto Meus Sentio that is Latin for “Let God Be My Judge” So God will be my judge on my opposition to obama’s views that defy all of what Catholicism stands for. My Time is up and I thank each and all for your time in reading my op-ed opinion. May God Bless You all especially the Moms, Children, Family and extended Family Members
Sincerely,
Heather
War budget and Free Country
Friday, May 8th, 2009Obama’s $130 Billion War Budget Based on ‘Best Estimates’
Now President Obama will have to face the same challenges President Bush did. This time instead of being from the other side of the isle lets see how loud the Democrats complain as well as how tough the “standards for progress” are.
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s proposed defense budget includes $130 billion for the nation’s two wars, a figure that may not be enough.
And his Democratic allies in Congress are threatening to set conditions that must be met before that money is handed out.
Obama sent to Congress on Thursday details of his proposed $664 billion Pentagon spending plan for the budget year starting in October. It includes $534 billion for base defense programs and $130 billion for overseas operations, including the wars he’s ramping down in Iraq and ramping up in Afghanistan.
The budget aims to cover what the Defense Department needs “to fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years ahead, while at the same time providing a hedge against other risks and contingencies,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a statement released in Washington as he traveled in Afghanistan.
The $130 billion for overseas missions included $65 billion for Afghanistan and $61 billion for Iraq — the first time spending for the seven-year-old Afghan campaign has surpassed the one in Iraq.
“This request is where you’re going to first see the swing of not only dollars or resources but … capability from the Iraqi theater into the Afghanistan theater,” Navy Vice Adm. Steve Stanley, director of force structure for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference.
A Pentagon summary of the budget request said the war spending proposal “is intended to fund all currently known requirements for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the entire fiscal year.”
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An Average Day in a Free Country
This is funny in a way, just one mans daily dealing with Government
I am fairly vocal amongst my friends (and a few strangers) regarding my bias towards limited government. The typical response I get is something along the lines of, “Are you crazy, America is the freest country in the world!” I think the secondhand dealers in information (public school teachers and the sensationalist media amongst others) have done a great job of indoctrinating the general population into believing that we are truly free. They really don’t notice the subtle effects of a new law here and a new regulation there. It’s kind of like the curse of income tax withholding where by stealing our hard-earned money a little bit at a time (each paycheck) we don’t notice that we are being robbed. I feel that our freedom is being stolen a little bit at a time. To help drive home the point, I’ll use an average day in my life as an example.
My alarm goes off each morning somewhere between 6 and 7 am. I am not a big fan of the buzzer so I typically set my alarm to “radio” mode. I haven’t paid up for satellite radio, so I still wake up to “Free FM.” Well, I am awake for a whole 10 seconds and here is my first interaction with Big Brother. The beast known as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a complete stranglehold on what we hear over the radio waves. As is the case with the majority of government regulation, we supposedly need the FCC to “protect” the people. In this particular case, we are being protected from offensive material on the airwaves. Of course, “offensive” is defined by whoever happens to be calling the shots at the FCC at the time.
Living on the Street
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009Every thought of living on the street? Just walking away from it all. It happens, you get to a point in your life that you no longer care what happens to you. Your tired of living, having to worry about what comes next, tired of thinking. As I look back now on the reasons why I gave up on myself, I understand now that I was done with drinking. Sadly the booze failed to listen to my mind. I should not use sadly because of the things that I have been through make me who I am today. There are things that I have seen that, while distasteful, definitely illegal,and at times make me want to break down and cry, they have shaped my view on life. No one want’s to take a hard look at themselves, I know I did not nor to this day do I enjoy do it..
They say with age comes wisdom, not sure I agree with that statement, since anyone can age… it’s what we experience that gives us wisdom. If a person leads the perfect life, never wanting for anything, never waking up or going to bed hungry, never seeing the young run away girl sell herself or be preyed on by those stronger than them. How can they have gained wisdom? I have eaten food from a trash bin, slept in the woods, in a parking garage, showered in a bathroom, being arrested, done some really dumb things in my life. I took advantage of others when I should have been helping them. Sold things to people they did not need…… The list of my sins are endless, the biggest sin of all was not acting on things that I saw, that I knew in my heart was wrong. My thinking if you can call it that, was it’s not bothering me, leave it alone. Pretty sure I was not allowing when I thought that way. Today I find myself doing the same thing on occasions… Not sure if its that people just don’t want to listen or they need to find out for themselves.
If it feels wrong, you can bet it is wrong! Just because something may feel good at the moment, if in the back of your mind you know its not the right thing to do, or not what your Mother would approve of, you can take it from me, its wrong. The human mind is a powerful thing, it can help us justify just about anything, it can also let us examine things for what they are and not what we would like them to be…………
Just a late night, and felt like rambling
I enjoy reading the post over at Zen Habits
Friday, May 1st, 2009Today Jonathan Mead has a great post about 3 words ruining your life.
Are These Three Words Ruining Your Life?
Have you ever been annoyed by a successful person, because you thought you were more intelligent than them? Maybe it was a boss. Maybe it was a political figure or a leader.
It’s especially maddening when this person is creating rules that dictate your life. I can definitely relate. I’ve had my share of bosses that I thought were less than brilliant.
So what is it that makes them successful? That’s what I’ve always wondered and what has always bugged me. I mean, shouldn’t intelligence be a prerequisite to leadership? The answer… not really.
It turns out the biggest reason people are successful is: consistent action, not intelligence.
Read the Full Post over at Zen Habits
Living without fear is a great thing
Monday, April 27th, 2009Leo Babuta from Zen Habits wrote a great post on beating your fears, while he may have been writing for the “normal person” I know the Alcoholics such as myself can learn from his post. Some of it has been gone over before, however I do think he did a great job. Always remember that the reasons we drink are fear based, and if you let those fears control you, it will be right back to the bottle for us.
How to Beat Your Fears
There is no step-by-step program to beating your fears, but here’s what I’ve learned, first-hand and from others.
1. First, acknowledge your fear. This is a huge first step. If you do just this today, you’ve done something great. Many of us have these fears, but they are at the back of our mind, unnoticed, unacknowledged, as we try to ignore them and pretend they’re not there. But they are there. And they affect us, every day, all our lives. So acknowledge the fear.
2. Write it down. What’s your fear? Write it on a piece of paper. Writing it down not only acknowledges that you have it — bringing it out into the light — but it externalizes the fear. It takes the fear from the dark lurking places in the back of your mind, where it has power over you, out into the light of day, outside of you, where you have power over the fear. Take control over it by writing it down. It is now outside you. You can do something about it. I personally like to crumple it up and stomp on it, but you can do whatever you like. Post it on your fridge as a reminder of your enemy.
3. Feel the fear. You’ve acknowledged it, but you’re still afraid of it. You’re reluctant to even have this fear, perhaps even embarrassed about it. Well, no more. Recognize that you’re not alone, that we ALL have these fears, that we all think we might not be good enough. Yes, even the amazing Barack, the amazing Jessica Alba, the amazing Al Pacino. They have the same fears as you do. I sure do. Repeat after me: there’s nothing wrong with having this fear. Now allow yourself to feel it. Experience it fully. Bask in this fear. It isn’t as bad as you think. It’s a part of you, but it doesn’t control you. From djbarker on Twitter: “Feel the fear & do it anyway.”
4. Ask yourself: what’s the worst thing that can happen? Often it’s not as bad as we think. Do you fear failing in a new career? What would happen if you did? You’d get another job. You’d move on. You’d live. Do you fear being rejected by someone of the opposite sex? What would happen if you were? You’d lick your wounds, you’d find someone else who is more suited for you, you’d live. Do you fear being broke? What would happen if you were? You’d cut back on your expenses, perhaps ask family or friends to help you out for a little bit. You’d find a way to make money. You’d live.
5. Just do it. To repeat: feel the fear and do it anyway. To beat the fear, you have to just do it. See below for some tips on doing this, but what works for me is not thinking, just acting. Like when you want to jump off a waterfalls into the pool below: don’t think about it. Just jump! It’s an exhilarating feeling. I fear public speaking, but when I get up and just do it, I feel great. From Jade Craven on Twitter: “I fear everything. I’ve recently decided to ignore my fears and just go for it! So many opportunities have come as a result.”
6. Prepare yourself for battle. When you’re going to take on an adversary, you prepare yourself. You arm yourself, and have a battle plan, and train yourself. Do this in your battle against your fear: arm yourself, have a battle plan, train yourself. If you want to be a musician but you fear failure … practice, practice, practice, then come up with a plan to succeed, then get all the skills and info you need to implement the plan, then practice some more. Then go out and implement the plan!
7. Be in the moment. Fear of failure (and other similar fears) are fears of the future. We get caught up in worrying about what might happen. Instead, banish all thoughts of the future. Banish even thoughts of past mistakes and failures. Now focus on right now. Do something right now to beat your fears, to pursue your dreams, and forget about what might happen. Just do it, now, in the moment. When you find yourself thinking about the past or future, bring yourself back in the moment and focus on what you’re doing right at this moment.
8. Small steps. Conquering fear and pursuing a life goal can be overwhelming, intimidating. So start small. Just take one little baby step. Something you know you can do. Something you’re sure to succeed at. Then feel good about that (see below) and take another small baby step. Keep doing this, and soon you’ll have conquered a mountain.
9. Celebrate every success! Every single thing you do right, celebrate! Even the smallest little thing. And use this feeling of success, of victory, to propel yourself forward and take the next step. Bill Gates describes a “spiral of success” that he used to build Microsoft up from its early success of MS-DOS, to its success with Windows and Word and Excel and Internet Explorer and all that (I know, blech, but still). Use this idea of a spiral of success in your life — build upon each success, use it as a stepping stone to the next victory.
Kathy Ireland Life Changing pro-life position
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009This has got to be the best argument I have heard against abortion.
Who should be role models for kids?
Monday, April 20th, 2009With the way things are going in this world, it’s more important for kids to be able to look to their parents as role models. I know growing up I looked at my Father as the person I wanted to be most like. While I failed to come even close, it was nice to have someone close to me that I could aspire to be like. Please don’t get me wrong I had my share of childhood heroes, from Pro Football players too TV Stars. However I always seemed to fall back on my Dad as my biggest hero.
When I was growing up families stayed together more then they do now, it seems that for every 3 people I know 1 is divorced. While this is sad, it is the reality of the world we live in. I am divorced and while I am happy in my life and with myself, I do regret that my kids have had to grow up without me around as much as I should have been. Granted my kids got very lucky, their Step-Father is a great guy, and a good Dad. If I had to pick a replacement Father for my kids, and had to go outside of my family, I could not have found a better guy.
The problems we are facing today, is a lot of kids don’t get lucky like mine, they are shuffled around from house to house, notice I refrain from calling them homes. A home is filled with love, and the feeling of safety.
Just Food for thought
A Must read “Obama Reaches Out to ‘Moderate’ Pirate Community”
Saturday, April 11th, 2009This by far is the funniest thing I have read in a long time my hat goes off to Jon @ Exurban League if you want to skip the short part below and go right to the full article please do so Obama Reaches Out to ‘Moderate’ Pirate Community
After maintaining his silence for two days, President Obama will soon make his first public statement about the pirate attack upon an U.S.-flagged vessel off the Horn of Africa. After several inquiries and a few well-placed bribes, Exurban League has received an early transcript of the President’s remarks:
Good evening. As you know, early yesterday, Somali-based pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama, a freighter carrying relief supplies to Kenya. While we do not yet know all the details, the Alabama’s crew re-took control of the vessel and forced the pirates off the ship.
Since the pirates are still holding the captain, I have sent FBI negotiators to facilitate his safe and speedy release. I assure his friends and family that I will not stop until this man-made disaster is resolved in a peaceful, tolerant and ecologically-sound manner.
Obviously, this incident has raised many concerns among Americans. There have been calls for justice and even violence against the misguided perpetrators. But such an emotional reaction has led to the disparagement of entire groups with which we are unfamiliar. We have seen this throughout history.
For too long, America has been too dismissive of the proud culture and invaluable contributions of the Pirate Community. Whether it is their pioneering work with prosthetics, husbandry of tropical birds or fanciful fashion sense, America owes a deep debt to Pirates.
The past eight years have shown a failure to appreciate the historic role of these noble seafarers. Instead of celebrating their entreprenuerial spirit and seeking to partner with them to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.
WordPress Tags: Obama,Moderate,Pirate,Exurban,League,President
