• Your Survival Guy Under Fire!: Part I  By E.J. Smith
• Who Restrained the FBI?  By Debbie Young
• Trump Believes Scalia Supreme Court Gold Standard  By Richard C. Young
• Clinton Campaign in a Death Spiral?  By Richard C. Young
• Home Security Video  By E.J. Smith
• Trump vs. Clinton—Lawn Sign Shocker  By Debbie Young
• Trump’s Astonishing Skill to Exploit Clinton  By Richard C. Young
• Fifteen Years of “Never Forget” Foreign Policy  By Justin Logan
• Donald Trump’s Shrewd and Powerful Obsession  By Richard C. Young

“There’s a fire in your yard!” my neighbor said. “There’s a fire in your yard, call 911!”

And that’s how Tropical Storm Hermine spun our quiet Labor Day Weekend in Newport, Rhode Island into a full on panic. It happened fast. I wasn’t prepared. And that should not happen, especially as “Your Survival Guy”.

It was a funny weekend weather-wise. Much of it was spent anticipating the storm that never really came. On Saturday, rather than take our boat out, my daughter and I walked to our slip, made sure the lines were secure, put out an extra bumper and walked home.

On Sunday, the surf was up so my son and I went surfing (I mostly paddled) in a steady offshore wind spraying the tops off the waves at First Beach. For dinner we went down the hill to my in-laws’—Debbie and Dick Young—house for steamers on their patio overlooking the same wave break at First Beach. As the wind picked up and the sun went down we moved inside for lobsters. Not much of a storm so far.

Monday, Labor Day, was cloudy and windy but certainly not a major storm. Becky and I went out for a walk with our dog, Louis, and as we crossed back over the causeway, connecting Goat Island with Newport, we commented on the gusts pushing us off balance.

Around 2:00pm the gusts picked up and looking out our kitchen window, overlooking our backyard, there were wet leaves and branches strewn about from our black walnut trees. Some powerful 40mph gusts were followed by occasional cracks from breaking branches followed by a bang when hitting the metal gutters, the gas grill, or landing quietly in the yard. Our heavy hockey net in the driveway blew over and smacked against the ground startling Louis.

And then there was a huge CRACK!

A huge Maple in my neighbor’s yard, behind our house, came crashing down yanking down the power lines connecting our lots.

About those power lines in historic Newport.

Historic being the key word. Imagine an estate being cut up into residential lots, combined with the desire to hide unsightly power lines in backyards—to maintain the aesthetic of tree lined streets—and you get an idea of the power line situation in my neighborhood. It’s a jungle of power lines coursing through and between canopies of old, and sometimes dead, trees.

The felled Maple took out the power lines, destroyed my neighbor’s fence, crushed his shed, his car, and his scooter.

But everyone still had power.

Then, just like that, it all changed with a blink of an eye.

There was a knock on our front door from another neighbor, visibly shaken, who called through the screen door, “Hey! there’s a fire in your yard! There’s a fire in your yard, call 911!”

Louis went nuts because someone was at the door. My daughter freaked out thinking the house was going to catch on fire, I couldn’t see the fire in the backyard and Becky and I were telling each other to call 911.

So much for staying calm. I could barely think. I ran outside and saw the fire.

With my adrenaline pumping, I ran inside to call 911 using our land line and as soon as I dialed the house went dark. No phone. Becky called using her cell, then I called from outside using mine (note to self: Next time designate one person to call 911). It was chaotic. Becky was in another part of the house trying to calm our daughter and the dog down. I was outside calling 911.

My 911 attempt went to a central call center where they asked me what town I was calling from. Not an easy question to answer calmly and clearly when under pressure, especially with bad cell service (note to self: Next time make sure the Satellite phone is nearby and not in your fishing tackle box in the garage).

Seconds later I heard the sirens. My neighbor (the one who warned us) and I stood in the driveway, as the sirens grew louder, ready to flag the police cruisers down. He yelled to me, “You don’t want to mess around throwing water on an electrical fire.” Then he asked “Did you know those transformers are loaded with oil?” Really?

As the firetrucks rolled in we explained that the downed tree landed on the wires at the back of the lot, that it had pulled the wires at the top of the utility pole, breaking the pole, smashing it and a now an ignited transformer to the ground where flames roared from the oil and wind. Once the power lines were dead, the firemen hit the flames with water as the transformer reacted like one of those magic relighting birthday candles, except this wasn’t very funny.

Finally, after the fire was put out a crew from environmental safety cleaned up the oil spill and the electric utility company worked into early Tuesday (around 1am) to restore power.

The fire was out around dinner time so we headed down to my in-laws.

Uh, oh. Time for the debriefing.

As most of you know, Dick Young is more fanatical about survival prep than most. If I’m the survival guy then he’s “The Survival Man”. Lucky me.

His first question was, “How’s the survival guy?”

We sat and talked about what could be done to prep for a similar event in the future. This was serious. What if something like this happened to him?

As Dick rattled off a million questions to me, his power went out. As if on cue. I was saved. Misery loves company.

But, as if on cue, within a few seconds (which felt like minutes) his several thousand watt generator kicked on, powering-up what turned out to be just a brief interruption in my debriefing.

With that in-mind, here’s some areas we covered and some thoughts that came to mind for you.

Electrical fires from transformers are a huge risk to neighborhoods. Take it from me. If there are some near your house have plenty of fire extinguishers at the ready. Walk your neighborhood to locate transformers. Are there any clear risks to you and your family such as low hanging or dead trees? If there are keep an eye on them or call the electric company to look at them.

Keep your cars full of gas. A few Labor Day’s ago a hurricane hit Newport. It wasn’t bad. But our guests had to stay another night. Keep those gas tanks full.

I’ve told you about my Yeti cooler. Becky and I moved all of our frozen, grass-fed, meats to the Yeti and they were still frozen when I unpacked them this morning.

There is no downside to having plenty of cash on hand. Cash works even without power, unlike ATMs.

One thing Becky and I talked about as a dozen or so firemen, police officers, and utility workers descended upon our property was: “This is no longer our property.” It happens that fast. They were in charge and to put it nicely “we were in the way”. Imagine if this was a city-wide event? First, there’s no way a crew of that size would help us as quickly as they did and second, you better be prepared to lock-up your property. An emergency can quickly turn your property into a public place. There is a fine line between who should be there, on your property, and who should not. When the smoke cleared and the firemen were gone I went to the back fence, climbed up to check the damage and there was a guy standing there. I asked him if he was a friend of my neighbor’s and he said “No” he wasn’t. He said he wanted to check out what happened. He had no right being there. He was trespassing. But the cops were gone. He knew that.

Make sure your weapons are easily accessible. I am partial to my Sig Sauer P226 to help me, as they say, fight my way to my shotguns. Here’s our review of our favorite shotguns.

Make sure you have light. I love my Streamlight 88030 ProTac 1L. It uses a CR123A lithium battery. It’s small and it’s powerful. Put it in your pocket and you’re good to go in the dark. And it won’t break the bank.

I also love my SureFire Minimus variable-output LED headlamp because two hands are better than one. I pack this on our boating trips and ski trips. It’s great for when a transformer catches fire in your backyard, cuts the power to your house, and you want to read in bed to calm your nerves so you can sleep.

Have a go kit. Check out our Navy Seal Kit here.

Buy a handful of Henry Survival Rifles for your family and keep one in your car. For the car, store the loaded clip in a separate place from the rifle.

Have plenty of water in your car. Dick Young has all of the above for his frequent north/south trips between Key West and Newport.

Don’t forget, night comes fast when there’s no power. And, as is often the case, this stuff happens at night. Be ready.

There’s a reason to practice, because as the saying goes, you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training.

Get your gun and Your Training Now (Read Part I, II, III, IV, and V)

Get a dog. Yes, Louis was loud but that’s what you want from your dog when something goes bump in the night.

Last but not least have coffee, Burgundy and toilette paper on hand for obvious reasons.

You never know when a funny weekend weather-wise can turn into a serious situation. And the Burgundy always helps with the debriefing.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, comments on the FBI and its extensive case against Hillary Clinton, reports the WSJ. Why didn’t the FBI indict?

For our money, the most revealing words in FBI Director James Comey ’s statement Tuesday explaining his decision not to recommend prosecuting Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information were these: “This is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions.”

So there it is in the political raw: One standard exists for a Democratic candidate for President and another for the hoi polloi. We’re not sure if Mr. Comey, the erstwhile Eliot Ness, intended to be so obvious, but what a depressing moment this is for the American rule of law. No wonder so many voters think Washington is rigged for the powerful.

Mr. Fitton lists Clinton’s indictable particulars:

• Hillary Clinton claims: she “did not email any classified material” has been refuted by Mr. Comey with precise numbers.

• Hillary Clinton claims: her private server was permitted under State policy. Mr. Comey stated, “none of these emails should have been on any kind of unclassified system.”

• Hillary Clinton claims: her emails (sent or received) weren’t marked” classified. Marked or not, “participants who know or should know that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it.”

• Hillary Clinton claims: her personal email was used merely for the “convenience” of using one device. But Mrs. Clinton, according to the FBI, had numerous servers and she “used numerous mobile devices to view and send email on that personal domain.”

• Hillary Clinton claims: she turned over all work-related email to State. The FBI found “several thousand” work-related emails that were not turned over. Mrs. Clinton’s lawyers “cleaned their devices in such a way to preclude complete forensic recovery.”

• Hillary Clinton claims: her email was stored in a safe, secure manner. They were not hacked. Mr. Comey reports, “hostile actors” accessed the private account of “people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account.”

“Most distressing is what this episode augurs for another Clinton Administration,” writes Mr. Fitton.

Mrs. Clinton deliberately sought to evade the Federal Records Act, recklessly flouted laws on handling classified information, spent a year lying about it, and will now have escaped accountability. This will confirm the Clinton family habit, learned so painfully in the 1990s, that they can get away with anything if they deny it long enough and are protected by a friendly media and political class.

Judicial Watch reacts to report on Clinton email probe

Pat Buchanan, writing at The American Conservative, explains the many compelling reasons to vote for Donald Trump while he pays tribute the wonderful Phyllis Schlafly.

In 1964, Phyllis Schlafly of Alton, Ill., mother of six, wrote and published a slim volume entitled A Choice Not an Echo.

Backing the candidacy of Sen. Barry Goldwater, the book was a polemic against the stranglehold the eastern liberal establishment had held on the Republican nomination for decades.

A Choice sold 3 million copies.

At 92, Schlafly, the founder of Eagle Forum, has a new book out, published by Regnery. The Conservative Case for Trump, co-authored by Ed Martin of Eagle Forum and Brett Decker, argues that the Donald is an authentic conservative around whom every conservative should rally.

Each of the chapters in The Conservative Case for Trump is devoted to Donald Trump’s stand on a major issue of the campaign.

Trump believes Antonin Scalia is the gold standard for Supreme Court justices and federal judges, and that among the indispensable cures for decrepit and failing public schools is competition from private, religious, and charter schools.

A businessman and builder, Trump has confronted the onus of federal overregulation that stifles enterprise and kills jobs. With most conservatives, he believes in a U.S. military second to none.

Some Republicans, however, part with Trump on his contempt for political correctness.

On immigration, Trump shares the alarm of a Middle America that sees its country being irretrievably altered by an invasion from across our border. He has no hesitancy in urging tough methods to secure the borders and send back those who disrespect our laws.

As for the issues on where the right is split, interventionism is born of Wilson and FDR; noninterventionism is of Taft, Ike, and Reagan. Free trade as dogma comes out of the Party of Wilson and FDR, not the Party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

Ike sent a general to secure the border and send illegal immigrants home. Yet self-described conservatives like the Bushes and McCains join hands with the Clintons and Obamas to call for amnesty.

The Conservative Case for Trump is a splendid little book by the first lady of American Conservatism.

Donald Trump wants a Supreme Court Justice “as close to Scalia as possible”

Most Americans, as polls show, believe “coughing” Clinton is both a liar and a crook. The FBI gave America all anyone needs to know about why she is such a dangerous national security risk.

I have examined the list of Clinton Foundation donors along with the long list of government actions following on the heels of donations.  Makes one speechless.

As an NRA life member, I am familiar with Clinton’s anti-2^nd  Amendment stance and her commitment to replace Justice Scalia with a radical, liberal, anti-2^nd Amendment, leftist. Gun rights will be gone in a Clinton presidency.

Writing at The American Conservative, Pat Buchanan lays out the case for a Clinton “death spiral” Her goose should be cooked.

Were the election held today, Hillary Clinton would probably win a clear majority of the Electoral College.

Her problem: the election is two months off.

Sixty days out, one senses she has lost momentum—the “Big Mo” of which George H.W. Bush boasted following his Iowa triumph in 1980—and her campaign is in a rut, furiously spinning its wheels.

The commander in chief forum Wednesday night should have been a showcase for the ex-secretary of state’s superior knowledge and experience.

Instead, Clinton looked like a witness before a grand jury, forced to explain her past mistakes and mishandling of classified emails at State.

On defense most of the time, Clinton scored few points.

And with a blistering attack on Lauer, the Times all but threw in the towel and conceded that the Donald won the night.

Most critically, when facing the press, which she has begun to do after eight months of stonewalling, she is invariably dragged into the morass of the private server, the lost-and-found emails, her inability to understand or abide by State Department rules on classified and secret documents, and FBI accusations of extreme carelessness and duplicity.

Then there is the steady stream of revelations about the Clinton Foundation raking in hundreds of millions from dictators and despots who did business with Hillary Clinton’s State Department.

Consider the coughing fits, a repeated distraction from her message. Should they go away, no problem. But if they recur, people will rightly demand to know from a physician what is the cause.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s message has begun to come through—loud, clear, and consistent.

I like this home security video by former Army Delta Operator, Tyler Grey courtesy of The Loadout Room.

Most Americans might agree that counting lawn signs supporting presidential contenders is not necessarily reliable in forecasting the outcome of a presidential election. Dick and I just returned from a five-day swing through heavily Democrat New England that produced a shocker in terms of candidate visibility, preference and enthusiasm.

We had anticipated a heavy dose of Hillary signs and scant few supporting Trump.

The result of our five-state (ex Maine) New England swing?

The first sign we spotted was in the privileged village of Dorset, VT. Score one for Hillary.

In Northfield, Mass, poster child for Obama’s “Shovel Ready” sidewalks-to-nowhere project, lawns had been blanketed with Obama signs in 2012. This time? Zero signs.

In scarily leftist Amherst, Mass, home of Amherst College and U. of Mass., we didn’t expect to see one Trump sign. And we didn’t. But the big surprise was that there was not one Hillary sign to be seen either.

Dick and I are no longer traveling on Harleys, but rather in a roadster, and we pretty much stayed on the familiar back roads of our motorcycling days. In the five states through which we traveled, you’d be hard pressed to even know a presidential election is less than two months away. Only a random scattering of signs the entire trip. Talk about unenthusiastic voters.

The final count: Trump-15 / Hillary-5.

2016 Race Suffers Enthusiasm Gap, Poll Shows

Hillary Clinton is apparently physically compromised and perhaps should withdraw before she is an even further embarrassment for America.

During the Republican primaries, Donald Trump made mincemeat of a solid group of Republican candidates with integrity, trustworthiness and good health. Now “the master” is going to be up against a “coughing” physically compromised, FBI challenged, Middle East disgraced, foundation influence-peddling fraud.

Writing at The American Conservative, Rod Dreher sums up the Clinton shame.

No doubt about it, Hillary Clinton’s fainting episode in NYC today is big, big news. It was not that hot in the city today.

Look, I feel sorry for both candidates. They’re old people, and the campaign schedule they follow is grueling. It would be hard on anybody. But the presidency is also grueling, and now there is reason to wonder if Clinton is up to it.

Donald Trump got a lot out of referring to Jeb Bush as “low energy.” Just you wait now.

Quick show of hands: Who had ideas on the afternoon of September 11, 2001, that in retrospect were completely, utterly batty?

The rest of you are lying.

Many of us considered joining the military, but envisioned the mission as involving waking up September 12th, destroying and displacing the Taliban–or whoever it was–then fast-roping into Tora Bora–or wherever it was–and wrapping things up, video-game style.

Other people seriously considered selling their homes in cities and moving into the country, to establish a more defensible position from which they’d fight off the enemy. (Presumably the terrorists would wait until we were at least under contract.) Other friends bought motorcycles, which they could use to maneuver more quickly and flee the city on sidewalks in the event of an urban attack of some sort. We had all basically gone crazy.

To be clear: I think there’s no shame in this. It felt a lot like the Blitz because at the time it looked a lot like the Blitz. In the absence of clear interpretive lenses–or even many facts–we reached for grand but comforting analogies in 20th century experience.

The shame came when we allowed and encouraged our rulers to use the opportunity to strike blow after blow against our liberties. The government ransacked our privacy, our pocketbooks, and the rule of law in pursuit of dangers that turned out to be phantoms.

We invaded and occupied Iraq for a decade, at a cost of nearly 5,000 American lives, tens of thousands of American limbs, and over a trillion dollars. We tried to make Afghanistan into a liberal, unitary republic. Never forget, they told us. Otherwise the next one could be an Iraqi nuke. We had to do it, they told us. Remember that crisp fall morning. Never Forget.

After fifteen years of manic foreign and security policies pursued in the name of never forgetting, perhaps we would do better to forget. Not the memories of lost loved ones, or even our fury at what was done to us. Not the simple, cheap things, like reinforced cockpit doors, or a bit more overseas intelligence gathering.

But to forget those grand analogies of history, or the idea that our lives would become a Mel Gibson movie, and that we needed to heed and take to heart the dire warnings of our rulers. We could forget the idea that the terrorists deserved a place in the pantheon of dangers next to the Nazis or Genghis Khan.

With the benefit of hindsight and hard-won experience, maybe it’s time to try something different. Let’s forget.

Donald Trump understands the problem posed by Muslin immigration and open borders in general. Writing at The American Conservative, Pat Buchanan explains to readers the facts underlying the Trump-recognized issue of foreign immigration and open borders.

Politically and demographically, America is at a tipping point.

Minorities are now 40 percent of the population and will be 30 percent of the electorate in November. If past trends hold, 4 of 5 will vote for Clinton.

Meanwhile, white folks, who normally vote 60 percent Republican, will fall to 70 percent of the electorate, the lowest ever, and will decline in every subsequent presidential year.

The passing of the greatest generation and silent generation, and, soon, the baby-boom generation, is turning former red states like Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada purple, and putting crucial states like Florida and Ohio in peril.

What has happened to America is astonishing. A country 90 percent Christian after World War II has been secularized by a dictatorial Supreme Court with only feeble protest and resistance.

A nation, 90 percent of whose population traced their roots to Europe, will have been changed by mass immigration and an invasion across its Southern border into a predominantly Third World country by 2042.

What will then be left of the old America to conserve?