“I don’t want you to leave.
“I want you to dig.”
John Dutton
Whether you’re a fan of Yellowstone or you’re not, there’s no disputing its popularity and influence. With success comes, for some, opportunity, and in Season Three, series creator Taylor Sheridan seized the chance to strike back at a production that years before had fired him (from his acting role) by unceremoniously killing off his character.
It’s a back story, perhaps trivial to most viewers. But the “Goin’ Back To Cali” episode of Yellowstone — the brawl between bikers and ranch hands, and especially the subsequent scene in which John Dutton confronts the trespassers — is well worth watching.
Sheridan made his point. Now allow me to make mine.
I was thinking this morning about a conversation I’d had with a contractor, a grizzled good ol’ boy who homesteads down in Searcy County. I remembered what he said to me, something I quoted here on the blog in June:
“The only cause a man has to be comin’ up my road is if he has an invitation. If I see someone approachin’ and I don’t expect ’em, there’s about to be a problem — and it won’t be my problem.”
“I am the law on my land.”
Presented with such an unequivocal declaration of individual sovereignty, there can be no follow-up questions — no questions at all.
Life. Liberty. Property.
We may take care of our neighbors ’round here, but that doesn’t mean we have an indiscriminate open-door (or open-borders) policy. Quite the opposite, in fact. We take seriously our personal duty to protect and defend our homes from outsiders seeking to take or destroy what’s ours.
As American society and culture spiral toward inevitable collapse, that principle will be tested. Many say they’ll do what’s necessary, but I’ll wager that few will. In the words of J.B. Books (The Shootist),
“I found out early that most men, regardless of cause or need, aren’t willing.”
Also consider what Forrest Bondurant (Lawless) said:
“It is not the violence that sets a man apart, alright? It’s the distance that he is prepared to go.”
But this ain’t Hollywood — it’s real Life — and sovereignty is more than a set of beliefs. The squeamish need not apply.
“This is my Home,” said John Dutton to the bikers. “If I did this to your home, what would you do?”
“We keep our word in this valley.”
You have questions to answer. You have decisions to make.
Deb’s ass is thoroughly kicked. Her first full week of work in over three years, even though it didn’t involve hauling bundles of asphalt shingles up a ladder, has her exhausted. She took today to relax and recharge.
We had ourselves a helping of absolutely gorgeous weather — mid- to upper 50s, mostly sunny with persistent wind — and I just couldn’t stay indoors all day. I went for another walk, choosing a different area of woods than I explored yesterday. I was smart enough this time to bring my walking stick, which really needs to become a habit.
So does applying insect repellent, even this time of year. I picked up a few chiggers yesterday, believe it or not, and damnable Chinese beetles are everywhere. Some spiders are still out, too, as well as the odd grasshopper.
I brought out our GoPro for the first time in a long time. It’s a tool that I want to use more often, but I need to get familiar with it all over again.
Most of the videos I captured with it today were three to seven seconds — simple evocative stuff, destined for a future compilation. All were dominated by the sound of the wind.
A couple of the vids picked up the crackle of gunfire. Best I could tell, it came from up Rea Valley to our east, and the fingers on the triggers weren’t being stingy with ammo — rapid fire, long volleys. It went on for a good while.
It’s the sound of Freedom, of course. It’s also the sound of People who’ve laid-in a considerable supply of cartridges or, if they load their own, components. Quite possibly both.
And that brings me to my closing point today.
The price of ammunition went up in 2020 and stayed up. Inventories ran short, and supplies remain scarce. Very little product coming out of Lake City makes it to the consumer market anymore. A couple of months ago the largest American ammo producer, Vista Outdoors, said that it’ll be selling its operations to a Czech investment group.
Just this week, Vista advised its distributors and retailers to expect prices to increase “substantially,” blaming the hike on “unprecedented demand for and an anticipated global shortage of gunpowder.” Remember, this is the company that pledged to donate a million rounds to Ukraine next March.
All of that puts American gun owners in the middle of a bad situation that’s worsening — both prices and supply — by the day.
It’s the Christmas season, so online retailers are offering relatively sharp deals on what they have left. If you have holes in your personal supply, use those deals to fill them. Be rational about this — do your homework and resist buying anything not discounted. Once the holiday sales are over, stop.
I predict that shortly afterward, we’ll see the last readily available small-arms ammunition on the American market for quite some time. The door will close. We’ve never been through anything like this.
Put your affairs in order, People.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB