Seeing a bunch on social media about The Day of Jihad. Here in the USA, people are posting about having your guns ready, lock and load, get ready to kick some ass, etc.
I am with the energy here Re: keeping the USA safe and secure.
I think people are missing something about the big GWOT.
“The ferry Walla Walla, which had been sailing between Seattle and Bremerton, will be out of service for at least four weeks as crews repair a propeller that broke near Rich Passage last week.”
The companies with fleets of merchant ships serving the ports of Seattle and Tacoma are moving cargo all over the world every day. Are they converting to hybrid-electric?
How about the companies that move cargo on an ongoing basis from Seattle to Alaska. Are they converting to hybrid-electric? How about the trucking companies that move shipments of cargo from the port of Tacoma to Denver. Are they converting to hybrid-electric?
Love to see the press interview the owners of these companies to learn more.
The mainstream press provides news coverage that favors government agencies, departments and policies.
The press release style of news reporting means that a statement is prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest policy update, drug bust/federal grant money award, etc.
Newspeople post this statement as is.
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
Love to see the mainstream press get out and interview people on various sides of any issue.
Nice example here –
0:41 in the video below:
If ethanol made a lot of sense we wouldn’t have to subsidize it or mandate its consumption:
I want to know what various people are thinking on various issues.
Here at Oak Bay Starfish, we have been posting Re: WA State Ferries for years. A favorite story was the auto tollbooth upgrade at Mukilteo. Here is what we found on the web:
Where were you? along with a photo of a peaceful/standing twin towers.
My response:
With my GF in Kingston. Had already done some time in uniform. Took me several years to become skeptical and see that the federal government and the press had lost credibility.
Today:
My feeling is that a man on the moon in 1969 was a proud American moment. That was maybe the best of America in my lifetime.
“What I remember most about 9/11 is the way America was unified the day after. During uncontrollable times we controlled our response. Race, Gender and Political Party were equally irrelevant.”
“We focused on loving each other, how did we get so segregated? We never would have made it this far if we embraced division on September the 12th. We are where we are because we got here TOGETHER let’s embrace love yet again.”
“God Bless The USA.”
My response:
Good Stuff
Let’s keep that and add a free and independent press that will ask questions/rock the boat, no matter who is in office.
The mainstream press provides news coverage that favors government agencies, departments and policies.
We got our ass kicked on 911.The federal government has been squandering credibility ever since. If the US Armed Forces were keeping us safe– first responders would have had a routine day at work on 911. The giant government and “Dept of Defense” were nowhere to be found on 911. For federal government convenience, take the day, follow along, pledge your allegiance and behave as that government sees fit. Do as you are told. Fly your flag as you are told. Think and behave as that government tells you. Divert your attention away from federal government failure and stay busy with federal suggestions for the day.
Here at Oak Bay Starfish, we will observe the day by avoiding network TV. At the bottom of this page, we will offer up some readings featuring voices of dissent and alternative media.
Aftermath
Let’s say the federal government did everything right before and on the day of Sept. 11th, 2001. The uniparty press avoids questions on how things have come together since.
Big Homeland Security spending
The US Dept of Homeland Security was established on November 25, 2002. Plenty of time for lessons learned, and more cartel drugs entering Hometown, USA than ever before?
Lessons Learned?
Anytime there is a plane crash, a loss at sea, or an industrial accident, a thorough investigation takes place. Lessons learned are used to prevent future accidents. A major aircraft manufacturer grounds certain airplanes after mishaps. Time is required to investigate and find out what went wrong.
Any similar effort after a big cartel drug bust inside the US?
The folks who show up and investigate the plane crash don’t spend time congratulating each other. Their work is designed to try and prevent similar future incidents, not promote themselves.
Preventing drugs from entering local communities would kill the chance for various agencies to get publicity for the occasional big drug bust happening in those communities.
Wonder what was happening at border crossing/port of entry inspections during the 12 months Operation P-22 (to take down just one branch of the cartel activity) took place. Do the good guys who made the local bust notify the good guys at the border about the weak links in their process?
Were federal authorities at the border notified of this ongoing investigation?
Did the cartel traffickers get fast track screening at the border so as not to disrupt this ongoing investigation?
If the drug traffickers were given a pass at the border- would that have tipped them off as to the investigation- or would that have been seen as standard protocol?
Imagine that LE authorities observe a shoplifter or bank robber in action. Instead of going in to make an arrest they back off and conduct an investigation that goes on for months. What if they applied the same tactic Re: crimes involving arson, terrorism, child abuse, DUI, etc.
This time next year- will there be any shortage of cartel product in the Puget Sound area? Has any city, county or state jurisdiction been able to cleanup their drug problem using these methods?
Snohomish 2015
Local law enforcement agencies may benefit when the US Dept. of Homeland Security fails to keep heroin out of the US:
Newspeople are good about posting a drug bust press release. Newspeople remain silent when it comes to asking questions about Homeland Security funding and performance.
Big DOD spending on undeclared/unwon wars for our freedoms.
School children are taught about a free enterprise system. They grow up to find out that the federal government will tell them what kind of shower head they must install in the bathroom, and what type of gas can they must buy for their lawn mower.
Did hostile forces in distant lands attempt to replace US consumer demand with government demand and end the free enterprise system?
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
Freedoms come and go. None of the above are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
Maybe a few more decades of undeclared/unwon wars and the freedoms will get better.
Why do we speak of the US Armed Forces as if they function as some sort of giant civil rights organization?
Both major parties are OK with treating 18-20 year old adults as second-class citizens.
Both major parties are good with a land of the free holding pattern where alcohol, marijuana, tobacco and firearms restrictions are in place for 18-20 year old adults. Is there any state where recreational marijuana laws remove prohibition for adults at age 18? Are The Joint Chiefs of Staff working to change any of this?
Doesn’t seem to fit with a society that can’t stop bragging about freedom, thanking the troops for freedoms, fighting wars for freedoms, staging military jet flyovers at sporting events for freedom, etc.
Has it become harder to find blogs, videos and alternative media that ask questions or point to the failures of 911 and its aftermath? How about COVID? How about a giant US Dept. of Homeland Security?
“Nearly 1,800 victims’ relatives, first responders and survivors are calling on Biden to refrain from attending any memorials over his refusal to release Sept. 11 documents.”
“The administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump also declined to declassify supporting documents, citing national security concerns.”
22 Years Later
Part of the reaction was to send The Troops into undeclared wars.
If DOD was an NFL team, sports talk radio would feature comments like:
The Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911. We haven’t won a war since.
Any college or pro football coach would have been fired a dozen times over for what DOD has done with the US Armed Forces during the fake GWOT era.
Fake GWOT?
The US Dept. of Homeland Security was invented after the catastrophic military failure of 911. The idea was to keep bad people from coming to the US to do bad things/attempt another 911, etc.
Wouldn’t the giant War on Terror be a cartel drug trafficker’s worst nightmare?
If REAL ID is critical to the safety of America, have travelers out at the airport been less safe since 911?
The new REAL ID requirement for domestic air travel has now been extended out more than 20 years past 911 – May 7, 2025
If sending US troops to Afghanistan and creating a $51.6 billion (every 12 months) US Dept. of Homeland Security was meant to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things, why are drug cartels able to move product into all 50 states?
If the CIA (est 1947) serves as an advantage to the US, why does the Department of Defense have such a poor record of winning undeclared wars going back to 1949, the year DOD was established?
Show up early to wait in line and squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube at the airport?
What keeps the terrorists of the GWOT from creating a disruption at the back end of the screening line?
Has anyone ever seen any member of the press ask questions on this?
“What goes on at airports is not security. It is Security Theater. When the government’s own agents try to smuggle “weapons” aboard airliners to test the system, they succeed ninety-five percent of the time.”
“Further, a terrorist doesn’t need to get aboard an airliner to blow up spectacularly. At many airports, hundreds of people line up at ticket counters during peak hours. A carry-on bag of explosive would easily create enough slaughter to shut down air travel and to make international headlines for weeks.”
Will sending the National Guard, active, reserve and IRR forces to support NATO/Ukraine stimulate new enlistments over at the recruiting office?
National Guard
The people of Minnesota need more applicants to maintain a place to live and a regular job in their hometown area when they are not doing time in foreign lands helping DOD with undeclared/unwon wars and missions completely unrelated to their home state.
A few decades back, people might think of the National Guard as one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer plus a way to support your home state by being ready to get called out for floods, fires, natural disasters, civil unrest, etc. Maybe a way to help the next state over if they needed it.
Any members of the press available to show up and ask why the people of Home State, USA needed services in distant lands, absent any military emergency, national emergency, draft, or declaration of war?
Recruiting crisis for Uncle Sam? Elected officials, top Pentagon Generals and the press earned it.
Thousands of men and women who signed up for the National Guard in the past 25 years did tours in places like Syria, Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo.
These families have stories to tell and they’re not all positive. Will their stories support a draft?
“A multi-agency police force walks up the ramp after conducting a high-risk, low-frequency training exercise on board the M/V Kennewick on Wednesday. High risk refers to the level of danger to people and property, i.e., a hostage situation, and low frequency refers to the chance of it actually happening, but the agencies want to be prepared by training.”
If the Oklahoma City bomber rolls onto the ferry-how does the SWAT team help out an hour later?
Has anyone ever seen any member of the press asking questions related to WSF security?
The Press
Much of what we get today is sort of a press release style of news reporting where a statement is prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest policy update, drug bust/federal grant money award, etc.
“We’d like the patrol to be everywhere, all the time, but they don’t have the staff or the money,” said ferry spokeswoman Susan Harris-Huether. “If they’d have been (at Bainbridge), none of this would have happened.”
I was researching old news links after I posted a blog on WSF security. I found the above example of excellent news reporting. There have been several incidents at ferry terminals over the years. Instead of asking any questions, newspeople will often post a press release from agencies handling the situation.
“Washington State Ferries officials had received two complaints from passengers, saying that they had to abide by security measures while Michael did not.”
The Washington State Patrol uses dogs to check vehicles at some ferry terminals on some days. Walk-on passengers are not checked at any terminal- at any time.
My interest in WSF security comes up now because it looks like there was no security staff present at:
Mukilteo or Clinton for an inbound/outbound DUI driver. Two fatalities.
“When the ferry arrived in Clinton, everyone got off the ship, except Cruz. She had reportedly fallen asleep over her steering wheel.”
“Ferry staff tried to rouse her, but were unsuccessful. Finally, with the help of more employees, they were able to wake Cruz up. The lawsuit alleges the state Department of Transportation destroyed surveillance video showing this.”
“At this point, WSF staff had already observed Cruz strike another vehicle in the ferry lineup, they had received passenger reports of Cruz’s intoxication, they called to request assistance from Washington State Patrol, they required the assistance of multiple crewmembers to wake her up from her unconscious state,” the lawsuit reads. “Despite being informed that Cruz was impaired, the Vessel’s crew directed Cruz to drive her vehicle off the ferry.”
Recommendation:
Be honest. Report the facts. Eliminate ongoing war on terror/security theater mixed messages. Insist on more in the way of newspeople asking questions.
If the GWOT is bogus, just say so.
Forget about the War on Terror and The US Dept. of Homeland Security and ask yourself:
When motorists at a local ferry terminal witness erratic driving/driving over a curb and the rear-ending of another car in the ferry lane, should they be ignored when they report it? Should WSF terminal staff & boat crews be placed in a situation where they make it up as they go along because no impaired driving response protocols are in place on the job?
Background
Looks like no security staff present at several incidents:
Mukilteo or Clinton for inbound/outbound DUI driver. Two fatalities.
Gunfire on Bremerton ferry during Puget Sound crossing.
If the Oklahoma City bomber rolls onto the ferry-how does the SWAT team help out an hour later?
This state-run media video shows US Coast Guard gun boats escorting the ferries. K-9 teams are on site to detect explosives:
A state-run media report from June, 2012-
This video tells us that security personal are on site every day-at 2:56
Maybe security personnel are present at some specific terminal each day. Dozens of round trip crossings from various terminals indicate that in many cases-no security screening takes place prior to boarding ferries.
Moments later, around 1 p.m., Cruz crossed over the center line on Highway 525 near Campbell Road, hitting the Mercedes occupied by Gamble, 77, and Weikle, 78. Gamble died at the scene. Almost two weeks later, Weikle died from his injuries. They were both from Everett.”
“…WSP Vessel and Terminal Security Troopers responded to the MV Kaleetan upon its arrival at Colman Dock. By that time, WSF crews had already secured the suspect, who had boarded the vessel by vehicle.”
Not my idea to promote the concept that riding safely on the ferry requires gun boat escorts, SWAT teams and K-9s on the job to detect explosives.
If a guy decides to fire a gun during a 60 minute ferry crossing and WSP waits to respond until the ferry arrives at Colman Dock, how is this security?
Will newspeople follow up and let us know if the guy who purposefully fired his handgun from the ferry had a concealed carry permit?
Did he pass any sort of background check?
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
This video tells us that security personal are on site every day-at 2:56
Maybe security personnel are present at some specific terminal each day. Dozens of round trip crossings from various terminals indicate that in many cases-no security screening takes place prior to boarding ferries.
Fatality – Anacortes ferry dock
Where were security personnel when this fatality motor vehicle incident took place at the Anacortes ferry terminal?
“…WSP Vessel and Terminal Security Troopers responded to the MV Kaleetan upon its arrival at Colman Dock. By that time, WSF crews had already secured the suspect, who had boarded the vessel by vehicle.”
Not my idea to promote the concept that riding safely on the ferry requires gun boat escorts, SWAT teams and K-9s on the job to detect explosives.
If a guy decides to fire a gun during a 60 minute ferry crossing and WSP waits to respond until the ferry arrives at Colman Dock, how is this security?
Will newspeople follow up and let us know if the guy who purposefully fired his handgun from the ferry had a concealed carry permit?
Did he pass any sort of background check?
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
Has any state, ever in history, required proof of membership in a militia to purchase, transport, or carry, guns and ammo/participate in shooting sports, etc.
Remember grandpa? Yeah, he was the only one we ever knew growing up who had guns. He was the one that was in a militia.
SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.”
What powers are granted to the federal government here?
The Washington State more than 10 round magazine ban is another of many examples where freedoms may come & go-completely unrelated to military operations/US Troops in distant lands, or the Sound of Freedom.
The US should maintain strong and ready military forces.
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms- The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
Love to see KING 5 ask: How has the greater maritime industry dealt with COVID crewing challenges? How have various industries and public agencies handled this? Airlines? US Navy? FedEx? UPS? local fire dept?
Is there any medical advantage that comes with the new format?
If it is the choice of the business, what are they trying to achieve?
I will wait on the sidelines if dining out features unpredictable new protocols. The whole idea of returning to a place you like is to duplicate the experience you had before.
“…WSP Vessel and Terminal Security Troopers responded to the MV Kaleetan upon its arrival at Colman Dock. By that time, WSF crews had already secured the suspect, who had boarded the vessel by vehicle.”
If a guy decides to fire a gun during a 60 minute ferry crossing and WSP waits to respond until the ferry arrives at Colman Dock, how is this security?
Will newspeople follow up and let us know if the guy who purposefully fired his handgun from the ferry had a concealed carry permit?
Did he pass any sort of background check?
Whatever happened to this guy?
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
$49.8 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security nowhere to be found on 1/6/21.
CBP social media posts, post 911 surveillance state (fusion centers, license scanners, Homeland Security grant money, monitoring of e-mails, text messages, & social media sites, no fly/terror watch lists, Real ID, tracking of cell phones, etc.) and strict post 911/GWOT security protocols in Washington DC appear to have played no role in preventing these crimes:
The US Armed Forces were irrelevant in defending American rights and freedoms, our physical security, & The Constitution on 911.
Ditto for all other federal agencies and departments.
The Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911.
We haven’t won a war since.
Considering the aftermath of 911
Since 911, have people been at risk out at the airport because there has not been any requirement for REAL ID in order to fly within the United States?
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
If a right to vote has always been protected by the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, how come women were not allowed full voting rights at the end of WWI?
Why the need for a 1965 Voting Rights Act if overseas military operations somehow secured voting rights?
If a right to vote is protected by the US Armed Forces, what becomes of that right when the US leaves Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc., without a victory?
None of these are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
People need to carry a special ID to go have lunch in Canada, then return home. Have these ID requirements helped to keep cartel product from entering the US?
Don’t look for the press to go and interview the US Dept. of Homeland Security and ask any questions on this.
Standard driver’s licenses have not been accepted at the border since 2009.
I was thinking that 911 should have been a drug trafficker’s worst nightmare. The US Dept. of Homeland Security- a whole new federal department-was created to stop terrorists and prevent another 911.
Part of the article describes cartel product seized at the border. Part of the article talks about product that gets past federal agents at the border.
Federal agents swing into action after meth from Mexico moves past federal agents manning a $51.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security-then, on into New Mexico:
“Historically, crystal meth in its purest and most potent form came to the islands from markets in Asia and the Pacific as documented by the Hawaii’s Ice Age reporting series that Civil Beat and Hawaii Public Radio published five years ago.”
Newspeople avoid asking questions by going with a press release style of news reporting.
A statement is prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest bust/federal grant money award, etc. Newspeople post this statement. No questions asked:
Does Port Angeles CBP play any role in keeping meth and heroin from entering the Olympic Peninsula?
If you run a government operation-these are the reporters you want to see on interview day:
If a $51.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security was preventing cartel product from arriving in American communities, why would General Milley need to launch Operation Macho Swagger?
Has General Milley’s Operation Macho Swagger prevented cartel product from entering WA?
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs personnel during Operation Macho Swagger–a ride-along to let us know what is being done to keep the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca safe from B.C. incursions: Operation Macho Swagger & Port Angeles Heroin
Don’t miss our companion blog-found here: Old Man Blog
“…WSP Vessel and Terminal Security Troopers responded to the MV Kaleetan upon its arrival at Colman Dock. By that time, WSF crews had already secured the suspect, who had boarded the vessel by vehicle.”
Not my idea to promote the concept that riding safely on the ferry requires gun boat escorts, SWAT teams and K-9s on the job to detect explosives.
If a guy decides to fire a gun during a 60 minute ferry crossing and WSP waits to respond until the ferry arrives at Colman Dock, how is this security?
Will newspeople follow up and let us know if the guy who purposefully fired his handgun from the ferry had a concealed carry permit?
Did he pass any sort of background check?
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
This video tells us that security personal are on site every day-at 2:56
Maybe security personnel are present at some specific terminal each day. Dozens of round trip crossings from various terminals indicate that in many cases-no security screening takes place prior to boarding ferries.
Fatality
Where were security personnel when this fatality motor vehicle incident took place at the Anacortes ferry terminal?
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of investigative reporting & newspeople asking questions.
“But witness Farley McClean who watched it happen told KOMO News, “It was not an accident. Period. You could tell.”
“Another witness said the driver appeared to know exactly what he or she was doing.”
“Skagit County sheriff’s officials earlier said they received a call from Anacortes police about a vehicle in the water near the terminal. The Sheriff’s Office sent a dive team to assist with the recovery of the vehicle and driver. A Border Patrol dive team and the U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the scene.”
“@wspd7pio: Witnesses say the driver of a white Jeep approached the #Anacortes ferry terminal at a high rate of speed, broke through the traffic arm & went into water.”
June, 2006-
Belligerent motorist blows past toll booth and onto ferry:
This video tells us that security personal are on site every day- at 2:56
Jan 25th, 2017:
If security personal are on site every day- why did Skagit County sheriff’s officials say they received a call from Anacortes police about a vehicle in the water near the terminal? What was the Washington State Patrol’s role in making this report?
If the Washington State Patrol was on site- why does the story rely on witness reports instead of a report from the WSP staff on site at the time of the incident?
What was Washington State Patrol staff doing during the moments the following took place:
“The driver later started the engine and drove the wrong way back toward the ticket booths, then turned back around and returned to the staging area and parked again.”
“After a couple of minutes, the driver put the vehicle back into drive, took off at a high rate of speed and went flying off the end of the loading dock, Axtman said.”
“Witnesses say the driver of a white Jeep approached the #Anacortes ferry terminal at a high rate of speed, broke through the traffic arm & went into water.”
Maybe security personnel are present at some specific terminal each day. Dozens of round trip crossings from various terminals indicate that in many cases- no security screening takes place prior to boarding ferries.
Oct, 2014-
Where were security personnel on the day this motorist blew past the ticket booth, ignoring personnel assigned to proper staging of vehicles:
“Clallam County’s death rate from prescription opioid and heroin overdose was 29 per 100,000 in 2013, nearly twice the state’s overdose death rate of 14.8 per 100,000, health officials have said.”
This video tells us that security personal are on site every day- at 2:56
Maybe security personnel are present at some specific terminal each day. Dozens of round trip crossings from various terminals indicate that in many cases- no security screening takes place prior to boarding ferries.
Oct, 2014-
Where were security personnel on the day this motorist blew past the ticket booth, ignoring personnel assigned to proper staging of vehicles:
Just the ticket for the day terrorists abandon the sneak attack (Oklahoma City, 911, USS Cole, US Marine barracks Beirut, etc.) and go with a good old fashioned shoot-out between the good guys and the bad guys.
If the Oklahoma City bomber rolls onto the ferry- how does the SWAT team help out an hour later?
Training scenario-
Are the bad guys allowed to fire on the good guy’s boats and helicopters?
No hostages, bewildered passengers or suicide bombers in the mix?
How about the bad guys drive a vehicle from the car deck onto the good guy’s boat as they pull up?
This hard-hitting interview was an opportunity to answer most FAQs.
Serious subject matter- covered like an elementary school field trip down to the fire station- except- students might come up with some intelligent or interesting questions at the fire station.
What questions went unasked?
1) How does the gunboat protect the ferry if a bad guy is already onboard? The Washington State Patrol uses dogs to check vehicles at some ferry terminals on some days. Walk-on passengers are not checked at any terminal- at any time.
2) “Terrorists” (If they really are out to get us) can communicate just like teenagers- they can wait in line and ride the ferry just like anyone else. What would stop terrorists from riding the ferry and alerting each other if they see a US Coast Guard escort or Washington State Patrol dogs sniffing cars prior to loading?
3) If a terrorist wanted to get their boat dangerously close to a ferry- they could just put it on a trailer and drive it on- what would prevent this?
4) What stops terror strikes on the days US Coast Guard gunboats are not providing escorts on any given route or Washington State Patrol dogs are not on duty at any given terminal?
Seeing a bunch on social media about The Day of Jihad. Here in the USA, people are posting about having your guns ready, lock and load, get ready to kick some ass, etc.
