Monthly Archives: November 2014

November 10th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Prepping works as planned. Until it doesn’t

Guest post by Sierra Grey

Robert Burns once wrote, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a’gley.”. Translated—no matter how well we plan, things often fail, turn out wrong, or go awry. Humans have limitations. We possess only fragments of knowledge and limited experience. Pride and emotions cloud our thinking. Only God plans perfectly. We mortals are left to hope we have planned well enough to survive what comes. And learn from our mistakes early in the game.

My baby steps as a prepper began in 1991. Talk radio exposed me to the teachings of Larry Burkett, a Christian financial advisor and author of the book, The Coming Economic Earthquake. The truths in that book still apply 23 years later—governments with huge levels of debt eventually fall victim to money printing and hyperinflation. America becomes another Zimbabwe. He inspired me to forsake debt and avoid risky investments. We got seriously frugal and paid off our home. Got our small nest egg out of the stock market. Maximized our savings. Withdrew everything from our IRA to avoid government seizure in the future.

Larry Burkett did not live long enough to readjust the timing of his predictions. But I remembered his thoughts about the aftershocks that could follow the economic earthquake. Societal collapse. Fascistic government. Social disorder. Widespread violence.

My wife, the eternal optimist, doesn’t agree that the future could turn out that bad. The rest of my family sees me as a lovable, occasionally annoying, conspiracy theorist. So, instead of learning a trade, leaving the clutches of the California government, and moving, I had to settle for a compromise. An “investment” in California land for my wife and family that would also serve as my desired survival destination when the SHTF. But California was simply too expensive.

One man’s misery is another man’s fortune.

The economic correction in 2008-2009 smashed the real estate market in California. A friend with inside knowledge told us that there was a bank-owned mountain cabin on 20 acres just over 75 minutes from Fresno. It was a foreclosure on the bank’s inventory and they wanted to dump it. Suggested we make a cash offer at 30% of asking price. But we had to act fast. I wasn’t sure what my friend was smoking, but if true, I it was too good to pass up. We quickly toured the property and made the offer. They accepted. Larry Burkett was correct—not everyone suffers during economic depressions. People without debt and who have saved can find incredible bargains. We did. Or so I thought

The retreat was beyond expectations. 4100 feet elevation—just below the snow line. A perfect blend of colossal Ponderosa and Jeffrey’s pines and a variety of deciduous trees. An artesian well, hardly needing the electric pump. Clean water poured out of an overflow pipe 24/7. Locals couldn’t remember the flow ever stopping. Said there wasn’t another artesian well for miles. But should it ever fail, there was a man-made lake filled with good water. The cabin was heated with a wood stove and had modern facilities. One side of the property bordered King’s Canyon National Forest—a wide mountain expanse void of anything but nature.

My wife and I spent our weekends and holidays removing trash and debris. We painted and patched and learned how to repair fences. I cleared trees and split firewood, dug up broken pipes, and re-roofed the well-house. My income was enough to allow me to start adding supplies and equipment month-by-month.

The cabin was built 40 years ago as a summer house. It is perched on pylons on the side of a hill to allow the wind to cool the house from underneath. Winter was not in the original plans. I insulated under the cabin, not an easy task for an older man on top of a 16 foot ladder. But I was turning my plans into reality. God had blessed me above and beyond my wildest expectation. It was a labor of love.

The flora and fauna became my weekend learning lab. With the help of good books, I learned to identify the berries, edible greens, and avoid the poison oak. Bay trees, yerba santa, white sage, milkweed, chokecherries, and elderberry trees provided spice, sweetness, and medicinal supplies. And if you wanted a puff, Indian tobacco. Wild apples served up a huge batch of applesauce each fall. The giant oaks provided enormous and abundant acorns as a source of protein and flour. There seemed to be a plant for every need. I learned how to dig 18 inches through rock-hard soil to extract the bulbous root of the Indian soap plant, a source of saponin for a sudsy shampoo. After 20 minutes of digging in the heat, my hair was ready for it. But I was pumped—I finally had a survival retreat!

Mule deer peacefully roamed the property in groups of three to six, and nice bucks were common. Shot the first at less than 50 yards from the comfort of my front porch while having a cup of coffee. Only needed my defense rifle, a Saiga in .308 Winchester that was conveniently close-by. Butchered the deer and learned how to turn it into jerky. I put pemmican on the “to learn” list.

The air was clean and crisp, the skies a deep blue, and the nights full of stars. Quail and rabbits were plentiful. Fox pups played near the porch after dark. My game camera caught black bears, bobcats, coyotes, and even the occasional mountain lion slinking about under the moon-lit night sky. Wild turkeys visited the lake for their morning dip. Near a seasonal stream was an Indian relic, an enormous granite boulder marked with holes a foot deep where the Indians ground their acorns. The presence of Indians for such a long time assured me I was on the right property.

The prior owner had put up a deer fence to create a 10,000 square foot garden area and built raised beds to avoid gophers. I ran PVC plumbing for drip irrigation. We planted beds of strawberries and raspberries, and some grape vines. They grew happily in between our visits to enjoy the harvest. We planted fruit trees. There was more than enough room to enclose chicken and rabbit coops, and grow far more of a garden than we had, when we moved in full-time.

What more could we want? A comfortable cabin set among the giant Ponderosa’s. Fresh running water year round. A lake as back-up water supply, brimming with fat-legged bullfrogs. Abundant sources of wild food. I felt confident that my plans were working out.

Who moved the cheese?

Fresno County became a center for “medical” marijuana. We soon had over 500 growers in the foothills and mountains. A group moved onto the property next to mine. I have no issues with growth or use of marijuana. But the War on Drugs has made it a very high-priced item and created a criminal market, as did Prohibition with alcohol. The growers are generally felons with nothing to lose, seeking easy riches and their own supply of high-grade “bud” and “reggie.” The marijuana crops are “medical” in name only. Most care little for their neighbors’ property rights or the environment, killing off local wildlife with poison scattered around the outside of their dwellings and crops. Worse, they brought crime and violence.

Its easier to steal someone else’s weed than grow your own. The first year, a robbery attempt was stopped by a shooting a quarter mile from my property. By the end of the year, six men had been killed in county marijuana-related crimes. Break-in’s of vacation cabins skyrocketed after the growers arrived. Booze and guns seem to be the targets. Some locals have started storing their gun collections in the safes of city pawn shops until they need to hunt.

They brought in a bulldozer and destroyed the natural lay of the land. Unusually heavy rains caused runoff from their property that damaged our road and cut deeply into the dam. Another rainy season could bring the dam down and cut off access to our cabin. When we asked them to have it repaired they promised they would, after they sold their crop in the fall. The crop came and went, as did they, to Mexico for the winter. We reached deep into our pockets and paid $7,000 to have the damage repaired.

The heavy rain was followed by three years of record drought, blistering summers, and record-cold winters. The fat and sleek mule deer turned haggard and worn, fewer in number. A small pond now sits where the lake once did. Banks of mud that will suck in your foot to the knee and rob you of your boot prevent easy access to the remaining water. Water, if you can call it that. More of an algae and moss soup. Nary a bullfrog can be found. The snakes, raptors, and critters are picking them off, one by one.

The lack of water and food at other elevations brought in more bears. Lion sightings increased. We suddenly had real competition for the local game animals and the limited harvest of wild berries. The coyote and bobcat populations increased as well, reducing the rabbit and quail populations to a small remnant.

And our 24/7, “has never run dry” artesian well? The overflow pipe has stopped producing anything but dry rust.

Get to know the neighborhood before moving in.

The area is populated by retirees on pensions and/or Social Security, vacation home owners, and a handful of local forest and park service workers. Into the mix throw a goodly number of folks that just get by. Most on EBT cards and welfare, happy in their ancient, leaky single-wide’s covered by blue tarps. That adds up to most of the resident population dependent in some way upon the federal government. Fixed incomes take a heavy hit when times get bad. And times are getting bad. What will happen when the SHTF?

As the economy continues to go down, the property crime has gone up. Two cords of oak that I had cut, split and stacked for the winter, disappeared. A local Hmong immigrant group was caught transporting 51 deer carcasses. One of my “meth-head” neighbors was caught with five deer carcasses. He told the sheriff he was going to sell them for drug money. I was unaware of the ongoing problems with vacation homes being broken into by locals. Poaching, thieving, drug-addicted neighbors were not in my planning. Not even close. A call to the local sheriff can take 2 to 4 hours for a response. I faced the reality that the only deputy sheriff available to my property was me.

No longer was it the just bears after my provisions that concerned me. Two-legged predators were now in the mix. Nothing can stop a determined, meth-addicted fellow with a crow bar and cutting tools from getting into a steel storage box. Fleeing a SHTF scenario, the last thing I need is to arrive and find an empty cabin and no supplies. I stopped adding to my supplies and equipment and transferred some back to the city.

Plans can and do go awry. Plan that it will happen.

While we prep, the world keeps on changing. We change. SHTF events are not always cataclysmic. Sometime small chunks of s*** are flicked on you a bit at a time, more annoying than anything. One day you look in the mirror and realize you are covered in it. Time to toss out the old plan and learn from mistakes. I learned that a deal too good to pass on is never too good to pass up. Price is not all that matters in survival preparations.

I made a list of my concerns and considered my options. We could sell the retreat for a profit and buy another. But how long would it take? Given the troubled times, we are closer to SHTF than ever before. But failures well-studied can lead to a better plan. Due to my mistakes in planning, I now knew a lot more about the weaknesses of my retreat. The best option available for survival was to turn a lemon into lemonade. I’ll share some of the lessons I’ve learned, in hopes that someone might profit from my mistakes. And, some of the actions I am taking to modify my plans and survive.

• I never considered the loss of regular income before the SHTF. I expected it would happen as we fled the city. Plan as though you could lose yours tomorrow. Not long after buying the property, I was laid off. Then again, and one more time. Finally, three years of unemployment and I’m still without a job in my profession. My increasing age is an undesirable expense to potential employers, thanks to Obamacare.

With much less income, I must reduce expenses. I’m using my now-abundant free time learning how do what I have always paid someone else to do. Car and truck maintenance and repairs. Plumbing. Electrical work. Appliance repair. (YouTube is a great resource.) Video’s from the American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) are showing me how to do gunsmithing repairs.

Reloading my ammunition. How to use Craigslist to find some bargains and resell them on eBay for profit. We sold a life insurance policy and purchased a small, underpriced property. Hired a friend to bulldoze a dirt access road and building pad, and resold it for a profit. The profit went to income and the principle into another property that I am currently improving to put on the market. I wish I had worked on these skills before trouble hit instead of spending too much time obsessing over mastering 88 ways to start a fire or how to pack a bug-out bag.

• Just because a SHTF scenario is inevitable, it may not be as imminent as you think. I’m amazed that the world’s central banks have been able to print so much money and put off the collapse for so long. You may be in poor health or have diminished physical ability when it finally occurs. When did I become so grey? I now qualify for discounted coffee at McDonalds and senior shopping days at my local drug store. When did arthritis own my hands? One day I realize that I could no longer reliably rack my Browning High Power in .40S&W. The recoil spring is 24#—something for a younger man. Sold it and purchased a used Glock 36, small and light.

I noticed that hikes into the national forest are not so easy at this age. Who started making guns, ammo, and water heavier? I’m buying used synthetic stocks on eBay to replace heavy wooden stocks on my long guns. My carbine had a very heavy metal butt plate I once had made for potential hand-to-hand encounters. Blow to the head stuff, you know. I found a plastic one to replace it. I’m too old for hand-to-hand. I’ll just have to carry more ammo and shoot the fellow. Anybody young whipper-snapper need an 18-ounce butt plate?

• I underestimated how much of what I use and need can be made without much skill or knowledge and how much money I could have saved for other prepping needs. I’m a big believer in Lugol’s 5% iodine solution and took it daily before I lost my income. It is an important part of my supplies, as well. $15 an ounce is no longer affordable. I researched how to cheaply make iodine crystals and produce the solution myself. It’s not rocket science. If you can make instant coffee, you can make Lugol’s iodine solution. Potassium iodide from eBay, muriatic acid from Home Depot, distilled water, dollar store 3% hydrogen peroxide, and a coffee filter. Cost—about $4 per ounce.

I produce enough for my own needs and pure iodine crystals for pandemics, nuclear/radiation events, wounds, and decontaminating drinking water. Colloidal silver is also important to me. My family regularly takes it and increases the amount with any sign of illness. Retail cost—more than $200 a gallon. A better way—two 99.9 silver coins, 2-quart glass pickle jar, orphaned laptop power supply, alligator wires, $10 fish tank air supply, distilled water, and $24 PPM meter from the pool supply store. Cost— less than $2 per gallon.

• When the world shifts (and it will shift), shift accordingly. The traditional game animals are fewer and farther between. But there still are bears, foxes, bobcats, coyotes and lions. And gopher, king, and rattle snakes. What to do? Prepare to include predators in my food supply when the SHTF. I bought some well-made snares and my wish list includes a few serious traps to use in the national forest. I’ve been rethinking my hunting guns and ammo to account for larger animals. And ways to hunt opportunistically—carrying enough weaponry to shoot whatever should present itself for dinner. Predator or prey. But two long guns are just to heavy for an old man.

Ideally a shotgun-rifle combination gun would be best, but not in the budget. When I use a .22LR or shotgun for intended game, I will also pack by best imitation of rifle at much less weight, my .44 Remington Mag Super Blackhawk with a 7 1/2 barrel. That means increased practice at longer ranges and no more “cowboy” loads. I’m currently toying with homemade shot shells for the .44 to make it a pseudo-shotgun when I head out with a large caliber rifle. A small powder load in the standard brass case leaves room to place shot. Disks of cardboard make a workable wad and a disk of styrofoam, a good seal. I considered making a snake handling stick. And that was the end of that. If I have to eat snakes, I’ll shoot them.

• Rethink scenarios that you thought you were fully prepared for. Who anticipates everything? I didn’t, and now it’s late in the game. What if an unlikely event happens? I’ve learned that my artesian well AND the lake cannot be relied upon as sources of water. I’ve added a solar well pump to my wish list and moved water containers to the cabin and filled them. I’ve constructed 3″ PVC “buckets” that can be lowered down the well head by rope to retrieve water if electricity is lost. I’m dragging old wooden planks to the lake. Laying them on the mud, they will allow access to the water. Next on my list is making a 5-gallon bucket sand-filter to take enough grossness out of the remaining water to allow filtering through a ceramic filter. After that, I’ve got to erect some sort of simple rain water catchment system, and soon, before the winter rains start.

• We humans are a worse lot than we think. Having grown-up, worked, and lived most of my life in the nice parts of town, I never understood the true prevalence of crime. Or how much more it will be an issue after SHTF, even in the rural areas. Storing supplies at my treat in bolted-down construction boxes is no longer an answer. I’m starting to locate possible caches in the walls and under the cabinets of the cabin for stashing ammo and other small supplies. Many of the smaller tools now go into my truck, as do some other of the small-sized, pricey or hard-to-replace supplies.

But I have yet to find a good answer for large supplies such as food, water, tools, and reloading equipment. Much less some way to prevent theft of firewood. Full size shipping container? There isn’t a lock that can’t be removed. And thieves out there have all the time in the world if I’m not there. The only acceptable solution may be to move to the retreat now, not when the SHTF. It’s not like I have a job holding me back.

With my reluctant wife staying in our city home, we’ve both considered that it may be wise for me to spend 5 or 6 days per week. It would make my presence known in the community as a full time resident, not the owner of a vacation home/retreat. She and the family would make their exodus alone, if need be. Sometimes botched plans are hard to smooth over.

• Don’t forget that Indians dwelled in this land long before we did, wherever you happen to live. What did the local Indians do when times were tough? I met a very old man who is one of the last pure Indians in the area. He was happy to talk and to answer my questions. He remembers foods that his grandmother made during the hard times of his childhood. Turns out that the abundant but poisonous local buckeye/horse chestnut is edible in a pinch. Just pulverize them finely and leach them thoroughly, several times. Raw, crushed buckeyes mixed into the waters of a rock-damned stream stun the fish for easy collection.

And…goats. Goats eat poison oak, which there is always plenty of. And the milk isn’t tainted by the poison oak. I need to locate local goat owners that I could buy or barter goats from after the SHTF. For anyone interested, he told me that the most tasty part of the goat is the tongue. I think I’ll save that for last.

• Laws get enforced only when there is an enforcer. Anticipate less law enforcement in rural areas. And deputize yourself. I put on my big boy britches and cracked down on the marijuana growers next door. Slapped a new lock on my gate to prevent access through my property. The very next day they visited my house and asked what was happening. I told them that further access was dependent upon payment for the damage.

They protested and said they had a right to easement. I told them to call the sheriff if they wanted, but I wasn’t opening the lock without payment. Two thousand dollars in twenties hit my palm and they came up with the remaining money over the next few weeks. I’ve learned that when it comes to growers, the thing they fear the most is not making it to harvest. $7000 to these fellows is chump change. And, they treat me with a lot more respect.

• Folks in your rural location are more citified than you may think. They fill their pantries when they go to the city twice a month. Can’t recognize edible wild plants. And don’t know how to garden. I’m now anticipating that I might have to deal with folks at my door looking for food, just as in cities. I need to improve my knowledge in that area by studying urban survival. On the bright side, I have skills in gardening and foraging and may have enough produce to barter.

• Consider that your plans may fail utterly—your retreat may become unusable before SHTF. FUBAR. Total failure. In my case it could be due to continued drought, a forest fire, or advancing age. I may have to remain in the city. And frankly, I’m not well-prepared for bugging-in. My plan has been centered on exodus to the mountains. Back to the drawing board. Add “Option B” to the master plan—survive in place. I recently purchased the Urban Survival course from surviveinplace.com and am finding it to be an excellent collection of materials. I’ve got real work ahead of me, at a late hour.

• Perhaps the biggest problem with my plan was that I did not spend serious time choosing my retreat. I chose by price and opportunity. In the end, an impulse purchase. As realtors say, it’s all about location, location, location. Not once-in-a-lifetime deals or large properties with lakes and nice cabins. As you may have read in Dirt Cheap Survival Retreat, by M.D. Creekmore, it can be done successfully with much less. (I have an excuse—it had not been published yet.) In addition to M.D.’s book and the solid material on thesurvivalistblog.net, the last several years have brought extensive information all over the Internet.

Most of the largest survival websites have helpful information. Visit the county assessor to research income demographics, tax rolls, and maps. Check with the county planning division or department to see if any major changes are scheduled to take place in your area of interest. Talk to the sheriff about problem areas and crime rates, and types of crime. Put boots on the ground.

The only business establishment near me is a very old, tattered tavern. I’m starting to eat there occasionally, just to listen to the old timers that spend so much time talking about what is going on in our tiny piece of California. They are a wealth of info. I’m driving the backroads to learn more about the lay of the land and the people and their properties. You know, the sort of things I should have done BEFORE buying.

My well laid plans turned out to be seriously off course. Partly because of a lack of research and an impulsive purchase. Partly because life just happens. But isn’t survival more of a spirit and attitude than any specific action, skill, or equipment? Experts in wilderness survival all emphasize that attitude or mindset is the most important element of any plan.

That’s why so many tiny survival kits give up precious space for a bag of tea and packet of sugar. The first thing you do when you realize that things have gone wrong is to calm down, make a cup of warm tea, mentally regroup, and commit yourself to survival. Not panic. Not despair. The other supplies in that kit are important, but useless without the will, determination, and spirit to endure. I’m older than I want to be. My income has changed drastically. My retreat plan has serious flaws. Let me rephrase that — my retreat plan has serious challenges. But I’m going to make it. I will make it.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via :  thesurvivalistblog

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November 9th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

What You Need to Know too Communicate and Receive Needed Information Now and After the SHTF – Prepper Communications Primer

Guest post By Chuck Findlay


Choosing a communications gear depends on what a person wants and how they qualify communications. Is it 2-way info, is it just getting info to be updated as to what is going on around your area, the world, how much money, how much time, how much knowledge are you willing to invest? Are you the kind of person that just buys things and plugs them in or putts batteries in? Or are you a builder / tinkerer that loves to know how and why something does what it does?

AMATEUR RADIO (Ham Radio)

Most will say ham radio and it is very good. But it takes knowledge that many people will never really try to learn good enough to be able to take advantage of all it offers. There are numerous bands, layers of the atmosphere, types of radios (AM/ FM, Sideband, HF, VHF, UHF, SHF, and a lot more) and each one does things in a different way and at different times of the day, different times of the year, and at different ranges) And it takes a lot of time and knowledge to make the best use of ham radio. And no you don’t have to use all of them, but then if not another type of radio may be a better choice if you don’t feel or want to invest time in ham radio.

If you need to talk to others, how far away do you think they will be. What will the available power source to keep the radios up and running. Other than QRP (very low power ham radios that is a hobby in itself) the farther you want to talk the more power you need to put into the radio. You can make up for this with antennas and height of said antenna (and a few other antenna options that hams use) Are you a person that is willing to build antennas and then climb a roof or tower to put them up to get extended range, and then take it down and start over if it didn’t give you what you wanted? Most hams are willing to do this all the time to squeak-out every bit of range they can. It’s called a hobby and some of us have it BAD!

Amateur radio is limited to 1,500 watts of power, and on HF (Shortwave) people run up to that much. Hand held radios are usually 1.5 to 7-watts, most being 5-watts. Auto VHF & UHF radios run normally 25 to 50-watts, but are allowed the 1,500-watts. I know no ham that runs much over 50-watts or so on the VHF & UHF bands. HF auto radios run hundreds of watts and can talk hundreds of miles to ½ way around the planet.

It’s kinda neat to be in Ohio and talk to someone on the other side of the country on your drive to work. Ham radios can be expensive if you buy new radios, but there are a lot of used ones at a hamfest st good prices. I see older Icom’s, Kenwood’s and Radio Shack radios that work fine for $20.00 and up. Radio Shack radios being the lower priced ones and Icom being the more expensive ones. But they all work well.

FRS RADIO

FRS radios are advertised to have a 2-mile range. This is pure BS, I have several sets (garage sales and the Good Will Store buys that I can use for barter) that I have played with and ¼ mile is about the best for any of them. These radios would be useful around a home or a small homestead. FRS radios by law have fixed antennas (Rubber-ducks) that are like 3-inches long and are not allowed an external antenna jack. This makes them next to useless. FRS radios are limited to ½ watt of power.

GMRS RADIO

GMRS radios have more power then FRS radios but again they have very limited range in my experience. ½ mile range. And they cost more then FRS radios by a good margin. GMRS radios are allowed to have jacks that allow external antennas, but I’ve seen many without this option. Again these are almost useless for any kind of realistic range. GMRS radios are limited to 1.5 watts of power.

MURS RADIO

MURS radio is in the VHF High band (150 MHz range) and use to be called the business band as many businesses use it for around town talking. With an outside antenna and a roof top auto antenna it has a range of 10-miles, or a bit more depending on your location, antenna type and how high in the air it is. These radios are usually hand held and come with a rubber 6-inch antenna on it. But most of them are able to use external antennas. These radios are probably the most private radios you can get outside of ham radios. They have been marketed to the prepper movement for several years.

They are $150.00 and more per radio and you need at least 2 of them to talk, plus outside antennas if you want range. I think http://www.MURSradio is a place to find them. They also make alarm / motion security transmitters that use this band. But if you are handy with electronics you can get a set of them for a lot less. Amateur radio guys have flea markets called hamfest, they are full of anything radio, electronic, and old electronic item that have seen a long and many times rough life. But you can get things for LOW prices.

I bought a set of business band radios with drop-in chargers for $20.00, yes they needed the battery packs rebuilt ($15.00 each radio) but now I have a set of what today is called MURS radios and it cost me $50.00 and a few hours work (I’m weird but I call it fun working on stuff like this) There are hamfest almost every weekend all over the USA. Do a search and you will find one close to you. http://Www.ARRL.org will have a list of them. A great hamfest, and the biggest one in the world is in Dayton Ohio every May. 80,000 people go to it, It’s said that if mankind ever made it, it’s been sold at the Dayton Hamfest. I have seen a German WWII Enigma machine there, this has to be one of the rarest things on this planet, but they had one there.

Be aware hamfest are cash sales and things are as-is. So buyer beware.

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Check this out:

Dakota Alert MURS Wireless Motion Detection Kit, Base Station Radio


Dakota Alert MURS Wireless Motion Detection Kit.

Features

  • Monitor activity in remote locations up to several miles away
  • Alert signals are in spoken English
  • Allows two-way voice communications between other MURS transceivers
  • Consists of one MURS Alert transmitter and one M538-BS base station transceiver

Be sure to order the birdhouse kit and hand-held unit that will allow you to monitor your property even when the power goes out + communicate with the base unit when you away from home.

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CB RADIO

CB radio is full of vulgar talk so you have to be prepared for that and keep it away from kids you don’t want to learn to swear like a sailor. You have a choice of 40 channels so you can always find a quiet one. But CB is the poor-mans talking radio. With roof-top antennas and auto mag-mount antennas you can easily get 25-miles (an honest 25-miles) out of a legal power radio. And if you are not so honest you can buy an amplifier (called a linear) that can take your legal limit of 4-watts to as high as you pocket will allow. The FCC long ago gave up on monitoring the CB band so there is almost no chance of getting caught. I would not use an amp and it’s not needed, I’m just making you aware of how it is.

CB radios are available for almost give-away prices at garage sales and flea markets as are the auto mag-mount antennas. I see auto CB radios for $5.00 many times with the antenna. And I also see CB hand held (walkie talkies) for $5.00. I don’t use CB myself as I have a lot of ham radios to use, but they again are worth stocking up on as they are inexpensive. Make sure you try them out before put them away for future use, and the antennas need to be tuned to each radio. The one drawback to hand held CB radios is that most of them require 10-AA batteries so you need a good supply of rechargeable batteries and a battery charger, preferably a solar charger. But almost all hand held CBs can be plugged into an external power source, be it your auto, a free standing 12-volt battery or through a power supply in your home. Auto CBs radios can also be used in a home with a power supply

You can also buy new CB radios at almost every truck stop in the USA, It used to be that Radio Shack had them as did most department stores, but not anymore. The 1970s CB craze is long gone.

AM FM

If you only want to receive and not talk an AM/FM battery powered radio is hard to beat. FM will allow you to listen to stations within 70-miles or so. AM will allow you to listen to stations within 500-miles or so. There are exceptions, but these ranges are realistic for normal people that don’t build long/ big antennas or buy $1,500.00 radios. An inexpensive AM radio will allow you to listen to stations hundreds of miles away. And of all news outlets, AM radio will be the one used the most after TV.

SHORTWAVE

Shortwave radios are always said to be a good source of news. Well yes and no. Shortwave is full of government propaganda from numerous countries and a lot of religious broadcasters. Neither of these give you very useful info these days. Also shortwave is full of a lot of things that are coded (military) are utility based information that while you can hear it, it will make no sense and be of no value. I have several shortwave radios up to and including top-end ones that allow me to listen to things all my other radios can’t even hear. When JFK Jr died I listened to the Coast Guard searching for his plane, I listen to military refueling, Hurricane hunters and the like. But it’s a hobby, not for useful news.

POLICE SCANNERS (Called Scanners)

I have several of these but I have not kept up with them as most police departments have went digital and it’s been years since I have bought a scanner so I have no updated info on scanners. (Maybe someone else could weigh in on the current state of scanning..) But while there was a lot of good info on scanners it takes a lot of time to listen to to get it and being raw data it has to be analyzed and interpreted to get the most use out of it. Scanners are probably not a good investment today. There are lots of used scanners at all kinds of price ranges from $2.00 to hundreds

BOTTOM LINE

For news a AM/FM radio will give you more and cost a LOT less.

And CB is the best value for talking as you can buy used radios for little money.

FRS & GMRS are of limited use as the range is very short. I would call them kids toys

Amateur radio is the best if you are willing to put the time, knowledge and like to build things.

ADVERTISED RANGE

FRS< GMRS & MURS all have an overinflated statement of their range printed on the package. It’s always a lie.

Amateur Radio makers NEVER state the range as they are marketed to an aware buyer that already knows what the radio will do and also Amateur Radios have talking range well beyond all other radios made bar none.

PRIVACY and the TALK BUTTON

Also be aware that every ham has a call sign that must be used, other hams will not talk to you without a real one, and you can not fake a call-sign, hams will know it’s not real. And anyone with net access and or an easy to get data CD can look up your address. It’s super easy to do. You will not likely want to talk about private things on ham radio. Or any radio as anyone could be listening.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via :  thesurvivalistblog

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November 8th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Determine Your Food and Communications Preparedness

Ninety percent of Americans will have no idea what to do the day they turn on their water faucet and nothing comes out; the day they go to the supermarket only to be greeted by metal bars; the day that obtaining gasoline is no longer as simple as heading to your local convenience store. These are the people who will succumb to a government-administered dystopia where you’re rationed food and water as long as you comply with Orwellian-type rules.

Technology will likely still be around in some capacity post-apocalypse because the New World Order has seen how effective it can be controlling the minds and thought processes of the people. But free souls will know how to survive mostly from the land and hand hard work.

Food And Water

During the Great Depression and World War II, the U.S. government issued ration books to all Americans. You could only buy a fixed amount of meat, sugar, and other goods from the supermarket in a given month due to massive food shortages. Many pundits and scholars believe World War III has already arrived due to all the conflicts in several Middle Eastern countries which Washington D.C. has its hand in.

The best option is to have a few acres of land somewhere far away from urban areas, preferably near a water source or a well. Now is the time to buy several pounds of heirloom seeds to grow vegetables and fruits. Properly stored seeds can last for up to 10 years. Storage options include rubber-sealed jars or freezing.

Create renewable food sources for yourself. It’s simple to catch a few wild rabbits in cage traps, build a fence, and allow them to mate, resulting in a renewable food source. This gives you a fresh meat source anytime you want it. Wild turkeys are also an excellent source of renewable meat.

Communications

It’s all but guaranteed cell phone and Internet use will be rationed and monitored. Your whole survival plan might be compromised once government and other unsavory individuals know where you are and what you have. Communication with others who are not in your immediate circle should be highly restricted and selective.

The U.S. military uses sat-com devices to communicate, so this technology will likely be available indefinitely, but that doesn’t guaranteed  that it will be  available for you during a crisis, and like everything else will be monitored. It’s best to purchase the equipment now so you have the tools necessary to tap into the signals necessary for two-way communication. Old-fashioned CB radios will always be around, and are cheap to purchase. Shortwave and HAM radio also provide a means of listening for news and other developments around the world without television.

Regardless of your communication method, power will be necessary to run them. Buy at least two deep-cycle golf cart batteries and an inverter so you always have at least some off-grid power. Learn how to wire a stationary bike to the batteries to charge them from pedal power.


You knock out two birds with one stone: get exercise and keep a charge in your batteries.

 

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via :  thesurvivalistblog

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November 7th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

How Hollywood Got ‘Preppers’ All Wrong…from the Survival Mom

LeAnn, owner of one of most popular prep sites on the web, Survival Mom, wrote a great story on her website back in mid-September. Her article, “How Hollywood Got ‘Preppers’ All Wrong”, discusses the world of reality TV shows like “Doomsday Preppers”, and sheds some insight on just how this, and other, shows are actually created.  She tries to bring some common sense and realistic thoughts to the table about what normal people do to prep, versus the often scripted and many times unreal things that actually make it on the show.


Now, not everyone depicted on Doomsday Preppers are lunatics, crazies, or wackos…as someone new to the show might assume. I’ve had several requests from different production companies to appear on DDP, and a few other similar shows. I’ve turned them down…many times.

Why I turned them down is pretty simple. Like nearly every single TV show featuring “real people”, I’ve personally seen the behind the scenes things that have been pulled in the name of entertainment, including some pretty nasty requests to do bad things.

My life is busy enough that I don’t feel the need to be amused, abused, and misused by strangers with an agenda and a camera. When I’m ready to do a show like that, I’ll write it, shoot it, edit it, produce it and market it myself.

After all, I do have years of experience in doing just that (radio and TV work, both live and recorded), including awards for some of my video work. It’s really not that hard to do shows like this, when you have the tools, talent, and skills to make it happen…and I do.

 

I do have two good friends who have been on the show who were handled a bit more deftly and sensibly than most other show guests. Bruce Beach from Canada, owner of Ark 2, was on show 8 in the first season. Kellene Bishop of Utah also appeared on Season one as The Gourmet Prepper. I’ve known Bruce for over 15 years, and Kellene for a bit over 2 years.

But, enough of that backgrounder stuff. LeAnn’s article provides some fantastic information that helps the reader discern the reality of being prepared, versus the glossy, enticing, and so off the mark blather that mostly leads the less informed down a path of potential personal disaster.

From her article…

Pretty much everyone has heard about or seen the television show, “Doomsday Preppers.” In each episode, the ‘prepper’ is shown getting themselves all prepared to deal with a specific man-made or natural disaster.

Maybe it’s just me, but they seem to pick the most mentally unstable, extremist people they can find for the show. They know the average person watching will take what they see as normal behavior of all preppers. The reality is so far from what is shown on television, and I think I can say this for most of us who homestead or prep, that those who are seeking to be as self-reliant as possible look upon the show and those in it with scorn and sometimes outright disgust.

When you break it down, prepping is not all that exciting. It is a lot of work and scheduling, budgeting and planning. Hollywood has skewed the truth so much that those of us who employ even smaller aspects of prepping in our lives are afraid to say anything due to the judgments, eye rolling, laughter, whispers as we pass through the office, and general scorn that we are met with if you say the word PREPPER.

Bottom line, there are many things you can learn from any of a million movies or a billion TV shows. Knowing what those useful tidbits are comes from personal experience, trial and error, or training gathered from a life long pursuit of those things that really are applicable to survival or preparedness.

Hell, even shows like The Walking Dead have a few realistic tidbits that are worth learning about, such as the creation and use of Dakota
camp
fires as seen in more than one episode.

Head on over to The Survival Mom website and read LeAnn’s full article about some of the facts and fallacies in the world of preparedness. You’ll take away some good ideas and hopefully correct a few preconceived notions about finding and developing your own foundation of preparedness .

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via :  survivalring

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November 6th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Your Friends

Guest post by D.D

———————-

Most people don’t see the need to prepare. To them, these funny stories about the end of the world (in one form or another) are nothing but a passing amusement, at best, or the ravings of paranoid doomsayers, at worst. Still, though, they have a backup, fool-proof plan, just in case they are wrong. This plan, of course, is to come to your house.

As soon as they hear of any of your preparations, they casually invite themselves over:

“If anything does happen, I know where I’m going…”

They speak as if you’re preparing to carry their burden, too, and as if you’re dedicating your finances and time to taking care of a bunch of people who will show up with empty hands and empty minds.

You remind them. You offer to assist them. You give them lists, ideas, or invite them to courses or to teach them a few skills. This of course is received with polite smiles and nods. Then they go about their happy little lives just as they did before. After all, why should they prepare when you are doing it for them?

Think of all that you have done and everything you have gone without. The frugal living, the cost of stocking, and the endless research and training. You buy property, raise crops, and livestock, or at least learn to do so. To them, you’ve done all of this to make yourself an asset for these people, of course. Your preparations are your peace of mind. Your preparations are their peace of mind, too.

When everything goes south, they will act like the rest of the sheep. They will first attempt to stock up on supplies at the last minute, and then they’ll hide in their houses bleating for help. Once the water and power go out, or their VERY limited supplies dwindle, they will remember their “friends”– the ones with rooms full of food and weapons. Looking down at the tear- and worry-filled eyes of their family members, who are pleading with them to just do something, they will assuage their fears with stories of the promised land– their good friends who will take them in and save them all.

They will come knocking. Oh how happy they’ll be to see you, parading their poor deprived and helpless children in front of you. Their faces will absolutely glow with the relief of having “made it”. The word “friend” will be used quite often. Their eyes may start casting about for a likely place to sleep and a bite to eat.

Of course they’ll admit that they were wrong and that they should have listened to you. They’ll even promise to never let this happen again. They say that once it’s all over they’ll pay you back and you’ll never have to worry about them showing up. I’m sure they’ll talk about how useful they’ll be. Most won’t be able to build a fire, and they’ve already proven they don’t have mentality to survive or ration. You can’t house them, especially if you’re on the move. You can’t equip them. Do you want to arm them? Do you have the extra guns to arm them? Do they know anything about marksmanship or ammo conservation? Once they have a gun, they’ll not likely give it back, and they are going to be in a much stronger position to argue your distribution of food and such.

Now they’ll want to be taught. Do you have the time and supplies to teach them to shoot, hunt, build a fire, and so forth? Be my guest, if you do. Teach his whole family, too. I, for one, know that I won’t, as things are now. Maybe he has selfish, undisciplined, noisy brats, who are picky eaters and throw tantrums all of the time. Maybe you can help raise his kids real fast now that there’s an emergency.

They don’t understand rationing or your planning. They just know that you have what they need, and in their eyes you have plenty of it. If you’ve planned for enough food and water for your family to last until the crops start producing, you can’t afford to double your numbers. Of course they won’t want to hear that. They want to eat and drink now, not later. They need it. You’ll hear stories of how this is all going to blow over soon, so rationing like that won’t be necessary. They thought they could read the future and didn’t prepare, because nothing was ever going to happen, and now they’re reading the future by telling you when the emergency will be over. It’ll be pretty much the same kind of thinking that got them into the situation they are in now, and subsequently, that kind of thinking got you into their situation seeing as how they are standing at your door. Even if you can get them to understand the math, it won’t matter; without it, they are going to die.

Even if you take them in, then what? You’ve taken on a group of people that have no skills and no supplies. Even worse, they are most likely not mentally prepared. These people are now reduced to a labor class. His grateful and thankful demeanor will probably not last once his belly is full and his foreseeable future is secure. Maybe he’s got a gun in his hands now. What are they going to think when you won’t give a gun to them? They’ll be animosity when you’re sleeping in the tent that was a part of your preparations and he’s sleeping on the ground. Women and children need special care, of course. He’ll expect it for HIS women and children. You don’t want them to be cold, do you? There’s going to be talk of fairness, democracy, and his “share”.

His interests and priorities will not change if things get tight. Who do you think he’s going to make sure is fed? He’s going to look out for himself and his family first, just like you would.

These problems will be multiplied, if he shows up with anyone else. He might have an extended family, his neighbors in tow, and anyone else he’s met along the way. He’s led a crowd to your front door. Now you’re dealing with an army or multiple families that come complete with their own priorities and dynamics.

Some people may think they can just take them in temporarily, help them form a plan, and so forth. Do you really think they’re going to leave? The terror and helplessness they felt while listening to their family cry is a powerful motivator. Do you really think they are going to go back to that situation where they have no food, no water, and hordes of lawless criminals roving the countryside? Even if they do go, they won’t make it far, and they will be back shortly with their hands out.

Are you capable of turning them away? If they show up at the door tired and hungry, you may be their last resort. He’s forced you to choose between your family and his. You may have to put a gun in his face to get him moving.

Some people are righteous in calling you selfish in a situation like this. They abhor people that “plan only for themselves”. This is an unrealistic view for most of us. If I’m putting away as much supplies as I can and it still isn’t enough, what am I supposed to do when cutting them in half is going to kill my wife and kids? This is not the old world, it is a new harsher world where people are forced to make hard decisions. (Believe you me, they will be very ready to make hard decisions if you know what I mean.) My family can live for two weeks or all of us can live for two days. Some people think you should commit suicide like this by giving away and sharing everything they can, in hopes that it will all work out and that your combined knowledge and work will just somehow provide for you all.

The conversation may go something like this:

You: You can’t stay here. I don’t have enough food, space, or water to take care of my family and all of you.

Them: You just can’t let us die!

You: You did this to yourself. You’re just going to kill all of us a little slower.

Them: How can you do this to us? I thought we were friends?

You: As a friend, you’re asking me to starve my children?

Them: I never thought you’d could be so cruel and selfish. You have plenty. We just need your help until this blows over.

You: I warned you. I told you so. You refused to prepare. You did nothing. Don’t blame me.

Them: I thought we were friends?!

You: Did I shoot you in the face as soon as you showed up?

Them: No.

You: Then start walking, friend.

If a fight doesn’t break out right there, it’s going to be far from over. They will be back one way or the other. A day later when the criminals are raping his wife while they beat the crap out of him, what bargaining chip do you think he’s going to use hoping for a little mercy? He’ll be spinning tales of the promised land full of food and shelter. He knows just where to go and can lead them right to it. Maybe it won’t even be criminals of that sort. Maybe he’ll mass his own army with those same tales, whipping them into a righteous fury about the rich and selfish bastards that would rather see them all die instead of sharing a little of their wealth. Of course, a little of your wealth actually means all of your wealth.

Even if they don’t kill you, they will descend on your stores of food and supplies like a plague of locusts. You’re as good as dead.

All of us have friends that we think we know. Very few of us have seen them when they are pushed to the extreme and their very survival is on the line. People are just not the same when they are looking towards the end of their life. Gone will be the smiles and good nature. Morals and civility will be replaced with a desperation that has no boundaries and a new-found murderous inclination. When pressed, people will quickly become dangerous. We had all better be prepared to see a very dark side of humanity. People tend to be a lot happier with a full stomach and no worries as to where they are going to sleep. As soon as those things are gone, they become something else entirely. Once they feel that kind of fear and worry, they’ll be far more violent and defensive when you suggest they might end up back in that position.

Let me give you a real world example that happened during the first gulf war:

This involved soldiers, buddies that had trained together, disciplined military fighting men, members of a platoon that were enjoying some “off” time. During this time there was a constant fear of attack with chemical weapons and everyone was supposed to have their gas mask close by, at all times. In an underground bunker with about 150 soldiers in (at the moment) a non-combat situation, someone ran down the stairs and yelled “GAS! GAS! GAS!” This being the military verbal signal for an imminent or occurring chemical attack and the signal to immediately stop breathing and don your mask and other protective gear. This is trained, this is drilled, and this is planned for. Most immediately fell back on their training and initiated this process. As with all large groups of people, you will have someone that isn’t ready, panics, or foolishly thought a threat wasn’t real. (One man couldn’t get the snaps on the mask holder to open.) There were people who couldn’t find, or had strayed too far from, their mask; they didn’t lay down and die. They turned on their “brothers”. Those without masks began ripping them off of the those with masks. Real fights broke out. These were fights that, to the individuals, were considered life and death, and serious injuries were taken on both sides. The fights erupted from willingness to take a life to save their own, a choice of preferring their life over the lives of others. It was a true showing of who and what they were when threatened. What was basically said was, “You have something I need to live. I’m going to take it from you, and I don’t care if it kills you.” If military men, who train to go into battle and risk life and limb, will act like this against the men they call “brother”, what do you think the average person is going to do to you? This is not some isolated incidence with these particular people. I’m fairly certain that if you reversed the people with and without masks at the beginning, the outcome would have been the same. On a side note, there wasn’t a gas attack; it was a false alarm.

Do you think that your prepper buddies or “friends” are above instinct and survival? They may actually be more dangerous than the average person. Anyone that knows you have supplies is going to come for them. If they were well-prepared and for some reason lost everything they had, they’ll come knocking, before they lay down and die. When the hunger sets in and the cold bite of winter is descending on them and their family, you’re the first person they’re going to think of. You can even discuss this very article, and sure enough when the time comes they’ll choose themselves over you, and they won’t be alone when they come.

Everyone is the hero of their own story. Everyone is special and an exception in their own minds as to why you should give, loan, help, and save them. All of them think that because you’re their “friend” that you’re going to take food out of the mouths of your children and give it to them. They all think they are worth something. It is in our nature to think of ourselves in the best light. They will list all of the things they can do. They will honestly not understand why you’re turning down such an asset, and they will be offended. They’ll think that a few supplies (if any) in their backpack equals months of upkeep. They think that their status with you, when all is well, is going to add weight to their begging and pleading. They’ll think that you seeing them crying and starving on your door step is going to earn them some mercy. For some of us, it will. I’m not one of those people. I have a feeling that when I explain this to people, they just don’t get it. They think it won’t apply to them, because they “know where they’re going if it hits the fan…”

The point is to show the desperation of people who are watching their families die.

I’m trying to address the problem of desperate people showing up at our doors, whether friends or otherwise, by picturing myself in their shoes. I’m trying to imagine my “friends” with the true desperation that only comes when they see death as being just a matter of a few hours away. I’m trying to think of my state of mind if I were watching my children dying and the means to save them is behind someone else’s locked door.

“You come trying to take my stuff and you’ll have a fight on your hands.” Yes, I know. Saying this doesn’t prepare us for it. It offers no reflection on the situation. Believe it, that anyone attempting to take what you have isn’t going to be thinking that they’ll waltz in and make a sandwich. It won’t be just a matter of you killing someone or you making hard decisions about survival; they, too, will be just as willing to kill and make hard decisions. Of course, this is the case with me, as well. It goes without saying that we’ll defend our property and families, but it does nothing to help us with what and who we’re going to deal with.

So if I step over to the other side for a second:

I’m a thinking man with military experience. I wouldn’t just knock and then attack when told “no”. My desperation would only cause me to use a tactical mind in that situation, and then stack the deck in my favor to increase my chance of winning. I’d leave and come back after dark. I’d shoot a few people from a distance, first, perhaps. I wouldn’t wait until the last minute when my kids were at death’s door; I might have been scoping your place out for a week. A defensive position can be a horrible thing. I’m a VERY good shot at long range. Can you patrol and protect your acreage? How many sentries can you lose? Even if you had enough sentries, how many would be shot on post without even seeing the shooter before the next guy would refuse to go? Are you going to harvest crops or pump well water with a sniper out there? Have you got a fire team or squad that’s willing to sally forth and flush a sniper? Good luck.

If you could pinpoint my position with reasonable accuracy, and if I didn’t move as soon as I fired, I would just run away as you made much slower progress, taking cover with some kind of advance by fire and maneuver. Hopefully, there’s only one sniper out there, too. He may not have ever taken a shot and is just sitting in a cross position waiting for just such an attempt. Maybe we’ll be doing our own withdraw with covering fire. Hopefully, I don’t have an ambush prepared and I’m not leading you right into it. If you’ve got the ability to button up and never come out, in hopes that I will go away, fine.

I know many ways of making Molotov cocktails, and I know how to make them so that they fire from a shotgun so they will travel far and hit what I want them to hit. Let’s face it though, to know that you had to button up in full lock-down mode, you probably lost at least one person already. Someone dying would have been the notice that it was time to lock down. I wouldn’t have shot the first person that came out; I would have waited until there were a few targets spread out and available. After whoever was left was locked up inside, I’d first see if wreaking havoc on your solar panels, windmill, crops, well, water supply, et cetera would bring out a few more targets. I’d consider raids for livestock, if it were safe, or destroying their feed, if it wasn’t. Then I’d consider setting the building on fire; something edible could probably be salvaged, and if not, there would be no loss on my part. Using hit and move tactics, I could keep several households buttoned up for a long time. Just a quick “knock” on the door with a long range shot would keep heads down for a week. Depending on supplies and position, I might be willing to let a month go by without a sound, just waiting for someone to test the waters.

Imagine that situation: Someone dies, so you all bunch up. A month then goes by without a sound, and the first person to stick their head out gets it taken off. How much time would have to pass before the next person tried it? Hopefully you are prepped to withstand a siege and your preps contain some manner of dealing with a month of human waste and garbage build up, not to mention the high stress.

Once the shooting started, any talk of peace or negotiation would be met with extreme suspicion and likely treachery from my side.

All of that is a little overt. I wouldn’t necessarily go head to head with you. What is more likely is lots trips to scoping it out and then very subtle thefts, which might not go noticed for a long time. I’d disable a piece of equipment, like a well or generator, in some subtle way again and again, randomly, over a long period of time, until it became common place and thought nothing of. “Dang it! The well isn’t working again! I got it this time, I’ll be right back.” What was thought to be a quick fix for a common problem becomes a kidnapping and hostage situation. After the search party is met with gun fire, the negotiations over your loved one can begin. You’d button up safe and sound listening to the torture night after night. See how long it takes you to work out some kind of deal. If it doesn’t, we eat him and start over.

Even without training, people aren’t stupid. All but the most desperate won’t engage in a fight that they have no chance of winning. They’ll think at least a little about it. You’re mostly likely not going to face a charging horde of “Madmax”-style raiders, waving around sharpened stop signs. They probably won’t go charging up your driveway screaming a war cry. They’re going to ambush you or use deception or trickery.

I wouldn’t be alone; I’d recruit people as desperate as myself and promise them food. They would take heart in the security they’d feel from hearing the same things their sheep heads have been filled with all of their lives. I will have learned from our government and politicians. I will know them for what they are: helpless, starving, tired, and scared sheep who are willing to sacrifice their morals, freedoms, and values for the mere promise of food and security. Their fragile unprepared minds will be reeling from the shock of IT hitting the fan, in whatever manner IT hit it. Not only will their minds be blank little slates, they will have been prepared all of their lives to already believe that they should be given anything they think they need, regardless of whether they earned it. I will give speeches about what they DESERVE. I will talk about the greed of those (you) who have while they have not. I will label you RICH and SELFISH. I will hammer their little minds with words like PLENTY and phrases like DOING THE RIGHT THING. I will explain and they will understand that you evil people are willing to let their children die instead of doing just a little sharing. I’ll take the insanely desperate parents with small children– the ones at death’s door– and promise them food, now, for suicidal risky raids and/or attacks. In short, I’d whip them into a righteous murderous fury focused straight at you.

These are the people you will face, and they will be lead by someone with a tactical mind. They will be people willing to throw their lives away for the sake of their own children. They’ll be covered, taught, guided, and backed up by select few that do the long-range shooting and tactical decision making. You will never see my face. I know that mobs like this often turn on themselves, and as long as everyone is fed they’ll stay in line. I’ll forever be ready to fade away. After all, I only need some of what you’ve got before I do it all again. I can be the strong leader full of empty promises they need (and are used to having) in the short term. I’m also perfectly willing to throw them at you as cannon fodder.

Now, how to fix or stop it? It’s either going to be very hard or very easy.

First and foremost, keep your mouth shut. The fewer people that know your preparations the better. No one will forget a bullet-proof house full of food and guns. If you’re like most preppers, you’re a planner and thinker. You’re the kind of person that people are going to come running to, anyway. This, combined with trying to get your friends to prepare, is going to get you a bunch of door knockers, once it hits the fan. Even if everyone you know had no clue you were preparing, you’re the kind of person they’re going to try to team up with to get through it all. Still, silence is golden.

Imagine how many new friends you’d have, if you were to win the lottery. Think of the people that would all of the sudden be a much closer friend if you did; those are the easily identified leeches and problem children. Decide now who your real friends are, not the ones that are fun to have a beer with, but the ones that will never make you chose between them and your family. Decide now if you’ll support them. If the answer is “no”, tell them flat out right now; when the time comes turn them away with stern warnings not to come back. Then, they won’t be as surprised or hearing it for the first time.

A good friend of mine has a 30 day Auguson farm food bucket at my house with a backpack of other things. I store the same at his house. We both consider the supplies at our house as belonging to other person; it is their property. I consider him a true friend and a valuable asset, post SHTF. I wouldn’t turn him away, even if he showed up empty handed. This method ensures that he never will. If for some reason he couldn’t stay at my place, I’d hand him his supplies and wish him luck. Of course, people like this are not ones you have to worry about.

  • Develop true friendships, and be the person that can be relied on.
  • Be so secret that no one comes knocking.
  • Be so remote that no one comes knocking.
  • Be such a hard target (or appear to be) that there are easier pickings elsewhere.
  • Think about what you would do in their shoes.

Many think that people will lose their humanity in extremely stressful situations. Personally, I think it’s just a darker side of humanity that we had better be prepared to see. In the end, it’s not just going to be the grim and hard decision of shooting someone that will not go away. It’s going to be a fight with another human being who is as interested in surviving as you are.

I know the comments are about to roll about looters and thieves and about how we’re prepared for it. The point of this isn’t to show you how your preps won’t work or how you’ll be overcome. The point is to think of this from another angle– it won’t be a gunfight in a classic movie sense. Those lines like, “Over my dead body”, “I”m prepared for thieves”, “Let them come”, and others like them are words that prepare us for nothing.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

 

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November 5th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Marijuana Becomes the Last Crime to be Decriminalized in D.C.

In the area plagued by ‘taxation without representation’ that has affectionately become known as the District of Criminals – where the federal government and lobbyists make deals so shady it would make Al Capone blush – possession of marijuana has been legalized by way of a referendum during last night’s election.

And all while the Republicans took the Senate on Capitol Hill…

Allowing possession of up to two ounces and growing up to six plants, weed has pretty much become the last crime to become all but officially legalized there.

NPR reported:

Voters in Washington, D.C., have approved the legal use of marijuana for recreational purposes. Supporters of the D.C. marijuana measure had a 65-29.5 percent lead as of 9:09 p.m. ET, with 20,727 voting in favor.

The D.C. case could create friction between the city’s leaders and Congress — particularly if, as many expect, Republicans take control of both chambers. The District’s Initiative 71 includes provisions that allow residents to grow six or fewer marijuana plants in their homes and possess up to 2 ounces of the drug for their own use.

And it was approved handily by voters.

It is, after all, the city that elected Marion Barry back to the D.C. City Council and later back to the D.C. Mayor’s office after he was busted smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room on camera while he was mayor. His campaign staff went with the all-too-appropriate slogan “He May Not Be Perfect, But He’s Perfect for D.C.”

After all, it is the big fish who are engaged in the real crime while in power. Their city is more like a haven for scheming and organized theft than it is a place of lawmakers, diplomats and officials (though they happily wear the mantle of their elected and appointed titles).

This is the place where illegal executive orders, illegal wars and unconstitutional acts are brazenly entered into official policy and too big to actually be considered crimes.

Prostitution long ago passed proportions of plague and epidemic, instead becoming standard parts of lobbying packages and the generic fodder for political blackmail. Pork barrel legislation and other corrupt abuses of power come just as standard. The members of Congress can officially speed and get away with other petty offenses just by virtue of their office, while foreign diplomats are all but untouchable from even the most heinous crimes under treaty protections.

And aside from occasional isolated incidents, politicians and diplomats can virtually expect to never be prosecuted for their actions. What happens in D.C. stays in D.C.

Marijuana, on the other hand, was originally criminalized under dubious circumstances in the vacuum of the end of alcohol prohibition and heavy influence from industrial titans who saw hemp as a threat to other commodities they controlled.

At the very worst, marijuana has been a vice that has allowed the prison-industrial complex to cash in and fill private prisons with non-violent drug offenders.

It seems ironic that this petty crime would finally join the ranks of all the actual sin and misdeeds that make this notorious city so odorous. But even then, it is no surprise at the hypocrisy, given that some members of Congress introduced legislation to prevent the city from allowing legalization after Mayor Vincent Gray decriminalized it earlier in the year, should voters decide to approve the measure for full legalization.

Back in June, this happened:

An amendment that would make it impossible for the District of Columbia to lessen penalties for marijuana possession — and possibly to legalize the drug — passed Wednesday in the House Committee on Appropriations, drawing a rebuke from the District’s mayor.

[…]

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who proposed the amendment in committee, said that his background in medicine motivated his efforts to block the District law.

“As a physician, I have read study after study on the devastating effects of marijuana use, especially on developing brains of teenagers,” Harris, who is an anesthesiologist, said in a statement. “Congress has the authority to stop irresponsible actions by local officials, and I am glad we did for the health and safety of children throughout the District.”

[…]

“Representative Harris can’t overturn the marijuana decriminalization laws of the 18 states that have decriminalized marijuana so he has stooped to using autocratic, anti-democratic power to seek to overturn our local laws,” said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) in a statement on Tuesday.

How that amendment could affect last night’s vote remains to be seen, but the ACLU released a report detailing how D.C. has the highest per capita number of arrests for possession of marijuana in the entire country.

ACLU Attorney Paul Zuckerberg commented, “Not only do we lead the nation in marijuana arrests per capita, but 90.9 percent of people arrested in the District for marijuana possession are black.”

Oregon also voted to legalize marijuana in yesterday’s elections, while measures in Alaska and Florida failed despite strong showings that indicate the national attitude towards the criminalization of this drug has changed significantly.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

 

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November 4th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

How to Make a Rope Out of Plastic Bags

Guest post by Zac T.

————————————

You wander from aisle to aisle, flashlight in hand, down what used to be your local tool supply store.

When the first case showed up over the mountain about three months ago, most of the stores in town were looted pretty heavily. This place is certainly no exception.

“Oh Lord, please please please,” you whisper underneath your breath as you finally come across the aisle where the rope should be.

You’ve been bugging out since the city became too dangerous to sleep in, and last night the old rope you salvaged for your tarp tent snapped in a scuffle with a falling branch. You need new rope. Without it, it looks like you’ll be sleeping underneath a tarp blanket.

You walk up to the shelves. Your gut drops.

“Oh noooo,” you mutter. “Not here, too.”

Every last rope is gone.

You stuff a handful of nails in your pocket on your way out as you continue your search elsewhere for that elusive length of rope.

What do you do when this becomes a reality?

In a survival situation, a good length of rope can mean the difference between life or death. People are smarter than you think and recognize this as well. As a result, post-disaster, rope is going to be VERY hard to come by. Yes, you are going to need food, you are going to need medical supplies, and you are going to need shelter, water, weapons, and the like. However, how are you going to hang your food in a bear bag if you bug out? How are you going to fasten a splint to your daughter’s twisted ankle? How are you going to suspend your tarp A-frame tent, bring supplies up to a tree-house, restrain an attacker, bundle your supplies, et cetera? The list could go on and on.

You are going to need rope and lots of it!

One good rope can mean the difference between surviving or forever being lost to the elements. Without rope you can’t hang a bear bag, tie down supplies, set up a tarp, secure a boat, make a splint, and a host of other things that could come in very handy in a survival situation. Luckily for you, however, you are about to learn that a quality length of strong rope can be made out of an everyday household item that I can essentially guarantee you’ve been stockpiling without even knowing.

PLASTIC BAGS.

I’m talking about those annoying little guys you pick up at the store EVERY time you shop for groceries, clothes, tools, or anything else, and then you store in your kitchen stuffed into each other. Yep. Those pesky boogers can be made into an incredibly strong length of rope. This is true, if you know what you’re doing, of course.

So, how do you do this? By following these six simple steps:

Step 1 – Collect Bags

If you want to make a plastic bag rope, you are going to need a lot of plastic bags. Gather as many as you can get your hands on, and lay them flat against the floor so that they are all stacked on top of each other in the same orientation with the handles at the top.

Try to smooth out as many of the wrinkles as you can. Ideally, you want your bags to look just like they do when they’re still stuck on the merry-go-round at Kroger. They are all flattened out and aligned almost perfectly there.

Step 2 – Make Half-Bags

Grab a very sharp pair of scissors and cut your stack of paper bags from the very middle of the base of the bags (where all the food rests when the bag is full) in a straight vertical line to the middle of the top of the bags (at the bottom of the U shape that the handles on both sides of the top form).

I’ve never been able to cut more than two at a time here, so it’s going to take a little while, depending on the size you want your rope to be. Lay out two bags on the ground, place your foot in the bottom right corner, and using your left hand to keep the other side taut, use scissors to glide the cut up the middle of the bags.

If you try to actually “scissor” your way up the bag, you’re going to end up with a pretty jagged cut. You really do need to do all that you can to keep the bags taut so that the scissors glide to the top.

Repeat this for all of the bags.

Step 3 – Poke Holes (a lot of them)

Now you have two little stacks of half-bags. Take a half-bag, and you’ll notice that there is a seam alongside the side of the bag. At the bottom, there should be a cone-like end to the seam within the bag. You are going to poke a hole that you can fit two fingers in about two inches from this cone seam.

So, if you have the bottom of the half bag facing you, the hole is going to be two inches away from the bottom of the side. Do this for all of the bags.

Step 4 – Girth Hitch the Bags Together Into Two Strands

Now you have a whole lot of half bags with holes in the side of them. You’re going to take one half-bag’s handle (BAG A), and thread it through the hole you tore on a second half bag (BAG B). Then make BAG A thread through its own handle so that the two bags are now connected with a knot.

Pull the bags tight to girth hitch the bags. Make it a snug fit. Do this by pulling on the bag close to the knot. By pulling farther away you’re going to stretch the bag’s middle and weaken your rope.

Make two strands of even length doing this.

Step 5 – Braid the Rope

Here comes the fun part.

You’ve already made two even length strands of half-bags. Now what you need to do is to take both strands and hang them by their middle from something, so that you end up with four even length strands. I, personally, think that this works infinitely better if you can hang the strands from a ceiling rafter (I use a punching bag stand), but around the back of a chair leg will work fine as well.

By hanging the bag strands from someplace higher than your head, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary bending over and a sore back. I’ve found it takes twice as long to finish the thing when you’re on the floor as well.

You need to braid the strands together to make a strong, durable rope. I’m going to explain it below; however, if you need a visual, resort to this video:


This is much easier than you think.

You can see that you have four strands in front of you. If you held two strands in each hand, you would have a “LEFT”, and a “RIGHT” strand in each hand. You need to take the two “right” strands, and braid them over the two “left” strands.

Good job. You did it.

Now you still have four strands in front of you, and some of them are crossed over others. Now you have two new “middle” strands between your two hands. Take the left “middle” strand and braid it over the right “middle” strand.

You’re going to repeat that same pattern over and over and over again until your rope is finished. Two rights over lefts, middle left over right.

Make sure that you pull your braid work together tight at this step. The tighter you can make your braid, the stronger your rope is going to be. This is plastic, after all. By ensuring tight braids, the stuff will have less of a chance to stretch.

In Conclusion

For the rope I made for this article, I started off with 21 grocery store bags and I ended up with a 9′ rope in about 30-40 minutes. So, if you want an 18′ rope, you’re going to need 42 bags. A 32′ rope requires 84 bags, and so on down the line.

Getting the hang of the braiding pattern is always the toughest part. Once you can work through the first two feet or so of rope, your brain will instantly pick up on the pattern and you can roll through the whole project pretty quickly.

I decided to do a quick tensile strength test of my rope, as well. It ended up holding 55 pounds worth of dumbbells quite satisfactorily. I ran out of dumbbells after that, but I and the crack in my basement floor can certainly tell you it won’t hold your bodyweight. (I’m 160 pounds.)

Would I use this to rappel from something? Nope. There’s no way.

However, if you needed a way to tie down supplies, make a splint, hang a bear bag, or set up a tarp, this works just as well as the real deal.

As mentioned before, the tighter you can braid your threads and the sturdier of a bag you can find, the stronger your rope is going to end up being.

Also, make sure to keep this thing away from direct sunlight for long periods of time. Ultraviolet light weakens the plastic and will ultimately result in a broken rope. Because this thing is made out of plastic, there is going to be a fair amount of stretch to the rope when it’s loaded down. A little stretch won’t hurt anything; it’s similar to a bungee cord. However, once the weight overloads the tensile strength, the rope is going to stretch past its limits and snap.

You’re just about outside the doors when you remember something:

“How could I forget!” you exclaim.

“I can use plastic bags!”

You read how to do this in an article online, pre-plague.

You’re happy. No need to be a tarp burrito tonight.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

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November 3rd, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

How are Looting and Scavenging Different?

If you read much of any post-apocalyptic fiction, you’ve no doubt witnessed this particular scene played out countless times. The hero of the piece, down to his last three bullets and a scrap of food, comes across a store or gas station that has somehow avoided being burnt to the ground. Venturing inside, to his (and the reader’s) amazement, he finds cases of bottled water, boxes of ammunition, and all manner of tasty snacks. Often, for some reason, there’s a rack of nice trench coats and wouldn’t you know it but they have his size in stock. Thus fortified and nourished, he ventures back into the wastelands to do battle with hordes of mutant zombie bikers.

But wait, does this mean our hero has strayed from the path of all that is honorable and virtuous?  Isn’t he now just another looter?

Well, yes and no. To my way of thinking, all fictional tropes aside, there is a difference between looting and scavenging. Let’s define these by way of example.

What is the difference of looting vs. scavenging?

Looting is smashing a storefront window and making off with a flat screen television when there is a bit of local civil unrest but the world around you is just fine.

Scavenging is entering a business or home that is by all accounts vacant and taking baby formula for your infant daughter when there is no other way for you to feed her and keep her alive because basic societal infrastructure has fallen apart to the point that you have no idea when or where you can reach safety.

The whole idea behind prepping is to have the forethought to stockpile the supplies you’ll need in a crisis. That’s why we do all this stuff, right? But there are any number of reasons why your carefully set aside stored food, water, and other essentials may not be available to you. Perhaps the disaster itself has resulted in your home burning to the ground, or you were forced from your home by a gang of ne’er do wells, despite your best efforts to resist. Maybe you were bugging out and your vehicle broke down or was stolen, leaving you to hoof it the rest of the way.

What do you do?

No matter the cause, you then find yourself standing in front of what used to be a convenience store. It has already been ransacked but perhaps there’s still some goodies left to be found. What do you do?

There are folks who will say, and believe in their very heart of hearts, that to steal anything is wrong, no matter the circumstances. The Eighth Commandment – Thou shall not steal. I’d counter that argument by saying, How do you know God didn’t put that store in your path, specifically in order to give you the supplies you’ll need to live another day? How do you know the owner wouldn’t give them to you, if they were alive and here?

Bear in mind that for the purposes of our discussion here, we’re talking about a complete breakdown of society, a total collapse scenario. In that type of situation, here’s how I look at the looting versus scavenging debate.

If items of value have no clear ownership, such as they’re found in an abandoned or burnt out store, and they will sustain your life, it is scavenging. On the other hand, if the items are clearly owned by someone else and/or they have no use other than just being inherently valuable, it is looting.

Admittedly, there is a ton of gray area here (is it truly abandoned, or are the owners out scavenging for their own needs?), but this is something you should think about and perhaps discuss with the other members of your family or survival group.

A final note: Please do not take the above as in any way encouraging theft or pillaging the countryside. That is not what you should take away from this article (no pun intended). Instead, this is an effort to illustrate my own personal point of view on the looting versus scavenging debate. I cannot and will not suggest breaking the law. But, in the absence of law, each person must make their own decisions on how to best comport themselves.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via :  thesurvivalmom

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November 2nd, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

U.S. Solders Quarantined in Italy – CDC Admits to Aerosol Transmission – USGOV May Bring Foreign Ebola Victims to U.S.

From our friends at AlertsUSA Inc.

—————————

U.S. SOLDIERS QUARANTINED

On Monday, AlertsUSA subscribers were some of the first in the nation to learn that the Dept. of Defense had quarantined 11 U.S. soldiers and a two-star general following a deployment to the West African Ebola hot zone. The soldiers were some of the first sent to the region and had traveled widely around Liberia laying groundwork for additional force deployments. The quarantine location is the U.S. Army Garrison in Vicenza, Italy, located approximately 40 miles West of Venice. The soldiers will be monitored for 21 days at an isolated location on the base. By Wed of next week another 35 soldiers will join the original 11.

The decision to quarantine American soldiers at the base has sparked outrage in Italy, with increasing calls for the government to demand the U.S. move the soldiers back to U.S. soil.

On Thursday Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel defended the decision that all U.S. military personnel serving in Ebola affected countries, regardless of rank, will undergo 21 days of quarantine and monitoring due to their unique role, the scale of the deployment and the need to protect other soldiers and their families from possible infection. He called the move a “smart, wise, prudent, disciplined, science-oriented decision.”

QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS: PRUDENT VS POLITICAL

So as to highlight the ongoing chaotic, disconnected response to Ebola at the federal level, contrast the strength of the Pentagon’s quarantine model for soldiers who are not even working with Ebola victims with the luke warm, seemingly politically motivated CDC guidelines calling for voluntary isolation of healthcare workers who are providing direct care for infected individuals.

NY EBOLA PATIENT LIED TO INVESTIGATORS

AlertsUSA reminds readers of NY Governor Cuomo’s comment from last week regarding mandatory quarantine where he stated that “It’s too serious a situation to leave it to the honor system of compliance.” His words were driven home this week when it was revealed that New York City’s first Ebola patient, Dr. Craig Spencer, initially lied to authorities about his travels around the city following his return to the U.S. from treating Ebola patients in Guinea.

According to the New York Post, law enforcement sources indicate Dr. Spencer at first told officials that he isolated himself in his Harlem apartment upon his return. Detectives then reviewed his credit card statement and MetroCard and discovered that he in fact had traveled all over the city.

Then we have nurse Kaci Hickox who has gained significant notoriety this week by whining to the national media about being quarantined when she landed in New Jersey with a fever. After a few days, New Jersey Governor Chris Christi effectively deported her to Maine, where she was ordered by that state’s health authorities into self quarintine in her home, an order she ignored until Friday when a Maine court ordered significant restrictions.

PETULANT NURSE WORKS FOR THE CDC

While nurse Hickox initially claimed that she worked with Doctors Without Borders, a fact she oddly chose to downplay is that she is an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer for the CDC (also see this, her name at the top, position listed at the bottom).

SCIENCE SUPPORTS QUARANTINES

While nurse Hickox, President Obama, the ACLU, the CDC and even the United Nations Secretary General slammed highly restrictive quarantine rules, science clearly supports such measures. Research published just last month in the peer reviewed New England Journal of Medicine states that 13% of 4000 Ebola cases studied in this outbreak DO NOT HAVE FEVERS.

2011 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER SUPPORTS QUARANTINES

The strategy of mandatory quarantine has received strong backing by Nobel Prize-winning doctor and medical researcher, Bruce Beutler, who was awarded the prize in 2011 for his studies on the human immune system. In an interview with NJ Advance Media, Beutler said he favored such quarantines because “it’s not entirely clear that they can’t transmit the disease“ and there are conditions within which they may actually be infectious before they have a fever.

AUSTRALIA AND CANADA SUSPEND VISAS FOR HOT ZONE

This week Australia joined the growing ranks of nations closing the door to people seeking entry from Ebola-affected west African countries, implementing an across the board halt to processing visa applications from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. The Australian government has also cancelled and is refusing non-permanent or temporary visas held by people from Ebola-affected countries who have yet to leave for Australia. Further, permanent visa holders from these countries are being required to submit to a 21-day quarantine period prior to departure for Australia.

Late this week Canada implemented nearly the same measures, but with the caveat of case by case exemptions.

CDC ADMITS AEROSOL TRANSMISSION…. FOR A MOMENT

This week the CDC made the tacit admission that Ebola can in fact be transmitted by droplets and aerosols released in sneezes. The admission came in the form of a new information poster and fact sheet explaining how Ebola can be spread. Oddly, within days of the poster and fact sheet appearing, which were then highlighted in news articles, they were quickly removed from the CDC website.

USGOV TO BRING FOREIGN EBOLA VICTMS TO THE U.S.?

It was reported this week that the State Department has quietly made plans to bring Ebola-infected doctors and medical aides to the U.S. for treatment. This, according to an internal department document leaked to the Washington Times. The document is reported to have already been shared with Congress and even details the expected price per patient, with transportation costs at $200,000 and treatment at $300,000. Not surprisingly, once the story broke, the State Department spin machine went into action saying the plan had been shelved.

EBOLA STATS
(CDC / WHO estimate actual numbers approx 4X higher)

WEEK

CASES

DEATHS
WED OCT 29, 2014

13,703

4920
WED OCT 22, 2014

9,936

4877
WED OCT 15, 2014

8,977

4493

MED STAFF (HCW)

523

269

SOURCE: World Health Organization

Additionally, this week alone the New York Health Department reports they are monitoring 117 people for Ebola in just the five boroughs of New York City. The New Jersey State Health Department reports monitoring approximately 100 individuals and Pennsylvania reports
105.

NEW WHO GUIDANCE ON PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

WHO has conducted a formal review of personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines for healthcare workers and has updated its guidelines in context of the current Ebola outbreak.

 

 

AlertsUSA has established an Ebola preparedness website offing specific guidance and information on how to prepare for and respond to a domestic outbreak of Ebola. http://www.EbolaReady.com .


Many of the preparedness suggestions on this page reflect common sense. Others will come across as cold and severe until it is remembered that Ebola is a highly infectious and deadly pathogen. More than half of those who become infected die and that death is particularly gruesome.

In addition, we make product suggestions on the site with links to a multitude of suppliers via Amazon as they are convenient and inexpensive compared to most retail outlets. That said, if you can find these products elsewhere at a better price, grab t. The links are there for your convenience.

OTHER RESOURCES

For 13 of the past 14 weeks, AlertsUSA and Threat Journal have been warning of the progression of the West Africa Ebola outbreak and the danger posed to the continental United States (See
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13). A wealth of information is available within those past issues.

As always, AlertsUSA continues to closely monitor developments with the spread of this virus and will immediately notify service subscribers of major changes in its spread to different regions, important notices and warnings by government agencies or any other major changes in the overall threat environment as events warrant

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via : threatjournal

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November 1st, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Federal Land Grab: Feds steal 3 Million Acres of Nevada Land; Close it to Public Use

In the latest Federal Land grab, the BLM and “Federal land managers” are attempting to steal 3.1 million acres of public land in Southern Nevada.

Earlier this year we covered in great detail what happened at the Bundy Ranch in Southern Nevada. At the time, we warned this had nothing to do with one man, and was instead a coordinated plan by the federal government to steal Nevada land and restrict its public use for everyone.

Now that the media frenzy has died down, and the government’s media puppets have managed to smear anyone who supported the Bundys, the federal government is going forward with their plan to seize over 3 million acres of Nevada land – including the Bundy Ranch.

The Bureau of Land Management has submitted a draft resource management plan for Clark and southern Nye counties in Nevada. The plan, outlined in the Federal Register / Vol. 79, No.197 Notice, designates over 3 million acres of public and private land “Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs).” Under the fairytale story of protecting the environment, the feds plan on locking the people of Nevada out of 3 million acres of their own land.

Listed below is what Nevada, and the rest of the public, will lose access to once the feds steal this land. The ACEC designation will

  • Close down Hiking Trails
  • Close Roads
  • Close all Public Camping
  • Close access to Recreational Vehicles
  • Ban all Motorized Travel
  • Close the land to Livestock Grazing
  • Restrict Hiking
  • Restrict Horseback Riding
  • Ban Group Recreation
  • Close the Land to Mineral Development
  • Close Water Access to Locals
  • Ban all Hunting & Target Shooting

This land, which is used by hunters, hikers, campers and fisherman throughout Nevada and Arizona, is our land! This illegal seizure never had anything to do with stopping cattle from grazing, or some lone cattle rancher’s unpaid taxes. It’s always been about one thing; stealing public land for the federal government and their corporate friends.

Once the government seizes this land, the people of Nevada and those who live on or near the land will have no say on what happens in their own backyards. They will be unable to stop the planned wind farms, solar plants, and pipelines that nobody is talking about – Yes, the real reason for this land seizure. It will be gone, just like millions of acres of land throughout this country that have already been seized by the feds.

This country’s people better start waking up to what’s happening, because this is much larger than Nevada.

Since the Bundy Ranch incident, the feds have been seizing land throughout the country. Just weeks after the Bundy Ranch showdown, the BLM quietly moved into Texas and tried to seize over 90,000 acres of privately held land. And then in May 2014, the Obama Administration drafted an Executive Order to seize a half-million acres of Land in New Mexico.

As we’ve covered a number of times over the years, the federal government has laid claim to much of the Western United States. In fact, in Nevada where the feds are attempting yet another land grab, the Federal Government has claimed ownership of 84.5% of the State’s land.

As the map below shows, Federal intrusion into the Western States has created an environment where these States have very little power over their own land.


Government Crack Down on Self Reliance and Liberty


We can no longer dismiss these type of events as small localized issues; I believe they’re part of a larger movement to control the way we live. What we are seeing here is a coordinated attack on traditional American values, and an all out assault on the self-reliant lifestyle. They don’t want you to be able to live off your land, they don’t want you to hunt and fish, and they don’t want you to be able to take care of yourself.

I think evidence of this can be seen:

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via:   offgridsurvival

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