SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods – a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Central & South America news starts us off today.
Nanny State
Reader H.L. sent in this article on Chicago not allowing high school students to graduate without a plan for the future. She also sends this comment:
“There is so many things wrong about this concept, I hardly know where to start
- Assume the high school graduate is at least 18, and considered an adult who can vote and join the military. What gives any parent, school or other adult to demand that the student be signed up for college, a trade school, have a job or whatever? I thought slavery was outlawed decades ago!
- It seems to me that in some cases (as other states and schools are considering such a “law”) might be a thinly veiled attempt at increasing college enrollment, and of course, the resulting student loan debacle!
- The peripheral items such as mentoring, etc. just keeps the graduate chained to the “system” that has already given him/her a dumbed down education. Another form of CONTROL by government.
- What is the penalty if the student says that he/she has a job, and lies? Will the school check with the so-called employer before handing the student the diploma?
- What about the parents? With many students the parents do not believe they are done raising their child. They feel it is none of the schools business what Sally or Johnny does after graduate! Is there a penalty for the parents? If not, will there be? Government does not want us to control our own lives, so I could see this coming! My parents have long since passed on, but I KNOW what they would say and do! No one controlled them, especially not my Dad!
- Some students will say **** you and walk out of the HS without their diploma! Other students in the lower grades will see what is waiting for them and some will decide to do the same thing!. Where will Chicago and broke Illinois get the funds for this effort? Looks like they will probably have to declare bankruptcy.
I am certain I have not thought of everything, but I am not surprised that this Mayor has come up with such a plan!”
Wiretaps
A single wiretap order in 2016 swept up more than 3 million phone conversations. This was done in order to carry out a relatively unimpressive drug sting. Amazingly, not a single conviction has resulted from that wiretap. That was just one of the 3,186 wiretaps issued by federal and state judges in 2016. Still think you live in a free country?
Venezuela
Continuing in the grand tradition of failed socialist experiments, Venezuela has hiked the minimum wage up 50% under the mistaken believe that it will force the economy to recover. They blame the U.S for having a false dollar and believe that this will “put the handcuffs” on speculation. It sounds more like the flushing sounds of a toilet. We are now stressing the deep, deep pantry levels of prepping in that Country. Thanks to L.G. for the link.
Retractions
Most of us have come to accept the fact that we live in the age of “junk” science. You can find a study that says just about anything you want it to say. Have a preconceived idea of what you want the outcome to be? No problem! You too can have a “scientific study” tailored to your needs and you can probably get a government grant to do it. However, there is a light in that dark place. A SurvivalBlog reader sent in the link to this site that deals primarily with news articles where authors of scientific papers had to retract their statements because data was deliberately falsified or the science was sloppy. I’m having fun reading some of these articles.
Power Blackouts
Showing just how fragile our power network can be, reader G.P. sent in this article on a simple mylar metallic balloon from an Independence Day celebration. More than 1300 businesses and homes were without power, some for as long as 86 minutes while crews worked to repair the damage.
Power blackouts
When I was a kid back in the sixties a neighbor kid threw a bicycle chain up in the air. It landed on a power line and knocked out power to our neighborhood. In the back of my mind is the idea that if any terrorist group wanted to create havoc in the country all it would take is a few dozen people around the country to throw a chain with hooks attached over the power lines coming out of power substations located all over the country at the same time. You can locate them on Google Earth maps. I think this would have a chain reaction and cause power loss all over the country.They could then use the chaos to their advantage to make further attacks. We live in an open society with endless soft targets. our best remedy is to stop importing so many potential terrorists and to remove those we suspect that are here now.
LOL, Chicago schools. Majority of students who “graduate” are illiterate in both reading and math. Really who is going to care what they put down? In the end the school system will crow that the majority of students graduating from their “system” plan on being ” Brain” Doctors.:-)
Will these lead to a new industry where students will just buy a ‘plan for the future’ instead of trying to think of something? Or will they just baffle them with BS?
Grid, after the California sub station was shot up, what would have been the result had a couple more been shot up in a coordinated attack? Couple that with transformers on the poles being shot as the get away route allowed. Our infrastructure, for a large part, is an aging antique held together with sweat, spit, and repairs. So many ways to physically attack, all it needs is imagination.
Sounds like we need to ban bicycle chains and mylar balloons before the whole damn grid goes down!
I have no problem with getting students to look forward into the future, but withholding a diploma is counterproductive. I personally never had a clear plan for my future. Instead, I traveled/drifted and worked at whatever I could; and then found something I excelled at and successfully stuck with my entire life. But in Rahm’s scenario I would not have succeeded.
1) Well, Rahm Emanuel himself pranced around in a ballet tutu until some rich guys gave him a sinecure at an investment fund — for which he had no qualifications whatever, no MBA — and which let Rahm pick up $16.5 million in 2 years. A ,,er,, investment that paid off handsomely in 2008-2010 when the chickens came home to roost for investment bankers and they needed the Big Bailout.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel#Education_and_upbringing
2)Next, Rahm ran Freddie Mac into the ground
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel#Freddie_Mac
Fortunately, on Christmas Eve 2009 Rahm’s boss Obama gave a big $4 Trillion present to Freddie Mac’s creditors by putting the taxpayer — i.e, you — on the hook to give unlimited financial aid tocover any losses Freddie’s investors incur:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/24/AR2009122401588.html
3) So maybe some Chicago kid can send Rahm a life plan in which the kid promises to sell out every moral principle he has , to stab the American People in the back, and to fasten his lips firmly to the buttocks of the first rich man he can find in exchange for some big bucks.
4) On the other hand, a REAL education would explain to the kids that Rahm and Obama’s corruption has dumped $10 Trillion in federal debt onto the kids — and that maybe the kids should tell Rahm to go take a flying leap.
You want to hear a good one, about 25 yrs ago, my son was stationed in Germany and he wanted a car loan from the local c u.. I told him that he wouldn’t get because he was out side the U.S. A couple of weeks later he got it. Fast forward 3 to 6 monthes, and a young woman from the Credit Union called to confirm some information. After everything was asked, she asked me where in the U.S. Germany was located, to say that I almost dropped the phone would be an under statement. I then asked if she had went to grade school, high school and college and if she had graduated, she yesbut did that have to do with it. I then adked if she remembered having classes about WW2, Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler and a few other things. Her answer was ” oh s–t” and hung up, she was later terminated a few days later. Oh, and the kid didn’t default on his car loan.
Germantown is in Wisconsin,Denmark and several others too.
China, Paris, Cleveland, Dayton and Nome are located in SE Texas. Shot even Iowa has an Iowa colony in Texas, just to name a few
I don’t see a problem with the “must have a plan before you get your diploma” plan. Just tell them you plan on building safe spaces and protesting Trump in your spare time, you will probably graduate early.
It’s not just Chicago that is doing this. My son graduated high school in Colorado and he had to apply to college before they would give him his diploma. He told them he had no plan to attend college and was going to join the military instead because of the debt of attending college. He works in the oil fields instead and makes good money for a 20 year old.
Most CPS graduates are functionally illiterate if not totally(I hired and fired them for most of a decade). The standard plan is to stay in the hood until they go to jail or die or play hoops or be a rap star because they are the best ever the teacher told them so. This is what you get when you put an Israeli in charge ,they are Communist nuts.