Beware the PAN!, by D.D. in Virginia

A PAN can be a co-worker, a friend, a family member, or someone you just met. They are not distinguishable by age, gender, race, or religion. In our current reality, interactions with a PAN can be mildly frustrating, or at worst, extremely annoying. However, during a SHTF situation, a PAN could be the prime threat to you and the lives of everyone in your survival group. Passive-Aggressive Narcissists What is a PAN? Experts in the field of psychology have named them “passive-aggressive narcissists” (PANs). We, the regular folks, use nomenclature that is more recognizable. We call them “know-it-alls”. Seemingly No …




Recipe of the Week: Leftovers Shepard’s Pie, by G.B.

Traditionally, this recipe is made with mashed potatoes and ground beef, but we like our Sunday Pot Roast. We almost always make this meal with the leftovers from that meal and will often make a much larger pot roast than needed, just to have enough to make this dish the following day. Ingredients: Roast beef – cooked, trimmed of fat, and shredded. Baked potatoes, sliced about 1/2” thick Carrots, cubed about 1/2” Peas and/or Green Beans. If using green beans, cut about 1/2” long. Any other savory leftover from that Pot Roast that you want. Sliced Swiss Cheese Ground Pepper




Guest Post: Asymmetrical Warfare and 4GW: How Militia Groups are America’s Domestic Viet Cong- Part 2

This article first appeared on the Ammo.com web site.  It is re-posted with permission. If you’re looking for great prices on good ammo, you need to check their site out! Is 4GW Coming to the Developed World? Is fourth-generational warfare coming to the developed world? Quite possibly, especially when you consider the spectre of failed states in the West. Many Western states are not quite as stable as they are made out to be. Sweden and France in particular have extensive problems with No Go Zones. Other parts of Europe want to secede, such as Catalonia in Spain, and are being violently …




Guest Post: Asymmetrical Warfare and 4GW: How Militia Groups are America’s Domestic Viet Cong- Part 1

This article first appeared on the Ammo.com web site.  It is re-posted with permission. If you’re looking for great prices on good ammo, you need to check their site out! “It is interesting to hear certain kinds of people insist that the citizen cannot fight the government. This would have been news to the men of Lexington and Concord, as well as the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan. The citizen most certainly can fight the government, and usually wins when he tries. Organized national armies are useful primarily for fighting against other organized national armies. When they try to fight against the …




Making The Hard Decisions Somewhat Easier- Part 3, by Old Bobbert

We are in the midst of the third example in our consideration of making hard decisions whether to go or not go in a crisis situation. I am using scenarios to illustrate the decision processes. Scenario #3: Small Town, Patriotic Family (continued) This time we are looking at a small town, patriotic family that works together to run an Internet-based business from home. Let’s get to know them and their circumstances in this scenario better. Work and Finances The sons were taught by example to work hard and to be a deliberate saver first and only then to be a …




Letter: Surviving California’s Fires

Hugh, I live in a house that has a commanding view of a very large canyon in Southern California. Last Thursday night at 11:20 p.m., I received a mandatory evacuation order on my cell phone and on my TV. I could see the sky lit brightly to the east of the canyon, but I judged the fire to be approaching slowly enough that I had time to gather things. I turned on my sprinkler system and tried to give my property a good soaking so as to increase the chances of avoiding destruction. It was a “hybrid bug out.” I …




Making The Hard Decisions Somewhat Easier- Part 1, by Old Bobbert

Being fully aware of the contest rules concerning fiction, this essay topic has required an ample supply of assumed acceptable standards and examples for one simple over-riding truth– world wide, there is a single commonality factor about everyone who has been forced by circumstances to actually put into real-time practice their go/no go decision. That common event generally fits into a very limited non-nationwide problem. We have experienced some very serious terrible events in some areas of the country but not a nationwide anything. The recent calamity of the flooding of the Texas coast did not affect other areas in …







The Beginning of the End, by Todd

An event occurred last week that I want, or more accurately need, to share with others. For me, this feels like a five-alarm warning bell on steroids going off. To my wife and the few friends that I shared this with, it is not a big deal; they just gave me another one of those “Yup, that wouldn’t have happened in the ‘90s” type of reactions. Maybe I’m an alarmist; maybe I’m not. I am just reporting, however, the facts and will let you decide for yourself if there is any revelation in my experience. About Myself Before I go …




Guest Post: Silver, The S&P and Sanity, by Gary Christenson

Silver prices peaked in 2011. The descent has been long and tedious. Perhaps silver prices made an important low on September 11, 2018, like they did on November 21, 2001 at $4.01. That long-term low was twenty cents below the price on September 11, 2001, the day the twin towers fell at free-fall acceleration, which marked the beginning of the silver bull market that launched prices upward by factor of 12. The S&P 500 Index has risen for over 9 years, from a low of 666 to a high of 2,940. It sits in late October at about 2,641. Massive …




States’ Rights Versus Federalism, by F.B.

I don’t want civil war (CW). I’m no expert on what CW2 would look like. It won’t look like CW1 with a fairly clean bifurcation of states. It could be as ugly as Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Civil war is ugly, filled with death, hardship, and loss. Civil War 2 is Coming In CW2, I will suffer greatly. My family will suffer greatly, and the values and beliefs that I hold will suffer greatly. Have no illusions, we will all lose in this war. But it is still coming. Why do I believe this? Civil wars is coming because I’m …




Letter: Carpenter Bees and Boring Beetles

Hugh, My husband and I have purchased a log cabin, which we are moving into in a few months. This cabin is located in SW North Carolina, and the property is surrounded by a national forest. We are dealing with carpenter bees and boring beetles. My husband has been looking into all sorts of ways to deal with these wood-damaging insects. He just bought hypodermic syringes from the local farm store to put liquid borate in them for injecting into the holes we can see. We need a permanent solution, if there is such a thing, to keep them at …




Following Jesus Through the Storm: Defeating Despair, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

Just yesterday I read of someone comparing our situation to following a guide and dim lantern in the dark. (Unfortunately I’ve lost the source link.) Two Components There are two basic components upon which we will expound. These follow: Confidence in the Guide. This confidence involves believing that He knows us, knows the dangers, and knows the way through. Further, it is believing that He has the power to protect us against what is in the dark. Overcoming our fear of the dark and what it conceals. We don’t know what lurks in the dark. We can’t control what’s in …




Guest Article: Fall Chores, by Patrice Lewis

Editors’ Introductory Note:  This post first appeared in the excellent, long-running Rural Revolution blog. We recommend bookmarking it! We also recommend Patrice’s books. o  o  o Until a few days ago, October was a very dry month for us. Thankfully some much-needed and very welcome rain is moving in. While it’s delightful to walk outside and sniff the fresh moist ground, we weren’t idle during the dry weeks. Among other chores, we focused a lot on firewood, a chief preoccupation for many people this time of year. Summer before last, we had a neighbor come in with some huge equipment and clear …