Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” James 4:1-4 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – August 06, 2016

On August 6th, 1945, The world was ushered into the nuclear age as the world’s first atom bomb used in combat was dropped over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast with another 35,000 injured. At least another 60,000 residents would be dead by the end of the year from the direct effects of the gamma dose, residual fallout, and malnutrition.

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Do you have a pocket sized copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America? Get your copy now at Camping Survival for only $1.92. This sale expires on August 9, 2016.

Guest Article: Obama’s Executive Order and the Gunsmith, by Gene Kelly

Does the recent Obama “executive order” really affect your ability to do your own gunsmithing or be a professional gunsmith?!

If you listen to the wagging tongues, supposedly all gunsmiths are going to have to register with the State Department DDTC and pay big fees. In reality, well, not so much.

The first thing I want to tell you is don’t panic. Things are not as dire as initially broadcast widely over the Internet. The current government would love nothing better than to have you throw up your hands and quit gunsmithing or stop working on your guns. In fact, this current president has only five months left. So these are acts of desperation of a fading administration. After his term ends, depending on who is elected, all of this may just blow over and go away.

So in spite of the intent of our ever-expanding government, I have good news for most of you! In fact I am going to tell you how the recent obama executive order will enable some gunsmiths to even make more money! But first, I need to tell you who I am and why our company exists. My name is Gene Kelly, and I am president of the American Gunsmithing Institute.

The American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) was established in 1993 to preserve the gunsmithing arts and, therefore, protect our firearm freedoms. That is our mission. We have done that by training well over ten thousand Certified Professional Gunsmiths, through our study-at-home professional gunsmithing, design, function, and repair courses. Plus, we have created over 60 firearm specific armorers courses and numerous specialty gunsmithing, welding, and machining courses.

The Gun Club of America (GCA) is another entity that I started over a decade ago to expand our ability to provide individuals that want to be true firearm experts with high quality information and resources.

Now, I have to do my disclaimers: I am not an attorney. I am not giving you legal advice. Each individual’s situation is different, and you need to seek your own legal advice with regards to your individual situation. I am only giving you my well-researched opinion. With all that said, I will tell you that I have already spent numerous hours over the last several days reviewing this information and checking with some of my sources.

As you may have heard, the Obama Administration issued an “executive order”, which inspired the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) to issue new “policy guidance” dated July 22, 2016 on the “Applicability of the ITAR Registration Requirement for Firearms Manufacturers and Gunsmiths”. (ITAR stands for the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.)

This has caused a great deal of unnecessary concern and distress in the firearm community.

But do not panic! When you read the actual document, you will realize:

  1. These rules do not apply to hobby gunsmiths (as they are not engaged in the “business” of gunsmithing).
  2. Most gunsmiths do not have to register, as long as you are not offering and preforming specific tasks that are now classified as “manufacturing” by DDTC.
  3. There is an opportunity for the gunsmiths that do preform the services that require registration to make more money. Keep reading to find out how.

In an attempt to clarify and illuminate the actual impact of this new “guidance”, I have provided extracts of the “policy guidance” in quotes below. Emphasis is mine.

(As usual with any government agency, not everything is crystal clear, and some areas are open to interpretation. I am only providing my opinion of what I think it says. However, I am not an attorney, so this is just my opinion. If you need a legal interpretation, please contact a qualified attorney.)

First, here’s the good news: It is pretty clear that this does not apply to hobby gunsmiths that are doing their own work, as they are not someone who “engages in the United States in the business of manufacturing or exporting or temporarily importing defense articles, or furnishing defense services, is required to register with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls under §122.2.“

So my read on this is that if you legally modify your guns for your own use and purposes, these regulations do not affect you, as you are not “in the business”. So take a deep breath and carry on enjoying your hobby! It is also clear that many licensed gunsmiths (FFL’s) will not have to register, depending on the services that they offer. The “policy guidance” also specifically exempts most things a gunsmith will need to do:

“The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has reviewed and consolidated policy guidance about whether various activities related to firearms constitute manufacturing for International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) (22 CFR Parts 120-130) purposes and require registration with DDTC and payment of a registration fee. DDTC has found that many, but not all, traditional gunsmithing activities do not constitute manufacturing for ITAR purposes and, therefore, do not require registration with DDTC. The following guidance is confined to DDTC’s ITAR implementation. You must also comply with all other relevant laws”

“Registration not required, not manufacturing: In response to questions from persons engaged in the business of gunsmithing, DDTC has found in specific cases that ITAR registration is not required because the following activities do not meet the ordinary, contemporary, common meaning of “manufacturing” that DDTC employs in implementing the ITAR and, therefore, do not constitute “manufacturing” for ITAR purposes:

  1. Occasional assembly of firearm parts and kits that do not require cutting, drilling, or machining;
  2. Firearm repairs involving one-for-one drop-in replacement parts that do not require any cutting, drilling, or machining for installation;
  3. Repairs involving replacement parts that do not improve the accuracy, caliber, or other aspects of firearm operation;
  4. Hydrographic paint or Cerakote application or bluing treatments for a firearm;
  5. Attachment of accessories to a completed firearm without drilling, cutting, or machining—such as attaching a scope, sling, or light to existing mounts or hooks, or attaching a flash suppressor, sound suppressor, muzzle brake, or similar item to a pre-threaded muzzle;
  6. Cosmetic additions and alterations (including engraving) that do not improve the accuracy, caliber, or other aspects of firearm operation beyond its original capabilities;
  7. Machining new dovetails or drilling and tapping new holes for the installation of sights which do not improve the accuracy or operation of the firearm beyond its original capabilities; and
  8. Manual loading or reloading of ammunition of .50 caliber or smaller.

Activities limited to the domestic sale or resale of firearms, the occasional assembly of firearms without drilling, cutting, or machining, and/or specific gunsmithing activities that do not improve the accuracy, caliber, or operations of the firearm beyond its original capabilities (as described above) are not manufacturing within the context of the ITAR. If you are not manufacturing, exporting, temporarily importing or brokering defense articles or services, you are not required to register with DDTC. “

So if you are not offering services that constitute “manufacturing”, then you are exempt! They say it directly in the “guidance” quote above.

Also, some firearms are not covered by the ITAR.  So if the firearm is not a “defense article,” then it is not covered by this regulation. What exact firearms are “defense articles” is not clearly covered in the provided “guidance”. The definitions listed in the regulations on their website appear to be pretty broad to cover many firearms. You can check directly with DDTC to see if a type of firearm is an ITAR firearm. (However if a firearm is not covered by the ITAR, then their regulations do not apply):

“Because the GCA (Gun Control Act of 1968) is intended to cover a broader scope of domestic activity than the AECA, the ATF regulations define the term “firearm” more broadly than the ITAR. As a result, not every firearm controlled by the ATF regulations is also controlled by the ITAR.”

“Persons who do not actually manufacture ITAR-controlled firearms (including by engaging in the activities described below, which DDTC has found in specific cases to constitute manufacturing) need not register with DDTC, even if they have an FFL from ATF. “

“DDTC has found that many traditional gunsmithing activities do not constitute manufacturing for ITAR purposes and, therefore, do not require registration under the ITAR, particularly where such activities do not require cutting, drilling, or machining and do not improve the accuracy, caliber, or operation of the ITAR-controlled firearm beyond its original capabilities.”

So there are another large percentage of gunsmiths that do not need to register with the DDTC.

It is very clear though that other common gunsmithing services would require a gunsmith to register according to this “guidance”, if you are manufacturing firearms that are covered by the ITAR.  This could include: cutting, drilling, or machining, or improving the accuracy of the firearm beyond its original capabilities.

But use common sense. For example, mounting a scope might improve the accuracy of the shooter, but it does not improve the inherent accuracy of the firearm. H here is where they say it they say the difference is;

“Registration Required– Manufacturing: In response to questions from persons engaged in the business of gunsmithing, DDTC has found in specific cases that ITAR registration is required because the following activities meet the ordinary, contemporary, common meaning of “manufacturing” and, therefore, constitute “manufacturing” for ITAR purposes:

  1. Use of any special tooling or equipment upgrading in order to improve the capability of assembled or repaired firearms;
  2. Modifications to a firearm that change round capacity;
  3. The production of firearm parts (including, but not limited to, barrels, stocks, cylinders, breech mechanisms, triggers, silencers, or suppressors);
  4. The systemized production of ammunition, including the automated loading or reloading of ammunition;
  5. The machining or cutting of firearms, e.g., threading of muzzles or muzzle brake installation requiring machining, that results in an enhanced capability;
  6. Rechambering firearms through machining, cutting, or drilling;
  7. Chambering, cutting, or threading barrel blanks; and
  8. Blueprinting firearms by machining the barrel. “

The primary effect on the gunsmiths that do want to offer those services on ITAR controlled firearms that the DDTC claims falls under their purview, is that they will have to fill out a form and pay an annual fee of $2,250 as a registration fee. It’s just a fee to register, even if you do not intend to export. Actual exporting requires specific permission from the DDTC.

In my opinion this is just typical expansion of the law beyond it is intended purpose, so as to create a vehicle for harassment and financial burden on the firearms industry, with an overall goal to further suppress gun ownership if you let it.  All of this may pass away, if the right individual is elected to the presidency.

But another way of looking at this is that it is for gunsmiths that want to do this type work or provide those services, and for them it is simply just an additional “cost of doing business” that only works out to less than $200 a month, which is not really such a big deal in the overall scope of things if you actually do have to register.

Gunsmiths that do work that falls under these regulations will just have to raise their prices and be a bit more professional in operating their businesses. (Part of what we teach at AGI is how to make money gunsmithing through the appropriate application of best business practices.)

I think a simple solution for gunsmiths that don’t want to register is to job out any of the work in the above “guidance” that is “manufacturing” to gunsmiths that are willing to register.

One possible example: Gunsmith “A” does all of his non-registration required work as outlined in the “DDTC Guidance”, and when he gets in a project that falls into the “manufacturing”, he lets the customer know that he is sending that to a “DDTC Registered Gunsmith” and subcontracts it to Gunsmith “B”, who is “registered” and then receives and does the work, and then sends it back to Gunsmith “A”, who makes a mark-up on handling the transaction.

Gunsmiths that specialize in barreling and accurizing work are going to probably end up making more money as a result. As always, less competition equals opportunity to raise prices.

Our company intends to register, and I will share with you what we learn from the process. We also are retaining a law firm that specializes in this area of activity.

But you may or may not want to wait to register (if required) to see what happens in the November election. If Trump is elected, this entire problem may go instantly away. So again, don’t panic.

Hobbyists are not affected, and half to two-thirds of gunsmiths are not required to register, depending on the services that they offer.

We will be monitoring this to see where it goes. Hopefully the NRA, National Shooting Sports Foundation, and other groups can get Congress to clean up this mess by exempting Domestic manufacturing with intent for domestic sales and the related “Gunsmithing” aspects.

But for now, I want assure you that there is no reason to “jump out of the window”. It appears that many, if not most of you, who want to or are doing gunsmithing are already exempt from this registration process.

What I have stated is only my personal opinion after a careful reading of the DDTC issued “policy guidance”. I am of course not an attorney, and I am NOT offering legal advice, only my personal opinion after having read the information distributed by the DDTC. If you have specific questions, seek qualified professional legal advice.

Now I am going to give you my political opinion.

Quite honestly, unless we all work hard to elect Trump (like him or not), we will end up with a lot worse than this crippling the industry and destroying our freedoms. Hillary is toxic and will ruin the country for the rest of our lives and beyond, just with her control of the appointments to the Supreme Court. Let alone all of the other decisions and appointments that she would make. We need to give people the backbone to vote against her and to vote for Trump. We also need to open our wallets and support Trump and maintain a Republican House and Senate. I would hope that Trump would unwind many of these executive orders and overreaches.

The fact that the elites on both sides are so wound up and don’t want him is enough of a contrarian reason alone for me to vote for him.

But personally, the sweetest revenge is to make money!!

At AGI we have consistently provided knowledge and assistance to gunsmiths on how to make money gunsmithing. We have provided specialty courses and even include “The Money Makers” with our professional gunsmithing courses to help gunsmiths start making money as soon as they have their FFL.

I want to help more gunsmiths and FFL dealers make money. I want them to survive and prosper. Our country needs gunsmiths and FFL dealers! Part-time gunsmiths that properly run their business should be making a minimum of $1-2,000 per month, and full-time gunsmiths who work efficiently the way we teach them are capable of making as much as $100,000 a year or more, as a number of our students do. You need to survive and prosper.

If you are not yet a Certified AGI Gunsmith and don’t yet have your FFL, now is the time to enroll in the Professional Gunsmithing Course and apply for your FFL, while it is still easy. Get on the inside now, in case things don’t go our way in the election. People on the inside always find a way to get by.

I hope that this has been helpful to you. If you want to get more information on how to become a certified gunsmith, go to: www.AmericanGunsmithingInstitute.net or for Armorer Courses www.AmericanGunsmith.com

Best regards,

Gene Kelly

President American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI)

Letter Re: Wounding Patterns

Aloha HJL,

I have a response to the post from 30 July 2016 regarding the wounding patterns of civilian public mass shooting (CPMS) events versus military wounding patterns. ShepherdFarmerGeek sent this in, and it is fantastic to review anything regarding survivability in the coming times. I agree with the last line: “Time to reevaluate the preps and training.” That should be a daily occurrence for every one of us! But, I respectfully disagree with the view that “…we may be training and prepping wrong…”.

I read the article and was somewhat surprised by the data revealed; though I think 12 events with 139 fatalities is a very small research sample to derive definitive results and then compare and contrast against thousands of combat fatalities. Having been in three combat roles in the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s, most recently in Iraq with a secondary role as a medic for our Cav Troop, I have some personal experience that doesn’t fully contradict the “Study”, but does reflect different experiential results. The study assumes that the Shooter was laser-focused on mayhem and took carefully aimed torso and head shots at UNARMED victims. I can see how the Study author would deduce that a less “Massive Exsanguination” focused approach may be warranted, but I caution SurvivalBlog readers that his study assumed a different environment than what we will see in a SHTF scenario. Without someone shooting back, the Active Shooter had a much higher kill ratio than we professional Marines and Soldiers can achieve in combat. I believe many shooting incidents in a SHTF scenario will not be against unarmed victims but will involve Patriots defending their nation, family, and supplies. We should train accordingly.

Myself and my partner, who is still an active duty 18D SF Medic, teach a rather extensive trauma class titled “Grid Down Trauma Care: What to do when 911 doesn’t answer.” Our program has been peer reviewed by active duty 18D Green Beret medics, as well as by a USAF Orthopedic Surgeon, a Trauma Center ER Nurse, and a USAF Pediatrician (who is also a contributor to SurvivalBlog.) We foresee the SHTF scenario to be VERY MUCH like our collective experience in combat within the past 30 years, and possibly even worse in that there will be no Dustoff available! Therefore, we still use the TCCC format and the SMARCHRV-S algorithm to guide our “Prepper Medics”:

S- Security/Situational Awareness,
M- Massive Hemorrhage Control,
A- Airway Management,
R- Respiratory Concerns,
C- Circulation,
H- Hypothermia,
R- Recovery Position,
V- Vital Signs,
S- Stabilize, and Package for Transport.

Our assertion is that destroying the threat first, and immediately evaluating massive hemorrhaging and determining immediate tourniquet application to extremities is STILL the way to go in an austere environment. In TEOTWAWKI, few of us will have plenty of oxygen, surgical supplies, and 24 bags of IV fluids cached. (24 bags plus blood products is the average for ANY GSW trauma patient.) Thus, it will be critical to provide immediate aggressive treatment in the field in order for a trauma patient to have a remote chance for survival. There will be no 911, paramedics, trauma centers, or definitive care available only ten minutes away. There will only be the Patriot and his or her patient.

I’m not knocking the Study, just ensuring the readers have more data to make informed decisions. – S4H

Economics and Investing:

Brits Are Hoarding Cash Post-Brexit At Fastest Rate Since 2009 – DSV

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No One Told Brazil Markets That Rio Olympics Would Be a Disaster

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Here Is The Craziest Thing One Market Veteran Has Ever Seen In His Lifetime Excerpt: “You are guaranteed to lose money but you are buying the asset because you think in the interim, between when you bought it and you get your guaranteed loss, you’re going to make some money by selling the asset to another fool.”

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Latest Jobs Data: The Worst Expansion in 30 Years Continues

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

I found this over at Volokh:

Wearing ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ insignia could be punishable racial harassment

This is monumental historical ignorance! The Gadsen had NOTHING to do with our nation’s history of slavery. The flag was meant as a warning to the King of England and his Redcoat bully boys! – JRH

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Libertarian icon Claire Wolfe has moved her blog to a new web page. Be sure to bookmark it.

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This Company Has Built a Profile on Every American Adult. “Every move you make. Every click you take. Every game you play. Every place you stay. They’ll be watching you.” – J.H.

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The FDA just greenlit releasing mutant Zika-killing mosquitoes in Florida. – W.C.

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Undercover Govt Group Easily Purchased ‘Dirty Bomb’ Materials In Texas – Report – W.C.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4-5 (KJV)

Notes for Friday – August 05, 2016

August 5th is the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The intense, fast-moving forest fire took place in what later became the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The events of that fire were chronicled in the book Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean and immortalized in the haunting lyrics of the ballad Cold Missouri Waters by James Keelaghan.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 66 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 66 ends on September 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Is Being Prepared Getting In The Way of Living?, by M.

What are you preparing for? Are you getting ready to survive an EMP attack? A financial meltdown? Flu pandemic? Nuclear holocaust? Regardless of what we are preparing for, sometimes it is healthy to ask ourselves how we are living in the meantime. Those of us who feel a need to prepare do it with a passion, but are we preparing in sensible ways that allow us to enjoy life each day, or are we so busy watching and waiting for the chaos of life to justify the time and money we’ve spent on our “preps” that we miss a lot of the important business of living in the moment?

I was born in the late 50’s and grew up just outside of Washington, D.C. The Cuban missile crisis happened while I was in kindergarten. To this day, I remember it vividly. We were sent home early from school wearing name tags. When my sister and I walked up to our house, my father was loading up the car so we were ready to flee at a moment’s notice. Around that same time, I remember touring a fallout shelter, which my parents were considering buying and burying in the backyard. Living where we did, they thought long and hard about that one. Lots of our neighbors did, too. A few years later, I remember standing on the porch of our suburban D.C. home with my father after Martin Luther King had been killed. Riots quickly erupted. We could hear the explosions in downtown D.C., only a few miles away, from the rioting and devastation. The experience was chilling. Then Richard Nixon resigned after Watergate. I was in college at the time and working a summer job at the Pentagon. I listened as people I worked with, who came from all different backgrounds, actively talked amongst themselves and wondered if the government was going to fall and if the guidelines provided by the Constitution were gone forever. I remember sitting in line for gas during the gas crisis of the 70’s and creeping along mile after slow mile (on odd or even days, according to your license plate number) for a turn to fill up the tank. When I married a career Army man, we spent years living overseas, mostly off-base in German and English neighborhoods. During the first Gulf war, while my husband was deployed to the Gulf, military families living off base were given very specific safety instructions. One of the things I had to do every morning was get down on my hands and knees to check under the car before I drove our children to school to see if there was anything suspicious under there. I would always keep the children inside while I turned the key in the ignition, just to make sure I hadn’t missed anything and the car didn’t explode. Sound to you like maybe I was overreacting? My husband was the duty officer of the day when the Red Army faction tried to blow up the NATO school in southern Germany with a car bomb in the 80’s. He only survived because of a faulty timing mechanism on the bomb.

So what else is new, you might ask. You say that you already know we live in an unsettled world. My point in rehearsing my little history is to share the fact that, although I grew up in a home where we were always prepared and my husband and I continued to practice always being prepared, I never felt like a prepper. I applaud prepping. I respect independence and self-sufficiency. However, I see too many people today who are so busy prepping that they seem to have forgotten how to live happily in the here and now. I offer up the following guidelines as examples of my own benchmarks. They are my mental safeguards that help me to be prepared but keep me from crossing over into an unhealthy obsession with prepping. And yes, there is such a thing as an unhealthy obsession with prepping. Any virtue carried to an unhealthy extreme becomes a liability.

Rule #1: Prepping supplies cannot spill over into the comfortable living areas of my home. I don’t care how valuable certain items might be for bartering after the SHTF, if they interfere with my ability to provide a comfortable living environment for my family, then they have no place in my home. Making memories in the here and now is important, and I don’t want my child’s predominate memory being that there was never a clear path to walk between rooms and that she was embarrassed to invite a friend over because the clutter was so bad. I believe in stocking up; I really do. I have a tower of TP out in the shed and buckets of wheat in the downstairs closet to prove it. However, my family members feel like they live in a clean, comfortable home, well, at least most of the time.

Rule #2: Every spare minute cannot be devoted to prepping. Prepping takes time and careful thought, but every hour spent prepping is an hour that you will never get back with your family for family memories. We combine the two when it makes sense. Working in our garden together as a family teaches many valuable lessons. However, if the kids are endlessly waiting around to play football with their dad and he is always too busy because it is more important to organize his bug out bag, then the wrong lesson is being taught. I have watched parents justify all of their time spent prepping by saying that they are doing it for their family. In my experience, children would rather have their parents’ time than just about any other resource. Okay, so maybe they won’t have the coolest gadgets or the greatest variety of foods in a crisis situation. But if they have good memories with their parents in the here and now, most will consider that a more-than-fair trade-off. There is also a much greater likelihood that they will function more effectively as a family unit and know how to support each other. They will also probably be happier and more adaptable.

Rule #3: Prepping decisions need to be jointly agreed on by both spouses. Otherwise, resentment simmers and eventually boils over. The biggest argument my husband and I ever had (and this is the truth) was about shipping empty Clorox bottles I had saved for water storage from Massachusetts to England during a military move. He was livid that I would even think of expecting the U.S. taxpayers to spend their hard-earned dollars on such folly. My position was that it had taken me two years to save up that many empty bottles. I made enough sacrifices as a military spouse already. It wasn’t fair that every two years I had to go back and start from zero again. In the end, we compromised. Mostly, I gave in. We shipped a few empty bottles– just enough so I could start a water storage plan as soon as our baggage arrived. The rest were thrown away. Prepping decisions always involve time or money, and both are important resources. Both parties need to be equally invested in those decisions. Even if one party is willing to do all of the gardening chores, both parties need to be in agreement on the amount of lawn to dedicate to the garden as opposed to, say, a hot tub and pool.

Rule #4: Specialization is smart. Be grateful for the skills of others. They save you boatloads of time and effort, which allows you more time to enjoy the genuine pleasures of life. None of us is good at everything. I am really good at sewing, storing and preserving food, and gardening, but I am hopeless at figuring out solar energy configurations and options. In fact, pretty much anything having to do with energy seems to slip right out of my brain, no matter how many times I try to get it to stick up there. Luckily for me, my brother helped me to set up a very efficient and functional off-grid solar system that would power our freezer, fans, wheat grinder, lights, and other small electrical appliances if the power went out. I am now looking for a smallish fridge that will work well given the capacity of the system. My brother is my best source of advice. Likewise, he was thinking there was no point in his trying to garden at his cabin, which sits above 8000 feet in the Rockies. I was able to share with him some tomato seeds I had that were developed in Russia during Soviet times for a short, cool summer growing season. He hasn’t planted them yet, but the growing seasons aren’t that different, and I think there is a good chance that they will work. Being able to share your individual areas of specializations with those you trust can save everyone valuable time, which can then be spent on simply enjoying life.

Rule #5: Keep the Sabbath Day holy. I find that if I focus on worshiping my Savior on the Sabbath, my time during the rest of the week is expanded to compensate. My financial resources also seem to stretch further. It has to do with the economy of heaven, and it really does work. My husband and I never prep on the Sabbath, and we feel that we have been blessed in our preparedness efforts as a result. Try it for yourself. If there is a particular area of being prepared that challenges you, or if you are short of funds for a particular purchase and you can’t see where the money is going to come from, or if your spouse or other family members are not as supportive of your efforts as they could be, try simply keeping the Sabbath day holy; test the Lord. He always comes through. I can say that miracles have happened in my own life by following this simple principle.

No matter how many years we are blessed with, life is short. While there is no denying that we live in a dangerous world that challenges us with a multitude of different scenarios to prepare for, we always need to be mindful of the need to live our lives each day with gratitude and joy and to set the example for other family members in this as well. Peace comes from being prepared, yes, but joy comes from living. Here’s to finding a sensible balance.

Letter: Charity and Red Dot Sights

Dear Editor,

We had a line of storms blow through with extraordinarily strong winds, blowing trees down over multiple counties. We were blessed to have family, friends, and a church member help clean up the limbs and fallen tree on the family place. When lunch time came, I had to run to the store and get some food to feed everybody. This gave me a great idea: Along with the food you put back, include a portion for one or two meals for around ten people, so that you can feed whoever comes to help out. A spaghetti dinner for ten is less expensive than tree service and an appropriate “Thank you!”

I also have a question about red dot sights you may be able to help with. I would like to find one that could withstand the beating that being mounted on an HK91 delivers. I had a bad experience with an open red dot on a much gentler 308: The screw-on battery cover kept popping off while shooting. So, I’m understandably wary. BSA warned me against using their red dot tube sights on the HK91 platform. (I can provide the email if desired.) Is there a red dot sight that won’t get beat to bits riding that bull? Thanks, and keep your stick on the ice! – Cliff

HJL Comments: red dot tube sights that can take a beating pretty much leaves out all of the lower cost options. The only two that I have successfully used on such platforms are the Trijicon and Aimpoint Pro. Both are not inexpensive options, but you pretty much get what you pay for.

Economics and Investing:

No cash allowed: Stores refusing to accept money – K.B.

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Death of ‘financial whiz’ on Queensland beach exposes suspected $100 million Ponzi scheme – A.S.

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Bank of England wields stimulus ‘sledgehammer’ to beat Brexit blues. The Bank of England has cut rates for the first time since 2009 along with restarting bond purchases.

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Chicago Seeks Tax Hike to Avert Insolvency for Pension Fund

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

How To Navigate Using the Sun and Stars – DSV

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A rather long video (2½ hours), but if you’ve got the time, it’s well worth the watch: The Truth About The Fall of Rome: Modern Parallels with Stefan Molyneux – T.Z.

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Princeton Study Exposes New Ways Sites Are Spying on You – G.G.

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DHS To Run Elections, Wants Voting Classified As “Critical Infrastructure” DHS has turned America into a Police State and now they want to take control of our elections! According to a NY Times article, the Obama administration wants DHS to run our electronic ballot casting system. DHS wants to classify our election process as “critical infrastructure”. Do you really believe we can trust DHS with our voting system? DHS/TSA have been accused of corruption nearly since their inception – H.L.

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Wearing ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ insignia could be punishable racial harassment – B.B.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Conservatives and liberals are kindred spirits as far as government spending is concerned. First, let’s make sure we understand what government spending is. Since government has no resources of its own, and since there’s no Tooth Fairy handing Congress the funds for the programs it enacts, we are forced to recognize that government spending is no less than the confiscation of one person’s property to give it to another to whom it does not belong – in effect, legalized theft.” – Walter E. Williams

Notes for Thursday – August 04, 2016

On August 4th, 1944, 15 year old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family were captured by the Nazi Gestapo. The Franks had taken shelter is a small space in a sealed off area of an Amsterdam warehouse along with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man. They were aided by Christian friends who brought them food and supplies. Her diary survived the war, overlooked by the Gestapo, but Anne and nearly all of the others perished in the Nazi death camps.

Guest Article: SHTF Intelligence – Getting Started- Part 2, by Samuel Culper

This is the second article in a series about using intelligence for preparedness. I’m starting from square zero, in order to introduce a new crop of Americans to the concept of using intelligence, to prove that there’s a need for intelligence, and to get readers quickly up to speed on how to incorporate it into their security planning. After getting caught up to speed, if you’d like to gain a deeper knowledge and put theory into practice, a book entitled *SHTF Intelligence will show you the way forward. You can find a small homework exercise here.

In the first article, we covered why we need intelligence and an introduction to the Intelligence Cycle. We use this cycle in order to produce early warning intelligence and threat intelligence; those are the top two priorities for the Analysis & Control Element (ACE) in a SHTF situation. Our ACE is the brain where we funnel information and out comes actionable intelligence. The ACE’s job is to inform the leadership about threats in the area, where they might be, and what they might do next. If we can get community involvement and start producing intelligence, then our work will be well worth the effort.

This second article is going to take our intelligence requirements– the things we need to know but don’t– and move on to Phase 2 of the cycle: Collection. (If you haven’t generated any intelligence requirements yet, you can get a start at the homework page.)

In any SHTF situation, we’re going to face one of two problems: either we’re not going to have enough information to make well-informed, time-sensitive decisions, or we’re going to have too much information to wade through, which will slow down our decision-making process. So what’s the lesson? We need to begin developing streams of information now in order to avoid problem number one, and we need to know what to do with that information in order to avoid problem number two. Let’s focus on solving problem number one.

It seems like a poor decision to believe that we’ll have access to lots of information during an SHTF scenario. I’m more than willing to concede that information will not be as inexpensive and easy to collect then as it is now. So the more information we can collect now, the less we’ll have to collect later. For now, while information is inexpensive and easy, we’re going to focus mainly on the Internet and other widely available sources of information.

Inexpensive and Easy Information

Say what you want about Google, but there is no better online tool to collect massive amounts of information. (That obviously goes both ways, as it’s always collecting information about you, so it’s a good idea to use online anonymity tools and an anonymous or pseudonymous email address.) We run into a problem, however, when collecting that information monopolizes our time. Who has time to sit at a desk and search for hours on end for information that may not even exist online? Not me, and that’s why we need to automate collection as much as possible.

Google Alertsis a great resource for automated intelligence collection. Some of my searches include:

  • “Waller County” and “Texas” and “crime”
  • “Waller County” and “Texas” and “drug”
  • “Waller County” and “Texas” and “gang”
  • “Waller County” and “Texas” and “corruption”
  • “Waller County” and “Texas” and “violence”
  • “Waller County” and “Texas” and “Sheriff”
  • “Waller County” and “Texas” and “whatever else is relevant to your security”

Etc…

Also, be sure to replace “Waller County” with your own town or county and state, and start getting more local information. You could even do searches for the name of your community or subdivision or for nearby landmarks. If you need help creating searches on Google Alerts, then just refer back to your intelligence requirements, which identify your intelligence gaps. (Caveat: You’re likely going to get some articles or posts that aren’t relevant. Don’t worry about them. Focus on what satisfies your requirements or that you can use to produce area intelligence.)

What Google Alerts does for us is creates a daily roll-up of new articles that Google finds about those subjects. I start my day every morning checking my Google Alerts to find more information about my area, and it saves me a great deal of time. Now, assuming that our searches use quality logic, one problem we may run into is a lack of reporting, especially if you live in a very rural area. If that’s the case, then we have a few options. First, I’d encourage you to go volunteer with your county sheriff’s office or local police department and get to know the crime, drug, and gang information from knowledgeable sources. Second, we could approach our local paper, if they’re not already doing it, to start writing more about crime or drugs or gangs (or all three) in the area. Third, if there’s no area paper or they’re not interested, then we could start doing it ourselves. (Local area “micro-papers” like the Appalachian Messenger are a great way to get our message out to the community, as well.)

I’d also encourage you to search Twitter and other social media for your area. For instance, a search for Hempstead, Texas on Twitter doesn’t seem to reveal much pertinent information immediately. However, I’m identifying people who live nearby posting about what’s important to them, and that’s certainly of some intelligence value. After a little digging, I’ve found a like-minded individual and discovered someone who could be a threat to my community.

If you’re concerned about critical infrastructure in the area, I’d steer you towards the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and their US Energy Mapping System, where you can see the critical infrastructure in your county (or across the country). If you’re interested in the human terrain, sites like City Data are great resources with tons of relevant information and mapping tools.

Of course, we can’t forget about the radio networks. You can rely on your Ham radio guy, or you can study for the technician or general class amateur radio test and begin learning Ham radio yourself. Forget about transmitting for a moment. Our ability to listen into communications, whether they’re from first responders, law enforcement, or a Ham radio operator passing along relevant information, is a mission-critical skill for the ACE. If we don’t have around-the-clock monitoring of at least police scanner, then we’re missing out on potentially a lot of important information.

More Difficult Collection Options

In a grid-down situation, or a scenario where our intelligence requirement can’t be satisfied with open source information, we’re going to rely heavily on other humans to collect for us. Let’s steer clear of calling this “source operations”, because it doesn’t need to be that complex or professional to get us through an emergency. By expanding our circle of friends and acquaintances, we’re expanding our access to information. Building rapport and becoming friends with individuals who are likely to have important information is going to greatly increase our ability to maintain situational awareness.

Beyond that, we should be using the eyes and ears of those in our community. We need to get our neighbors “bought in” to the idea that community security is everyone’s responsibility. I hate to use the phrase “See Something, Say Something”, however, DHS is on track to building lots of channels of information of potential intelligence value. Our message to the community could be as simple as, “Let me know if you see anything suspicious.”

Alternatively, starting (or joining) a neighborhood watch program is a great option. Not only will we get access to law enforcement officers and crime information, but we can also build a reporting system and give our community members a seat at the table. It also gives us a great excuse (something we call “cover for action”) to go door-to-door asking questions and providing information as the block leader of the Neighborhood Watch.

Finally, we absolutely need to be using police scanners and any other technology we have in order to stay on top of the changing security situation. In the Ultimate ACE Startup Guide, I’ve outlined what we need, why we need it, and where to get it.

Last Work On Collection

When we consider all the websites, radio frequencies, and humans to which we have access, there’s virtually no end to the potential for collection. (Just ask the NSA.) Having developed intelligence reporting streams is going to pay dividends for us when we have to navigate our way through an SHTF situation, and it’s going to solve problem number one: not having enough information. That’s a problem we can avoid by doing some homework now and setting our community up for success by developing sources to use later when we need to provide security.

In the next article, we’re moving to Phase Three of the Intelligence Cycle, which is Analysis & Processing. I’ll talk about how we can sort through information and begin building intelligence products that will support our mission of community security.

Samuel Culper is the director of Forward Observer, a threat intelligence service that focuses on domestic SHTF issues. He’s a former military and contract intelligence analyst, and author of SHTF Intelligence: An Intelligence Analyst’s Guide to Community Security. You can find out more about the SHTF Intelligence Center at his website.