Notes for Monday – April 11, 2016

April 11th is the birthday of John Milius, who was born in 1944. He both wrote the screenplays and directed the films Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion, Big Wednesday, Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn, Farewell to the King, and Flight of the Intruder. He also wrote the screenplays of the first two Dirty Harry movies as well as the first draft of the screenplay for Patton (before Francis Ford Coppola turned it into a vaguely anti-war commentary laced with references to reincarnation). Milius is JWR’s favorite Hollywood writer and director, in part because he stands for everything that Hollywood doesn’t.

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I was quite saddened to hear of the death of music legend Merle Haggard, who is remembered for his songs like Rainbow Stew and Big City. He was right, when he sang: This World is Not My Home. I’ll see you in heaven, Merle!

How to Survive Workplace Violence , by SM

The office building where I work was recently the scene of workplace violence that ended in a murder-suicide. While company policies and security measures attempt to prevent such things, we all know that it is nearly impossible to stop people who are bent on destruction; rules and policies are simply ignored, and security can be circumvented. Like I did before this occurred, you may view workplace violence as something that happens somewhere else, maybe in large cities or in other states. But we experienced it in our community, at our workplace, so I want to remind SB readers that it can happen anywhere, at any time, and it is prudent to prepare for it.

Should the unthinkable occur, the primary objective is rapid, safe evacuation of your team and yourself. Unless your role is one of emergency responder, then your thoughts and preparations must be on moving to safety first and not confronting the perpetrators, securing the facility, fighting the fire, or providing medical care. Once the immediate threat is over, then medical assistance can be given and the other issues dealt with.

Thinking back to the day and its events, I have concluded that there are actions that can be taken to reduce the risk of serious injury or death. Some of these actions I took, while others I should have taken:

  • Treat every warning or evacuation order seriously: We have to consciously resist normalcy bias. In our hearts and minds, we believe that the events of each new day will be similar to previous days and go as planned. When given a strong indication, such as an alarm or verbal order to evacuate, we must quickly flip a mental switch that it is no longer “business as usual”. While fire drills are useful exercises to learn procedures, egress routes, rally points, et cetera, they can create a sense of complacency; it’s only a drill, after all. To improve your prospects of survival, commit to yourself that you will consider any alarm or warning as deadly serious.
  • Look all around as you evacuate: Although your primary objective is to vacate the building, as you move implement extreme situational awareness. Look behind you, to the sides, in front, above, and below. Look for threats, victims, people that need assistance to evacuate, hazards, obstacles, et cetera. Help where you can, but keep moving.
  • Keep critical personal items on your person: During a hasty evacuation, you likely will not have time to locate and gather your cell phone, car keys, purse, medical items, et cetera from a distant desk, locker, or conference room. Best practice is to maintain these items on your person: in your pocket, on your belt, or in your brief case.
  • Consider evacuation to be permanent: There are many circumstances, including fire, chemical contamination, et cetera, that will prevent you from ever returning or retrieving critical personal items. So plan the management of critical items accordingly.
  • Every day carry (EDC) items: There are items that can be carried to support your safe egress and comply with common weapons-free work environment policies. First is a flashlight. I see many people depend on the flashlight function of their cell phone, but I believe best practice is to carry a dedicated battery-powered LED flashlight. At a minimum, a pen sized light with two high quality AAA batteries is recommended, or better yet an LED light using DL123 or rechargeable 18650 batteries. While a larger light clearly provides superior illumination, it must be a light that you will commit to carrying at all times. Other items that can be every day carried are a basic first aid kit, tactical pen that can serve as a covert weapon, and a ballistic insert for your brief case or backpack.
  • Spare car key: I strongly suggest that a spare key be duct taped or magnetically attached to the underside or hidden in an external area of your vehicle. If you can get to your car, even without a key, you need to be able to open the doors, remove items you have in it, and drive it away. With older vehicles, it is a simple matter of having the local hardware store cut a duplicate key. With newer cars, the keys often contain “chips” and are not easily duplicated. Spare keys can be purchased at greater cost from a dealer. This measure can also serve you well in less critical times, should you lock your keys in your car or loose your keys.
  • Rehearse evacuation: Although it seems like an obvious thing to do, few people make a concerted effort to identify the locations of fire alarms, fire extinguishers, defibrillators, and emergency exits prior to an emergency. Schedule time on your calendar, or take whatever effort is needed to devote adequate time to review your facility and its emergency features.
  • Account for your team: Once you have evacuated the danger zone, turn your attention to accounting for your team members. Gather them together, and identify any missing people. Make emergency personnel aware of anyone who is missing.

Although every situation is unique, I hope that this experience and these suggestions can make a positive difference for those who might experience workplace violence. Many preparations and the mindset for surviving small scale workplace violence also apply to larger scale disasters. Please consider and implement steps that would improve the your chances of surviving workplace violence or other sudden calamities.

“A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” Proverbs 27:12

Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Springfield Armory MC Operator 1911

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I first saw one of the very first Springfield Armory MC Operator 1911s at a gun shop in Idaho some years ago. The MC Stands for Marine Corps, and this particular 1911 was designed with the specs laid out based on what the US Marine Corps wanted in a 1911 for their special ops guys. It wasn’t until just recently that the Corps was even allowed to refer to their special ops guys by the term Special Operators! Like many in the military SpecOps community, they prefer the proven stopping power of the .45 ACP FMJ round in the 1911 platform. In most cases, they are limited to using FMJ ammo, and it is a much better stopper than 9mm FMJ.

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The Springfield Armory MC Operator has gone through several slight changes over the years, and I’ve owned them all, not that there’s been a lot of changes. The original had Pachmayr wrap-around rubber grips that I didn’t much care for, but they were functional. The first guns didn’t have an accessory rail either. However, there were the three dot tritium night sights, ambi safety, flat/checkered mainspring housing, and all the other goodies that the US Marines wanted. I had one MC Operator with a full-length recoil spring guide, and that wasn’t spec’d by the Marines. The current guns have the standard GI style recoil spring system, for much easier field stripping.

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The gun that Springfield is now offering hasn’t changed that much from the first generation. We have the forged slide and frame, with the slide having a black Armory Kote on it. The frame has the OD green Armory Kote on it, which is tough stuff and really holds up to severe weather conditions. The barrel is 5 inchs in length and is stainless steel and match grade. The barrel is also throated and polished for sure feeding of all types of .45 ACP ammo, and the feed ramp is also polished, which is a nice touch! Grips are G10 with a nice green/black color to them and with a nice pattern CNC’d into them, for a sure and positive grip under any weather conditions. The front of the frame doesn’t have the traditional checkered pattern to it. Instead, it has what’s called Posi-Lock texturing, which is not too rough and not too subtle; it gives a great purchase on the gun, without being overly aggressive and rough on the hand. I love it.

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As already mentioned, there is the accessory rail on the frame, for attaching lights and lasers. That’s something the first MC Operators didn’t have, and SpecOps folks take full advantage of this. Most install lights on the 1911s, and some install a combination light/laser on their 1911s. The gun weighs in at 43 oz, which is a bit heavier than some other 1911s without an accessory rail. It comes with two 7-rd mags, which are my only complaint; I prefer 8-rd mags. However, this is easily taken care of if you prefer 8-rd mags. There is also the nice carrying case the gun comes in, with a paddle holster, double mag pouch, cleaning brush, and a full instruction manual.

Most of the time, whenever I receive any 1911, regardless of what make or model it might be, I can always find something I feel I need to change or customize on the gun to make it more to my own liking. The only thing I did was use some 8-rd mags with the gun instead of the factory-issued 7-rd mags. Oh, I used them during some of my testing, but I much preferred the 8-rd mags, and I had a variety of them from different makers, too. I didn’t feel the need to tweak the trigger pull or make it lighter. It came from the box with a dead-on 5-lb, very crisp trigger pull, with no slop at all– outstanding. The ambi safety snicked on/off with authority, too. The Delta speed hammer works nicely and gives you a little bit more speed when you pull the trigger. There’s slightly faster lock-time, and that means more accuracy. Factory standard recoil spring weight is 16-bs on full-sized 1911s, and the MC Operator came this way. For some extended shooting with +P .45 ACP ammo, I installed an 18.5-lbs recoil spring, and the gun ran fine with it. However, when I returned to standard velocity loads, I went back to the 16-lbs recoil spring. I guess you can say that I did “change” something on the gun, but it would have run fine for an extended shooting session with +P ammo just the same. Why beatup the gun if you can avoid it?

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I don’t believe in shooting guns to see if I can destroy them. The gun makers themselves have already done this. However, some gun writers take great joy in seeing if a gun will fail in a 5,000 or 10,000 round torture test, where they just shoot the guns as fast as they can with the help of others to see just when a gun will break. That’s stupid! It proves nothing. Any gun can and will break under the right circumstances. However, I believe in giving gun samples a more than fair ammo test, which brings us to a comment I got one time from someone who was doing PR/Marketing for a very large ammo maker. I was told that my ammo requests were a bit unreasonable when I asked for 500-rds of ammo to test. I was informed that the average gun writer runs 64 rounds of ammo through guns when testing them for articles. That’s crazy! I know quite a few fellow gun writers, and they all told me they put several hundred rounds through guns most of the time. I stopped begging for ammo from this major gun company when they started sending me two boxes of ammo for my testing.

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Now, as already mentioned, I don’t do testing to destruction in my articles. However, now that the ammo drought is over, or mostly over, I do like to run no less than 500 rounds through a gun that I’m testing and writing about. However, in the case of the MC Operator, I did some long-term testing over the course of a year. Much of the time, I’ll conclude my testing after a week or two and sometimes over a weekend. The MC Operator was used for over a year. At 3,000 rounds of shooting, I started to lose count, but I’m sure I ran more than 4,000-rds of ammo through the gun in a year. I only did routine cleaning and maintenance every 500 rds or so, and I didn’t keep an exact count. But I would clean and lube the gun with my favorite products by Italian Gun Grease. For my money, you can’t beat their Tactical Lube.

I am forever in the debt of two ammo makers for always keeping me supplied in their fine ammo– Black Hills Ammunition and Buffalo Bore Ammunition. They always come through for me, no matter how much ammo I request, even during the great ammo drought. If they had it, they sent it to me with no questions asked, ever! Thanks, guys!

From Black Hills, I had their 200-gr Match SWC ammo that is always accurate, very accurate, and their 230-gr FMJ, 185-gr JHP, 230-gr JHP, 230-gr JHP +P, and their 185-gr Barnes TAC-XP all-copper hollow point +P load. From Buffalo Bore, I had their 160-gr Barnes Low-Recoil, standard pressure all-copper hollow point load, 255-gr Outdoorsman Hard Cast FN +P load, which is great for out in the boonies, where dangerous game are. Their 230-gr FMJ FN +P, 185-gr JHP +P, 230-gr JHP +P, 185-gr Barnes TAC-XP all-copper hollow point +P, and their 200-gr JHP +P load. Whew! Quite a selection to run through the MC Operator.

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Okay, there are no mysteries here. The MC Operator ran without a hitch of any kind. No ammo was beyond what the gun could feed. It fed everything, and I mean everything, right out of the box. There were no hang-ups of any kind, PERIOD!

For my accuracy testing, I was shooting at 25 yards over the hood of my pickup truck, using a rolled-up sleeping bag as a rest. I was sure that the Black Hills 200-gr match SWC was going to take home best honors, but it didn’t. The Buffalo Bore 200-gr JHP +P load was given that honor, with groups down to two inches if I did my part. All other groups were three inches and under, and I mean all the ammo was plenty accurate. I couldn’t consistently get groups in the 2-inch range, but if I was on my game, I did it! None of the ammo tested was “bad” in the accuracy department, none of it. For the most part, the MC Operator was pretty consistent in accuracy, which is a testament to how well the gun was fitted. To be sure, the gun was very tight, and it stayed tight during all my shooting over the course of about a year.

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As I mentioned, I wasn’t trying to destroy the gun or shoot it until it had malfunctions. Instead, I would grab it most of the time, when I went out shooting for fun or shooting other guns for articles. I didn’t want to let the gun get super-dirty, and it was cleaned and lubed around every 500-rds or so, and that is just prudent if you ask me. I don’t see myself getting into an extended fight, armed only with a handgun and a thousand rounds of ammo on my back. That just isn’t real-life! However, you can find yourself in a survival situation or perhaps in military combat where you might be out for an extended period of time and regular maintenance can’t be done. I keep a cleaning kit in my ALICE gear at all times, though.

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If you shop around, you can find the MC Operator from Springfield Armory for around $1,200.00 – $1,300.00, and it is a good deal, if you ask me. I do have a bone to pick with those who selected the Colt over the Springfield Armory Operator as the gun for the US Marines though. The Colt is twice the money, literally, and it is not twice the gun. As a matter of fact, in my humble opinion, it’s not quite the gun that the Springfield is, if you ask me. Yeah, for sure, the Colt is coated in a desert tan color and has different colored grips. Well, Springfield could have supplied their MC Operator that same way, if that was a request. It never ceases to amaze me how our FedGov will spend our tax dollars foolishly. I’m not saying the Colt isn’t a good gun; it is. But why waste our tax dollars and spend double the money when the Springfield would have served the needs of the US Marines SpecOps guys?

I have no vested interest in Springfield Armory or Colt products. However, if you laid out similar makes and models from Springfield and Colt in front of me and told me I could have my choice, more often than not I’d pick the Springfield over the Colt. It’s just my preferences. So, don’t think I’m a Colt hater; I’m not. I know what I want and what I like in a 1911, and I like what Springfield Armory is producing these days– some of the best 1911s money can buy at prices that won’t break the bank, either.

– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio

Recipe of the Week: Stuffed Beef Bundles, by Mrs. Almand

Mr. Latimer, here is a recipe that I first made as a money-saver. It soon became a requested family favorite. Easy, delicious, and budget friendly.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 cup packaged/homemade stuffing mix
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbsp catsup

Directions:

  1. Combine milk and ground beef. Shape into 5 large (thin) patties.
  2. Prepare stuffing mix as per directions. Divide into 5 mounds of stuffing and place one on center of each patty. Draw meat up around the dressing to form a ball.
  3. Place balls, seam side down, in a baking dish.
  4. In a small bowl combine undiluted soup, catsup, and Worcestershire sauce. Spoon over meatballs.
  5. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Hope you enjoy it as much as even my children do.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Letter Re: Google Maps Measurement

HJL,

Google maps has a neat feature that lets you measure distances on their maps by zooming in to the features you want to measure, right-click over the point of the start of the measurement then select “measure distance” then left-click the next point of measurement. You can continue to add segments to the existing measurements or simply right-click again and select “Clear measurement” from the menu. This is handy to get rough range estimates to neighboring properties or terrestrial features that may aid in range finding. This does not mitigate the need to actually observe the landscape in person. You never know when a hill, tree, or brush may be intervening that you can’t see on google maps. Of course, this is no substitute for physically being there or a good topo map, but it’s better than nothing, and you can do it from the comfort of your computer chair.

This also works through the Tor browser, as you never know who may be interested in seeing what you are ranging. – DB in Michigan

Economics and Investing:

“The Greater Depression Has Started” – Comparing 1930s & Today – J.C.

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Government Will Owe More Money Than Entire Economy Produces – G.G.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

The $1 Trillion Short Underlying Stocks’ Spring Awakening (Bloomberg) Excerpt: “Amid its biggest about-face in nine decades, a funny thing has happened in the U.S. stock market, where rather than loosen their grip bears have grown ever-more impassioned.”

Obama Administration Pushes Banks to Make Home Loans to People with Weaker Credit (The Washington Post) Excerpt: “The Obama administration is engaged in a broad push to make more home loans available to people with weaker credit, an effort that officials say will help power the economic recovery but that skeptics say could open the door to the risky lending that caused the housing crash in the first place.”

The Former CFO of Enron Warned a Group of Execs that Large US Companies are Doing the Same Things He Did (Business Insider) Excerpt: “He said he knowingly engaged in numerous transactions that were designed to mislead investors by hiding debt in special purpose entities, etc.”

The Fed Can’t Save Us (Mises) Excerpt: “It is attempting to pull off a magic trick whereby it can keep all of the “benefits” of its earlier rounds of monetary expansion (i.e., “quantitative easing” or “QE”) while removing the artificial stimulus of ultra-low interest rates.”

US Weakens Retirement Advice Rule, Responding to Industry (Reuters) Excerpt: “Unlike the draft proposal, the final rule does not restrict brokers from pushing proprietary products, splitting revenue with creators of funds they promote, or recommending risky, high-fee investments in alternative assets and certain annuities.”

International News

Under 40? Five Charts that Show Why You’re a Victim of the Housing Crisis (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “Britain’s growing army of tenants now spend up to a third of their disposable income on rent, according to official figures which lay bare the extent of the UK’s housing crisis.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Why You Need to Turn Paper Statements Back On (Clark Howard) Excerpt: “…the best way to prove what funds you had on deposit in the event of a catastrophic data breach is with hard copy paper statements.”

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

Notes for Sunday – April 10, 2016

10 April, 1796 is the birthday of James Jim Bowie, who died March 6, 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 64 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. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

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 64 ends on May 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.

Crises Preparation- Part 3, by B1

Without Electricity

If you have a portable generator and/or a whole house generator, that is great. However, how much fuel do you have to run it? Do you have enough set aside to last you several months? The less you run it, the longer it will last. You should only run it for the bare necessities. Do you honestly need lights? No. Invest in candles and lanterns. The generators should only be run at the bare minimum. They make noise and draw attention from criminals. They should only be run during the hours of less activity outside, so as not to draw too much attention. They will also need to be locked up or secured somewhere when not in use. Will your generator be big enough to run some source of electric heat? Again, we will be approaching winter time, so you will need heat. Do an inventory of things that require batteries and have extra batteries on hand for those items. Again without electricity, how will you cook and stay warm? Do you have a wood stove? The outside ones are great, but without electricity they may be useless. If you have a fireplace and wood stove in your house, that’s great. If you don’t, you may want to try and get them. Installing a wood stove is not that hard. However, it may be outside your budget. Also, with a wood heat source comes the need to have wood to burn. You would need to get busy cutting wood now and have enough on hand to last you for two winters. Keep in mind, if this is your only source of heat and cooking, it will require more wood because you are using it more. Charcoal or gas grills are good for cooking but not good for heating a house. Again, whatever you plan on using, you must have stockpiled enough fuel or wood to sustain it for a longer period of time. Imagine being without power all winter. I suggest planning everything for at least six months of preparation.

Water

Water is very important, obviously. What is your plan for water? You may not have running water in your house during a crisis, or it may be contaminated. Invest in water purification items. These can be found easily on the Internet. Research it and find what’s best for your household.

If you have no well or city water, I suggest stockpiling it. I don’t recommend bottled water, since it is not cost effective. Maybe some if you need to bug out, so get camping type containers that are large and can hold a lot. I don’t know what else to suggest. This will be the biggest struggle. Water is the life source. Think outside the box and look into things such as a rain water collection system and snow melted, using a ater purification system; this water is drinkable after being purified.

Food

You will have limited sources to cook the food and keep it refrigerated. Of course, in winter it could be kept outside. You will want canned food and dry packed food with a long shelf life. Rice is a good example since one cup of uncooked rice would feed a family for one meal. Look for foods that have a long shelf life that don’t require refrigeration or a lot of preparation to get them ready to eat. Look for foods that are healthy and full of the essential vitamins and nutrients you need. Look at the types of food you are getting. You don’t want something loaded with sugar or bad carbs. Corn is not good for you; it’s pure sugar. Ramen noodles, while inexpensive and easy to cook, offer no nutritional value. You could starve to death eating these alone. Keep in mind things like powdered milk and dehydrated foods. If you have very young children, do you have enough baby food for them? Look at the expiration dates on everything you buy. Obviously, you want the ones that will last longer.

Garden

It is late in the season to plant now, but will you have seeds for next year to plant? You could plant root crops now that will grow in to early winter. This might include turnips, potatoes, et cetera. Yes, potatoes are kind of boring, but they can be eaten raw and one plant produces many of them. You get several meals off of one plant. If you have a yard, plant something.

Chickens and Pets

Enjoy their eggs. Do I need to say more? This is another food source. If you have a rooster, then you will have more chickens eventually. Chicken eggs also do not have to be refrigerated. As long as they are not washed off, they can sit on your counter for weeks before going bad. If you’re stockpiling food for yourself, you will have to do the same for your pets, unless you don’t plan on them being on the dinner table. The same is true of your chickens, if you have any; they will need food during the winter. A friend of mine, Matt, shared with me information for feeding chickens in warmer weather. Get a bucket with a lid. Put several holes in it on the sides. Secure the bucket to a pole off the ground in your coop. Place all of your food scraps in it. This will attract flies and bugs. The larvae and bugs from this will fall to the ground for the chickens to feed on.

Hunt and Trap

Learn how to hunt and make traps to catch food, including squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, et cetera. Even a stray cat could become a meal for you. Tractor supply sells traps that are not hard to work or set up.

Do Your Bit

I understand a lot of this is easier said than done. Some of us live in urban areas where most of this is not possible. Furthermore, we all have different budgets and family needs. Some families or people would not be able to get prepared without help. You may have family and friends that will come to you for help. You might actually be someone that needs to go somewhere for help. If you plan on leaving your home and joining someone else in a crisis, be sure to sit down with them and plan it out before it happens. For example, I hope to have enough provision for my family. Will I have enough to take on another family in need? God willing, I will. Nevertheless, do not allow yourself to be a burden to someone. If there is a plan in place for you to join up with someone else, be an asset not a liability to them. Bottom line: Don’t go there to mooch or be a freeloader. Keep in mind that if you go somewhere else, you need to be prepared to submit to that family’s rules and requirements. Even if you plan on bugging to someone else’s house to get through the crisis, you can still contribute to the provisions and responsibilities. You can still stockpile and take it with you. Don’t show up at some one’s door empty handed, when you have had the means to get stuff. Everyone receiving this letter has been warned of what may come in a crisis. You know what you need to do.

Obviously there is no way I can possibly give advice for every possible scenario or crisis that could come. Remember that for the basics in a crisis, you need:

  • security (against criminals and the weather),
  • heat (in the winter),
  • food and water (and a way to prepare food), and
  • first aid.

This letter I am hoping will give you some idea where to start your planning and preparation. If you have further or more specific questions, contact me. I will do the best to answer them.

First Steps for Right Now

Spiritual Preparation

If Christ is not your Lord and Savior, you will fail in the long run. Many Christians are hoping the rapture will occur before any bad crisis. I am one of them. However, the reality is that it may not happen for several more years. It is better to be prepared then not be prepared. One fear you may want to consider in a crisis of this magnitude: This could and most likely would usher in the one world currency. Whether you know it or not, there are many countries now planning for a one world currency that would make the American currency obsolete. Basically, this could usher in the beginning of the End Times from Revelation. Being spiritually prepared should be your priority right now.

Mental Preparation

A crisis will be dramatically tough on every one. You must accept the fact that something is most likely going to happen, and life as we know it now will change. This goes along with being emotionally prepared. If things get as bad as it has been predicted, this crisis will knock us off our feet.

Physical Preparedness

This is your plan, provisions, health, et cetera. Basically, this is everything I have touched on in this letter.

Remember Who You Should Fear- Part 1, by Sarah Latimer

Not long ago I attended a large, women’s conference for Bible believers with a diverse set of denominational, cultural, and social backgrounds. There, I heard a consistent undercurrent from the attendees as they spoke among themselves on end times, evil, uncertainty, failing economics, Islam, terrorism, failing education, and especially on politics. I’d identify their general focus by summing it up in a word– fear. Little was said about faith, hope, and confidence, though God was mentioned from time to time in the conversations I overheard. There was less joy apparent among believers in attendance than I can recall from any gathering of women, ever, though they were nice and happy to see one another. Still, the mood was somber, once greetings ended and discussions began before and between our training sessions. Though the speakers were primarily Bible scholars, the questions were rarely about the Bible and not even most often about the speaker’s topic; instead, they were more often about politics, political candidates, how the speaker thought the U.S. got into our current circumstances, and what the speaker thought was going to happen and how to get through the coming hardships. Time and time again, I heard speakers tell the group to look to God, obey what He says, and remember that all through the Bible that God’s people are told to not fear but to have peace, even in the Book of Revelation. They did speak of the evils going on in the world and that we needed to be aware and take some specific actions, but they told us to be bold and confident. That didn’t seem to satisfy some of these ladies though, who seemed insistent on clinging to their fear and frenzy. We are repeatedly told in scripture to only fear God, yet some of the ladies were not willing to receive this message.

The following has been on my heart a long while and is one of the reasons I choose to write on SurvivalBlog and that is to convey to the women a core message that I will touch on in this article dealing with fear. Fear is not just an issue that these women at this particular conference are fixated upon. I see it among some of my friends, too. Whether they are talking about it or not, some are making decisions and taking action that are based upon an unhealthy fear– fear of loneliness, fear of poverty, fear of illness, fear of being a victim, and fear of being targeted by someone or some entity in authority who opposes them, or some other fear. These examples of things to fear are nothing to laugh at, mind you. They are real concerns, which we need to address and consider. We should be motivated to prepare for what might (or will) come at some point, but to live in a state of fear is not only unhealthy, emotionally and, thus, physically, it is also unproductive and unfaithful. Fear blinds us and causes us to have tunnel vision upon what we fear. Sometimes, this fixation can cause us to bring to fruition what we fear. For example, a woman who is so afraid of her husband or boyfriend cheating on her may become paranoid and overbearing and controlling to the point that her husband and boyfriend don’t want to be with her, therefore, making it much easier for another woman to step in to the position that should be hers. Of course, a husband is responsible to guard against this, but a wife must keep her fears in check, and this is simply one example of how destructive an ungodly fear and unreasonable tunnel vision fixation can be. In an attack situation, we very well may need to have the ability to intently focus on the attacker with little regard for extraneous matters, such as a thorn in our foot. However, in normal everyday life, we need to be aware of everything around us and keep perspective. We need to recognize that thorn in our foot and remove it so that it doesn’t become infected and become the reason we lose the health we so desperately are trying to hold onto. Having an awareness of the peripheral view is important. Even more important than have an awareness of what’s on the horizon around us is having an awareness of the vertical– the Creator of all things and walking close in connected relationship to Him Who sees everything and knows the way for our escape from whatever comes. There are always three options for the believer– supernatural intervention, overcoming the opposition, and being a faithful martyr. Regardless of what option occurs, we win in the end. We do not desire to be a martyr, but if God allows it to be our time and the circumstances are such, we will go to be with Him. Otherwise, we will continue to “run the race” and “fight the good fight” of the purpose and life set before us.

Store up your beans, bandaids, bullets, and Bibles, and “work as unto the Lord” in all thing, but keep your primary focus on the Commander of the World– God– and secondarily work to be a good supporter of the leader of your household. Build him up, because you will need a bold and confident leader to face peril, if it should come against you and your children and grandchildren. You two need to be united and of one accord, as best as you can do to make it so. Forgive me if I’ve shared this before, but Hugh heard this saying and has picked it up saying, he’ll “charge hell with a bucket of water, if (I) am backing him up.” Does your husband know you’ve got his back like that?

Ladies, whether you are married or single, you can have at least one mighty protector at all times. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and His Son who came as the Word to give us abundant life and forgive our sins that we might have peace, not just in Heaven after we’re dead but right now! The Bible is full of messages from God saying “Fear not”. For those fearing illness and death, in Luke 5:49-56, Jesus said, “Fear not” when he brought the girl to life. The Angel of God often said, “Fear not” when speaking to people. He didn’t just tell us not to fear, but Jesus said in John 16:32-33 “…I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

When David went to the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines to check on his brothers and found the soldiers basically paralyzed in fear over the challenge for someone to fight the mighty Goliath, he (even as a boy) didn’t understand their fear. He had believed the promises of God that his father had taught him and had fought off the animals that attacked his sheep while he shepherded them. So as he stood looking at Goliath, who was mocking God and the Israelites, David chose to boldly go and fight off Goliath without armor and with a mere slingshot and some stones, because he believed. Now, I am quite sure that this shepherd boy had practiced using his slingshot before engaging Goliath. So, we should be in prayer and listening to God, but we should also be practicing using our weapons of defense– guns, rifles, slingshots, crossbows, pepper gel or spray, or whatever– so that when we hear that voice inside tell us that we need to pick up our arms and defend our lives and those of our children, families, and friends or those who cannot, we are prepared to do it. (I’ll have more to write about this topic in my next article.)

God is speaking to us, just like our earthly father speaks to his child, giving warning when he is heading in the wrong direction or a danger is coming as well as encouragement when an opportunity for something good is presented. God’s character doesn’t change with time. I can give testimony after testimony of having personal messages from God, and it is when I draw near to Him in prayer, humility, and obedient living that I can best hear His instruction, whether that is to avoid danger or to receive a blessing.

It is natural for women to want security. It is just a core of who we are. We desire a comfortable and stable home and family. Sure, you may also be like me and love adventure and hate monotonous routine, but we still want stability in our relationships and security that our basic needs will be met. How much more secure can you be than to rest in the loving hands of the One who created the cosmos with the mere power and force of His Word? If we want to align with the most powerful, protective, loving force in the cosmos, we need to submit our lives to God by accepting and following His Son– His Word, who became flesh and died for us and was resurrected on the third day and ascended unto the Father and rules at His right hand, and who will be returning as the Lion of Judah to judge the world and claim those who belong to Him (by their choice and actions) to take them into His Kingdom for all eternity. Now, this is a very simplistic and summarized version of The Gospel, but it is enough to get started. You can ask for forgiveness, repent and turn away from your sinful actions, submit to following Him and learn to live life according to His ways and then walk through this life with the mightiest King of kings and experience great peace in Him. However, HE must be your first priority and the focus of your attention more than anything else in the world, as other things that cause fear will zap your strength and draw you away from Him and the special purpose He has planned for you. This is illustrated by my experience at the conference where some of the women were not as interested in what the speakers were teaching about God as how their knowledge of prophecy might fit into what the ladies were focused on– politics, economic crisis, et cetera. It was clear that politics and economics were more important to some of the women than the very relevant subject of God that the speaker was teaching about. The urgent tone in their voices indicated their emotional anxiety over the things of this world, but Paul tells us very plainly in Ephesians chapters 5 and 6 that:

  • We are to conduct ourselves in a holy manner even though “the days are evil”,
  • We are to submit one to another in the authority God gave (and I am expanding to include instruction from scripture beyond Ephesians below but following its format in identifying authority):
    • God is the head of all,
    • husbands are instructed to give themselves up to their very lives for their wives, and I believe, after doing study in seminary and some study in languages that this means a daily sacrifice of “self” for the well-being of their wife and family, and they are held to the highest accountability to God for the direction and provision of their family,
    • wives are to submit to our husbands who are put in authority as the final headship of the home, praying for them and giving wise counsel but allowing their husband to be the leader and accountable more to God for the family than the wife/mother; we are to build them up with our words and deeds and not tear them down,
    • children are to obey and honor their parents, with adult children continuing to give honor to parents for a lifetime, as it is commanded in the Ten Commandments.
  • We are to stand strong, as Ephesians 6:10-13 states:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

So, women, trust God and also trust the protection and guidance of the godly husband with whom you have entered into covenant. Your husband, if a believer, is being spoken to by God’s Spirit to guide your family. I am sure there are some who may have a fit over hearing this. You may think I’m some backwards woman, but let me assure you that I am not. My background is as a former executive. I have worked in high technology, a man’s world when I first began, and I am no wall flower. However, I have also worked in a company beneath co-CEOs, which was a failing proposition. In any competitive action, there must be a leader who will be followed. A lack of clear, consistent direction and ultimate authority and responsibility in the form of hierarchy is a formula for failure. So, if you are trying to fill your husband’s shoes, you are setting up your family for something less than what is optimum and God’s plan. Women are equal in value, and that is clear all throughout the Bible. Even back in the Old Testament, Rebekah had a say and was the one prompting to leave to go meet Isaac her future husband. She embraced the idea and encouraged her family to accept it, because God had prepared her for this. She was a strong woman and respected. We do not adequately study the strong women of the Bible who supported their husbands. It was when they overstepped their boundaries that they caused problems, such as Sarah pushing Abraham to receive her gift of Hagar to make a child since Sarah had given up hope that she would be able. What a mess this caused! I won’t go into that in this article, but remember that there must be a leader and God says it is the husband. You, wives, are vitally important though, as your husband is declared by God to not be whole without you. Pray for your husband rather than nag and encourage him and build him up; then rest in confidence in him and also in the Lord that there is a plan for you.

Work hard at whatever directions you are given also. We are in a time of testing, I believe. If we call ourselves followers of Jesus or Christians, we must trust Jesus. By this I don’t just mean trusting Jesus with your lips but with your life, trusting in His Words and those of His Father, for they are one and in full agreement. The complete Bible is filled with accounts of God’s deliverance of repentant people whose eyes and ears were focused on Him and trusted Him, and I mean really trusting Him, as His people believing in His promises of blessings (rewards) and curses (discipline) enough to act upon them and listen carefully.

Letter: Copper 1-Ounce .999 Fine Rounds

JWR,

One of the catalogs that I receive has been listing .999 copper rounds (1 1/2″ dia) for sale. All have designs cast into them, with some borrowing classic currency designs like the Morgan and Walking Liberty dollars, and others are more commemorative or political in nature. Are these worth purchasing as a medium of exchange along with the more widely known and accepted silver dollars and rounds? – T.S.G.

JWR Replies: In my estimation those are just a sort of lame collector’s coin, with only marginal resale value. You would be paying up to 10 times the spot value of copper (per ounce), when you buy those. So any resale would be at a sharp loss. You are much better off buying 50-cent rolls of mixed date pre-1981 pure copper pennies, for just a small fraction over their face value. And an even better option right now is to get rolls or full boxes of U.S. Nickels (five cent pieces) at face value from your local bank, with no premium whatsoever. All Nickels minted since 1946 are 25% nickel and 75% copper. And while their base metal value does not quite match their face value, it is again approaching 5 cents. Before the 2015 global commodities crash, Nickels were worth about 8 cents each. I predict that their base metal value will be back up above their face value again soon, so stock up!.

Economics and Investing:

It’s the end of cash and all your purchases will now be tracked and stored. Fingerprints to be tested as ‘currency’ – DMS

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James Rickards-Gold $10,000 to $50,000 per Ounce – G.G.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

US Factory Data Signals Further Slowdown in Economic Growth (Reuters) Excerpt: “The Commerce Department said on Monday new orders for manufactured goods declined 1.7 percent as demand fell broadly, reversing January’s downwardly revised 1.2 percent increase. Orders have declined in 14 of the last 19 months. They were previously reported to have increased 1.6 percent in January.”

Golden State Pension Deficit: $1.2 Trillion (The American Interest) Excerpt: “It’s common for reports on states’ pension deficits to throw around figures in the hundreds of millions, the billions, or even the tens of billions. But according to a new estimate of California’s pension hole from the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, it’s time to bring out the t-word.”

International News

Lagarrde See Political Dangers Galore with Global Economy Tepid (Bloomberg) Excerpt: “The world outlook is clouded by “weak growth, no new jobs, no high inflation, still high debt – all those things that should be low and that are high….”

OECD Economist: Weak Global Growth May Prevent Governments from Being Able to Pay Pensions (US News & World Report) Excerpt: “…to jump-start growth, countries need continued stimulus from central banks, government spending and tax policies that encourage expansion and economic reforms, such as making regulations more consistent from country to country.”

Greece Challenges IMF Over “Debt Transcript Leak” (BBC News) Excerpt: “A transcript, published by Wikileaks, shows the officials discussing ways of putting pressure on Greece, Germany and the EU to get them to wrap up talks. One of those quoted suggests a crisis “event” may be needed to force a conclusion.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

5 Big Mistakes to Avoid When You Start Saving Money (Clark Howard) Excerpt: “While the concept might mean different things to different people, it’s really about having control over your own life and your own decisions.”

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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:

Venezuela Burning “Venezuela is immolating itself, right now– hyperinflation is rampant, shortages of food and every other necessity are now a normal and ongoing conditions, violent crime is everywhere, kidnapping for profit is skyrocketing, and there are more murders per-capita per-month in Caracas than anywhere else in the world.” – JFJ

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DSV sent in this link to 10 Thrifty Garden Hacks to Save Cash and Make Life Easier

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CIA’s Venture Capital Arm Is Funding Skin Care Products That Collect DNA – Beauty Secrets of the Spies – Sent in by P.M.

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Harry Reid attacks Bundys on Senate floor, calls for Gold Butte protection – B.B.

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How Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen has made al Qaeda stronger – and richer

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” – Matthew 8:2-3 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – April 09, 2016

Today, we present another entry for Round 64 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. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

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 64 ends on May 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.