Notes for Thursday – December 31, 2015

December 31st is the birthday of Dr. Cynthia Koelker, SurvivalBlog’s Medical Editor. It is also the birthday of Frederick Selous (born 1851, died 4 January 1917).

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Reader J.K. sent in Jim Sinclair’s excellent article on preparedness that goes well beyond the usual financial things covered in his blog: Be Prepared!

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Today, we present another entry for Round 62 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, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have 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 pmags 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 from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, 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 FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. 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 knifemaker 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. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
  8. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  9. 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 62 ends on January 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.

Some Harsh Lessons of Beekeeping, by Keith K.

I would like to share my experience with beekeeping to help others decide if it might be for them. My initial interest in beekeeping began before I moved to the Redoubt. My wife and I attended a beekeeping night at a local library and later took a four-day (four Saturdays) beekeeping course. We learned a lot. We found that beekeeping hobbyists were very enthusiastic and touted the many benefits of beekeeping along with the fun of it. It was very easy to be influenced by all of the positive and energetic people. Ultimately, we decided that beekeeping would be part of our efforts when we found a homestead.

We eventually moved to a homestead in the Redoubt and began the work of transforming a rural plot of timber with an old, overgrown pasture into our version of a homestead. We began by planting a small garden (including both traditional and raised beds), berry bushes, and fruit trees and installing a deer fence to keep the larger critters away from our efforts. We also purchased a small 8 x 10 greenhouse for starting plants and storing tools.

I offered my services as free labor to a local commercial beekeeper in order to learn more about bees first hand. It was a great experience and very hard work. One day, the two of us collected over 400 pounds of honey from about fifty hives located in different locations around the county. I knew right then that I did not want to be a commercial beekeeper, but I was very thankful for the experience. I eventually purchased the equipment I would need to maintain two hives on my property at a cost of approximately $500, which included hive bodies, tools, smoker, bee suits, feeders, et cetera. The following spring, I purchased two nucs (nuclear hives) for about $125 each. A nuc is a starter colony with five frames already drawn and populated with larva (or filled with honey and pollen). Package bees are less costly but are only the bees with queen, so the colony must start from scratch.

We brought the nucs home in early April, so I had to feed the bees until flowers began to emerge in quantity toward the end of May. I tried various methods of feeding the bees with different types of feeders. There were pros and cons to each. Some were messy. Some drowned more bees than others, and some required daily refilling, while others allowed for a more hands off approach. One thing I learned during this period was that beekeeping is not always the “put ’em in place and leave ’em alone, there’s no effort to it” hobby that so many of the enthusiastic hobbyists had led me to believe.

All was going well into early August. Both hives were collecting pollen and making honey at a good rate. Then, one day, I noticed that one hive had more bees flying around it than the other. There seemed to be no diseases and there appeared to be brood on the frames. I asked my friend, the commercial beekeeper, to inspect the hives. The conclusion was that one of the nucs I had purchased had a queen that was only laying drones (male bees who only have one purpose– mating with queens. They do not labor to benefit the hive, like workers which are all female. This meant that workers were not being created to replace those that died from age or loss while out foraging. One solution would have been to re-queen the colony (a new queen can run about $30) and another was to kill the bad queen and let the colony raise a new one. The colony knew it was in trouble and had already begun to raise a new queen, so I decided to take that option to see what would happen. The eventual outcome was that the newly raised queens either died or did not mate, and that colony died out in late August. I chose this path without input from the commercial beekeeper, which was a bad decision. In hindsight, I have figured out that if the bad queen was only laying drones, the remaining workers’ efforts to raise a replacement queen were doomed from the start because the selected larva, even if fed royal jelly (a substance bees use to transform a worker larva into a queen larva), was likely missing the right bee DNA to produce a viable queen.

The other colony had been doing well. Bees were everywhere, and they seemed very strong, so I only checked on them every two weeks. During one inspection, in September, I noticed that there were considerably fewer bees in and around the hive. We determined that the hive had swarmed, meaning that the queen decided to move elsewhere and take half of the workers with her. Swarming is not uncommon. The remaining bees were attempting to create a replacement queen, but that late in the season it was unlikely that they would succeed in time for her to mate. I also was not able to locate a queen to purchase that late in the season either, so that hive also died out.

Throughout this experience, I also found that the first, weaker colony was under constant pressure from ants and yellow jackets. (A strong, healthy hive can deal with these attacks, but weaker colonies struggle from the pressure.) I learned about and employed a number of actions to discourage the ants and yellow jackets. These efforts were mostly but not completely successful.

The many, enthusiastic beekeepers I had met always said to begin with at least two hives in case one did not survive. Still, the “insurance” of a second hive did not work for me. Perhaps it was just bad luck, or perhaps I was a failure as a bee dad, but the end result was loss of the productive part of my investment. After much reflection, I decided that beekeeping was not for me, and I sold my equipment to another individual who wanted to give beekeeping a try.

Finally, the reason I am sharing this experience is to provide the following for consideration by anyone thinking about beekeeping:

  1. If all goes well, you will be able to harvest honey and add pollinators that will presumably help with your fruit and vegetable success.
  2. Beekeepers, particularly hobbyists, will simply gush with enthusiasm, because they love the hobby. They will also tell you bees are very little work. I found beekeeping interesting and approached it as something beneficial to the homestead but not as a hobby that I enjoyed. I actually found bees, like other livestock, to be a lot of work. To me, the bees were just another chore; maybe that is why I did not make it as a bee dad. Hobbyists, in contrast, love their chosen hobby and do not view any of the upkeep as work.
  3. I had a 100% loss rate. The commercial beekeeper that I worked with told me that his colony loss rate is in the 60% range, due to disease, predators, weather, environmental issues, et cetera. What other livestock has such a high mortality rate? My guess is that mortality rates may be less in warmer areas, but even a 30% loss rate would be huge in comparison to other livestock.
  4. I found that my area has strong populations of native pollinators (other bee species, bumble bees, certain types of flies, butterflies, and so forth). I discovered that I did not need honey bees to ensure good pollination for my garden. Although honey would be a nice benefit, the bees’ work is not necessary in my area. I suspect that honeybees, which are not native to North America, are viewed as necessary for pollination of crops because factory farming has destroyed environments suitable to maintain thriving populations for native pollinators. That is probably true in areas mostly devoid of natural habitat because of large-scale farming. This is just an informed observation; it’s not meant to be an attack on farming. No flames, please.
  5. There are alternatives to honeybees. As mentioned earlier, there are natural pollinators. Also, orchard bees can be purchased to add to the native pollinator population in your area. Orchard bees do not produce honey and do not require hives. They are purchased in tubes that serve as their home or as individual cocoons, if you want to populate tubes or other nest sites that you already have. I have not purchased orchard bees but understand that they are an alternative to honeybees without the upkeep.
  6. In making my decision not to put further effort into honeybees, I considered whether the benefits of honeybees were worth the effort and expense to maintain them. I also considered that with the high mortality rate, would honeybees be a reliable source of food (honey) and pollination in a TEOTWAWKI situation in which bee medicines, bee food (pollen patties, sugar for syrup, et cetera) would be hard to find or not available at all. I concluded that, for me, keeping honeybees was not worth the time, effort, and expense.

I did not write about my experiences to discourage anyone from becoming a beekeeper. I just decided that I would share my experiences so that others will be better informed in their decision to keep bees or not.

Two Letters Re: Good Samaritan Bag

HJL,

As an addition to the note on a “Samaritan Bag”, I have had good results using a food vacuum sealer with the longer rolls of plastic to shrink and seal heavy winter jackets and blankets. The items are well protected by the heavy plastic and can fit in small locations in your car, such as under the seats. They are low bulk, out of the way, and there when you need them. – Tom

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HJL,

We try to keep a few gallon Ziploc bags in our vehicle to hand to beggars with peanuts, trail mix, hand wipes, crackers, granola bars, soap, tooth brush, razor, band aids, Kleenex, wash cloth, mints, bottled water, comb, et cetera. We usually also include a couple of dollar’s worth of quarters. I know pay phones have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, but the idea is to enable them to call family if necessary. Sometimes we’re able to add in a $5 McDonald’s gift card. – J.P.

Economics and Investing:

No Inflation, No Interest, No Recovery. Printing Money Enslaves the Middle Class – T.A.

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$2,957,000,000: U.S. Taxpayers Will Fund Lion’s Share of UN Budget Again in 2016 – RBS

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Puerto Rico is on the Brink of a BIG DEFAULT (CNN Money) From the Article: “I don’t take risks – at least I didn’t think I was taking a risk…” Commentary: This is a story that could easily repeat itself across the U.S., and there are lessons to be learned for everyone from this report. Many people are financially invested in ways they do not understand and facing risks about which they may lack information. If you’re an investor… Get the facts. Know your risks. Understand your worst case scenario. Govern your choices, and plan accordingly.

The Guy Made Famous by “The Big Short” for Predicting the Housing Crash has a DARK WARNING (Business Insider) From the Article: “We are building up terrific stresses in the system, and any fault lines there will certainly harm the outlook.”

Oil Producing States Battered as Tax Gushing Wells are Shut Down (Bloomberg) It’s a radical idea, but perhaps government offices dependent on the property tax base for revenue might consider reducing their costs? From the Article: “In Kern County, California, one of the nation’s biggest oil producers, tumbling energy prices have wiped more than $8 billion from its property-tax base, forcing officials to tap into reserves and cut every department’s budget. It’s only getting worse.”

Lax Auditing Encouraged Overcharging by Medicare Advantage Plans (Taxpayers for Common Sense) Another example of financial exsanguination. From the Article: “Despite facing mounting evidence federal officials were overpaying some Medicare health plans by tens of millions of dollars a year, the government dialed back efforts to recover as much of the money as possible…”

International News

China December Official: PMI Likely to Show 5th Month of Contraction (Reuters) From the Article: “Activity in China’s manufacturing sector is expected to have contracted for a fifth straight month in December, a Reuters poll showed, likely consigning the world’s second-largest economy to its slowest annual growth in a quarter of a century.”

Shale’s Running Out of Survival Tricks as OPEC Ramps Up Pressure (Bloomberg) From the Article: “For an industry that already was pushing its cost-cutting efforts to the limits, the new declines are a devastating blow. These drillers are “not set up to survive oil in the $30s…””

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Couple Duped by Fake Craig’s List Movers Lose Everything (Clark Howard) Be very careful. From the Article: “The U-Haul truck – and the couple’s estimated $30,000 worth of stuff – never made it…”

Odds ‘n Sods:

Should Christians be Encouraged to Arm Themselves? John Piper, chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, recently wrote an article challenging Jerry Falwell’s speech at Liberty University in a campus chapel service in which Falwell encouraged his students to obtain CC permits. Piper’s argument is centered around the concept of turning the other cheek. However, SurvivalBlog reader R.N. wrote in with an excellent refutation of Piper’s argument: “Should Christians lock their doors? Should Christians install home security systems? Should Christians dial 911? Should Christians vote for laws that protect the innocent? Christianity is not advanced through force, nor do we take revenge on our enemies. But these are not the reasons Christians arm themselves. We do so for the protection of the innocent (1 Tim 5:8) and it is hypocritical to oppose gun ownership while expecting others to use them on your behalf.” Definitely something to think about…

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A bit too close for comfort. This is the type of incident that starts World Wars. U.S. Carrier Harry S. Truman Has Close Call With Iranian Rockets

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Turns out that that “robot mule” brays just a bit too loudly for the U.S. Marine Corps…Robot Mule Put Out to Pasture by Marine Corps. Apparently the gas engine that powers the robot is just too noisy, and the marines were afraid it would give away their position. – GJM

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Now in Kalifornia – Coming soon to a state near you: New law lets cops confiscate guns without notice. – D.S.

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Well-Armed Activists Openly Defy Texas Law to Feed The Homeless – When feeding the homeless becomes an act of civil disobedience, Americans have been asleep for far too long. – H.L.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Government seems to operate on the principle that if even one individual is incapable of using his freedom competently, no one can be allowed to be free.” – Harry Browne

Notes for Wednesday – December 30, 2015

December 30, 1865 is the birthday of Rudyard Kipling. I should mention that his writings about Afghanistan have sparked a modern-day revival of interest in Kipling among British, Australian, and American officers and NCOs deployed to Afghanistan.

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Senator Rand Paul Announces Senate “Audit the Fed” Vote (Warning: Requires a Forfeiture of Privacy Facebook account to access)

JWR’s Comment: This is great news. Among other things, I am confident that a full forensic audit will reveal that the “ended” rounds of Quantitative Easing (QE) in fact never really ended. They were replaced by secret debt swaps between the central banks of several nations. This de facto QE is bigger than QE2 and is continuing apace.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 62 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, chromelined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have 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 pmags 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 from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, 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 FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. 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 knifemaker 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. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
  8. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  9. 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 62 ends on January 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.

Seven Survival Tips For the Modern Feminist- Take II, by J

Greetings,

Following-up to a previous article submitted with the same base title, I decided to continue the discussion. The modern feminist is a hindrance to survival and preparedness in our society. This essay is much harsher and more straight-forward than the last, because frankly there is no time to waste. It does no service to a hard-core feminist to be soft spoken and patient now, especially knowing that she needs to hear the cold, hard truth!

With the recent graduation of two female Rangers, this country has quickly propelled itself towards a full-speed push for women in combat. Who is behind this push? WOMEN! The hard-core feminists and the men they push around are now exposing more American women to combat. Ironically, women are encouraging other women to fight and die in combat. The feminist agenda is coming to fruition. They are finally getting what they want, equality. What does this mean for those who are currently seeking ways to survive and prepare for the unexpected? It means that men have already bought into the feminist ideology and these particular neighbors, co-workers, et cetera will be useless if the need arises to protect women and children. It means that the massive numbers of Americans who accept political correctness, supporting these extreme women’s rights, will not be prepared to activate common sense survival skills in the worst case scenario. They suffer from a mental disorder, you could say, that needs appropriate therapy– reality!

Modern feminists are behind some of the worst aspects of our society: abortion, gender equality, feminizing boys, and now a complete vision for women in combat. More frightening is that many men are not willing to or not interested in resisting and correcting these hateful women. Essentially, we’ve given over and allowed these “sick” feminists to have exactly what they want, like spoiled brats in a candy store. Their incessant nagging and harassment has produced quick results; a large, brainwashed populace no longer comprehends the natural roles of men and women. This causes instability when a society or small community is under duress, due to some unforeseen event. Perhaps large numbers of men will not immediately stand up to defend those who are weaker because they may no longer understand the skills and equipment necessary to do so. After all, feminist women don’t like anything that makes them uncomfortable, including aggressive, defensive postures or (“God forbid”) guns! Furthermore, women in our society who have adopted this feminist ideology will be stark raving mad in emergency scenarios and may quickly become a liability to the community. Moreover, they won’t be able to rely on intimidating those who “trigger” their anxieties any longer. Their dark magic won’t have the same effect on those who might have given them the time of day before. They won’t have a leg to stand on. It is going to get ugly!

Feminists will be a problem if we go dark, and the men who support the feminist ideology will also be a problem. Women who have already decided to run a household by overpowering their man or oppressing their male co-workers will be the main liabilities. These are the type of women who care nothing about natural roles and will do anything to get what they want. In an extreme large-scale emergency, they will not know how to handle themselves and may become unstable. Their foundation of truth is warped and their morals are frayed. Think about how many of your neighbors would vote for a female president or encourage their daughters to fight in combat to support equality and political correctness. Think about how many men have encouraged their girlfriends, wives, and daughters to have an abortion because the baby would mess up their lives. (We all know that women are not meant to have babies; they are uniquely designed to make a large income and live like bachelors.) A feminist wants to have her cake and eat it too, but a feminist won’t be eating any cake if she is desperate for someone to come to her defense.

There is the rare feminist who might have had exposure to a wise teacher or loving grandfather, or who taps into the glimpses of childhood TV series that encouraged the natural role of women. These feminists are not a lost hope. They may come to their senses quickly and confess that Grandpa was right all along. However, this may not be the case for those who are one generation removed from common sense, raised on “MTV”, and ushered through the public school and university system, living as full-fledged feminists.

We have surely dug ourselves into a pit in this country, and witnessing this slow train wreck is horrifying. What do we do about this pandemic feminist-disorder complex that is taking over the brains of the masses? We prepare and try to warn those who will listen. Most will hate you more for suggesting this subject to them, but there may come a day that they will beg for your forgiveness and realize you actually care about them. When they need food, water, shelter, or protection in the future, they will realize their error, quickly coming to their senses or else find themselves in a heap of trouble. The following information is a simplified list of seven survival tips for the modern feminist. Also, for those living with a hard-core feminist, there’s a brief note on how to persevere.

Seven Survival Tips for the Modern Feminist

1. Snap out of it!

Do yourself a favor and stop this common sense lobotomy you’ve signed up for. Come out of la-la land. Time is “a wasting”. If you don’t stop acting like an idiot now, your life truly may be at stake in the future. You need to come to your senses and realize that men and women were created with very different physical and mental traits. These traits are essential to the survival of a couple and family, especially under duress. Understanding and nourishing these traits will mean the difference between misery and success, if the day comes that you need to fulfill the role of a woman. So get over yourself and start accepting that you are a woman. Stop following the herd. Stop buying the liberal propaganda machine’s brain numbing agenda, and start thinking for yourself. You know deep down you are wrong! Confess, ask for forgiveness, and start doing the right thing with your life.

2. Stop killing your children!

Abortion is outright evil. You must stop participating in one of the most immoral acts in human history. Children are a blessing. They are not a curse. Having children and raising them will mature you and make you realize what is most important in life. As a mother, you will stop hating everyone else and start loving your own. Do not abort your children; carry them to term. Either put them up for adoption, if you are simply unwilling to raise your child, or find it in your heart to care for your own DNA. If you have had abortions and you are wrought with guilt, then confess, repent, seek God for forgiveness, and move forward. Redemption is a miracle, and it is freely available to all.

3. Stop hating!

Hate will eat you up inside, make you ill, and even bring death, like a sickness that devours us from the inside. Your hatred of others is rooted most likely in a hatred of what is dark within yourself. Bring this into the light, repent, and stop hurting those around you. Be forewarned, people will not forget what you have done, and when times get tough they may not be willing to help you. You must realize the effect you have on others. It is a caustic, putrid influence that is long-lasting and has permanent consequences. Change your ways, and learn what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:39)

4. Find a woman who is not a feminist and humbly ask her for help in transitioning.

Going from feminist to recovering feminist can be an agonizing process. We all need help when leaving something that is evil. We need someone to encourage us and teach us what is right and wrong. A good, patient, and non-judgmental mentor will be your greatest ally. Do it now! Wait another day and you will be sorry. I’ll bet any heartfelt and genuine woman, who is not a feminist, would love to help another woman find freedom. Find someone who has an understanding of what it truly means to be a female. Find someone who will hurt for you and weep with you as you expose what feminism has done in your life. Feminism is behind some of the most egregious sins of our time. Find someone who understands this and will help you leave the ideology.

5. Stop taking pharmaceuticals to alter your mood or hormones (suppressing your natural cycle and brain activity).

I am not a medical professional, so seek help in how to go about this. This is not medical advice, and there are serious dangers in coming off these, so do not do this alone. The longer you stay on these drugs, the more addicted you will be and the harder it will be to get off. Also, know this: life is good lived in reality. Don’t try to live in a virtual reality because one day you may not have a choice. Suppressing your natural cycle is not going to be possible if you don’t have access to medication in the case of an emergency. Try to find a way to live in your natural state. This means limiting what type of pharmaceuticals you rely on to keep you even-keeled and highly functional.

6. Find a good man to take care of you and provide for you.

Many feminists are forever single or lean homosexual. This is not a bashing of either lifestyle, but it is helpful to go through life with someone who cares deeply for you, complements you naturally, and can physically protect you. A man who understands survival, hunting, construction, and his role as a compassionate leader will be an incredible asset if times get tough. Find someone who will forgive you when you fall off the wagon and lash out in a feminist tirade, demanding to be obeyed. Find someone who understands that you are trying to leave your old ways behind and begin anew. Find a good man, and then serve him well. Love him and respect him like your future depends on it.

7. Finally, this wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that you didn’t make yourself.

You, the splendid creation you are, did not come out of nothingness; you were created! There is a Creator! Objective truth exists. You have thoughts that are your own, and you are not simply a bundle of electric impulses and atoms. Seek out the living God, who exists in three parts– the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus was not just a nice guy; “He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again, in accordance with the scriptures.” Take this seriously! Truly, your afterlife depends on it! There is something more to this life, and we have a way out of sin and depravity if we will only humble ourselves and seek truth!

It’s a bit harsh I know, but this is the truth, and “the truth shall set you free.” (Rom 8:2) Take it or leave it, but if you are one of the hard-core feminists forcing your way through life thinking you don’t need a man, think again. Women need men! Women are made to compliment and help men, not to hurt them and break them down into nonexistence. Women have done so much damage to the men in this country. The hateful feminist agenda is horribly frightening, and this is trouble for a country in survival mode.

Are you a man married to a feminist? Hang in there. Your most powerful ally is prayer. It is my hope that all feminists married to a good man finally come to realize, through their own volition (hopefully not by force or tragic circumstance) that they have been wrong all along and repent. It is my hope that these women come to their senses, turning back to embrace who they really are– gifted, beautiful, powerful, and naturally designed to be a woman.

The truth hurts. Do something about it!

Letter Re: Good Samaritan Bag

HJL,

I commend B.F. for their forethought to pack for others, items that could mean life or death when exposed to the elements, especially during this time of year. In the 1990’s, I was a police officer in an uptown, N.Y.C. precinct, working the midnight tour (shift). One area of the precinct had thousands of elderly residents who lived in their apartments as they had for decades, some alone, many with home-health aids who would just go to sleep and ignore those in their care. (Many of the elderly were Jewish, with the tattooed numbers of the Nazi’s still plainly visible on their forearms.)

It was inevitable that, at least once a month, we happened upon an elderly person, (mostly women for some reason) wandering the neighborhood wearing anything from a night gown to nothing at all. Needless to say, December through March in New York is NOT the time to take a stroll to the market in one’s undergarments, particularly at 3 AM.

We took to keeping a full length, snorkel-type jacket or down coat with a pair of boot-style fuzzy slippers, and a knit ski cap folded as small as possible in the trunk of the car. These came in handy a few times for rape victims as well.

A CAUTION concerning MEN: Darn near every cop has a “naked man” story to tell. Most are hilarious; some are tragic. The odds that a random naked male, walking down the street, is psychotic, drunk, or drugged beyond belief are far too great. Do not risk being injured, killed, and/or eaten. (I’m NOT kidding; I still have bite scars.) A guy at the scene of a car wreck, or who has just been pulled from a frozen lake, is fine. For the wandering “naked man”, call 911 and let the paid suckers (police) deal with the headache. – The NY Paddy!

Economics and Investing:

Debt distress level at highest since recession – GG

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The death of the American pension: Shifting the retirement burden from employers to workers has created an enormous financial crisis. – RBS

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

U.S. News

Millions in Fraud on Government Credit Cards (Waste Fraud and Abuse) Some waste is absurd, but the words disgusting and despicable come to mind over reports like this one. From the Article: “That law was inspired in part by a report earlier this year from the Defense Department finding that government credit card holders from across the agency improperly spent more than $1 million at casinos and adult entertainment clubs in a single year…”

International News

It’s a MYSTERY. Dubai’s Vaporized Gold (Zero Hedge) How does the expression go? If you don’t hold it, you don’t own it. Article Excerpt: “…announced a few days ago that it had suddenly and unexpectedly gone out of business, after an inquiry by minority shareholders announced that the entire old “management team abruptly resigned with no notice” and that “there had been substantial withdrawals from the company’s account to the personal accounts of some of the management and the majority shareholders.”

China Says AIIB Up and Running Early in the New Year (Reuters) From the Article: “The bank will initially focus on financing projects in power, transportation, and urban infrastructure in Asia…”

For Canadian Repo Men Business Has Never Been Better (Zero Hedge) From the Article: “But not everyone is Alberta is struggling. Take Steven Low, CEO of Consolidated Recovery Group for instance. Low’s company works with courts on auto repos and evictions and as you can imagine given everything said above, business is booming.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

7 Things That Shouldn’t Impress Us Anymore (Becoming Minimalist) Inspirational Quote from the Article: “Let’s stop trying to impress others with the things that we own. And start trying to inspire them by the lives that we live.”

The Real Cost of Your Shopping Habits (Forbes) Hint: “The road to bankruptcy is paved with good deals.”

Scam Alert: Card Skimmers Found in Grocery Store Payment Terminals (Clark Howard) Words of Warning from the Article: “We’ve warned consumers about ATM and gas station skimmers for a while, but there’s now a new threat to your wallet that’s popping up inside more and more grocery stores.”

Readers’ Recommendations of the Week:

D.S. suggested that this book should be on every prepper/survivalists bookshelf. Know how to cook with wood.

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Reader H.L. suggested the movie The Good Lie. It’s about the Lost Boys of Sudan. Several of the Lost Boys are in the movie. It tells their story of the long walk and becoming boy soldiers. It’s a story that few Americans know.

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

Odds ‘n Sods:

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander!: VA GOP to defund “protective services” in wake of political banning of CWP reciprocity – Sent in by RBS

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G.P. sent a link with some charts showing some critical societal institutions and how public perception of them has slipped tremendously since the 1990s: America’s Decaying Institutions The rule of law is clearly in trouble in the United States.

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MtH sent in this update to the ridiculous trampling of rights over your right to refuse service: Oregon bakery owners pay more than $135G in damages over refusal to make cake for gay wedding

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The UK has an interesting TV reality series call Hunted. The story has 14 people go on the run while a team of expert hunters uses modern technology to track them. It’s simultaneously interesting and frightening. – D.M.

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An audio presentation on YouTube from Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”: Ayn Rand – How to Rule Mankind. Definitely worth listening to.

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Federal judge: Drinking tea, shopping at a gardening store is probable cause for a SWAT raid on your home – D.S.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“A democratic government that respects no limits on its power is a ticking time bomb, waiting to destroy the rights it was created to protect.” – James Bovard

Notes for Tuesday – December 29, 2015

Today, we present another entry for Round 62 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, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have 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 pmags 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 from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, 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 FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. 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 knifemaker 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. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
  8. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  9. 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 62 ends on January 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.

Windstorm 2015 Washington, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

So, in Washington this week on 11/17/15 and almost a year to the day of last year’s massive windstorm, we had another massive windstorm. Last year, at our place, we had a single sustained 70 mph gust that broke 10 trees in half. This year we had multiple 70+ mph gusts that only broke down six trees. (God must want me to have a lot of firewood.) The wind blasted and mangled many of our roof shingles along with those of perhaps thousands of other homes, outbuildings, and businesses in a wide swath.

The howling winds lasted about 12 hours and toward evening were punctuated by roaring winds and the sound of grinding, snapping trees crashing to the ground with huge thumps. I didn’t entirely trust being in the house with the wind coming from the south against our south-facing living room windows (flexing them inward over and over and over), and the chance a falling tree could blast glass shards all over the room.

Being frequently outside to monitor the storm’s intensity and ongoing damage, I couldn’t help but make a mental comparison with those old movies of nuclear weapon tests where the trees all suddenly bend together in one direction, flexing to impossible angles. Of course I wore my tactical helmet and goggles, and it was wonderful to be able to see without all that debris, dust, pine bark, and needles getting into my eyes! Just one of those little branch-tips that were flying around at 40–60 mph would have clunked my head a good one, without some head protection. Because it was cold, I was already wearing a heavy coat and gloves.

The Dogs of Doom and I were awed by the whole thing. Last year they were cowering against me, shaking. This year they were a lot more confident and just mostly irritated by the constant howling and junk in the air. Of course they were probably wondering why they didn’t have nifty helmets and eye protection. In my defense, they have faster reflexes by far. Hmm. It may be something for the never-ending “Wish List”.

Of course, I prayed. I prayed with all the faith I could muster. (You know, it’s just different when you’re praying for protection when nothing bad is happening and the sun is shining versus praying in the face of a powerful, destructive storm that’s pushing you around the yard.) I asked God for his protection for our buildings, our neighborhood, and our prepper friends. I knew the storm had come in the Providence of God and would cause a lot of damage, but I asked that He would spare our buildings, and other than minor damage (shingles) He did!

Also, once again, we had a miraculous tree-fall. A monster 90-foot pine tree twisted in half about 15 feet up and fell in just the perfect direction, between two trees that guided it safely away from my garage on one side and the chicken coop on the other. Yeah, sure, the chicken pen fence is actually below ground level at one spot, but it’s a wire fence and I can, mostly, fix that once I cut the 70 feet of tree off of it!

In the end, the freeway was littered with sheets of metal from sheds and commercial buildings, as well as the more typical storm debris. (There were nearly 400 trees reported down in the area.) About 180,000 people (the number I heard) were without power, and the temperatures were forecast to drop to the teens over the next several days. Two people were killed by falling trees– one who was driving at the time, and a falling tree actually hit a school bus (but no one was hurt), and businesses and whole towns (like Medical Lake and Four Lakes) were without power. We couldn’t gas up because the gas stations were without power. (Hooray for not letting our gas gauges get below three-quarters of a tank!) With all of this, we were warm, sheltered, with plenty of water and food, and we bumped our security level up a bit to compensate for desperate people who might be looking to score a generator. The prepping paid off!

Even so, there were valuable lessons and insights as well as aggravating failures worth sharing for the learning opportunity:

1. End the denial. If the weather person says the winds could be as high as 60–80 mph, of course the power is going to go off! Yes, Avista and Inland Power (in our area) are amazing and have done a great job of protecting their power lines (they’re getting a lot of practice these last few years). Nevertheless, this isn’t a “Black Swan” that blindsides you. This is an “Unfolding Disaster” (https://survivalblog.com/forecasting-disaster-part-1-by-shepherdfarmergeek/ and https://survivalblog.com/forecasting-disaster-part-2-by-shepherdfarmergeek/ ) and you can see it coming. Yes, the weather persons are often wrong, but they could be wrong in that nothing will happen, or in that it’s going to be a lot worse than they anticipated. So get cracking!

2. Start a load of laundry as soon as you know the storm’s coming. You want it to be dried before you lose power or you could have 50 pounds of soaking-wet clothing/bedding/towels to deal with (when it’s at or below freezing outdoors, after the storm). You do have an indoor clothes rack and clothesline if needed? (And a couple of big screw-eyes and some wooden clothespins?) If the power goes off and stays off you’ll need them sooner or later! (And what were you planning to do if there was an EMP?)

3. Run the dishwasher! Contrary to your teenager’s assertion, it only takes five minutes to load and run it. You don’t want to have to look at a sink full of dirty dishes for the next several days. What’s the worse that could happen? Your dirty dishes could be nicely soaked and pre-washed before you have to hand wash them, if the power goes off mid-wash. (Reminder: We only have a small countertop dish drainer, but the dishwasher makes a dandy drainer rack if you’re washing dishes by hand.)

4. Stop making dirty dishes. Switch to the disposable plates/bowls/plasticware you have for camping. Sure, if it were an EMP, you’re going to eventually run out of disposables and will be forced to wash dishes, but you don’t know how long your disaster is going to last. It might only be a day or two or seven. You’ll appreciate having one less chore as well as conserving your water.

Set up your foot-operated water pump (rubber siphon pump) on the floor with duct tape into a 5-gallon jug of water and the other end up and attached to your faucet with a big binder clip at the kitchen sink). You’ll conserve a lot of water compared to trying to pour it out on your hands or dishes to wash.

5. Have lots of kerosene and a one-gallon jug. Be sure you have lots of kerosene for your lanterns (and heaters), but having a one-gallon jug you can refill in the shop from the heavy five-gallon cans makes it easier to refill your lanterns inside or on the deck.

6. Get out your solar lantern and hand-cranked flashlights. Solar lanterns, like the Luci Emergency and Luci Lux are very cool. They never need batteries and work great for lighting the area around you for reading, trips to the restroom, working on a project, or eating at the dining room table. The Luci lights will run for seven hours on a full charge, but don’t push it; tomorrow morning, when you’re planning to charge your Luci lights in the window, it could be dark and overcast and you won’t get a full charge. Use them sparingly. It’s not a bad idea to have a couple of hand-cranked flashlights as a backup.

7. Get your bright area-lighting set up. We liked the Luci lights a lot. They could be aimed upward to illuminate the room, hung from a simple wire arm from the now-useless floor lamp while aimed downward to illuminate your Bible, or carried pointing downward to light up your path and the general area around you without glaring in your eyes (unlike flashlights that focus the light on a small area). Kerosene lanterns are good for long-term minimum-illumination tasks, like lighting up a room from their location on the counter so you can navigate through it without tripping over the dogs, but these lanterns are lousy for lighting your path as you walk because they glare in your eyes, not to mention the potential for a big, stinky, flammable mess if you tripped and dropped one of them).

For better disaster morale we really needed a brighter area-lighting option, if only for an hour a night. My new plan is to combine a couple of the LED bulbs we use in the trailer with sockets we can buy online and one of our 12 volt deep discharge batteries we keep charged on standby, or the ***LINK http://inhabitat.com/weza-foot-powered-portable-energy-source/ *** Freeplay foot-operated generator. Those bulbs put out a lot of light for only a few amps per hour. By putting two bulbs on 20 feet of wire, we can nicely light the dining area or the living room with the same setup without having to lug the battery or Freeplay anywhere.

8. Put stuff away where it belongs. In the dark or in low light, it’s a lot harder (and more irritating) to find stuff that you just set down in the hurry of the moment.

9. Have car chargers for all of your cellphones, Kindles, and other devices. In our area we never lost cellphone service, though our cellphones needed a couple of recharges. Make sure you have the right jacks. (The Shepherdess’ cellphone uses a different USB jack than mine.) If you’re going to leave your phone in your vehicle to charge, be sure the car socket stays on when the ignition is off. Our car shuts off the “cigarette lighter” socket, but my truck has a power socket that isn’t switched. Take a regular 110v powered cellphone charger to work and keep it at your desk or locker. If your employer is still in business, you can charge your phone there.

10. Don’t stash your camping gear so deeply that you can’t readily find it in a storm, at night, in the cold. That single-burner propane (or kerosene) stove will work perfectly on the kitchen worktable (and bring back marvelous memories of camping out in the forest by the lake), only if you can find it, or do what we did and have one already in the kitchen and another with the official Camping Kitchen totes. Just remember to crack open the kitchen window or the front (or back) door a bit, and give the wood stove a little more air when you’re cooking without a vent fan, or the smoke from your breakfast sausages will set off your smoke detectors! (I’m speaking with the voice of experience.)

11. Test your actual gear, not just the concept, before a disaster. The 12-volt battery clips and 12-volt “cigarette lighter” socket adapter unit that I had for my CPAP was somewhere else, so I used the one that came with another system. However, that manufacturer had reversed the polarity of the battery clips, and it smoked my power inverter, literally. Bummer.

12. Protect gear from EMP in plastic with metal Faraday screen to lighten the load. I couldn’t help but notice when I got out our electronics gear looking for adapters and Luci lanterns that having everything in ammo cans to protect them from EMP was going to cost me 40 pounds for the weight of all the cans. It will be far better to put my gear in some plastic drawer unit and shield it with a metal-screen Faraday cage (and it’ll be easier to find my stuff as well!). If we have to take the show on the road some day, I’d rather have 40 more pounds of food than 40 pounds of ammo cans.

13. Set out the metal water bucket. All of this reminded me to set out the big stainless steel bucket we have for melting snow or ice, chipped from the 8,000-pound ice cubes that form in our Intex pools each winter. (The last 2–3 years, they stored roughly 1,000 gallons of water and only cost about $60 each). Fill the bucket, put it on the wood stove, and voilá! we have water for flushing the loo, for the dogs and chickens, or for purifying and then cooking/drinking or washing dishes with it. This is pretty much impossible to do with a Home Depot plastic bucket.

14. Realize that no matter how well you are prepared, something is going to go wrong and the experience is going to be a bit unpleasant and uncomfortable. In a disaster, expect it. Go with it, and plan for it. Have some comfort food (chocolate!), hot tasty coffee or tea, quick energy-packed hot meals (don’t fill up on junk food!), and take more time to sleep so that you’re mentally ready for the next day’s challenges. Keep your “To-Do” lists shorter than usual. (Disasters are stressful!) Also, if you’re married, give your spouse extra attention and encouragement. The Shepherdess doesn’t thrive on stress as much as I do. Remember: Happy wife = happy life! 😉

At the height of the storm, when it was r-e-a-l-l-y getting impressive, a song came to mind. I remember as a child hearing George Beverly Shea sing it, and it’s been with me all of my life. So I sang it, at the top of my lungs, to myself and the Dogs of Doom, over the howling of the storm, and of course, to the God Who holds my life in His hands.

Trusting Jesus while in the very teeth of the storm was a powerful experience, and I cannot escape the impression that I will need to trust Him just as much when we are in the throes of the terrible storm that’s coming to our nation. Here is that song:

“In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face, While the storm howls above me, and there’s no hiding place. ‘Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry, Keep me safe ‘till the storm passes by.

CHORUS ‘Till the storm passes over, ‘till the thunder sounds no more, ‘Till the clouds roll forever from the sky; Hold me fast, let me stand, in the hollow of Thy hand, Keep me safe ‘till the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispered “There is no need to try, For there’s no end of sorrow, there’s no hope by and by,” But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I’ll rise Where the storms never darken the skies.

When the long night has ended and the storms come no more, Let me stand in Thy presence on the bright peaceful shore; In that land where the tempest never comes, Lord may I Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.”

(Till The Storm Passes By, by Moise Lister, 1958)

Trust God. Be Prepared. We can do both.