Announcing JWR’s Latest Novel: Land of Promise

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve completed writing and editing my latest novel, titled Land of Promise. It will be released on December 1st, 2015 as an e-book, in trade paperback, and as an audiobook. This is the first volume of a planned five novel series, called the Counter-Caliphate Chronicles. The series begins 35 years in the future, and describes a timeline different from that in my Patriots novel series. These novels will have some science fiction elements, but you will find them as grounded in reality as my previous books. (There will be plenty of practical and tactical tips!) Land of Promise is an exciting story that describes the establishment of a Christian libertarian republic in East Africa, in response to a wave of persecution by a Global Islamic Caliphate.

Here is a brief description of the novel:

Launched by a pair of free-thinking venture capitalists and an Israeli art dealer, the fictional Ilemi Republic is carved out of a disputed border region between Kenya and South Sudan, with the consent of the governments of these two neighboring nations.

The fledgling Ilemi Republic is a nation of firsts in modern history: The first nation as a dedicated place of refuge for Christians and Messianic Jews; The first nation with absolutely no taxes or levies of any kind; The first nation with no licenses or permits; The first nation with minimalist government; The first nation to reject fiat currency and establish a tri-metallic currency (gold, silver, and platinum); The first nation to have a self-policing citizenry with a citizen’s militia–and hence no standing army and no police force; The first nation with a near absolute right to keep and bear arms, where only weapons of mass destruction are restricted from private ownership; and the first nation without a parliament or congress, where all decisions are made by public referendum.

Although the e-book edition of the novel can already be pre-ordered from Amazon.com, I would prefer that SurvivalBlog readers wait until the release day. (December 1st.)
That should give the book a good jump in the sales rankings. Please mark your calendars!

The prices for the trade paperback edition and the audiobook have not yet been set, but the e-book is very reasonably priced at $2.99 for pre-orders and for the release day, and then $3.99 starting December 2nd.

I’ve already begun writing the second novel in the series, which is tentatively titled Piece of Resistance.  Thanks for your interest and support! – JWR

A Beginners Guide to Practical Prepping: Lessons From a True Story of Disaster, by R.L.

It was September 1989, a time in history that is forever burned into my
memory. I was working as a firefighter in a small town outside Columbia, South
Carolina. Hurricane Hugo had developed in the Atlantic, it was ripping apart
the Carribean islands and it was headed our way. All the news on television and
radio were inundated with updates on this killer storm; we were tuned into the
Weather Channel at the firehouse carefully watching and waiting. The original
forecast was that the Category 4 hurricane would turn north and only threaten
the North Carolina coast. It was assumed that as with most previous hurricanes
the forecasters were usually correct and there was little concern, only that we
would see high winds and maybe some bad weather.

As my shift continued throughout the day I was asked to work an additional
shift the following day in anticipation of the “storm” so I agreed to work
an extra shift. There was a quiet sense of anxiety and being nearly glued to
the television all day we quickly realized that the storm of the century was in
fact more of a threat to us than we had first thought. A nearly sleepless night
ended with early morning emergency meetings and additional crew arriving in
preparation for a major disaster. The hurricane had increased in intensity, it was now a Category 5 and as it turned out, it was not going to turn north. Hugo was going to hit the South Carolina coast somewhere. I was told that my shift would end at 7 a.m. the following morning, wait… what? That would be right after the storm, when all the work begins! Due to policy at the time, working more than two shifts back to back was not allowed, even in an emergency.

I received several desperate phone calls from my in-laws living in the Charleston area requesting a generator, fuel, and ice. They were already without power and I knew that I had to help. Knowing that I would be off duty for at least two days in the aftermath of this disaster I began to prepare.Better late than never, right? I only had hours and I knew that it was essential to do everything within my means to help my friends and family living near Charleston.

Evacuations of coastal areas were ordered and all of the stores in Columbia were completely wiped out. There was no generators, supplies or even groceries available anywhere. All the shelves were empty. Fortunately I had the resources of the fire department and my fellow firefighters. In the basement of the firehouse there was a pile of old equipment, no longer used or fit for service but perfect for my needs and I was given permission to use whatever I needed. I managed to borrow an old generator, a chainsaw, axes, old fire hose, water coolers, tarps, rope, fuel cans and a few bags of ice. So I loaded everything that my little Toyota truck would hold.

During the night of September 22nd, Hurricane Hugo slammed into Charleston.The devastation was unimaginable, simply beyond belief. Houses were completely destroyed, whole forests of trees were snapped in half and power lines were down everywhere. As the rescue and recovery began, clearing roadways, cutting trees and dealing with the devastation in Columbia, I was ordered off duty after working 48 hours. So I headed out for Charleston and what was at the time Ground Zero. I immediately realized that the devastation was worse than anything that I had ever seen and what should have been a two hour drive turned out to take nearly five hours due to broken down vehicles in the roadway,downed trees blocking roads and downed power lines. When I arrived at my mother and father in-law’s house I realized that my small truck load of supplies was worth it’s weight in gold. What do we need to do? I asked. Their replies:

“We need water, the power was cut in anticipation of the storm and we can’t flush the toilets.” (They were on well water powered by an AC electric pump.) They also said: “We need to wash and all our food is spoiling.” I had the generator. It was small but enough run the water pump,the freezer and a few lights. I had tarps that were loaned to neighbors with roof damage, a chainsaw to clear roads and driveways. I had gasoline for the generator that was essential, since gas stations were closed for miles around,due to power outages. The power wasn’t restored for several weeks. There was looting in the streets of Charleston. The National Guard was called in and a state of emergency was declared. The storm took 23 lives, destroyed thousands of homes and caused massive destruction and countless injuries.

Had it not been for the valuable resources available to me at the time from the old storage room junk and a few friends, then I would have been of little help. My family would have certainly had a greater loss and suffered without the essentials that were delivered by my little Toyota truck. It seems that ina time of disaster when everything that we depend on is taken away, it’s thebasics that come first; Water, electricity, fuel, shelter and food.The resources that are available to you and how you prepare prior to any disaster situation will make a huge difference, and perhaps even save your life. At that time I was not a prepper, just a very underpaid firefighter who was willing to lend a helping hand.

What will you do when you can’t just “Go to the store”?

It has been 26 years since that event and that question is always on my mind. We now live in a society in which we all greatly depend on our local stores such as the supermarket, pharmacy, hardware store, home center, and gas station. What will you do when you simply can’t go to the store? Either they won’t be open due to lack of electricity or property damage and looting or you simply won’t be able to get out of your driveway.

Preppers around the world have their own ideas about what will, or could happen, be it EMP, financial collapse, natural disaster, nuclear attack,pandemic, or any number of SHTF scenarios. Personally, I am not convinced that the world as we know it will come to an end. However, I am absolutely certain that another natural disaster will occur. I still live in Hurricane Alley and very near a fault line that is overdue for a major earthquake.Whether it’s a hurricane or earthquake, I don’t know, but what is certain is that it’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen, butwhen. I am now prepared and if you are not, then you should be.

Prepping is largely based on your budget. Let’s face it, if there was an unlimited budget our bugout vehicles would be a fleet helicopters and our destination would be an abandoned missile silo in the Midwest completely outfitted for survival for at least 50 years. Right? For most of us that’s just financially out of the question. Any prep is better than no prep. We all have budgets to live within our means and if you have the ability to stock upon a few crucial items that will make life easier during a survival situation,that’s certainly better than doing nothing at all.

Number one for me is electricity, period. We just simply can’t survive very long without it. Don’t believe me? Go flip the main breaker to your house and see how long you can do without. Test your ability to survive without one basic need. Go turn your water main off, how long can you go without a bath, the ability to flush a toilet, or have a drink of water? I guarantee that you won’t last 24 hours. So if you don’t have an alternate means ofproviding power or water outside of the grid, then go buy a generator, store some water. and buy a water filter. You don’t necessarily need a big expensive whole-house generator. Simply having the ability to keep your refrigerator, freezer, lights and a microwave running is good enough for temporary survival in most cases. Generators are useless without fuel and even more useless without extension cords. [JWR Adds: And it is notsafe to use without a transfer switch at your breaker box to isolate your house from grid power. It would be a very bad thing to electrocute one of your local power utility’s linemen!)]

Since gasoline has a very limited shelf life you will need to get into aroutine of rotating it by storing it, then using it in a vehicle and replacing it with a fresh supply, the amount you store is up to you but I would recommend having at least enough to run your generator for a month non–stop.[JWR Adds: Better yet, buy a propane-fueled generator, and install the largest propane tank that you local fire code allows. Propane stores indefinitely.]

Good heavy duty extension cords and power strips are not expensive, easily stored and absolutely necessary. Fitting your home’s electrical system with a transfer switch so that your emergency power is fed into your home’s electrical system but much more expensive. But it is money well spent if you can afford it, for the sake of safety.

Water is a different story, you can store water almost indefinitely and it’s easy to treat unfit water with filters or by boiling or with bleach.Water, water storage and water treatment is cheap. Determine the amount of survival water needed by your family per day, then use whatever means necessary to either store enough water or find a source of water that is independent of the power grid. Water storage options include anything from cases of bottled water to elaborate rainwater collection and water well options. These are all of course are budget and location dependent.

The Bug-Out

There is a lot of hype about bugging out, especially on those television reality prepper shows. The fact is, those shows are produced for entertainment purposes, not to say that some of the information isn’t valuable–it can be.Keep in mind that it’s television. I personally don’t have a bugout location to go to, and I realize from experience that during almost any bad situation no matter what it is, the roadways are nearly impassable. I plan to bug-in. I have a small bug-out bag, for what reason? I don’t know. I guess to some extent I could use my bug-out bag to survive for a day or two away from my house but my focus is on staying put, surviving at least the best I can in my own home. I know that there is a possibility that my home along with all of my preps could be destroyed and all my efforts would be in vain, and that’s the calculated risk that I have chosen to take. As a new prepper, you must evaluate your budget, your needs and your resources. Then take action.

The Dollar Store Prepper

For many years I wouldn’t have been caught dead in a discount dollar store. As it turns out your local dollar discount store, those Family Dollar and Dollar General discount stores are a viable resource for the budget prepper. I found that most of their medical and first aid supplies are far less expensive than some of the well known pharmacy chains and often are of better quality. I have even found great survival items at those ”everything’s a dollar” stores as well. These type stores have some of the best deals on staple foods and basic necessities that any prepper could want. You can’t get everything you need but it’s a great start for very little money.

As a beginner Prepper you may feel overwhelmed with information on the Internet. Keep in mind that this article is meant to address the needs of the beginner prepper for a temporary period, in a practical way. I have chosen to prepare for a natural disaster emergency lasting a short period of time of upto a few months. There are obviously much more elaborate and expensive ways to prepare for long term survival. The following is a short list of some of the items that you should consider as part of your basic survival needs preps. Most of these items are available at a reasonable cost locally and will certainly help you get started with your survival preparations.

  • A good quality generator. (Those rated to deliver 4,000 to 8,000 watts are adequate and reasonably priced.)
  • Gas cans, spouts, gasoline, extension cords and power strips.
  • Bottled water, 5 gallon water containers or clean 5 gallon buckets with pour spout lids
  • Plain liquid bleach or pool chlorination tablets, soap, hand sanitizer
  • An advanced first aid kit that is well stocked with extra bandages and dressings
  • Supply of rope, duck tape, paracord, and tie straps
  • Candles, Sterno fuel, oil lamps, flashlights, extra batteries
  • Tools, pliers, hammer, screwdriver, nails, screws etc.
  • Dry foods; pastas, dried beans, rice etc.
  • Canned foods; especially canned meats and beef jerky
  • Powdered foods; powdered milk and dehydrated potato flakes
  • Dehydrated fruits and vegetables, canned nuts, etc.
  • Peanut butter, honey, spices, salt, sugar
  • Knives, firearms, ammunition, chainsaw, handsaws, axe, and hatchet
  • Extra clothes, tarps, work gloves, extra boots or shoes
  • Lighters, matches, firestarters, propane fuel, charcoal, quick start fire logs
  • Important documents including prescriptions in a sealed plastic bag.

Remember to rotate your stock. Even bleach has a shelf life. If you don’t know how to use the tools and equipment you have, then now is the time to learn, not when you need them.

There is no right or wrong way to prepare, what you choose to do and how much time you spend is largely based on your budget, your location, your spare time, your reasons for preparing, the risks you are willing to take and your resources. The bottom line is that anything you do to get ready for a disaster situation is much better than just doing nothing.

Networking with others is a great way to discover survival sources and to get ideas. You don’t necessarily need to belong to a “group” but think of your fellow preppers as resource for information. Finally, practice using your preps. Just purchasing the items I have described is not enough. Use your generator from time to time, practice by simulating a scenario and learning what works and what doesn’t. You will gain the peace of mind in knowing that your plan works. And therefore you and your family will surely benefit during the difficult times of survival.

Letter Re: Occupying Your Community- Part 2, by B.S.C.

Hugh,

As a comment to the article titled Occupying Your Community, I don’t have a bug-out bag, because I don’t have anywhere better to go than my own castle. – Mr. X

HJL Replies: Like you, I do not have anywhere better to go than my own home/retreat. (I live at my rural retreat year-round.) However, not having a bug-out bag (BOB) and quick get-away kit (see Tina Lewis Rowe’s suggestions) is terribly shortsighted. There could be many
reasons that you might be forced to leave your castle beyond those addressed in B.S.C’s article. (In my area, the substantial threats are forest fires and
floods.)

Please folks, do not just prepare for one type of emergency, with just one response plan. Always have a Plan B. Keep BOBs packed for every member of your family, as well as a vehicular everyday carry kit. Inspect those kits annually, and replace perishable items. And of course: pray hard.

Economics and Investing:

Reader D.S. suggested this: Is Capitalism Un-Christian?

o o o

The recent huge layoffs at Deutsche Bank (23,000 employees–about 1/4th of their
workforce) got scarcely a ten second mention in the major American mainstream media news outlets. But be advised: This could be an early signal of a global
credit crisis in the near future. They would not be laying off this heavily if they expected stability in the world credit markets. – JWR

o o o

Items from The Economics Team:

How Our Family Saves $10,000 a Year

The Four Horsemen of Middle Class Destruction

Odds ‘n Sods:

My #1 Son suggested this article: Six easy ways to tell if that viral story is a hoax – JWR

o o o

Mac flagged this: Syrian war spurs first withdrawal from ‘doomsday’ Arctic seed vault

o o o

Longtime content contributor B.B. sent this item: With Little Fanfare, FBI Ramps Up Biometrics Programs (Yet Again)

o o o

John Whitehead had some cogent commentary over at The Daily Bell:The Crisis of the Now: Distracted and Diverted from the Ever-Encroaching Police State

o o o

Reader Nick G. mentioned this humorous (but practical) sign that was seen posted at a gun store in Texas.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“The times call for courage. The times call for hard work. But if the demands are high, it is because the stakes are even higher. They are nothing less than the future of human liberty, which means the future of civilization.” – Henry Hazlitt

Notes for Thursday – September 24, 2015

    Notes for Thursday – September 24, 2015

    On this day in 1493 AD, Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo) set sail with 17 ships on his second voyage to the Americas. Also on this date in 1775,
    Ethan Allen was captured by the British.

    o o o

    Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

    First Prize:

    1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three
      day course (a $1,195 value),
    2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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,
    3. 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 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),
    4. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 MagPul PMAG 30 round 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.),
    5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
    6. A Model 120 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $340 value),
    7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
    8. 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,
    9. TexasGIBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate, 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. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, 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,
    4. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
    5. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
    6. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
    7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
    8. TexasGIBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
    9. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
    10. 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 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,
    3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
    4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
    5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
    6. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
    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 60 ends on September 30th, 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.

Reality Checks for a Grid Down Scenario, By Blueleader

I sometimes hear misguided individuals who repeat the statement going around
that if the grid goes down we will be thrown back to the days before
electricity: The 1880s. The prevalent thought is that folks back then did fine
so it wouldn’t be so bad for us to simply revert to that level of technology.
Well, what if we examine your day in a post grid failure scenario? Here is a
reality check for you to consider:

Let us say you get up ‘the day after’ and you’re cold. Bummer. Well, in the 1880s if you got up and you were cold you would simply grab an armload of firewood from the neatly stacked woodpile out in the back yard and…wait a minute. You probably do not have a neatly stacked, or any other kind of wood pile out in your back yard. You, likewise, probably do not have the axes and hand saws or knowledge necessary for you to fell a dead-standing tree and crosscut, haul, split, and stack the wood. Nor, for that matter do you have a stand of timber at your disposal just waiting for your felling ax, crosscut saw and splitting maul. Also, I’ll bet you do not have a horse-drawn wagon to put the wood in, or a team of sturdy horses to pull your wagon in from the timber…but, for the sake of argument, let us say that you do. So you bring your armload of wood in to your house and before long you have a raging fire going in the sturdy woodstove in the livingroom…but, wait a minute. You most likely do not already have a stove to keep you and your post-apocalyptic family’s collective rear ends warm. Sorry.

But let’s say you do have the aforementioned.

Reboot. You get up ‘the day after’ and you’re a little hungry.Wouldn’t it be great to have some of those delicious biscuits and gravy just like your Grandma used to make?

Do you have any flour or a stockpile of mold-free winter wheat to grind into flour? How about a grain mill to grind that wheat into flour? How about a tin of indispensable leftover bacon fat sitting on the stove like it always was in my mom’s kitchen when I was growing up? Got salt or access to a salt mine?Or, here we go again, a specialized kitchen wood cookstove with a crackling fire going just waiting for the baking?

Probably not, but let’s assume you do.

While we have the fire going, wouldn’t a big juicy steak with all of the fixin’s for you and your family sound tasty in the TEOTWAWKI scenario we are discussing? How about beef? Y’ain’t got none. I guess you could slide on down to the Piggly Wiggly but the meat department is dark and all that remains in the cooler are rotting scraps contaminated by the riotous panic of ‘broken door shoppers’. It is a mess and a dangerous place to be.

But that is okay. How about, this ‘morning after’, you just trot on out to the pasture and harvest one of those fat juicy steers waiting patiently for you to carve them up and drag it back in for supper? What you say, Bucko? You don’t have a pasture with T-bones on the hoof, just waiting to fill your spoiled urban tummy. And you probably would not know how to butcher and preserve the meat even if it did make itself available to you.Unfortunate. instead, you could have ham. Oops, no pigs in your barnyard and even more depressing, there is no barnyard at all.

Oh, by the way: Do you want eggs to go with your bacon? (Cured in that smokehouse that does not exist?) Well, that’s easy, just go on out to the chicken coop, shoo the hens (that you don’t have) off their nests, and gather up a dozen or so eggs.

By the way you probably do not any have feed for your chickens, if you had any. And you don’t have, grain or access to pasture land to feed those horses, cattle, and pigs that you don’t have.

But you could live off the land.

How long do you think the deer, rabbit, and squirrel population will last with every Tom, Dick, and Turf-muffin trudges out to the woods stumbling around trying to find and shoot game? I shudder at the thought. Although that would probably thin out the population in a “What the hell are you shooting at”type of scenario.

In the early 1700s the population of game in the area where I live was nearly driven to extinction by over-hunting. Frightening when you consider that back then there was only a tiny percentage of the population that we have now that will be fighting over the finite resources available.

And back then the flora was much more conducive to harboring fauna. The entire state was forest. Now we have nothing but giant corporate-owned farmland with few places for game to flourish.

The reality: Hunting your own food will be a bust.

You say, ‘I’ll grow my own food’. Not without a place to grow the crops. Growing your own food is not for the novice. Fruit trees takeyears to develop and without pesticides and knowledge of preservation techniques, growing enough veggies to sustain your family is not for the amateur. Do you have the tools? That garden tiller you bought from Sears takes gasoline and oil to run. You can only stockpile so much and when it is gone you would be reduced to hand tools. And without pesticides? Well, the Japanese Beetles and all of their destructive pals are waiting and ever-present.

But let’s say you got lucky the first growing season, assuming by some miracle that you are still alive.

You deserve a treat. So you go out to your root cellar (which you do not have), and bring in a jar of jam for your toasted bread that you don’t have the ingredients for, baked on an oven you do not have, fired by wood which is not stacked neatly in your back yard and…Oh, you don’t have a root cellar full of canned food straight from the garden that you, by some freakiest good luck managed to grow, prepared by a Grandma, who is not now–and has not been for a long time–in your life. Grandma has long since been shipped off to a nursing home to rot where her knowledge is going to waste because you and your family do not have the time or inclination to listen to the lessons learned she could teach you if you were only interested in the experience she gained from her lifetime of struggle.

All of this doom and gloom has thrown you off your feed. You have lost your appetite. But still life must go on, and you feel the call of nature. You do a quick-step out the back door and take that well-worn path to the outhouse that you do not have because the EPA says you cannot build one in your urban area.(In many locales you cannot even build one outside the city limits. The overbearing arm of the Governmental Outhouse Police is long and replete with bureaucracy. You are not even allowed the freedom afforded others of God’s creatures, to defecate in the woods.

And when you are done with your necessary duties you reach for the toilet paper and you remember: The three rolls that you had when the SHTF went down is long gone. This is when you find yourself praying for an early frost to provide an abundance to dry leaves to meet your needs. It is either that or start on those spare curtains your wife has stored in the basement. In my opinion toilet paper is the greatest invention that modern society has contributed to our world.

I know about outhouses. I am sort of an expert on privies, you might say. My family did not have inside plumbing until I was 16. Thanks Mom and Dad. No,I’m serious. If it had not been for that upbringing then I would not be the Prince of Privies that I am today. I do not fear sanitation problems in the aftermath because I have lived it.

But all of this is academic if you wake up in the morning ‘the day after’, go to the faucet, turn it on and nothing comes out.

If you do not have a backup plan to supply you and your family with fresh potable water you have three days to wish you did have such a plan.This is where that well with an old fashioned hand pump would come in handy. But try to get the City Fathers in your area to sanction you drilling or driving a well. In most jurisdictions that ain’t gonna happen, Spunky.

Maybe you should go to town and tell everyone of the dismal future you’ve now recognized. So, quick, run out to the stable and harness up the team, hook them to your buggy and… You find you have no stable, no harness, no buggy.

Life in the 1880s was bearable because the infrastructure had already been put in place, built over generations by our extremely hardworking ancestors.Through knowledge acquired over centuries of trial and error. But these methods are missing in our society today. You say all of that information is available on the Internet but if there is no Internet? Libraries have gotten rid of many of their reference books, proud to be dependent on Google for information. The average young person would die without their cell phone and know nothing about how to survive should the SHTF. And that’s our fault. It is not too late but the end is near.

Prep, teach, and pass information along to any like-minded soul who will listen. It is a matter of life and death!

Remember, ‘God helps those who help themselves. – Blueleader

JWR Adds: Despite his tongue-in-cheek presentation, Blueleader’s points are well-taken. If you haven’t fully pondered what it would take to revert to more simple technology, then I’d recommend that you look through SurvivalBlog’s List of Lists Excel spreadsheet. But those lists are just a starting point. You will also have to delve into our archives to find the more arcane items like a hand crank clothes washer or a shingle froe. Most importantly, you won’t fully realize what tools and skills you’ll need unless you actually make the move and start living the life. That is the only sort of experience that will get you truly prepared.

Letter Re: Sources of Vitamin C in a Post-SHTF World, by Okie Ranch Wife

Sir:

There are a couple of sources of Vitamin C that are not common knowledge.

If you are an oldtimer like me you may remember the name Euell Gibbons, the
spokesman for Grape Nuts cereal. His catchphrase was “Ever eat a pine tree?
Many parts are edible.” He wasn’t kidding. The inner bark of a pine tree is
a great source of Vitamin C, Thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin A and other
beneficial properties like Protein and fat, yes fat one of the things everyone
needs to survive.

How to get it? Take a branch the size of your little finger (this is about
one serving), strip (slicing motion) off the corky outer bark with a knife
until you get to the soft inner bark (which is sometimes green, sometimes
white.) It is the layer between the corky bark and the wood. This is
the layer that eventually becomes wood and carries the nutrients from the soil
to the needles. Strip that off with a knife, chew it until it becomes like bubble gum, then swallow. Does it taste great? Only if you enjoy drinking PineSol (not recommended). But the fact is that people can use this to make it through an emergency situation or to ensure you are getting enough vitamin C ify ou are in doubt about your diet. You can also make a tea out of the needles.Pour boiling water over two tablespoons of washed and crushed pine needles and let it steep for 20 minutes, and then drink it. Pine cone nuts are full of fat and can be eaten right out of the cone. All pine trees can be used this way, even the hemlock tree (but not the hemlock vine as that that is poisonous) which is related to the pine tree.

As an off-subject tip, if you have Dogwood trees in your area and suffer from migraines, you can use the inner bark (prepared the same way as a pine tree), and make a tea. Pour boiling water over the strips of inner bark, let its steep for 20 minutes, and drink. (And by the way it tastes much better than pine bark tea.) I have seen this work. After 15 minutes you start to feel the effect and within an hour the pain is either gone or reduced to a level that makes you able to operate again. But I digress, this letter is about Vitamin C. Moving on…

Another source of Vitamin C that is not as readily available as pine trees are the fruit and leaves of the Moringa Oleifera tree. This tree grows over 10feet per year. You can only grow it outside in southern Florida (and BTW if you live there I would leave), Southern California (ditto) and parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. You can grow it in a greenhouse or in your house for the winter and trim it back to grow it like a bush or grow it in the ground and protect it from frost in the winter. You can buy sproutable seeds online. This is a super food. Leaves are eaten right off the plant or dried and crushed to make a powder. I have a bag of this in my refugee bag (aka Bugout Bag or BOB). This plant also has protein, fat and carbs. The bark is edible like a pine tree, the roots too, but they have a horseradish taste and it is not recommended you eat that regularly. The Moringa tree is being used to combat malnutrition in Africa, as well as to supplementf eed their cows to increase production of milk. Women can use this as a supplement for breastfeeding.

According to one maker, here are some facts about this food:

  • 3 times the Potassium in bananas
  • 7 times the Vitamin-C as in oranges
  • 25 times the Iron in spinach
  • 4 times the Calcium in milk
  • 4 times the Vitamin A in carrots
  • 46 Antioxidants
  • 36 Anti-Inflammatories
  • Omegas 3, 6, and 9
  • Vitamins

    Vitamins A (Alpha and Beta-Carotene), B, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, D, E, K, Folic Acid, Biotin and more

  • Minerals

    Calcium, Chloride, Chromium, Copper, Fluorine, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Selenium, Sulfur, Zinc

  • All 8 Essential Amino Acids

    Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine

  • 10 Additional Amino Acids: Alanine, Arganine, Aspartic Acid, Cystine, Glutamine, Glycine, Histidine, Proline, Serine, Tyrosine
  • Other Beneficial Nutrients: Chlorophyll, Carotenoids, Cytokinins, Flavonoids, Omega (3, 6, 9) oils, Plant Sterols, Polyphenols, Lutein, Xanthins, Rutin, and more.
  • Nourishes the bodies immune system
  • Promotes healthy circulation
  • Supports normal blood glucose
  • Enzymatically alive
  • Delivers Z-Atin
  • Supported by Modern Scientific findings
  • Natural Anti-Aging benefits(Zeatin, Quercetin, Omega 3 Fatty Acids & vitamins, can protect the bodies cells and prevent many of the common conditions associated with aging.)
  • Anti-inflammatory support
  • Boosts real kinesiological energy safely (via amino acids and B vitamins)
  • Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)
  • Improves your metabolism
  • Easily absorbable

Happy grazing. – R.T. in Georgia

Economics and Investing:

On the Peter Schiff podcast: Yellen Admits Rates Could Stay at Zero Forever. Schiff rightly concludes that interest rates must rise eventually, in response to a global currency crisis, with dire consequences in the bond and equities markets..

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The Daily Mail reports: Four out of five migrants are NOT from Syria: EU figures expose the ‘lie’ that the majority of refugees are fleeing war zone

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The Silver Supply Crunch Continues

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Some good analysis by Gary Christenson: Gold: The End and The Beginning

Items from The Economics Team:

How I Live Without a Credit Card

Tips for Savings on Grocery Shopping

China Intensifies Crackdown on Financial Markets

Odds ‘n Sods:

Over at The Prepper Journal: Migrant Crisis Validates Golden Horde Theory Fears

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T. sent this BBC news story: US driver shot from police helicopter

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Some great reading over at Thoughts from Frank and Fern: A Collage of Comments

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Mac L. Sent this from The Wall Street Journal: Russia Expands Military Presence in Syria, Satellite Photos Show. (Note: A WSJ subscription is required.)

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K.T. sent this bit of bad news: X Products Can Cannon Ruled to be an NFA Item When Assembled

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Millions of Americans were duped by the federal government and the Federal Reserve into buying homes they could not afford and failed to count the cost. When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, they could not keep up the monthly mortgage payments and defaulted.” – Mark Skousen

Notes for Wednesday – September 23, 2015

Our Managing Editor Hugh Latimer is presently on vacation, so I’ll be filling in with the mechanics of posting the blog each day for the next couple of weeks. So if the blog looks a bit ragged, or if I inadvertently post something twice, then blame me, not Hugh! – JWR

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Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy
    Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical” target=”_blank”>onPoint Tactical. This
    certificate will be 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,
  3. 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),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 MagPul PMAGs 30rd 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.),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A Model 120 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $340 value),
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. 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,
  9. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate, 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. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, 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,
  4. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  5. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  6. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  10. 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 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,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
  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 60 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Surveillance State 2015- Part 2, by Kass Andrada

Police and government have also been using cell phone jammers in a number of places. The Federal government has discussed implementing in-car jammers in order to enforce anti-texting and hands-free laws,[1] in part, at the urging of articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association.[2] While the FCC insists that use of cell phone jammers is illegal[3] at least one commercial site offers cell phone jammers for use in prisons[4] and at least one corporation has been caught using cell jammers to prevent it’s employees from communicating while on the clock.[5]

License plate readers have been deployed in fixed locations and mobile vehicles to read and track all license plates traveling through certain locations.[6] Public interest groups,such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center[7] and Electronic Frontier Foundation[8], continue to oppose such activity and have recently obtained judicial review of the practice. Until such time as a court orders its halt or a legislature intervenes, however, it is very likely to continue or expand.

Legislation was passed to reform NSA data collection, however, it was limited in application, rife with loopholes, and had no particular disclosure or enforcement mechanism.[9] When Congress allowed certain Patriot Act provisions to lapse, the NSA was permitted to revert back to old mechanisms and did so within two days.[10] Perhaps, to nobody’s surprise, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruled in June, 2015 that bulk collection of domestic phone calls could be resumed.[11] After all, politicians themselves are targets of the spying and have been for years. “The way ECHELON had been designed,” she said, “the targeting of U.S. political figures was not an accident.”[12] U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein openly accused the CIA of spying on her and the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2014.[13] It was a charge that they never refuted and appears to have been true.[14] Senator Feinstein, despite her professed outrage at the actions against her and her office and Congress in general,returned to championing domestic spying within a year, claiming that the programs do not constitute “mass surveillance” and that they are necessary to combat “evil”, even though warrants were only sought in 12 of 288 queries about possible suspects.[15]

President Obama issued a memorandum in February, 2015 directing federal agencies to develop policies and protect privacy and civil rights,[16] however there are a number of loopholes hat allow the requirements to be evaded, such as “unless retention of the information is determined to be necessary to an authorized mission of the retaining agency, is maintained in a system of records covered by the Privacy Act, or is required to be retained for a longer period by any other applicable law or regulation.”[17] Essentially,if the agency can articulate a reason to keep the data, or promise that it is stored safely, it will be kept.[18]

None of the foregoing has any effect whatsoever on the myriad independent contractors and agencies of the federal government. Although they have been officially encouraged to comply,[19]there is no enforcement mechanism. The general public is specifically barred from claiming any rights under the memorandum:

(e) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

If electronic privacy violations aren’t bad enough, the various government entities are also engaged in real-world warrantless surveillance through drones. Drone surveillance is largely unaddressed by existing law despite the fact that a large number of government agencies have them and use them regularly.[20] One attempt to gather data on how many agencies used drones suggested more than three hundred and fifty (350) state and federal agencies were using drones as of 2012.[21] The FBI alone “operates dozens of small spy planes across the country. …over 100 flights in 11 states over cities and rural areas during a 30-day period.”[22] There is neither a uniform policy for their use,[23] nor a mechanism for protecting the general public from any drone activity.

The states have not been particularly aggressive regarding drone and surveillance limitations either. As of February, 2015, only fourteen (14)states had any requirement to obtain a warrant for drone surveillance.[24] Wiretap, voyeurism, paparazzi, and other problems associated with drones are only haphazardly addressed[25] and are caught in the interplay of state and federal regulations.[26] The National Conference of State Legislatures maintains compilation of state laws but restricts access to its members; however, some of the data was extracted to private web sites.[27] A brief review of that information suggests that little has been done to protect the citizenry from the vastly expanded power of the state.

Overall, there is a very severe concern that U.S. citizens are being constantly surveilled and all communications and data obtained from that surveillance has been retained by multiple government entities or affiliates as well as a huge number of private companies under lax to nonexistent standards on an indefinite basis. If a citizen has a cell phone while they are driving,or perhaps even inside their home, every element of their activity, identity,licensing, whereabouts, and communication is immediately known by one or more government agencies as well as a much broader range of private companies and could be shut down at any time.

Privacy is, as far as the government is concerned, a relic of the past. It’s not one that will be buried or forgotten over time either. In the absence of any direct and enforceable requirement to delete data files, there is no reason to think that they would ever be removed. They know who you are, what you’re doing and saying, and where you are all the time; and if they don’t know right this minute, it is only a matter of looking back into the archives to find out.These facts can no longer be denied. It is a question of what should be done.Will the American people demand a right to privacy, a right to be secure in their homes, papers, and effects unless the government obtains a search warrant based on probable cause[28], or will they meekly submit to the surveillance state?

“Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it.”- Learned Hand 1944.

References

[1] “”The federal government should enact stringent new safety standards that require all handheld devices to be rendered inoperable when the motor vehicle is in motion,” the authors write.”http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/12/4093064/researchers-call-for-crackdown-on-texting-while-driving

[2] http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1660390

[3] https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/jammer-enforcement

[4] “CPC The product that SOLVES cellphone problems in prisons NOW!” http://cjam.com/

[5] http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/fcc-seeks-48k-fine-for-driver-using-cell-phone-jammer/

[6] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/07/eff-and-aclu-win-review-automated-license-plate-reader-case

[7] https://www.epic.org/

[8] https://www.eff.org/

[9] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-brenner/the-nsas-second-coming_b_7535058.html

[10]http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/02/politics/bulk-data-collection-coming-back-usa-freedom-act/

[11]http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/us/politics/fisa-surveillance-court-rules-nsa-can-resume-bulk-data-collection.html

[12]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/03/gchq_duncan_campbell/?page=5

[13]http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/politics/senate-cia/

[14] “An internal investigation by the C.I.A. has found that its officers penetrated a computer network used by the Senate Intelligence Committee in preparing its damning report on theC.I.A.’s detention and interrogation program.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/world/senate-intelligence-commitee-cia-interrogation-report.html?_r=0

[15] Feinstein at Stanford: U.S.needs to track possible terrorists 5/29/15 http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/may/feinstein-security-talk-052915.html

[16] “… the Federal Government shall take steps to ensure that privacy protections and policies relative to UAS continue to keep pace with these developments. Accordingly, agencies shall,prior to deployment of new UAS technology and at least every 3 years, examine their existing UAS policies and procedures relating to the collection, use,retention, and dissemination of information obtained by UAS, to ensure that privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties are protected. Agencies shall update their policies and procedures, or issue new policies and procedures, as necessary.” Presidential Memorandum 2/15/15 https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/15/presidential-memorandum-promoting-economic-competitiveness-while-safegua

[17] Ibid.

[18] The question of whether any federal data can be stored safely is very much in play given the data breach of twenty one and a half million people in one of its’ major departments, see Massive Federal Data Breach Affects 7% of Americans http://time.com/3952071/opm-data-breach-federal-employees/retrieved July 31, 2015. 47

[19] “(d) Independent agencies are strongly encouraged to comply with this memorandum.” Ibid.

[20] “The Federal Government currently operates UAS in the United States for several purposes, including to manage Federal lands, monitor wildfires, conduct scientific research, monitor our borders, support law enforcement, and effectively train our military.”Presidential Memorandum 2/15/15. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/15/presidential-memorandum-promoting-economic-competitiveness-while-safegua.See also https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/bird-plane-cool-government-drones/for a list of agencies using drones as of May 2015 including: the US Geological Survey (USGS); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); National Science Foundation (NSF); US Department of Transportation (USDOT); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); US Department of Agriculture(USDA).

[21] https://www.muckrock.com/drone-census/ .

[22] http://dailycaller.com/2015/06/02/congress-demands-answers-from-fbi-on-domestic-spy-planes/

[23] “Right now, the federal government doesn’t have a clear picture of how it’s using drone technology across agencies and departments, nor does it have clear, consistent standards in place to protect Americans’ privacy.” https://www.aclu.org/blog/unchecked-government-drones-not-over-my-backyardRetrieved July 31, 2015.

[24] http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/few-privacy-limitations-exist-on-how-police-use-drones-20150205

[25] https://www.aclu.org/blog/status-2014-domestic-drone-legislation-states?redirect=blog/technology-and-liberty/status-2014-domestic-drone-legislation-states

[26] http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports2/2014/09/civilian-drones-and-privacy

[27] http://dronelife.com/2014/07/19/state-drone-laws/

[28] See U.S. Constitution,Amendment IV: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Letter: Using What Others Throw Away

Dear SurvivalBlog Editors and Readers,
The last few days have shown me the wastefulness of others but have given me opportunities to gain from it. I now have apples, corn, and pork sausage that I didn’t plan on getting. Here is what happened:

  • My own apple tree only produced seven apples, because the blossoms were destroyed during a storm. But a friend has a tree in her yard, but didn’t want the apples. She offered them to me. I picked ten five-gallon buckets full of apples. I am now canning applesauce and pie filling.
  • My neighbors chopped silage, which leaves a lot of corn in the field. My husband and I gathered a trailer-load of corn. The chickens and goats will enjoy it.
  • A co-worker had a hog slaughtered, and had sausage that they didn’t want. They were tired of eating it, so I now have free sausage.

The sausage cost me nothing. The corn cost me some time. The apples cost me
time, canning jars, and a few extra ingredients for making applesauce and pie filling. If things go as I believe, I will have some much-needed food for the upcoming problems we will face. If things don’t ‘go bad’ in the near future, I will have additional food. Either way, I have benefitted from others who were unwilling to do a little work. I am trying to live as if we were already experiencing The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI). By doing this, I will be ahead of the game when it comes. I challenge SurvivalBlog readers to do the same. Where can you save? What do others throw away that you can use? Look around and benefit from the wastefulness of others. Sincerely, –
Prepared Grammy

JWR Replies: Your letter ties into the old sayings about expending sweat versus dollars. Even if you have a modest budget, there is no excuse for lack of preparedness for your family. Keep a close eye on Craig’s List and Freecycle, and you can find some great bargains. It is not unusual to see “free to come and pick up” offers for farm and garden produce, shelving, canning jars, storage bins, and many other useful items that will contribute substantially to your preparedness.