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Items from Mr. Econocobas:
Greek Deal in Sight as Germany Bows to Huge Global Pressure for Debt Relief
Greece’s Tsipras to Sell Austerity Deal to Reluctant Party – We are truly living through some crazy weeks here globally from an economic perspective.
The coming era of civil disobedience: Rosa Parks is celebrated, but the pizza lady who said her Christian beliefs would not permit her to cater a same-sex wedding was declared a bigot. – P.M.
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Trump is Right: Illegal Alien Crime is Staggering in Scope and Savagery – B.B.
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Maine Governor Signs Constitutional Carry Bill Legalizing Concealed Carry Without Permit – D.S.
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Some thoughts on the coming collapse of the United States of America – B.B.
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40 Flicks for Prepper Movie Night – H.L.
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Let’s see them pin this one on global warming: Is a mini ICE AGE on the way? – G.P.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.” – Numbers 25:10-13 (KJV)
July 10th is the birthday of British novelist John Wyndham. (His full name was John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris, but Harris shortened that to just John Wyndham for his pen name.) He we was born in 1903 and died March 11, 1969. Harris was a good friend of fellow novelist Samuel Youd (1922-2012), who wrote under several pen names, including John Christopher. Both men were famous for writing what are often called cosy catastrophies. Several of Wyndham’s novels and short stories have been adapted to film, with varying degrees of success. One of the best of these was a parallel universe story called Random Quest.
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Today, we present another entry for Round 59 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 59 ends on July 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.
Living a prepared life, as most readers understand, is not something that stops. One is never properly finished preparing. It is not something one works on for a bit and then says, “Okay, I’m done.” It is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency and preparedness. One of the first things most preppers come across in exploring the basics of preparedness is the three B’s– beans, bullets, and Band-aids. How many times have we read, even on this blog, “Make sure you have your beans, bullets, and band-aids squared away first!” That’s sage advice, and we should all follow it. However, what happens when you walk down into your basement and see your wall-to-wall and aisle shelves looking like a miniature grocery store, complete with pharmacy in the back? What do you do when you see, in the corner, your gun safe bolted to the floor holding a medium-sized gun collection with eight spare magazines per firearm? When you look down and see the floor of the basement lined with surplus U.S. military ammo cans filled with thousands of rounds in your chosen calibers, all sealed with desiccant packages? When you look out your kitchen window into your backyard garden that you’ve slowly built to provide a sustainable food source? When you’ve followed the directions provided (for free, no less!) on this blog to create a hand pump for the second well on your property that was originally dug and used for your sprinkler system, providing you with reachable water in the event of a grid-down event? When there is no more room in your chest freezer for meat or frozen vegetables designed to help feed you and your wife in an emergency?
I was blessed to find myself in this situation approximately fifteen months ago. I had gotten to the point of feeling that I had my three B’s down. I was fortunate enough to realize that there was far more needed than the two years of food supply and weapons and band-aids in the basement to pursue. I knew there was more I needed to do. It was just about branching out and doing it. What I found was that some of these things were/are so vital that they are literally second only to the three B’s, and in some cases just as important. I am nowhere near where I want to be as a prepper and a survivalist. I just want to share some of what I’ve learned going beyond the B’s and what we can and should do if we are able.
I admit, I came late to this party. I should have started here, before I so ever bought as much as a grain of rice. Accept the Lord Jesus Christ into your life as your Savior. Ask forgiveness for your sins and repent of them. Develop a relationship with the Lord, and nurture that relationship by finding a church home that glorifies God. Lovingly accept the obligations put on you by God’s grace and forgiveness, and practice tithing and charity. I grew up in the church, but I abandoned it when I joined the military. I fell down the slippery slope of apathy into Agnosticism and all the way to the pits of Atheism. I won’t delve into this slow slide that is so common in our day and time, as an entire separate article could be written on it. Suffice it to say that it was only through the consistent loving persistence of my wife and the unfathomable grace and loving forgiveness of our Lord that I stand here today, back in the fold and congregation, and I am determined to stay there. There are no atheists in foxholes, friends.
If you are anything like me, you rank going to the dentist somewhere up there between being waterboarded and standing next in line for a turn at Russian Roulette. I always thought I took pretty decent care of my teeth (though my flossing was pretty, um, infrequent). I had successfully dodged going to the dentist for over three years (it’s amazing what we can’t do when we put our minds to not achieving it), when a nagging toothache and a (lovingly) nagging wife finally compelled me to wander into my local dentist’s office. I thought, “It’s no huge deal; maybe I need a filling and a cleaning, and then I can dodge this place another half-decade.” Ha!
It’s a very bad feeling when a dentist walks in after reviewing your x-rays (x-rays? How did I get talked into x-ray?) and says, “It’s a really good thing that you actually have pretty premium dental insurance, Jason.” I was advised that I needed four wisdom teeth extracted, deep scaling and root planning, a root canal, two crowns, and two fillings. I, being myself, rolled my eyes and asked, “Okay, so what do I really just need to stop this toothache?” To wit, the dentist responded, “Jason, I don’t know how you’re not in unbearable pain right now. You should be. Your wisdom teeth are impacted, and your tooth next to your upper left wisdom tooth is so decayed that you’re literally weeks from it being unsalvageable. All of this work can be done in the next six weeks, and with your insurance it will only cost you $1,200.00. You need this. All of this. Now.”
Now, God has blessed my wife and I with gainful, well-compensated employment that helps provide excellent insurance. Though $1,200.00 is not a small number in my house, it was something that we could afford, and decided that we should. So, I got all of the work done. Now, you may be asking, what does this have to do with prepping? The answer is simple. Beyond the B’s, if there is some sort of elective dental process or procedures that you have been putting off, stop postponing it immediately. There is no pain in the world quite like dental pain, and post collapse, your options are likely to be far less palatable than shelling out some cash and sitting in a chair for a few hours with some ibuprofen afterwards. Your likely alternative will be some boiling water, a pair of pliers, and your buddy, Tim, with a flashlight. Yes, I’m referring to the same Tim who suggested using a circular saw to cut a 1/2 inch circle out of a 3×8 board. Yes, that Tim. So, don’t let Tim be your dentist.
In this day and age, many of us have become dependent on “instant answers”. It’s understandable. Have a question? Bring up Google. Not sure how to build something? There’s probably a video tutorial on YouTube. Can’t figure out why something isn’t working? Visit the company’s troubleshooting website. The world’s knowledge is a click away, but what happens when the information superhighway breaks down with the grid and those easy answers aren’t there anymore? Then how will you identify what insect is killing your tomatoes? Who will tell you how to build that shed in your back yard or dig that shallow well? The Internet is a wonderful source of knowledge, don’t get me wrong, but a truly prepared individual cannot rely on it anymore than they can rely on the government to keep them safe. To that end, one of the next things to consider beyond the B’s is creating and stocking your own library. I am absolutely shocked at the ridiculously low price of books these days, whether in my town’s local used bookstore or on eBay. There is virtually nothing one cannot find for under $10. So one of the things I have made a conscious effort to build upon is my home library. (Incidentally, our host provides an excellent list of literary suggestions weekly to pick up.)
I firmly believe that, one day, we will be forced to rely upon older technologies for our well-being. Books are one of these. Beyond their usefulness as tools, they offer enlightenment, a broadening of horizons, and mental stimulation that can increase morale and better our overall quality of life. For those of you with children reading this, what will you hand your eleven year old in the hour before bed when the Xbox ceases to work and the iPad has lost its charge for the last time. I’ve worked on creating a strong mix centering mostly on the following:
Even before any collapse, I’d encourage you to reacquaint yourself with novels and the good old fashioned book. I’d be willing to bet that right now, on eBay, you could get The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shipped for less than $5. Reading that will do more for your heart and mind than twenty hours in front of Netflix.
To The Editor:
In a recent WND.com article titled “End of Christian America is here; It’s no accident we are witnessing the beginnings of persecution.”, Jonathan Cahn, well-known Messianic Jewish Rabbi (one who has come to faith in Jesus/Yeshua) has warned that the June 26th Supreme Court ruling that legalized homosexual marriage in all 50 states marks the formal end to Christian America.
In other words, we as a nation have flipped God the finger, spit in His eye, and said: “We don’t need you anymore—we’re going to do it our way.” Cahn has declared that, barring a miracle, the die has been cast—and America will soon be facing the wrath of God Himself.
How will His wrath fall upon us? Well, the Greece economic meltdown debacle may be the first in the chain of dominos that could well spill across the Atlantic like a digital tidal wave and overwhelm our shores!
In a recent article in Newsmax.com, Greeks Defy Europe with Overwhelming Referendum ‘No’, Greek voters overwhelmingly rejected EU creditors’ demands for increased austerity programs including even more budget cuts in retirement pensions.
So the Greeks have flipped the EU the finger—with what results we will know fairly soon. If Greece leaves the EU, dumps the Euro, and returned to printing the drachma, I flatly predict raging hyperinflation will totally devastate the nation.
We are in a situation even worse than Greece—they owe billions in their national debt—we owe TRILLIONS! Thank you, “Our Lord and Savior, Barack Hussein Obama”. He’s indeed a false “messiah” who the mainstream news media and many deluded souls still worship, God forgive us!
Cities, and even states, are starting to feel the pinch of massive spending—retirement pensions in particular. What is to be done? Cut the pensions and preserve—at least for while—the financial integrity and structure—or keep on spending and ultimately crash the financial system? In a recent article published in marketwatch.com, The next Greece may be in the U.S., presents a terrifying all-too-likely scenario.
Cities, counties, and even whole states are carrying unsustainable debt loads and have run up literally billions in debt that cannot be paid off—and the United States has been doing this for so long that our national debt far exceeds that of Greece—they owe mere billions—we owe TRILLIONS! Again, thank you ever so much, our false-messiah-in-chief! Most of that spending has occurred on his watch.
Our worship of the false-messiah-in-chief and our turning our backs upon God in so many other ways (including Fox-TV’s airing a new series in which Lucifer/Satan will be portrayed as a “good” guy) will soon, I fear, result in America’s suffering God’s wrathful judgment.
May God have mercy on us in spite of ourselves! – M.R.
“Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer.” – Ludwig von Mises
Today, we present another entry for Round 59 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 59 ends on July 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.
First, here is a picture of the necessary parts. All metal parts are made of brass, and all plastic parts are made of PVC.
Brass parts and seal:
PVC Parts:
Additional Items:
Step one – plug one of the brass couplers with JB weld:
Step two – assemble PVC pipe and fittings:
Step three – assemble inner check valve assembly:
Step four – put pump together:
Step five – place into well and secure:
That’s it. You are done!
To use:
I have not patented this idea nor will I. I haven’t looked to see if someone else has patented this idea either. I only hope the ideas presented in this paper are useful. Please pass them on.
HJL,
Considering recent events, worries about what will happen to churches, and the two letters on SurvivalBlog referring to tax exempt status of churches, I recommend this article. It breaks it down nicely, with bible references throughout. I have no knowledge about the rest of the site. Hope this helps people who are wondering about the implications of putting churches under the authority of the state. – SJB
Banks Quickly Abolishing Your Ability to Use & Store Cash. – D.S.
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Priorities: Greeks Rush to Buy Laptops and Games Consoles in Anticipation of Economic Collapse. – JBG
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Items from Mr. Econocobas:
China ‘Heading Towards 1929 Market Crash’…
Chinese Retail Investor Savings ‘fall into abyss’…
‘Greece Is On The Edge of Catastrophe. There Will be Riots and Chaos’
Real time cyber attack map. – P.M.
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U.S. Military Makes Monumental Shift To Hollowpoint Pistol Ammunition – T.P.
JWR’s Comment: To the best of my knowledge the U.S. government has never been a signatory to the Hague Convention, which bans soft nose ammunition for military use. (Here, I must peremptorily state that it is NOT “The Geneva Convention”, as is popularly and incorrectly cited.) For MANY years, the U.S. military has issued riot shotguns with size 00 soft lead pellet buckshot, which is technically banned by the Convention. And as I recall, the U.S. Army has issued some match ammunition fro sniping that is not truly “full metal jacket.” And for that matter the 55 grain bullet used in our long-issued M193 ball ammunition was never completely Kosher under the Hague Convention, since it has a tendency to yaw, tumble, and occasionally disintegrate into nasty bits after hitting a human body. And, FWIW, the U.S. has largely abided by the Hague Convention, but we are not bound by it, since we were never a signatory.
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A Nation of Snitches: 37% More Taxpayers Turned in Other Taxpayers to the IRS in 2014. – PLC
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Ask Well: Guidelines for When Food Goes Bad. – G.G.
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From Wranglerstar: Wildland Firefighting What’s It Like?
“Whatever crushes individuality is despotism, no matter what name it is called.” – John Stuart Mill