The One Simple Secret to Surviving Any Crisis – J.W.
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Commission delays vote on U2 rocker’s proposed Malibu compound. – P.M.
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Whoa…What’s This About EIGHT Confirmed Ebola Cases in Europe?. – H.L.
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Men Carjack 91-Year-Old Vet In Moline. – Guatemalans, 16 and 17, escaped a facility in Des Plaines? – P.M.
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The USD Is NOT going to collapse – it’s going to violently ERUPT. An interesting premise. – G.P.
“I mean, I’ve always been a libertarian. Leave everybody alone. Let everybody else do what they want. Just stay out of everybody else’s hair.” – Clint Eastwood.
Sorry that today’s posts went up later than usual. Hugh is traveling.
On October 9th, 1934, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia was assassinated. And on October 9th, 1967, Che Guevara was executed by the Bolivian army on orders from Bolivian President René Barrientos. (After being tracked down by Feliz Rodriguez.) – JWR
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Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 55 ends on November 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.
“The deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall when the proceedings ended in order to learn what had been produced behind closed doors. The answer was provided immediately. A “Mrs. Powell of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, ‘Well, Doctor, what have we got, a Republic or a Monarchy?’ With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, ‘A Republic, if you can keep it.’”
Before you ignore this post, let me assure you that it is not my intention to tell you who to vote for or how you should be involved in the political process, only to show you that it is vital to keeping our Republic that you are involved, that you do vote, and to give you some tips on how you might begin.
I thought I would start by telling you a little about how elections are conducted. I have been involved with and have managed campaigns on nearly every level. After more than 20 years of experience in politics, I can tell you that campaigns are not rocket science, but there are a few things you should know. Everyone knows how elections are won, right? Your side gets more votes than the other one. How is this accomplished? It is really not that complicated; it is reduced to two kinds of strategies– turn out more of your supporters or make sure your opponent turns out less of theirs. Most campaigns are a combination of the two strategies. We complain about the influence of “big money” and “special interests” in the process. Never forget that those people or organizations, who spend big money, are trying to do what? That’s right, influence your vote. Yet, these tactics are designed to do the things I mentioned above; they drive the supporters of an issue or candidate
to the polls and often discourage the other side from voting. They are able to accomplish this with a variety of market research techniques. We are all familiar with market research in some form or another. Political research is no different. Campaigns and candidates know, with a fair degree of certainty, who is likely to vote for them and why. In addition, they have a pretty good idea of who is most likely to vote in a given type of election. This is known as a turnout model. They also know what issue, or set of issues, has a higher degree of likelihood of motivating the undecided voter. Now keep in mind that when these models are constructed, they are based on likely voters. Depending on the election, this may only constitute between 5% and 60% of the eligible voters. This determines the messaging and what is called the ground game– how many volunteers, what type of voter contacts must be made, what mailing and advertising strategies to use, et cetera. It is also how we end
up with all of the negative ads we all love so much. We say we hate negative ads, but the fact is, if they did not work, campaigns wouldn’t use them. This is how modern campaigns are and how they run.
In candidate-based campaigns, nearly all of the effort is focused on likely, independent voters. This is because most candidates count on those registered in their own parties as likely to vote for them anyway, so they concentrate on the “undecided” voter who is likely to vote. Issue-based campaigns generally focus on independent voters who have a history of voting and likely voters who may be more inclined, ideologically, to agree with a particular issue. I say this to emphasize that all campaigns only focus on communicating, or reaching out, to people who have a history of voting. The rest are mostly ignored, as it is assumed that because they have not voted in the past, they are not likely to vote now. The struggle nearly all campaigns face is how to turn out voters. I have seen, though thankfully never participated in, the worst sort of negative campaigning this country has to offer but the thing that I have found the most difficult to bear, is the lack of participation in
the process of democracy.
This brings me to my main point. As we approach yet another election, I am convinced that we are not doing all we can as preppers to keep our Republic. More and more Americans, and indeed preppers, are guilty of largely throwing up our hands in disgust at elected officials, but we seem to be unwilling to do much about them.
According to many sources, less than 60% of eligible voters turned out to vote in the 2012 Presidential elections. The total drops even farther for off-year elections and those for local elections and ballot initiatives. An NBC News report, only days before the 2012 elections on 11/05/2012, reported, “The United States ranks 120th of the 169 countries for which data exists on voter turnout, falling between the Dominican Republic and Benin, according to a January 2012 study from the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. (Not all countries ranked were democracies, a factor that could skew the results.)”
This is a disgrace! The same report goes on to indicate the reasons the researchers suspect are behind the low turnouts. The top two were voter inconvenience and a feeling that many voters have that their one vote doesn’t really make a difference. First, the only way to waste your vote is not to use it. I can understand the second reason, though I still find it a poor excuse for not voting or being involved. However, not voting because of inconvenience!?! Everyone believes they lead a busy life, but how can they be too busy to take time to preserve our republic? As a prepper, your natural inclination is not to wait until something is broken or damaged beyond all repair before you try and fix it, so why do we do this with our democracy? As preppers, we seem to do more investigation into weapons for self defense, the means for food storage, and the background of the young man who might want to date our daughter than we do into those who we trust with upholding our constitution. As far as convenience, there is simply no excuse for not voting! Most states have early voting and absentee voting.
Sitting on the sidelines and making plans to pick up the pieces after all has been lost, or our system collapses, is not by definition trying to keep our Republic. Being prepared to defend it if the tyrants rise is also not doing what we can to keep it. Contrary to the opinion of many, our Republic and our liberty are not birthrights; our liberty is a gift that is granted by our Creator, preserved and defended by the toil and blood of previous generations who passed it from them to us, and we are expected to preserve and defend it and hand it to the next generation. If we take no action to preserve or protect it, it will be lost. The same it true for our republic, We should not wait until it is gone and then go to war to get it back. We should be doing all we can to fight to keep it, while we have it. Choosing to wait for the reset should not be an option.
How do you preserve it? You begin with involvement. Thomas Jefferson said, “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.”
A vitally important topic of discussion on many prepper forums is community building. We know that going it alone is not a viable solution for long-term survival in a real TEOTWAWKI situation. We also know that a good way to build relationships in the community include doing some basic things, like being involved in your church, being helpful to (and respectful of) your neighbors, and getting involved in the communities where we live. We all have groups or communities where we gather with like-minded friends, even if it is only on the Internet. Talk to these people, ask them what they know about a candidate. Have you noticed that on virtually every forum on prepper or survivalist issues, there are very few, if any, discussion threads on politics? I know this can be an extremely sensitive topic, but we share information on virtually every type of gear, survival technique, or training but next to nothing about our information that is vital to keeping our republic. The exception to t
his is the plethora of articles telling us of the coming collapse. We are also inundated with articles on how bad the state of modern politics has become and how our liberties are being slowly eroded or simply stripped away. Yet, there is still no information on those who seek another term to continue in office or those who would replace them. We should choose not to wait for the collapse but to do all we can to prevent it from happening.
Engage candidates to be an informed voter. Think of this as gathering intelligence. Gather information from multiple sources and especially through in-person observations and questioning. Go out and meet the people who are running for office. All of them do some kind of campaigning and have events that are designed to meet voters. Ask questions. Ask them about their positions, and then make sure they answer the questions. We talk about the importance of increasing our skill set, taking another class on first aid and field craft, or training with a firearm, but nowhere are we talking about learning about candidates for office and the positions they hold. Democracy is not a spectator sport; it requires its participants to be educated and engaged in the process.
Get involved, and do it early, especially in local elections. Local offices are where candidates are generally most accessible and where many candidates for higher offices get their start. Attend forums and even volunteer for a candidate that you like. Most importantly, get involved early. The primary process, which happens in June, decides who will be on the ballot in November. Most voters generally forget, or ignore, that there are generally several candidates seeking election to the same office. Getting involved early can make the difference between having a real choice in November and generally stuck voting for the lesser of two evils, or even not voting at all out of disgust. Getting involved early in the process could have a dramatic effect on who eventually gets to the general election. We don’t have to be stuck with the lesser of two evils.
VOTE! Go to the polls on election day. Vote early (if your state allows it) or vote absentee. This is the most important way to be involved in the process. If you can do nothing else, you must vote. This is especially true with local elections and ballot initiatives. These are the ones that have the most direct impact on your life. Taxes, with the exception of income taxes (except in jurisdictions with locally-imposed income taxes), are most often levied by local and state authorities. Every state has some form of property tax; the decisions on the rate and disposition of these are made by those who govern locally. Ballot initiatives can be particularly important. For example, one of the reasons California is in such a mess is that its constitution can be changed by a simple majority of voters via a ballot initiative.
Because we, preppers, like lists, here is a simple checklist for getting involved.
Involvement Checklist:
I will leave you with one very famous quote from George Washington and one relatively obscure quote from Abraham Lincoln that perfectly describe the consequences of leaving our government unattended. Remember that irresponsible action is not only what is going on in Washington today, it is also failing to be good stewards of our legacy by not participating in the process of deciding who will lead our country and safeguard the principles of liberty on which this nation was founded. We get discouraged by what we think of as “big money” buying elections, but no one can buy a vote that is not for sale.
“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” —George Washington
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” ? Abraham Lincoln
Hugh,
I have been reading
through SurvivalBlog. I am looking for information concerning food needed per adult, per month. I can’t seem to find the information within the first five or six pages. Any idea of a site that I can find this information. Please let me know. Thanks, – R.D.
HJL Replies: There really is no hard and fast rule, as it depends on who you are feeding and what type of food you are storing. Obviously, a 19 year old young man will consume considerably more food than a 12 year old girl or even a 40 year old adult. Men generally require more food than women. People in their prime require more than the very young or the very old. We use the standard of one quart of food (reconstituted volume) per person per day. This is probably on the high side though. One quart volume of reconstituted and cooked (fluffy) freeze-dried eggs would not be enough for the average adult, but one quart of dried pinto beans would be too much. However, it averages out fairly well.
Russian Shale Boom Unlikely As Sanctions Force Another Company Out
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Items from Mr. Econocobas:
The Shrinking Deficit Myth: US Debt Jumps by $1.1 Trillion in Fiscal 2014
Video: Jim Rickards: Obama Ending Alliance with Saudi Arabia and Killing the Petrodollar
Tam at the great View From The Porch blog alerted me to a news item from western Oregon: Man practicing open carry law robbed of gun. A few key points: A.) The guy had just bought the gun the day before, so he was obviously not up to speed on situational awareness, and most likely he had little or no formal training. B.) If all 50 states were like Vermont/Alaska/Wyoming/Arizona/Arkansas and recognized the right to “keep and bear” either openly or concealed without a permit, then this probably wouldn’t have happened. (Anti-self defense laws are idiotic, and the rascals who enact them should be turned out of office.) Lastly, C.) When you carry openly, it shouldn’t be a wimpy .380. Carry a real gun, and don’t carry it as a bluff. Be ready, willing, and able to clear leather quickly and press the bang switch, when the time comes.- J.W.R.
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In a classic “Protect the Blue Line” move, No charges filed against the SWAT officers who maimed a toddler during raid. Perhaps the authorizing agents should have charges filed against them. Once again, the double standard is used showing that the Rule of Law is breaking down. – RBS
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A True Oath Keeper’s Police State Catharsis: Former Sheriff Dub Lawrence witnesses his Son-in-Law Murdered by SWAT [team that was] founded BY Him! – G.P.
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Calais Migrants Reject Food Handouts as ‘Not Spicy Enough’ – G.P.
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Polio-like illness claims fifth life in U.S.. Remember, this is a disease that has been linked to the influx of illegal aliens. – P.M.
"Then I ask you, I plead with you, I beg you all, walk out of here [the Fed] with me, never to come back. It’s the moral and ethical thing to do. Nothing good goes on in this place. Let’s lock the doors and leave the building to the spiders, moths, and four-legged rats." – Robert Wenzel
October 8th is the birthday of economist and libertarian commentator J. Orlin Grabbe. (Born, 1947, died March 15, 2008.)
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Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 55 ends on November 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.
The only practical way to store electric energy is in chemical form, in batteries. There is loss of energy while it is being deposited into batteries, converted into chemical energy, and then also while the battery sits in storage (self-discharge).
The output will be DC current. Batteries are built from units of two volts each. Six of these units make a 12-Volt battery, et cetera. Physically larger batteries are more susceptible to damage from rough handling (drops, vibration) because they use larger plates. Some batteries are of sealed type and require no maintenance; some are of open type and will evaporate water while being charged, requiring a periodic refill with distilled water (manual or automatic). The open type also emit hydrogen gas, which may accumulate in the battery compartment and explode with a spark; therefore, adequate ventilation is needed, and because hydrogen is lighter than air, the battery compartment should be ventilated at the top rather than at the bottom. These open batteries can also spill acid more easily.
Due to low voltages, when supplying power to pumps, microwave ovens, welding equipment, and other large loads, the current flowing through the cables is very high, easily in hundreds of Amperes. This requires cables with very little resistance; these are beefy expensive ones. There is some good info on cables here: http://www.solar-electric.com/wire-cable-information.html. Generally, anything below 1.0AWG will be inadequate to power a 2kW or larger inverter. I suggest using welding cables, because they are pure copper with less resistance, instead of alloys; they’re built of hundreds of thin wires, which makes them very flexible, relatively speaking of course, and easy to work with. Also, their outer shell is multi-layered and much more durable. Thick cables require a capable crimping tool. If by any chance your connectors will be exposed to salt water, only use tinned copper; copper “rusts” in salt water quickly, while the tin coating protects the connectors and wire. Alternatively, you can cover the surface of your connections with dielectric silicone grease, but using the tinned copper will make re-arranging your batteries a little messy. You can buy premade connecting cables, but I suggest developing the skill and acquiring the equipment to do this yourself.
Batteries can generate, without damage, several hundred amperes of DC current for short periods of time. In fact, you can arc weld using a battery. There are welders designed to run, away from utilities, using battery power alone or are able to run either from internal batteries and/or supplementing utility power with internal battery power, which is useful if you wish to achieve higher amps than is possible via a single 120V household outlet. The higher the battery’s amperage, the easier the battery can start a car engine, but this requires a large surface area for chemical reaction to take place; therefore, these batteries tend to have thinner, less durable plates, leading to faster deterioration of battery over time. The batteries more suitable for power backup are the deep cycle variety, which have more robust architecture and can withstand many hundreds of cycles of deep discharge (below 50% of their full capacity). In the best case, good, quality, deep-cycle batteries will last about 10 years in a typical, daily charge-discharge scenario. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of replacement of your entire battery bank every 10 years. You don’t want to regularly deplete your batteries below 50% of their rated capacity, because that shortens their life significantly– 2x-3x times– so the useful total capacity is half of nominal amp/hours of your bank. Plan accordingly. The self-discharge rate, even for the best lead-acid batteries, is 3-5% weekly. Other battery technologies (lithium?) may have lower self-discharge, but they haven’t yet proved themselves in power backup systems.
When connecting multiple batteries for higher capacity or higher output voltage, wire them such that there is an equal number of batteries and length of wire in between the last battery terminal and the inverter input. There are multiple configurations possible, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Some are better for running high loads. Some are better for more equal charging. Always put a DC breaker, using one at minimum, before the inverter. Size it so it is just a bit larger, in terms of amps, than your inverter. If you put a breaker on each battery, make them small enough so that their sum is just about equal the breaker in front of the inverter. You can use automatic breakers that you can reset after they are tripped, or use an ANL wafer fuse. None of these types will trip when you accidentally touch positive to negative and see sparks flying; they are not that sensitive, but they will abort a short that is longer than a second or two, preventing a meltdown in your cabling.
Batteries are heavy and will eventually need to be moved around. After you have connected them, it will be even more difficult to do so. Invest in a heavy duty cart, and prepare for the hefty shipping cost. Get a battery cart with six 12V batteries at the bottom, a shelf with a 2000W inverter that can be fully retracted to allow for easy access to your batteries, and two chargers mounted internally on the back. The top compartment will be used to add six more batteries in the future.
Here is a good page to look up battery manufacturers, and here You can simultaneously charge batteries and draw current from them. The appliance will be drawing current directly from the charger; whatever is left, the difference between the charging current and consumption of appliance, will be deposited in the battery. If the appliance uses more current than the charger can supply, then the battery may supplement the difference, depending on your system setup.
There is only one way to test the battery properly– with a significant load and a voltmeter. All other methods only estimate the condition of the battery. Fully charge the battery, wait at least six hours, apply load, and then measure the voltage as you apply the load. I suggest you record the video of the voltmeter as you may miss the reading in the 10-15 seconds that the test runs. Test your batteries periodically– at least once a year– to ensure you don’t have deteriorating ones in your bank.
If one of the batteries in your bank is dead and they are connected and you charge them together, the dead battery will draw all the charge current and cause your bank to charge very slowly. The solution to the above problem is to disconnect batteries before charging them. (This is doable if you have a manual system and circuit breakers on each of them.) Alternatively, you can use a battery isolator. This can get expensive with large banks quickly. A good charger can analyze and optimally charge multiple batteries simultaneously and simplifies installation. Charging many batteries with a poor quality charger (low output current and only one or two ports) will require using a generator for longer periods of time.
Partially discharged batteries can freeze in winter cold. I don’t know if this will actually damage them or not, but I am assuming it is not beneficial. A fully charged battery will not freeze in the harshest winter weather; however, it will seemingly “lose” part of its capacity, and the colder, the weaker it will be. Do not keep your battery bank in an outside, unheated box, if you live in the north. In cold weather, the voltage will also drop; at 0 Celsius, for example, a fully charged battery may measure 12 Volt instead of 12.7 Volt, so don’t overcharge them. If your charger supports external temperature sensors, it makes sense to install those near the batteries, to prevent overcharging, which is very damaging to batteries.
For a good source of information on deep cycle batteries, scroll down to the white papers. Another source of information for charging cycles.
So how can the energy stored in batteries and available in DC form power tools requiring AC? The answer is “via inverters”. The cheaper version of an inverter is generating alternating current that has significantly different waveform from utility power. This may be sufficient to run resistive type appliances and lights, but motors will run less efficiently and heat up quicker and electronics and computers may or may not run at all. If uninterruptable power systems (UPS) is used to protect sensitive electronics from brownouts or voltage fluctuations, they may not like this type of “dirty” input and will switch to internal batteries, depleting them despite availability of AC power. These cheaper inverters may also generate radio frequencies that will interfere with wireless phones, cell phones, Ham radios, satellite communication, WiFi routers, and terrestrial TV signal.
The more expensive type, typically three to five times more expensive, of pure sine wave inverters generate AC that is as good as utility power and will not cause any of the problems discussed above.
Internally, inverters may have totally isolated inputs and outputs, or they may have one of the leads connected “through” to common ground. The later can present a problem with some inductive loads, for example, with isolation transformers, because the DC voltage offset may saturate the windings of the transformer, resulting in full power load on the transformer, if there is not anything plugged into it. The transformer may burn out rather quickly, not to mention it will consume maximum power constantly. So, if you need to use an isolation transformer for a medical appliance, like an oxygen concentrator, it is best to charge the battery and then power it from battery, or you should be sure to use a fully-isolated inverter.
An inverter that has common ground and “through” connection between input and output is not suitable for feeding into a transfer switch to distribute the power to the entire house.
Inverters usually generate one phase AC. There are expensive models that can generate split phase by having 240 Volts outputs, just like a typical gasoline or propane generator. Also, there are inverters in the few thousand dollar range that can generate a two-three phase AC current, too. However, to operate a dryer or a powerful motor that runs on 240V or multi-phase also requires a compatible battery bank, which would not be in price range of an average person.
To measure DC current flowing through a wire, you will need a clamp meter, and to measure an AC current without splitting the power cord you will also need a line splitter.
Inverters typically monitor the charge condition of the battery and shut themselves down when the voltage drops significantly. Some inverters can be configured by the end user to shut at a specific voltage threshold; most can not. The voltage at which inverters shut down are between 10.5-11Volts, which essentially corresponds to a totally depleted battery bank; this is no good for reasons explained above. A simple voltmeter will allow constant monitoring of the battery status. There are automated tools that can do that for you at a more useful 11.7V threshold. Here is another option.
Check to see if the inverter fans are triggered by the load or internal temperature. If they are triggered at a certain load, they will kick in, make noise, and consume your precious energy even when the inverter is ice cold, which of course is not ideal.
Many inverters are equipped with ground fault protected outlets (GFCI– circuit interrupters). These are handy if you happen to touch a hot wire; they will shut the circuit open in less than 30 milliseconds, which might save your life. However, they can also keep randomly tripping, if there are other GFCI devices on the same circuit or you have a very small leakage into the ground somewhere. A tester comes in handy if you want to be sure that your ground fault protection works. Use cushioned clamps to fixate your electrical cables or plastic clams for lighter wires. Use cushioned clams to protect your wires.
Good afternoon,
I am reading the post regarding corrosion on Colt stainless handguns. I believe your response needs to be understood by all. Stainless steel was not developed as a permanent solution to corrosion, rather as a base metal that is able to withstand harsher environmental conditions longer. Another problem is that there are numerous types of stainless formulations which comprise the “pool” of available metals from which to choose. Unless you have a decent connection at Colt, you may never know what type of stainless was used to produce your pistol. If you knew what type of stainless was used, you could be better armed (no pun intended) to protect the pistol for future use.
I am aware of a product sold under the trade name Bore Coat, made by Dyna-Tek Coatings. This product is sold by Brownells. The manufacturer uses the term “nano ceramic technology”. The product was first sold under the name UltraShield. The trade name aside, I have used this product to protect firearms that have been color case hardened. Case colors are quite sensitive to UV light, so exposure to direct sunlight diminishes the colors seen on newly color case hardened steel.
One thing that impressed me was how smooth parts were after applying this product, even from a single application. Nothing seems to stick to the parts treated with this product, which I see as beneficial as well.
If it does nothing but slow the degradation of case colored parts refinished at a high price, I will be a happy camper.
I would recommend that the owner of the stainless Colt pistol give it a try. – D.G.
The new-new subprime is with auto loans. More data reflects a troubling trend. Repossessions are up 70 percent in the last quarter, but what can we expect when one-third of new auto loans are now in the form of subprime debt? This is a $920+ billion market here: The new subprime is in auto loans: One third of all new auto loans are of the subprime variety. Repossession are up 70 percent.
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Bankers Manipulation of Gold & Silver: Proof in The Demand Data
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Engineer Field Data (FM 5-34) (U.S. Army manual)
Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking
Fiction
Unintended Consequences by John Ross (This otherwise excellent novel was marred by some vulgarity and gratuitous sex scenes. Beware!)
Wall-E– Suitable for children
Michael Savage: 1 month left to save America. – J.W.
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A piece that hits big pharma pretty hard and is short on facts but does put forward an interesting hypothesis that your immune system is pretty important in fighting Ebola. Perhaps it’s time to break out that Elderberry syrup with N98 and Ebola floating around near you. I’m not completely sold on the story, but keeping your own immune system in tip-top shape is never a bad thing. ISIS, Ebola Uncut: Why the Mainstream is Late Wrong and Corrupt
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Disease plagues illegal immigrants; lack of medications, basic hygiene blamed
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DHS to intensify attacks on freedom oriented citizens. – B.B.
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This is HIGHLY suspicious. Without a single case of Ebola within their state borders, The Connecticut Governor Declares State of Emergency Over Ebola as a Precaution. So now, apparently, the state of Connecticut can suspend your constitutional rights as a precautionary measure.
“Whenever the private sector introduces an innovation that makes the poor better off than they would have been without it, or that offers benefits or terms that no one else is prepared to offer them, someone in the name of helping the poor will call for curbing or abolishing it.” – Thomas E. Woods