The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

46 Comments

1. Anyone who still lives in Kalifonia must like the conditions.

   1. I still live here and, no, I don’t like the conditions. I am retired now and could move anywhere. My children (who have high-paying jobs) and grandchildren still live here, however, so I won’t be going anywhere soon. Some people don’t have that particular “encumbrance” and can’t relate to that decision.

      I am not a native Californian. In my mind, my home is elsewhere, and I simply live here. I recognize the shortcomings of just about any place. Yet, in my area of Southern California, I can wear shirtsleeves (only) during the day almost 365 days a year. I can eat outside almost 365 days a year–at least for lunch. Were I inclined, I could go skiing in the mountains on Saturday and go to the beach on Sunday in January and February. From a pure survival perspective, I am not threatened by temperatures in the single digits or three feet of snow that arrives repeatedly over the course of a winter. I am also not threatened by hurricanes, tornadoes, or the oppressive heat and humidity that most of the country considers to be summer.

      When compared to the rest of the country, we have only two seasons here, spring and fall. Entertainment events that would cause other cities to grind to a halt, NCAA basketball tournaments, for example, would be simply one of the weekend choices here.

      Except for the menial jobs held by the poorly educated, jobs pay very well here.

      Having said all of that, the state, over the past 30 years, the place has become a liberal cesspool. I was here in the Marine Corps in the 70s. Ronald Reagan was governor. It was the Golden State–the Beach Boys, Corvettes, Surfing, and high paying jobs. The “immigrants” here were mostly from places like Boise, Fargo, and Denver. When I returned in the mid-80s, the governor was a Republican, as was the governor who followed him. By the mid-90s, everything began to change.

      The population of California would have dropped in recent years were it not for foreign immigration. These people, particularly the Hispanic illegals, are dirt poor, with no education that amounts to anything and with minimal skills. If they weren’t at the bottom of the social and skills ladder in their own country, they wouldn’t have left it. What they bring with them is Third World poverty. (In my occupation, I dealt with hundreds of physicians over the years, an extraordinary percentage coming from India, for example. I never met a physician who immigrated here from South of the Border.) One-third of all immigrants choose California.

      A few years ago, the US Census Bureau began to adjust its figures regarding the poverty level in each state by taking into account the cost of living. As a result, California now ranks as the state with the highest rate of poverty, 20%. This must make those in certain other states take heart.

      About the political cesspool, I have a theory. The mass of immigrants who arrive in this state come from socialist countries, or at least from countries with a very different political system than our own. They come from countries where gun ownership is forbidden or, at least, extraordinarily limited. They come wanting social services because they can’t have a decent life if they are reduced to achieving one based on their own wits and skills. Over time, they gain citizenship and have kids who are inculcated with the same values. This pays off hugely at the ballot box for Democrats.

      Adding to the socialist orientation is the education system. The public school system and colleges serve almost as political re-education camps now. Nationally, 70% of Millennials now say that they would consider voting for a Socialist for President. This is not simply a California problem now, but it has its effect here.

      My own county until a couple of elections ago, had a 20-year Republican Congressman. When he retired, a woman with an unorthodox sexual orientation from outside the district, but with a boatload of Democratic Party money to work with, declared her candidacy. The steadily increasing Hispanic population turned the district Democratic for her and sent her to Congress.

      About the fires, the power companies have been given mandates concerning Green Energy. Much money has been wasted. Now, a hue and cry goes up when the power is shut off. People say that the power lines should be buried. I ask them, “So you’re fine with the big rate hike that will follow when the Utility Board allows it to pass the costs on?” Crickets. No, the sheep want a perfect world, and they want someone else to pay for it. That is part of the socialist mentality.

      The bottom line is that, for all its faults, California is still not a bad place to live. Most of the criticism is deserved, but much of it is merely envy by people who are shoveling snow, dodging tornadoes, and working low paying, dead-end jobs.

      And, now, about those earthquakes…

      1. You know I’ve never heard anyone say they envy those living in CA but have heard a bunch of Californians say they envy me for living in MT… Any natural disaster in MT I can prepare for but for those living in CA there is no preparing for an earthquake other than having a bugout bag packed…On the high paying job point you have to live in a place where it cost an arm an a leg to buy anything…You have to look at wages versus cost of living…I lived in CA for 10 years so I do know the ins and outs of living there and would recommend conservative people get out before it gets a lot worse…The power outages now will seem like dream compared to what’s coming…

         1. Lineman,

            Understand that I am not belittling anyone for getting out of California, nor am I belittling other states. I am simply pointing out that there are downsides everywhere.

            I understand what you’re saying about Montana. Yet, a friend mentioned that his daughter moved to Wyoming or Montana (I always get those two states mixed up, sorry). He said that she got nine months of winter, and three months of summer, often at 90 degrees. I met a fellow at Fort Knox back in the early 80s. He was from Wisconsin. He said that they only had two seasons there, “winter and July.”

            The average January high temperature where I live is 65° F, one thing that I will never complain about. When my son was 5-years-old, I took him back home with me for the first time. At one point, he came up to me, raised his arm in the air, and pointed to his armpit, saying “Look, Dad, sweat!” Sweat was a novelty to him. One day on the same trip, he stood, mesmerized, staring out the backdoor of my brother’s house, watching a thunderstorm pound the deck with rain. His older cousins looked at him strangely, probably thinking that he was having a seizure.

            And you are wrong about one thing, you can prepare for an earthquake. First, I have plenty of food and water on hand for well over a year for multiple family members. Second, I have earthquake insurance to the max. I have solar panels, deep-cycle batteries, and generators. Absent a total collapse of my home, I have no reason to believe that an earthquake will cause me all that much disruption. I did just fine after the Northridge Earthquake. Fuel for the heating? Unnecessary. A sweat shirt at night in the house will be all that I need. People will freeze to death in Eastern and Midwestern cities after a national calamity. Not so here. I never have to think about how many cords of wood I will need to get through the winter.

            If my kids relocate, assuming that it is to a location that is reasonably acceptable, I will likely follow. If they relocate to some place I could not tolerate, I might return home–but I would spend winters in Florida.

            As with every urban area in the country, however, after a disastrous calamity, I will be uncomfortably close to the Walking Dead from the inner city. Chicago, Atlanta, Toledo, Albuquerque, Des Moines? Samey, samey.

            You are right about the cost of living, but my house is paid for. I can return back home and buy 2 1/2 houses of the same quality and size I am currently living in with my equity. They sometimes call the problems in buying a home out here the “weather tax.” As with the value of all real estate, it’s “location, location, location.”

            I am not saying all of this to brag or irritate anyone. I am simply saying that you can be very prepared for disasters while living here, and that some of the benefits offset some of the deficits.

            1. What I meant is the possibility is there that your house will be destroyed or at the very least condemned by the authorities… Also your weather out there because it’s good all year round invites the riffraff and all the diseases that come with it…The weather where I am at is just cold enough to keep the homeless to the minimum…I’m not trying to convince you that your taking your chances by living there I’m just letting others know that in gambling sometimes you win and sometimes you lose…

            2. In Minnesota (especially Northern Minnesota), they say they have two seasons: Winter & road repair!

            3. I love California, but I won’t live there. I have lived there. I lived 4 years in San Bernardino. Speaking of earthquakes, when I lives in San Berdoo the fault line was visible less than a mile from my house so the concern was real. I asked my insurer about earth quake insurance (because there is more to surviving than simply having food and a flashlight) I was told that for my house the insurance would cost $8000 a year and had a deductible of $16,000. I went back to San Berdoo for a visit last year and my friend who still lives there warned me to not go out after dark because it is unsafe. My first couple of months living there we had one of those big fires that Cal is so famous for; 400 houses burned to the ground within 24 hours.
               Some years later I lived in Monterey for a few years. Couldn’t afford a house even though I had a good job. I had a small boat and payed three different fees/taxes on that boat. Not only was it expensive it was irritating. When I moved away for a different job Cal demanded proof that the boat was no longer in their state and kept sending me those three different bills for a couple of years. Cal is a money grubbing state that is over taxed.
               I family friend took his wife and four kids to Disneyland a couple of years ago. I warned him to carry a cooler with drinks for the kids because otherwise he would be tempted to stop at the quick stores and get drinks and snacks for the family. You can’t do that in Cal because the immigrants or other minorities will kill you or rob you.
               I have a motorhome and do travel through California. It costs me under $100 to fill my tank in my home state but it costs just over $200 to fill it in California.

            4. Survivormann99, You claim your intention is not to brag or irritate anyone, but I sense the opposite while reading your comments. You seem contemptuous of the poor who lack education and skills, who bring their poverty with them while desperately trying to seek a better life for their families. So nice for you that your house is paid for and you are surrounded by family. Please count your blessings and have a bit of compassion for those who are not as blessed as yourself.

      2. I don’t live in California but I live closer to a blue region than I would like.

         I look and dream but will probably be where I am for a while. I too have grown children and grandchildren that tie me to where I am.

         I don’t think moving is an option for my children right now and I feel it important to be in their lives influencing them. Family cohesion is one of the primary survival factors IMO. Perhaps more than location.

         And it would do me no good to survive somewhere in a SHTF situation and then lose my children and/or grandchildren.

         But you never know what the future holds. My daughter loves Montana and my son experiments endlessly with gardening, fruit trees and small scale meat production. Perhaps someday we might put something together somewhere.

         1. Sometimes those that know what’s going on have to be the ones that are the pioneers and search out a new area that is better for everyone…If your family looks to you for direction then you have to be the one to lead in the right direction…

            1. I have certainly considered that. The future is always open.

               Currently my son and I live in rural areas. My daughter lives in a bedroom community of a major nearby city. We are not in the middle of the crush just a little closer than I might like.

      3. I couldn’t wait to move out of California, and I moved to northern Idaho literally the day after I retired. Best decision ever! There are worse things than snow. Anyone who thinks they are going to survive in California in a SHTF situation because it isn’t cold in the winter, must be presuming that all those millions of people are going to just leave you alone as they peacefully starve to death in their homes. Desperate humans are more cunning and dangerous than wild beasts, and your warm weather isn’t going to save you. Thirty million people will be in competition with you for every single thing needful for life. Best of luck.

         1. I gave up a long time ago trying to get people to be proactive instead of reactive because very few would listen…You could lay out all the facts and show them articles of people that actually went through the SHTF and it didn’t matter because they had a good job, food in the fridge, a big screen, and a nice couch…So now I just put it out there that I will help and sit back and wait…

            1. Ditto. I have a highly intelligent friend, retired, politically conservative, pro 2A, living in California who has been stalling on moving north for two years now. If it’s not one thing it’s another. She is aware of the danger of SHTF scenario, grouses about Governor Newsom and the new gun laws, complains of the rapidly increasing influx of ‘refugees’ in her neighborhood, tells stories of her home being staked out by local burglars… but she still lives there even though she can easily afford to move. I have more anxiety about her still being there than she herself does. I just have to give up on it.

      4. Oh please, this is not the place for your endless justifications and a wall of words. Just stop. Take it to Facebook or wherever you online apologists like to argue.

         Rawles should shut comments on this site. It is 90% noise and pontification.

2. It is all ‘PG&E’ s fault? Could it be that all the liberals that managed California for decades are complicit?

   Naw, it’s all that climate change and capitalism coming out of that Redoubt.

   1. I heard on the radio a report of the blackouts. PG&E was described as “bankrupt” in passing without explanation. Is this so? Being relatively naive about such things, I’m curious how this works and how PG&E stays in business.

      Carry on

      1. California state law allowed PG&E to be easily sued for big money after the big fires in California that took so many lives last year. Even though state and federal land management practices contributed to the fires. They are bankrupt.

         That said, PG&E used to be and I think still is one of the biggest land holders in California. Not exactly sure how that came to be. I seem to remember that it originally had to do with the railroad land grants in the 1800s but I don’t remember for sure. But when I lived there in the 80s they had vast holdings. Similar but perhaps even bigger than Weyerhaeuser holdings in the PNW.

         Years ago I would cut firewood for a family that had 640 acres of absolutely beautiful PG&E land on a 99 year lease costing the family something like $2000 a year. It was developed, with a huge beautiful home and out buildings. There was a lot of land in situations like this.

         If PG&E still has big land holdings, I have actually wondered if part of what is going on is a land seizure of sorts. Hold them accountable for every fire and then let them be sued until they have to give up all that land for a song. Don’t know if that would even work or not.

         1. In re: to the Cal fires & PG&E and Southern Edison power companies – the issues are many fold: 1. The environmentalists shut down all possibility of clean nuclear power in the 70’s; 2. The environmentalists wanted to save the smelt fish and turned off the water to most of the central state, which destroyed agriculture, and turned the state into a Tinder Box – I understand the state charges $6,000 per acre foot of water now!!; 3. The environmentalists didn’t want the forests and animals disturbed, or smoke in the air, so controlled burns and brush clearing were verboten; 4. the power companies were forced to put millions and millions of their dollars into “green energy” initiatives rather than converting to underground power and line/facility maintenance; 5. the unfettered illegal immigration, open borders, and sanctuary city policies from the Liberals created an unsustainable population growth that the power companies couldn’t keep up with and still can’t; 6. the power companies are between a rock and a hard place – the governor and other politicians blaming the power companies for the fires rather than themselves is ludicrous; 7. as long as Liberal politicians remain in power in California, the problems will get worse. If those who remain can Take California Back, I support you!

            1. Replying to my own post because I just need to post a few opinions about California in general. Can you be prepared in California? Maybe. Maybe not. This is my own opinion, experience, and observations.

               I too have grandchildren and children and extended family still living in California – all live in very “nice neighborhoods”. They don’t realize that they are the boiling frog and I pray daily for their safety. Just in the past few weeks, one was almost killed on the freeway by an illegal drunk driver, one was hit on the freeway by an illegal with no insurance, one had to evacuate at 5am with 5 small children including a newborn due to fire, one had to move due to being threatened by gang members for daring to be white and stepping into a local mini mart, one was home alone with babies and experienced an intruder in the middle of the day- they now have security cameras and dead bolts on every entrance, one was notified through neighborhood watch program that someone with a rifle was indiscriminately shooting at livestock in the area, one learned that an MS13 style murder occurred in a nearby field where the victim was tied to a tree, slashed with knives, then shot in the head. I can get hysterical about these happenings and I pray a lot. These kinds of things didn’t use to happen all over California, maybe in the bad parts of LA or Oakland, but not all over. There are apparently 10 million!!!! illegal aliens living in California and we don’t even know who they are or what their backgrounds are. After saying that, I know many wonderful, wonderful families that have immigrated from Mexico – sweet, caring, christian, family oriented, hard working families. They are not the problem. It’s the criminal element that has infiltrated the state. I’m against registering weapons, but California has made it a felony to own an unregistered weapon or weapons of a certain kind. Soon they will tax ammunition. My adult kids are armed appropriately and can shoot straight but most places are “gun free zones”. We recently discussed that they might switch to having everything delivered rather than shopping in the big box stores. They rarely go to events where there are big crowds. Heads are on a swivel and there is a layer of anxiety they carry with them. The only exception are family members who are oblivious and unbelievably unarmed. I think they are the most at risk of harm.

               My opinion is that there are no safe places left in California, not even in the rural areas or in the hills. I pray constantly for my family in California and I hope that they can get out before something terrible happens to them.

            2. One last post… I implore you to welcome the California transplants. Most are not in the “Elites” category. Yes, many have money, but many do not since they’ve been taxed to death and are weary. The ones that do have money, yeah it feels like they drive the housing prices up, but they also create jobs. In our area of Idaho there’s more work to be had than people to do the work. My neighbors are native Idahoans and they are taking advantage of the extra work and socking money away like mad and buying land. It depends upon how you look at it. I’m against excessive taxation, so as a voting Idahoan, no, I don’t think taxing your way out of a problem is the answer. Ever.

               Okay folks, so sorry for the diatribe on California Escapees. Most of us are just like you. I pray my family will escape soon.

3. Thank you for posting the “noteworthy news” article. I find it very amusing that the political class, the media, and the elite academics think we are so stupid that we can’t research for ourselves. All the data is out there for anyone wishing to do the work to pull it altogether. There is no global warming. The fact is that the earth and sun have a cyclical relationship. Sometimes it’s too cold and sometimes it’s too hot, to state it simply. It’s amusing, and yet sad, that we have people in the highest offices across the country who actually believe in global warming. There is no factual basis; there is no emergency. The sham of it all is brainwashing the children in public schools, scaring them, etc. These climate alarmists have profited financially from the sham and seek to control public policy via the sham. It’s all about money and control. I’m glad to see the sham being exposed, slowly but surely. I suggest the Elites move to Montana or North Dakota or Wyoming for the winter this year and go without fossil fuels of any kind, relying only on solar and wind power. LOL. Maybe that will assist their foggy brains a bit. LOL.

   1. Yes, climate change is just one of many fear tactics intended to drive our population into the warm, loving arms of the government. When the conversion is complete the people will know how it feels to live in a warm and fuzzy Cuba/Venezuela regime.

   2. Hey! Sara Sue.Please don’t suggest that Elites move to our little piece of the Redoubt!
      We already have our share of trouble makers.None of them understand the concept of
      Making do with what you have.
      Bond issues,levies,and more taxes are solutions to their imaginary problems.
      it’s getting difficult for a Montuckyen to get by.

      1. LOL. Norml Chuck and all talking about California… I wrote a response but it was two pages long, so maybe I’ll reformat and post individual posts.

4. Re. Without Food, You Are Dead
   Great article as well as historical references from Ol’ Remus at the Woodpile Report.

   Yes, Lincoln’s U.S. Government used food as a weapon. But the winners of wars get write the history books. I don’t believe for a second that Sherman’s 5-weeks “scorched earth” War of Terror took place without Lincoln’s knowledge. Both of them were war criminals. Yet Yankee President Grant held Sherman in such high regard as to select him as Commanding General of the Army. For 15 years Sherman conducted his next ‘scorched earth’ War of Terror, this time on Native Americans.

   1. You rightly call out these so-called “heroes”. Sherman, like Smedley Butler did the murderous work of the Wall Street cabals. Yes, there was a Deep State one hundred and fifty years ago.

      As we mistrust big government, we do well to note who pays the piper.

      Carry on

      1. Once a Marine, I just finished viewing Ken Burns’ ‘Civil War’ for probably the 4th time. Yea I ‘m a little slow. I knew darn well that Lincoln was aware of Sherman’s plan and approved such but couldn’t put my finger on it right away. Get this:

         From Burns’ chapter ‘War is All Hell’:

         Shelby Foote: “Sherman purposely made war against civilians.”

         Ken Burns: “The President (Lincoln) approved it (Sherman’s plan)” “to march to Savanna living off the land and destroying everything in its path”

         Even better, check this out.

         Lincoln knew damn well what Sherman was about to undertake.

         http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites/lincoln/letter-to-william-sherman-december-26-1864/

         You and I can’t let the history revisionists get away with fake history. KYPD

   2. Montana Guy, I just ran across this.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGAMHS4W_MU

      Phillip Sheridan was a killer under the command of Sherman. Neither had an epiphany like that of General Butler, who wrote War is a Racket.

      The folks in this video are very unlike me and I don’t agree with all they say. Of course, that’s true for what I read on SB. I’m willing to be uncomfortable in the service of seeking truth and justice.

      Carry on

      1. Thanks Once a Marine. I saw a peaceful, informative and effective demonstration. I remember those. Those young people are on a better path than this former Yankee was at their age.

5. Re: California fires

   California has had major transmission lines for decades.

   It has had Santa Anna winds and dry conditions for millennia.

   It has had wild fires for millennia.

   Now it cannot be managed? Something seems very wrong beyond what is being reported in any of the news. Conservative news, liberal news, any of it.

   Is PG&E just fighting back over its bankruptcy/lawsuit in the only way they can with the power outages? Is our fire fighting infrastructure weakened to virtually nothing? Is fire fighting being withheld until it is too late? Are these fires arson? Is the distribution system just completely wore out and inherently dangerous? Is …?

   I think it is a given that land/forest management practices have been poor for at least 30 years due to environmentalists. This allowed massive fuel loads to build up. That is even acknowledged in liberal academia. Perhaps that is the whole problem but I am not sure I buy that being the whole problem.

   I am reminded of the story a few years ago where a major substation in California was vandalized by gun fire. By all accounts vandalized by shooting holes in specific places in a tank of oil used for cooling that provided a slow leak that allowed the shooters to escape without detection prior to system failure. Seemingly vandalism by people knowledgeable of the system. The damage was discovered by sheer luck. Had it not been, to my understanding, a large part of Silicon Valley would have been without power for a long time. The story was reported and then, from my view point, swept under the rug.

   And now, just a few years later, California is shutting off power to upwards of 2 million people at a time? Because they all of the sudden cannot keep their distribution system from burning the state down?

   It just makes me wonder what we are really witnessing. One should never chock up to malice what can be explained through incompetency, but I am still wondering what is up that is not visible (if anything) in California?

   1. Bingo.

      California needs an influx of federal monies to pay for all their mismanagement – especially to pay for the highest pension burden in the country. What better way to get federal tax dollars now that Trump nixed their billion dollar bullet train scam , then from natural disasters. Man made disasters elbiet.

      1. That is one possibility.

6. It’s pretty simple really when you have the environmental crazies controlling the gov. for the last how many years where they don’t allow the power companies to maintain their ROW and clear debris from underneath their lines so when the infrastructure fails which they all do at some point then you get fires which people then look at who to blame and get money from which is the power companies…So the power companies in a CYA mode are now shutting off the power when there is any chance of a slight breeze… I wonder if anyone read the article of the recent fire where another transmission line allegedly started it even though they had the distribution lines off…That should be a grave warning if you still live in the state because now you could be hundreds of miles away from the potential fire zone but still be without power because what feeds you goes through the zone…

   1. I hear you regarding the environmental crazies. Land/forest management is clearly a problem.

      However I am not convinced that is everything going on. I am really starting to wonder about arson. What if Islamist or others see this target rich environment of unkempt power line trails and decide to start fires to create havoc?

      Additionally last year when the big fires were happening in Oregon, Washington, and BC, I listened to an ordinary lady on the radio, living in some of the areas affected, state flat out that she knew first hand of fire fighters being held off of fires to allow the fires to get bigger. The motive in her region was that the fire fighting was contracted out and the contractors made more money on bigger fires.

      That malicious intent is part of this is not unreasonable. Remember during the ENRON scandal of many years ago that it was caught on tape and eventually released to the public that power companies were coordinating power plant maintenance specifically to cause brown outs in California and leverage up utility rates. I listened to those tapes over the radio.

      In something that was a bit unrelated but illustrates the length people will go to when scheming, research the end of the standoff between the feds and the Bundys in Nevada. If you recall, the feds swarmed in, then a whole bunch of private armed private citizens swarmed in and there was a standoff that looked to be really bad. Then the feds all of the sudden backed off and disappeared in a day. That day a story broke about the Bundy grazing land being used for environmental mitigation to allow a solar project in another area of Nevada to go through. Harry Reid’s son was heavily involved with the solar project. As soon as this was revealed the feds left. Coincidence?

      The environmental crazies have created a serious problem throughout the west. (Actually numerous serious problems.) But I really suspect that someone WANTS California to burn and/or the power shut off for some reason. I don’t know what that reason is. Could be Islamic terrorism. Could be ecoterrorism. Could be some money making scheme. Could be someone who hates PG&E for some reason. Could be someone who wants a piece of PG&Es huge land holdings. But I think the odds are high that someone is up to something beyond standard incompetence.

      1. Brother it’s not just PG&E that is shutting off power to people its all CA power companies doing it…Also yea there has been arson attacks but there is fires started by arcing power lines because of the environmental policies of California…Don’t let your imagination run too wild it’s mainly stupid policy finally catching up and causing havoc…

         1. SMUD is not, so far. Which is fortunate for my elderly mother. Can’t speak for other power companies.

            It is possible that it is just incompetence, but the ENRON scandal, the Metcalf Sniper Attack and numerous others are not imagination. They are historical fact as are numerous historical events that would be labeled “conspiracy theories” should we propose they were happening right now.

            I recommend reading this and then consider if my thoughts are too imaginative.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalf_sniper_attack

            Additionally the grid is considered critical infrastructure and we have a 20 year history of studying these issues because we know they are targets.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_infrastructure_protection

            1. Smud isn’t at the moment but their policy has it in there that they will if they need to…They are a mostly city power though so they don’t have too many lines in wildfire prone areas…I actually work on the grid all over the west coast and have worked pretty much all over the US before that so I do understand a little bit about it…I know it’s fragility and know probably a lot more about attacks that don’t even reach the news..Which is why I’ve always advocated to build Communities where you have the control of your infrastructure, food and water supplies, defense mechanisms, and a host of other things…

7. Aloha
   I pray all is getting better in California…
   Thank you for great information…

8. I read the article on Mann and Ball. Per the article, the lawsuit was about “Ball’s allegedly libelous statement that Mann “belongs in the state pen, not Penn State.” ” The court ruled that this wasn’t libelous. I would consider the statement an opinion protected under the 1st amendment if said in the US. Whether libelous or not, either ruling would not confirm or refute the accuracy of the hockey stick, nor the reality of climate change. The lawsuit was not about the accuracy of the hockey stick. If you want to know more about past temperatures, studies done and the complete body of evidence see the link at the end. The prepper who chooses what they want to believe about science, enemies, and threats based on political beliefs instead of science and facts is the dead prepper, the emperor without clothes, or the warrior prepared for the wrong enemy. https://skepticalscience.com/broken-hockey-stick.htm

9. Food has been one of my major prepping concerns for some years. I’ve read the world only has something like 30-60 days worth of food in storage. I’m not sure how accurate this is, the distribution could also vary by country with a rich agricultural country like the US having more stored than a poorer country that imports more of its food, but I’ve also seen parking lots storing grain after bumper crops because the farmers don’t have enough storage. I doubt industry or the government have enough food stored to feed the complete US for than some number of months. The Arab spring and civil unrest in multiple countries has been at least partially tied to hungry people, either due to lack of food on shelves or price increases above what people could afford. I think the US would be no different if the shortage was severe enough. Bees are dying, we are losing massive quantities of top soil, and industrial food production relies on poisons and fertilizers from fossil fuels. Nuclear war, an asteroid, an overdue CME, a pandemic, bio-terrorism, a financial collapse, and climate change all have the ability to disrupt food production, either directly or the inputs needed for food production. A really severe shortage from some of these causes could cause massive starvation and deaths before recovery. Where I live I’m thinking I need a couple years of food because I doubt it will be possible to grow food in the short term due to theft and confiscation. I’m on the east coast where there are too many people and it isn’t easy to hide. I’m even struggling with how to keep what food I have away from confiscation. Food takes up so much more space than other prepping supplies.

   1. If you live on the east coast not only do you have food your going to eat you have to worry about what everyone else is going to eat because of the population back there…You have to look at how many people there are per square mile of food bearing land and realize there is no possible way without imports that you could survive…

10. Any evidence PG&E equipment (besides the plea of guilt) started any fires?

11. California is evil and corrupt.
    We lost our home due to the assault on private property ownership. The HOA was sending out fines every month and putting liens on the home and charging us $590 a month dues.

12. To OneGuy, I grew up in San Bernardino (22yrs), moved to north bay in ’78. Would visit Dad there and I saw the increasing deterioration each trip. It’s typical of many bankrupt Calif. cities with declining businesses, huge non-English speaking populations, minimal public services(Stockton, Merced, Vallejo,etc.). Went down to move my Dad into assisted living center (96yo). One night there were shots being fired a block from his house. Called it in, they said unless there were people injured they don’t respond. The Sheriff’s Dept now covers most of that city. As a retired LEO in bay area I see this same deterioration happening everywhere in cities in Nor-Cal, some almost as bad as So-Cal. We are retired and living in a “small” nice town. Most of our kids are nearby. Don’t see us moving unless things really go bad. We prep, we have gardens & chickens, solar, most neighbors are good but moderately liberal. But if you’re not lib/Dem, you have no political representation, and every year more bad laws make it harder to live here.

    1. If you pay taxes then you’re feeding the beast that wants to annihilate you which isn’t a good thing…

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