The future?

Another example of being too far gone! We need to get ready NOW people, if you are not ready, then do it NOW! Time is short, and there is a lot to do. We need to do what we can to ensure that our way of life is not gone forever!

Even though I made a brief post about Justice Scalia's death last night I am going to expand on it some more today.

I don't know anything about the circumstances of his death and at this point I am not going to comment about the many questions that are being brought up across the blogs and news sites. As many of my long term readers may remember I have long held that the Conservative members of the Supreme Court were the most important Men in the world right now for us and Scalia was at the top of that list. At one point I placed Roberts almost as high until he showed that he could be manipulated.

Also it has been my philosophy since about 2008 that there is little to nothing we can do as responsible Americans to stop the financial train wreck that is coming which includes mass immigration in it as well. There is simply no stopping what the Feminist/Progressive/Multi-Culters have set in motion because too many people now rely on the government cheese plain and simple. Even a large portion of us who do not receive a government check each month still rely on that spending to come down the pipe for our own from private companies or the spending it brings from government employees. There is simply no getting away from it for I estimate 90% of the population at least. However it's more than obvious it is unsustainable so what must end will end.

This is where the Supreme court came in. We cannot set things right, we cannot begin getting the population to become more self sufficient. The ONLY thing we can do is prepare ourselves and defend every inch of political ground we can to stop or slow the advance of Liberal/Feminist ideology and keep them from taking even more of our rights away. The best hope we had was that the economic/financial collapse would happen sooner rather than later and we would still have our 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc and property rights intact when this all goes down.

Now our ability to stall, defend and make em pay for every inch of ground that remains is severely and sorely compromised. Even if (And it's a big if) the Senate managed to delay the vote on whatever lowlife Liberal Feminist Obummer sees fit to appoint to the office until the next President takes over we still have 10 months of being one man short and further hampered by the fact that Scalia was the best legal champion we had. There are in fact several cases coming up before their usual break that Scalia was weighed into heavily and with him gone we will more than likely begin loosing ground almost immediately.

This changes things. It changes them drastically and puts all of us on blogs and forums like this one in a new danger. If the next blow we suffer is a Presidential win by Hillary or Sanders well I don't even want to think about it.

At the very least firearms and ammo have now jumped even higher on the must have list than they were. Site and Life security and anonymity for your web presence is once again looking to be very important. Official government Censorship and repercussions for opinions and ideology are once again looking likely as well. Challenges to government over reach and restrictive laws now could very well be rubber stamped through and the debt clock will begin twirling even faster while the hand of the government will grasp tighter.

Most importantly the hope that this thing comes apart sooner rather than later now rises to a new height. We are vulnerable and hang on the roll of the dice. If the Senate caves and/or a Femocrat wins the next Presidency it's all over but the police state knocking on our doors. I have long hoped the collapse would come before the need for us patriots to stand up and fight our own government and it looked like grid-lock was going to insure that.

I am not so sure anymore.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!!

Posted by PioneerPreppy

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Making a Habit of Survival Part 2

Part 2 of this topic, which is a good one to think about, and to take on board.

Survival Habits- Part 2, by Northwoods Prepper

As habits develop, processes become routine. For example, I have a process for stacking wood. There are several different ways, but I found the one I like best for my wood storage area, taking into consideration access to our house, snow drifts, and levelness of the ground. I have had cords fall over, which is not only a time loss but dangerous as well. In my area of the world, I like to set old pallets down to keep the cordwood off of the ground; otherwise, the bottom row freezes into place and is available only after a thaw or some work with a sledge hammer.

While some of these habits you can learn from a book or YouTube videos, some of them just need to be experienced. Educational materials can get you close, but they will not get you a bullseye, and this has to be clearly understood. That does not mean educational material has no value, as it is key when trying to establish new habits to ensure you do not create a bad precedent, but in combination with experience it becomes much more so. Let’s go back to the commute example we used earlier. If you are looking at a map, it can provide very clear directions. If I need to plot my way to work, the map will give me the right directions, but there is no guarantee it will give me the best directions. Even mapping programs and applications will almost always give you the most direct route. It is after the experiences that I better understand the map; instead of reading of an intersection of “Wall” and “Stowe”, I can visualize that corner and have a rough understanding of the traffic pattern there, if used regularly. It is the knowledge of the road where it moves quickly or slow.

It applies to every habit that you create for yourself. It is human nature to look for shortcuts or the easier way. If I am at somebody’s house and they have split wood or used a different log splitter or chainsaw, I’m asking them about how it works. Sometimes it’s a cursory discussion, but other times it can be educational. Looking at how others do things and their success or failure is the basic principle of education. But these events are more worthwhile when your knowledge base is stronger. It is even better when you have routine and habit to build upon, because during the discussion you can visualize the event you are discussing, which should make it more applicable to you and, if it is routine, it is more likely that you will remember the conversation when performing the routine, allowing an opening for experiment or change.

Now there are more than several books on good habits, breaking habits, et cetera. Many of these are for the business world or to lose weight or have specific objectives. Some will be applicable or at least have some positive impact. We all have what works for us, and you will have to customize what works for you, but I will share how I look at it.
1.Understand your end goal.
If you do not know why you are doing something, it makes it more difficult to do it well. Back to firewood, having the realization that this is being cut for firewood allows me to cut it to the right length from the beginning and save time. However, I also do not have to be overly neat as, again, it is firewood, so the primary concern is fitting into my stove to burn.

2.Know the process chain.
Knowing all the steps helps as well. While my goal is to ultimately cut the wood to fit into the stove, having the knowledge that I will split the wood allows me to not worry about girth when cutting for stove size (although I still have to know how much I can lift onto the splitter or will have to do by hand). When cutting and splitting, having knowledge about how you will stack your wood saves time later.

3.Understand the dangers.
Developing successful habits can also involve processes that are dangerous. While cutting firewood sounds fairly innocuous, it is fraught with peril. Here are some of the dangers with firewood that you should be aware of: tree toppling the wrong way or not as expected, chainsaw blade getting wedged, cords falling over, critters setting up home inside your woodpile, tripping over cut wood, splitting axe deflected, chimney fires, et cetera. This doesn’t mention muscle soreness from over exertion or blisters, splinters, bruises, and aches. Knowing the dangers helps minimize the risk, and there are many stories of those who have lost equipment, body parts, or worse while cutting firewood, so take any dangers seriously.

4.Get going!

This is probably the most important point. Getting started is often the hardest, but once you get going the rest starts falling into place. Revel in the fact that you have taken that first step.

5.Start with an open mind.

Regardless of what endeavor we are initiating, we have some preconceived idea of what comes next. Getting started is important. Realize you are going to make mistakes and probably make many changes. Be open to suggestions from yourself and others. Experiment when you can afford to in order to learn. For example, I have tried stacking wood in different ways and still do. I know what works, but I’ll try different things occasionally to see if it saves time or dries the wood better or is more secure. There will come a point where I’m satisfied with my process, but I still try other things occasionally to see if there is room for improvement.

6.Set short goals.

Don’t try to do everything at once. For example, our process started with installing the wood burner and making sure it was safe and usable. The next goal was getting wood. The first couple of seasons, we purchased as much if not more that we cut ourselves. The following season was establishing a pattern of cutting and splitting our own wood and setting it to age properly. Now we are still evaluating proper tools and what we need to improve our process as well as building a small outbuilding for better protection of the wood.

7.Evaluate regularly.

Take time to step back from the process and assess. What should I have done differently, and what can I change now to make it better and more efficient? While you may not be able to correct all your mistakes, it is still worthwhile to reflect upon them for future opportunities.

8.Use all available resources.

When starting something new, use all your resources, from owner’s manual to Internet. Talk to experts and friends (realizing the differences), and look at how to apply them. The ones that you find the most insightful, save and reuse after three or six months. It will have a very different meaning once you have some basic experiences.

9.Have the right tools.

Having the right tools is key to any job. Understanding the need in the right circumstances is also valuable. With cutting my own firewood, I’ve invested into a very nice Stihl saw (Farm Boss). In addition, I have a couple of axes and wedges (bought or given as gifts) and hand saws. I’ve had other chainsaws that are good for some work but cannot always handle everything. At this time, I am still evaluating log splitters and borrow my neighbors’ or split by hand. I am longing for a good quality log splitter.

10.Think of alternatives methods to achieve your goal.

So after we have committed to a wood burning stove, invested in tools and equipment, have three years of firewood to go, I ask you to look at alternatives. Of course, my goal is heat and keeping warm, not the simple joy of having a fire. So alternatives could be as simple as additional insulation. The value of improving the weather stripping of windows not only becomes an energy saving project but a true trade off in labor of moving firewood. If I can reduce the heat leakage in my house by x%, that is x% less wood that I need to move over the years. Perhaps I am close to a place where I can access corn cobs inexpensively and use that as fuel for my furnace instead of wood? Both electric and therma-electric fans to move the heat may be valuable to increase the warmth of the house. Solar could be considered as an additional heat source as well. The point of this step is to realize that there are multiple ways to increase efficiency, and some of it may be in finding ways to minimize use.

However, alternatives could mean finding a whole new way to heat your home. You may realize, unfortunately, that there is not enough lumber in your area to practically heat a home. There may be a more cost effective and less labor intensive process. This is why the majority of homes are heated with natural gas. It works great and is easy. While hopefully you fully vetted your options before you started, sometimes life just is unfortunate and you realize your mistake too late.


While I thoroughly enjoy the tangible knowledge of gear and gadgets or the basic how-to articles I find on SurvivalBlog, it is my belief that the mindset of individuals will be the key to getting through any grid down scenario. Book knowledge is good, but it is no substitute for real world experience. Real world experience is gained by “doing” regularly (not practice, not studying, not watching others) and routinely and having the various issues arise that you must overcome, i.e. instilling good habits. It prevents similar issues from reoccurring and increases your mental toolkit to handle the next issue. It also allows you to work on autopilot so your mind can figure out other issues while still keeping busy and handling tasks at hand. In a grid down situation, fear of the unknown may be paralyzing, but if you know instinctively through habit that now is the time to get the wood, feed the chickens, or weed the garden, it will give you a significant edge over those who are figuring these things out for the first time. In addition, habit is developed by experience over a period of time. Having a habit means you will also have a better understanding of the outcome, therefore relieving some insecurity for a very uncertain future. Good luck and start your path to good habits today.

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Making a Habit of Survival

Here are some great points to ponder about survival, and how to make it a habit, or a part of your normal life.

Survival Habits- Part 1, by Northwoods Prepper

The majority of the people in our country and the world are urban dwellers. Even those living in the country, let alone in the smaller cities and towns, do not embrace a truly self-sustainable lifestyle. The ease and low cost of getting a gallon of milk at the store versus the time and space required to raise a milk cow or two, let alone keeping them healthy and productive and then finding a way to store the milk, is almost prohibitive. This is due to the economic principal of “division of labor”, where the specialist with hundreds if not thousands of heads of cattle can produce milk inexpensively and fairly reliably. However, it is also a habit and a way of life, and if you have always raised your own cows then the idea of buying milk from someone else’s cow let alone a factory-produced, plastic constrained, highly pasteurized and manipulated milk is a totally foreign concept. This article is directed toward those in the city, although anyone can gain insight.

All of us have bad and good habits and know the difficultly in changing them. Exercising regularly, giving up certain things (whether sweets; caffeinated, carbonated, or alcoholic beverages; tobacco; et cetera), addictions to television or social media, or even reading your bible on a daily basis can often be a challenge and one that is difficult during the best of times (which is what we are living in now) with every opportunity and resource for us to change them. Some habits are forced upon (the majority of) us, such as getting up and going to school or work every day or paying taxes. It is a way of life. Good habits tend to be more effort now and beneficial in the long run, while bad habits have the opposite impact.

As a SurvivalBlog reader, you have the same grid down concerns that I do. In the most extreme situations we will all have to radically alter our way of living. My family has moved from the suburbs of Chicago to a remote farm. This move, with full access to modern conveniences, has not been easy, but it is even harder to change our habits. From my perspective, there are two major types of preppers. There are those who are preparing for the instability of world change with a complete grid down golden horde scenario that will be utterly devastating, i.e. get through the hard hump and hopeful that things will return to normalcy at some point. The others are full lifestyle changes based on the belief that the current situation (growth, resource use, population density, et cetera) are all untenable and will force a long-term change on the human race, whether we have a massive convulsion or not. We are a bit of both and wanted to share so you understand our perspective. Still, coming from a traditional suburban lifestyle, it is hard to give up watching television or playing a video game in the evening after a long day at work. It is hard to spend time and money setting up a garden that, if lucky, we may break even in cost instead of buying the food outright. Yes, we fully understand the intangibles (organic, environmentally friendly, control of our food source, et cetera), but making this change is hard.

Habits are important as they allow you to operate without critical thought. Consider this for a moment and your average commute to work. After a while of working at any job, you know the traffic situation, how long it takes for you to waken, get ready, grab lunch, and drive to work. If you forgot gas or lunch, you know the time it takes to figure it in, and it barely impacts your day. If you sleep in, you know how much faster you need to shower and dress. These actions are all built on knowledge and habit. The time you save not having to plan a route with gas refilling stations and food options is huge, especially when it is extrapolated over a period of time. Obstacles become minor issues that allow your day to be uneventful. Some argue this is knowledge, not habit. Take the same situation above and a friend or spouse needs to drop something off at your place of employment. Can you remember all the street names or are you guiding them by landmarks and vague recollections? Some of us will know the details, but most of us “just know the way” and end up giving the friend the address of the place with faith in GPS or telling them to turn left at “First Bank” and right after the “Green Gas Station”.

Habits also make us more efficient. In the same scenario above, if you work long enough at the same place you will find the most cost effective and/or convenient places to stop for gas or groceries. If your commute is long enough, you will have your primary route, which will be the least amount of miles or time (whichever you value greater) but will also have one or two key alternatives, should there be a car accident or construction work. Instinctively, you know if there are traffic problems and whether you need to call your boss based on the anticipated time delay. You know if it snows that you need to be up an extra half hour early and the weeks around holidays you can leave ten minutes later. Again, these are habits developed over time and experience without a significant amount of thought or study.

Establishing a self-sustainable lifestyle requires hundreds of habits. Depending upon your choices, there are thousands of differing subjects that each need their own routines, especially those surrounding plants and animals. We can go through pages and books on habits and different routines. However, as an example, I am going to pick one subject that is common to all: heat. Even in the southern states, winter nights get cold, and where I live– north of Chicago– it is cold from November through March. I also like using firewood as an example because it requires a regular process of feeding wood to a furnace, which has a similar rhythm to having animals or managing a garden and is very simple concept to understand and most of us have the basic concept of firewood down well. It is not that great of a mystery.

At this time, we still utilize natural gas, so we are not solely dependent upon wood for heat. In addition, we have electricity, and on the very cold days we use supplemental electrical heat or bake in our electric oven. To say we are self-sufficient is a far cry, but we have built better habits.

We have instilled a habit of keeping the wood burner running all winter long, night and day. What have we learned from this habit? We’ve earned how to maximize the heat the wood burner can produce. Instinctively I can damper the air when the fire is hot and open the airflow when starting or wanting more heat. It is a rare day and more of a fond distant memory that I smoke out the house when starting a fire. We have learned how often to remove ash and clean the fireplace and how to utilize warm daylight hours to retrieve wood. It has become a regular system and a good daily habit.

The seasonal habits are also starting to form well, such as taking time to chop, split, and stack wood. Aged wood burns hotter, and while it requires more preparation in the front end it saves time when you want good hot fires. Moving and stacking wood is a constant process. If it sits and ages too long, it has the potential to rot or become infested. You want to set up a series of piles for burning by age so the oldest goes first. This is a seasonal habit that does not occur on your first year or second year. Sometimes it takes a cold winter where your wood supply gets really slim or even disappears before you learn the hard lesson. We are still figuring out exactly how much wood we need to burn each winter. After several years we know what we need to ensure we have a constant supply, but I have not developed the instinct or habit for the consumed amount. Part of that is due to the kind of wood that is readily on hand. We have a good idea of the wood that we have easily available for us to chop and use without concern of running low. We have not determined which wood burns best at what age. That comes from experience, and you can read for hours on wood burning, but like so many things it depends on specific circumstances: your type of stove, age, type of wood, et cetera. There are good combinations and poor combinations.

Another habit that I’m developing is learning to be available when wood is free (aside from labor). After storms or if somebody is clearing an area, a polite visit to the land owner can often provide access to trees, and there is usually somebody on Craigslist willing to give away a tree if you can cut it down. If already cut, this can be a huge time saver if the wood is right for you. But even if there is nothing quite as aggravating as turning a tree into firewood (cutting, splitting, storing, and stacking) and finding it does not burn well, it is also a learning experience. Maybe that wood can be utilized for outdoor campfires or landscaping projects. The more wood I can access off my property allows for greater resources on my property when needed, since trees take time to replace. While this may sound a bit selfish, I am offering fair trade in the current market and more often helping people get rid of unwanted waste.

https://survivalblog.com/survival-habits-part-1-by-northwoods-prepper/

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Being Anonymous

Disclaimer: I did not write the following article, the credit is listed below. I posted it here because I felt that it is good information, and that the readers of this blog would gain something from this information.

Being Anonymous, by Spotlight

As posted on the Survival Blog.

I walked out onto the driveway to greet my wife as she backed the car in, arriving home from a long day at work. Right away, I noticed a magnet on the back of the car, proclaiming us to be members of our church, complete with our town name. “What’s up with that?” I said, looking at the magnet, as she got out of the car. She laughed and said the pastor of our church had put it on there when he saw her in the parking lot. I think she had laughed because she knew what I was going to say next , “That won’t make it until bedtime!” (It didn’t.) When I got into preparedness, I came across the “grey man” theory at some point. Reading it, I realized that I fit the profile, for the most part. I think of it more in the sense of being anonymous, but it’s close enough. The grey man theory is the idea of remaining unnoticed in general and not standing out, not being the one on television who’s being interviewed in regard to some controversial position, not being the guy everyone noticed because of his loud mouth or loud clothing, and that sort of thing.

I have actually been fairly anonymous all of my life, although I didn’t realize it until more recently. You know how some people are very noticeable? Do you know how everyone takes notice when they walk in a room, people talk about them when they’re not in the room, and everyone generally remembers what they said? I am the opposite. It never really dawned on me for most of my life. I’ve always been an introvert, always being more comfortable alone than in a group. In school I always had one or two close friends and never really a big group of them, despite being on numerous sports teams.

When I grew up, I became a police officer in the small town I grew up in. After a few years, I was promoted to detective and spent the rest of my career in that role, which I really enjoyed.

Since I was a cop in the town I grew up in, which as I mentioned was a small town at that, I was particularly careful about telling people where I lived and even more so after I got married and had a family to protect. People think that only big city cops have to worry about retaliation from criminals, when in fact I suspect that it is much more prevalent against small town cops. We’re a lot easier to find, since most big city cops I ran into didn’t live in the cities they patrolled. Those of us in the small towns tend to have repeat contact with the same criminals, and it’s easier to run into a small town cop on a force of 50 or less on purpose, than to find some cop in a city of thousands. On the occasion people asked me where I lived, depending on who they were (i.e. criminal or non-criminal), I either flat-out lied (to the criminals) and named a city where we had looked for houses so I could be somewhat knowledgeable of the area or was vague enough (to the non-criminals) so that it sounded like I had answered but really hadn’t told them much. In addition to being careful what I told people, I had an unlisted phone number and a PO box to get my mail, which was necessary since we first lived in an apartment with no direct mail service. The PO box just became another layer of security after we moved.

As I got into prepping and became familiar with the grey man concept, I realized that I had been born a “grey man” to some degree. For some reason, I am really good with names and faces, but no one seems to remember mine, even people I have met on more than one occasion. Perhaps it’s because of my introverted nature that I am not “rememberable” to people, but I have always found it somewhat humorous to go up to someone I met once or twice, call them by name, and watch as I see them looking confused as to who I am or why they know me while we talk. (I’ve often told my family that men are lucky. We can call each other “buddy”, “pal”, “boss”, and the always flattering “chief”, and no one is the wiser as to the fact that we have no idea who this guy is that we’re talking to!)

So, let’s get back to the car magnet my wife received. Why on earth anyone would drive around with a sign saying where they worship (and probably live) on the back of their car? It’s like those family magnets people put on their car, showing how many kids they have and what gender they are, then add a sticker from the local elementary school as well. So, you have just notified the world that you have X number of young children, what school they go to, and what town you live in. It doesn’t make any sense to me. Don’t get me wrong; I do know why people do it. They’re showing pride in their church, school, or even their family. I just think it’s poor OPSEC, at a minimum, and in some ways, dangerous.

Before I list my tips to being anonymous, here’s one word on the Internet. It was a game changer for privacy as we all know. Anyone who wants to can probably find me pretty easily, since a lot of public records are online for free or for a small fee. However, as one of my former co-workers said when we were discussing why we bothered taking privacy precautions as police officers, “Just because they can find it if they look hard enough, doesn’t mean we should give it to them for nothing.”

Being Anonymous:

1.Unlist your phone number. If you’re already listed, I don’t know how much this will do to remove what’s already out there. At a minimum, tell the phone company you don’t want your address listed. (Yes, you can do that!) My unlisted number costs me less than $5 per month. As a bonus, I almost never get telemarketing calls. If I’m asked in a store for my phone number, I tell them it’s unlisted or give them my cell number, which is not connected to my home.

2.Use a PO Box or UPS store mailbox. Yes, it’s a hassle to have to go somewhere other than the end of your driveway for mail. We actually do get some mail at our house, but we use the UPS store mailbox that I set up for a side business for most of our bills, checks, DMV paperwork, et cetera. It’s particularly helpful on the DMV paperwork. In the event my car gets stolen, the thieves won’t have my home address. In my state, the DMV is okay with a PO Box or UPS store address on the actual license or registration, as long as you provide them with your real street address for their records. Anytime I’m asked for my address, it’s the UPS Store one I give.

3.Skip the flashy clothes or ones with controversial statements. One of the things I liked about being a cop was wearing a uniform. There was no picking out clothes everyday. Then I made detective and had to pick out clothes (and a tie!) everyday. Now that I’m retired, I wear mostly earth tones, nothing that screams tactical (i.e. “shoot me first” in a robbery), and either work boots or hikers. Before I was a cop, I was obsessed with police hats, sweatshirts, et cetera. Not long after I got on the job, I realized that not everyone actually likes the police, so that came to an end quickly. I have participated in events like praying the rosary outside Planned Parenthood without having to wear the t-shirt that goes along with it. I don’t wear shirts that advocate gun rights, but I could still go to a gun rights rally. I don’t think being anonymous keeps you from exercising your rights; it just doesn’t need to be on the shirt you wear.

4.Keep stickers and magnets off the car. Similar to above, I don’t put stickers or magnets on my car that state my political beliefs either. Similar to the family type magnets or what school my kid goes to, no one needs to guess that I’m probably carrying a gun because I have five NRA stickers on my bumper. While we’re at it, maybe take off that license plate frame the dealer loves to put on every car they sell. First of all, why am I giving them free advertising? Secondly, no one needs to know where you got your car, since most of us buy them near where we live.

5.Don’t drive a flashy, distinctive car. Speaking of cars, driving a flashy or distinctive car is definitely anti-anonymity. After I retired from law enforcement, I was a private investigator for a few years. At that time, we just happened to own a navy minivan that was about eight years old and a grey Ford sedan that was about the same age. Talk about perfect cars for PI work! I spent many hours in the back of the minivan, seats folded flat, sitting on a lawn chair, watching worker’s compensation scammers ply their trade. When I wasn’t on surveillance, the Ford was great for riding around in to conduct interviews or accident investigations. If I drove a lifted Ford F-150 with 35” mudders on it, I probably would not be too successful at sneaking around. Which car are people going to remember driving down their street?

6.Avoid publicity as much as possible. As stated above, it’s much harder in the Internet age to do so than it was when I was growing up. My name still appears online in regards to some old cases I worked on and in things related to my old department. There’s nothing I can do about that. However, when I was invited to appear as an audience member on a national TV show in regards to the gun control debate, I politely declined.

7.Recognize that some times you will be exposed. No matter how hard you try to be anonymous, it’s very difficult and sometimes you’ll be identified through no fault of your own. My wife joined a local organization and became its president after a few years. Unbeknownst to her until a year or so after her term was up, the national organization that oversees the locals had put all of the officer’s names, addresses, and phone numbers online! This was prior to our PI business being up and running, and it was during the time where we had moved away from the area where our PO Box was and we were only getting mail at our house. I think she was more upset than I was, mostly because her job sometimes requires her to deal with some angry people, so she wasn’t too keen on our address being so public. Again, we can’t control everything.

8.Don’t be completely forthcoming when talking to people you don’t know. As an introvert, I don’t have too much problem with this, since I don’t spend much time engaged in conversation with strangers. But, even if you are an extroverted type of person, try to avoid giving your life story to everyone you meet. Most people are just being polite when they ask where you live or what you do and don’t have any evil motives. Even then, it doesn’t mean you have to give out your address. Even now, to people I meet who may ask, I generalize where I live by describing its close relation to the next town over, but that description is pretty broad in reality. I can always tell someone more about myself later if necessary, but I can’t “untell” them anything once it’s out of my mouth.

9.Don’t attract attention to yourself by being the big mouth at the event or the one who is complaining loudly about some perceived bad treatment you received. This doesn’t mean not to complain if it’s warranted; just don’t make a big scene when it’s not necessary (and it’s usually not). In this day and age, you can bet your tirade will be on YouTube or someone’s Facebook page as soon as you’re done ranting.

10.Don’t post anything online using your real name. I often see people posting on various websites with what appear to be real names and in some cases definitely are. I used to read one investigation related website that required real names! Note I said “read” as I would never have posted there or anywhere else with my real name. Some people claim it makes it harder for people to hide behind their pen names, which is probably true, but it’s also dumb. Luckily, Survival Blog allows and encourages us to use pseudonyms when posting.

11.Get a shredder. We have had a shredder for many years, since way before they became really popular. Currently we have a small Fellowes brand shredder that cross cuts, which is way better than the old strip style shredding. Now they make ones that micro shred, which is even smaller than cross cutting.

12.Don’t use social media. If you’ve read Survival Blog for any amount of time, you are probably aware of social media and its downfalls. Facebook is notoriously bad at maintaining its users’ privacy. Don’t do it!

13.Turn off GPS tracking. I always keep my GPS software turned off on my phone and digital camera. One of my cop buddies used to tease me by telling me that I thought I was so important that someone would track me. I didn’t think that, but with the NSA listening to regular American’s phone calls, who knows who’s watching us anymore? Again, don’t give it away.

14.Select an Internet birth date. I have what I call an “Internet birthday”, which is not my real birthday. If something on the Internet requires my birthdate, it’s my Internet birthday that I put down. Make it something you’ll remember easily but that’s close enough to your own that you don’t make yourself too much younger or older. Also, be careful where you use it. I once used it for a particular company where I didn’t think it really mattered and then months later when trying to verify who I was the rep asked me for my birthday. I forgot I had used my Internet birthday. Oops! Luckily I was able to identify myself in other ways, but be more careful than I was. Plus, I get to admonish my family every year when no one wishes me a Happy Internet Birthday on that day!

15.Finally, don’t be paranoid. This probably sounds ironic, coming from someone who just described all of the things he does to remain anonymous, but as stated earlier, you can’t control everything. I used to do crime prevention surveys for residents of the town where I was a police officer. One of the things I used to tell our residents was, “if for some reason, someone wants to get into your house (as opposed to any house), they will, regardless of what you do.”

I hope this has been helpful to you in your quest to keep you and your family safe. I truly believe anonymity is an important part of being prepared.

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Click here for all your prepping/tactical needs: The Tactical Patriot Store

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Tactical Fitness

Okay guys and gals, to be effective at providing for, and protecting or families, communities, and nation we need to be at a certain level of fitness. I know this is a tough thing to do with everything we already do in our daily lives, but come on, is it important to be physically capable of taking care of your family during a "bad" situation.

With that said, I challenge you to step up your game, ensuring that you can be part of the solution during a SHTF situation. Without the ability to carry your gear across miles of wooded/mountainous terrain you will be very limited to where and how far you can go. This puts you and yours at risk.

I recommend that everyone work out at least 30 min a day 4 days a week, then work up to more. You should get to the point where you can carry all your gear (Battle Belt, Plate Carrier/Chest Rig, and Ruck/Pack) for at least 5 miles.

Being from a military background I know that you do not need a bunch of fancy equipment or a gym to workout. The following are exercises I recommend doing on a weekly basis.

Running/Jogging
TABing (Tactical Advance to Battle) this is where you put on a pack weighing at least 30 lbs (less if you have to)and sort of shuffle run, not a full out run, but not a walk either.
Walking with gear on
Pushups (Shoulder width, Wide and Narrow)
Pull ups (Shoulder width, Wide and Narrow, forward grip and reverse grip)
Dips (Body width, and Wide)
Lunges
Lunge walk
Flutter Kicks
Leg Lifts
Crunches
Plank
Plank walk
Low Crawl
Scissor Kicks
Sun Gods (arms out to side, in front, and above head, small circles, large circles, forward and reverse)
Squats
8 count Body Builders (standing drop to ground 1 do a pushup down 2 up 3 jump your legs out to the side 4 jump your legs back 5, pushup down 6 up 7, stand 8 and repeat)
Rope climb
Walk up and down stairs
Curls with some kind of weight

I will add more information about this topic. Please add a comment at the bottom of this post if you have any input on this topic.

Bottom line is people, that we need to prepare our bodies as well as our souls, and store food, water, firearms, ammunition, medical equipment, seeds, etc... to be able to get through the up and coming difficult times.

Do you want to give yourself a better chance of survival? If you do WORK OUT!!!

EQUIPPING THE GUERRILLA FIGHTER, PART ONE (The Survival Load)

The guerrilla fighter is a true light-infantryman in the classical sense of the term. He is essentially, a woodsman-scout. The guerrilla operates in a manner that emphasizes the expert use of his personal small-arms, the use of stealth in all of his movements, using the available terrain and cover to counter the supposed technological advantages possessed by regime forces, and an expert grasp of the fundamentals of small-unit, “hit-and-run” maneuver warfare.

 

The guerrilla possesses the trained ability to operate day and night, over varied, broken terrain, using his field-craft expertise and whatever technological assets are available to him, to escape enemy observation until he chooses to attack. When he moves, the guerrilla moves from one position of concealment to the next. He strives to utilize appropriate movement techniques to maximize the value of masking terrain. When not changing positions, the guerrilla remains motionless and hidden from observation by regime forces that may possess the most advanced STANO (Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Night Observation) tools available. Like his woodsman-scout forebears, the guerrilla carries only the necessities to ensure his survival and combat effectiveness. Additional, unnecessary weight leads to excessive, accelerated fatigue, impedes and slows movement, and leads to a compromising over-reliance on the technology represented by the equipment, rather than his native wit and skill in field-craft.

The light-infantry paradigm is not found in Stryker Armored Fighting Vehicles, or even HUMVEE-mounted convoys to a disembarkation point two kilometers from an objective (although both of these certainly possess value in their own right). The light-infantry paradigm is found in field-craft, mobility, tactical expertise, and marksmanship. The ability to sneak inside the enemy’s reactionary gap un-noticed, strike with overwhelming violence-of-action at his weakest points, and then disappear into the surrounding environment before a reaction force can be mustered, is the key to interrupting the enemy’s OODA loop. This “hit-and-run” ability is the chief tactical advantage available to the irregular, small-unit force.

 

Conventional force militaries no longer possess a true light-infantry capability. The fundamental problem, over-burdening foot-mobile infantry soldiers has existed nearly as long as armies have existed. The modern development of advanced technological war-fighting assets has exacerbated the problem rather than remedying it. Despite the best efforts of military logisticians and theorists, the load of infantry forces has continued to increase. The modern, conventional-force “light” infantryman is often required to carry loads far in excess of 120 pounds, even when operating in difficult, broken, and steep terrain such as the alpine environment of the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan.

The load of infantry forces has been a subject of intense study since the 1700s, and is still a problem that has never been resolved. Technological advancements in weapons, STANO, communications, and personal protective equipment have added to the soldier’s load. This has only been partially mitigated by advancements in load-bearing technologies and attempts at miniaturization.

 

According to an unidentified infantry first sergeant of the 187^th Infantry Regiment (“Rakkasans”) of the 101^st Airborne Division, concerning load-bearing during Operation Anaconda during 2002,

“We had extreme difficulty moving with all of our weight. If your movement would have been to relieve a unit in contact or a time-sensitive mission we would not have been able to move in a timely manner. It took us 8 hours to move 5 klicks. With just the vest (Interceptor Body Armor vest) and LBV, we were easily carrying 80 pounds. Throw on the ruck and you’re sucking.”

 

Studies conducted by the United States Army following World War Two found that the average infantry rifleman had carried approximately 55 pounds during movements in the field. These studies concluded that this was the maximum weight for an approach-march load that would still allow the fighter to fight effectively when he got to the fight. A decade later, a follow-on study determined that this still applied, but allowed for a maximum 48 pound fighting load in actual combat, if carried by a conditioned fighting soldier.

 

The fighting load is doctrinally defined as the actual load carried by a soldier during combat. The approach-march load, on the other hand, is the load carried by the soldier in order to get to the fight. It includes the necessary equipment to survive until he gets to the objective.

Despite the advances made as a result of these studies, by 2003, soldiers engaged in dismounted combat operations in the mountains of Afghanistan were carrying a 60-80 pound fighting load and an approach-march load that was often (during true dismounted operations, rather than vehicle-based patrols) in excess of 130 pounds. The heaviest loads, typically carried by M240 assistant machine-gunners, were often in excess of 150 pounds. These figures, it is important to remember, are the doctrinal loads, and do not include the almost inevitable inclusion of personal items by individual soldiers.

 

As the previous quote from the Rakkasan first sergeant illustrates, today’s conventional-force light-infantry soldier simply cannot move fast with his doctrinal load. Additionally, these loads were developed based on a regular re-supply via rotary-wing aircraft or ground-vehicle convoy every 48-72 hours.

The guerrilla fighter will not have these support assets. He will be forced to live out of his rucksack almost exclusively, with his re-supply provided by previously established caches hidden throughout the operational area. The guerrilla light-infantryman must overcome these liabilities. The ability to function as a woodsman-scout will be absolutely crucial to the survivability of the guerrilla fighter.

 

The survival load/fighting load/sustainment load model is a useful framework for the logistics planning of the future guerrilla. The surest way for the guerrilla to maximize his ability to apply his light-infantry capabilities is to minimize his load-bearing requirements while utilizing re-supply caches and safe-houses throughout the operational area.

The survival load is the items that the individual warfighter carries on his person, either in hand, in his pockets, or on his belt, but not attached to the fighting load-bearing equipment. The concept behind the survival load is that it will allow the operator to escape and evade hostile pursuit and survive indefinitely, if not comfortably, long enough to return to the control of friendly forces. For the guerrilla fighter, this is the perfect goal for the survival load. While the guerrilla is unlikely to conduct combat operations without the benefit of his fighting and survival loads, there are numerous reasons that he may need to have mastered the survival load concept. Whether conducting a clandestine infiltration of denied, regime-controlled territory to conduct an operation, or simply the need to dump all of his personal gear in order to run faster while trying to escape an overwhelming enemy force while breaking contact, the guerrilla must develop and carry a survival load that takes into account his personal field-craft and knowledge.

 

Too often, even among survival “experts,” the solution to the survival load idea is misinterpreted as a hardware issue. The trend to rely on a survival “kit” is not the answer. The guerrilla fighter should never rely on the “Altoids can survival kit.” Instead, the focus should be on the effective use of the tools he would normally carry on his person, facilitated by proper field-craft and survival knowledge. As in everything for the guerrilla, software trumps hardware.

At its fundamental level, the survival load consists of:

 

·         Sidearm. In extreme evasion scenarios, or covert operations conducted in regime-controlled built-up areas, this will function as your primary arm. The primary attributes necessary are that it be utterly, unfailingly reliable, and readily concealable. Because of its role as a personal defense weapon, perhaps in direct-action combat missions, as opposed to simple self-defense against one or two hostiles, a magazine-fed, high-capacity semi-automatic pistol is the ideal choice.

·         Knife. This is a field-utility knife. While the possibility of its use as a combative weapon should not be overlooked, this knife is far more likely to be used for fire-building, shelter and hide-site construction, and the manufacture of traps and snares under survival conditions than it is to be used for silencing enemy sentries by stabbing them in the throat. While a fixed-blade knife may be the ideal, a stout folding knife, kept suitably sharp, more than adequately fills this role, while simultaneously being eminently more concealable (in the interest of intellectual honesty, I feel obligated to note that I carry a Cold Steel push-dagger for an EDC knife, and generally have no fewer than three folding knives on my person at any given time. As a team sergeant once pointed out to me, “Sergeant Mosby, a man can just never have too many knives on his-self!” My Victorinox Swiss Army knife probably gets more daily use than any other tool I own, of any sort. –J.M. Additional Note: I’ve since dispensed with carrying the push-dagger.–J.M.)

 

·         Sun/Safety Glasses. In the mid-1990s, the Ranger Regiment issued Ray-Ban sunglasses as part of a new Ranger’s central supply issue. Nevertheless, Rangers were not allowed to wear them, because it was considered non-uniform (WTFO? I never did understand that. –J.M.). Today, thanks to the advances developed by operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the use of safety lenses is generally accepted as mandatory. Polarized, tinted lenses during daylight, with ANSI Z87 safety ratings will increase visual clarity, reduce eye strain and fatigue, and protect the war-fighter’s eyes from battlefield debris and some shrapnel. The two most popular manufacturers of “tactical” sunglasses are Oakley and Wiley X, but any tinted safety glasses will suffice, and may look far less conspicuous than the latest cool-guy, CDI selections from U.S. Cavalry (again, in the interest of intellectual honesty, I have to admit, I wear Oakleys for work, and Wiley X for daily wear. –J.M.)

·         Cordage. Cordage is, rightly, considered a critical tool in the survivor’s tool kit. The simple truth is, there is no such thing as too much cordage in a survival situation. Many long-range surveillance units (LRSU, the operational descendants of the older LRRPs) and some ODAs, make it part of their standard operating procedure (SOP) to replace the laces in their field boots with 550 cord. It’s out of the way, readily accessible, and the operator is never without the requisite material to construct field-expedient shelters, snares, fishing lines and nets, and even poncho rafts for water-crossing operations (to this day, every pair of boots I own has had the laces replaced with 550 cord. –J.M.).

 

·         Compass. While the woodsman-scout background of the guerrilla light-infantryman means the fighter should possess the ability to determine directions, at least roughly, without a compass, he should rarely, if ever, be without a compass. The ability to reliably traverse terrain that the enemy considers impenetrable is the strength of the guerrilla. Possessing a compass, whether a standard orienteering compass on a lanyard around the neck, or a simple button compass on a watchband, should be considered a necessity for the guerrilla, as part of his ability to escape and evade when needed.

·         Fire Starter. This may be a simple waterproof match-safe stuffed with weather-proofed “hurricane-lifeboat” matches, a flint striker, or a flint-and-steel kit. The serious survival expert will never allow himself to be caught without some means that he can use reliably, to build a warming fire to stay alive.

 

·         Water Purification. The final aspect of the survival load that can never be overlooked is the ability to procure or manufacture safe drinking water. Historically, evaders have suffered horribly from dysentery after being forced by necessity, to drink stagnant, putrid water infested with bacteria. It is critical that the guerrilla devise a method of purifying water on the run in an evasion scenario. With the prevalence of store-bought bottled drinking water, soda, and sports drink, the guerrilla should always be able to find a receptacle to carry his water, as long as he can purify it to make it safe for drinking. Whether a small container of iodine tablets, a filter straw, or a pocket-sized, “standard” water purifier, it is critical to possess safe, clean drinking water to stay alive, healthy, and effective ( I use a product called “ION Stabilized Oxygen” for water purification. I’ve used it all over the world, purifying water from stock tanks and ditches, without ever getting ill. It’s smaller, lighter, and more effective than any micro-filter I’ve ever seen or used, and I can keep a bottle in the pocket of my jeans without noticing it).

Different experts on survival will recommend different elements to add to the “survival load.” When considering it as part of a layered, tiered approach to guerrilla equipment however, a minimalist approach, reinforced by proper field-craft training and survival knowledge, will more than adequately provide the essentials needed to keep the guerrilla fighter alive during escape and evasion scenarios in the remote chance that he has to ditch his fighting and sustainment loads, or is compromised and forced to E&E during covert operations in denied territory that precludes the carry and use of the normal fighting load.

Part Two of this article will discuss the layout of the guerrilla fighting load, with Part Three covering the sustainment load. The final installment, Part Four, will discuss strategies for the construction and use of re-supply caches.

Nous Defions!

John Mosby

Somewhere in the mountains

When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty

Lee Daiber
Activist Post

The entire world is waiting – watching for your signal, your cue. They wait for the call of your voice, the announcement of your arrival. This sleeping giant grows restless with unease. The silence breeds madness in the desperation of so many set in the very ways that inspire their own hopelessness – too dependent on the system around them to make the first steps toward liberation; too afraid to leave the comforts of miserable domestication by the state. It’s your voice they wait for, your initiative to take heed of your responsibilities to the world around you should you have the courage to take a stand in the face of overwhelming odds. After all, this is your future we are talking about.

Many of you may be students – some preparing to begin college, others perhaps already in the midst of pursuing a “higher education”. Regardless, you have no doubt noticed the unacceptably, unjustified high cost of tuition – the price you pay for a promising and semi-successful future. Yet, that promise (or illusion of promise) has become increasingly less convincing in a world where a high percentage of college graduates not only fail to find a career in their field of study, but a growing percentage end up so financially strapped from student loan debt and lack of sustainable income that they find themselves moving back in with their parents after four or more years of college education. What is the sense in accumulating massive amounts of debt pursuing a degree that provides absolutely zero certainty of financial well-being? You do not need a college education to wait tables or prepare fast-food orders, and yet a growing percentage of college graduates find themselves doing just that.

This is the new age - same as the last. War, poverty, violence, corruption and injustice plague our world and continue to spread throughout.

The system – this system in which we live has become destructive and violent. The machine that drives it is composed of the planet’s most powerful financial, governmental, and corporate entities pursuing even more power and profit. We have used our most incredible technological discoveries and scientific breakthroughs for means of destruction and financial gain, meanwhile suppressing advancements to free society from controlled resources. Domestic surveillance programs are expanding at a rapid pace by governments around the world with the United States seemingly taking the lead. All forms of digital communication are subject to being monitored without warrant or reason through programs like Trapwire, Stellar Wind, ARGUS and more. Your privacy is now a thing of the past all in the name of state-sanctioned “security” from the very threats that the state propagates and encourages you to fear.

This imperial system is racist, violent and murderous. Profit outweighs fairness and ethical practices. The financial growth and expansion of multinational corporations and institutions rests upon the shoulders of the people of this planet – crushing our backs beneath the demands of the system. Our livelihoods are minimalistic in comparison to the top echelons of big-business and world banking – a struggle that has encompassed the globe. We spend our lives pursuing fiat-currency – paper that holds no value other than that which is dictated by the very system that preys upon the common person.

These entities have infiltrated governments around the globe and impose great influence on policies and decisions; their interests pushed ahead of the interests of the people and often cause further suffering and/or injustice. Your livelihood, your quality of life and in many circumstances, the longevity of your life is dependent on your financial well-being – binding you to commit your obedient consent to the system which denies you of your basic human needs without first paying the price. Any decent, sensible human-being can understand the problem this entails. Chances are, deep down you already know something just isn’t right in this world.

The fact that this is the harsh reality is not your fault. The events that have come to pass that have led to our current situation were beyond your control and set in motion before many of you were even conceived. However, if you continue to stand idly by and allow these occurrences to take place without standing for what is right and just, without standing for a better future, then the truth of the matter is you will be all there is to blame. Stop settling for “just the way things are” – it does not have to be this way. Only in our own apathetic dismissal and inaction do we restrict ourselves to such confines. Do not make the same mistakes as previous generations. Resist society’s push to conform you into a set path that is clearly failing. Stand up for what is right – strive for a better world where fairness, justice and equality are doctrine, and compassion, empathy and sustainability are paramount.
Think outside the box. Question everything. Begin thinking in revolutionary ways. Forget everything you have been told. Is the current modus operandi the best way? The only way? What can you do to impact the world around you? Take the lead – set the example. Become actively engaged in the world around you and begin educating yourself not only with current world events, but look to history for lessons. Discover ways to become less dependent on the system and promote a much more self-sufficient lifestyle. Utilize technology in ways that empower you, your community and the world. Vast resources and information are at your disposal and the only thing that has prevented you from utilizing these materials is society’s push to focus on distraction and entertainment. Find enjoyment in dissent. Take pride in your activism and encourage others to do the same. Stop the mindless pursuit of self and instead practice empathy and compassion. Do what you can to make life better for others and find reward in your actions. After all, is a life lived for yourself more gratifying than a life lived for others? Will you be remembered for selfish, material success or for selfless commitment?

Where do go from here?

When one begins to recognize the faults and fallacies of our modern world, it is quite easy to become overwhelmed. You want to make a difference; you desire a change, and yet the concept of changing the world becomes such a large task that many simply choose to give up on the idea altogether. It is easy to see how we ended up where we are today when you realize this. However, with the advancements in technology and the opportunities brought to the table via the Internet, many of the traditional barriers and obstacles encountered by previous generations of activists and concerned citizens are a thing of the past. With the capability to bring people together from all over the planet and present ideas to the masses, the Internet provides us with nearly infinite possibilities, resources, tools and potential if only we utilize it properly and efficiently. Coupled with the efforts of traditional activism, i.e., flyer hanging, pamphlet disbursement and good old-fashioned demonstrations, marches and protests, we the people are capable of making a substantial impact - perhaps more so than we even give ourselves credit.

The true power in this world belongs to the people. We are the gears in the machine, the cogs that keep this system in motion. Our hands built the roads, buildings and other infrastructure. Our daily lives finance the operation of the machine. Simply put, we are holding all the keys and the only obstacles in our paths are ourselves. Our own manipulated perspectives of reality are holding us back, preventing us from stepping through the doorway to a more peaceful, reasonable existence. Never doubt the power of an informed people, actively engaged and fearlessly standing against injustice. The power that the people hold with civil acts of defiance are simple, efficient and effective and in the face of injustice, it is the duty of the people to stand firmly in opposition. Where do we go from here? Ultimately, we are the answer to our own question. We must turn to one another, recognize our common fate, our shared and equal existence on this planet and our shared duty to establish a more stable, sustainable way of life in harmony with our surroundings and with respect for our planet. We the people will either become our salvation from destruction, or our own demise.

A simple solution needs only commitment, organization, a plan of action and consistent momentum. Certainly nothing is ever accomplished without first making a commitment to not only become involved, but to stay involved through the process. We do not have the luxury of dismissing our own individual responsibilities, lest we ourselves become a part of the problem. Organization is key to success in most circumstances and certainly helps activists become more effective in their efforts. Obviously, if a movement of any variety lacked organization it would merely become a chaotic and ineffective mess. Strategy, planning and organization will provide a sense of solidarity and a clear direction for action. Most importantly, without continued dedication and momentum, even the most organized and planned out movements are doomed to stagnancy. To prevent this from happening and to assist in the first steps to addressing the problems, I will break down a simple plan for us to begin our path to true effective change in three basic steps.

Step 1: NETWORK
This is the most crucial step in the process and the foundation of everything that follows. Many of you may remember “show and tell” from your days in elementary school. This step is essentially just that, although a more appropriate name might be share and learn. In this step not only should you continue to actively pursue knowledge of the events unfolding in our world and be aware of elements of corruption and injustice, but share that information with others and in turn, listen to the knowledge others can share with you. Begin networking with like-minded individuals near and far (with a focus on those in your region for effective group-building). Organize flyer posting campaigns and head out on the streets to hang informational flyers and hand out pamphlets that will directly influence your local networking ability. This is your hub - your community. Those who join the cause with you locally will only further benefit your efforts in your region and provide further assistance on a large scale. As time passes, you will be able to build a closely-knit, efficient and organized local chapter of the world wide effort for change. Your group will be able to contribute both to your community and surrounding communities and to the global movement as a whole. All that is required of you is some of your time, commitment and a dedicated effort.

• Post flyers in your area: Inform others of the cause for concern. Encourage their involvement.
• Social Sharing: Never underestimate the power of social networking. Share information often and everywhere. This will help you locally and the movement as a whole.
• Utilize informative resources: Provide yourself and others with up-to-date news/events.
• Establish a communication point: Create a group for your area and direct those who join your local efforts to your group for quick and easy organization. This will benefit greatly as efforts begin to expand beyond local borders.
• Network and build your local group: Meet others in your area, join efforts and team up.
• Learn self-sufficient alternatives: Discover ways to become less dependent on the system.
• Assist with local community needs: You and your group can effectively help by assisting with local problems. Help with shelters, food banks and more.Learn to effectively work together to achieve goals that you set together.

Simply put: research all that you can. Share what you know and be sure to listen to others as well. Broaden your horizons and open your mind to new possibilities, ideas and suggestions. Get active by posting flyers and handing out pamphlets as often as you can. Make it easy to build your team by including a link or qr code on your pamphlets or flyers to direct others to your group. Begin working with your group to organize efforts locally. Develop new relationships with others and learn to work as a team. Develop or utilize alternative methods/practices, such as urban/guerrilla gardening to reduce your dependency on the system. Most important, have fun! Be creative in your activism, find enjoyment in your actions, and take pride in knowing you are standing up for your rights!

Step 2: ORGANIZE
Once you have established your local team/group, begin reaching out to other groups to organize your efforts. Broaden your reach and your objectives. Begin working with groups around the world to formulate a (non-violent) course of action. As momentum grows not only should your local group continue to expand, but more groups will begin to launch and expand globally. As this occurs, we will begin to organize this growing community as a whole by implementing tools for an online polling system where we can each have our say and cast our vote on decisions pertaining to the direction of our movement, objectives to pursue, event planning and more.

Our efforts to expand our movement and our reach will continue with increasing momentum and effectiveness. Throughout this process we will host events, contests and more to encourage and reward achievements and efforts. Planning for the next phase of the process will begin as an open-forum discussion where input, ideas and suggestions are welcome and encouraged.

• Continue local group efforts: Strive to set a leading example of teamwork and leadership within your community. Inspire change through action.
• Establish joint efforts: Begin networking with other groups and collectively working together to develop new events, campaigns and ideas.
• Protect yourself with knowledge: Become familiar with your rights.
• Establish representation: Implement an online polling system allowing for voting.
• Plan for the future: Begin planning and organizing mass acts of civil non-compliance. Simple, effective, non-violent demonstrations of our unanimous disapproval and our refusal to continue to participate and allow this current destructive system of operation.

Step 3: MOBILIZE

The on-going efforts that result from our work and progress up to this point. Determined by vote and community planning, we take action as a global voice that is truly for the people and by the people. Whether it be mass boycotts or global protests, now is the time we stand together, united for a better world and a more promising, sustainable way of life - free of the violence, oppression and greed that exists within our world at present.

The ball is in our court

Where we go from here is entirely up to us. Now is a time that we need to take a step back and take a good look at the state of the world around us, the path we are taking. The big picture. We must ask ourselves some tough questions and search deep for the right answers. Can we continue down this same path much longer? Are we ready to stand together? Can we achieve far greater than this? Or are we doomed to our own destruction? We are free to decide our own destiny.

Albert Camus once said “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

No authority can neither give nor take your freedom. The truth is, you are already absolutely free. It merely comes down to a simple choice: Do you choose to live free, or submit to the unjust rule of a governing few?

** Lee Daiber is the creator and administrator of the Freedom Informant Network. He is an undergraduate student majoring in digital media production with a minor in journalism. Lee is a veteran of the US Navy and is dedicated to pursuing a better world free of the corruption, injustice and control that exists today.

40 Statistics About The Fall Of The U.S. Economy That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe

Michael Snyder
Activist Post

If you know someone that actually believes that the U.S. economy is in good shape, just show them the statistics in this article. When you step back and look at the long-term trends, it is undeniable what is happening to us. We are in the midst of a horrifying economic decline that is the result of decades of very bad decisions.

30 years ago, the U.S. national debt was about one trillion dollars. Today, it is almost 17 trillion dollars. 40 years ago, the total amount of debt in the United States was about 2 trillion dollars.  Today, it is more than 56 trillion dollars. At the same time that we have been running up all of this debt, our economic infrastructure and our ability to produce wealth has been absolutely gutted.  Since 2001, the United States has lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities and millions of good jobs have been shipped overseas.

Our share of global GDP declined from 31.8 percent in 2001 to 21.6 percent in 2011.  The percentage of Americans that are self-employed is at a record low, and the percentage of Americans that are dependent on the government is at a record high.  The U.S. economy is a complete and total mess, and it is time that we faced the truth.

The following are 40 statistics about the fall of the U.S. economy that are almost too crazy to believe...

#1 Back in 1980, the U.S. national debt was less than one trillion dollars.  Today, it is rapidly approaching 17 trillion dollars...

#2 During Obama's first term, the federal government accumulated more debt than it did under the first 42 U.S presidents combined.

#3 The U.S. national debt is now more than 23 times larger than it was when Jimmy Carter became president.

#4 If you started paying off just the new debt that the U.S. has accumulated during the Obama administration at the rate of one dollar per second, it would take more than 184,000 years to pay it off.

#5 The federal government is stealing more than 100 million dollars from our children and our grandchildren every single hour of every single day.

#6 Back in 1970, the total amount of debt in the United States (government debt + business debt + consumer debt, etc.) was less than 2 trillion dollars.  Today it is over 56 trillion dollars...

#7 According to the World Bank, U.S. GDP accounted for 31.8 percent of all global economic activity in 2001.  That number dropped to 21.6 percent in 2011.

#8 The United States has fallen in the global economic competitiveness rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum for four years in a row.

#9 According to The Economist, the United States was the best place in the world to be born into back in 1988.  Today, the United States is only tied for 16th place.

#10 Incredibly, more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have been permanently shut down since 2001.

#11 There are less Americans working in manufacturing today than there was in 1950 even though the population of the country has more than doubled since then.

#12 According to the New York Times, there are now approximately 70,000 abandoned buildings in Detroit.
#13 When NAFTA was pushed through Congress in 1993, the United States had a trade surplus with Mexico of 1.6 billion dollars.  By 2010, we had a trade deficit with Mexico of 61.6 billion dollars.

#14 Back in 1985, our trade deficit with China was approximately 6 million dollars (million with a little "m") for the entire year.  In 2012, our trade deficit with China was 315 billion dollars.  That was the largest trade deficit that one nation has had with another nation in the history of the world.

#15 Overall, the United States has run a trade deficit of more than 8 trillion dollars with the rest of the world since 1975.

#16 According to the Economic Policy Institute, the United States is losing half a million jobs to China every single year.

#17 Back in 1950, more than 80 percent of all men in the United States had jobs.  Today, less than 65 percent of all men in the United States have jobs.

#18 At this point, an astounding 53 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.

#19 Small business is rapidly dying in America.  At this point, only about 7 percent of all non-farm workers in the United States are self-employed.  That is an all-time record low.

#20 Back in 1983, the bottom 95 percent of all income earners in the United States had 62 cents of debt for every dollar that they earned.  By 2007, that figure had soared to $1.48.

#21 In the United States today, the wealthiest one percent of all Americans have a greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent combined.

#22 According to Forbes, the 400 wealthiest Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined.

#23 The six heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have as much wealth as the bottom one-third of all Americans combined.

#24 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 146 million Americans are either "poor" or "low income".

#25 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that receives direct monetary benefits from the federal government.  Back in 1983, less than a third of all Americans lived in a home that received direct monetary benefits from the federal government.

#26 Overall, the federal government runs nearly 80 different "means-tested welfare programs", and at this point more than 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one of them.

#27 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid.  Today, one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid, and things are about to get a whole lot worse.  It is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.

#28 As I wrote recently, it is being projected that the number of Americans on Medicare will grow from 50.7 million in 2012 to 73.2 million in 2025.

#29 At this point, Medicare is facing unfunded liabilities of more than 38 trillion dollars over the next 75 years.  That comes to approximately $328,404 for every single household in the United States.

#30 Right now, there are approximately 56 million Americans collecting Social Security benefits.  By 2035, that number is projected to soar to an astounding 91 million.

#31 Overall, the Social Security system is facing a 134 trillion dollar shortfall over the next 75 years.

#32 Today, the number of Americans on Social Security Disability now exceeds the entire population of Greece, and the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the entire population of Spain.

#33 According to a report recently issued by the Pew Research Center, on average Americans over the age of 65 have 47 times as much wealth as Americans under the age of 35.

#34 U.S. families that have a head of household that is under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent.

#35 As I mentioned recently, the homeownership rate in America is now at its lowest level in nearly 18 years.

#36 There are now 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing.  That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001.

#37 45 percent of all children are living in poverty in Miami, more than 50 percent of all children are living in poverty in Cleveland, and about 60 percent of all children are living in poverty in Detroit.

#38 Today, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless.  This is the first time that has ever happened in our history.

#39 When Barack Obama first entered the White House, about 32 million Americans were on food stamps.  Now, more than 47 million Americans are on food stamps.

#40 According to one calculation, the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of "Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming."

This article first appeared at the Economic Collapse.  Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog.

Backpack Survival

There's a lot of confusion about what survival means.
To some, it's getting through the aftermath of an airplane wreck in a desolate area. It can mean knowing when to avoid walking in radioactive wastes. Or, it can mean knowing how to barter with troops in the aftermath of riots, war, and looting. 

To others, survival has to do with avoiding danger and knowing how to deal with it when it breaks into your home in the dead of night.
Survival ideas abound and there are as many definitions and strategies as there are survivalists. Some have good ideas for survival and some have unsound tactics. Bad ideas can mean extra work or trouble in everyday life; bad ideas during a survival situation get you killed. On-the-job training doesn't work when you're dealing with poison and gunfights. 

Or survival. 

One of the most dangerous ideas--as far as I'm concerned--is that of "backpack survival."
A "back-pack survivalist" is a survivalist that plans on leaving his home ahead of a disaster and taking to the woods with only what he can carry out with him. He plans to survive through a strategy that is a sort of cross between the Boy-Scout-in-the-woods and Robinson Crusoe.
The backpack survival- ist plans on outrunning danger with a four-wheel drive or a motorcycle and hopes to travel light with a survival kit of everything he might need to cope with the unexpected. He hasn't cached anything in the area he's headed for because, chances are, he doesn't know where he's headed. Somehow, he hopes to overcome all odds with a minimum of supplies and a maximum of smarts. 

Certainly it is a noble cause; but it seems like one destined to failure. And that's not survival.
(Let's back up a minute. Backpack fever--or bug-outosis--does makes sense when you're facing a localized disaster like a derailed train with overturned poisonous gas cars. A a potential nuclear meltdown, an impending hurricane, or similar disasters where there is a safe place to run to. During such a time, it makes perfect sense to retreat and come back when things settle down.
Likewise, some people have to work in dangerous areas. For them, donning a backpack and heading for a retreat that they've prepared before hand is a viable survival strategy. These people aren't backpack survivalists.) 

Let me make a confession. Yes, I once was a closet backpack survivalist. I had an ALICE pack and had it packed with all I could carry. As I learned more about how to survive, I realized I needed to carry more. Soon I discover- ed that, just for my family to survive for a very few days, I'd need a pack mule and/or a hernia operation...

Something was very wrong.
Probably most survivalists start out the same way. Things are bad so let's bug out. Backpack survivalism is an effort to deal with the possibility of a major disaster.
As backpack survivalists, we make elaborate plans centered around the idea of "bugging out" of the area we live in. 

We hope to travel to an area that is safer than the one we're in and plan on living off the land or on some survival supplies we've hidden in the area. On the home front, we carefully prepare a stock of supplies that we can quickly cart off in a car or van when things start to look bad.
As more and more plans are made and as ever more survival gear is purchased, the survivalist realizes just how much he needs to cope with in order to survive. If he is any sort of realist, he soon amasses enough gear to warrant a truck or--more likely--a moving van just for carrying the survival equipment. (And don't laugh, there are survivalists who have large trucks for just such use.)
Some brave souls continue to make more elaborate plans and some of these survivalists may be able to pull off their plans. Those who have really thought things out and have spared no expenses may manage to survive with a bug-out strategy. But I think there are more logical--and less expensive--ways to survive a large crisis. 

Forget all your preconceived notions for a minute.
Imagine that there is a national emergency and you are an outside observ- er? What happens if a nuclear attack is eminent, an economic collapse has occurred, or a dictator has taken over and is ready to round up all malcontents (with survivalists at the top of the list)? 

Situations change with time. The survivalist movement--and backpack fever--first started up when gas guzzler cars were about all that anyone drove. That meant that a survivalist with some spare gasoline could outdis- tance his unprepared peers and get to a retreat that was far from the maddening crowd, as it were. (Read some of Mel Tappan's early writing on survival retreats. His ideas are good but many have been undone with the new, fuel-ef- ficient cars.) 

With cars getting 30 or even 40 miles per gallon, it isn't rare for a car to be able to travel half way across a state on less than a tank of gasoline. The exodus from cities or trouble spots will be more limited by traffic snarls than lack of gasoline even if the gas stations are completely devoid of their liquid fuel. 

Too, there are a lot of people thinking about what to do if the time for fleeing comes. A lot of people will be headed for the same spots. (Don't laugh that off, either. In my area, every eighth person has confided his secret retreat spot to me. And about half of them are all headed for the same spot: an old missile silo devoid of water and food. I suspect that the battle at the gates of the old missile base will rival the Little Big Horn.) 

No matter how out-of-the-way their destination, most survivalists are kidding themselves if they think others won't be headed for their hideaway spot along with them. There are few places in the US which aren't accessible to anyone with a little driving skill and a good map. 

Too, there are few places which aren't in grave danger during a nuclear war or national social unrest.
Though most nuclear war survival books can give you a nice little map showing likely targets, they don't tell you some essential information. Like what the purpose of the attack will be. The enemy may not be aiming for military targets that day; a blackmail threat might begin by hitting the heart of the farmland or a number of cities before demanding the surrender of the country being attacked. The target areas on the maps might be quite safe. 

And the maps show where the missiles land IF they all enjoy 100 percent accuracy and reliability. Anyone know of such conditions in war? With Soviet machinery!? Targets may be relatively safe places to be in. 

Added to this is the fact that some areas can be heavily contaminated or completely free of contamination depending on the wind directions in the upper atmosphere. Crystal ball in your survival gear? 

But let's ignore all the facts thus far for a few moments and assume that a backpack survivalist has found an ideal retreat and is planning to go there in the event of a national disaster... What next?
His first concern should be that he'll have a hard time taking the supplies he needs with him. A nuclear war might mean that it will be impos- sible to grow food for at least a year and foraging is out as well since animals and plants may be contaminated extensively. 

An economic collapse wouldn't be much better. It might discourage the raising of crops; no money, no sales except for the barter to keep a small farm family going.
With large corporations doing much of our farming these days, it is not unreasonable to expect a major famine coming on the heals of an economic collapse. Raising food would be a good way to attract starving looters from miles around. 

Ever try to pack a year's supply of food for a family into a small van or car? There isn't much room left over. But the backpack survivalist needs more than just food.
If he lives in a cold climate (or thinks there might be something to the nuclear winter theory) then he'll need some heavy clothing. 

Rifles, medicine, ammunition, tools, and other supplies will also increase what he'll need to be taking or which he'll have to hide away at his retreat site.
Shelter? Building a place to live (in any style other than early-American caveman) takes time. If he builds a cabin beforehand, he may find it vandalized or occupied when he gets to his retreat; if he doesn't build it before- hand, he may have to live in his vehicle or a primitive shelter of some sort.
Thus, a major problem is to get a large enough vehicle to carry everything he needs as well as to live in. 

History has shown that cities empty themselves without official evacuation orders when things look bad. It happened in WW II and has even happened in the US during approaching hurricanes, large urban fires, and nuclear reactor problems. 

So there's a major problem of timing which the backpack survivalist must contend with. He has to be packed and ready to go with all members of his family at the precise moment he learns of the disaster! The warning he gets that warrants evacuating an area will have to be acted on quickly if he's to get out ahead of the major traffic snarls that will quickly develop. A spouse at work or shopping or kids across town at school means he'll either have to leave them behind or be trapped in the area he's in. A choice not worth having to make. 

Unless he's got a hot-line from the White House, the backpack survivalist will not hear the bad news much ahead of everyone else. If he doesn't act immediately, he'll be trapped out on the road and get a first-hand idea of what grid-lock is like if he's in an urban area. Even out on the open road, far away from a city, an interstate can become hectic following a ballgame... Imagine what it would be like if everyone were driving for their lives, some cars were running out of fuel (and the occupants trying to stop someone for a ride), and the traffic laws were being totally ignored while the highway patrol tried to escape along with everyone else. Just trying to get off or on major highways might become impossible. If things bog down, how long can the backpack survivalist keep those around from helping to unload his truck-load of supplies that they'll be in bad need of? 

Telling them they should have prepared ahead of time won't get many sympathetic words.
Even on lightly-traveled roadways, how safe would it be to drive around in a vehicle loaded with supplies? Our backpack survivalist will need to defend himself. 

But let's suppose that he's thought all this out. He has a large van, had the supplies loaded in it, managed to round every member of his family up beforehand, somehow got out of his area ahead of the mob, is armed to the teeth, and doesn't need to take an interstate route.
When he reaches his destination, his troubles are far from over. 

The gridlock and traffic snarls won't stop everyone. People will slowly be coming out of heavily populated areas and most of them will have few supplies.
They will have weapons (guns are one of the first things people grab in a crisis according to civil defense studies) and the evacuees will be desperate. How many pitched battles will the survivalist's family be able to endure? How much work--or even sleep--can he get when he's constantly on the lookout to repel those who may be trying to get a share of his supplies? 

This assumes that he gets to where he's going ahead of everyone else. He might not though. If he has to travel for long, he may discover squatters on his land or find that some local person has staked out his retreat area for their own. There won't be any law to help out; what happens next? Since (according to military strategists) our backpack survivalist needs about three times as many people to take an area as to defend it, he will need to have some numbers with him and expect to suffer some casualties. Does that sound like a good way to survive? 

What about the local people that don't try to take over his retreat before he gets there? Will they be glad to see another stranger move into the area to tax their limited supplies? Or will they be setting up roadblocks to turn people like the backpack survivalist away?
But let's just imagine that somehow he's discovered a place that doesn't have a local population and where those fleeing cities aren't able to get to. What happens when he gets to his retreat? How good does he need to be at hunting and fishing? One reason mankind went into farming was that hunting and fishing don't supply enough food for a very large population nor do they work during times of drought or climatic disruption. What does he do when he runs out of ammunition or game? What happens if the streams become so contaminated that he can't safely eat what he catches? Can he stake out a large enough area to guarantee that he won't depleat it of game so that the next year is not barren of animals? 

Farming? Unless he finds some unclaimed farm machinery and a handy storage tank of gasoline at his retreat, he'll hardly get off first base. Even primitive crop production requires a plow and work animals (or a lot of manpower) to pull the blade. No plow, no food for him or domestic animals.
And domestic animals don't grow on trees. Again, unless he just happens to find some cows waiting for him at his retreat, he'll be out of luck. (No one has packaged freeze-dried cows or chickens--at least, not in a form you can reconstitute into living things). 

Intensive gardening? Maybe. But even that takes a lot of special tools, seeds, know-how, and good weather. Can he carry what he needs and have all the skills that can be developed only through experience? 

Even if he did, he might not have any food to eat. Pestilence goes hand in hand with disasters. Our modern age has forgotten this. But during a time when chemical factories aren't churning out the insecticides and pest poisons we've come to rely on, our backpack survivalist should be prepared for waves of insects flooding into any garden he may create. How good is he at making insecticides? Even if he carries out a large quantity of chemicals to his retreat, how many growing seasons will they last? 

Did he truck out a lot of gasoline and an electrical generator with him? No? Do you REALLY think he can create an alcohol still from scratch in the middle of no-where without tools or grain? Then he'd better write off communications, lighting, and all the niceties of the 20th Century after his year's supply of batteries wear out and his vehicle's supply of gasoline conks out.
I'm afraid we've only scratched the surface though. 

Thus far things have been going pretty well. What happens when things get really bad? How good is he at removing his spouse's appendix--without electric lights, pain killers, or antiseptic conditions? Campfire dental work, anyone? 

How good is he at making ammunition? Clothing? Shoes?
I think you'll have to agree that this hardly seems like survival in style. Even if our backpack survivalist is able to live in the most spartan of conditions and has the know-how to create plenty out of the few scraps around him, he'll never have much of a life ahead of him. 

Camping out is fun for a few days. Living in rags like a hunted animal doesn't sound like an existence to be aimed for.
The bottom line with backpack fever is that, with any major disaster that isn't extremely localized, running is a panic reaction not a survival strategy. Running scared is seldom a good survival technique and backpack fever during any but a localized disaster (like a flood or chemical spill) looks like it would be a terminal disease with few, rare exceptions. 

So what's the alternative?
A number of writers, from Kurt Saxon to Howard Ruff, have already suggested it but I think that it bears a retelling.
What they've said is this: get yourself situated in a small community that could get by without outside help if things came unglued nationally or internationally. Find a spot that allows you to live in the life-style you've grown accustomed to (and a community that allows you to carry on your livelihood) but which has the ability to grow its own food and protect its people from the unprepared (or looters) that might drift in from surrounding cities during a crisis. This spot has the ability to carry on trade within its borders and has a number of people who can supply specialized products or professional skills. 

An area with two thousand to five thousand people in it along with a surrounding farm community would be ideal but sizes can vary a lot according to the climate and city. Ideally such a town would have its own power plant with a few small industries along with the usual smattering of doctors, dentists, and other professionals. 

This type of community isn't rare in the US. It's quite common in almost every state. You could probably even take a little risk and commute into a city if you must keep your current job. (In such a case a reverse backpack survival strategy just might work--you'd be bugging out to your home.)
Western civilization stepped out of the dark ages when small communities started allowing people to specialize in various jobs. Rather than each many being his own artisan, farmer, doctor, carpenter, etc., men started learning to master one job they enjoyed doing. Each man become more efficient at doing a job and--through the magic of capitalism--western culture finally started upward again.
A small modern community like the one suggested above, when faced with a national economic collapse or the aftermath of a nuclear war, would eventually lift itself up the same way. It would give those who lived in it the same chance for specialization of work and the ability to carry on mutual trade, support, and protection. Such small communities will be the few light spots in a Neo-Dark Age. 

Which place would you rather be: in a cave, wondering where the food for tomorrow would come from, or with a group of people living in their homes, working together to overcome their problems? Even the most individualistic of survivalists shouldn't find the choice too hard to make. 

The author of this article, Duncan Long, is well-known as the writer of many gun, self-sufficiency, and survival books. His firearms books are listed (along with other interesting books) in a free catalog available from Paladin Press, P. O. Box 1307, Boulder, CO 80306 (303) 443-7250. 

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