"Great News" at Christmas

As I mentioned in a previous article my family and I were in the market for a piece of rural/farm property. I thought going into my search that I would find what we were looking for at a reasonable price. I assumed that there would not be a lot of other people competing for the land.

Several of the real estate agents I talked to told me that their phones were ringing off the hook with people calling (and buying) from out of state. I was beat out on two of the most wonderful properties by such competition. Several others disappeared over night before I had the chance to even talk to anyone about them.

I blame it on two things. First, there may be people just like me that want a place that they could live sustainably if they had to. Second, and more troubling, is the end result of our own government interfering with the free market - by lowering interest rates to reignite the mortgage boom. This article talks about the very real possibility that a vast availability of financing and low interest rates will cause property prices to increase rapidly - the same thing that caused much of this mess in the first place.

I feel personally injured by this. If the people I was "competing" with to buy this land were simply opportunist using low interest loans made available by the government using some of my own money I can only say in the simplest of terms - I was screwed.

I made an offer to buy a place yesterday that has less land than I hoped to get (but is also a lot less that what I was planning and willing to pay). It has all the things I wanted, rural, plenty of acreage, two ponds a stream, some woods, some pasture and a little cabin. It was not my first or second choice, but I am happy all the same. I am still angry at our meddling government - but that is nothing new.

Perhaps that "opportunist" that bought that piece of land adjacent to the piece I just bought will be happy to sell it to me in a few months if the bad news keeps on rolling in -perhaps I will get it pretty cheap too.

Reports on consumer spending, jobless claims, durable goods show more weakness is likely

U.S. falls deeper into recession

Prepare to Defend Thyself

This will be my last post in this series. I imagine that from time to time I will revisit the subject but my original intent was merely to highlight the subject in what I hope was a reasonable and rational way.

When I left the topic last I promised to talk about guns, but before that there are, I believe, other elements that must be addressed.

First take a good look at you, by that I mean your physical condition. Good grief you say "now he is going to preach some physical fitness regime, I thought we established several posts ago that becoming Rambo was not required". And in that last assumption you are correct.

But...

Before we talk any further about preparing for anything we should talk seriously about preparing for life in its many and varied forms. Life is not all about the sedentary or semi-sedentary. Your chances of surviving anything from a car crash to a nuclear holocaust to old age are greatly improved with better physical condition. In honesty I suppose old age will get you eventually no matter your physical condition but of course the length and quality might be significantly improved.

Ask yourself - can you perform even moderate physical tasks over an extended duration (say a few days) without "throwing out your back", having a heart attack or just plain giving out?

If you were in a "scuffle" with someone else would you be out of breath in less than a minute?

The point is "scuffling" which is what most physical conflicts turn into is tasking on the cardiovascular system as it engages major muscles all over the body.

I use this only as an example of things a person ought to think of if they envision ever having to deal with the nastier side of human nature, particularly if that is brought on by panic and desperation of a world out of whack.

You can imagine for yourself the scenarios that might place you in a "scuffle" in the various situations we have previously envisioned in other posts. Ask yourself if you are even able to load your car in a timely manner, haul things to and from your house or board up windows at a pace much faster than a leisurely Saturday afternoon project.

Can you pull up your on body weight? Could you carry an injured person to safety? You see where I am going with all of this, so I will leave it alone with one last word. Get out and take care of this foundational requirement - put an image in your head of your loved one in danger and you huffing and puffing unable to help them. If you never have to use your increased stamina for such an endeavor you will still enjoy the associated benefits.

On the subject of "scuffling" I often see a lot of discussion on survival forums about taking up a martial art. Well here is a story for you - I spent several years practicing tae kwon do as a child/teenager, I wrestled in high school and college and took judo in college and boxed a little to boot. That is a lot of time invested. I learned more in the Marine Corps LINE combat system and the Army Combatives system than all others combined - think of that before going to the local training center and investing 3 nights a week for two years.

While in Korea, my wife and two children earned their first degree black belts in tae kwon do and as my wife bragged to me one day of her new kick butt skills I told her plainly "she had learned enough to get hurt". That was not to diminish her accomplishment but rather to point out a simple fact. Unless you have an enormous amount of time or are interested for other reason I see no point in taking up a martial art as an adult. Work on your fitness level and if you are ever forced to "scuffle" simply be aggressive about it.

So I promised my last post would be about guns and here it is.

Ignore all the talk about semi-auto pistols with high capacity magazines. Why? Less safe for most people, the springs in the magazines "get tired" over time and may not feed when you want it too, are more complicated to disassemble and clean, and for most models are hard to conceal. Do I own semi-auto pistols? Yes. Do they have a task and purpose? Yes. They should not be your first purchase or your only purchase.

This should -A double action revolver in calibers .38, .44, .45 or 356

I like the Tarus Judge MODEL 4510 .45/.410 because it chambers both a .45 for longer range and a .410 shotgun shell for close work (good for a nervous shooter in close quarters), and it is inexpensive.

The discussion could go on but I recommend the Tarus because it is a perfect pair with the shotgun I recommend--

The Moosburg HS .410 Home Defender. Comes with an integrated laser sight and a barrel designed for spread at 5-25m. The ballistics of the .410 are better that .44 at the intended range and the shot is less likely to penetrate secondary walls. All good for less than expert shooters.

I can already read the hate mail in my mind about the .410 cartridge but ballistic test have proven its effectiveness in close quarters and that is what we are talking about for new shooters. I do not want or suggest a new shooter attempt to "snipe" and get themselves killed. I would rather they hide and hope they are not found and shoot only if they are. The HS 410 serves that role well.

Folks seems to get too worked up about guns, what kind, how many etc. - the two above are a good start for anyone without guns - if you decide on different models I would definitely stick with a double action revolver and a pump action shotgun. Unless you plan to actually practice more than once a year I don't see the point in recommending a rifle (if I were to recommend one it would be the mini-14, it fires US military cartridges).

And there you have it - the discussion of guns could go on and on - if you want that go find a forum where folks argue endlessly about the merits of their stash versus someone else's.

I hope these posts have forced you to think a bit and perhaps even motivated you to act. I may add additional posts on related subjects in the future as I am about to buy a piece of property that I hope will become my "retirement/survival" retreat. The area around my little farm in SC has grown up too much in the years I have been away in the Army.

To Arms!

Here is a parable taken from "House of Saddam", supposedly told to Saddam as a boy - but there is truth in it.


"A troublemaker walks through a village, drawing the ire of the people. Finally an old man confronts the outsider saying 'why are you here causing trouble'. To which the outsider replies, 'I am not causing trouble, I am unarmed, I do not have a gun or a knife or any other weapon'. The old man looks squarely at the outsider and states plainly, 'exactly, because you are unarmed you are inviting trouble where ever you go.'"


The moral of the story seems plain and true - the meek may inherit the Earth but the weak and defenseless will get walked on, trampled, robbed and perhaps killed.

Consider this from a recent article:

In the coming months, mental health experts expect a rise in theft, depression, drug use, anxiety and even violence as consumers confront a harsh new reality and must live within diminished means.

"People start seeing their economic situation change, and it stimulates a sort of survival panic," said Gaetano Vaccaro, deputy clinical director of Moonview Sanctuary, which treats patients for emotional and behavioral disorders. "When we are in a survival panic, we are prone to really extreme behaviors."

The America of today is not the America of 1929. There are significant elements within our society across all cultural, ethnic and racial lines that are immoral at their base. These people are probably incapable of behaving morally in difficult situations. The difference between now and 1929 is that there is so many more of them relative to the rest of the population. A 15% unemployment rate today could result in a social/crime/unrest situation far worse than the 25% of the Great Depression.

Should you own a gun? I cannot help but believe the answer is yes; if you are truly willing to use it to defend your life, your family and your property. There is no point in spending the money if you are too squeamish of the notion of using the thing.

There is a term that began to float around in the military after the invasion of Afghanistan and gained a lot of traction after Iraq. At first I disliked the term but eventually I came to terms with it, understood it, and accept it as part of the human condition. "Some people just need killing". In military parlance this refers to hardliners that refuse to put down their arms, back down or accept any part of the coalition program.

In considerations of defending your property, family or yourself this term has meaning as well. There are some people in the world that in the right circumstances, at the right moment will do you harm. I think we should accept that. The only thing preventing wholesale brutality by our growing immoral class is the trappings of order provided by society. Thus most of our would be violent criminals constrain their immorality to forms of criminality and immorality in the business world. As you can see I am not talking about the 850,000 gang members and other already violent criminals in the US at this point - I am talking about the middle-class guy that cheats at business, on his wife and on the golf course. It is that selfish type that will join the other criminals in hard times to threaten you and yours. Anyone with such a lack of morals and ethics in an ordered society will join the ranks of potential "people that need killing" when things go bad.

It is not an un-Christian view to think like this - God gave parents stewardship over children, a man responsibility to his wife and her to him. Exercising the right of self-defense is not contrary to Christian teachings.

As I said earlier I believe, based upon my observations that for most ordinary people living in hard situations the requirement to use a gun to defend yourself is probably at worst a once in a life time event. I believe that, certainly depending upon a persons location and luck that number may change for the individual. The point is, even if it happened just once - that one moment is life changing one way or the other - being prepared determines who has a bad day (you or the thug).

Of course you should be armed.

In the next post we will talk about weapon selection.

Gerald Celente and Our Future

I am not too keen on prognosticators in general - specifically the kind that make predictions based upon "visions" such as this "prophet" that predicts disaster before Obama takes office. Perhaps this is bit hypocritical of me as it would appear most of the time that I appear to fancy myself something of a prognosticator.

Gerald Celente is a bit different in that he predicts trends rather than specific events. His trend analysis and predictions are based partly on observation and partly upon extrapolation of those observation. His previous success at predicting trends include: the 1987 stock market crash, the fall of the Soviet Union, the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and the subprime mortgage crisis. In 2007 he described 2008 as the year the economic giants would fall. His observations about what 2008 would hold are pretty dead on looking back now.

In an article by Kurt Nimmo, Truth News, Nov.24, 2007, "U.S. Dollar Will Fall By 90% ", Celente remarks on the current disaster taking place in our economy :" We are confronting " dollar plummeting hysteria, monumental levels of debt, foreclosure, bankruptcy, unemployment, energy depletion, skyrocketing gas and fuel prices, illnesses treated without medical insurance coverage- or just not treated, unprecedented levels of homelessness, and by all indications, within a few months into 2008, America will be well on the road to a re-run of 1929 - or something inconceivably worse... " "

Celente said this over a year ago ! Yikes ! What else does this modern day Nostradamas have to say ? Plenty, and it isn't pretty (Surviving Ourselves)

What does this trend predictor see next?

Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts....

“We’re going to see the end of the retail Christmas….we’re going to see a fundamental shift take place….putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree,” said Celente, adding that the situation would be “worse than the great depression”.“America’s going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for,” said Celente, noting that people’s refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis...

More and more economic voices are beginning to talk about depression as a possibility - not the kesynians of course, they denied we were in a recession for four quarters even though the ordinary man knew this was a fact.

“There will be a revolution in this country,” he said. “It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen.”

“The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop.”“It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more.”

I have said many times that there are numerous groups with justifiable grievances against the current system that have gone unanswered and ignored. These provide a foundation for revolt and a catalysts for anger but will never provide the spark of revolution. The spark for a revolution can only come when the safety, security and welfare of enough people are threatened enough to turn the ideological anger from a list of grievances into man pulling triggers. There are enough men of conscience in America that are pretty mad about a lot of things the government has done or failed to do - it will only take the spark of a failing economy and a real threat to security and welfare to turn these angry men into real man of action.

“We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression...

And that, my friends is sufficient fuel and spark for the embers that burn so dimly on the edges of our society right now.

Next post we will get back to talking about you and your family weathering all of this.

Bugging Out: How, Where, Why

When last we left the subject we had begun to think about what we would need to bug out from our urban home. We developed a list of scenarios that would cause such a bug out (that was your homework) and we developed a tentative plan (your homework also).

Let us assume then that the scenario you have developed for yourself is occurring but to add a bit of fun to the discussion I will add an atmosphere akin to the LA riots in the early 1990's along and surrounding your escape route.

What in your plan covers such a contingency? Did you plan to take both cars? Who is driving and who is riding shotgun (renewed meaning to the word)?

The argument could go a dozen ways over whether to take both cars or one; I come down on the side of one for this reason. In the husband and wife team likely only one of you is the better driver - in this case I am talking about the person that can make split-second decisions, rapid maneuvers if required and avoid at all costs stopping the vehicle anytime and anywhere you do not choose. Maybe it is the man, maybe the woman but it is probably not the person you as a married couple have determined that when driving causes the least amount of arguments - it just might be the most offensive driver in ordinary times that gets this job. Two cars, with a nervous driver in a bad situation might get you all killed.

Whichever of you is the choice, you need to talk about it in advance and the other person needs to fully understand their job as well. No matter what the circumstances of your evacuation when you decide to leave your driveway you should consider the trip a "combat patrol" from the onset. You cannot predict human behavior in any other terms than to say that people do nasty things to other people in nasty times. Leave thinking that way and travel that way.

The driver in in complete control of the space in and around the vehicle for 100 yards or so; meaning specifically that in any high stress situations that arise the very last thing needed is an additional driver shouting instructions. Everyone in the vehicle should be alert to all around them and they should verbalize things they see, but not to the point of telling the driver to do X or Y. You have to get that point - if need be, in the proper situation - the driver's job is to keep the vehicle moving. Minor fender damage or an casual approach to traffic regulations do not matter at that point if the potential exist for folks to be yanked from vehicles like a scene from 1992 LA.

The person riding "shotgun" is the navigator, responsible for the next turn, and for space beyond 100 yards. You have to get this division of labor down to routine. This person needs to be able to read road maps, operate the GPS (better yet READ the map) and if you are inclined to take my sage gun advice - shoot to kill.

Of the two the driver is most important, he/she must be the coolest under pressure and the quickest thinker. And remember this is absolutely no time for road rage - and it is no time to allow yourself to get pinned in between the car in front of you and behind you. The driver has to be very aware and attune to his surroundings.

So what are you driving? Well obviously one of what you own and unless you plan to make a purchase at some point you have what you have.

I would argue that a 4WD is very important for a bug out vehicle. Many will argue the point but here is how I see it. Any interstate used for an evacuation will get bogged down by numerous things. I would like the option of turning off the interstate, going up that embankment and moving on and away from that crowd. A 4WD is perfect just for that. The upside is that so many folks already have SUV's with 4WD - that they never engage - this piece of advice is just a bonus. A SUV is not terrible to sleep in and it is easy to pack with your stuff without advertising like my Jeep.

Now for a dynamic that kills preparation - one of the couple gets it and the other may not. I am about to suggest a few items that ought to be standard in the escape vehicle, but if this happens to be your wife's SUV - well good luck.

-CB Radio - to ease the pain of this look at one of the micro versions you could hide in the glove box (MIDLAND 75-822 MICRO HANDHELD CB RADIO). My wife laughed that she was "not a trucker" and would not have one of these things until I found the micro version.
-Full size spare tire
-Roadside repair kit with full jack and fixaflat
-Motorola UHF Radios -one per family member (T9680RSAME Rechargeable Two-Way Radio) for mom and dad, (Mini USB Car Charger) x 2, (FV700R NiMH Rechargeable Two-Way Radio) for the kiddies. Never leave the car without communication, never leave the car without someone in the driver seat with car running, and pistol close by.
-an AC/DC power inverter
-an extra 12v battery
-snow chains? only you know where you live

Putting extra fuel in the vehicle is problematic and suggesting to the wife that you want to mount brackets for fuel cans on her SUV could be deadly, but stowing them on the luggage rack when the time comes - that is just good business. The extra tire can go there as well.

That covers how, remember it is a "combat patrol" from the time you leave your house until you get to a place that you feel safer. Every stop, every vehicle on the road with you, every encounter with someone else in the "panic zone" must be addressed by your SOP discussed above and worked out in detail- be ever vigilant. Remember constant radio communication between vehicle and the person outside the vehicle when you stop, leave a driver in the vehicle with the engine running, every time, everywhere until you are out of the craziness.


So where are you going? That depends upon your level of preparation and the level of the event you are running from. I believe it prudent to resolve early on that you will not become a refugee, you will not go to a shelter or a camp.

Here are two suggestions that you may do with as you please. (this assumes you do not want to go so far as to buy a survival retreat)

Buy a used travel trailer and store it at a self storage facility several miles outside of your city. When you bug out, go first to your storage lot and pick up your new temporary home. One of these things can be had very cheaply, remember you are not looking to impress the neighbors at the campsite with your home on wheels, you just need shelter that is not provided by the government. Map out in advance campsites near your storage area but away from the panic zone.

Many will say that this is an inadequate solution, particularly in a long-term national crisis such as an economic collapse but I argue that for those that do not want to go full into the survival mode this is a viable alternative. Even if the plan is to travel on to relatives and stay there, you would likely be more comfortable with the option of occasionally sleeping away from the crowd (love nest anyone?)

An alternative to this plan is to rent storage space at the facility mentioned above and cache items that you may not bring with you or may lose/use/damage along the way, extra tires, clothes, storable food. I would go so far as to suggest stocking this place with cots, a heater, and blankets in the event you decide to bed down in your storage space after a long trip out of the city.

A third option is to do both of the above. Pre-stage a cheap camper and rent storage space for a cache of good to have items. This is all dictated by budget but $4-5K for a camper and $38/month for a storage container does not seem like a lot. Just make sure you get your escape vehicle configured to haul the camper long before you need it. Also ensure to rent from a place with 24 hour access, and preferably not via a caretaker who may not be there when the panic comes.

Lastly - why exactly are you leaving? You must know this, depending upon the circumstances it may be obvious. Other times it may not be. Decide to leave only if you know or reasonably expect that where you are going is better than where you are. Think about that. Recommended evacuations and panic are not reasons to leave - particularly if you do not have a good plan. Becoming a refugee is your fate without a plan. There could be benefit to weathering the initial rush to leave in place - so long as you can provide for your family and defend yourself. This is of course situationally dependent but you have to be prepared to ask yourself why you are considering a particualr option and you have to prepare to actually give yourself a second option.

First Things First: The Bug-Out-Bag

If my modest readership will permit me I shall continue down this rabbit hole I have begun to traverse....

If you thought deeply, or at all about my last post then perhaps you are ready to ask yourself a few questions - some of which I can list, others that only you can ask because of your specific knowledge of you, your family and the exact environment in which you live.

What sorts of scenarios do you foresee (buy into) for your particular geographic area? Are these just natural disasters with the potential for the occasional two-legged misbehavior? Do you believe it possible that someone, somewhere might actually use one or a hundred of the thousand(s) nuclear weapons around the world - do you think your city would be a target - do you believe you would have warning?

Do you plan to leave your city? Where would you go? How would you communicate with your family and those that would go with you if you decided that leaving right now was necessary? What if the cellphone and landline networks were clogged as in the aftermath of the NYC attacks?

What if you could not get money out of an ATM and your tank was on empty? I bet at least one of your cars is below half full right now isn't it. How much cash do you have in the house right this second? Leaving in a forced or rush evacuation might get a little ugly with those facts being real.

Do you have a 72 hour kit? A spare pair of glasses, a supply of your required prescription meds? Important documents? Do you know where all this and could you grab it and go? Don't worry, most Americans could not either.

Before your turn off the terms survivalist and prepper think about the simple and straightforward things.

(Insert here any reasonable reason why you and 10 million or so other people in your area have to leave your homes very fast)

Imagine yourself if you will, sitting on a interstate with all traffic going away from your city. Your half a tank of gasoline is edging ever nearer to empty. You are far behind the rush because it took you a very long time to get hold of your wife, as the cellphone network was jammed with people doing just what you were. You spent way too much time at home, running around trying to figure out what to grab.

You took a chance at one exit on what you considered the perimeter of the city to attempt to buy gasoline. After leaving your place in the long line of cars leaving the city and waiting in another long line at the pump you find out that: One, they are experiencing the same problems with phone lines as everyone else and are selling via cash only; Two you cannot get cash from the ATM for the same reason - and in any event if it did work it would have been sucked dry by now anyway; Three, because you rely almost exclusively on your plastic (debit or credit cards) neither you or your wife have enough cash to make a dent in the tank anyway.

We could go on with this...you and your family stuck now on the side of the road with others that prepared as well as you. Imagine spending the night out there with angry, scared people -- would you sleep very well thinking of what COULD happen to your family? In any case where the heck are you driving anyway? If this is just a local or regional thing then one assumes most people have family everywhere. If it is more national than regional - did you just become a refugee? We will talk about that.

___

First things first - if you will continue to journey down this path with me is to build/do the following:

1. Make a plan
2. Carry around kit
3. 72 hour kit (Bug out Kit)

Make a Plan:
The news says any number of events on the list you develop occur (or heaven forbid the news outlets are silent in the very worst-case sorts of scenarios). You plan assumes that cell communication may be spotty or unavailable. Your plan allows you to begin execution of key tasks; i.e. pick up the kids, ensure the car in filled with gasoline, everyone meets at home (or where ever makes sense and grabs the 72 hour kits). At this point you are able to make wise informed decisions about your next move. Such a plan might, I say might, include a rendezvous point outside the city if everyone does not get home when expected and contact cannot be established. (You dead on the subway is no reason for your family to die waiting for you if your plan is to displace). ---This topic probably deserves a lot more discussion, in a future post I will point to areas where people are already discussing this a great length

Carry Around Kit:
A small backpack that should be with you at all times and contains essential items that you just might want to have if you are at the office, on the subway etc when things start going all wrong. Moving across a city in chaos could be perilous and will take time.

72 Hour Kit (Bug-out Bag)
This is everything you and each member of your family needs to survive for 72 hours (you need one bag per family member). Many suggest having one or more of these bags at different locations (work, office, car) effectively doing away with the "Carry around bag". There is merit to this because setting up a 72 Hour Kit is not inexpensive and while it is not overly bulky it is not terribly small. While I was in Korea I opted for a smaller "carry around bag" simply because I did not want to haul a full kit on the subway with me - it is a personal risk assessment decision that you have to make.

At a basic minimum, your kit at home should contain all the document, or copies of such, you would need to establish critical elements of who you are in addition to your prescriptions, food, water, clothes etc. (remember this is the stuff you use to allow you to get to where you are going and make good decisions along the way - not desperation decisions).

Just google Bug out bag - the discussions and options are too many to list here.

No mater what you read and what you decide I think the following ought to be in your bag:

Multitool, meds, First Aid kit, cash, small flashlight, matches, fleece jacket and cap, working gloves, charged prepaid cell phone, copies of important papers, photos of family (for missing persons boards), maps of your route and surrounding area, compass, rain parka, small AM/FM radio (or better), antiseptic hand wash (use it often, as an old field Soldier I can tell you what happens if you do not), can opener, toilet paper, headache/painkiller, nodoze/caffeine pills, small bottle of water purification tablets, water bottles (72 hour supply), baby wipes, duct tape, plastic trash bags x4, 100 foot parachute chord, energy bars

You can fit all of that nicely in back pack (here and here are nice ones but cheaper models will do)

That is the cheap man's version basic kit - many will suggest more; Motorola Talkabouts, GPS, pistol and I would too, but the above list is a nice starter for anyone - whether you stay in place a few days or bug out that kit ought to save a lot of burden.

Next Post: Where are you going and why?

Make Your Survivalist Friend Happy at Christmas

HT to Robert for doing the research for the original list

15 Survival Gadgets for under $40 for your Christmas Wish list (or gift giving).

-Leatherman 830032 Blast Multitool with Leather Sheath
-Ultimate Survival StrikeForce Fire Starter
-Gerber 04171 Suspension Butterfly Opening Multi-Plier, with Sheath
-Gerber 22-80012 Infinity Ultra Task LED Flashlight, Black
-Eton FR400 Self-Powered Water-Resistant AM/FM Radio with NOAA and TV-VHF (Defender)
-Fiskars Pro Chopping Axe #7858
-Fiskars Brush Axe #7860
-Survive!: Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere - Alive
-SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea
-US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76
-Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Bottles
-Nightstar Magnetic Force Flashlight Hi-Tech Clear
-Ultimate Survival Technologies BlastMatch All Weather Firestarter (orange)
-Ultimate Survival Technologies SaberCut Saw (Black)
-Crystal River Travel Fly / Spinning Rod

Most of the items would make a nice addition to any one's "carry around bag" (this is the essential item you carry with you everywhere because if you live in the real world and get out and about for work or pleasure - how stupid would you feel to be stuck in a bad situation without a simple 5-10lbs bag handy with a few goodies?)

Clearly you notice that most of these items are not "offensively" survivalist in nature and perhaps a good way to give a gift that will get someone thinking.

I would suggest also "The Official Handbook for Boys" for anyone that was not fortunate enough to have actually of been a Boy Scout. Or the 1911 edition for those that were and have perhaps forgotten what it meant and what they learned. My son and I have been spending weekends and free days going through the various skills taught in that fine book to ensure that he completely gets it. Scouting is a fabulous organization but more importantly the skills they teach are those every man should have. Anyone that does not know these basic skills would do well to study this book. I personally think the 1911 edition would be a great gift for a former scout (hint, hint to those that read this and love me). Be Prepared!

FM 21-76 is one of the finest Army manuals written - you can buy it in hardback from any major book seller. I read this entire book before I was 12 and went out and practiced many of the skills taught therein. My poor son is now feeling that same "pain". This is another basic primer that any man ought to be familiar with.

The two books mentioned are of course not the sum and total of the knowledge required to get a person and his family through a SHTF situation - but I would bet money that if you do not know those skills as a base any and all other preparations would be worthless in the long-run.

No Bailout, What Does It Mean?

Firstly. I must admit I am not as astute as I fancy myself. Why and how the the Senate Republicans found it within themselves to to do something right - and this was no small thing. I was certain the Federal Government would give in on this issue. I was wrong.

My thought was that this bailout was a given and would be passed - with some wringing of hands and clamoring of distaste but passed all the same. I assumed this would but one of many more such events to come over the next months or years in an effort to fight off the inevitable.

Of course these things are not "over" until they are over - there are more than one way to skin any cat. If the results of Big 3 bankruptcy gets to bad this could get another look, or perhaps the current or the new administration will find a way to move funds around to accomplish the same goal as the original bailout - time will tell.

What dies this all mean?

SEOUL (Reuters) - The collapse of a proposed bailout for U.S. automakers has raised fears of a deeper economic slowdown and further financial shocks that may jeopardize worldwide efforts to ease a global recession.

Any failure or bankruptcy of General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co or Chrysler LLC could cost tens of thousands of jobs, hit credit markets and disrupt the auto industry's global supply chain, economists said on Friday...

Some economists warned that any failure of U.S. automakers could cause a fall in the dollar and U.S. Treasuries, further hitting the country's battered financial system and economy. "A jump in U.S. corporate bankruptcy may prompt investors to flee the dollar and U.S. Treasuries amid concerns over a bubble in Treasuries," said Park Sang-hyun, chief economist at HI Investment & Securities.

That is certainly one perspective, perhaps absolutely correct. For how long and how deep could this recession reach? Depression levels? Further opinion -

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- A bankruptcy filing by General Motors Corp. or Chrysler LLC might send the U.S. economy into chaos within weeks if it led to a shutdown at the companies.

Industry experts and economists say the automakers would close plants, fire tens of thousands of workers and cut production. That would cause many of their suppliers to collapse, triggering more job losses, straining the cities and states where the car and parts companies operate, as well as federal safety-net programs...

“It would be unprecedented,” says Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. “So it’s hard to say exactly what would happen.”

Still, a GM or Chrysler bankruptcy “would be the start of a cascade of failures,” says Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “The economy will be in chaos within weeks.”

The "trickle down" theory in reverse.

I find it hard to believe the Federal government will not do something un-Constitutional before things reached such a level. From the same article we find...

The Bush administration said today it will consider using money from the $700 billion bank-bailout fund to prevent GM and Chrysler from “collapsing.”

Of course if Bush is unwilling to violate the Constitution one more time before leaving office I suspect that Obama will do the job pretty quickly.

I believe that we should take one thing away from this - the Federal Government still can and will head this off. Moving debt and failure from one place to another is still an option. As ugly as the prospects of this collapse are it will happen someday. The more we stall it, the more the delay the bigger the eventual fall. Just pause to think what it would mean to you right now today if the chaos and turmoil predicted by a collapse of these three companies would mean to you and your family.

This will be our reality, later if not now, and when it comes it will be bad. This is why I am determined to write on the issues surrounding surviving a SHTF scenario...

More for your consideration (and to spur your desire to prepare)

Car Vote May Tip US Into Depression
U.S. weekly jobless claims jump to 26-year high
Homelessness rising as economy slides

Foundations and Fundemental SHTF Beliefs of Fact

There are several points of fact that I believe it is important to establish before we proceed down this path of discussing dark and gloomy matters. Some may argue these are just my beliefs, I will freely debate any point below in detail if anyone wishes. I stand that these are facts.

1. Throughout history governments have fallen and societies have collapsed for reasons not dissimilar to what we face. These are seldom bloodless events, the governments seldom go quietly into the night without a few last kicks. People survive, they come through on the other side, but many die and most suffer.
2. Conspiracies are not to blame for what is likely to occur. Sure various groups, probably many groups have objectives they keep secret but there is no overarching secret conspiracy. If you want something to blame try the seven deadly sins.
3. Your local police are not your friend in an emergency (great or small SHTF). Look at the gun grabbing and door kicking after Katrina - it was not an anomaly. Police in a medium sized town such as Cedar Rapids pursued the same sort of tyrannical behavior after this year's floods. This is now standard practice - your rights, your property, ultimately your individual safety mean nothing. The goal is control.
4. The American populace is, on a whole, completely unprepared to provide any degree of self-sufficiency to itself during a short or long term difficulty.
5. The myth of the self-capable Southerner or Westerner is in large part just that now, a myth replaced by a reality of overweight "good ole boys" that still fancy themselves capable of man's work but are instead suburbanites with a few toys and hobbies.
6. Our reliance on "super-stores" has all but eliminated the local economies in most locales, just-in-time inventory will be a bit too late I think in the times ahead.
7. FEMA camps, shelters and holding areas are crime-ridden, disease-filled cesspools.
8. Extraordinary times will call for extraordinary measures - did you get upset about the Patriot Act? At least you were able to complain about it at the time.
9. The US gang population consists of 31,000 gangs in all 50 states comprising 850,000 members. These folks may not be prepared to survive but they would easily present a large group of two-legged predators in a serious crisis situation for anyone living in their path.
10. Americans demand and expect their government to fix things (at least the majority and they will be the ones causing all the trouble). Government fixes will last as long as the government can print money and float loans - when that no longer works effectively? You know what, rigid control, martial law, riots and disorder - essentially two possibilities a breakdown of our society or a rapid march toward an Orwellian society.

I think 10 will do as an initial foundation - just so you know where I am coming from in my belief of the facts.