Friday, May 30, 2008

"SURVIVALISTS MAKE ME WANT TO DIE" ?

I actually read this statement on a blog this morning. The URL is http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/4/22/17266/0477. It was the theme of the whole blog! The Handmaiden found it. She lurks at a lot of places I don't go. I haven't the time nor the inclination to read many of the Lefties. I don't like to go through the gag and puke thing on any kind of a regular basis.

A man can look at the world situation and become severely disheartened. It can cause you to become depressed to the max. Things don't look too good right now. All kinds of things are blowing in the wind and damned little of it seems to be to our advantage. Even Drudge is reporting a large mass of bank failures on the horizon.

But why would a person view someone taking a positive outlook amidst all this negativism as depressing enough to off themselves? Doesn't make any sense to me. I stand for life and the continuity thereof. Yeah, I have a few shotguns around the house. So what? I thought everybody did.

And yes, I have a small food stash. Maybe 300 pounds of nutrition on standby. But what the hell, most Yuppies have that much in their chest freezers. And that doesn't count their side-by-side freezer they have in the kitchen. And those people have pantries. Lot of goodies in those pantries. I remember a girl about 40 years ago who had parents in Indy that had a bomb shelter. Now these were well-to-do folks and the stuff she brought down to Bloomington, IN, from her parents bomb shelter was strictly gourmet. Really nice food. We could live off of it for a week at a time.

I, on the other hand, am trying to build up a supply of rice and beans, to be superceded by corn and beans if my crops make it all okay. Just humble old rice and beans. And I am doing this because of a limited amount of money. I get a small Social Security check and the wife is not working right now. We cannot afford to do anything elaborate. But we do what we can. And that makes this guy want to die? Give me a break! What mentally malformed creature would perish at the thought of me and mine making it and not dying or being killed? What twist in the genes would produce a negative attitude in the mind of this man? Something is amiss.

But what ever it is that is amiss in certain people's thinking is not going to stop me from being prepared as much as I can be. We are growing and buying what food we can. I have some ammo stocked away and intend that it protect me and mine from looters and other ill advised creatures. I am getting it together on the tools I think I will need in the event of a food and fuel emergency. Tools to grow food! We are not too big on gizmos and gadgets. We can't afford the toys of the game. I am not saying that these things are bad, I am saying I can't afford a lot of them right now. But I don't worry about a lot of the crap that is supposed to be necessary. I have no intention of rebuilding the same system that brought us this mess.

Life is sorta like playing Jacks-or-better-to-open draw poker. The system guy in front of you opens and you have a pair of tens, you know he has you beat. He's got 'em and you got 'em to get! No one has it all. We try like crazy to touch all the bases but sooner or later we just have to see what the deck will give us. And I am trying to make this pair of tens look pretty damn big. Like I caught a couple more of them on the draw. And who knows? Maybe I will. The system guy is betting his ass off that his viewpoint will prevail. It all boils down to what happens.

I think that whoever would say that survivalists make them want to die is really saying that the conditions that make people concentrate on survivalism make them want to die. And that is really the wrong attitude. You have to confront these feelings and get a grip on the fact that you want to LIVE. Nothing sane wants to die. But oppression maketh a wise man mad. You cannot let this happen. You must realize that the human family has been on a death march for millions of years. Wars, and wars, and more wars. Plus plagues, pestilence, famine, and naturally occuring disasters. Death has been in our midst the whole course of our existance. And some of us are tired of it. Some of us would rather abolish the ridiculous and go on with what God has in mind for us to attain. In order to do this you must first live. You must practice staying alive and do it every day. No one ever mentions that God is the Supreme Survivalist in the whole Creation. No matter what went on, HE STAYED ALIVE! And he lives today. He got out of the Death March. And we can do that too, although we will have to have some powerful help to accomplish it.

So keep betting that you will win in the end, because that is when you count it all out and see who made it the best. The Jokers can cackle and bray all they wish but the outcome of the final deal will determine who came out ahead. And those will be the players who stay in the game and stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

GRINDING CORN

Yeah. I'm sitting around this afternoon making a little cornmeal. It's a bit of a hassel but I can manage. My table is a bit rickity and that doesn't help a damn bit. But I like the cornmeal and the good food it brings. I guess if I get beans too old to cook soft then I can grind them up with cornmeal and make a mush out of them. Vlad sent me that recipe and I have yet to try it. But my beans will still cook soft so there ain't any reason to do it.

You gotta "clean" your corn before you grind it. There are pieces of stem and little bitty pieces of rock in the corn so you don't just toss it in the grinder and let 'er rip. You gotta sort through it and get it right and then you can go to it.

It is a source of satisfaction to me to grind my own corn meal. I enjoy the production of my own food. I can go from the garden to the plate of cornmeal or mush without buying from a store. Pretty neat, huh? Good food and off the system. Don't get any better than that! Being a survivalist and staying out of the system means you have a fighting chance at surviving a severe economic down turn. And if that downturn is coming then you had better prepare for it and get ready to process your own beans and corn. I can get back into the garden tomorrow and I will be planting more of either beans or corn. Easy to store. Easy to handle. And easy to share. Put them up in plastic bags in the right amount for a decent sized meal and you have something you can give to your friends if woe comes upon them. And woe is coming. Believe it.

I like the old ways. I was raised in technology and I have learned technical trades but there is something appealing about the old ways. Like growing non-hybrid crops and saving the seed. Just the way it was intended to be. Natural plants don't have the Terminator gene spliced into them. Anybody with half a brain can see that genetic modification of seed is nothing but a scam, a money maker for a gene lab. You can fool around and save your best stock over a period of years and get a superior seed, a good producer. But hybridization and that sort of stuff leaves me cold. Give me crops that will reproduce themselves.

It's not like I don't admire being able to throw a switch and a dark room becomes well lit. It's pretty nice. The first utterance we have in the record is of God saying "Let there be light." Light is a good thing. And so is that coffee maker that I just touch in the morning and it immediately starts making me a pot of hot coffee. Sure is a nice way to start a day. But there are other ways of getting light in a room and other ways to make coffee. The Old Man taught me how to make Hobo coffee a long time ago. I know how to make the grounds settle to the bottom and all that stuff. You boil the water and when it gets to rolling you take it off the heat and pour in the coffee. Of course this was using an old time coffee pot that had a lid and all that stuff. It even had a handle on the side for pouring! You stirred the coffee in the hot water and let it sit for a minute or three to let is get all that good coffee taste into that water. Stirring don't hurt it a damn bit. After you are sure of your strength of brew, you let it sit a minute and then you pour a cup of cold water into the pot slowly and it will settle the grounds pretty well and you can enjoy the brew. This is not for ladies to sit around sipping in the afternoon enjoying cookies or scones. This is get-to-it real live man's coffee. Guaranteed to get you off to work in a hurry! If you don't like the little bit of grounds in the brew, get a fine wire strainer and pour through it that.

I want to touch on your land you use for your gardens. I have a pretty nice place to plant but it was built up by a man who knew what the hell he was doing. But it won't stay built up if I don't maintain it. I have to get compost to the garden. And I want tons of it. Lots of good compost. And the reason for this is in the event of a fuel crisis in this nation. Commerical compost is going for about $35 a cubic yard these days and the Yuppies of Indiana University at Bloomington are paying it. But there are over 535 of them working at the school who make over $100,000 a year. Nice gig!

And the same applies to you are far as usage of the soil is concerned. You can take from it for a while but sooner or later you have to give back. I have explained that failure to do this will result in decreasing crop production. It will also make your ground harder to work as time goes by. Do not fall into the trap of raping your soil and keep expecting to get away with it. If you build up nicely this year you could maybe get two years out of it if you had to do it. But soil fertility is like a bank account. It is security and it will feed you, but you can't keep spending and not putting more back in or you run out.

A good grower actually grows dirt. Good fertile dirt. The dirt grows the food. You just take care of the dirt. Let the plants do their thing like they know how to do it.

GARDEN UPDATE

I got in 10 more rows of Horticulture beans today. That makes me 36 rows of beans and 15 rows of corn. There is other stuff but not the main crop like my beans and corn. Wife looked at the Asparagus bed and had me put on the brakes. I have never seen so much of it in my life. What a haul! The wife also got two big bags of nettle leaaves. We'll be having hot greens for supper for a while! Don't forget, Nettle leaves have to be cooked before you can eat them. But they are a free bounty from God and very well loaded with vitamins and minerals. So we had a good day at the garden. Don't know how I am going to get mulch and compost. I'll keep trying!

Stay Alive

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

DUAL MINDEDNESS

A thought, a concept, has been plagueing me for the last few days. I find people retaining contradictory thoughts in their mind. They know something, or they can see something, but a different understanding is shown in their actions. It's like things don't match up. It's like they have self brainwashed their own minds. I think the psychiatrists call this Cognitive Dissonance. They define CD as feeling stress from entertaining two opposite thoughts or opinions. I call it like the Bible calls it and that it dual mindedness.

And it exists. It's obvious that it exists. I read a study from the middle of last year that found that 40% of Fox News fans still believe that Saddam Hussein backed the 9-11 attacks and had Weapons of Mass Destruction. And I don't believe a word of it. I believe that the Neo-cons tried everything in their power to find WMD and could not. I mean, they would have LOVED to find the damn things. They would have been ecstatic! It would have validated their claims against Saddam Hussein. It would have warranted their whole effort in the Mid-East. But it just was not so. However, 40% of the Fox News viewers still believe in it. And this is what I call dual mindedness. On the one hand you have the might of the US war machine searching and finding nothing. You have months of UN inspectors searching and finding nothing. You still have troops over there by the boatload and they ain't even finding the stuff by accident. But the believers in this charade are still afloat and sailing merrily along. Go figure.

The basis for present day survivalism is the possibility of a nuclear war, an invasion, a pandemic, or an economic collapse. Or maybe a mixture of a couple or three. And the evidence of this possibility is unavoidable of anyone who keeps track of what is going on in the world. We are getting close to a collapse of the money right now. With the dollar in the shape it is in, we are getting priced out of the market. Driving has become something of a necessity and not a pleasure. Who can find pleasure in $4 a gallon gasoline when the price is expected to rise to $6 or $7 by the end of the Summer. The statistics say that the US drivers have really cut back and the gasoline usage has dropped measurably. But the price does not reflect this. Someone is buying that oil whether we do or not.

With this in mind I say to prepare for the worst. I'm not chicken little running around crying the sky is falling. Gasoline HAS doubled in price and is expected to go higher by those that are supposed to know. The prices that Handmaiden pays at the store have gone up a BUNCH in the last year. She still gets a deal from the Amish on a few things but that is the extent of her bargains. Our meat bill has gone down because I happen to love rice and beans and we just don't have to use as much meat these days. I get my sausage and eggs in the morning and very little meat after that. But that is because of the rice and beans. And we have to rotate the Brown Rice. One of my friends says that is a crock of shit but most say it is not. In this case I will listen to a multitude of counselors for my good.

I think to grind some more corn flour today. I love that cornmeal mush in the morning. Reminds me of good times as a kid. A big plate of mush laying there in hot slabs with butter running off of it onto the plate and getting salted by me to the proper taste. MAN! I'm starting to get hungry just talking about it. But that comes from my hillbilly genetics. Hillbillies are really the chosen people, you understand. At least they were chosen to create some of the best cheap meals on the planet. Simple, nutitious food. Just remember to eat your greens. Remembering this good food and good times and all that does NOT, however, take away from the fact that I would like to continue to eat on a regular basis in the time that God has left for me to run my course. "A body that hath prepared me to do thay will" comes to mind right here. I used to think about that when I was going to breed another child and I was gazing at the vessel of possible creation evironment. And that ain't all malarky. Does it not say "Go forth and multiply and replenish the earth"? I was just following orders. Yep. Hatched out a few kids too. And I like them. Can't help it. "No man as yet hateth his own flesh."

Besides my immediate family I have many friends and they have many children. Ain't no celibacy practiced around these parts that I know of! And I like these people and I want to see that they are all okay and I am growing food to feed them in case of a bad time in the near future. I will probably continue to plan on feeding them if things DO change. Getting back to my single mindedness, I do not trust the system any longer. I honestly feel that way and I base my actions upon that premise. It's kinda like Jeff Cooper and his "Combat Mindset." He had his mind made up and that was that. You attack him and he was going to shoot you without even thinking first. He was that convinced of his own mind. And I reckon I am that way about survivalism. I am sure that its the way to go and I will stick with it. I love people. That don't mean I love everything they do but I love the human family.

It has been said that the human family is just natually schizophrenic. We have to overcome this. We have to get it straight in our minds that we are going to do the best we can with what we have to work with. It's not saying we can't have some fun and enjoyment along the way, for a merry heart doeth good like medicine, but we must stay the course and be ready for when the hard times come. And charity begins ar home. He that careth not for his own household is worse than an infidel. That is a heavy statement. I don't want any of the brothers who have gone on before me looking down and thinking I am an infidel. I might get questioned about that.

So don't be dual minded. Keep your eyes on the prize and your families alive. Be ready for the hard times that anyone of any common sense would recognize. We are not playing a game. We are not making merry. We are a serious bunch of folks who recognize what is going on in the world and and intend to live through the anguish. Stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A PEEK AT THE BLEAK

I am looking at the future and if I was not into survivalism I would be very uncomfortable with what I see. I got a comment from Riverwalker yesterday that said he saw a FEMA camp in Georgia and people should avoid the place and any place like it. The one I saw in a video up in Indianapolis looks pretty mean too. Like I said, I think I'll stay home and miss this party.

I spent last night and this morning reading a book on life in Pennsylvania in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Fabulous. That was back in the days when men were men. Hunting Elk and Deer and Bear and Panthers. Hellish men. Find an Elk and turn the dogs loose and start chasing it for a couple, maybe three, days. Helluva romp through the woods. A 20 mile chase was nothing. The book told of men soaking their shoes in water and having to take them off in sub-freezing weather. And they did it and kept on going! Not too well thought of today but back then you did what you had to do.

Black powder weapons, long knives, tomahawks, and whatever they could get in a pinch was what they used. And they kept them up themselves. There were no Big Box stores around to buy another weapon from if the one they had broke.

Whatever you were going to have in the way of materialism was what you brought into the wilderness with you. No stores, no warehouses, and no freight terminals. All that sort of stuff was for more civilized areas. It was strictly a "run what you brung" ordeal and if you made it you must have done something right. I use this as an analogy of what we face in an economic collapse. What you have is what you get. There ain't anymore coming, at least not for awhile. And there might not be any fuel to drive somewhere anyhow. Think about that. Gasoline stations might be a thing of the past. Maybe the fedgov will put in "fueling stations" someplaces and you might have the honor of gassing up there. Wonderful.

But if you didn't bring enough stuff to make it, if you don't have a paid for retreat, no matter how cheap or ratty it might be, then you have the alternative of going to a detention camp. And that is going to cost a few million people their asses. We will hear reports of "your governemtn is doing all it can as quickly as it can to aleviate the suffering of the people." You will translate this as "They are processing folks and taking all their biometric data and implanting RFID chips as fast as they can go." Hah! Won't that be a wonderful thing to experience! You will be strip searched, cavity searched, DNA blod sampled, optically scanned and given a number. YOU WILL HAVE AN I.D. Hah! And don't think for one minute that the plans aren't already drawn up. Remember, the Patriot Act was already written and laying on the shelf when 9-11 happened. They just got it out, dusted it off and sent it to Congress for passage. It is told that this heinious piece of legislation came about as a result of a terrorist attack. BULLSHIT! The subjegation was already in the works. So keep an eye out for the troops coming to YOUR area for the round-up. There will be all kinds of trumped charges to level on the populace. Anything they can connect with any kind of a crime or faux pas will be used againt you. The Constitution will be suspended and that will be that. And the city boys will bear the brunt of the attack. It's such a target rich environment. Double Hah!

Let the forces of evil find you in the midst of a multitude of men sitting around cleaning their guns. Let them see new buildings, log buildings, being built. Let them see your gardens and your livestock. Let them hear your anthems of freedom ringing from the hills and echoing across the land. Let them know that they better not tread on YOU.

And this won't appeal, once again, to the rugged individualists. They will once again sneer at the group effort. Well, let them sneer. I guess it's good facial muscle exercise. But individuals are not going to do too well in the coming days. People with friends and kinfolk will do a lot better. The more the merrier. The group effort is a reality as far as retaining your freedom and your spirit. It is the hope of those not wanting to be a slave to the machine being built to run this planet. Sixty years ago there would have been blood in the streets at the mere thought of what is taking place in this country. Now the sheeple just go on minding their business and hoping the wolves eat them last. Piss on the wolves! Run 'em off smelling of fresh urine. The dogs can follow them easier that way. Triple Hah!

And here is the Mogambo Guru! I just had to put this in to give everyone an idea of what the hell is coming off. The game is about over!

The Daily Reckoning PRESENTS: Consumers are suffering because the stupid European governments boosted spending for a decade or more, the money financed by debt, and it is all of this spending that has made the purchasing power of the euro to fall. How do we fix this? The Mogambo has an answer. Read on…

INFLATIONARY TORTILLAS
by The Mogambo Guru

The biggest laugh I had all week was from Bloomberg.com reporting that "European consumers are 'suffering as surging food and energy prices erode the value of their wages', finance officials said" which is not itself funny, but the article immediately goes on that this is "urging governments to boost spending to help the poorest deal with the fastest inflation in 16 years." Hahahaha!

Consumers are suffering because the stupid European governments boosted spending for a decade or more, the money financed by debt, and it is all of this spending that has made the purchasing power of the euro to fall. And now the governments are going to boost spending some more Hahaha!

But it's okay, these guys are saying, because it's "to help the poorest deal with the fastest inflation in 16 years." Hahahaha! Idiots! As Strother Martin said of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in the movie of the same name as they went down the mountain to La Paz, "Idiots! I've got idiots on my team!"

For example, Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg is quoted as saying, "The least well off in our societies are very seriously exposed to a loss of purchasing power due to the increase of oil prices, of commodity prices and food prices", which is true.

Then, bizarrely, he says that this inflation-from-too-much-spending makes it imperative that "It's up to public budgets to react to this loss in purchasing power by helping out the least well off"! Hahahaha!

And how does he suggest we do that? Naturally, anybody with an ounce of brains or education knows that the first thing you do is stop creating more money and credit, which is what causes a "loss in purchasing power" in the first damned place.

Naturally, I figure that since the solution is so simple that it was time to go out for something tasty to eat and something wet to drink, and then maybe take in a couple of XXX-rated movies, but I was wrong, as here comes European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet saying that inflation will remain "high'' for quite some time to come, and European Union Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia saying "We need to do more,'' because "Inflation is a socially negative tax on the poorest'' people, which it is, and that is why it is so imperative to stop creating more money and credit nowm not create more, you idiots!

Participating in this Gang of Morons Idiocy (GOMI) is U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, who "cut the tax bills of Britain's poorest families by 2.7 billion pounds ($5.25 billion) in a bid to cushion the blow from higher prices", which is a nice thing to do, especially if you don't want to overlook the fact that they were taxing Britain's poorest families to start with, which tells you all you need to know about the good intentions of the British government.

But the horror is that they are NOT proposing to stop creating more money and credit! They were proposing to create MORE money and credit, making everything worse, as we learn to our horror when Darling said he will "raise government borrowing to finance the decision as slower economic growth curbs tax revenue."

John Stepek, writing in the Money Morning newsletter from MoneyWeek.com, writes "Gordon Brown's response to the end of his economic 'miracle' is to rattle off yet another succession of bills. You'd think he'd realise that the British consumer is sick of bills by now. But no. The man once laughably described as the Iron Chancellor has thrown off all pretence of fiscal competence and is now flinging money he doesn't have at problems he can't solve."

And speaking of inflationary things that people can't solve, Christopher Laird of PrudentSquirrel.com writes that "There is a report that 25% of the world wheat crop is at serious risk of a new virulent wheat rust that chokes the wheat before it comes to head. The US has its own concerns over a wheat rust spreading through the Mid West. So, what are the chances of a record grain harvest in 08?"

Naturally, I have no idea about the chances of anything since I figure that neither my marriage nor my career will last until the weekend, and so Mr. Laird gives us a hint. "Just to give an idea of the concern about food," he writes, "China just spent a $400 a ton premium on fertilizer that used to cost $170 a ton Jan 08. It was a huge order. Reason? They are afraid that if they don't have great harvests this year, tens of millions may starve in 09."

And in case you don't care about Europeans but are concerned about the other hemisphere because that is where you live, SteveQuayle.com posted a news.bbc.so.uk story that "The price of tortillas, a staple food in Mexico, are set to rise 18% in the next few weeks, an industry group says".

This is bad news because "Thousands of people protested against tortilla price rises in Mexico last year" when tortilla prices rose "by more than 10%."

So, Mexicans rioted at 10% inflation, and now everyone is wondering what they will do about 18% inflation in tortillas? Hahahaha! Welcome to inflationary hell! Ugh.

The Mogambo Sez: Ahh, commodities! Verily I say unto thee; thy gold, thy silver and thy oil sustain me when all others wouldst betray me, as they now betray all those who were tempted by the charms and promises of "invest in the stock market, invest in the bond market, invest in the housing market, and invest in a larger government for the long-term!"

Until next time,

The Mogambo Guru
for The Daily Reckoning

Editor's Note: Richard Daughty is general partner and COO for Smith Consultant Group, serving the financial and medical communities, and the editor of The Mogambo Guru economic newsletter - an avocational exercise to heap disrespect on those who desperately deserve it.

The Mogambo Guru is quoted frequently in Barron's, The Daily Reckoning and other fine publications.
***************
I could go on with this rant for another few thousand words but I won't. I'll spare you the details of my observations. But don't let up on staying alive. And at the risk of sounding trite, prepare like crazy!


Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Monday, May 26, 2008

IS IT THE START OF THE END?

The news doen't look so good. Foxnews.com had an article about regular citizens starting to prep. Good luck folks! It is a trip!

I see a falling of the value of the dollar. To the point that it is no longer accepted on the world market. And if you can't buy food and fuel then you stay home and go hungry. Folks are not going to like that. Not one little bit. And when little Tommy and litle Susie get to complaining abot being hungry then the riots are going to start. It's pretty difficult for people to watch their own kids go hungry. And when the riots start the Criminal In Charge will sign a Proclamation of Martial Law and the race will be on! Oh, there will be some great speeches and bombastic orations to tell us about our greatness and power and influence and history, but those things will not put beans on the table. Do not be taken in by the propaganda. When you start seeing troop convoys on the roads then get ready for the round-up. Can't let 300 million angry citizens run around raging against the machine. You gotta get them folks under lock and key , with guards and guard dogs to see that they stay in the camp. I ain't going. No way! Me and Mr. Wingmaster will stay home, thank you. I like sleeping in my own bed with my wife and my little fan and what not. They might cut the electricity off and I couldn't have my fan, but I will make out okay. We are country people and we have food and water and plenty of fuel to burn. The wife even bought a hand operated power washer from the Internet. It is strictly armstrong stuff but it will clean your laundry. We need to get some soap and stuff into our prep work in the near future. If that runs out we go to making lye soap. Good stuff, lye soap.

But you want to stay out of those camps. Do not be taken in by promises of any kind. You go into one of them and you are a refugee of the lowest order. You will obey them and work for them and serve them. You will be third class to the camp minders. And if you don't do what they say then you will face their punishment, of which they will have plenty. It will be slavery, folks. Plain and simple. Remember that you are a survivalist and act accordingly. Survivalists don't bear the yoke of slavery too well. Not after all those years of paying taxes to pay the salaries of those watching you night and day in the camp. Don't let them flip the order upside down and put you on the bottom. You did what you were supposed to do and worked and paid your taxes. You are guilty of no crime and thus not deserving of criminal treatment. STAY OUT OF THOSE CAMPS!

And you still have time to put in some garden. GROW FOOD! You gotta eat. You have to have water to drink. Get it together a.s.a.p. Get with some decent people who can help with the labor. The labor of planting and harvesting and doing guard duty and things like that. Things like building log cabins from the trees on your retreat land. And speaking of cabin building, it would not hurt you one bit to get some boxes of 3/8's by 8" spike nails in your stash to build the cabins. You can get them in 50 pound boxes and you will need a bunch of boxes. It does not take many spikes to make up a 50 pound load. A working chainsaw will help a lot if you can come up with the fuel. If there is no fuel then get ready for some hand labor! This is another place where having people with you will prove to be good. And people to labor will not hurt you. Having it around will make you stronger and wiser. And people like a leader, they like someone who has the plan and knows how to do it. You will probably be remembered as the father of your community, because it will become a community. People like freedom and friends and a place to live and a fair deal in life, no matter what the situation. Give it to them and you will have friends forever. Cultivate the fighters in the group.

When it comes to driving in an 8" spike, I heartily recommend that you have 2 pound hand sledges for your spike drivers. "Back in the day" I could drive an 8" spike with four blows from a 28 ounce framing hammer. Two handed of course. Wafflehead, of course. But I was a skilled hammer operator and you might not start out with that kind of talent. Driving spikes is not something you were born able to do. It is an acquired talent.

Get a good foundation under your cabin. It makes all the difference in the world. Get it in good and square and strong. Concrete is nice if you can get it. Big rocks will work if you can get them to lay right. Having some goggles and a rock hammer and chisel will allow you to square up stone like Sandstone or Limestone. I am not familiar with other types of stone so you must be the judge of them. If you are going to try and work stone I suggest that you practice a bit before you go into production.

Your cabin floor can be dirt, stone, or what ever you have around that suits you. If you start now you can buy concrete and be done with it. After the Martial Law sets in you will use what you have handy. Timing is of the essence in the case of building a cabin right now. Do it while the idiots are still accepting money and you can get all kinds of neat things. Wait until the bad days are here and you will take what you can get.

We were sitting out on the porch of the place where we hold meeting last night and Old Fred said that this government was at war with it's own people. I had to give a resounding AMEN to that declaration. But that will become the normal and not the exception all around the globe in the next couple of years. Remember Somalia! It was getting better over there. People were laughing and there was a lot of food in the marketplace and it was all blown away beause the other nations of the world wanted a central government in place and not some regional tribalism. A central government is something they can relate to. A Central Bank is what they can relate to. And they only have to make one deal to capture the whole country. Such a waste. Those people were free for a while.

But we can be free if we stand ready to defend our freedom. And we might stay alive!

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Sunday, May 25, 2008

NO PREPS TODAY

Today is Sunday and I have not gotten a damn thing done. I have slept like a log all day. But I feel refreshed and ready to go. The Handmaiden brought home a movie to watch off of DVD last night. It was an Irish movie, of course. And finally it just ended. Like some of those crazy flicks from Europe do. Wife came over and put her forehead against mine and said' "We watched that whole thing!" And I replied that, "This proves we are becoming numb." We both burst out laughing at that line. But I guess a little laughter and light hearted living aren't all bad. But it sure did make me sleep soundly. And long hours too.

I have had a time with the blog this weekend. First was Mayberry's revelation about his vision. That was a big deal. And I believe him. I think he saw what he says he saw. Mayberry is an exuberant, out-going kind of person. And he will say and do as he is led. I don't have a problem with that. But I have been around a lot of different people and I can understand quite a number of them. The next thing on the radar of life was the statement I made about the FEMA detention camps. And I thought everybody knew about those camps. Apparently a few of you missed them. But they are out there and they are ready to hold a few million people when instructed by their fearless leader in Washington, D.C.

It really does amaze me that folks miss those sort of things. The wife used to date a guy, back in 1992, that she told about the fedgov having on the payrole the guy who furnished the explosives and detonators and what not for the first attempt at blowing up the World Trade Center. And the guy would not believe her. So she gave him the story from the front page of the New York Times that reported that very thing. And he still would not believe it. And this is America! They printed this story on one of our national papers of record and people still would not belive it. And life goes on.

But I really am surprised that more people don't now about the detention camps that are now run by the DHS instead of FEMA. The number of them is reckoned to be over 800. You total them up and they have a tremendous capacity. And you go through the Executive Orders of Clinton and Dubya and there are some amazing things on the books as law in this country. You just let a President sign a Proclamation of Martial Law in this country and you HAVE NO MORE RIGHTS! I reckon you have what you can insist on having and can back it up in word and deed.

And it is all legal! Oh yes! Legal as it can be. And they had their first practice in New Orleans when Katrina hit. It was a dismal effort both for the public and for the government forces. Neither side had a clear cut win. They got legally owned firearms from a couple thousand people but that is about all they could muster. The citizens got little or nothing except for some some poisoned trailers sent down there for people to live in while "HELP" was being organized. The effects of the poison may have subsided and those trailers bought cheaply in the future. And there are thousands of them.

New Orleans has yet to be rebuilt and I think it won't be rebuilt. Ain't nothin' down there any good conservative wants to restore. New Orleans is a Black city you know.

But the fedgov got some experience in handling hard times and it will go into their textbooks. They will do better next time. They will probably have more Blackwater troopies to do the dirty work. But they have lots of foreign troops on our soil and finding someone to do the dirty work of enslavement will not be too hard a task.

So if you missed out on the Katrina Episode don't worry, you will get your chance at confinement and various prison work programs as soon as that damn proclamation is signed. But it ain't gonna get signed until the fedgov boys are ready and able to get it done. These are our Judas Goats. They will lead the lambs to slaughter.

But all is not lost. An isolated location will still serve you well. Difficult access is another good thing in you favor. Caves are nice. Wear earplugs if shooting. Chainsaws and big trees beside the road at strategic points will do wonders. Tanks will be hard to stop. Other vehicles can proceed with due caution. Colonel Mud will help you in the rainy times. If you have a piece of equipment, you can divert a stream right down the road. And those are nasty things to be doing and highly illegal and I admonish you to abstain from any of these practices. But if they are coming to take you away to a detention camp and you ain't done anything wrong and you don't want to go, then do something else.

It is fun to watch this all unfold. It won't be long until the credit system will be completely wiped out and the riots will begin. That credit business is an important area of operations in this country. And think of the data mining the DHS gets to do with all those purchase records. I wonder how many companies that sell to survivors are unwitting collectors of data. They don't have to agree to anything. They don't have to tell anyone a damn thing. But that little transaction will go through some clearing house somewhere and things will be noted. Big Brother is upon us and he is a load!

So we go through the litany again. Get out of town. Invest in TANGIBLES. Prep like crazy. Run out of cash at about the same time the system collapses. You won't need any more anyway. Unless you want to use it for toilet paper as a sort of macabre ritual of disposing of past problems.

Keep these admonishions in your mind as you plan for your future. The scriptures say that unless God watches a city, the man or men who watch it watch in vain. And it says that after having done ALL, stand.

Do what you can and stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

OOPS. MY BAD

I forgot that I am dealing with a higher mentality of readers than the average American. I told about the video of the FEMA detention center and did NOT leave the URL for it to be checked by others. For this I apologize. Here is the URL. http://current.com/items/88956019_u_s_concentration_camps

You might care to notice two things. The area where people will be held has the top fence brackets facing IN toward the enclosed area. This is solely to keep people IN the facility. The other point of interest is the signs that say it is covered by AMTRAK. This desolate area is NOT being used by AMTRAK. No way. AMTRAK is a passenger rail service and this area in no way handles passengers. You will enjoy the electronic turnstiles.

Michael

Saturday, May 24, 2008

TIPs FROM READERS

As I peruse through the various blogs (yours are my top 3) each day there is often discussed techniques for starting fires. But I don't recall one being mentioned. . . Steel Burns!


Here is a tip: Get some fine mesh, un-coated Steel Wool from your Hardware Store. It is very cheap stuff. Pick up some 9 Volt batteries too. This is important because both battery terminals are on the same end of the 9 Volt type.


Fluff up a chunk of the steel wool and touch the battery posts to it. Sparks will start to travel in the steel wool strands. Put into the kindling and blow. Instant molten steel and a Helluva Fire Starter.


If you make a long stretch of steel wool and swish it in the air once it is ignited it can be used as a signaling device, although wearing thick gloves would be advised.


Yep, steel actually burns! I keep some set up in my survival supplies at all times, old pill bottles are great for storage.


Thought you could pass the knowledge along. And give it a try, it will keep people entertained for an hour!


Signed; EM-Joe in the Post Katrina Louisiana Swamplands.

DCCDMOM wrote:

I'm always trying to get people to grow food. Even for non survivalists it makes sense. It's cheaper, fresher, and no pesticides. We have the typical 50 x 100 ft lot in town( I know, I know, but we just can't afford to move to a country location yet). We have 11 fruit trees(apple, pear, cherry,plum,nectarine), 3 huckleberries, 6 blueberry bushes, 3 gooseberries, 4 current bushes, a raspberry patch, a strawberry patch, a boysenberry patch, 2 milk goats(nigerian dwarf), 14 rabbits(mix of meat and angora), 4 ducks, 5 chickens, and several large spots for seasonal vegetables. I've been experimenting with 4 season gardening and we usually have carrots, parsnips, chard, salad greens, and kale through the winter. We water all the animals and the garden from rain barrel water. We also have 3 4x4x4 compost bins. It just bugs me to see people on large properties not growing anything.

AN EXTRA TIDBIT

A bit of poetry for you folks

Into our town the hangman came,
smelling of gold and blood and flame.
He paced our bricks with a different air,
and built his frame on the courthouse square.

The scaffold stood by the courthouse side,
only as wide as the door was wide
with a frame as tall, or a little more,
than the capping sill of the courthouse door.

And we wondered whenever we had the time,
Who the criminal? What the crime?
The hangman judged with the yellow twist
of knotted hemp in his busy fist.

And innocent though we were with dread,
we passed those eyes of buckshot lead.
Till one cried, "Hangman, who is he,
for whom you raised the gallows-tree?"

Then a twinkle grew in his buckshot eye
and he gave a riddle instead of reply.
"He who serves me best," said he
"Shall earn the rope on the gallows-tree."

And he stepped down and laid his hand
on a man who came from another land.
And we breathed again, for anothers grief
at the hangmans hand, was our relief.

And the gallows frame on the courthouse lawn
by tomorrow's sun would be struck and gone.
So we gave him way and no one spoke
out of respect for his hangmans cloak.

The next day's sun looked mildly down
on roof and street in our quiet town;
and stark and black in the morning air
the gallows-tree on the courthouse square.

And the hangman stood at his usual stand
with the yellow hemp in his busy hand.
With his buckshot eye and his jaw like a pike,
and his air so knowing and business-like.

And we cried, "Hangman, have you not done,
yesterday with the alien one?"
Then we fell silent and stood amazed.
"Oh, not for him was the gallows raised."

He laughed a laugh as he looked at us,
"Do you think I've gone to all this fuss,
To hang one man? That's the thing I do.
To stretch the rope when the rope is new."

Above our silence a voice cried "Shame!"
and into our midst the hangman came;
to that mans place, "Do you hold," said he,
"With him that was meat for the gallows-tree?"

He laid his hand on that one's arm
and we shrank back in quick alarm.
We gave him way, and no one spoke,
out of fear of the hangmans cloak.

That night we saw with dread surprise
the hangmans scaffold had grown in size.
Fed by the blood beneath the chute,
the gallows-tree had taken root.

Now as wide, or a little more
than the steps that led to the courthouse door.
As tall as the writing, or nearly as tall,
half way up on the courthouse wall.

The third he took, we had all heard tell,
was a usurer..., an infidel.
And "What" said the hangman, "Have you to do
with the gallows-bound..., and he a Jew?"

And we cried out, "Is this one he
who has served you well and faithfully?"
The hangman smiled, "It's a clever scheme
to try the strength of the gallows beam."

The fourth man's dark accusing song
had scratched our comfort hard and long.
"And what concern," he gave us back,
"Have you ... for the doomed and black?"

The fifth, the sixth, and we cried again,
"Hangman, hangman, is this the man?"
"It's a trick", said he, "that we hangman know
for easing the trap when the trap springs slow."

And so we ceased and asked now more
as the hangman tallied his bloody score.
And sun by sun, and night by night
the gallows grew to monstrous height.

The wings of the scaffold opened wide
until they covered the square from side to side.
And the monster cross beam looking down,
cast its shadow across the town.

Then through the town the hangman came
and called through the empy streets...my name.
I looked at the gallows soaring tall
and thought ... there's no one left at all

for hanging ... and so he called to me
to help take down the gallows-tree.
And I went out with right good hope
to the hangmans tree and the hangmans rope.

He smiled at me as I came down
to the courthouse square...through the silent town.
Supple and stretched in his busy hand,
was the yellow twist of hempen strand.

He whistled his tune as he tried the trap
and it sprang down with a ready snap.
Then with a smile of awful command,
He laid his hand upon my hand.

"You tricked me Hangman." I shouted then,
"That your scaffold was built for other men,
and I'm no henchman of yours." I cried.
"You lied to me Hangman, foully lied."

Then a twinkle grew in his buckshot eye,
"Lied to you...tricked you?" He said "Not I...
for I answered straight and told you true.
The scaffold was raised for none but you."

"For who has served more faithfully?
With your coward's hope." said He,
"And where are the others that might have stood
side by your side, in the common good?"

"Dead!" I answered, and amiably
"Murdered," the Hangman corrected me.
"First the alien ... then the Jew.
I did no more than you let me do."

Beneath the beam that blocked the sky
none before stood so alone as I.
The Hangman then strapped me...with no voice there
to cry "Stay!" ... for me in the empty square.

By Maurice Ogden

THE WEEKEND PREPS AND MUSINGS

There is a couple more boxes of salt in the stash and what felt to be about 20 pounds of rice and beans picked up by the Handmaiden. I got a bunch of planting done this week and now have 41 rows of corn and beans, with beans making up the preponderence of the planting. I still have much to go in the ground. The weather is still on the cool side and we have no prediction of 80 degree temperatures until possibly next Monday and then it's only to be 79. But you know how the weather forecast is. I would like it warm enpough to kick my plants out of the ground and headed toward the sunlight. But Kemp in Mississippi has had 90 degrees already, with the attendant humidity, and I ain't got much desire to experience that either. But I reckon I will, although back in 2004 we never got over 89 degrees for the Summer. I lived through a Summer when we set the record for consecutive days over 90degrees here in the Hoosier state and that was a bit hot.

I also bought a good axe and a Bow Saw yesterday. When the electricity went out a week ago I was not bothered at all. Hell, I had all the water in the world and plenty of food to cook. We have the stainless pots and pans to cook it in also. I sat arund and mentally did a tally on how I would take care of all this stuff if necessary and when I got to wood I failed my self exam. I had no wood and no way of getting it. What a complete disaster! Sitting here in the midst of 2500 acres of hardwood trees and no way to cut them down. So I got the axe and the Bow Saw. The Walmart Super Store did not have any spare blades for the Bow Saw so I have that to acquire, but I at least have a saw with a brand new blade. The axe is a brand new TruTemper. I believe it was made in the USA. It has a lots of instructions in Spanish though. Mostly safety stuff. And that is okay. If a guy only speaks Spanish he should still use the axe safely. I have no qualms about that at all.

Some fish emulsion was in the shopping cart also. A full quart of it. Good stuff. I also got a small hand sprayer to get the plant food to the plants. And it was not cheap. I was going to uy some more 100 round boxes of 12 gauge ammo but I thought to save the money instead. And don't rail me for not buying it anyhow! I have a boat load of 12 gauge ammo.

When we got home I had a discussion with the Handmaiden about Mayberry's vision. I mentioned the detention camps that were being built. She said "Show we a detention camp. I want to see pictures." I said "Sure thing, Baby." and got on Google and typed in and the screen filled up with all kinds of stuff. She got on one of the first ones and it was a camp in Beech Grove, a suburb of Indianapolis. It's huge. Electronic this and that. Electric turnstiles for admitting people. High chain link fences with most of the detention area having the top brackets leaning IN with barb wire on them. You put the top brackets on leaning OUT if you are wanting to protect an area from invaders. Funniest damn thing. IT was a very good video.

So this current disorder in our lives is starting to make my butt pucker. And it sure does make me feel good about my preps. Getting food in order and having a good productive garden can certainly help matters. Some of the survial brothers think the SHTF can start this Summer and maybe it will. Look for the riots to start in the good weather. People don't like to get out in the cold and do that stuff. So it will begin this Summer or next Summer. The cities will be where it breaks out, of course. I hope all our brethren opposed to geting out of the cities can either reconcile themselves to FEMA camps or else they switch their thinking and get the hell out of those rat warrens. "And the signs said the words of the prophets are written on the preppers blogs." The Handmaiden asked if I would die rather than go to a dentention camp and I said yes. I feel okay with that statement. I ain't no hero but I ain't no fool either. At least I pray to God I ain't no fool.

The news from people around the country is one of severe alertness. Folks are watching like crazy. Some are alarmed. Some are loading cartridge magazines. Most all of them are stocking up on food. But I think the mainstream is getting a litle ahead on their food so that ain't a problem. Went to Big Lots on my shopping tour yesterday and they had 5 lb boxes of Uncle Ben's Convered Rice for $5. "No thanks!", said the Michael. We are using up our stocks here at home in order to keep them fresh. Mainly just the brown rice. The Handmaiden wants to get another 35gallon galvanized can for holding prep food and I am about to go along with her. My shopping venture also revealed a complete blank at the super cheap stores of ground Cayenne. It ain't there. And I am partial to that stuff and it will taste good on my cornmeal mush with a little salt. I am also wondering why axes and things like Bow Saws are not readily available at the cheap joints like Big Lots. Oh well. Maybe the big box stores are taking picture of everyone who buys an axe these days. I would not put it past them. Whatever it takes to make the Homeland Insecurity boys happy they will do. And all these programs of national surveilence are going on for a reason. We are fighting in the Mid East but they are watchinng us here at home. Let's rip this cutain down and expose the fact that they are about to declare martial law in this country. But that is the way it is with the stupid buttholes we call citizens in this country. The camps are being built. The laws are being passed. The police and National Guard are being made ready. And no one is raising hell about it. They would have never got away with this in the 60's. But the meek little lambs are following the Judas Goats meekly and easily.

Do you know what a Judas Goat it? It was a contrivance of packing houses years ago. Sheep would spook when you took them to market. They were hard to handle and not easy to get onto the kill floor. So to make them easier to handle they put a goat in with them and the goat would lead them to their end at the hands of the killers. The goat was exempt from the knife of the killers and would be led out a side door and allowed to live. He performed his duty for his own benefit. He could care less if the sheep lived or died. And the Judas Goats in this country are doing a magnificent job. And the sheep stay calm and content. Don't you just love to watch this play out on the stage of life? But I know some sheep who are very perturbed about the system being set up. Remember the statement made by Bush after the 9-11 attack, "They hate us for our freedoms." Well, it ain't the arabs who hate our freedoms. It's the big shots in THIS COUNTRY who hate our freedoms. If you can get this through your heads then you will understand things a lot better.

And all we want to do is stay alive!

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

p.s.

I want to add a little post script here for your perusal. You remember a couple thousand years ago when one of our forebearers was walking the earth as the most powerful psychic known to mankind? A man who could reach God and talk to him? Well, he was hung on a tree and supposedly killed. And the Romans were in on the deal. Why did the Romans give their okay? Because Jerusalem was paying taxes and Rome needed the money and they didn't want anyone shaking down their little deal on the eastern side of the Mediteranian Sea. The powerful psychic was not too caring of Roman power. But he sure did stir up those folks in Jerusalem. And the Romans wanted the trouble to cease. Not that they gave a rats ass about the message but beause they wanted their tribute to flow uninteruptedly. And that is the name of the game. Us peons only matter if we produce money for the coffers or the powerful.

"Nuff said.

Michael

Thursday, May 22, 2008

YESTERDAY IS GONE

We have a new blogger in our midst. He is the Riverwalker and you can read his stuff at http://stealthsurvival.blogspot.com/. He only has two posts up so far so he will not be hard to track as he grows into this thing


I have spent time in the garden today. I planted 12 more rows of shell-outs. Counting what I planted yesterday I am almost through a #1 lb bag of seed. Not bad. Tomorrow should finish the bag if the rain doesn't hit too early. I just reminded myself with that little comment and went over to weatherunderground and checked the forecast again. I could get some rain tonight. Oh well, it's been a good week. I now have 26 rows of shell-outs and 15 rows of corn. I still have most likely a quarter of a pound of bean seeds left and a full pound of corn. We have other stuff going in but I only count the easily stored beans and corn. You never know how many will come to dinner. And in that light I will publish a post I sent as an email last night to a friend in Tennessee. He is an Engineer, a survivalist, and a damn good man. Forgive the profanity, please.
*******
Jim,

I'm a little disturbed tonight. I think I am disturbed because of the circumstances of the planet at this time. If you Google PEAK OIL LIE you get a shitload of places that will tell you there ain't any oil shortage. It's OPEC's dream come true. And if I can know this you can damn well bet that the fedgov knows it too. We are being played for suckers. Something is going on. And something is always going on that is to put us in bondage. I published a post this week about the four groups of people who populate the planet. The Nobility, the Religious, the people of Wares, and the people who Work. These groups are constantly at war and trying to gain the upper hand. And it looks like someone is about to gain the upper hand and it will take a fucking huge ass war to get them to stop because the control of the whole goddamn planet is at stake. The game is progressing to quite a dangerous level.

I think of Joseph down in Egypt. He had the goodies about the 7 years of plenty and the 7 years of famine. He worked for Pharaoh. When the 7 years of plenty were on the scene Joseph bought grain like a motherfucker, using Pharaoh's money of course. He built granaries all over the place and filled them. Pharaoh owned quite a system. When the 7 years of famine hit the country it weren't too fucking long before before people were begging for food. Joseph had a plan whereby they could have food simply by signing over every fucking thing they owned including their souls, to Pharaoh. Pharaoh ended up owning Egypt and all the people. Well, once again the 7 years of plenty have passed by and the famine is upon us. And I can't help but think that this situation is contrived. And it could have been contrived by God. And it could have been contrived by a man, or men.

If God is doing it the nations are fucked. Period. If man is doing it then the nations are fucked until somebody comes along and fixes the problem. But who can fix it? The King of Saudi Arabia said last week there was no oil shortage. All of his customers were getting the oil they ordered. There was no sense in upping his production because there was plenty of oil. The American people would have loved to hear that a surplus of oil was on the market and it was glutted and prices would be coming down. And all those oil speculators would be crying like crazy. But it never happened. The market ain't budged a fucking inch on the supply side. The price side is going berserk but that is to be expected. The gougers never quit.

But I am looking at the way this will affect the populace as a whole. Will men have to sell their souls and give up their land and houses in order to eat? Will an entity arise that will control these things? Is the general populace doomed to an ignoble end called slavery?

And do I figure to trade my garden harvest for gain? I can plant a huge fucking amount of food. And it will be there for my friends, no problem. But do I feed dumbasses that won't do anything now, when it is still possible to ease the coming calamity? When we have garden land all fertile and tilled and ready to go? It would seem to me that humanity always pushes the envelop in these kind of scenes. It seems to me that they always wait for deliverance by someone else. I am starting to hate the bastards who won't do anything to save themselves. Most are thinking of tuning up their cars for a little better gas mileage. How pitiful. I just want to scream at them and tell them to GROW FOOD, YOU FUCKING MORONS!

It is an interesting display of the human nature. It's the mass mind on parade. Since I have nothing on it from God I will stay the course and figure on feeding the buttholes. What else can I do? It's what the Old Man would have done.

Michael
********

And so we go on prepping. The garden needs compost this year and I ain't got a plan or a scam figured out how to get the stuff. But the whole story has not been told and who knows, we may get the compost we need. We need the compost beause not putting it in the soil will lower the fertility and make annual harvests steadily decrease. Then people will go back to chemical fertilizers and herbacides and pesticides and all we have will have then is a miniature example of the problems the world has now. Not to my liking. Not at all.

The morning stated out looking like gloom and doom but now seems to be getting brighter. Maybe the rain will pass us over. I'll check right now. The forecast has CHANGED! The chance of rain went from 40% to 30% and when I animated the radar picture nothing seemed to be head our way. Saturday and Sunday have been declared clear. Ahh.... More planting in the near future. I may have an unbelieveable garden. I could be able to feed a bunch of folks.

One of my buddies was talking to me this morning on the phone and said my crops would require a super amount of weeding. I told him that my wife won't pull weeds until she has taken her digger into the weed patch and harvested what is edible. I need to go figure out where I am going to plant a pound of corn seed now. Just think of the FOOD. And it will produce it's own seed for next year. You get to pick and choose your stock if you grow your own seeed. You save the absolute cream of the crop for next years planting. None of this "taking what the seed company gives you." Just the very best! One of the joys of non-hybrid gardening.

I go for now and head for the garden. We are planning to set lots of 'coon traps around our crops. Supposed to be a family of coons living in the cave where the spring comes out. Them folks have got to go!

Stay alive!

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

GLOOM AND DOOM

Ah..I love the smell of fear in the air from the arm pits of the ignorant. It is so comforting. I understand their fear. I know their doubts and their ignorance. I can watch in laughter as they trip the light fantastic through the maze of stupidity they call their dream. And the scripture says to "keep a dream before my people" but it doesn't say what the dream is to be about. And we have millions who have a false dream. A dream not in tune with the future history we are about of experience. For the world is going on a bummer and it is going to sweep America right along with it. Sorry, Charley.

Gold is up. The stock market is down. Oil is at $132 a barrel and is expected to climb. And the pressure is on. And I don't intend to feel it. And why should I? I don't subscribe to the practices of the modern business world. I am not selling anything on this website. I try to publish a blog for every day. I try to give good advice and the posting of good information from my readers. I have a truck that I am paying for and it can go back to the finance company for all I care. I cannot live in the world of turmoil for the sake of the retention of material things. Too much like the world that is going down the tubes to suit me. I have said before that there is a new creation coming and I want to see it and taste of it. Bringing the old ways along just don't get it. A pox on the houses of the old ways.

There are ways to avoid getting your tit in the wringer of the new creation. You have to prepare and you have to do it properly. No middle ground.

I got my extra seed yesterday. Look out world! We are going to have corn and beans, God willing. There are so many who will not prepare for hard times. They make excuses and all that stuff but the simple truth is they don't feel it enough to do it.
**********
And we have a bulletin on the health front. One of the ladies I have known for 37 years had a very dificult menopause. And someone turned her on to Black Cohosh Root. Took care of her problems! The Handmaiden found out about it and I started to Google and study it. It is amazing stuff. The fedgov doesn't want people using it much but I figure they must have someone in the Big Pharma business who is on to this stuff and they don't want the cat to get out of the bag.

But in my studies, which are not completed, I have read where this root does not have high levels of estrogen at all. But it WILL lower heart rate and it WILL lower blood pressure. Fabulous. This may be the answer to my taking Beta Blockers and worrying about an industrial collapse. I may be able to just take Black Cohosh Root and go right on living with a calm heart. And lots of people take a Beta Blocker. The thought of being free of that pharmacy is a great feeling. And I live in the area of the USA where the stuff grows! We can buy it from an herbal supplement manufacturer out of Utah called IdeaSphere, Inc. They are located in Amrican Fork, UT.

I have much studying to do on this matter. But if it proves to be of value then a big problem will have been solved. The battle has been between Big Pharma and food and herbs, and food and herbs is winning. And you can get stuff like Black Cohosh Root by walking through the woods. Can't beat the price! And I wasn't worried too much about the price anyhow. Beta Blockers are one of those medicines that are on the K-Mart and Walmart cheap list. $4 or $5 a month, depending on who you buy from. I buy the $5 a month stuff. It is a tiny bit more money but the two gallons of gas it takes to make the trip to the pharmacy and back are paid for by the ability to get a 3 month supply at K-Mart.

REMEMBER: I CANNOT PROVE THAT BLACK COHOSH ROOT WILL REPLACE A BETA BLOCKER BUT I AM GOING TO BE ON THE TRAIL! We just want to stay alive!
*********
GARDEN BULLETIN: Got in 8 more rows of shell-outs today plus the Handmaiden planted a row of Beets, and a row of Rutabagas and two rows of Onion sets. Hurrah!
**********
The latest prediction is $12 a gallon gasoline. That ought to just about cook everyone's goose. A lot of people can't afford to drive to work for that kind of money. And as factories have been shutting down in small towns because the owners moved to Mexico or China, folks have had to drive further to find work. This will stop.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

MORE SHAKING IN THE EARTH

It's Tuesay morning and oil is almost $130 a barrel on the world market. It has raised 9 times in the last 11 trading sessions. We be messed up! Everything in this country is going up in price except the price you have to pay to hoe your garden. Don't hack your leg while you are hoeing or you will shoot all your hard earned profit paying medical bills. Bummer.

I am getting more seed this afternoon. The handmaiden is picking me up a whole pound of the Golden Bantam opened pollinated corn. The cost will be $9. Go check that against the price of one of our online seed dealers who get $3 a packet for a fraction of an ounce. You folks who are like me and have to do it on the cheap will be able to relate to the price difference. Go figure your 1/10 of an dounce for $3 and then figure figure 16 ounces to a pound and you have a tremendous cost for seed. I'll do this $9 a pouund stuff and see how it comes out. The ground is bought and paid for and the water system is free. God gave us the water and his charge is very minimal. I am also getting another pound of Horticulture beans. If you can't relate to Horticulture beans then you might think about Cranberry beans. The Handmaidne has eaten them and says they are delicious.

It is still hard to talk to people about an economic meltdown in this country. It has been so long since anything like that happened that people cannot relate to it. It is outside their life experience. So I intend to grow enough basic food to keep lots of people going. 90% of the people you talk to are sheep, and God called them HIS. What can you do about that? NOTHING! You live with it. And for those with certain predispositions, you make plans for the sheep to graze. Simple as that.

I have 4 packets of organic, non-hybrid sweet corn. I am going to give them to a neighbor and he is going to plant them down at our valley garden spot. And just talking about it got him to thinking about 'coons getting in and eating all the corn. Another garden guard in the making. That makes three I have located! If something is worth having then it is worth pulling security on it. We have all these guns and flashlights of every description. Surely we can come up with the means to protect our gardens! Every survivalist I know has 47 guns and a half million rounds of ammo. Well, maybe that is an exageration, but we do have guns and we ain't at war so we may as well guard our crops. This survival thing can keep a guy busy. Men and women who do this stuff and work full time are deserving of a lot of respect. It is an honor to serve you. You will be the mothers and fathers of a new people that inhabit this country. And we used to joke about people who practiced birth control, we called them PARENTS. It can still happen, you know.

I still have NOT come up with a plan to make a huge compost pile. At four inches of compost to the acre I will need 1613 cubic yards of compost. A sizeable amount. At two inches deep I will need half that amount. Still a big pile of compost! And if I want to enrich it with fish emulsion and calcium and seaweed extract the cost will be a little steeper. But the soil will be good and soil grows crops. Gardeners should concentrate on growing good soil and let the plants grow on their own. Seeds know what to do. It's the soil that makes the diffference. And most folks don't get that but it is true and must be adhered to or problems are going to occur down the line. I am thinking I will get a machete and finagle some moldy round bales of hay and chop them up and make my compost. It's gonna be a big pile!

But that big pile of compost is survival. Sure, you can rape the soil for a year or two but then you start paying the price. And in an emergency situation I would say go ahead and loot and plunder your soil. Just try to not use chemical fertilizers on it if you can escape it. Fish emulsion and seaweed extract will do just as well as chemical shit and it won't screw of your soil's fertility or support the oil indutry.

I had toughts this morning on preppers getting some well deserved rest from their labors. All work and no play makes Jack and Jill kind of dull and lustless. Not a good thing. Jack and Jill neeed a break once in a while. So I have thought it out and my conclusions follow herein.

We rest in the dead of Winter. Ain't much to do. The crops are all in and the firewood for the season is cut and stacked. You have chores in the morning to feed the stock that you have Wintering over and the woman can go gather eggs. You might kill some chickens or rabbits every now and then. But most of the years work is done and time should be enjoyed. You ought to have plenty of reading and studying to do. Hobbies will need looked after. Maybe a bit of reloading for the man of the house and some sewing for the woman. Or vice versa. I could care less. There should be plenty of home brew and maybe some brandy to while away the the afternoons if desired. Canned and dried goodies can be brought out for the pleasure of everyone. Maybe a good week of deer hunting would spark some interest, or whatever game is availale in your area. Do your serious stuff in the Fall when you dry everything and store it. But let your Winter be for rest and recuperation. You have worked hard and the time off from the routine will be a welcome break. A lot of guys I know like to trap in the Winter. And it will get to be more popular as it is discovered that trapping will produce more meat than firearms. Lots of guys like trappiong more than farm work. We are talking about genetic inclinations here. Winter is the time to do it. Better pelts in the Winter.

Some of the talk we have is along the lines of "Small is better." One of the brothers is talking about buying a very small tractor and geting small implements to go along with it. The Yuppies just about bought out the supply of small tractos in the 90's. 30 and 40 horsepower tractors were high dollar machines as the Yuppies took advantage of farm credits on their property taxes. Huge savings. So the Yups bought 20 acre plots of ground and got themselves a crop they could sell and say they were farming. We called it hobby farming but the Yups were making $10,000 a year lowering their tax bill. It's called an exemption and it's so that farmers can live and stay in business. Farmers can't afford to pay land taxes on McMansions for their whole farm. It would be ridiculous. And any agricultural product can get your exemption for you. You want to raise horses? Go right to it. Sell a foal every year and you earn your exemption. Your daughters Bay Mare can save you a fortune if you play your cards right. And it is done every day and is prefectly legal and well thought of. Being survivalists we must do what we can to keep the
expenses down.
*******
This just in from Breitbart.

MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - High gas prices have driven a Warren County farmer and his sons to hitch a tractor rake to a pair of mules to gather hay from their fields. T.R. Raymond bought Dolly and Molly at the Dixon mule sale last year. Son Danny Raymond trained them and also modified the tractor rake so the mules could pull it.
T.R. Raymond says the mules are slower than a petroleum-powered tractor, but there are benefits.

"This fuel's so high, you can't afford it," he said. "We can feed these mules cheaper than we can buy fuel. That's the truth."

And Danny Raymond says he just likes using the mules around the farm.

"We've been using them quite a bit," he said.

Brother Robert Raymond added, "It's the way of the future."
******************************

I will go now and wish you great success in staying alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

THE OUTLOOK

People are getting ready. Preparations are becoming greater and greater. I don't have a handle on how many NEW preppers there are but the regulars are gaining strength. The urban and suburban planners are still loyal to their city life and I guess that is about all you can say for them. I just want them to remember that however much they have a hold on something is how much it has a hold on them. When the hard times some there won't be any way out of the mess. You will be stuck where you are. The ambiance of a city or large town is totally dependant on fuel. Nu Yawk Sity can measure it's food supply in hours, not weeks or months. And if the trucks don't roll then they get no more food. The food allotment used to be 72 hours for the Sity. That was for all they had in their stores and warehouses. They ought to just cut their own throats and get it over with.

I cannot imagine anything so hideous as to living in one of those over regulated rat warrens called a city. All those laws and police and closed circuit tv cameras. All those crazy associations and managing boards. All the courts and lawyers. And the concrete and blacktop are just stifling. No fields or forests. No quiet lakes and ponds. No place to sit and be quiet and think about things. No people around with real-life skills. No place to hunt and shoot and grow a garden. Just fear and fantasy. Fear of the criminals that keep those legal systems busy. Fear of attack from foreign terrorists. Fear of law enforcement that might taser or shoot them for any reason that pops into their heads. Fear of new regulations that might make their lives unbearable. Fear of the loss of their utilites. And now they have fear of rising prices for food and fuel. Oil hit $127+ a barrel yesterday. Gold is back up over $900. Got preps? Got a little space between you and the monster?

The fantasy is the stockmarket. The fantaasy is that government will protect you. The fantasy is feeling secure in a situation that depends upon it's existance on imported money. And it doesn't have to be imported from foreign countries. It is imported by tentacles of businesses that reach into every home in America. Businesses that don't make a damn thing but merely make promises or provide entertainment. Fantasies such as insurance, advertising, financial markets, big sports venues, clothing fashions, entertainment and on and on. Nothing that will feed you or shelter you. Just giving you the thought that you belong, that you are part of something. And it is all labeled as POWERFUL and part of our cultural makeup and all that crap. I don't need a damn thing that comes from the city. Hell, the preponderance of our goods and whatnot comes from China as it is. India is getting to be a power in world trade also. Two countries, India and China, have one third of the world population. And they have nuclear weapons. Does that put you off a bit?

The cities are the seats of the bankers. They have the money. They can run the mint presses. They are protected because they are the source of power for the rich. This is the reason for being of the cities. I believe the French call it raison d'etre.

Get out of the damn things. Invest your money in TANGIBLES. Things like land and garden seed and guns and ammo and good clothing for being outdoors. Things like hand tools that don't need electricty to work. Things like a dry underground cellar that will store your food supply for a long time if necessary. And I have not listed all the TANGIBLES that are avilable for people to use and store. There are many faithful bloggers that do this. Read them.

Invest your time and energy in PEOPLE. Many hands make light work. A skilled carpenter can do X amount of construction in an hour. A carpenter with a decent helper can do 4X amount of work in an hour. A man planting a garden can do X amount of work in an hour and a man with a good helper can do 4X amount of planting. Am I making myself clear? I have been around business for decades. I know it and understand it. And I constantly see men go belly up in the business world because they don't have enough help. These are the rugged individualists who can do it all. They are the guys who get one month-long disability and they are out of the game. Business expenses don't fall off that much if you are not operating. And equipment payments go on regardless. You either run your business or someone else will run it as theirs. Those banks will sell you out in a heartbeat if those payments aren't made. Cold hearted monsters are what they are. And I have watched this for decades. You can believe what I say.

You will come to times of doubt. You will be confronted by messages of scorn by people interested in telling you that you are crazy for getting ready for hard times. Do not listen to these bastards because the hard times ARE coming. And because you can't give a date of arrival for the major collapse is a false excuse. Turn some of that shit around and ask when full employment and cheaper fuel and food will be established. Ask when the wars and foreign occupations will stop. Ask when the concentration on Iran will cease and desist. Ask when the concentration on Israel will cease. Ask when the dollar will rise to it's former position of glory in the world.

It's easy to be thrown for a loss when you are listening to promises and fantasies thrown at you by the governnent propaganda machine. But you must remember that they are lying bastards. Don't ever doubt that or forget it. You must also remember that error is it's own reward. Two wrongs don't make a right! Just simple things like that can keep you on track to stay alive in the hard times that are coming.

It's not complicated. It's really pretty simple. Every day you read the same old shit about the world and it's problems. And it used to be that we just heard about it on the evening news from some remote spot on the globe. Now we are starting to hear about it happening in this country. But we still hear about it around the world too. As the blogger says. "Something Wicked Comes".

You will need land and supplies and help doing the work. That is the way it has always been and it will be that way in the future. But it is what it takes to stay alive. Do your homework!

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Monday, May 19, 2008

MONDAY-IT'S A BLAST

The clock was ticking and the time was flying. In regard to a slight miscue from our state government, we have daylight stealing time and it doesn't get full light too early. And since it is only a short span of time until we get to the longest day of the year it doesn't look like we will have much early morning light.

I now have 15 rows of corn in and 6 rows of shell-outs. Gotta 'nuff shell-out seed to do another 6 rows I think. My rows are not too long. Maybe 25' to 30'. That way I don't have to plant in a long row and worry about pollination. I plant them in a block. Any wind that comes along will scatter pollin over the crop. A trick to remember if you plant open pollinated crops. You are supposed to be able to plant in a swirl but I ain't got the hang of that yet. Squares and rectangles will do just fine.

I am not growing a regular garden, what I call a salad bar garden. And don't get me wrong, I love a good garden salad and the Handmaiden can sure crank out some good ones. But I am planting for bulk storage goods. I want corn and beans. If I can get 150 to 200 pounds of beans and corn for preps, plus next years seed, I will be a happy camper. I have no idea how many people I could get called upon to feed in hard times. My first customers would be my disreputable friends who live off of gaame most of the year. They like me and will keep me supplied with meat this Winter. My son will be in school and probably unable to come home for a turn at filling my freezer. But whatever the case, I will survive, unless God calls me home.

It is getting very dark outside and I think the weather prophets may have got it right this time. I just hope my seed doesn't get floated out of the ground. The rain is now falling very gently and not hammering the ground as I feared it would. I may get a break here.

I read Survival Blog today and laughed my ass off. I said some of the same words to my son about 13 years ago. It was a good feeling to see the lessons written so clearly. Rawles certainly did a good job on that one! Low kicks, punches, head butts and grappling are the way to go. That ol' boy who works in corections knew his stuff too. Get it over with, and get it done. If you haven't read Rawles' blog today I would recommend you get right to it. I only won one fight in my life using a high kick. I hit a guy with a round house right foot after I faked him with my hands. I was wearing steel toed work boots and the fight was over immediately. I saw my opponent the next day mowing a lawn. His ribs were taped extensively. The man insisted we go fight and we did.

At meeting last night a man spoke in th manner of our mentor and got on the refrain of "Have we heard the best song yet? Have we heard the best poem yet? Have we ate the best meal yet?" and on and on. Then he swtiched and aid "Do you think we have had the worst war yet? Have we seen the worst disaster yet? Has the worst famine come upon us already?" And his answer was NO. The greatest of everything still lies ahead of us, good and bad. And thus we prepare. We have the water and the soil and the availability of seed. It is time to use such things for our own good and the good of those who come among us. The hard times of war and invasion will not last forever. Things will get settled up and enemies will withdraw. And then we must go on with living, those of us still alive.

We can plan on surviving a war. We undestand that procedure and we understand the odds. But what are we doing to insure the lives of our friends and loved ones after the conflict has subsided. Don't lose sight of that objective. And don't lose sight of living with a group of people you can relate to and tolerate. It makes all the difference in the world.

Stay alive!

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Sunday, May 18, 2008

SUNDAY MUSINGS

It has been a good day. I got 10 rows of open pollinated corn in the ground. I have enough seed to plant another three or four. Good preps if things turn nasty on the food market. Some other gardeners were down putting plants and seed into the ground. I try to tell the story of corn and beans to as many as will listen. The Old Man told one of the brothers that most of the people were sheep. And that is no disgrace. The Elder Brother told Peter THREE times to "FEED MY SHEEP." And if God has the Elder Brother say that, then we better look after it. I will do my best.

We had a big community breakfast this morning and the ladies had a Women's Meeting. I was much more interested in the breakfast. But we have a convention coming up in June and the women want to get ready for it. Can't say as how I blame them for wanting to get things done before they are under the gun, so to speak. We have some damn good women here. They can take care of business. That convention will come off without a hitch.

We have not had any rain since Thursday but the computer says we will get it tomorrow. If it ain't too bad I can always set tomato plants. You don't have to worry about the seed getting floated out. We still have shell-outs and onions to do after the corn. The wife will plant a salad patch to supplement her foraging. She rsan into a Bazillion Nettles this afternoon and we will be having them for quite a while. I love nettles in my tea. So good. And good for you. A good tea mixture I like is Ginger Root, Dandelion Root, and Nettle leaves. Wondermous.

I've been reading about the worlds troubles some more today. Man! They never run out of negativity. The news is full of people running other people down. I generally don't run people down except to admonish them to prep when they aren't. Things don't look too good out there folks. And I want to eat this next year! We could skate on the electic but that food is a little more essential than the wattage. You can't eat house current.

China is having quite a deal with the effects of the big earthquake they had. There has been some heroism and some horible tragedies. But the government seems to be fully engaged in the effort to help everybody and I like that. After all, the people pay the taxes and they ought to get the help.

It's Sunday eveniong and I am getting ready to go to meeting. It is the highlight of the week for me. I like to hear the words of God spoken by my brothers and sisters. It helps me get through the week ahead.

Be at peace and stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Thursday, May 15, 2008

A RE-HASH OF HUMANITY

A NOTE FROM CHARLI GRIBBLE

If you are going to eat possum, you are going to
have to capture it alive, keep it in a cage for about
3 weeks, at least, and feed it 'clean food', such as
corn bread, things from your table, that will clean
it up so it is edible.
Coon is fine to eat right away. It is best baked.
I like it with sweet potatoes, or with BBQ sauce. I
wrap it in foil and bake it slow......makes it tender.
Charli

***************

You remember the old saying "The clothes make the man."? There is some serious thinking in that statement. Some things you should be aware of.

Let's look at clothes. There are essentially four kinds of garb. There are Religious garments, Nobility and Military garments, Workers garments, and Business garments. And you can just about fit most of humanity into one of these four categories. The nobility and the military sort of go together and have gone together for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

If you want to know who is behind the worlds ills, look no further than these four groups. They are the culprits. They are the ones who do the dirty deeds.

I am sure you won't have any trouble recognizing the religious culprits. We have the Dalai Lama stirring up trouble over the rulership of Tibet. The Chinese have it and the Dalai Lama wants it back. So he stirs the pot and keeps tweaking China's whiskers, hoping to get his foot in the door on this issue.

The Roman Catholics sometimes get in their jabs at the Chinese also. They don't like the ChiComs controling their church. The Catholics don't like the ease of abortion in THIS country either. And this country doesn't like their pedophile priests much in return. The Catholics really would like to regain the power they once had in England. There was a conflict between the church and the monarchy and Henry the 8th won that engagement. Catholicism and Islam are not too compatible either.

No one much likes the Jews except for the religious right in this country. I think it is because of some anger against the Jews for treatment of Palestinians. The Jews in turn despise the Muslim people and wish them eradicated from the globe. Now, I said Jews, but I should clarify that and say the people the world calls Israel. There is a big difference.

And there are other little things going on in the religious world that are causing trouble around the globe. It's because the denominational people want to dominate just like anyone else. No matter the name of the religion, it's the human nature we are witnessing here.

The nobility and the military have been one and the same for a long, long time. The nobles are the guys the King had to call out to go fight his wars. Sometimes they became more powerful than the King himself. Being enobled meant that you were afforded certain courtesies and privileges not granted to the regular people. You could hunt game and breed women and do all sorts of stuff that the common folk were forbidden to do. The oldest son of a noble was generally the heir to the property. The sons below him were called cadets and they had to EARN their title, if they were to get one. The way you did this was to get in the army and fight for the King. Being the son of a nobleman was a good way to become Knighted. And a Knight was given respect in the armed forces. This got him to the center of the action and if he distinguished himself in the battle he might get a title of nobility from the King. Men greatly desired titles of nobility and Kings greatly desired men of great skill in battle.

The present day warrior is a child of politics. You play the game correctly and you get promoted. You piss a lot of powerful people off and you get nowhere. The President is the figure of the King these days. His Secretary of Defense is his advocate and his eyes and ears. The Defense Secretary can move you up the ladder very rapidly.

The thing to remember is that all the generals want to be President. All the lords of the land want to be King. It is that old will to power manifesting itself like it has for thousands of years. And these people are ploting and maneuvering behind the scenes all the time. It never stops. Look arond the world and see how many generals are ruling nations. There are a lot of them. And they are not always kind when they get power. Their history is one of obeying orders and giving orders and they don't like that routine disturbed. They generally make poor national leaders.

The workers have had their share of the leadership pie in times past. They generally despise the clergy and the nobility and make life very difficult, if not impossible, for these people. Witness the decline of the nobility and the clergy in Russia and China. The Russians are slowly getting their clergy back but the nobility can forget it. The Chinese are the same way and the clergy is making no inroads there. The general rule of thumb for worker governed people is that they will come up with some sort of communist rule. They are not efficient and can get mired down in discussions of principal. But the Chinesse have a group of 4000 or so that makes the main decisions at their annual Party Congress and they seem to get along with that. Not very alluring to most folks.

The last group in our little parade of clothes is the business people. These are the wheeler dealers and their wannabees. The people who make it to the top are ususally rich as hell and are intent on making even more money. This class will buy politicians. They will hire lobbyists. They will do what it takes to win, most of the time. There are men of principal in business but there are some real bastards in there too. They run the big banks and they buy and sell the stocks and they control manufacturing and shipping. They pretty much run things on this planet. They are not interested in your well being, they are interested in their bottom line. They hire advertising specialists to convince you that they care about you.

So here we have the four main groups of people on the planet. And they are at war with each other 24 X 7. Are there conspiracies for the takeover of power? You bet your ass there is. The main saving of our precious little freedom is the competiton between these groups. And they do compete! They will not let any other group raise it's head and take control if they can help it. There is constant friction at all times. And the hypocrisy of the whole thing is the amount of words used to say the opposite of what is really going on. Whoever they need to be on their side in order to gain control will hear the words of love from the group vieing for power. And they all wear a uniform. The uniform of their class. The uniform of their power group. No man can go forth by himself and whip the world into submission. It's impossible. So there must be groups band together to get the job of control accomplished. And once that is done then the infighting can begin. It always does. It always has.

This little display of the human nature is the cause of the worlds problems. Oh, we get a hurricane or an earthquake once in a while that imperils us and kills a few people. But noting like what our fellow man can dream up to do to us in his drive for dominance and power. It is going on constantly. It never quits. There is no truce or halt in the proceedings. And a man with any sense just wants to stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

A RAINY MORNING

More rain. Just what we needed. Like we need to be beaten with a ballbat this morning. But if rain is what God wants then let it rain. Everything will get done in it's own time. My High Wheeled Cultivator is due to arrive today. Can't say that I'll have anything for it to do but at least it will be here if needed. But it won't be any good pushin' mud. Mud won't do much more than mire you down. And that is what we don't want out of our efforts.

But people get mired down all the time. Their money runs low. Their mate has a change of heart and wants to stop their prep plans. They lose their job. They lose their MINDS! They acquire health problems. All kinds of things plague the human family. And you must face them and overcome them. Staying alive is the worst thing you can do to your enemies. They want to see you out of the picture. They don't want your ideas of defeating error to be manifested. Remember that there are people far up the food chain that want you to lose. They want sheeple and less of them. It is pretty well documented that the rich no longer need us and would appeciate a die-off. A smaller, more docile populace would fit their schemes to a "T". I can foresee the smaller populace but I am determined that it will not be more docile. At least not where I live.

I went through the survial litany yesterday. You know the drill. Beans, bullets and band-aids. Stock it up and keep stocking! And there are things that include homes and shelters that are not included in the litany. Water might be a fundamental that needs to be stressed to our growing group of preppers. If you have an easy, shallow water table to reach, I would suggest a hand pump if you can't afford a big electric pump. Hand pumps don't burn up and go bad either. And they are unaffected by grid-down conditions.

You might stock up on some "leathers" to make sure you don't lose pressure but those will generally last a long time. If you are going to build a building at your retreat I would suggest that you get your well and handpump in and pour your concrete around it to make your water accessible on the inside. Your wife will love you for it. It is a bummer to go out on a cold morning to pump water. It is also a bummer to have your pump freeze from being out in the cold. Not that these things can't be overcome, because they can. But there can come a time when you don't want to go outside and pump water. You would rather stay inside and watch for Freebooters and hold your shotgun. Priorities, you know.

Food production is very important at your retreat. Sure, you can stock up a years supply of food and wait the trouble out, let it calm down. And this is a good strategy. Sometimes the best action is no action. If there are food riots as some are predicting, you don't really want to go to town and show your face. You want to blend in with the countryside and be invisible. So you plant a garden. And you plant it as unseen from the road as you can get it. And not every precaution is doable in every location, but do the best you can. If town becomes unlivable for a long time, then your food production is paramount in importance. We do not know how order will be maintained in society after a severe economic meltdown. So being survivalists we prepare for the worst and any thing less than the worst will be a benefit.

Orderizing society will be up to the various governments. Our friends the governments. Especially the federal government. And unless we suffer a real enemy attack on our own shores, the fedgov will have the field to itself. I wonder what they will say to us as they tighten the screws. And they will tighten the screws. The media will be there to assist them in every possible way.

You will not get the truth of a situation from anyone working for the government. They figure to let you suffer what they feel is right for you to suffer. You see, we have reached the point of Master/Slave in dealing with the government. And we ain't the Master so guess what's left?

You will be told every lie in the book. You will be told that things are okay when in fact they are traumatic. You will be told that there is food being made available when in fact it is being sold to the highest bidder. The armed forces will be fed very well, as will their dependents. Gotta feed the muscle that will make the system work. It's the massess, the poor dumb pukes who have paid their taxes all these many, many years, who will get the short end of the stick. Let's you know how much they appreciate you. Let's you know how much respect you are entitled to from the bastards you have fed and watered all these many years. But times wil be tough and the tough have all the guns and food and fuel they need. You still planning on living in a city? Why don't you give up on that foolishness? Get the hell out before you realize that you have achieved some sort of criminal status by virtue of your existance. That's right. You will be guilty of being alive. And you must be made to pay for this transgression. If they get their hands on you!

It is one thing to write about your fellow citizens rioting in the streets over food and utilities but it another thing altogether to consider what the government will be doing to you to assure it's own existance. They will have everything they want and you will be begging. Like I said, not good treatment from folks you have fed and watered for decades. And thus we are forewarned and consequently forearmed. We will be ready. The government boys will not find us in a food line begging. We will not be complaining about vandalism to our homes. If anyone asks we will say that things are tough but that we are making it. And of course, our shotgun will testify to our determination to stay free and unabused. And our friends standing there with THEIR shotguns will make our statement of security more emphatic. "No officer, no one is bothering us. Things are pretty calm in these parts."
***********

A READER COMMENTS

Hi Mike,
I have been reading your posts. I have not figured out how to leave a post yet but I'm working on it. I was mulling over what you said, you know the profound statement about the cycle of nature so I have decided to follow my brothers example and step down two years early. 65 is the normal age we pass the leadership to the next in line, but with my health and only having a hippie daughter. Well.....

The family reunion is coming up next week. We (the old geezers) have decided that I should go ahead and sign the property over to my oldest brothers son. He's making a six figure income and can afford to hire someone to keep the wood shingles on the roof repaired, and have someone fertlize and plant corn in the spring. I used to do that stuff myself because I couldn't afford to hire a hand.

Following your advise, I intend as my last acts to put everything into metal trash cans, and seal. Store the extra flour and sugar for charity. Put some extra medicine, honey, and saws and other hand tools aside for barter. And add reloading tools and components to the list to store.

I have two questions, when the SHTF:

1) If you had your choice, would you prefer a mountain retreat with only about 3 acres of readily tillable land and almost totally isolated. OR over a 100 acres of rolling pasture with lots of grazing and tillable land for gardening only 20 miles from a large urban center. What do you say?

2) When hunger comes. Is there any animal that you would not eat? Would you eat possum and racoon?
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Michael sez: I was with you until you got to the point about being 20 miles from a population center and then I was turned off. I would stay on the isolated 3 acres and try to buy more land around it. And I would eat what was going to keep me alive. I have misgivings about the fat of these animals but the muscle meat should keep you going.

We just want to stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net