Be Ready

I think things are coming to a head right about now. I think the time to start getting ready is past, but for those that have not started, do no wait any longer. I hope I am wrong again, but I expect something before the end of the year. I am not sure whether it will be economic or another emergency, but something is going to throw this country into a panic. When I look at the direction this country is headed all I can do is pray. The only real hope we have is to have Ron Paul elected as president and the powers that are behind the throne are not going to let that happen. Therefore, it is time we batten down the hatches and prepare for a long time of it.

Today I am just going to go through the basics of what I think everyone should try to have ready. First of all a relatively safe place. Those of you in larger towns and cities may want to think about finding a place to go when the SHTF. For those of you who live in small towns or out in the country, make sure your place is defensible. Some of the things you should be thinking about is having enough weapons and ammunition for self protection and for hunting for food. You should also have a two year supply of food stored up. You may want to hide this if you have it, because if martial law is proclaimed, food will be confiscated. Also in the line of food, order or purchase seeds for a garden early this year. I will be placing my orders within a week. Even if you have never planted a garden, if you have the room, plan on one for the future. I have even gone so far as to purchase a small greenhouse to start my own plants and extend my season here in central Wisconsin.

One thing I would like to suggest and that is for survivalists to have a vacuum sealer. If you are not going to use garden seeds right away, they will last much longer if they are vacuum sealed. You can also vacuum seal much of your own food that you wish to store and vacuum sealing spare ammunition is also desired.

Have a multi-powered radio for listening to emergency announcements. Flashlights and a good supply of batteries is also a good idea. I have kerosene lamps and lanterns and a supply of kerosene on hand to cover in house lighting. I also have a supply of candles but feel that the lamps are safer and they give off more light. However, candles will do if you do not have the ability to store kerosene. A way to cook your food is another thing you should think about. Having a wood stove with some sort of a cook-top is always a good idea. Kerosene, LP or liquid fuel stoves are also good if you have enough fuel. Do not forget about cooking outside in the summer, either on charcoal or over a wood fire.

Having a supply of water on hand or a way to get it out of the ground if your electricity is shut off is another must. If you depend on city water, you may want to think about having a couple of large buckets or even a barrel of water as backup. If you live in the country, a well that a hand pump can be put on is the thing to have. Even a way to catch rainwater and purify it is in order if you have nothing else. A supply of silver coins are the best thing to have on hand for purchasing things from anyone if the economy goes in the toilet. Everyone recognizes silver coins and knows the intrinsic value of them. Paper money and modern coins just may be worthless. Gold is okay, but with its value being what it is, it will only do for major purchases. Another thing to keep on hand for barter is extra ammo. I believe the especially .22 rimfire bullets will be excellent barter material. However anything that you shoot may be good, as long as it is not an extremely rare caliber.

Speaking of guns and ammo, everyone in the family that is old enough to handle a weapon should have one for emergency. The one caveat I have is that everyone that has a weapon should be familiar with it and knowledgeable about it. Everyone should practice shooting as much as possible, I suggest at least once a month. Grabbing a gun in an emergency situation and not knowing how to use it or where it will hit is not a good idea.

One other thing that everyone must have is first aid equipment and medical supplies. If you are taking prescription meds, make sure that you have as many ahead as you can get. Some doctors will write prescriptions for three or six month worth of pills. If yours will have them do so and purchase the pills. You also need a complete first aid kit and possibly some other medical supplies. If you are on prescription meds for such things as allergies, you may want to purchase some over the counter meds that may not be quite as good but would do in an emergency. You also should have a supply of any vitamins and supplements that you regularly take.

This is just a short list of things that you should have for any long term survival. I will be adding to this in the future and will be suggesting other things. Stay tuned, be back soon.

The Economy

The economy of this country is in the toilet. Since the first of the year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by over eight percent. Housing starts are at a 27 year low, forclosures continue to increase, credit card holders are now getting behind in their payments and the price of food and fuel are going through the roof. All of this and we are still being told that we are not in a recession. I do not know what "they" want to call it, but "I" call it a recession. Washington is going to try to bail us out of this mess and it is just going to make it worse. All of the big banks are selling out to overseas banks. Soon the whole country will be owned by foreigners.

Hank Williams Jr. had a song out titled "A Country Boy Can Survive". That is about the size of the country today. Us country boys and girls can and will survive. Now is the time to make sure you are prepared to last out a recession, a depression or super inflation. You may even wind up having to survive two of them at once, such as a depression with super inflation. My feeling is that this may be planned and being put into place to take control of the country. This may be the catastrophe that the powers that be are setting up to declare martial law and take over the country.

What every survivor needs to do now is to go through all of their survival procedures and make sure everything is ready. If you now live in a city and need to bug out to safety to survive, are you ready to go? Is everything that you need to take along packed and ready. Is the place where you are going safe, as well stocked as possible and easily accessible to you? Those of you, like myself, who intend to stay put: do you have everything you need to survive. If they shut your electricity off, can you still get water? Do you have a source of heat if you are in a northern area? How about your cooking needs, how will you do that? Do you have enough storage area for everything you will need to store? Do you have enough firearms and ammo? Do you have hiding places for what you do not want the government to confiscate? Everyone needs to answer these and a lot of other questions if they truly are survivors.

Having non-electric or non-gasoline powered backups to much of your equipment is important. For instance: a wood stove for heat and part of your cooking. Propane camp stoves for the rest of your cooking. A couple of 25 lb. LP tanks will last a long time when you are just using them to cook. Do not forget to get an adaptor so you can run your propane camp stove from the tank. I currently grind my meat (venison) and fish with an electric grinder, however, I have an excellent hand grinder in storage. I also have a hand operated grain mill to make my own flour if push comes to shove. I currently use an electric dehydrator but have a solar one that I use when I have more than the electric on can handle. That would work just fine should the power be cut. I also have backups for most of my power tools. Bow saw for chain saw along with axes and mauls. Hand saws for Skill saws, hand operated drills, push lawn mower, etc., etc. There is very little I could not do with hand tools that I now do with power. As soon as spring comes I will be putting in a second well. This will not only be to water my garden, but if my electric well pump does not work I will have a hand pump on the second well.

These are things that I think need to be looked at immediately. I believe that if something happens for the elite to take control, it will come on quickly and those that are not ready will not have time to get ready. I will continue writing on this subject as long as things keep getting worse. If you want to follow my thoughts on politics go to my other blog at: http://therealamericanpolitics.blogspot.com/.

Be back soon.