Comment

Comment by tom dodd on May 17, 2012 at 8:12am

 

"...we can't live in an eternal emergency state..."

...TRUE, whether it be national or individual.  ON the personal level, nearly everything I can do to be prepared has been done ~ selfishly, further preparation is being put on hold to accommodate my continental drift vacation, but the final pieces/parts should be in place within a handful of weeks after returning.  I'M good-to-go if electricity is lost, and the ensuing breakdown of the economy and civilization... I SUPPOSE I'm good-to-go if there's a biological/chemical attack, since going to where the people are in order to survive won't be necessary... THE major threat I'm really not prepared for, is if our government becomes totalitarian, since I'm probably too old to successfully operate for any length of time in a guerilla mode...

 

"...and allow the executive branch to use omnipitent power."

...THIS IS my biggest fear/concern, since if our military goes along with the takeover, then the might we often see displayed on tv WILL be directed at us... already "they're" using drones against us... GUESS I'll hafta get my own drone to dog fight with their drones!!

 

Comment by John Tripp on May 17, 2012 at 7:59am

Yup - there are too many ways of delivering a WMD attack to count.  I believe it is a thousand times more likely that a chemical or biological weapon will be used in a densely populated area than a nuke attack.  They can make those right here.    As I see things though,  it is like we have been saying,  we can't live in an eternal emergency state and allow the executive branch to use omnipitent power.  

Comment by tom dodd on May 16, 2012 at 3:18pm

 

...WELL SAID, John... especially the part about the worst case scenarios being instantaneous.

 

...REGARDING missiles from Venezuela, for everyone who has read "One Second After" can tell you, the missiles won't have to be launched from a "land mass"... launched from a fishing trawler would work just fine, and that could be accomplished with virtual impunity just 200 miles off the coast!

 

Comment by John Tripp on May 16, 2012 at 11:05am

The answers for so many of these issues will surprise and depress many people in this country.   The turning away of members of a family,  unless a child or immediate member of the nuclear family;  the taking of another's life to protect the food and water supply you have been responsible enough to amass;  all of the really ugly aspects of human nature which rear their heads inside the core of the nuclear family when times get really tough.  The instinct for survival will almost always win.  There will be no coin toss or drawing of straws - the strongest will survive;  the ones most willing to accept the facts and do unthinkable things first will survive.  

 

I do not want to speculate on how many of us have the heart to stay committed to religious values to the end.  Faith is the only power strong enough to overcome human nature,  and the deterioration of Christian principles over the course of the last 60 years will come back to bite us.    All of this is only applicable if things get to the worst case setting,  but as we have said so many times - Why even bring it up if we are not going to talk about these Hollywood scenes.   The Donner party would tell you,  with help from a clairvoyant,  about the living hell that could happen.   There are not many first hand stories of incidents of this sort in this young nation,  mostly because of the abundance of natural resources and the size of the country itself;  our location on the globe and the fortunate circumstances of this defendable position and friendly neighbors on each side of us encompassing the entire North American continent.  That is changing rapidly to our South,  and I am speaking of much more than just Mexico.

 

Here is one situation so obvious and talked about in detail only two years ago,  yet is somehow left out of the conversation now.  I am talking about the ability of North Korean rockets and Iranian or N. Korean Nukes being launched from Venezuela.  Last week several defense department heads and security experts were discusssing the missile defense system for the East coast,  which the republicans wanted put in the budget.   Every one of these experts,  even on the conservative side,  never mentioned this possibility.  It was N. Korea nor Iran have the capability of intercontinental missiles which reach the East coast - period.   What about the drug cartel controlled lands in Mexico or Arizona ?   We have cleared the path of any obstacles for them to transport anything there,  including watering stations for the dehydrated;  put signs up saying no trespassing on federally owned national parks - for American tourists !,  and made sanctuary cities legal,  among the many inviting acts from our Justice Dept.

 

When we speak of these horrible nightmares which might happen,  do we really think about the ease of which our water systems could be contaminated or our food producing and delivery systems shut down to small areas of the country ?   It is the Defense Depts. job to prevent mass hysteria by spreading,  " all is well on the Eastern Front ",  throughout the news cycles.   When one of these horrors hits home,  the events will change overnight,  and only a small fraction of us have done any preparing whatsoever.   I see too many of us here,  leave alone the progressive clueless,   who are in denial that the worst case situations would be instantaneous.   Whistling through the graveyard only works if ghosts don't exist.

Comment by chad lewis on May 15, 2012 at 4:14pm

Here is a 'Age Old' acronym for reporting information: 'SALUTE'

Size

Activity

Location

Unit (Democrat, Republican, Boy Scout, Russian Soldier...ETC)

Equipment

I have a lot more accumulating them with 40 years in the Army if you are interested?

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 10:37pm

 

"...pitting family versus strangers."

...THIS is gonna be a difficult decision for conservatives, when a starving family approaches your home or protected area... you know they need help, but for every person fed outside your group, it decreases the chances of survival for the group...

...THE liberals in "your group" will more than likely raise a ruckus if the hungry family is turned away... also more than likely, those same liberals didn't stockpile anything and are a member of the group simply because they married your brother or sister!

 

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 10:13pm

 

...THOSE super shelters you were referring to, John, are definitely cool!! IF I were 20 or 30 years younger, I'd be seriously considering a "hole in the ground" as a viable option!!

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 10:09pm

 

"...Gov can confiscate your gold? and how do they know unless you are parading it around?"

...IF YOU purchase your gold/silver, even survival supplies, with a credit card, then THEY KNOW what you have...

...IF YOU'RE stockpiling, then I recommend that you keep most of it somewhere other than your home... perhaps in public storage that you pay for with CASH... I've read several possible "scenarios" wherein the authorities confiscate food from those who have stockpiled, and this possibility should be taken into consideration...

 

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 10:05pm

 

...THE READY STORE is a good place to shop for survival goods.  HERE is an example, a 3-month supply of food for one person, 1600 calories per day, for a little more than $500:

http://www.thereadystore.com/on-sale/daily-deal?utm_source=rne_ep10...

...IF you check out the link, click on "what's in the box"... when it lists a "can," it's referring to a #10 can, not one of those small cans of corn you see on your grocer's shelf.

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 4:42pm

 

...AS FOR BARTER, I wouldn't recommend it... AS SOON as you make it known that you have a surplus of anything, you become a target... ONCE things have settled down a bit ~ i.e., a lot of people have starved to death and only the survivors remain ~ then it becomes safer to begin bartering... ALSO, this is when gold and silver will have value, and that value will be determined by weight, so a $20 gold coin may end up being cut into pieces ["pieces of eight" sound familiar?] to denote smaller denominations...

 

Comment by John Tripp on May 14, 2012 at 3:21pm

I agree Tom - Different needs mandate different answers.  The super shelters or even root cellars built by us could use the drip system filters which keep a 55 gallon drum filled.  It is so simple and less costly that the Katahdyn portable.  All it is a five gallon bucket with a hole drilled in the bottom,  add a filtration device into it and seal it and attach to any sanitized container you wish.   I also keep a few of the simple straws with the carbon filters attached.  These are only a few bucks and will work directly from a water source as a straw into a milkshake or to fill a canteen.    The downside is they only filter about ten thousand gallons before they are useless.   The double filter systems,  with the washable ceramic filters along with the replacable carbon filters take out all contaminants.   Others say they will take out 99.9 %,  but don't believe it.

 

One other thing I would recommend for root cellars and long term living quarters are the " Gammaseal " tops,  which fit on any five gallon bucket and is 100% airtight.  They cost about 8 bucks each and work simply by screwing on and off.   If you have a foodsaver type system,  one that sucks the air out of a heavy plastic bag and seals it is also a great investment for storing smaller portions for bug-out packs and saves having to open the 5 gallon buckets and allowing air in.  The prices on these have dropped to under a hundred dollars at Sam's Clubs.   

 

OH - and don't forget desilicants !   These take out all moisture out of an area,  depending on how big the area and how big your desilicant can is.   Moisture Kills is a basic rule not to be forgotten in every aspect of survival,  from jungle feet to keeping your frosted flakes nice and crispy.

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 2:54pm

 

...THE Sawyer 4L system claims it's filter will clean one million gallons of water, because it can be back washed when dirty... probably won't do a million, but still, I liked the idea of not having to have a large stockpile of filters.  THE Katadyn I have, which I think is the same as yours, John, same size, is the same as is issued to our troops in Afghanistan, and will supposedly filter 13,000 gallons before a filter refill is needed...

...THE Sawyer system, though, at $130 is very affordable, and every household should have one, or something similar...

 

Comment by John Tripp on May 14, 2012 at 2:37pm

suzie,  your pointa are very well thought out and very true.  In the past I mentioned buying a surplus of things which you could barter with - tools,  weapons,  ammo,  seeds....basics which include all the needs for existing.  Anything we consider precious now will be very expendable when one gets thirsty or hungry enough.   For the first few months,  if the situation has no timeframe of ending,  will be the most dangerous.  So many innocents living in this paradise will not accept the fact that desperate people will do anything,  and often,  leaving a stranger without any help is thought less than Christian.   Views will change quickly when choices arise pitting family versus strangers.

Comment by John Tripp on May 14, 2012 at 2:25pm

I can't say anything bad about the system you linked to Tom.  I have a 100 oz. resevoir bag like this which most hiking backpacks have with a special compartment specifically for these sized bladders.  I have a camelbak,  which cost me 35 bucks from "Campmor Trails" catalogue.    I did not follow through to get the details of how many times the filtration system would cycle before changing,  or cleaning if it was a ceramic filter.   I liked the Katadyn purifier a little more simply because it was more adaptable.  It is only 8 inches high by three inches in diameter and has both carbon and ceramic filtration filters.  It's a little pricey at around 400 bucks,  but is made to last.

 

Other systems I would recommend only because I have seen them on the new survivalist shows.   Have you seen the extreme shelter series yet - awesome !  If you have a hundred grand and change,  these underground family hideouts look like something out of a scy-fi flick.  Sleeping racks better than any I had on my cruiser,  flatscreen TVs with DVD players,  HAM radio set-ups,  and a food supply for 12 people for two years.  Entrances that can withstand an RPG attack....   Once you get over the original above ground view of these,  which look like huge septic tanks,  and into the interior,  it is almost too much to be called basic survival mode.

 

And the bottom line is,  I don't care how strong the freakin doors are,  if people really want in,  they will find a way.   Shutting down the venting system will eventually work,  though these do have internal air recycling units as well.   My personal favorite show was the one done on the old hippies - original 60's commune types,  who really think their cherry picked musicians and artist friends,  most of whom have never fired a gun,  could ride out a real storm with a couple old rifles.   The bunker itself was an old abandoned missile silo system in Colorado and was by far the roomiest,  and this guy bought it for next to nothing twenty years ago.  Now,  if a group of 20 people who new their way around military weaponry,  this would make an excellent defense HQ.   I have already started planning my takeover of this facility for use by sane people.  :-).

Comment by Suzie (admin) on May 14, 2012 at 2:11pm

Oh almost  and I got my water filter at a camping store- forget what it is called but was only around $100.00 and will guarantee you  can drink the water in Mexico! granted it is not made to be used forever!

Lordy, the word syphon takes me back to my first boyfriend getting a mouth full of gas trying to syphon gas outta his Dads car! I guess I don't want a mouth full of dirty water! YUCK!

PS. a tiny trick about thirst- put something in your mouth- a button, even a small rock, just something to suck on -it is amazing how much saliva you can generate!

Comment by Suzie (admin) on May 14, 2012 at 2:06pm

I wonder how to prepare for expenses... have "stuff" to barter? or gold or silver? But who is going to give you change for a $1,000. gold coin for a loaf of bread????? and how will silver trade? Is it best to keep old coins? or bars? and what are the conditions under which the Gov can confiscate your gold? and how do they know unless you are parading it around? Me my lips are sealed! I'd tell ya but then I'd have to take you out!LOL!

What are some thoughts as far as expenses? of course to NOT have any is best... but??

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 12:58pm

 

...A manual syphon is an excellent idea, John!

 

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 12:57pm

 

...HERE is the water purifier that many preppers are using:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=sawyer+water+pur...

...I also have a small portable Katahdyn system which I'll be taking with me on my "continental drift" vacation... yes, my bugout bag will be coming with me!

 

Comment by John Tripp on May 14, 2012 at 11:23am

I put a water purification system along with a manual siphon with a fairly long hose attachment in my top three things,  possibly #1,  as dehydration is always the first major wall we will run up against.   Even if we do not lose electricity,  the groundwater and city sewage treatment plants could easily be contaminated.   Investing a grand in a good filter ( Katahdyn is my choice ) and a half dozen disposable charcoal filters for it and an extra ceramic filter is essential for any mid term self reliance insurance.   Even a small siphon will pump a lot of water uphill if the connections are kept airtight ands it loses no suction.

Comment by tom dodd on May 14, 2012 at 11:04am

 

...CAN'T overemphasize the need for water... if electricity is lost, it won't be long before there's no running water at your home.

 

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