Ground Zero - Nuke Your City and Learn

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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

One More Week - Mountain House Sale, 25% Off plus Freebies

In a nutshell:

- 25% off all MH cans

- FREE shipping to the lower 48

For club members ...

- FREE 35g pouch of CELOX with 4 case purchase

- $120 rebate voucher and pouch of CELOX with member purchase of 8 cases

- FREE OPTIMUS Crux, $120 voucher, and pouch of CELOX with 12 case member purchase

- $240 rebate voucher, FREE OPTIMUS Crux and pouch of CELOX with member purchase of 16 cases

- (rebates continue to ratchet upwards from there)

Sale ends March 6.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Obama Declares War - Kudlow

This is a must-read (click the title below to view the article):

Obama Declares War on Investors, Entrepreneurs, Businesses, And More

Friday, 27 Feb 2009 | 4:39 PM ET
Posted By: Larry Kudlow

Excerpt:

He is declaring war on investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, large corporations, and private-equity and venture-capital funds.

That is the meaning of his anti-growth tax-hike proposals, which make absolutely no sense at all — either for this recession or from the standpoint of expanding our economy’s long-run potential to grow.

Raising the marginal tax rate on successful earners, capital, dividends, and all the private funds is a function of Obama’s left-wing social vision, and a repudiation of his economic-recovery statements. Ditto for his sweeping government-planning-and-spending program, which will wind up raising federal outlays as a share of GDP to at least 30 percent, if not more, over the next 10 years.

[snip]

And as far as middle-class tax cuts are concerned, Obama’s cap-and-trade program will be a huge across-the-board tax increase on blue-collar workers, including unionized workers.

[snip]
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Mountain House Ingredients from China

There has been a mild disturbance in "the force" in the last week or two.

There is a rumor out there about "dangerous" emergency food storage products on the market (started by a food dealer who sells, of course, certain other products).

Walton Foods and others have been accused of potentially poisoning their customers with foods from China. Depending on where you come across this rumor, it is supposedly "all" the foods these companies sell, "most" of the foods, or "some" of the foods.

I have had dialogs with a few folks about various fears and motivations people have for not wanting to buy food from China, at least without being able to make an informed decision ... and of course that is perfectly justified on their part.

I've been talking with my main food supplier, Mountain House Foods, and finally have some specific facts to relay to anyone who is interested, with regard to their freeze dried foods ...

1. Out of the hundreds of ingredients Mountain House purchases, there are 4 ingredients from China: whole pea pods, sliced water chestnuts, sliced bamboo shoots, and sliced mushrooms.

2. One or more of those ingredients can be found in 4 of the 36 canned MH varieties: Beef Teriyaki, Spicy Oriental Chicken, Chicken Teriyaki, and Chicken Ala King.

3. Oregon Freeze Dry Inc. is the company that processes and cans Mountain House foods. They have been in business for over 45 years. They are a major government supplier of foods and have been for most or all of their history.

4. The facility is a USDA/FDA facility. They test for microorganisms in all raw materials/foods that come in before they go into their products. Once cooked and dried, all finished product is again tested for the standard microorganisms--E-coli, Staph, TC, Salmonella. All product must pass all these tests before it gets released.

5. There is a USDA officer on-site everyday. There is a full HACCP plan on all items.

Personal comment--Mountain House is as "by-the-book" and as safe a food processor as there is anywhere. I can't speak authoritatively about the other food processors mentioned by the original accuser but I would have zero concerns about buying their products out of food safety fears as I know how critical it is economically for such manufacturers to keep their product safe.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Economic Crisis Resulting in a Return to Personal Preparedness

People are increasingly stocking up on emergency storage food, in the face of crushing economic crisis.

Minneapolis (Vocus) February 19, 2009 -- Signs and wonders of the growing global economic disaster continue to emerge. No one is pretending to imply that things are going to be OK anytime in the near future. Millions of jobs are being vaporized. Home and real estate values are plummeting. Assets are disappearing into thin air and lives are being turned upside down.

Up to 40 million people will lose their jobs in 2009 according to the International Labor Organization. Over a quarter of a million western companies are expected to fail, representing record levels of insolvency. More than $10 trillion has been pledged by the U.S. alone toward solving the crisis.

Safecastle LLC owner Victor Rantala said, "Economic failure and cultural devolution are the best-case scenarios we have to work toward right now. The worst case?--the real possibility of the outbreak of major warfare, disease, and/or natural catastrophe that would coincide with the current demise of the economic system as we know it."

Scores of politicians, commentators, and experts from all walks of life have been toiling to get the word out in the last several months. The message is that people need to do what they must to be ready for a world that is about to be far less kind and gentle.

Names like economics and business Professor Nouriel Roubini, economic commentator and broker Peter Schiff, ShadowStats economist John Williams, economic strategist Barton Biggs, Wall Street Journal writer Brett Arends, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brezinski, engineer and author Dmitry Orlov, not to mention officials from various US government agencies are among the many who have used their positions of influence to sound the alarm about the dangers we are facing.

Said Rantala, "Many, many people have taken heed of the warnings and allocated precious funds into resources that are substantive and actually meaningful in the emerging, new reality. Assets like precious metals and storable food are in demand like at no other time in history. That move toward traditional value is continuing to accelerate."

In spite of this growing awareness of the need to reallocate resources and to stock-up on tangible supplies, inevitably there are going to be countless people left behind. The suffering ahead will possibly be unprecedented.

Rantala said, "The reason I started Safecastle LLC was to enable as many people as possible to be prepared for crisis situations. We're now facing the largest magnitude of crisis in our lifetime and we at Safecastle remain committed to helping others while we can. So we are now offering the best possible deals we can put together on the number-one selling, highest quality emergency storage food in the world — Mountain House freeze dried food in #10 cans."

US consumers are encouraged to take advantage ... for two weeks, from February 21 to March 6, Safecastle is offering cases of Mountain House food at 25%-off discounts, as well as free shipping to the continental United States.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20090219/bs_prweb/prweb2114254_1

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John Williams: Stock Up on Gold, Food, and Booze

ShadowStats economist John Williams believes that hyperinflation in the next few years could render US currency worthless. Tangible stores of value are what he suggests people put their money into today while the getting is good.

Devolutionary America

For at least a couple of weeks now, one word has repeatedly returned to mind as all the crushing implications of the world's economic collapse emerge.

"Devolution."

The process of devolving.

Think 180-degree turnabout in most everything modern America has embraced as our being entitled to, justly or unjustly.

Not many folks are at the stage yet where they can comprehend the meaning of what is coming. Change is a process. Those in the locomotive are themselves just coming to grips with the strange new landscape. Many of them are not yet accepting the fact that there is no going back to the best of the good old days, that were largely illusory anyway.

Most of the rest of the riders are not even yet over the bridge. Those of you in the caboose will be the last to take it all in. Eventually, we'll all have to come to grips with it, though I suppose it will take some time before we call it what it really means.

Devolution.

Most of us have grown up in a nation where we learned to expect success. To expect prosperity. To believe in our superiority. To in fact want it all and not have to give much of anything of value in return.

We embraced the mirage. We celebrated the wizards who conjured the illusions of mass levitation.

It was certainly entertaining while it lasted. Oh-oh ... pssst ... don't look down. (There's no landing gear on our magic carpet, but keep that to yourself for now, OK?)

Devolution.

The opposite of evolution, which implies progress and improvement. Turn back the clock, give back the ill-gotten gains and then some. That's what we have up ahead.

Denial is the natural first stage in any major, forced change. As a rule, the ones who get through the denial quickly and accept and adjust accordingly will be among those with minimal pain and the most to gain.

Thing is, devolution is not a familiar template to map out or on which to formulate new strategies and tactics.

Economically, culturally, systems-wise, policies, laws ... the very power structure that has kept the world at relative peace for the past several decades ... it's all up in the air in the immediate future. Can we comprehend this as yet?

America will devolve. How far, how fast? I have no clue, to be honest. But the scenery out the windows as the train picks up speed, going bass ackwards will be like a ride into the past. Don't forget to pack warm clothes.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

At the Heart of Surviving--Panic Control

I love this guy's blog, Deep Survival. Laurence Gonzales is an author/survival expert/columnist at National Geographic Adventure. He's got a wealth of worthwhile articles in his blog archive.

This one, published a few weeks ago, gets at the very core of what it means to survive. Click on the title below to read the whole article.

How to Control Panic

Excerpt:

When we hear the word “panic,” most of us imagine someone running around and screaming. But panic takes many forms. It can be thought of simply as any behavior that occurs when the level of stress or emotion is high enough to prevent conscious thought and deliberate decision-making.

For example, most people panic when they fall or when they’re knocked down. The panic may be brief and not very intense, such as when you slip on ice and scramble to get back up. But it can also be incredibly powerful. In the summer of 2000, a 35-year-old climber in Alberta grabbed a loose hold while soloing the southwest face of Mount Colin and fell more than 200 feet, hitting solid rock at the bottom. He died from extensive trauma, but even in his panicked state he was still trying to get back up.

In emergencies, such a powerful natural response can seem nearly impossible to suppress.

[snip]
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Safecastle Royal's Ratcheting Rewards Sale

The economy is in critical condition. Jobs are being vaporized daily. International tensions are threatening to combust.

What's a responsible crisis-preparedness provider to do?

Throw out all the stops, that's what.

It's Coming!

For two weeks, February 21-March 6, we are making available the best emergency storage food in the world at the lowest discount prices permitted by the manufacturer--25% off all Mountain House can-case listings!

And of course always FREE shipping on everything we sell, to the lower 48.

Ho-hum. Been there, done that (though the MH sale demand is always a "killer", we're out to save the world) ... This time around, it's not enough for these volatile times.

So, for our buyers club members (join for a one-time $19 fee), we are offering the following ratcheting rewards for your Mountain House can purchases (note that we have been offering the rebate vouchers below on an ongoing basis, sale or no sale) ...

1. Buy any 4 cases of Mountain House food in cans and also receive, for free, ONE 35g pouch of CELOX--the amazing, life-saving hemostatic agent that no one should be without. (One free pouch per customer, while supplies last.)

2. Buy any 8 cases of Mountain House food in cans and receive the CELOX mentioned above AND a $120 rebate voucher code from Safecastle that will be good for any subsequent purchase in our buyers club store, except for Mountain House cans. (The $120 rebate voucher is awarded for every 8 cases purchased, no limit.)

3. Buy any 12 cases of Mountain House food in cans and receive the CELOX and the $120 rebate voucher mentioned above, PLUS an OPTIMUS Crux, the cool, tiny, portable stove with big power (fuel canister not included). Limit one per customer, while supplies last.

4. As indicated above, every 8 MH can cases purchased earns members a $120 voucher. So if you buy 16 cases, you get the CELOX and OPTIMUS Crux mentioned above plus a $240 rebate voucher, to be used in a subsequent purchase in our buyers club store for anything except Mountain House cans.

5. Finally, an additional rebate voucher level, is a $500 rebate voucher for every 35-cases of Mountain House cans (in place of the $120 voucher codes for the 8-case levels). Vouchers may be used in subsequent purchases (a code is emailed to you) toward the purchase of anything in our buyers club store except for Mountain House cans.

There's nothing you need to do to get these automatic FREEBIEs, other than to be a buyers club member. Log-in, make your purchases, get your discount during the sale period and we'll take care of the rest.

Questions?
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Social Upheaval Brewing

What happens when untold, growing masses of people are unemployed or under-employed, hungry, and losing their homes? And jobs just are not available to provide hope?

Read these two February 5 MSNBC articles (and see the interactive charts), and see what conclusions you come to:

Job Market Could Remain Bleak for Years

Too Late to Avoid a Depression?
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Is Crisis Preparedness about Fear?

Occasionally, I'll hear a comment that survivalism or preparedness is all about fear of the future ... coming from someone who is obviously VERY comfortable in their insulated little world.

I'm sure others too get this from those around them who just don't get it.

My response is usually curt and to the point ...

"Readiness is quite simply a healthy respect for risk; and a desire to take full responsibility for all potential personal outcomes."

If you think about that, it's true, and probably is at least partially descriptive of the character of our forefathers who built this nation into the greatest example of independence and self-reliance the world has ever known.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

We'll Never Be the Same Again

Permitting oneself an occasional philosophical reflection and contextual refocus can prove to be important in our personal quest to come out ahead. All of us in the good old USA could use just such a pause right about now.

Let us consider, given the imploding global economy and all the implications thereof, our accustomed position of superiority in the world is now but a distant impudence. I do mean this in the most grateful and prideful way ... as a still-patriotic and red-blooded American who is ready and willing to pull up the bootstraps and get busy to help rebuild our country into the best possible nation on the planet.

Change--CAN We Do It?

The internet is chock full of partisans, pundits, and prophets. I try to avoid being any of these things online, and mostly that just leaves me to present a straightforward and repetitive case for the logic and common sense behind the need for personal preparedness. Preparedness has been a passion and an avocation for a long time and eventually one of my vocations as well.

Today, the short-term, mid-term, and long-term need for strong levels of readiness by everyone out there is obvious. The mystery is gone. The debates and the need to defend a position in favor of preparedness are over. Those late to the party are now scrambling to get caught up. It's not good, but better late than never, as never seems to be almost upon us.

Do I really need to provide you with some expert reference about the current state of our demise? OK--check this out:

The End of the U.S. as We Know It: Tracking the Dollar Downward
by Paco Ahlgren
Fenruary 1, 2009

Excerpt:

Look, there is absolutely no way the gargantuan political machine in Washington will ever consider backing the dollar with gold -- much less (God forbid) cutting spending and taxes at the same time. The dollar is doomed.

So what will happen next? I keep coming to only one bleak conclusion: the United States will have to default. And that will be the final call for the dollar. Food shortages, rationing, and martial law could become the status quo.

It will undoubtedly seem farfetched to some of you, but I don't think the United States can survive the failure of its currency -- especially considering that the catastrophe will be the direct result of decades of governmental lies and manipulation. The states sent legislators to Washington who have systematically and purposely destroyed our currency. They manufactured an irresponsible Ponzi scheme that created false prosperity, over and over again. I simply don't think the states in the Union -- many of whom asserted their independence at another point in history -- will sit still for more of the same.

[snip]

Click on the article title above and read Ahlgren's entire piece. His commentary aptly describes where we find ourselves today. Like it or not, change is happening and there is no turning back the clock.

As always, we cherish our freedom to disagree. Today, it's all about how bad things will get and what this year and next year and beyond will look like. Will the dominoes keep falling or can someone out there find a way to stop them before the whole world erupts in chaos? In spite of my tendency to grasp at half-full glasses, I have come to the conclusion recently that we are pretty much out of luck.

Regretfully, our leaders are openly and shamelessly playing us for chumps as they wring some final personal wealth and power out of the dish-rag our system has become.

Bottom line: We're on our own. The safety nets are in the process of dissolving and many of the ivory towers are crumbling from the top down.

There's not a whole lot to be gained in trying to pinpoint just how bad things are going to get, as long as we acknowledge we're in the early stages of a long and painful descent. In fact, it may be enough to just come squarely to the realization that America will not ever be the same again. For a long time, many of us are going to be experiencing hardships we would not have seen as possible here a short while ago.

Clearly, the American Dream as we experienced it over the last few decades was just that--a dream. It was a fabricated blip in the graph of history. Now we will have to go back to earning what we have, and it will probably come the hard way. The sooner we each act on that understanding, the better off we will be.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

On the Cusp of Catastrophic Emotions Like Envy and Ethnic Intolerance

Once again Jeff Nyquist cuts right to the bone in his latest commentary, which I encourage you to read in its entirety (click on the title below):

Compound Errors
by J.R. Nyquist
1-30-09

Excerpt:

... When the government’s policies lead us from disaster to disaster, and the people are suffering, the outcome will devolve into an ideological battle between differing brands of nonsense.

What nonsense is likely to triumph? We don’t know the answer, as yet, because everything depends on the leaders that emerge as the crisis develops. Negative emotions, like envy and ethnic intolerance, are likely candidates. We must hope and pray they will not be exploited by political opportunists or demagogues. The danger is greatest when the people lose their patience. But first, many will lose their jobs, their life savings, and their future prospects.

This country needs a patient and tolerant spirit. We need unity and caution, if only to preserve those institutions which stand between our existence and the abyss. We must not forget that America’s nuclear arsenal upholds global order. The nuclear missiles of Russia and China are aimed at us, even now, because these countries want to form a new world order – in which they dominate. If the United States loses its nuclear deterrent as the result of internal disorders, then Russia and China will be tempted to carry out their destructive plans. In that event, a compound negative interest will be applied to the population and wealth of the entire world – and a new Dark Age will be born.

[snip]
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

A Short Video that Packs a Powerful Punch

Prepare to have your breath sucked out of you and your world to start spinning ...

Wiegand's Calls for 2009 - Ignore at Your Peril

This is quite a description of what this trader sees in store for the rest of the year. (Click on the link and scroll down to view the entire article.)

More Trader Tracks Predictions for 2009 - Series #3
Wednesday January 21, 2009
The following is by technical analyst, Roger Wiegand, editor of Trader Tracks.

Excerpt:

... in April we are expecting a quintuple smash of:

1.Wave one of commercial real estate foreclosures and loan failures. Some of the biggest of the big buildings will be foreclosed and those planned but not built will never see daylight. Meanwhile, vacancies skyrocket while budgets are busted with dropping rents. One analyst estimated the New York City Financial district buildings will see 66% occupancies with breakeven budgets being much higher. You will see some major shopping malls shut down.

2.The second wave of residential foreclosures and loan failures arrives dragging down all real estate values both commercial and residential. They will sink like a rock in over-built states and within those regions previously hit the worst. This is related to the next mortgage failure cycle. Some of those formerly upscale, McMansion subdivisions will turn into ghost towns.

3.Wave one of auto loan failures containing billions in bank, credit union and auto finance company loans will smash credit markets. The reaction will be stunning and probably stop most vehicle lending temporarily for weeks paralyzing automakers and those lenders still doing car and truck loans.

4.Wave one of several future waves of credit card failures estimated at $40 billion by bank credit analysts will be an April smash. Normally card failures are in the 1-2% range annually. This larger event opens doors for a historic new number of non-payers and delinquents. This cycle is mostly job loss related but most of it is due to overspending by cardholders.

5.Wave one of the CDS Credit Default Swaps will hit markets like a Tsunami. These failures will be so overpowering, those in charge will be stunned and flabbergasted by the numbers. The figures are so large we cannot even imagine the amounts. One analyst said it was estimated between $500 and $750 Trillion dollars! There is no margin or deposit money on these trades.

View the article.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Job Trends in Graph Form

Just came across this page at www.layoffdaily.com and thought some might want to bookmark it:

http://www.layoffdaily.com/graphs.htm

Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Global Economy Shutting Down Faster than Expected

Better consider carefully your next moves.

Downturn Accelerates As It Circles The Globe

Economies Worse Off Than Predicted Just Weeks Ago

by Anthony Faiola
Washington Post
Saturday, January 24

The world economy is deteriorating more quickly than leading economists predicted only weeks ago, with Britain yesterday becoming the latest nation to surprise analysts with the depth of its economic pain.

Britain posted its worst quarterly contraction since 1980 on the heels of sharper than expected slowdowns reported from Germany to China to South Korea. The grim data, analysts said, underscores how the burst of the biggest credit bubble in history is seeping into the real economies around the world, silencing construction cranes, bankrupting businesses and throwing millions of people out of work.

"In just the past few days, we've had a big downward revision, we're seeing that an even bigger deceleration is on the way than we thought," said Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

[snip]

Read entire article.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

A depression in store? When will we know?

This is certainly worth reading. Open minds agree that the answer won't be known for some time, but for those who embrace the logic of preparedness, the fact that another Great Depression is a very real possibility is reason for decisive action.

Recession or depression? Too early to tell

Many differences between now and 1930s but some similarities, too

by John W Schoen
Senior producer, msnbc.com

By every measure — lost jobs, plunging stock prices, scarce credit and a profound loss of confidence in the banking system — the economy is in awful shape.

The nation's 11th recession of the postwar era began in December 2007 and easily could become the longest since the Great Depression, although most forecasters expect a weak recovery to begin in the second half of this year.

But what are the odds that we’re in the early stages of what will eventually become a depression rather than just a recession?

The answer starts with definitions. While the term "depression" is reserved for the most extreme economic collapses, there is no technical definition, say economists. [snip]

See the entire article.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com

Preparedness Today, in the Extreme

It's been a good long while since I've had the time for a genuine blog post here, so I'm going to steal the time right now to make various comments on the state of the world as they pertain to crisis preparedness.

1. Note that Safecastle LLC is growing by leaps and bounds, especially in the last six months when the whole world has woken up to the fact that the economy is threatening to destroy pretty much all of what modern society has to offer. Those looking to sock supplies away at this late date are desperate. We and all other preparedness-related providers are scrambling to respond. Demand continues to trend upward. Unfortunately, supplies of available food and gear is finite and in many cases is being depleted faster than the capacity out there to replenish can deliver. And "deliver" is key. Transport and delivery is increasingly looking to be the weakest link in a deteriorating (or at least threatened) national supply chain.

2. There has always been a lively and imaginative subculture of doomsayers out and about. But these last several months seem to have given the type an injection of highly caffeinated HGH. The looming great depression is not enough to wail and moan about, so now we also have the threatening Yellowstone mega-eruption, a new ice age bearing down, the bird flu re-emerging, war in the Middle East (again), India and Pakistan in a staredown, a promised huge terror strike to test the new administration, Russia freezing out eastern Europe, and even a growing murmur in the American population that some might say sounds like the beginnings of widespread social strife. So yep--there's a lot to speculate about and potentially prepare for. The pundits who are so inclined are dealing with no dearth of material to work into their daily programming.

3. My personal bug-a-boo of the day is the socialism that once was creeping into our lives but is now front and center and in the spotlight. As an old Cold Warrior and a small business owner, I find it all very disturbing. The ways that the public are being frozen out of the governmental proceedings which are evidently aimed at bailing out a few powerful individuals is something that smacks royally of a last-ditch plunder-the-treasury effort just before the defenses break down and the marauders storm into the capital (metaphorically speaking?).

4. I have to admit that I too have been in prepping overdrive, looking to fill remaining gaps in our household's resource base. Friends and relatives who recently were merely curious about our line of work are now actively seeking our advice and assistance. I'm happy to do whatever I can for folks as that is why I went into the business, but I really don't know for how long our supply lines will be solid and dependable. The signs out there are real. The thing that even still most people can't seem to get past is that there could very well come a day when there aren't going to be needed resources available for purchase--convenient or not. Running down to the gas station, the hardware store, the grocery store, or the pharmacy for what you just remembered is not going to be an option if any of the current crises are brought to a boil.

For those of us who have been raised and lived all our lives in America, supply-chain failures, famines, or resource shortages are just completely off our radar. We have not truly experienced the depth and breadth of how those things ripple through a society and tear it apart if solutions are not visible on the horizon.

Most people recognize on some level now how close we are to the edge, though a majority still are in denial about it. God help us if and when conditions deteriorate much further and the masses break into a panic. If that happens, do not get swept up in it. Step away. Take refuge and bolster your defenses. In the meantime, get down to the grocery store, the pharmacy, and the hardware store. The doors are still open and the lines are manageable today.
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Palin's Take on the Media's Appetite for Her

Preparedness? ... well, this interview with Sarah Palin and the larger documentary it will be part of regarding the media's behavior is worthwhile. How and why the media does what it does will continue to be important to all of us as we try to discern what is really afoot.


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