Busy life.

It has been way too long since I've made a post, and I do regret that. Life for me, as it happens to us all sometimes, has gotten busy as of late. Preparing to make a positive major life transition geared toward increasing the independence of me and my family is the cause. The eventual goal is near total self-sufficiency and we are preparing to take a significant step toward that goal. Once we move close enough to that goal that it will be of interest to readers, I'll post a lot about it on here.

Thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to getting back on it!

Russian invasion of Ukraine after unrest.

Victor Yanukovich, the former president of the Ukraine, is in exile in Moscow after being ousted by the Ukrainian citizenry. In one of the bloodier revolts we have seen in recent years, the Ukrainian people rose up in rage after Yanukovich turned down an economic deal with the European Union in favor of a large financial bailout by Russia. The Ukrainian people never supported siding with Moscow, instead favoring closer ties with the European Union. The people revolted when faced with the possibility of coming under the sphere of Russian influence.

Thus far, President Obama has done nothing and said little, reluctant to use tough rhetoric against an opponent that has already made him look like an incompetent fool in the last couple of years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking this opportunity to flex his muscle in the Ukrainian unrest while he knows the US government is too weak and timid to stand up to him. He is using this as an example to the world that the American super-power status is no more. He is attempting to rebuild a semblance of the Soviet Union in the absence of strong American leadership.

Obama's statements on this development remind me of his "red line" he drew against the Syrian government's attacks on the Syrian people. We all saw as Putin took control of the Syrian conflict away from Obama and managed it to his own satisfaction while the US President was unable to achieve a single objective of his own. The conflict in Syria rages on, Assad is still firmly in power and he still possesses most of his chemical weapons stockpile despite the passing of early disposal deadlines.

We now see an obvious military provocation by Putin. Russian military transport aircraft have begun bringing troops and equipment into the Ukrainian region of Crimea. Russian Mi-24 "Hind" attack helicopters have been conducting flights over Crimea. The troops have seized several airports in the region and have waved off customs officials, stating they have no need of their services. A day prior to this larger invasion, a dozen or so armed men seized control of local government offices in Crimea and raised the Russian flag over them. The men wore no uniforms, but it is my professional opinion that these men are either Spetznaz or GRU operatives. There are also approximately 150,000 Russian soldiers that have been quickly mobilized near the Ukrainian border for what Russia has referred to as "military exercises". These so called "exercises" also involved hundreds of tanks and aircraft and at least 80 naval vessels.

As Russia invades sovereign, industrialized nations the US leadership has announced that we are cutting the size of our military to it's smallest numbers since WWII. Recently, US Secretary of State John Kerry stated that "climate change" is one of the largest threats to global stability. President Obama has shifted his focus this year to climate change, minimum wage changes and "equality".

This invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces may very well lead to a major rearmament by major European Union powers who believe that they can no longer depend on the ability of the US to stand up to aggression from Russia. We have already observed a major military buildup in the most influential of the EU nations, Germany.

Great website for learning bushcraft skills.

There is a great site that I will be frequenting myself in order to learn more about the arts of bushcraft. The discussion forums are full of members who are willing to share their knowledge with anyone who will listen.

There is a part of the forum titled "BushClass". The authors have created instructional threads and practice threads. Once you've watched the videos and read through the instructional threads, you'll go out and practice the skill yourself. Take photos of your results post them into the "practice" thread and that's where the instructors will let you know if you did it well enough to receive "credit". Use the instructional threads to ask questions before, during and after your practice. They have beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert classes.

It's a great way to start learning bushcraft skills that could one day save your life.

www.BushcraftUSA.com

To support gun control.

To be a supporter of gun control requires one to ignore history. It requires supporters to purposely forget the history of disarmed citizens being turned on by their own governments and slaughtered in massive numbers (262 million people in the 20th century, alone).

Additionally, to be a gun control supporter, you must have an “it can’t happen here” mentality. You must believe that somehow the nature of our own government and the nature of humans that led to such a massive destruction of life in the past century have both changed very recently and very tremendously, without evidence.

You must ignore these things, even as our government seeks more power and more control over the citizenry across ever facet of society.

List of Lists - Fuels

The ability to light and heat a living area and cook is imperative in a survival scenario. The key to doing this is fuel. Gasoline will go bad if stored for too long, so this is why you should create a rotation system that has you using your oldest useable gasoline when you acquire more new gasoline. If you treat your stored gasoline with Stabil, it will stay useful for up to two years.


- Gasoline stabilized with Stabil in gas cans or non-corrosive metal drums
- Propane
- Kerosene
- Charcoal
- Lighter fluid

As mentioned above, it's advisable to rotate your gasoline storage. If you have many gas cans filled in your shed or garage, put it in your car's gas tank occasionally. Then fill that can again and put it at the back of the rotation line. Try to ensure that moisture doesn't infiltrate the fuel you have stored.

Wisdom from the Founders.

"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them."

Patrick Henry

List of Lists - Food Storage.

This part of the list goes hand in hand with the previous part I detailed, "food preparation", for obvious reasons. Having what is called a "deep larder" will allow you to sustain your group until a more permanent source of food (hunting, fishing gardening, foraging) can be established.

- MREs
- Peanut butter
- Roasted coffee beans
- Complete set of canning supplies
- Aluminum foil
- Iodized salt
- Non-iodized salt
- Pepper
- Hot sauce
- Various spices
- Rice
- Wheat
- Corn
- Oats
- Beans
- Potatos
- Powdered eggs
- Powdered milk
- Powdered butter
- Canned beans, fruits, vegetables, meats & soups
- Honey
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Syrup
- Jams, jellies & preserves
- Salad dressings
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Barbecue sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Syrup
- Soy sauce
- Coffee
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
- Cooking oils
- Ramen noodles

Obviously, certain items on this list can't be stored in large amounts for long periods of time. For instance, potatoes will go bad. However, always having a bag of potatoes on hand will allow you to easily begin growing them yourself, so long as the potatoes have "eyes" on them. Some of the items on the list aren't necessarily there for nutrition, but can store for a long time and are extremely quick and easy to prepare when you simply need to get something in your stomach. One example is the Ramen noodles.

It's important to learn about gardening, as the food in your storage supply is finite.

Wisdom from the Founders.

"The worst tyrants are those which establish themselves in our own breasts."

William Ellery

List of Lists - Food Preparation

Today I'll detail the part of the list that deals with food preparation. When the SHTF, there is going to be some limited food options compared to what we have today. It's imperative that we be able to cook and prepare food in a safe way. Cooking food, getting into cans, grinding coffee and grain and serving food are made a lot harder without some of the items on this list.

- Food dehydrator
- Cast iron skillet
- Pressure cooker
- Cast iron Dutch oven
- Big stew pot
- Large & small kettles
- Manual can openers
- Large spoons & ladels
- Knives (large & small, butcher)
- Bacon press
- Propane camping cook stove
- Small charcoal grill
- Camp coffee percolator
- Coffee grinder
- Grain grinder
- Oat roller

Being able to prepare food in a way that tastes great will go a long way toward improving the morale of your group during hard times. Preparing food in a way the resembles the way you did it before the SHTF brings about a sense of normalcy that few other things can. A propane cooking stove allows you to cook with no problem when the power grid goes down. Cast iron holds heat extremely well and doesn't need to be thoroughly washed every time you use it. A big stew pot will allow you to make any kind of stew or soup in large quantities.

The items on the list are often overlooked but they will make life a lot easier in a survival scenario. It's good to practice using these items during camping trips.

Wisdom from the Founders.

"It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf."

Thomas Paine in "The American Crisis, No. 1", December 19, 1776