Pissed Off Doctors Steal 5 Month Old Baby Boy

by Todd Walker

‘The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.’”
- HL Mencken

Anna Nikolayev, 5-month-old Sammy and Alex Nikolayev

A mom and dad in Sacramento only wanted the best medical treatment for their precious baby boy. Their mistake happened when they questioned the treatment they were receiving from Sutter Memorial Hospital. Their baby, Sammy, had flu-like symptoms and the doctors wanted to perform heart surgery.

The concerned parents wanted a second opinion. How dare commoners question ‘experts.’ The hospital refused to discharge little Sammy into the care of the his parents. Anna and Alex Nikolayev took their baby home anyway like any loving, scared parent would.

A doctor from Kaiser Permanente examined Sammy’s heart murmur and condition and said, “I do not have concern for the safety of the child at home with his parents.” Police made a visit to check on the situation. The parents showed them the note from the doctor which satisfied the initial State visit. [Why are these officials even messing with this family? They didn't comply with State protocol.]

All seemed fine in the Nikolayev household until the uniformed enforcers returned, accompanied by Child Protective Services, to make their baby-stealing raid. The doctors and hospital staff are only concerned with what’s best for Sammy, right? Would the Sutter doctors lie to get even?

The pissing match continues

The local ABC affiliate, News10, reports the following horror.

“The police showed up there. They saw that the baby was fine,” Anna said. “They told us that Sutter was telling them so much bad stuff that they thought that this baby is dying on our arms.”

Medical records from the doctor treating Sammy at Kaiser Permanente said the baby as clinically safe to go home with his parents. The doctor added, “I do not have concern for the safety of the child at home with his parents.”

“So police saw the report from the doctors, said, ‘okay guys, you have a good day,’ and they walked away,” Anna said.

Anna said the next day police and child protective services showed up on her doorstep. Alex Nikolayev said he met them outside a short time after they arrived.

“I was pushed against the building, smacked down. I said, ‘am I being placed under arrest?’ He smacked me down onto the ground, yelled out, ‘I think I got the keys to the house,’” Alex said.

Then police let themselves inside.

On home video shot with a camera Anna set up herself, police can be seen entering her front door on Wednesday.

“I’m going to grab your baby, and don’t resist, and don’t fight me ok?” [emphasis mine] a Sacramento police officer said in the video.

“He’s like, ‘okay let your son go,’ so I had to let him go, and he grabbed my arm, so I couldn’t take Sammy. And they took Sammy, and they just walked away,” Anna said.

When News10 spoke with police, they said talk to CPS; CPS did not say much about the case. Just before 6 p.m. Thursday, Anna said that a CPS social worker told her, the reason they took Sammy is because of severe neglect; however, the social worker didn’t elaborate on that neglect.

Who owns your children?

This horrifying story, coupled with other abuses of the State, clearly demonstrates who owns who. When parents have to get ‘permission’ from the authori-tays for a one hour supervised visit with their baby because they wanted a second medical opinion, they own us.

This perverted attitude is seen clearly in the medical community and perfected in forced government schooling. The State owns your children. Learn more here.

The State would love nothing more than to continue their assault on life, liberty, and property. Second opinions don’t matter. What they say goes! If you don’t like it, they’ll sic an armed alphabet agency on you. Get in line or feel our jackboot on your throat.

“I’m going to grab your baby, and don’t resist, and don’t fight me ok?”

P.S.

The most important lesson Dirt Road Girl and I learned with her battle with cancer is to question everything, seek second opinions, and stay out of Big-Pharma hospitals. Follow the money my friends.

Related articles

• Baby Taken from Parents for Wanting a Second Medical Opinion (libertyblitzkrieg.com)
• California Medical Tyranny (personalliberty.com)
• CPS Assaults Father and Snatches Baby from Mother After Doctor Discharges Baby from Hospital (healthimpactnews.com)
• Parents Fight CPS to Get Baby Back (drudge.com)
• Police To Parents: “I’m Going To Take Your Baby, And Don’t Resist” (libertycrier.com)

Ready? 21 Emergency Blogs That Could Save Your Family

Editor’s Note: I was contacted by Hannah with an article I thought you might find useful. If your house caught fire in the middle of the night, is your plan of escape “get out the best way you can?” It would be wise to prepare a plan before the event. That’s what we do, right? Don’t overlook the practical stuff. 

Hannah’s article was originally posted

21 Blogs with Advice on How to Create an Emergency Plan for Your Family

By Hannah Anderson

You never know when an emergency situation may arise; however, you can take certain steps to ensure that you are as prepared as possible for if and when one occurs. Start by preparing an emergency plan for a fire.  You will need to determine at least two ways to get out of every room and pick a safe meeting spot that is away from the house. Practicing your evacuation route with your family will help everyone remain calm in the event of an emergency. Stocking up on nonperishable foods and emergency supplies will help you ride out a storm if severe weather strikes. Preparing an emergency preparedness kit and locating a safe place to ride out the storm are essential steps in getting your family ready for any severe weather – expected or unexpected. Take a look at these 21 blog posts for details on how you can be better prepared for the next emergency your family encounters.

Fire

In the event of a fire, you want to make sure that each family member knows exactly how to respond and what to do.  How are you going to get out of the house and where are you going to meet up with the rest of the family? Is there somewhere you can go to use the telephone to call the fire department?  Do the kids know what to do if a fire breaks out while you are not home?  Make sure that everyone knows how to use the fire extinguisher and that you have enough of them in the house.  Keep fresh batteries in your smoke detectors.  You can read these tips and more in these seven blog entries.

• Tips for Creating an Emergency Fire Plan for Your Family Find out what items you should keep at home and what you need to teach your family about fire safety.
• Formulating an Emergency Escape Plan Create at least two escape routes out of your home in case of a fire and make sure that doors and windows can be opened by everyone.
• Five Ways to Prepare Your Children for a Fire Emergency By teaching your kids what their address is and how to use a fire ladder you could save their life.
• Making a Family Emergency Plan Draw a floor plan of your house, find ways to exit safely, decide on a meeting place and practice your plan.
• Fire, Fire!  Getting Your Kids Involved in Your Home’s Fire Plan! Educate yourself by reading through these myths and then make a fire plan for your family together.
• Do You Have a Home Emergency Plan How to create a basic emergency plan with your family.
• Add Safety to Your Spring “To Do” List Go over several different scenarios with your family regarding fires, falls and other emergencies.

Storm

Severe weather can mean anything from a tornado to a hurricane to flooding. Having a plan in place can make these types of disasters a little less scary. It’s important to have a safe place to go in your home when severe weather strikes. Check out these seven blogs for more tips on preparing an emergency plan for severe weather.

• How to Educate Your Children About Severe Weather Learn how to create an emergency plan for storms with your children.
• Hurricane Sandy: A Reminder to Plan for Emergencies and Our Pets Your pets are part of your family, so don’t forget them when you are creating your emergency plan.
• Macomb Offers Tips for Severe Weather Awareness Week Make a plan and know where you should go in your home to wait out severe weather.
• Family Preparedness Follow this check list for getting your family prepared for a disaster.
• How to Create an Emergency Preparedness Plan Learn the basics on creating a plan for surviving at home for a few days.
• How to Create a Severe Weather Emergency Plan for Your Family This blogger has the good idea of taking a video of all of your belongings and keeping it safe should something happen to your home.
• Final 2013 Severe Weather Preparedness Week Tips Take a look at this thorough list of what to consider when preparing for severe weather.

Emergency Preparedness Kit

After you create an emergency plan, you should create an emergency preparedness kit.  Make sure that you have food for at least three days, plenty of bottled water and a way to stay warm and safe.  Flashlights and batteries are necessities in your emergency preparedness kit.  To create your own kit, look at these seven blogs.

• Create an Emergency Preparedness Kit Watch this video to learn what you should put in an emergency kit.
• Emergency Preparedness—Week 1 Storage Learn the best way to store your rations and other stuff you will need for your kit.
• Emergency Preparedness: Make a Plan & Create a Long-Term Storage Kit Here are ideas for several kits that you might need, like one for your car or office.
• Create an Emergency Preparedness Kit This video details what items you should put in your kit for weather emergencies.
• Create a Home Emergency Preparedness Kit Take a look at this list, as it is a complete list of things that you may need.
• Customizing Your Emergency Preparedness Kit Study this blog article for smart tips on making sure you have the things you need in your kit.
• Emergency Preparedness Survival Kits Tips for emergencies can be found in this post, as well as a list of things to include in your kit.

Author bio: Hannah Anderson is a freelance writer, she loves writing on various subjects. She is having a hobby of writing articles on emergency. You can reach her at “hannah.anderson355ATgmail.com“. This article was originally posted on Full-Time Nanny and reprinted here with the author’s permission.

Related articles

• Emergency Survival Preparedness (aweseomeamerica.wordpress.com)

Hunt-Gather-Eat Wild Foods: Ostrich Fern Shoots

Editor’s Note: Today we’re pleased to have a guest post by The Crunchy Mama on eating wild foods. We look forward to further value adding posts by her in the future. Before going out to gather a basket of weeds to eat, make sure you have properly identified the plant before eating. This is a valuable skill in a pre and post SHTF world. 

This article originally appeared on her blog Crunchy Mama’s Urban Homestead. See her full bio below. 

My wild [food] adventures — ostrich fern shoots

BY THECRUNCHYMAMACHRONICLES ON APRIL 29, 2013

My journey with wild foods began when I first became aware that socio-economic collapse was possible (and probable).  I bought several wild edible field guides and began to look for the plants.  For the past few years, I have added a few wild edibles to my knowledge base and diet.  Last fall, I found a revolutionary set of books on wild food that my set of wild food adventures on fire!  Those books are John Kallas’ (KAY-less) Edible Wild Plants and Samuel Thayer’s The Forager’s Harvest and Nature’s Garden.  I’ll be talking about the books in coming posts but I want to dive into some great and ready-right-now wild foods that are easy to find and identify.  In the meantime, you should check out their reviews on amazon.com.

So, let’s take some wild food adventures together!  Spring is a great time to learn about, find and eat wild foods because there is not too much vegetation to overwhelm you — at least in the Midwest and northern part of the US.  Once the heat of late spring and summer comes, it might be harder because so many things are growing.

The first and tastiest wild vegetable that I want to urge you to go out and find is ostrich fern shoots and fiddleheads.  Oh my goodness, if people were to be introduced to wild foods with ostrich fern shoots and fiddleheads rather than dandelion leaves, we might have more wild food eaters.  And, one more thing before we begin: I will only post about wild edibles that I have personal experience with.

Green Deane, who runs the most watched foraging channel on YouTube called EatTheWeeds (http://www.youtube.com/user/EatTheWeeds), teaches us to itemize a wild food.  ITEM = identification (be sure the plant is what you think it is by examining its features), time of year (is it the right time for eating a particular plant part?), environment (where does it like to grow; under what conditions?), and method of preparation (can you eat it raw or must you cook it a particular way?).

So, we are going to itemize ostrich ferns because there are some fern species that you don’t want to eat.

Identifying features of Ostrich ferns during the edible season for this plant which is spring when the trees are leafing out:

• The ostrich fern shoots are either green, smooth and shiny or have a thin whitish powder covering the stalk. The ones that I’ve enjoyed are the ones with a very fine whitish powder.
• They have a tightly coiled top (called a fiddlehead).
• They have a deep groove running up the middle of the shoot (think of a celery stalk groove) and, according to Samuel Thayer on page 80 of The Forager’s Harvest, this groove is what distinguishes the ostrich fern from other INEDIBLE fern shoots.
• They taste crisp and sweet.

Time of year for collecting and eating ostrich fern shoots:

• Mid-spring; about the same time as when the leaves begin to emerge on the trees

Environment:

• The Midwest and Northeast of the US in river bottom forests and “places prone to erosion by floods or human disturbance” because they need bare soil its spores to germinate.
• Mine are in a flood plain of a creek.  Unfortunately, I do not have large population of them so it is a rare spring treat to have a few servings of them in the spring.

Method of Preparation:

• Pick the stalks near the base when the stalks are between 8 and 28 inches tall AND they still have the tightly coiled top (the fiddlehead).
• Only pick 1/3 to ½ of the stalks from one rosette so as not to kill the entire plant and only do this once per season for each rosette.
• They can be eaten raw but boiled or steamed until tender and served with butter is a very tasty way to eat them.
• Thayer lives near a super abundance of them and collects enough to freeze and pressure-can some so that he can enjoy them throughout the year.
• 

Here is a video of ostrich fern shoots growing on my property:

Remember that “knowledge weighs nothing” and, even if your food storage is stolen or destroyed, you can still have food by knowing the foods that nature supplies!  Practice eating wild foods now so that should you ever need to rely on them for short-term or long-term you will have confidence in foraging for them.

Author bio: The Crunchy Mama is a libertarian unschooling mama to three sons, married to her husband since 1998.  They live on their Midwestern homestead of 2 ½ acres with chickens, ducks, dogs and an ever-growing organic vegetable garden.  She is an avid wild food eater.  In general, she’d rather be outside enjoying creation.  She can be followed on Twitter @thecrunchymama or on her blog Crunchy Mama’s Urban Homestead.

 

The Most Important Piece of Furniture in Your House

by Todd Walker

I had hoped to get this project finished last weekend. With out-of-town family coming in yesterday, Dirt Road Girl gave me the nudge I needed.

Why is your kitchen table the most important piece of furniture in your house?

Here’s what Caroline Cooper had to say about this project two weeks ago:

“In my opinion, the kitchen table is the most important piece of furniture in a household. It is the place that family and friends share their meals and their lives. The kitchen table can be the place of home industry where the household produces goods rather than just consuming. The household table was once the center of activity for food storage preparation, crafting, and other forms of paid work. The kitchen table used to be the place for teaching our children, but that use has gone out of style, or has been regulated by the state out of existence.”

This is the last picture y’all saw of the table assembled, but unfinished.

 

All it needed was stain and 3 coats of sealer applied. That process took more time than actually building the table. DRG picked out a stain that would give it a weathered look. After testing it on a scrap piece of wood, we decided against it. It had a blue tint to it. Not our style.

After two more trips to the box store, we settled on the color pictured below:

The most important piece of furniture in our house

Getting it into the house was the challenge. With a combination of dollies, ramps, and one blood blister, DRG and I moved it to its proper place. We used an incline plane to navigate steps – and save energy and back pain. My daddy taught me to work smarter, not harder.

I estimate a total of 15 hours to complete this project from the first saw cut to the last brush of polyurethane. We invested a total of $150.00 in materials. The finished product is a priceless family heirloom.

Last night we broke bread for the first time on our new family table with DRG’s cousin and wife we haven’t seen in years. Caroline, you’re right. We spent the whole evening catching up around the most important piece of furniture in our house. Lots of great memories will be created on and around our simple, rustic, functional farmhouse table.

To learn more about building one yourself, click here.

Do you have any DiY Preparedness Projects you’d like to learn about? Drop us a line in the comments or email us and we’ll get busy with a tutorial. In the meantime, check out the other preparedness projects on our DiY Projects page. Ideas are always welcome.

Related articles

• A DiY Farmhouse Table, DRG’s Grocery Bag, and Chair Planter (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)

The Art of Persuasion: Present One Improved Unit at a Time

by Todd Walker

Two teenagers went to high school together. These two young men were very much alike. They played on the same sports teams, got good grades, graduated together, dreamed of the future, and went off to college.

On a warm July night, after 30 years of not seeing each other, they reconnected at their high school reunion.

Their lives had turned out very similar. They were happily married, had children, and both men, it turns out, had become teachers. But that’s where the similarities stopped. One resembled his school picture. The other did not.

What made the difference?

All those years, 4 kids, and 100 + pounds later, I didn’t recognize my once close friend. Then his voice boomed…

“What’s up, Spanky!”

“OMG, that’s you!?” I almost said out loud, as we spent time catching up and toasted our high school antics.

Have you ever wondered, like I did that night, what makes two people with similar backgrounds, intelligence, and dreams turn out differently? It wasn’t that my buddy didn’t understand what was causing his weight to explode. He’s a very smart guy. The difference for all of us is not knowledge, but how we apply what we know.

My friend had changed physically. So had I. I use to have hair on my head. But physically, I’m at my high school football weight. I actually feel I’m in better shape than when I was 18. And no, it’s not because I have superior genes or a high fat-burning metabolism. It’s just that I started taking responsibility for went into my mouth.

Before you think I’m lowering the boom on my good friend, stop. I know the place he’s in. Just three years ago, I was 50 pounds over my high school weight. My joints ached. I suffered from IBS, battled constant heart burn, and had very little energy. How did I turn that crappy life into a health optimizing lifestyle?

I improved the only unit I had control over – ME.

You are the only unit you can improve. Your body, your happiness, your health, your preparedness, your career, your skills, your knowledge, your dreams, your passions… are YOURS. Your responsible. In our blame-someone-or-something-else culture, scapegoats are easily found – for any and all scenarios.

Saying the unsayable

“It’s not my fault” are the last words of losers. Harsh words, I know. But someone has to say the unsayable.

Is it really your spouse/significant other that’s holding you back from living your dream?

Is it your responsibility to convince loved ones, friends, and co-workers of anything – especially prepping? Maybe not. Surely you’re not suggesting that we take this non-direct approach when trying to persuade others on the importance of preparedness and self-sufficiency, do you? That’s exactly what I’m saying.

In an earlier post, I asked for real life experiences with persuading friends and loved to join you in your journey to preparedness. You can read the response in the comment section here. The main theme I got from y’all was to live by example. This may be your best option.

We’ve all got our own reasons for living as prepared as possible. However, I’ve begun to look at it in a different way completely. I’ll share my approach at the end of this article. But first…

Let’s evaluate the effectiveness of direct approaches of persuasion. 

1.) Stab ‘em with a harpoon. In this method, you stand on the deck of your ark and throw a harpoon into the school of fish swimming by in the sea of ignorance. With luck and spear chucking skills, you’ll real one into to safety. Miss and they all swim by and are lost forever.

How’s the harpoon method been going for you?

2.) You had me at hello. This approach works for folks who don’t need a lot of convincing. They already know and trust you. Or you were referred to them by someone they respect. When I invested in real estate, my mentor always said, “If people like you, they’ll listen to you. If they trust you, they’ll do business with you.”

It’s an easy “sell.” They buy on your first conversation. But when they dig deeper and weight the costs, they sometimes run away.

3.) The yellow highlighter. I know. You can’t even read the word “yellow” when its yellow. But you’ve all seen this method in ads for merchandise or political flyers. This letter is sent out to as many people as possible in hopes of converting a small percentage. The yellow letters detail the important stuff on why you should buy. The problem with this traditional method is it’s traditional. People are smarter than they look sometimes. Savvy folks need more than the fancy color your using. These guys and gals respond to logic and reason.

Do what the sign on your truck says

Millions of people are starting to wake up to their need to prepare and build self-sufficiency into their lives. But when your spouse, parent, or child looks at you as if you have three heads when the subject of prepping comes up, it may be time to try a new strategy.

Here’s what I mean.

In practical terms, be the change you want to see. If the sign on your truck reads “Sherpa’s Plumbing and Heating”, do what your sign says. If you’re a writer, write. If you’re a prepper, prep. Plumbers plumb – writers write – preppers prep.

In other words, talk is cheap. If all you do is talk about being prepared, you influence no one. You’re not leading. You’re just taking a long walk by yourself. You look back and nobody is following.

Those closest to you will see your improved life (health and fitness, self-reliance, resilience, etc.) and will either choose to change or not. Your job is to be there if they show interest. Hitting them over the head with The Encyclopedia of Country Living doesn’t work. They want the real deal in living color.

When we boil all this down to simplest form, all we can do to change anyone’s attitude is to present one improved unit.

That unit is you.

What’s your approach? Let us know in the comment section.

Related articles

• The Persuasive Prepper: Convincing Loved Ones to Prepare (real-agenda.com)
• Ability Is A Poor Prepper’s Wealth (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)
• Life Learners: Unschooling the Prepper Community (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)
• Real-Life Help Requested for Research on Persuasion (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)
• Two Replies on the Art of Persuasion (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)

Should I Register My High-Capacity Pressure Canner?

by Todd Walker

You’re joking, right? Nope. Reality is stranger than fiction. Thanks to Daisy Luther for alerting us to the inherent dangers of another tool of violence – the pressure cooker! One retailer is already pulling them from their shelves.

It’s not hard to believe if you’ve been paying attention. Box cutters, we were told, was the weapon used to hijack the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11. The fear escalates. Now its evil cooking equipment.

In ’06 I had a perfectly harmless tool confiscated by TSA thugs.

DRG and I were flying north for a family reunion. We were late getting to the airport and wasn’t able to get a piece of luggage checked. The lady with the Delta uniform told us to go through security with the piece and have the helpful attendants store it in the cabin. Great!

I loaded the luggage on the belt at the Gate-Rape station and the x-ray machine caught it. Alarms! What had I packed that would send uniformed goons into high alert and land me on a watch list?

A knife. Not a machete or Bowie knife. Not a box cutter. The subject of alarm was a Swiss Army knife I found on the edge of a creek while camping years prior. I had cleaned it, replace the scales, and grown very fond of my new-found tool. It was my constant companion on fishing and hunting trips. I packed it in luggage that I thought would be checked and escape the prying eyes of TSAers. Now, it was gone forever. Confiscated. It probably ended up in some costumed enforcer’s pocket.

Swiss Army knife, photo taken in Sweden. Not UK – they’re illegal there, right?(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the remaining flights and connections on our trip, I was flagged and given “special” attention. Hey, at least the lines were short.

Here’s the problem with our government’s propensity to ban really useful things like knives, guns, fertilizer, certain natural plants, and cooking pots. Bans don’t work.

Our benevolent government would have us believe that banning a person, place, or thing is effective.

Prohibition taught us that alcohol was in high demand and people found ways to make it in bath tubs and other clever and unsanitary methods. The common man was only able to drink rotgut while the elites secretly drank single malt. The War-On-Drugs has caused an explosion of availability of ‘illegal’ drug availability. The War-On-Terror? How’s that going for us? All these bans benefit the State – not individuals.

The pressure cooker/canner is not officially banned yet. It’s coming – stock up while you can *pun*. You’ll be glad you did. Remember the run on guns and ammo?

Oh yeah, DO NOT register your high-capacity pressure canner! That’s the first step to confiscation.

Related articles

• *All American Pressure Canner/Cooker Model 915 (americanc2aepressurecannercookermodeld3sale.wordpress.com)

Paint by Numbers: A Blueprint for Despotism

 

 

by Todd Walker

Drinking the liberty Kool-Aid

I hated painting by numbers when I was a kid. Even if it was a picture I really liked.

Now I hate them even more.

Let me explain.

Staying inside the lines and matching the color with the number didn’t appeal to me. My finished paintings never looked like the picture on the box. I’d make new shades of color and add them where they didn’t belong. Even though I mixed my own colors, I quickly realized…

I’m still painting inside their lines, their boundaries, and using their outline.

The manufacturer’s blueprint offered one outcome – their image.

What if the things we see in “trusted” media sites, alphabet agencies, and the printed page was nothing more than some master artist outlining our reality. We come to believe that “they” are the professionals and know what’s best for us. They wouldn’t intentionally lie, would they?

Sound silly? Conspiratorial? It’s not.

Here’s what I mean.

We’re lead to believe that we are a free people with essential liberties. Ha! The real loss of liberty is happening in broad daylight. It’s witnessed by millions everyday. And no one seems angry about it. We continue to march in lockstep inside the pre-determined lines of CollectiveThink. Security is our aim.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

– Benjamin Franklin

If we delegate responsibility for creating our masterpiece, someone else gets to paint on our canvas. The blueprint begins with your child. Forced schooling is in the business to mass produce lowest common denominator artwork. No matter how much lip service is given about the importance of the individual child on the conveyor belt, a magnum opus is never achieved. Your child’s life canvas falls off the production line and gets tossed in the corner with all the other cheap paintings.

Paint by numbers reality

We exist in a reality created by our controller’s blueprint. The recent Boston bombing demonstrates my point.

America watched the mainstream media paint the picture of CollectiveThink for Bostonians. All the major media outlets filled in the corresponding color on the numbered canvas. Terror. Fear. Lockdown. Huddling in their homes, citizens of Boston gladly surrendered liberty to the black clad militarized enforcers stomping on their Fourth Amendment. The flag wavers gave the black helicopters a big thumbs up for doing their job so well. We’re safe now. The Calvary is here!

“It’s okay. They submit,” the blueprint designers must have thought. “Let’s try something even more daring next time. We must never let a crisis be wasted!”

We’re being conditioned to fit into their painting. Daily. The numbered canvas defines us. It’s our reality. We throw up our hands and accept our spot in their design. Their utopian paint-by-numbers masterpiece has your number.

Our behavior aligns with the artist’s paint brush no matter the circumstance. We adjust our desires and dreams to fit into our new regulated reality – no matter how cramped and uncomfortable you find your numbered spot. Independent thinking upsets the whole project. Trying to run outside the lines upsets the whole portrait. Colors begin to merge. The image blurs. Another “event” happens and we get back inside the lines.

Habit training is the flywheel of despotism and tyranny

You’ve been told what your numbered spot is and how you fit into this new portrait. You and I become useful on their blueprint. Of course, once the scary situation is resolved, you’ll notice the lines of liberty have shrunk significantly. The next episode, real or manufactured, fills in more of the artist’s canvas. Our skillful artists are able to define what we see, feel, desire, resist, and hope for.

We gladly stay inside the lines on the canvas. It’s for the good of the group we’re told. So we scurry around inside the lines of our maze like laboratory mice. We’re trained. Our habits benefit the blueprint maker.

Don’t be predictable. Rip the numbered canvas off the easel. The first step to painting outside the lines is to realize there are no lines.

Create your own masterpiece.

 

Regulations Galore: Bureaucrats and Other Pesky Critters

Today’s post comes from Michael Patrick McCarty from The Backyard Provider.

Bureaucrats and Other Pesky Critters

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Michael Patrick McCarty

For a couple of years or so I have been investigating the legal issues that relate to the rights of an individual to grow and sell meat, poultry, and other homegrown farm products directly to consumers. What would be the problem, you might ask? You can grow or raise, and sell, what you want to sell, right? We live in a free country, with free and open markets, do we not?

Well, not so fast. Being the rather cautious person that I am, I began some time ago to ask questions of people working in a long list of local, state, and federal government agencies that hold jurisdiction over the land, and of us. It has been a painful, core shaking inquiry that is not for the faint of heart. I have not enjoyed the experience.

I can discuss the actual laws and regulations pertaining to selling food later. What I can say now is that, with rare exception, I have confronted a nearly impenetrable wall of mind numbing and intimidating legalize, wrapped in doublespeak, and spouted gleefully by a largely incompetent army of no sayers and useful idiots. I hate to say it that way folks, but I have to call it like I see it.

Apparently, the government at all levels is an equal opportunity employer. I have been treated rudely and dismissively by condescending staff from the city level right up to the big ol’ federal government.

Typically, I’ve been told to call a certain department or agency. I’ve been told by that department to call another because they did not regulate this or that. I have called the referred department only to be instructed to call the department that just referred them. I’ve been put on hold so many times and for so long I don’t know if I can ever listen to bad music again. I’ve been disconnected while on hold, hung up on while talking with someone, given so many bad phone numbers, and forwarded to so many unrelated or defunct departments that I no longer know which agency to question.

More often than not,  I’ve been given information that is incomplete, misleading, or completely incorrect. In many instances I have discovered information at a later date that I felt was deliberately withheld at the time. I have had to constantly reassess the nature and purpose of my original question, and to doggedly return to the trail, like a bloodhound casting for scent. I can assure you that the government’s left hand does not know what it’s right hand is up to. They don’t even know where the other hand is, except to be sure that it just picked your pocket. They didn’t even say thanks.

I was in a good mood when I started my inquiries. I was positive and full of hope about the possibilities of new ventures, new businesses, new relationships. That’s gone now, and I feel like the cat that has caught a mouthful of tail feathers and no bird. I am still hungry, unsatisfied and empty, left with a bad taste in my mouth that I find hard to spit out.

I can barely talk to someone now without shaking my fist at them in my mind’s eye. I want to scream at them and ask if they somehow managed to forget that hey, by the way, you work for me don’t you know…for us?

I was mocked by a county “authority” a few weeks back. During our conversation he laughed and said something like “You just didn’t know you were biting into an elephant did you? Ha, Ha, Ha!”. (I think there was an unspoken “did ya boy” in there somewhere).

No, I guess you did not know that you had bitten into an elephant. I am wounded. You have drawn first blood. Like Howard Beale’s famous speech in the movie “Network”, I am mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore. The pen is mightier than the sword, or so I’ve heard. I shall add my voice to the cry of raw milk and cheese producers, home kitchen warriors, small organic growers, and many others similarly wronged.

This is not right. This will not stand. I hope more will join us. We shall see what part of the elephant you are, and what kind of elephant am I.

After all, I just wanted to sustainably grow and honestly market some healthy and nutritious food to other people of like mind. I wanted to feed my family from my private property and maybe generate some small income to help with a myriad of escalating expenses. I have been stopped at every turn, without recompense, nor quarter.

To deny a person’s right to sell the food one produces defies all common sense. So, I say, thank you for laughing, Mr. Bureaucrat - and calling me to action. It may not be wise to step between a wounded elephant and it’s children. The laws must be changed. We will have food freedom.

Has this happened to you? I am currently collecting stories from farmers and growers about their like experiences. Unfortunately, the horror stories have become more fiendish and pervasive, and all too common. Care to share?

“No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policeman, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets” – Edward Abbey.

 

Off Grid: 9 Years of Self-Sufficiency (and lovin’ every minute of it)

Ever want to really unplug? Not just leaving your cell phone behind on your weekend camping trip. I mean cutting the electrical umbilical cord and all the trappings of our modern societal construct.

If so, you’ll be inspired by this story of one couple’s journey to off grid living, resilience, and freedom.

I’ve been following Barbara Peterson’s blog for some time now. I asked her if I could share this story with you. She gladly said yes. It was originally published on her site, Farm Wars. 

Off Grid and Lovin’ It

Barbara H. Peterson

Farm Wars

Most of us have wondered what it would be like to pack bag and baggage, move to a remote area of the country, be able to cut all ties to the outside world if necessary and live off-grid. Quite a daunting task, and a bit scary. But it can be done, as evidenced by Bud and Judy who did just that around 9 years ago, and are thriving today because of it.

I asked Bud what their motivation was, and he said: “We just wanted to do things on our own.” Well, they are doing just that. Isolated from the artificial existence of city life, cocooned in the warm glow of self-sufficiency and ready to cut the ties to civilization at any moment, Bud and Judy are living a life that most of us only dream about, and I was about to get a peek at their hideaway…

The Road to Paradise

It was a nice day, and the sun was shining. I could hardly wait to see what Bud and Judy had created. From all accounts, this was a little piece of paradise, right here in the southernmost hills of Oregon. Would it be like I had imagined?

When my friend Linda and I entered the road going to the homestead I couldn’t help but notice the peaceful quiet surrounding me like a soft glove, caressing my senses and pulling me into its wonder. Water is abundant here, flowing out of the mountain and filling ponds, homes, and reservoirs. No well pumps here, just free gravity flow all year-round.

Sometimes the Road is Rocky

The sides of the road were lined in rock. Rocks cover a good portion of the land, and this required a bit of clearing. So, what do you do with the rock that you clear off your land? Why, build a fence, of course!

Permanent and beautiful, rock fences are also practical, especially when the building material is free. We were almost to the house, and the anticipation was growing minute by minute.

Down on the Ranch

When we arrived, it was like the veil was lifted to another place in time. A time when factory farms didn’t exist and pollution wasn’t a concern. The thought ran through my head that I could live here for the rest of my life, never see the city again and it wouldn’t bother me one little bit.

The house is surrounded by critters, green grass, herbs, flowers, and life as it was meant to be. Water flows from the mountain to the house, over a small rock waterfall and down to a small pond above the garden area.

Gardener’s Delight

I asked Judy why everything stayed so green. She attributed it to the water and lots of horse manure. She plants in raised garden beds filled with manure and compost. She says that this is the best way to get the soil nice and rich for gardening.

 

Covers over the beds when necessary extend the growing season.

 

Every Goat’s Dream

Off to the right are the milking goats. Bud has built them individual homes with ramps, platforms, and cozy sleeping quarters.

Read the rest of their journey here

Author bio: Barbara Peterson, Writer/Activist, lives on a small ranch in Oregon where she raises geese, chickens, goats and horses. This rural lifestyle is under attack at the most basic level. Federal regulations and the corporate takeover of our food supply with Monsanto’s invasive GMO technology is designed to make it next to impossible to raise animals and organic food.

It is time to step up to the plate and fight or lose it all without a whimper. Choose to take a stand and fight. We can make a difference.

You may contact her on her site at FarmWars.com. 

Related articles

• Waking Times – Making Money And Living The Lie (dont-tread-on.me)

 

The Vince Lombardi Guide to Becoming an All-Pro Prepper

by Todd Walker

“Gentlemen, this is a football.”

Vince Lombardi’s famous opening line to his new team each season seems like the most obvious “duh” statement of the century. Even the youngest rookie gets that it’s a football. I can’t speak for Coach Lombardi, but he was probably aiming his words more to his most seasoned, All-Pro players.

What’s this got to do with preparedness?

Imagine Lombardi standing in front of the prepper community at our first team meet up. He’d begin something like this:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is water.”

Self-evident eyes begin to roll.

“Why is he wasting our time stating what 2 year-olds already know?”

“What a waste!”

The wise All-Pro preppers on our team quickly see his point. They’ve heard the speech many times. It bears repeating. It’s not lost on them as he leads us out of the air conditioned field house and onto our practice field. He points out the sidelines, goalposts, and the most important chalkline on the field – the goal line.

Thirty minutes in the July heat that’s hotter than fish grease, the message is driven home as he puts his canteen to his dry lips and says…

“We will practice fundamentals… DAILY!”

Practicing fundamentals is boring… but necessary

As an old football coach myself, we practiced the fundamentals and minutia of every stance, step, and play. My boys began dreading the daily drills in our “fundamental period.” I had to constantly coach players to pay attention to little details.

After the first game, win or lose, it clicks!

The defining “aha moment” happens when – the drills, the pain, the ideas, the boredom, the grueling practice -  changes the outcome of the game. The players make the connection between being skilled in the fundamentals and victory over determined opponents. At that moment, they view FUNdamentals differently.

I’m not saying they get giggly. But they see the value added to the team when they improve their individual fundamentals.

Coach Lombardi snaps his head and looks through his black-rimmed glasses and says,

“When you ply your trade of prepping, you’ve got to play from the ground up – from your feet to your head. There’s no second place in survival.”

Wise words. Here are four fundamental drills you should be practicing.

Drill #1: The Water Boy

Since water is heavy and hard to store in large quantities, plan on having several methods to make water potable. 

• Water filters like the Big Berkey are great for home and permanent locations.
• On the go, you’ll want a mobile filtration system. I happen to own MSR gear. Whatever you carry, make sure it’s the best quality you can afford.

 

 

 

L to R: MSR water filter, G.I. issue canteen with nesting cup, MSR bladder

•  Collect containers. Repurposing containers is a great way to stock your emergency water supply. Look for soda bottles, gallon jugs, and especially larger containers that are stackable. Learn more here.

Repurposing 4 one gallon jugs in a box for stacking and keeping light out.

Yard sale find: Cleaned with hot soapy water then refilled with tap water

Drill #2: Pre-game Meals 

 The fundamentals of food storage include:

• Store what you eat, eat what you store.
• Take it one step at a time. Buying extra items on grocery shopping trips can add up over time.
• Grow your own. Nows the time to grow your gardening skills. Don’t assume it’s easy if all you’ve ever grown is a Chia Pet. Even a small container garden on the patio adds resilience to your family.
• Buying from local producers strengthens your community and connects you with value-adding people.
• My food storage plan can be seen here.

Drill #3: Game Day Gear and Tools

A great defense is your best offense. Defense slows or stops the opponent and gives the offense great field position and scoring opportunities. 

• Handguns, rifles, shotguns, and ammo in common caliber to your location immediately come to mind. These are physical tools needed for defense, critter control, and harvesting meat. Don’t forget archery equipment for silent game harvesting. Also, consider tools for reloading ammunition.
• Practice the fundamentals of marksmanship on a regular basis. Know your tools and how to safely handle them.
• Acquire tools for your unique situation. I don’t own a snow shovel here in the deep south. The right tool can make or break a job.
• Be a DiYer. Here’s a strategy I use. When Dirt Road Girl wants a new project done, I have an opportunity to get  new tools As a matter of fact, I often give her hints about DiY  projects that might require me to grow my tool collection.
• Take care of you gear and tools.
• When you buy quality tools, you only have to buy them once.

Drill #4: The Field House (shelter)

Houses come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you live in an urban environment or rural homestead, your home is where life happens. Ideally, every home should build redundantly resilient resources in these areas:

• Energy. Have more than one method to produce heat. Wood burning stove, solar, propane, natural gas, etc. Is your plan sustainable?
• Enough storage and living space. Get creative here.
• Defensible. There are pros and cons to every location. Think about setting up a mutual defense plan for your neighborhood. That means you’ll have to actually meet your neighbors.
• Sustainable water supply.
• Plan B for shelter. When you see the glow of the wildfire on the next ridge, leaving your home may be your only option. Where will you go?

The Lombardi Trophy bears his name for a reason. Coach Lombardi drilled the importance of practicing the fundamentals of football in his players, coaches, and organization.

To be an All-Pro prepper, never neglect your bedrock fundamentals. You life, liberty, and happiness may depend on these essential skills soon.

Remember, there’s no second place in survival.

Keep doing the fundamentals,

Todd