Log Cabin Foundation Piers are Complete

by Todd Walker

A solid foundation is essential no matter what you’re building; a business, relationships, liberty, self-reliance, or a log cabin in the woods.

At my age, it’s tempting to build the log cabin so it only last my twenty or so years I have left (God willing.) But then there’s the generational thing I’d like to pass on to my children, grandchildren, and their children, just as Daddy intended when he bought this land 53 years ago. When I’m long gone, it is my hope that they will embrace this log cabin as a legacy of self-reliance and liberty. So I best build it to last!

When I mention to friends and family that I have 32 piers for my 1,000 square foot log cabin to rest on, they look at me kinda funny – like I’ve lost my mind, actually. Since this isn’t a conventionally stick-built house, I over-engineered on purpose.

The wall logs I harvested off our land average 14 inches in diameter on the butt end and 36 feet long minimum (estimated weight = 1,725# each). The longest sill logs are 46 feet long (estimated weight = 2,556# each). Now let’s go with just the 36 footers stacked 10 high on four walls, not including chinking or roof. I’m estimating the load to weigh around 34,500 tonnes for just the wall logs. I don’t know what a finished stick-built house weighs, but I’m glad I’ve got my 32 piers.

Digging It!

Once the lot was graded, I laid out the footer/pier foundation locations. My cousin, Chris, who grew up on this land with me, has acquired all kinds of cool toys over the years. He has loaned his tractor to skid logs, graded the lot with his loader, and he’s digging footers (pictured below) in our soil made of shellrock, Georgia red clay, and sand. It was a challenge even for his mini-excavator. Shellrock is tough!

I call on my cousin Chris when I need heavy equipment.

The footer holes fill with water after rain showers and have to be pumped or bailed with a bucket. I used the bucket method on two holes. Then the “work smarter, not harder” phrase came to me as I stood in muddy muck boots drenched in salty sweat.

I’ve got a sump pump! And a generator! That ended my bucket bailing. That pump sucks so well I named it Sleepy Joe!

Being overzealous, I drained the other 30 holes. Shovel in hand, I began cleaning out the loose dirt and mud until my courage drained. Fatigue makes cowards of us all.

That night it rained and recreated 32 small, muddy bathtubs. I’m a quick learner though. From that point on in this ditch-digging adventure, I tackled one hole at a time to avoid that distinct sucking sound.

The one-hole-at-time strategy is not efficient in the least. But given that my crew consisted of me in the beginning, it saved time and labor in the end by only shoveling holes once.

Then one fine day, help showed up. She’s not unfamiliar with the project as she has helped fell, skid, and skin logs here. Melonie (Mel of the Mountains) was a welcomed sight as she used her bakery skills to apply mortar between blocks. No waste and greatly sped up the pier building process. She also stacked block at each footer hole, hauled 60 pound bags of cement/mortar, built frames for footers, and backfilled piers with a shovel.

Melonie, who ran an award-winning bakery in Atlanta for 16 years, had the idea of using a piping bag instead of me wasting mortar with my trowel.

Once a hole is shoveled and leveled somewhat, I then level the footer box, add rebar, mix concrete in the wheelbarrow with a hoe, and pour it smooth. While still wet, I set the first layer of blocks in the concrete. Laying the remaining blocks was a matter of following the bottom pattern. Easy peasy!

Leveling a footer box and backfilling piers in the Georgia heat and humidity.

My largest piers were constructed with three blocks on the base layer. These large piers will support sill logs and also serve as a solid foundation for the ridge pole support logs (RPSL) down the center of the cabin and the purlin support logs (PSL) on either side of the ridge pole. Both of the RPSL and PSL will stand vertically on these piers to reach their respective roof structural logs.

I also cemented J-hook rebar in several block cells on the building perimeter. Sill logs will be pre-drilled to match the rebar locations. The rebar will be guided through each sill log as it is slowly lowered onto the piers.

Rebar anchors for sill logs.

Once the log is in place, the rebar will be hammered flush over the top of the log to anchor it to the piers. This first layer of wall logs will take the most time and effort to install. Then the stacking begins!

This coming week I’m going to sort, label, and prep logs for the wall construction.

Thanks for following the journey, and, as always, Keep Doing the Stuff of Self-Reliance.

~ Todd

P.S. – You can also keep up with the Stuff we’re Doing on Flote, Odysee, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook… and over at our Doing the Stuff Network.

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Copyright © by Survival Sherpa

Slicing Through Nanny State Knife Laws

by Todd Walker

Is that bulge in your pocket an illegal knife, or are you just excited to read this article?

Huh!?

How do your knives measure up – legally?

That’s right, in case you’ve just returned as a 30 year castaway on a remote, deserted island, there are laws that govern the length of your blade and whether you need a permission slip from the State to carry (open or concealed).

Welcome to Nanny State America! If you live here in these united States, pleading ignorance for carrying weapons (knife or gun) is not going to get you off the hook with our ever ‘watchful’ enforcers.

If you’re like most law-abiding people, you’re probably committing a-felony-a-day without even knowing it. To understand and stay within the law, you’d need to either go back to your island paradise or spend 8.31 hours per day for the next 2.7 years buried in law books.

There are 50 states, 57 according to the POTUS, that have different rules about possessing and owning weapons.

If you frequent cross state lines, you’d need to spend time researching all the state laws for travel route. Plus, you need to know how to interpret legalese.

Lets say you want to go visit your aging grandmother in Buffalo, New York. You leave Georgia and drive through several states and stop for fuel, beef jerky, and a room at Motel 6. You possess a Georgia Firearms License enabling you to legally carry your Bowie knife concealed (Crocodile Dundee style). It was a gift from your kids. So you carry it. (Just play along, okay)

How can you check to see if your able to legally carrying your knife (or any knife) in NY? Just do it and hope you don’t find out the hard way?

Here’s a better way.

The good folks over at KnifeUp.com contacted me to share their updated knife law resource. It’s different from other knife law sites I’ve seen. KnifeUp was written in 2013, includes legislature and case law, and translates lawyer-speak into plain, common man English.

Check out your state’s knife laws here. You might learn something and prevent you from committing that felony-a-day… when it comes to carrying knives, at least. NOTE: If you live in one of the other 7 states BHO is ruling over, you won’t be able find your state on the map over at KnifeUp! Call your White House for assistance in this matter.

One thing I learned about my state is…

Before July 1, 2012, different Georgia cities might have different rules regarding knives you could legally carry in their jurisdiction. Now, the state lawmakers passed a statewide knife law preemption effectively nullified local knife laws.

What this means is that you can travel from city to city without worrying whether a knife that is legal in your city is legal in the next town over. For example, it was legal to carry a 4 inch pocket knife in Columbus but, if you drove into Atlanta, you would be breaking Atlanta city law. – source: KnifeUp.com

For Georgia residents, our knife laws are unrestrictive compared to some states.

What this law states is that you can own any knife you would like as long as you keep it inside your property. You can carry, open or concealed, any knife that is less than 5 inches. This includes butterfly knives, switchblades, and any other type of knife that is commonly banned in other states. – source: KnifeUp.com

My Becker BK-2 bushcraft blade is 1/4 inch over 5 inches requiring a State permission slip to legally carry off my property.

When Dirt Road Girl and I travel to other states, I always check to see if the states we visit recognizes and are reciprocal to our Georgia Firearm’s License. I’ve never really checked into knife laws for other states. With KnifeUp, I can. I’ve added their link to our Blogroll and Resources page under “Firearms/Shooting/Marksmanship” for future reference.

But wait! There’s more!

Even if you don’t care what your state knife laws are, but love knives, KnifeUp offers more resources than law-talk. I’ve spent some time rummaging through KnifeUp’s site and it’s loaded with other great information for knife aficionados and preppers.

They do reviews on sharp stuff (pocket knives, multi-tools, etc.). Find reviews here. The “Misc” tab is loaded with value-adding info on prepping, lists, and DiY stuff. You’ll enjoy their comparison of 3 machetes. Spoiler alert, the Gerber Bear Grylls machete didn’t win.

If you get some time to check them out, let me know what you think.

Keep doing the stuff,

Todd

P.S. As always, if this article was helpful, please share it freely with your friends with a link back to this site.

Who’s Your Influencer?

by Todd Walker

John C. Maxwell once said that leadership is influence. Having the position ‘leader’ means nothing. You’re only a leader if people are following you. Otherwise you’re just taking a long walk by yourself.

I’ve been there, done that, and got the lesson I deserved.

Position does not equal leadership. A wise leader must understand that he/she may hold the title of ‘leader’ in an organization, or group, or family – but not be the real leader. If you’re in that scenario, your job is to influence the influencer – their voice gets heard over positional leaders.

When times are rosy, this principle applies. After the SHTF, leadership becomes even more important.

Here’s why.

I’ve read leadership styles promoted within the prepper community. Many have said that it’s crucial that one person take control of their retreat group or prepping community. No ruling by committee. A single leader needs to micro manage everything.

The problem I have with this model is – what if that person is not the influencer? Force and coercion would be needed to make followers follow.

Pride in position blurs a leader’s vision. Misguided assumption #1 – I’m the appointed ‘leader’ so people should follow. If they don’t, I’ll make them. That’s coercion, pure and simple. A leader is a leader when people voluntarily follow. Swallowing your pride is the first step to being an effective leader.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.

We’ve all seen real life examples of top down leadership. Dictates come from the top and everyone below is expected to jump. Our military, corporate world, schools, churches, and even our government are models of this centralized system of control. Fear of reprisal keeps followers following. Forced association wins.

I have more questions than answers on leadership. Is our present model the cause of the mess we’re in now? Why do we need to be told what to do, what to think, and how to act? Can individuals practicing self-ownership thrive in a group? Who owns you? Can we really self-govern? Why do we clammer for a “leader?”

What I’ve unlearned from school history class (this has taken a lifetime) is that individual initiative is far superior to listening to dictates from a Dear Leader. Schools teach compliance. So does organized religion along with all the previously mentioned institutions.

Here’s a way to determine your follow-ability. Try this the next time you’re in a church service. When it comes time to bow your head, close your eyes, and pray, do the opposite. Keep you eyes open and look around while you pray. Pay attention to how you feel. Do you feel defiant? Does it seem ‘wrong’? Does God really care if you pray with your eyes open – in a church service?

Did you feel a creepy uneasiness crawl up you legs and spine? If so, ask yourself why? This doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s just a simple test to determine the level of your programming. To what degree do you feel programmed to comply?

Here’s another experiment. When they pass out the donation card during a job luncheon or faculty meeting to raise money for the United Way or Relay for Life or other charity, to give your company or school bragging rights for meeting the fundraising goal – sign the card and write why you are not giving across the top of the card. Don’t give because you’re expected to give. If you choose to give, give anonymously where no one can give you credit. It saves a lot of chest thumping.

Not participating in this public display of giving may have made you uneasy. Why? The unease is planted in you by the collective to influence you to “fill in the blank” and comply. The goal is to destroy your ability to provide for yourself and your family.

You might be shocked to find one or two others that don’t participate in compliance rituals. You’ve just discovered that some people reject mass compliance and think for themselves. Connect with these people. They are unconventional, independent thinkers, and good influencers.

Finding your influencers

Below I’ve compiled a list of non-compliant influencers that have helped me on my journey to self-sufficiency, liberty, and freedom.

Lew Rockwell – The most viewed libertarian site on the planet. Coming from a lifetime R voter, I highly recommend you read this site at least once a week. Daily is better.

Mark Sisson – The godfather of the primal/paleo lifestyle movement. He changed my lifestyle and attitude towards food, personal responsibility, and primal prepping.

John Taylor Gatto – He’s responsible for confirming what I’ve always thought about our public school system. Whether you like schooling or not, you’ll enjoy his poetic skill with words.

James Wesley Rawles – I discovered SurvivalBlog 6 years ago and have applied many concepts from his blog and books – even though I’m not moving to an unknown Western state.

Durable Faith – DF is someone I respect highly for his lifestyle of no-compromise and his pursuit to wake up the institutional church. He’s the guy you’d see ramming a whaling ship with a dingy if he was in GreenPeace.

Daisy Luther – A frequent contributor to this blog, Daisy is an activist prepper I hold in high regard. Love her style!

Claire Wolfe – Not only great at preparedness stuff, she’s Freedom Outlaw worth your time.

Gaye Levy – Practical prepping advice without all the hype.

Brain Clark is responsible for waking me up to the realization that there really is no box to get outside of. He’s the founder and CEO of Copyblogger Media. While I don’t advertise on my site, I’ve found his copywriting principles have improved my writing – at least in my mind.

You – my Sherpa community

Dirt Road Girl – I saved her for last. She inspires me. Y’all should see her write. Maybe she’ll listen to your request to share stuff on this blog. I’m still trying to convince her to start posting here.

Your turn. Who has influenced your lifestyle of preparedness, self-reliance, and liberty? Please let us know in the comments.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Fear Built the Coffin, Are You Carrying the Shovel?

by Todd Walker

Preppers seem to be an intelligent, discerning bunch. They embrace individual responsibility, self-reliance, preparedness, and self-sufficiency. Very admirable traits indeed. My intention here is to shine some light on the foundation of many doomsday preppers – fear.

All fear is not bad. It’s a gift in many cases that has been passed down ancestrally.

Fear of our future has motived many of us to change our lifestyle. Too much fear paralyzes. Picture your health. You’re chilling on the sofa after work with remote in hand – feeling fine physically. An ad from the Industrial Pharmaceutical Complex interrupts compelling you to take action (and their newest wonder drug – which may cause anal seepage). Hum, as the thought bubble forms. I do remember not being able to remember the name of my co-worker’s daughter’s husband. Is this the onset of …. [fill in the blank]. I can put up with a bit of seepage if that pill can help me.

Then there’s the pesky problem of information overload. We’re drowning in a tsunami of threats, boogeymen, four-horsemen hype that would make for a bad day – even for the most prepared. Anxiety and hand wringing in the corner or buying the latest shiny object seem to be our only hope of survival for our species. Negative news sells. Who tunes into a local newscast with stories of families that made it home safely for dinner? No one. We rubberneck to see the disconnected devastation and destruction on our idiot tubes. We want to have our fear – and be happy too.

But we have to stay informed on all the potential S hitting the fan, right? There’s better ways to stay informed than faux news. I try to find a happy medium – staying informed – without succumbing to anxiety-induced anal seepage.

Last year our family experienced our own genuine, personal SHTF scenario. This was not a drill or practice session. DRG’s life was on the line. Discounting or overlooking real threats to our families is just plain stupid. Minimizing our risk in this preparedness game is all we can do. The first step would be to prioritize what’s really likely to happen in our individual situation.

I’m not your typical prepper – whatever that term implies. I don’t own a single gas mask. I know the three minutes without air rule. It’s just that, in my estimation, owning a chemical suit and gas mask is not a priority for our family now. Would I buy one if I thought breathable air was in short supply? Yes. But for now, my priority is to fry bigger fish – like water and food.

Here’s the good news! We don’t have to watch fear-based TV news to stay informed. No more throwing remotes or shoes at the talking heads on your screen. Online alternative news sites are everywhere. User beware. Some prepping sites fall into the fear, doom and gloom category. I’ve found that I was guilty of this myself in the early stages of this blog – fanning the flames of fear drives web traffic. Again, look for information that offers practical advise and steps to living a more simple life. A lot of “non-prepping” sites offer excellent information. Meaning, surf outside the prepping wave pool. I’m always interested in other non “prepper” sites y’all ‘Commentistas’ have discovered. Please, do tell!

How do we avoid the coffin that fear built?

Put down the shovel and stop digging.

• Relax. Take frequent breaks from the potential unknowns that keep you from sleeping. Health-destroying headlines top my list.
• Turn off the TV. I use to be a news junkie. I’ve broken the addiction. I value my psychological health. Here’s a study that found that watching the news on television triggers persisting negative psychological feelings that could not be buffered by attention-diverting distraction (i.e., lecture), but only by a directed psychological intervention such as progressive relaxation.
• Erase the hell-in-a-handbasket mindset. Bad stuff has happened in our time and to our ancestors – yet they prevailed.
• Fire the worker bee in you. What if the secret to survival was to fire yourself? You’ve probably read the “What did you do to prep” threads on forums. If not, they’re easy to find. I sometimes get the impression that if you’re not doing something to prepare everyday that you’ll eventually get caught, um, unprepared. We have to escape the tyranny of the urgent – the daily grind. Well Mr. Knowitall, who’s going to do all that stuff ‘experts’ say are essential to survival? You will. But first, you must fire yourself. Go ahead. Step away form the food dehydrator. You could use the break, right? Take a weekend off to concentrate on your long-term plan. Act like a CEO, not a worker bee. Then, step-by-step, begin implementing your plan. Scurrying around full of fear is unproductive.
• Focus on the main thing. Every trivial “news worthy” event has side-track potential. Your main thing may not be my main thing. Discover yours and focus your energy there.

What’s the next pandemic? I don’t know, and frankly, don’t care. Viewing life through the lens of fear shapes our future. Sadly, a lot is written in prepperdom that reinforces the panic-stricken mindset. My job is to decide what’s worth my time and energy. Standing over my coffin of fear with a shovel and dirty hands is not an option for me. Fear not.

How about you?

If you’ve found this helpful, please share it with your it with your family and friends. 

Also, if you’re on Twitter, you can Follow me for the latest on our journey to self-reliance, preparedness, and resilient living: @SurvivalSherpa

7 Surprising Reasons Why Americans Aren’t Prepared for What’s Coming

by Todd Walker

I’ve never suffered a gunshot wound.

I had a friend who was ventilated by some grudge-holding thug. Apparently, this idiot wanted to get even for a business deal that went south. He chased my friend through the bays of his car wash shooting at him with a .22 revolver. Fortunately, only his love handles got pierced.  After recovering, my buddy began making a plan to never get caught defenseless again.

Tobacco Smoke Enema – Nice!

What follows may be painful for some. It may hurt as much as the old tobacco smoke enema. The only difference is that I’m NOT blowing smoke up yours.

Why do so many Americans refuse to prepare for worst case situations?

Or better yet, why do they not even prep for potential everyday emergencies? You’ve seen them pass you on their donut tire at 67 miles per hour heading to the 7-11 to get their winning lotto ticket. I’m sure with all their winnings they’ll be able to prepare, right?

Being prepared doesn’t take huge financial windfalls. So why do so many people think it’s a stupid idea to be prepared? Here’s my list.

A) Peer Pressure. Remember school days? Who wants to be standing outside looking in on the popular group? We all want to feel important and part of a group. We’re social animals. The group we associate with can determine our future.

My daddy always told me, “If you lay down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas.” If you hang out with prepared individuals, you’re likely to become more prepared. As prepping goes more mainstream, many in the media portray preppers as crazy, racist, isolationist, anti-everything survivalist. None of us want that label. There’s always a few fringe types in any group that make media salivary glands wet. The new growth to the prepper movement is fueled by “normal” people like soccer moms, taxpaying business owners, and law-abiding folk.

B) Government Schools. My day job is to teach at a local school government indoctrination center. My advice to any preparedness minded parent of school aged children: AVOID GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS NO MATTER THE COST! Government schools manage ignorance for profit. Read more here.

Preparedness and survival requires self-reliance and the ability to think for yourself. The State forces kids to spend their most formative 12 years (16+ including college) learning how not to learn, but conform. Finding learning in government schools is as hard as finding a corner in a round room. A quarter of their lives circle the toilet bowl taking the path of least resistance to the collective’s sewage plant to be recycled and made “safe” and useful tax-payers.

Parent choices greatly increase or decrease their kid’s survivability. So what’s the solution for educating prepared individuals? Homeschooling may seem impossible. Both parents have to work to keep the family feed, clothed and sheltered. It comes down to our priorities. What “important” stuff can we kick to the curb to rescue our kids from government gulags and offer them a real education? I can’t answer that for you. Humans are individuals with unique situations. One size does not fit all. Homeschool, unschool, anything but government school.

C) Dependence. We’ve abandoned our roots. Due to reason # (B), our history is intentionally distorted. I often ask kids to tell me about historical figures and events like Abraham Lincoln, the War of Northern Aggression, or more recently – the Federal Reserve. As to Lincoln and the unCivil War, kids today are taught that Lincoln invaded the south to free the slaves. While I abhor the concept of someone owning another person, I know that Lincoln didn’t care about slaves being freed. Follow the money.

When my ancestors stepped off a boat in 1735, there was no free lunch or welcome basket full of government goodies. dependence on their own ability, family, and immediate like-minded friends started my family journey in America. Their self-reliant skills didn’t insulate them from set-backs and calamities. The find-a-way-to-get-the-job-done attitude is what helped me and my family survive to this point. Thankfully, I’m part of the remnant of self-reliance left in our country. When their Katrina-style disasters hit, communities rebuilt without the help of FEMA. This spirit of pioneering one’s own life has been traded for dependence. Even after natural and man-made disasters, I’m amazed at the false hope Americans place in our government’s ability to sweep in for the rescue. It’s a stupid idea most Americans hold.

D) MBM (Morally Bankrupt Morons). “All I need is guns and ammo to survive. When the SHTF, I’ll just take what I need.” I’ve read this statement, or similar sentiments on many preparedness/survival forums. I want to think they were just trolls. But I know there are lazy, corrupt individuals that will resort to this style of survival – for a while. Do they think that the very people they plan to plunder are not able and ready to defend their personal property?

I saw an episode of Doomsday Preppers where one in their group stated that they don’t buy weapons and ammo. Their plan, when the armed  horde of hungry looters show up, is to show them all their food and offer more if they leave them unharmed. Maybe some MBM’s will live to loot another day. I wouldn’t place my hopes of survival in this strategy. Your mileage may very.

Some people have an aversion, even a fear of tools called guns. In the wake of Sandy Hook, I’m encouraged by the bare ammo shelves and empty gun stores. It gives me hope that people are listening to their “gut” and making preparations for their future. Defending their life, liberty, and property against enemies, foreign and domestic, seems to be catching on. Why shouldn’t it? It’s our natural right.

I’ll put real simple here. I don’t care who, whether pastor, clergyman, senator, family member, or Santa Clause tells you guns are evil and you don’t need them, put as much distance between them and you as possible. Part ways. Period.

Back to the MBM. These individuals embody the entitlement mentality and our moral backsliding in this country. Hunger is a strong motivator for stupid stuff. I’ve never been shot, and I’ve never shot anyone else. I pray to Papa that I never have to face the choice of kill or be killed. If that time comes, and I’m afraid it will, we each have to wrestle before hand with our resolve to protect our life, liberty, and happiness.

Read the signs and heed legitimate warnings. Don’t live in fear. Prepare accordingly my friends. Avoid being low hanging fruit.

E) Nationalism. Arrogance leads to a fall. It could never happen here. This is America! We’re the envy of the world. I’m convinced that this is the thinking of the mentally ill – or the historically illiterate. I hear the disdain coming from ‘educated’ folk all the time. I think they suffer from altitude sickness in their ivory towers. Totalitarianism happens one step at a time. As long as we are allowed to wake up in our homes, drink our coffee, go to work, watch our TV programs, rinse and repeat, tyranny becomes routine. Vigilance dies. It’s frog-boiling 101. Gradually heat the pot of water and the frogs don’t jump out.

I love my country. I love my freedom more. Humility and honesty seem to be lost traits. I hope that there are enough people waking up to help rebuild our crumbling republic. .

F) Mental Enslavement. With enough time, falling water can cut through rock. Is what we call ‘freedom’ really freedom? Many in the patriot movement call themselves “freedom lovers” yet accept tyranny as normal. We’ve all heard the battle cry of patriot-lite types. You’ll have to pry my guns from my cold dead fingers! No worries. The State will gladly oblige. Yet, the water fall of tyranny continues to eroded our liberties. It’s like watching a catastrophic train wreck in slow motion.

“Necessity is the excuse for every infringement of human freedom.” – William Pitt

We have as much freedom and liberty as the State allows. To realize and enjoy our natural rights, we must free our minds. Stop listening to talking heads. Free your mind. Don’t be deceived. The smoke screen isn’t just coming from the liberal media types. I use to listen to conservative talk radio religiously. I can’t stomach the party line talk anymore. Some pundits distinguish themselves as conservative, not republican. Liberal vs. conservative, Democrat vs. Republican. They are just different sides of the same liberty-destroying coin. Flip the coin to choose your master.

Ancient Chinese proverb: “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.”

G) Stifled Self-government. Critical thinking is dead (See # F). Passivity is encouraged, even demanded. Habits form us. We prefer  our guardians of darkness. It hides our secret need for fake security. We are addicted to our velvet chains. The principles of non-aggression and self-ownership have been systematically eradicated. Most Americans favor State coercion over individualism and self-reliance. Voluntary relationships between free individuals is no longer viewed as common sense. Our State monopoly on schooling crusades for government dependence and even sites individualism as a mental disorder.

Rejecting government dogma invites the use of ‘legal’ force, or the threat of force, to reform rebellious subjects of the State’s idea of being a good citizen. We have to get over ourselves and our dependency on government ‘safety’ nets. That is, if we want to be self-reliant. Breaking the addiction sometimes comes step-by-step. Sometimes it’s cold turkey that works. We’re all different. Do what works for you.

Don’t wait. Take one step towards building preparedness and resilience each day. What physical, mental, spiritual, emotional steps did you make today?

Don’t beat yourself up if any of these 7 reasons apply to you. It’s hard not to relate to some of these reasons. But who wants to be the person walking out of the restaurant bathroom with a strip of toilet paper stuck to their heel? How embarrassing.

So much is riding on you – your family, community, and even what’s left of our country.

Free you mind!

Follow me on Twitter for the latest on our journey to self-reliance, preparedness, and resilient living: @SurvivalSherpa

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A Warning for Prepared Parents About Public Schooling

by Todd Walker

“I’m selling my baseball cards.”

English: The famous Honus Wagner T206 card, circa 1910. Français : La célèbre carte de baseball T206 Honus Wagner. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If only I owned this card

Dirt Road Girl was shocked.  She’s witnessed me lugging storage boxes from attic to shop to moving trucks for years.  They were my “precious”.  They ranged from the 1970’s to 2002.

Can’t remember when the hologram cards came out, but I never really liked them much. I bet they would have looked cool in my bicycle spokes growing up.  A hologram is “an image of technically sophisticated refraction purporting to be a solid due to its 3-D appearance.”  Another definition is “a document falsely representing itself as an accurate metaphor.”

English: “Aleph 2 (8X10 in.)” Hologram by Eric Leiser (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What we have in American schools is a hologram of education.  If schools were one of those fancy hologram baseball cards, you could hold it up at the right angle and the light would reflect to make schools appear to be solid institutions of leaning.  Only the slightest twist of the wrist changes the image into a new look.  Kind of like schools today.

This sophisticated refraction we call education, at its roots, is nothing more than the machine of the State to maintain obedience, submission, and supremacy.  The State is concerned about the education of children to the extent that VBCs (victims by choice) of government schooling become useful servants to their government and industry. I’ll be tarred and feathered at the lunch table when I come off Christmas break.

The governing intellectual elite hoodwinked the commoner and forced their will at the expense of the individual.  Taxes on the citizens were levied to maintain public schools as a tool of government whose purpose was to create an atmosphere of respect for America’s institutions.  Government schools eventually became an essential institution for the new experiment called America.  If they couldn’t control the liberty-minded adults that helped forge this republic, Uncle Sugar decided to use the force of government to indoctrinate their children.  Feel the creepiness up your spine yet?

Aristotle said, “All who have meditated on the act of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.”  The State is very concerned about your children.  Children belong to the State.  Parents are guardians to simply provide food, clothing and shelter similar to slave quarters of old.  Don’t believe me?  Try resisting.

Let’s stroll through one case of resisting law.

The idea of the judicial branch of our government balancing justice gives us warm-fuzzy feelings.  Reality, if you’re able to stomach it, paints another picture.  If you resist the State Compulsory Attendance Law on the basis it violates your natural rights as an individual to raise and educate your children in the way you see fit, you’ll be pursued and prosecuted – not for your beliefs, but for contempt of the law or court.  The State has little patience for  contumacious parents.  Just the threat of legal force to arrest is enough to bring compliance. If you’re a hard case and resist enough, the State will kill you.

The story of John Singer can be found here, and here.  Hidden at #1,909,423 on Amazon is “Death of an American: The killing of John Singer” by David Fleisher.  The ranking does not reflect the value of the story.

The Singer’s broke the “law” by refusing to subject their children to collectivist’s ideals and corrupting influence of State mandated schooling.  Charged by the State with “contempt of court” and “criminal neglect”, unsuccessful attempts were made to arrest the bandit Singer.  Singer defended himself from physical assault by the tax-feeders.  The State, hellbent on saving face, issued a “felony warrant” which allowed the hired-guns of the court to use any means necessary to bring fugitives to justice.  Deadly force is preferred.

The State’s death wish came true on the morning of January 18, 1979 when a jack-booted-thug of the State fired a blast of buckshot into the back of Singer, ending the “renegade’s” life.  The benevolent State was only interested in saving the “neglected” children.

A more recent story of State child snatchers illegally kidnapping a child who has been home schooled her entire life.   The mother won this round, but it ain’t over yet.  Child Protection Services and the State prosecutor were knocked down but not out.

Embarrassed, prosecutors are gearing up for another siege on the physically handicapped child and her family.  They used a SWAT team the first try.  Maybe they’ll just burn ’em out next time.

It’s not nice to flaunt individualism in the face of the State mafia.  “Family Court Judge Lynne Pierce told Assistant Attorney General Deborah Carley, who complained it appears the girl has never received anything other than homeschooling her entire life, she is not barred from pursuing criminal truancy charges if she feels the parents are flouting state law that required the education of children.”

How dare this mom.  She believes she has a right to make medical and educational decisions for her own child. This brave mom simply needs to be educated by past educrat elitists.

A big Hat Tip to my friend at Durable Faith for sharing this with me. Below are a few quotes taken  from Sheldon Richman’s book, Separating School & State: How To Liberate American Families.

Chapter 3: Why There Are Public Schools – Read the entire chapter here.

Let our pupil be taught that he does not belong to himself, but that he is public property. Let him be taught to love his family, but let him be taught at the same time that he must forsake and even forget them when the welfare of his country requires it. – Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence

As Horace Mann put it, “We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause.”

For John Dewey, the mission of education was sacred: “The teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer-in of the true Kingdom of God.”

William H. Seawell, professor of education at the University of Virginia, got caught in that position in 1981. He said, “Public schools promote civic rather than individual pursuits” and, “We must focus on creating citizens for the good of society.” But most startlingly, he said, “Each child belongs to the state.”

Any parent wishing to build preparedness, self-reliance, individualism, abstract thinking should take heed of the intended, but unspoken, consequences of government schooling. As John Taylor Gatto states, “the purpose of state schooling was not intellectual training but the conditioning of children “to obedience, subordination, and collective life.”

Proceed with caution my preparedness friends.

Recommended reading for prepared parents:

H/T to Durable: How Psychiatry & Modern Psychology Subvert Education, and Harm Children and Society

Separating School & State: How to Liberate America’s Families. Book: In Separating School & State, Sheldon Richman effectively and comprehensively analyzes the failures of public schooling in America and explains the ideas and ideology behind the case for compulsory education.

Follow me on Twitter for the latest on our journey to self-reliance, preparedness, and resilient living: @SurvivalSherpa

 

Udderly Ridiculous: A Tyranny Exercised for the Good of its Victims

First they came for the raw milk farmers,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a raw milk farmer.

by Ron Paul

Source: LewRockwell.com

While I oppose most gun control proposals, there is one group of Americans I do believe should be disarmed: federal agents. The use of force by federal agents to enforce unjust and unconstitutional laws is one of the major, albeit overlooked, threats to liberty. Too often Americans are victimized by government force simply for engaging in commercial transactions disproved of by Congress and the federal bureaucracy.

For example, the offices of Rawesome Foods in Venice, California, have been repeatedly raided by armed federal and state agents, and Rawesome’s founder, 65-year-old James Stewart, has been imprisoned. What heinous crime justified this action? Rawesome sold unpasteurized (raw) milk and cheese to willing customers – in a state where raw milk is legal! You cannot even drink milk from a cow without a federal permit!

This is hardly the only case of federal agents using force against those who would dare meet consumer demand for raw milk. In 2011 armed agents of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raided the business of Pennsylvanian Amish farmer Dan Allgyer. Federal agents wasted a whole year and who knows how many millions of our tax dollars posing as customers in order to stop Allgyer from selling his raw milk to willing customers.

The use of force against individuals making choices not approved of by the political elite does not just stop with raw milk. The Natural News website has documented numerous accounts of federal persecution, including armed raids, of health food stores and alternative medical practitioners.

Federal bureaucrats are also using force to crack down on the makers of gold coins for fear that people may use these coins as an alternative to the Federal Reserve’s fiat currency. Bernard von NotHaus, the founder of Liberty Dollars, is currently awaiting sentencing on federal counterfeiting charges — even though Mr. von NotHaus took steps to ensure his coins where not used as “legal tender.”

Yet, the federal government was so concerned over the possibility that Mr. von NotHaus’s customers might use his coins in regular day-to-day commerce they actually labeled Mr. von NotHaus a “terrorist.”

These type of police state tactics used against, among others, raw milk producers, alternative health providers, and gold coin dealers is justified by the paternalistic attitude common in Washington, D.C. A member of Congress actually once told me that, “The people need these types of laws because they do not know what is good for them.” This mindset fuels the growth of the nanny state and inevitably leads to what C.S. Lewis said may be the worst from of tyranny “…a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims.”

All Americans, even if they do not believe it is a wise choice to drink raw milk or use gold coins, should be concerned about the use of force to limit our choices. This is because there is no limiting principle to the idea that the government force is justified if used “for our own good.” Today it is those who sell raw milk who are being victimized by government force, tomorrow it could be those who sell soda pop or Styrofoam cups. Therefore, all Americans should speak out against these injustices.

 

Homogenizing the Herd: Real Milk and Your Health

by Todd Walker

Tomato seeds were splattered wall-to-wall in my mama’s kitchen.

Photo credit

I forget who threw the first ripened bomb. I think it was my cousin. We’ll blame him anyway. What ensued after the first splatter was the tomato battle of the century. All six siblings and cousins launching red, juicy fruit at high speeds. Half of us were inside the house and the other half in the yard.

My uncle had acquired a truck load of tomatoes from the farmer’s market. (We still have no clue how he thought we could eat, can, and preserve that many tomatoes.) Both sets of parents happened to be away that day – and the truck’s evil payload tempted us. Idle hands are indeed the devil’s playground.

The three inside the house finally surrendered, realizing we had a superior ammo cache. They marched out the door with hands raised and reported that we (the outside rebels) were in for it when the grownups got back. Knowing they were right, we started wiping tomato juice and seeds to conceal our short-lived victory.

Farm life verses urban dwelling

Memories of growing up on the farm weren’t all this fun. There was lots of dirty jobs that had to get done. And the kids (5 boys and one girl) got dirty doing it. This before hand sanitizers and bicycle helmets. Getting dirty was part of growing up. Cleaning up for us was a cool dip in the lake to knock the heavy dirt off before dinner.

A few miles up the dirt road was a dairy. My best friend helped out around the dairy for extra money. I would go with him some days. It was a commercial operation but we were allowed to drink some raw milk at the end of work. Delicious stuff.

Homogenizing the herd

If you listen to the propaganda from the FDA you’ll never try a sip of raw milk (AKA – Farm Milk, Real Milk), much less let your kids get near it. Apparently, this stuff will kill you. The milk nazis are waging war on raw milk farmers who offer this natural goodness to Joe and Jane Public. The Industrial Food Machine has successfully brainwashed and homogenized the herd to fear Real Milk. The pasteurized cousin of raw milk loses its beneficial bacteria through heat and nutrients are damaged and destroyed.

Photo credit

I personally don’t drink store bought milk anymore. I still use dairy products from free-range, grass-fed cows like organic heavy whipping cream, butter, kefir, and ghee. I even pick up a bottle of raw goat’s milk at the farmers market from time to time – for ‘pet’ use only, of course. Plus, goat’s milk has more beneficial properties for your health than cow’s milk. For anyone considering milk production on their farmstead, goats are a valuable addition.

How ’bout a glass of Nanny State?

Pick an alphabet agency. These so called government agencies (pimps for the Big’s) are suppose to oversee and provide safe food, drugs, education, etc. Even in the face scientific and anecdotal evidence concerning the consumption of raw milk, the FDA can’t risk the thought of commoners seeing the truth.

In a recent study on allergies in children, Amish children in northern Indiana were tested for allergies, along with a group of non-farm and farm raised Swiss children. The Amish children mostly drank only raw milk and participated in ‘dirty’ jobs on the farm.

Because the Amish emigrated from Switzerland, and are thus genetically similar, the team compared Northern Indiana Amish farm children with today’s Swiss kids. Though rural kids are known to be healthier than city kids, the team found that the Amish have a superior immune response to allergens and asthma than even Swiss farm kids have.

Here’s what Dr. Holbreich’s team found:

• Only 7% of the Real Milk drinking Amish kids showed an allergic reaction
• Over 44% of the urban Swiss kids suffered from allergies
• While 25% of the Swiss farm kids experienced allergies

Don’t be shocked if you’re charged with ‘child endangerment’ for allowing your children to drink Real Milk – it’s not your choice, remember.

Even those with lactose intolerance can drink Farm Milk without ill effects – thanks to the naturally occurring L. lactis bacterial breaking down lactose in raw milk. The pasteurized non-Real Milk loses it’s beneficial bacteria in the heating process, but leaves some of the harmful nasties. The process turns the milk sugar lactose into beta-lactose causing intolerance in some people.

Whether to drink Real Milk and dairy or not is a very personal choice. If you chose to drink milk, I’d suggest the real, natural, unadulterated white goodness.

Got Real Milk?

If you want to find the real stuff, here’s some helpful resources to help with your search.

Weston A. Price

Real Milk Finder

NOTE: Check you local and state laws concerning Real Milk. It’s a shame we don’t live in a free market where we are able to voluntarily exchange value for value. That’s not our reality. Do your due diligence and live healthy.

Your turn. What’s been your experience with Real Milk, if any?

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