Five Basic Human Needs | Prepared Christian

Nuclear Preparedness: Shelter

March 18, 2013 by Chris Ray

fallout shelter

In two recent articles, “Current Threats to America with AlertsUSA” and “What Would You Do; North Korea Attacks” ,I mentioned the possibility of North Korea launching nukes at America. I also mentioned that my response would involve heading to the basement. A few people shared that they don’t have a basement and wondered what their options are.

I decided not only to give some possible options, but also to add some information about different types of nuclear attacks as well as sheltering to protect against radiation and fallout. We’ve been led to believe that if there is a nuke attack, its game over but that’s just not the truth. The truth is that for many who’re outside of the blast zone, with a little forethought and a quick response, many might come through the attack haggard but alive.

While I do believe that there is a small chance of North Korea (or anyone else) dropping nukes on the United States, it is still a possibility. If I had a crazy neighbor who hated me, who had a shotgun and said he was going to use it to kill me, I would be foolish to just dismiss his threat. That doesn’t mean we should live in fear. We should just be aware of the threat and have a plan for how to respond when or if the small chance becomes a reality.

It’s not just us crazy Prepper’s that are concerned about this. An article from December 2010 called “U.S. Rethinks Strategy for the Unthinkable”, explains that the government is actively taking a look at the subject and trying to educate the citizenry as well. This article doesn’t cover things like radiation sickness, potassium iodide or decontamination. You can find information on these and other related topics linked below.

Types of Attacks

There are three types of nuclear attacks. They are: conventional, Radiological Dispersion Device (RDD) and Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP).

Conventional Nuclear Explosion

A conventional nuclear explosion can be delivered by an intercontinental ballistic missile or in a small carried device such as the “suitcase nuke”. The area of initial damage is called the blast zone. This is where the greatest damage and loss of life will be. There will be a shock wave that travels near the speed of sound. This will be the second greatest damage and loss of life. If you are in the blast zone or area of the shock wave, you would need to be in a blast rated shelter. The size of these two areas will depend on the yield of the bomb. Those outside of the blast zone and shockwave, depending on distance, may face nuclear fallout and radiation.

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)

I wrote an article called “EMP’s, Solar Flares and CME’s”, which explains what each one is and how they are different. Congress established a commission to look at the threat of an EMP. They released the following: From The Critical National Infrastructures Report (page 9)

“The electromagnetic pulse generated by a high altitude nuclear explosion is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences. The increasingly pervasive use of electronics of all forms represents the greatest source of vulnerability to attack by EMP. Electronics are used to control, communicate, compute, store, manage, and implement nearly every aspect of United States (U.S.) civilian systems. When a nuclear explosion occurs at high altitude, the EMP signal it produces will cover the wide geographic region within the line of sight of the detonation.”

The commonly held belief is that an EMP will set the United States and possibly parts of Canada and Mexico back to the stone ages. The truth, however, is that we don’t fully know what will happen because nothing of this scale has ever been done. I know that the EMP effect is real. We use a version of it on our planes to shut down surface to air missile stations. What is arguable is how much of the country will be affected. One recent report I have seen says that those within 1,000-1,500 miles of the area over which the detonation took place will have all electronics disabled. I have also read reports that say one EMP would affect half of the country.

The other debatable idea is what items will be affected by an EMP. Many people argue that all devices with an electronic circuit board would be rendered inoperable. This would be any vehicle after say the early 1980’s. This would include any vehicle with a computer chip in it. Matthew Stein, author of When Technology Fails and When Disaster Strikes, which I reviewed here, has said (paraphrasing) that most vehicles that were off should run. They may run rough, but they should run. I have also heard reports that diesels will run after an EMP.

One other comment I have is that we wouldn’t be back to the stone ages. They didn’t know what electricity was. We have the knowledge and would just need to repair and replace; granted this could take many years.

Here is a very recent article explaining why the threat of an EMP is real, called Chaos from the Sky: Why the EMP Threat Is Real. Thanks to JP for forwarding it to me.

Radiological Dispersion Device (RDD)

Better known as a dirty Bomb, I covered this subject in a previous article called “Terrorism: Dirty Bomb”; The following is taken from that article.

“A dirty bomb is not a conventional nuclear explosion. It uses conventional explosives (such as dynamite) to spread radioactive material. The damage and casualty rate would be much lower then a conventional nuclear attack. The goal with this type of attack is fear. Any death or injury caused by it is an added “bonus” to the terrorist. Remember how long things were shut down after 9-11 and how badly the economy suffered? If they can scare people and get them to pause long enough, it will do much more to hurt our way of life than any damage they may have caused.”

Different But With Some Similarities

The flash that accompanies a nuclear detonation is also very hot. People five to seven miles away can receive first-degree to third-degree burns on exposed skin.

Thermal Radiation

If you’re seven miles away from a one megaton explosion, the heat emanating from the fireball will cause a first-degree burn (equivalent to a bad sunburn), to any exposed skin facing the light. If you’re six miles away, it will cause second-degree burns, and if you’re five miles away, the thermal radiation will cause third-degree burns — a much more serious injury that would require prompt medical attention.

Fallout

Paraphrased from the National Terror Alert.com.

Fallout is caused by radioactive particles (Alpha radiation) that get sucked up during a nuclear explosion and come back to earth attached to dust and debris. Fallout from a nuclear explosion may be carried by wind currents for hundreds of miles. Radiation cannot be seen or smelled. It can only be detected by radiation detection devices such as a Nuke Alert or a Geiger counter, among others. Those in the fallout area will need to be in a fallout shelter with enough shielding to block the radiation; this is covered more below.

There are three factors that can lessen the impact of radiation and fallout; distance, time and shielding

Distance

As I mentioned above, there have been many misconceptions about the lethality of a nuclear explosion. The information below shows the amount of damage at different distances. This information comes from the National Terror Alert.com.

“1 Megaton Surface Blast: Pressure Damage
The fission bomb detonated over Hiroshima had an explosive blast equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT. A 1 megaton hydrogen bomb, hypothetically detonated on the earth’s surface, has about 80 times the blast power of that 1945 explosion.

Radius of destructive circle: 1.7 miles
12 pounds per square inch

At the center lies a crater 200 feet deep and 1000 feet in diameter. The rim of this crater is 1,000 feet wide and is composed of highly radioactive soil and debris. Nothing recognizable remains within about 3,200 feet (0.6 miles) from the center, except, perhaps, the remains of some buildings’ foundations. At 1.7 miles, only some of the strongest buildings — those made of reinforced, poured concrete — are still standing. Ninety-eight percent of the population in this area are dead.

Radius: 2.7 miles
5 psi

Virtually everything is destroyed between the 12 and 5 psi rings. The walls of typical multi-story buildings, including apartment buildings, have been completely blown out. The bare, structural skeletons of more and more buildings rise above the debris as you approach the 5 psi ring. Single-family residences within this this area have been completely blown away — only their foundations remain. Fifty percent of the population between the 12 and 5 psi rings are dead. Forty percent are injured.

Radius: 4.7 miles
2 psi

Any single-family residences that have not been completely destroyed are heavily damaged. The windows of office buildings have been blown away, as have some of their walls. The contents of these buildings’ upper floors, including the people who were working there, are scattered on the street. A substantial amount of debris clutters the entire area. Five percent of the population between the 5 and 2 psi rings are dead. Forty-five percent are injured.

Radius: 7.4 miles
1 psi

Residences are moderately damaged. Commercial buildings have sustained minimal damage. Twenty-five percent of the population between the 2 and 1 psi rings have been injured, mainly by flying glass and debris. Many others have been injured from thermal radiation — the heat generated by the blast. The remaining seventy-five percent are unhurt.”

“1 Megaton Surface Blast: Fallout
One of the effects of nuclear weapons detonated on or near the earth’s surface is the resulting radioactive fallout. Immediately after the detonation, a great deal of earth and debris, made radioactive by the blast, is carried high into the atmosphere, forming a mushroom cloud. The material drifts downwind and gradually falls back to earth, contaminating thousands of square miles. This page describes the fallout pattern over a seven-day period.

Assumptions
Wind speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: due east
Time frame: 7 days

3,000 Rem*
Distance: 30 miles
Much more than a lethal dose of radiation. Death can occur within hours of exposure. About 10 years will need to pass before levels of radioactivity in this area drop low enough to be considered safe, by U.S. peacetime standards.

900 Rem
Distance: 90 miles
A lethal dose of radiation. Death occurs from two to fourteen days.

300 Rem
Distance: 160 miles
Causes extensive internal damage, including harm to nerve cells and the cells that line the digestive tract, and results in a loss of white blood cells. Temporary hair loss is another result.

90 Rem
Distance: 250 miles
Causes a temporary decrease in white blood cells, although there are no immediate harmful effects. Two to three years will need to pass before radioactivity levels in this area drop low enough to be considered safe, by U.S. peacetime standards.

*Rem: Stands for “roentgen equivalent man.” This is a measurement used to quantify the amount of radiation that will produce certain biological effects.”

Time

The more time that passes, the more radiation will decay. There are multiple formulas and charts that can be used to determine the level of radiation. One is the 7-10 rule; for every multiple of 7, the radiation has decayed to 1/10^th of its strength. This means that 90% of gamma radiation is gone after the first 7 hours; 90% of that remaining 10% is gone after 7×7=49 or two days. (–LINK Radiation Safety In Shelters–) is a good resource.

Shielding

This image and following text come from the FM 3-05.70 Army Survival Manual:

“Shielding Materials

23-31. The thickness required to weaken gamma radiation from fallout is far less than that needed to shield against initial gamma radiation. Fallout radiation has less energy than a nuclear detonation’s initial radiation. For fallout radiation, a relatively small amount of shielding material can provide adequate protection. Figure 23-1 shows the thickness of various materials needed to reduce residual gamma radiation transmission by 50 percent.”

“23-32. The principle of half-value layer thickness is useful in understanding the absorption of gamma radiation by various materials. According to this principle, if 5 centimeters (2 inches) of brick reduce the gamma radiation level by one-half, adding another 5 centimeters (2 inches) of brick (another half-value layer) will reduce the intensity by another half, namely, to one fourth the original amount. Fifteen centimeters (6 inches) will reduce gamma radiation fallout levels to one-eighth its original amount, 20 centimeters (8 inches) to one-sixteenth, and so on. Thus, a shelter protected by 1 meter (3 feet) of dirt would reduce a radiation intensity of 1,000 cGy per hour on the outside to about 0.5 cGy per hour inside the shelter.”

Expedient Shelters

Most of us can’t afford a ready-made fallout or blast shelter. Even if we could, it’s not very practical. Don’t get me wrong, I would love one and would turn it into Chris’ man cave. (That’s what HE thinks. <wink> -Trudee) Since we don’t have a shelter to go to, knowing how to build an expedient shelter is a good skill to have and pray you never have to use.

A basement is ideal, but as was expressed last week, many American’s don’t have a basement. Don’t fret! I have a solution! The reason a basement is ideal is that there is earth on four walls. If you don’t have a basement, you need to add mass either inside or outside the walls. The interior of the walls, to me, seems preferable. This way you don’t have to worry about the elements or anything else destroying it.

In my example last week, I said I would take those 13 gallon bins and fill them with earth, placing them on the floor of the area above the basement, piled three feet high.

If I didn’t have a basement, one option would be to fill those same bins six or so feet high, by three feet thick, on interior walls.

If you lined the four interior walls of a room in your house, you now have a much smaller room than what you started with. As you can see in my diagram below, you can place your bins on the outside walls of shared rooms, this will let you keep your shelter a comfortable size.

If you have brick walls or a brick fireplace these would add additional shielding. It doesn’t have to be just earth. Here are some pictures from some old Civil Defense manuals. Anything that adds mass can be used for shielding. Just remember; the denser it is, the better shielding it will make.

In the same army manual listed above it says in section 23-36:

“It is not mandatory that you build a roof on your shelter. Build one only if the materials are readily available with only a brief exposure to outside contamination. If building a roof would require extended exposure to penetrating radiation, it would be wiser to leave the shelter roofless. A roof’s sole function is to reduce radiation from the fallout source to your body. Unless you use a thick roof, a roof provides very little shielding.”

In many of the Civil Defense documents from the 1950’s and 1960’s, people are shown adding ceilings to their basement shelters with bricks. If you’re building your expedient shelter in an interior room you will already have a roof to keep fallout off you. If you have the ability to add more shielding, it can only help.

In the image I diagramed for placement of your earth filled bins, you’ll notice how the entrance overlaps. This can also be seen in the image below. Since radiation travels in a straight line and won’t draft in like smoke might, the overlapping shielding is enough to stop it from entering the room.

What If You’re Not at Home?

This gets much more complicated but is not impossible. I used to work just minutes away from Minneapolis in one direction, and the Mall of America in another. Both are considered terrorist targets. I worked in a decent sized office building and game planned this scenario. Not only are you faced with finding adequate shelter, but food, water and other supplies.

In this image from the Department of Homeland Security, you can see by the higher numbers where the best shelter can be found in various buildings.

If you’re caught away from home and don’t see a building that would provide adequate shelter, another possible solution is to shelter under your car.

I’m not crazy about this idea and would only use it if there were no other options. In order to be able to do this, you would need adequate supplies to make the shelter as well as to live in it for a time.

What if Your Home Won’t Provide Enough Shelter?

If you live in an area where you wouldn’t be able to dig enough earth to fill bins to make a shelter, it might be a good idea to be on the lookout for places near your home that might offer adequate shelter.

How Long Should I Stay Sheltered?

Depending on how close you are to the blast zone, it may take several weeks for the radiation to decay to a point that it is safe to leave the shelter. If the government is able, they will advertise that the levels are safe enough to leave the shelter. A rule of thumb used is that after two weeks of sheltering you can leave the shelter for a limited time and continue to sleep in it. You will need to take precautions to protect against coming into contact with fallout and you’ll need to decontaminate before going back into the shelter. You can find information on that listed below.

Nuclear Power Plants

Someone made a comment last week about nuclear power plants being another danger. From the U.S. Energy Information Administration:

“There are currently 65 commercially operating nuclear power plants with 104 nuclear reactors in 31 states around the country. Thirty-six of the plants have two or more reactors.”

This is absolutely true! These plants require constant cooling of the reactors. If something happened to shut the grid down, they have backup generators and enough diesel to run for two weeks. If power has not been restored after that and the diesel hasn’t been resupplied, we would be faced with 65 chernobyls or Fukushimas. If you live near a nuclear power plant, this is something to take into consideration. Have a bug out plan! In this scenario, sheltering in place is not a good idea. The radiation is not going to decay anywhere close to the speed that it will from fallout. The best thing to do would be to get a good distance away.

Resources

Here are some of the resources I have used over the years. The first group is PDF’s of several documents on the subject. Feel free to download them. Even if you don’t have a basement, look at the PDF’s for basement shelters. You can still get ideas from them. The second group is websites I have visited.

Downloadable PDF’s

Radiation Safety In Shelters
Above Ground Home Shelter
Protection in the Nuclear Age
MP-15 the family fallout shelter
FM 3-05.70 Army Survival Manual
Plans for Expedient Fallout Shelters
Fallout Protection Homes with Basements
Nuclear War Survival Guide British Government
Fallout Protection What to Know and Do About Nuclear Attack

Links to other sites
Ready.gov; Nuclear Blast
Wikipedia: Fallout Shelter
Wikipedia: Nuclear fallout
Huge number of Civil Defense links
Wikipedia: Radiation protection WIKI
You Will Survive Doomsday By Bruce Beach
Nuclear Weapons Frequently Asked Questions
Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson H. Kearny (THIS IS A MUST READ PDF)
WHAT TO DO IF A NUCLEAR DISASTER IS IMMINENT! (THIS IS A MUST READ)

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Filed Under: Shelter, Signs of the Times

The Ins and Outs of Food Storage

March 15, 2013 by Chris Ray

photo credit The Survival Woman

I mentioned in the comments section of the What Would You Do: North Korea Attacks that I would put together some options for those of you without basements. I started working on one and soon realized that to do the topic justice I needed more time. Instead, I am going to post the article I had planned to post today and will post an article on the topic of radiation and fallout next week.

The Ins and Outs of Food Storage

It’s been a while since I have covered food storage. Because of that and a couple good forum threads, I thought I would bring the subject up again. One of the five basic human needs is food. It can be one of the more difficult to figure out when you’re new to preparedness. I think the reason for that is because the sheer size of the problem can be overwhelming. Take a family of four, eating three meals a day, and two snacks a day, that is 84 meals and 56 snacks in a week, or 336 meals and 224 snacks in a month. Seeing as most people shop for what their needs will be in the next week or two, planning that far or further ahead can be a lot to wrap your brain around.

Guidelines

Food storage isn’t one size fits all. You’ll need to tweak things to fit your family’s needs. That being said, here are some guidelines that can help you build your food storage and keep it rotated.

Shelf Stable

My definition of a shelf stable food is one that can last for six months or longer without freezing or refrigeration and won’t spoil.

Eat What You Store, Store What You Eat

This is the food storage golden rule. It will make sure that you don’t waste money on foods your family doesn’t eat.

When building your pantry, I recommend getting a notebook and writing down all shelf stable food that your family consumes for a week or two. These are the “eat what you store, store what you eat” foods to concentrate on.

There are exceptions to every rule and this one is no different. We happen to eat foods that don’t store well, so if we only stored foods that were shelf stable that we consumed regularly, our food storage wouldn’t last for very long. What we have done is stored some shelf stable foods that we eat occasionally along with some that, because of their long shelf life, we have decided to leave as storage foods.

First In, First Out (FIFO)

When you grab a can of vegetables take it from the front of the line. When you replace it, put it in the back of the line. This is the best way to rotate your foods.

What Kinds of Foods Should You Store?

If you’re like me, what can you do to supplement your food stores with foods other than the ones you eat frequently? There are many options available for foods that have a long shelf life, though some you will need to repackage.

Staples

A staple is a food that is used commonly. Think of sugar, flour, salt, rice, beans and so on. These staples, when repacked into Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, can have a shelf life of 25+ years.

Dehydrated

There are commercially dehydrated foods sold that tout a 25+ year shelf life. This can be achieved because the oxygen in packaging is replaced with nitrogen. Most of the data I have seen on home dehydrated foods say 1-2 years. We’ve mostly dehydrated fruits, but you can make jerky, soup ingredients and so much more. Sadly the dehydrated foods never seem to last more than a couple weeks around me, so I’ll never get to see if they could be edible after a few years. J

Freeze Dried

There are many brands of freeze dried foods on the market. I have tried a few and enjoyed most. Trudee and the kids did not like some. Some manufacturers have gotten smart and have the entrees available in a pouch and a #10 can. I highly recommend you try the pouch, as it’s only a few bucks and will save you money if it turns out no one likes it.

Freeze dried foods also have a shelf life of 25+years, as long as the packaging isn’t opened. Once you open the #10 can, you need to consume it within two weeks. I don’t know if it is possible to freeze dry your own food.

Because of the shelf life, and some other factors, we decided to add some freeze dried food to our food stores. We purchased some entrée’s as well as some baking ingredients like powdered egg, powdered milk, powdered cheese and powdered sour cream.

MRE’s and Emergency Ration Bars

MRE’s or Meals Ready to Eat are already cooked meals. They include a heating element that you add water to in order to activate. They often come with a desert and some condiments. Emergency Ration Bars often say something like “2400 calories”. That is for the total bar. However, there are usually nine separate bars, each one containing 250+ calories.

These foods have their place in food storage. They make good additions to BOB’s and car kits. Shelf life can vary from 5-8 years if stored in optimal conditions.

Home and Manufacturer Canned Foods

Whether you purchase commercially canned food or can it yourself, canned food is a great way to supplement your food storage. The most common question is: “how long does canned food last?” Food Reference.com and the FAQ at the Ball Jar Company state the same basic information. Properly canned food that is stored in temperatures above freezing and below 75 degrees will last at least two years. The food will often last a lot longer than that, but over time there may be changes in the color, texture etc. If the home-canned food looks edible from the outside, open it and see how it smells. If it is store purchased and not bulging, open it and see how it smells. If it smells fine it’s probably safe to eat.

What are the Dangers to Food Storage?

The life of many foods can be extended greatly by avoiding the following dangers.

Heat

Temperatures between 40 degrees and 72 degree Fahrenheit are ideal for food storage. For every 18 degrees above 72, the food loses up to half its nutritional value. If the food is exposed to temperatures over 72 degrees for an extended amount of time it can lose its color, texture and taste.

Light

Keep things in a dark space if at all possible, light can affect the appearance and taste of food. Mylar bags and food grade buckets will also help here.

Oxygen

When fats oxidize they turn rancid. Keeping your food in an oxygen free environment will prevent this, as well as kill pests that may be in the food. You can remove oxygen with oxygen absorbers in an airtight bag. I’ll cover deciding how many to use below.

Moisture

Moisture can take the form of humidity, condensation or even a water pipe breaking. To mitigate this, I keep much of my preps in Mylar bags and put the Mylar bags in food grade buckets. You can also add a desiccant to the inside of the Mylar for added moisture removal. I try not to have any food with cardboard packaging out in the open, as it is susceptible to accidents involving liquids, such as broken pickle jars, broken pipes or the “Not Me Ghost”, you know, children.

Pests

Pests range from larvae in bulk food to mice in your food storage area. There are a few ways to deal with each. For larvae, you can place a bag of rice, beans or whatever dry food you intend to store in your freezer for a couple days. This will kill any bugs, larvae or eggs. I used to do that, but it’s time consuming, my freezer isn’t that big and it’s usually full. I found, on a forum, that the simple act of removing the oxygen would kill any pests in the food. This made sense and they were steps we were already taking. We have not had any problem with pests in any of the food we have stored this way. If you want to make sure, feel free to do both. I have also read that Bay Leaves will keep pests away and some people add them to the inside of the Mylar bag as well as the inside of the food grade bucket.

To summarize, keep your food storage in a dry, dark, cool area in oxygen free and pest resistant containers.

How Much Food Should I Store?

This is something everyone will have to decide on their own. That being said, I think everyone should have a minimum of three months food stored. I personally would eventually like to get to one year stored for my family. This will give us a large cushion if I should lose my job, or a number of other things take place. It would also give us room to help those in need in a short term situation.

When you’re beginning your food storage it may be difficult to wrap your mind around storing an extra 90 days of food, or an extra year. Don’t overwhelm yourself! Break it down into easier chunks, like a week, then two and just keep adding to it.

How Do I Know How Much Food I Have Stored?

There are a couple ways to approach knowing how many days’ worth of food you have stored. The first is to determine the required caloric intake for your family, then count up the calories of all the food you have stored, divide calories needed into calories stored and you now know how many days of food you have put up.

The second way is to use a food storage calculator. Emergency Essentials has a very good one that is free. With it, you can add how many family members you have and some basic information about them. There are over 500 foods already populated to choose from and the ability to enter your own foods that might not be populated. Once you’ve entered in all of your food storage, simply hit “calculate” and it gives a tally of how many days food you have stored, along with the nutritional information. If you shop from Emergency Essentials, you also have the ability to add items that you want to purchase on your next order.

How Can I Afford Food Storage?

I recently wrote an article called “Frugal Preparedness”. It has many tips and the comments have even more suggestions from readers. There are many easy things you can do to build your pantry.

If you just need to bring in more money, one option, if you qualify, is donating plasma. I checked into it a couple years ago and you can do it twice a week, receiving $25 each time. That’s an extra $200 a month! Blood Banker is just one online resource. It may or may not list locations that buy plasma near you.

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Filed Under: Food Tagged With: Food Sorage

Food Storage for Outdoor Cooking

February 20, 2013 by Chris Ray

Today we have a guest article written by Adeline Cid who is an enthusiastic survival specialist and has extensive training on disaster preparation. She is a strong advocate of quality readiness and have tried and tested Daily Bread and believes it provides the highest quality food storage products.

Food Storage for Outdoor Cooking

Food storage is a very efficient way to feed your family during a weekend camping, hiking or mountain biking trip. Using your storage during your outing is a good way to practice rotating your foods for longer shelf life. This is also an opportunity for you to learn various ways to cook your foods outdoors.

4 Conveniences of Food Storage for Outdoor Cooking

There are a few hassles that come with cooking outdoors. Some of them include:

No refrigeration
Excessive weight of packed foods
Lack of kitchen facilities
Lack of cooking utensils

Many of these inconveniences can be overcome as long as you’re prepared. Here are four reasons why food storage is very convenient during camping and other outdoor outings:

No Refrigeration Needed – Food storage doesn’t require refrigeration or freezing. This eliminates the need to pack multiple coolers with massive amounts of ice to store your foods. Dehydrated foods stay safe even in extreme temperatures. All the require is re-hydration using hot water, and they’re ready for consumption.
Just Add Water – Imagine cooking a tasty, homemade meal without having to measure spices and chopping vegetables. Dehydrated food products can be pre-assembled before you leave on your trip. Now, all you need to bring with you is one cooking pot, one measuring cup and a supply of water. For best results, boil the water first before using it to re-hydrate your food storage.
Lightweight – Many camping trips take place in remote areas that vehicles can’t access. That means that you’ll be carrying your entire food supply to your camping grounds. In this case, every single ounce counts. You already have to tote all your camping gear and emergency supplies. Just imagine how much easier it will be if your food is lightweight. When compared to canned foods, dehydrated food weigh much less. Be sure to bring along some resealable plastic bags for your leftovers.
Less Space Needed for Larger Meals – There are occasions when camping trips include large groups of people. This means storing and preparing large amounts of foods at one time. Dehydrated food supplies make it much more convenient to store foods needed to cook meals for large groups. Many of these foods come in one-gallon cans, making it convenient to take with you as you hike to your camping grounds.

Cooking Outdoors Using Your Food Storage

During a camping, bike riding or hiking trip, part of the fun is enjoying the great outdoors. Cooking outdoors can be used a family-fun time, but only if you’re prepared. Remember, you won’t have access to electricity or gas for cooking your foods the traditional way. However, there are a variety of other ways that you can prepare your foods outdoors:

Camp stoves: kerosene, butane, propane
Dutch ovens
Bar-b-cue grills
Cooking over an open campfire

The key to packing your food storage for your outing is to pack foods you actually enjoy eating. Daily Bread carries gourmet meal plans, emergency supplies and cooking kits for your camping needs. Buy stored food online from Daily Bread.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: Food Sorage

Soil Amendments to Improve Garden Growth

February 4, 2013 by Chris Ray

There were a couple comments about poor soil types in the forum and I listed a couple things that could be done to improve soil types. I thought I would give a few more ideas here for everyone to see. I don’t personally like using fertilizers in most situations so with these tips you can improve most soil types naturally.

I am by no means a master gardener, but I have picked up a few things over the years. I wrote an article last spring called Principles of Gardening. In that article I covered some of the basics of gardening that I’ll not touch on here.

Raised Beds

If you have truly awful soil, you can build raised beds and bring in soil. By managing the soil in the raised bed, you will, over time, improve the soil below the bed. I like raised beds for many reasons. You can read more about it in a review I did of Mel Bartholomew’s book All New Square Foot Gardening.

Organic Matter

Whether you have too much clay or too much sand in your soil, you can improve it by adding organic matter. There are a few ways to do this that I’ll list below.

Composting

The following is from the article I wrote on Principles of Gardening.

Composting is more than just throwing out kitchen scraps, but that is part of it. Making your own compost and adding it to your beds is a great way to amend the soil and get rid of kitchen scraps as well as leaves and grass clippings. Here is a site with a huge amount of Information on composting. One of the mistakes I made was buying one large bin and continually adding to it. I have heard Jack Spirko from the Survival Podcast say, “That is like adding more cake mix, when the cake is already half baked in the oven.” He recommends using three small compost bins and cycling them, so you fill one, leave it alone and start filling the second and so on.

There are often community compost sites. Many times you must pay to deposit leaves, grass or other compostable materials. However, you can, in many cases, take composted material for free. You just have to shovel it yourself. These sites may use chemicals to speed the process of composting, so if you want to remain natural, you should check with the facility.

Manure can be a great source of nutrients to add to your compost. I was able to find plenty for free on Craig’s list.

Mulching

Mulching is taking organic matter and placing it over the soil. This will do multiple things; it will bring in other nutrients, it will keep the soil moist and it will prevent evaporation among other things. You can use many things for mulching: leaves, grass clippings, shredded newspaper and even wood chips. Carmen commented in the Principles of Gardening about a video done by a Christian called Back To Eden. It’s about a man who says God showed him how to use wood chips for mulch. If you leave them on the topsoil this will work great, but do not mix them in with the soil.

Cover Crops

Here is a great article called Cover Crop Basics, written by Organic Gardening, a great publication that we have received for some time. The article is well worth reading, so I will just touch on the highlights.

Cover crops can help bring organic material to your soil. They are also a great way to stop erosion. The process is fairly straight forward. You plant a crop, give it minimal care and then either chop the top off, letting the plant regrow to chop the top off again later (this process is often called “chop and drop”) or you kill the cover crop completely. In either case the organic material is left to return its nutrients back to the soil.

There are many types of things you can use as cover crops; ryegrass, barely, buckwheat and legumes, to name a few. The benefit of using legumes is that they bring nitrogen into the soil, which is often deficient in poor soil types. You can also use a mix of ryegrass and legumes, to get the benefit of both.

Final Thoughts

These methods will fix a lot of problems with your soil, such as; adding nutrients, stopping erosion and adding organic matter. While these things can be used to improve poor soil quality, you can keep doing them to keep improving the quality.

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Filed Under: Food, Preparedness Tips Tagged With: Gardening, permaculture

What to do if Your Spouse doesn’t Want a Gun in the Home?

February 1, 2013 by Chris Ray

I don’t usually post things that could be seen as controversial. Today might be a little different. It is not my goal to offend anyone, and I apologize if I do. I realize that either sex could be opposed to a gun in the home, but the vast majorities, in my experience, are women. The advice I am going to give today is from the perspective of a man. Ladies, if you’re in favor of a firearm in the home and your husband is not, most of what I have to say applies to you as well.

Why Are They Opposed?

The first step is to find out why they are opposed. In my experience most objections to firearms from are either based on a lack of understanding about firearms, or are an emotional response. Don’t poke fun at their opposition, or minimize their concern.

If it is a lack of understanding, one thing you could do is see if they would be willing to get some training. One thing I have learned (yes the hard way) is that spouses don’t always take direction from one another. Find an experienced firearms instructor and, if possible, a female instructor. You could also attend a First Shots class together. First Shots is an introductory class on basic handgun safety and operation.

If their response is emotional in nature, find out why they feel the way they do. If your spouse is generally an open minded person, you may be able to show them facts that back up your support of firearms. It is my experience that when anyone bases their argument on an emotional response, you’ll have a hard time getting them to see differently.

What To do if They Won’t Budge.

Let’s say you’ve discussed the issue and tried to get them to see your point of view, but they still won’t relent. What should you do? I believe that men and woman are generally equals in a marriage. When it comes to the safety and security of the family, that role generally falls to the man.

If you feel that a firearm is the best way to protect your family against a multitude of possibilities, purchase one. Explain to your spouse that you have heard their point of view, but that you feel it is your duty to keep your family safe, and to do that you feel you need to be on level playing ground with the criminal element.

Assure them that you will be safe, you will get training, a gun safe, keep the firearm stored safely. Do not rub their nose in it, do not flaunt it. You should also be prepared to spend some time in the dog house. I am blessed to have a wife who thinks much like I do, but if she was opposed to guns, I would reassure her, purchase the gun and think it worth being in the doghouse it to feel like I did everything I could do to protect my family.

Closing Thoughts

I wrote last week that Security is a Woman’s Responsibility Too and I stand by that, but let me clarify. I think, in this one area, it is the man’s primary duty to protect the home. Ladies, if you have a husband who is anti-gun or can’t fulfill his duty to protect the home, I believe that the duty now falls on you.

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Filed Under: Security Tagged With: Home Defense

Security is a Woman’s Responsibility Too

January 25, 2013 by Chris Ray

I have noticed that almost half of the people that like the Prepared Christian facebook page, and roughly half of the people that sign up to receive email updates are women. This article is directed at all of my female readers as well as any man that has a woman in their life.

In many homes the job of seeking out the cause of things that go bump in the night is relegated to a man. But what happens if the husband isn’t home or is incapacitated? Then consider single moms or single women that live alone.

According to the Rape Trauma Services website there are “1.3 women (ages 18 and over) in the United States are forcibly raped each minute. That translates to 78 per hour, 1,871 per day, or 683,000 per year.” I believe these statistics were taking from 1992, but I have a hard time believing they would be any lower today.

Whether it is seeking the source of something that went bump in the night, or fending off an attacker, security is a woman’s job too. The most important self-defense tool you can have is your mind, so I want to discuss mindset, I will also list some tools available to keep you safe.

Mind Set

The statistics turn my stomach, but they are eye opening. It’s something men might think about as a danger for the women in their lives, but not as an ever present danger to themselves. But the truth is, it is an ever present danger to women. If you’re reading this there is a good chance you are a prepper, someone who is awake to potential dangers and someone who takes measures to mitigate them. Rape and other violent crime is another very real danger, in fact it is more of a danger than most of the other things we prepare for.

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence is a book everyone should read, but especially woman. It explains that there are things that happen that we might overlook, but our subconscious picks up on. I wrote a review of which can be found here. Once you open your eyes and see that there are dangers and you decide to take precautions, you can do things like practice situational awareness and use the Cooper Color Code, these two things will help you be more aware of potential threats, which can help you avoid possibly dangerous situations.

It’s Not Just a Man’s Job

As I mentioned above security is many times treated as a man’s job. I have received email’s stating it and I have seen similar comments on various forums. I don’t have a problem with security being primarily the man’s job, but it is also the woman’s. When something goes bump in the night, I am the one to check on it, but Trudee is at the ready, to assist me or call 911 if needed. If I was injured and was physically unable to check on it, or if while checking on it was rendered incapacitated, she would have a means to protect herself and call for help.

For a woman to be able to defend herself, she must have a weapon she is comfortable using. One option that I like is a youth model 20 gauge shotgun. Youth models are shorter and weigh less, and are easier to maneuver inside. If a handgun with defensive loads are what is used, I suggest going to a range that rents guns and try a few out. I know one of our local ranges has “Ladies Night” that are a basic introduction to handguns class made up of only woman. First Shots is an organization that Trudee and I actually went through to take an introductory hand gun course through.

If you can only afford to have one firearm at home, please make it one that the smallest framed adult can use. And each person should know how to operate it and be comfortable using it.

If you aren’t able to carry a firearm but want to have something for protection, I recommend pepper spray. I wrote an article called Self-Defense: Pepper Spray where I explain some of the downsides of certain types of pepper spray. I personally carry Cold Steel Inferno .38 oz. Keyring Hardcase Unit Pepper Spray as does Trudee, it is OC type, which is an inflammatory agent and causes one’s eyes to slam shut and severe burning. CS and CN types are irritants and some people are not affected.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to security, it might primarily be “the man’s job” but some of that responsibility also falls on the women’s shoulders. Ladies you are responsible for your own safety and for the safety of your family, even if that means in an assisting role.

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Filed Under: Mind Set, Security Tagged With: Home Defense, Self-Defense

One In The Chamber

January 23, 2013 by Chris Ray

If you have your CCW permit, do you carry with one in the chamber? When I first got mine I didn’t. I told myself that, if needed, I would be able to get one in the chamber fast enough to be effective. Thank you Lord that I never had to find out, but I feel pretty confident that I was wrong.

I had a few reasons but they boiled down to a lack of confidence. I had been to the range a few times and was proficient in putting holes in cardboard, but the idea of carrying with a round loaded made me uneasy. It’s not that I thought it might just go off. I knew better than that. If the gun is only going to fire when I pull the trigger, then the problem is me. Once I understood that, I examined why I wasn’t confident and rethought my opinion that I would be able to get a round in the chamber fast enough.

Anatomy of a Gun Fight

I don’t know if this is true or not but it sounds accurate to me. I have heard this figure a few times in the self-defense circles; “in the average gun fight there are three shots fired in three second in the space of three yards.” I have heard both yards and feet, but nine feet seems like a more believable distance to me than three feet.

I wish I could say I was a very quick draw. In truth, I haven’t spent a lot of time practicing drawing to make it sink into muscle memory. I also carry concealed, so I always have a jacket or shirt over my firearm. Add these two things to the mix and a good bit of that three seconds has been chewed up just getting the weapon out of the holster.

It is possible to fire a shot immediately after you draw the gun and before you are in a typical stance. This could only be done if there is one in the chamber. If you have to chamber a round, you’re now under immense stress, bringing your weak hand over to chamber a round. Do you think you can do that fast? Get some dummy rounds and try it out.

Situational Awareness is a Must But it’s Not Enough

While it might be true that the average gun fight last three seconds, my guess is that the clock starts once the first shot is fired. There is almost always a sign before violence erupts. If you are using Cooper Color Code, you are actively scanning everyone to determine if they are a threat. You can then either escalate the code or deescalate, based on your judgment. While this may be true, that only means you are aware of the danger before it erupts into violence. Situational awareness is a must, but it is not enough. It will let you know there is going to be a fight, but won’t put rounds in play faster once you’ve drawn.

Good Habits

I have always practiced good habits with any firearm; finger never on the trigger until I am ready to fire, never pointing the gun at something I am not willing to destroy, etc. I have carried with one in the chamber for some time now and it hasn’t just gone off on its own. I haven’t shot myself in the leg when I unholster the gun at home. I do, however, remove the magazine and take the round out of the chamber once at home.

Do any of you who are more experienced with firearms have anything to add?

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Filed Under: Security Tagged With: Firearms, Self-Defense

The War on Guns; Part Two

January 16, 2013 by Chris Ray

The President is to announce his plan to tackle gun violence later today, there are rumors it will entail some new legislation and some executive orders. I’ll probably add my thoughts on it in the comments section later today.

The War on Guns; Part Two

Gun Grabbers

As I mentioned in part one, there have been people who don’t think civilians should own firearms since they were affordable enough for the average civilian to own one. Some of these people have evil intent, but the vast majority is simply naive and afraid. They seem to believe that more regulation will stop gun violence. Making drunk driving illegal hasn’t stopped it. There are still many thousands of people arrested for DWI and even more who got away with it. They also fail to realize that those committing gun violence often have procured the firearms illegally. That same element who commits gun violence now, will still find a way to get guns.

Those in favor of much stricter gun control come from many avenues, some of which you might not be familiar with.

Law Makers

Recently Senator Feinstein had a press release of a bill she will propose to the Senate, aimed at Stopping the spread of deadly assault weapons. The proposed bill would ban the sale of any militaristic style firearm that had a large capacity magazine. This bill would stop the personal sale of any firearm, the “gun show loophole”, which allows a private citizen to purchase a table at a gun show and sell their own private collection to other civilians where a personal sale is legal. These sales, to the best of my knowledge, do not require the seller to perform a background check. This bill would grandfather in any guns owned at the date of signing, but would require they all be registered under the National Firearms Act and registration would require a picture and a finger print.

This bill is obviously troublesome to any legal gun owner, but something about it doesn’t sit right. I think this is possibly one of two things. The first is an attempt at Overton Window., which is a political maneuver where a law maker knows certain legislation would not be accepted in the current political climate; they propose something outrageous, knowing it will not be accepted and then they propose something a little more palatable. The second proposition may still be bad, but people are more willing to accept it as it’s not nearly as bad as the first proposal.

The second possibility is that this bill is just the start. If it is passed and we still see gun violence there could be harsher and harsher crackdowns. As I mentioned above, the element of society who commits gun crime now, in large part, illegally possesses firearms now. If more regulation is added those, the same people will still commit crimes with guns, which will lead to more regulation and restriction. Layer upon layer of restriction will only cause legal, upstanding citizens to be unable to own firearms.

The most despicable incident was when Vice President Biden said Obama Considering ‘Executive Orders’ to Deal With Guns. More on this below.

The Media

From news agencies to newspapers and untold blogs, the left has gotten behind stricter gun laws than at any time I can remember. There have also been many celebrities who have filmed commercials asking:

“How many more? Enough. Demand a plan. Right now. As a mom. As a dad. As a friend. As a husband. As a wife. As an American. As a human being. For the children of Sandy Hook…We can do better than this. It’s time for our leaders to act.”

How many of those hypocrites have done TV or movies where they used a gun and glorified violence? The trouble here is that this is effective and they know it. We live in a society that pays more attention to what their favorite celeb is tweeting, dating and wearing than any relevant thing going on in the world around them.

School and Doctors

I have read multiple reports in the last couple of years about doctors asking children and adults about what firearms were kept in the home, where they were kept etc. I, myself, was asked a few years ago during a routine doctor appointment.

I have also read of children being probed at school about what firearms their parents had. I have a relative whose eleven year old child was talking about a zombie apocalypse. A teacher overheard this and brought her inside, where she was questioned by multiple adults. They asked her how she would deal with zombies, if her parents owned guns and other related questions.

I don’t know why schools and doctors are asking these questions or what they’re doing with the information, but you should be aware that some are asking it. We told our kids what to say if ever asked these types of questions.

The Truth About Gun Violence

The truth about any “war” on any inanimate object is that they do not work. In prohibition it was illegal to make, serve or drink booze, yet there was an entire sub culture that sprang to make, sell and drink booze. The war on drugs has seen millions of people in and out of jail, but has done little to slow or stop trafficking, sale or use of drugs. In fact some states are now legalizing marijuana.

Instead of waging war on guns, we should be taking a look at why and who commits gun violence. We could also make soft targets harder.

Mental Illness and Depravity (the true problem)

If we take a look at those who commit mass shooting, I believe we would see most, if not all, were afflicted with some serious form of mental illness. There are a couple of problems that don’t catch this before acts of violence occur. First is that many people in the mentally ill persons life don’t want to bring the issue to light. Some may even be in denial themselves. Parents say “not my child” or “boys will be boys”. No one wants to believe that their child is capable of harming them or anyone else, so they don’t get the police involved. They don’t bring their child to get therapy and overlook certain behaviors.

Often times there can’t be intervention until the mentally ill person commits a crime. As I mentioned above, loved ones often overlook small crimes, such as underage domestic violence.

I posted this on facebook the day of the Sandy Hook shooting:

“I do not understand the depth of human depravity, there will be some that come out after the tragedy in Connecticut railing against guns, when in truth they should be railing at depravity. We should all be praying for those who lost loved ones, God is the only one capable of healing pain so deep.”

I think that in many cases, when it comes to youth committing gun violence, we can look to the home. I’m not necessarily saying it is the parents fault, at least not directly. I have read about some of the kids who have taken part in school shootings and in many cases, the parents were not aware there was a problem. Maybe they just weren’t involved enough in their kid’s life. Maybe, because of the digital age we live in, it’s just easier for kids to hide things.

Some say its video games or violent movies. I disagree, in part. Yes there are some games and movies that are too violent, but waging war on the games or movies is not going to be any more effective than the war on alcohol, drugs or guns. Endless hours of video games, violent or not, isn’t healthy. Parents need to tell their kids they can’t play that game or can only play games for so long. Parents need to be parents. They need to stop trying to be their child’s friend. They can be friends once they’re adults.

The truth is that if we paid more attention to mental illness and acts of depravity, the lives of those people would probably be enriched, and we may slow down the rate of violence, involving guns or not.

Guns Involved In Crime

My beautiful wife, Trudee, recently had a conversation with someone on Facebook who was fully behind banning all evil assault rifles but had no problem with people owning handguns, or so she said. Trudee tried to use logic, which didn’t make a dent in this woman’s thinking. This makes sense as this woman and many who think like her generate their opinion from irrational fear. Here is some truth that you can use to inform yourself and others.

I posted this on Facebook recently: “FBI: More People Killed with Hammers, Clubs Each Year Than Rifles”. This report shows that from 2005 to 2011, each year there were more people killed with hammers and clubs than with rifles.

“For example, in 2011, there was 323 murders committed with a rifle but 496 murders committed with hammers and clubs.”

While this does not take handguns into consideration, that isn’t the point. Anti-gun advocates largely refer to “assault rifles”, which, according to the FBI, are less used in crimes than hammers. This also leads me to believe that it is not just “assault rifles” that they want to take away. I think they can just make an easier case to restrict “assault rifles” because there has already been a ban once.

Fox News has a story where reformed crooks say::

“the New York newspaper that published a map of names and addresses of gun owners did a great service – to their old cronies in the burglary trade.”

One of the reformed burglars went on to say:

“That was the most asinine article I’ve ever seen,” said Walter T. Shaw, 65, a former burglar and jewel thief who the FBI blames for more than 3,000 break-ins that netted some $70 million in the 1960s and 1970s. “Having a list of who has a gun is like gold – why rob that house when you can hit the one next door, where there are no guns?”

Guns Used to Stop Crime

Very rarely will you see the main stream media show a story about someone who used a gun to stop a crime. During research for this article I found two sites that publish every news story like this. One is the NRA and the other is The Armed Citizen. There is most likely some overlap, but both are good resources to get examples of where a gun actually saved an innocent life.

What Can We Expect

I wish I could say I knew what to expect. I may not know what will happen, but I do believe something will. People have believed President Obama would go after guns since he made the comment, “they cling to their God and their guns”. Now we have the Vice President talking about executive orders to deal with guns. We also have the President saying he is putting his full weight behind dealing with guns. I suppose they could just re-implement the old “assault weapon” ban, but I don’t think they will. I think they believe the Overton Window has moved far enough that they can make a bigger grab.

An executive order used to bypass congress and make ownership or purchase of certain guns illegal, or requiring every firearm be registered would be unconstitutional and, thus, illegal. This President has sidestepped congress and the constitution already.

If there is an executive order, there are at least three possibilities. First, congress could override it with a vote of 2/3. I honestly don’t see that happening. This is the same congress that passed ObamaCare after all. The second option is something that Ted Nugent recently commented on as well. Local law enforcement could refuse to enforce this as an illegal law. This is also the goal of The Oath Keepers, who reach out to those active duty military and prior service military as well as law enforcement and ask them not to enforce ten (unlawful) orders if they are given. The number one being disarming the American people.

If you are unaware, when you join the military you take the following oath:

“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

Many veterans, myself included, believe that since we have been discharged from active duty, we are no longer beholden to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or obligated to obey orders given from Officers or the President. We do, however, feel we are still obligated to support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.

If Executive Orders are used, depending on the enforcement of them by local law enforcement, we could see another executive order used to install martial law and suspend Habeas Corpus.

How Can We Respond?

I say “can” because I won’t presume to tell you what you should do. Here are my thoughts on how I believe a follower of Christ can act and not walk in sin.

First, let me recommend two articles written by Pastor Chuck Baldwin. These are well worth reading. The first, entitled My Line In The Sand Is Drawn Here!, covers his thoughts on the proposed bill from Senator Feinstein. He also gives you some ways to fight this and to help you draw your own line in the sand.

The second article is called Revolution?. In it, he explains how the Revolutionary war was actually sparked by gun control and how Christian leaders of the time took a very active role, defying a ruler imposing immoral laws on them.

Now is the time to pray for our enemies, to pray they act out of wisdom and logic and not out of irrational fear. This is also the time to take action. This is the time to let our Congressmen and Senators know that we want them to stand firm and protect the Second Amendment of the Constitution they swore an oath to protect. You can find the phone number and other contact information for your Congressmen and Senators at USA.gov.

In case you’re wondering here is the oath they take.

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

If and Executive Order to go after guns is used, or if Congress and Senate overreach in regulating firearms, they will go against the Constitution and against what our Founding Fathers saw as God-given rights to all people.

In God’s Law vs. Man’s Law I explain that when Man’s law contradicts God’s Law, we can be morally correct and violate man’s laws. I also give examples of this from scripture.

There have been several people saying there will be blood in the street if they come after guns. I pray not, but I have to say, I do see it as a possibility and I would not have said that even three months ago. Each one of us will have to pray for guidance and draw our own line in the sand. I caution you from posting anything inflammatory on this or any other site on the Internet.

May God bless us each with His guidance. Lord please give us wisdom so we may see how You would have us act. Let us stand firm in Your Word. Bless those elected to lead us with wisdom and courage to uphold the oath they took to defend the Constitution. Father, I ask that this fight end peacefully and that the outcome not infringe on the rights You have given to all people.

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The War on Guns; Part One
The War on Guns; Part Two

Filed Under: Security, Signs of the Times Tagged With: Firearms, Home Defense, Self-Defense

The War on Guns; Part One

January 14, 2013 by Chris Ray

Unless you have been under a rock the last month or so, you have heard multiple things about the federal government “going after guns”. This issue is very important and multifaceted. I want to talk about why this issue is so important, the Second Amendment, the attacks on it and the people who are attacking it, what we might see and how we as Christian gun owners can respond.

This will be a lot of reading, so I am going to break this up into two articles. The first will explain why this issue is so important. I’ll also touch on the Founding fathers and the Second Amendment. I am going to link to other articles that I think you should read as well. I know this is a lot of reading, but it’s important to know why this fight is so important and to understand the argument for our right to keep and bear arms.

The War on Guns; Part One

The war on guns is not new but in the last few weeks it has reached a fevered pitch. The Obama administration is taking the advice of its former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who suggested “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Please do not misunderstand. Let me make this clear now; the shootings that have happened in recent history are horrific acts committed by depraved and often mentally ill people. Despite this, the Obama administration is using this as an Overton Window to take advantage of the situation and do something they could not have done sooner.

Why Is This So Important?

There are two reasons this issue is so important. The first is because of what we may face and what the past has shown when firearms have been restricted. The second reason knowing this information is important is to have a rebuttal to those who would argue to take our guns.

Having a Ready Response

Security is one of the five basic human needs. I believe it is the most important one, because without it you cannot protect the other four. I believe the Founding Fathers also thought it was vitally important. I do not think it is by mistake that right to “keep and bear arms” is the Second Amendment, following only the right to speak out in protest.

The Apostle Paul told us we should have an answer ready to explain and defend our faith. I think that is good advice for anything you have convictions about. You should be able to logically answer and explain your stance to anyone who challenges you. I say logically because I think people that base their opinion in emotion often don’t sound serious. That is not to say that one cannot be emotional about their beliefs, I just think one should have them rooted in logic and facts and speak passionately.

I was recently asked what a Christian should do if the government comes after guns. I answered that we should follow God’s law any time it and man’s law contradict. If you understand what the Founders intent was when they wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, you’ll have an easier time answering that question on many subjects dealing with our laws, including gun rights.

Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Let me first say that I am not comparing President Obama to Hitler or any other despot. There have been those who believe no civilian should own a firearm since firearms were affordable enough for the average citizen to own one. I will discuss gun grabbers in further detail later in this article series. For now, I want to discuss some of the world leaders who have forced strict gun control on their nation and the outcome it led to.

There is some controversy about Hitler and gun control. From my study of history, I am led to believe that the Weimar Republic had strict gun control in place long before Hitler came to power. Hitler did take advantage of it and Jews were not allowed to own firearms. He is also quoted as saying at a dinner talk on April 11, 1942:

““The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let’s not have any native militia or native police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order throughout the occupied Russian territories, and a system of military strong-points must be evolved to cover the entire occupied country.”

Joseph Stalin is quoted as saying:

“If the opposition disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall disarm it ourselves.”

Mao Tze Tung, Nov 6 1938

“All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. The communist party must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command the party.”

Most recently Robert Mugabe, the dictator of Zimbabwe, has instituted a ban on guns. Here is a link I found interesting; a liberal who had their mind changed on the possession of firearms.

Something these and so many other evil men understood is that there are two sure ways to control people, take their guns and take their food. There is a quote that say’s “God created man, Samuel Colt made them equal”. It is a firearm that levels the playing field and gives a people the ability to stand up and resist tyranny.

Some people will say “This could never happen here”. I wonder if the Jews in Germany thought the same thing, or the people of Zimbabwe, Rwanda and so many others.

I saw a post recently on facebook that said “I saw a movie once where only the police and military were allowed to own guns. The name of that movie was “Schindler’s list”. Never Again!

The Founding Fathers

I wrote a series of three articles last year that dealt with the Founding Fathers the Constitution, and the future of America. I also wrote God’s law vs. Man’s law. In them, I explain that it took great courage to write the Declaration of Independence. Aside from the Bible, it is one of the most important documents in existence, largely due to the following sentence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The reason that one sentence is so important is because it states that the rights mentioned above in the Bill of Rights and the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and yes, the right to keep and bear arms are granted by God, and what God grants, man cannot take away.

The Founders knew that a large government could not be trusted. That is why there are so many checks and balances.

The Second Amendment

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Something important to keep in mind when studying the Bible, the Constitution or any historical document is that context its king. Something taken out of context can completely change what the document means; this is the case with the Second Amendment. I have done a lot of reading the last couple of weeks, shoring up what I didn’t fully understand, keeping track of what the anti-gunners were doing and how pro-gunners were responding. I came across a fantastic document from the Lectric Law Library called The Second Amendment: The Framers’ Intentions. The author does a fantastic job of explaining the wording of the Second Amendment and how the particular words meant something different at the writing of the Second Amendment than they do today. I highly suggest you read it, as I will only touch on some key points of the Amendment. Any of the italicized text in the Second Amendment section comes from The Second Amendment: The Framers’ Intentions.

The first question to answer is; “why would this need to be specified and added as an Amendment?” As Noah Webster, whose name you might recognize from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is quoted:

“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe.”

You see, the founders knew that tyrants preferred an unarmed populace. They knew that an over reaching government with a standing army behind it was a threat to the liberty of the citizenry.

Once we understand that these words were very carefully chosen and that the Founders thought they were important enough to make them the Second Amendment, let’s take a look at the words themselves. I’m going to break this into smaller pieces and dissect each one.

A Well Regulated Militia

Context is king. When many people hear the word militia today, they might think of extremists who stock guns and are just waiting for a chance to use them. But, when the Second Amendment was written, the word meant something else.

“When the Constitution was ratified, the Framers unanimously believed that the “militia” included all of the people capable of bearing arms.”

“ALL of the people capable of bearing arms”; this means that according to the founders we are all in the militia. Alright, so anyone who is capable of bearing arms is in the militia, but what exactly does “well regulated militia” mean?

In modern times the word “regulate” often makes one think of the government regulation and restrictions. A much better (and much longer) explanation can be found at The Second Amendment: The Framers’ Intentions. A condensed version is that the founders knew the militia might one day have to fight a standing army raised and supported by the federal government. They would not have made the militia subject to be regulated by the government. Who then would be the regulatory body of the militia? Again, context is king:

“This interpretation is in keeping with English usage of the time, which included within the meaning of the verb “regulate” the concept of self- regulation or self-control (as it does still to this day). The concept that the people retained the right to self-regulate their local militia groups (or regulate themselves as individual militia members) is entirely consistent with the Framers’ use of the indefinite article “a” in the phrase “A well regulated Militia.”

That’s right, “We the people” are to self-regulate our own militia groups made up of anyone capable of bearing arms.

“Being necessary to the security of a free State”

Some of us may say we live under tyranny now, but it pales in comparison to the tyranny the Founders lived under. The Founders knew there were three potential enemies; the first, an invading country, the second, a single terrorist or small groups of terrorists, the last, the standing Army sponsored by the federal government.

It is the job of the standing army to fight against invading forces. It is the job of police agencies to deal with terrorists. It is the job of the militia to be a check against the standing army.

“Thus, “well regulation” referred to something else. Since the fundamental purpose of the militia was to serve as a check upon a standing army, it would seem the words “well regulated” referred to the necessity that the armed citizens making up the militia(s) have the level of equipment and training necessary to be an effective and formidable check upon the national government’s standing army.”

“This view is confirmed by Alexander Hamilton’s observation, in The Federalist, No. 29, regarding the people’s militias ability to be a match for a standing army: ” . . . but if circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights . . . .”

Of course we don’t have a structured citizen militia as well trained or as well-equipped as the standing army, but this does provide the basis for citizens to own weapons on the same level as the average soldier. This would not apply to planes, tanks, mine or grenades, but it would permit semi-auto rifles and semi-auto handguns with high capacity magazines.

The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The first two parts of the Second Amendment set the stage for why the people have the (God given) right to keep and bear arms. This last part flatly states the right shall not be infringed.

“Furthermore, returning to the text of the Second Amendment itself, the right to keep and bear arms is expressly retained by “the people,” not the states. Recently the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed this view, finding that the right to keep and bear arms was an individual right held by the “people,” — a “term of art employed in select parts of the Constitution,” specifically the Preamble and the First, Second, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth Amendments. Thus, the term “well regulated” ought to be considered in the context of the noun it modifies, the people themselves, the militia(s).”

Here is another fantastic piece from Roanoke.com called In Webster’s English. It explains that the English language has changed since the writing of the Second Amendment and uses the first Webster’s dictionary to explain it.

The Second Amendment in Modern Times

There have been some recent developments with the Second Amendment. First, on August 24, 2004, the Justice Department released a brief on Whether the Second Amendment Secures an Individual Right.. They state:

“we conclude that the Second Amendment secures a personal right of individuals, not a collective right that may only be invoked by a State or a quasi-collective right restricted to those persons who serve in organized militia units.”

In the wake of illegal confiscation of firearms after Hurricane Katrina, there was H.R. 5013 (109th): Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006, which, among other things, states:

“The Second Amendment to the Constitution states that a `well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed’, and Congress has repeatedly recognized this language as protecting an individual right.”

Most recently, on 6-28-2010, the Supreme Court upheld, 5-4, that The Second Amendment’s guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applies to state and local gun control laws.

In Summary

The Founding Fathers clearly laid out that the right to keep and bear arms was an individual right. There have been many evil men who have tried to control their people by outlawing the ownership of firearms. I believe the Founders knew this was a possibility in the future of our nation, which is why they spelled it out. Even though they spelled it out, some have tried to muddy its meaning. With the paper from the Justice Department and the decision from the Supreme Court it is clear:

The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

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The War on Guns; Part One
The War on Guns; Part Two

Filed Under: Mind Set, Security, Signs of the Times Tagged With: Home Defense, Self-Defense

Fuel Storage

December 20, 2012 by Chris Ray

Fuel storage is something I don’t know a lot about but it was something that was on my list to research. I recently received an email from a representative of Power Research INC. the makers of PRI-G and PRI-D, fuel treatments. He asked if I would like a sample to do a review on. I let him know that I don’t have a way to do a review on his product, but that if he sent me some information I would include it in my research for an upcoming article on fuel storage. The offer sparked my interest, so I decided to write the article now. When I say “fuel”, take it to mean both diesel and gasoline. I will say “diesel” or “gasoline” if I mean a specific one.

Disclaimer; check with your local authorities on how much fuel you may store in a residential area. Storage of too much fuel can lead to fines.

Fuel Storage

Fuel storage has the same enemies as food storage; light, air and moisture will cause it to go bad faster. Because of this, it should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place that is not easily accessible by children.

Fuel Containers

Because the fumes are combustible, fuel should be stored in air tight containers that do not vent. If you walk into the area where you store your fuel and can smell it, it is not air tight.

In The Survival PodcastEpisode-980- Steven Harris on Long Term Fuel Storage, Steven Harris (an engineer and all around guru on fuel and energy in general) said he stores his fuel in HDPE15 Gallon Water Storage Barrels (food grade bucket quality) drums. He said they will expand in the summer and contract in the winter, but that these barrels can withstand it. He said he had dropped his from the bed of his truck and they handled it just fine.

A 15 gallon barrel full of fuel will weigh almost exactly 100 pounds. Steven said he had 2 year old gas in one of these containers with no additives and it worked just fine when used.

Caution: These barrels do not meet DOT standards for fuel transport and you do risk a ticket and other fines if you transport fuel in them.

Another option is the smaller, one to five gallon, containers. The red ones that you buy from local stores are often low quality and fuel vents through the plastic as it heats and cools. There have been improvements made to newer ones, but the older ones are not a good idea for long term fuel storage.

Nato Jerry Gas Can 20L/5.28G Military Spec. containers are often very high quality and their price reflects it. This Nato Jerry Gas Can 20L/5.28G Military Spec. is available on Amazon for $90. I did some digging and this price is comparable to other vendors. There are some out there that are much less expensive, but in reading reviews you can often find out why. The metal is often very thin and the spouts either don’t seal right or don’t work well.

Fuel Treatments

My first introduction to fuel treatments came from prepper fiction stories on the Internet. I hadn’t really looked into them until I received the email from the gentleman at Power Research INC.. It looks like there are two big players in this marketplace; PRI products and STA-BIL. If you know of others that I have missed, please link them in the comments and I will change the article.

Both products say they will keep the fuel fresh for up to twelve months. PRI-Products, however, say that you can treat them yearly to extend the fuel out many years. However, they recommend testing the fuel yearly. In this post on SurvivalBlog.com, Mr. Morton from Power Research INC claims they have stored fuel for 12 years and that it is “still refinery fresh”. PRI-G is for gasoline, PRI-D is for diesel. STA-BIL is for gasoline while Diesel formula STA-BIL is for, you guessed it, diesel.

Power Research Inc. has a site dedicated to preparedness where they speak to the importance of making sure your fuel will work when an emergency happens.

In terms of how much fuel treatment is required; STA-BIL states on their FAQ “A: One ounce (30mL) of STA-BIL® Fuel Stabilizer for every 2 ½ gallons (9.5 L) of gasoline, gasoline/oil mixtures, or ethanol blends is the recommended dosage level.”

From the PRI-G downloadable flyer: 16 Ounces treats 256 gallons; 32 Ounces treats 512 gallons and 1 Gallon will treat 2,000 gallons. PRI-D will treat the same amount.

Here are some examples of fuel treatments;

PRI-G 16 oz. Fuel Stabilizer or PRI-G 32 oz. Fuel Stabilizer

PRI-D Fuel Stabilizer- For Diesel 16oz or PRI-D Fuel Stabilizer- For Diesel 32oz

STA-BIL 22214 Fuel Stabilizer – 32 Fl oz.

Sta-Bil Diesel Formula Fuel Stabilizer and Performance Improver – 32 oz.

Refreshing Old Fuel

What are your options when fuel isn’t stored properly or rotated and goes bad? STA-BIL does not treat old gas, but they do have another product called Start Your Engines, which is geared more at the small engines of lawnmowers, chainsaws and snow blowers. From the FAQ for PRI; “PRI has been independent laboratory tested on 10-13 year old fuels, and has restored the fuel to usable condition.”

As I mentioned, this subject is fairly new to me, but from the research I have done, I am a bit more impressed with PRI-Products. They are a bit more expensive but with the ability to use it year after year to keep fuel usable, as well as the ability to refresh old fuel, it seems like a lot more bang for the buck.

Fuel storage isn’t something I have done, but once we get a new home, it is something I want to make sure I do, and I will use PRI to make sure the fuel is usable when it is needed most.

Diesel does not go bad nearly as fast as gasoline. The one exception I was able to find is diesel fuel that has fungus in it. Fungus can grow when the fuel has been exposed to the air and moisture. PRI does have a product called PRI-OCIDE. It can be added when the fuel is stored and will fight the fungi.

Fuel Rotation

I have come across a few different ways to rotate fuel. The way that I think makes the most sense and is probably the easiest I found, I heard on The Survival Podcast Episode-885. In it, Tim from Old Grouch’s Military Surplus says he has twelve five gallon NATO style cans, one marked for every month of the year. Each month, with a little bit of gas in his vehicle already, he empties that months’ can into his vehicle. He finishes filling his vehicle at the gas station and refills the NATO can as well.

Disposing of Old Fuel

Some counties have a hazardous material facility where you can drop off old fuel and other hazardous materials. Where I live, I believe it’s free for most things and a small fee for others. This may not be the case where you live.

Fuel With Ethanol in it

I have learned the hard way that fuel with ethanol in it can be a bad thing for small engines. I had one mower that I had to take in to have the carburetor and fuel system cleaned out. I honestly don’t know if fuel with ethanol in it will be harmful to stored fuel. If you are storing the fuel with a generator in mind, I guess I would say err on the side of caution and store fuel that does not have it. You can visit this link to get a List of Ethanol free gas stations in the United States and Canada.

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Filed Under: Energy/Power, Preparedness Tips

Nuclear Preparedness: Shelter

The Ins and Outs of Food Storage

The Ins and Outs of Food Storage

Guidelines

What Kinds of Foods Should You Store?

What are the Dangers to Food Storage?

How Much Food Should I Store?

How Do I Know How Much Food I Have Stored?

How Can I Afford Food Storage?

Food Storage for Outdoor Cooking

Food Storage for Outdoor Cooking

4 Conveniences of Food Storage for Outdoor Cooking

Cooking Outdoors Using Your Food Storage

Soil Amendments to Improve Garden Growth

What to do if Your Spouse doesn’t Want a Gun in the Home?

Security is a Woman’s Responsibility Too

One In The Chamber

The War on Guns; Part Two

The War on Guns; Part Two

Gun Grabbers

The Truth About Gun Violence

What Can We Expect

How Can We Respond?

The War on Guns; Part One

The War on Guns; Part One

Why Is This So Important?

Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

The Founding Fathers

The Second Amendment

The Second Amendment in Modern Times

In Summary

Fuel Storage

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