Saturday, February 25, 2012

Our Just Desserts


As I read a horrific story of a baby being killed in a drive-by shooting that stemmed from a seating disagreement at a baby shower the day before, I was taken aback by a statement so appalling that I had to read it twice to be certain that it said what I thought it said.  The statement (made by the grandmother of the slain baby) was "Life is not valued in Detroit.  It is a war zone here.  We need some ground troops patrolling these streets; they send them all oversees, but they need to be here."


Wow!  An (presumably) American citizen uttered those words.  "We need some ground troops patrolling these streets".  Am I completely missing the logic here, or did she just say that by having ground troops patrolling the streets, Detroit would look less like a war zone?  I am speechless.

So, this is what we have been reduced to.  A country whose citizens are so lacking in basic self-control and moral fortitude that we require an armed military presence just to keep us from killing ourselves and each other.  My very soul is grieved.

We have lost our way.  We have turned our back on all that is good and embraced evil in all its forms.  We no longer value self-control or encourage basic biblical principles such as turning the other cheek and putting other people before ourselves.  Wisdom, knowledge and understanding are openly ridiculed and regarded as weaknesses.  We don't encourage our children to overlook offenses.  Actually, our value system is quite the opposite.  When our children do poorly in school, we blame the teachers.  When they have been treated unfairly (or what they or we perceive as unfair) we tell them they don't have to treated like that and go to the wall to ensure that their precious feelings are never stomped on.  If someone hits them, we tell them to hit him back and to do it in such a way that they never mess with them again.  Our culture prides itself in never being pushed around or walked over. We are Americans and Americans don't take guff from anyone.  We are aggressive, presumptuous and entirely self-absorbed.  And yet, we cringe and gape when someone kills a 9 month old baby because they didn't get the seat they wanted at a baby shower.



We are reaping the consequences of the abandonment of our Godly heritage.  Rather than aspiring to a higher moral standard we are indulging ourselves in selfish and vain pursuits.  Rather than disciplining ourselves and living together as brothers we have become like a pack of rabid dogs.

To think that this once-proud nation has been brought to its knees by its own wickedness is heartbreaking.  Never would I have thought that our own people would be begging for armed men to walk through our streets to keep our undisciplined selves in line.

I am crying from the rooftops - I am standing at the city gates.  Turn from your evil ways.   Teach your children.  Don't demand justice, demand righteousness.  Don't let a military presence in our streets be our just desserts.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Raising Socialists


Master Calvin was fussing and Princess Dragon Snack was crying.  Obviously, they needed some adult intervention, so I called them both downstairs, determined to get to the bottom of their squabble.  With tears streaming down her face, Princess Dragon Snack told a tale of woe.  Master  Calvin had kicked her - and he meant to do it!  Master Calvin was emphatically denying the charges leveled against him, claiming that Princess Dragon Snack had gotten kicked as she was trying to drag him out of her "Hugglepod".  Concerned that Princess Dragon Snack was not being kind and sharing with her brother, I asked for more clarification.  I was informed that Dragon Snack had been reading contentedly in her Hugglepod and, having finished her book, slipped out for a moment to retrieve another.  Master Calvin, seeing a moment of opportunity, commandeered the Hugglepod and resolutely refused to acquiesce his position.  It digressed from there.  Dragon Snack started yelling, Master Calvin became defensive and now the perpetrators were on trial in the living room.

Wanting nothing more than a quiet afternoon, my first thought was to require Princess Dragon Snack to give up her cozy spot and enforce mandated sharing.  And then, it hit me - in doing so, I would be grooming future Socialists to take what they wanted by force and coercion.  They would have no concept of personal property rights and would view all property as something to take at will or expect to be granted rights to just because they wanted it.  This, I could not have.

Personal property rights begin the moment someone has something to call their own.  They are the owner of it, the person responsible for its care and maintenance.  While sharing is an admirable character quality it cannot be forced.  People (even little people) have to choose how they want to share and with whom.  If I forced Miss  Calamity (12) to share her water color painting supplies with Master Calvin (4) she wouldn't have usable supplies for very long.  Master Calvin would pour water over them, ruin the brushes and generally wreak havoc.  Due to the fact that Miss Calamity owns her water color supplies, she has to have the final say as to who she will share with and when.  If we don't guard her personal property rights, she will be left with little or nothing of value. And it wouldn't just be her that was affected, it would be our whole family.  No longer would she paint beautiful pictures or spend afternoons teaching her little siblings the finer points of water colors.  No longer could she carry her paints to the woods and study the world around her by painting it. The simple act of not guarding her personal property rights would send ripples of untold consequences.



Yet another consequence emerges from not enforcing or encouraging property rights.  When children know that their things are not really their own, they will cease to take care of them.  Why should they?  They don't have any real authority over them and the energy used to care for them would be counterproductive.

This is the world in which we live.  We have trained our children to "share" (whether it is appropriate or  not) and can't figure out why our society is hallmarked by an "entitlement mentality".  It begins with "we the parents".  It is essential that we teach our children the importance of personal property and the rewards of working for and earning our property.  As parents, it is our somber duty to guard our children's personal property rights, just as our government has been charged with ensuring ours.  We are the very foundation of the free world.

After considerable deliberation, I rendered my decision in the Princess Dragon Snack vs. Master Calvin case.  I ruled for Princess Dragon Snack.  I encouraged her to invite her brother to use her Hugglepod when she was finished with it (provided that he wasn't fussing or crying at her about it) and I instructed him to find something else to play.  Confident that her personal property rights were completely intact, Princess Dragon Snack chose to invite her brother into her Hugglepod with her and they spent the afternoon reading together happily.  Case dismissed.

I don't want to raise Socialists.  I want to raise contented children who strive to make their own way in the world and respect the rights of others in the process.  I want them to take responsibility for themselves and care for others as they would like to be cared for.

We are not a collective.  God made man to be individual.  We come to Him on a personal level, one by one.  We cannot stand before the throne of God and use someone else's salvation.  This is something Socialists do not understand.

When we encourage everything in our children's lives to be communal, we are setting them up for failure.  We are stealing their ability for happiness and contentment.  We are stealing their joy.  We are raising Socialists.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Investing in Technology Futures

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  In the new world we may be entering, the new high tech will be the old low tech....

Old technology
The Future
Old Technology
The Future
Old Technology
The Future
Old Technology
The Future
Old Technology
The Future
Preppers definitely have the inside track on this new investment opportunity.  Now may be the time to invest in technological futures!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Sound of Silence


We live "off-the-grid".  We have a generator, solar panels, inverters and charge controllers.  We have a refrigerator that was designed for off-grid living and propane appliances.  We flush our toilet only when absolutely necessary and turn off lights when we leave a room.  We have a Tri-metric meter that shows us our current electrical usage and also lets us know how much power we are generating, either by the sun or the gas generator.  We have to start our generator to take a shower and to do laundry.  Our life is anything but silent.

But it hasn't been that way.  When we first began this off-grid journey, we were truly living non-electric.  We had no power, generated by the sun or otherwise.  We hauled our water, disposed of our waste in special plastic bags and used oil lamps for illumination.  Our refrigerator was propane and our heat source, wood.  Our home was silent.  No electric refrigerator cycling off and on.  No dryer humming in the background.  No music, no television, no fan whirling on the back of the computer.  No generator providing constant background noise. Nothing.  Silence.  It was wonderful.

When we lived completely non-electric, our bodies were tuned to the cycles of nature.  We rarely stayed up past 8:30 on a winter evening because we were tired and there was nothing else to occupy our time.  We woke with the sun because we were well rested.  Our minds were sharp and clear because we didn't have constant input from ipods, television, stereo's and computers.  We spent our time doing or reading.  Without the constant bombardment of advertising slogans and media input, we were quite content - not envious of the newest, latest must have.

But, as time went on, our life "improved".  A generator took the place of hauling water (and what a blessing that was!) and an electric refrigerator replaced the propane fridge.  Little by little, noise crept back into our lives.  The constant whirl of the wind turbine became a comforting companion.  Movies were an anticipated treat.  Soon, music, generators and the hum of electric fans replaced the quiet solitude of our non-electric life. Although technically off-the-grid, we were no long non-electric.

I appreciate running water.  I believe that an electric washing machine is a gift from God. But, I often wonder how much we give up to secure convenient comforts.  We exchanged quiet simplicity for modern convenience.  And there is a price to be paid.  The more plugged in we become, the more unplugged from each other we become.  Rather than spending time reading together, we spend time watching the television and puttering on the computer.  Rather than slowly doing one chore after another, intimately involved with the life we are living, we rush from one task to the next, missing the subtle yet significant joys of being connected.

Living the simple, off-the-grid life that we live is wonderful, yet even it leaves something to be desired.  I miss the days of "Little House on the Prairie" by lantern light.  I miss the calm pace set by the necessity of doing things the "hard way".  I miss the quiet of the propane refrigerator and the oil lamps.  I miss the gentle influence of a life filled with silence.

As Sir Knight and I prepare for the future, we purposefully look to the past.  Although I appreciate all of the improvements we have made and each hard-won step toward independence, I realize that technology comes with a price.  And that price could be too steep to pay.  If and when we are confronted with a societal collapse, all the technology in the world won't keep you afloat.  We, as a people, will have to get back-to-basics, and that really isn't all bad.  The very essence of preparedness is simplicity.  And, simplicity doesn't, by definition, imply easy.  Hauling water can be very difficult, however, it can be a lot more simple than keeping your generator running.  Oil lamps can be a pain to keep full and clean, but the cost and upkeep will be by far less than sustaining a wind turbine.  Rather than buying $5000.00 worth of solar panels, buying a generator and storing fuel, you could built an outhouse and be done with it.  Using an outhouse isn't any ones romantic ideal, however it is far more romantic than a full toilet and a plunger.

I encourage each of you to look toward simple.  Embrace and prepare for a non-electric life rather than an off-the-grid life.  Don't be afraid of a little hard work.  Although challenging, living a non-electric life has dividends that can't be measured by any monetary system.

Our future shouldn't arouse fear.  We should view it as a personal challenge.  Rather than trying to prepare for our future by implementing systems to ensure that our circumstances don't change, prepare for a great change of circumstances.  The key here is to prepare.  Be ready to haul water.  Build an outhouse.  Buy a whole lot of kerosene and lamps and wicks.  Be ready to hunker down in the storm - and thrive.  And most of all, embrace the sounds of silence.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

What we Already Knew

An email that has been circulating puts the entire Occupy vs. Tea Party movements in perspective....


REPORTED
OCCUPY
TEA PARTY
Arrests
4149+
0
Rapes
12
0
Damage
$10,000,000.00
$0
Public Defecation
Yes
No
Anti-Semitic Rants
12
0
Cost to Taxpayers (by 11/9/11)
$19,327,487.00
$0
Public Masturbation
3
0
Molotov Cocktails Thrown
10
0
Fights Started
Yes
No
Children Exploited
Yes
No
Police Cars Damaged
2
0
Drug Possession Arrests
Yes
No
Concealed Weapons Arrests
Yes
No
Drug Overdoses
Yes
No
Thefts
Yes
No
Burglaries
Yes
No
Vandalism Arrests
Yes
No
Trespassing Arrests
Yes
No
Non Fatal Shootings
1
0
Public Urination
Yes
No
Urination on others
Yes
No
Israeli Flags Burned
2
0
American Flags Burned
1
0
American Flags Danced on
1
0
American Flag Desecrations
25
0
Felony Assault on an EMT
1
0
Head/Body Lice Outbreaks
1
0
Tuberculosis Outbreaks
1
0
Murder
1
0
Suicide
1
0
Shots Fired at White House
1
0
Scabies Outbreaks
1
0
Obama Endorsed
Yes
No
Pelosi Endorsed
Yes
No
Cair Endorsed
Yes
No
Socialist Party Endorsed
Yes
No
Nazi Party Endorsed
Yes
No
Muslim Brotherhood Endorsed
Yes
No
Communist Party Endorsed
Yes
No
Biden Endorsed
Yes
No
Hugo Chavez Endorsed
Yes
No
Black Panthers Endorsed
Yes
No
Hezbollah Endorsed
Yes
No
Marxist Union Endorsed
Yes
No
9/11 Truther Endorsed
Yes
No
Bolshevik Endorsed
Yes
No
Iran Government Endorsed
Yes
No
Ayatollah Endorsed
Yes
No
North Korea Endorsed
Yes
No
Farrakhan Endorsed
Yes
No
Nation of Islam Endorsed
 Yes
 No

Thursday, February 16, 2012

You Might be a Prepper if.....


Last week, I was running low on tea.  In our family, this is a catastrophe of epic proportions.  We have tea every morning before Sir Knight leaves for work and every afternoon when he returns.  The tea pot makes its appearance the moment a guest graces our home and whenever we are feeling a little low.  Often, we end our evening with a short pot of gunpowder green tea and a cozy, oil lamp illuminated living room.  The long and the short of it is - we have a tea addiction.

Alarmed when he noticed our almost empty tea canister, Master Hand Grenade said "Mom, can we get tea in a 5 gallon bucket?"  This is not a "normal" statement.  At least I don't think that it is.  And so that got me to thinking -  what other unusual occurrences happen in the house of a prepper?  What follows are a few of the things we came up with.

You Might be a Prepper if......
  • You buy your tea in 5 gallon buckets
  • You know when you've broken into the stored toilet paper because it smells like pickles
  • You know the contents of a bucket simply by the sound
  • The folks at the Mormon pantry know you by name
  • You can cook better with your wood cookstove than you can with your conventional range
  • You have more antibiotics on hand than the local clinic
  • Your 4 year old asks for a pink bug-out bag for her birthday
  • Your neighbors call you instead of 911
  • You can jump-start your 24 volt generator with a 12 volt car battery
  • Your favorite car trip game is "When I bug out, I'm going to take with me....."
  • Your 12 year old daughter instructs a 53 year old lawyer how to properly use his AR-15
  • You honestly think closets are for food
  • You let your dentist know what antibiotics you put your son on to combat an infection (including dosage and duration) and he tells you to call him when you actually need something
  • You know that plastic is not an oxygen barrier
  • You use the acronym EMP in regular conversation
  • You know what a Faraday Cage is
  • You pause Zombie movies in the middle to point out tactical errors
  • You think the movie "Tremors" is a classic
  • Your son's favorite color is camouflage
  • You think you've hit the jackpot when somebody offers you free food-grade buckets
  • You think your lensatic compass is immensely more reliable than your GPS unit
  • Your currently using toothpaste that hasn't been manufactured for 5 years
  • All your food has dates on it
  • You're on a first-name basis with Lehman's Non-electric hardware
And the list could go on and on.  Now, where do I find tea in 5 gallon buckets?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Human Rights for Dummies



The panicked battle cry of Human Rights is permeating our culture.  Legislation is enacted, battle lines are drawn and organizations are formed.  Our country is rife with purported Human Rights violations, just ask the Rainbow Coalition.  We are told that we need more laws, stiffer consequences.  But really, its not human rights those folks are talking about at all, but about lifestyle choices.  And lifestyle choices should have no legal protections.  By making an issue of legislating lifestyle, these people are drawing attention away from the real Human Rights issues.

We do have a genuine "Human Rights" emergency in this country.  We can't write or say what is on our mind without the fear of reprisal.  We can't defend ourselves or our families against evil men with criminal intent.  Our phones, cars and property are no longer protected from over-reaching government.

As I sat thinking about the state of our Human Rights, I realized that we do have a document or two in place that specifically deals with these rights.  They are old but they seem to be well written and perhaps, if we implemented them in their entirety, we might soon put an end to all of our Human Rights infractions.  If these documents were not only implemented, but embraced by lawmaker and citizen alike, our country could, possibly, become a beacon of hope for all of humanity.

Here are just a few excerpts - you may wish to read the complete documents for yourselves.

1)  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.


2)  That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed-


3)  That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

These distinctive "Human Rights" principles came from a little known document called "The Declaration of Independence".  Who knew?

And these, from an even lesser known source (I really had to do some digging to find these jewels!):

1)  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


2)  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.


3)  No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.


4)  The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.


5)  No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.


6)  In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.


7)  In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.


8)  Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.


9)  The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.


10)  The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.


If this isn't the finest "Human Rights" document ever written (other than the Bible itself), I don't know what is.  To think that we have these documents just sitting in our archives while our government disregards them is a grievance of epic proportions.

This is our heritage.  Our very own Constitution is the original "Human Rights for Dummies".  It is time for us to get down to business.  We need to quit paying lip service to these precious pieces of history and start living by them.  We are the people!