Ok folks, round two from the Shadow Patriot!

I am here to talk some seriousness now.  I am going to talk preparedness.  No, not the kind where you ring your house in sandbags, dig a moat and import alligators, though if you DO do that, please send me a photo!  I am not talking about the post -apocalyptic zombie preparedness either, but if you go to those lengths you are DEFINITELY prepared.  No, I am talking about preparing at least enough to weather the storm that may be coming.

What storm am I talking about?  Well, any storm.  And not just a really bad rainstorm either.  I am talking about a storm of economic proportions.  And I am not even convinced that it will get that bad, but I fear it will.  And to protect against an economic storm, I am doing a few things.

***Note:  Any products mentioned in this article are strictly for example.  I am not endorsing any particular website or business.  I am also not affiliated with those businesses.

1.  Silver.  Yes, you read right.  Silver.  Honest to goodness, .999 fine silver.  Why not gold you ask?  Good question, and here is the main reason why.  I can’t afford gold.  And if you are not among those making some good chedda, you can’t either.  Silver, on the other hand, is VERY affordable, comparatively.  Did you also know that originally, this country’s money was pegged to silver? It’s true.  Even our symbol for the dollar has its roots in silver ($ is an S and a 1…as in one ounce of silver).  In other words, silver IS the constitutional currency.  More on that in a future post.

2.  Dried food.  Yes, plenty of dried food.  Buy loads of dried beans, they keep forever.  And here is the benefit of them…they are basically nothing but huge bags of seeds.  Yes, you can plant them.  Buy rice, it too keeps forever.  Sugar, coffee, flour, salt…especially salt, dried potatoes, dried milk, etc.  Vacuum seal all of it.  I personally have over 200 lbs of rice.  Ok, that sounds crazy, but think about this.  Food prices are going up, not down.  If you don’t stockpile some food right now, you may not be able to later.

3.  Seeds.  Buy some seeds.  Screw that Food Safety and Modernization Act.  You are making the conscious decision to grow food in your own back yard, on your own property.  If you get sick, it isn’t the plants fault…it is yours.  Home gardening is one of the best ways to “beat the system” by supplementing your food budget with REAL food.  Oh, and did you know you essentially only have to buy one packet of seeds for a given plant?  You let at least one plant go to seed, and all of the sudden you have more seeds!  And all it takes is letting the plant grow, and the fruit of the plant dry out.  Simple….

4.  Canning jars.  You need to preserve what you don’t immediately eat from your garden.  The goal is to preserve enough to last from harvest to harvest.  Once you can do that you are one major step from being self-reliant.

5.  Water.  Since water takes up a lot of space, collecting bottled water in your stockpile may be a little challenging.  But it may be the only choice in more arid climates  In areas that see more rain, a rainwater collection system may be more appropriate.  However, in some locations that is considered illegal, so check your local laws and make sure that if you decide to go ahead and do it, that you do it in a way that doesn’t attract attention.

And, along with rainwater, you might want to consider a filter.  Specialforces.com has a filter that can filter 132 gallons of water.  And it is something the military uses.  Apparently, you can filter just about any water source and make it potable.

6.  Guns.  I know…crazy huh?  But think about it.  You have collected a nest egg of silver.  You have a food store.  You have seeds and a garden.  You have a store of fresh water.  YOU are prepared.  How many others did the same?  Even if you don’t like guns, you can bet that if a person is desperate enough, they WILL try to steal from you.  You will HAVE to defend you and yours.

7.  A robust first aid kit.  I personally went to a military surplus store and purchased a field trauma kit.  Overkill?  Maybe.  The thing had toe tags in it.  But, if the country DOES go into a tailspin and lawlessness rages for a while, you will have peace of mind knowing that you have the tools to help save a life if need be.  And that life may be your own.  I don’t go on long road trips without it.

Now, I can imagine many of you asking why I would go through all that?  What would prompt me to do this sort of thing?  My answer to you is, read the news.  For instance, on the Drudge Report on 2OCT11, the top headlines were:  More than 700 arrested in Wall St protest..., Dozens cuffed in Boston after targeting BANK OF AMERICA..., Protests spread across USA..., Los Angeles..., Chicago..., Denver..., Seattle...  There is no way to look at that other than this country is imploding, and most rational people are just trying to stay out of the spray as the SHTF.  Unfortunately, it is inevitable that people are going to get sprayed.  I would just rather be ready and not need all the preparations than need them and not have them.

Here is what first started me on my path of preparation:  A fish. Seriously.  A smelt.  A one inch smelt…and some stinky lawyers forced billions of gallons of water to be dumped into the ocean that would have gone to crop irrigation.  This fish would NOT be missed if it were to disappear.  The bass and other fish that eat it would simply find another fish to eat.  It provides no environmental benefit by existing.  Maybe it is on its last evolutionary legs and is destined to go extinct.  The greenies just see it as another little life to save.  Now don’t take me for a cold-hearted person, I just look at it like this:  Which is worse, drought or a little fish going extinct?  My answer is, “Bye bye fishy!”  California agriculture is way more important than a one inch smelt.

California is so critical to US food production.  The state produces better than 50% of all fruit and fruit-related products consumed in the US.  Cali also produces 100% of the almonds, pistachios and walnuts consumed in the US…though apparently we are pistachio fanatics because we have to import more than Cali grows in order to satisfy our addiction to those wondrous nuts (I had the pleasure of trying some Turkish pistachios brought back by an aircrew that deployed there…and let me tell you they were heavenly, but I digress).  My first thought was, “Damn.  Food prices are going to skyrocket!!”  Well, two years later, and prices are starting to creep up.  I am not implying that the Cali smelt issue was the reason for the price hike, I am just saying that is what prompted me to start taking preventative measures.

You no doubt have heard of the Egyptian uprisings…but did you know one of the reasons it started was because of bread?  Countries have been hoarding their grain, and importing from those willing to sell it.  Russia is doing it.  China is doing it.  The UAE, pretty much the only middle eastern country that hasn’t had a riot, has fixed the prices on many food items.  This is a global issue.  The only reason it hasn’t hit the US as it has in other countries is because of the huge mark up already present in the price of food.  This is why now would be a good time to start building a food store.  Even better, go in with a few neighbors, because there is safety in neighborhood organization.  Katrina showed us that.  For example, take security.  I cannot find the article, but the synopsis was that the police force was understandably strained, and had to prioritize.  There were a few neighborhoods that had organized themselves and were patrolling on their own and were armed.  Guess what?  Little to no crime in those areas.  Meanwhile, much of the city was being illegally disarmed and crime was rampant.  Those neighbors that banded together give us a model to follow for survival when the SHTF and people are starving because they refused to see the signs.  A huge one will be when food starts to disappear from store shelves.  Finally, you can bet those organized neighbors affected by Katrina also shared supplies and food.

I am honestly shocked and appalled that the government isn’t doing the responsible thing and advocating the equivalent of the victory garden.  So, since we have to be responsible for ourselves, I am advocating that we all plant a victory garden.  Everyone with access to sunlight can grow something.

Bottom line, prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  I don’t know where this country is going, but the direction we are in isn’t pretty.  I would rather prepare for it than be caught off guard.  It took me 4 years to amass my food store, and it never even affected my family lifestyle, though my wife thought I was nuts…at first.  Now with what is going on in the world, she has a sense of comfort and security knowing we will be fine and able to weather the storm that may or may not be coming.

That is all for now!  Shadow out!