Fellow Patriots,
Good morning to all. Thank you for your continued support and time to read, email, text, and visit our website. The motivation is the belief we are helping one person at a time. We never know when the clock will strike zero. If you are not convinced people are not prepared, just watch the video clips and news streaming live from south Florida. Empty stores and folks lined up to buy last minute supplies....because? They are not prepared. Remember 5% vs 95%.
We made it!!! Woo-hoo. Twenty straight weeks. That voice in my head keeps singing "Keep Charging..."
Please continue keeping our fellow Patriot brothers and sisters in your prayers. We have several folks who are battling health issues or dealing with a spouse with major health issues. Prayers are powerful and I know these folks would appreciate them much. Thanks!!!
I would like to welcome our new Patriot readers from Dandridge, TN, Eastern N.C., and North Alabama. Welcome aboard.
With that said... Let's get moving...
Hurricane Dorian
Florida plans for 7 days without power. The shelves are already empty of basics. I stand by my statement: Five percent are prepared and ninety-five percent are never prepared.
Which group are you with?
Be safe.
(Reader advisory - This site, the author/owner and the contents of this site are for reading pleasure only. We are NOT responsible for your feelings, happy or sad.
As always, avoid fear porn, take what you want, throw away the rest and apply to your own preparedness as you see fit. Keep one foot grounded always. Earthly speaking, the only thing we know for certain is how prepared we are or not.)
Thoughts for the Week -
In the world we live today, it is hard to not feel down and bombarded with negative news. Story after story put before us is negative and insulting. It is easy to point fingers and become angry at what we see and hear. Decisions and changes that impact our way of life today and tomorrow. We may even ask "what is real or fake?" I can't speak for you, but for me, I find my solid ground and resolve through my faith. I'm not perfect (ask Ms. Lucy) and I get disgruntled like anyone else. But at some point I step back and remind myself of my beliefs and the understanding that He is in control every second. As humans we like to be in control and know what is next. When will it happen? What is going to happen? We like to surmise and analyze events and what we think will come next. I, like you, wish we had all the answers, but we just don't. This is why I often say "keep a foot grounded, throw out the fear porn, learn, educate, share and prepare. In my book and often in writing I add how important it is to first prepare spiritually, psychologically, and physically. Simply put, don't jump on the cruise to the unknown. Be yourself and keep the faith. A positive attitude can overcome most things in life.
Why am I saying this? I get emails from readers often and I read them all. Every word. And I take to heart what is shared with me. Last evening I received an email from a Patriot sister. I do believe it was the first time she had emailed. She thanked me for newsletter and so forth. Then she told me she had attended a few of my classes at Heritage Life Skills and she shared how she held on to points I made about my strength through faith and how this plays in to the strength of my mind. Controlling my mind to what I take in, keep, file away, throw away, and process now or hold for later. We have to know and understand who we are. She stated how this was the thing she has been working on since the classes in April. I'm truly humbled by her words, but, lifted to know something I said about how I handle things and what I believe may help someone else. I say to you weekly to learn, educate, communicate, and help others. We will not survive these earthly challenges alone. We must have a group or team. But the strength of a group or team starts with how solid each brick is in our wall. That is the goal in the news letters, articles, the book, website and teaching classes. The intent is to help others. One person at a time. One team at a time.
Next...
I think I may have figured out the problem. I was focused on the website and the number of visits vs number of reads. The number of reads dropped 2/3 in a single week for two weeks in a row. Then I emailed everyone and asked folks to email be back to let me know if they had read the newsletter in the past two weeks. I heard back from about 1/3. Last evening I got a message from one of our very supportive Patriot sisters who said she" liked the new format and she even found the website on her own." That didn't make sense to me because I email out notifications to two groups with each posting. She said she had not received emails since Aug 10th Newsletter. So it appears the problem is with the email side and not the website side. Through further conversation she discovered about a two week period where all emails from me landed in her SPAM folder. Thanks to my Patriot sister for her time to investigate this issue. I will investigate same this evening when I get home from my day job. Keeping it simple, unless something drastic happens, I will post a Patriot Express News Letter every Saturday morning. If you don't receive the link from me, simply go to the website and the blog page and you will find it posted.
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A common trend I'm continuing to find amongst like-minded Preparedness parents is the fact they are concerned and worried about their young adult children who choose to not per take in their preparedness wishes. Many refuse, some per take a little bit, maybe to pacify their parents. I don't know. I hear stories of grown children making fun of their parents for being responsible and preparing. I understand the frustration. Then I have to remind myself, long ago I was a long haired know-it-all musician who dreamed of making it on MTV and conquering the world. My liberal father tried to stress the importance of education to me but I knew it all. What did he know, right? It took me a while to understand his point and realize education was important. My point is, if you are in this boat as a parent, don't feel like the lone ranger, because many feel it. Other than buying them a round trip vacation to Haiti or Venezuela, you can only be patient and hope for the best. Don't give up. Leaves crumbs in the hope they follow at some point. Don't give up and keep the faith. Did you know, a recent article in Yahoo Finance by Sible Marcellus, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/these-people-are-most-likely-to-lose-their-jobs-first-in-a-recession-160247635.html, offers that young people, specifically recent college grads will be the hardest hit during a recession because they are most likely the ones to lose their job. This is another reason to prepare and may be an opening to get the door to the mind thinking. Stocking food and water isn't just about EMPs and hurricanes. It's about "anytime" one is hungry and can't put food on the table. When one is hungry they don't care what caused it, they just want food. Another example of the "cause and effect" I speak about often. The pain comes in the effect of the event, which is the cause. A bit of good news is that probably 40% of our readers are probably under the age of 40.
Next...
I recently started and will be continuing more random emails to a select group of individuals with a subject, story, and requesting their input on the topic. Each time I will randomly select roughly ten to fifteen folks on the email list to contact via email and request input. I will then consolidate inputs I receive back and share with the group who provided the inputs and to the overall group. I won't include names of who submitted what response to protect the privacy of the individuals. The topics will range from civil collapse to economic turbulence, EMPs to grid-down, disease outbreaks to immunizations, preparedness priorities to bugging-in vs bugging-out... There are no wrong answers. I try to spread the ten choices out between states and regions, age groups, professions (best I know) and experience in preparedness (based on what I know of the individuals). I will try to do at least one of these per month. The request will come via email to the chosen participants. If chosen, I hope you will play along and participate. The goal is to get input and then offer the information to everyone else so learn from the information. Remember, the goal here is read, share, learn, prepare, communicate, and help others to be self-reliant and hopefully build your own teams in your areas. I will give each person contacted roughly one week to get a response back to me individually to consolidate. If I don't hear back from a chosen person I will move on and take it the person isn't participating, which is fine. No harm no foul. I will let you know through email that I have posted the "Monthly Challenge" by sharing the topic, content, and responses.
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I received another great suggestion from one of our Patriot Sisters who emails me often with good stuff. Thank you ma'am. She has suggested arranging a recipe sharing method so folks can share and collect recipes for during and post SHTF periods.
So, to do this, I have set up a page on the Hope For Survival website titled Recipes. Each recipe I receive will then be moved from email over to the webpage. The folder title under the blog is Recipe. Here is the link: https://www.hopeforsurvival.com/blog/categories/recipes?siteRevision=17
I can go on the web and find lots of recipes so I hope the ones submitted are maybe a personal favorite or a family recipe passed down over time. Maybe recipes from the depression era? I will hopefully pull Ms. Lucy in to this project since she is the master chef around our home. Last week she used a pint of 2014 canned seasoned pork and a pint of green beans with some bacon grease added. She included some cauliflower mashed potatoes as well. Yum, yum. Good stuff. Needless to say Charlie Brown (Me) was a happy camper. So, if you want to submit a recipe just email it to me. Make sure you tell me if you want your name included on the recipe. If not, either tell me a pseudo name you go by or to leave blank with no name. Ms. Lucy has been working on another multifaceted project for us the past 60 days so her time has been filled. She may need a vacation to recoup before I put in another request. LOL
Next...
A few weeks ago in one of the Patriot Express Newsletters I asked if anyone had interest in possibly setting up a Skype type chat group to possibly connect on a given evening of the week or weekend for maybe an hour to communicate, ask questions, get help, or share information. I didn't get any responses back. So I will try one more time. If I get no responses I will take it no one wants to chat or communicate. Either way is fine. I'm just trying to offer another means of connecting folks who may be in the same area as another and not know it. We currently have two groups meeting and communicating and it is based on individuals who attended Heritage Life Skills 2018 and through signing up for my email letters I have been able to connect them so they can build from it.
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The Wall Street Journal/NBC published an interesting poll that was conducted over 21 years when Americans were asked which values were most important to them and the majority responded that "principles of hard work, patriotism, commitment to religion and the goal of having children" were critical. Now, today, "hard work remains at the top of the list, but the shares of Americans listing the other three values have fallen substantially. Patriotism fell 9 percent, religion fell 12 percent, and having children fell 16 percent." Personally, I would be curious to see the same poll conducted in the late 1960s. I bet we would see a comparison. Reading this story takes me back to the man who changed my life, President Ronald Reagan, when he said " "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
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Well, I suppose we need to get the presses rolling forward.
Next -
Just "Sayin" of the Week - From Tess Pennington - Ready Nutrition - https://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/how-you-train-your-mind-will-either-make-or-break-you_08262019 - Can you hear the drums beating? My feet jumping up and down as the teacher to get your attention? LOL The clouds are rumbling and the lightening cracking. Of everything I have tried to share with others, this is the most important. I spent extra time in my book, "Hope For Survival" discussing this topic. I've recommended different books and individual websites to learn more on this topic. What am I talking about? Think outside the box. Conduct Risk Analysis, Know how you will react to situations. What makes you tick? How do you handle stress? Do you panic or lose control when you see blood? Can you manage your attitude? Are you self-reliant? Can you predict how you will react? We are human and we all suffer a degree of stress, failure, let down, and emotional distress. The key is how do you respond afterwards? When I conduct Active Shooter Training for employees I hammer home the point "we react how we train." Your brain is the most important tool in your tool box. Know it. Learn it. Train it. Train it again. Train it so much you can predict how you will react. Stress is a killer. So is not knowing yourself and training yourself to make good decisions. (Deep breath). When sirens blare out and something is happening. Those who have a trained brain and a plan run away from the sirens and event. Those who do not, run towards the event with their phones out to record the event. This is the 5% and 95%. Attitude can make the difference. I rest my case. Just saying...
Article of the Week - From Allum Bokhari - Breitbart News - https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/08/26/fast-company-silicon-valley-is-building-a-communist-style-social-credit-system/ - If this sounds crazy, it's not. And if it doesn't sound familiar, you probably aren't reading enough news or you haven't been following the Patriot Express News Letter close enough because I have been sharing this topic, except in China. This is pretty much a replica of the Chinese system that is being used today. I have posted numerous topics in this area, to include Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, 5G and others, yet no one wants to be aware of it or even read it. My fear is this is going to walk through the front door and bite many citizens in the behind. They aren't even trying to sneak up on us. Still don't know what I'm talking about?
Here is an excerpt to the point... The "social credit" system assigns all Chinese citizens a "social credit score." A citizen's score drops if he engages in a range of disfavored activities, ranging from littering to supporting political dissidents. Citizens whose score drops low enough can find themselves subject to strict punishment, including bans from the use of public transport, exclusion from top jobs, and prohibitions on their children attending top-rated schools and being evicted from their homes and apartments buildings. If you have a friend who tells you about doing something wrong and you don't turn them in, you get the same punishment. Welcome to the new world my friends. Here is a link to get you in the door on the Chinese Social Credit System - https://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4
Now ask yourself, why would Silicon Valley be developing this program and for whom? Here is an excerpt to the point... The "social credit" system assigns all Chinese citizens a "social credit score." A citizen's score drops if he engages in a range of disfavored activities, ranging from littering to supporting political dissidents. Citizens whose score drops low enough can find themselves subject to strict punishment, including bans from the use of public transport, exclusion from top jobs, and prohibitions on their children attending top-rated schools and being evicted from their homes and apartments buildings. If you have a friend who tells you about doing something wrong and you don't turn them in, you get the same punishment.
Welcome to the new world my friends. Here is a link to get you in the door on the Chinese Social Credit System - https://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4 Now ask yourself, why would Silicon Valley be developing this program and for whom?
Product of the Week - From Wal Mart.Com - EverSt art 750 Watt Power Inverter -
If you do not have a generator handy or if you need electricity to an area a generator can not be located, This small component can be hooked to a Marine battery to power a small fridge or lamp or portable heater under 750 watts. The time available will depend on your battery and it's charge.
This concept is simple. No fuel is required and it fits in to small or tight spaces. It is noise free which is great.
When the time comes to recharge your battery, a solar blanket does the job. The length of time required to charge is dependent on the size of your solar capability and available sunlight to charge the battery.
You can buy 1,000 watt converter for
about $90.00.
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Preparedness News -
1. From Barry Brownstein - Foundation for Economic Education - https://fee.org/articles/google-is-burying-alternative-health-sites-to-protect-people-from-dangerous-medical-advice/ - So much for the free ability to research and decide for yourself what medicine will do to you or what treatment you may decide to choose for a loved one. I remember years ago learning of a Doctor named Lorraine Day who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was a trauma doctor at UCLA I do believe. She was sent home to die. Her and her husband developed a treatment using natural juices from vegetables and fruit and she nursed herself back to health and rid her body of the cancer. She spoke out against chemotherapy and was soon black listed and her credibility destroyed. She was cancer free by her own freedom of choices and educating herself on alternative methods. My point is she opted and educated herself on alternative methods. One would believe a personal choice would apply huh?
2. From Prep School Daily - https://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/ - This is a topic I rarely hear addressed. Should you or shouldn't you take Iodine tablets during a nuclear event or any event exposing you to radiation? What say you? Personally, I stocked radiation tablets in my preparedness gear as well as a Geiger counter. Simply prevention. BTW, this website has some great info on alternative and conventional medicine.
3. From Ready Nutrition - https://readynutrition.com/resources/how-to-make-all-natural-homemade-ginger-ale_25012015/ - I don't know about you but ginger ale really helps me when I have a upset stomach. I also enjoy it as beverage from time to time. I have not tried this recipe though.
4. From Lars Williams - Survival Life -https://survivallife.com/sound-protection/ - While this article talks about sound exposure, pros and cons, which is excellent to understand and know, I would also suggest understanding sound and how to use it as a friend or foe because it could be the difference in life or death. Imagine hearing a squad (12) or two moving through the woods towards you. You could hear a few vehicle engines approaching and maybe even a drone or two. You are the only person standing guard in your Listening Post/Observation Post (LP/OP). You feel the hair on your arms standing up. You are about to be overrun as you reach for your radio to alert other security members and personnel asleep. A decision must be made to rush to pre-established fighting positions or initiate the bug-out extraction plan. What you may not know is your approaching adversary is using sound tactics against you. What do I mean? It may be two to three individuals broadcasting pre-recorded messages via a portable back-pack speaker to scare you or to force you to show your cards. The actual squad may be approaching your secure location from three other sides while you attempt to defend a single side. Believe it, it works.
5. From Pioneer Settler Contributor - Homesteading -https://homesteading.com/16-cool-homesteading-diy-projects-preppers/ - You can find some great steps and/or ingredients in this one. Curing ham. Building a wind powered water pump. Making homemade vinegar. Canned pickles. Building a rocket stove.. and more.
6. From Tricia Drevets - Urban Survival - https://urbansurvivalsite.com/projects-for-preppers/ - This is a great article to print in your paper library or save to a flash drive if digital. Anything and everything to assist you in your improvement measures.
Other worthy news from the week -
1. From Tyler Durden - Zero Hedge - https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-26/why-are-russian-special-forces-training-american-assault-rifles - Why not? If you are on the battle field and you find a foreign weapon on the ground or your eliminated target, wouldn't it be better to pick it up and know how to use it than leave it behind for another to pick up and use against you? One is none and two is one.
2. From Martin Armstrong - Armstrong Economics - https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/economics/the-true-nature-of-socialism-exerting-power/ - Very well said by Martin. Wouldn't it be awesome to hear a person from the debate panel ask the question to one of our government servants who push socialism...."Since you have been a product of the taxpayer your entire life, and you have never built anything in your life, yet you are now worth millions, will Socialism make all of us wealthy like you, sir/ma;am?"
3. From Brandon Turbeville - The Organic Prepper -https://www.theorganicprepper.com/protests-hong-kong/ - Interesting perspective. I think since President Trump made his comment last week about stopping the protest if China wants to return to the negotiating table. Could the protest be political from the outside? It certainly wouldn't be the first or last time.
4. From Ryan McMaken - Mises Institute - https://mises.org/wire/if-deficits-are-huge-now-what-happens-when-recession-hits - Debt, debt, and more debt. When I read this article it reminded me of a friend who has lots of education, in finance as well, who always says "don't worry, printing more money is not a problem and the debt can be extended to eternity." Huh? Absolutely no worries of the debt or who will pay for it. This mindset is dangerous but it does exist and not just with him. The conservative party appears no longer conservative. Since the year 2000, the Republican party has occupied the Oval Office ten of eighteen years roughly. The national debt in 2000 was $5.62.84 trillion dollars. That is roughly 76% of the Nation's Gross Domestic Product. From 2000 - 2008 under President Bush, the debt rose from $5,62 trillion to $9.98 trillion. During the President Obama era the debt rose from 10.63 trillion dollars to $19.4 trillion. Today we are nearing $22 trillion dollars. I'm not throwing rocks, I'm simply stating this as a tax paying American. No, you can't print your way out of the financial problem we face. And to this date, no. The tax paying Americans move along with their life and do not hold their elected officials accountable for the debt.
5. From Michael Snyder - End of the American Dream - http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-fighting-dramatically-escalates-as-both-sides-prepare-for-the-final-war-between-israel-and-iran - I don't know how many of you are following recent and ongoing verbal threats passing back and forth between Iran and Israel but it is escalating. So much so, in the past few days it has moved forward with drone attacks. Iran responded with the threat of destroying the Israel Prime Minister. The question I have is will Israel draw the United States in to deal with Iran?
6. From Tyler Durden via Wilder, Wealthy, and Wise Blog - Zero Hedge - https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-27/american-civil-war-4-fates-founding-fathers-freedom-soviet-style-tyranny - This is an excellent read. I was recently called out by a former reader, a Democrat. The person is a very nice lady and I respect her position and point. Simply put, I have nothing against a person who is a Democrat. Heck, every member of my family are registered Democrats. My problem is with their ideology. Our current path didn't happen overnight. It was planned and initiated long ago. But regardless of the day and year, Freedom has never been free. The following quote reminds me of the era it was stated when I was a long haired non-caring liberal. Shortly after this quote was stated in the historical comedy "Animal House," my brain engaged and life changed. The quote said "Did we give up when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor? No!"
7. From Mac Slavo - SHTF Plan - https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/new-poll-70-of-americans-are-angry-at-the-political-establishment_08262019 - I simply ask, "have you stopped to consider who represents you and your values in Washington DC?"
8. From the New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/world/asia/china-linkedin-spies.html - As much as we like social media and the convenience it offers, as time passes we are finding out more and more how it can and is used as an enemy of the state.
9. From John Whitehead - The Rutherford Institute - https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_american_gulag_brick_by_brick_our_prison_walls_get_more_oppressive_by_the_day - Mr Whitehead makes some good observations in his weekly article. He always offers points we often take for granted.
10. From Tyler Durden - Zero Hedge - https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-28/new-lip-reading-cctv-will-have-people-cupping-hands-over-their-mouths-public - So the eyes and ears of technology see us, watch us, track us and now listen to us and read our lips.
11. From Mac Slavo - SHTF Plan - https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/the-social-security-ponzi-scheme-is-crumbling-massive-cuts-or-tax-hikes-coming_08282019 - Remember about fifteen years ago when then, Former President George Bush warned the American tax payers may want to consider supporting privatizing the Social Security program? I would bet on massive tax hikes in this scenario. This would be ugly under any Capitalist or Socialist platform. Isn't it funny how many politicians grow extremely wealthy when they go in to government service, they bankrupt our nation, tell us how to manage our money, then take more of our money to pay the debts they create under their ideology? And the people keep electing them. Imagine that.
12. From Dr. Andrew Schiller - https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/highest-murder-rate-cities - Check out these numbers. This is for 2019, so far. These numbers are based per capita
which established how they ranked. So look at the total number of murders.
Okay my Patriot friends, stretch your arms, legs, and brain. The Patriot Express must move ahead. See ya next Saturday. Thanks for your time to check out the weekly paper.
Stay safe this week. Things are getting crazier and crazier around us. Dust off your plans and adjust accordingly.
Keep charging. Have a great weekend
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out
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