Patriot Express News Letter Edition #33

Fellow Patriots,

Good morning!!!

Happy Saturday everyone. Hope your tummy is full and you are with family and friends as the holiday of thanks closes out and the start of the hustle and bustle of Christmas begins.

It was a great week and I hope the same was the case for each of you. It was great talking and hearing from some of you. It is always exciting to read stories how you are advancing your preparedness plans and measures. From projects to build new food storage locations to hunting in the woods alone in heavy rains. You, my Patriot friends are stepping out to demonstrate why you are part of the 5% group and not the 95% group. Keep charging ahead. More to follow...

Ms. Lucy and I thank you for your continued support and taking your valuable time to read the website and communicate directly. Your words of encouragement means a lot and helps put fuel in the drive tank to keep pushing forward with new material and providing a better website. Thank you.

I had planned a shorter version of the newsletter this week but there's so many things going on around us and many constants seem to be gaining steam. I don't mean to be long winded but I want to provide you with topics and information that I believe should be covered. We all have different interest. So, I try to combine multiple topics of interest and news to you. As I often say, take what you want and leave the rest. Keep one foot on the ground and don't let the fear carry you away. With that said... the world awaits us...let's get moving....

(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. Hope to see you on the other side.)

Thoughts for the Week -

Ms. Lucy and I had a great Thanksgiving with lots of family around us over the long weekend. It's always a joy spending time together, watching young cousins grow together and develop personalities as they grow up, likes and dislikes, habits and creativity. We enjoy having them read to us and ask questions about what they are reading. Ms. Lucy is very gifted with children and playing "imagination" with them. It is these children who we do the things we do to try and give them a better tomorrow as adults. It is amazing to hear what they are being taught and not taught in the school system today. These little minds are ripe with energy to learn yet so fragile to what is being fed to them. Without us fighting for them I fear they are walking in to a societal buzz saw with less freedoms to reach for the sky.

We are all different ages here so some may not relate. But, how many of you remember doing the art projects for Thanksgiving back in elementary school years? The colored paper with a turkey outline? Then using colored corn and Elmer's glue to fill in the turkey outline? Wasn't that fun? Doing small skits where we got to act out Thanksgiving with Pilgrims and Indians? Heck, no one even got offended. Matter of fact many parents and grandparents showed up for the schools event to show off "Little Johnny" strutting like the turkey around the pretend camp fire. We had so many freedoms to act out these events and today, things must be altered to ensure no one is offended. The Pilgrims and Indians left the event and political correctness has taken over.

Ms. Lucy ensures our grandchildren get lots of fun and education on the meaning of each holiday when they are with us. She reminds me of my grandmother and how she always stopped what she was doing and would get in the floor and play war with Army men or cowboys and Indians. I have always been thankful for my memories of the time spent with my grandmother. I know our grandchildren will be the same way.

Next ...

I got an email from one of our Patriot brothers who was telling me about being in the woods hunting in the heavy rains. He explained how no one was out and how it sort of defeats the story line of folks running to the hills when the SHTF event happens. He was poking fun at himself over the fact he was sloshing through the rain up and down the hills with no one around. My friend, as funny as it was to read your description, you are showing the example of being part of the 5% who will put in the effort and not allow the elements to deter you from your objective. You and your Mrs. departed Heritage Life Skills 2019 on fire and you have not let up since. From building plans to learning to grow a summer garden and now a winter garden, to hunting in the rain. You are learning and doing along the path to putting your preparedness package in place. These efforts now will make you not just better prepared but also establish you as a leader to those around you. Lead by example.

I often reflect back to my former life. I was stationed in NC at this time of reflection. My skinny arms could hardly hold up the weight of the heavy two stripes on my sleeves. We had quarterly drills where our air wing would simulate generating to launch to an overseas location to defend that location against Soviet aggression. It was normally about 72 hours of 12 hour shifts and fun in the blistering Carolina heat and humidity or else the winter wetness. One particular midnight shift I was posted on the outside boundary of the aircraft parking ramp and my job was to walk from one end to the other and then back. It was about 100 yards from end to end. It was probably Sept/Oct time period and the skies opened up all night. I can still hear my Sgt. Supervisor telling me to make my best effort to keep my rifle and radio dry. I had full rain gear and still was wet underneath. But, keep that radio and rifle dry was the order. Ha. As a young former musician with little discipline at the time, I kept thinking, "why are we out here in this monsoon when the air crews and maintenance all retreated to their duty sections." The lightening was a threat to them. There would be no launching of aircraft on this night. My lesson learned was I was responsible for a part of the plan that was far bigger than me. My objective was to keep anyone or any vehicle from crossing the imaginary line and advancing towards the aircraft. My lesson learned was I was given a task and defined objective to do and regardless of what others may be doing, I was to do this task.

So my Patriot brother, you being out in the rain hunting, alone, sets you apart from others who wouldn't be in the rain to hunt. I kid Ms. Lucy often about the troops standing the DMZ border between South and North Korea. They have been standing the line for over 50 years and nothing has happened. So why stand the line? Maybe nothing has happened because they are on the line. And, the task and objective is defined to stand the DMZ. You defined your task to hone your hunting skills to make you a better hunter and the objective was to be in the woods hunting on that day, rain or shine. You prevailed. Though funny to hear the story you shared, sometimes things that seem insane are often the things that make us stronger and more disciplined.

Next...

One of our Patriot sisters was emailing back and forth with me one evening this week and sharing some of the projects and plans taking place in her household. Her and her family recently relocated to a more rural area from the urban/suburban life style. She has been on fire since attending Heritage Life Skills 2018 where we met in one of my classes. This young lady has no slack in her preparedness planning that includes her father, husband, and children.

Part of our email discussion was on food planning and storage. I shared a plan with her that I will be posting in an article next week. The plan was a make shift box spring to a bed and inside the box spring you can store lots of canned food. The next day I received an email from this young Patriot and attached was a new food storage system for their pantry based on the same concept. Here is the picture and description of the almost completed project.

One rack will hold 4 cases of soup and 8 cases of corn size cans (144 cans - we are building 2...288 cans!). The approximate size is 6ftX32"X4". It's completely customizable. Rotation is a snap (FIFO-first in, first out - as opposed to FILO-first in, last out).

You are rocking it my Patriot sister. Task identified and objective met. Keep charging and check off these objectives as you complete them. You folks are doing awesome. Keep in mind, this family has totally relocated, started a new life, adjusted previous plans to their new area, and still building projects. You make me feel young again.

Next...

One of my Saturday morning rituals before our nation wakes up and before I send the weekly newsletter is to listen to a weekly Podcast by Author and Preparer Glen Tate and his wife and author Shelby Gallagher. Glen is the author of 299 Days for those not familiar. Great 11 book series for Post-Apocalyptic readers. This week they had Dr Bones and Nurse Amy as their guest. They shared lots good information to the listeners but one thing that stood out to me was when Nurse Amy talked about how many preparers they encounter who seems to be lacking basic first-aid and basic medical skills. Even though it is not hands on training, one can get a lot of these skills watching YouTube videos and taking local first-aid classes in your community. One can also go to their Doom and Bloom webpage at https://www.doomandbloom.net/about/ to find additional training information, books, and medical gear for your back packs and bug out gear.

Next...

I was communicating with East Coast Gal over the weekend and she was sharing how she would be out shooting the AR-15 this week. I am amazed at how far she has grown in her preparedness steps. Nine months ago she had a totally different view and outlook on the world. She now owns her own firearm for personal protection, has taken some self-defense classes, writes articles for a preparedness blog, and sees the world through different glasses. Keep it up. I'm proud of your growth and efforts to be self-reliant. I could add more on this list of folks doing great things for their preparedness and self-reliance. GA, AL, SC and NC folks are knocking it out of the park with their drive and efforts. These are folks of all ages seeing the light and realizing things around us just don't seem the same any longer. We all have different reasons for preparing but the ultimate goal is self-reliance in our preparedness and we have that in common.

Next...

I wanted to share this with you. If you read the following quote, at first glance where would you assume it was documented. ""New York City real estate mogul and reality-television personality Donald J. Trump bullied, belittled, and bamboozled sixteen rivals to snag-some said hi-jack-the Republican nomination. His legions of critics, including many Republican grandees, considered the brash billionaire a swaggering colossus of ignorance, vanity, and vulgarity." If you guessed a liberal newspaper or magazine....you are wrong. If you guessed the American Pageant, one of the most widely used textbooks in AP U.S. History Class.. ding, ding, you are a winner. It was only about ten years ago we watched news clips of elementary kids singing classroom songs praising our previous president. Oh how times have changed.

Next ...

Lastly, I wanted to mention an amazing email I received from one of our Patriot sisters who shared what Thanksgiving means to her. She thanked me for my service to our great nation and my constant effort to share, prepare and work helping others to become self-reliant and prepared. But, the thing that was so moving was her personal story of her past and her multiple family members who served this great nation. Her memories from childhood helping her grandmother pick weeds from around the grave markers of those who perished in battle while listening to her grandmothers stories. How she learned to garden and preserve food early in life. It was a way of life for so many. She went on to describe a relationship she and her family shares with a younger German girl who she had a relationship with for several years and how this young lady loved and appreciated America. The young German explained how the soldiers from America had arrived to the shores of Europe and saved the German people during WW II. She explained how this young lady was so appreciative and thankful for America. Yes ma'am, it makes me sad to witness so many Americans who disrespect our nation and flag yet so many who know the history from abroad remember life before America and our allies arrived. Ma'am, thank you for your email and story. It was one of the most powerful and heart felt emails I have received, ever. Thank you for taking the time to email. I know many of you have your own stories you hold and treasure. And by the way ma'am...you are very welcome. Keep the faith and keep charging. We will prevail.

Okay, let's move ahead...

Preparedness News -

1. From Nick - The Prepared - https://theprepared.com/situations/guides/prepare-severe-cold-winterize-checklist/ - Here you will find a wealth of information on many winter survival kits, extreme cold weather gear and taking care of winterizing your home and car.

2. From Richard Douglas - Survivopedia - https://www.survivopedia.com/why-you-need-these-5-tactical-tips-to-survive-a-home-invasion/ - One can never get enough information and input on protecting the home. You are vulnerable in so many avenues a threat can attack. Physical and cyber threats are near the top. Many homes today switched from the key entry dead bolt to the new technology filled Wi-Fi accessed entry where you can unlock doors from your mobile device. The burglar must say "thank you very much." If cyber hackers could hack in to a hospital system and hi-jack a pacemaker five years ago, what makes anyone believe they can't back a simple door lock. How secure would you feel and sleep knowing you are depending on a dead bolt lock that can be hacked?

3. From Jennifer Bell - Bioprepper - https://www.bioprepper.com/2019/11/13/how-to-keep-moisture-and-pests-away-from-your-food-stockpile/ - This is an often overlooked point. What is the point in spending your hard earned money to store food and resources only to lose the battle to pets and rodents before the SHTF ever starts. Set up a plan and when you rotate stock also check the condition around the storage area for possible threats to your supplies.

4. From Sara Tipton - Ready Nutrition - https://readynutrition.com/resources/how-to-get-more-vitamin-d-in-the-winter_23102019/ - How much attention do you pay to these points and factors mentioned in this article? I was talking to a very young gent who is in his late 60s and he shared how addition nutritional supplements changed his life for the better.

5. From Alan - Urban Survival - https://urbansurvivalsite.com/things-for-communities-to-do-after-shtf/ - This is one of the most unspoken topics I can remember. What will be left and who will be around to rebuild society. Do you ever think about it?

6. From Bob Rodgers - Preppers Will - https://prepperswill.com/food-gathering-in-the-wilderness/ - BR offers some good guidance on alternative ways of finding food. Just keep in mind, some of this will be based on your geographical location in the US of A.

Other worthy news from the week ...

1. Jon Stokes - The Prepared - https://theprepared.com/blog/experts-look-for-a-new-north-korean-nuclear-crisis-in-early-2020/ - Things are not going well in talks between the US and NK. The 2020 election is fast approaching and our enemies who hate our President would like nothing more than to splash egg on his face. Never forget, NK is a puppet to the Chinese regime.

2. From Richard Fernandez - PJ Media - https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/be-the-first-to-name-whats-coming/ - Like a volcano blowing its top to relieve pressure from within, the world is erupting from the pressures to survive against repressive laws and governments. There are demonstrations and unrest in Lebanon, Chile, Spain, Iraq, Sudan, Russia, Uganda, Peru, Hong Kong, Iran, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and others. Tick, Tock. Tick, Tock. This is a very interesting article. The story the media is missing.

3. From Daniel Greenfield - Front Page - https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/11/chick-fil-put-obama-and-hillary-supporter-charge-daniel-greenfield/ - Wow. The news just continues to reveal interesting things we didn't know. I will reserve comment until I research this further. Further input was provided by Shane Trejo and can be found at Big League Politics -https://bigleaguepolitics.com/disgusting-chick-fil-a-plans-to-donate-to-pro-lgbt-youth-charity-founded-by-alleged-molestor-priest/ - It is not my place to judge but.....as Popeye would say "hold the pickles" until I learn more about the 2nd place sandwich.

4. From Holly Sullivan - Law Enforcement Today - https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/dont-let-the-medias-terrifying-headlines-about-ghost-guns-fool-you/ - This is a good article and it provides information on "ghost" guns that I was not aware of. And, I did not know that guns produced in America did not have serial numbers before 1968. The new anti-gun chasers phenomena seems to be these ghost guns. Something new and terrifying, however this type of gun has been around for generations. Good read.

5. From Breitbart - Breitbart News - https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/11/20/video-protesters-swarm-berkeley-multiple-arrests-made-ahead-of-ann-coulter-speech/ - and additional information from Rod Dreher at American Conservative - https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/watch-the-intellectuals-berkeley-free-speech/ - If anyone thinks this is going to go away, they are sadly mistaken. This train has gained momentum around the globe.

6. From Paul Craig Roberts - Institute for Political Economy - https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/11/16/impotent-republicans-are-a-joke-the-democrats-dont-take-republicans-seriously/ - Worth the time to read. We know the merry-go-round goes round and round. The problem we can't solve is which direction is the merry-go-round spinning.

Next ...

Stay safe this week. Check your bags and ensure you have your winter gear rotated in to the bag. It is important to check your vehicle as well. Tires, belts, fluids, and overall condition, Mylar blankets and other needed items in the glove box. Just like your back pack, personalize your vehicle in the event you must spend unexpected time in it. It could become your shelter in some unforeseen scenario.

Please keep our fellow brothers and sisters in your prayers. Several folks are battling health issues or dealing with a spouse or family member with major health issues. The holidays are approaching and can be additional stress on top of existing issues. Prayers are powerful and I know these folks would appreciate them much.

Thanks!!! Keep charging and have a great weekend. Hope you found the wishbone and made a wish.

Blessings,

Bravo Echo Out

Preparedness101@protonmail.com