Fellow Patriots,
Welcome to the Patriot Express Newsletter (PENL) Edition #75. Thanks for stopping by to spend time checking out the newsletter. Ms. Lucy and I appreciate your time each week.
We hope you had a safe and blessed week. Are you getting to enjoy any of the early morning autumn temperatures yet? We are enjoying mid to low 50s here near the great Smokey Mountains of TN. The afternoon temps remain warm, but the beauty of the mornings is story book for sure. We truly are blessed people indeed. The world offers many beautiful places, but I do believe we must appreciate God’s beautiful creations placed before us. We have so much negative news surrounding our days and it can be over whelming for many. Remember to take a deep breath, close your eyes, and find that positive place around you to be thankful for.
Okay, lets get a little business out of the way for our first-time visitors….
For the newcomers to the website, the foundation of Hope for Survival is my book, by the same title. If you would like to a copy of Hope for Survival – How Food, Water, Shelter, and Security, Could Save Your Life, at this link. https://www.hopeforsurvival.com. All proceeds from book sales goes to charity to support a local foodbank in our region. Thank you to everyone who purchased books.
The basic platform for HFS is this:
Hope for Survival Mission – To help individuals and families get prepared.
Hope for Survival Goal – Help as many people as possible become self-reliant.
The book is a basic framework to get you started in Preparedness, but you should continue to build upon the basic-foundation and processes. The theme, Hope for Survival, is built around the book, with the PENL, the HFS website containing over 390 articles and folders set up for specific topics, online and in-resident training, and Zoom rallies conducted each Thursday evening.
My desire and hopefully yours is to help the individual, the family and team, and the community. Why? Who covers your back while you sleep? Who protects you while you work in your garden or tend to livestock or work on your ham radio antenna? Do you plan to sleep with one eye open? How many tasks on your list requires two or more people?
I want to thank you for your support and continued visits to the HFS website. I want to welcome the new readers to the HFS family and our ongoing mission to be prepared and self-reliant. Help us build the HFS following by recommending or bringing a family member or friend to our effort of preparedness and self-reliance.
TRAINING:
Hope for Survival Podcast – One of the areas HFS provides training opportunities is through the HFS YouTube channel. We currently have about 25 short training type Podcast on the Hope for Survival YouTube channel covering numerous topics of interest to help in your preparedness planning. Consider bringing a friend or family member and check it out. If you like what you viewed, hit “like” and consider subscribing so you are notified when I post something new. The number of subscribers and likes helps me determine trends and where folks spend time. The purpose of the YouTube videos is to get information to you, the preparer.
You can visit the Hope for Survival YouTube page at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxzpwOcydroW96rFBd2Vvw?view_as=subscriber
Thursday Zoom Rallies – HFS continues the Thursday HFS Zoom Virtual rallies weekly. We completed week 23 with a great Zoom meeting. After some weekly news we had a group discussion on the current status of America and the things we are seeing. We covered some preparedness topics and answered questions on the topics. Once the short briefs are completed, we have our weekly “Chatter that Matters” session with the attendees.
If you have interest in attending a Thursday evening “Hope for Survival” Zoom virtual training event please email me at preparedness101@protonmail.com to get on the distribution list for attendance information. This is a great group and platform to learn and build friendships. The virtual conference room access information will not be posted in open on the website for OPSEC reasons.
Moving along …
We must make this brief public announcement to protect the innocent.
Ding, Ding, Ding...."Attention HFS readers..... Opinions shared in this newsletter are just that, opinions, and nothing more. Read at your own risk. The owner and author of this site are not responsible for hurt feelings or thin-skinned readers. I do my best to show restraint and respect to the best extent possible. I take as many precautions as possible and try to remain as nonpolitical as possible, however, there are times when I just can't help but point certain things out. Sometimes we must pull up our spenders and suck it up. Just saying. Stay the course, read what you want, and avoid the rest. Avoid fear porn as much as possible and the day will be okay.) When all else fails… Keep the faith and always have Hope."
Let’s move along …
Breaking News - Justice RB Ginsburg dead at 87. May God bless her soul and comfort her family.
Thoughts for the week –
Ms. Lucy and I had the honor of having dinner with Jager and Mrs. Jager this week. Always a treat and full of laughs. Jager has his own unique style and it does qualify for many laughs. While sharing a great meal we discussed the current state of affairs in our nation and what we think the future may hold. I like to hear other perspectives and opinions because it keeps my mind fresh and flowing with additional perspectives.
Next ...
A short notice opportunity allowed me to cruise over to Tellico Plains, TN and grab lunch and some time with two very special Patriots who happened to be in the area from North, Georgia. It was great to see you again and spend time breaking bread and chatting. Thanks for lunch and the time we had together to catch up and talk preparedness. Amazing how much we covered in a short period of time...ham radios, night vision, security, food preparedness, and team building. It was great. By the way brother Patriot, the song you offered up at the table was pretty good as well. You and Festus just may have a good traveling road act if you ever stop preparing. Thanks again for lunch.
Next ...
The drumbeat grows louder, and the voices grow in numbers; civil war, racial strife, hate, and destruction echoes loudly across any and every media source. Heck, now we are hearing White House voices talking about a Republican Presidential loss would mean Democrats then killing Republicans. We have witnessed two occasions where the anarchist displayed guillotines in the streets. Not that this is new because many of us witnessed stories of guillotines during the previous administration around 2012 time-period. Now I’m not saying these are the same ones purchased back in 2012. I’m seeing topics Festus and I started reading and discussing nearly ten years ago. This week I purposely researched the topic of an American Civil War II and discovered over 17 different main stream and alternative news voices stating regardless of the election results, a civil war looms in our near future. What do you think?
And then we have the other group. One may ask “what is that strange noise?” It is the roar of the many who are snoozing. Taking a nap. Watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island and Gun Smoke and eating Doritos and drinking diet soda. Those who consistently harp and complain about why Trump is not doing this or doing that. Why does he not use the military? Harp, harp, harp. Wining in unison with the other 90% like the world is listening. I share a simple smile and ask, “so what are you doing about it?” I hear a sigh and the words “there is nothing I can do but vote.” The loud buzzer goes off in my head and I think ding, ding, ding, and the words “Houston, we have a winner.” As I feel my blood pressure elevating slightly, I kindly ask the question for the 1,000,000,000,000,000 time, “are you or have you completed any preparedness steps or plans based on how bad you told me things are over the past hour?” Crickets. Silence echoes across the room. Nothing other than the facial skin tone turning red. No consideration to maybe taking steps to be self-reliant during this period and only continued dependence on a broken system.
Not to sound rude, but what part of “you better start preparing your family” don’t people understand or get? Seriously. My point here is the 4th quarter is well underway and folks are still sleeping or playing grab-but on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other devices. What makes this even funnier is the amount of energy people burn arguing and watching videos on Facebook to all the wrongs being conducted against their beliefs.
We must keep a positive outlook and have hope that things will reverse course. The nation is falling apart daily, state by state, city by city, ruthless actions caught on camera knowingly by thugs and misfits knowing they will be released if put in jail. The day is quickly approaching where the help and resources could be no longer available for many.
The doorbell rings, ding-dong, and truly, no one is home. I continue asking “when will people start preparing?” Don't forget, address your personal spiritual, physical and psychological well being. Trust me, those around you will be depending on it.
Next….
We are approaching the last leg of the 2020 Presidential race and if you are like me, you have lots of wonders to many different things. Covid-19 impacts are creating lots of impacting disadvantages and forcing most of the information platforms on to social media. This is being controlled by liberal media organizations, high financiers who control these platforms and their nominee of choice and foreign entities. This controls the amount of positive or negative information allowed to reach the voters. Most who monitor alternative media realize this and shake our heads at all the disinformation stories being delivered and often believed. One of the biggest stories not making the airwaves is in the video below. This information goes beyond the election and more so in the category of treason. This is just my opinion of course. You can watch and decide for yourself.
Next …
I was doing my usual weekly information review and as I listened and read, I stopped to realize how much of the information goes along story lines that surfaced five or more years ago. Many of the topics still being discussed are topics Festus and I learned about during the first term of the previous administration. Even more recent I am being drawn into conversations on topics that I covered in this same platform you are reading now, the Patriot Express Newsletter. I try to offer you information that has been researched, thought out, and discussed before it ever gets put in the weekly PENL. I’m not patting myself on the back, I’m simply making a point that part of this long journey is to read, learn, discuss, and file away topics and information so if you hear it at a later date you will be up to speed on it. The information you learn and retain will help you in the future when you hear it again. How much of this information will you retain and use when you are on your own and can no longer access it? Part of this process is becoming self-reliant.
Next …
When thinking about and building your own security plans for your home or neighborhood, you should always work to push potential threats out to the furthermost point possible. As I covered in several of the classes I offer, security-in-depth planning is designing your plan to keep standoff in your favor to allow your security plan to control the human threats at a distance from your vital resources. Designing your multiple perimeters to push threats in such a way to funnel the threat to your strongpoint. You want to take the threat from a mobile mounted threat to a on foot threat. What do I mean? Facing a threat on foot is much easier to eliminate than the human factor on a mobile platform.
I was talking to a like-minded neighbor about our security plan and specifically this topic. I was showing an example on our draft plan. I showed how to use existing barriers to augment the plan in favor of desired objectives. In the case I was making I used an existing guardrail and the earth that created a wall. My goal in this example is to identify a location to stop any mobile threats attempting to enter the protected area being protected. The mobile vehicle must first pass through a designed serpentine made of downed logs to slow the threat down. Once through this area the vehicle enters a narrow roadway where we can still maintain distance from vital resources and use available resources to your advantage. In this particular area where I believe the final blockage of mobile traffic should be, it is also within the field of view of the Listening Post/Observation Post as well as the assigned sniper in this area. Always take full advantage of all natural and manmade resources available to you. The designed area is an entrapment area for mobile threats. If the individuals depart the vehicle to run, they will have to jump off the side of a cliff or try to climb the very steep hill towards the sniper. The odds are not in their favor. Remember, your goal when devising your security plan is to build the plan around these five factors called the Five D's of security. They are:
Deter – Accomplished through making the objective tougher to enter using obstacles such as physical restraints.
Detect – If deterrence fails, a plan must ensure prompt detection or “early warning” of an unwanted intruder is present. Detection warns of possible immediate danger.
Delay – Includes human and/or physical delays to unwanted threats.
Deny – If delaying fails, denial is paramount until reinforcements arrive. Numerous options can be used to confront the threat.
Defend – If the first four “D’s” succeed you most likely won’t have to implement defend. Defend is the last stand before being overrun or making the decision to bug out. This is why establishing a “cache” is important to survival.
Next …
With all the distractions around us, we must maintain a positive direction forward and keep our preparedness planning on full throttle. I know I drive Ms. Lucy crazy sometimes because my brain is constantly focusing and trying to move the ball forward down the field.
Aside from working on our neighborhood security plan this week, we also fell into a great deal on beef and purchased half a cow. Half was for my sister (already planned for) and the other portion ended up with us. So, we picked up about 225 lbs of black angus beef last weekend at roughly $4.50 per lb. We drove to Virginia to pick up the beef and returned home to start the party. Get out the canner and fire up the stove. Woo hoo. I love it when that toggle is swaying back and forth to the sound of chigga-chigga-chigga until the clock goes ding.
Pints and quarts filled with taco flavored meat, burger, chili, beef stew, and beef broth with beef from the shanks. We didn’t even put a dent in the beef but knocked out about 25 to 30 additional jars for future meals and protein. An investment in to our food savings account. Ms. Lucy worked her back side off for a couple days helping add to our future food plan. Thanks Ms. Lucy for your hard work and time.
I would encourage you to find a good source for beef and keep your eyes and ears open to short notice purchases and take advantage of it. Even if you freeze it, you have it. Many folks who prepare count on their future food source to be dehydrated meals. In this case, protein will be lacking in ways. Use multiple sources of food for your food plan. You can learn more in my book, Hope for Survival or simply ask.
What are you doing daily/weekly to improve upon your preparedness resources and plans?
Next ....
I want to share this with you for thought and pondering. It may apply to you, your family, another family member, a friend, or a neighbor. Regardless, the time is drawing close to potential chaos in our great nation. What is your plan?
“There once was a nation of sheep spread out over many communities and fields. Some of the sheep lived apart from the masses while others lived amongst many wolves. Violence and rumors of violence spread amongst the flocks. Some sheep heeded the rumors and stayed close to the flocks, while other sheep roamed away from the communities to learn the hard way. Many sheep refused to believe the rumors and continued their daily life as normal. No matter how much news was told to the flocks, rams and ewes alike tested their fate to never return. Many sheep would discuss the events and often witnessed the battered sheep return to the flock they still took no additional precautions to avoid the realities they now lived. The sheepdogs would roam the sheep communities and warn the flocks, yet they ignored the heed to be prepared for increased attacks by the wolves. The wolves took notice of the number of sheep that never graduated to become sheep dogs and protectors of the flock. The sheepdogs realized it was not their complete responsibility and hoped each flock would see additional sheep become self-reliant to be its own protector. Over time, the number of wolf attacks outnumbered the number of self-reliant sheep thus leaving the sheepdogs in a dilemma.”
I ask, “how many sheep will graduate to sheep dogs and how many will willingly remain sheep?”
Let us move along…the news awaits us….
Preparedness News –
1. From Hobbit Farmer – Survival Blog – When talking preparedness and specifically different avenues for obtaining food, the topic of gardening comes up. Food, food, food, crickets, crickets, crickets….minimal conversation on the soil you are depending to nourish and grow healthy food. Have you ever considered composting as a source of food for your soil?
2. From VGAG.COM via Women’s Health – A big thanks to our sister Patriot from South Carolina for sharing this spice with the Thursday evening Zoom group. We had a excellent conversation on ways to improve beans and rice with different spices. This is an excellent chart to consider. Thanks again for the submission.
3. From Linda Loosli – Food Storage Moms - https://www.foodstoragemoms.com/10-foods-to-stretch-your-food-budget/ - Another source of information to consider when budgeting your food resources for your food plan. Dollars matter when building your preparedness plans. Make them count in your favor.
4. From Bryan Lynch – Urban Survival Site - https://urbansurvivalsite.com/the-reality-of-survival-it-aint-pretty/ - Wouldn’t it be interesting to take three individuals with different backgrounds in survival and place them in the same survival setting to see how each approaches the objective? Candidate 1 is career special forces; Candidate 2 has no military background but is an Eagle Scout, Candidate 3 has no background but learned his/her survival skills watching YouTube videos. Ready, set, go.
5. From Common Sense Home - https://commonsensehome.com/homesteading/ - If you have never visited this website and you want to learn more on homesteading, animals, gardening, and other key essentials to survival I would encourage you to visit and mark this site.
Other News –
1. From Paul Craig Roberts – Institute for Political Economy - https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/09/12/americas-color-revolution/ - Outstanding article. Everyone should read this theory and give it some consideration. Just saying. In a different world under a different hat, I just may have to agree with the author.
2. From Ryan MacMaken – Mises Institute - https://mises.org/wire/911-covid-19-nineteen-years-permanent-emergency - The author makes some very good points. Even though the current president has not entered the US of A in any new combat roles, the US of A still exist in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world. The US of A citizens live in a state of alert almost daily. Well, those who pay attention remains alert.
3. From Thomas Lifson – American Thinker - https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/09/startling_anonymous_post_from_a_claimed_biden_exstaffer_lays_out_the_alleged_depths_of_his_dementia.html - I don’t know where you stand on this topic, but politics aside and speaking from a human perspective, if the medical suspicion is accurate, one must wonder why on earth the Biden family is allowing Lunch Box Joe to be used like an old dishrag nearing final use for its purpose and then tossed. I have yet to hear any media comment of this being elder abuse. Just my opinion.
4. From Matthew Ehret – The Saker - http://thesaker.is/trump-vs-the-military-industrial-complex-military-coup-danger-escalates/ - Thanks Festus for sending this my way. Excellent article. Well worth the time to read and take in. Of course this is the opinion of the author, however good points are documented in the article to consider. A global transition is taking place before our eyes where the current President is attempting to slow down or stop the war machine of the United States. While a national war still looms, many are still pushing the overthrow of our President in order to keep the Military Industrial Complex in control. There is another argument we could have outside of this article and that is who and how many elected officials line their pockets under this same MIC? They get rich while our youth fights the battles for minimal benefits. Why are those unwilling to work making more from Government aid and benefits than our kids in uniform fighting these same wars and dying on foreign soil?
5. From Julie Kelly – American Greatness - https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/17/silicon-valley-and-team-biden-collude-to-rig-2020-election/ - Are you surprised by this? Is the power of Silicone Valley any worse or powerful than Social Media? Social Media is invisible and reaches the masses quicker. Silicone Valley’s power is through financial dollars. Ahhh, who is a driving force behind Social Media? Silicon Valley?
6. From Wolf Richter – Wolf Street - https://wolfstreet.com/2020/09/15/down-to-earth-aspects-of-the-us-economy-in-near-real-time/ - Excellent article. WS provides some excellent analysis comparing different key financial factors between 2019 to same day 2020.
Drum roll...........
That's all my Patriot brothers and sisters. Stay alert and strong.
Thanks much for your time to read the PENL and hanging with us at Hope for Survival. We all have different desires in news and what we read at different points in our day. Hopefully HFS has provided information to stimulate your thinking and the realities around us. It is important for you to keep your feet and minds grounded as the world continues towards an unknown destination.
Keep the faith and continue doing great things for yourself and others. Keep the emails flowing. Bring new friends and help spread the word on Preparedness. Visit the HFS YouTube page and check out the numerous preparedness videos. Subscribe and hit like. It’s a minimal price to pay for free information. I appreciate you sharing the great things you are doing with your plans and progress moving you forward. Keep charging ahead.
Prayers - Please keep our great nation, our elected leaders, military and first responders in your thoughts and prayers. Please pray for our leadership to find answers and guidance to the problems facing our great nation. I pray for each, and every one of our Patriots. May we all be protected from the growing evils surrounding and attacking our families daily. May we pray for all the blessings and things in life to be thankful about and continued hope for revival around the world. Amen.
Thank you.
Keep charging and have a safe week. Always remember, we are blessed people. Don’t allow the events around us create fear in your life. Build your own self-reliance and focus on hope.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
Comments