Patriot Express Newsletter Edition #13
Fellow Patriots,
Good morning and a blessed weekend to you and yours. Hope this finds you doing awesome. It was awesome to live another blessed week in this great country. This week's newsletter is loaded with thoughts and information. Hope you find something useful. Thanks for logging on and reading the information provided. This one is a little longer but I have a lot to share. Buckle up.....
Let's get moving...
In House Laundry -
Just a few notes to pass along to everyone. The decision to move the Patriot Express Newsletter over to the website has been successful so far. Thanks to everyone for participating in the change and following the link to the website to continue reading the newsletter. The change has saved several hours per week on my end that I have reinvested in researching and writing articles to post to you. Thank you.
A big thanks to Festus for the article on Flip Phones. I have received several emails from you stating the information it provided will help you make a decision. Especially folks in rural areas who will be impacted when the Flip Phone 2G product will no longer work. The good news is you know now and have a few months to make your decision. Keep senior aged family members in mind and ensure they are aware of this information.
My request to you is bring your friends aboard. Share the website link information. If you have folks who want on the email list to be notified of new web posts and other information, send me their email address and I will get them loaded to receive the same information you receive. Sharing. Learning. Helping. My goal is to grow the website visits and reads per message by another 50 or more by the end of August 2019. I need your help in bringing in new readers. Can we do it? If every person who reads the blog newsletter brings one single reader over the next six weeks, we can do it and more. I can' t offer any kind of McDonalds certificates for your help but I can say "thank you" for helping the site grow.
I'm trying to finish up a preparedness series for children which will be posted to the website early to mid-week next week. Right now the plan is for three web post. This series is for kids and adults working with kids to help prepare the physical and mental aspect of disasters and preparedness. It will be on the main blog page of the website and more specifically under the Blog-More-Preparedness for Children link. I will let you know once it is posted.
Let's move ahead...
(The author and blog site are not responsible for your chuckles and laughs out loud while reading "Thoughts for the Week." Read at your own risk and remember, avoid fear porn and keep one foot grounded. Take what you want and leave the rest behind.)
Thoughts for the Week -
It was another great week in life. Once I wake up and open my eyes and realize I'm alive, it's another great day and everything else is an adventure in the day. Amen to that.
Ms. Lucy and I started the week exhausted from playing Mar Mar and Pap Pap all week with two of our sweet grandchildren, ages 10 and 15 month old. It was such a joy and pleasure having them with us for the week. Amazing little minds and personalities. I was amazed to learn our 10 year old granddaughter doesn't have a history class in school. Maybe they start it later in the education process. Ms. Lucy found a very good animated series that goes through American history. Specifically, Independence Day. Bam, we have a winner. Good job, Ms. Lucy. Our granddaughter loved it and watched it during television time, all week. Next year will be Pap Pap's big "bam" when I break out the Rush Revere books. (wink)
Ms. Lucy does a great job with children in general and especially our grandchildren. She is so blessed with the gift of working with kids. She and our granddaughter made patriotic cupcakes for a little Independence Day get together with some local Patriot families. The cupcakes, red, white, and blue, looked so awesome with our granddaughter holding them in her red, white, and blue outfit. It made it even more special because she now understood the meaning of Independence Day. Amen to that.
Moving on...
It is that time of year when the produce markets are busy with locals stopping for the gifts of the earth and hard labor to bring them to market. I've talked to several Patriots who seem to be having a good year in their gardens and berry bushes. One of my local Patriot buddies passed off some squash, cucumbers, and zucchini from his produce. Good stuff.
During my recent visit with Festus on the mountain he was estimating his blueberry bushes would produce about 30 lbs over the average production of about 130 lbs of berries per season. Don't tell him I said this but I wonder if ol Festus stands in his berry patch, foot tappin...singing the old Fats Domino hit, "I found my thrill, on blueberry hill." I digress...
Next ...
You may have noticed a continued discussion on a series of videos titled Civil War 2.
Part 1 - https://forwardobserver.com/breaking-down-civil-war-2-part-one/,
Part 2 - https://forwardobserver.com/breaking-down-civil-war-2-part-two/ ,
Part 3 - https://forwardobserver.com/breaking-down-civil-war-2-part-three/ .
Part 4 - https://forwardobserver.com/breaking-down-civil-war-2-part-four/
I would encourage you to find time to listen to the four 25 minute videos presented by Sam Culper at Forward Observer. Sam does great work and presents a lot to think about. Good stuff. Personally, I believe the key, again, is you and your self-reliance. This is a great topic that I wish we could gather as a group in a room and discuss this topic in a round table format. I would like to hear your thoughts. I have posted my personal thoughts to the videos on my webpage. Here is the link. https://www.hopeforsurvival.com/post/civil-war-ii-how-will-you-survive?siteRevision=17 Let me know your thoughts once you have watched the videos and read my post. Thanks.
Next ...
One of our Patriot sisters emailed me about privacy and how her family makes all efforts to stay out of the system by using cash and stay off social media. I can appreciate anyone who tries to adhere to this practice. The sad part of this story is if you have a driver's license, they have you. Your DL photo is now your digital footprint baseline. Sadly, it is almost impossible in today's world to stay off the "radar" of the digital powers to be. If you carry a bank ATM card from your financial institution, they have you. Almost every shopping establishment you drive a car in to the parking lot, they have you through security and surveillance cameras reading license plate numbers. Your medical records. Your tax records. Your employment information. And soon, it will all be linked together. Think about this. Let's say you are diabetic and being treated by a doctor and being paid for by health insurance. You go to your doc for blood work and a checkup. You walk in and your doctor tells you the blood results are terrible. He ask a series of questions then pulls up a monitor that shows that you bought a dozen donuts weekly over a 90 day period. You also purchased Twinkies and Ding Dong cakes. Now, if you pay cash, there will be no record unless you use a store discount card. He then shows where, in writing, your instructions had been to avoid these items. The result, your insurance drops you because you failed to follow doctor's guidance to improve your diabetes and blood count. Think about that one my friends. In the very near future, everything about you will be tied together. You really need to read the book I mention below, Technocracy by Patrick M Wood.
Next ...
I was asked, what do I believe is the greatest threat we face today. My answer, "ourselves." Don't focus so heavily on the cause of events but focus on the effects we suffer from the cause. It is important to know the possibility of events and recognize possible trigger points for the events. But, you have no control over the events, right? You do have control over what plans you build and what steps you have taken to survive when the electricity goes out from the ice storm, the flood, the tornado aftermath, the hurricane, the economic issues of our nation... See my point? I know I am repetitive on the beating of the drum. I just can't stress the importance of these steps enough. As you build these steps in your life, you will find your stress level decrease because you are growing to become self-reliant. Let me offer this as well. Years ago when I was starting my preparedness efforts on a larger scale, I really focused a lot on the causes of problems. Not how they would impact me. So, when you hear me continually talk about food, water, shelter, and security, it's because I am trying to save you time because I have been where you are now. That being worried more about the "cause" than how it will impact you. The war is much cooler when we see the jets flying over targets dropping bombs. The war never shows the guys and gals in the mess tent prepping the meals because it's not as dramatic, right? You won't see mess tent drama until the chefs quit cooking and the tent is no longer operational. Many believe it is a given that food and water will be available. My point is it may not be a given and then what will you do. Don't be part of the problem...be part of the solution.
Next ...
What are you reading to improve your plans and preparedness? In my opinion, a very important step in preparedness is reading and learning. We must understand who we are and how we "tick" as a person. Especially when it involves steps and processes to help in what you are doing. If you attended my classes and/or read Hope For Survival you know I believe part of preparedness is understanding what is going on around us. What is going on in your community, state, region, nation and globally. What are issues, laws and events that could impact you and your family? Above everything else, I try to read a book per week. I still read post-apocalyptic books for entertainment and some learning. But I also read to educate myself to improve me, my preparedness, and know to the best I can, what is taking place. Why is our country changing so much so fast? What is the current status of our government's debt and the short and long term impact on my family? What impact will artificial intelligence and the 5G movement have on me, my family, and the nation? These are just a few of the topics I try to educate myself on for self-improvement. Yet, focusing on the four key elements, food, water, shelter and security, remains essentials.
A good example of what I'm talking about is this. One of our Patriot brothers and sisters turned up the efforts on their preparedness since attending Heritage Life Skills In Waynesville, NC b