Greetings and welcome to the Patriot Express Newsletter Edition #242.. Welcome to Hope for Survival. Thanks for stopping by to share your time with some weekly preparedness news. I hope you enjoyed a blessed holiday and long weekend for those who get to enjoy one. Just think, now you get to pull out all the Christmas boxes and started watching Hallmark's Christmas movies where you know how they all end.
Ms. Lucy and I had a great Thanksgiving with a house full of family and lots of food and activities. When the grandkids visit, Ms. Lucy has all kinds of activities planned and a few opportunities to teach and show our grandkids good will to others. We always look forward to these times together. I hope you had the same opportunities.
The world hasn't changed and things are still crazy, however we must have the will power and ability to turn it off and count our blessings each day and make the most of what is put before us. We are thankful for each of you and consider the HFS Patriots our family as well.
Remind me to tell you about the pulled finger cake smothered in cinnamin goo. Yum, yum.
Let us move along....
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Hope for Survival books and HFS Thumb Drive for Emergency Documents -: You can obtain information on the two HFS books at this link: Survival, Preparedness, Disaster Management for individuals or family (hopeforsurvival.com)
Hope for Survival - How Food, Water, Shelter, and Security Could Save Your Life (Book 1)
Hope for Survival - The Mindset (Book 2)
HFS Thumb Drive for Emergency Documents - We just restocked the HFS Thumb drive and have them available now. Follow this link and you will see the add at the top of the page. Blog | Survival (hopeforsurvival.com)
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 is 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. Occasionally I use words only Patriots recognize and understand. It's not personal against any non-Patriot. It's just the truth. 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 and get to some thoughts...
Thoughts for the week -
I want to share some thoughts directly to you, from me. Throw the gear aside and let me ask YOU a question. Do you mind? How well are you prepared? Have you asked yourself lately? If you wake up tomorrow and the world has stopped and you are on your own, how will you handle it? No electricity. No running water. No cell phone or internet. Heck, your car won't even start. Are you ready?
You may be looking at your computer screen or phone siltenly saying "oh no, here he goes again" or "why does Bravo Echo keep asking the same question?" Well, I promise you I do not have a list that I cylce through and then start over. I promise you there are many topics I oculd write about. But, none are as important as the one I am ask you now. One of the biggest concerns I have is trying to get the point across to every likeminded preparer they need to do an initial risk assessment of their mind and how they how they process thing and then continue to exercise and assess how they handle task, stress, events, life changes, and major decision-making.
Our brain is the most powerful resource we have. Agree? How we train, condition, and use it making the most important tool we have in our toolbox. Yte we are conditioned as humans to do x, y, z as taught and call it conditioning training. We buy all kinds of equipment for the "just in case" disaster type event. I believe in many minds of people who prepare, there is still the silent voice that say's "it will never happen." We all hope it will not happen. But why buy a tuxedo and keep in your closet for your wedding if your mindset is you never want to get married?
I believe our lack of training with our gear and equipment today, right now, possibly hampers our creativity and ability to do tasks outside of mental exercises. We convince ourselves we can do the tak so why worry about it. Can we? Some of us lived the life with years of military life, training and deployments. We grow older and our bodies slow, but mentally we should still be able to handle psychological things for the most part.
Let me elevate the point. Have you ever turned off the power and lived 72 hours to one week with no electricity? I mean no generagors, no solar power, nothing. Have you tried it seasonal to where you can experience all seasons if your location will allow it. No status, no money, no credit cards, nothing. You are not just dealing with your own emotions and abilities. You now have you family member and/or team member to deal with.
As time passes and the electricity does not return, tensions increase when folks realize the circumstance is the same and life, as they knew it has deteriorated beyond recognition. How will your mind grasp this reality? When you witness the first, second, fifth, tenth, and beyond, starving child, how will you react? What will your response be after going 30 days, 60 day, or longer, with no electricity and you witness friend who are starving? They are killing each other for a bite of a dead animal found in a ditch? Gross, huh. a starving mind is a different tool from the rested and fed mind.
No electrcity x no fuel x no trucks x no transportation x no resupplied resources x no food x = starving humans = starving families = starving towns/cities = total chaos.
This is the bottom line point that alarms me for a high percentage of folks who prepare. Being or seeing a starving human is an absolute game changer for everyone else. Seeing it is one thing, dealing with it is another. You are dealing with the human factor as well as the reality the trucks have stopped and all the needed resources to live are no longer available to you, or anyone. Everyone is looking for the same thing. Food. Here in America, even theclass labeled poor, lives better on the scale compared to the poor in many third world nations. I can tell you from experience, seeing the starving children with bloated stomachs and flithy bodies certainly will affect the human psyche. We are truly a privileded clas of people living in America. Imagine waking up each morning knowing you must go search for some form of food just to survive the day. Now realize everyone around you has the same challenge. Everyone around you will be a threat to your life. Not eating is a threat to your life. The breakdown of the human mind and body due to nutritional loss is a threat to your life. Starving animal around you is a threat to your life. Depending where you live, the weather may be a threat to your life. The person(s) who controls the food and can protect it from the starving masses will be king for the day.
Years ago, back around the year 2000, I was returning from my 30-month tour of duty covering Eastern and Western Europe, part of Africa and the Balkan region. I remember flying to Fort Walton Beach, FL, to my next assignment at Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command. I would be the new Command Superintendent for Anti-terrorism. I felt like I needed to be a human megaphone to announce to those around me what was coing towards the United States in the form of terrorism. No matter how I tried to spell t-e-r-r-o-r-i-s-m to those around me, it was not real to them until 911. They had to see it and witness it. The description fo a movie is only a description until you see the movie. Then you decide if the movie was as good as the person telling the description. People had to witness what I was trying to tell them. In ways it is like standing and looking in to a pool of dark water. It is only as deep as the imagination will allow one to imagine it, until it is experienced.
In the recent past, trying to educate people to the vulnerabilities of our national grid and the threat our national debt holds over our head has been difficult. I would say one out of every fifteen people gets it. You decide for yourself. Conduct this exercise in your own life and home then decide if you can survive. Here i the test. First, you have to be honest and you cannot cheat. Fist bump swear.
Okay,....ready....set....GO. Go straight to your breaker box and turn off your power. Then go straight to the street and turn off your water. You CAN NOT go shop to buy or stock food. You MUST conduct this exercise based on what you have right now. Remember, FEMA and the Federal Government recommend you have a 7 - 10 day supply of food and water on hand at all times. Can you pass this phase of the test? This is the basic requirement. If you are a real "preparer" then you should be well beyond the 7 to 10 day level. Right? Now consider this, you are simply trying to survive with no electricity or water provided. You are trying to survive with what you have. Are you stressed yet? Are you hot/cold yet? How are the field showers working out for you and your family? Are you tired of the drastic change to your life? How, realize this, this is just you adjsuting to the drastic lifestyle change. This has not even introduced all the threats around you yet. This does not include YOU having to leave your home daily to go find food and water. This does not include bloated bodies around you. Think about that. If the simple test of eliminating utilities makes your life hard, how will you handle the rest?
So let's be level here and honest, why are so many like-minded individuals caught up in the news phase of government level turmoil and like to be considered a preparer yet can't move past the news phase. I would bet 9 of 10 in this category will run out of food before they realize they are in trouble. They repeatedly know something is wrong yet show now movement to overcome the problem. Not an insult, simply the truth. It is a personal choice and I cannot change it for individuals. I feel I am being dishonet if i do not continue to sound the alarm and give every person the information to get prepared.
Maybe it is analysis paralysis - the normalcy bias.
Much of the problem appears to be normalcy bias or the ostrich effect. Some may say it is the incredulity response and analysis paralysis. Truthfully, I'm blown away by the high percentage of intelligent Americans who are caught in this trap for long periods and fail to realize it or accept others pointing it out. In situations of danger, some people enter a mental tate known as normalcy bias. This is when people deny that what is happening to them or even taking place. The normalcy bia can affect people who are under threat or persecution. Documented studie of Hurricane Katrina reported this to be the case. There are many documented cases from the battlefield also. Folks who suffer economic strife personally or in a regioncan suffer normalcy bias. The normalcy bias has severe consequences. When people fail to face the facts of an imminent disaster such as financial crisis, or act to protect their loved ones or their assets from dangers that might be developing around them, the negative effect that the disaster ha on them is much greater.
People who face the situation early and start taking measures to alleviate the impact that the disaster has on their loved ones and their assets are more likely to survive the disaster and even, in some cases, benefit from it. How we train is most likely how we will play or react to the event. Doing scenario drills in your mind for every conceivable situation is a great mental exercise. When possible, physically do the same exercise and see how it varies from the mental exercise.
It will never happen. This form of normalcy bias comes from people who have never had a situation happen to them before. They use the fact that an event has never happened to justify their belief that it will never happen. As an example of the ostrich effect, think of a country that has never experienced a weather disturbance such as a hurricane or typhoon. Some persons living in a country that has never had a hurricane, typhoon or tsunami would find it hard to believe that one could hit their country.
Here is another point we all must remember. Analysis paralysis can happen at every level. Just look at Katrina. The local government failed the people and many supporting agencies failed to imagine any disaster to reach the magnitude of Katrina. Persons affected by the normalcy bias might take inaedequate preparations in terms of emergency food, emergency shelter, or emergency medication, even after warnings about a possible hurricane, usunami, or other weather disturbance that could have disastrous consequences. I have found that most people who live with normalcy bias also have zero preparedness steps completed. Then again, why would they. Nothing is going to happen or else the government will take care of me. They can spend hours watching national news showing disaster areas where folks are homeless. They shed tears for the people on the screen yet wil not give a second thought to the fact it could be them. Pass them the Twinkies and they will tell you life is good.
How can we improve on analysis paralysis? Do you remember the other drum I like to beat? Risk Analysis and Assessment? Analysis paralysis cab ne beat with the following approach to dealing with an emergency or unforseen event. Try these three steps:
Face the facts
Check through possible options for dealing with the disaster
Choose the best option and take action immediately
The severity of what I am talking about on a large scale will not be easy to adjust or accept. How we overcome any analysis paralysis is strictly up to us. We must face the facts, quickly checking through possible options for dealing with the disaster, choosing the best option and taking action immediately, can save lives.
Just remember, how we train our brain to facts and realities today, possible changes and future realities tomorrow, will most likely be our best path forward. Learning to recognize and adjust to changes no matter the severity will benefit us a great deal. Think outside the box and always remember, what may seem crazy today could be reality tomorrow. Will you be left of bang when this happens?
Preparedness - With the current threat of terrorist cells across our nation, for me, the first and immediate through that comes to mind is our power grid. We can discuss the electro magnetic pulse (EMP) threat, a cyber hack, or controlled grid take down, but the grid down scenario is real and most are ignoring it. Here is a very good discussion on the grid and the looming threat to the grid between Canadian Prepper and Jonothan Hollerman of Grid Down Consulting. Excellent information for those who listen closely to the message from JH.
Stay safe.
Preparedness News -
1.Preparedness News - The Prepping Guide - How to Start a Fire With a Battery (thepreppingguide.com)Â - Good information. Curious if this would work with a lithium type battery, or not.
2. From An American Homestead - Registration leads to confiscation - https://youtu.be/zQnctgCdaWA?si=74hS65ma-z2HvW1w
3. From Linda Loosli - Food Storage Moms - Preparing for Winter: Emergency Preparedness Checklist - Food Storage Moms - Excellent information and guess what, winter is hear.
4. From Tod Walker - Golden Sherpa - Survival Sherpa | Helping each other on the climb to self-reliance and preparedness…the Survival Sherpa way…One step at a time. (wordpress.com) - I don't know if you have noticed but we are experiencing a big increase in the number of preparers wanting to learn about alternative medicines.
Other News -
1.From Andrew Harnik - All Sides - FBI accused of targeting Trump types; agents who served in military deemed ‘disloyal’ | AllSides - Several years ago I was summonted to meet a guy in the woods away from all devices and eyes. The man I met told me pretty much what this article states. He went broader stating Patriots who love the constitution are no longer welcomed in America.
2. From Ryan McMaken - MisisInstitute - Fewer Americans Are Interested in Fighting Wars for the Regime | Mises Institute -Hmmm, after nearly 40 straight years involved in wars its no wonder. (Thanks Festus, for this submission)
3. From Tyler Durden - Zero Hedge - Boeing Expands Missile Factory To Support America's Endless Wars  | ZeroHedge - Broke? Never when justifying expenditures through the "threat" of national defense. (Thanks Festus, for this submissions)
4. From Eric Lendrum - Amercan Greatness - FBI and CDC Criticized Over Mishandling of Secret Chinese Lab in U.S. › American Greatness (amgreatness.com) - Move along, nothing to see here. Just because you pay their salary doesn't mean you need accountability.
Prayers - Please keep our great nation, our elected leaders, military and first responders in your thoughts and prayers. We pray for good health and wisdom. Please pray for our leadership to find answers and guidance to the problems facing our great nation. May your faith remain strong and answers to the unknown provided. God is good and may our prayers blanket and protect you and your circumstances. I pray for each, and every one of our Patriots.
Please continue prayers for our Patriot sister who had successful surgery yesterday and now enters her recovery stage. Please pray for our Patriot brother in Western N.C. who was recently diagnosed with a form of skin cancer. Please pray for our Patriot brother in Western N.C. who has completed cancer surgery and roughly 3./4 of his post surgery treatments. We pray for his recovery and immune system. Please pray for our Patriot sister in Western N.C. while she awaits answers for her heart issue. Please pray for our Patriot brother in Kentucky who underwent a second surgery to replace a rod in his leg caused by a vehicle accident on his final night of work going into retirement. Please keep our Patriot sister in central Alabama in your prayers as she recovers from recent eye surgery. We pray for all who will be traveling during the holidays.
May we pray for all the blessings and things in life to be thankful about and continued hope for revival around the world. We must continually pray for the unsaved, our family and friends who live each day without the protection for eternal life and salvation.
As Patriots we must stay strong and never give up. Our home, community, and nation need us now more than ever. Stay focused on your local community and things that will impact you around the nation. Don't allow the events around you to create fear in your life. Build your own self-reliance and focus on faith and hope. Remember we are a blessed nation, and we must continue to be great people today and make a better tomorrow. Keep charging.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
