Patriot Express Newsletter Edition #50
Fellow Patriots,
Good morning!
Thanks everyone for stopping by to read this week's Patriot Express Newsletter Edition #50. Can you believe we will soon hit the 1st year anniversary for Hope for Survival? What a year it has been so far.
I’m not sure what your week was like or how your day has started. Grab some coffee or hot tea and relax for a few. Ms. Lucy and I appreciate you and your time. Even though I can’t see who grabbed the last bagel, don’t worry, we have more to offer. Enjoy!
This edition will be a tad longer. I do take your time here into consideration each week when putting the newsletter together. I try to keep it on the short side as much as possible. There is a lot of things I want to share with you in regards to a picture bigger than Preparedness. These things will be under my “Thoughts for the Week.”
I posted a new Podcast for your enjoyment. As time permits, I will try and post short training type videos to help assist folks with some basics of Preparedness. Security, Communication, Water, Shelter and such. I posted a 30-minute video last evening on Security-in-Depth planning. It is a basic framework for things to consider. You can apply it to apartment life, condo, suburban or rural areas. Check it out when you have time. Subscribe to the site if you desire. Bring family and friends. Here is the link to the podcast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anpuYiAZx38
I need to mention a couple of items really quick before we go find out which hole the rabbit is hiding in.
If you visit the website regularly and you are not getting my email notifications for new website updates, it is not because I’m not sending them to you. Recently, a handful of email addresses are being returned to me. It is hit and miss. Last week about ten email addresses with @suddenlink.net email providers all returned as undeliverable. Also, several of the new readers who signed up at the Elk River, WV event seem to have issues receiving my emails from the Proton service and their email service returns my email.
Almost over - 1-31 March Madness HFS Donation Drive - 60% of $4,000 goal reached after 28 days. We are approaching the last few days of the HFS donation drive and I want to thank everyone who donated to the HFS mission. Ms. Lucy and I appreciate your generosity to support our efforts through the HFS website and support mechanisms. If you would still like to donate please use either the PayPal link on the website or message me and I will provide you the mailing address. Several folks opted for the US mail service and it worked fine. Thanks for your consideration. Hope for Survival 1st Anniversary website fun….. Let’s do something fun to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of the HFS Website. Fun!!!! We like fun, right? No, Festus isn’t doing his “Thrill on Blueberry Hill” song and dance….yet. It won’t be long. This is wide open and anyone who reads the website can participate.
During the next two weeks I would like for those interested in participating to draft an article for submission to the Hope for Survival team for review. On Saturday, April 11, 2020 (Week 52) we will announce a 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place winner if enough folks participate. Your name will be protected and not posted. I will only share your submission with your approval. There will be prizes. Ms. Lucy and I need to further discuss. I have a box of goodies that I purchase throughout the year to use as prizes at the end of my classes at Heritage Life Skills. I will probably use some of the goodies from it, except for the 1st Place Prize. I will let you know in PENL Edition #51 (next week) what the 1st Place Prize will be. Heck, I will also tell you the 2nd and 3rd place prizes as well. If you want or plan to participate please send me a quick email letting me know and title the message HFS Anniversary contest. Thanks.
The topic I want you to address is to tell us how the HFS website and information has aided and/or helped your Preparedness efforts in some way. Telling us you are more motivated is great. But you need to tell us what you accomplished with the motivation? How has it helped you in building plans? Has it helped change you personally? Share how you are helping and encouraging others to start preparing, and why. If you need further clarity just message me. I know without a doubt you are a thinking group of very smart individuals. I know this from the emails you send to me.
If one or more of the supporting authors would like to participate feel free. This is a great chance to share your thoughts, lessons learned and have fun. Let me tell you, do not use “I don’t like to write” as your excuse. I would guess at least 5 of the 8 guest authors will tell you when I first approached them, they said “I can’t write” or “I don’t like to write” and guess what? They now tell me they enjoy writing but they just have trouble picking a topic.
So, bottom line, start drafting and email us your product by Thursday, April 9th. That gives you basically 13 days to think about it and 1 day to write it. Ha. Make it fun!!!
Time is precious so let's move ahead .......
HEALTH ALERT: The Coronavirus awareness level should have increased during the recent weeks. Like I have said previously, there is no need to panic but folks should remain ALERT to their news and surroundings as well as guidance from the national leadership. Maintain your social distancing as a priority. The daily numbers continue climbing and we expect this to continue. The US of A now leads all nations in number of C-virus infected personnel and will surpass the total number of deaths shortly. I’m not a doctor or expert but I do not think this is going to end anytime soon. If you are healthy count your blessings. Here is the link to my weekly C-Virus update posted on Wednesday of each week.
https://www.hopeforsurvival.com/post/covid-19-coronavirus-update-mar-25-2020?siteRevision=17 TRAINING: I don’t know about you, but I love training. Anything and everything to improve my skills, thinking, and ability to do task better in smarter ways. With the cancellation of Heritage Life Skills 2020, which is a great event, I will be doing some training type podcast and posting on the HFS YouTube channel for your watching pleasure. I will offer some of the basic framework and concepts to the subject being discussed, however time constraints will force a briefer version to in-resident training.
I don’t know if the wind is blowing a different direction or what, but the HFS website has entertained a lot of international visitation the past few weeks. I would like to welcome our new preparedness readers from the Philippines, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, France, Saudi Arabia, as well as Oregon, South Dakota... Welcome aboard my Patriot Sisters and Brothers. If you would like to be added to the Hope For Survival mailing list please shoot me an email at Preparedness101@protonmail.com This simply alerts you to new website articles and podcast being posted.
We must make this brief public announcement to protect the innocent.
NOTE: Opinions shared in this newsletter are just that, opinions and nothing more. Read at your own risk. The owner and authors of this site are not responsible for hurt feelings or thin-skinned readers. We do our best to show restraint and respect to the best extent possible. We 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. 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…remember the famous words of General Joseph Stillwell, ”illegitimis non carborundum!!” (Don’t let the bas-turds grind you down)
Thoughts for the week -
Thanks to everyone for your communications and chats this week. It has been a great week to share and learn from one another while the bonds of sister and brotherhood builds. I appreciate the communication from VA/TN border, S.C. N.C., Bama, FL and GA to name a few. We talk about current events, plans and current postures. It is easy to say “this is what my plan will be doing.” But, until you identify your own personal weaknesses and vulnerabilities, every plan will be perfect.
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A big thanks to my north GA Patriots for the communications this past week. We learn from what we ask, and we grow from what we hear. This process is a two-way street and I really appreciate how we can chat and cross-communicate information and we learn on both ends through the entire process. Thank you. Keep charging.
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We have a Patriot sister who is knocking it out of the park. She shares updates with me every week or two and I read her updates and accomplishments with amazement. Not just a few weeks or months, but for about two years now she hasn’t slowed down. Training and classes, major relocation and establishing a new home and region, building plans, planting, pruning, and tending to fruit trees and plants, adding new and first-time animals to their plans and family and still finding a way to spend quality time with her children. .. Keep up the hard work. The bond you are continuing to build with your children is priceless. Even with your recent family emergency, you already had an established plan in place for emergencies while the Covid 19 virus continues to spread. Great job my Patriot sister.
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Festus and I had several deep conversations in to things today vs things we learned about in the early years of the previous administration. It is very interesting how time passes and laws and Executive Orders remain in place yet today we hear chatter about the needs of government departments to establish new laws and policies from the President when existing enforcement measures are already in place. Here’s a few examples.
Recently, the Attorney General stated the United States needs to establish laws allowing the DOJ to enforce hoarding of critical resources and a long list of items that would qualify.
Executive Order 13295 was established around 2013 and revised in 2014. This was put in place during the Ebola and SARS virus periods. It was later amended to Executive Order 13674 on Aug 6, 2014. What is my point? This EO states “severe acute respiratory syndromes, which are diseases associated with fevers, signs and symptoms of pneumonia or other respiratory illnesses are capable of being transmitted from person to person that are causing or have potential to cause serious illness and has the potential to cause mortality. This does not apply to influenza.
This means through this EO the federal government can directly quarantine a person for a period determined by the federal government.
Then there is Executive Order 13603 – This was established during the same period as EO 13295. This EO gives the President the authority at a time of his choosing to take over:
- Seize and all energy sources;
- All forms of civil transportation;
- All usable water from all sources (Public, wells, streams, creeks, lakes, rain barrels…)
- All commodities and products capable of being consumed by humans and animals
- Health resources (Drugs, Biological products, Medical devices and resources, and equipment
- Induction of citizens in to the military
So, keep these EO’s in the back of your mind when you listen and watch voices at the top echoing things that may need to be accomplished moving forward. What did the Gov of California just announce last week? “I will confiscate and/or cease public hotels to place infected Coronavirus patients to centrally located them. Didn’t Los Angeles just announce they stopped testing sick patients because of the vast number of possible infections with the C-Virus? Just something to think about.
We are moving towards the unknown as each day passes. Add a political election year in with the mix and one should recognize gasoline and fire will not work well together. Don’t fret or panic, just stay informed and monitor events as they unfold.
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This may sound really strange but I'm hearing something strange from different unconnected sources talking about the same thing. Several folks I know in the Defense Industry received notification from senior corporate leadership to print and hold on to a printed letter that would suffice to get them around military checkpoints or through law enforcement road blocks. Strange huh? I was listening to conservative radio talk show host March 27th, 2020, who received a letter and ID from New Jersey State Government and Department of Homeland Security that provided a phtographed ID and letter getting him through military and law enforcement checkpoints as essential personnel. He had no clue what it's for or about.
My entire office of Emergency Management for a major Defense Agency are classified "Mission Essential" and we do not have letters or IDs for "get out of jail free" cards. This just seems really strange to me.
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Thanks to our Patriot Brother from the Atlanta region for sending this information to share with everyone. Representative H. Johnson, D-GA 4th District, continues to push forward a sleeper resolution titled H.R. 5717 Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act 2020. I think the title says it all. We must monitor the movement on this Resolution to ensure it’s not hidden between other priorities being pushed through the Congress and Senate under the current C-Virus crisis.
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I would encourage you to grab another cup of coffee and something good to munch on and check out this article. It will take some time to get through it but it paints one of the clearest and most sobering pictures to date on the Coronavirus. One must first read the brief background of the author and understand this guy doesn’t stand on rooftops yelling about an incoming storm. This article had four million views in a week. Think about that. A big thanks to Festus for sending this my way. Appreciate it, brother.
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You may or may not be following the emergency funding bill that is about to be passed and signed by the President. The $2.4 trillion dollar that reaches nearly $6 trillion dollars of emergency funding for citizens and businesses impacted by the direct and indirect impacts of the Coronavirus. We can debate all day who needs what, why, and how much is needed. A Patriot Brother from Huntsville, AL shared this with me so I wanted to share it forward. I can’t shake my head fast enough to get the disbelief out. These are a few things in the bill that is highly political and less critical for emergency funding in my humble opinion. They are:
- $25 million to the JFK Center for the Performing Arts
- $75 million to Public Broadcasting or PBS –
- $1.2 billion with a B to require airlines purchase expensive “renewable” jet fuel
- $88 million to the Peace Corps for evacuating volunteers
- $250 million to the Internal Revenue Service
- $350 million to the U.S. State Department
- $400 million to the US Election Commission
- $30.8 billion with a B to the Dep of Education
These are a few of the non-emergency funded programs that you and I will be paying for long term. Consider how many of these already receive tax dollars in the annual budget? Why are we funding PBS, period? Why are we funding any public business that has a record of being internally lucrative? Maybe Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch should run for public office.
Folks, this emergency stimulus package will equal about 30% of our annual GDP. We are already operating at a $1 trillion dollar deficit for 2020. Think about that.
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We are in the early stages of a virus that has taken over the minds, economics and political landscape of our nation. Where it ends, who knows. What we do know is we, you and I, must continue to stay prepared and adjust to what may be ahead. Yet, the basics in each case will still be food, water, shelter, and security. We must stay focused on the prize which is adapting, adjusting, and overcoming the speed bumps put before us. Our faith is our rock and our resources are our survival day to day.
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I don’t know if you are a person of faith or not. I would encourage you to read the article at the link and take in the perspective offered by Dr. H.T. Spence from Straightway – titled The World’s Pandemic Mandate on the Coronavirus; What does it mean? This is a two cup article but well worth the read. https://www.straightwayonline.org/articles/332/the-world-s-pandemic-mandate-on-the-coronavirus-what-does-it-mean Dr Spence offers a perspective worth taking in to consideration.
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There’s so much information flowing with the time to read. The question is how does one determine what is real or fake news?
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I could add more but I think you get the picture of my mind for this week.
Okay, the world awaits us, let's move ahead.
Preparedness News -
1. HF Scout – American Partisan - https://www.americanpartisan.org/2020/03/more-hf-frequencies-of-interest/ This is another good bit of information to print and file in your paper library.
2. From Family Survival Planning - https://www.familysurvivalplanning.com/food-storage-calculator.html - A few folks recently asked about food calculators. There are several types of calculators available. Here is another one to consider. Keep in mind, most are for bulk type food planning.
3. From Homestead off the Grid – Off Grid Survival - https://offgridsurvival.com/topoffgridstates/ - Always good to keep an open mind to alternative ways of life if required to move.
4. From Primal Survivor - https://www.primalsurvivor.net/emergency-water-storage-calculator/ - Keeping track of water and identifying your needs should be a No 1 priority.
5. Bug Out Survival - http://www.bugoutsurvival.com/2008/08/sample-bug-out-bag-checklist.html - We can never have to many checklist in our paper library. Pick what applies to you and toss the rest in your binder for later. You never know when you may need suggestions.
Other News –
1. From Brandon Turbeville – Activist Post - https://www.activistpost.com/2020/03/why-i-oppose-the-lockdown.html - The author makes some relevant points throughout the article and after reading, I know the points are true because history seems to repeat itself.
2. From Peter Van Buren – The American Conservative - https://www.zerohedge.com/political/wake-your-fears-are-being-manipulated - Like we have been saying, keep grounded, avoid fear and panic, focus on you and your family to be prepared before the event.
3. From Miles Franklin - https://myemail.constantcontact.com/You-Will-Not-Understand-the-Future--this-Time----if-You-Try-and-Understand-it-by-Looking-at-the-Past-.html?soid=1101357242253&aid=MgByrp9x7Lg – A big thanks to our Patriot Brother in North GA for this submission. Another important piece to your preparedness package…your finances.
4. From Mac Slavo – SHTF Plan - https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/trump-suicides-from-the-coming-economic-depression-will-far-surpass-those-from-the-virus_03252020 - So it would mean a flash back to the 2010 – 2014 era. Rooftop bankers.
5. From Mike Adams – Natural News - https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-03-27-explosion-coronavirus-cases-dozens-cities-america.html -
Drum roll........... That's all my Patriot brothers and sisters.
We made it!!! Woo-hoo.
Thank you for your time to read the PENL. I hope you found something to help you in some way. 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. I appreciate your sharing the great things you are doing with your plans and progress forward. Keep chugging ahead. Remember to find someone who is down and out and do something to give them HOPE.
Hope – “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” Dr. Martin Luther King
Don’t forget to shoot me a note if you plan to participate in the Anniversary Writing contest and then mark your calendar to submit your prize winning article by Thursday April 9th.
Please keep our great nation, our elected leaders, military and first responders in your thoughts and prayers. I know several of our readers would appreciate you adding them to your prayer list as health and worldly struggles remain. We give thanks for the positives in our life. We should also pray for the citizens and world leaders infected and making decisions to deal with the Covid 19 - Coronavirus. Please pray for the citizens around the world who are sick and not recovering as easily as others. Please pray for individuals losing their jobs and who didn't prepare in advance. I am thankful for my safe travel and return to Bama from last week's trip. 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. Amen. Thank you.
Keep charging and have a safe week. Focus, focus, focus. Always remember, we are blessed people.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
Preparedness101@protonmail.com
