Post Collapse Retirement Plan

By: Tom Chatham

The majority of people work all their life and look forward to a pleasant retirement. Their retirement plan involves paper assets to provide for their living expenses in the future. The major problem with this type of plan is that they have no backup plan to provide for themselves in the event that all paper assets are destroyed through inflation or default.

It does not matter if your plan is wrapped up in stocks, bonds, currency, CD’s, pensions or social security payments. When fiat currencies collapse, all paper assets go at the same time. When this happens, you no longer have the means to pay for your future needs without working for them. This is the Achilles heel of the retirement system that we use.

The old saying about putting all your eggs in one basket applies here. It was not until the later part of the 20th century that retirement actually became a prospect for people. Until then most people simply worked until they died. Retirement is now considered a given in society but few realize how fragile the system is and how fast it can be taken away through a world changing event. It is this fragility that necessitates the rethinking and forward planning of retirement at this point in time.

There are two reasons to save for retirement.

1) To enable you to stop working full time and enjoy more of your time in a leisurely way.

2) To insure you can pay someone else to care for or provide services for you when you are physically unable to do so any more.

The most widely used method today is to save some of your current production in the form of currency or paper assets which provide a medium of exchange to acquire the things you will need in the future. In the event of a failure of fiat currency, you will loose your saved production for future use if it is kept in paper assets that become worthless.

One way to avoid this loss is to keep your savings in an alternate form that will still have value after a currency collapse. This can take the form of an alternate medium of exchange such as gold, silver or diamonds or in the form of goods that will still command a premium in the future.

It may take the form of land that can be leased, rented or sold in the future. Leasing or renting will provide a continuous income for many years while selling will provide a one time source of money that must be evaluated to determine if the selling price will last the amount of time you require. Some combination of the three may be appropriate over a long term period.

The ability to own buildings to lease, rent or sell may also be a way to store wealth until needed in the future. Regardless of the dollar value of things after a collapse, you will be able to adjust the price to current values maintaining your purchasing power.

Some people may say it is unwise to buy and hold because you might pay $100,000 for a building today and after a currency reset it may only be valued at $10,000. This is true on the surface but that is only if the new currency has the same purchasing power of the old one which will be unlikely. If the value of hard assets drop after a currency collapse it will likely be only in dollar value but not in purchasing power.

This is a distinction people will have to learn. A silver dime from 1964 is still only a dime that will buy very little today but the value of the metal in the dime still has as much purchasing power today as it did then. With a new currency if the value of your assets drops it will likely be relative to the value of everything else. That means a quart of milk may suddenly cost .15 cents and a loaf of bread .10 cents while your building becomes $10,000. Those hung up on the dollar price of things need to start thinking in value terms rather than dollar terms.

There are many different ways to employ a strategy to insure you can preserve your current excess production until you need it in the future. Your plan needs to reflect your personality, your location and your future desires in order to make you feel comfortable with it.

Here is one example that may work for some. You may want to buy a small plot of land maybe 10 to 30 acres in size. Construct a small but comfortable home on it equipped with the tools and livestock you will need to provide most of your necessities for years to come. Once you have the land set up to insure you can provide the things you need you will then need to think about how you will store your excess wealth in a way you can use in the future when it is needed.

You might want to build 3 or 4 small cottages that you can rent out. Each can have a small yard capable of housing some small livestock and a garden. You may have a small shed or barn in the backyard of each cottage as well for the tenant to use. This will provide a tenant the ability to produce much of the food they will need helping to reduce their expenses.

In the aftermath of a collapse, many people will be destitute and have few valuables to enable them to get by. Someone in this position will need shelter and food for their family and you will be in a position to offer it to them. In exchange for their help on your farm you can provide them the means to care for their family and later as things improve they may be able to earn money and pay actual rent. Their ability to produce some things themselves may allow them to sell products to do this.

Keep in mind that the two reasons to store money are to reduce your work load in the future and to help care for yourself when you are no longer able to do so yourself. In a restored currency situation you will be able to save money to buy the help you need in the future. In the absence of a restored currency system you will be able to offer a service, housing, in exchange for your tenants services that you are unable to do yourself. It may be growing some food or cutting wood or home repairs. As long as you get the things you need you will have the same benefit as having the money to buy it.

This type of collapse scenario works best if you have family members that can care for you later in life but lacking that, you will need a plan. The three main things people will need most are food, shelter and clothing. Your ability to produce or provide these things will give you a resource to help provide for your retirement. As things improve the opportunities will increase but the basics will never change.

The storing of your excess wealth in assets such as gold and silver will give you a store of value to draw on in the future but you should not overlook the basic things that may take precedence in society during and immediately following a collapse. Land, tools, livestock and buildings are always going to be necessary when society must fall back on the basics for survival. In the immediate aftermath of a collapse your precious metals may have little value until society restores itself to a condition where people have the basic needs fulfilled and commerce is once again possible.

With this in mind you need to develop a plan that you feel comfortable with to insure you will have the things you need later in life. Your planning horizon needs to be at least a few decades to insure you will have the resources available to get you through and insure a pleasant retirement.

Barter Currency: The Know, Grow or Make it Approach.

By: Tom Chatham

Those in society that are used to getting a paycheck every week in return for their labor may soon find their skills are not sufficient to continue putting food on the table. A true commodity is one that you can store and sell at will. It is subject to supply and demand and demand is always present for human necessities that are in limited supply.

Labor can be a commodity of sorts but it cannot be stored for later sale, trade or use. Everyone is limited to the same 24 hour day and time is the great equalizer in that regard. Unskilled labor in and of itself is in large supply so you will be subject to the same supply and demand fundamentals as everyone else. This is the reason you should not rely on your physical labor alone as a trade-able item in a collapse scenario. The more unemployment there is, the less your labor will be worth.

Know –

The one source of labor that can be in demand at any time is knowledge. The knowledge you posses is more trade-able in a crisis than your physical labor will be. Anyone can lift the hood on a car but how many can diagnose and fix a malfunction when it stops. How many have the knowledge to identify and bypass the problem if needed parts are not available? Knowing what wild plants are edible, have medicinal properties or can kill has a value. Knowing how to produce a liquid fuel alternative or create electricity from a pile of junk parts has a value when energy is lost for long periods. Knowing how and where to find food and store it for long periods has a value. Construction knowledge or advanced lifesaving procedures may not be in demand every day but when they are they cannot be replaced easily. The larger your base of knowledge is the more trade-able barter currency you will have.

Grow –

The ability to raise a product to sell or trade is the power to control your life. This may be nothing more than growing some vegetables. The ability to produce something from little or nothing is a skill that many do not posses and will produce a commodity that others will be willing to trade for. Money really does grow on plants when you can take a few dollars worth of seed and produce hundreds of dollars worth of products. It’s better than having a printing press. The ability to produce seed for sale can command a high premium when supply is low and demand is high. The ability to produce livestock products is a step higher in the growing of commodities but the higher price will also reflect more hazard and labor.

The grow ability can also include the production of natural resources that are limited but available to you. The harvesting of trees or tree products like maple syrup, fruits or nuts should not be overlooked. The recovery of natural minerals such as salt, iron ore, coal or even precious metals bring commodities into being that did not exist before and may command a premium in society.

Make –

The ability to take a raw material and make something useful from it that society needs is another way to produce a commodity for sale or trade. Knowing how to make cooking oil, alcohol or bio-diesel from crops and having the equipment to do it will provide you with a commodity to sell or trade. Having the knowledge and equipment to make textiles from crops, reprocess scrap metal into tools, process animals for food, build furniture or boats or repair broken items will provide you with a usable commodity when you need to barter. The make function is a combination of knowledge, materials and tools that can also be used as a function of labor to repair items for others.

This can also extend into the realm of transportation and communication as well. These items will require the means to repair and maintain the function and will almost certainly require the production of materials and energy for their use by you. The ability to transport people or products by truck or boat or provide vital communications over long distances may be a commodity you can provide to others. The make function goes beyond the typical labor function and provides a useful service or product that is in short supply.

The worse the supply situation is in society and the more you know, grow or make, the better your chances are of getting the things you need and use. A self sufficient mentality will provide you with many of the skills and tools you will need to provide these three things in society. When fiat money fails, what you know, grow or make becomes the new barter currency until stabilization brings forth a new medium of exchange. Having a supply of barter goods is great but over a long period you will eventually run out. That is why know, grow and make will be necessary for long term situations. The basis of all commodities is knowledge so that is a logical starting point if you feel the need to insure your value in the future no matter what happens.

Five Plus Two for Survival Gardening

By: Tom Chatham

In a crisis situation the need for growing your own food increases with time. Many factors determine if you can grow anything and what that may be. Location, soil, water and weather are primary concerns that must be evaluated. In a crisis you need to grow the maximum amount of food in the smallest space possible. The ability to store your harvest with few modern conveniences is also a problem you need to address.

What you grow will depend on available seed stocks, personal preferences and location. There are no ideal items that fit every situation or location but there are some that will fit in most locations and situations. The following are some good choices to keep in mind when planning for the unexpected.

Five vegetables

Potatoes

Potatoes are an ideal food for year round consumption. Potatoes provide a lot of starch that helps to fill you up when food is at a minimum. That’s one reason the military feeds soldiers potatoes almost every meal. They can be prepared in many ways to help avoid taste fatigue and when stored properly can last many months. Yield per 100 foot row is about 2 to 3 bushels.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals and also help to curb your appetite. They can be stored in many ways such as dehydrating or canning. Long keeper tomatoes can be harvested and kept for three or four months without refrigeration while they ripen providing you a source of fresh tomatoes well into the winter. The many uses for tomatoes will help diversify your meals to help expand the limited foods you may have. Tomato plants also provide a large return for the space used. Yield per 100 foot row is about 4 bushels.

Beans

There are many types of beans that can provide needed protein when food is scarce. The type of beans you grow will depend on your taste and growing conditions. Beans that are good for drying and canning are stressed. With a shortage of meat, beans become a necessary food to provide the protein humans need. When combined with a grain such as rice it provides a complete protein. The ability to store beans dry and in small spaces, make them a great survival food. Yield per 100 foot row is about 2 bushels for lima and snap varieties.

Cabbage

Cabbage is a good plant to grow to provide a leafy green food. Cabbage is a good choice for a winter garden. In many areas of the country it can be left in the garden throughout the winter and provide fresh produce during winter when fresh greens are in short supply. A good variety is late flat Dutch cabbage. It can produce heads as big as 12 pounds and provide more than one meal for a family especially when small potatoes are added. In areas where the winters are too cold, it can be dug up and kept in a root cellar for several weeks until needed. A few dozen heads of cabbage in the winter garden can be the difference between staying fed throughout the winter and starvation. Yield per 100 foot row is about 45 heads.

Turnips

Turnips are usually easy to grow anywhere and can provide the root itself as well as cut greens. Turnips are a good cold hardy crop that can be left in the garden during winter like cabbage. The addition of turnips to potato soup is an easy way to spice up your soup. Turnip seeds are small and relatively inexpensive and the plants take up very little space. Yield per 100 foot row is about 2 bushels.

Two Grains

Corn

Corn is a staple that can be used in many ways to expand the limited supplies you may have. It can be eaten whole or ground into flour for cornbread or used in a dipping batter. It produces a large amount of seed for the space used and can be dried and stored easily for later use. Heritage varieties will provide better nutrition and growing capabilities than conventional varieties when matched with the climate they are raised in. It will also provide a good animal feed if small livestock is kept. Yield is about 1 bushel per 500 sq. feet.

Oats

Oats are a good source of nutrition and can be used in many ways. Oats rank the highest in protein and run neck and neck with wheat as the all around most nutritive grain. It also provides a good livestock feed and the straw makes excellent bedding. Yield is about 1 bushel per 620 sq. feet.

In a crisis situation that may last for months or years you must decide what you can produce yourself for minimal sustenance. Keeping at least a minimal supply of strategic seed varieties will make a major difference in how you are able to cope with the crisis. Your decision may be determined by the amount of space you have to grow food. In that instance you must choose foods that are nutrient dense and will produce a heavy crop in minimal space.

You also need to keep in mind that desperation may cause others to target your garden. In a situation like this plants that others do no recognize as food plants will play a major role. Don’t laugh but there are many people in this country that do not know that potatoes grow under the ground. In many instances a potato plant will look like a weed that will be passed over by many looking for food. The same can be said for a crop like oats. Without the knowledge and equipment to process or cook it many people will pass it over for more readily recognizable foods.

These things should be kept in mind when you plan your crisis garden. While the listed varieties will give you a good selection to keep you fed, you must determine what will work best for you. Making your own five plus two list is the least you should do to prepare. Beyond this list of seven, any seed you store is an additional hedge against future crisis events.

The Three Categories of Preparedness

By: Tom Chatham

With many people now preparing for various disaster scenarios, it is important to put everything into perspective and organize your thoughts to enable successful navigation of a serious crisis. By placing everything into three primary categories it is possible to focus on the things you may need the most during a crisis. The three categories will allow you to evaluate these primary areas in a brief fashion and determine in a fast way what you may need to work on first or the most. In many instances, preparedness is more than just tangible things. Some of the most important preparedness items cannot be touched or seen but can be the difference between life and death nonetheless.

 

Physical items

When a person decides to prepare for a future crisis they usually start with items they determine they will need to get through the difficulties. These can range from food and water storage to power sources and energy to shelter, transportation and security devices. Long range items may include food production materials to clothing production, building materials and tools. Physical items make it possible to endure, recover and rebuild after a crisis. They provide a means to leverage a persons’ ability and reduce hardships to minimum levels.

Knowledge

The most valuable resource a person has is the knowledge they posses. With a wide enough knowledge base, almost any crisis can be dealt with utilizing knowledge and available local materials. Knowledge enables a person to leverage the limited materials available and overcome adversity to survive the difficulties. With enough knowledge even limited stores of supplies can enable a person to navigate the crisis successfully.

Mental preparedness

If there is anything that can be more important than knowledge it would be mental preparedness. When an out of the ordinary situation occurs, mental toughness can enable clear thought to navigate the situation. In some situations, mental abilities can carry you through a situation almost on their own. Even with a good supply of physical goods and the knowledge to use them, the lack of mental preparedness to navigate the situation has the ability to prevent successful survival with minimum discomfort. Even with supplies, the loss of hope and the onset of depression can decrease the odds of surviving the crisis.

The ability to survive potentially deadly situations by shear will is possible and must not be overlooked when preparing. Survival is always possible no matter what supplies you have and what knowledge you have only to the point that you give up and succumb to the crisis. To enable your ability to overcome the crisis, you must expand your comfort zone to include any unpleasant circumstances that you may face and decide how to deal with them. This will not only expand your knowledge base but will give you the confidence to overcome the hardship you may face.

 

As you prepare you must decide on the proper balance of the three categories to give you the best abilities at a cost you can afford and given the time available to prepare. Having the right mental state and a certain amount of knowledge can get you through many situations where supplies are short or non-existent. The proper mental state can be the difference between being a helpless victim and a strong survivor able to go on. A good deal of thought spent on the three categories now can prevent a great deal of suffering later if crisis suddenly occurs with little warning.

Shortages: Where Do We Go From Here?

By: Tom Chatham

In the past few months we have been visited by some very startling shortages in unlikely things. Just a few years ago who would have suspected that ammo in this country would become so constricted that even law enforcement agencies would have trouble getting any. And just recently we have seen precious metals get squeezed. Even while spot prices were dropping, individuals and dealers alike found the supply drying up and prices remaining high.

Even though the spot prices were low the free market did what it does best, supply and demand forced prices to remain at real market levels. This is something the manipulators of the economy cannot change. The free market will always get its’ way in the end. The supply of commodities will always be priced by the free market and no amount of price controls or manipulation will change that for long. This is the lesson everyone needs to learn before the next set of shortages occur in the economy.

What should we expect next? Just keep in mind supply and demand. Those things that people want or need will continue to be in demand and those things that are luxuries will fall by the wayside. As things get tighter people will cut back until only the basics remain. When this point is reached any further shortages in society will turn into a national crisis.

Those that have destroyed our economy know they cannot continue the charade for much longer. The market manipulation is giving way to the free market and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. The free market will take control at some point and begin the unpleasant task of rebalancing the years of mal-investment we have sowed. I use the term free market in the sense of being a force of nature that we cannot control.

When that happens, all of the wealth we have pulled from the future and squandered will be gone and we will enter a vacuum for some period of time. As we move into this vacuum the shortages will get worse and more numerous. I believe we have now entered the edge of that vacuum and we are seeing the shortages begin.

The things we must have will continue to become harder to find and more expensive to buy. It will slowly get worse until one day everything almost comes to a complete halt. That is when we will be faced with another major world war. Preparing for economic collapse is a good start but you should also plan on the scourge of war to play its’ part.

The following are the things likely to become expensive and hard to find in the coming months. Some of the items may appear in a different order but we will likely experience all of them. The shortages in these things will likely appear as the recent shortages in ammo and PMs have. They will sneak up on society and suddenly appear from seemingly nowhere. Once they occur they may fluctuate for a while but they will not get better any time soon they will just slowly get worse.

The shortages to come:

Ammo and weapons

Precious Metals

Security – both individual and national

Freedom of movement

Freedom of speech

Agricultural products

Electricity

Liquid fuels

Petroleum products like rubber and lubricants

Medical supplies and pharmaceuticals

Water

Textiles

 

When the shortages get to the point of bringing the nation to a halt there will not be anything anyone can do to make it substantially better on a national scale. The only thing you can do as an individual is to be prepared to care for yourself and your family. The financial crisis will ultimately destroy the dollar but the shortages will precede the crash as people head for hard assets and reduced supply will drive prices up.

Some shortages such as water and electricity will be a result of government regulations and failure of infrastructure. While some things such as food and liquid fuels will still be produced, a large percentage of these products will be exported as foreign nations out bid us for our own resources. Some items such as imported textiles will be cut off as we lose the ability to pay for them and no longer have the ability to produce them ourselves.

When all is said and done we will be living in third world conditions and the only way out as a nation will be for us to do as our ancestors did and fix it ourselves by rebuilding the republic from scratch. It will be harder this time because there are forces that will be working against us at every turn but we are capable of it if we choose to do so. Those that are prepared for the shortages will be the ones in the best position to rebuild and will become the next generation of leaders, but that is the happy version. The other version is one that can be found in your worst nightmares.

You May Be A Dangerous, Paranoid Doomsday Prepper If…

By: Tom Chatham

Commentators are always quick to link guns and emergency stores to dangerous and paranoid actions that they consider to be tell tale signs someone is going to commit a crime. They always focus on these areas because it is a trait mostly seen in conservatives that know enough to question the governments’ ability to take care of every problem that emerges. In short, if you are not a Liberal that needs the government to make all of your decisions for you and care for you on a daily basis then there must be something wrong with you.

Any deviation from the norm of unpreparedness is a danger sign to these people that you are out of control and need to be stopped, detained and heavily medicated to assure compliance. Only when you are obedient to the state are you normal and safe. So what signs do you look for in a person or group that should make you suspicious?

The purchase of bullets by the thousands

If a person or group feels the need to purchase thousands of rounds of ammo in the belief they may need this to protect themselves and their family from some type of uncontrolled chaos in the future they are obviously troubled individuals. They need to be more sensible like the U.S. government that only buys 1.5 billion rounds of ammo, give or take a few million, that is only the bare minimum necessary for waging a 24 year war.

The purchasing of weapons by the dozen

If a person or group feels the need to have one firearm to protect themselves or their family due to lack of police protection, this is just irrational. And to have a dozen guns is bordering on paranoia. They need to be more like the U.S. government that only has 165.000 armed federal employees, give or take several thousand, and have several thousand automatic rifles on order as well as two million dollars worth of sniper rifles on order from Remington.

The storing of dehydrated and freeze dried foods for several months

If you perceive the potential need for stored food because of distribution problems or social chaos, having food stores for several months is just promoting the panic. You need to be more like the federal government and buy a billion dollars worth of freeze dried foods for “disaster relief operations”.

The building of underground bunkers for several people

The need for hiding underground in a bunker with several people is a clear sign that you are disturbed and very anti social and may be unbalanced. You need to have “shelters” like the U.S. government does that house at least a thousand people, and number no less then 150 nationwide to be considered normal.

Conclusion:

Never order ammo in amounts less than one billion rounds

Never buy weapons in quantities of less than one thousand

Never buy less than one billion dollars worth of freeze dried food

Never build underground shelters that hold less than one thousand persons

Anyone who prepares with less than these amounts should be considered a dangerous and paranoid doomsday prepper by government standards. Any amounts over this are government sanctioned and considered appropriate measures for normal persons to take.

The List of Many Lists

By: Tom Chatham

Many individuals have published lists of the many things you may need or want during an emergency. The following are a few different lists you may want to ponder while making your plans for self sufficiency or disaster.

Emergency food supply providing about 2,600 calories per day

Item                                                                                             Ounces per day

Whole kernel hard wheat                                                                    16
Beans                                                                                                    5
Non-fat milk powder                                                                             2
Vegetable oil                                                                                        1
Sugar                                                                                                    2
Salt (iodized)                                                                                     1/3
Multi vitamin pills                                                                      1 per day

Emergency food supply for a baby

Item                                                                                            Ounces per day

Instant non-fat dry milk                                                                  2 ¾      1 cup + 2 Table spoons
Vegetable cooking oil                                                                      1            3 Table spoons
Sugar                                                                                               0.7         2 Table spoons
Standard daily multi vitamin                                                     1/3 pill

Disaster planning and emergency considerations

Psychological preparations

Know warnings and communication systems

Evacuation plan

Shelter – short term and long term

Ventilation, heating and cooling of shelter

Protection against fires and carbon monoxide

Water

Food

Specialized equipment – NBC, medical, tools, communications, weapons etc.

Light

Shelter sanitation and preventive medicine

Clothing, improvised clothing and protective items

Energy sources

Entertainment

Survival seed supply –

In a situation when you need to bug out and can only take what you can physically carry, you want to take a seed supply that will give you the most food for the space. A supply of seeds that will feed you year round and will fit in your pocket is ideal.

Tomato

Corn

Squash

Beans

Cucumber

Turnips

Cabbage

Spinach

Carrots

Oats, hulless

Cotton seeds – (clothing production) for permanent relocation

Soapwort seeds – (soap production) for permanent relocation

Sprouting potato – if room and weight permit

Subjects of study

Medical – first aid, CPR, wound management, medicinal herbs

Hand made tools for farming

Butchering and preserving wild game

Homemade filters – for water or air

Building structures using locally available materials

Tanning hides and making cloth

Making charcoal and coke from wood

Making cast iron from iron ore bearing rocks

Making green sand molds

Root cellar storage and dehydrating foods

Fire starting methods

Furniture making and joinery methods

Land navigation and time telling methods

Long term bail-out-bag –

For required long term relocation on foot a dual purpose weapon such as an AR15 with .22LR adapter will allow more ammo capacity.

Backpack
Canteen
Water filter
Ziplock bags – various sizes
Seeds
Hunting knife
Gerber tool
Small hatchet and/or folding saw
Magnesium fire starter w/flint
Fishing supplies
Salt, 2 lbs
Folding shovel
Compass
Pencil and small notebook
Playing cards
Cook set – SS or aluminum
Eating utensils
Sleeping bag
Weapon and acc.
Hand crank LED light/radio
Lightweight tarp
Para cord 100’
Medical supplies – iodine, triple antibiotic ointment, gauze, razor, tweezers, aspirin, bandaids, tape
Toilet paper
Dish rag
Rain suit/poncho
Mylar blankets
Hygiene kit
Towel
Multi vitamins
Binoculars
Sewing kit
Bed sheets – multi use item for clothing, filtering, bandages etc.
Duct tape
Magnifying glass
Dry bleach

Anyone that determines a bug out plan may be necessary must also acknowledge that there is the remote possibility you may be forced at some point to relocate on foot with only the items you can carry. A civil breakdown, natural disaster or war could force a permanent relocation to a safe area. In the event this happens you should at least have a list of items you have already designated to carry to enable a fast exit from the area. While many may not see the need there are situations when staying where you are will result in death. If you decide not to develop a walk out plan because you feel you are physically unable to do so, you should reconsider and develop a plan that will work for your situation when the time comes. Time is a critical element when evacuation is necessary and any delay can be deadly. If you had to start over again with only the things you could carry, what would they be? Now is the time to figure that out.

Martial Law: The Tool of Tyrants

By: Tom Chatham

Martial law is by definition- the temporary rule by military authorities over the civilians as in time of war. Over the years, the meaning of martial law has been obfuscated to mean something very different from its intended purpose. This obfuscation has come from the very tyrants that have used it to oppress and intimidate the civilian masses for their own self interest.

There are two versions of martial law you need to be concerned about.

The proper application of martial law is used when civilian leadership is absent or destroyed during times of conflict. The military command operating in the area declares martial law or military law. This means the military becomes the temporary authority to oversee civilian operations necessary to serve the population until a civilian government can be reconstituted to perform the function.

The military becomes the surrogate leadership and is obligated to enforce the civilian laws as the civilian government would. This military leadership is merely taking the temporary place of the elected officials until such time the community can replace them by proper elections utilizing the democratic principles they are accustomed to. This temporary leadership is applied to prevent the chaos that prevails when no leadership is present to enforce laws and provide infrastructure for the populace. It is meant to enforce the continued civilized behavior of the community to ensure that peace and normal operations continue for the benefit of the citizens. This is the true meaning of martial law and any deviation from this application should be considered illegal.

The second version is the one most people see or talk about and is not to be considered legitimate.

When a civilian entity declares martial law it is contrary to the very meaning of the phrase. If civilian leadership is present, military leadership is not needed as the civilian government has the authority to enforce the laws and administer to the populations needs. When a civilian entity declares martial law what they are really saying is, they want to dispense with the rule of law and rule by force. This fact is evident where any civilian entity has declared martial law in the past.

When these entities declare martial law they universally dispense with normal civilized behavior and legal proceedings and engage in a reign of terror to oppress the civilian population and deny them their unalienable rights. The idea that an entity can suspend legal laws approved by the population and act on the whims of their emotions and desires is the absence of legitimate law. This type of martial law is usually employed by individuals or groups that desire to overthrow the legitimate legal system for their own personal gain and will do anything they deem necessary to maintain control.

When a rational person asks themselves what the reason for martial law is, they will in all likelihood come to the conclusion expressed in the first case. When a government finds itself in a time of chaos, it has the ability to summon reinforcements to bolster the police force to maintain order. It has the ability to order curfews to clear the streets to enforce the peace and arrest those who break the current law. So, why would martial law be necessary in the presence of civilian leadership doing what it is legally elected to do?

The same rational person would arrive at the conclusion in the second case that martial law declared by civilian entities is nothing more than a power grab meant to take away the rights of a free people in the name of tyranny. Those that apply rational thought and critical thinking to this issue will see the logic in the argument.

To anyone who would argue otherwise, certain questions will make it very clear.

Why would it be necessary to suspend the constitution?

What does martial law really mean?

What circumstances necessitate the action of martial law?

What laws are applied when martial law is declared?

Where are these laws for martial law written down?

Who created these laws and how were they approved?

Who has the authority to declare martial law and where does this power come from?

There are cases when martial law may be needed when civilian leadership is absent but the employment of martial law by civilian agencies acting on emotions and desires is the law of brute force and is no law at all. The lack of an educated populace makes the second case possible due to a lack of understanding of the principles of freedom and unalienable rights meant to prevent a second case scenario.

An unarmed populace is helpless to stop the second scenario and prevent the brutality that comes with it. Unchecked brutality leads to theft and murder and eventually mass murder. These are the lessons of history we are often to forget until we are reminded in a very graphic and painful way.

Building A “Harvest Kitchen” For Your Homestead

By: Tom Chatham

When a person decides to become self sufficient and provide their family with homemade goods they need to keep one thing in mind. Being self sufficient means your homestead will become, out of necessity, a small factory. For those with the means, there may be several specialized buildings on your property to handle all of the various types of production you require. For many people, especially those new to the self sufficient lifestyle, this may be more than you can handle financially in the beginning.

In constructing a new homestead it will probably be more convenient, if no necessary, to utilize your kitchen for most of your production projects. The kitchen of a typical home will usually fall far short of being ideal especially in space. Even if you start a homestead with an existing home on the property, you will probably want to expand the kitchen or even add on a “harvest kitchen” to provide the proper setting for all of your future chores.

A harvest kitchen is one designed especially for the production of homemade goods. It provides plenty of counter space, cabinet space and room to store and utilize all of the specialized equipment you will need. It will have window space for starting seedlings, sinks for washing equipment and vegetables, storage for canning supplies and tables to perform more than one task at a time.

The amount of home production you plan to do will determine how large your kitchen will need to be. When you start listing all of the things you want to ultimately do you may be surprised at the size of the list and the amount of space you will need. Most people start with a conventional kitchen and try to adjust their operations around the space available. This may be necessary at first but eventually it will become a headache when you have to continuously move and reposition equipment before performing even menial jobs.

This is why a harvest kitchen will become important to you. You must first list all of the operations you intend to do in your kitchen when you have fully expanded your homestead operations. Then determine how much room you will need for each piece of equipment and design the kitchen around your needs. The design should allow for an easy flow around your kitchen while performing several jobs.

What equipment do you need to plan for? Are you going to extract honey? If so you need room for the extractor, uncapping tub and bottling tank. If you intend to butcher your own meat, a good butchers block will be invaluable. If you intend to grind your own meat, a meat grinder will need a place for easy use. If you plan to do a lot of canning, you will need plenty of counter space and easy access to the stove. If you plan to do a lot of baking, a large table with a large rolling board will be necessary. If you plan to grind grains and nuts you will need a place for your grinder. If you have a milk supply, you may need room for dairy equipment such as a cream separator, butter churn or cheese making supplies. If you intend to make soap or candles you will need space for those as well. While some operations can use the same areas, you will want to give the larger equipment a space of its own.

As you can see, just a few of the things you may want to do will require much more space than the typical kitchen offers. Planning for the type of operations you will ultimately do and designing the kitchen around your needs will ultimately make you more productive and the process will be more enjoyable. The addition of a harvest kitchen may not be possible at first but for any serious homesteader it should be part of your long range plans.

If your kitchen is to be an addition to a current structure you may even want to do something to enhance the design further such as put a root cellar under it or add a small greenhouse to it. If the harvest kitchen has a wood cook stove, it can provide the heat needed for the greenhouse during cold weather allowing you to start plants earlier or even grow some warm weather plants in the winter. A root cellar under the kitchen will allow you to process and store your harvest for winter storage and go shopping even in the worst winter weather. To make movement of products easier, you may even want to install a dumb waiter between the cellar and kitchen. The possibilities are endless.

A large kitchen will be a focal point during harvest season allowing the space necessary to bring the whole family together for processing and quality time that can be shared by everyone. The warmth radiated by a wood stove and the smell of freshly baked goods will make your harvest kitchen a favorite place to congregate during the dark, cold days of winter. Having the proper amount of space to perform operations will make kitchen tasks much more enjoyable and help to produce quality products that your family will enjoy the year round.

Disposing of the Useful Idiots

By: Tom Chatham

There have been a lot of wild stories floating around about FEMA coffins, rail cars with shackles and guillotines. DHS is buying billions of rounds of ammo and thousands of rifles and pistols and armored vehicles, enough to arm a small army. The speculation is that all of this is to take out the patriots in society that will defend the constitution. Let’s explore that scenario for a minute.

The current government is without a doubt transforming this nation from a prosperous capitalist nation to a poor third world nation at breakneck speed. The reigns of power have been seized and control is almost complete. Once the bankers and corporations have extracted all of the wealth that can be had, they will move on to greener pastures and what is left of the U.S. will be left to the sociopaths that want to continue their social experiments in failed ideologies.

The final hurdle they will have to navigate will be the heavily armed partisans in this country that like things the way they used to be. That is what some of the weapons and ammo are for. These few million hardcore American patriots will have to be hunted down and destroyed before the real social engineering can begin. Most of these people will have to be killed outright because they will refuse to live under a dictatorship and will refuse to play nice.

That leaves three groups in the former U.S., the ruling oligarchy, the remaining working class and the useful idiots. The useful idiots made themselves useful by allowing the oligarchs to buy their votes. This allowed the rulers to attain power and change the nation as it is. Once the oligarchs have seized complete power, they will no longer need to buy votes, so what will happen to the useful idiots? In a socialist system everyone has to work to produce for the State. The useful idiots in this nation do not work, do not want to work and do nothing but consume production from the working class. It was ok to provide for them when the working class was footing the bill but once all of the production belongs to the State that will have to stop. The State will want to keep as much of the production for itself as is possible because they feel they deserve it because they are superior to the masses and it will also be very profitable for them.

When the breakdown finally comes, the useful idiots will likely be the ones loaded onto railcars and disposed of in the coffins. These people cannot take care of themselves and when the state ceases providing them with the goods they need and want they will riot. Most of these people live in the cities and they will be the first places to become unruly when the goods stop flowing. These are the first places the rulers will have to pacify before they can move on to the productive rural areas of the country.

If you are a dictator, and you now have complete authority over the populace, who are you more likely to want to keep alive, people that consume a lot and produce nothing or those that produce everything and will obey you. That seems pretty self evident. The patriots will have to be eliminated because they want to destroy the rulers and the useful idiots will have to be destroyed because they contribute nothing useful to the country.

One of the wild cards in this soon to be event is the involvement of the Muslim Brotherhood and their surrogates in this country that have infiltrated the government with the idea of turning the U.S. into another Muslim country. For more information on this element see our previous article Enemies Foreign and Domestic. These forces will turn on the radical left wing that seeks control and attempt to dispose of them as well at some point. There may be many factions fighting in this country in the near future with many different goals so there will be no shortage of interesting times. Based on historical precedent, this crisis could start at any time but should be at its’ height around 2020 and wind down by 2025 so you might want to make your plans for self preservation based on that time line.

Right now the battle is being fought in the temples so those most dedicated to their cause will probably win. Those with the least dedication that seek the easy way through life will likely not see the conclusion of this struggle. In the end, many will either die on their feet as free men or on their knees as slaves. How you choose to live or die in the future will be your legacy.

The main problem the rulers will have is the fact that the patriots will not give up easily. While the rulers and their surrogates will be fighting for conquest and control, the patriots will be fighting for their very lives and that of their families. The government forces will hold back due to fear of dieing while the patriots will hold back nothing because at that point they will have nothing to lose but their lives and everything to gain by winning. This is one of the elements that will decide the outcome of the coming conflict. Will someone fight harder for a paycheck or for freedom and their way of life? In any event, the patriots can be assured of one thing, that the useful idiots will be dispatched before the fighting ends.