Monthly Archives: March 2012

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to visit with a new prepping friend who had come to one of our Ladie’s Weekend Retreats.  She and I chatted and enjoyed talking about all the self-sustaining lessons we had learned and sharing ideas to help each other prepare in peace.  We were loading her small four-wheel drive with her bulk order and just enjoying the beginning of spring.

She shared with me that she had recently been able to secure a location to move to that was a bit further out of town.  At this delight, she made preparations to make the move.  Being a single mother, she was offered help from some of her co-workers.  A very nice gesture.  She accepted.   This lead to one face to face encounter with a question that is often asked/implied about prepping.

While moving, she was confronted by a fellow work peer about her food and having to move all of it.  To hear her talk, she felt she barely had a couple month’s of the basics on hand for she and her elementary age child, so it was not an exorbitant amount of food.  But after seeing a few bags of grain and other staples, she was faced with the question: “Why all this food?  Are you HOARDING?” She had to come up with a viable answer on the spot and felt like she had been accused of taking food out of the mouths of others.

The truth is, the definition of hoarding does not have a negative connotation at all.   The verb “hoard” makes no differentiation about the use of items stored.  Dictionary dot com simply defines the verb as this:  ” HOARD verb (used with object) –   to accumulate for preservation, future use, etc., in a hidden or carefully guarded place.  (ie: to hoard food during a shortage). “  No where in the definition of hoarding does it denote the intended USE of the items preserved for the future.

Preppers are not taking food out of the mouths of people now nor are they creating a shortage of toilet paper or gasoline.  To be maligned with a negative connotation in the word ‘hoarding’ is completely uncalled for.

So if someone uses that word with you while you are trying to encourage others to live a preparedness lifestyle or they get wind that you are prepping, do not despair.  They obviously don’t really know that hoarding is not negative by definition.  On the contrary, your ‘hoarding’ may be what saves them in the future!

If you get called ‘stingy’, well, now there may be the need for a heart-check before you settle with that label.

  Our newest members of the Miller preparedness plan: Four Buff Orpington Chicks (hens)!

We originally wanted 3 Buff Orpingtons and 3 Black Austroloups.  But we are going to have to wait on the Black ones a few weeks.

We have had the breed of Buff Orpingtons before and find it to be a prolific brown egg layer with a great temperament and fun nature. They have thick feathers which helps them weather the winter cold better than most chickens and are a docile and person-friendly breed.

Most places in America will allow even a home in the suburbs to have a chicken, or more than one.  Roosters are usually not allowed in the suburbs due to noise.  The number of hens may be limited, but even if you just get one egg a day from one hen – you’ve saved almost $1.50 a week! Check with your local ordinances to find out if you can have a hen or several in your back yard!

Next comes the chicken coup!

What is Martial Law?

Martial law is defined as: military rule or authority imposed on a civilian population when the civil authorities cannot maintain law and order, as in a time of war or during an emergency.

Martial law can be used by a Government to enforce governmental power over it’s country’s citizens.  Examples of incidents are:  when threatened by popular protest (such as China’s  Tiananmen Square protests of 1989);  to suppress political opposition (such as in Poland 1981); to stabilize  perceived and/or actual insurrections (as in Canada’s  “October Crisis” of 1970).

The Recent Executive Order further clarifies the plans to use Martial Law:

On March 16th, 2012 in the midst of a common political practice of finalizing government documents late on a Friday afternoon, right after the news cycle for the week  wraps up – a move critics say allows the administration to avoid widespread coverage of embarrassing actions – the White House released an executive order on “National Defense Resources Preparedness.” This timing and stealthy move is much like what was done  on the holiday of New Years Eve, signing of 2012 NDAA . This update to Martial Law creates the imposition of Martial Law without Congressional oversight , only Congressional briefings.

In this most recent signing on March 16, 2012 the powers over the US Citizen’s property and rights are clearly segregated into who is in control of you and what you have if/when  Martial Law is declared by Commander In Chief.  In the new Executive Order, not only does the president have the authority to invalidate legitimate freedoms of U.S. citizens, but also the secretaries that run the Government are now empowered to revoke certain rights of the citizens of the USA as well.

Surely we’ve used Martial Law before?

Federal Martial Law is believed to have been ordered in ‘pockets’ of our society during emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina and September 11, 2001.  However; after insight and scrutiny, these were most likely simple individual states declaring a state of emergency or state-wide martial law and the deployment of the National Guard and FEMA  rather than Federal Martial Law.

The last time the Federal Government enacted Martial Law it was still on a specified are. It was in Hawaii during World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Even this was not a Nation wide mandated use of Martial Law.

The only time in the History of the USA that Federal Martial Law has been declared (the Federal Government, President or Entities having control of all forms of…) was during our Nations most tumultuous time of civil unrest and division:  The Civil War.

Why all the focus to update, clarify and structure Martial Law?

This gives pause for concern wondering why all the recent focus on the re-structuring of Martial Law.  Within five months of the quietly signed NDAA (New Year’s Eve Martial Law signing) we see yet another Executive order restructuring the use of power within the US Government.   While I see the very deliberate structured layout, control and federalizing of power as ground work for plans to invoke Martial Law on a Nation wide organized scale, the White House press secretary Jay Carney dismissed the idea that this recent Executive Order issued was even called ‘martial law’, and calls it ‘standard and routine’. 

What do you think?

Are you storing food, sundries,  necessities and other things for an uncertain future?  This is one of the main focuses in the Prepping (Preparedness) culture today.  GET STUFF.

While being prepared with a ‘good stock’ of whatever is both prudent and a wise investment given the economic climate, I believe there are many areas of prepping or preparedness that are widely overlooked by folks who choose this lifestyle.  Either because they are new or because they are panicked there is a great focus on the tangible prepping.  Often the thought of prepping stops there with a well stocked bunker or pantry and toiletries out the ears.

In the days ahead, we are going to explore some of the non-tangible things to prepare.  Things that rust and moth do not decay.  Things that no one can come in and steal.  Things that require practice, diligence and guts not credit, debit or cash.

Last month, on Your Preparation Station, I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Alan Madison, Co-Executive Producer for “Doomsday Preppers” on National Geographic.   It was an excellent interview and we are certainly very thankful for Mr. Madison sharing with us about this new television series shown on the National Geographic channel.

For those who were unable to attend the live show I wanted to share the recording.  We’ve received a lot of positive comments, so I’m sure you will enjoy.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Here is the synopsis for the show:

“Doomsday Preppers explores the lives of otherwise ordinary Americans who are preparing for the end of the world as we know it.  Unique in their beliefs, motivations, and strategies, preppers will go to whatever lengths they can to make sure they are prepared for any of life’s uncertainties. And with our expert’s assessment, they will find out their chances of survival if their worst fears become a reality.

We also invite you to listen to some of our other radio shows.  Visit our radio archives for recordings of some of our recent interviews.

As an Internet Radio Talk Show Hostess, I have many opportunities to talk with folks who have great things to share with the Preparedness Community.  It is my desire to choose guests who have something to teach, or something to encourage listeners on to more preparation efforts.  It is however inevitable, that ‘prepping’ seems to fall into only one perceived categories by main stream media and many preppers themselves.

The question often comes up:  “What are you Prepping for?”

When I first heard this question, it threw me for loop.  Never one to be at a loss for words, I simply shared what was on my heart. “We are prepping for life.  Also to be a safe haven for those that God lays upon our heart.”  For some reason, this did not fit the typical answers heard in the prepper realm of conversation.  It appears I was supposed to list catastrophic event of some form or an actualization of a conspiracy theory come to life.  To prepare for THOSE things never had occurred to us.  Sure we are aware of the probability of any one of the theories becoming reality, to to prep FOR them seemed almost like shooting at the wrong mark.

We also have been asked to fill out the forms to be on the National Geographic Series “Doomsday Preppers”.  I have interviewed the Executive Co-Producer of the show, he was very candid and very informative.  Most people understand that the show is meant to be Edu-tainment with the value or educational points only found by those searching for the value within it.  Television is made for ratings, and we don’t fit the Doomsday Prepper profile.  To follow our family around in our daily life or see how we are rebuilding our food storage (after we already lived out of it for a year), grow, can, preserve, etc… would cause most viewers to snore.

Our Preparedness Journey has taught us that a cataclysmic event is not the mark to shoot for when preparing, because often  folks will take a hit that is far more personal well be for the social fall out of society or an EMP hits us. We are not preparing for Doomsday…we prepare for every day.  We have used our preparedness stock and continue to rebuild it and grow our own skill set.

We took this path of simplistic preparedness over 25 years ago and it has been an everyday growing and learning experience.  If  nothing ever happens on the global or national scale to force people to live like we have, we’re still going to be happy that we prepared for life  every- single – day.

March 7th, 2012 was supposed to have one of the largest solar flares of the 20th century. Is this a sign of more active sun emissions or a cyclical pattern for which we had no technology prior to the last few centuries to gauge?

My belief is that it is a combination of both. We know more now than we ever did before. Research, technology, instant broadcasting (due to the internet) and even a wide array of ‘experts’ easily accessible to us like never before.

Does that mean that these happenings with the sun are changes to we must be alarmed? Or does it mean that we simply have recently payed attention to it in greater detail and thus it has taken a higher priority of focus?

Again, my belief is a combination of both.  EMPs, Coronal Mass Ejection and Solar Flares have been around since the creation of the sun. From the audible ‘Let there be light.’ phrase was spoken – the sun has simply operated this way. Just because we had not the means to know it before, and it’s new to us, doesn’t mean that gigantic solar flares have not been effecting our environment for thousands of years.  Our concern now is it’s affect on our lifestyle – electricity and the things it secures/provides.

Not only would an EMP or Coronal Mass Ejection be inconvenient, it would disrupt much of life as we are accustomed in the 21st century.  Power grids would go down from city to city. With that, water systems and emergency management communications would not function properly. Security for prisons would cease to be in place. This is all due to our dependency on electricity and computers.

Even experts cannot agree on what the total impact would be or how long it would take to restore electrical order.

As close as only a couple of hundred years ago.  A massive Solar Flare, EMP or Coronal Mass Ejection would not have put such a speed-bump into daily life as it would now. I highly believe that our planet was experiencing these solar issues at that time, perhaps not to the same magnitude, but still experiencing them. People who did not depend upon electricity, went about life as normal.

Now the ‘benefit’ of knowledge, technology and instant news can disrupt what is normal on both ends. Prior to any Solar Flare or such we can be warned and worry. After an EMP we would be affected greatly.

“Your Preparation Station” Radio show is interviewing the creators of Flare Aware on March 10. 2012 – if you listen LIVE or later (on our Archives) you’ll hear more about alerts to these events, the differences in an EMP, Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection and see how you can at least be a step ahead.

Realizing that we can actually do nothing to prevent what happens with the sun, preventative measures to protect what you can are wise…but, controlling the situation completely is impossible. So rest in Faith and do not let your heart be troubled. Be diligent to prepare what you can, but put it into perspective that:

1. We may just be more edgy because more information is instantly available.

2. It wouldn’t be LIFE if you could control EVERYTHING.

Best Blessings and enJOY this Journey!