Liberty and Learning lecture series in Utah

Unfortunately the majority of Americans voting today are criminally ignorant when it comes to a reasonable understanding of the rights afforded them by the Constitution. Over the last couple of years I have been devouring as much information as I can find to study on my own. This study has included opinions from those believing the Constitution to be a static document and those who believe that it is a ‘living, breathing document’.

All the studying I have done has placed me firmly in the static camp. The founding fathers feared that clever words, exaggerated security fears and other ‘crises’ could cause the people to cede their rights to an ever more powerful government. To combat this, the power of government was severely limited with the power and therefore responsibility laid in the laps of the people themselves. If a change to the Constitution were actually necessary, the mechanism to amend it was created. However, this should be seen as a solemn, game changing event and as such is a long and very difficult process.

During the 219 years since the Constitution was created, only 27 amendments have been added, INCLUDING the original 10 of the Bill of Rights. This alone should demonstrate the intended nature of the Constitution. It is a sacred document unswayed by the temperamental winds of changing opinion. It is the duty of all citizens to learn what rights and responsibilities are placed upon us by our Constitution.

Now more than ever our rights are assailed by the government, special interests and those seeking to gain more power over your life and the very decisions you are allowed to make. Our state indoctrination centers (known as public schools to most) teach nothing of this, in fact this is where the idea that the Constitution should be interpreted anew by those in our power hungry government is most espoused. We must combat this by being informed and working to teach our children, family friends and neighbors.

I urge everyone to attend a lecture series like the ones presented here. Liberty and Learning

Food storage confiscations?

The government had jailed people in the past for ‘hoarding’ food. While this may seem a thing of the past, the government’s current direction towards ‘redistribution’ makes this ever more likely. NY Times Archive

Is anybody else worried about this or am I just paranoid?

Seeds in food storage?

Lately it seems I have been seeing a number of survival blogs recommending seeds as part of your preps. Not everyone has the time, space or talent to have a functioning garden. But should that stop you from adding seeds to your broader food storage?

One item to consider is that seeds have a limited (and varied) shelf life. Some good information can be found here

I feel my own gardening skills are severely lacking and the garden areas at my home have been neglected in the two years we’ve lived there. However, after I do some more research, I expect I’ll be adding a variety of seeds to our storage soon.

Upholding the Constitiution

One of my favorite sci-fi writers recently published an entry in his column entitled “Upholding the Constitition“.  This is an excellent read, discussing the horrors of judicial legislation, and its side effects.  It also hypothesises on the need and ways we have to combat these actions.

His discussion becomes extra important as we look at the choices and appointments that will be made by the people we elect this next week.

Wilderness Safety

KSL is reporting on a major pot operation near Ephaim that was uncovered by a deer hunter yesterday.  Recently there has been an increasing number of these types of operations uncovered on our public lands.  What’s really scary is that this kid got lucky that he didn’t find the people who were watching over their ‘plot’ with their own rifle.  Most wouldn’t hesitate to silence a single intruder.

Keep your wits about you, make sure you are carrying, don’t stick around!

What’s more scary, what about those plantations that might be on national park land, instead of just BLM land?  Then we aren’t allowed to carry anything for our own defense.

Stocking Stuffers

Christmas is coming, and it’s time to think about what to get the hordes of family and friends.  I thought I’d share something I found last year that was my favorite thing to include with gifts, hand out to everybody at work, and drop in every stocking, all without hurting the budget.

One of my favorites comes from a site I often visit, DealExtreme.  This is a discount site for imported items, and they have quite a variety of fun toys for the prepper and geek.  In the flashlight section (which has good name-brand as well as really good knock off lights) they have a special deal on bulk packs of keychain LED’s.  Under $5 for a 10 pack, and even less if you grab a couple packs, it’s an easy way to get an EDC item out to all those around you.  I made sure to have an extra pack for myself, so every bag has one on it, as well as all our keychains.

Out of Jars?

People are not letting their jars go for anything

Nice article in the Daily Herald on Sunday about the rise in home canning, largely due to economic reasons.  They attribute it mostly to economic reasons, and list out how people are having trouble finding canning jars and equipment in stores now.  Freecycle and garage sales are largely wiped out now.

In an interview on Friday, Stephanie Shih, national spokeswoman for Ball Jars, said the Utah Valley spike is not isolated. Nationally, demand for Ball food preserving products has spiked 30 percent this year, and customers as far as New York have had trouble finding jars as demand grows. Sales of large Ball jars have jumped nearly 40 percent, and sales of Ball plastic freezer containers have doubled.

A recent survey of 1,800 people by the company found “that more than 70 percent of respondents intend to preserve more foods this year in an effort to save money on weekly groceries,” she said.

Hope you’ve been canning too.  I know I just had to pick up two more cases of quart jars, Wal-Mart had just received a load and was getting lower on quarts, still had pint sized though, at the time.

Food Storage Wiki

The web abounds with various documents espousing information pertaining to the long-term storage of food.  With some time, and a good search engine, you can find posts in forums, blog entries, PDF documents, and even .DOC, .XLS, and .TXT files.

What do all these sources have in common? Besides having to search around to find them, then use whatever tool to search inside that document, it’s a little difficult to edit and republish if necessary.  But there are tools to solve that problem.  Welcome to the new Food Storage Wiki.  Do you know anything about preparedness, or food storage?  If so, join up, and help add that information for other people to find.

Let’s help other people have a good, moderated resource for learning how to be prepared.