Getting past the paralysis

Let me implore some of you people once again to get the f#@k prepared!

If you think the president has patched things up and all will be fine now, I suppose there's no reaching you. It will be, "Boy, McClarin seems to be losing touch with the real world more and more lately, all caught up in this doomsday horseshit." Yup, you'd be right too.

But please consider: The jobless numbers keep going up, the Baltic Dry (shipping) Index keeps swirling in the toilet, local governments are beginning to close schools and lay off policemen as they see huge tax shortfalls, the commercial ARM's are set to collapse in just a few months, and the Fed has become the chief buyer of treasury notes. Dubai and the Saudis, Iran and the Russians, are all overextended from the days of $150/barrel oil and rioting is breaking out in more and more countries as the meltdown spreads. The devastation in Iceland will visit your neighborhood very soon.

It certainly doesn't help that we have an impostor in the White House that wants to see America punished and whose first military adventure (Afghanistan doesn't count, that was Bush's war) is likely to be the subjugation of our own country. But what can you do other than complain about it?

I do know one thing you can do, prepare for TEOTWAWKI. You don't need to thank me later, just do it. Find a place to tuck away some canned food. Keep adding to it. Get some water storage happening for when the grid goes down and the pumps quit working. Aim for the ability to barricade yourself indoors for two months (envision bird flu or other lethal pandemic, no human contact!).

OK, forget it. I can just see the authority figure coming up behind you as you adoringly squeeze the last can of Spaghetti-O's into place:

"What in the hell are you doing, hoarding? HOARDING!!?

"When on earth did this start? What the hell's gotten into you?

"All of a sudden you've turned into a creepy, stingy survival nut! I don't even know you! You should be ashamed of yourself sneaking around, hiding food just like a goddamned squirrel! That's not who we are!

"Have you got an assault rifle hidden under the bed too? God, please don't let me be living with a psycho gun nut who's planning on shooting the neighbors to protect his stash of Fritos and bean dip!

"Look, if you need help, we'll get help. The doctors can do amazing things these days with prescription drugs. Please let's get you some help and just stop this craziness! "

In other words, a true scrotum-shrinking moment. Better to risk death and starvation than face the certainty of annoyance, ridicule, or pity. And don't forget, we'll all look back on this period and laugh uproariously at how paranoid *some people* were, actually acting out their nutty survival fantasies while those of us more stable sagely held our course unruffled through the market correction and came out in fine shape. Yeah.

See, I think that's where the real sickness lies, the fear of others' reactions if we do something the least bit quirky. We run these parental or spousal tongue-lashing dialogues in our heads and are paralyzed into inaction. Then we tell ourselves we're wise to heed them.

Let me attest that preparedness action is actually psychologically rewarding because it addresses a real apprehension we have about the future, an apprehension that's been weighing on us because of our own inaction. This has an effect at once both liberating and empowering. You feel as if you own your future once more.

So get your canned food cache started: yummy yams, spiffy Spam, succulent soups, choice chilis. Let your palate be your guide. I know, it's not what the food storage experts recommend, but it's a start and it feels good.

And go at least visit a gun store so you can simper at the knuckle-dragger customers while you drink in the flavors of a bygone era when all men had testicles and guns. You'll be glad you did.

http://www.preparednessequipment.com

How much time do we have?

If the warning signs are correct, we have several months at most to brace ourselves for the full onslaught of an economic collapse. There is no guarantee it will not happen suddenly, however, before you have made important survival preparations.

Events could cause panic overnight, precipitating a run on the banks that would trigger a bank holiday of indefinite length. Bank accounts and credit cards could be frozen, causing businesses to be unable to buy or sell and employers unable to keep workers employed. In days severe shortages could arise and theft crime could become rampant.

Those who remain indecisive about preparedness run the terrible risk of waiting until suddenly everyone reaches the decision to prepare. Sadly, it will be too late then. The food stores will be mobbed, looters will scuffle over pork chops and snack foods in the aisles, and the shelves will be stripped bare in a matter of hours.

Looters are apt to visit department stores in search of something of value they can trade for food. Police services will be stretched too thinly to offer protection.

The same should be said for those who have taken no steps protect their savings by diversifying into more stable investments such as precious metals.

Will they keep waiting and waiting until their stock portfolio is worth a tenth its former value, then suddenly rush to buy gold when it has doubled or tripled in price?

There is always the chance, and certainly there is the desire, that things will hum along and not get much worse, that it's nothing more than a minor hiccup in the economy like we've all experienced before. But know that there are many very powerful people in the know who are truly alarmed by the unprecedented efforts of the US Federal Reserve and other central banks of the world in attempt to stave off total economic collapse.

These high-placed executives are buying rural retreats and stocking up on food, gold, and guns because they fear what is coming. You should too. Use your imagination as the survival tool it was intended to be. It can help instill an urgency in your preparations. What would you do if you knew everything would collapse tomorrow? Would you draw cash out of your bank? Would you buy extra gas cans and fill them up, topping off your vehicle tank at the same time? Would you buy large quantities of food staples? Would you fill containers with water? Accept that the expected turmoil will begin some day this week. Turn off the TV, shut down the computer, and take action. Once you have made immediate preparations, research and purchase a several-year supply of survival storage foods for you and your family. Buy a gun and ammunition and learn to use it, or buy extra guns and ammo if you are already a gun owner. Visit any local coin shops to see if you can buy some gold and silver. Stay away from collector-grade coins unless you know a lot about them. Buy "junk silver" coins and silver ingots and non-collector gold coins or ingots. If the dollar tanks completely, you will have real money you can spend. Just make sure it is well concealed in several places. Bury it! Devise a retreat plan. Where would you go if things became very ugly and dangerous in your area? Do you want to stock your retreat location ahead of time? Consider buried caches that you can unearth when you arrive. You might find something useful for this purpose at http://www.preparednessequipment.com