Quote:  ”Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” — P.J. O’Rourke

News:

• It seems as if Idaho has a solid Gubernatorial candidate, Rex Rammell.  ”If elected, he promises to climb aboard a bulldozer and use it to rip out some Forrest Service gates in front of the TV cameras” and return the land back to the State of Idaho.  Sixty-three percent of the State of Idaho is currently controlled by the federal government.
• Here is a prime candidate for the 2010 Darwin Awards.  Who plays Russian Roulette with a semi-automatic handgun?  The Russians, you gotta’ love the Russians.  Here is a close runner-up, a man decided to hammer the bolt closed on his .50 BMG repeatedly.
• Passive resistance will result in you being tasered.  Pointing said taser at the police… results in you being shot and killed.
• Another example of taxpayer funding well spent, the Virginia Senate has a committee set on destroying pro-gun legislation.  Maybe it is time to find a new State.
• Houston now has environmental LEOs?  I am interested to see what develops.

Links from Readers:

• detuneyourradio sent us this well thought out article comparing hospitals to gas stations.
• BW in Florida sent us Chuck Baldwin’s survival list.

Water is the most important part of your long term food storage and personal preparedness.  You will need a minimum of one to two gallons of water per person per day.  One of the best methods I have found for purifying water is the Berkey water purification systems.  For a while now, the Wife and I have been using the Berkey Light water filtration system in our house.  We use it to 1) get accustomed to using our gear and 2) purify all of the impurities, hard metals, and chemical additives that plague municipal drinking water.

Setting up the Berkey Light is relatively easy.  It is nothing more than two plastic contatiners that sit on top of each other.  The top container is where your ‘dirty’ water is poured; the bottom container is where your purified water is collected.  The bottom container also has a spigot attached to it to conveniently allow you to pour water into a glass, bottle, or dog bowl.

One key element to the Berkey’s efficacy is ‘priming’ your filter elements.  For this process we used the priming button method with a faucet.  This process fills the microscopic pores with water to increase your flow rate.  This process also removes any contaminants or dust that are common during the manufacturing process.  In a grid-down scenario, where pressurized water is not available, you can use the alternate method.  Be sure to print off a copy and stick it in the box with the filter elements.

The Black Berkey filter elements are extremely powerful.  They have the ability to remove a plethora of impurities to below detectable limits.  They even have the ability to purify food coloring out of water (this is also a test to make sure that you have good seals after installation).  The Black Berkey filter element are capable of purifying 6,000 gallons of water before needing to be changed out!  Each pair of filters runs about $99 a set.

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Jake

LivingPrepared.com has been online for thirty days now and all I can say is… WOW! Thus far, everything has been a major success. This could not have been done without all of y’all getting the word out about LivingPrepared.com. We now have over 500 visits from 135 unique visitors with 21 unique visits a day. We have readers from 29 states and 4 countries from around the globe. Once again, thanks to all of the readers for getting the word out about preparedness.

Over the next two weeks, we are going to be unveiling a new look to LivingPrepared.com. If you have some input or insight, send us an email.

Today also marks the day, that theWife starts sharing her views on preparedness.  She offers a look into what it means to be prepared from the invaluable perspective of a woman.  Her blog can be found at http://theWife.livingprepared.com.

Do you have an article to submit, a topic that you find interesting, or something you want to learn or read more about?  If so, send us an email.  We love to hear from you, the reader.

Stay safe, be ready

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Jake

Quote:  ”I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” — Robert A. Heinlein.

News:

• Oh (Big) Brother!  The TSA is looking at technology that scans your phone, PDA, and other electronic devices.  Idaho is once again leading the fight and passed a law limiting the use of naked body scanners.
• Well, they just crammed one gigantic piece of legislation down Americans throats, now the folks on the Hill are ready for round two.  This time, they are focused on ‘climate change’.  Also, expect to see sweeping ‘Wall Street reform‘ that is going to, once again, leave the foxes (the Fed) watching the foxes (the central banks) that are in charge of the hen house (free markets).
• The US is ramping up its fight on ‘cyber crime’, destroying our on-line freedoms in the process.
• The Indian military is looking at using the world’s hottest chili pepper in new ‘less-lethal’ tear gas grenades.  I wonder if this same principle could be used as an ‘improvised deterrent’ post-SHTF.
• GMO plants are the answer to ‘climate change’.

HCR News:

• People all of the sudden now think that the healthcare reform ‘is like Christmas’ come early, what they don’t realize is that it is an oppressive present.
• The IRS is set to be the ‘chief enforcer for health care reform’.  Oh yeah, they are also creating 16,500 new job and needing an additional $10 billion at this wonderful agency to enforce this new legislation.  In the meantime, this legislation is projected to cut 5 million jobs in the private sector.
• After just 36 hours, HCR was signed into law.  *Flashback*:  The public will have 5 days to read the bill.
• 20 ways Obamacare will strip us of our freedoms.

Links from Readers:

• detuneyourradio sent us this video of Ron Paul speaking about the un-Constitutional, illegal, and immoral socialized health care plan.
• A reader in the PNW sent us this,”Rep. Giffords’ Tucson office vandalized after health care vote‘

Note from Jake:  We have entered a period of history that will forever be remembered.  Last night the House of Representatives passed un-Constitutional legislation in an un-Constitutional manner.  For this, not only should they all be impeached, but they should all be arrested and charged with treason.  Yes, I understand that these are harsh words.   Friends, let me be clear, we are headed for harsh times.

Quote:  “Socialism: nothing more than the theory that the slave is always more virtuous than his master” — Henry Louis Mencken

News:

• Beware of social networking sites, the federales may be watching you.
• Earthquakes have been mainstream news lately with the ground shaking in Chile and Haiti.  Saturday there was also a 5.6 magnitude quake in Cuba with a 5.3 magnitude quake in Mexico.
• You should never, ever underestimate the ability of others to do bad things.  In Philadeplhia, kids age 9-15 are playing “catch and wreck” where the beat up suspected homeless people.
• Seven more banks have been closed by regulators, making 37 this year.  Expect to see more banks failing this year as the commercial real estate bubble bursts.
• Florida, along with nine other states, will be suing the federal government over the passing of health care.  I made a post last week about Idaho Governor “Butch” Otter signing into law, legislation that requires the State of Idaho to sue the federal government if Obamacare passed.
• Mitt Romney writes of the campaign to repeal the recently passed healthcare legislation.
• More overwhelming evidence of America turning into a police state:  a New Jersey city has banned dog barking, 24/7.

Links from Readers:

• Cousin Cooter sent us this gorgeous photograph.  Someone find me this SUV.