The Real End, how it we built scenarios to boost our own egos and sooth our fears.

[cudakidd]

I don't plan for SHTF. I plan for Earthquakes! I live in California after all...

I've been aware of this since 1980 and Mel Tappans' articles. Have acquired all the basics to live for a decent interval without Government help. That's not fantasy that's preparing.

I buy insurance for my car and hope to never use it. Same for my BOB...

[chris]

if anything we should be preparing for is earthquakes that we know will happen. when? no one can really say for sure but one day it will happen and this state will not be able to handle it at all. so for STHF if that happens before "the big one" well then most will be better off than those that did not atleast prepare a little bit.

[sholling]

Ideally I don't consider local/regional disasters to be SHTF, they are usually short lived in general. Preparedness is always good, its the TOTWAKI planning that needs to be put aside. Being able to go for a few weeks is a good thing, just also plan on what you will do if your primary is lost. I view planing and preparing as good ideas. After all I plan and prepare against home intruders with my firearms. When you plan look at your area and say, will my cache survive the local disaster possibilities: Flood, Fire, Wind, Earthquake. Fire is an example where Bugging out is the Norm, so a properly equipped BOB is great for Fire, it might not be for Wind or Flood, or Earthquake.

Was kind of gloomy this morning so the post reflected it. Hey, vote me for next governor of Texas and we might get another civil war ;p

We all have those days. The only TEOTWAWKI scenario that I consider worth planning for is a major epidemic. The 1918 Spanish Flu killed 50-100 million people at a time before modern transportation made accidentally spreading a killer as easy as a plane ride. That doesn't even take into account bio-terrorism or all out TEOTWAWKI bio-war by Jihadists. An attack could take the form of a human targeted agent killing 35-40% of the population, or an agent like killing off all of the wheat or rice or corn world wide. Surviving a human epidemic may require locking yourself and family in the house and living on your stocks of emergency supplies until the epidemic burns itself out. An agricultural attack could wipe out half the food supply for a year or more. What these have in common is likelihood. It's unlikely that an extinction size asteroid will land or that Yellowstone will go-off in my lifetime. It could happen but probably wont. On the other hand I'd be shocked if bad guys weren't working on and willing to use bio weapons.

[cudakidd]

Remember the Ebola scare/craze? Or the Bird Flu? When is the last time we heard of them or any Pandemic?

And Isolation (Sheltering in place) until it burns out should work. Say 72 hours to maybe a week?

But fill in your emergency of choice, plan for it, prep for it, and then go on with your life!

[echo1]

Bring it, or don't. I still have to go to work for 3-7 more years. PAX

[meaty-btz]

Forget earthquakes, apparently I have to worry about Tornadoes as well. That was "fun".

[problemchild]

I cannot see Soros the destroyer waiting another 10 years so he can short the USA as we collapse. He has over 1100 companies all working to collapse the USA. He is on the fast track and has his foot to the floor. The CIA needs to double tap that M++THER F++KER in the head.

Its coming. Its coming soon. Be prepared.

[wheels]

I cannot see Soros the destroyer waiting another 10 years so he can short the USA as we collapse. He has over 1100 companies all working to collapse the USA. He is on the fast track and has his foot to the floor. The CIA needs to double tap that M++THER F++KER in the head.

Its coming. Its coming soon. Be prepared.

Looking back fondly on those days when the CIA would just make dirt bags go away.....Maybe the Israelis would take care of a few for us...

[problemchild]

Looking back fondly on those days when the CIA would just make dirt bags go away.....Maybe the Israelis would take care of a few for us...

Yeah bet they are not to fond of him either. The last group of people on the planet that wont take **** from anyone.

[jshoebot]

While the government is over reaching more and more every day I don't think that the "we aren't free" argument holds water when compared to other places around the world. The fact that we can have a forum where we have attorneys actively working on our behalf to restore rights (and winning) shows that we are very free. Otherwise this site couldn't exist in open public without someone being killed for it.

Yeah, we're the healthiest patient in the cancer ward.

That's a cop-out argument. You can't compare our freedom to the freedom in other countries. America was an unprecedented idea. A nation the likes of which the world had never seen before. When our nation was established, the people received their free-born liberty. Now, you can't water your lawn on the wrong day or you'll get a ticket. If you don't pay your taxes, masked men wearing all black and carrying guns will kick down your door, shoot your dog, kill your whole family, burn down your house, and take you to prison for tax evasion. You think we're free?

You have you gauge our freedom in this country against the freedom our nation has always known. Compared to how free our nation used to be, I'd say we're slaves.

[Joewy]

About the collapse part.
Ive lived thru it in other countries 3 times. You never know when it will happen but you can sure feel it comming. It is a sudden event. Something small that escalates quickly. Once people realize that no one is going to stop them from doing something illegal they do what ever thay want.
A prime example is the LA riots.
Being prepared is very important. It will save your life. And the life of your familly. These events do end. Usually after many deaths and lots of destruction but they end and people go back to doing what they do.

I can feel it comming now. Just dont know when it will happen.

[sholling]

About the collapse part.
Ive lived thru it in other countries 3 times. You never know when it will happen but you can sure feel it comming. It is a sudden event. Something small that escalates quickly. Once people realize that no one is going to stop them from doing something illegal they do what ever thay want.
A prime example is the LA riots.
Being prepared is very important. It will save your life. And the life of your familly. These events do end. Usually after many deaths and lots of destruction but they end and people go back to doing what they do.

I can feel it comming now. Just dont know when it will happen.

This is very important because many assume that government will work to prevent an economic collapse. What they don't count on is the Cloward-Priven Strategy of social change through social upheaval as a result of national bankruptcy. It's a version of the "top-down, bottom-up, and inside out" strategy that former Obama adviser Van Jones and company are always talking about. The Cloward-Priven idea was to raise social spending levels (and dependency) to the point that the government would be too broke to pay its bills (see the $1.4T deficit, $14T debt and $70+T in unfunded obligations) including welfare, social security, and food stamps creating a "top-down generated crisis" at which point the 51% taking more from the system than they pay in cry out for government to "save us" (bottom-up cry for help) which gives Progressives in government the excuse to "save us" by seizing private assets and property for redistribution during a "temporary" state of emergency. It sounds like paranoia until you realize that almost all of the top administration advisers are life long followers of Cloward and Priven. In my opinion that's why they are pushing so hard for another $2T in borrowing authority while doing their best to block any spending reforms and are running up energy prices and strangling private industry (and jobs) through regulation. They are so close to their man-made perfect storm that they can taste it.

Poll: 50% Expect U.S. Government To Go Bankrupt Before Budget Is Balanced

[blackbox]

OP, agree'd 100% with your rant. It reminded of something I read a while ago, along similar lines:

http://exiledonline.com/war-nerd-apocalypse-never/all/1/

Reading the whole thing is time well spent, but this is the best snippet:

The end of the world is what you call it when your tribe loses. It may be the end of the world for them, like it was for hundreds of native tribes all over the world, but when your world ends like that, you don’t get to play out the game in some cool ruins out of a video game. Some other tribe takes over, that’s all. And when they do, there’s no way on earth you can hole up in your townhouse with a semi-automatic weapon and hold out. Because it’s organization that wins, not lone gunmen. If you want to survive, join a club. It only looks like chaos to the losers.

[Baconator]

Yeah, we're the healthiest patient in the cancer ward.

That's a cop-out argument. You can't compare our freedom to the freedom in other countries. America was an unprecedented idea. A nation the likes of which the world had never seen before. When our nation was established, the people received their free-born liberty. Now, you can't water your lawn on the wrong day or you'll get a ticket. If you don't pay your taxes, masked men wearing all black and carrying guns will kick down your door, shoot your dog, kill your whole family, burn down your house, and take you to prison for tax evasion. You think we're free?

You have you gauge our freedom in this country against the freedom our nation has always known. Compared to how free our nation used to be, I'd say we're slaves.

I think I'm free. I'll go water my lawn right now to prove it.