Free Republic

Anti-gun rhetoric has been a fact of my life as long as I can remember. As a new mom, I even tried keeping toy guns out of the house, because I had bought into some of the myths surrounding gun ownership, such as: 1) Accidental gun deaths are bound to happen with a gun in the house. 2) A gun-free home will keep kids safe from guns. 3) If kids play with toy guns, they will grow up to be violent. All of those are nonsense, of course, but as a mom, all I wanted was for my children to...

I’m not sure when the tipping point occurred, but at some point recently the “prepper” movement exploded and became mainstream. Preppers are folks who detect the possibility of calamity and decide to increase their odds of surviving it by putting aside supplies. “Putting things by” — essential throughout most of humanity’s existence — was common in the United States up until advances in transportation logistics brought about the “just in time” shipping model. Suddenly, we could get almost any supplies delivered fresh and year-round to massive community stores. What our grandparents called “lean times” became a thing of the past...

Total Chaos In the UK As Gas Stations Run Dry; Efforts to Stop Panic Buying Have Led toÂ… More Panic Buying Mac Slavo March 29th, 2012 SHTFplan.com What was a fairly minor fuel shortage sparked when gas tanker drivers in the UK threatened to go on strike has developed into what UK officials are now calling all out chaos, as drivers across the country scramble to fill their tanks amid uncertainty about when transportation services will be up and running at full capacity again. In what may be a glimpse into the future of other industrialized Western nations that are...

Weekly Prepper Thread, for posting tips, new products, good prep buys etc..... “There is no greater disaster than to underestimate danger. Underestimation can be fatal.”

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.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When Paula Symons joined the U.S. workforce in 1972, typewriters in her office clacked nonstop, people answered the telephones and the hot new technology revolutionizing communication was the fax machine. Symons, fresh out of college, entered this brave new world thinking she'd do pretty much what her parents' generation did: Work for just one or two companies over about 45 years before bidding farewell to co-workers at a retirement party and heading off into her sunset years with a pension.

Time for the monthly rotation checklist. I’ve adapted this from alpharubicon’s site (they have more info than I can ever read). Usually do this the first Friday of every month (you pick best time for you). Some of these actions may only pertain to those living in a moist (and in my case salty) environment. If you have a suggestion of what to add…let me know!

Since when did prepping for the end of the world become a hobby? In a sense, that’s one of the questions behind “Doomsday Preppers,” a new National Geographic Channel 10-part series that bows tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The show looks at more than a dozen Americans who have turned building bullet-proof shelters, stocking up on several years’ worth of canned goods and mapping evacuation routes into a kind of pricey game of one-upmanship. Whoever wins may be the last man (or woman) standing – literally. But in another sense, the preppers don’t think of what they do as a...

"My husband WAS very abusive to me. The physical abuse stopped, after going to a men's support group. Should i stay or leave? We have a child. I am a student. No work experience because I cared for the baby...WHat to do?" One question and one question only should be guiding you right now. Will the abuse stay stopped? I'm not saying it won't, but I'd also not bet on it. Breaking the cycle of abuse is very hard, and most abusers will eventually re-offend. Maybe your husband is different, I don't know, but there is nothing wrong with keeping...

20 or so people in there, half of them under 30 going for their technician. I was one of 2 in there to upgrade to general, and one showed up for the highest class, amateur extra. Anyways, I ask this kid (22-25yo) "Why are you getting into ham radio"? He matter-of-factly said, "For the upcoming zombie apocalypse". I laughed and half the room turned around, glad to proclaim the same, hell even bragging about it! A couple more admitted that they were embarrased to say that but essentially that is why they were there. I found out with a little...

It seems like everyone has their own vision of the Apocalypse. For Christians, The End is synonymous with the Four Horsemen, the Rapture and the Anti-Christ. Environmentalists, meanwhile, fear climate change, melting polar ice caps and turbulent weather. For paranoid newshounds, if rogue states like Iran or North Korea don't trigger a nuclear war, then debt-wracked banks will soon lead to total societal collapse. Then there's Hollywood: aliens, meteors, earthquakes, malfunctioning uteri and Hitchcock's angry birds. While the Apocalypse-theme has essentially become a pop culture cliché, it remains endlessly fascinating. Case in point: the Christian-focused "Left Behind" books, which have...

When I first started making moldy meat in my garage over a year ago I figured that it must take very specialist equipment, and a team of well read meat science boffins to make anything resembling a decent cured product. I quite frankly am not a meat science boffin, or have very specialist equipment. Nor do the thousands of other people around the globe that cure meat at home, and make a darn fine product too I should add. It turns out it is actually exceptionally easy to make a basic reliable setup at home to cure meat in, and...

I had lunch yesterday with one of the sharpest financial minds I’ve met in a long time at a rather picturesque setting overlooking Evergreen Lake, west of Denver. The restaurant patrons were all well-to-do residents of this wealthy community… in fact, the whole area is like a bubble, largely shielded from any negative effect of the economic fallout thus far. Most of these folks have gone about their lives over the last few years completely oblivious to the global financial crisis. My friend agreed; he told me, “Most of the people sitting in this restaurant haven’t felt a thing. Their...

Predictions of an economic apocalypse are no longer restricted to the realm of fringe doom and gloomers lurking in the dark corners of the internet. As we’ve previously suggested uncertainty now pervades the social consciousness, not just in America, but the world over. Every major media outlet in developed nations is now reporting on the headwinds facing the so-called recovery. The problems and threats confronting the stability of the globe can no longer be dismissed as theoretical arguments, because they are now being actualized – in real time.

Most of our readers will never go out into public seeking a confrontation. But there is no doubt that trouble will find some of us. Take, for example, Mark LaVelle, a suburban dad and father of four, who was recently attacked by a mob that kicked in his door and beat him while his wife and kids watched and listened from the second floor of their home. He and his family were at the mercy of their attackers:

“I’m hungry grandma Kay” Abbie cried “When are we going to eat”? “I don’t know sweetie, I’m hungry too” Kay replied. Abbie just stood there in the living room in her bulky coat and boots swaying back and forth with her head hanging down and weeping softly. She was already skin and bones, Kay knew she wouldn’t last much longer. After 6 weeks there was nothing to eat anywhere, nothing. “Grandma, remember when I told you my friend Marla’s family was storing food at their cabin?” said Abbie. “Yes” Kay sighed. “Why didn’t we store food?” Abbie asked. “Well” Kay...

This latest micro documentary from New America Now discusses the many problems facing modern day American society, namely the US Dollar, our country’s ever growing debt, rising prices and the crisis that will ensue as a result – and how you can survive and thrive.

How to Hide ‘Treasure’ just in case……. Everyone has at least some metallic items they would like to hide away some place for safekeeping. Some are just round precious metal objects, others are hand held items and still others are long pieces. Some will say that the time to hide away these items is really the time to bring them out. And while there is a bit of truth to that, it is still wise to have back up items if the need should arise. Introduction The best method to determine how to hide something is to take the viewpoint...

how did you convince your spouse to be a prepper? (and not think you're nuts) Post your interesting , amusing , and/or somber antecdotes here. IE: I convinced her the money saved on growing food could be used for some killer pedicures.

Last Thursday, National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea noted a report from the Oathkeepers that the Denver office of the FBI wants surplus store owners to snitch on purchasers of certain survival gear. (Very) briefly summarized, the FBI wants to know about people who purchase "in bulk" things like Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), waterproof containers for ammunition or matches, shooting accessories, etc., especially if the purchaser insists on paying in cash (you know--legal tender). Yesterday, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman reported that this effort on the federal government's part is both more widespread and longer established than was...