Tell Me of Shortages

           

   Most of us now have seen or experienced shortages of one kind or another following the COVID-19 debacle and the events which have occurred afterward. We are told these are generated a number of ways. First, China who makes a great deal of the products sold in the US has experienced supply chain interruptions as a result of upheavals following their own COVID experience. There are interruptions at differing levels of the supply chain there, and this is resulting in less product overall.  Secondly, we are being told that there are massive numbers of container ships from Asia waiting to unload in primarily West coast US ports, and that due to vaccine mandates, there aren't the numbers of people required to unload them. My first thought was that other than some paper plates, gift wrap, and a few non-essential items, it doesn't hurt me much not to be able to get access to Chinese goods. Most of the gifts I buy for family for Christmas are American made.  So I haven't been all that concerned.

              I have been aware that everywhere from pharmacies to Dollar General, Family Dollar, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, other Dollar-type stores and everywhere in between have experienced some rolling shortages. First, there were shortages of toilet paper, then masks, then isopropyl alcohol, then hand sanitizer, then liquid hand soap, then medical gloves, then chux (which have all sorts of uses)  Then, there were shortages of yeast and a variety of different foods, including breads. There were sharp rises in the cost of meats. Now there are shortages of first aid supplies, nebulizer kits, etc. Of course, the types of shortages you may notice depend upon your area to some degree, what you might be seeking, your family size and your use patterns.  Keep in mind that with gas prices having risen under the Biden Regime from $1.79 a gallon last year to about $3.50 a gallon that this too will reduce widespread or complete distribution of goods to you and your family. A lot of the goods you won't be able to get won't matter, but some of them certainly will.  Many of us use dog coats in Winter, and since they rarely last for years, we buy them as Winter is coming. Most of us have not been able to locate the broad range of sizes of these we need.  In some areas, children's acetaminophen, loratadine, acetaminophen in regular strength, and ibuprofen have been in short supply or available only in the versions of the drugs many of us do not use.  Gauze roller bandage has been in short supply, as it is frequently made in China, and when it hasn't arrived, clinics and hospitals have snapped up all the American made versions, leaving little to none for the rest of us.

 

                What are your abatement strategies ?

First,  don't buy up things you don't really use because you think they might be in short supply.

Second,   Stock ahead on prescription and OTC meds your family uses wherever possible.  Leave what you do not normally use, on the shelf.  All these things do expire. Let them be on a pharmacy shelf.  Stay ahead on nebulizer supplies if you use these.

Third,  Assess your first aid supplies.  Beef up anything you need there.

Fourth,   Holiday shop a little early this year with a focus on the locally or American made. Focus on the practical not the fanciful this year.

Fifth,  Consider having "breakfast for dinner" one night a week. Breakfast can be an inexpensive dinner.  Eggs, bacon and pancakes, can be made in many different ways.  If eggs are plentiful, consider a dinner quiche.  Consider new ways to use what you have. You can stir fry spam with vegetables, even though many of us, aren't big spam fans. Enlarge your mealtime repertoire.

                 We will get through this, and when we do, we will have clearer ideas about what we use, and what we don't.   Take care of yourselves during this unusual holiday season. The things that matter were never the material gifts anyway.

Less Has Changed than You Think

                 

 

 

 

       I haven't posted a great deal during COVID-19, and the governmental oversteps and shortages that followed. I think some people thought this would increase the number of posts, but frankly there is no reason.   In my first book, Rational Preparedness: A Primer to Preparedness, I am seeking to prepare the reader to do two things.  Prepare the family for emergencies that necessitate an emergency evacuation, and two, prepare for circumstances that necessitate sheltering in place.  All emergencies fall into either one action or the other.   (I do understand that some of them require sheltering in place while planning a speedy retreat from the area. )  Covid and the governmental oversteps which have occurred is no different. These happenings simply take you to being a more independent family unit or individual than you were before.

                    You need remember just a few things.

1. Your children need to hear that you will move Heaven and Earth to keep them safe, whatever the circumstances.

2. Stand tall.  No employer should be able to mandate an injection of anything, just as they cannot demand you relinquish a kidney for them, or have an abortion because it will be inconvenient for the office for you to be having a baby in the Summer, or near Christmas.  Always keep your resume updated, and keep an on paper notebook of places you could work in an emergency.  Sometimes, taking a vacation from your ordinary field of work is a blessing, ask any of the nurses who have.

3. Always have some emergency food.  The way banks are working today, you could be separated from your own money for a week or two.  Keep some cash well hidden in your home for just such emergencies. You should also have emergency food within your home.

4. Buy medications ahead whenever possible. Do the same with prescription medications your family uses long term, if you can.

5. It's always a good idea to know where you might move, and to what state and area, should things become rapidly inhospitable where you are. There are times to hold on to the homestead, and there are times to flee.

6. Although every personal circumstance has challenges, they all also have advantages. You don't have to solve everyone's problems right now. Solve your own and solve those of your own family.

7. If you're homeschooling, please know that your children will learn more from you than from any other teacher they ever have. Take a deep breath. Teach gradually. Celebrate the small victories and know that the sooner YOU choose their curriculum, and not the government schools do, then the better.

More to come.

                  

     

Where is Ella Mae Begay ?

                     

 

  As you know, we have been giving preparedness information here for more than ten years, and also, in a sense, tracking the deterioration of our society in that time also.  Many, many, children, young people, young men and young women have been listed and missing from both the US and from Canada in this time.  Once in a while, a mature person also goes missing due to foul play.

 

 

 

                       Occasionally, the people who disappear are simply lost. Others are having a mental health crisis and might not remember who they are or where they belong. Most of these people are eventually found, though it can be surprising as to how long this may take sometimes.

                 Other times, children, teens and even young men are stolen sometimes to be sold as the children of other people, as workers of others, or sometimes as slaves. There are also indications that some of the people who disappear from the US become slaves to people in foreign lands, sometimes the Middle East.

               We therefore need to be alert to situations that don't look right to us.  A man who is seeking to control a child, a woman, or girls at a rest stop could be someone who has abducted these women. A woman trying to escape from a bathroom might be someone who has been abducted and is seeking assistance in a bathroom. Please feel free to call police for such situations as this is a big problem now in our nation.  Young men also disappear. Some are pressed into prostitution, but others may be pressed into working for the cartels.

             Sometimes, men or women disappear from Indian reservations, and it can be very hard to locate them again.  There are 61 active missing persons cases from the Navajo Nation alone, dating back to the 1970s.

              Ella Mae Begay is a 62 year old woman who is known for her lovely Navajo handiwork, which graces the top of this posts page. She is considered a master Navajo pictorial rug weaver. Some of her work has been sold in art galleries. She is about 5'1" tall, and about 120 lbs, with dark hair and eyes. She is also a Navajo elder. She was also considered her family's matriarch.

              She spoke to family at length via telephone in June and was happy and exciting about some gatherings they were planning to have.  On June 15, 2021, she was reported missing, and teams were dispatched in and around her home in Sweetwater, Arizona, as both she and her silver truck are missing. The truck is a Silver 2005 Ford F-150 with ARIZONA license plate AFE7101.  Teams were dispatched over a very wide area, hoping to find Ella Mae in a broken down truck somewhere, but there was no luck. Both Arizona and Utah have been searched for her.

             The FBI is now involved in investigating her disappearance. One person is being held on other charges and is said to be a person of interest in her case, but there is no resolution to the case as yet. She and her vehicle have now been missing for months.

              

      

     

                    For reasons which are not yet clear to the rest of us, police have said that this matter has been transitioned to a homicide investigation.   Still , there is no resolution to this case. It is still possible that she is alive, and possibly in another state.  Please call the FBI if you see her vehicle, or someone who looks like Ella Mae. She has a family who is desperately worried about her, and they deserve to have some type of a resolution to this case.

https://www.nhonews.com/news/2021/jun/25/navajo-police-continues-searches-missing-elder/

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/08/05/family-presses-answers/

Don't be Afraid to Explore Opportunities

                      

 

         

I was quite a distance from the farm today, shopping in a Dollar Tree for drop cloths. I plan to spray paint some metal farm items for the front of one of the flower beds, where I often put together a seasonal decorative arrangement when the mums start to wane.  It is, by far, the best place to buy drop cloths.   I could not help but notice two men in their twenties in the store, who were apparently homeless and gathering up a few things they needed. I heard them talking to one another and was able to piece together quite a bit of their story as they spoke to one another. I don't know where they originated, or if they hadn't been to a Dollar Tree before but they were in awe that so many things were available there. One bought Irish Spring soap, which can be shaved and left to repel mice. The other bought a huge container of Nivea lotion for his dry skin. The first man couldn't believe he could buy generic eye drops for a dollar. They were both overjoyed at their good fortune in finding such a place. They were positively giddy when they found all the varieties of bandannas and sunglasses.  A lot of people might think that these two fairly young men are very unfortunate, being homeless, and traveling together in an old Jeep, and shopping for drinks and toiletries with a budget of eleven dollars each. We need to be careful not to judge one another.  I don't know whether these young men were evicted when they lost jobs, or if they decided not to remain in their rentals with the world and with employment as unstable as it is in many places just now. Loading up the old Jeep, and taking a trip seeking greener pastures might be the smartest thing the two of them could have done. As they travel, they might find a wonderful opportunity at a new company, or with an established one. As a consequence of their traveling now, they might find a place they choose to live that they might never have known about otherwise. Sometimes, letting what you have go, leaves your hands free to grab on to something new with both hands. Don't be afraid to seek new opportunities in life.

 

                          Once in awhile, someone asks me whether we should make more plans for sheltering in place, or for family evacuations, which is often called "bugging out".  I always say that you should be prepared to do both.  You could have the most pleasing home in the world, but if the forest fires are engulfing your area, you may need to leave it.  It doesn't matter if you live in a shack. If there are storms outside, then your shack could be the most valuable place you could live, to protect your family and it should be set up to weather such storms. In this life we need to be flexible. We need to know how to evacuate when it's necessary, and we need to know when to hunker down, and what that entails.  Sometimes, families make a pre-emptive relocation for economic reasons. Sometimes, they bring their brothers and sisters with them, and their families too.  In times of economic uncertainty this may not be unwise. If you and your family live in an expensive area, and you are being economically crushed, then you should explore areas that are less expensive to live in, but make sure that there are a variety of jobs available while you make the adjustments.

 

                     In five years, the two homeless twenty-somethings I saw today could have money in the bank, homes of their own, and very good prospects, simply because they had the courage to try something else when what they had been doing wasn't working. Please don't be afraid to be open to trying new opportunities. We often do better when we move forward than we do when we silently remain in a place that does not appear to be working.  Be positive.  There are still opportunities.

                        

Weighing in on the Variety of Injections Purported to Prevent COVID-19

             

 

 

          I really have not had a chance to relate to you my personal feelings with regard to the variety of COVID designed injections. I cannot call them immunizations or vaccines, because none of them actually meet the actual definition of such. 

       First, I could not accurately be described as an anti-vaccine person. All of my children received their vaccines, although we did elect to use a slower and more cautious schedule than was recommended, and I paid extra to have some immunizations ordered separately and not given in groups, so that if a child had an allergic reaction, we would at least know which component of the vaccines had most likely created the problem.  Personally, I remember how rough shingles is for my patients and so I elected to have a shingles preventive myself, called Shingrix. I asked for it to be administered a full ten years before the time when it's normally given. I wasn't taking any chances. My tetanus is up to date. So my problem is not with true studied and tested immunizations, per se.

                 The world began its rushed hunt for an immunization against the Wuhan Virus very early. The world saw televised accounts of Chinese people dropping dead on the streets of Wuhan, where incidentally the Wuhan Institute of Virology is located, which I doubt is a coincidence.  Shortly after, we watched televised accounts of elderly people in plastic bubbles in intensive care units in Italy as deaths mounted there. The pressure was great for the developed nations of the world to formulate a vaccine as quickly as possible.  As the world locked down, businesses closed, many for good, there was a sense of heightened desperation. Parents began working from home via Skype and Zoom, and their children began learning, or perhaps not learning, in another room in the house, online or otherwise.

                  When the first shots came out, people flocked to get them. Churches arranged transportation for those who didn't drive any longer, and delivered them to immunization events. Public health departments rushed to rent sprawling empty store spaces, and immunization events were scheduled, first by appointment, and then for some, as walk in events.  During this time, two of our friends died suddenly, after receiving the Moderna vaccine. One from a massive stroke, and another from an episode of rapidly evolving thrombocytopenia (low platelets) and then a massive hemorrhagic stroke.  Not long after, an acquaintance of mine was hospitalized with massive bleeding throughout his body and with sloughing of large amounts of skin from arms, legs and ultimately other parts of his body.

                 I realized that these shots had been rushed to market. I realized that no long term testing had been done. I also knew from one of our veterinarians that original studies on other mRNA sourced vaccines had killed 100% of the animal test subjects. However, it still could have been an intelligent plan to hand select people at risk for fulminant and severe COVID-19 for immunization.  However, this was not the case. The immunization centers were giving COVID injections to anyone who had attained a certain age. They didn't care if you had lupus, were enduring cancer chemotherapy, had a recent stroke, took anticoagulants, had complications from Lyme Disease, recently had been discharged from the hospital for a blood clot in your leg, or had recently had a pulmonary embolus.  Fairly quickly, Moderna was available, then Johnson and Johnson had a recombinant DNA origin shot, which was complete with one injection, and then Astra Zeneca had an injection available. (Moderna and AZ require two injections before the series is complete.)   There continued to be scattered reports of deaths, but friends who were physicians assured me that "these were probably people who were going to die that day anyway".  It must be nice to have had a crystal ball.

                 By then, enough people had known someone who'd had a reaction, a hospitalization or a death, that some people over fifty were reticent.  Companies responded by offering donuts for those who got immunized. Some got beer. CVS offered 20% off items in their store if you were immunized there. Some nurses began to become reticent about administering these shots, and all at once, someone was advertising on Craigslist for experienced registered nurses to administer vaccines on a contract basis.   The salary worked out to about $80-150 an hour.  In my long career, I can't ever recall people getting percs or bribes for getting healthcare.  I don't remember anyone giving bras or dresses to women who get their mammograms.

             Shortly after, pharmacies everywhere began administering the COVID shots "free of charge" to anyone of a certain age. Pharmacists were administering them, but a big push exists within the profession to train Certified Pharmacy Technicians to become certified to do the same.

            On social media, physicians, veterinarians, virologists, infection control physicians, physicians who practice public health, pediatricians, obstetricians and some nurses and pharmacists were chastised or they were actually deplatformed for asking questions about these injections, which don't actually meet the definition of immunizations.

           As time went on, and younger people were added to those who could be immunized, nurses who had unexpected miscarriages, stillbirths, or disruptions in cycles following the COVID injections spoke out.  By then, teenagers were getting the vaccines. Some universities would not let students return without them. All at once, a bumper crop of young males were hospitalized with post vaccine myocarditis. The good news is that most of them are responding to treatment and are being released from hospitals. The bad news is that some of them experienced a sudden arrhythmic death secondary to post vaccine myocarditis, and will not have the chance to recover, or to live their lives either.

          There have been a few patients who developed new onset seizure disorders and Guillain-Barre syndrome following these shots.  Early this year, fifteen people I knew in our rural county died suddenly.  Their ages ranged from thirty five to their eighties. I have no idea as to whether their deaths were related to the COVID-19 vaccines, although none of them were known to be acutely ill before they died, according to their families. I know this, because I asked them.

          This week, the WHO or World Health Organization, has conceded that these injections should not be given to children under 18. They know that these vaccines were approved for emergency use, and that no long term studies in humans, let alone children, are complete.  We know that the people who endured COVID-19 as an illness likely do have resistance and therefore do not require the injections being described as vaccines. We also know that these injections spread throughout the body ordering the cells to manufacture the spike protein as the virus itself does.  We don't know how to turn this function off.  We also know that the vaccine deposits itself in higher amount in a woman's ovaries. We do not know what this does to future fertility. We don't know what it does to male reproductive organs either.

            Your physician should be the best authority on what you should do.  Unfortunately, at least some of them have abrogated this responsibility.

             Some experts have said that long term problems from these shots will be inevitable. You might wish to look up the perspectives of Dr. Luc Montagnier, who is a Novel Prize winner.  Dr. Geert Van den Bossche, a veterinarian, and a top world designer of vaccines also has an interesting perspective on mass world vaccination with these agents.  No one can tell you right now with any certainly what the future holds.

            This week, four British Airways pilots, two of fifty, one in his forties and one of thirty-five died unexpectedly after having a second COVID-19 injection. Other pilots have become ill following these injections.

              If you have not yet had these "vaccines", then perhaps you should take your time. I am viewing all of them with skepticism.  I will continue to post some interesting articles below.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/06/what_is_the_true_number_of_vaccinerelated_deaths.html?fbclid=IwAR3_F7691hlCrfkT6uku4OQRd5eiMWy6wEnFKyhNW_jM6uV_SOcQpLuoyH8

                         https://nationalfile.com/13-year-old-boy-dies-three-days-after-taking-second-covid-shot/ 

             https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-vaccines-skeptic/

            

 

Reprised from our post of April, 2012: Preparedness in Urinary Tract Infections

 

             
     Urinary tract infections are one of the most commonly seen issues by nurse practitioners, general practice physicians and family practitioners.  Since a percentage of women use an obstetrician/gynecologist for their primary health care, they treat an awful lot of them too. Recurrent, confusing, or complex cases wind up as the purview of the urologist.    Although men can and do develop urinary tract infections, most of the cases seen are in women.  The reasons for this are purely anatomical.  A woman's urethra has a length of about 4 cm. while a male urethra is about 20 cm.   Bacteria have very little distance to travel in women, before contaminating the bladder which under normal circumstances, houses urine which is sterile.  In either sex, a bladder infection can progress into the ureters above, and then on to the kidneys, so most of the time, physicians and nurses call it a UTI or urinary tract infection rather than simply a cystitis or bladder infection.
      The symptoms of urinary tract infection include burning on urination, stinging, and may progress to fever, chills, back pain or pain in the genital region.  When it progresses to pyelonephritis, there will be fever, chills, nausea and often severe vomiting.  It is very important that pyelonephritis be correctly treated because it can progress to sepsis, shock and death very quickly. (It's pyelonephritis which kills so many paraplegics and quadriplegics who are not able to sense the pain of such an infection.)       The urine in UTIs can look normal, or in can be bloody, smoky, or have mucus shreds.

Note that in both men and women, the patient's right kidney is lower than the other. In pyelonephritis, the right kidney is therefore usually infected first.  Kidney pain is often felt just below in our backs just below the scapula.

                  Sometimes normally healthy people get a urinary tract infection for no discernible cause, but certain groups are more prone to them.   The people who are most likely to be afflicted are those who are run down for some reason, have a chronic illness of some kind, are elderly or diabetic, pregnant,  have some type of an anomaly of the urethra,  bladder, ureters, or kidneys,  have chronic diarrhea or have had recent diarrhea.  Drinking lots of water can help flush the urinary tract and may prevent a very early UTI from becoming something more.  Powders, creams, and synthetic underwear can also irritate the urethra, and some people with chronic irritation, move on to an infection.
                   Once the patient has burning on urination sufficient that she is reluctant to to urinate, or have bloody urine,  then there is nothing more you can do at home. You need to see your primary care physician/nurse practitioner who may take a sample of the urine, for a dipstick and a culture.  They will prescribe an antibiotic, and perhaps another drug also for the spasms and discomfort of an active urinary tract infection.  Most urinary tract infections are caused by one organism, E-coli, the bacteria which is a normal colonist in our stool.  However, sometimes other organisms have infected the bladder, and this is why a culture of the urine should ideally be taken in order to be certain about which organism has caused the infection, and been certain that the antibiotic chosen by your physician will indeed eradicate it..  The newest thinking is that they assume this is an uncomplicated E-Coli infection and treat you with an appropriate antibiotic for three days.  Yes, earlier thinking was that 10-14 days would eradicate more infections, but it was found that we were producing more resistant strains of E-coli in your colon, which would wind up as resistant bacteria in your bladder sometime in the future.  If your UTI returns after treatment, then you must return to your physician to get treatment with an antibiotic which will be effective for more resistant strains of E-coli or for other bacteria entirely.  Usually a longer course of antibiotic is required for a resistant case. and we see 7-10 days being prescribed then.  UTIs comprise a lot of the visits to physicians, and over 100,000 hospitalizations per year in the US,  when if untreated, they become pyelonephritis (a kidney infection)  They need to be taken seriously.     I have specifically not mentioned kidney stones in this post, but I do wish you to know that kidney stones would certainly complicate any UTI and certainly would complicate pyelonephritis.

             As people with an interest in preparedness, we don't much like being told that this is something we should not manage alone. We can handle prevention, but with something as crucial as your urinary tract and your kidneys, your safest course is to develop a good working relationship with a physician, who even after a collapse or during a real emergency, can still provide this level of medication. A child with a urinary tract infection must ALWAYS see a physician or  nurse practitioner.  Stocking medication that may never be used may not be wise for us.
            We can however, focus on prevention, and there is much we can do to prevent urinary tract infections.  Some of it is likely known to you, and some of it, isn't discussed very much much.  First of all, both men and women need to get rid of synthetic underwear for daily use.  Cotton underwear is for sale at Wal-Mart and this is the safest for most people.  These should be changed daily.  Women who use panty liners should pay attention if a particular brand stays damp or is irritating to them. Irritation can lead to later infection.  Find a panty liner you like, if you use them, and remain with a brand you know. Don't apply talcum or similar powders between your legs. We know that this practice results in talcum crystals being located in ovaries, so it's a much shorter trip to have them wind up in the urinary tract where they can cause irritation. Dribbling or urine from the urethra, whether the patient is a man or a woman, should necessitate a visit to the doctor.  Women should urinate after intercourse in order to help flush bacteria which inadvertently enters her urethra.     Make water your primary drink with any other drink a treat.  Both tea and coffee can irritate the bladder in some people.  Water helps everything function at its best.  Cranberry juice, the juice and not the cocktail drinks do help to acidify urine and can make the replication of bacteria in the bladder more difficult, but there is a fair amount of sugar in it, and many times, the diabetics you seek to have avoid a UTI ,cannot handle the added sugar.

Cranberry juice cocktails are less likely to acidify urine making the environment for organisms less hospitable in urine.  However, cranberry juice is marketed, and if you look carefully, this can usually be found.

              Recently, an astute reader, asked me  to point out that there is a 100% cranberry juice available also, but the labels need to be read closely to be sure that no other juices are added.

The pure 100% cranberry will have 7 grams of sugar per 8 oz serving, where when other juices are added will have closer to 17 grams of sugar, and the juice cocktail will be even higher.  Our astute reader also adds that the pure cranberry juice flavor takes some getting used to, but that it's worth such adjustments.

 There are cranberry juice capsules which are available OTC **   in the US and Canada, that will help to acidify urine, but they also can interrupt blood clotting, and so your physician needs to approve your use of these.  Children and adults should be taught to wipe after defecation from the back and from front to back.  The goal is to keep stool away from the urethra.   In emergencies, or during water outages, a squirt bottle can be fashioned to facilitate cleaning after defecation for those who can't shower as frequently as they might normally.  Men and boys should be instructed to void standing, and to take great care that their penis not touch the toilet seat or the toilet water, particularly in public bathrooms if they must sit to have a bowel movement.  We are seeing an increase in young male urinary tract infections unrelated to STDs.  Both sexes should avoid holding urine. We should void as reasonably soon as possible when we feel the urge to go.


**  OTC means over-the-counter or available without prescription, if you are reading from another nation.

This is helpful to acidify urine when we experience the irritation we may notice prior to developing an overt infection.  However, if you take any medications or have any chronic medical issues whatsoever, you must run this past your primary physician.  It does interrupt clotting time.

               Adequate plain water intake,  using the bathroom to empty the bladder when we need to, avoiding urine stagnation in the bladder, getting enough sleep, buying cotton underwear, showering or using a peri bottle during emergencies when showering is not possible, wiping correctly, and using great care in public bathrooms will go a long way in terms of avoiding a lot of urinary tract infections. 

 

 

Lots of water is our best defense during an uncomplicated urinary tract infection, although patients with nausea often prefer to drink their water without ice.



Please also see our next post on this subject at:

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/04/clear-tract-is-available-over-internet.html

Honors and Info

             

 

 

    A lot of the news, a lot of blogging, and a lot of being a writer, is just darn hard work.  A lot of it is thankless. Yesterday, on a social media platform, I spent a considerable period of time explaining why using ivermectin that is intended and compounded for veterinary use, is a bad idea for human beings. Some of the readers didn't listen and likely will use some of the med intended for horses on themselves which is incredibly unwise.

                 Today however, is not quite so dark.  I learned today that this blog has been listed in France as a top blog.  Here is a link to the preparedness and survival blogs now being read in France.  I know life is challenging there just now, and I send my very best wishes for stability and safety there for the future.

A French Guide to Preparedness and Survival Blogs

 

               While we are on the subject of ivermectin as an adjunctive treatment to COVID-19, I am not going to tell you to bypass the prescription.  Instead, I am going to provide a listing of physicians and nurse practitioners who will prescribe the proper dose, strength and formulation for actual human beings, if you need it.

 

How to obtain prescription ivermectin from a licensed physician

    

Please read the Advertising and Commentary Policy

 

               People read this blog, not because I am a registered nurse, a disaster preparedness consultant, a mother of many, or a former college instructor. There are plenty of people on the internet with qualifications, and many of them with more experience, or more credentials than mine.  They read this blog because they know I have integrity. They know that I don't sell things because they make money for me. They know I occasionally provide evaluations and criticisms of products, services and techniques I have tried. Some of them have worked out well for me, and others were costly mistakes. By sharing these, I hope to spare the reader the loss of time, and perhaps of money also.

              For years I have had a blog page found on every page of this blog entitled. It is located near the top of the page, at the bottom of the body of a roster of pages.  It is entitled,

      Our Advertising and Commentary Policy

 

              This has existed for years because I receive hundreds of attempts at posting in an attempt to advertise a product, or a cure for something, or a service.  Certainly, I cannot advertise or stand behind a company in Dubai that is unknown to me.  I also can't advertise an appliance company in India. I can't advertise a pest company in Canada when I have never used them.  I can't recommend an obscure cancer treatment that doesn't exist in any of the literature, and is, at best, anecdotal information.  

             If someone sends me a product and asks me to review it, then time permitting, I have done that in the past on a limited basis. However, I will provide an honest assessment, and my opinion is not bought.

          For those who have never read the Advertising and Commentary Policy, I am including it below today.

         Thank you.

  Effective May 1. 2014,  I will no longer be posting commentaries or responses to the posts here, when they includes or contain a link to a webpage for the purpose of advertising, unless there is a prior arrangement to do so. 

       Of late, a huge number of comments received do not relate at all to the post I have written.    Refrigerators on sale this weekend in India do not relate to a post on hand pumps for wells !    

        I am also being asked by others to remove comments or ads, and this is creating liability issues for me.  

     I  feel an obligation to provide information about products I actually use and can truly tell readers about, and not about products of which I know nothing.   

              My focus has always been to bring important preparedness information on varietal topics which only includes advertising when I personally know something about the product, and then I provide my own perspective and reactions.    My purpose has never been to log large numbers of followers, although we do have a fair number of unique users who although they have not signed up to become followers, but who do visit the site, and do participate.  We are a reference for reasonable family preparedness information and I do pay attention to issues of frugality here.
             

 I am also unable to allow posts here that have been placed anonymously or by "opaque users", due to issues of liability.   

I am also not available to the blogs on a daily basis, and so many comments, will simply not be reviewed or posted in a timely manner.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated understanding and cooperation.



#JaneofVirginia, #Jane-AlexandraKrehbiel,#RationalPreparedness,#RationalPreparednessCopyright,#RationalPreparednessAdvertisingCommentaryPolicy,

An Era of Cognitive Dissonance

          

 

 

 

 

     What is cognitive dissonance ?  Simply put, this is the psychological term employed when an individual has two beliefs that coexist at the same time and that conflict with one another.  It is almost impossible for human beings to move throughout life without experiencing at least some of these conflicts.  Most of the time, when they occur, we experience some degree of mental discomfort until we eventually work out or reprocess such conflicts.

                 For example, a soldier from Europe is serving as a member of the European Forces under the United Nations. Some of the forces have been abusive both physically and sexually to the children and other citizens in the country in which the troops were sent to protect. The soldier reports the soldiers involved, but no action is taken against them, because the United Nations attributes his complaint to racism. He finds himself in an unworkable quandary. He believed in the idea of Europe policing other nations and avoiding some of the worst happenings of war. He believed in the mission of the United Nations in order to leave his own nation and risk his life of such missions. But he also believes that soldiers must not molest or rape the children of people they were sent there to protect. His unworkable situation or his cognitive dissonance with regard to this conflict, eventually leads him to leave the forces. In time, he becomes an outspoken critic of the United Nations and he calls for their being disbanded. He is also disillusioned and angry.

               Most people can look back on their lives and recall an incident or a period where two items they knew or believed flew in direct opposition to one another. This is unpleasant for most of us, and it can take time to sort out our feelings and even longer to plot a reasonable course correction.

               The last couple of years in the world have really been an Era of Cognitive Dissonance.  The United States experienced the most contentious election in recent memory.  People who trusted social media invested heavily in their statements about the election, and about the candidates. When the votes for President Trump piled up faster than was anticipated, a number of states closed counting, and waited for "other ballots coming".  Many people saw evidence of voting irregularities, yet were told by formerly mainstream media that "Biden had clearly received 84 million votes." Americans were shocked when the man who could not fill a parking lot at Waffle House with followers, was declared the winner.  This alone creates mistrust, confusion, anger in Americans, and now many of them don't trust their parties, the system, nor the man who occupies the role.

                Additionally, the COVID-19 episode pitted scientists, physicians and nurses against some of the bodies they have trusted all through their careers. The World Health Organization made untrue and misleading statements during COVID-19. The US CDC gave misleading and confusing information. A few hospitals were full of patients with COVID, but in the US, many of our community and university hospitals stood empty.

               Now, some universities and some employers are insisting upon their employees and students being administered one of the COVID injections. I hesitate to call these immunizations, because they do not meet the definition of such. In many parts of the world, those who have received such injections have died of unusual types of blood clots, allergic reactions, or the sloughing off of skin.  People below twenty have died of blood clots, myocarditis and heart failure or other unanticipated reactions. These vaccines did not do well in animal testing, and there are absolutely no long terms tests on human beings. In addition, there have been just under a thousand miscarriages or stillbirths among pregnant women, particularly nurses, who have received the "vaccine".

                As time passes, more and more respected scientists and noted physicians are expressing extreme regret that COVID injections were attempted at all.  These are experimental injections, and should not be required by anyone.

                 This week we saw some cognitive dissonance in my own house. Although members of my family had not arranged to get a COVID shot, their friends had.  My family members believed they were doing the right thing by not getting an experimental shot with a lot of reported difficulties, they were very upset when Nobel laureate Dr. Luc Montagnier said that "everyone who has received even one of these injections will die over time".   My family was horrified as they contemplated a world without many of the people they know.

                   If you are finding that you are sitting in a quandary of cognitive dissonance, I share your discomfort. It's hard to feel comfortable with regard to the future when it appears that everyone from government to media has betrayed the citizenry.  It's hard to listen to the WHO or the CDC when they have spouted a number of things which aren't consistent with anything the rest of us learned about virology, allergy or immunology.

                  With prayer, I hope that you, and the rest of us find clarity as we decide what to believe. Think carefully, if Montagnier and many many other physicians, veterinarians and scientists are correct, then the COVID shot escapade could be the worst public health disaster in the world's history.  Step carefully. The luxury of your confusion as a result of your cognitive dissonance could get you killed.

On "Havana Syndrome"

             

      

                                           US Embassy in Havana, Cuba

    It has long been suspected that many, if not most, nations have some manner of a focused energy weapon that could render the enemy nauseated, disoriented, suffering from a headache, balance and visual disturbances etc.  Such a weapon, a veritable "migraine machine" would be useful in war, particularly if you were outnumbered and particularly if an invading force were near a sensitive location and your nation needed to buy time. It might also be useful in espionage, if you were completing a sensitive operation and needed the staff of your opposition to be significantly distracted. The use of such a weapon could be a hard thing to trace, particularly if it were used only for a short period.

                   I first learned that a nation had likely used a focused energy weapon in 2016 when a few articles appeared in newspapers claiming that a number of staff from the US embassy in Cuba, both intelligence and diplomatic posts were complaining about headaches, nausea, dizziness, sleep disturbances, focus problems, etc. Some people were able to recall a hum they heard prior to such symptoms, while others reported a sensation of heat in their heads. US Security and Intelligence personnel eventually concluded that these symptoms were caused by some type of a focused energy weapon, possibly of microwave origin.  Some of these people were simply inconvenienced by these symptoms and improved afterward, but others have had more persistent and longer lasting symptoms and sequelae.  One of the theories on this occurrence was that the Russians were testing their new weapon, and that Cuba had been a good place to test it.

                 In December 2018, a large number of diplomats reported to Canada that they too were experiencing acute onset neurological symptoms which included those mentioned above and also included paralysis. They were told to stay quiet on the phenomenon and most everyone abandoned the Canadian Embassy. Until fairly recently, Canadian military police remained there, but now, they too have been removed. 

                There have been reports that our diplomatic staff in China suffered similar symptoms, but not much has been written about this. There is also a report of this from our diplomats in Uzbekistan.

                In 2020, there was an investigation of Havana Syndrome symptoms that involved a White House staffer in a Northern Virginia suburb, so indications are that someone in possession of this device is on the US East Coast, potentially in the DC area.

               We don't have a complete picture of this phenomenon, but thus far, some of our best minds have concluded that someone, probably agents of our enemies have been testing the settings and different versions of a focused energy or microwave weapon on our diplomats and White House staff. Experts believe that brain and neurological injuries that occur as a result of this weapon are similar to concussion injuries, and would probably respond to the treatments rendered for those.  Without being present during these attacks themselves, we do not know what frequencies are being used. Experts I know do not believe this to be a focused microwave energy, but another focused energy type. Possibly, this is a pulsed radio frequency energy.

               The medical implications of such injuries are not completely known. Someone who experienced a glancing or low level exposure would likely experience ear and balance challenges, like a Meniere's syndrome. At first, it might not even be recognized as a focused energy attack injury. The hope would be that such a person would recover gradually over time from the injury.  The greater the exposure or the greater the damage, the more likely it would be that the injury would be recognized for what it is. Treatment such as oral steroids to decrease inflammation and brain swelling may be used. A cool cap, the type used to treat conventional concussions and migraines could be useful. Antinauseant medications could be useful, and then medications to help with headache pain and sleep, might be used. Fortunately, overt paralysis seems to have been a rare symptom.  Just as repeated concussions may cause brain damage, depression, and violent behavior, it is possible that repeated unrecognized exposures to a focused energy weapon over time could produce similar effects.

                Most of us are interested in abatement. What could be done to protect us from these effects should be live in an area where such a weapon is being used for experimentation ?  Experts believe that the current weapon is bring focused from a distance of two miles or less from the location of its targets. They could focus it from farther away, but this would make delivery to a precise location more difficult, and it would also increase the power required to deliver the pulses. Increasing the power significantly would make identification of the site using the weapon much more possible, and so this is less likely. It would be possible to shield from such a weapon using the principles of a Faraday cage. When we built one of our garages, we learned that it would be easy to Faraday shield it during building using metal netting under the walls. This should be possible for sleeping and working rooms also. It is also possible to buy glass that has metallic netting between the glass, although this would be obvious.

                Although this is an interesting topic, thus far, such weapons have been used on diplomatic and intelligence workers as well as a White House staffer.  So far as we know, it has not yet been used on regular citizens.  For nurses and physicians, this is something we should know about, so that such a test would be detected quickly, upon seeing patients with such symptoms, so that we could not only adequately treat, but notify the correct authorities.

                President Trump, during his presidency, did accuse Cuba of using such a weapon on our diplomats. He may have had more evidence, but I think that any number of our enemies including Russia and China could have been experimenting in Cuba with such a weapon, in a place where Cuba was more likely to be blamed.  My current contacts believe that Russia is most likely to blame. My own theory is that either China or simple terrorists are behind the repeated use of such a weapon.

Data concerning detailed evaluations of the US Embassy employees in Havana

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5885885/

 

The latest data from BBC:

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58396698?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 

 

 

 

           

 

      

A Word About Sharpening

                    

 

 

 

        Of all your preparedness supplies, it's not particularly interesting, romantic, or even particularly expensive, but it's an essential and it is frequently omitted or missed. Few preppers have enough of these.

                      Knives are an essential prepping tool, for the preparation for food, for preparing meat after hunting, and for camping, and many other uses. Different knives may need to be sharpened differently, but they do need to be sharpened. Keep in mind that many people are cut more often from a dull knife that is not effective when used, than they are by a sharpened one which performs as expected.

                      Rather than buying an electrical knife sharpener, I would like you to purchase a variety of sharpening stones that will allow you to privately and quickly sharpen the knives you need. Before these disappear in some type of shortage or stoppage in the Suez Canal etc., research and purchase the ones you need.   Put them in a safe place for future use.   Research other sharpening devices and decide what additional equipment you may need, including means of sharpening larger tools, chainsaws, gardening implements, etc.    Research also whether any oils are needed with your sharpening stones. Look up how best to sharpen the sharps you have.  Too many people part with a knife or a sharp device when all that was really necessary was a good sharpening.

(Lettering size increased to accommodate our readers who use a Smart Phone to access this blog.)

Sources:

   Sharpening stone

 

 

Sharpening supplies:

 

 

Some Uses for Alternative Structures

                   

 

   One of the most important skills we should cultivate in our interest in preparedness or in survivalism, is an ability to use something intended for one purpose, for another, perhaps even more important purpose. Most of us know that an American made trash can with a tightly fitting lid can be easily adapted to use as a Faraday cage, but this is not where such adaptations end.

 

                      Just recently, some people with whom I am acquainted, who have sold containers in the past, are liquidating something called Concrete Telecommunications Shelters. (Also known as Telecoms.)   One can buy these used structures and then pay to have these structures relocated to your rural property.  What would you use such a thing for, you ask ?

 

     1. I don't like to store diesel, gasoline, kerosene or anything flammable within a house or garage building. For years, I used a large empty wooden dog house with handiplank siding, with a dog door to store flammables.  The smallest structure could be used for flammable of pesticides storage, so long as you took steps to allow adequate ventilation, and didn't have it up against your house, garage, pricey RV, or old growth or mature forest. The second unit, or unit above might be useful for flammables storage.

 

    2. At many farms, especially in the South or the West, the animals and barns are a great distance from the house, so that horseflies and other insects don't invade the house. This means that during the hours your family members are working in the barn or with animals, that they are not protected against sudden storms, tornadoes, derechos, lightning storms, or other issues.  Siting a protective building out of view but near your animals and barn might be a wise idea. Human beings can seek shelter when needed, until storms have passed. Having one of these could save someone's life.

   3. Many farms, despite having barn cats, have difficulty keeping bears, mice, rats, raccoons, and other wild animals out of your pelleted animal feeds. Since many of us buy sufficient feed for all to make it through the Winter, we all need somewhere secure to store it. One of these buildings, if you got it inexpensively enough, could be designed and secured sufficiently to avoid rodent infestation. Some are large enough that you can drive up to it with a truck and stock it directly.

 

4. As most of us learned from local earthquakes, keeping your emergency supplies in only one place, is foolish. If your house or basement is impacted by flood or earthquake damage, your emergency supplies might not be accessible for a time. For this reason, I recommend that you keep a variety of emergency supplies in caches in multiple locations. (I am not specifically talking about guns or ammo, which I believe should always be stored in heated and cooled locations, and under lock and key)  However, if you did own large acreage, a telecom building, landscaped with arborvitae, cedars or other smaller trees common and inexpensive in your area, positioned on the back forty, and stocked with emergency supplies could also be a lifesaver someday.

                                

 5.  During their original use, these buildings were connected to and used conventional electricity. However, in their secondary and final use, they may be adapted to work for your own purpose as either a solar powered structure if you wish, or one powered by a diesel generator. You could also install a Xantrex or Outback inverter so that any electricity you generate through either a generator or solar collectors, could be stored and used silently from the inverters.

6.  Each Winter, I have either an elderly animal who needs to be in a heated protected environment for sub zero weather, or I have newborn mammals or fowl who need to be within a heated area. Some years ago I broke down and had a heated building built for such purposes. For those of you who have not done this, a smaller telecommunications building could do the trick.

                  We have touched on a number of possibilities and ideas within this post. I hope this posting has inspired you to consider all of the uses of items you might have access to, either inexpensively or sometimes even free.

Survival Under a New Regime

            

 

 

 

    In November, many Americans were upset at what we perceived as widespread voter fraud that would impact not only our local elections but our presidential one as well.  Our European friends kept telling us that we were all mistaken while Democrats called us crazy. Some of us were blocked on Twitter, or Facebook, and even on Linkedin. President Trump's team filed numerous lawsuits many of which the Supreme Court refused to hear.

                 Since this lawsuit was filed by a group other than President Trump's people, it actually got heard. The results are clear.  The last minute changes to Virginia election law in 2020, were illegal.  This is likely also true for other states where similar lawsuits remain pending.

https://www.westernjournal.com/judge-rules-last-minute-changes-states-election-law-illegal/?fbclid=IwAR1QxShHonpA1tMrnPvc2_MrhxnRH19PkQmiyyvISgllNImqsb-T6SfITvE

 

                As a result of numerous documented events of voter fraud in many states in this nation, the United States no longer has free and fair elections. This is true no matter what any other cursory or sloppy visiting body has had to say.  We now hold the distinction of being the first Banana Republic within North America.  Not only do we have an illegitimate regime holding the reins, but we also have a technology war raging.  Tech giants Twitter, Facebook with their children Instagram and Whatsapp have been blocking and removing those whose perspectives do not reflect their own, and they have done so mercilessly. I left these providers, finding a happy home in groups called Minds, Gab, Parler, and for a time in MeWe.  A short time after, Parler left the internet, as other high tech giants found a means by which to drop the lease for their servers. They are still looking for a way back. It is therefore becoming much more difficult to dissent, even politely online in the United States.

             During such times, what can normal people do ?

1.  Be clear on what you believe. I know that  I believe in free speech, freedom of movement for Americans within their own country. I do believe in the right of Americans without prior convictions to own firearms. I believe that we should be permitted to own property, and that there should be rights that convey with those properties. I believe in the US Constitution.  I do not believe in violence as a way of securing any of our rights. Although I believe that we have a responsibility to our nation, I do not believe that such responsibilities include violent uprising.  I do however, believe in self defense, particularly on one's own property.  I have given a sampling here of my beliefs, but you must be very clear on your own from here on out, and not allow yourself to be goaded into actions which open yourself to prosecution.

2. If you haven't already, move to a place with fewer people. With fewer people, people value their contacts and work to protect each other and they prevail against hard times.

3. Don't buy things you don't need. Keep a list. Buy nothing on impulse.

4. Find support with the like minded either online or in person.  Be careful here. Do not allow yourself to become distracted from the task of continuing to care for yourself and your family in the long term. Do not allow your energies to be diverted in the tasks of others or for those who may actually be domestic terrorists.

5. Our task is to out survive the present regime.

6. Please consider getting a Ham radio and license so that operation is legal.

 

7.  Lastly, for those of you who are new to this site, there are ten years of posts which discuss varietal aspects of preparedness and survivalism.  You can either search by subject, or you can simply click on "Older Posts" and read them as you go.  This would probably be a good time to do so.

In The Short Term, We Play The Cards We Are Dealt With; In The Medium Term, We Reshuffle The Deck; In The Long Term, We Change The Game... - Mark Carney