Perhaps the greatest reason why some people never plan for disaster is that they view the need to prepare for the unexpected as too complicated and costly. They imagine the back yard being dug up for construction of a massive bomb shelter and the basement crammed with row after row of dry grains and large containers filled with backup water.

The truth is survival preparation is modestly affordable. Under most circumstances, the ability for individuals to remain mobile for a few days to a couple weeks by simply grabbing an inexpensive “survival kit” and heading out is more important than silos filled with long-term storage foods.

Many of the items vital for a good survival kit can be found at your local shopping center: an inexpensive poncho, a basic first aid assortment, nylon cord, canvas for temporary shelter, duck tape, a whistle.

Other items necessary for an effective emergency kit are a bit trickier to find and may need to be acquired from one of many online emergency preparedness companies, such as New Emergency Preparedness. These include five-year-shelf-life food bars, five-year-shelf-life water boxes or pouches, paper-thin thermal blankets designed by NASA to retain body heat, special hand-crank combination flashlights with radios and emergency signals built in, and so on. My personal favorite is the “Transformer 4 in 1 Radio Flashlight,” which requires no maintenance, no batteries, no bulb replacements, and can even power your cell phone.

When it comes to preparedness, this is good advice. All of us must take personal responsibility for preparedness in an age of growing uncertainty. Dramatic lessons over the last few years have proven that we cannot depend on government agencies such as FEMA to save us if we need them. In fact, a report last month found that five years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the government still isn’t fully prepared to respond to a major public health emergency such as bio terrorism or a pandemic flu outbreak.

1. If you haven’t made or purchased an emergency survival kit, do that right away. If you build your own go-bag or survival kit, make sure to include five-year-shelf-life food and water (most store products will spoil over time or require refrigeration), thermal blankets, and a radio-flashlight combination that does not require batteries. You should include enough of the basic survival products stored in a single safe place at home to cover each member of your family for at least one week. I also suggest you place a “walk-out kit” in each vehicle that you or family members might use for long trips. If you do nothing else, at least do this.

2. Consider your particular situation. Do you live in the country or city? In a home or apartment? Do you have kids? Pets? Specific medical needs or prescription drugs? Think about what it would take for each member of your family to have the things they need besides food, water and shelter, to stay healthy. Create a list of these items and where they are located in your home. Place that list in several safe places as well as each survival bag and the glove box of every vehicle.

3. Finally:

* Place copies of your important documents in a waterproof and portable container (insurance cards, birth certificates, deeds, photo IDs, etc.).
* Have an extra set of car and house keys.
* Think about credit and ATM cards and cash. Have small denominations on hand as banks may be closed or not functional during disaster.
* Medication for each member of your household for at least one week and other essential personal items. Keep a list of their dosages or copies of prescription slips.
* Child care supplies or other special care items.
* Personal care items and hygiene supplies.
* Contact and meeting place information for your household if you should become separated, and a small regional map with several routes out of your area by vehicle or on foot.
* Sturdy, comfortable walking shoes, bandannas, sweatpants and shirts, spare coats.

Although the news has been out during the past month, the threat on our Constitutional rights is real and in great danger.

Attorney General Eric Holder is pushing for Assault Weapons Ban:

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

“As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” Holder told reporters.

Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

“I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum.” Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S.

When the founding fathers wrote “The Bill of Rights” they were indeed discussing, what was at the time, “state of the art” firearms. These were rifles designed to be used by local military men in defense of their homes, and against a foreign invader. They were the assault weapons of their time. A strict interpretation of the “Second Amendment” would, with absolute certainty, permit a citizen of the United States, the right to keep and bear an assault rifle. Do you honestly believe that the founding fathers wanted American men to show up for a fight against a foreign invader with a sling-shot or a BB gun. These were not stupid men. If Americans showed up for a fight, they wanted them to win. Today the best weapon an average American can keep is a well designed and manufactured assault rifle.

The problem with violence are the people, not the tools they use. Guns are tools with no intrinsic evil or good about them. This is the mistake that the UK made, and every time they ban something, violence stays the same. Ban guns, people use knives, ban those, they use clubs…….evil people will always perform evil acts. That is the sad truth of things. Evil people avoid laws. This would prevent only good people from defending themselves.

A Department of Homeland Security intelligence assessment equates gun owners with violent terrorists and states that radical extremists are “stockpiling” weapons in fear of an Obama administration gun ban.

This newly uncovered document is just the latest in a long sordid line of training manuals in which the federal government characterizes millions of American citizens as potentially violent terrorists who are a threat to law enforcement. The document is titled: Right Wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.

The document states that the election of an African-American president and the economic downturn have acted as “unique drivers for right wing radicalization and recruitment,” adding that, “The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms….could lead to the emergence of terrorist groups….capable of carrying out violent attacks.”

The DHS is essentially claiming that people who are concerned about the Obama administration’s plans to curtail the second amendment, and by extension anyone who owns guns or who has purchased guns in response to such a scenario, is a potential violent terrorist.

The bulk purchasing of ammunition is labeled “stockpiling” and “hoarding” to create the myth that people who buy bullets are storing them for some kind of violent revolutionary attack. The document also claims that people who buy guns and ammunition are also right wing extremists engaged in “paramilitary training,” a bizarre claim backed up with no evidence whatsoever.

To learn more, visit:

http://www.prisonplanet.com/secret-homeland-security-threat-assessment-labels-gun-owners-potential-terrorists.html

While many people may be protesting the taxes and tax increases via a “Tea Party,” (yes, tax increases will surely come to pass through the Democrats and Obama administration), it seems that they are going about it the wrong way. Why just hold up signs in protest? That does not do a bit good and nor is an effective protest. With the Boston Tea Party, the dumping of the tea was a direct response to the insane taxes the British had applied to the tea. It was a direct protest using the object of taxation.

Since when has holding up signs EVER been an effective form of protest. In all reality, a true protest would give a loud and clear message to King Obama that we will not be paying taxes anymore and will no longer be subject to his sovereignty. This would ultimately lead to a revolution to overthrow the corrupt dictator. However, picketing with a sign is an extremely weak position.

A couple effective protests might include:

1) Do not file your taxes

If millions of Americans woke up and actually united together and did this, the federal government would see that they no longer have power. The federal government has power ONLY because WE THE PEOPLE allow it and we provide the funding through taxes. Why pay for something that you do not want or oppose?

2) Rotting pig carcasses dumped on steps of Capitol Building

If we want to get rid of all the pork in Washington (including the pigs that sit in Congress), then the message should be clear that if they continue doing what they are doing, this is exactly how they will end up.

Ultimately, a protest will require a fight. The strongest side will win. If you sit back and do nothing or if you are weak (protesting with signs), then you deserve exactly what you will get when federal government abolishes the Constitution of the United States and takes away the freedom that you previously had.

So, what do you think would be some other forms of effective protests?

A tornado descended on Murfreesboro, Tennessee Friday, killing two people and injuring another 30, an official said.

Some homes were destroyed in Murfreesboro, an emergency management spokesman said.

Two people were critically injured by the tornado, which hit the city, located about 30 miles southeast of Nashville, around 1:40 p.m., Donnie Smith, public information officer with the Tennessee Department of Emergency Management in Nashville said.

The search-and-rescue effort was continuing into the evening, Smith said, “so it’s possible that may not be all.”

Many homes were damaged, others were destroyed and power lines were down across Murfreesboro, said Randy White, a public information officer with Rutherford County Emergency Management.

The bad weather began around noon, when a band of severe thunderstorms swept across the state from the southwest, Smith said.

Elsewhere in the region, the town of Mena, Arkansas, is cleaning up after a tornado roared through, killing three people and damaging or destroying more than 100 homes, an Arkansas official said.

The town looked like a “war zone” as soldiers from the Arkansas National Guard went house to house searching for victims of the twister that hit Thursday night, said Capt. Christopher Heathscott.

About 50 soldiers also helped with security and food distribution.

Gov. Mike Beebe planned to fly over Mena on Friday afternoon.

Mena, population 6,000, took a heavy hit on the west side of town, as the storm swept through downtown before heading up state Highway 71, said Tommy Jackson from the state Department of Emergency Management.

“It looks like a war zone out here,” said James Reeves, also from the department.