I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials. — George Mason

Saturday, January 19 was gun appreciation day.  We were all very pleased and surprised at how many of our regular customers, and lots of new customers, came into the store that day to show their support.  Thanks to everyone who visited us that day and throughout this past week.

On the 19th I wore a T-shirt which was given to me by the local National Guard recruiter.  It was black with a cannon and a star on the front.  On the back it said "Come and take it".  

Until recently I had always thought of the National Guard as our militia, and indeed they are the formal, organized militia which is mobilized when things get tough in this country.  Then I read an article in the Concealed Carry magazine which reported on the 27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference held last September in Orlando, Florida, and it opened my eyes to a new definition of "militia".  I know it sounds boring, and I almost skipped over it, but I read the first paragraph and decided I should at least check it out.

Evidently, this conference is hosted annually by the Second Amendment Foundation, it's hosted in various cities around the country.  Here's the interesting part.  It's completely open to the public.  Anyone with an interest in gun rights may participate AND there is no fee to attend.

One interesting observation brought out in the conference is that polling currently shows support for the right to keep and bear arms is at its highest level in more than 30 years.

Another theme if the conference was the need for everyone to get personally involved in the fight, especially at the local level.  Small groups and individuals have a lot of influence on state and local politicians, and if you are doing what you should be doing, your local representatives should know you by name.  Even on a national level, individuals are important.  Communicate your desires to your senator and congressional representatives so they understand the depth of our commitment about these issues.

If you are interested in nullification of the gun ban laws in North Carolina, click this link:  https://www.change.org/petitions/north-carolina-general-assembly-nullify-all-federal-gun-control-laws?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email

The Second Amendment is for everyone.  Its advocates believe in an absolute human right to self-defense that transcends social or political barriers.  

Next year the GRPC (Gun Rights Policy Conference) will be held in Houston, TX if you would like to attend.

In light of what went on today, rather than comment, I just give you this quote from Thomas Jefferson in his Proposal for Virginia Constitution:

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms"

This week I would like to discuss water and the "rule of 3's".

Actually there are two rules of 3.  The first one has to do with what we need to live.  You can live 3 weeks without food.  (Some of us can live A LOT longer than that), 3 days without water, 3 hours without shelter (in a hypo- or hyper-thermic situation), and 3 minutes without oxygen.  To put this in realistic terms, if you have a power outage in the winter, and have a heat pump, it makes more sense to think about how you will keep your family warm than how you will save the food in your non-functioning freezer/refrigerator.  As Cody Lundin states in his very informative and funny book, "98.6 Degrees, or How to Keep Your Ass Alive", water and shelter are paramount to regulate your core body temperature.  In our area, winter is not so much of a problem if you can be indoors and out of the wind.  Summer is a different matter.  In our summer temps, without air-conditioning and without water, it's not going to be pretty.

Everyone who asks me how to begin to prepare for a "grid down" situation knows that I always say.  Start with your water.  A minimum to store is 1 gallon per day per person just for basic living.  Don't forget your animals, they will be useful as well as pets.  I have 4 dogs who collectively use 1 gallon per day.  So that means I need 4 or 5 gallons per day of potable water.  WHAT!  That's 150 gallons per month.  How can I possibly store that much, you ask?  You don't.

That brings us to the second rule of 3's.

I think it was an old Indian saying that you need 3 ways of doing something in order to be sure you can accomplish what you need.  (more if you can)

In the case of water, you might have rain barrels underneath your downspouts - you'd be amazed how fast a 55 gallon garbage can fills up.  You might turn off the intake valve to the hot water heater before the water becomes polluted, and then open the lowest faucets in your home to collect the water from the hot water tank.  Maybe you have a large bath tub or a jetted tub.  Plan on using a double layer of plastic drop cloth duct taped to the tub with the vents and drains duct taped beforehand.  Or just clean the tub with clorox and go for it. Or you could buy what's called a "Water Bob"  which is a large food grade plastic bladder that fits inside a normal sized tub.  Cost about $20.  Maybe you have a free flowing stream near your house, or a lake or swimming pool.  Some of this water you can use as-is for basic cleanliness and toilet flushing etc.  For drinking purposes, we need to go a little further down the path.

Most of those water sources will need to be purified somehow for drinking.  The simplest is boiling.  Bring a gallon of water to a full boil for 8 - 10 minutes.  Allow to cool unless you want to make coffee, tea, or cook or wash/rinse your dishes with it.

Next is chemical purification. Plain, unscented Clorox is a good and readily available method.  Eight drops per quart of water, shake well, and allow to stand for 30 minutes.  You can remove the chlorine smell/taste by using a filter pitcher like Pur or Britta (note:  they DO NOT remove bacteria or other impurities).  Swimming pool water MUST be filtered due to the shock and other chemicals in the water for long term use.

Next is filtering.  There are Berkey filters which can do 2 1/2 gallons in a very short time.  Each one can filter 5500 gallons of water before needing a filter change, but they can cost $200 or more.  There are personal water filters, such as the Life Straw which will filter water for one individual for about a year and cost only $20.  I have one of these for each member of our family.

As you can see, there are many things to consider when starting to plan for the worst, hope for the best.  Sometimes it's just a matter of thinking of easy solutions to difficult problems.  If you have questions, please come and see us at the store, or call/e-mail and I will contact you.  Our phone number is 336-944-3933, and our e-mail is patriotaims@gmail.com.

Anna

I was talking to a customer in the store on Monday about how to store medications for a survival situation when my daughter chimed in with, "You ought to write a blog".  So here it is.  I'm not sure how it will go, but what I plan is to let you know about an interesting article I have read related to food/water storage, medicinal herbs, foraging, alternative power and lighting options.  Really, anything to do with preparedness.  I will also try to find an appropriate quote that relates to what is currently going on in our lives.

This quote is from Abraham Lincoln.

"The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution"

This week I was reading a Facebook post by "Survival for Blondes" (yeah, I know...but she's really good).  She had included an article from Ezine by Mike Kuykendall about how to determine if you are a "Prepper" or a "Survivalist"

He maintains that a prepper is concerned about everything from a natural disaster to the hyperinflation that will follow an economic collapse. They are prepared for anything that MIGHT happen.  They can be anyone from the guy next door that you would never imagine to be a "Whacko", to the full-blown "Doomsday Prepper".

The Survivalist, on the other hand, takes it to the next level.  In addition to food, water, etc., the survivalist will stock up on guns and ammo (bullets, beans and band-aids), and have a plan for a retreat from a populated area, or a plan to "bug-in" if their home is deemed to be safe.  Survivalists believe that there WILL come a time when they will definitely have to defend themselves, their families and their food/supplies.

There is a lot of overlap between the two categories.  Those that are more into self-defense and concerned about societal collapse lean more toward the survivalist end of the chain.  Those more concerned with economic collapse or "merely" a power grid or supply chain failure would be more comfortable with the prepper tag.

For my part, I know that I am a survivalist and have been calling myself one since the 1970's.  Now that you know the difference you can choose.  Even if you don't believe in Zombies (which I don't) or that the end of the world will be happening very soon, you will make a choice whether to prepare for an emergency, such as hyperinflation or economic collapse, or to remain unprepared.  Even if you make no choice, you have really chosen to remain unprepared.

If you'd like to read his whole article go to http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Kuykendall