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Saturday, November 17, 2012

Two Threats to Survival Preppers

I have talked to over a dozen people since Obama was re-elected about what that means to Survival Preppers. It seems many are now concerned that without the need or chance to be re-elected second Obama administration can implement not only economic regulations that will hurt preppers but the Government is in position to implement changes to our second amendment freedoms as well as our very liberty.

Some of these people I have talked to cannot articulate what they are concerned about other than gun control. They have some vision of impending economic doom,.... and as middle of the road as I am, I can't say that they are completly mistaken.

I think besides the chance of an economic collapse being greater with a continuation of the the fiscal policies of the last four years, the real two possible threats to preppers are the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the United Nations Small Arms Treaty.

National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

The NDAA authorizes the military to: 1) detainment of persons captured within the United States of America without charge or trial, 2) prosecute said persons through military tribunals for persons captured within the United States 3) the transfer of persons captured within the United States of America to foreign nations (foreign jurisdictions).

Of course this is in violation of the Constitution of the United States of America. But the Government's point is to trust them, they will be very select in using the provisions of the NDAA on American citizens. In fact Senator Carl Levin stated on the floor of the Senate that the NDAA did not pertain to citizens of the U.S. But not we now know that the Office of the President of the United States, requested that such restriction be removed from the 2012 NDAA.

What is more troubling is that the NDAA passed the Senate. An amendment from Senator Udall to forbid the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens, was was rejected by a vote of 38–60, along party lines.

What this means is that most of the 4th, 5th and 6th amendment rights that U.S. citizens have enjoyed for a couple hundred years now can be taken away by the U.S Government, presumably the Justice Department, using military assets which are free of restrictions of statutory authority that Federal Law Enforcement agencies have. Potential loses of these rights:

The right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures (4th Amendment);
The right to be free from charge for an infamous or capitol crime until presentment or indictment by a Grand Jury (5th Amendment;
The right to be free from deprivation of life, liberty, or property, without Due Process of law (5th Amendment);
The right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of our peers in the State or District where the alleged crime shall have been committed (6th Amendment);
The right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation and to confront witnesses (6th Amendment);
The right to Legal Counsel (6th Amendment; and even the right to be free from excessive bail and fines, and cruel and unusual punishment with comes from the 8th Amendment;

The threat here is possible and becomes real if the Government continues to lump survival preppers into anti-government threats groups like the right wing militas and anarchists, like they have with various "intelligence reports" from Department of Homeland Security.

UN Arms Treaty,..and It Will Happen

I previously wrote about this back in August - that post is here.

If you think that a conservative House of Representatives would not allow this happen, you are both right and wroing. If it was in the power of the House it would not happen, but the House is not a player in approval/disapproval of this treaty.  Let me write that again"  It does not matter what Congress wants or does not want - this power is in the President's hands.

If two thirds of the U.N. main body (general membership - not the security council) votes for this treaty, then this treaty becomes defacto law for at least four years unless rejected by the President or the Senate. If this treaty goes into effect it will have the effect of a Constitutional Amendment. Let me say that again,....If this treaty goes into effect it will have the effect of a Constitutional Amendment superceding the 2nd Amendment. The Supreme Court precedence is that International Treaties, that the U.S. is a signature to, trumps U.S. Law. And again, the U.S. will be de facto signatures unless either the President or the Senate reject it.

And speaking of the Senate,....figure the odds on a newly re-elected Barack Obama rejecting this Treaty. Figure the odds on Senator Harry Reid even allowing a vote on this in the Senate. And what is scary is that only a reported 51 Senators, prior to the last election, were against the original treaty. The new Senate will have even more Senators supporting this treaty. The treaty would require nations to register guns and their owners.

Certain types of guns will be outlawed. And the subsequent U.S. Government performance in the treaty provisions will most assuredly require no notice inspections of those people considered to own "arsenals".

The threat here is probably that the UN Arms Treaty will effect gun onwers and since Survival preppers are indivudually responsible for their own security, the ability to own guns and buy ammuniton will certainly be adversely effected by the UN Arms Treaty.

This threat is probable and becomes real if the Government decides to enact compliance with the teay by going after the Survival community because we are open, easy and law abdiing targets,...read "easy targets" to score some initial victories in removing the "excessive guns threats". And since Preppers are preparing to survive a sceanrio where there is not government, we could be seen as "anarchists planning for no government".

Very scary times my friends.

For more information, I suggest going to the excellent Town Hall article on the UN Arms Treaty

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

New Vehicles fit to Survive the Collapse


This article ran on Yahoo earlier this year. Chevrolet doesn't take modern-day Impalas and rework them into updated Bel Airs. There's not much in common between a Ford Fusion and any Ford family sedan from 1960 through 1980. So if Jeep wants to mine its past for a pair of concepts that revive not just the look of '60s -era Gladiators but Forward Control pickups, we welcome the rare trip down the nostalgia trail -- especially if powered by a 470-hp Hemi V8.Built by Jeep to mark its annual Easter party near Moab, Utah, the two concepts were built from everyday Jeep Wranglers to highlight pieces of the Mopar parts catalogue for Jeep owners. The most striking is the Jeep Mighty FC, which revives the cabover look of early '60s Jeep trucks with a custom front-end and drop-down bed from the Wrangler pickup conversion kit. If you're not a Chrysler designer, the only pieces you can buy are the two Portal Axles, designed for heavy-duty work and height, which run $11,000 to $12,000. Each.


A less radical transformation of the Wrangler pickup kit produces the J-12 Concept, which combines an upgraded suspension and eight-foot bed with a front end reminiscent of the first-generation Gladiator pickups. On the inside, Jeep has removed many of the Wrangler's comforts in favor of a dash and floorboard that can almost withstand a hose down, using truck-bed liner for flooring instead of carpets. It reminds everyone that once upon a time, Jeep made some of the most stylish small pickups in America. Why Jeep can't do that again remains one of Detroit's enduring mysteries.

Jeep also showed four other concepts for its parts business, including two Wranglers upgraded with a new Mopar kit that lets owners easily bolt in the 470-hp Hemi V8 in place of the standard Chrysler V-6 in models with a five-speed transmission; an update will let owners of the new 2012 model with a six-speed automatic in on the fun. Bully for them, but seems there could be room for combining all of these parts into something that could take all terrains and look fantastic doing so.

Now for the really dedicated, and well funded Survivor, we have the Survivor Truck, brought to our attention from a Yahoo autos article

The Survivor Truck, built to drive through the end of the world, by Justin Hyde of Motoramic


"Sometimes," author William S. Burroughs once said, "paranoia is just having all the facts." Given the
facts gathered from the past few natural and man-made disasters, it's not a surprise that many people
have begun to think of what they'd need to survive the next calamity. One California man has taken a
kitchen-sink approach and created the Survivor Truck -- a machine that could keep rolling through
any given Armageddon.


Jim DeLozier, who sells survival goods in Costa Mesa, Calif., says the idea of the Survivor Truck was
to build the ultimate rolling outpost, one that could withstand even a nuclear attack. Starting with a
Chevy C70 truck powered by 150-gallon tanks of gasoline or propane, DeRozier outfitted the chassis
with every conceivable piece of equipment needed to travel through a disaster. "My goal was to build
a vehicle that can go anywhere you want to go, stay as long as you want and drive back out,"
DeLozier says.

On the outside, the truck gets bulletproof shielding, a filtration system to keep chemical agents out of
the cabin and even a coating of pickup truck bedliner. Night vision helps keep watch on what's
happening when the lights go out, while a solar generator can provide power for the array of
communications gear during daylight hours. On the inside, there's enough water, food, toilets and
battery power to keep a group of people not just alive but comfortable for months amidst chaos. If
parked in the wilderness, the top platform includes a complete camping unit and inflatable raft, along
with a water purification system; if there's some need for an aggressive response, the truck has a
protected sniper's cage and a backup crossbow and arrows.

While DeLozier says he originally conceived the truck as the ultimate survivalist driving machine --
with a price that runs between $100,000 and $600,000 -- he's received more interest from military and
law enforcement agencies mulling a rolling command center. He says he's somewhat surprised by the
attention his concept has received, "whether it's the zombie apocalypse fad or whether people believe
they have a potential need....it's designed to be a home away from home." Given how many people
have seen their homes washed away or destroyed in recent years, it's no wonder there's some demand
for something that could outrun trouble.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Chapter 26 Survival Chronicles of Jim – SHTF Consultant

I called urbanman the last Saturday although I’m not sure when he’ll edit this and post it. UrbanMan’s note: Jim sent this to me on 20 October and for the record I do not edit his content much.
I have been through three seasons since I last wrote about my journey becoming prepared. Since then I have re-planted and taken those vegetables – not really expanding my garden with the exception of a couple pots of herbs which did not amount to much. I continue to use Silver Saver as a means to purchase a little bit of Silver each much and once my monthly allotment to them reaches the required minimum amount (22 ounces), they send me the silver bullion.

I have not yet found a 1970’s truck or jeep type yet, but I am still looking.

Last year, I had befriended an older couple on my street with some vegetables (cucumber and squash) that I grew in back yard garden. The lady gave me a couple of jars of canned tomatoes and a suckatash (?), which I haven’t ate yet, even though I need to get the mason jars back to her. She promised to show me how to can vegetables. So my near term project is to try her canned vegetables, but a 12 piece canning set from Amazon, return her mason jars and ask her when she can teach me the “how to’s” of canning.

Her husband, the gentleman, is a Korean War vet, and has an M1 garand. After I gave him some .30-06 ammunition (still waiting on those clips Urbanman) he seemed to open up to me and showed me his other guns: a 12 gauge double barrel shotgun and a .45 cal pistol. We haven’t been out shooting again since the old guy has to be near or just past 80 years old, but he seems spry enough to use it when the time comes. Trying to see where his mind is on survival preparation as I think it took him some time to accept me in my goatee and occasional earring and I did not want to come across as a nut, so I asked him if he keeps his guns for memories or for a practical purpose. He said words to the effect that “you never know when you are going to need a gun”…..fair enough in my mind.

I did drop off a printed copy of a book called “Gone Before You Get There” highlighted 77 items that are in short supply during emergencies. I told the old man that I had bought this booklet so I can get an idea on how to be prepared in case of a natural disaster and was now finished with it. The old man just asked what kind of things I bought so I told him that stockpiled a little extra food, water and medical items. He just grunted and said something like “that’s sounds like a good idea, I’ll have a look at this”. Fair enough.

So the next thing that happens is that another neighbor, an older than me gent knocked on my door to ask about the old Ford Taurus with two flat tires parked in my car port. He was asking if I was looking to sell it. I had previous purchased it for $2,200 so my son could have a car to get back and forth to college, but my son never obtained the insurance on it before he left to college and ended up buying a different car. Anyway, to make a long story short, I asked the gent into my house so I could find and show him the title. In the living room he saw my shotgun laying on top of a short duffel I use as my range bag and my web belt with holster and asked if I was going out shooting. I told him I was until he stopped to talk about the Taurus. This neighbor, I’ll call him Bill, asked me about shooting and hunting. I told him, “I am not involved in any shooting sport nor do I hunt. I just like to go out and shoot my guns for practice because it makes me feel better prepared as an individual.”

Apparently Bill has a 7mm Magnum hunting rifle, but has been wanting to get a handgun for him defense. In short order I helped Bill pick out a S&W M&P 9mm handgun, a belt holster and mag pouches (this came in some type of kit offered by the factory) and 3 boxes of ammunition for $675 at a franchise sporting goods store. Since then, I saw him one morning and he told me he has bought a 12 gauge pump shotgun (I haven’t seen it yet) and he told me he wants to pickup a .22 rifle. Bill also told me he was kinda amazed that I was a single guy because I’m a neat freak and my house is pretty spotless, but saw that I had a water cooler with many 5 gallon jugs lined up next to it along the wall. I took that as an implied question so I told Bill “it’s just like why I own guns. In case there is an interruption of the water supply, I have enough to get by for a few weeks until things get restored.”

UrbanMan’s note: The pistol Jim’s friend bought is probably the Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm Range and Carry Kit. Kind of a one stop shop if you are not too specific on what holsters you really like and a good choice.

Bill just said “that’s a good idea.” We made some vague pans to go to the range together, which we have yet to do. But Bill did send me an e-mail asking me if I had any recommendations for stocking some “survival type” (his words) food.

Urbanman is now teasing me that I am a survival consultant, but in a more serious way we talked about how I am getting to know the neighbors, build some credibility with them, and have a basis for what may turn-out to be a neighborhood survival group. I will take Bill out shooting. This will be a good time to feel him out and see where he is at mentally to absorb what I started two years ago. I have the last of this year’s cucumbers which I will deliver to the old lady with her mason jars and make a plan for her to teach me canning. I understand there is a new Rawles survival novel out which I’ll order when I make my Canning Set order through Amazon…and start looking for that old 1970 pickup truck or jeep.

I have come to terms with not living Survival Prepping every day like I did in the beginning. Life gets in the way. But I still need to get better, not just measure it on an hour by hour or day by day basis. Wishing everyone a fruitful week.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

SHTF Underground Shelters

Post-Apocalypse Survival Shelters From a Yahoo! Article titled Company Sells Post-Apocalypse Survival Shelters", by Melissa Knowles

The world may end at the end of this year, or at least that is what a number of people are fearing because of the ancient Mayan calendar that does not go beyond December 21, 2012. Some people even fear that the end of the world could come in the form of a zombie apocalypse. If you're a doomsayer or know someone who is, a California-based company has a new solution for you.

Atlas Survival Shelters, whose slogan is "Better prepared than scared," offers survival chambers made out of 32x10-foot metal tubes. The chambers are designed to be installed 20 feet underground, far away from the possible crumbling of the world above. The survival chambers would be accessible from a hatch in the backyard of the survivalist.

Atlas's website says you can stay safe in one of their shelters in the event of "pandemic outbreak, civil unrest, malicious mobs and biological, nuclear fallout or attacks from home grown terrorists or other nations." Not every survival shelter is the same, because they're each customizable. They come equipped with bunk beds, flat-screen televisions, kitchens, and even an electric toilet.

So how much will you have to shell out to own one of these bad boys? The survival shelters start at close to $50,000 and go up from there. The owners say they have not actually sold one yet, but there have been some very serious inquiries. And they've recently added an incentive to purchase: Get 10 acres of land free when you buy a shelter.

Actually, Atlas Survival Shelters offer much more than 32x10 foot metal tube listed in the Yahoo! article.

You need to visit their website, at the very least you may gain some ideas on future Bug Out or Hide ideas.

http://www.atlassurvivalshelters.com/




I have a friend who bought and installed two concrete septic tanks, which are concrete boxes, and used rail road ties and a steel plate hatch welded with hinges to create a side access. As he told me, his main purpose was to have a cellar basically for storage of his stored foods then he realized he could live in one if he had to.

I haven't talked to him lately to see if he had developed an air or filter system, but if you think about it, it wouldn't be that hard to do. And in fact, several of these easily installed tanks emplaced together could provide a compartmented house like structure.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Everyone's Predicting the Coming Collapse

The Coming Economic Collapse,.....there are many recent sources hitting the internet waves predicting an economic collapse precipitated by or accelerated by a stock market collapse. To be sure, many are selling something,....paper or physical gold and silver,.......some sort of economic survival or investments information packet or book,.....and sometimes just some sort of commentary based capture system to sell you something later on.

Sorting through the facts and determining the causes and effects have validity, after all if you are reading this site (and other survival sites) you have some sense of impending doom, be it a total economic collapse,.....a great depression,.......or just a non-specific scenario where life will be not only much different than we know it but very dangerous......that's why we are all prepping.

And to be sure, the people who think they can manage their financial assets by moving money around, changing investments, etc., and survive are missing the foundation of survival preparation. However, if you have noticed the same things I have, you see many more these "experts" not only talking financial protections, but preparations that include food storage and physical gold/silver holdings.

You still don't see too much on the mainstream economic collapse predictors about safe location selection and preparations nor the basic need for security and the foundation of security that firearms provide.

Still, there are many noted and respected economic voices out there predicting some sort of economic hard times coming. Gerald Celente, Robert Kiyosaki, Congressman Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, and Jim Rogers just to name a few of the main stream analysts.

Newsmax After Shock Survival Summit, detailing how investors are planning to or or at least ready to dump stocks before or at the beginning of what many people think will be a 2013 market crash. The below video is a representation of a prediction of where the U.S. economy is headed. This is more of a middle of the road analysis and prediction, by economist Bob Wiedemer, who predicted the housing market crash, the grid-locking of the U.S. markets, the surge in national debt, the world wide financial crisis, and the downgrade of U.S. debt. He predicts the subsequent effects of the coming economic hard times will have on everyone. My posting of this video is not an endorsement, just a video that is a representative video of many analysts predicting the coming collapse.  He is also selling you information on how to protect yourselves. He (Wiedemer) says, about the upcoming tough times, "It's going to get worse, before it gets better". From my perspective, it's going to get worse all right,..it remains to be seen if it can get better after that.....after all, that's what we are preparing for.



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Bugging In - Not the Answer?

This was a comment posted on the "7 Day Warning to SHTF" post: "I don't believe "hoarding and stockpiling" are advantageous. It gives you a fixed position, which you must defend. I believe the better path is get as far away from urban areas as possible. Go where you know there's water. Where there is water there are animals. Get a field guide of Edible Plants of North America. Learn to use a bow. Chainsaws, cooking fires, and gunfire will draw unwanted attention eventually. "

UrbanMan's reply:  I agree that being away from the heavily populated areas, have a year round natural water source AND have a heavily stocked survival inventory is obviously the hands down best survival plan for the collapse.

I also agree that wilderness survival skills knowing how to survvie with basically nothing; identifying edible plants in your area; purifying water; building expdeient shelters; building fires; food procurement such as hunting , trapping and fishing, etc., are are basic and necessary skills for short term survival periods,....but it sounds like you are proposing surviving out of pack in the woods. I think the whole idea of survival prepping is not only to live but to live with some type of quality of live as close to normal as you can. Tjat means having stocks of food and supplies,...some sort of infrastructure even if it is just a cabin and a year round stream, and utilemtly a survival group were you can leverage everyone else's skills, expertise and security in numbers.

Some people will decide to Bug In for many diverse reasons:

1. Some people actually live in the big city and do not own their own transportation putting them in a great deficit when trying to Bug Out.
2. Others, maybe hedging their bets, think that although a collapse is unlikely, they prepare in some form or fashion but still think the Government will make things right in short order, so there is only a need to Bug In for a couple weeks. These people may run through their supplies and be left high and dry placing themselves at great risk when planning an impromptu, read unplanned or last minute, Bug Out.
3. Financial reasons plays a large part in what people will do. How much resources (time and money) you can devote to prepping; the need to have a job and bring in income sometimes dictates the location you live. 4. There will undoubtably be people who do not have nor cannot or are unwilling to develop the skills sets necessary to Bug Out.
5. Some people will decide that some things are more important in the short term such as living snormal a life as possible, being close to friends and family, etc. It is simply way too much past their comfort zone to leave behind their lives even when staying in place puts them at great risk. You see this time and time again in natural disasters such like Hurricane Sandy. Maybe something akin to the German Jews who were rounded up for slaughter thinking this cannot be happening. This denial is a key stage for people when death is imminient as in last stage cancer patients.

Bottom line for me is that I'll continue to better my survival chances. I have a chain saw. I have several hand saws to include camping bows. I am no stranger to building fires and using an axe and a wedge. I have quite a bit of experience in wilderness survival. Quite a bite of resources in identifying edible and poisonous plants. I have used many different techniques in fishing - nets, straight poles, flies, trolling, bow and arrow - water source with fish? No problem, here comes dinner.

And I will continue to build my survival stocks. More long range food. Enough ammunition as well. While the straight up Urban areas are going to be death traps in most all cases, there will be suburban areas, off refugee routes, that have a chance of organizing and maintaining a viable chance for survival. I'm planning on Bugging In, but several plans for Bugging Out as well. Good luck to you my friend.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Prepared for THE Storm

Received this via e-mail: "Urbanman, first time I have wrote. I am currently sitting pretty close to the center line of Hurricane Sandy. I thought huricane's would be a thing of the past for me when i moved north from he Orlando, Florida area. I am a long time prepper but i had to change my game since the last major storm and the earthquake hit this area. Hurricane's are one thing but if this storm knocks out the utilities for a week or longer like it has the potential for I am prepared for bunkering in. I have food for at least six months, water for at least a month and firearms to protect my family and me if the lights stay off for more than 3 days, maybe four days which will create desperate hungry people. I live about 2 miles from known gang area. Tomorrow I will walk my neighborhood to see who is staying and to distribute five of the six Talk About radios I have. This will give me some eyes around my house and maybe start to develop my neighborhhood survival watch team or whatever you call it. Out. Jeff. "

UrbanMan comments: Jeff, I don't envy you sitting in the storm path, but it sounds like you are planning well. Hope the rains don't flood you out.  The latest projections are calling for power outages of 7-10 days.

You may want to consider a base station FRS radio to go with your hand held talk about radios. While a gas powered generator may not be a great asset for long range survival when fuel supplies are out, for short term natural disasters they may come in handy. I hope you have a good supply of batteries as well.

One thing you may want to do is establish a couple times a day where people you give the radios to will come up on the net and give a status. If the weather forces everyone in doors, this will mitigate the feeling of isolation and since you are providing the communications capability, this will further your credibility with your neighbors.

However, be prepared for questions about general preparation. Be prepared to provide other aid to these people, which will be a two edged sword because it will expose your preps and intentions to these people.

I would start wargaming what you are willing to and going to do if one of your neighbors comes up on the FRS radio net and say's they have criminals on their property trying to get into their house.

You may want to develop an alternate audible signal to generate an alarm such as vehicle horns, a length of wire and a switch from the vehicle in your drive way into the house would make this a viable way to send an alert. Stay safe and good luck sitting out the storm.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Convincing Your Family to Prep

Dude 101 recently e-mailed UrbanMan and wrote "I have a family group of (more than 6 people) which I am the only one that has any survival preparations ready. I don't want to leave my family behind, but I can't provide for them all. I've tried to get them to think about prepping without success. Any suggestions would be appreciated please. Good luck and God bless."

UrbanMan's response: Dude, The easiest way to get someone to start prepping may be to draw a link to the rising costs of the food, deflating value of the dollar, higher gas prices and the fact that grocery stores are supplied by diesel powered tractor-trailers.

With a collapse of the dollar or interruption of fuel, those food supplies will dry up. 90% of the food will be gone off the shelves within the first 24-36 hours.

Ask your family what their plan is when this happens,.... Prepping first starts with recognizing the threat:

Threat: Interrupted Food Supply, Lack of food.
Cause: Dollar Collapse; fuel interruption; natural disaster.
Risk Mitigation: Stock more food. Ever time you go to the grocery store, buy an additional weeks worth.
Get organized in your pantry or storage solution - use first in, first out principle. Consider it family insurance against natural disaster if you will.

Threat: Interrupted or Contaminated Water supply.
Cause: Infrastructure or power utilities collapse. Bio attack on water supply.
Risk Mitigation: Buy or lease a water cooler with periodic water service. Stock an immediate 50-100 gallons ectra water, soley for drinking. Obtain water containers,..e.g..5 gallon cans, bathtub resoivers (called Bath Tub Bobs), and other storage solutions.

Threat: Lack of Government law enforcement or security forces to provide security against civil unrest and riots, criminal elements, etc.
Cause: Decayed infrastructure,....communications falures, large masses of un-fed desperate people, organized criminal groups exploiting the collapse.
Risk Mitigation: Procedures for safety, travel restrictions, short range communications and ultimatley the need to have firearms and the training to employ them.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

NDAA Update: Indefinite Military Detention of American Citizens

This came from an article published by a European news source under the title "Totalitarian State Wins After All: Obama Reinstates NDAA Military Detention Provision" based on a decision by a lone appeals judge who bowed down to the Obama administration and reauthorized the White House's ability to indefinitely detain American citizens without charge or due process.

The US Justice Department had asked for an emergency stay on the previous stay order, and hours later US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge Raymond Lohier, agreed to intervene and place a hold on the injunction.

The stay will remain in effect through September and probably into October in order for a three-judge appeals court panel to address the issue.

I found a sister article on this at Zero Hedge. The implementation of the NDAA sets a very bad precedence for this country, basically invalidating the rights of habeas corpus or what we commonly refer to a "due process rights". The rights to confront your accuser; for legal representation; to appear in an initial hearing before a judge and to request bail; and the have your family notified of your incarceration. All these rights are gone.

It is scary that not only the President asked for this authority but also that the NDAA had bi-partisan support in Congress.

President Obama said "“The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it. In particular, I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.”

The part in the NDAA that allows for the military to hold citizens, declared as "terrorism suspects", is not only a red flag for us, but sends chills through our spine.

Strangely enough the military appears not to have lobbied for this authority. I think the professional soldiers know that getting involved in operations inside the United States is a "lose - lose" situation.

In fact, the FBI, the CIA and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) did not support the military detention provisions of the NDAA either. In fact, FBI Director Robert Mueller said words to the effect that the NDAA may actually be a obstacle to FBI investigations and cooperation between the FBI and Military would make it harder to gain access to suspects, records and evidence.

The NDAA with the thought provoking images of military units arresting American citizens gives life to the concnerns of many freedom loving and responsible Americans. Frankly, I think that the military patience with martial law over, and detention of Americans will be finite unless the situation is very grave.

Friday, October 19, 2012

7 Day Warning to SHTF

"Hey Urbanman, saw a conversation in a forum about what would you do if you had 7 days notice until SHTF. I'd like to hear from you about what you would do in this situation. To be sure, I don't believe I need seven days and I ain't thinking I'm going to be getting it. Prepare Well, Fight Hard. Frankster."

UrbanMan replies: Frankster, to be frank (I had to make that pun) seven days notice would be great. I routinely look at a wide variety of sources, from financial to political, to develop any sense of an impending collapse. A lot can happen in seven days and I don't expect anyone to be able to predict the collapse in a coming seven days.

I do think that one can analyze threat streams and conclude that the near term collapse is very likely,......whether it takes 2 day or 60 days. Therefore, once I think that SHTF is imminent there are some things, in a list of priorities, that I would try and do hoping to get them all accomplished before the time to hunker down and wait it out.

These are my priorities. The rest of my team's priorities may be a little different since our concept and agreement is that we would consolidate at my place (primary) and another's location (alternate) – these are our initial safe Bug In Locations. So some of my team's priorities would be the start moving additional items to my place.

My priorities: I am listing these priorities using a numbering system and the same numbers to indicate what I think I can do simultaneously.

1. Withdrawal of my bank accounts to maximize the use of fiat currency until that is no longer accepted. I think we'll see cash purchases still accepted but at extremely high mark ups. As I start seeing more critical indicators, I would start keeping more cash on hand. Banks can be ordered to close and ATM’s machines can cease to work.

1. Fill up all empty fuel cans,....using credit cards, fiat currency, barter items, then silver in that order. While I am filling up last remaining fuel containers, procure extra filled propane canisters as well. I can use them for many things among them cooking, heating and barter.

1. Fill up all my empty water containers – 5 gallon cans, bathtub bobs and 55 gallon drums.

Note: While I always have some stored water and fuel, both will eventually go bad if stored forever, so I only maintain a minimal amount. Timing is important to getting maximum life out of your stocks.

As I write this I made myself aware that what I don't have is an extra oil change set with motor oil and filters and an new air cleaner. I'll rectify this in the next two weeks, so this will be off my list. May as well pickup an additional bottle of chain oil for the chain saws, although I have two extra chains - one new, one used.

2. I make a lumber run picking up some plywood and 2x4x8's because they'll come in handy. If the crash is truly imminent, then my credit cards or cash ain't going to worth very much soon, may as well turn it into something useful. 2. I'll buy as much canned and boxed food as I can, using the same modes of payment as above. In fact, all my last minute pre-SHTF purchases will be on this model: credit, cash, barter then silver. Although I will not put myself at risk going to people packed grocery stores. At this time with the collapse imminent, the two person rule will be in effect and if some of my team consolidates at my place, we'll start to implement a 24 hour cycle of security.

I won't need to visit any of the sporting goods or gun shops. I am pretty well set on survival firearms, ammunition, camping gear and miscellaneous items. Maybe a stop at the local Dollar store to buy socks, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and miscellaneous first aid item but only if these stores are not a mad house of humanity.

The bottom line is that once the collapse is occurring or it is evident to the massed population of TEOTWAKI, the safest place to be is hunkered down at your Bug Out location.  Make each and every venture outside of this safety in a cold, sober manner and only execute if it is absolutely necessary.  

Sunday, October 14, 2012

More on Government Unpreparedness for EMP

From a Heritage Report, titled "DHS Admits It Is Unprepared for EMP Threat".

In testimony delivered on September 12, Brandon Wales, director of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center, admitted that DHS remains unprepared for the possibility of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) event or attack. Wales testified that the nation’s power grid is more vulnerable now than it was a few years ago. Nevertheless, he could not provide Congress with an estimate for how much it would cost to combat such vulnerabilities. An EMP attack could bring this country to a screeching halt by permanently disabling electronic devices.

ATMs would stop dispensing money. Water and sewage systems would fail. Even planes and automobiles would stop working. Imagine living in the Dark Ages: This is what it would be like to live through an EMP attack. More than seven years ago, DHS released its National Planning Scenarios. This document outlined plans to prepare for and respond to 15 different man-made and natural disasters.

The list included the detonation of an improvised nuclear device and the use of a plague as a weapon. However, one potential threat was noticeably missing; an EMP event or attack. The possibility of an EMP is arguably just as likely to occur as the detonation of an improvised nuclear device or the use of a contagious and deadly biological weapon.

A rouge nation could effectively disable, damage, or destroy critical infrastructure with a shortrange ballistic missile carrying an EMP device or nuclear warhead. Countries such as North Korea and Iran already possess ballistic missile capabilities. Other weapons, such as a radio-frequency device, could also cause an EMP that would disrupt critical systems.

Natural events could also plausibly result in an EMP. NASA and the National Academy of Sciences have argued that a “solar maximum” could occur between now and 2014. As the solar maximum approaches its peak, the sun could propel electromagnetic fluctuations into the earth’s atmosphere. These fluctuations would interact with our electrical systems and result in blackouts affecting 130 million people. Costs of such outages could range from $1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year alone. To make matters worse, an outage could last for years, because we would need to completely rebuild our infrastructure. In this scenario, food and water delivery systems would be devastated.

We could see massive human casualties on a scale that hardly seems imaginable. The United States is vulnerable to an EMP that could occur at the hands of our enemies or via uncontrollable natural forces. Department of Homeland Security is ignoring the threat posed by an EMP at the risk of literally plunging us into darkness.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Gun Toting, Survival Prepping Pastor

I have a friend of mine who asked me to come along with him as he visited with his Pastor. The Pastor had a previous conversation with my friend, a member of his congregation, concerning buying and owning guns. Apparently the Pastor approached my friend because he knew my friend was a hunter. Like many people new to gun ownership, the Pastor was confused about the laws and what he had thought of as a "requirement to register guns" with the government.

We visited with the Pastor at his house with his family that included his wife and two children. Other than that, I’m not going to publish any other identifying factors for the Pastor for obvious reasons.

It turned out that the Pastor had struggled with the thought to own a gun for protection because he knew that it would be pointless to own a firearm without the will the use it if necessary. It was also apparent that, all on his own, this Pastor had arrived to the conclusion that times are going to be tough and if he wanted to be around to provide security for his family, or for others that he felt some sort of responsibility for, then he needs to get prepared.

I made sure that the Pastor understood that “brandishing” a firearm at a would be threat often only escalate the threat and I assured myself that the Pastor fully intended to protect his family by any means necessary. His words were to the effect,…..”I wholeheartedly believe in God and our place beside him in heaven. I would like my family to get there naturally and cannot bear the thought of them being victims because of my indecision. I will use a gun if need be.” Okay, fair enough.

After talking and showing the Pastor a couple of handguns, rifles and a shotgun, he settled on the plan to buy a .357 magnum revolver (so he can also shoot .38 Special) and a 12 gauge shotgun. We talked about the need for adequate instruction not only for him but for his family. I think he’ll most likely also buy a .22 LR rifle primarily for the training aspect but to also be able to employ another firearm during any collapse, and as well as the obvious small animal hunting capability.

While neither myself nor the Pastor are of the Mormon faith, we discussed the Mormon religion and their noted preparedness, especially stocking food. The Pastor war gammed with us about the establishment of a food pantry within his church to provide for church members who cannot provide for themselves, as well as stocking supplies and material such as cots, blankets, water, candles, battery and lanterns, etc. Boy, his church started sounding like a Bug Out location to me.

The ability to leverage many people’s efforts in any catastrophic situation is huge, but the price is being able to care for these people’s basic need as well,….food, water, shelter and security. With a church group serving as the core of a survival group, basic morals and beliefs, which may be a problem in an ad-hoc group, should not be nearly as large of a problem.

I also talked to the Pastor about having a plan in depth,…or PACE planning (Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency), meaning having contingencies. Contingencies for safe sites,…for food storage,…for security and for route of movement and escape. I said he could set the example for his flock by having his own stock of emergency supplies at his home,…..food, water, medical items and survival equipment. And not to necessary advertise it. This would pay off if he could not get to the church for any reason, or if the church location ceased being a safe site.

We talked about having an alternative site to go to if things in the city became too unsafe. The Pastor mentioned that he had conducted a church camp for children at a Boy Scout camp about 4 hours away by car. The location ended up measuring about 170 driving miles away.  Close enough to use as a follow on Bug Out site, especially if you could go half way or more by vehicle. But the Pastor did not know what supplied the water at the camp, although there is a pond close by so natural water, basically a necessity for a long term Bug Out Site, was possible. So we discussed the Pastor finding out more about the camp including who owned it and/or could be possible having the same idea for a Bug Out site.

I told the Pastor that the idea of offering some basic CPR and medical training to his church, through the church, may be something he should consider.  Canning classes would also be something to be considered.

I committed to being a source for the Pastor for information and when he bought his survival firearms, to provide him with some basic training. Other than that I left him with some survival and preparedness sites listed on a notebook for him to research and read on his own, as well as the names/authors of a couple books to read.

If this country is destined to come out of a major collapse and re-build to any degree, good men and woman, with a strong moral foundation and belief system is necessary. I knew that survival prepping is becoming more and more mainstream, but to be able to assist an obvious good man who is looking out for others really made my week.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Martial Law - The Movie

A patriot known to me and living up in the colder climates of this country sent me a note about the development of a movie depicting martial law in this country.

As the producer advertises on the website, the movie Gray State fictionalizes the possibility of war, geological disaster and economic collapse all conspire to allow the government to exert tyrannical control of the population complete with arrests, disappearances of protestors, branding and RFID chip implantation, military districts and martial law, and ultimately organized resistance.

This is currently a project film looking for funding. The producers also advertise they want to stay away from major funding so they do not lose control over the direction of the film nor the script.

Promising to be a movie about a takeover of liberty by the government after the dollar plunges to zero, the grocery store shelves are empty and everyone is a terrorist subject as neighbor is pitted against neighbor - this movie also promises to be a movie of mass awakening and a warning against complacency and in an implied manner, a warning against a lack of awareness and unpreparedness.

Watch the movie trailer below. One of the quotes that comes across the screen is "When society falls, those who panic - Die First".


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Education on the Great Depression

Those who do not learn from History are bound to Repeat It,.....

From the article "How Bad Was The Great Depression?" by Tyler Durden printed on Zero Hedge

To properly understand the events of the time (and to put them in today's context), we believe, like the FEE, that it is factually appropriate to view the Great Depression as not one, but four consecutive downturns rolled into one. These four “phases” are: I. Monetary Policy and the Business Cycle; II. The Disintegration of the World Economy; III. The New Deal; IV. The Wagner Act. The first phase covers why the crash of 1929 happened in the first place; the other three show how government intervention worsened it and kept the economy in a stupor for over a decade. The following brief clip and article shine a light on how bad things were and what was done in the name of 'helping' - there are many shocking analogies for current government-inspired acts from taxation to protectionism to money-supply 'tricks'.

Everyone has heard the sage observation of philosopher George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It’s a warning we should not fail to heed.



Sunday, September 30, 2012

Federal Government Stockpiling Ammunition?

There are several articles coming across the net about government agencies stockpiling ammunition. This is generating some concern from the citizenery especially with right wing beliefs that the current Adminstration may attempt some election shenagians or events that would allow the current office holders to remain in power.

And another popular right wing belief is that the government knows it is sinking rapidly and is preparing for population and riot controls.

Recent revelations about Department of Homeland Security purchasing 450 million rounds of .40 S&W Jacketed Hollow Point ammunition and the Social Security Administration buying 174,000 .40 S&W rounds have gotten alot of tonges wagging and fingers typing across the blogosphere.

450 million rounds of .40 caliber, purchased by DHS, over a several year (maximum of five) period of time equates to less than 1,400 rounds per year, per DHS law enforcement officer or agent. With annual qualification and training requiring less than 300 rounds per individual, there is some room to believe that 450 million is an excessive number of rounds. Factor in ammunition requirements for the various tactical teams and specialized units then you come pretty close to validating the requirement.

Then there is the Social Security Administration buying 174,000 thousands rounds for it's approximately 300 enforcement agents with arrest powers. That around 580 rounds per agent, hardly an excessive amount in my opinion. Another angle is why does the Social Security Administration need armed agents and why are they carrying hollow point ammunition, banned by the Geneva Convention and the Land Of Warfare? Social Security agents also investigates crimes.  Well, hollowpoint ammunition is easily justified and has been in current use by law enforcemnt agents for the past,..what? 30 years or so? Hollow point ammunition is actualy safer, providing you hit what you mean to as it has a less chance of over penetrsation and posing a danger outside of the intended target.

174,000 rounds for 300 agents is pretty minimal for training and duty carry equating to 580 rounds per man per year. That would roughly be used as 240 rounds for qualifications; 45 rounds or so for duty carry; and, 290 for training.

While as American Citizens we have a duty to remain vigilant against government encroachment of their powers and the subsequent reduction of our freedoms,....the ammunition purchases circulating around the web are not something we need to be overly concerned about.

I am more concerned the planned hiring of, what?, 16,000 additional IRS agents.  I am more concenred about the price and availability of food.....the probability of food shortages and masses of dis-advantaged people rioting in the streets over hyper-inflation and the collapse of the dollar.   I am more concenred about my own survival stocks and that includes ammunition for my family's own security.   So should you.   

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The State of Today

I wanted to titled this "Urban's Man Rant", but a rant insinuates an emotional aspect to one's opinion. And I am stone, cold sober and rational looking that these issues.......not angry,...but a lot concenred, maybe somewhat scared.

It started the other night as my wife and I were watching "Revolution the television show". My wife commented to the effect that it seems like everyone is preaching armagedon and collapse, or, capitalizing on the general belief that things are going downhill and collectively we expect bad things to occur.

I told her she was right and that while you can fool some of the pople some of the time, you can't fool all of the people all of the time. And that people's intuition is stronger than their analytical skills.

Back to the television,.........I don't think I'll be sitting through another episode of "Revolution". The first few minutes showing years after a EMP event where the main characters have built a agricultural enclave on a suburban street (totally realistic and necessary) but then a militia group on horseback enters the community unannounced, no early warning systems, no barriers or obstacles, no weapons nor trained response left me wondering if the entertainment value would supercede the non-enjoyment of seeing un-realistic bad examples.

While my wife understands and supports our preparation aspects and the development of several families in our "survival group", she like many Americans usually decides to ignore analysis of the possible bad things,...she basically leaves it to me to plan and prepare.

I placed the television on mute to explain (again) what Electro Magnetic Pulse was and the possible sources or causes of an EMP event. While many of you believe that EMP is vastly over rated for it's effects it would have on the U.S. infrastructure, I assure you that it is not over estimated.

In a previous life I have done threat and vulnerability assessments on utilities facilities and some of the management was pretty open about how easy it is to bring down major power and telecommunications facilities,...but more importantly in the apsects of an EMP,....very difficult to re-build.

If the threat of EMP isn't enough, we have a good 1/3 of the world pissed off at the U.S.  Doesn't matter if the complaint is legit or not,. there are currently large scale anti-American demonstrations in Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Niger, Mali, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and even Austrailia. Political corruption is not only wide spread,.....but the perpetrators aren't even trying to hide it now. Openly disregarding the constitution in many cases. Reminds historians of the last great act of the Roman empire, and that was to loot the treasury.

This country is a year, maybe months away from more people being on welfare than not. Think about that once the treasury is empty.

The only way we are going to be able to survive as individuals and as a culture is to develop some type of team. Let me back up a bit. Meaning by beliefs not segregated by race or ethnic groups. This is a culture that aspires individual rights, a moral code and compassion for those who cannot help themselves. I have talked at length before on the necessity of developing a survival group. This does not mean that you have to live in a commune now,.....it can,...but it is unrealistic for 90% of Americans. Your survival team can be just a network of alike minded individuals and families.

It's important to vet your people as to their ability to live together and get along. I would much rather have straphangers, with skills and without supplies or equipment, integrating into my team, than to accept some exceptional trained and prepared person who cannot act with the team foremost on his mind.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Survival Mom's Advice for Kids


UrbanSurvivalSkills is a fan of Lisa Bedford, the author of Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst Case Scenarios, and editor of the excellent survival and self-reliance blog, The Survival Mom.

One of her posts was printed on Peak Prosperity and titled The 4 Survival Skills Every Kid Should Know Some of outdoor adventurer Bear Grylls’ biggest fans are kids. Their eyes widen at his derring-do, and boys and girls alike admire his survival skills and savvy. But the survival skills that are more likely to keep our kids safe and sound are actually far more mundane! Here are four survival skills that every kid should know, along with a few tips for parents.

What to do if lost A lost child is a scared child, and usually their first instinct is to begin searching for their family. Train your children to stop and sit as soon as they realize they are lost. Assure them that, no matter how scared they might be, you are searching for them at that very moment; but also that, if they keep moving around, it will take longer to find them. Consider equipping your children with an inexpensive cell phone and when venturing outdoors, a few survival items tucked in a backpack or their pockets. Items such as a whistle, a bright bandana and a bottle of water are the makings of a kids’ survival kit that will go a long way to helping them be found more quickly.

How to answer the door when home alone Usually the best strategy is to not answer the door! Yes, the person knocking could be a burglar scoping out the neighborhood. But once the door is opened, it’s that much easier for an intruder to enter. And children are easily overpowered. Train your child to enforce home security: Keep doors and windows locked and blinds and curtains closed. Noise from a TV or radio is fine. Someone with questionable motives will think twice about entering a home if they hear noises inside, even if the house is closed up and no one answers the door.

What to do in a medical emergency From a young age, kids can learn how to dial 911 and report an emergency, but this takes practice. Spend some time rehearsing phone calls, teaching your children to relay detailed information to an operator, follow his or her instructions, and then stay on the line until help arrives. If possible, children should also get the home ready for the arrival of EMTs by putting pets in closed areas and, if it’s nighttime, turning on both indoor and outdoor lights. Summer is an ideal time for children to take first aid and CPR classes, that are typically suitable for kids age 9 and up.

How to maintain situational awareness When driving in the car, for instance, ask your kids to describe a building or vehicle you just passed. Teach them to pay attention to the route home by asking them to give you driving directions! This one skill can help your child avoid many dangerous situations. The concept is simply for children to be aware of the people and events around them. Parents can help their children become more observant and aware—not by scaring them, but by playing games to teach and practice this skill. When driving in the car, for instance, ask your kids to describe a building or vehicle you just passed. Teach them to pay attention to the route home by asking them to give you driving directions! Tell them to close their eyes and describe what someone in the room is wearing. Encourage them to check out the license plates of passing cars: Which states are they from? What is the sum of the numbers on the license plate? Being aware of their surroundings will help them avoid predatory people and other dangerous scenarios. Simple to teach. Fun to practice. And, quite possibly, a life saver.

UrbanMan's comments: Excellent tips for kids by an obviously clear thinking Mom. I would add some tips to this,...... Give your kids their own back pack/Bug Out Bag when they are at a responsible enough age to understand that when out of the house, shopping or to the zoo or wherever, that the bag stays within arms reach at all times. Have them carry their own water (even if it's one small bottle), some trail mix and/or granola bars, a spare set of socks, maybe a rain poncho and a host of other small items.  Maybe include a routine check of the contents prior to going out so the child starts to get used to pre-execution checks and inspections.  

Teach your kids how to tell cardinal directions and refer to traveling in these directions. Test them by asking which direction are we going in now? Teach them the clock method of pointing out things. See that blue house at your 1 o'clock? See that black truck at our 6?

I like Survival Mom's idea on home security, but add in a procedure on what to do if someone with ill intent enters your house. What are the escape routes and where to go once the child is out of the house. Refer to this as the Bug Out plan.

All of the above is to start socializing survival concepts and mindset, and, self reliance.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Worldwide Indicators of SHTF, September 2012

Global Economy. Moody's downgrades the Global Economy,..."Moody's analysts states that: risks to the global forecast remain to the downside and have risen relative to the risks perceived earlier in the year. The main risks to the global macro outlook stem from (i) a deeper than currently expected recession in the euro area, for example caused by deeper credit contraction; (ii) the risk of a hard landing in major emerging market economies, including China, India and Brazil; (iii) an oil-price supply-side shock resulting from resurfacing geopolitical risks; and (iv) the risk of sudden and sharp fiscal tightening in the US in 2013, given recent political gridlock."

Spain. Jobless roster grew to 4.63 million people in August 2012. The Spanish are suffering a nearly 25 per cent unemployment rate.

France.
Unemployment now at 10%; businesses and capital are leaving France at an alarming rate due to high taxation on businesses and the wealthy by the new Socialist Government. 

Greece
is expected to hit 27 to 29% in early 2013. 1 in 3 Greece businesses are closing.

Iran
is now reported to be much further along than previously thought in development of a nuclear weapon, both in the enriching of uranium and the computer modeling for weapons design.

United States:
Many Urban food pantries supporting the poor are depleted. Donation both monetary and food supply wise are way down now while the demand is increasing.

Latest data has 46.7 million people on food stamps. Food stamps has doubled in the last four years and there is no reversal in site.

Food Prices already up by an average of 30% in the last 18 month is expected to go up another 8% in the next three months.

U.S. Cities going bankrupt San Bernadino, Mammoth Lakes, Stockton are bankrupt. Fresno, Compton and San Jose are not far behind,...and these are just in California. Rhode Island has Central Falls. Other cities on the bubble (and going to fall) include: Miami; Detroit; Rockland County, NY; and Gary, IN.

National drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor estimates that up to 80% of the contiguous 48 states faced moderate to exceptional drought conditions over the summer. A lack of rain coupled with high temperatures severely damaged corn and soybean crops. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects the corn harvest to fall 13% from last year’s crop, and expects the soybean crop to fall 12%.

Collapse of the Dollar. The dollar is dropping, and to be fair it comes up and goes down, then comes up again and goes down, but overall the buying power of the U.S. dollar and the respect if has as the World's Reserve Currency is greatly diminished. The Fed is initiating another type of Quantitative Easing which will certainly devalue the dollar more. Fuel prices will go up, as will virtually everything else on the planet.

Oil prices are no longer expected to ever drop below $80 a barrel. In fact, some experts are bracing us to see $200 a barrel in mid 2013.

Hey, things are good. Take that extra $30 and go see a movie. You don't need to buy more foods, supplies or ammunition!!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Matt Bracken: When The Music Stops – How America’s Cities May Explode In Violence

This article was posted on Western Rifle Shooters under the same title as above.

From UrbanMan: Mr Bracken is a ex-Navy SEAL and author of the "Enemies Foreign And Domestic" triology as well another Survival novel titled, "Castigo Cay". Bracken writes much more authoritaritive on the most probably catalyst for the coming economic collapse which will very likely become chaotic and threaten our survival, and that is the Government going bankrupt making welfare entitlement checks worthless creating an Army of 45 million (and more every day) of hungry and hungry people. God forbid if they get organized.

In any event, Bracken's article, certainly because he is a skilled author, is a very good read. Go the Western Rifle Shooters website, linked above, and read all of the enlightened comments regarding this article as well.

Matt Bracken's article :

In response to recent articles in mainstream military journals discussing the use of the U.S. Army to quell insurrections on American soil, I offer an alternate vision of the future. Instead of a small town in the South as the flash point, picture instead a score of U.S. cities in the thrall of riots greater than those experienced in Los Angeles in 1965 (Watts), multiple cities in 1968 (MLK assassination), and Los Angeles again in 1992 (Rodney King). New Yorkers can imagine the 1977 blackout looting or the 1991 Crown Heights disturbance. In fact, the proximate spark of the next round of major riots in America could be any from a long list cribbed from our history.

We have seen them all before, and we shall see them all again as history rhymes along regardless of the century or the generation of humankind nominally in control of events. But the next time we are visited by widespread, large-scale urban riots, a dangerous new escalation may be triggered by a new vulnerability: It’s estimated that the average American home has less than two weeks of food on hand. In poor minority areas, it may be much less. What if a cascading economic crisis, even a temporary one, leads to millions of EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards flashing nothing but zeroes? Or if the government’s refusal to reimburse them causes supermarket chains to stop accepting them for payment? The government can order the supermarkets to honor the cards, but history’s verdict is clear: If suppliers are paid only with worthless scrip or blinking digits, the food will stop.

STEP ONE: FLASH MOB LOOTING

In my scenario, the initial riots begin spontaneously across affected urban areas, as SNAP (supplemental nutrition assistance program) and other government welfare recipients learn that their EBT cards no longer function. This sudden revelation will cause widespread anger, which will quickly lead to the flash-mob looting of local supermarkets and other businesses. The media will initially portray these “food riots” as at least partly justifiable. Sadly, millions of Americans have been made largely, or even entirely, dependent on government wealth transfer payments to put food on their tables.

A new social contract has been created, where bread and circuses buy a measure of peace in our minority-populated urban zones. In the era of ubiquitous big-screen cable television, the internet and smart phones, the circus part of the equation is never in doubt as long as the electricity flows. But the bread is highly problematic. Food must be delivered the old-fashioned way: physically. Any disruption in the normal functioning of the EBT system will lead to food riots with a speed that is astonishing. This will inevitably happen when our unsustainable, debt-fueled binge party finally stops, and the music is over. Now that the delivery of free or heavily subsidized food is perceived by tens of millions of Americans to be a basic human right, the cutoff of “their” food money will cause an immediate explosion of rage. When the hunger begins to bite, supermarkets, shops and restaurants will be looted, and initially the media will not condemn the looting. Unfortunately, this initial violence will only be the start of a dangerous escalation.

The ransacked supermarkets, convenience stores, ATMs and gas stations will not be restocked during this period due to the precarious security situation. A single truck loaded with food or gasoline would be perceived to be a Fort Knox on wheels and subject to immediate attack unless heavily protected by powerfully armed security forces, but such forces will not be available during this chaotic period. Under those conditions, resupply to the urban areas cannot and will not take place. The downward spiral of social and economic dysfunction will therefore both accelerate and spread from city to city. These delays, in turn, will lead to more riots with the constant underlying demand that hungry people be fed, one way or another.

Catch-22, anyone? When these demands do not bring the desired outcome, the participants will ratchet up the violence, hoping to force action by the feckless state and national governments.

The “food riots” will be a grass-roots movement of the moment born out of hunger and desperation. It will not be dependent upon leaders or an underlying organization, although they could certainly add to the sauce. Existing cell phone technology provides all the organization a flash mob needs. Most of the mobs will consist of minority urban youths, termed MUYs in the rest of this essay. Which minority doesn’t matter; each urban locale will come with its own unique multi-ethnic dynamic.

Some locales will divide upon religious or political lines, but they will not be the dominant factors contributing to conflict. In the American context, the divisions will primarily have an ethnic or racial context, largely because that makes it easy to sort out the sides at a safe distance. No need to check religious or political affiliation at a hundred yards when The Other is of a different color.

We Americans are all about doing things the easy way, so, sadly, visible racial and ethnic features will form the predominant lines of division.

Would that it were not so, but reality is reality, even when it’s is a bitch.

Especially then.

NEXT STEP: FLASH MOB RIOTS

In order to highlight their grievances and escalate their demands for an immediate resumption of government benefits, the MUY flash mobs will next move their activities to the borders of their ethnic enclaves. They will concentrate on major intersections and highway interchanges where non-MUY suburban commuters must make daily passage to and from what forms of employment still exist. People making a living will still be using those roads to get to where they earn their daily bread.

The results of these clashes will frequently resemble the intersection of Florence and Normandie during the Rodney King riots in 1992, where Reginald Denny was pulled out of his truck’s cab and beaten nearly to death with a cinder block. If you don’t remember it, watch it on Youtube. Then imagine that scene with the mob-making accelerant of texting and other social media technology added to stoke the fires. Instead of a few dozen thugs terrorizing the ambushed intersections, in minutes there will be hundreds.

Rioters will throw debris such as shopping carts and trash cans into the intersection, causing the more timid drivers to pause. The mobs will swarm the lines of trapped cars once they have stopped. Traffic will be forced into gridlock for blocks in all directions. Drivers and passengers of the wrong ethnic persuasions will be pulled from their vehicles to be beaten, robbed, and in some cases raped and/or killed. It will be hyper-violent and overtly racial mob behavior, on a massive and undeniable basis.

Some of those trapped in their cars will try to drive out of the area, inevitably knocking down MUY pedestrians and being trapped by even more outraged MUYs. The commuters will be dragged out of their cars and kicked or beaten to death. Other suburban commuters will try to shoot their way out of the lines of stopped cars, and they will meet the same grim fate once they run out of bullets and room to escape.

The mob will be armed with everything from knives, clubs and pistols to AK-47s. A bloodbath will result. These unlucky drivers and their passengers will suffer horribly, and some of their deaths will be captured on traffic web cameras. Later, these terrible scenes will be released or leaked by sympathetic government insiders and shown by the alternative media, which continue to expand as the traditional media become increasingly irrelevant.

Implausible, you insist?

This grim tableau is my analysis of age-old human behavior patterns, adding flash mobs and 2012 levels of racial anger to the old recipe. Early-teenage MUYs today are frequently playing “The Knockout Game” on full bellies, just for kicks, and proudly uploading the videos. They and their older peers can be expected to do far worse when hunger and the fear of starvation enter their physical, mental, and emotional equations. The blame for their hunger will be turned outward against the greater society, and will be vented at first hand against any non-MUY who falls into their grasp while they are in the thrall of mob hysteria. These episodes of mass psychology we will refer to as “flash mob riots”, “wilding”, or some other new name.

THE OFFICIAL POLICE RESPONSE TO FLASH MOB RIOTS

To gear up for even a single “Florence and Normandie on steroids” flash mob street riot, city police departments will require an hour or longer to stage their SWAT teams and riot squads in position to react. Ordinary patrol cars in small numbers will not venture anywhere near such roiling masses of hysterical rioters, not even to perform rescues. Those citizens trapped in their cars cannot expect timely assistance from local or state authorities.

Even in the first days of widespread riots, when the police forces are well rested, it might take several hours to mount a response sufficient to quell the disturbance and restore order to even one major street intersection riot. In the meantime, scores of innocent commuters will have been attacked, with many of them injured or killed and left at the scene. It will be a law enforcement nightmare to quell the disturbance, mop up lingering rioters, restore security, and bring medical attention to the living and get medical examiners to the dead. And each jurisdiction will face potentially dozens of such scenes, thanks to the ability for MUYs to cross-communicate at will using their wireless devices.

The far more difficult challenge for the police is that by the time they are suited in riot gear, armed and geared up to sweep the intersection, it will probably be empty of rioters. The police, with their major riot squad reaction times measured in hours, will be fighting flash mobs that materialize, cause mayhem, and evaporate in only fractions of hours. This rapid cycle time is a clear lesson taken from massive riots by immigrant French Muslim MUYs in their own religious enclaves and bordering areas.

The American flash mob riot will exist almost entirely inside the law enforcement OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) loop. In other words, the rioters will have a much quicker reaction time than the police. Until fairly recently, superior police communications meant that they could use their radio networks as a force multiplier. With their networking advantage and cohesive reactions both within a department and among cooperating local agencies, police could act as shepherds guiding or dispersing a wayward stampeding

Today, the mob has the greater advantage, immediately spreading word of every police preparation by text and Tweet, even in advance of the police movement. Attempts by the authorities to stop the flash mobs by blocking and jamming wireless transmissions will have limited success.

It is at this point that the situation spirals out of control.

The enraged mobs in urban America will soon recognize that their spontaneous street riots cannot be stopped by the police, and then they will grow truly fearsome. For the police, it will be a losing game of Whack-a-Mole, with riots breaking out and dispersing at a speed they cannot hope to match. The violence will spread to previously unaffected cities as an awareness of law enforcement impotence is spread by television and social media. After a few days, the police forces will be exhausted and demoralized. As the violence intensifies and spreads, and in the absence of any viable security arrangements, supermarkets and other stores will not be restocked, leaving the MUYs even more desperate and angry than before. The increasing desperation born of worsening hunger will refuel the escalating spiral of violence.

Nor will violent conflict be only between the inhabitants of the urban areas and the suburbs. The international record of conflict in tri-ethnic cities is grim, making the old bi-racial dichotomy formerly seen in America seem stable by comparison. In tri-ethnic cities the perceived balance of power is constantly shifting, with each side in turn feeling outnumbered and outmuscled. Temporary truces, betrayals and new alliances follow in rapid succession, removing any lingering sense of social cohesion.

The former Yugoslavia, with its Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim divisions, comes starkly to mind. The Lebanese Civil War between the Christians, Sunnis, Shiites and Druze raged across Beirut (at one time known as “The Paris of the Middle East”) for fifteen brutal years. Once a city turns on itself and becomes a runaway engine of self-destruction, it can be difficult to impossible to switch off the process and return to normal pre-conflict life. It’s not inconceivable that the United States could produce a dozen Sarajevos or Beiruts, primarily across racial instead of religious divides.

Vehicle traffic by non-minority suburban commuters through adjoining minority areas will virtually halt, wrecking what is left of the local economy. Businesses will not open because employees will not be able to travel to work safely. Businesses in minority areas, needless to say, will be looted. “Gentrified” enclaves of affluent suburbanites within or near the urban zones will suffer repeated attacks, until their inhabitants flee.

Radically disaffected minorities will hold critical infrastructure corridors through their areas hostage against the greater society. Highways, railroad tracks, pipe and power lines will all be under constant threat, or may be cut in planned or unplanned acts of raging against “the system.” As long as security in the urban areas cannot be restored, these corridors will be under threat. Even airports will not be immune. Many of them have been absorbed into urban areas, and aircraft will come under sporadic fire while taking off and landing.

In the absence of fresh targets of value blundering into their areas, and still out of food, MUYs will begin to forage beyond their desolated home neighborhoods and into suburban borderlands. “Safe” supermarkets and other stores will be robbed in brazen commando-like gang attacks. Carjackings and home invasions will proliferate madly. As I have discussed in my essay “The Civil War Two Cube,” so-called “transitional” and mixed-ethnic areas will suffer the worst violence. These neighborhoods will become utterly chaotic killing zones, with little or no help coming from the overstretched police, who will be trying to rest up for their next shift on riot squad duty, if they have not already deserted their posts to take care of their own families.

THE SUBURBAN ARMED VIGILANTE RESPONSE

In the absence of an effective official police response to the exploding levels of violence, suburbanites will first hastily form self-defense forces to guard their neighborhoods—especially ones located near ethnic borders. These ubiquitous neighborhood armed defense teams will often have a deep and talented bench from which to select members, and they will not lack for volunteers.

Since 9-11, hundreds of thousands of young men (and more than a few women) have acquired graduate-level educations in various aspects of urban warfare. In the Middle East these troops were frequently tasked with restoring order to urban areas exploding in internecine strife. Today these former military men and women understand better than anyone the life-or-death difference between being armed and organized versus unarmed and disorganized.

Hundreds of thousands if not millions of veterans currently own rifles strikingly similar to those they carried in the armed forces, lacking only the full-automatic selector switch. Their brothers, sisters, parents, friends, and neighbors who did not serve in the military are often just as familiar with the weapons, if not the tactics. Today the AR-pattern rifle (the semi-automatic civilian version of the familiar full-auto-capable M-16 or M-4) is the most popular model of rifle in America, with millions sold in the past decade. Virtually all of them produced in the past decade have abandoned the old M-16′s signature “carrying handle” rear iron sight for a standardized sight mounting rail, meaning that virtually every AR sold today can be easily equipped with an efficient optical sight. Firing the high-velocity 5.56×45 mm cartridge and mounted with a four-power tactical sight, a typical AR rifle can shoot two-inch groups at one hundred yards when fired from a steady bench rest. That translates to shooting eight- to ten-inch groups at four hundred yards.

Four hundred yards is a long walk. Pace it off on a straight road, and observe how tiny somebody appears at that distance. Yet a typical AR rifle, like those currently owned by millions of American citizens, can hit a man-sized target at that range very easily, given a stable firing platform and a moderate level of shooting ability.

And there are a far greater number of scoped bolt-action hunting rifles in private hands in the United States. Keep this number in mind: based on deer stamps sold, approximately twenty million Americans venture into the woods every fall armed with such rifles, fully intending to shoot and kill a two-hundred-pound mammal. Millions of these scoped bolt-action deer rifles are quite capable of hitting a man-sized target at ranges out to and even beyond a thousand yards, or nearly three-fifths of a mile. In that context, the 500-yard effective range of the average semi-auto AR-pattern rifle is not at all remarkable.

So, we have millions of men and women with military training, owning rifles similar to the ones they used in combat operations overseas from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Many of these Soldiers and Marines have special operations training. They are former warriors with experience at conducting irregular warfare and counter-terrorism operations in dangerous urban environments. They are the opposite of unthinking robots: their greatest military talent is looking outside the box for new solutions. They always seek to “over-match” their enemies, using their own advantages as force multipliers while diminishing or concealing their weaknesses. These military veterans are also ready, willing and able to pass on their experience and training to interested students in their civilian circles.

Let’s return to our hypothetical Florence and Normandie intersection, but this time with hundreds of rioters per city block, instead of mere dozens. Among the mobs are thugs armed with pistols and perhaps even AK-47s equipped with standard iron sights, and except in rare cases, these rifles have never been “zeroed in” on a target range. In other words, past a medium distance of fifty to a hundred yards, these MUY shooters will have little idea where their fired bullets will strike—nor will they care. Typically, most of the rioters armed with a pistol, shotgun or an iron-sighted rifle could not hit a mailbox at a hundred yards unless by luck. Inside that distance, any non-MUY could be at immediate risk of brutal death at the hands of an enraged mob, but beyond that range, the mob will pose much less danger.

Taking this imbalance in effective ranges of the firearms most likely to be available to both sides, certain tactical responses are sure to arise, and ranking near the top will be the one described next.

THE SNIPER AMBUSH: THE NEW TACTIC OF CHOICE

The sniper ambush will predictably be used as a counter to rampaging mobs armed only with short- to medium-range weapons. This extremely deadly trick was developed by our war fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan, taking advantage of the significant effective range and firepower of our scoped 5.56mm rifles. Tactics such as the sniper ambush may not be seen early in the civil disorder, but they will surely arise after a steady progression of atrocities attributed to rampaging MUYs.

Street intersection flash mob riots will not be the only type of violence exploding during periods of civil disorder. As mentioned earlier, the number and ferocity of home invasions will skyrocket, and they will be very hard to defend against. Neighborhood self-defense forces will be able to protect a group of homes if they are located on cul-de-sacs or in defensible subdivisions with limited entrances, turning them overnight into fortified gated communities. Individual homes and apartment buildings located in open grid-pattern neighborhoods with outside access from many directions will be much more difficult to defend, and the home invasions will continue.

Carjacking and other forms of armed robbery will proliferate to previously unimagined levels, leading to a total loss of confidence in the government’s ability to provide security across all social lines. Stray bullets striking pedestrians or penetrating houses will take a frightening toll, even in areas previously considered to be safe. The police will be exhausted by constant riot-squad duty, and will not even respond to reports of mere individual acts of violent criminality. They will simply be overwhelmed, and will be forced to triage their responses. The wealthy, powerful and politically well-connected will demand the lion’s share of remaining police resources, further diminishing the safety of average Americans.

In that context, neighborhood self-defense forces will form the nucleus of the armed vigilante direct action groups which will spring up next in the progression. Suburban anger will continue to build against the MUYs, who are perceived to be the originators of the home invasions and gang-level armed looting raids. Survivors of street ambushes, carjackings and home invasions will tell blood-curdling tales and show horrific scars.

The neighborhood defense teams will evolve into proactive suburban armed vigilante groups (SAVs) out of a desire to preemptively take the violence to their perceived enemies, instead of passively waiting for the next home invasion or carjacking. The SAV teams will consist of the more aggressive and gung-ho members of the self-defense forces, who met and compared notes. Often they will be young men with recent combat experience in the armed forces, who will apply their military training to the new situation. Major intersections and highway interchanges where ambush riots have previously occurred will be among the SAV targets. The SAV reaction times will be measured in minutes, compared to the hours required by major police department SWAT teams and riot squads.

A SAMPLE SNIPER AMBUSH SCENARIO

When word is received that a flash mob is forming at one of their pre-reconnoitered intersections or highway interchanges, the SAV team will assemble. Sometimes cooperating police will pass tactical intel to their civilian friends on the outside. Some clever individuals will have exploited their technical know-how and military experience to build real-time intel collection tools, such as private UAVs. Police will have access to urban security camera footage showing MUYs moving barricade materials into position—a normal prerequisite to a flash mob riot intended to stop traffic. Tip-offs to the vigilantes will be common, and where the networks are still functioning, citizens may still be able to access some video feeds. Sometimes, police will even join the SAV teams, incognito and off-duty, blurring the teams into so-called “death squads.”

The operation I will describe (and it’s only one of dozens that will be tried) uses two ordinary pickup trucks and eight fighters. Two riflemen are lying prone in the back of each truck, facing rearward, with removable canvas covers concealing their presence. Their semi-automatic, scoped rifles are supported at their front ends on bipods for very accurate shooting. A row of protective sandbags a foot high is between them and the raised tailgate.

In the cab are a driver and a spotter in the passenger seat who also serves as the vehicle’s 360-degree security. The two trucks don’t ever appear on the same stretch of road, but coordinate their movements using one-word brevity codes over small FRS walkie-talkie radios. Each truck has a series of predetermined elevated locations where the intersection in question will lie between 200 and 500 yards away. Each truck is totally nondescript and forgettable, the only detail perhaps being the non-MUY ethnicity of the suburbanite driver and spotter driving relatively near to a riot in progress.

By the time the two SAV pickup trucks arrive at their firing positions on different streets and oriented ninety degrees to one another, the flash mob riot is in full swing. A hundred or more of the rampaging youths are posturing and throwing debris into traffic in order to intimidate some cars into stopping. The riflemen in the backs of the pickups are waiting for this moment and know what to expect, trusting their spotters and drivers to give them a good firing lane. The spotters in each truck issue a code word on their radios when they are in final position. The tailgates are swung down, and the leader among the riflemen initiates the firing. All-around security is provided by the driver and spotter.

Lying prone and using their bipods for support, the shooters have five to ten degrees of pan or traverse across the entire intersection. Individual rioters are clearly visible in the shooters’ magnified optical scopes. Each of the four snipers has a plan to shoot from the outside of the mob toward the middle, driving participants into a panicked mass. The left-side shooters start on the left side and work to the middle, engaging targets with rapid fire, about one aimed shot per two seconds. Since the two trucks are set at ninety degrees to one another, very complete coverage will be obtained, even among and between the stopped vehicles.

The result is a turkey shoot. One magazine of thirty aimed shots per rifle is expended in under a minute, a coded cease-fire is called on the walkie-talkies, and the trucks drive away at the speed limit. The canvas covering the truck beds contains the shooters’ spent brass. If the trucks are attacked from medium or close range, the canvas can be thrown back and the two snipers with their semi-automatic rifles or carbines will add their firepower to that of the driver and spotter.

Back at the intersection, complete panic breaks out among the rioters as a great number of bullets have landed in human flesh. Over a score have been killed outright, and many more scream in pain for medical attention they will not receive in time. The sniper ambush stops the flash mob cold in its tracks as the uninjured flee in terror, leaving their erstwhile comrades back on the ground bleeding. The commuters trapped in their vehicles may have an opportunity to escape.

This type of sniper ambush and a hundred variations on the theme will finally accomplish what the police could not: put an end to mobs of violent rioters making the cities through-streets and highways impassible killing zones. Would-be rioters will soon understand it to be suicidal to cluster in easily visible groups and engage in mob violence, as the immediate response could come at any time in the form of aimed fire from hundreds of yards away. Even one rifleman with a scoped semi-auto can break up a medium-sized riot.

Many citizens will take to carrying rifles and carbines in their vehicles, along with their pistols, so that if their cars are trapped in an ambush they will have a chance to fight their way out. If their vehicle is stopped outside the immediate area of the flash mob, they will be able to direct accurate fire at the rioters from a few hundred yards away. Inside the fatal hundred-yard radius, unlucky suburbanite drivers and passengers pulled from their cars will still be brutally violated, but the occurrences of large mob-driven street ambushes will be much less frequent once long-range retaliation becomes a frequent expectation.

THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO VIGILANTISM

Where they will be unable to respond swiftly or effectively to the outbreaks of street riots by MUY flash mobs, the police and federal agents will respond vigorously to the deadly but smaller vigilante attacks. These sniper ambushes and other SAV attacks will be called acts of domestic terrorism and mass murder by government officials and the mainstream media. A nearly seamless web of urban and suburban street cameras will reveal some of the SAV teams by their vehicles, facial recognition programs, and other technical means. Some early arrests will be made, but the vigilantes will adapt to increasing law enforcement pressure against them by becoming cleverer about their camouflage, most often using stolen cars and false uniforms and masks during their direct-action missions. Observe Mexico today for ideas on how this type of dirty war is fought.

Eventually, the U.S. Army itself might be called upon to put out all the social firestorms in our cities, restore order and security, pacify the angry masses, feed the starving millions, get vital infrastructure operating again, and do it all at once in a dozen American Beiruts, Sarajevos and Mogadishus.

Good luck to them, I say.

A few hundred “Active IRA” tied down thousands of British troops in one corner of a small island for decades. The same ratios have served the Taliban well over the past decade while fighting against the combined might of NATO. Set aside for a moment the angry starving millions trapped in the urban areas, and the dire security issues arising thereof. Just to consider the official reaction to vigilantism separately, it’s unlikely that any conceivable combinations of local and state police, federal law enforcement, National Guard or active-duty Army actions could neutralize or eliminate tens of thousands of former special operations troops intent on providing their own form of security. Millions of Americans are already far better armed and trained than a few hundred IRA or Taliban ever were. And the police and Army would not be operating from secure fire bases, their families living in total safety thousands of miles away in a secure rear area. In this scenario, there is no rear area, and every family member, anywhere, would be at perpetual risk of reprisal actions by any of the warring sides.

In this hyper-dangerous environment, new laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in vehicles would be ignored as the illegitimate diktat of dictatorship, just when the Second Amendment is needed more than ever. Police or military conducting searches for firearms at checkpoints would themselves become targets of vigilante snipers. Serving on anti-firearms duty would be seen as nothing but pure treason by millions of Americans who took the oath to defend the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. Politicians who did not act in the security interest of their local constituents as a result of political correctness or other reasons would also be targeted.

A festering race war with police and the military in the middle taking fire from both sides could last for many years, turning many American cities into a living hell. Remember history: when the British Army landed in Northern Ireland in 1969, they were greeted with flowers and applause from the Catholics. The Tommys were welcomed as peacekeepers who would protect them from Protestant violence. That soon changed. Likewise with our tragic misadventure in Lebanon back in 1982 and 1983. Well-intended referees often find themselves taking fire from all sides. It’s as predictable as tomorrow’s sunrise. Why would it be any different when the U.S. Army is sent to Los Angeles, Chicago or Philadelphia to break apart warring ethnic factions?

For a long time after these events, it will be impossible for the warring ethnic groups to live together or even to mingle peacefully. Too much rage and hatred will have been built up on all sides of our many American multi-ethnic fault lines. The new wounds will be raw and painful for many years to come, as they were in the South for long after the Civil War. The fracturing of the urban areas, divided by no-man’s-lands, will also hinder economic redevelopment for many years because the critical infrastructure corridors will remain insecure.

Eventually, high concrete “Peace Walls” like those in Belfast, Northern Ireland, will be installed where the different ethnic groups live in close proximity. That is, if recovery to sane and civilized norms of behavior are ever regained in our lifetimes and we don’t slide into a new Dark Age, a stern and permanent tyranny, warlordism, anarchy, or any other dire outcome.

Dark Ages can last for centuries, after sinking civilizations in a vicious, downward vortex. “When the music’s over, turn out the lights,” to quote Jim Morrison of The Doors. Sometimes the lights stay out for a long time. Sometimes civilization itself is lost. Millions of EBT cards flashing zeroes might be the signal event of a terrible transformation.

It is a frightening thing to crystallize the possible outbreak of mass starvation and racial warfare into words, so that the mind is forced to confront agonizingly painful scenarios. It is much easier to avert one’s eyes and mind from the ugliness with politically correct Kumbaya bromides. In this grim essay, I am describing a brutal situation of ethnic civil war not differing much from the worst scenes from recent history in Rwanda, South Africa, Mexico, Bosnia, Iraq, and many other places that have experienced varying types and degrees of societal collapse. We all deplore the conditions that might drive us toward such a hellish outcome, and we should work unceasingly to return America to the path of true brotherhood, peace and prosperity. Race hustlers of every stripe should be condemned.

Most of us wish we could turn back the calendar to Norman Rockwell’s America. But we cannot, for that America is water long over the dam and gone from our sight, if not from our memories. John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” If that is true, judging by current and even accelerating cultural shifts, we might already have passed the point of no return.

The prudent American will trim his sails accordingly.