lewrockwell--2020-05-12--Seth Rich Refuses To Stay Buried

Seth Rich Refuses To Stay Buried

“ I am reliably informed that the NSA or its partners intercepted at least some of the communications between Mr. Rich and Wikileaks , ” wrote attorney Ty Clevenger in a startling letter last week to Richard Grennell , Interim Director of National Intelligence .
Clevenger represents Ed Butowsky , a high-profile author and financial adviser who dared to ask questions about the late Seth Rich and was sued for his troubles .
The known facts of Rich ’ s still unsolved murder were largely established within hours by the local media .
“ A 27-year-old man who worked for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed as he walked home early Sunday in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Northwest Washington , D.C. , ” NBC Washington reported .
Unmasking Obama : The F ... Cashill , Jack Buy New $ 27.11 The shooting occurred at 4:19 a.m. on Sunday , July 10 , 2016 .
“ There had been a struggle , ” said Seth ’ s mother , Mary Rich .
“ His hands were bruised , his knees are bruised , his face is bruised , and yet he had two shots to his back , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added , “ They took his life for literally no reason.
” In the real world , most killers have a reason .
Those who fire two shots and take nothing from the victim always do .
In the major newsrooms , journalists have been perversely keen on not knowing what this reason was .
In the years since the shooting , they have offered little useful information beyond the account above .
Butowsky was much more curious .
The woman who stirred his curiosity was Ellen Ratner , a veteran TV news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 presidential election , Ratner participated in a videotaped panel discussion at Embry-Riddle University .
“ I spent three hours with Julian Assange on Saturday at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London , ” said Ratner with a curious lack of emphasis .
“ One thing he did say was the leaks were not from , they were not from the Russians .
They were an internal source from the Hillary campaign.
” The Hunt Jack Cashill , Mike McM ... Buy New $ 16.99 As Ratner should have known , this was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ credible source .
An open supporter of Hillary Clinton with access to Assange through her late brother and Assange attorney , Michael Ratner , she had no reason to make this up .
Ratner was referring to emails from inside the DNC and the Hillary campaign that the media , the Democrats and the deep state insisted had been hacked from the DNC computers by the Russians .
She should have been shouting this contrary news from the rooftops , but she did little more than share it with colleague Butowsky .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ratner repeated to him a more detailed claim by Assange , namely that “ Seth Rich and his brother , Aaron , were responsible for releasing the DNC emails to WikiLeaks.
” Following up on this claim got Butowsky into a world of a trouble .
He is one several would-be investigators , Fox News included , who have been sued into silence .

“I am reliably informed that the NSA or its partners intercepted at least some of the communications between Mr. Rich and Wikileaks,” wrote attorney Ty Clevenger in a startling letter last week to Richard Grennell, Interim Director of National Intelligence.
Clevenger represents Ed Butowsky, a high-profile author and financial adviser who dared to ask questions about the late Seth Rich and was sued for his troubles.
The known facts of Rich’s still unsolved murder were largely established within hours by the local media. “A 27-year-old man who worked for the Democratic National Committee was shot and killed as he walked home early Sunday in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C.,” NBC Washington reported. Unmasking Obama: The F... Cashill, Jack Buy New $27.11 (as of 04:59 UTC - Details)
The shooting occurred at 4:19 a.m. on Sunday, July 10, 2016. “There had been a struggle,” said Seth’s mother, Mary Rich. “His hands were bruised, his knees are bruised, his face is bruised, and yet he had two shots to his back, and yet they never took anything.” She added, “They took his life for literally no reason.”
In the real world, most killers have a reason. Those who fire two shots and take nothing from the victim always do. In the major newsrooms, journalists have been perversely keen on not knowing what this reason was. In the years since the shooting, they have offered little useful information beyond the account above.
Butowsky was much more curious. The woman who stirred his curiosity was Ellen Ratner, a veteran TV news analyst. On the day after the 2016 presidential election, Ratner participated in a videotaped panel discussion at Embry-Riddle University.
“I spent three hours with Julian Assange on Saturday at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London,” said Ratner with a curious lack of emphasis. “One thing he did say was the leaks were not from, they were not from the Russians. They were an internal source from the Hillary campaign.” The Hunt Jack Cashill, Mike McM... Buy New $16.99 (as of 10:56 UTC - Details)
As Ratner should have known, this was a major revelation, and she was a credible source. An open supporter of Hillary Clinton with access to Assange through her late brother and Assange attorney, Michael Ratner, she had no reason to make this up.
Ratner was referring to emails from inside the DNC and the Hillary campaign that the media, the Democrats and the deep state insisted had been hacked from the DNC computers by the Russians. She should have been shouting this contrary news from the rooftops, but she did little more than share it with colleague Butowsky.
According to Butowsky’s multi-party suit, Ratner repeated to him a more detailed claim by Assange, namely that “Seth Rich and his brother, Aaron, were responsible for releasing the DNC emails to WikiLeaks.” Following up on this claim got Butowsky into a world of a trouble. He is one several would-be investigators, Fox News included, who have been sued into silence.
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lewrockwell--2020-05-12--Government Tyranny Should Come As No Surprise

We are living through the greatest power grab by government at all levels ( federal , state , county , city ) in all of American history .
By decree , pronouncements , and guidelines , governments have criminalized heretofore legal activities , violated civil liberties worse than in wartime , and destroyed private property rights .
But , some might say , it is just state and local governments that are acting tyrannical this time .
The C. S. Lewis Signat ... Lewis , C. S. Best Price : $ 53.15 Buy New $ 39.49 The federal government has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the states .
The federal government , including President Trump himself , has opined that states are opening too fast or should not open too fast .
The federal government has issued guidance on what constitutes an essential worker .
The federal government—via the Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ) , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) , National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ( NIAID ) , and National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) —has spread misinformation , lies , and propaganda .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ governments , has not let a crisis go to waste .
The Fourteenth Amendment says that “ no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life , liberty , or property , without due process of law ; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
” Where is the federal government ?
Why is it not enforcing its own Constitution ?
Government tyranny at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Libertarians and others have been warning about the true nature of government for many years .
I have compiled this collection of quotes to remind us that government is the enemy of freedom .
“ There has been no greater threat to life , liberty , and property throughout the ages than government .
Even the most violent and brutal private individuals have been able to inflict only a mere fraction of the harm and destruction that have been caused by the use of power by political authorities.
” ~ Richard Ebeling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive .
It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies .
The robber baron ’ s cruelty may sometimes sleep , his cupidity may at some point be satiated ; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
” ~ C. S. Lewis “ The state is a human institution , not a superhuman being .
He who says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He who says : There should be a law concerning this matter , means : The armed men of the government should force people to do what they do not want to do , or not to do what they like .
He who says : This law should be better enforced , means : The police should force people to obey this law .
He who says : The state is God , deifies arms and prisons .
The worship of the state is the worship of force .
There is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a government of incompetent , corrupt , or vile men .
The worst evils which mankind ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments .
The state can be and has often been in the course of history the main source of mischief and disaster.
” ~ Ludwig von Mises “ Some think that they will exercise power for the general good , but that is what all those with power have believed .
Power is evil in itself , regardless of who exercises it.
” ~ Ludwig von Mises The Vintage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Best Price : $ 2.11 Buy New $ 8.23 “ Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men , of policemen , gendarmes , soldiers , prison guards , and hangmen .
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating , killing , and imprisoning .
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.
” ~ Ludwig von Mises “ The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed ( and hence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins , all of them imaginary.
” ~ H. L. Mencken “ All government , of course , is against liberty.
” ~ H. L. Mencken “ I believe that all government is evil , and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.
” ~ H. L. Mencken “ Taking the State wherever found , striking into its history at any point , one sees no way to differentiate the activities of its founders , administrators , and beneficiaries from those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ J. Nock “ The State , on the other hand , both in its genesis and by its primary intention , is purely anti-social .
It is not based on the idea of natural rights , but on the idea that the individual has no rights except those that the State may provisionally grant him .
It has always made justice costly and difficult of access , and has invariably held itself above justice and common morality whenever it could advantage itself by so doing.
” ~ Albert J. Nock “ The idea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of social purpose is completely unhistorical .
It originated in conquest and confiscation—that is to say , in crime .
It originated for the purpose of maintaining the division of society into an owning-and-exploiting class and a propertyless dependent class—that is , for a criminal purpose.
” ~ Albert J. Nock “ It is curious that people tend to regard government as a quasi-divine , selfless , Santa Claus organization .
Government was constructed neither for ability nor for the exercise of loving care ; government was built for the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ votes.
” ~ Murray Rothbard “ If the bulk of the public were really convinced of the illegitimacy of the State , if it were convinced that the State is nothing more nor less than a bandit gang writ large , then the State would soon collapse to take on no more status or breadth of existence than another Mafia gang.
” ~ Murray Rothbard The State of the Union ... Albert Jay Nock Best Price : $ 2.57 Buy New $ 6.26 “ Power tends to corrupt , and absolute power corrupts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man ’ s life , liberty , or property are safe while the legislature is in session.
” ~ Mark Twain “ I heartily accept the motto , ‘ That government is best which governs least ’ ; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically .
Carried out , it finally amounts to this , which also I believe — ‘ That government is best which governs not at all ’ ; and when men are prepared for it , that will be the kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Henry David Thoreau “ The nine most terrifying words in the English language are : I ’ m from the government and I ’ m here to help.
” ~ Ronald Reagan “ The state is the most destructive institution human beings have ever devised—a fire that , at best , can be controlled for only a short time before it over leaps its improvised confinements and spreads its flames far and wide.
” ~ Robert Higgs “ Nothing promotes the growth of the state as much as national emergency—war and other crises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the threats they pose.
” ~ Robert Higgs “ States , by their very nature , are perpetually at war—not always against foreign foes , of course , but always against their own subjects.
” ~ Robert Higgs “ Government , even in its best state , is but a necessary evil ; in its worst state , an intolerable one.
” ~ Thomas Paine “ All government is corrupt , all government is tyrannical , no government represents anything but itself , and all government seeks power over others.
” ~ Gary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know it , is the real enemy .
It produces nothing except distortions of social life , through war , taxation , regulation , and the general redistribution of wealth and resources.
” ~ Joseph Sobran “ In general , the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to the other.
” ~ Voltaire Essays on Freedom and ... Acton , Lord Best Price : $ 19.27 Buy New $ 17.53 “ The state is not the foundation of society , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it does not bring about prosperity , and it does not protect us .
Government instead stands outside of society and lives off its proceeds , and does so for its own benefit and not that of society.
” ~ Lew Rockwell “ Government is not productive .
It is not creative .
It does not bring blessings .
Government spending drains resources from society , taking from those in whose hands it has the highest value and putting into the hands of people who serve the state.
” ~ Lew Rockwell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , rather than protecting life , liberty , and the pursuit of happiness of their citizens , governments must be considered the greatest threat to human security.
” ~ Hans-Hermann Hoppe “ Experience hath shewn , that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have , in time , and by slow operations , perverted it into tyranny.
” ~ Thomas Jefferson “ The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.
” ~ Thomas Jefferson “ The less government we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the less confided power.
” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson “ The State acquires power at the expense of freedom , and because of its insatiable lust for power it is incapable of giving up any of it .
The State never abdicates.
” ~ Frank Chodorov “ All government is authoritarian ; and the more democratic a government is the more authoritative it is ; for with the people behind it , it can push authority further than any Tsar or foreign despot dare do.
” ~ George Bernard Shaw “ The only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.
” ~ John Adams The Best of Laurence M. Vance

We are living through the greatest power grab by government at all levels (federal, state, county, city) in all of American history.
By decree, pronouncements, and guidelines, governments have criminalized heretofore legal activities, violated civil liberties worse than in wartime, and destroyed private property rights.
But, some might say, it is just state and local governments that are acting tyrannical this time.
Not so.
The C. S. Lewis Signat... Lewis, C. S. Best Price: $53.15 Buy New $39.49 (as of 05:00 UTC - Details) The federal government has incited fear and panic among the residents of the states. The federal government, including President Trump himself, has opined that states are opening too fast or should not open too fast. The federal government has issued guidance on what constitutes an essential worker. The federal government—via the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and National Institutes of Health (NIH)—has spread misinformation, lies, and propaganda. The federal government, like the state governments, has not let a crisis go to waste.
The Fourteenth Amendment says that “no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Where is the federal government? Why is it not enforcing its own Constitution?
Government tyranny at any level should come as no surprise. Libertarians and others have been warning about the true nature of government for many years. I have compiled this collection of quotes to remind us that government is the enemy of freedom.
“There has been no greater threat to life, liberty, and property throughout the ages than government. Even the most violent and brutal private individuals have been able to inflict only a mere fraction of the harm and destruction that have been caused by the use of power by political authorities.” ~ Richard Ebeling
“Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” ~ C. S. Lewis
“The state is a human institution, not a superhuman being. He who says ‘state’ means coercion and compulsion. He who says: There should be a law concerning this matter, means: The armed men of the government should force people to do what they do not want to do, or not to do what they like. He who says: This law should be better enforced, means: The police should force people to obey this law. He who says: The state is God, deifies arms and prisons. The worship of the state is the worship of force. There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men. The worst evils which mankind ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments. The state can be and has often been in the course of history the main source of mischief and disaster.” ~ Ludwig von Mises
“Some think that they will exercise power for the general good, but that is what all those with power have believed. Power is evil in itself, regardless of who exercises it.” ~ Ludwig von Mises The Vintage Mencken: T... Mencken, H.L. Best Price: $2.11 Buy New $8.23 (as of 02:45 UTC - Details)
“Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen. The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning. Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.” ~ Ludwig von Mises
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” ~ H. L. Mencken
“All government, of course, is against liberty.” ~ H. L. Mencken
“I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.” ~ H. L. Mencken
“Taking the State wherever found, striking into its history at any point, one sees no way to differentiate the activities of its founders, administrators, and beneficiaries from those of a professional-criminal class.” ~ Albert J. Nock
“The State, on the other hand, both in its genesis and by its primary intention, is purely anti-social. It is not based on the idea of natural rights, but on the idea that the individual has no rights except those that the State may provisionally grant him. It has always made justice costly and difficult of access, and has invariably held itself above justice and common morality whenever it could advantage itself by so doing.” ~ Albert J. Nock
“The idea that the State originated to serve any kind of social purpose is completely unhistorical. It originated in conquest and confiscation—that is to say, in crime. It originated for the purpose of maintaining the division of society into an owning-and-exploiting class and a propertyless dependent class—that is, for a criminal purpose.” ~ Albert J. Nock
“It is curious that people tend to regard government as a quasi-divine, selfless, Santa Claus organization. Government was constructed neither for ability nor for the exercise of loving care; government was built for the use of force and for necessarily demagogic appeals for votes.” ~ Murray Rothbard
“If the bulk of the public were really convinced of the illegitimacy of the State, if it were convinced that the State is nothing more nor less than a bandit gang writ large, then the State would soon collapse to take on no more status or breadth of existence than another Mafia gang.” ~ Murray Rothbard The State of the Union... Albert Jay Nock Best Price: $2.57 Buy New $6.26 (as of 11:13 UTC - Details)
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” ~ Lord Acton
“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” ~ Mark Twain
“I heartily accept the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe — ‘That government is best which governs not at all’; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” ~ Ronald Reagan
“The state is the most destructive institution human beings have ever devised—a fire that, at best, can be controlled for only a short time before it over leaps its improvised confinements and spreads its flames far and wide.” ~ Robert Higgs
“Nothing promotes the growth of the state as much as national emergency—war and other crises comparable to war in the seriousness of the threats they pose.” ~ Robert Higgs
“States, by their very nature, are perpetually at war—not always against foreign foes, of course, but always against their own subjects.” ~ Robert Higgs
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” ~ Thomas Paine
“All government is corrupt, all government is tyrannical, no government represents anything but itself, and all government seeks power over others.” ~ Gary Barnett
“But government, as we know it, is the real enemy. It produces nothing except distortions of social life, through war, taxation, regulation, and the general redistribution of wealth and resources.” ~ Joseph Sobran
“In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to the other.” ~ Voltaire Essays on Freedom and ... Acton, Lord Best Price: $19.27 Buy New $17.53 (as of 05:00 UTC - Details)
“The state is not the foundation of society, it is not the source of our security, it does not bring about prosperity, and it does not protect us. Government instead stands outside of society and lives off its proceeds, and does so for its own benefit and not that of society.” ~ Lew Rockwell
“Government is not productive. It is not creative. It does not bring blessings. Government spending drains resources from society, taking from those in whose hands it has the highest value and putting into the hands of people who serve the state.” ~ Lew Rockwell
“The historical evidence appears to indicate that, rather than protecting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of their citizens, governments must be considered the greatest threat to human security.” ~ Hans-Hermann Hoppe
“Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
“The less government we have, the better—the fewer laws, and the less confided power.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The State acquires power at the expense of freedom, and because of its insatiable lust for power it is incapable of giving up any of it. The State never abdicates.” ~ Frank Chodorov
“All government is authoritarian; and the more democratic a government is the more authoritative it is; for with the people behind it, it can push authority further than any Tsar or foreign despot dare do.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
“The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.” ~ John Adams
The Best of Laurence M. Vance


lewrockwell--2020-05-12--What I Learned During the COVID Crisis

What I Learned During the COVID Crisis

The COVID-19 crisis has affected just about every family in the United States in some way or another .
All of our situations are unique and everyone I ’ ve spoken to has learned some lessons about their levels of preparedness .
Some of those lessons are unconventional but valuable nonetheless .
There are a whole lot of things you can ’ t learn from a book or a blog .
Here are the things I ’ ve learned .
I began writing about this virus back in January when it was announced that the entire city of Wuhan was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were under stay at home orders .
With that many people under a mandatory lockdown , I was firmly convinced that this had potential global ramifications .
Be Ready for Anything : ... Daisy Luther Best Price : $ 10.45 Buy New $ 9.69 I had come back from Europe to attend a funeral in early January and was supposed to return on January 28th .
After doing the research for the article mentioned above , I rescheduled my flight for March 28th and settled in with my youngest daughter at her apartment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We immediately began stocking up .
A lot of folks at that time said I was crazy – a few here on my website but more so on other sites that republished my work .
I ’ m no stranger to being called crazy – I ’ m in the preparedness industry and I like guns , so right there , the mainstream media sees me as a lunatic .
It no longer bothers me and I was convinced that this was going to be a big deal .
Every day from January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve spent hours researching as this pandemic has unfolded .
I sincerely wish that I had not been correct , but here we are , still in lockdown in many parts of the country .
You can prepare fast if you ’ re aware before other folks are .
I had sold or donated nearly everything that my daughters didn ’ t want before I took off on an open-ended trip to Europe last fall .
The other items were divided up between my two girls .
So while the daughter with whom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like firearms , water filters , etc.
, the stockpile was pretty much gone .
By the end of January , I was pretty sure that we were going to see mandatory quarantines or lockdowns here and I began stocking up .
It ’ s important to note that at this point , you could still buy anything you wanted or needed .
I grabbed some extra masks and gloves but most of my focus was on food and other everyday supplies .
By the end of February , I was pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had .
I had spent as little as possible on “ right now food ” and focused most of my budget on shelf-stable items like canned goods , pasta , and rice .
For about $ 600 , we accumulated a supply that would see us through a minimum of 3 months without leaving the house .
I figured , if it turned out that I had overreacted , my daughter would use the food anyway .
I also started a personal spending freeze at the end of January .
If it wasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become better prepared , I didn ’ t spend a dime .
I was able to put back a few months ’ worth of expenses while still stocking up .
It helped that my daughter was living thrifty in a less expensive apartment with utilities included .
I was very concerned about things like cash flow and it turns out , this has been a huge problem for a lot of people .
You can ’ t always have the “ ideal ” situation .
The Prepperu2019s Blue ... Tess Pennington Best Price @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There were a lot of things about my situation that were less than ideal .
But that ’ s probably true in a lot of cases .
You just have to adapt to the reality of your situation instead of endlessly wishing it was different or feeling that it ’ s hopeless .
“ Less than ideal ” does not mean that all hope is lost .
First , there was the situation of living arrangements .
I have a daughter in Canada and a daughter in the US .
My older daughter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was better established .
My younger daughter , who lives in the US , was new to the workforce and didn ’ t have a lot of money so I stayed with her to help out financially .
Her apartment is in a lower-middle-class residential area of the city where she works .
Thankfully , it is a two-bedroom and I only brought with me two suitcases .
Living in an apartment without much of a yard during this kind of event is not something I would have chosen , given time to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this crept up fast .
Moving was not an option .
I focused on hardening the apartment with plywood to put up at the windows , tripwires that could be set up quickly if needed , and sturdier locks .
We got some quarantine warning signs that we could post if all hell broke loose as a potential deterrent , and I set up spotlights in the front yard .
Currently , they face the stairs to the front door , but in a bad situation , they could be turned around to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead .
I bought more ammo for our firearms and we sat down together to work through potential scenarios .
We developed a “ fatal funnel ” in the front hallway and added “ stumbling blocks ” in the front hall that could be shoved in front of the door to slow down an advance .
( Just cardboard boxes filled with hardcover books – nothing fancy . )
We made friends with the other family who lives in the building while maintaining our OPSEC .
It ’ s always good to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sight from their upper apartment .
Normally , I would have bought loads of organic food and preserved it myself , but early in the crisis , there was still a question of whether or not we ’ d have power throughout the emergency and there simply wasn ’ t enough time at this late date .
My stockpile is not ideal – lots of storebought canned goods and carbs like pasta and rice – but it ’ s filling and versatile .
And most of all , it ’ s what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to grab cases of canned fruits and vegetables and canned ravioli when it was cheap and abundant .
So while it isn ’ t our normal diet or even our normal preps , we ’ re fortunate to have it .
We ’ ve continued to hit the store weekly for foods that are more “ normal ” but can easily shift to the stockpile if it becomes necessary .
As you can see there are a lot of things that aren ’ t ideal from a prepper ’ s point of view @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to adapt .
So if your situation isn ’ t perfect , don ’ t just throw your hands up in the air and give up – ADAPT .
The Flat Broke Cookboo ... Luther , Daisy Best Price : null Buy New $ 8.95 It ’ s okay to have feelings .
While I ’ ve been confident in following my intuition regarding this scenario , I can ’ t say that I have never had any doubts whatsoever .
This has been an extraordinary situation .
We ’ ve all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , losses of jobs , losses of dreams .
The uncertainty of what lies ahead is difficult , even for someone who has been prepping and researching disasters for decades .
This is hard .
It ’ s not to say that other situations that have occurred haven ’ t been harder or haven ’ t resulted in more loss .
It ’ s not a contest .
We don ’ t have to compare and invalidate how this had made us feel .
I ’ ve even felt like this can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it is happening but there ’ s still that little part of me that was shocked to see it occur .
However you feel about something , it ’ s valid .
We ’ re all allowed to have feelings .
Just don ’ t let those feelings paralyze you .
No , I ’ m not saying go back to college and get a degree .
I ’ m talking about life education .
Over the past years , I ’ ve spent time and money learning from experts in many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than I can describe .
I ’ ve taken in-person courses on the following : • Marketing ( never underestimate the power of using words to motivate others ) • I learned to raise and butcher animals for food • Selco ’ s Urban Survival Course for Women in Croatia The Prepperu2019s Wate ... Daisy Luther Best Price : $ 7.49 Buy New $ 9.94 I ’ ve taken online courses too , in particular , Selco ’ s SHTF Boot Camp and One Year in Hell .
These things have changed my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the same person I was before I took these courses .
I have a different understanding now of violence and the cues that lead up to it .
I know a lot more about food self-reliance and can adapt those skills to other things .
I can protect myself and the people I love on many different levels .
And the things I learned in Croatia ?
Taking that course from Selco and Toby is by far the very best investment I ’ ve ever made in my own preparedness .
Most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preparedness are two different skill sets , and having both of them provides you with the best of both worlds .
I can use survival skills to enhance my level of preparedness even if I don ’ t have a one-year supply of food .
And I was able to use the experience of spending time in war-torn areas with Selco narrating his own experience to spot trouble coming a lot sooner than others in my area .
I would never have been able to be flexible enough to get prepared this quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Toby .
I wouldn ’ t have been as ready for potential violence .
You can read all you want about societal breakdowns but until you actually stand in the crumbling building amidst the debris hearing a first-person account , you don ’ t really understand it .
Seeing the end result of war and genocide was eye-opening , and provides a reality check about how bad things can get .
I can ’ t put a price tag on the value that I received from that investment and when new courses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go if you can at all .
Their real-world observations will change your perspective on just about everything you think you know .
There are many experts out there who have learned from their own experiences .
Never think you already know too much to learn anything from them because I promise you , there are things you never even considered .
You will be far more prepared to face the potential violence and hardships of future scenarios when you learn from those who have been down these roads .
The value of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have thought that toilet paper would be the new gold ?
Or that there would be countless articles all over the media about toilet paper substitutes ?
One thing that I learned is that the value of things changes dramatically in unusual situations .
Store shelves were stripped bare in a matter of days , and in many places around the country , inventory has never really recovered .
People had to improvise when their first choices were gone by choosing from the things that were remaining .
The shortages we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ones I expected .
Bleach , yeast , and paper products reached the top of everyone ’ s to-buy lists .
I suppose I assumed that if the stores were still open , we wouldn ’ t be facing limited quantities of items like meat and pasta .
Instead of nurturing non-food-bearing plants , people are nurturing their sourdough starters and seedlings .
Nobody really cares about buying new clothes right now or about frivolous new shoes , because where are you going to wear them ?
Instead , there ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many people have zeroed in on the real necessities and that ’ s where their money is going .
People may not be who you think they are .
One thing that was particularly eye-opening was the actions of others .
There were close friends and family members who proved that they were not the people I wanted in my inner circle if things hit the fan .
Some of the reactions of people about whom I care were incredibly disappointing and even downright shocking .
Folks who I thought would be ready @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stunned me by refusing to accept what was happening because it wasn ’ t the apocalypse for which they ’ d prepared .
I also encountered people who were not within my immediate family and friends who surprised me .
This situation was certainly a study in human behavior .
They surprised me with their greed , anger , and sense of entitlement .
After hearing about how they spoke of others who ’ d been wise enough to stock up ahead of time , with ugly words like “ hoarder ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ glad I ’ d never confided my preparedness efforts in them .
I saw people display incredibly short fuses and respond with rage over the slightest little thing .
I saw others who took this opportunity to behave with increased violence and glimpses of the potential predator inside them .
Of course , like all of you , I ’ d read about these things .
But seeing it in action was entirely different .
I ’ ve caught myself a few times thinking , “ Wow , I wish we still had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California ” and “ the last house we lived in would have been far better suited for this situation ” but I stop myself .
There ’ s no point in having regrets .
I ’ m glad that I gave my daughter the chance to get her feet on the ground as an adult , and I am very happy I spent the time I did in Europe , even if it means that I had to start from scratch to get prepped for this event .
Other people have told me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had never moved from a more suitable place or they regret frivolous purchases they made when that money would have been better spent on preps .
Look , we all probably could have made different decisions in the past that would lead to more stability right now , but many of those decisions resulted in other types of benefits : great experiences , new friends , or an improved mindset .
Life is way too short to have regrets , and if you ’ re looking backward , you won ’ t see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you .
And in an uncertain world , that can be very dangerous .
If there are things you ’ ve been putting off doing until some future date when everything is “ perfect ” then stop .
One of the biggest lessons I ’ ve learned is that delaying things until the “ right time ” presents itself is a mistake .
I am so glad I took those classes I mentioned above .
I ’ m so glad that I spent months in Greece , Macedonia , and Montenegro .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when the situation allows it .
I learned a kind of flexibility wandering around countries where I didn ’ t speak the language that I never had before .
I can sleep anywhere .
I can quickly identify resources and navigate my way through new places .
I learned some thrifty habits that are cultural norms in the Balkans .
Those experiences completely changed my mindset , made me more adaptable , and built my confidence .
Your goals and dreams may look a lot different than mine , but when the chance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Get that piece of property .
Start building that cabin .
Grow that garden even if it ’ s in pots on your balcony .
Explore those places you ’ ve always wanted to see .
Start the business .
Write the book .
Buy that prep that you ’ ve been thinking about it because tomorrow it may no longer be available .
There is no perfect time .
Life is for living , not for staying in your safety bubble that looks an awful lot like a rut .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ permission from The Organic Prepper .
The Best of Daisy Luther

The COVID-19 crisis has affected just about every family in the United States in some way or another. All of our situations are unique and everyone I’ve spoken to has learned some lessons about their levels of preparedness. Some of those lessons are unconventional but valuable nonetheless. There are a whole lot of things you can’t learn from a book or a blog.
Here are the things I’ve learned.
Trust your instincts.
I began writing about this virus back in January when it was announced that the entire city of Wuhan was being locked down and millions of people were under stay at home orders. With that many people under a mandatory lockdown, I was firmly convinced that this had potential global ramifications. Be Ready for Anything:... Daisy Luther Best Price: $10.45 Buy New $9.69 (as of 07:15 UTC - Details)
I had come back from Europe to attend a funeral in early January and was supposed to return on January 28th. After doing the research for the article mentioned above, I rescheduled my flight for March 28th and settled in with my youngest daughter at her apartment to help out with the bills. We immediately began stocking up.
A lot of folks at that time said I was crazy – a few here on my website but more so on other sites that republished my work. I’m no stranger to being called crazy – I’m in the preparedness industry and I like guns, so right there, the mainstream media sees me as a lunatic. It no longer bothers me and I was convinced that this was going to be a big deal.
Every day from January 23rd to the present, I’ve spent hours researching as this pandemic has unfolded. I sincerely wish that I had not been correct, but here we are, still in lockdown in many parts of the country.
You can prepare fast if you’re aware before other folks are.
I had sold or donated nearly everything that my daughters didn’t want before I took off on an open-ended trip to Europe last fall. The other items were divided up between my two girls. So while the daughter with whom I stayed still had a few things, like firearms, water filters, etc., the stockpile was pretty much gone.
By the end of January, I was pretty sure that we were going to see mandatory quarantines or lockdowns here and I began stocking up. It’s important to note that at this point, you could still buy anything you wanted or needed. I grabbed some extra masks and gloves but most of my focus was on food and other everyday supplies. By the end of February, I was pretty content with the amount of supplies we had. I had spent as little as possible on “right now food” and focused most of my budget on shelf-stable items like canned goods, pasta, and rice.
For about $600, we accumulated a supply that would see us through a minimum of 3 months without leaving the house. I figured, if it turned out that I had overreacted, my daughter would use the food anyway.
I also started a personal spending freeze at the end of January. If it wasn’t an item we needed to become better prepared, I didn’t spend a dime. I was able to put back a few months’ worth of expenses while still stocking up. It helped that my daughter was living thrifty in a less expensive apartment with utilities included. I was very concerned about things like cash flow and it turns out, this has been a huge problem for a lot of people.
You can’t always have the “ideal” situation.
The Prepperu2019s Blue... Tess Pennington Best Price: $11.98 Buy New $18.98 (as of 02:20 UTC - Details) There were a lot of things about my situation that were less than ideal. But that’s probably true in a lot of cases. You just have to adapt to the reality of your situation instead of endlessly wishing it was different or feeling that it’s hopeless. “Less than ideal” does not mean that all hope is lost.
First, there was the situation of living arrangements. I have a daughter in Canada and a daughter in the US. My older daughter in Canada has been working longer and was better established. My younger daughter, who lives in the US, was new to the workforce and didn’t have a lot of money so I stayed with her to help out financially. Her apartment is in a lower-middle-class residential area of the city where she works. Thankfully, it is a two-bedroom and I only brought with me two suitcases.
Living in an apartment without much of a yard during this kind of event is not something I would have chosen, given time to seek alternatives. But we all know this crept up fast. Moving was not an option. I focused on hardening the apartment with plywood to put up at the windows, tripwires that could be set up quickly if needed, and sturdier locks. We got some quarantine warning signs that we could post if all hell broke loose as a potential deterrent, and I set up spotlights in the front yard. Currently, they face the stairs to the front door, but in a bad situation, they could be turned around to illuminate anyone coming up to the house instead.
I bought more ammo for our firearms and we sat down together to work through potential scenarios. We developed a “fatal funnel” in the front hallway and added “stumbling blocks” in the front hall that could be shoved in front of the door to slow down an advance. (Just cardboard boxes filled with hardcover books – nothing fancy.)
We made friends with the other family who lives in the building while maintaining our OPSEC. It’s always good to have allies and they have a better line of sight from their upper apartment.
Normally, I would have bought loads of organic food and preserved it myself, but early in the crisis, there was still a question of whether or not we’d have power throughout the emergency and there simply wasn’t enough time at this late date. My stockpile is not ideal – lots of storebought canned goods and carbs like pasta and rice – but it’s filling and versatile. And most of all, it’s what was readily available. I was able to grab cases of canned fruits and vegetables and canned ravioli when it was cheap and abundant.
So while it isn’t our normal diet or even our normal preps, we’re fortunate to have it. We’ve continued to hit the store weekly for foods that are more “normal” but can easily shift to the stockpile if it becomes necessary.
As you can see there are a lot of things that aren’t ideal from a prepper’s point of view, but when disaster strikes, you have to adapt. So if your situation isn’t perfect, don’t just throw your hands up in the air and give up – ADAPT. The Flat Broke Cookboo... Luther, Daisy Buy New $8.95 (as of 05:00 UTC - Details)
It’s okay to have feelings.
While I’ve been confident in following my intuition regarding this scenario, I can’t say that I have never had any doubts whatsoever. This has been an extraordinary situation.
We’ve all suffered losses: losses of loved ones, losses of jobs, losses of dreams. The uncertainty of what lies ahead is difficult, even for someone who has been prepping and researching disasters for decades. This is hard. It’s not to say that other situations that have occurred haven’t been harder or haven’t resulted in more loss. It’s not a contest. We don’t have to compare and invalidate how this had made us feel.
I’ve even felt like this can’t possibly be happening. I know that it is happening but there’s still that little part of me that was shocked to see it occur.
However you feel about something, it’s valid. We’re all allowed to have feelings. Just don’t let those feelings paralyze you.
Invest in education.
No, I’m not saying go back to college and get a degree. I’m talking about life education.
Over the past years, I’ve spent time and money learning from experts in many fields and this has helped me more than I can describe. I’ve taken in-person courses on the following:
Gardening and food preservation from a county extension office
A violence de-escalation course
Krav Maga
Marketing (never underestimate the power of using words to motivate others)
I learned to raise and butcher animals for food
Numerous firearms courses
Selco’s Urban Survival Course for Women in Croatia
A defensive knife course
The Prepperu2019s Wate... Daisy Luther Best Price: $7.49 Buy New $9.94 (as of 06:00 UTC - Details) I’ve taken online courses too, in particular, Selco’s SHTF Boot Camp and One Year in Hell.
These things have changed my mindset so much that I’m not the same person I was before I took these courses. I have a different understanding now of violence and the cues that lead up to it. I know a lot more about food self-reliance and can adapt those skills to other things. I can protect myself and the people I love on many different levels.
And the things I learned in Croatia? Taking that course from Selco and Toby is by far the very best investment I’ve ever made in my own preparedness. Most importantly, I learned that survival and preparedness are two different skill sets, and having both of them provides you with the best of both worlds. I can use survival skills to enhance my level of preparedness even if I don’t have a one-year supply of food. And I was able to use the experience of spending time in war-torn areas with Selco narrating his own experience to spot trouble coming a lot sooner than others in my area.
I would never have been able to be flexible enough to get prepared this quickly without the things I learned from Selco and Toby. I wouldn’t have been as ready for potential violence. You can read all you want about societal breakdowns but until you actually stand in the crumbling building amidst the debris hearing a first-person account, you don’t really understand it. Seeing the end result of war and genocide was eye-opening, and provides a reality check about how bad things can get. I can’t put a price tag on the value that I received from that investment and when new courses open up again, I suggest you go if you can at all. Their real-world observations will change your perspective on just about everything you think you know.
There are many experts out there who have learned from their own experiences. Never think you already know too much to learn anything from them because I promise you, there are things you never even considered. You will be far more prepared to face the potential violence and hardships of future scenarios when you learn from those who have been down these roads.
The value of things changes.
Before this, who would have thought that toilet paper would be the new gold? Or that there would be countless articles all over the media about toilet paper substitutes?
One thing that I learned is that the value of things changes dramatically in unusual situations.
Store shelves were stripped bare in a matter of days, and in many places around the country, inventory has never really recovered. People had to improvise when their first choices were gone by choosing from the things that were remaining.
The shortages we’ve faced weren’t really the ones I expected. Bleach, yeast, and paper products reached the top of everyone’s to-buy lists. I suppose I assumed that if the stores were still open, we wouldn’t be facing limited quantities of items like meat and pasta. Instead of nurturing non-food-bearing plants, people are nurturing their sourdough starters and seedlings.
Nobody really cares about buying new clothes right now or about frivolous new shoes, because where are you going to wear them? Instead, there’s a run on N95 masks and seeds. Many people have zeroed in on the real necessities and that’s where their money is going.
People may not be who you think they are.
One thing that was particularly eye-opening was the actions of others.
There were close friends and family members who proved that they were not the people I wanted in my inner circle if things hit the fan. Some of the reactions of people about whom I care were incredibly disappointing and even downright shocking. Folks who I thought would be ready to roll with whatever situation might come stunned me by refusing to accept what was happening because it wasn’t the apocalypse for which they’d prepared.
I also encountered people who were not within my immediate family and friends who surprised me. This situation was certainly a study in human behavior. They surprised me with their greed, anger, and sense of entitlement. After hearing about how they spoke of others who’d been wise enough to stock up ahead of time, with ugly words like “hoarder” and “selfish,” I was very glad I’d never confided my preparedness efforts in them. I saw people display incredibly short fuses and respond with rage over the slightest little thing. I saw others who took this opportunity to behave with increased violence and glimpses of the potential predator inside them.
Of course, like all of you, I’d read about these things. But seeing it in action was entirely different.
Don’t have regrets.
I’ve caught myself a few times thinking, “Wow, I wish we still had our farm by the creek back in California” and “the last house we lived in would have been far better suited for this situation” but I stop myself. There’s no point in having regrets. I’m glad that I gave my daughter the chance to get her feet on the ground as an adult, and I am very happy I spent the time I did in Europe, even if it means that I had to start from scratch to get prepped for this event.
Other people have told me that they have spent time wishing they had never moved from a more suitable place or they regret frivolous purchases they made when that money would have been better spent on preps. Look, we all probably could have made different decisions in the past that would lead to more stability right now, but many of those decisions resulted in other types of benefits: great experiences, new friends, or an improved mindset.
Life is way too short to have regrets, and if you’re looking backward, you won’t see what’s right in front of you. And in an uncertain world, that can be very dangerous.
Don’t put things off.
If there are things you’ve been putting off doing until some future date when everything is “perfect” then stop. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that delaying things until the “right time” presents itself is a mistake.
I am so glad I took those classes I mentioned above. I’m so glad that I spent months in Greece, Macedonia, and Montenegro. And I’m absolutely returning to Europe when the situation allows it. I learned a kind of flexibility wandering around countries where I didn’t speak the language that I never had before. I can sleep anywhere. I can quickly identify resources and navigate my way through new places. I learned some thrifty habits that are cultural norms in the Balkans. Those experiences completely changed my mindset, made me more adaptable, and built my confidence.
Your goals and dreams may look a lot different than mine, but when the chance returns to reach them, do it. Get that piece of property. Start building that cabin. Grow that garden even if it’s in pots on your balcony. Explore those places you’ve always wanted to see. Start the business. Write the book. Buy that prep that you’ve been thinking about it because tomorrow it may no longer be available.
There is no perfect time.
Life is for living, not for staying in your safety bubble that looks an awful lot like a rut. Even life after a pandemic.
Reprinted with permission from The Organic Prepper.
The Best of Daisy Luther