Solid Steel Cabin on Steroids that you can build YOURSELF.

There are “boxes” and then… there are “BOXES”.

We’ve all seen the “soft-sided” pop out boxes that are getting plastered everywhere from “Fresno to Facebook”. It’s a large RV “towable concept” that folds out to form a big “hardened tent”.

It’s not REAL yet, guys. So far, this is just a “concept”. They aren’t even in production, yet.

Here at TBE  (and over at our sister blogs RR and CHC – which is our ISBU business site) We’ve done similar things with 20′ ISBUs (shipping containers) for guys who wanted to drop their boxes on the beach or in the mountains for three-season holiday tours.

They are “vacation” boxes  never meant to be used in difficult (hard winter) environments.

But what do you do when you need a “FOUR Season” solution?

Folks, canvas or plastic just doesn’t cut it. Ever try to keep a tent warm in a blizzard? It doesn’t work, does it?

IN the ISBU realm, there are boxes called “Rapid Deployment” modules. These are used to create habitable areas that can be transported by truck and then dropped and popped… open.

Some of these boxes actually SLIDE open, allowing more space to be created in a fashion similar to those RVs we see passing us on the highway, hellbent for the nearest Good Sam’s Campground.

Using this “expansion method”, you could turn a 20′ High Cube single width box into a 24′x20′x8’6″ cabin shelter.

The Military uses similar Conex boxes to build structures. There are a lot of reasons WHY they do it;

1. It’s an easily transported structure.
2. It’s light enough to be maneuvered into position using farm equipment.
3. It’s not “rocket science”. You can actually use simple diagrams to show how it all unfolds. This is particularly useful when you’re dealing with “natives” who don’t speak your language.
4. It sets up in MOMENTS.

You deliver it to your site, drop it onto some kind of foundation (be it blocks, pilings, or a slab) and then you level it out and pop it open. About a half hour later (if you’ve NEVER done it before)… You’re ready to start moving furniture and people into that new “Corten Clad” space.

In “our” world, many families and groups want units that they can truck to site, set up and inhabit in a matter of hours. When they leave, they want to be able to secure those units from “Mother Nature or miscreant”. In most cases, these boxes are intended to be transported up into the mountains or someplace “rural” where they’ll stand against whatever comes.

And, they want to be able to “MOVE them to another location” if need be or danger arises”.

In most applications, these existing “rapid deployment” boxes are meant for arid or tropical deployment. For a cold weather – off grid solution, you have to look harder.

You can see by the video that the fold-out walls are quite “thin”. Even if you insulated them with SPF (closed cell spray foam), you’d  only get an R-value of about R15 (not inclusive of any openings you cut in the walls, which would further reduce “R-values”).

We can do better. We actually DO this better. And, we can do it without having to somehow find these “Rapid Deployment” boxes sitting on Craigslist. Folks, that’s not going to happen.

We need something with a little bit more performance. We need to be able to deploy boxes that can travel from “Atlanta to Antarctica” without encroachment.

Okay, we’re not really going to build boxes (or box systems) that will stand up to “Antarctic” weather, but we’ll easily meet and exceed the requirements for structures dropped into places like Northern Montana or “upper Canada”.

Here at RR/CHC, we’re working on a new “addition” to some of our boxes. We’re building a “side frame” that welds onto each long side, that incorporates the bi-folds required to duplicate this in “harsh weather”.

We even incorporate the twistlocks to tie this system together.

An integral winch system will allow you to move the top and bottom segments out safely, with the push of a button. Think “truck winch and a PV charged deep cycle truck battery.”

In our view, the system has to be deployable by anyone in your party capable of  being tasked with this responsibility. I’m talking a pair of men, women or teenaged children.

Because all of your “mech and tech” (bath/galley/etc) are already installed in the interior of the existing (uncompromised) ISBU -shipping container, all you’ll do is drop the sides and then move the stacked furniture out into the created open areas to set up house!

Heck, it’s easier than making a “Butterbar” look like an imbecile!

You can see how simple this is.

The trick is keeping the boxes narrow enough to allow them to be trailered to your Cabin or BOL (Bug Out Location) site behind a truck. There IS a way to do that. No, we’re not going to describe it here. We have to keep some of this to ourselves… LOL!

Add a PV array to the roof for power and a reinforced area built into that roof for water bladders for domestic hot water (gravity assisted, no less) and you’re off-grid in style.

Add a pop-up to the top of the original High Cube ISBU and you have a “Penthouse” sleeping area above the din of the road…

Drop this unit onto a heavy chassis equipped with twistlocks (like maybe a modified Unimog chassis that we happen to have sitting right here in the shop), add some leveler legs with ground plates to it  and you have the ultimate BOV.

Think “M-934ish 5 Ton Expando Vans”…

OR… drop one of these incredible units on TOP of another 20′ High Cube and you have a “High Ground Home” with a place to park your BOV underneath!

(Yes, it’s do-able. You can stack a pair of 20′ High Cube boxes with a pair of bucket tractors. It’s tricky, but we do it all the time.)

If you do it “our” way, you get a weather-hardened, towable unit that is SOLID and can stand up to the tests. The plus here is that you can do it yourself with a little bit of help. And, I’m betting serious money that our “pop-out box” is more efficient, sustainable and affordable than the RV concept that everyone is talking about, IF they ever start a production run.

We’ve got some really cool things in store. Watch and learn, Pilgrims.

Stay tuned.

This is such a great idea that we’ve already paid patent atty’s and copyright guys to protect it. So, no funny business, folks!

Traitor, Tyrant or just “untrained and unqualified”?

Here at TBE – We’re just sick to our stomachs with the “Grow Government” position that Obama takes, with no apparent culpability or responsibility for anything that happens within it. Personally, I say this as my illusions about being raised “respecting the Presidency” are shattered. So many good men and women died (and continue to) to honor the horror that the White House has become.

This is particularly hard as most of us here have spent our entire adult lives in service to this great country and the principles that she once stood proudly for. She was a shining example of what was good in the world, and now, she’s been subverted into something despicable and shameful.

This didn’t START with Obama, but he’s certainly not doing anything to turn the tide… in fact, he’s pouring gasoline on a blazing fire, as the rest of the world watches.

Mr. (p)resident;

How can you claim to responsible for “all” (the duty of office) if you dishonor “most” by deed?

Fast and Furious,
Bengazi,
IRS assaults on patriots,
Support for NDAA…

I could go on and on…

You claim ignorance. “I didn’t know… I’m aghast.” Blah blah blah… You’re either incompetent, or involved to the point of TREASON.

There, I’ve said it. TREASON.

Oran’s Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as “…[a]…citizen’s actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation].”

In many nations (including the United States), it is also often considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aiding or involved by such an endeavor.

So, I say this to Obama and his “mindless minions”;

You have the “best” advisors that money can buy. Their jobs are to insure that you are “informed”. Yet still… you know “nothing”.

They’re just “convenient shields” to toss aside (or literally into the fire) whenever you get backed into a corner.

How convenient.

You dishonor those that pay the supreme price to “respect and support you”.

How do I teach my children to respect “you and your office” when I – admittedly in my own sorrow – cannot?

I’m amazed at how many people will throw themselves on their own swords for THIS scandal-ridden President;

“Part of being president is that there’s so much beneath you that you can’t know because the government is so vast.” David Axelrod – Obama Advisor

It has to hurt to be that stupid.

Related articles

• Treasonous Obama To Charge 14 Governors With Treason? (conservativeread.com)
• New Benghazi Whistleblowers to share info damning to Hillary, Obama (lamplightnews.com)

 

toThe Free Dictionary: In a direction toward so as to reach: went to the city. →

Are you inviting the RIGHT people to your party?

We live in troubling times.

It’s not bad enough that unemployment and economic turmoil find their way onto our dinner tables. Inflation is changing how we eat, how we spend our time and how we prepare our families for success as we move forward.

We’re watching people band together to begin laying out the guidelines, people organizing to start addressing “future or potential hardships”. I’m not talking about “building “armed camps”, I’m talking about people helping each other learn about canning, food and water storage and home preparation. This “activity” takes on many forms.

Here at TBE, we have experts offering sound advice, hosting “Sustainability Workshops”, we aid families banding together to form “Prepper Groups” to help each other and raise awareness, and we see (and support) those who take it a step further, using any publication and communication media possible, to help people deal with “change”. The message has to get out.

As this is happening, we’re seeing the response to this educational process from “the authorities”. You would think that people banding together to help each other recover from (or prepare for) hard times would be endorsed by our leaders, because  by it’s very nature, “helping each other” is an event that Americans could get behind. The very best part of our history is based on Americans banding together to support each other and defend liberty and freedom in the face of hardship and oppression.

But, not ALL Americans feel that way.

Does this “dinner table collaboration” present  “violent or unlawful” activity? NO.

Wait… according to NDAA, it might be. We’re still watching to see how the “Domestic Terrorist” clause will be enacted when push comes to shove.

• If you store water, food or other commodities, you may actually be considered a “Domestic Terrorist”.
• If you teach or sponsor “Home Preparation” you may be labeled a “Domestic Terrorist”.
• If you speak out or publish information about “Home Preparedness” you may be labeled a “Domestic Terrorist”.
• If you are outspoken about defending the US Constitution or the 2nd Amendment you may be labeled a “Domestic Terrorist”.

We recently read a post written by Jason Charles over at “The Truth Alliance”.

“The FBI and federal government have been caught red handed setting up groups, staging terrorists attacks, staging drills, creating patsies, and infiltrating activist groups. Here are 10 good tips to avoid the embarrassment of your group ending up in the headlines as another excuse to further the police state agenda. No matter if your a 9/11 group, anti-GMO, anti-war, Christian, Muslim or whatever the cause may be. If you run a group these tips are for you

Do you want these guys on your front porch?

10 Tips to Make Sure Your Activist Group Isn’t Set Up by the Feds

#10 Make everybody introduce themselves each meeting

When meeting as an activist group always have new people stand up and introduce themselves at the start of each meeting. This is a huge deterrent to would be federal operatives who have to go to great lengths to create back stories in order to appear harmless and friendly to the cause of the group.

#9 Assign trusted group members to check on every new member

Assign a trusted individual to meet with the new people after the group or before if possible. Take down their names, email addresses, phone numbers and then have that person go home and research the new person, email them a welcome letter with the group rules, find their Facebook profiles and just do your do diligence to make sure that individual is exactly who they say they are.

#8 Always ask a ton of questions to new people

Ask new members many questions like, do they have a family? Do they live in town? Where or what part? How did you hear about the group? Have they participated in other activist networks, etc, etc. The more questions you can fire at them in rapid secession gives you more opportunity to check their back story, motives, intent and sincerity of the cause.

7# Every meeting and rally give a ‘non-violent disclaimer’ at the very start

Make sure you state at the beginning of each group that this is a non-violent group, that you never condone illegal or violent actions and if anyone makes suggestions towards violent acts or anything illegal that they will be immediately warned and no longer welcome…”

Read the rest of this great post, HERE.

Related articles:

• DHS & Local Police Trained to View Constitutionalists as Domestic Terrorists (occupycorporatism.com)
• DHS “Whistleblower” Labeled “Domestic Terrorist” (adask.wordpress.com)
• Profiling a domestic terrorist (wwlp.com)
• Former DHS Officer and Whistleblower labelled a “Domestic Terrorist” (righttruth.typepad.com)
• Do You Qualify as a Domestic Terrorist? (fromthetrenchesworldreport.com)

Squirrel Meat is Good EATS! :)

We live in Montana, the land where squirrels grow as big as  cats. Not “Mountain Lion” kinda cats, but “pretty big” on the housepet scale.

Okay, so we’re exaggerating a bit, but there’s enough decent meat on a squirrel to add to add to a stew or some “campfire soup”.

Recently, several people have asked us about our “Ruger Protein Program”.  Seriously, we’ve gotten 27 requests for information about preparing squirrels and rabbits for the table in the last three weeks. There must be varmints running amuck in herds everywhere!

Here at TBE, we strongly believe that every kid that can hunt, SHOULD hunt. Give that kid the basics, some supervision and a good quality Ruger 10/22;

…or  a Ruger Charger Pistol and a good quality skinning knife and  you’re gonna create a “protein providing machine”…

Where we live, rabbits and squirrels are plentiful, so we’re gonna go get them. And once we do, we’re gonna process them for eating. We make a “squirrel Meat Pie” that can’t be beat!

We teach kids how to to this when we can, but Creek Stewart,  a Senior Instructor at the Willow Haven Outdoor School for Survival, Preparedness & Bushcraft teaches it better than any0ne we know .  Creek’s passion is teaching, sharing, and preserving outdoor living and survival skills. Creek is also the author of the book Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-Hour Disaster Survival Kit. For more information, visit Willowhaven Outdoor.

So rather than try to put together a lesson plan on our own (we have a ton of irons in the fire now) we’re gonna take a page from Creek’s playbook and show you how a MASTER does it.

We just hope that he doesn’t try to skin us alive for sharing his secrets.

Editor’s note: This is a “found” post from Creek Stewart of Willow Haven Outdoor.

**Disclaimer: This post contains a graphic step-by-step depiction of the skinning, slicing, and disemboweling of a real squirrel. If you’re eating, have always felt a deep affinity for woodland creatures, or faint at the sight of dismembered squirrel gonads, please skip this post. Seriously. You can watch this video of an adorable water skiing squirrel instead.**

For most reading this article, food is readily available on nearly any street corner.  Securing our next meal takes very little thought, effort, and time. The hunter-gatherer spirit inside each of us is slowly vanishing and so are the important self-reliant skills associated with hunting, gathering, and preparing our own food.  These skills sustained our ancestors for millennia before us, and now, in our modern society, are almost nonexistent.

But there are no guarantees in life.  Our cup may not always runneth over.  If the time ever comes when you need to summon the hunter-gatherer spirit inside of you, it is important that you know a few basic skills.  One of those skills is how to field dress wild game.  In this article I will teach you how to field dress a squirrel.

Squirrel is a very viable and practical survival food.  If you can find trees, there is a good chance you will also find squirrel.  They are easy to find, easy to hunt, and easy to prepare.

First, let me say that there are numerous ways to field dress a squirrel.  This is the method I have found to be the cleanest and most efficient.  As you will see also, the hide is not destroyed just in case you choose to have it preserved or tanned for future use.  With a little practice, you should be able to go from forest to frying pan in under 5 minutes.

As with any similar project, a sharp knife will make this process much more efficient.

How to Field Dress a Squirrel

The first step in this very simple process is to turn the squirrel on its belly and cut through the underside of the tail about ½” to 1” from the base.

After you’ve cut through the tail, slice through the skin a couple of inches on each side as shown in the photo below.

Now, for the part that makes this method so simple.  Lay the squirrel down on a solid surface.  While holding onto the back legs, step on the tail and skin that you have opened up in the previous step and firmly pull straight up on the back legs.  This process will begin to pull the hide from the body.  As you are pulling up you will need to work out the back legs.  Firmly work your fingers between the muscle and the hide around each leg.  This takes a little practice so don’t get frustrated if it feels a little awkward the first time.

Once you’ve freed the back legs, continue to firmly and steadily pull the back legs straight up.

As the hide comes to the front legs you will need to pull them out in the same way as the back legs.  Work them out with your fingers and a swift tug will separate the hide from the feet at around what would be considered the “wrist” area.

Once both front legs are out, continue to pull the back legs until the hide is up to the head and around the neck.  Notice that up until this point my hands are completely clean.

Then, go ahead and cut off the head.  I do this by slicing through the meat around the neck and then snapping the bone with my hands.  I don’t recommend cutting through bone with your knife.  It dulls your knife and also creates little shards of bone in your meat.  I use the same process around the “ankles” and “wrists.”  You can also trim the feet off at this point too, if you wish (I do that later).

Now, it’s time to remove the entrails.  This is a very simple process.  Simply pinch the stomach and make a small slit with your knife to open up the body cavity.  Note: With male squirrels like this one, you will need to trim back the penis and gonads.

Now, insert two fingers into the slit and run your knife between them (cutting edge up) toward the neck of the squirrel.  Doing it this way gives a little clearance so that your knife doesn’t accidentally penetrate any of the entrails such as the bowels or bladder.  Cutting open the bowels or bladder can taint your meat so be very careful with this step.  It is very easy when gliding the knife between your fingers.  Continue this motion through the center of the rib cage all the way through the neck.

Then, simply split the pelvic bone in the center to open up the entire middle of the squirrel.  You can easily do this with your knife.

Finally, it’s time to remove the entrails.  There is a membrane that encases the chest cavity.  By sweeping two fingers from the neck down and catching this membrane you can pull everything out in one fluid motion.

Don’t toss everything out just yet, though.  I always inspect the liver to make sure it looks nice and healthy.  The liver should always be a rich, deep, solid red color.  An off-color or spotted liver might be an indication that the animal has some health problems–in which case I would recommend not eating it.  This liver looks absolutely perfect–a sign of a very healthy squirrel.

I then slice around the “ankles” and “wrists” with my knife and snap off the feet just like you would imagine breaking a pencil in half.  I keep the heart and liver to prepare with the rest of the squirrel and discard the other entrails.  I now have a perfectly dressed squirrel that can be prepared to eat in a variety of ways.  On this day, I decided on an open flame spit-roast.

If you’ve never field dressed a squirrel before, don’t get frustrated if you run into a few hiccups.  As with most life skills worth learning, it takes a little practice.  For those of you who might be interested, I shot this squirrel with a Ruger 10/22 rifle and the knife used is a Marttini Lynx Lumberjack.

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN…

**

Here at TBE, we want to personally offer our profound thanks to guys like Creek Stewart for passing on their lore to our young. It’s guys like HIM that will help keep this country strong… If you’re looking to learn bushcraft from a Master, Creek is one guy that better be way up there on your list. You can find him at  Willow Haven Outdoor School for Survival, Preparedness & Bushcraft.

Related articles

• Cooking Delicious Squirrel on an Open Fire – not for the squeamish (bradleymount.wordpress.com)
• The Pros and Cons of Squirrels (liveoutloudoutside.wordpress.com)
• Tips will help outdoorsmen bag some spring bushytails (arkansasonline.com)

Accordians aren’t just for music any more! :)

Okay, around here, we aren’t exactly “Polka Fans”. We admit that we love “Weird Al” (must be because like us, he’s sick and twisted), but that’s about as far as it goes.

In our day job, we did name an ISBU shelter after him over at RR (after we watched him playing “Rock Polka” on VH1) and got a spark of creative influence from his madness. Okay, maybe it was the “Angel Piss” (Honey Shine) that we were drinking. It WAS after 4pm.. someplace. Who knows?

We’ve built large lowerable decks onto the sides of Shipping containers and small cabins and then attached canvas and plastic to them so that when they folded out, they formed an “indoor/outdoor space. This “ground gaining” extends a small box into cool living space that many of us refer to as “Freestyle Fallback Cabins”.  We’re not the only ones doing this, but we may be the only ones doing it while listening to “Weird Al” howling in the background…

It was only a matter of time before someone took that same “Polka Push” and applied it to a greenhouse.

Folks, this is just a big fold-out TENT made of plastic.  You probably have a camping tent in your garage that has similar qualities. It’s really not that hard to do and you could do it using PVC and some hardware. Drop this into a simple receiver built into a raised bed and you can extend your growing season dramatically.

Now that you’ve seen this. think about how HALF of it would extend the side or end of your small ISBU (shipping container) fallback or vacation cabin project. Or, get bold and put one on TOP of your ISBU roof (reinforce the roof first) or cabin and extend your living space UP!

Talk about taking a “Green Roof” and making it three season!

Holy Hot Chilis, Batman!

Go get ‘em.

Related articles:

• ISBU Homebuilding Part (mumble, grumble, snort): Waste not, want not! (renaissanceronin.wordpress.com)
• Nope. You can’t do THAT! (renaissanceronin.wordpress.com)
• Little Tiny Ideas! (renaissanceronin.wordpress.com)
• ISBUs repel everything… including “Spring”! (renaissanceronin.wordpress.com)
• Home Sweet Shipping Container Home (renaissanceronin.wordpress.com)

Bees are better than A’s…

I’m starting to wonder how smart we are as a nation.

Honey bees are dying at an alarming rate and this winter marked the worst Bee losses by far. U.S. beekeepers are reporting that they lost as much as 50% of their bees, which have either disappeared or died.

Folks, you don’t need bombs or guns to conquer a country. All you have to do is kill their agriculture. If the nation can’t eat, the nation can’t fight, or mend, or even (gasp!) heal. Everyone knows this.

So, WHY in the heck are we doing this to OURSELVES?

WHY are we allowing others to do it, for profit?

Last week, the European Union took a major step to protect our bee population – placing a two-year ban on the neonicotinoid class of pesticides – but the U.S. is still finding excuses for inaction.

With the health of our bee populations – and the estimated $15 billion in agricultural benefits it provides – on the line, it’s time for the EPA to stop ignoring the science, and follow the EU’s lead. Sign this petition urging the EPA to take action now:

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/eu_ban?referring_akid=a113875429.4457152.mFGdH6&source=conf_email

Related articles

• Bee Deaths Create Crisis for Crops (foodrenegade.com)
• US approves new pesticides linked to mass bee deaths as EU enacts ban (rt.com)
• EPA Approves New Pesticide Highly Toxic to Bees (ecowatch.com)
• Dying bees raise alarm for humans (sacbee.com)
• One-Third of US Honeybee Colonies Died Last Winter, Threatening Food Supply (readersupportednews.org)
• Protecting honey bees and humans (mysafetysign.com)
• Why You Should Care That Nearly A Third Of U.S. Honey Bees Died Last Winter (newsforage.com)

You’re too sweet. Get away from ME!

As we prepare our families for harder times, many of us are stocking pantries with goodies to get us through long nights.

High on that list are ingredients that contribute to the creation of “comfort foods”, foods that will aid our kids (and even us adults) as we deal with stress and strife.

That means that we need sweeteners in that pantry, right?

I recently read an article that documented how Agave nectar is similar, if not worse than high fructose corn syrup!

You know, that high fructose corn syrup that everyone talks bad about – it’s indeed that nasty stuff that everyone tells you to stay away from!

Well, now we find out that Agave “nectar” is NOT made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant. Agave nectar is actually a starch product. It actually comes from the starch of the giant pineapple-like, root bulb. Yes, you read that right. STARCH. The principal constituent of the agave root is starch, similar to the starch in corn or rice, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of chains of fructose molecules.

Get this; technically a highly indigestible fiber, inulin (which doesn’t taste “sweet” at all) comprises about 50% of the carbohydrate content of agave.

The article goes on to describe the process by which agave glucose and inulin are converted into “nectar”. It’s a processs very similar to that used when corn starch is converted into HFCS (say it with me… high fructose corn syrup).

It’s the “mad scientist” thing all over again. It’s not “FrankenSweets”, but it’s close. The agave starch is subject to an enzymatic and chemical process that converts the starch into a fructose-rich syrup—anywhere from 70 percent fructose and higher according to the agave nectar chemical profiles posted on agave nectar websites.

“…the industry wants you to believe that agave nectar runs straight from the plant and into your jar, nothing could not be farther from the truth.”

Though processing methods can differ among manufacturers, most commercially available agave is converted into fructose-rich syrup using genetically modified enzymes and a chemically intensive process involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals.

I recommend reading this article, after reading many of the manufacturer’s websites. The information brings the manufacturer’s vague information into focus…and it’s not pleasant.

Great. Now I need to find alternatives. Here’s one;

Stevia.

You need “easy and sweet” Stevia. Grow it in your yard or on your window sill. The stuff works wonders. Stevia might be hard to “bake” with, but it’s great for sweetening up drinks, oatmeal, or anything else that you can sprinkle it on!

And better still, it has a shelf life of “when Jesus comes home”.

IN the readers section of one of the forums, someone commented;

Americans need to stop consuming so much sweet foods in general. It’s very taxing on your spleen/pancreas, organs that your body needs to digest. Learn to love bitter foods (it’s good for your heart) and sour (it’s good for your liver). We’d be a much healthier nation if we did.

Hmmm… That sounds exactly like the advise I was recently given about “acquiring a taste” for a mean spirited mother-in-law…

“Too much ‘sweet’ will make you nauseous. You need to learn to put up with her bitterness and learn to love her sour disposition.”

NO, thank you. I’ll pass.

NOW, Agave Nectar is on that list as well… (sigh!)

Stay tuned.

Related articles

• Prudent Pantry: So Many Sweeteners (homefront.prudentliving.com)
• The truth about Agave nectars (pinoychizmiz.wordpress.com)
• Which Sugar Should You Choose? (thenutritionguruandthechef.wordpress.com)

 

Since we’re thinking about MOMS…

This is one of those week’s where you find yourself  thinking about “Mom”.  I mean… Sunday IS quickly approaching.

But for us, this week, It took an “odd turn”. We started thinking about a lot of other people’s MOMS.

Here at TBE we support a lot of causes. One of them that is near  and  dear to our hearts is “Breast Cancer”.

We’ve personally lost family members to this terrible disease. Moms, wives, daughters. It’s a river of sadness that never stops flowing. We’ve shed tears over this and that is an understatement.

One of my best friends has a double mastectomy she received because of breast cancer. She has always been an incredibly beautiful woman. She was the textbook “California Beach Girl”. She had “curves for miles” and she was a pleasure to behold.

(Okay, I admit it. Men are more visual than women. We know it, YOU know it, so get over it.)

Despite her hardships, she is STILL the most beautiful girl in the room, everywhere she goes.  She may not have “the big  t-shirt” anymore, but she’s still a knock-out. She’s paid her price to stay alive and she’s an inspiration to us all. We adore her.  She reminds us that “beauty” isn’t just based on media hype for “this or that” figure. It’s not just “skin-deep”.  She’s a lioness who wears her scars well and she  keeps moving forward with confidence, helping others by deed and “by example”.

As a result of her impact on our lives, we’ve been involved with groups that focus on helping those afflicted with this disease as much as we possibly can. Many of these organizations are struggling as the economy tightens the purse strings of those with charities in mind.

Working for a “Cure for Breast Cancer” is noble. We’re all for those who push to aid those in need, especially in this cause. When you think of breast cancer, most of us think “pink”. The Susan G. Komen Foundation is a front-runner in making breast cancer visible to the masses.

With walk-a-thons, public events and fund-raisers, The Susan G. Komen Foundation makes a lot of positive noise.

But, like many other charitable organizations, they see their coffers dwindling.

So, like many other families that start thinking about what they have nad where they can send it to do the most good… we took a look at what the Komen folks do. We wished that we hadn’t. Truly. We’re sorry that we looked. If you look at the numbers, now we feel like we (and more importantly Breast Cancer victims) are being duped.

2012 may have been a very bad year for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, but you’d never know it by looking at the tax returns for it’s leader. 2012 was a very good year for its CEO, Nancy Brinker. I’m talking about “over the top” good.

Last year, Brinker said, “We are doing everything in our power to ensure that women have access to quality cancer care and the support that they need.” It’s a worthy, necessary goal. In our opinion, Brinker (at the very least) misspoke.

After so much disaster and hardship, it seems the woman who’s benefited most from Komen’s Breast Cancer charity is… um…  Nancy Brinker.

Many of us have read that in 2012, the breast cancer organization ignited a firestorm by announcing it was pulling its funding for breast cancer screenings and services for Planned Parenthood.

As you can imagine, this raised some eyebrows and some ire. Those screenings and services are one of the front-lines of Breast Cancer defense for American women. Komen hastily and ineptly apologized, then backpedaled.

We witnessed Karen Handel, Komen’s “Vice President for Public Policy” resign in the wake of the scandal. The people responded by quietly “defunding” Komen.  They saw registrations for its events decline in places like Maryland and Texas and just about everywhere else.

Komen got put in the “hot seat”.  People found it ironic that an organization that features the words “the cure” so heavily in its promotion and mission, an organization that boasts how its “research investment has changed the breast cancer landscape,” devotes such a minuscule and declining portion of its dollars to actually finding one.

Turns out that in 2011, Komen spent 15 percent of its donations on “finding the cure” – research — not even half of what it did just a few years prior. That’s 15 cents out of every dollar that you donated to them, folks.

And what about Komen’s founder, Nancy Brinker? You remember her, that woman whose vow to the sister she lost to cancer has served as the organization’s poignant, relatable narrative… Well, she stepped down as Komen’s CEO.

Did she “quit” or “give up”? No. She just invented a new role for herself in the organization. While she’s still listed on the records as the CEO of Komen, last August she took on a new role as “chairwoman of the executive committee”.

In short, the whole series of trainwrecks perpetrated by Komen was so offensive and appalling that Deanna Zandt, author of “Share This! How You Will Change the World With Social Networking,” called the Komen fiasco a teachable “example of what not to do.”

Leadership. It’s about leadership. You captain your ship and chart your course, steering clear of obstacles or you end up on the rocks… or do you?

It’s 2013. After more than a year of bad publicity and declining participation in Komen activities and events, Brinker herself seems to be doing just fine.

As Cheryl Hall pointed out this weekend in the Dallas Morning News, Brinker made “$684,717 in fiscal 2012, a 64 percent jump from her $417,000 salary from April 2010 to March 2011.

”That’s a whole lot of green for all that pink.”

Hall notes that’s about twice what the organization’s chief financial officer, Mark Nadolny, or former president Liz Thompson were making.

And as Peggy Orenstein points out on her blog Monday, it’s considerably more than the average nonprofit CEO salary of $132,739. We’re talking about five times the average, folks, for a CEO who has placed her ship firmly on the beach. And, the tide is going out, further grounding her vessel.

Of course, rewarding CEOs even as they’re bombing out is a way of life in America.

Appearently, where Nancy Brinker is concerned, they’re using an entire wing of “Stealth Bombers” to deliver her (in our view) unearned cash.

We ask those at The Susan G. Komen Foundation to think long and hard about how they operate. In our opinion, they’re giving themselves a black eye and doing a huge disservice to the “Breast Cancer” community.

Until they do this, we’re going to focus on “local” missions, helping those close to us, DIRECTLY, instead of giving aid to those who pocket most of the funds for themselves. We’d humbly ask you to do the same…

We may just be “small voices” that get lost in the crowd, but if enough of us do this, we can create a chorus that will drown out these “charitable failures”.

Please listen to your hearts and act accordingly.

I want to thank “our special Breast Cancer Survior who gives us so much, every day” and Mary Elizabeth Williams over at www.salon.com for compelling us to run this.

Stay tuned…

Build your own bow… using Big Box hardware for less than $10

It’s “Weapons Wednesday”!

Okay, I know that you’re expecting us to share some “AR or even AK lore”…

Honestly, we’re just really fed up with ammo prices, weapon unavailability and all the whining coming out of the White House about “Bubbas Bearing Arms”…

So, while we try to get our blood pressure back under control (and wait for our 3D printer to arrive),  we thought that we’d give guys and gals a project to do with your kids! Every kid plays “Cowboys and Indians”… at least around here…

… what better way to enable their play than by teaching them HOW to make their own bows?

Yes, “general safety rules” apply – Supervision, Safety gear and lots of patience…

Give your kids something to hurt themselves with and they probably will. So, be vigilant!

And, to all those “namby-pamby” naysayers” out there, we say this;

The skills that you teach your children now will carry them through hard times later. If you aren’t preparing your young for “whatever comes”,  you’re a part of the problem.

Now, on with the show;

And “Tex”, resist your urge to throw “Bow Job” jokes at us like “Bouncing Betties”… we already thought of ‘em!

Stay tuned for some really cool Prepper/Survival Gear Reviews! We got two huge boxes of gear to go through last night! You’re really gonna like what we’re finding!

See ya next time!

Is FEMA really all powerful?

What exactly is F.E.M.A. ?

F.E.M.A. stands for  Federal Emergency Management Agency.

And, it’s EVERYWHERE. Can you count to TEN?

English: Map of regions of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What is the Federal Emergency Management Agency?

Simply put, to many people… F.E.M.A. IS the “secret government”.

This agency has powers and authority that go well beyond any other agency in the nation.

What can F.E.M.A. do?

• It can suspend laws.
• It can move entire populations.
• It can arrest and detain citizens without a warrant and can hold them without a trial.
• It can seize property, food supplies, and transportation systems.

Are they actually empowered to do this?

And, can F.E.M.A. actually do this logistically?

YES.

Ever hear of NDAA?

NDAA – The National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 passed the Senate with a 98-0 vote. The NDAA is a wide-ranging bill that has many controversial sections. For example one section of the act allows governors to request assistance of military reservists to act as first-responders in the event of a hurricane, earthquake, flood, terrorist attack or other disasters. On the service this doesn’t appear too controversial, until you think about the subjective definition of “terrorist attack.”

Without a doubt, the NDAA has become the most controversial element of America’s foreign policy. Section 1021 of the NDAA bill of 2012 allowed for the “indefinite detention of American citizens without due process at the discretion of the President.”

Since it’s inception, Section 1021 has been challenged as a violation of constitutional principles and the United States Bill of Rights, and rightly so. The indefinite detention clause has been broadly denounced nationally and internationally. Ironically, it is probably the one piece of legislation that has actually achieved REAL bi-partisan support.

Everyone hates it. The Act was strongly opposed by the ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, and The Center for Constitutional Rights, the Cato Institute, Reason Magazine and The Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Everyone writes about it. It’s been criticized in editorials published in The New York Times, Al-Jazeera, and The Guardian. The ACLU said:

“The statute is particularly dangerous because it has no temporal or geographic limitations, and can be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield.”

Do you remember Obama standing in front of the US Constitution talking about “prolonged (or indefinite) detention”?

States are not only sitting up and taking notice, they’re actively building defenses against NDAA. California lawmakers are pushing a bill that would exempt the state from federal laws authorizing indefinite detention of citizens.

This is an agency that virtually has it’s fingers in everything in AMERICA.

And F.E.M.A. can even suspend the Constitution of the United States.

We’re going to start having serious conversations about F.E.M.A. and how what they do impacts your life.

Stay tuned.

Related articles:

• Michael Brown, Director of FEMA resigns (johnaquadro32.wordpress.com)
• FEMA is getting BUSY! (thebubbaeffect.wordpress.com)
• Infographic Design: FEMA on Warning Watch Infographic (digitalsurgeons.com)
• FEMA employees pose as fake reporters during press conference (ronurwongse91.wordpress.com)