does monsanto own your garden? can you legally

JUNE, 2013
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4
BUG OUT
BASICS:
The Perfect “Bug-Out Bag”
In a crisis situation, panic
is the only given…
If you intend to bug-out,
then you must hit the
roads before they become
gridlocked, or even shut
down by authorities.
All experts agree that the
first 72 hours of a crisis
are the most critical.
See
BUGS, 10
INSIDE
Hoop House
Gardening 101
Check out our list of
materials and tools,
along with some
basic concepts to
find out how YOU can
build a hoop house
in your backyard this weekend!
Page 12
Prepping with
Young Children
Be ready if disposable diapers disappear from the shelves of local
stores!
Page 11
CAN YOU LEGALLY OWN
A SILENCER IN ALL 50 STATES?
Since the sunset of the
“Assault Weapons Ban” in
2004, America’s interest
in tactical firearms has,
pardon the pun, shot
through the roof. Where
AR-15s were once an uncommon sight in civilian
life, they’re now one of the
most popular weapons at
shooting ranges across the
country. And as the interest in these weapons intensifies, so does the interest in other tactical
accessories… laser sights,
tactical stocks, and yes…
silencers.
DON’T FORGET
THE CRAYONS
Preparing for the Kids (or
Grandkids) in Your Life
As we prepare for off-thegrid crisis survival situations, most of us are preoccupied with food, water,
energy and maybe personal defense preparations, and with good reason. However, children
will require more than
just food and shelter.
See
,9
Crayons
See
SILENCER, 2
DOES MONSANTO OWN
YOUR GARDEN?
The debate over GMOs
(Genetically Modified Organisms) in the food supply has been raging for
over a decade now, but
the big players in “Big Ag”
have made some alarming
headway already in 2013.
Companies like Monsanto,
Dow AgroSciences, and
BASF have infiltrated the
nation’s food chain in a
big way and there’s no
turning back now...
But as alarming as it is
that it’s almost impossible
to avoid eating GMO foods
at every meal, the legal
ramifications for farmers
and gardeners (large and
small) are perhaps even
more frightening.
See
MONSANTO, 6
2 PATRIOT CALLER
from
SILENCER
We see them in movies
and we understand the
advantages silencers
would offer in a crisis
situation. But what most
Americans don’t know is
whether or not they have
the right to own silencers,
referred to by the firearms
industry as “suppressors.”
These suppressors are often associated with covert
operations, contract killers, and spies in the movies. But the truth is that
they offer many benefits
aside from allowing the
hero to double-tap bad
guys without alerting
every goon within a mile
radius.
The point is: Guns are
loud. I don’t know anyone
JUNE, 2013
page 1
who enjoys the sound at
close range, and I know
lots of guys and gals who
shoot at the range so often
they should have a shooting lane named after
them.
Exposure to the sound of
gunfire without ear protection results in longterm hearing loss. Suppressors can significantly
reduce the decibel level.
Bucking the Stereotype
It’s high time to shoot
holes in the stigma attached to silencers. Think
about it for a second.
There’s nothing essentially malicious or criminal about putting the muf-
fler on the gun barrel,
rather than on your ears.
Frankly, it’s much safer,
more polite, and convenient for those around you.
Imagine the sounds you
could hear if you didn’t
have those earplugs in.
You could hear the sounds
of the bullet striking the
target, a breeze approaching, or even the voice of
someone trying to address
you. What I’m getting at is
there’s a very reasonable
argument to be made in
favor of sound suppressors.
military purposes), which
they do. Unfortunately for
many firearms enthusiasts over the decades,
politicians since Prohibition have identified the
silencer with organized
crime and gang activity.
The silencer is a piece of
technology developed in
1902 by Hiram Percy
Maxim to enhance the fun
of shooting sports (not for
History of the National
Firearms Act
Ironically in fact, some
would say that Prohibition
-era gun control legislation is what allows all
Americans the ability to
own what are known to
the US government as
“Title 2” weapons (which
includes silencers, machine guns, sawed off
shotguns, etc.) today.
The National Firearms
Act of 1934 came about as
a result our nation’s illadvised attempt to ban
the sale, transportation,
and production of alcohol,
commonly referred to as
Prohibition. Unlike the
18th Amendment however,
the NFA was never repealed...
As we all know, prohibition didn’t work then any
better than it does now –
with substances or weapons. Much like the drug
cartels have become incredibly violent in Mexico
today, American gangsters
in the 20s and 30s became
increasingly bold and violent in their struggle to
control the illegal liquor
trade.
The NFA, late to the party
as it was (Prohibition was
repealed in 1933) was
passed as an attempt to
regulate so-called
“gangster weapons.” It did
this by requiring those
who wanted to own these
weapons to register the
weapons with law enforcement officials and to purchase a cost-prohibitive
$200 stamp. Two hundred
bucks was a lot more
money back then.
The NFA also placed
harsh penalties on any
violations of the act. Es-
sentially, only the registered owner of a Title 2
weapon can be in possession of that weapon at any
and all times. Unlicensed
possession can be met
with a 10-year prison sentence or up to a $250,000
fine.
JUNE, 2013
PATRIOT CALLER 3
Title 2 Weapon Application Process
If you wish to own a Title
2 weapon, you’ll have to
undergo a lengthy application process with the ATF,
whether you intend to
build the weapon or purchase it from a “Class 3”
dealer.
Dealing with an organization with a history as
sketchy as the ATF’s is
enough to deter many patriots. Terms like “Fast
and Furious,” “Ruby
Ridge,” and “Siege at
Waco” come to mind.
You may be thinking,
‘what sane person would
want to put themselves on
the ATF’s radar?’ Still,
this is the path you must
walk if you’d like to legally own a Title 2
weapon.
The application process
requires that you fill out a
particular ATF form, attach a 2-inch square portrait, submit to fingerprinting, and obtain the
signature of the “Chief
Law Enforcement Official” (CLEO) in your area.
This could be your city’s
police chief or a county
sheriff.
And of course, you would
need to pay the now quite
reasonable $200 “Transfer
Tax.” In fact, if you
search the ATF’s list of
firearms that must be registered under the National
Firearms Act, you’ll see
that it lists the title tax
(see photo above right).
As you can see, the process to legally own a sawed
-off shotgun, machine gun,
or suppressor is tedious
and relatively
painful.
Depending
on the attitudes of
your local
law enforcement
officials, it
may prove
to be virtually impossible.
After all,
the CLEO
in your area has to sign off
on your paperwork. In
some parts of the country,
this is very unlikely.
Still, there is a process in
place through which you
can own these items legally. It can and is being
done with regularity in 34
of 50 states. Which states
have virtually banned the
civilian ownership of silencers? I bet you can
guess…
Here’s the list of states
that do allow silencers:
AL, AR, AK, AZ, CO, CT,
FL, GA, ID, IN, KY, LA,
ME, MD, MS, MT, NE,
NV, NH, NM, NC, OH,
OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN,
TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, and
WY.
That’s a clear sign that
attitudes toward silencers
are changing in many
state houses. In fact, 2012
was the first year that
hunting with a silencer
became legal in the state
of Texas. I just about
couldn’t believe my eyes
when I read it in the 2012
hunting and fishing guide.
Is it Worth the Headaches?
Inevitably, YOU are the
only person that can answer this question.
neighbors would appreciate it, at home or at the
range…
There is little doubt that
silencers offer a number of
tactical and practical advantages for gun enthusiasts. Personally, and from
an “off-the-grid” preparedness standpoint, I think
that there’s far too much
bureaucracy to navigate to
make owning a suppressor
worthwhile. That’s not to
even mention the liability
of owning one.
Obtaining a suppressor
individually exposes you
to far too much scrutiny
for the benefits. Not to be
overly cautious, but if a
firearms confiscation ever
does occur in the US, Title
2 weapons will be at the
top of the list.
It is a shame though, because I would much prefer
my guns to be muffled,
rather than my ears. How
much nicer would it be to
be able to fire your weapons without the deafening
sound? I bet your
Owning a silencer through
a gun trust, on the other
hand, is relatively anonymous. Trustees don’t have
to even undergo a background check, much less
be fingerprinted. My concern with gun trusts is
that they are largely untested in the courts. (For
more on gun trusts see
page 5).
Above is the “HR Handy Gun,” illegal because it is a
smooth bore shot pistol.
4 PATRIOT CALLER
JUNE, 2013
NFA REGULATED FIREARMS LIST
If you’ve never taken the
time to peruse the list of
heavily restricted, Title 2
weapons, it’s actually
quite fascinating. As you
browse through many of
the entries, it’s hard not to
speculate as to the circumstances surrounding how
these particular weapons
were outlawed.
Thompson Submachine
Gun
M-2 Carbine
For example, the “Wallet
Holster” is one of the more
curious items on the list.
Certainly, it’s not hard to
understand why the
“Wallet Holster” is not the
best idea in the word, but
it’s in essence just a piece
of leather. If you were to
own one without the
proper documentation
however, you’d be in
deep…
Here’s the full NFA list:
Model No. 35 Stevens Auto- Ithaca Auto-Burglar
shot
RPB Industries, SM-10
MP-43, MP-44, and STG-44 Mortar
9mm Converted Pistol with Assault Rifles
U.S. Rocket Launcher
(Bazooka)
Spitfire Carbine
Colt M16, Model 614,
Belt Buckle Holster
Street Sweeper
AK47 Assault Rifle
Conversion Parts
M-14
Mauser Machine Pistol,
Short Barreled Shotgun
12 ga. Crude Manufacture
Ingram M-10, .45 cal.
Short Barreled Rifle
Weapon Made from a Rifle
.22 cal, Crude Manufacture Weapon Made from a Shot- Various Silencers
Flare Launchers
Flare Launcher Inserts
Sionics Type Silencer Kit
Any Other Weapons Notice
High Standard H. D. Military, .22 cal. Pistol with
Silencer
Ruger Standard Model .22
cal. Pistol with Homemade
Silencer
Tear Gas Pen Guns
H & R Handy Gun
Smooth-Bore, Shot-
Smooth Bore, Shot-Pistol
Tear Gas Gun, 12 ga.
Boys .55 cal. Anti Tank
Marble Game-Getter Gun
Wallet Holsters
CURIOUS ILLEGAL NFA WEAPONS
The Wallet Holster
Believe it or not, this type of holster (with a hole for firing designed into the material) is just as illegal as a machinegun if it’s not registered.
Belt Buckle Holster
Similar to the wallet holster, a belt buckle style holster is also highly illegal. Oddly enough, the gun
is perfectly legal, only the belt buckle is regulated by the NFA.
.22cal, Crude Manufacture
A crudely customized .22 caliber rifle (with a barrel shorter than 16 inches and
an overall length under 26 inches) is a heavily regulated NFA weapon. While .22
caliber pistols are clearly legal, short rifles are highly illegal.
Marble Game-Getter Gun – Yet another example of a firearm made illegal via
crude modification, any firearm with a rifle or shotgun style barrel longer that 12
inches, but an overall length shorter than 18-inches, is an NFA weapon. Removable or detachable wire stocks don’t effect the classification.
JUNE, 2013
PATRIOT CALLER 5
NFA GUN TRUSTS: A NON-LAWYER’S PERSPECTIVE
Disclaimer: As a perhaps
obvious, yet very necessary
disclaimer, I am not an
attorney. I’m probably not
qualified to give advice on
most things, but certainly
not when it comes to legal
matters.
If you choose to move forward with attaining a Title 2 weapon, whether you
choose to do it individually or as part of a trust
(especially if you choose a
trust), please seek the help
of a qualified attorney. A
quick internet search will
returns dozens of attorneys
that specialize in gun
trusts.
Because of reasons clearly
stated in the disclaimer
above, I can’t give you legal advice. Instead, I’m
going to give you a thumbnail sketch of Gun Trusts
and their value to your
survival preparations.
Gun Trusts, also referred
to as “NFA Gun Trusts”
have become a popular
vehicle for Title 2 weapons
ownership. These trusts
are legal entities that are
established for the express
purpose of owning Title 2
weapons like machine
guns and silencers.
According to explanations
I’ve encountered, gun
trusts can obtain these
NFA-regulated firearms
without fingerprinting
(because these are not individuals, but legal entities), or the signature of a
chief law enforcement officer (CLEO).
In short, these legal entities are no cheaper or less
complicated than a
straightforward individual
SO, CAN YOU OWN A SILENCER OR NOT?
To answer the question
asked in the title of this
article, it appears that
federal law does allow you
to own a silencer as long
as you register it with the
ATF. Laws at the state
level, however, vary
sharply, which means you
may not be able to legally
posses a silencer in all 50
states.
Simply put, federal law
allows you to legally own a
silencer with the proper
documentation, but you
must possess that silencer
within the 34 states listed
previously in this article.
Here’s food for thought: As
an American, you aren’t
bound to the laws of a particular state. You have the
freedom to vote with your
feet, leaving one state’s
laws and prohibitions behind for another jurisdiction that allows you the
freedoms that you value
the most.
If the state in which
you’re living restricts basic freedoms that you believe are necessary to defend your family and yourself, it’s your obligation to
work to change the laws
or relocate.
application. However,
they do allow for privacy
and combined ownership.
They also don’t require
fingerprints, photographs,
or CLEO sign-offs – which
speeds up the application
process significantly.
According to attorney
David M. Goldman, NFA
Gun Trusts can allow multiple “trustees” to handle
and possess NFA firearms
and suppressors. Frankly,
if you’re going to own one
of these weapons, it would
be a real pain if you had to
keep it handcuffed to your
wrist at all times.
Non-NFA guns can also be
owned within the trust. So
if you have a huge gun
collection worth tens of
thousands of dollars, the
gun trust could potentially
allow you to pass those on
to your heirs without
passing on major income
tax liabilities as well, in
the form of the “Death
Tax.”
Allowing multiple individuals to “possess” the
weapon seems to be one of
the most compelling benefits of creating a gun
trust. If you own a silencer individually, that
means that no other individual can legally shoot it,
carry it, or perhaps even
touch it.
If you were, for whatever
reason, approached by an
ATF agent when an unregistered friend was
holding your silencer
(even if it wasn’t attached
to a firearm) that friend
may be in serious legal
trouble. Remember what I
said about 10 years and/or
$250K.
6 PATRIOT CALLER
from
JUNE, 2013
MONSANTO
page 1
But Monsanto isn’t the
only multi-national company developing GMOs,
only the most visible.
Monsanto has come to
symbolize the aggressive,
reckless, and monopolistic
motives behind the GMO
industry.
Well over half of all of the
crops planted in the US in
2013 were genetically
modified. While that may
sound unsettling in a science fiction sort of way,
farmers are finding it
even more unsettling in a
legal and financial sort of
way.
Truth be told, genetically
modified (GM) crops were
designed for two reasons:
1.) To make the companies
that hold the patents
hefty profits.
2.) To make the seeds
mankind has been using
for millennia obsolete.
As you know, genetically
modified crops come from
genetically modified seeds.
Inside of each of these
seeds, there is genetic information, blueprints for a
plant if you will. Like
other blueprints, these
have been patented. Because, of course, no one is
going to go through the
effort to develop blueprints for free…
The issue with these blueprints is that they selfreplicate -- they are seeds
after all. When these
seeds grow into plants,
they of course produce
more seeds… seeds that
are patented. To sell them
on the market, you must
pay a royalty to the patent
holder.
In a nutshell, Monsanto
has patented the future of
food: Seeds.
Control the Seeds,
Control Agriculture
By now, we’ve heard the
horror stories about farmers who have had to undergo incredibly costly
legal battles with Monsanto because a neighbor’s
crops inadvertently intermingled with his own.
Such cases have even gone
all the way up to the US
Supreme Court, which has
repeatedly rule in favor of
the patent holder
(Monsanto).
The goal of these patents
is to generate profits.
Thus, the goal is to entice,
cajole, and harass farmers
into replacing their old
seeds with patented varieties. That way, companies
like DuPont, Monsanto,
and Syngenta can insert
themselves into farm operations around the globe,
keeping farmers under
contract to use their
seeds.
As long as these patented
seeds are in use on a farm,
that farmer is under contract with one biotechnology company or another.
In other words, this has
put most US farmers in
debt to biotech companies.
Roundup Ready Seeds
In Monsanto’s case, its
major GMO innovation is
the development of plants
that are resistant to the
popular herbicide
Roundup (also a Monsanto
product). This allows
farmers to douse their
fields in the popular weed
killer, destroying all competing plants (including
crops) and leaving only
the Roundup Ready
Crops.
These Roundup Ready
crops make it substantially easier for farmers to
deal with weeds and other
pests, while it also increases sales of Roundup,
locking these farmers into
an almost irreversible
form of brand loyalty.
What Monsanto is really
counting on is that farmers will change their habits so dramatically that
they can’t face going back
to their old methods. Even
if farmers do want to go
back, they have to take
special precautions to
eliminate Monsanto’s
seeds from their fields.
Accidentally mixing Monsanto’s seed with your
own is still a patent infringement.
JUNE, 2013
PATRIOT CALLER 7
Point of No Return
The result of this biotechnology is a process that is
very easy to begin, but
very hard to reverse. You
can terminate your contract with Monsanto, but
that leaves the issue of
Monsanto’s seeds that are
inevitably going to sprout
in your fields next spring.
Because of the patent
laws, these seeds belong to
Monsanto. You may not
put them to commercial
use. Thus, farmers that
want to switch back from
Roundup Ready Seeds
have to invest in removing
all of Monsanto’s products
by treating their fields
with new herbicides.
This process costs farmers
significant money, resources, and time. If they
don’t successfully remove
the GMOs from their
fields, however, it could
get a lot more expensive…
when the farmer receives
a letter from Monsanto’s
aggressive legal team.
A recent decision by the
US Supreme Court again
upheld the notion that
Monsanto owns the seeds
produced by genetically
modified plants, regardless of how the plants
were introduced.
In this particular case,
Vernon Hugh Bowman of
Indiana was ordered to
pay Monsanto $84,000 for
growing crops with seeds
he got second-hand. Bowman bought seeds from a
local grain elevator that
he believed held a high
concentration of Roundup
Ready Seeds.
Seed from grain elevators
is typically used as feed,
but Bowman chose to
plant his seeds, grew a
late-season crop of Monsanto’s Roundup-Ready
soybeans, and harvested
the seeds from that crop…
which the Supreme Court
determined was a violation of Monsanto’s patent.
Most of the megacorporations behind
GMOs have enjoyed the
benefits that come with
big political favoritism,
Folks, American agriculture is about the go down
a road where there’s no
turning back…
If Monsanto can own the
rights to multiple generations of seeds, then why
couldn’t the same be true
of livestock, fish, shrimp,
and even pets?
Eventually, every type of
food we produce in this
country could soon be subject to patent-law. If you
can’t afford to pay the royalties, you may just be too
poor to farm.
By the Numbers...
If you think I’m overstating the case about GMOs
taking over agriculture,
consider how quickly
these patented organisms
have infiltrated the nation’s grain production.
Over half of the crops
planted in the US are already GMOs, but percentages among some cash
crops are much more dramatic.
GMO’s make up:
88% of all corn crops
90% of all cotton
96% of all soybeans
90% of all canola
54% of all sugar beets
75% of all papaya
Monsanto’s Storied Past
In Monsanto’s case, as
well a few of the other big
players in the GMO industry, here’s something else
to consider. That’s their
track record when it
comes to corporate responsibility. After all, they do
advertise themselves as
“Monsanto: A Sustainable
Agriculture Company.”
The Supreme Court decision was unanimous,
though justices said that
it was not meant to be interpreted broadly. However, the implications are
clear: Generation after
generation of selfreproducing seeds are the
intellectual property of the
company that patented
them. For how many generations, we don’t know.
including: Hefty government contracts, beneficial
legislation, and of course
an almost unbelievable
ability to escape liability.
As a society, we’re putting
tremendous faith in Monsanto, i.e. that Monsanto’s
Roundup Ready seeds are,
in fact, safe for human
consumption and for the
environment. Is there any
reason to believe that
Monsanto deserves this
faith?
See
PAST, 8
8 PATRIOT CALLER
from
PAST
JUNE, 2013
page 7
Let’s take a look at a few
of the products that Monsanto has deemed fit for
mass production throughout its history:
DDT—This toxic, cancercausing pesticide was
banned for its detrimental
impact on both human
health and the environment.
Agent Orange—
Monsanto manufactured
this powerful chemical to
defoliate the forests of
Vietnam for strategic military purposes. Its use resulted in truly hideous
deformities, diseases, and
birth defects on both Vietnamese citizens and
American GIs.
PCBs—Now classified as
a “persistent organic pollutant” by the government, PCBs were once
used in coolants and insulating fluids for industrial
electrical equipment. Congress banned this toxic
chemical in 1979. Monsanto manufactured an
estimated 99% of America’s all-time supply.
rBGH—When injected
into milk cows, this synthetic hormone increases
milk production by 1116%. Studies on this hor-
mone’s effect on cows, as
well as the milk they produce, are ongoing.
fed genetically modified
corn experienced horrific
tumors and organ damage. In this study, 50% of
males experienced premature death – 70% of females.
ous pesticides and herbicides on the food we eat
doesn’t come back to harm
us in some way. According
to Dr. Huber, the constant
application of chemicals
changes the biology of
these crops. In a study of
lab mice that are fed genetically modified foods,
Huber said their behavior
changes drastically. They
become agitated, they do
backflips, they can’t settle
down, and they have to be
separated into their own
cages.
tion. Many activist
groups, particularly on the
left, like to make it sound
like GMO crops are the
new tobacco, but their
health and environmental
claims are mostly speculative.
So, considering Monsanto’s extreme caution
when it comes to manufacturing products that may
prove harmful, toxic, disastrous, and/or lethal… is
this a company that you’d
be wiling to trust with
your family’s health?
Health Risks
As you can see above,
many of the products that
Monsanto is famous for
took decades to study, research, and ban. Since the
first GMO papaya crop
was cultivated in 1996,
researchers have yet to
find conclusive evidence
that GMO foods are harmful to human health.
That hasn’t stopped highprofile doctors and nutrition experts from blasting
GMO foods. European scientist, Gilles-Eric Seralini, observed shocking
effects on laboratory rats
and other mammals over
a 2-year period. In fact,
his study found that rats
According to Dr. Don
Huber, it’s not simply the
crops that are the problem, but the fact they’re
engineered to be doused
with chemical herbicides
(Roundup) regularly – creating new pesticide resistant “super weeds” and
possibly impacting human
health.
Frankly, as a nonscientist, it’s hard to believe that spraying vari-
According to Dr. Huber:
"[When] you look at the
stomachs of the GMO-fed
[animals], they have all of
the severe allergy responses, the inflammation
and the reddening… When
they looked at the intestine, they said that the intestinal lining is deteriorating… The smell of the
intestinal contents is very
rank. The biology has been
drastically changed.
Suffice to say, the matter
is hardly settled in the
field of medicine or nutri-
For example, Occupy Monsanto’s website presents
the following arguments
as facts, when in fact they
are merely theories.
Research studies have
shown that Monsanto’s
genetically modified foods
can lead to serious health
conditions such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth
defects.
Monsanto’s GMO seeds are
harmful to the environment; for example, scientists have indicated they
have caused colony collapse among the world’s
bee population.
In my opinion, the creation of a worldwide seed
monopoly is more than
enough of a reason to take
See
Risks, 9
JUNE, 2013
from
RISKS
PATRIOT CALLER 9
page 8
action. Adding faulty and
unproven arguments into
the mix will only muddy
up the waters and eventually discredit the antiGMO movement if they
are proven to be unfounded.
As you know, I’m an action taker – not an activist. I’m not focused on the
problem or the debate. I’m
focused on the solution.
If you’re going to keep
your family’s food supply
secure and uncontaminated, I recommend that
you do the same.
Becoming Food Secure
Last March, in a dramatic
example of governmental
from
CRAYONS
Like adults they require
some intellectual stimulation and entertainment to
keep them healthy. As I’ve
traveled around the world,
I’ve visited remote places
where children don’t have
high speed internet, gaming consoles, or other high
-tech gadgets. It doesn’t
take a lot for a kid to stay
happy and preoccupied,
but their needs are very
different from adults.
I’ve made a short list of
things that every family
should have in their emergency preparations, even
if there are not small children in your home (who
knows who might end up
with you in an emergency
situation).
overreach, members of the
EU Parliament proposed
legislation that would virtually ban all heirloom
crop seeds. In the name of
“food safety,” these legislators wanted to limit the
seeds used in agriculture
production to only those
which have been “tested,
approved, and accepted”
into a massive seed database controlled by the EU.
If you think similar legislation isn’t coming to this
side of the pond, you’re
crazy. That’s exactly what
Big-Ag lobbyists get paid
the big bucks for…
So, what does this mean
for YOU? It’s time to invest in a vegetable garden.
A relatively small garden
can produce an impressive
harvest if you manage it
properly. And it’s not just
the GMO-free fruits, vegetables, and seeds that
you’ll be harvesting, but
the knowledge as well.
Some of the easiest methods for beginner gardeners
would be container gardening (gardening inside
pots and other containers), vertical gardening
(using PVC pipes to create
a water-efficient system),
or if you have more space
to work with, hoop houses
to extend your growing
season (see page 12 for
more information on hoop
house construction).
A lot of wannabe gardeners mistakenly believe
that they suffer from
“brow thumb” (as opposed
to having a green thumb).
The simple truth is that
most people never take
the time to plan their gardens properly… so they
were set up to fail from
the start.
The most important step
in the process is planning.
By creating a system that
gives you an advantage,
such as a hoop house (see
page 12 to get started),
vertical garden, or even an
aquaponic system, you can
stack the deck in your favor. You can also yield a
lot more produce than you
could in a traditional garden.
crayons, pens,
or pencils. Paper is cheap, so
buy whole boxes
of it. These
things are
widely available
right now and
inexpensive.
They don’t take
up much room,
either, so spend a day
and visit a Wal-Mart or
school supply store and
stock up. It’s an investment you won’t regret!
 Boots—Footwear is another important consideration. DO NOT underestimate the value of a
good pair of boots for
little ones! Some of the
shoes they make for kids
are garbage and will
wreck their little feet!
 Games—Don’t forget
cards, checkers, and
chessboards. A homemade peg board and musical instruments can
also be invaluable
sources of entertainment for kids and
adults.
page 1
Consider including the
following in your off-grid
plans:
 Crayons
 Coloring books
 Text books on all the
basic subjects
 Reading books, everything from infant to
adult
 Pencils
 Notepads and scrap paper
 Solar powered calculators
 India ink and quill pens
(those ballpoint pens
will run out eventually)
 Chalk board and chalk
 Some basic science kits
 School supplies—You
can’t have too many
10 PATRIOT CALLER
from
BUGS
JUNE, 2013
page 1
This is the time after the
disaster strikes, but before
aid arrives to quell the
panic.
If you intend to escape to
a remote location, a cabin
in the woods perhaps,
you’re going to need to
leave within an hour of
the crisis event. Otherwise, you may get swept
up in a traffic jam so
dense and hopeless, drivers will begin to abandon
their cars on the road.
So, what steps can you
take in order to give your
family the chance to escape ahead of the gridlock?
Bug-Out Bags
One of the key essentials
is to compile the ultimate
“Bug-Out Bag.” If you’re
not familiar with the concept, a bug-out bag is a
bag (usually a backpack)
filled with all the items
you may need to survive a
crisis away from home…
should you be forced to
evacuate (or “bug-out”) in
a hurry.
Some survivalists call
these “72-hour bags”
or “go-bags,” but the
purpose is the same:
To give you the opportunity to drop everything and leave at a
moment’s notice... no
packing necessary.
Each family member
should have their own
bug-out bag in storage, even children.
This will ensure that
everyone has the supplies
they need to get to your
destination.
Here are 7 bug-out bag essentials:
Canteen – In a shortterm survival situation,
water is more important
than food. A full canteen
is the cornerstone of a
good bug-out bag. Iodine
tablets to treat and disinfect creek or pond water
are also a great idea.
Food – You won’t find
MREs on the menu at a
fancy restaurant; they
taste bland and terrible.
MREs are ideal for packing the most nutrition into
a small space (like a bugout bag). Workout bars
with lots of protein and
calories are a good alternative, as are dehydrated,
just-add-water meals.
First Aid Kit – Dozens of
compact first aid kits are
available online. Your kit
should include a variety of
bandages, gauze pads,
antibiotic ointments, antiseptics, painkillers, and
perhaps even a suture kit.
Warm Clothing – Warm,
water-resistant clothing is
ideal for your bug-out bag,
since you never know
what the weather may be
like when you need to bugout. Good suggestions are:
thermal underwear, rain
ponchos, and insulated
rain jackets.
Multitool – A good multitool will be indispensable
in a crisis. Choose a high
quality tool with a good
knife blade, so it can double as a weapon in a
pinch.
Flashlight – The most
important aspects of a
flashlight are reliability,
and operating time. Many
of the brightest, most expensive flashlights draw a
ton of battery power and
can only run for a couple
of hours. Maglite offers a
good balance.
Fire Starter – There are
a million ways to start a
fire, and at least a dozen
ways to pay over $20 for a
fire starter tool. May I
introduce, the Bic lighter.
I recommend slipping an 8
-pack into you bag.
I urge you to take the contents your bug-out bag
very seriously. You may
have to survive on the
contents of it alone for a
few days. Build your bugout bag to last you for 72
hours.
This is the first article in
my 6-part series “Bug Out
Basics,” designed to help
you prepare for the immediate aftermath of a major
crisis scenario. Enjoy!
JUNE, 2013
PATRIOT CALLER 11
PREPPING WITH YOUNG CHILDREN
Prolonged emergencies
are difficult enough when
you’re single, strong, and
able to flee to safety at a
moment’s notice.
What about when you’re
married, with children,
and the baby needs to be
changed every few hours?
Most survival-minded parents have mentally run
the drills for keeping their
children safe in disaster.
But what about the very
practical need for clean
diapers in a worst-case
scenario?
One answer to this dilemma is to look forward
by looking back… to oldfashioned cloth diapers.
Like many emergency
preparations, rediscovering yesterday’s methods
will enable you to be ready
for the unexpected.
Think of this: Your preparation for a worst-case
scenario can benefit you
right now, by giving you
an alternative to running
to Wal-Mart in the middle
of the night for more diapers.
What do you need to
begin?
Of course, you need the
diapers themselves. Two
brands available online
are FuzziBunz and SoftBums. FuzziBunz use a
“pouch/layer” system with
various absorbent layers
to trap urine and poop.
SoftBums use a “cover/
layer” system with super
absorbent inserts placed
on the cover. (In addition,
the diaper cover “grows”
with your child, in contrast to disposables, where
you’re always struggling
to find the right size.)
Then you need a 5-gallon
rinsing bucket and an 8gallon holding bucket. The
rinsing bucket is for rinsing off the actual poop.
The holding bucket is for
storing rinsed diapers until you’re ready to throw
them in with the rest of
your laundry.
After you make these basic purchases, consider
getting a hand-held
sprayer to clean out your
diapers. You can get one
that attaches directly to
your existing toilet water
supply line; or make your
own by asking a few questions at your local plumbing shop or hardware
store.
The only alternative to a
sprayer is to dunk the diaper in the toilet and wash
them by hand. It’s still a
little messy with the
sprayer and bucket, so if
you're squeamish about
sticking your hands in the
toilet anything is an improvement.
For even greater independence, consider an unused hand-pump weed
sprayer, which can do the
job without a pressurized
water supply. This can
also help you wash dishes
and shower in this scenario.
Primitive Diaper
Procedure
The procedure is almost
as simple as the equipment list. When the baby
wets, and nothing else,
just drop the diaper
straight into the 8-gallon
holding bucket to be laundered later. No rinsing is
needed in most cases.
For poop, use a little bathroom tissue and remove as
much as possible, and
throw the waste in the
toilet. Then hang the
messy diaper inside the
rinsing bucket and shoot
with the hand-held
sprayer. You weren’t born
doing this, but better aim
will come with practice!
When you’ve got most of it
sprayed off, wring it out
and put the diaper in the
holding bucket, and flush
the wastewater down the
toilet.
If you opt to do without a
hand-held sprayer, you’ll
need to dunk, agitate, and
rinse the diaper in the
toilet. Yes, it’s pretty
messy.
Caring for children, especially babies, during a
long-term emergency is a
challenge, not a burden.
The good news is your
preps can pay current
dividends too. Take a few
minutes to figure your
diaper costs according to
current prices and frequency of diaper change.
You may recoup the initial
cost of the equipment
needed before you’ve got
them all trained. Either
way, you’re ready to keep
your kids in diapers
should the disposables
disappear from the shelf
of your local store.
12 PATRIOT CALLER
JUNE, 2013
HOOP HOUSE GARDENING 101
If you’ve ever visited a professional growing operation, you
probably noticed that most of
the fruits and vegetables were
being cultivated under the
protective cover of crude
greenhouses. These round,
covered structures are often
referred to as “hoop houses,”
because their frames are typically constructed using flexible PVC pipes bent into
hoops.
The advantages of growing
inside a hoop house are simple: They give you fantastic
control over the climate in
your garden, and they provide
protection from whatever
mother nature may throw your
way. That’s why hoop houses
were chosen for Michelle
Obama’s gardens on the
White House lawn.
What’s more, hoop houses are
lighter, cheaper, and more
flexible than traditional glass
greenhouses. You can build a
10-foot long hoop house for
around $50 total. Try finding a
decent glass greenhouse the
same size for less than $500.
Necessary Materials
This list of recommended materials applies to a multitude
of hoop house styles and designs. That’s because this is
not a blueprint.
My goal for this article is to
convince you that YOU can
build a hoop house in your
backyard this weekend – not
to tell you how big or small it
must be. You can find numerous designs and plans on the
internet, including in my new
online Aquaponics course
(https://
www.uncensoredsurvival.com
/aquacourse).
Important Construction Concepts
As you can see from
the list below-right,
the required materials for a hoop house
project are all available at your local
hardware store. You
probably have many
of these items lying
around in your garage already.
Here’s a sample supplies list for a 10’ by 15’ hoop house:
Roof Pitch - As you design
your hoop house, you may be
tempted to widen your frame
without adding height. That’s
a mistake.
HINT: By wrapping duct tape
around the ends of pipe that
will be inserted into the connectors, you’ll create a much
tighter friction fit (see photo).
Materials:
Tools:
3 – 10 ft x 1 and ¼”
schedule 40 PVC
Sledge Hammer (to knock
in rebar)
Widening the base will give
you more surface area under
your hoop house, but it will
also flatten your roof. And the
flatter your roof, the greater
the chances that rain, sleet, or
snow will pile up on it and
cause a collapse.
Don’t Forget the Anchor –
Each vertical hoop should be
fastened tightly to the side of
you raised wooden beds AND
(not or) staked into the ground
using rebar. Many first time
builders underestimate how
much stress a feisty breeze
will put on their structure.
8 – 10 ft x 1” schedule 40
PVC
Rubber Mallet (just in case
you need to tap PVC
together)
Connectors – While some
plans call for 20’ lengths of
PVC to make up the hoops,
I’ve found that using two
lengths of 10’ pipe with an
“X” connector makes for a
cleaner, sturdier design. This
“X” connector allows you
install lengths of reinforcing
PVC between each hoop.
2 – 1 and ½” T–
Connectors
2 – 1 and ½” X–
Connectors
8 – 2’ x 1⁄2” rebar
Box of 6 mil. 20 x 100 ft.
Clear Plastic Sheeting
Utility Knife/Scissors
Tape Measure
PVC cutter/Hack Saw/ or
Circular saw to cut
PVC (and wood if
using it)
Power drill set
Duct tape
2 and ½” Decking screws
Shovel (optional for the
extras or smoothing
out footprint area)