Economist Peter Schiff Warns of ‘Real Problem’: ‘The Economy Already Is in Recession. … When Is the Fed Going to Acknowledge It?’

Famed-economist Peter Schiff recently revealed to CNBC that he believes the U.S. economy is “weak” and likely in a recession.

Peter Schiff, president Euro Pacific Capital. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

“The economy already is in recession,” Schiff said. “The question is, when is the Fed going to acknowledge it?”

“The real problem is the U.S. economy,” he added. “The U.S. economy is weakening.”

Schiff’s comments came just one day after Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen admitted the Fed had no real plan to raise interest rates, despite announcing last December that the central bank would be implementing four quarterly hikes in 2016.

However, Schiff said he was never fooled by Yellen, telling CNBC that he knew the Fed was never serious about continual interest rate hikes.

“Central bankers at the Fed bark but they won’t bite,” he said. “I knew all that talk was a bunch of nonsense.”

#Hallelujah—An Easter Message about Jesus Christ

We remember Easter foremost for the resurrection. The Lord remembers it foremost for the suffering in Gethsemane. In 1829, the Lord shared His reflection in a revelation to Joseph:

Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit. (D&C 19:15-20.)

It was important for the Lord to attain the resurrection, for it completed the process that frees mankind from death. But it was more important for the Lord to free us from sin. Because of what He accomplished in Gethsemane, we are able to be reconciled to God. It was “sore… exquisite… hard to bear…” and caused Him to “tremble because of pain,” and ask His Father that He might not drink the bitter cup. It caused the “greatest of all” to “shrink” away from the abyss of suffering.

By partaking anyway, and despite His desire to be spared, He “finished [His] preparations unto the children of men.” It was only “preparation” of an atonement because we are required in turn to receive its benefit through baptism and repentance. If we are unwilling to do this then it is as if no atonement were made for our sins, and we then are called upon to likewise suffer. The Lord has explained that if we refuse to repent then “our sufferings shall be sore.” Almost incomprehensibly difficult for us to bear.

The greatest response to the Easter celebration would be repentance and baptism.

Dollar Store Prepping

Dollar Store Prepping

Most of us don’t have a ton of extra income, so when it comes to prepping, it often takes a back seat to every day expenses. After all, Jay Leno used to have a segment called “Things found at the dollar store”. There were creepy toys, and my favorite, a small toilet, that when you lifted the lid, had lip gloss in it!

Dollar store items are often overruns, have minor defects, and often are major brands. Here is a list of things to look for in dollar stores.

• Over the counter medications. Why spend five dollars or more when you can get aspirin. Acetaminophen, allergy medications, Imodium, triple antibiotic cream, (We even found some with zink and some with silver.) and more for a dollar! Here is where a smart phone comes in handy. You know that for a dollar you aren’t going to get 100 pills, sometimes only a few, so check the prices and compare with other stores.
• Band-Aids, gauze, tape, elastic support bandages, wrist, ankle and knee supports. Don’t forget the icy hot muscle relaxing pads. I keep them in my suitcase, for when I overdo when I travel, and my bug out bag, too.
• Security items: Door stops can keep, or delay people from entering a door. I use them in hotels as well as putting Band-Aids over hotel room peep holes so no one can spy on you.
• Board games. Yep, checker, backgammon, playing cards, and balls. Boredom is bad, especially when there are kids.
• Hoola hoops and jump ropes are good exercise in a small space, like a bunker or a tent.
• Clothes line is good for more than clothes.
• Plastic tubs galore! Good for storage, washing yourself in, washing clothes and dishes…
• Buckets
• Cleaning supplies of all kinds.
• Zip lock and other plastic bags
• Blanket and garment storage bags.. not very thick but they keep the bugs out.
• Duct tape, electrical tape, wire, nails and screws, screwdrivers and wrenches, flashlights, little pocket fans, garbage bags.
• Small bags and even kid sized backpacks.
• Food! I have found tuna, salmon and spam in foil pouches, which are great for bug out bags. Protein in a lightweight, slim pouch.
• Boxed milk. Yes, it’s real and tastes good. Their expiration dates are months away, unlike regular milk, does not require refrigeration, but don’t get them hot, and they even last longer in the fridge when opened.   I keep it around for when I don’t  want to make a trip to the store.
• Condiments: all kinds can be found here including sea salt, mustard with turmeric, hot sauce, spaghetti and sauces, parmesan cheese, ( check the cellulose levels ) spices..food boredom is bad for people in survival mode. Ever gone to the kitchen hungry and just didn’t want anything you had on hand? That’s food boredom. So when you prep, remember to get a huge variety of things you and/or your family, eat every month, like Mexican, Asian, Italian. Juices, powder drink additives..avoid ones with equal! (aspartame) and spices to pep the taste buds.
• Clothes: Think socks, gloves, and hats.
• Little miniature cloth wash cloths shrunk to the size of a small block, that when placed in water, spooing! (often called towels and have cartoon and super heroes on them.)
• Pets: Food, collars, leashes, litter, pee pads. Which are great for kennel liners.

We have seen lots of brand name food and merchandise at dollar stores, sometimes it was made for a foreign country and did not sell well. We have gotten t-shirts, towels, lots of kitchen stuff, aluminum pans.

The cooking bags you sometimes see during the holidays can be used as crock pot/pot liners for easy cleanup. Really good when water is in short supply.

And speaking of the Holidays..seasonal items are always a time to get deals, like nuts for cheap, $1.00 solar yard lights, etc.

Things not worth getting:

• Potting soil, you get about 5lbs for a dollar when Lowes and Home depot have 20lbs for less than $3.00.
• Seeds..I have bought them several times and never had anything produce. So, poor quality seeds.

Never knew you could get so much eh? And different locations of the same stores will often have different items, check out stores around you and when you travel. Dollar Tree stores have where you can order cases online, and have them shipped for store pickup, for free.

Now grab those dollars and go shopping!

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Water

You can survive: 

Three minutes without air

Three days without water

Three weeks without food

Just one recent example of the cost of clean water is the ordeal of the public in Flint Michigan. They had to fight with the State Government over lead found in the water, after being switched from Lake Huron to Flint river with known toxic water.  After much complaining of brown water, a pediatrician started checking lead levels in patients and found them to be extremely high.  After much posturing from the political leaders it was finally admitted that it was a problem.  The pipes to their homes are now damaged and the State Government is now suppling them with bottled water.  Inconvenient and costly! 

When water is limited or tainted chaos erupts in an ugly scene.

When water is extremely limited, don’t eat as water is needed for digestion.

You will need more water than you think!  When you are under stress or cold you need more water. 

1 gallon of water  per person per day for drinking and 1 gallon for sanitation

1 gallon for your pet if it weighs above 50 lb. 

More people die after a disaster from contaminated water which causes diseases such as e.coli, dysentery/shigellosis, hepatitis A, viral gastroenteritis, cholera, typhoid, diphtheria.

Just one person handling sanitation improperly can affect  hundreds or thousands downstream from them!

Fresh water is your most vital prep!

Unexpected predicaments can affect us:  terrible storms, chemical spills, car troubles, earthquakes, water being shut off from your home, droughts, wells running dry. 

Being prepared is not pessimism it is the act of optimism!

Storing water

Containers

Unsafe

Milk or juice jugs that can cause bacterial growth. 

Containers that are not food grade.  Food grade must have Pet or Pete on the bottle.

Safe

Two liter pop bottles and gallon water bottle for short term storage. After 6 months water starts to taste bad.  Be sure to clean and sanitize with 2-3 drops of clorox with water, Then fill with municipal water.  If it is chlorinated by the city,  it is not necessary to add clorox drops.

For longer storage it is better to store water in the 5 gallon water containers. Polycarbonate bottle are the most sturdy of the plastics but they do contain BPA which has proven to be an endocrine disrupter and is a suspected carcinogen.  If it is exposed to high or freezing temperatures it is a bigger problem.  After 2 weeks it is better to find a better source of water.  Be sure to get a pump or siphon hose if you are storing in a 55 gallon water barrel!

If you are filling up with tap water you should throughly clean the bottles with dishwashing detergent and rinse.  If you have chlorinated tap water you don't need to put in bleach. 

Water is heavy- one gallon of water weighs approximately 8.5 lb. so you wouldn’t want to store anything heavier than a 5 gallon jug if you must lift it. 

If you have a warning alert, fill up you bathtub with water that can be used as cleaning water. A product called a waterBob can be used to fill in your bathtub with more protection.

if you are using a river, lake, pond, or stream for water, you must assume that it is not safe to drink.

You must use the following methods to pre-treat the water. 

Settling - letting the sediment settle to the bottom of the bucket

Pre-filtration by using filters such as cotton cloth, or terry cloth towel

Purifying water

Boiling water will kill most pathogens, but will not remove chemicals in water.  If your water is contaminated by sewage it will intensify the nitrates. It will taste better if it is re-oxygenated by passing the water back and forth.

Chemical treatments

Iodine- can be harmful to children, pregnant women, people with thyroid conditions.  Do not use more than 14 days.

Chlorine treatment-use only unscented  bleach, never use non-chlorine bleach to purify water. Use 10 drops per quart if water has not been chlorinated.  Let it sit for 30 minutes.  The water should have a slight chorine odor, if not repeat dosage and then let it sit another 15 minutes.  If too strong let it stand for a few hours. 

Filtration and purifiers- simple water filters, mechanical filters, activated carbon filters

Purchase an activated carbon filter system that can remove most chemicals and gases

Be sure to trade out the filter when recommended.

Reverse osmosis is a good companion to the activated carbon filter because of a special membrane that only lets the water molecules through trapping the harmful elements

Distillation is when the water is heated up to boiling point and collects the water vapor as it condenses.  This kills the microbes and takes 4-5 hours to produce 1 gallon.

Heat to a boil for 10 minutes or use a Pressure cooker up to 15 psi for 5 minutes and then let it cool down normally.

Ultraviolet light does not use chemicals and requires little energy like a 60 watt bulb.  It doesn’t eliminate chemicals or heavy metals.  It can be used with a reverse osmosis system.

A Steri pen is an ultraviolet light that can sterilize water. 

UV radiation from sun can be used with crystal clear water.  Clear quart-sized mason jars left in the sun for at least 6 hours will also work.

Gravity filters -such as a Berkey can filter and purify water.  It uses a ionic adsorption process that combined with  micro filtration which creates a pore structure so minute that contaminates cannot pass through the chargers filter.  There are small ones like a Sawer mini  that  can fit into a backpack and should be in your 72 hour kit. 

Do not store distilled water or reverse osmosis water in plastic. Store it in glass or stainless steel containers for long term use.  Distilled water is a solvent.

If you store water outside don’t let it get sun exposure, put inside a shed out of the wind.  Don’t fill it up all the way, leave a 4 to 6 inch space.  Remember water freezes from the outside to inside and will go up.

Emergency sources of water

freezer - ice cube trays

water heater tank- 30-60 gallons of water

pipes in house

water in toilet tank if desperate- but not bowl!

swimming pool

streams, rivers, creeks or moving water.

rainwater Rainsaucers can be purchased and put over a barrel

ponds, lakes, spring

Master supply list

1.    5 gallon water jugs and dispensers

2.    baby wipes and refills

3.    chlorine tablets like Portable Aqua

4.    Cistern or large tank

5.    Gatorade and/or Pedialyte

6.    gravity filtration system like Berkey, Platypus, Sawyer, MSR

7.    Hand sanitizer ( 60% alcohol)

8.    Hydrogen peroxide iodine tablets or polar pure (iodine tablets)

9.    Portable water cooler with spigot

10. RainSaucers

11. Rain water harvesting supplies; storage barrels or urn, downspouts and leaf screens

12. Reverse osmosis or distillation system or both

13. ultraviolet light water purifier

14. waterBOB for filling up in bathtub

15. water testing kits

16. Cipro antibiotics

17. Cases of bottled water

Resources

The Prepper’s water survival guide- Daisy Luther

Jim Phillips-Safe Harbor Alliance

Family Preparedness Handbook-James Talmage Stevens

Survival Expert Breaks Down Everything You Need in Your ‘Bug-Out Bag’ to Survive an Emergency

How To Make Fire With A LEMON.

Pros & Cons of the 7 Emergency Communication Devices

Emergency communication devices are an important part of any go bag. If traditional communication such as phone and web based connections are not available, an emergency communication device may save your life. While each family has different needs and may choose a different device, we’ll review the pros and cons of the 7 most popular options.

Though all emergency communication devices have similar traits, such as being roughly the same size and weight, there are quite a few differences including range, price, battery licensing and more. You can find a side by side comparison of all emergency communication devices but here we’ll cover the main pros and cons of each device.

Police Scanner Radios

Pros

• Able to listen to all emergency communication including, Police, Fire, Rescue, Military, Aircraft, Civilian, etc.
• A scanner will ‘scan’ all frequencies in your area, and transmit when there is communication.
• 30 mile range*

Digital scanners are very easy to use

• Uses AA batteries

Cons

• Cannot broadcast

Ham Radios

Pros

• Able to listen to all communication including, Police, Fire, Rescue, Military, aircraft, civilian, etc.
• 30 mile range*
• Scanning capabilities

Cons

• Ham radio license is required to operate a ham radio
• Can be complicated to use if you are not familiar with ham radios
• Some ham radios have proprietary batteries that can be difficult to recharge or replace in an emergency
• Programming required

CB Radios

Pros

• Inexpensive; can find for $100 or less
• Easy to use
• Uses AA batteries

Cons

• Limited range of 2 miles*
• Can only communicate with other CB users
• Reliant on others to be using a CB radio device within a 2 mile radius.
• Most CB communication is done vehicle to vehicle so handheld communication options may be limited during emergencies.
• Cannot hear EMS (Police, Fire, Rescue, etc.) communication

Walkie Talkie (FRS/GMRS)

Pros

• Very easy to use
• Inexpensive; can find for $110 or less

Cons

• License required for GMRS walkie talkies
• Some walkie talkies have proprietary batteries that can be difficult to recharge or replace in an emergency
• Must have at least 2 walkie talkies
• Limited range of 2 miles*
• Cannot hear EMS (Police, Fire, Rescue, etc.) communication

Marine Radio

Pros

• Very useful if you’re on/near water to hear all marine communication
• S.A.M.E. emergency & weather alerts

Cons

• Not relevant away from water
• Some marine radios have proprietary batteries that can be difficult to recharge or replace in an emergency
• Limited range of 3 miles*
• Cannot hear EMS (Police, Fire, Rescue, etc.) communication

Weather Radio

Pros

• Inexpensive; can find for $60 or less
• Crank and solar charging
• Range of 40+ miles*

Cons

• Can only listen to NOAA and radio broadcasts
• Cannot broadcast
• Most weather radios have proprietary batteries that can be difficult to recharge or replace in an emergency
• Cannot hear EMS (Police, Fire, Rescue, etc.) communication

Satellite Phone

Pros

• Can make/receive phone calls anywhere

Cons

• Expensive; can find for $1,700 or less for phone plus a monthly subscription plan of $60+
• Cannot hear EMS (Police, Fire, Rescue, etc.) communication
• Limited battery life of 3.5 hours
• Satellite phones have proprietary batteries that can be difficult to recharge or replace in an emergency
• Dead zones in coverage

To find the best police scanner radio or view bug out bag packages visit Zip Scanners’ Scanner Resources & Learning Center & compare emergency communication devices.