The Establishment Wants Romney
The GOP Establishment clearly wants Romney to become their candidate to run against the Food Stamp President (Obama). The pundits keep trying to say that it's over if their guy wins Florida. It's NOT over! This totally ignores and negates the other 46 states in the union. See what I mean?
At Any Expense
The Establishment will go to any means to elect who they want to run for President. They are completely ignoring the Tea Party in spite of the fact that if it hadn't been for them, they wouldn't have the majority in the House of Representatives.
The Establishment GOP has demolished Bachman, Cain, and Perry. They don't like true CONSERVATIVES! They like solid Progressives like Romney and John McCain. This should be getting clear to those who prize conservative values. The Establishment GOP are Progressives and don't want to give up their power!!
The Establishment GOP has ignored Rick Santorum as un-important and have isolated Ron Paul as an extremist. Santorum is a Big Government guy, but he's not their favorite. Ron Paul is the only remaining true conservative and look what the main stream media (including FOX News) and the GOP have done to him. They don't even consider him a valid contender!
Missing the Message
Unfortunately the Establishment GOP is not paying any attention to the grass roots movement that sparked their victories in the House in November 2010. The current political races aren't between Romney and Gingrich. No, it's between The Establishment Republican Party and the Tea Party movement. The GOP is trying to jam Romney down our throats whether we want him or not.
Note to GOP: We Still don't like Romney! He's NOT Conservative!
Why Settle for Less?
The GOP Establishment continues to pretend that we have no voice. The Establishment wants to disenfranchise the minority of Libertarians and true conservatives out of their consideration.
If they do not begin to cooperate, they are in for another big surprise. We still need to have input from the remaining 46 states. Constitutional conservatives will demand a Conservative candidate on the ticket! It's not too late to broker the convention and get one!
We don't have to settle for another Progressive!!!
We want to replace Obama too, but NOT with another Progressive like Romney!
It's more than possible that the GOP will loose the election if they continue to push Romney and not listen to us. If they want our block of votes, the GOP will have to concede to let us be heard or face another crushing defeat.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Obama, Stop The LIES!
Liar Liar
It seems that the Food Stamp President (Obama) doesn't like the new label being properly and rightly attached to him. Today he's busy "spinning" a lie to try and throw the blame off his shoulders. Gee, that sounds familiar!
According to Obama "First of all, I don't put people on food stamps. People become eligible for food stamps. Second of all, the initial expansion of food-stamp eligibility happened under my Republican predecessor, not under me. Number three, when you have a disastrous economic crash that results in 8 million people losing their jobs, more people are going to need more support from government."
In other words: "It's not my fault, Bush did it!" This is a blatant lie. He's right that HE doesn't put people on food stamps, but HIS policies do. He promised that with TARP unemployment wouldn't go over 8%. He doesn't increase food stamp eligibility, but he IS responsible for the high unemployment numbers under his watch! Franky, he's dead-wrong that more people need to rely on the government, which is HIS goal! People need to become more independent and self-sufficient.
Deceiver
Obama IS the Food Stamp President and here's the facts to back it up.
Obama IS only president who has seen the largest increase in food stamps during HIS presidency. His own government statistics prove that he's lying! HIS failed policies are the reason for this increase and he refuses to be responsible for his own actions.
Obama's mismanagement (or no management), leading from behind, and total incompetence isn't enough. His narcissism makes it impossible for him to ever be adult enough to admit that he is the Food Stamp President!
Obama is DISHONEST and cannot be trusted. He's betraying and disrespecting Americans with his lack if integrity! He's a disgrace to the office! He's also a convincing liar, but the facts prove otherwise!
Obama has no honor and does not deserve to be the President.
It seems that the Food Stamp President (Obama) doesn't like the new label being properly and rightly attached to him. Today he's busy "spinning" a lie to try and throw the blame off his shoulders. Gee, that sounds familiar!
According to Obama "First of all, I don't put people on food stamps. People become eligible for food stamps. Second of all, the initial expansion of food-stamp eligibility happened under my Republican predecessor, not under me. Number three, when you have a disastrous economic crash that results in 8 million people losing their jobs, more people are going to need more support from government."
In other words: "It's not my fault, Bush did it!" This is a blatant lie. He's right that HE doesn't put people on food stamps, but HIS policies do. He promised that with TARP unemployment wouldn't go over 8%. He doesn't increase food stamp eligibility, but he IS responsible for the high unemployment numbers under his watch! Franky, he's dead-wrong that more people need to rely on the government, which is HIS goal! People need to become more independent and self-sufficient.
Deceiver
Obama IS the Food Stamp President and here's the facts to back it up.
Obama IS only president who has seen the largest increase in food stamps during HIS presidency. His own government statistics prove that he's lying! HIS failed policies are the reason for this increase and he refuses to be responsible for his own actions.
Obama's mismanagement (or no management), leading from behind, and total incompetence isn't enough. His narcissism makes it impossible for him to ever be adult enough to admit that he is the Food Stamp President!
Obama is DISHONEST and cannot be trusted. He's betraying and disrespecting Americans with his lack if integrity! He's a disgrace to the office! He's also a convincing liar, but the facts prove otherwise!
Obama has no honor and does not deserve to be the President.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
No Enthusiasm Yet?
GOP Hasn't Delivered
The GOP has missed the boat big time for a large portion of its usual supporting voters and Independents. They are leaving us high and dry once again and we are getting tired of being mistreated and taken for granted! The GOP got a strong hint of what we wanted in the November 2010 mid-term elections. However, they totally ignored that message. Tea Party? Who's that?
We STILL want a small government Conservative to run for President. Where's the anti-Establishment Washington outsider? So far the GOP hasn't delivered much in their top three candidates and they have totally ignored Ron Paul - even though he has defended the Constitution consistently.
The Tea Party movement represents a large number of swing voters and so far the GOP has pushed aside our existence. The Establishment GOP wants a candidate that is "electable". They don't care if they are a Progressive Republican.
None of the three "Top Tier" candidates are true Conservatives! Romney never gets more than 25% of the votes. That's because the other 75% of voters don't like him. Is that "electable"? Gingrich is a big government insider Establishment candidate. Is that "electable"? Santorum is also a big government Establishment player. Is that "electable"?
If you can't offer up a choice to satisfy the Tea Party movement, you won't see your candidate elected at all!
Their Argument
The Establishment Elite Washington GOP says; "Do you want four more years of Obama? No? Then vote for our guy!" This is the same way it has been for the past 20-30 years. We are stuck with the worst of two evils.
So what happens now if we don't want to vote for a Progressive Republican again? Hello Obama!
What happens if we elect another Big Government Progressive Republican like George Bush? There's really not much difference between Obama and a Progressive Republican. They both like big borrowing, big spending, big government, and more entitlements. What's the difference here? They will all keep the status quo and not change the direction we're heading. That's no choice! They will both destroy America and our freedoms. Look at their records now! The Patriot Act, National Defense Authorization Act, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), TSA, and on and on and on...
Proof: The House of Representatives (GOP majority) passed and approved an additional $1.2 TRILLION dollars in borrowed money so Obama can keep spending as usual. They did that in the last 10 months! They don't give care about the deficit! The only difference between the two parties is the rate at which they borrow. The DEMs will do it faster. Both Parties are controlled by Progressives.
Prediction
The GOP will continue on their merry way to yet another disastrous failure to elect a new President. America will continue towards its destruction.
If you seriously believe that Romney or Gingrich will become President you are in for a serious disappointment. They will loose because they don't have the support they both need from the swing voters. Neither is "electable."
The GOP has missed the boat big time for a large portion of its usual supporting voters and Independents. They are leaving us high and dry once again and we are getting tired of being mistreated and taken for granted! The GOP got a strong hint of what we wanted in the November 2010 mid-term elections. However, they totally ignored that message. Tea Party? Who's that?
We STILL want a small government Conservative to run for President. Where's the anti-Establishment Washington outsider? So far the GOP hasn't delivered much in their top three candidates and they have totally ignored Ron Paul - even though he has defended the Constitution consistently.
The Tea Party movement represents a large number of swing voters and so far the GOP has pushed aside our existence. The Establishment GOP wants a candidate that is "electable". They don't care if they are a Progressive Republican.
None of the three "Top Tier" candidates are true Conservatives! Romney never gets more than 25% of the votes. That's because the other 75% of voters don't like him. Is that "electable"? Gingrich is a big government insider Establishment candidate. Is that "electable"? Santorum is also a big government Establishment player. Is that "electable"?
If you can't offer up a choice to satisfy the Tea Party movement, you won't see your candidate elected at all!
Their Argument
The Establishment Elite Washington GOP says; "Do you want four more years of Obama? No? Then vote for our guy!" This is the same way it has been for the past 20-30 years. We are stuck with the worst of two evils.
So what happens now if we don't want to vote for a Progressive Republican again? Hello Obama!
What happens if we elect another Big Government Progressive Republican like George Bush? There's really not much difference between Obama and a Progressive Republican. They both like big borrowing, big spending, big government, and more entitlements. What's the difference here? They will all keep the status quo and not change the direction we're heading. That's no choice! They will both destroy America and our freedoms. Look at their records now! The Patriot Act, National Defense Authorization Act, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), TSA, and on and on and on...
Proof: The House of Representatives (GOP majority) passed and approved an additional $1.2 TRILLION dollars in borrowed money so Obama can keep spending as usual. They did that in the last 10 months! They don't give care about the deficit! The only difference between the two parties is the rate at which they borrow. The DEMs will do it faster. Both Parties are controlled by Progressives.
Prediction
The GOP will continue on their merry way to yet another disastrous failure to elect a new President. America will continue towards its destruction.
If you seriously believe that Romney or Gingrich will become President you are in for a serious disappointment. They will loose because they don't have the support they both need from the swing voters. Neither is "electable."
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The GOP is NOT Listening
Ironic? Not So Much!
A Rasmussen poll out today shows that 33% of voters want the GOP to introduce a NEW candidate. Apparently they are not satisfied with the "top tier" candidates left in the race (namely, Santorum, Gingrich and Romney). Is it any wonder? They're all Big Government Progressives!!
The GOP Establishment is totally ignoring the messenger Ron Paul who represents at least 12-20 percent of the Libertarian GOP base. Quite frankly, the GOP Establishment is afraid of Ron Paul because he is a true conservative and his ideas scare them to death! This is because the Republican Party is no longer the Conservative Party. No, they have been co-opted by Progressives and Progressives have corrupted the Party - just like the Democratic Party has been taken over by Progressives. Let that idea sink-in. Both Parties have been subverted by Big Government Progressives. They are both on the same side - only by varying degree. They both borrow, spend, and create entitlements like crazy! They both love to expand government! They both ignore the deficit. They ARE Progressives!
Neither party listens to their constituents because they all want to stay in Washington and enjoy the taxpayer free ride and the political power that comes with the territory! That's called CORRUPTION! It's prevalent on both sides of the aisle. Now, both parties are big spenders and big borrowers. They lie out of both sides of their mouths. There is no honesty or integrity any more.
Better Start Listening
So far the GOP has not got the message. They keep doing things the "old way" - business as usual! They're trying to nominate ANOTHER Progressive Big Government Republican like McCain was last time!
But now things are different. We have the Tea Party movement. It is alive and well. Voters are getting wise to their same old tricks and now there is a major backlash coming. They keep ignoring Ron Paul who is trying to deliver Conservative values and ideas to the party that once embraced them. He's a crusader of the Conservative message. God bless Ron Paul!
What Voters Want
Voters want to see real changes - not the lies and cronyism that we have now. They want to see the Republican Party get back to Conservative ideas like limited government, free markets, less regulations, lower taxes, and a return to the principles in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Voters demand that their party protect their freedoms and rights to own property. But, the GOP is out-to-lunch.
Action To Take
Voters need to DEMAND this change while we still have time to introduce a TRUE CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE into the Presidential race (or support Ron Paul). It's not too late! Stand up and insist that they give us someone who will defend the Constitution and protect our liberties. The top three GOP candidates fall far from that mark and they can do a lot better.
While we're at it, the GOP should show good faith by dumping Progressive John Boenher (R, OH) as Speaker of the House and elect a Conservative instead. Boehner did NOT deliver on his budget cuts. No, instead, he allowed Obama to increase Federal spending by $1.2 TRILLION dollars since last August!
If the Establishment GOP continues to ignore this 33% on their side, they will face a backlash that none of us want to see. Obama will be re-elected because they cannot support their Progressive candidates!
America will destined to become "The United States of Obamica.
A Rasmussen poll out today shows that 33% of voters want the GOP to introduce a NEW candidate. Apparently they are not satisfied with the "top tier" candidates left in the race (namely, Santorum, Gingrich and Romney). Is it any wonder? They're all Big Government Progressives!!
The GOP Establishment is totally ignoring the messenger Ron Paul who represents at least 12-20 percent of the Libertarian GOP base. Quite frankly, the GOP Establishment is afraid of Ron Paul because he is a true conservative and his ideas scare them to death! This is because the Republican Party is no longer the Conservative Party. No, they have been co-opted by Progressives and Progressives have corrupted the Party - just like the Democratic Party has been taken over by Progressives. Let that idea sink-in. Both Parties have been subverted by Big Government Progressives. They are both on the same side - only by varying degree. They both borrow, spend, and create entitlements like crazy! They both love to expand government! They both ignore the deficit. They ARE Progressives!
Neither party listens to their constituents because they all want to stay in Washington and enjoy the taxpayer free ride and the political power that comes with the territory! That's called CORRUPTION! It's prevalent on both sides of the aisle. Now, both parties are big spenders and big borrowers. They lie out of both sides of their mouths. There is no honesty or integrity any more.
Better Start Listening
So far the GOP has not got the message. They keep doing things the "old way" - business as usual! They're trying to nominate ANOTHER Progressive Big Government Republican like McCain was last time!
But now things are different. We have the Tea Party movement. It is alive and well. Voters are getting wise to their same old tricks and now there is a major backlash coming. They keep ignoring Ron Paul who is trying to deliver Conservative values and ideas to the party that once embraced them. He's a crusader of the Conservative message. God bless Ron Paul!
What Voters Want
Voters want to see real changes - not the lies and cronyism that we have now. They want to see the Republican Party get back to Conservative ideas like limited government, free markets, less regulations, lower taxes, and a return to the principles in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Voters demand that their party protect their freedoms and rights to own property. But, the GOP is out-to-lunch.
Action To Take
Voters need to DEMAND this change while we still have time to introduce a TRUE CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE into the Presidential race (or support Ron Paul). It's not too late! Stand up and insist that they give us someone who will defend the Constitution and protect our liberties. The top three GOP candidates fall far from that mark and they can do a lot better.
While we're at it, the GOP should show good faith by dumping Progressive John Boenher (R, OH) as Speaker of the House and elect a Conservative instead. Boehner did NOT deliver on his budget cuts. No, instead, he allowed Obama to increase Federal spending by $1.2 TRILLION dollars since last August!
If the Establishment GOP continues to ignore this 33% on their side, they will face a backlash that none of us want to see. Obama will be re-elected because they cannot support their Progressive candidates!
America will destined to become "The United States of Obamica.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
ILLEGALS - The Solution
Simple Plan
Politicians are always afraid of upsetting someone somewhere because of Political Correctness. We're not! Here is a simple plan that would resolve the ILLEGAL Alien problems here in America:
Action To Take
Any incumbent politician (DEM or GOP) who refuses to take action to prevent ILLEGAL ALIENS from entering or registering here in the USA should be voted out-of-office.
Progressives will argue that this solution lacks empathy or Social Justice. They're right! And, they can go blow it out their ass because it's fair for people who have broken our laws to get here!
Politicians are always afraid of upsetting someone somewhere because of Political Correctness. We're not! Here is a simple plan that would resolve the ILLEGAL Alien problems here in America:
- Close the borders immediately. Use the troops that we pull out of Afghanistan.
- ILLEGALS must register and get a "RED ID Card" or RFID implant chip in order to remain in the USA as a "temporary worker" - including their off springs. They must carry their ID at all times. No Red Card or chip, then IMMEDIATE DEPORTATION.
- Offspring born in America with one, or both parents who are ILLEGALS, are NOT automatically granted American citizenship and must have an RFID implant.
- No ILLEGALS or their offspring are eligible for Free tuition and a free college education. Fine all those who violate this law $50,000/incident.
- Unless life threatening, prohibit all medical treatments to ILLEGALS unless they have private insurance or work insurance.
- No AMNESTY to any ILLEGALS under ANY circumstances.
- ILLEGALS are not eligible for any Social Security - unless they have the required number of valid government credits.
- Stop ALL Federal funding to "Sanctuary Cities."
- Stop providing food stamps or any other welfare to ILLEGALS.
- Fine employers $50,000/employee, who hires an ILLEGAL who does not have a valid RED Card ID or RFID chip.
- Vehicles of ILLEGALS driving without a valid driver's license will become government property. This includes properly registered, but uninsured vehicles, as well.
- ILLEGALS in possession of forged or counterfeit ID documents or RFID chips, will be imprisoned for no less than 5 years or face immediate deportation.
- Persons counterfeiting RED Card IDs or RFID chips shall be imprisoned for no less than 10 years.
- Illegals must learn to speak, read, and write English.
Action To Take
Any incumbent politician (DEM or GOP) who refuses to take action to prevent ILLEGAL ALIENS from entering or registering here in the USA should be voted out-of-office.
Progressives will argue that this solution lacks empathy or Social Justice. They're right! And, they can go blow it out their ass because it's fair for people who have broken our laws to get here!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Why the 2nd Amendment Is Important
The MSM Lies By Omission
Every day honest, law abiding US citizens protect themselves from horrendous attacks, robberies, and home invasions. So why is it that these stories rarely get published? Answer: It's because that the survivors of these news events used guns! The Establishment Elite Progressives hate guns and only want the government to own them. They do not believe that we have the "right" to protect ourselves.
Smart US citizens know better. They know that in a big city the average response time for a 911 call for help is about 20 minutes. By that time, you can be robbed, raped, and killed by the perpetrators. Right to carry laws even the odds against these attacks.
Case in point, here as a good example of just such a circumstance that the Main Stream Media doesn't like to report:
PRE-TEEN SHOOTS ILLEGALS
Source: FOX NEWS BUTTE, MONTANA
Shotgun Preteen vs. Undocumented Illegal Alien Home Invaders
"Two illegal aliens, Ralphel Resindez, 23, and Enrico Garza, 26, probably believed they would easily overpower home-alone 11-year-old Patricia Harrington after her father had left their two-story home. It seems the two crooks never learned two things: they were in Montana and Patricia had been a clay-shooting champion since she was nine. Patricia was in her upstairs room when the two men broke through the front door of the house. She quickly ran to her father's room and grabbed his 12-gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun.
Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buckshot from the 11-year-old's knee-crouch aim. He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals.
When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the street where he bled to death before [free] medical help could arrive. It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen 45-caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. That victim, 50-year-old David 0'Burien, was not so lucky. He died from stab wounds to the chest."
Do you ever wonder why reports like this never make NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, or ABC news? You should! An 11 year old girl, is still alive because she protected herself using (God forbid) a gun.
Food for Thought
Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented immigrant" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist." Isn't it time for the MSM to report the "facts" that guns protect US citizens every day and we should stop the political correctness BS?
Every day honest, law abiding US citizens protect themselves from horrendous attacks, robberies, and home invasions. So why is it that these stories rarely get published? Answer: It's because that the survivors of these news events used guns! The Establishment Elite Progressives hate guns and only want the government to own them. They do not believe that we have the "right" to protect ourselves.
Smart US citizens know better. They know that in a big city the average response time for a 911 call for help is about 20 minutes. By that time, you can be robbed, raped, and killed by the perpetrators. Right to carry laws even the odds against these attacks.
Case in point, here as a good example of just such a circumstance that the Main Stream Media doesn't like to report:
PRE-TEEN SHOOTS ILLEGALS
Source: FOX NEWS BUTTE, MONTANA
Shotgun Preteen vs. Undocumented Illegal Alien Home Invaders
"Two illegal aliens, Ralphel Resindez, 23, and Enrico Garza, 26, probably believed they would easily overpower home-alone 11-year-old Patricia Harrington after her father had left their two-story home. It seems the two crooks never learned two things: they were in Montana and Patricia had been a clay-shooting champion since she was nine. Patricia was in her upstairs room when the two men broke through the front door of the house. She quickly ran to her father's room and grabbed his 12-gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun.
Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buckshot from the 11-year-old's knee-crouch aim. He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals.
When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the street where he bled to death before [free] medical help could arrive. It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen 45-caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. That victim, 50-year-old David 0'Burien, was not so lucky. He died from stab wounds to the chest."
Do you ever wonder why reports like this never make NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, or ABC news? You should! An 11 year old girl, is still alive because she protected herself using (God forbid) a gun.
Food for Thought
Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented immigrant" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist." Isn't it time for the MSM to report the "facts" that guns protect US citizens every day and we should stop the political correctness BS?
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Guest Article - Are You A Prepper?
Subculture of Americans prepares for civilization's collapse
By Jim Forsyth (Reuters)
"When Patty Tegeler looks out the window of her home overlooking the Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia, she sees trouble on the horizon.
"In an instant, anything can happen," she told Reuters. "And I firmly believe that you have to be prepared."
Tegeler is among a growing subculture of Americans who refer to themselves informally as "preppers." Some are driven by a fear of imminent societal collapse, others are worried about terrorism, and many have a vague concern that an escalating series of natural disasters is leading to some type of environmental cataclysm.
They are following in the footsteps of hippies in the 1960s who set up communes to separate themselves from what they saw as a materialistic society, and the survivalists in the 1990s who were hoping to escape the dictates of what they perceived as an increasingly secular and oppressive government.
Preppers, though are, worried about no government.
Tegeler, 57, has turned her home in rural Virginia into a "survival center," complete with a large generator, portable heaters, water tanks, and a two-year supply of freeze-dried food that her sister recently gave her as a birthday present. She says that in case of emergency, she could survive indefinitely in her home. And she thinks that emergency could come soon.
"I think this economy is about to fall apart," she said.
A wide range of vendors market products to preppers, mainly online. They sell everything from water tanks to guns to survival skills.
Conservative talk radio host Glenn Beck seems to preach preppers' message when he tells listeners: "It's never too late to prepare for the end of the world as we know it."
"Unfortunately, given the increasing complexity and fragility of our modern technological society, the chances of a societal collapse are increasing year after year," said author James Wesley Rawles, whose Survival Blog is considered the guiding light of the prepper movement.
A former Army intelligence officer, Rawles has written fiction and non-fiction books on end-of-civilization topics, including "How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It," which is also known as the preppers' Bible.
"We could see a cascade of higher interest rates, margin calls, stock market collapses, bank runs, currency revaluations, mass street protests, and riots," he told Reuters. "The worst-case end result would be a Third World War, mass inflation, currency collapses, and long term power grid failures."
A sense of "suffering and being afraid" is usually at the root of this kind of thinking, according to Cathy Gutierrez, an expert on end-times beliefs at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Such feelings are not unnatural in a time of economic recession and concerns about a growing national debt, she said.
"With our current dependence on things from the electric grid to the Internet, things that people have absolutely no control over, there is a feeling that a collapse scenario can easily emerge, with a belief that the end is coming, and it is all out of the individual's control," she told Reuters.
She compared the major technological developments of the past decade to the Industrial Revolution of the 1830s and 1840s, which led to the growth of the Millerites, the 19th-Century equivalent of the preppers. Followers of charismatic preacher Joseph Miller, many sold everything and gathered in 1844 for what they believed would be the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Many of today's preppers receive inspiration from the Internet, devouring information posted on websites like that run by attorney Michael T. Snider, who writes The Economic Collapse blog out of his home in northern Idaho.
"Modern preppers are much different from the survivalists of the old days," he said. "You could be living next door to a prepper and never even know it. Many suburbanites are turning spare rooms into food pantries and are going for survival training on the weekends."
Like other preppers, Snider is worried about the end of a functioning U.S. economy. He points out that tens of millions of Americans are on food stamps and that many U.S. children are living in poverty.
"Most people have a gut feeling that something has gone terribly wrong, but that doesn't mean that they understand what is happening," he said. "A lot of Americans sense that a massive economic storm is coming and they want to be prepared for it."
So, assuming there is no collapse of society -- which the preppers call "uncivilization" -- what is the future of the preppers?
Gutierrez said that unlike the Millerites -- or followers of radio preacher Harold Camping, who predicted the world would end last year -- preppers are not setting a date for the coming destruction. The Mayan Calendar predicts doom this December.
"The minute you set a date, you are courting disconfirmation," she said.
Tegeler, who recalls being hit by tornadoes and floods in her southwestern Virginia home, said that none of her "survival center" products will go to waste.
"I think it's silly not to be prepared," she said. "After all, anything can happen.""
By Jim Forsyth (Reuters)
"When Patty Tegeler looks out the window of her home overlooking the Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia, she sees trouble on the horizon.
"In an instant, anything can happen," she told Reuters. "And I firmly believe that you have to be prepared."
Tegeler is among a growing subculture of Americans who refer to themselves informally as "preppers." Some are driven by a fear of imminent societal collapse, others are worried about terrorism, and many have a vague concern that an escalating series of natural disasters is leading to some type of environmental cataclysm.
They are following in the footsteps of hippies in the 1960s who set up communes to separate themselves from what they saw as a materialistic society, and the survivalists in the 1990s who were hoping to escape the dictates of what they perceived as an increasingly secular and oppressive government.
Preppers, though are, worried about no government.
Tegeler, 57, has turned her home in rural Virginia into a "survival center," complete with a large generator, portable heaters, water tanks, and a two-year supply of freeze-dried food that her sister recently gave her as a birthday present. She says that in case of emergency, she could survive indefinitely in her home. And she thinks that emergency could come soon.
"I think this economy is about to fall apart," she said.
A wide range of vendors market products to preppers, mainly online. They sell everything from water tanks to guns to survival skills.
Conservative talk radio host Glenn Beck seems to preach preppers' message when he tells listeners: "It's never too late to prepare for the end of the world as we know it."
"Unfortunately, given the increasing complexity and fragility of our modern technological society, the chances of a societal collapse are increasing year after year," said author James Wesley Rawles, whose Survival Blog is considered the guiding light of the prepper movement.
A former Army intelligence officer, Rawles has written fiction and non-fiction books on end-of-civilization topics, including "How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It," which is also known as the preppers' Bible.
"We could see a cascade of higher interest rates, margin calls, stock market collapses, bank runs, currency revaluations, mass street protests, and riots," he told Reuters. "The worst-case end result would be a Third World War, mass inflation, currency collapses, and long term power grid failures."
A sense of "suffering and being afraid" is usually at the root of this kind of thinking, according to Cathy Gutierrez, an expert on end-times beliefs at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Such feelings are not unnatural in a time of economic recession and concerns about a growing national debt, she said.
"With our current dependence on things from the electric grid to the Internet, things that people have absolutely no control over, there is a feeling that a collapse scenario can easily emerge, with a belief that the end is coming, and it is all out of the individual's control," she told Reuters.
She compared the major technological developments of the past decade to the Industrial Revolution of the 1830s and 1840s, which led to the growth of the Millerites, the 19th-Century equivalent of the preppers. Followers of charismatic preacher Joseph Miller, many sold everything and gathered in 1844 for what they believed would be the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Many of today's preppers receive inspiration from the Internet, devouring information posted on websites like that run by attorney Michael T. Snider, who writes The Economic Collapse blog out of his home in northern Idaho.
"Modern preppers are much different from the survivalists of the old days," he said. "You could be living next door to a prepper and never even know it. Many suburbanites are turning spare rooms into food pantries and are going for survival training on the weekends."
Like other preppers, Snider is worried about the end of a functioning U.S. economy. He points out that tens of millions of Americans are on food stamps and that many U.S. children are living in poverty.
"Most people have a gut feeling that something has gone terribly wrong, but that doesn't mean that they understand what is happening," he said. "A lot of Americans sense that a massive economic storm is coming and they want to be prepared for it."
So, assuming there is no collapse of society -- which the preppers call "uncivilization" -- what is the future of the preppers?
Gutierrez said that unlike the Millerites -- or followers of radio preacher Harold Camping, who predicted the world would end last year -- preppers are not setting a date for the coming destruction. The Mayan Calendar predicts doom this December.
"The minute you set a date, you are courting disconfirmation," she said.
Tegeler, who recalls being hit by tornadoes and floods in her southwestern Virginia home, said that none of her "survival center" products will go to waste.
"I think it's silly not to be prepared," she said. "After all, anything can happen.""
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