While I'm not a big conspiracy theory guy, I seem to be seeing a lot of stuff that points to TSHTF in February or March of 2010. Martial law. Crop failures. Gun seizures. Economic collapse.
This constant drum beat has me worried, so I've stepped up my pace of prepping.
Still, I've just gotta ask: Where are the facts? I see lots and LOTS of blog posts and predictions, but I find little with any factual basis for the timing. I now worry I'm getting sucked into a false sense of urgency.
Don't get me wrong. For instance, I believe our past and present federal spending practices - printing money or borrowing to pay for more and more social services - IS going to destroy our economy. You simply cannot continue to print-and-spend without dire economic results. Inflation, hyper-inflation, etc.
I believe that when/if hyper-inflation occurs, there could very easily be civil unrest that could result in martial law and gun seizures. I'm continuing to store food, cache equipment and purchase precious metals. I'm fine-tuning our plans.
But why in February or March? Why not later this month? Why not February of 2011?
Where is the evidence?
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A recent example: There is a post that is now VERY widely circulated which says the US Northern Command is in the midst of a huge build-up of personnel on US soil. One million soldiers.
Is this realistic? The US has a total of about 1.5 million TOTAL service members, spread across 5 branches of service, and currently in over 800 bases world wide.
Where are they putting all of these soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors? We already have nearly 900,000 military members stationed in the contiguous United States. Are they now ALL going to be assigned to Northern Command or is this a "new" one million troops (which we don't have)? Will the 850,000 National Guard members be thrown into the mix?
Also consider that this is every type of service member, from accountants, cooks, supply-chain and maintenance personnel, to combat troops. I've read it takes between 8 and 10 support personnel for each combat troop or pilot.
This story fits very nicely into many people's perception of the current administration. But is it realistic? Personally, I'm more concerned with the militarization of our police departments than the military being used for domestic disturbances.
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I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from getting ready for ANY type of disaster - natural or man-made. Hell, personal preps and responsibility are the entire purpose of this blog and my business! I just think it behooves us to ensure our preps, plans and actions are based upon facts.
Most plans have, "trip wires" which are events that cause certain parts of our plans to go into effect. Without evidence and facts, we will find ourselves "going off half-cocked" day in and day out.
That is a waste of time, energy and resources.
Accept The Challenge
Question everything! I'd suggest questioning reports that fit into your type of thinking with even greater scrutiny. Don't fall into the trap of only hearing what you want to hear.
Insist on facts. Insist on projections based upon facts. Insist on multiple, independent sources. Don't get lulled into believing reports and projections that fit into your belief system unless they are substantiated.
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4 comments:
Excellent post. I try to disregard the rumors, but this one was sucking me in. Thanks also for the numbers...I too wondered where all these armed troops were coming from. Unless they were going to bring in foreign troops...but that's another rumor for another day.
I've stepped up prepping, but for a number of reasons. 2010 is contract year for my husband's company and I'm nervous they're going to screw us over. Last contract ended with a mass layoff, followed by a lock-out and eventually a strike. Thankfully, it was all fairly short lived and we ended up with a fair contract. I don't see that happening this time. So, more beans and pasta, just in case :)
"there will be wars, and rumors of wars.."
The internet is like a massive drinking fountain, and there's always some new rumor. Still, you can get a lot of valid news here and the old saying "if it walks like a duck...." still holds true. While I'm not worried about the U.N. coming or any of that, I do have concerns about economic collapse and the unpleasant aspects of such an event. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I never wasted a nickle on preparedness. Every cent I ever spent, I got value out of, regardless of what did or did not happen.
Andrea, we're upping our preps as well for the "just in case" stuff. It seems as though there is more worry and stress lately in the news. I don't know if all of these rumors are fantasies or are based at least partially in fact. It's so tough to tell.
Hermit, I am 100% certain we're going to have - at the very minimum - a prolonged economic downturn. I can see now way do don't get hit with obscene inflation, but I just can't accurately determine "when".
A buddy of mine and I were talking about this. The Obama admin will do whatever it takes to keep the money flowing, regardless of the long-term effects. But there is only so long that the patches can work.
And like you, I know every penny I've spent on preps will not go wasted. Even if we somehow miraculously emerge from this unscathed, everything I've got is very usable and edible. No worries there.
That reminds me of the scare quote about the US having military personnel stationed in 1xx countries around the world.
It's only true if you include in the count every embassy. Two Marines watching the front gate in Oggyboggyistan isn't a military base.
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