It’s not a big surprise to many of us, but apparently the majority of Americans don’t trust Newspapers and Television News.

A question is… how much to blame are the main stream news institutions for enabling the decay and corruption that is apparently all around us today, by allowing much of it to go mostly ‘unchecked’?

 
If government and other entities were more scrutinized and challenged by the main stream press, would there be more liberty and less financial turmoil in our nation today? Would we be in the same mess that we are in today?

Answer… I suspect that if more of the corruption, abhorrent spending, bloated waste, and other hard truths within our government (and other entities) were exposed and challenged by the main stream press, that our lives would be much different today. I believe that the press is partly to blame for enabling ‘the systems’ to go largely unchecked and unchallenged, keeping Americans in the dark about changes that have been taking place… many of them for the worse.

Most agree that the Newspapers and Television News are “in the back pocket” of many or most politicians, congress, government, and big business. Hardly do we hear hard-nosed challenging questions directed towards them or their actions. We hear mostly fluff reporting, and few if any main stream reporters dare to question or challenge ‘authority’ or take full advantage of their rights with freedom of the press. After all… they want to remain in ‘favor’ so as to remain on invitation lists to attend insider Gala’s and parties within the “government-media-complex” (a term coined by M.Savage years ago).

According to a new Gallup poll, confidence in mass media continues to fall.

Fewer than one-fourth of Americans have confidence in newspapers.

The percentage of Americans saying they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in newspapers dropped to 23 percent.

Confidence in television news has also been slipping — it’s tied with newspapers at 23 percent.

According to a report on usnews.com, “Americans’ confidence in newspapers and television news has been slowly eroding for many years, worsening further since 2007,” the report says. “Much of the confidence can also be measured by political orientation. Conservatives remain the most critical of newspapers and television news, while liberals are the most supportive. Confidence in newspapers by party also mirrors their ideologies. Democrats are most confident, at 33 percent, while Republicans, at 16 percent, are least confident.”

While the main stream media conglomerates are largely owned by very rich, powerful and mostly left-leaning individuals, the slant and reporting of the main stream press is clearly adjusted as such, and is arguably in line with the political and financial motivations of their unseen owners who use it as a tool to accomplish their objectives. Fortunately though, it appears that their control may be loosening some, based on these recent Gallup poll numbers. Most people are clearly seeing the main stream press for what they really are, and are turning to other sources for news and information. This, in my opinion, is one reason why the gov’t wants control of the internet… because they see what is happening and need a new grip on what the people see and hear for their news – and what it is that they interpret to be ‘important’.

 
Let’s do our own unscientific poll… a different question from the aforementioned Gallup poll.

What is your confidence level in main-stream News Institutions?

(vote to see the results)

If you want to know the approximate State Of Charge (SOC) of a 12-volt battery (or 6-volt, or other battery bank combination), I put together a chart which indicates the percentage charge as it relates to battery voltage or specific gravity.

Here’s the chart, and the reason I did it…

 
Actually, I made a first version of the chart several years ago when I first put together an off-grid solar power system and needed to know this information to maintain my batteries in an optimum condition. This latest version includes several battery bank voltage scenarios for quick reference. My solar power system charges a 48-volt battery bank, while my RV battery bank is made up of 12-volt batteries in parallel.

I had recently installed a new charger/inverter system for my 5th-wheel trailer, and while I am currently on an excursion up in the White Mountain region of New Hampshire I have been giving it a real-world test for the first time, and have compared my chart to actual conditions. So far, so good…

STATE OF CHARGE

Open circuit voltage, or specific gravity per cell

Download full size PDF

Notation regarding measuring the battery voltage…

The battery must be in ‘open circuit’ condition, or in other words… the battery must NOT be under load and it must NOT be charging. To be somewhat accurate, the battery should be in that condition for an hour or two before taking a measurement, while for a much more accurate measurement you should wait 6 hours up to 24 hours.

If testing specific gravity (deep-cycle flooded/wet batteries), fill the hydrometer 2-3 times before drawing a sample from the battery.

For longest life, batteries should stay in the green zone (40% or more SOC). Occasional dips into the yellow are not harmful, but continual discharges to those levels will shorten battery life considerably. It is important to realize that voltage measurements are only approximate. The best determination is to measure the specific gravity, but in many batteries this is difficult or impossible.

There are more sophisticated methods and systems to measure the state of charge, such as one which uses a battery ‘shunt’ which actually keeps track of the current flow out of the battery as well as the charging current that flows back into the battery. The system I’m currently using in the RV is built by Magnum Energy (Made in USA), and tracks the current flow in and out of the battery bank as well as voltage, temperature compensation, efficiencies, and more…

Although you can get pretty technical with all this, the voltage chart versus percentage state of charge will give you a pretty good indication assuming that your battery or battery bank is in good condition.

A side note… if using batteries for an RV or trailer, you should NOT use ‘flooded/wet’ batteries which will out-gas. Instead, consider AGM batteries (Absorbed Glass Mat) which are sealed, spill proof, maintenance free and have the electrolyte absorbed in a fiber-glass mat between the plates.

“WildBill” left a comment to another article here on Modern Survival Blog that I decided to re-post here. I thought his thought process and do-it-yourself effort to be a good example of thinking for yourself, and in this example putting together your own medical kit.

Here’s what he had to say…

 
Bug Out has been a thing on a lot of folks minds. If TSHTF, then we are in trouble. My medical kit is extensive only because if TSHTF we will not have a Walmart to go to.

I went to the dollar store and bought up things like whips, bandages, super glue, ointments, medicines for common things, glucose gum, energy drink (only natural herbs and 100% of all daily requirements) every thing that might have some use.

THEN I went to a drug store and pilled up on things that the dollar store didn’t have.

My medical “bag” is actually a new fishing box with lots of spaces. It fits inside a backpack.

My bag can cover sinus to stitches but I want to put in a staple gun if I have to fix myself it is easier.

[Ken adds: Look into acquiring sutures and learning how to make basic stitches. People can practice on store-bought chicken pieces - look for YouTube videos and search on the subject.]

I know this may be wrong but I bought some Hydro’s from a friend. You get hurt and in pain I got you covered.

[Ken adds: IMO this is not wrong, and pain management could be a very big deal in a serious event. Also, a combination of over the counter Ibuprofen (Advil) and Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be very effective.]

The thing to remember is your First Aid Kit should hold 4 people for at least 2 months.

[Ken adds: ...or whatever suits your particular needs. Kits may be put together for varying purposes, each with their own requirements.]

Think outside the box when making up your kit. I have rubber bands, popsicle sticks, bungee cord, gray tape, super glue, eye wash, flash light head lamp type that has three lens colors, razors, a small amount of para cord to use for splints, hydration packs, insta cold packs, fire starter etc..

[Ken adds: "The sky is the limit" when it comes to thinking outside the box. It's better to have more than you may ever need than not enough. Check lists from others who've put together medical kits.]
A First Aid Kit should include…

Sound like my kit is over kill? I’m still adding to this kit and will most likely have two before it is over.

One of the biggest things I can’t stress enough in making a kit is SOAP!!! You cannot touch a person if your hands are bloodied from skinning out a deer. I keep Dial Anti Bacteria bar soap plus a small bottle of liquid plus a small bottle of alcohol based hand wash for AFTER washing. The least infection on the field could be life threatening and someone with dirty hands will only add to the infection.

Sanitation is key to survival and medical situations. You MUST bathe, brush your teeth, and keep hygiene at the top of the list. Soap is more important than just washing the smell off you. You cannot perform say a stitch up job on someone with dirty hands. Wash hands with water THEN use the antiseptic hand wash, then put on gloves.

I don’t want an old sock to be put on my wound. A CHEAP solution is Maxi Pads, Tampons, Sponges. They don’t take up a lot of room but the hold a lot of blood and the Tampons can be used to plug holes.

[Ken adds: Very Important! Yes, seemingly harmless infections WILL kill you. Without antibiotics, you must remain clean and be very aware of any open cut and what it comes in contact with...]

Think outside the box and make your first aid kit full of common things that you use every day. If you have ulcers or gas problems, sinus, urinary, whatever. These will not stop when you hit the woods.

Be ready, you might have a 50lb bag of nothing but med supplies but when you hit the woods it will be ALL YOU GOT!

[Ken adds: Hopefully it's not 'all you got', but WildBill is on the right track... there is no right or wrong medical kit as having something is better than nothing. Don't forget First Aid. You may think you'll never need a medical kit, but when you do, you'll be glad you have one.]

Syria War Imminent…

What better way to take the main stream heat off of the growing number of scandals among the executive branch, the NSA and the rest… than to re-focus attention elsewhere… the Syrian civil war. The thing is though… this could backfire big time…

 
We are hearing more and more about Syria, Assad, chemical weapons, and ‘rebels’. Now it is being reported that Iran is sending a first contingent of 4,000 Revolutionary Guard troops to assist President Assad while Russia also sends military aid. Why is the U.S. administration sending military supplies to the rebels? Is the U.S. looking for war with Syria? Does the U.S. need yet another war? Can the U.S. afford yet another war? Does the U.S. understand the risks of this one??

The United States has managed to put up with Syria and President Bashar Assad for many decades. So why now, suddenly supporting the rebels? Why is the CIA arming and training Islamist rebels? Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Saturday that U.S. troops are in neighboring Jordan and will leave behind fighter jets and a cache of Patriot missiles.

Do you know who the rebels are? They are radical Islamists who pledge support to al-Qaeda. Yes, that’s right… look it up yourself. The U.S., according to a statement of support by Barrack Obama, is now decidedly directly and/or indirectly supporting the very terror groups whom he claims to be fighting a war on terror against. Does that make sense to you?

Foreign radical Islamists are streaming into the fight from the Middle East.

A little about the rebels…

The rebels across Syria are now forcing women to wear a full veil and whipping men who are seen with women in public. These same rebels just murdered a 15-year old boy, who was kidnapped and tortured for 24 hours before being dragged into the middle of a crowded street and executed in front of his father and mother. For what reason? For apparently arguing with a ‘rebel’ while he said, “Even if the Prophet Muhammad returns, I will not become a believer.”

The U.S. backed rebels beheaded a Christian man and fed his body to dogs, according to a nun who says the West is ignoring atrocities committed by Islamic extremists (dailymail.co.uk). The nun said taxi driver Andrei Arbashe, 38, was kidnapped after his brother was heard complaining that fighters against the ruling regime behaved like bandits. She said his headless corpse was found by the side of the road, surrounded by hungry dogs. He had recently married and was soon to be a father.

The US is now fully engaged on the side of armed groups which include the most extreme Sunni Islamist movements in the Middle East.

 
“The Independent” says this…

“In years to come, historians will ask how America – after its defeat in Iraq and its humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan scheduled for 2014 – could have so blithely aligned itself with one side in a titanic Islamic struggle stretching back to the seventh century death of the Prophet Mohamed”

Washington’s excuse for its new Middle East adventure – that it must arm Assad’s enemies because the regime has used sarin gas – an excuse that convinces no-one in the Middle East. Final proof of the use of gas by either side in Syria remains almost as nebulous as President George W. Bush’s claim that Saddam’s Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

 
Conveniently, should this escalate further, it will take the main-stream attention off the NSA spying on Americans scandal, the IRS scandal, and the executive branch scandals, while we launch into yet another war we cannot afford, one which may be the biggest of all – the one which draws in Russia and others – leading to no place good…

But hey… it’s just politics, right?

Despite that it has been main stream news and an enormous scandal, half of your Senators apparently don’t care too much about what’s going on regarding NSA spying on Americans as was exemplified during a Thursday classified briefing by the Director of the NSA to the Senate…

Half of the Senate didn’t show up.

Where were they? They left early to catch flights home…

 
It’s crumbling all around us. In many ways.
Potentially the largest scandal of our lifetime and our representatives simply don’t care. Folks… you best be prepared for a future that is not going to look like your past.

 
They show up for work Monday night, they leave early on Thursday, they make generous 6-figure salaries with benefits you and I will never see, and they apparently don’t give enough of a hoot about the NSA spying scandal to stick around Thursday afternoon for an intelligence briefing on the subject. These are your representatives.

A recent briefing by senior intelligence officials on surveillance programs failed to attract even half of the Senate, showing the lack of enthusiasm in Congress for learning about classified security programs.

Only 47 of 100 senators attended the 2:30 briefing.

The Senate held its last vote of the week a little after noon on Thursday, and many lawmakers were eager to take advantage of the short day and head back to their home states…

thehill.com

(If I find a list of which Senators skipped town, I will post it here…)

 
A few of the comments from the article…

“How can we expect them to work more than three days a week? They get there Monday night and leave Thursday. We only pay them $140k, give them benefits few other Americans will ever see again, provide them staffs and offices and gyms. They need to get back home to get more handouts from their corporate sponsors.”

“Remember none of them ever leave office with less than a $10mil increase in personal wealth. They do not live off what we pay them they live off what they are entitled to steal …”

“It’s worse than that. They actually get a starting salary of $174,000, plus perks and pensions. It’s disgusting.”

“Congress blows off NSA briefings- then complains because no one was aware of NSA operations? Too many empty suits in DC to count.”

“What swine. No, sorry, that’s unfair to pigs. Pigs actually serve a purpose in the scheme of things. But these Captain Dunsels only serve to soil their own nests after they’ve soiled ours.”

“I’d get fired if i left work early “to get home”… we need to treat these jagoffs like employees instead of rulers.”

“Names. I’d like to see the names of those who were there and those who weren’t. Shouldn’t be that tough to figure out.”

“Fire all their asses.”

“Time to end the careers of every one of them. This idea that “your” Senator or Representative is great, but all the others stink is bull. They are all cut from the same lazy, self serving, egocentric cloth. If they are currently in Office, they have to go next time they are up for election.”

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same… and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. Except when it’s a three day weekend.”

“Make it a one-way trip for all of the fakers…..what a bunch of freeloaders….”

“I suppose the Fourth Amendment isn’t important enough for politicians to give up a little bit their time.”

“The main priority of most politicians is to get reelected rather than to do their job and stay informed on important issues..”

“Seems to me that this is part of their jobs. If half the Senate wasn’t interested in these scandals, which affect the constitutional right of nearly everyone in the country, then they are not interested enough to be reelected. We need to know WHO these people are and get these slackers OUT of the Senate.”

“Then they will be gone the whole month of August because they “work so hard”. “

Given the new and reaffirming knowledge that our government is watching us on the internet (and elsewhere), and given that the those who command the lions share of search engine traffic (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft) are participating in the NSA surveillance program (PRISM), I thought you might like to know how you can search the internet with anonymity, without being tracked or traced…

 
I have no affiliation and nothing to gain by promoting this website, except to provide you with a search-engine alternative to Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc… an alternative that keeps you anonymous. What you search for on the internet is no one’s business but your own – especially not your government…

No PRISM. No Surveillance.

No Government Back Doors.

You Have our Word on it.

 
Giant US government Internet spying scandal revealed

The Washington Post and The Guardian have revealed a US government mass Internet surveillance program code-named “PRISM”. They report that the NSA and the FBI have been tapping directly into the servers of nine US service providers, including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Yahoo, YouTube, AOL and Skype, and began this surveillance program at least seven years ago. (clarifying slides)

These revelations are shaking up an international debate.

StartPage has always been very outspoken when it comes to protecting people’s privacy and civil liberties. So it won’t surprise you that we are a strong opponent of overreaching, unaccountable spy programs like PRISM. In the past, even government surveillance programs that were begun with good intentions have become tools for abuse, for example tracking civil rights and anti-war protesters.

Programs like PRISM undermine our Privacy, disrupt faith in governments, and are a danger to the free Internet.

StartPage and its sister search engine Ixquick have in their 14-year history never provided a single byte of user data to the US government, or any other government or agency. Not under PRISM, nor under any other program in the US, nor under any program anywhere in the world. We are not like Yahoo, Facebook, Google, Apple, Skype, or the other US companies who got caught up in the web of PRISM surveillance.

 
Here’s how we are different:

* StartPage does not store any user data. We make this perfectly clear to everyone, including any governmental agencies. We do not record the IP addresses of our users and we don’t use tracking cookies, so there is literally no data about you on our servers to access. Since we don’t even know who our customers are, we can’t share anything with Big Brother. In fact, we’ve never gotten even a single request from a governmental authority to supply user data in the fourteen years we’ve been in business.

* StartPage uses encryption (HTTPS) by default. Encryption prevents snooping. Your searches are encrypted, so others can’t “tap” the Internet connection to snoop what you’re searching for. This combination of not storing data together with using strong encryption for the connections is key in protecting your Privacy.

* Our company is based in The Netherlands, Europe. US jurisdiction does not apply to us, at least not directly. Any request or demand from ANY government (including the US) to deliver user data, will be thoroughly checked by our lawyers, and we will not comply unless the law which actually applies to us would undeniably require it from us. And even in that hypothetical situation, we refer to our first point; we don’t even have any user data to give. We will never cooperate with voluntary spying programs like PRISM.

* StartPage cannot be forced to start spying. Given the strong protection of the Right to Privacy in Europe , European governments cannot just start forcing service providers like us to implement a blanket spying program on their users. And if that ever changed, we would fight this to the end.

 

Privacy. It’s not just our policy, it’s our business.

- StartPage.com

 
If any of our readers have other ideas and solutions for anonymity on the internet,
add a comment for the benefit of others.

For anonymous browsing, there is the Tor Browser Bundle

Do you know the First and Fourth amendments to the United States Constitution?

In relation to what has been uncovered of the NSA, IRS, and the executive branch, might there be a conflict with these amendments? …

 
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution,
(one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights)

prohibits…

…the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion
…impeding the free exercise of religion
…abridging the freedom of speech
…infringing on the freedom of the press
…interfering with the right to peaceably assemble
…prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances

The Amendment also protects freedom of association.

 
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution,
is the part of the Bill of Rights which,

…guards against unreasonable searches and seizures
…requires a warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause

It was adopted as a response to the abuse of the writ of assistance, which is a type of general search warrant, in the American Revolution. Search and seizure (including arrest) should be limited in scope according to specific information supplied to the issuing court, usually by a law enforcement officer, who has sworn by it.

 
Having summarized these two ‘rights’ that we have as Americans,

Do these permit our government’s National Security Agency to record all data of our phone calls, emails, electronic transactions, and build a network of who and when we interact with others??

Do these amendments permit the Internal Revenue Service to seek out political opposition and target them?

Think about what’s been happening lately and read your Constitution.

I wonder how many in congress know their Constitution?

I wonder if our president can recite the Constitution?

It is a good thing to refresh your memory with what it is that we have for rights as Americans… else we will surely lose them.

Several years ago Ken purchased a washboard. “We’ll be able to keep clothes clean if the power goes out”, he said. It was made out of a wooden frame with it’s steel ridges to ‘wash’ your clothes on.

I don’t know if any of you have ever used a washboard or if you have one in your supplies. But, I would like to spout some washboard praises because shortly after we bought it, I got the opportunity to use the washboard.

Not long after the washboard became part of our home, we lost power when an old electrical transformer on a nearby telephone pole died.  The power had been out for hours when finally two power company trucks with crews showed up to replace the transformer. It wasn’t to be a quick job and would probably take the rest of the day. Not to worry, it was a warm beautiful day.

Shortly after Ken and I ate lunch, he came inside from the mechanical work he was doing. I looked at him and asked him what he had gotten on his shirt. There were several black spots on his shirt. “Oh, honey, why don’t you change your shirt so I can start treating those stains?” I asked. He changed his shirt. A perfect opportunity to try out the new washboard.

Can I just tell you that I loved using the washboard? All it took was a little soap, a little water and a little scrubbing action on the washboard ridges! I was amazed at how little scrubbing action it took to get the shirt CLEAN. Having a few other dirty clothes waiting for laundry day, I decided to clean them too. The amount of time and the amount of scrubbing was minimal. I just squeezed the water out of the clothes and hung them out to dry.

Washboards can be used in a sink or bucket, or can also be used for washing in a river or any body of water, with or without soap. The preferred process is simple. Clothes are soaked in hot (soapy) water in a washtub, then squeezed and rubbed against the ridged surface of the washboard to force the cleansing fluid through the cloth to carry away dirt.

When you are thinking about your prep items and what you may need after a disaster where you are left without power for some time, don’t forget about how you will wash your clothes!

The washboard is an easy, effective, economical way to keep your clothes clean. Try one!
Columbus Family Size Washboard

An email sent to me by one of our regular readers… I thought it may help some of you who wish to contact your congressmen or senator to demand putting a stop to NSA spying on Americans, an unconstitutional act…

Dear Senator:

It has recently come to my attention that the NSA (National Security Agency) has been secretly recording phone calls, emails and other private electronic communications of millions of American citizens in America. This is a blatant and egregious violation of the highest law of the land. The Constitution of the United States of America, Article IV is supposed to guarantee the right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause and a search warrant. I seriously doubt that the NSA has either probable cause or a search warrant for each individual whom they have been recording.

It is impossible for any members of the three branches of government to authorize the NSA (or any other agency) to spy on the American people like this because to do so would violate an oath of office to defend the Constitution of the United States against any enemies foreign or domestic. Since it is impossible for this to have been legally authorized, it is therefore an illegal operation.

Now that the cat has been let out of the bag and it is widely publicized that the NSA has spied and continues to spy on Americans, it is the obligation of every congressman and senator to put an immediate stop to this. You took an oath of office to uphold the highest law of the land. Please carry out your duty to stop the government from illegally spying on Americans.

The American Civil Liberties Union and others are fighting back, and has just filed a federal lawsuit against members of President Obama’s national security team over the National Security Agency’s telephone surveillance, the first legal challenge to the NSA’s dragnet program…

 
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, argues that the NSA’s ongoing, daily collection of virtually all Verizon telephone records is unconstitutional and should be stopped.

In the wake of the past week’s revelations about the NSA’s unprecedented mass surveillance of phone calls, the ACLU filed a lawsuit charging that the program violates Americans’ constitutional rights of free speech, association, and privacy.

The ACLU’s complaint explains that the dragnet surveillance the government is carrying out infringes upon the ACLU’s First Amendment rights, including the twin liberties of free expression and free association.

The ACLU’s complaint charges that the executive branch’s use of Section 215 (of the Patriot Act) violates the plain language of the statute itself.

“This dragnet program is surely one of the largest surveillance efforts ever launched by a democratic government against its own citizens,”

“It is the equivalent of requiring every American to file a daily report with the government of every location they visited, every person they talked to on the phone, the time of each call, and the length of every conversation.”

- Jameel Jaffer, ACLU deputy legal director

Even the political Left have now realized the danger of allowing government to grow so big and powerful that it begins to track, spy, and record the ‘metadata’ on ordinary innocent citizens, and use agencies like the IRS to target its political opposition. Even the Left knows that one day this could (and will) affect them…

 
USNews.com is reporting… Obama, 9 PRISM Partners Targeted by Class-Action Lawsuit… PRISM Class-Action Lawsuit Filed: $20B, Injunction Sought Against ‘Complicit’ Companies and Officials

Lawsuit says Obama chilled free speech; attorney encourages citizens to ‘man the barricades of freedom’

Former Justice Department prosecutor Larry Klayman filed a federal class-action lawsuit Wednesday against AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, PalTalk, Skype, Yahoo! and YouTube, and their CEO’s, and President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, NSA director Keith Alexander, the Department of Justice and the NSA.

 
We must continue to challenge our politicians, ‘leaders’, and government programs. Do not sit silently by. Say something. Do something.

Do not sacrifice your liberty for security. The world is inherent with risk but we don’t need big brother scooping up data on everyone in hopes of finding a needle in the haystack. Not only is that arguably unconstitutional, but that power is too tempting to be abused, and evidently it already has…
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