Para warned us a year ago about the coming unrest on election day, and it has been nagging at me all weekend. I started to post something in the riot thread yesterday but didn't want to drift the discussion. It is looking more and more like what he warned us about is going to happen, and I care about you all.

Hopefully, everyone is using the next few weeks to get their 72-hour/car kits ready or updated. Kroger is having trouble keeping their stores around me stocked with frozen foods. If they are already having supply chain issues now, widespread riots will probably make it even worse. It might be a good time to stock up a bit extra on the things we use from the store. That way, we can stay in for a few days if we have to or have what we need until the stores refill their shelves. If I lived in a big city, I might stop by AAA and get some paper maps of my area.

I don't think we need to go to extremes, but it might be wise to use the next few weeks to take a few small steps to get ready. Just some thoughts.

I’ve got enough ammo to start a small conflict. Got emergency rations for 72 hours and a pantry with enough for a week or more.

Need some charcoal and some propane...and more sweet baby rays....

I can eat the commie neighbor if it gets really bad.

I'm surely the king of bad timing this year, but of course, it's 2020

Last week one of my customers, in coordination with some overseas suppliers, scheduled me to be onsite the entire election week (11/1-11/7). So instead of being home in AL, I'll be on the road near Greensboro, NC. I can't really reschedule because coordinating the overseas assets is a royal PITA... So I had to go ahead and get an absentee ballot, and start project planning for a 1 week onsite visit I'd really rather not make during that time frame.

The good news is that I'm driving, not flying. I'll go ahead and have my usual load-out in my car, plus an AR pistol with lightweight chest rig, and supplement my bug-out bag with some additional supplies.

NOT looking forward to the situation, nor the trip itself.

Thankfully, given that she grew up in hurricane ground zero in Florida, my wife has always stockpiled enough food for the apocalypse. Week's worth for all three of us, easily. So we're set on dry goods and canned/bottled water at any given point.

What I think I need to do is snag some extra fire extinguishers and buy and fill a few gas cans for the truck. That, and get things packed and ready to roll if such a need arises. Not a bad time to break out the food dehydrator since I don't have any MRE's or anything of the like.

We went camping about two months ago just to enjoy it, but it was also a readiness test of our "get up and go" gear for me. The one weak spot was the vehicle (CX-5) not being quite big enough to fit everything comfortably and well short of what I'd want to take with us if it's "leave the area" time, so I traded in the Mazda 3 on a Ram. The camping gear, stove, and fuel is all still packed up in storage totes, ready to throw in the truck at short notice. Reminds me, I need to get tie down straps and bungee cords.

[quoteI can eat the commie neighbor if it gets really bad[/quote]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Very funny!!

We have lots of food stockpiled but water is also important so we have many cases of costco brand just in case. During covid panic they were limiting the water. Also have extra meds we both take. Might want to stock up on more gas for genny. Plenty of guns and ammo.

As to a bug out scenario, we've decided to stay home. Around here the roads will be gridlocked in no time assuming it's so bad that people are leaving home. Don't see the point in that at least in our case.

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
I'm surely the king of bad timing this year, but of course, it's 2020

Last week one of my customers, in coordination with some overseas suppliers, scheduled me to be onsite the entire election week (11/1-11/7). So instead of being home in AL, I'll be on the road near Greensboro, NC. I can't really reschedule because coordinating the overseas assets is a royal PITA... So I had to go ahead and get an absentee ballot, and start project planning for a 1 week onsite visit I'd really rather not make during that time frame.

The good news is that I'm driving, not flying. I'll go ahead and have my usual load-out in my car, plus an AR pistol with lightweight chest rig, and supplement my bug-out bag with some additional supplies.

NOT looking forward to the situation, nor the trip itself.

You just reminded me I wanted to buy a Rand McNally for 2021 for my car. Thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
.....my wife has always stockpiled enough food for the apocalypse. Week's worth for all three of us, easily. So we're set on dry goods and canned/bottled water at any given point.

Enough for the apocalypse is one week? For a Mormon, 1 years saved up is the number. I'm not Mormon but was feeling underprepared having only 6 months for the whole family stored up.....(plus water/ammo/other other other, etc)

If you do a search on EMP or CME, you'll see that a week is not even close to keeping anyone in the game.

If you work in the city get a paper map or maps of sufficient coverage to provide several alternative routes home; perhaps even practice using those routes now.

Do you have a set of walking shoes and a change of nondescript clothing in your car or place of employment?

Silent

https://www.theorganicprepper....y-for-christmas-now/


Here’s Why You Should Start Getting Ready for Christmas NOW
Daisy Luther

It’s probably no surprise to learn that what has been one of the strangest years in recent history could culminate in a very strange Christmas. Our nation is reeling from an economy that was crashed by COVID lockdowns, the potential second wave of a pandemic which will result in more economic damage, a broken supply chain, civil unrest, and a presidential election that will almost certainly be hotly contested, regardless of who “wins.”

As Selco likes to remind us, there’s not a whole lot we can do about “big circle” problems like the ones listed above. We need to focus on the “small circle” – things we can do something about, like our response to the crises listed above.

So let’s talk about the upcoming holiday season and the ways that this year could be very different.

Gifts may be difficult to acquire.

You need only to look at the bare spots in your local Target store to see that we could be looking at a shortage of desired gifts. Due to supply chain issues, stores are not getting anywhere near the same amount of merchandise they used to get. That means that once the Christmas rush begins, the things that ARE available could sell out quickly. And it also means that you may have a lot more trouble than usual ticking items off your family members’ Christmas lists.

Retailers are quickly trying to adapt to social distancing rules while still making a buck, which means even more sales than usual will take place online.

Peggy Alford, PayPal’s executive vice president of global sales, told PYMNTS that retailers “are trying to make themselves as ready as possible.”

“What we’re going to see is that because of how frictionless and easy digital commerce is to use and how safe it is, it becomes the new way of paying and the new way of shopping — especially as the pandemic continues and this behavior becomes habitual,” she said.

The bottom line: As the holiday shopping season rapidly approaches, expect things to be different this year.

“Now, most every brick-and-mortar retailer of note will close for Thanksgiving, possibly tipping the hat to a values reset around family,” PYMNTS reported. “In fact the values reset around several issues may be one of the defining characteristics of Holiday 2020.”

“It’s not hard to imagine Black Friday or even Cyber Monday using charity donations as consumer motivation to shop,” the report stated. “Especially since Black Friday pricing has been in effect pretty much since the beginning of April. Discounts have been an everyday occurrence instead of an event.”

But problems with the US Postal Service could make ordering gifts to be delivered by mail a tricky endeavor. Delays began back in the summer and have continued well into October. (This article provides additional information about the slow-down of deliveries.) This could cause problems from two different angles:

First, will you receive your order on time?
Secondly, will the packages you mail out get to the recipients on time?

I strongly urge you to purchase any gifts you’re planning on buying early for the 2020 holiday season. This is not the year to be a last-minute shopper or you may end up purchasing a strange hodgepodge of the items nobody else wanted to buy.

We might also be looking at food shortages.

Many parts of the country are already experiencing some difficulty with the food supply chain as is evidenced in the comments section of this article. The supply has been compromised since last March and things improved a little, but most places are still not back to the pre-lockdown normal levels of inventory.

What’s more, grocery stores are already preparing for both the second wave and holiday shoppers with so-called “pandemic pallets” of goods that they expect to be in high demand…and despite these preparations, they’re still expecting shortages.

What is a pandemic pallet?

Grocery stores are stocking pallets with items they fear may run low in the coming months. Keeping these pallets stored in the warehouses, most of them are stocked with cleaning items and paper products, cold medicines, dry goods, and food staples like rice, pasta, and legumes – all the things that they ran out of quickly the last time around. And, with the holidays right around the corner, many stores are stockpiling holiday foods like cranberry sauce.

The article went on to say that grocery stores are not as sparse as they were in the beginning of the pandemic. Nevertheless, shortages are still expected…

…Meat shortages were also the focus of this article that describes the effect the pandemic has had on meat supplies.

Our advice? Get your supplies while you can. If you wait to buy your groceries for holiday meals at holiday time, you’ll have difficulty finding what you want. And consider adapting your holiday meal to focus more on shelf-stable ingredients. Here’s an example of a holiday dinner straight from the pantry. Our favorite vendor of long-term emergency food also has their supplies back in stock if you want to invest in some items that will be good on your shelves for years to come. Here are some of the long-term items I recommend.

Money could be a problem.

Millions of jobs that were deemed “temporary layoffs” have disappeared forever. Many businesses, small and large, have closed their doors. Competition is fierce for the few jobs that are currently available and we’re right on the cusp of a wave of evictions. Government assistance ended recently and the second round of stimulus payments has been held up in Congress.

It’s almost a certainty that a majority of families will be facing financial difficulties this holiday season. My recommendation is that you speak with your family now and set realistic expectations for gifts, travel, and get-togethers so that everyone is on the same page. Focus on traditions instead of on gifts.

And for goodness sakes, if that stimulus money comes in “just in time for Christmas” I’d strongly advise you not to spend it frivolously. The urge will certainly be there but remember, we could all be dealing with money problems that are far more serious than a less spectacular Christmas than normal.

We could be in the midst of another lockdown.

While some parts of the country are gradually reopening, the numbers of those diagnosed with COVID are beginning to spike again. Regardless of whether or not you believe COVID is a physical threat, it’s pretty much irrefutable that it’s an economic threat. If the cases continue to increase we will be facing another lockdown.

What if that lockdown continues throughout the holiday season? It’s not a huge stretch of the imagination to think that large family gatherings, religious services, and Christmas parties will be banned.

Not only would this be potentially the final nail in the coffin of the travel industry, but it would also be incredibly detrimental to people psychologically. The idea of watching long-held holiday traditions crumble could cause a lot of mental stress, and those who are already dealing with the effects of isolation will be the hardest hit.

Then again, so many people are sick of the pandemic and the lockdowns that there’s a good chance they’ll simply refuse to cooperate. This could lead to legal problems as well as an increase in post-holiday COVID cases. Expect to see a lot of Christmas-shaming and people snitching on their neighbors for hosting family members.

Of course, if the numbers go up dramatically after the holidays, you can expect the lockdowns to expand to even more draconian levels than they already have. (Again – your opinion on COVID-19 notwithstanding, we’re talking about how the government’s interpretation of the numbers will affect you.)

Begin thinking now about how you intend to celebrate the holidays. Will you be relying on technology like Zoom to see our families and attend worship services? Are your family members geographically close enough that you can still get together? Just as with gifts, it’s important to set the expectations of your family early so that nobody is blindsided with the prospect of an empty table a week before Christmas.

Trim some profits from your investments now, and wait for a panic induced market sell off to pick up shares on sale.

Food, water, ammo, meds (if on prescriptions or needed). My 72 hour bag goes into the car starting Halloween (usually only in it for work days). Load up extra rifle magazines. Since it is fall, been carrying revolvers.....usually carry Kimber 3 inch 6s TLE on waistband and 2 inch Kimber 6s in ankle holster. I am going to put the Chiappa Take down .357 lever action carbine in the 72 hours pack with extra ammo. Been reloading .357 a lot more, so got a big stash ready. Looking at getting a Henry X model Big Boy and/or S&W 327 Pug or 627 Bloodwork if I can find one. Did get a 586 plus L-Comp and it may start getting carried once I have a few more rounds through it.

I do have the Glocks and MP5s ready in the safe, if needed.

Started upping my cardio workouts, doing more boxing and heavy bag sessions, along with drilling on a submission dummy.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Trim some profits from your investments now, and wait for a panic induced market sell off to pick up shares on sale.

Dang I was gonna say maybe pick up a few packages of those little peanut butter crackers, but it doesn't seem like such a fancy idea now.

quote:

You just reminded me I wanted to buy a Rand McNally for 2021 for my car. Thank you.

We got some of the National Geographic brand waterproof maps for TX and SE US..got em on Amazon.

quote:

Trim some profits from your investments now, and wait for a panic induced market sell off to pick up shares on sale.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Be smart about it though. I would not touch long term investments at all, such as those in your retirement accounts. Some of your shares that have had nice gains and you have held for some time makes sense. You should always have cash on the sidelines.

In all seriousness, just stay home as much as possible in the days immediately after the election and keep your family safe.

Started upping my cardio workouts, doing more boxing and heavy bag sessions, along with drilling on a submission dummy.[/QUOTE]

This is the most overlooked prep, thanks for the additional motivation!

We're ready. Probably never ready, enough...but we're ready. I could benefit from a new dog, but there's no time to train one now.

Serious unrest where I live isn't likely. We've already got broke crackheads plaguing the communities and broke LE entities ignoring it. For the most part they target the snowbirds and nonresident lodges/air BnB's, and leave others alone. With our first snow on the ground today, the few snowbirds that finally made it here are all packing up to head south again.

Meat keeps skyrocketing in price, and businesses keep closing. I'm sure you guys have that happening where you live also. People are fleeing our state, but most who were going to go this year have left by now.

I just keep reloading...and tweaking my plans. We've now got 2 years of dry goods put up, and can get through the winter...so all our food purchases are coupons and sales. With grocery pickup finally happening here (it only took 6 months for them to figure it out, and only 2 stores do it), I'm able to be pretty low-key. We only go out 2-3 times a month, and typically don't interact with anyone. We pick our days and times, avoiding the payday/food stamp days.

We live where we live specifically because no matter what happens on election day, there won't be any libtards rioting here.

Less to do with the election and more to do with the economic fallout of 27 trillion in debt. Keep the powder dry and the freezer full. Spending fiat on useless crap stopped months ago.

quote:

Originally posted by jimb888:
Enough for the apocalypse is one week? For a Mormon, 1 years saved up is the number. I'm not Mormon but was feeling underprepared having only 6 months for the whole family stored up.....(plus water/ammo/other other other, etc)

If you do a search on EMP or CME, you'll see that a week is not even close to keeping anyone in the game.

Between me being a bit tongue-in-cheek with my use of "Apocalypse" and somehow putting an apostrophe where it didn't belong, we're speaking a bit past each other. Weeks worth of food. Maybe actually a couple month's worth, as I look at it now. Half the front room in the house has become an extension of the pantry as far as dry goods storage this last year.

I'd like to get to the point where we've got a good six months to a year's worth of food, water, and other essentials stored away, but it's been a difficult year for a lot of reasons that have nothing to do with the current craziness going on in our country. It's a goal.