Chickens Archives - Jeff Cassman

The Government Desperately Wants to Ban 3D Printed Guns

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by Aden Tate
Author of The Faithful Prepper and Zombie Choices

Nobody loves controlling others more than the government, so it’s no surprise that they’re desperate to ban 3-d printed guns. Right now, the US legislature has introduced two separate yet identical bills that would outright ban the creation of 3D-printed guns or the dissemination of the code for doing so.

HR 4225 was introduced to the House Committee on the Judiciary on June 29 of this year by Representative Ted Deutsch (D-FL). A few short days later, an identical bill, S.2319, was introduced by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) in the Senate. [Source]

Officially, S.2319 is referred to as the 3-D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2021.

They’re ready to take gun control to a whole new level with this.

But you may know it as its mainstream media coined term: The Ghost Gun Ban

According to the US government, the stated intention of S.2319 is “to amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the distribution of 3D printer plans for the printing of firearms, and for other purposes.” After the bill was introduced, 27 Senators throughout the US – all Democrat (with the exception of stated Independent, Bernie Sanders) – jumped on board to sign it. They are:

[source]

All these folks can’t wait to ban 3-d printed guns.

What does this mean for aficionados if they ban 3-D printed guns ?

Should this bill be passed to ban 3-D printed guns, it likely means that tens of thousands (if not…

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Processing Chickens on Our Homestead, by Ozark Redneck

Growing up, we had chickens and I dreaded butcher day. Momma would get a fire going and put a huge pot of water on for scalding the chickens to remove the feathers. Dad had two cord loops one for their feet, which I held and one for the neck, which he held while he used a hatchet & a chopping block to dispatch the bird. If you have butchered chickens this way you know where the saying “she is running ‘round like a chicken with it’s head cut off” comes from. That scene and the smell of scalding chickens in hot water is enough to turn the stomach of any 9-year-old.

Fortunately, there is a better way. Somebody invented a chicken killing cone, that I have used for many years.
This device inverts the chicken. Be sure to get their feet out of the cone at the top, I have had a few chickens actually push themselves out of the cone. I grab the beak/head, stretch the neck and quickly cut the head off with a sharp knife. One could use pliers to hold the beak/head if needed. After the blood drains move the bird to your butcher table. I use a folding white one from Sam’s Club.

I have used these fish cleaning stations, basically a folding white plastic table with a sink and faucet, so your garden hose just hooks up to the sink, makes everything handy and easier, especially if you are dealing with a large volume of animals to butcher.

I set up a large 39-gallon trash can with liner under the lip of the table, and as I work I put the waste into the trash can. I use a large stainless-steel bowl and stainless steel deep serving trays to put the clean birds into.
I use poultry shears like these Fiskars. They make good products.

Here is another brand of poultry shears I have used, Gerior Poultry Shears out of Sheridan, Wyoming.

I like to use a boning knife, like this one from Chicago Cutlery.

I never used to wear gloves, but in a past butchering session I cut my palm on a bone that I had cut with the shears. Now I wear a ‘no-cut’ glove like these.

So, to recap what tools I set up for a butcher session:

White plastic table
Water source, garden hose or fish cleaning station with hose attached.
Killing cone (I hang mine on an Oak tree near the butcher station.
Large trash can with liner
Stainless steel bowls or deep pans
Poultry shears
Boning knife
Gloves (either nitrile or ‘no-cut’)

Once I have all my tools and set-up is ready, I start the process.

Dispatch the bird in the killing cone. Toss the head in the trash can and move the bird to the table, after the blood has drained from the bird. Use the poultry shears to remove the…

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How to Create a Prepper Hideout

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by Jeff Thompson

It’s strange to even think of writing a piece about creating prepper hideouts in “The Land of the Free.” Sadly, that freedom has long ago died a bloody death. I think we’re getting much closer to an America akin to the late 1930s Germany. Other countries throughout the world (Australia comes to mind) are already there.

For those who are thinking a “we need to hide our Jewish neighbors” type scenario could quickly unfold again, I’d like to take a moment to give some of my thoughts on how to create a prepper hideout. We need only look at the venom and animosity that is being directed at the unvaccinated to see that this might actually become a necessity in our lifetime.

A hideout is different than a bug-out location, a survival cache, or a safe room. It’s meant to house a person or group of people secretly in the event they are targeted for some reason. Where you will locate this space will vary based on your home, your geography, and other factors.

Let’s talk about what a prepper hideout requires, and what we can glean from history.

The first things a prepper hideout requires are food and water

Without a doubt, this needs to be your #1 priority. Read through any of the diaries of those trapped in Nazi-occupied territory throughout World War II. You’ll see just how large of a presence hunger played in their daily lives. You have to have ample food stores for these environments. Without food, you cannot stay in a hideout for long.

Water is even more critical. Although a person can technically survive three days without water, your motor skills and mental capacity will diminish on the first day. Here’s an article on calculating how much water to store.

In addition to food, you need to consider a way to open cans and a hidden means of cooking food. Can-openers easily solve the first problem. A plug-in stovetop is liable to be the best means of providing the second. Another option is storing food that doesn’t have to be cooked at all.

Plug-in stove units aren’t going to have the massive energy draw of a real stove. If an energy allotment is in place and people are punished for breaking electricity rationing rules, you may want to consider one of these. Plug-in stoves genuinely don’t take up much space and can quickly heat a pot full of chili. I usually use mine to…

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LAPD Is Forcing EVERYONE to Reveal Social Media User Names

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by Aden Tate

The notion of government workers monitoring your social media is probably not news to you. I believe Edward Snowden blew the lid off of this can of worms years ago. However, have you considered that those very same people may now force your social media usernames out of you should they stop you on the street?

Probably not, right?

Yet that’s precisely what’s happening in Los Angeles right now. Apparently, it has been happening for years.

How was this discovery made?

Within New York University is a non-profit organization known as the Brennan Center for Justice. Early last year (2020) the NPO law/public policy institute submitted a request for information on how LAPD used social media to monitor people and groups. [source]

The Brennan Center for Justice formally filed the request under the California Public Records Act, yet the request was never fulfilled. The Brennan Center took the matter to a superior court. The court granted the request for information, and the 6,000-page report was finally released this past Wednesday, September 8, 2021.[source]

According to the Brennan Center, the information they were given revealed that LAPD offered little guidance and minimal oversight over officers’ surveillance on social media platforms. The center went on to state:

Few limitations offset this broad authority: officers need not document the searches they conduct, their purpose, or the justification. They are not required to seek supervisory approval, and the guide offers no standards for the types of cases that warrant social media surveillance. While officers are instructed not to conduct social media surveillance for personal, illicit, or illegal purposes, they seem otherwise to have complete discretion over whom to surveil, how broadly to track their online activity, and how long to monitor them.

…

Despite endowing its officers with broad authority to surveil social media, the LAPD has done little to ensure these powers aren’t abused.

How did the LAPD collect this information?

LAPD Interview Card

LAPD has been carrying “field interview cards.” LAPD officers can stop anyone, whether they are arresting them or not, and ask them to fill these cards out. [source] It’s up to the officer’s discretion whether the field interview card is filled out or not. Interestingly, information the card collects includes social media handles, usernames, email addresses, and profile page URLs. [source]

Let’s say you have an Instagram account where you follow Iraqveteran8888, Demolition Ranch, Lucky Gunner, or other firearms-related…

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Pay-by-Palm: Just an Innocent Technology to Make Life Easier?

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by Aden Tate

Looks like the folks at Amazon have taken up palm reading with the recent rollout of Amazon One, a pay-by-palm technology.

Don’t like the idea of having to touch “dirty” cash or handing your credit card to a cashier who has handled thousands of other credit cards that day? Maybe you don’t like having to carry around a wallet or a purse. Well, then perhaps Amazon One is the solution for you.

Unveiled back in 2020 in its Seattle hometown, Amazon’s palm scanning payment method is gradually gaining steam as the concept takes root on American soil.

How does pay-by-palm scanning work?

Nobody else on earth has the same palm print as you do. Not only are the ridges and wrinkles of your palms individually tailored to you, but so are the veins in your hands and fingers. Amazon’s new pay-by-palm technology detects your skin topography and is also able to detect the vein patterns of your hands. [source]

Amazon customers can then upload their palmprints to Amazon’s servers to link their palmprints to their Amazon account, and by extension, their bank accounts. Now, instead of having to take the time to count out your cash and receive change when you head to the register – instead of using a credit card to pay – all you have to do at select locations is scan your palm at the appropriate station. Forget a mere cashless society. You won’t even need a card in Amazon’s new world.

Amazon believes people will be excited about this particular feature. In 2020, when Amazon first unveiled the technology, Amazon said the contactless nature of the payment was something they thought “customers will really appreciate, especially in current times.” [source]

Currently, six Amazon stores in New York City and 47 other stores throughout the US utilize pay-by-palm scans as an alternative form of payment. [source] Whole Foods is also a new testing ground for the feature. [source]

What about the privacy issue?

Amazon is offering a sign up incentive of a $10 in-store credit voucher to those who opt to scan their palms into the system. [source] But, do you really want to give up your privacy for a $10 credit and a bit of convenience? Using biometrics to pay for purchases reveals far more than one may realize. An article on The Conversation points out the psychology behind reward incentives. The author states many people claim to care about their privacy yet all it takes is the promise…

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Real Life Survival Story: Baofeng, the Little Ham Radio That Could –

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by Aden Tate

It was a beautiful summer day in Vermont, and Alden Summer Jones was making his way down the Long Trail – America’s oldest hiking trail. It’s a 273-mile trek across the highest mountains in Vermont – across the entire length of Vermont as well – and all without making contact with any cities or towns (though it does cross a few roads).

After a length of hiking through the trail, Alden’s blood sugar dropped too low. He passed out and began to suffer a seizure. Thankfully, a fellow hiker was nearby who just happened to be an EMT. The EMT rushed to Alden to deliver aid. After Alden regained consciousness, the EMT decided that further aid was going to be needed. They needed a rescue.

Unfortunately, one of the chief qualities that adds to the appeal of the Long Trail – *its remoteness – also meant having zero cell reception throughout many parts of it. That’s precisely what Alden and the EMT realized as they tried to call for help.

*Long Trail is one of the most remote hiking experiences in America.

But Alden had an ace up his sleeve: he was a ham radio operator.

And it just so happened that Alden had brought along his HT (handy-talky) radio with him. Alden’s radio was a Baofeng – easily the most hated radio brand amongst serious ham radio aficionados out there. In a disaster situation, though, Alden proved that even something as scorned as a Baofeng could save lives. Alden tuned in to a local repeater on Mt. Greylock, where he put out a call for a rescue. Two men, Ron Wonderlick and Matthew Sacco, were sitting at home listening to the radio traffic on the local repeater that day and heard Alden’s call for help.

After a brief discussion between Matthew and Ron, Matthew decided to go mobile. He grabbed his radio gear, jumped in his vehicle, and drove off to the parking lot of the Long Trail (after contacting emergency services). Matthew met the Incident Command Leader for the SAR operation at the parking lot, offering his services as a radio operator to help. The rescue operation agreed. Matthew first attempted to contact the Mt. Greylock repeater that Alden had used initially to make his call for help.

Time to get creative.

Getting a hold of the repeater was tricky, and Matthew knew if he couldn’t reach it, the rescue operation would only have a much more difficult time. He initially tried his HT unit.

It didn’t work.

Then…

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Is Another Lockdown Coming? Here’s How to Get Prepared NOW

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by Daisy Luther

Author of The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Living and the Build a Better Pantry on a Budget online course

If the level of fear being incited by the media and the White House are any indication, it may not be long before the United States mandates another lockdown, complete with business closures, lay0ffs, and the further destruction of the economy.

If you look at the patterns that preceded the first lockdown, we’re seeing almost identical intensity in the warnings, mask mandates, and other restrictions that led up to it. This article isn’t about whether or not this is right or wrong. It’s about getting prepared before the general public empties the shelves.

I strongly advise you to get prepped right now and make a plan on how you intend to handle it if this comes to pass. This warning is not a prediction. It’s a comparative analysis of the circumstances surrounding previous lockdowns. By examining patterns, you can often deduce what’s coming next.

Use what you’ve learned.

This isn’t our first rodeo, or even our second. That means we have some experience under our belts that can help us be even better prepared if another round of restrictions come to pass. I’ve written about this when helping folks get prepared for the Second Wave, and much of the same information applies. If any of the following appears familiar, that’s why.

Think about what you’ve learned and ask yourself the following questions.

What do you wish you’d done differently?

It’s easy to play quarterback after the game is done, but this exercise isn’t about beating yourself up. It’s about learning from your experience.

Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?
What food did you run out of the fastest?
Were there non-food supplies you didn’t think to buy?
Was there anything that broke and you didn’t have the necessary tools or supplies to repair it?
About what item did you think, “Dang, I wish I had XXXXXX?”
Were there people who hunkered down with you who made things difficult or unpleasant? How can you make it better with those folks in the future? And will you even want them to come over next time?
Are there things you could have prepared to keep your kids or other family members more content?

Ask yourself these questions while you’ve got some time to sit and contemplate the lockdown. The things you wish you’d done differently are going to be very important things to address for the future.

What are the things…

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Cuba Blocks Internet and Ham Radio. Could It Happen Here?

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by Aden Tate

Author of Zombie Choices and The Faithful Prepper

On July 11, Cuban citizens rallied in the streets to protest food and medicine shortages and electricity outages. The demonstration was one of the biggest since the days of Castro. Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, along with a resurgence of coronavirus cases. Cuban officials blame the decades-long embargo with the United States for the collapsing economy.

Within two days, the Cuban government began restricting internet access

The internet, basically unavailable until 2008, has only been widely available in Cuba Since July 2019, when the Cuban government began lifting restrictions on internet access. Since that time, Cuba has slowly entered the digital world, with mobile access to the internet becoming available in December 2018.

As Cuba’s citizens protested, many of them pulled out their cellphones to post videos and images across social media platforms. The Cuban government began immediately blocking access to those platforms. This is reminiscent of Arab Spring, when the governments of Egypt, Libya, and Syria completely shut down the internet to quell the protests. Other governments in the Arab world were rumored to have arrested and even executed people for things they posted on the internet. (source)

Reports state the Cuban government partially blames the U.S. for the street protests saying it used social media tools such as Twitter to help organize.

Relatives say the government is keeping them in the dark about family members

Norges Rodríguez: Right now, there are no protests…there is a lot of repression. There are people who are missing, and their families don’t know anything about them…[source]

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) say the majority of those arrested are incommunicado, and the location of some is still unknown. [source]

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed her concerns over the alleged use of excessive force when calling for the release of those detained. “I am very concerned at the alleged use of excessive force against demonstrators in Cuba and the arrest of a large number of people, including several journalists,” Bachelet said. [source]

The internet is not the only thing down in Cuba

Due to the internet outages, likely done to block the flow of information from Cuba, some citizens have turned to what many preppers see as their fallback, ham radio. They’ve been using the 40m ham band to communicate with family members in Florida.

Now, mysteriously, nearly all of the 40m band is…

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The Importance of Teaching Children to Become Resilient

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by Joanna Miller

Have you ever considered the importance of teaching children to become resilient?

For us, as adults, it’s easy to get frustrated these days. Whether you are a big-picture person, looking at the trends in surveillance technology and “The Great Reset” hubris, or an ordinary person frustrated by spiking prices and constant supply headaches. Many of us have had to tap into our inner resources to stand resilient in the face of these challenges.

How can we teach kids to do the same? How do we teach our children the vital skill of resilience?

Helping your children find their tribe

Many of us found our friendships and family relationships changed over the past year. I know my children have dealt with the same thing. With remote schooling, they could not see friends in person anymore. My children found, after talking online, many of their friends held widely different views on what has been happening. For example, my children have had former friends tell them it’s the fault of “people like us” (the vaccine-hesitant) that old people are all dying.

It’s worth the effort to help your kids find at least one or two kids with similar interests and values. My daughter has a Canadian pen pal who is very like-minded. They don’t correspond super regularly, but it’s enough for my daughter to know she’s not alone. My boys know to practice OPSEC in general, but we know a couple of families in town around whom we can speak freely.

Taking care of your own mental health will help your children

If you don’t lose it every time the power goes out or the toilet clogs, they probably won’t either. We had so many plumbing problems when I first got on septic. I was constantly plunging. There were plenty of tears and frustration at first, but as I got better at managing clogs, it just became more of a regular chore. These days, the kids only tell me about a clog if it’s a spectacularly bad one. Most of the time, they get the plunger and deal with it themselves. No drama.

The same mentality applies in terms of eating habits. If all of your meals are made “just right” at very set times, your kids will see you being picky about food and will be less likely to roll with changes. I’ve written before about spiking commodity prices and how most of us will have to make adjustments in terms of grocery shopping. Again, if…

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Bartering: Could You Live Without Money?

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by J.G. Martinez

Could you live without money? Imagine the struggles of living day to day with little to no money. One of my Patreon subscribers recently sent me a video link of one man who lives without money. Mr. Boyle, the man who started it as an experiment, has lived somewhat comfortably by bartering.

Before watching the video, I thought to myself, “this guy is merely using excess resources tossed out by the wealthy to make a frugal living.” My reasoning for this is there is usually excess prosperity in wealthy societies in the developed parts of the world. Here in South America, it’s unlikely anyone will throw out a chair in perfect shape. Perhaps sell it, or gift it, but leaving it out for the garbage truck to haul away is rare.

Since the invention of money, people have looked for the means to attain it. Mr. Boyle has an interesting point of view, even philosophically speaking. He believes most people refuse to accept the necessary connection to nature for even the most basic yet vital needs, such as drinking water. Mr. Boyle feels the modern ways we get our staples, groceries, and whatever we need to live more or less decently have to change.

The resources are there, why not use them?

In the book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond, I read a substantial industrial-age egg producer in Australia sent production hundreds of km away so the product would pass through a quality control process and receive an ink mark. I can hardly find any justification for this and feel it is highly inefficient. And, the consumer pays the price for decisions made such as this, not the producers.

My point is, we have the resources necessary to put to good use empty inner-city buildings that currently waste space.

Next to our home, a large property has a few corn plants, but most of its 2500 square meters (over 16000 square feet) are empty. This property is in the center of the town. In the right hands, the property could be a production center with tilapia ponds, beans, greenies, rabbits, and poultry. Sadly, the property owners don’t have that intention. They bought the property to hold until it increases in value. They will sell it in the future for several times the original value. (Even though no one made the necessary service upgrades to the property.) Sure, this is a common practice for those with money in hand. However, doing so creates a shortage of living space, especially in…

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by Aden TateAuthor of The Faithful Prepper and Zombie Choices

But you may know it as its mainstream media coined term: The Ghost Gun Ban

What does this mean for aficionados if they ban 3-D printed guns ?

by Jeff Thompson

The first things a prepper hideout requires are food and water

by Aden Tate

How was this discovery made?

How did the LAPD collect this information?

by Aden Tate

How does pay-by-palm scanning work?

What about the privacy issue?

by Aden Tate

But Alden had an ace up his sleeve: he was a ham radio operator.

Time to get creative.

by Daisy Luther

Use what you’ve learned.

What do you wish you’d done differently?

What are the things…

by Aden Tate

Within two days, the Cuban government began restricting internet access

Relatives say the government is keeping them in the dark about family members

The internet is not the only thing down in Cuba

by Joanna Miller

Helping your children find their tribe

Taking care of your own mental health will help your children

by J.G. Martinez

The resources are there, why not use them?

by Aden Tate
Author of The Faithful Prepper and Zombie Choices