The News Keeps Getting Worse

So, they passed this freakin' bailout plan that many if not most of us were opposed to. And this weekend, the news only got worse.

President Bush in his weekly radio address stated "it may take a while for us to notice any effects from the bailout." Economists around the country have said it may not work at all. And at least one commentator stated that the bailout was akin to "pissing on a forest fire."

There are also many places where there is a shortage of gasoline. I was chatting with a friend the other night and she was saying she has had a difficult time getting gas on occasions. Now fortunately, I live near the Nation's Capitol, so I'm hoping that protects us from shortages for a while, but I'm not holding my breath either.

So I was sitting here thinking about how best to prepare us for a coming economic collapse, should the worst case scenario happen. (Hey, what else is there to think about when you can't sleep?) So I did a Google search for "How can I prepare myself for the coming economic collapse?" I must say, the results are riveting. For instance, the very first site, which I clicked on, led to a white supremecist website. This, frankly, led to very little useable information, as you might imagine, although they do recommend having a crapload of ammo on hand.

The next site was a site which compared the US to the USSR and how the citizens of the USSR were better equipped to deal with the collapse of their economy because "they know how to share better". An interesting hypothesis, but again, not entirely useful, considering I can't feed my family on a hypothesis.

The third site is Ron Paul's site's bulletin board, in which a guy suggests stockpiling 4 years' worth of canned and dehydrated goods. Ok, now we're getting somewhere, but considering that I don't have the cabinet/shelf space to put this week's groceries away, I'm not sure where the hell I'm going to put 4 years' worth of food.

Next site is a video gaming site, in which the dudes are suggesting generators, condoms, the Bible, and beer are key components to survival. Also, one gentleman wrote, "I spent $1000 on cheap gold rings, necklaces and crap like that. Nobody will know they are cheap when the time comes." Caveat Emptor. These guys also seem to be big fans of guns and Kevlar.

I then watched a riveting preview on YouTube for a film called "I.O.U.S.A." Looks like a winner.

Then I was led to EHow.com, which again suggests guns and ammo, water purification tablets, and learning to raise rabbits and chickens for food. If I'm going to have to kill an animal, and then skin or feather it, I think we're doomed. Seriously. Now, maybe that's just the attitude of someone who can afford to not kill their own food, but I don't think I have the killer instinct in me. On the other hand, Ehow also suggests stocking up on "luxury" items which will be valuable for bartering. Such items include tobacco, chocolate, and alcohol. So maybe I can make a deal with someone else to kill my chickens and rabbits for me in exchange for inebriation.

Anyway, the general consensus seems to be this:

1. Convert all liquid assets to gold, or at the very least, into silver dollars.

2. Buy some non-perishables, preferably enough to last a nuclear winter, get lots of water and water systems, generators, gas (and gas stabilizing agents), and seeds to grow a victory garden.

3. Stock up on items that can be traded, luxury items and essentials that people around me may not have been bright enough to buy for themselves.

4. Make plans to get out of major cities, as the residents of said areas will be the first to be herded to concentration camps and systematically exterminated.

There are approximately 13 shades of hell that are going to come down on us, is what it basically comes to. I briefly exchanged several notes with Lesley about the possibility of seeking asylum with her family in New Foundland, and barring that, I'll probably try to make my way to my dad's house. The question is how I'm going to do it with 4 years worth of Spam in the back seat.