The Positives of the Pandemic

Note: The article below will be in the upcoming 50th Anniversary Issue of the Journal of Civil Defense (TACDA.ORG) by the The American Civil Defense Association.

Disasters, like the release of the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) bioweapon,  are experienced differently by everyone. What each person goes through determines the lessons they learn from the event.

Here are mine. I hope they help you and your family during the next disaster. Please take the time to read this and reflect on other lessons you and your family learned. Then take action to prepare for the next disaster and the one that will follow.

History teaches us that as humans we have always experienced disasters. At any given moment, someone somewhere in the world is in the middle of a disaster.

Huge worldwide disasters like the recent pandemic are more widely known and studied because they impact so many, but all disasters have lessons that must be learned to be better able to handle the next one.

For your health, safety and survival, as well as that of your family, take steps now to ensure that you can successfully overcome the unique challenges each disaster creates, including the recent pandemic. 

Here are some quick and easy steps you can take to protect your family now. Go to the TACDA Survival Store. I recommend three items in particular.

• WaterBricks: Pure water is essential to survival. Buy WaterBricks to ensure you have pure water for you and your family during and after a disaster. Purchase at least three times the WaterBricks you think you need as pure drinking water disappears very fast in any disaster.
• EMP-Hardened Waterproof Thumb Drive: Most small business go out of business after a disaster not due to the fire, hurricane, flood, etc., but due to a loss of data. This waterproof thumb drive has our disaster courses on 5% of the memory. The other 95% is for your use. Backup your data daily to ensure your business survives. Moms, back up your family medical data, financial records, and all other vital data on a device you can keep in your purse.
• Go Dark Faraday Bag: The Go Dark Faraday Bag for Cell Phones and the Go Dark Faraday Bag for Tablets offer one vital tool to blind the unwanted, intrusive power to monitor, track and control your daily life.

American Disaster History Past

For most of American history, Americans knew they were on their own when it came to disasters.

As a nation of farmers, small businesses, and craftsman, they were highly independent problem solvers in their thinking and lives, including when disaster struck.

They depended on themselves, their families, and their faith to meet the challenges of feeding, sheltering, healing, comforting, creating, and building the American Dream.

Even when the American Dream was an American Nightmare, as when hurricanes, fire, flood, disease, war and other disasters that hit them hard and fast in the New World, they responded by rolling up their sleeves and getting it done.

They did what was necessary not only to survive, but to prevail.

And they instilled the same philosophy, work ethic and beliefs in their children and grandchildren.

What was the result?

The most freedom, prosperity and highest living standard ever created.

Americans traditionally knew they were on their own.

For the past few decades, the myth that the government would handle the disaster and its impacts for you gained widespread currency among the American people.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

You are on your own.

Now, with the pandemic in the rear-view mirror, you hopefully have figured out that you are on your own.

Prepare now that supplies are abundant to prepare yourself and your family for the next disaster. 

For a good podcast on the history of civil defense in the United States and especially children, listen to Civil Defense Radio here.

The Big Lessons of the Pandemic

Think back to life in the United States in December 2019 when the Wuhan Flu was taken by five million infected Chinese citizens taking flights all over the world spreading it to millions in over 200 countries.

Your world changed forever.         

Americans woke up to the reality that a catastrophic disaster, once viewed on their televisions and smart phones in other nations since World War II, was now in their reality daily.

Toilet paper, clean water, abundant food, even their assumption that their health was good and their lives were long, was suddenly no longer guaranteed.

Americans learned in a matter of days what the rest of the world knew from birth…that their safety and security was fleeting, and their safety and security were vulnerable.

As their local, state and federal governments cast about without a clear direction out or even a cogent explanation of what was happening, they began to panic.

The elderly were dying in great numbers and the panic worsened as the media highlighted the worst fears and provided no solutions.

As just one of many examples, in Mount Airy, MD where I live the media provided round the clock coverage of a nursing home nearby where 28 patients died due to incompetence in the pandemic (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-imposes-70000-fine-on-nursing-home-where-nearly-all-residents-contracted-covid-19/2020/06/26/a0ece6ee-b7cb-11ea-a8da-693df3d7674a_story.html).

Tools to fight the pandemic were in short supply.

I know because I had to take $3,000 of my emergency funds to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) from North American Rescue (https://www.narescue.com/all-products.html) for the Mount Airy Police Department, the State Troopers at the Frederick barracks, and for the priest who said Last Rites for 28 elderly who died at the nursing home in Mount Airy.

The governor of Maryland was before the cameras daily saying he was supplying all the needs for the public employees and medical community in my state.

He even claimed he went to South Korea and purchased “South Korean” PPE.

I knew differently as I knew the people he claimed to be helping and they had nothing at the time.

And when he went to South Korea, he purchased CCP PPE that had been bought up by the overseas Chinese buyers who purchase baby formula for Chinese parents as they do not trust the government providers there given they added table hardener to baby formula over 22 years ago and killed thousands of babies.

Therefore, to this day baby formula is more valuable than gold or heroin in Red China.

When the governor of Maryland returned and proclaimed he purchased all the PPE required for the citizens of Maryland, he was lauded in the media.

But within weeks reports began to surface that the PPE he purchased from the CCP was highly defective.

The story quickly went down the memory hole.

But Americans in Maryland, like Americans in New York and California and all over the country, began to question their pre-pandemic beliefs.

They began to learn that it was a myth that government authorities were:

·         Competent

·         Ready to care for you

·         Knew more than they did

·         Would take care of you

As the months dragged on and the chaos increased, many Americans came to realized that they were on their own when it came to their survival.

And that is a good thing.

For 45 years I have been trying to educate Americans that good times can become bad times very quickly.

Maybe 1% of Americans were previously open to preparing for their own survival.

Now, far more are willing to do what is necessary to increase their chances of surviving a natural or manmade disaster.

This has been the purpose of TACDA since it was founded in 1962.

History and experience have taught me and many the basic fact although survival is never guaranteed, it is more likely if you prepare.

When the 2020 pandemic hit Americans, most had forgotten that fact.

With the pandemic, they had to adapt and overcome their fears and prior ways to survive.

Many did so in a highly positive way.

As someone who has studied disasters my entire adult life, I saw average Americans rally to save their families and their civilization.

Despite the constant fear porn the media spews out, Americans made massive strides learning, adopting, adapting and implementing survival skills.

Some follow. 

Americans Realized Supply Lines are Tenuous

Before the pandemic, most Americans assumed supplies like toilet paper, meat, baby formula, diapers and other basic necessities would always be abundant.

When the shelves were stripped in days of such items in early 2020, they were in shock, but quickly found ways to find what they needed.

They shopped online.

Instead of going to stores like Cosco that hoarders frequented, they went to a Dollar General and bought what they needed for their families.

Because no supply chain can keep up with the endless demand of hoarders, when people were able to find their basic supplies, or alternatives.

And as for the toilet paper shortage that everyone experienced and was talking about back in March of 2020, many Americans realized there are alternatives. In other words, they adapted (for an example, see: https://theprovidentprepper.org/no-toilet-paper-no-problem-14-emergency-alternatives/). 

Supply Lines Bent but did not Break…This Time

I did video supply line testing of grocery stores for the first 7 months of the pandemic.

Initially, there was total panic. Shoppers cleared out the shelves quickly, much as they do before a hurricane.

At the retail end, there were five layers to the supply line pyramid that were subject to extreme pressure.

First, big box stores were hit hard. Hoarders stuck hard and fast and cleared out their immediate inventory in days. Even when the big box stores resupplied, the hoarders returned and cleaned them out again.

It took them many months to return their inventory to pre-pandemic levels, but they eventually accomplished that end.

Second, panic buying by shoppers cleaned out grocery store shelves. With most items on a three-day resupply timeline, it was hard for grocers to keep up with inventory. For the four grocery stores I monitored and filmed, most had serious shortages on numerous aisles.

Like big box stores, they could not provide enough basic supplies as each time them did the hoarders would clean them out. But eventually the grocers were able to restock to meet the demand.

The third level was convenience stores that provide so many basic survival items in addition to gas (coffee, drinks, chicken, refreshments, toiletries, snacks, etc.) to a very large number of Americans.

They were hit hard initially until so many Americans began to work from home and ordered food via apps. (Although food ordering apps can be a quick solution to feeding yourself and your family at times, they are vulnerable to shut down during disasters. See, for example, https://tacda.org/chinas-dependence-on-digital-cash-exchange-for-goods-causes-suffering-amidst-power-outages/.)

The fourth level of the supply line is what I call specialty stores. For example, near me is a well-supplied meat and fish market (http://www.wagnersmeats.com/) and a fruit and vegetable factory store (https://mccutcheons.com/factory-store/) .

Both have been there for decades and supply abundant food basics at a reasonable price. Both, perhaps because they are family owned, were able to keep up with the increased demand when shoppers went to them after the big box stores and groceries ran out of supplies.

The fifth level is the general store. I monitored the Dollar General (https://stores.dollargeneral.com/md/frederick/11988/) nearby. Perhaps many shoppers do not know they exist as they have never shopped there, but everything you need to survive is found there. In my several months of monitory the supply lines and shelf items at the Dollar General they never ran out of anything.

Your supply chain will be unique to your location. Get to know it before the next event so you do not waste time trying to find items that will only be purchased at another location.

WARNING: Increasingly, we are dependent on Red China for everything from critical rare elements for cell phones and military hardware to inner tubes for our tires to microchips for our electronic devices. They have been clear that they will cut off our supply at any time for any reason if they want.

Government Does not Know Best

I worked for many years to create an emergency operations plan, disaster exercises, continuity of operations plans, memorandum of understanding and other planning tools for the mayor and town of Mount Airy, MD.

When the initial panic hit back in March of 2020, he created a “Disaster Response Team” and put police tape around the children’s playgrounds.

Despite all my volunteer work in this area, I was not invited to be on the “Disaster Response Team” by the mayor, and I figured he had enough going on and did not question him about it.

However, when I saw his team wrapped police tape around all the children’s playgrounds and posted multiple panic warning signs at these playgrounds, I called him.

Keep in mind this was someone I had written many 9/11 ceremony speeches for, created campaign strategies that helped him win elected office, and considered a friend until then.

Up to this point we had even been discussing me acting as a ghost writer for a book we planned called, “The Best Small-Town Mayor in America.”

“Mayor, what are you doing to the children? They need sunshine and exercise to get Vitamin D and to build their immune systems. They need to play and laugh and run around and enjoy each other socially like normal children. Why did you shut down the children’s playgrounds? That is the opposite of what they need.”

“That is what the governor ordered.”

“Why would you listen to him? He can’t even get PPE to the local police or state troopers. I know because I just used up my $3,000 emergency funds to buy it from North American Rescue and gave it to them. And he lies. He said he got PPE from the South Korean’s but bought it from the CCP.”

“That’s what the governor ordered.”

“OK. Can I come over and we can talk about it?”

Remember, this is someone I knew and worked with and enjoyed for 12 years.

“Not necessary. The decision has already been made.”

Then he hung up.

Afterwards, he would not take a call from me or answer my emails.

I bring this up for two reasons.

First, it is a small example of how government leaders, local, county, state and federal were making decisions in a panic mode without thought to short- or long-term consequences.

Such consequences include that many Americans gained 30 pounds during the pandemic due to lack of physical activity which in the long run will kill more Americans than the few who were killed by the pandemic.

Sadly, this includes our precious children.

Second, it is representative of millions of government mandatory policies, plans and directives that were destructive to the health of American children and their families.

For example, gargling each day with hydrogen peroxide kills germs, bacteria and viruses and thereby prevents any coronavirus.

Washing with goat milk soap, as it has the highest fat content of any soap, melts the coronavirus (https://tacda.org/how-soap-destroys-covid-19/).

Simple solutions like this were not only censored by Big Media, Big Tech, Big Pharma and Big Government, but such solutions were mocked and the reputations of anyone who suggested such easy solutions were destroyed.

Two years into this pandemic, more and more Americans now realize that their government leaders failed them.

I believe many Americans have gone through many of these kinds of experiences during the pandemic.

As I said…you are on your own. 

Small Changes that in Total are Huge

Think of the plastic splash guards that are everywhere from convenience to coffee stores these days.

They are just one of millions of small changes that have happened due to the pandemic.

And many such changes are positive.

For example, recently I was at a Mother’s Day dinner with my wife and son.

They had a plastic barrier between the booths that also acted as a sound barrier.

Where before the loud diners to beside us would have drown out our conversation, the plastic barriers allowed us to hear each other and resulted in a more pleasant dinner.

Think about it and you will identify many such small, but positive, changes due to the pandemic.

Rather than listen to the continuous negative impacts of the pandemic Big Media pushes 24/7, think for yourself and you will discover many positives of the pandemic for you, your family, and your community.

It just takes the effort to do so. 

Independent Schools Grew Exponentially

Because so many parents of school-age children had to rapidly adapt when the schools closed and the teachers refused to teach during the pandemic, despite the scientifically and data proven fact that children do not get or transmit the Wuhan flu, many decided they could no longer rely on collectivist public education systems.

These parents have created charter, Christian, private, and home school options in remarkable numbers (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK5iEkPw0bM).

This is a permanent change that will have a huge impact on this nation. 

What is to be Done

These are a few changes I noted during the pandemic.

You no doubt have many others you observed.

The pandemic was a massive event with many lessons.

I have detailed a few I learned.

You and your family no doubt learned others.

What is important is that Americans were shaken from their belief that disaster on a scale we just experienced could not happen here.

It did.

I know as I have distributed over 5,000 business cards to moms, small business owners and others to help them adapt.

Only 5 people have refused to take my TACDA business card in the past two years.

That is 3,995 out of my sample of 3000 who now realize we all must adapt and are open to learning how to do so for themselves and their families.

TACDA will help you do that.

TACDA has been educating Americans about multiple disasters since 1962.

We uploaded four decades of the Journal of Civil Defense and added search terms in a search engine optimization field that make it easy for you to research them (https://tacda.org/journal-topic/journal-of-civil-defense/).

Current and recent issues of the Journal of Civil Defense, like this one you are reading, are full of ways to learn and prepare for natural and manmade disasters (https://tacda.org/product/the-journal-of-civil-defense/).

We carefully vet and offer a limited number of survival items in our Survival Store that will help you and your family (https://tacda.org/the-survival-store/).

To start, I highly recommend the Waterbricks and the EMP-hardened thumb drive.

With Waterbricks, you can easily preserve and stack water, the essential survival element. As they stack, you can use them to create furniture or shelter in an emergency. They can also be used to store bullets, gold, silver, grain, and other survival items (https://tacda.org/product/standard-waterbrick-blue-10-pack-3-5-gallon/).

When disaster strikes, many small businesses go out of business due to data loss, not due to fire, flood, chemical spill, etc. To store your data daily, try our EMP-hardened waterproof thumb drive. A perfect gift and great insurance. Comes pre-loaded with all the TACDA coursework resource essentials. (https://tacda.org/product/emp-resistant-waterproof-usb-drive/).

So, prepare now for the next disaster that is as certain to arrive as the sun tomorrow.