As of today we’re still reading about the devastating impacts of hurricane Helene. Tonight another monster hurricane, Milton, is going to slam into Florida. It’s the annual reminder that no matter where you live, those who prepare are generally better off than those who don’t. It turns out, almost exactly a year ago I wrote down a few thoughts on preparedness. Nothing life changing… just encouragement to be ready. As I re-read what I wrote, I was reminded of a saying I like.

Expect to self rescue. No one is coming.

What I like about that saying is that it applies to virtually everything – not just natural disasters. Unless you are very fortunate in life, nobody is coming to save you. It’s up to you to figure out your path to success. Perhaps there’s a metaphor somewhere in there about our current generation? Assumption that there’s always a safety net (mommy and daddy?) has made us soft.

Anyway, what got me started down this train of thought is a podcast I listened to yesterday. The guest asserted that for the most part, the federal government has collapsed. Not will collapse or might collapse – it has collapsed.

Americans of the modern era have been conditioned to blindly believe in “the experts”. Of course the scientists are right – they’re scientists for gods sake. The economists and the fed know best how to manage the economy. The foreign policy experts at the state department know best how to manage diplomacy and conflict management. The EPA, the NIH, department of education, FEMA, DOE, and on and on and on… Stay in your lane plebeian and let the experts manage things.

Except that for the last 30+ years the experts have demonstrated nothing but a cascading series of incompetent fuck ups. Immigration policy, foreign policy, Afghanistan, Iraq, the ’08 financial crisis, Covid, energy policy, our current inflation, the sad state of our military, the collapse of our education system, the green energy boondoggle… it goes on indefinitely. Please – I defy you to name anything the federal government does exceedingly well and under budget.

Hurricane Helene was the icing on the cake. The federal governments response has been so pathetic it’s embarrassing. FEMA has one job. And they’ve completely failed. Yesterday people were posting that the government helpfully sent them a pallet of electric chainsaws – to an area with no power. That is the perfect representation of our federal government.

With the avalanche of evidence available today that is flashing in giant red neon lights DANGER, DANGER, DANGER – if you still have any faith in our current federal government I’m honestly speechless. I suppose every society needs a certain number of sheep and cannon fodder.

Is it too late to change course? Can the impending collapse be stopped? I don’t know. There is a movement brewing. People are sick of the bullshit. Tired of the lies. Exhausted by the nonstop woke and politically correct crap. Mainstream media is failing. Twitter/X, alternative news sources, and long form podcasts are becoming the dominant information source. Even low viewership podcasts nobody has heard of have more viewers than the average CNN hour.

I hope that people are waking up to the fact that this election is about trying to jam a stick into the spinning spokes of a massive federal government intent on consuming everything in its path. The image consultants and media manipulators (of both parties) want you to think it’s about whatever pet social cause is the flavor of the month. Don’t take the bait.

If we don’t get some sort of disruptor into the executive office soon, it’s game over. Read up on the end of the Roman Empire. Is Trump the great disruptor? Doubtful based upon his first go-round. But… if he can resist all the bad personnel advice this time and get a few good people in place, maybe he can set the stage for whoever the next/real disruptor might be. If the machine has its way and manages to insert Kamala as the next mindless puppet… well, I’m not sure things are recoverable without pitchforks, tar and feathers. Do a little peruse through history to see how that unfolds.

Expect to self rescue. No one is coming. Deep down, you know it’s true. The sooner you acknowledge it and prepare, both in physical preparedness and mental acceptance of how dangerous the federal government has become, the better chance we all have of saving the republic for future generations.